Ren
Ren didn't stop running until the grey stone of the mountains gave way to vibrant greens and the shimmering turquoise of terraced pools.
His lungs were burning, a searing heat that usually accompanied a fight for his life, but this time, it was just the aftermath of running for so long.
He mustered all the Cursed Energy he had into reinforcement. He didn't know how long he had been running, but he didn't want to risk stopping.
He crested the final ridge overlooking Luhua Pool and stumbled. His legs, having carried him god knows how far, finally decided to give up.
Ren let himself crash onto the grass, the impact jarring the air from his lungs.
He rolled onto his back, staring up at the vast, unblinking blue sky.
For a long time, he didn't think. He just lay there, chest heaving, listening to the frantic rhythm of his own heart as it slowly, painfully wrestled itself back to a normal speed.
He was alive.
The realization hit him harder than he could have ever expected.
He had trespassed into the domain of a demigod. He had sat at a dinner table with a being who could have ended his life with a finger.
And he had walked away.
"I'm alive," Ren whispered to the clouds, testing the words to see if the universe would strike him down for hubris. "By the Archons, I actually survived that."
He took a deep breath, savoring the sensation of his ribs expanding without resistance.
As the adrenaline began to bleed out of his system, Ren braced himself for a crash. Usually, after using this much Cursed Energy, he would be super sore and heavy.
He expected the hollow ache of exhaustion to settle into his bones, a sorcerer's equivalent of a sugar crash.
He closed his eyes and looked inward, checking his internal reserves.
"What the..."
It wasn't empty. It wasn't even at half capacity. The pool of Cursed Energy in his gut was swirling lazily, robust and surprisingly full.
'How the heck?' He questioned in his mind, before instantly coming to one conclusion, 'Could it be the soup?'
"It doesn't make sense… Why would she heal me?"
Cloud Retainer was a renowned adepti, known for her pride and smarts. If she cooked, she wouldn't make normal food.
She had likely accelerated his recovery, either out of pity or simply because she refused to let a guest leave her table looking "frail."
Or… She was scared he would rat on her to Ganyu.
With his energy stable and his brain no longer in fight-or-flight mode, Ren's mind drifted back to the conversation at the table. Now that the terrifying aura of death was gone, he replayed the dialogue in his head.
'Did she consume actual sustenance?''Does she still remain at the Yujing Terrace until sunrise?'
Ren groaned, burying his face in his hands.
At the time, he had been too terrified to process it, but with his newfound clarity, the truth was undeniable.
What started as an interrogation of a spy or a trial for his life. Turned into an Asian mom fishing for gossip about her daughter's unhealthy work habits.
"Actually, that might be even scarier."
The sheer absurdity of it made him want to laugh. It was funny, objectively, but it was also terrifying.
He thought about Ganyu. He pictured the gentle, overworked secretary sitting at her desk, oblivious that a giant bird was currently threatening couriers to make her take a lunch break.
'Should I tell her?' Ren wondered. 'Hey Ganyu, just so you know, your mom fed me magic soup and threatened to throw me off a cliff if I don't make sure you sleep eight hours a night.'
"..."
'No. Absolutely not.'
That conversation would be a disaster. Ganyu was already sensitive about her Adeptal heritage; telling her that her guardian was micromanaging her social circle through intimidation would probably mortify her.
Another reason was that Ren didn't even know if Cloud Retainer was actually her mother. She might just be protective of another adeptus.
Ren sighed, flopping back down onto the grass.
He felt iffy about it. Checking up on a friend because an ancient deity ordered him to felt... transactional. It felt like a job. And Ren hated mixing his job with his actual life.
"I was going to check on her more often anyway," Ren reasoned with himself. "Cloud Retainer just... strongly encouraged it."
/ — /
Ren lay in the grass for another ten minutes, letting the sun warm the lingering chill of the mountain from his bones.
The vertigo of the Adeptus's domain had faded, replaced by the tranquil, shimmering atmosphere of Luhua Pool.
'Never knew I could run so far so fast…'
He pushed himself to his feet, dusting off his tunic. He scanned the surrounding area, his eyes narrowing as he swept the tiered pools and the surrounding ruins.
But he didn't just look, he reached out with his senses, feeling for the disturbances in the area that signaled strong individuals, the distinct signatures of Vision holders.
He found none.
"Coast is clear," Ren muttered. Though a part of his mind wondered if someone was watching him, they could just hide their presence if they were strong enough.
If Cloud Retainer could do it, who else could?
He shook his head, pushing the paranoia aside. Those kinds of thoughts would only hold him back right now.
He flexed his hands, feeling the Cursed Energy coil in his gut, eager and responsive.
It was time.
"Let's see what we're working with."
He clasped his hands together, interlocking his fingers in a specific hand sign. He didn't need to shout the name, but it felt incomplete without the intent behind the words.
"Great Serpent."
The shadow at his feet rippled and extended beyond him.
Unlike the fluid emergence of the Divine Dogs or the sudden, wet manifestation of the Toad, Orochi's arrival was heavy.
The ground trembled, and from the inky pool of his shadow, a massive, serpentine head rose, towering over him.
It was magnificent.
Ren craned his neck back, staring up at the Shikigami with a look that was a mixture of amazement, shock, and pride.
"You are absolutely terrifying," Ren whispered, a grin breaking across his face. "I love it."
He reached up. The Great Serpent lowered its head slowly, a movement that sounded like grinding boulders, until its snout hovered inches from Ren's face.
Ren placed a hand on its nose. It was cold and rough, feeling more like polished granite than flesh.
It didn't breathe, nor did the rest of his shikigami, but Ren could feel a low, thrumming vibration running through it.
He patted the terrifying construct firmly, scratching it behind where he assumed its ears would be if it weren't a giant rock snake.
"Who's a good jagged manifestation of destruction? You are. Yes, you are." He scratched Orochi harder, getting carried away with his new shikigami. "You're going to make deliveries so much easier!"
Orochi let out a low rumble that sounded a lot like a purr.
After a few more moments of scratching and petting, Ren finally calmed down enough to stop.
"Okay, serious question," Ren said, stepping back and looking the snake in the eye. "Do you feel... weird? Does the Geo energy bother you in any way?"
The Serpent stared at him. It didn't speak—none of them did—but the bond between sorcerer and Shikigami conveyed a simple, negative impression.
"Right. You're physically manifested, but you aren't an elemental creature. You just manipulate the element."
At least that's how he thought it worked.
Ren rubbed his chin. This sparked a thought. If Orochi was a Shikigami that could manipulate Geo, and Nue was a Shikigami that channeled Electro... was that inherent to their new biology, or was it a skill he could teach the others?
Vader, Yoda, and Toad never showed any signs of being able to manipulate elemental energy. But maybe they could now, since he tamed other shadows that can?
"Worth a shot," Ren muttered.
He widened his stance and adjusted his hands, separating his fingers to form the familiar shadow puppets of the hounds.
"Divine Dogs!"
Two separate pools of darkness bubbled up on either side of him.
From the left, Vader emerged. From the right, his snowy white counterpart, Yoda, bounded out. Vader immediately nudged Ren's hand with a wet nose, while Yoda let out a happy yip, vibrating with energy.
"And you too," Ren added, shifting his hands to clasp them together. "Toad."
The third shadow stretched and surged. With a wet shluck sound, the massive frog pulled itself into existence.
It landed with a heavy thud, blinking its large, bulbous eyes slowly before letting out a low, vibrating croak.
The Toad blinked. Blep.
"I love you too, buddy."
"Alright, listen up, team," Ren addressed his squad, clapping his hands to get their attention.
Vader and Yoda snapped to attention, ears perking up, sitting perfectly still. The Toad merely stared at a passing dragonfly, its throat pouch inflating rhythmically.
Ren pointed at the glowing Geo crystalflies buzzing near the water, then swept his hand through the air, gesturing to the ambient shimmer of the atmosphere.
"We're running a test," Ren explained, "Orochi here can use Geo because he's built for it. I want you guys to try and grab that energy. Just... pull on it. Try to infuse your claws or your tongue with Elemental Energy."
Vader tilted his head to the side, his tongue lolling out in confusion. Yoda looked at the air, then back at Ren, then back at the air.
"Don't look at me like that," Ren scolded gently. "Just try. Focus on the... feeling. Make your claws covered in geo or something."
…
Minutes passed. The wind rustled the grass. Vader looked like he was going to pop a nonexistent blood vessel from straining so hard. Yoda started chasing his own tail.
The Toad remained entirely motionless, utterly unbothered by the request and completely incapable of fulfilling it.
"Okay, stop, stop," Ren waved his hands.
Vader immediately relaxed, panting happily and nudging Ren's leg for praise. The Toad let out a dismal croak that sounded suspiciously like a sigh of relief.
Ren pinched the bridge of his nose. "Right. Stupid idea. The Ten Shadows isn't a Vision. Orochi and Nue are specific, they had the chance to be saturated by Teyvat's energy. While I already had you two for years."
He felt a pang of embarrassment for even trying. He really needed to research more deeply into how Cursed Energy interacted with Elements before he could try anything with the 10 Shadows.
"My bad, guys," Ren apologized, scratching Yoda behind the ears and giving Vader a firm pat.
He waved his hand, dismissing the trio. The dogs and the toad dissolved back into fluid shadows, sinking into the grass and vanishing, leaving him alone with the towering form of the Great Serpent.
"Just you and me for the heavy lifting then, big guy," Ren said, turning back to Orochi. "Let's see what you can really do."
The Great Serpent didn't need verbal commands, but speaking them aloud helped Ren focus his intent.
"Let's try something simple. Make a wall of Geo."
Orochi's golden eyes flashed. A slab of solid Geo erupted from the grassy bank of Luhua Pool. It was a rectangular barricade of sturdy Geo, rising three meters into the air in the blink of an eye.
"Nice," Ren breathed, impressed. "Now... spikes!"
The Serpent uncoiled slightly, a low rumble vibrating in its throat. A radius of roughly ten meters around the construct turned into a death trap.
Sharp, jagged spears of stone thrust upward from the soil with violent speed—thud, thud, thud—turning the peaceful lakeside into a field of skewered earth.
"Okay, that's terrifying. But good terrifying," Ren muttered, noting the speed. It was slower than he would like, but the area of effect was pretty good.
An idea appeared in his mind. A trick he once saw a Geo Vision holder do. "Can you try making some projectiles?"
The Serpent reared back. Chunks of Geo formed and floated up into the air, defying gravity, and hovered around the snake's head like a halo.
With a sharp hiss, Orochi launched them.
The rocks flew like cannonballs, smashing into a nearby ruin wall with enough force to crater the ancient stone. Dust and debris exploded outward, showering the pool water.
"Holy… That's awesome! How about we try—!"
Then, the dizziness hit.
The grin vanished instantly. Ren stumbled, clutching his stomach as a wave of hollowness washed over him.
'Desummon!'
The Great Serpent dissolved instantly, melting back into a harmless shadow at Ren's feet.
Ren sat down hard on the grass, breathing heavily. He checked his internal reserves again. He wasn't empty—not even close—but that short display had burned through a big chunk of Cursed Energy that would have kept the Totality manifested for hours.
"Critical flaw noted," Ren groaned, rubbing his temples.
He pulled out his notebook and pen from his shadow storage.
Summoning Cost: High, he wrote under Orochi's entry. Active Ability Cost: Extortionate.
He realized the problem immediately. Summoning the Shikigami was one cost, basically paying the upkeep to keep them manifested.
But having them manipulate external elemental energy? That was a surcharge. Orochi wasn't generating Geo energy from nothing.
It was using Ren's Cursed Energy to turn it into Elemental Energy somehow. While shikigami's abilities did cost more CE, it was never to this extent and this quickly.
"This isn't efficient," Ren muttered, tapping the pen against the paper. "If I have Orochi throwing rocks and creating walls while Nue is flying around zapping people... I'll run out too fast."
He ran the numbers in his head. He had been confident that he could maintain multiple Shikigami at once. But he never had a shikigami with a specific ability until now.
If he wanted Orochi and Nue to use elemental energy, the cost of that would leave him empty without the guarantee of actually finishing the fight.
There was a way to circumvent that, but he wasn't smart enough or brave enough to use it. Maybe one day he would become skilled enough to utilise it.
'A Binding Vow…' The words echoed in Ren's head, filling him with a subtle chill. Shaking his head, he brought himself back to the present.
"New rule," Ren whispered.
If he summoned multiple Shikigami, only one would use elemental energy at a time. If Orochi was out, Nue had to be just a physical bird dive-bombing enemies. If Nue was zapping, Orochi had to be just a giant physical snake biting things.
Maybe he could still use Nue's normal lightning summoning instead of Electro? He would need to test that out.
"I could also use Extension Techniques…" Ren mused.
That was one way to make things more efficient. While Geo wasn't particularly useful in elemental reactions, once he tamed more shikigami, he could use extension techniques to utilise their elemental energy for himself.
With his strategy formulated and his breath caught, Ren stood up. He felt better. The dizziness had passed.
"Alright. Let's test the other half of the equation," Ren said, dusting off his pants.
"Nue."
He began forming the hand sign, with his fingers interlocking to create the bird's wings. He gathered his Cursed Energy, preparing to push it into the shape of the electric owl.
He froze.
The hair on the back of his neck stood up—not from static electricity, but from instinct.
Something was coming.
Ren dropped the hand sign immediately, his hand getting ready to pull his sword from the shadows.
He expanded his senses, pushing his perception outward, trying to find the source of the odd feeling.
What he didn't expect was to hit a wall of... light?
It was a massive source of positive energy that was moving toward him. But it wasn't the intense Yang energy he had felt from Chongyun. This was different and far weaker.
It felt eerily similar to the aura of Cloud Retainer, or the quiet power Ganyu held, but... unrefined.
"Another Adeptus?" Ren hissed, panic spiking in his chest.
His mind raced. Had he been followed? Was another Adeptus coming to smite him? Or worse, was this Xiao coming to investigate the 'filth' he had sensed earlier?
Ren backed up slowly, putting himself between the water and the approaching presence. He didn't dare summon a Shikigami yet—that might be seen as an act of aggression. He needed to see what it was first.
He crouched low in the tall grass, his heart hammering against his ribs, watching the crest of the hill.
The figure crested the rise.
Ren blinked. He blinked again.
It wasn't a Yaksha. It wasn't an illuminated beast.
It was a child.
/ — /
She couldn't have been more than seven or eight years old. She was dressed in a lime-green outfit, complete with a massive woven basket strapped to her back that was nearly as big as she was.
As she skipped through the tall grass, oblivious to the fact that she was currently radiating enough energy to blind a spiritual medium.
"Yaoyao?" Ren muttered.
He recognized her immediately. In a place like Liyue Harbor, where everyone moved with the frantic energy of commerce, Yaoyao stood out.
Not just because of the positive energy that made Ren want to steer clear of her the first time he saw her.
But because she was the town's collective little sister, often seen wandering the docks or the wilderness with a fearlessness that baffled most adults.
Ren knew her professionally, too. A while ago, he had taken a commission to deliver a heavy package of herbal medicine to a couple in Qingce Village.
The recipients had turned out to be her parents. They were normal, kindly folks who constantly worried about their daughter's well-being.
'She's definitely human. I've met her parents.'
But his senses weren't lying to him. The energy radiating off her wasn't just strong. It was... specific.
Now that he finally felt the full Aura and presence of an Adeptus, he could finally identify her energy.
It felt suspiciously similar to the pressure he had felt sitting across from Cloud Retainer. It had the same resonance as Ganyu's quiet power, or even the traces of magic Yanfei used in her legal seals.
But Yaoyao was just... a kid. A kid who liked playing and wandering into monster-infested forests for fun while also being terrifyingly skilled with a spear.
Ren already knew of her immense positive energy and the fact that she was quite harmless. But he wasn't going to lower his guard.
There was definitely something up with her, and the events of the day had left him rattled. He was still very much on edge.
In Teyvat, appearances were deceptive. A lawyer could be a demigod. An assistant could be a zombie. A little girl with a basket could be... well, dangerous.
Yaoyao paused mid-skip, her large amber eyes widening as she spotted him, and her face lit up like a lantern.
'Oh boy.'