The Seeds of Unrest: the Iconoclast Oracle

[beleos]

RUNNING OUT THE CLOCK

The situation is bleak.

The Blight - and the massive labyrinth of roots tearing both cities asunder, spreading deadly flowers wherever they penetrate - have progressed to a point beyond catastrophe. People are dying in rapid numbers. Bearers are having difficulty keeping up with the spread of infection - even among one another. The collapse of Kenos seems inevitable; a cure will not come in time. You can do nothing but watch as each new day brings further disaster, ticking down the seconds until it all falls apart.

And then, you feel something seize your Shard. As if physical fingers have wrapped around it, as if it is being clutched through you by invisible hands, you feel invaded. You feel wronged. But before you can panic, a voice enters your mind through Communion.

“Excuse the dramatics, but there isn’t much time for pleasantries. The Trees are about to hit the point of no return. But there's still work to be done. The Tree of Life will take you where you can find it: the Oracle and the creature causing all this mess. Fix this when you find them. However you'd like.”

Have you heard Aetos’ voice before? Perhaps it is the first time; perhaps it is familiar to you. Either way, the last thing you will remember is a confusing jumble: a spell of immense and incredible power, one utilizing the Tree’s strength to shelter you. The sensation of every cell in your body coming alive, yet seeming to break apart and render you into billions and billions of tiny pieces, all hovering in different times and places across all the different iterations, timelines, and realities in which you have ever existed. A voice that speaks not through words asking your forgiveness, unspeakably sad.

And then, there is nothing.

AWAKENING

Your eyes open, gritty with the feeling of a long, deep slumber.

Perhaps it takes a moment to shake off the heavy veil of exhaustion, to recollect what you were doing before you fell into this state of hibernation - but as soon as you do, you feel an immediate sense of foreboding around you. It is thick in the air, oppressive and pervasive, and you aren’t left long to wonder at its source. You lay beneath the branches of the Tree of Life, but as your bleary eyes focus… you see it. The Tree is all but bereft of life. Its bark has withered down to gnarled wood, the soft lichen dried up, and the grass that should be alive beneath you is long dead and gone. There is not so much as a single leaf on its decaying branches.

It has been this way for a long, long time... you realize this with a feeling of intense dread as you see it - the beautiful expanse of stars, of the cosmos, of universes scattered like starlight above the tree's boughs, gone. In its place hangs a sickly, ominously low-hanging, and dying sun ready to sing the end of everything.

You can't help but wonder how long Kenos has been in this state, but a sense of gratitude fills you as you realize that the Tree expended the last of its energies to protect you, the Bearers, during your state of rest. Had Aetos worked with the tree to see you sent here?

The next question comes quickly: how much time do you have left…? And can you find the Oracle before that time expires?

ABANDON HOPE (DAYS 1 & 2)

The cornerstones are still active and will take you to whichever city you wish to see.

Highstorm and Springstar sit like empty monuments to the cities that were once filled with life - yet the first thing you will notice is they are strangely absent the signs of the Tree’s overgrown roots, the Blight, the catastrophic damage that you can recall all too easily. Instead, each city sits as those they were summarily abandoned overnight, leaving nothing but their shells behind. There is a stillness in the air that is unnatural and unsettling. Despite the lack of any sign of the citizens of either city, you cannot help but feel… watched.

Something terrible happened here. Best you find the Oracle before something terrible finds you, instead.

The burning of a dying sun beats down on you wherever you go, unbearable heat sending waves off the aged cobblestone streets. Perhaps it is your instinct to seek refuge in the shade - but linger too long about the shadows and that feeling of eyes on your back, of being unable to breathe, of your world closing in around you will grow untenable and drive you back into the light. If you hope to explore the ghostly shell of your city in search of the Oracle - or to sate your curiosity, some problem-solving might be in order.

And while you acclimate yourself to your circumstances, you cannot help but note you feel wrong inside, somehow…

EXPLORATION

• If your characters choose to explore previously unreachable areas, please use THIS TOPLEVEL to report when they get there in the thread! We will get back to you with what is discoverable in that location.
• The following areas are off limits for exploration: below Yima’s Manor; below the Church of Heliopolis; Alenroux; Kowloon.
• The Great Trees of both Highstorm and Springstar are in a similar state to the Tree of Life and will not respond to Communion.
• Generally speaking, items will be of poor quality. Most will look as though they’ve aged thousands of years. Others will be in half-decent shape, but sparingly so. Oddly enough, it doesn’t seem like the whole city has aged at the same rate, so especially diligent rummagers can find worthwhile supplies. Please consider this should be rare and don’t go overboard!

NOTES

Here are some prompt reminders - see the full thing at the OOC Summary!

• Characters will have a diluted connection to the Zenith or Meridian.
• There will be periods powers are weakened or non-functional during days 1-2 (up to player discretion).
• The sunlight results in scorching; the shadows cause claustrophobia and fear while outdoors.

THE RITUAL (DAYS 2+)

The place you started your journey to Kenos is also where it seems it will end. As soon as the first Bearer makes contact with the Iconoclast effigy, you are collectively drawn to the roots beneath the Tree - like a pang sent through your Shard. Your objective has been found. The Oracle awaits.

Trusting Aetos seems like a fool's errand, but you must put your hope in the Tree. What choice do you have left? It's time to find what lies at the end of this.

Bearers descend, your steps echoing in the dark, cavernous space. Once brimming with life and vitality, the roots are now dried and brittle like the bones of some ancient leviathan that died long ago. As you make their way deeper into the earth, the deadened roots twist, leading you to a vast chamber deep within it; the air here is thick with the smell of decay, and the faint glow of luminescent fungi and mosses barely illuminates the space.

To your left, the Bearers will notice what has drawn them here - and the object of their search.

An effigy sits on the ground between two darkened tunnels. The effigy is made of gnarled, dead branches woven together in a humanoid shape; its hollow, empty eyes are sightless, yet you cannot help but feel it is watching your every move. Branded on its forehead is the Iconoclast symbol carved into the rough wood.

Once all Bearers are present, the Ritual will begin. Your means of exit have been sealed off, and you are trapped, slowly deteriorating together…

NOTES

• Bearers will have access to the Ritual Chamber which is a very wide, open space with the effigy situated against the far wall from the entrance. Several smaller tunnels off-shoot from the Ritual Chamber. They all run to dead ends; some are very small or narrow. This may afford you meager privacy away from the group.
• Once a Bearer steps into the Chamber, they can no longer head back out the way they came. They’ll find themselves automatically walking back into the Chamber as if of their own volition.
• For brevity’s sake we won’t list them out again here, but the complete description of effects Bearers will experience days 2+ is available in the OOC Summary.
• The effigy is impervious to damage.
• It Is Watching You.
• In a dead-end root tunnel attached to the Iconoclast’s Chamber is the Blighted statue of an Otter that may be familiar to some… Please see THIS TOPLEVEL for more information!

THE PURGE (DAYS 5+)

The sap has festered in your veins for what feels like days. It’s impossible to tell how much time has passed; this place has no sunlight. The effigy watches as you remain trapped, huddled together around it, unable to leave as you find yourself sick with the affliction of the Meridian, Zenith - or both.

And then… something finally gives.

Though it does not move and speaks no words, you feel the effigy offering you guidance. Knowledge. Much like the Tree speaks to you in impressions and feelings, you are conveyed wisdom you did not have before: a way to take what you want and rid yourself of what you do not. A way to make your convictions known to all who would hear them. A way to be known. To write your path in blood, be it yours… or theirs.

When all is said and done, only one force - Zenith or Meridian - will gain its favor.

Show it who you are. Show it what resolve looks like to you - and what you are willing to do to attain it.

NOTES

Here are some prompt reminders - see the full thing at the OOC Summary!

• You can Purge your alignment through various methods: Trading, Corrupting, or using the Effigy itself.
• All characters will understand the end goal is for everyone to Harmonize; the alignment with the higher rate of Harmonized Bearers alive when time’s up wins the Oracle’s favor.

NOTES

• A reminder that the Harmonization tally will take place on Friday, the 19th and be open through Monday, the 29th. The results will be released on Wednesday, the 31st OOCly.
• Don’t forget to submit any deaths to the Death Tracker, with a gentle reminder characters will remain dead until the event conclusion!
• Reminder to fill out the SETTING POLL ASAP if you haven't already!
• Have some MUSIC if you'd like. LYRICS here!
• HAVE FUN!!

CODING

Comments

[sharethememory]

[ Ah, Childe looks even worse up close which causes Zhongli's brows to furrow in confusion. He had assumed that the Harbinger would be even more wild and unfettered after a round of exhilarating combat, but instead he looks much more akin to a prey animal trying not to show weakness in front of a predator. Strange. Something inside bubbles on the surface of the shared communion from Zhongli before settling back into placid emotionlessness.

Zhongli opens his mouth to speak, uncharacteristically unsure as he mentally tosses aside anything that may fall under the umbrella of overt concern. That leaves him with precious few options: ]

Did it not live up to your expectations?

[ It being Set, but yanno. ]

[vapour]

[ Childe isn't sure what Zhongli means at first. Suddenly he's got and shivering cold together at the same time f and feeling uncharacteristically weak and achy in his bones. Attempting to shake it off only results in him feeling a nasty wave of nausea on too of dizziness ... add that to exhaustion and the injuries he's sustained causing blood loss, it makes for an entirely difficult state of health for someone like Childe. When's the last time he felt even remotely this ... ill? Wrapping his arms around himself protectively (more like trying to keep from feeling cold) the harbinger answers with whatever he can think of. His communion walls are down, of course, but Zhongli is going to be only met with standard white noise that is laced with some kind of anxiety over his predicament, one his mind seems unable to communicate even to itself what that is. Is it because he 'lost?' Is it because of what Set did last minute in a victory move? ]

...Uhm, it was great, it's just that... I feel a little off after it. I was feeling no energy before the fight, but it helped cure that. Now, though... feels kinda even stronger than it was before. [ he forces a light laugh. ] This being stuck underground is getting to me.

[ he hopes Zhongli will just not notice how sick he's feeling, but even moreso how he's dripping in Meridian in a different way than simply being corrupted by it as they all have been in Zenith.

Taking in a deep breath he ends up coughing which sends unpleasant pain shuddering through his chest before he gags. How embarrassing, and Childe clearly feels so by this enough that it leaks out in communion a moment before he's going to curl in a little more defensively. ]

[sharethememory]

[ This is certainly not normal. Zhongli has been close to many people here in the ritual chamber, shared communion and even traded energy with a few. And he had felt despair and loss and madness (including some of his own), but not anyone that had been physically ill to this extent. But he's careful to keep the concern clamped down in his own communion (or at least he tries to. Who knows how successful he is with how thin the walls of the mind are here). However, there is one prominent emotion that Zhongli has not the energy to hide - layers and layers of uncertainty swirling within Zhongli's mind - something that certainly had never been there before. ]

Yes, this dead and dry earth is even testing my patience.

[ Zhongli crouches down next to Childe, glancing at all the Shard Bearers that are still in the central chamber. Certainly all that noise couldn't be good for him. Or good for anyone. ]

The voices of the others are less prominent in the offshoots. I've found a small bit of respite in one myself.

Would you like to go there?

[vapour]

[ (Yes, we need more allies. Convert him to the cause where no one will be the wiser.)

When's the last time his head hurt this badly? The influence from the Meridian is making it hurt even more, although he isn't quite able to identify that this is all to do with the Meridian despite being harmonized to it. Zhongli is right, too, the noise from everyone and evening else only makes it harder to decipher his own thoughts from others and theirs and when the voice is speaking to him or not (but he's pretty sure it's always speaking to him.) ]

Okay... yeah. [ the Meridian may be pushy about him helping with its victory, but it would have been much smarter if it didn't make him so weak and ill if it wanted results that fast; Childe feels tunnel enough to simply ignore the pressuring presence in his mind. ]

...I probably just caught something down here. [ admittedly he isn't sure how a virus would survive to infect him in a world that seems absolutely devoid of hosts, but there's not much else he can think of to explain his symptoms. ]

[sharethememory]

[ There's something wrong - something more than Childe is telling him. But with thoughts leaking in from people all around them, it's hard for Zhongli to tell which errant thought belongs to who (his own included). And some have been ringing terribly close to the confusion he felt back in Highstorm. He's not Meridian. He's not. Even though he understands so easily why so many Shard Bearers had chosen that path.

Convert Childe to the cause? Yes, because that had worked so splendidly for them the last time around. Nevermind that they were both on the same side. Ridiculous. Ridiculous that it had come down to this - a slow deteriorating of the mind as a public spectacle in front of everyone. This is why he'd been purging his Meridian energies with any acquaintance that was willing to trade. If madness were to claim him a second time, then at least he would struggle against it every step of the way. ]

Come.

[ Zhongli grips Childe's hand tightly in his own and hoists him to his feet, other hand braced to steady him as necessary. Like a wounded soldier in battle, he tosses Childe's arm over his shoulder and starts leading him away from the main chamber. ]

The communion is getting uncomfortably loud.

[vapour]

[ Going off away from things is going to make it a lot easier for Zhongli to know he's not aligned with Zenith. Despite his rather fearless way of going about things, the illness is enough that it has the right if Zhongli finding out stressful to him. Unfortunately, he's not sure if it's stressful because he'll be exposed as a traitor or simply because the idea of suffering like this alone is unnerving to him. Insisting in staying here isn't much of a better option, though, and so he proceeds on the path of least resistance.

While he does attempt to hold his own weight, Zhongli supporting him is just a little bit more comfortable than not causing his body to be more willing to take the crutch in its misery. He's injured from the fight, too, but it's nothing life threatening and certainly nothing Childe would have affect him beyond waving it off like it's nothing. He's not handling the flu- like symotoms well at all. If things were less dire, one might even take it as Childe probably is just extra miserable when sick and a big baby about being hindered in such a way (... which isn't wrong. He doesn't even have the energy to make a big fuss now, though.) ]

This place... just really sucks...

[sharethememory]

[ Zhongli continues to lead them until they are tucked away in the one of the many sprawling side passages, the din of the communion certainly dampened but still present. There was no where to run from it, after all, cramped and waiting for ... something to happen. Unless their end was truly to be a slow and steady decay.

Zhongli helps Childe back into a sitting position, brows furrowed when the sound of Meridian influence does not abate but instead is amplified between the two of them. But that is impossible. When could it have happened? Just earlier he seemed to be bartering trades to stave off the Meridian energies. Shouldn't Zhongli have seen something if it had happened right under all of their noses?

He crouches down in front of Childe once more, hands folded neatly over his knees but with a tension in them that wasn't there moments prior. ]

Childe.

What happened to you?

[vapour]

[ what happened?

Childe takes a deep breath and swallows, a pain in the back of his throat made worse by the action.

what happened?

the anxiety and paranoia from being in such a vulnerable position kick into a higher gear, although he still does his best to hide them. It's not really so easy, though. Ahh, shit of course Zhongli would notice so quickly. ]

I... don't know. [ maybe there's too much pride in him still to admit that Set had managed to injure him enough and then not only corner him but do... well, something. He's well aware that Set had been oversaturated with Meridian energy, but he still has no idea how he could have done anything with it. The brainwashing effect lets him be confused at best, but he's not able to distinguish that he was forcefully converted. Then again, he doesn't exactly know when he converted at all except by the time they parted ways, Childe was sick and definitely harmonized to the faction he'd been originally corrupted with even after doing multiple trades. Why did he convert? Had he had a change of heart?

Why can't he remember? It doesn't feel wrong or anything that that was done without his choice on the matter, and yet...

(No, even brainwashed he actively knows he dislikes far more Meridians than he does Zenites, but that isn't much of an open and prominent factor in him choosing a side. He also knows he isn't fond of the Tribune, but perhaps that too in his mind also doesn't matter. The only thing that he can think of with going Meridian is a promise for something thrilling, something that wouldn't chain him down like a tranquilized beast, someplace to let out his feral tendencies without being a nuisance. He views Highstorm as the more peaceful and proper of the two large cities whereas Springstar seems more loud and lively. Surely Springstar could entrance his behavior more reading than Highstorm would if he didn't control himself every step of the way.

Too bad he hasn't realized yet the Zenith has also been keeping the Abyss inside of him more at bay than normal even if discord building internally allowed it to thrive if not checked and balanced)

Still, Childe seems to act like a guiltly and confused party, something not part of his normal behavior. that alone probably is enough for Zhongli to assume whatever happened Childe was not a willing participant of and that he is unhappy that it happened anyway. ]

I'll be fine... It's not a big deal. [ no it's a huge deal and he knows it, thinking he wanted this or thinking he was forced. but it'll be fine. it has to be. what else can it be if not? A complete disaster.

(He doesn't want to die like this. He doesn't want to die.)

A shiver escapes him even as he grumbles and hugs himself tighter in absence of a blanket. His ears ache and his head continues to be clogged making it feel like it's detached from the rest of him and has him further and further dissociated to the reality about him. He hates being so weak and pathetic he hates it so much, enough that the distress is evident through communion. Childe is not just ill physically, but his mental health is deteriorating, as well, judging by the malicious feelings he has so clearly pointed at himself. The Meridian presence only seems to pulsate and flare, urging him to redirect his frustrations elsewhere. There is a war to be won here, and it has no time for free-thinking soldiers that hold standards for their appearance of strength and stability to others. Self-disclipline and self-awareness are not Meridian-aligned traits.

the Fatui Harbinger feels caged and threatened by everything around him now and it's taking every fiber of his being not to lash our. The only saving grace is he's already watched plenty of others go absolutely insane and while he normally doesn't care how he appears, in a house of madness like this, even colder would like to be one of the heads that prevail and leaves here with some ounce of sanity left. ]

[sharethememory]

[ In some ways, this is more terrifying than the discord that had overtaken Childe after Manon's revival. At least there, it had taken on the appearance of a separate entity - a creature to be fought and dispelled in order for a friend to be saved. There was an us and there was a them. Battles are so much easier when there is a physical enemy to fight. But this...

This.

Across the communion (made stronger by the blood they shared during the Blight), it feels like Childe is being unraveled one painful thread at a time. One thought, one memory, one emotion frayed and weak and lost before being swallowed up by the Meridian energy like a devouring sun. A gravity that the other seemed not to be able to escape. If this had been a choice, Zhongli would respect it (he would, wouldn't he? If Childe decided that their paths were to be separate once more). But this felt strange, this felt unnatural in a way that made his skin itch and crawl and not just because the energy of the two factions were in opposition to each other.

No, Childe's own conviction melting into confusion before strengthening again was not natural. It could not be. Zhongli would not accept that. He. would. not. ]

Childe.

We are going to fix this.

[ Zhongli places a hand on Childe's forearm as the Harbinger hugs himself, shaking even though it is not cold here underneath the roots of the dead tree. He places a hand with a grip a little too tight as uneasiness and panic roil within Zhongli like a boat being tossed carelessly across stormy seas. He licks dry lips as if to aid his parched throat so that his words sound clear and confident (moreso than he actually feels).

Old habits rise to the surface. As much as it can be done in this chaotic space, the communion closes - like hastily put wooden planks covering doors and windows in hasty preparation for a sudden storm. The feeling drains from Zhongli's expression as he speaks with an air of command and authority: ]

Give me your shard.

[ Oh how it is always one step forward and three steps back on the path of mending this frail bond between them. ]

[vapour]

[ somehow, childe doesn't notice right away the sudden communion closed off between them, which perhaps is just one more suggestion that he's suffering far too much. He does feel the tightening on his forearm, which feels bruising in his weakened state, but his limbs feel too heavy to lift or pull away. Zhongli's going to fix this? He sounds a lot more confident—

—Wait, that's not reading confidence, that's the type of confidence that comes with decisions and emotionless ones at that. Even so, Childe isn't quite able to understand or react properly; it's as if he's trying to make it the other side of a fogged glass wall with the lights off. ]

Give it to you...? Why, what's that going to do?

[ except as soon as he asks, the Meridian influence screeches in his ear a sound that makes his blood curdle even as ill as he is. Despite lacking a clear head and feeling weak as well as any injuries from his fight with Set, the sound carries the anxiety and warning that he needs to run away. He's going to die if he stays here, he needs to run, needs to get away if he can't defend himself.

Childe's lightless eyes stare at Zhongli now, trying to reel in his apprehension. Licking his lips once he swallows hard. What's he going to do? Surely the Meridian is overreacting? ]

[sharethememory]

There is too much Meridian influence affecting you. I know that this is unprecedented but surely trading energies will help resolve this matter, and I have enough Zenith to spare.

[ Enough to share without tipping himself dangerously back into Meridian territory at least or so Zhongli tells himself. It's dangerous and foolhardy for perhaps the both of them since it goes against the spirit of the intended exchange if they both wish to remain Zenith at the end. But any potential loophole was still stepping within the agreement, and Zhongli's tumultuous mind is providing him with no other valid alternatives.

(Except one. There is always that one, but for now Zhongli does not let that register unless it is a last resort.) ]

Give me your shard and let me fix this.

[ Because surely Childe could not want this, could he? The Meridian energies within him were violent and forceful, enough to make him physically ill. Surely that was a sign of resistance. (It had to be. It had to be.)

But the lingering doubt is still there - that perhaps Childe had be lulled to Meridian's side with the promise of the rebirth of Queen and country. It was an understandable want as Zhongli had tempted more than once to fall in line with Meridian and their promises of all the things that he had ever loved. So certainly Childe could be persuaded. Childe had the right to choose.

(Except then he would no longer be on Zhongli's side, something that seems an impossible hurdle to overcome at this moment and he's not sure he can attribute all of this messy desperation to the effects of being in this cramped space.) ]

[vapour]

[ No... no, no. No, none of that will work. Childe knows it. Even so, he finds himself slowly reaching for his shard to offer to Zhongli, although there is a tremble in his arm that extends to his hand as he offers it. It could be simply the illness, but it's not that hard to see even in being sick that Childe is nervous and panicked by the idea of giving his shard to anyone. If he can't give it to Zhongli, though... then who? He hates the feeling of his shard being touched. Even if Zhongli's touch is less revolting than anyone else's, it's still unpleasant. It's only made worse now. ]

You... You're not going to leave me, are you?

[ take the shard and leave him, he means. Even if the body is just a husk and "he" is really this rock that he's holding out, it's hard for a mortal to acknowledge that, even one that tries to be a fearless and understanding as possible of their circumstances.

The uncertainty bleeds through their communion barriers, but that isn't needed because it shows even in those lightless eyes of his as he stares up at the other.

(... but in truth, it's all very manipulative and deceptive. The weakness and illness help conceal that, though, even with their minds suffering immense permeability. Childe simply doesn't think any what he's doing as either of those things which helps out fall under the general category of not wanting to die. Even as awful as he feels right now, he doesn't want to die— And if there's one thing has learned (despite constant denial from himself) is that Childe's wellbeing is important to Zhongli. Zhongli goes out of his way when Childe starts acting like someone far closer to his age than he usually does. The more vulnerability present, the more protectiveness it seems to ignite. Not unexpected, given the nature of the god of contracts as a stalwart guardian of his people, but something enough that Childe doesn't have to shrugs with believing or not believing is intricately or emotionally connected beyond the wire-workings that make up the god's very existence.

Being a frightened wounded animal is not him at his most dignified, but letting it out a little won't hurt in this situation. Afterall, the only thing of certainty he feels is that Zhongli would never crush his shard. That alone was already better survival odds than with anyone else here.

That's it. He's totally playing this up; there's no way he can be this ill and this unnerved by it (can...he?) ]

[sharethememory]

[ Zhongli's hand stops midway from reaching to take Childe's shard, entire being balking at even the thought of leaving the other unattended in such a weakened state. ]

No. No, of course not.

[ Never mind that no one was really capable of leaving anyone here trapped as they were under the roots of the Great Tree. But Zhongli knows that is not what Childe is referring to. He knows that this is some other kind of abandonment that he fears though he is unsure the cause of it. But that doesn't matter. Right now that matters least of all. For just as Childe predicted, Zhongli reacts instinctively to that vulnerability with protection and reassurance. He takes the Shard carefully (reverently), even as he produces his own from above the hollow cavity in his chest.

(He does not see through the act. Not here, where Zhongli does not understand what Childe could gain in deceiving him.) ]

I will stay here with you as long as you wish.

But before then, let us see if we can alleviate some of your symptoms.

[ Zhongli's already cut his palm multiple times now so it takes very little to reopen the wound and press it against Childe's shard, staining it more red than necessary in his hastiness.

If they can just stabilize his energy, then surely--- ]

cw: vomitting blood

[vapour]

[ Although inwardly he's satisfied with that response (Zhongli will protect him, he will absolutely protect him from any of the other Zenites that would kill him,) he doesn't show it, only seeming to curl in a little more defensively at his shard being handled. It feels awful like something clutching and clawing at his inner chest walls, and even the feeling of the blood seems to feel like an unwelcome blanket trying to smother his soul. Even with all of Zhongli's benevolence, it feels terrible, but Childe just wants it to all go away. If that means he just has to curl up some and wait, then fine.

What Childe doesn't expect is for the illness to suddenly worsen as the little bit of Zenith energy agitates the Meridian. The Zenith is nothing in comparison to the Meridian and with the exchange having nowhere to truly go, the Faction of Creation's energy becomes restless and caged like a beast. Childe grits his teeth and swallows, but the resistance only causes intense nausea and dizzying discomfort. His breathing starts to feel sickly heavy and no longer naturally fluid before he is turning away to suddenly vomit up the contents of his stomach, which is nothing much at all—and blood. Despite the heaving and sudden exertion on his body, even when he isn't retching up unusually sticky blood, and the following heavy breathing, a part of him realizes that this blood isn't his own. It's such a surreal feeling, like the blood being absorbed by his shard is being immediately rejected by his body and tossed out, except in a higher quantity than he imagined his shard could possibly be taking in. Ugh, he wants this all to stop, fix had to be some fucked up hallucination—

(His fingers dig into arms enough to draw blood through the fabric but suddenly he yells in pain, his eyes shooting open wide as his hands clumsily claw to reach and clutch at his head at the sudden awful sound that rips through his mind. It's an inhuman screech that is neither creature nor beast of natural origin— it's all vile, all monstrous and disgustingly raw.

It's hard to pinpoint where it comes from, particularly if it's the Meridian or the Abyss that rears its head so viciously, but it seems to matter little with the overall results.)

Childe's ears start to bleed even as he trembles¬ out of fear but more akin to someone in sudden shock from being hit in the head with a deadly blow that the body has not yet had time to register. Childe says nothing but Zhongli will have probably have heard some of that sound through communion and he will also now feel the wall of shock that rips through the harbinger leaving him momentarily unable to move which sets in a dizzying panic—

— which all circles back to suddenly having him retching violently. In the end, Childe will actively try and start to crawl away by any means he can. He doesn't know where to go or what to do or how to make it stop but it's driving him insane from every angle to the point he needs to get away from it!

X-a--ng...! S— m-k- -- --op! ]

[sharethememory]

[ If Zhongli had not been forged in the fires of war and conquest, he probably would have dropped Childe's shard when that scream rips through both their shared communion and physical space. It's hard to distinguish one from the other at the moment anyway. Instinctively, he wipes away the blood dripped on Childe's shard with his sleeve as if such a pitiful act could slow down whatever had gone wrong. His own voice is pained and desperate as he minds races through half a dozen plans (he's not good at this, he's not good at spontaneous planning) of what he could do to fix this.

And one awful looming thought of what should be done. ]

I've stopped, Childe. I have stopped.

[ That shouldn't have happened. Zhongli had traded energies before, had witnessed countless exchanges between people— so why did this happen?

It is more instinct than active thought that has Zhongli reaching out for Childe, attempting to grab him so that he cannot crawl away. No. No. He had just promised Childe that he would stay, but that also means that the other cannot be allowed to leave.

(For Zhongli himself is not immune to the effects of the Meridian energy. Unlike others who may have been repulsed by the energies of the opposing faction, Zhongli had welcomed it like an old friend. A friend who had taken a different path from him so things could never be like they were before - but oh, how Zhongli wanted it anyway. A craving that could never be sated. An itch that would never be scratched. A part of Zhongli would always desperately want to hold on to that which he had lost even if he knew he had to let go.

Was he not allowed to grasp then this one thing that gave him comfort?)

Zhongli's fingers tighten around Childe's ankle. ]

Please— do not move. You will only further exasperate your injuries.

[ Not that Childe can move with how Zhongli is gripping his leg, though he's not pulling him back. Not yet anyway. Curled up on the floor of this wretched cavern probably provides as much comfort as any other position could give at the moment, delirious with pain as Childe is. But if Meridian energy was making him ill, and Zenith energy only caused him pain—

The shard still held in Zhongli's hand feels heavy indeed right now.

Childe did not deserve to suffer like this. (Zhongli did not want to watch Childe suffer like this.) ]