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[pragmatism]

who zhongli and the victims of his memshare
where all around mondstadt's wilds
when throughout march
warnings will be added as they come up.

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[poisontippedcure]

[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?]

[pragmatism]

[ 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. ]

[poisontippedcure]

[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?

[pragmatism]

[ 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. ]

[poisontippedcure]

[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.

[pragmatism]

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. ]

[poisontippedcure]

[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?

[pragmatism]

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?

[poisontippedcure]

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.]

[pragmatism]

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. ]

[poisontippedcure]

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

[Spoken by the 'retribution' herself.]

You do seem to know a lot about this.

[pragmatism]

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? ]

[poisontippedcure]

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.]

[pragmatism]

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?

[poisontippedcure]

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.

[pragmatism]

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

Is that so? What do they look like?

[poisontippedcure]

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.

[pragmatism]

And there are no guardian deities?

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

[poisontippedcure]

[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.]

[pragmatism]

[ Beast tribes? Summoning gods? Brainwashing? That certainly didn't sound like actual divinity. Maybe a powerful enough force that masqueraded itself as one. ]

That is unfortunate.

[ This seems to be all that Morax will say, as he prioritizes his country first and foremost. The problems of another world are just that - someone else's problem. Which means: ]

Are you here to visit or to relocate?