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[Rex Lapis? Rose doesn't have long to think about what that name might mean before something else catches her attention. She's doing what good she can, trying to keep the soldiers in front of her alive, when she notices the dragon from up front.]

[After cautioning a soldier to stay back (lest they get themselves killed fighting injured), she can only stop and watch the scene unfold before her. Rose, whose usual job is to slay gods herself, stands frozen in place, watching the battle unfold before her.]

[ As she looks on, the golden dragon falls upon Osial's various heads, claws leaving brilliant brands on the water demon's form. The tentacles try to reform around the dragon's body - Osial is made of water, after all - almost succeeding in enveloping the dragon completely, but the same golden light pulses from Morax's form and repels Osial's advance.

The two gods attempt to wrestle each other into submission on the open ocean. Neither seems about to best the other, and some of the soldiers too begin to stop fighting and look on. As if in response, the thundering storm begins to part - if only because the clouds give way to incandescent crimson and the caustic glow of falling meteors.

Stone spears and stellar shrapnel alike begin to rain down amidst the howling winds. Their sheer numbers begin to bog Osial down - water is not compressible, after all. Slowly, the Overlord of the Vortex begins to sink beneath the waves under the weight of all that rock. It seems the sea level itself is beginning to rise... ]

[As much as she wants to, she can't bring herself to look away. Even for someone who spent her time killing gods, the spectacle in front of her is something else entirely. She seems perfectly happy to stay rooted to her spot...]

[...Until she sees the sea level start to rise in front of her. She immediately begins to move, shouting to all the shoulders around her.]

Move! It's going to flood!

[ The soldiers around Rose heed her warning, shouting at their fellows to get clear of the shore. Osial sinking meant that it could only exert its retaliatory wrath by flooding the coast - there are stone steps up to higher ground, but they aren't large enough to accommodate the large group of soldiers rushing up all at once. There's going to be some sort of stampede, and Rose has to try not to get caught in it.

Just as it seems some of the humans are going to be swallowed up by the rising tides, the dragon above them swoops down and gently grabs them in its talons. It sets them down on the embankment above while the waves break fruitlessly against the storm wall. The soaked soldiers kneel before the ocean, reciting prayers to their god who had just rescued them from a watery death. It's a big difference from the 'gods' that Rose had fought and killed - those which tempered their servants and abandoned them for good.

As powerful as Rex Lapis is, he only has two hands, and it takes him a while to fish out every remaining soldier. Once most of them are safely on high ground and the storm begins to dissipate, Rose can see their leader starting a roll call. There's bound to be some dead.

If anything, she could follow the soldiers, or try to find a way up to the city built against the nearby mountain. ]

[Rose may be a hero, but she’s also fundamentally selfish. Once she shouts towards the soldiers, she does her best to make it to higher ground. She’s able to make it to safety before the water comes.]

[And then it doesn’t. Or rather, it does, but it doesn’t wash the soldiers away. The other dragon swoops in and saves them. It’s not an entirely unfamiliar sight, but she’s grateful that the gods here seem benevolent. It’s less of a chance she will need to fight.]

[The battle is now over, and she can see the scars starting to form. Trying her best not to get caught in the roll call, she begins to make her way to the nearby town.]

[ The town that Rose enters is a distinctive one. Maybe she can see Doman influences in the architecture - people are slowly coming out of their homes and into the streets now that the rain has stopped. There's rebuilding that needs to be done, and the soldiers stationed to protect the town are already on it. They don't seem inclined to ask Rose for help, and a lot of the residents are cleaning up the town without needing to be herded around by a mayor or other figure of authority.

She would be hard pressed to find anyone familiar in the town, though she does manage to get the town's name. Liyue - certainly she's heard that place before. After a while of wandering, Rose would hear a familiar voice from across the street - a man in a white hood addressing some soldiers before they disperse. But is he really Zhongli? ]

[Were she in a better mindframe, Rose might recognize the architecture. It might seem nostalgic.]

[But now, she’s focused on surviving, and on finding out what exactly is going on. Nobody in town seems to be asking for or offering help, but perhaps that’s for the better. Soon enough, she sees a figure that seems familiar.]

Zhongli?

[She’s only met the man a few times, so she can’t be sure—-but his stature is similar enough. Is this his memory?]

[ The man's amber eyes are trained on her as soon as she calls his name. While he certainly looks like Zhongli, his manner is completely different. There's no warmth in his gaze, at least not at first. ]

Who are you?

[ In a way, he's responding to that name, but also not in an entirely familiar way. This Zhongli has never seen Rose before. ]

[For all the times Rose has been spirited away by an echo-vision, she’s never been able to interact with them. This is new.]

[But it doesn’t surprise her that Zhongli doesn’t recognize her. This is a past vision, she’s sure.]

An acquaintance you don’t remember, but that doesn’t matter. Tell me, what just happened?

[ It's rather dangerous to claim to be someone Morax has forgotten. However, he humours Rose for now, judging her to not be a threat. ]

You have to be more specific with that question.

[ Is she asking for what he just told the soldiers, or something else? It's a rather abrupt thing to ask. ]

[More specific? That’s a fair request. She can’t blame him for being confused.]

This whole affair.

[She pauses to motion towards the coast where the battle took place.]

With the dragon and the sea monster.

That was not merely a sea monster. That was the demon god Osial, intending to destroy Liyue with storms and floods.

[ And as for the dragon... what a strange thing to ask the man who was that dragon. It's hard to envision why she would not know of Rex Lapis being a dragon, but he'll humour her once again. ]

As for the dragon... that is Rex Lapis, the Geo Archon.

[ Almost everyone in Liyue knows how the Geo Archon looks like. He wouldn't mention that to Rose outright, though. ]

[If Rose seems suspicious at all here...well, it’s because she absolutely is! She could only imagine her surprise if someone came to Eorzea without knowing about the primals. She’s sure it’s the same for Zhongli.]

So the god protected the city? [Mild shock, but it’s fine.]

What about the citizens? They aren’t in danger, are they?

They are not.

[ You know, considering that the demon god threatening Liyue had just been sealed under several thousand tons of rock. ]

Why do you ask?

The gods where I come from are not nearly as kind.

[Is Zhongli going to remember this encounter? She hopes not. She's not sure what Zhongli is, except that he's not entirely human. That's probably a question saved for another day though, and not asked in the middle of whatever this memory is.]

Retribution will come for unworthy gods one day. A failure to protect their people is a failure of their existence.

[ Morax is a firm believer in his sacred duty, one that would be handed down to the gods of Teyvat by Celestia. A tyrant would pressure his people, and then they would rise up in rebellion, or otherwise leave nothing behind to rule over. ]

Well, you're certainly not wrong on that front.

[Spoken by the 'retribution' herself.]

You do seem to know a lot about this.

Of course. I am one of the divine as well.

[ If anything, he looks at her with a slight tinge of confusion. How does she not know this? ]

One of the divine? You?

[To some degree, she understands that this is a memory, so she’s not terribly confused about making a fool out of herself. She is going to make a point to talk to Zhongli after this, however.]

Yes.

[ Morax tilts his head. Rose must be living under a rock if she didn't know the name and face of the Geo Archon. ]

You do not know?

I wouldn't have asked if I did, now would I?

[Any sane person would stop here.]

You look very different from the gods in my world.

[ 'My world'. He gives her a tilt of his head. ]

Is that so? What do they look like?

Much more monstrous, for sure.

[She gestures to the site of the recent battle.]

They're more similar to the beast you fought than anything.

And there are no guardian deities?

[ How disorderly. Morax knew that watchful gods are necessary for civilization to progress. ]

[Rose shakes her head. It's a good question, honestly, and it's one that is at the heart of why everything is so wrong with Eorzea.]

Not in the manner you're referring to, no. Some of the beast tribes summon guardian deities of their own, but those have the tendency to brainwash those that summon them. Gods that exist for the good of the world are practically non-existent.

[She should mention Hydaelyn, but Rose isn't convinced that she doesn't fall into the camp of the former. Until it's proven otherwise, Rose is going to assume Hydaelyn isn't working for the good of Eorzea.]

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pragmatism - 2021-04-13 13:42 (UTC) - Expand