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[sharethememory]

[ Of Justice and Contracts ]

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[sharethememory]

[ Being able to draw memories from stone is not an ability that Zhongli ever had. He often wondered — as Azhdaha spoke so vividly of what he had seen— what such an ability would feel like. It was true that working with Monsieur Neuvillette meant that Zhongli experienced a taste of what that might be. But this.

This is something unintentional. Something deeply impersonal.

And while Zhongli does not feel guilty for having seen it, he does know that it was something that he should not have seen.

It also invites more questions than answers. Zhongli knows that Neuvillette is a long-lived species. Of what though — he is not exactly sure but nor does he consider himself an expert on all life in Teyvat. What he is an expert on, however, is history. And this is the story of a boy that is distinctly not mortal being born to a mortal woman. This is the story of a boy being purposefully born into obscurity in a nation far away before finding his way to Fontaine. This is the beginning of a legend. Such things are usually labeled miracles. They are products of fate.

And Zhongli knows first hand how cruel and unkind both things can be.

The quickly disintegrating crystal is shoved discreetly into his pocket, not because Zhongli believes he can hold onto such a memory, but because for some nagging reason he thinks it is best that Neuvillette does not know that he saw it. Despite their cooperation, there is something lurking underneath the surface of their interactions. Something that first Zhongli dismissed as disdain for a foreigner meddling in Fontaine affairs (of which Fontaine was both known for and very understandable considering the nature of the current political circumstances). But the longer that the two of them stayed together, the more Zhongli was convinced that it was something even more than that.

Zhongli clears his throat discreetly into his hand, turning to head back to the aquabus so that he might return to his hotel for the night. ]

Thank you again, Monsieur Neuvillette. I shall keep an ear out for your summons and let you know if I find out anything else that might be useful.