Chapter Text
Bennett once again looked at the map in his hands and glanced at the path before him. Yeah, it looked somewhat similar to the place that Albedo described when he gave him the commission. The various bushes and the lake that he could see from afar matched.
Glad that he had managed to get there on the first try, the boy smiled to himself. It looked like the orientation lessons that Fischl and Razor were giving him started to finally pay off. He marched toward the snowy path, carefully looking around.
When Albedo knocked on his door, asking Bennett to bring him some silver ore, the boy didn’t even think twice before agreeing. He liked helping Albedo with whatever alchemy-related things he was doing, and besides, it wasn’t like he had any other commission to complete. Especially while it usually was Albedo who would commission him.
Feeling the freezing wind picking up, he tightened his jacket around himself, scrunching his nose in discomfort. Like many other Pyro users, Bennett wasn’t very fond of cold places, and Dragonspine was literally the worst place to be. Even in the middle of summer, the snow never melted. I wonder why that is , Bennett thought to himself, looking around. Maybe I should ask Albedo when I come back…
His train of thoughts was swiftly cut when he spotted the first chunk of silver ore on a nearby rock. He quickly came to it and examined it carefully, while summoning his sword.
He knew that there was no chance in Abyss that he could mine the best chunks out of it with just his sword. Even if his hands didn’t feel like freezing already, without a claymore it would simply take too long to crack the chunks into smaller pieces. But when the right spot would be pierced…
Bennett squinted, trying to find the point where all of the chunks looked like they were glued together. Albedo had told him about it a few weeks ago. Pressure point, he thought the man called it.
After a solid minute of careful examination, Bennett finally spotted it. He put his sword right into it, and small chunks rolled from the rock right under his feet. He smiled to himself. Two chunks down, only ten more to go.
The sun was already high when Bennett finished mining all of the silver ores that Albedo needed, leaving him feeling a little bit tired, which made him almost wince. How pathetic of him, getting tired just because of some mining. It wasn’t like he was experimenting all day like Albedo did, or keeping tabs on everyone in the city like Kaeya, so this feeling was really out of place. He hoped that the Chief Alchemist wouldn't notice it though.
Bennett blew on his hands, rubbing them together while looking around. He got a little off track while searching for the ores, but he could still see the lake and the wooden bridge near the place where the mountain’s snow ended, so he didn’t feel like he got lost.
Calmed down by this, he let himself take in the field before him. At the first glance, it wasn’t any different from what Bennett had already seen. Snow covered every single bit of the space but what caught Bennett’s attention was what loomed over the valley. When he raised his head, he gasped, seeing strange lines of bent downwards, long, white rocks. It looked like it was some giant creature’s ribcage. Somewhere higher than this, the boy noticed a wooden bridge, connecting two small cliffs. He inwardly shuddered at the thought of ever being this high up on the mountain.
The wind blew harder there than where Bennett first started, but it didn’t surprise him. He could feel that he no longer was at the feet of the mountain. Suddenly he heard a pitiful squeak.
He turned around, immediately calling his sword, trying to find the source of it, but he saw nothing. Maybe it was just the wind? he thought, but then the sound rang out again. Or maybe not.
Bennett squinted, trying to see anything out of the ordinary when suddenly he noticed something orange right behind some nearby rocks. He quickly ran to it.
Upon getting closer he realized that the orange glow belonged to a Pyro slime. The creature seemed to be stuck under the rock, and now was squeaking helplessly, trying to get its jelly body out of it. Bennett winced sympathetically.
“Hey! Hey, buddy!” he yelled, alerting the slime of his presence. The creature turned its eyes on him and squealed again. “Hey!” he repeated, bringing his hands up, to show that he didn’t have any bad intentions. Unfortunately, he forgot that he still had his sword in his hands, which the slime immediately noticed. It started to growl and three fiery shots flew in Bennett’s direction.
The boy, not expecting this at all, tried to avoid them, but they still managed to graze his skin, burning it slightly. He hissed.
“Hey! I’m not here to hurt you, I promise” he said, forcing back the annoyance of being attacked. It wasn’t the slime’s fault for reacting that way anyway. Bennett knew that some people would go and harass them just for fun.
He crouched before the still growling slime and put his sword on the snow. “See? I just want to help you!”
This earned him a weary glare from the creature, but it didn’t attack him again. A win for Benny’s Adventure Team , he thought happily. Careful not to make any sudden movements, Bennett examined the situation. Just as he thought, a large portion of the slime’s body was buried under rocks. Upon a closer look, he noticed that the stones froze, sticking together. He grimaced.
Feeling the slime’s eyes on him, he muttered “You’re stuck” to which the slime rolled its eyes. He chuckled nervously, realizing how dumb it did sound. “Sorry, sorry, obviously you know that, um…” He rubbed on the back of his neck, thinking. “The rocks froze together, that’s why you can’t get out. I don’t think we can warm it up though, because if we could, you’d be out of here already.” Biting his lip he glanced at his sword. “I can try to pierce them through, though. I promise I’ll be careful!” he added, seeing the slime's doubtful look. The creature deflated a little in a manner that reminded Bennett of a person sighing. Then it jumped a bit in place as if it nodded. Despite everything, Bennett smiled. “Okay!”
He took the sword from the ground, warming it up a little, as the steel already grew cold. He looked once again at the frozen rocks. Maybe the pressure point thing would work here as well.
He lifted the sword, piercing through some crack that he saw, and… Nothing. He furrowed his brows and tried again. And again, and again, until the frustration got too much so he stopped, noticing how he only managed to scratch his hands. He looked at his sword. Ah, that makes sense . The sharp edge of the weapon has dulled, probably because of his mining earlier. He bit his lip, as he heard the slime’s confused coo.
“I... I think it’ll take a bit longer than I thought” he said, forcing himself to smile, despite feeling the all too familiar pang of guilt pierce through him. He hated giving a false sense of hope to others. If only he was a little bit stronger…
Suddenly he felt the wind picking up around him, lifting a few snow chunks that swirled right above his head. The slime shuddered, but Bennett only looked at it, surprised. When the snow once again fell on the path, Bennett heard something akin to a deep growl.
Strength. I can give it to you.
He furrowed his brows, taken aback. He looked at the slime, but it said nothing. He then glanced around and right behind himself, he saw a path that surprisingly wasn’t covered in snow, which led to… A cave?
Bennett stood up, frowning. He could have sworn he didn't see that earlier. Like, how can you not notice something as big as a cave!?
But then something even stranger happened. Bennett felt a sudden pull deep inside of him that tried to lead him in the cave’s direction. Normally, it would scare him. His instincts were never reliable, despite what Fischl would always tell him, but this… This didn’t exactly feel like it was something that came from himself, but rather… Something much more powerful.
He squinted, taking a tentative step closer to the path. He wasn’t sure, but it looked like something was glowing inside the cavern, which picked his curiosity. Could there be some kind of a treasure inside? he thought, taking another step. The slime’s weary squint made him turn around.
“Don’t worry, I’ll come back to you!” he said reassuringly. “I’ll check if there’s something sharper around!” he added, and without waiting for the creature’s response he walked straight into the cavern.
With every step, the need to get closer to the cave grew stronger and at the end of the path, Bennett was almost running. He stopped right at the entrance, gasping.
He wasn’t mistaken when he thought it was glowing. The rocky walls were covered in a red light that seemed to be coming from a strange-looking, red orb situated at the center of the shelter. Just before the orb, however, there was a giant rock and in the middle of it, Bennett saw a sword embedded in it.
He went inside, discovering with surprise that it was warm inside of the cave. Normally his eyes would go all over the cavern, taking in the beauty and an almost mystical feeling of it, but not in this moment. All that mattered was the sword. Bennett felt like it was calling to him, and he quickened up his pace, just to get closer to it.
It was beautiful. Dark, with purple lines and ornaments almost shining in the red light of the orb. It definitely wasn’t something that he has seen before. Bennett chuckled to himself, feeling almost giddy. Who would have thought that he, Bennett, would find such a treasure all by himself! Maybe his luck was finally taking a better turn!
With this thought in mind, he stretched his hands toward the sword, but then a sudden wave of hesitation swept through him. He noticed how the tip of the sword was buried inside the rock and was reminded of the bards singing about mighty knights finding themselves in the same predicament as he did, with the swords being a fulfillment of some kind of prophecy or an ultimate display of the knight’s power. Who's to say that he was worthy of the sword before him?
Hanging his head low, he bit his lip. It would be too good if this weapon was supposed to belong to him. He was unlucky after all and…
The strange feeling came back with full force. The wind that blew from the entrance of the cave carried the helpless squawk of the slime that Bennett left outside, which made him sober up a bit. Right, he was looking for something sharp after all, so… Maybe he should at least try?
Bennett nodded to himself, his mind set. He reached his hand again towards the sword and tightly gripped its handle. The feeling grew stronger and he pushed the handle toward himself with all of the strength he had. And then, to his utmost surprise, the sword swiftly slipped through the rock, staying in Bennett’s hand.
He stared at it, as if not completely believing what had just happened. Impossible. That was impossible, he couldn’t be worthy of it, he was just…
And yet it seemed like he was.
He laughed to himself, gently stroking the weapon as if it was a cat. Oh, that was brilliant! He couldn’t wait to show it to Razor and Fischl!
With this thought in mind, he ran out of the cave and steered right in the direction of the slime. The creature jumped in place when he saw him, but when its eyes landed on the weapon in his hand it shuddered. Bennett smiled happily at it.
“Don’t worry! Like I said, I won’t hurt you!” he exclaimed, crouching in front of it. By the look of its eyes, the slime wasn’t convinced, but Bennett didn’t mind. He lifted the sword and blindly pierced it through the pile of rocks. It let go immediately, finally freeing the slime.
Bennett smiled to himself and turned to the creature to see if it wasn’t hurt from being under pressure for presumably a long time, only to notice that it started to jump away from him, seemingly as fast as it could.
He furrowed his brows. For a moment he wanted to call after it but then simply shrugged. Maybe it really got scared, being left alone for too long? All that mattered is that he could help.
With that in mind, Bennett turned his attention to the new weapon. He carefully twirled it around, shaking his head in disbelief. How he could get so lucky was beyond him. A new sword! And a very sharp one, it seems, as it managed to make such a quick work of the pile of stones.
Bennett glanced at his old sword that laid next to the chunks of rocks, already slowly getting covered by the snow that started falling from the sky. He thought about taking it with him, but… He didn’t have enough space for two…
He shook his head, turning toward the place he came from. Nothing would happen if he left his sword here. Maybe some unlucky adventurer will stumble upon it and take care of it. Bennett had a new one.
While walking back to Mondstadt, he kept thinking about what to make of his new weapon. He should test it some more, that’s for sure. Maybe the hunt that he has planned with Fischl and Razor the next day would be a good test. Oh, he couldn’t wait to show the sword to them! Would they be proud of him for finally finding something of true value?
Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks, his good humor leaving him in an instant. It was the first time that he had found something so valuable. Shouldn't he report it to the Knights? But when he does that, they would probably take it away from him and hide it and…
He gripped the halt tighter, feeling a sudden wave of possessiveness go through him. He didn’t want to do that! What if it was the only time in his life when he’d get to find something like this?
Pressing his lips in frustration, he looked at the sword. Reporting this to the Knights would be an honorable way to do it. And maybe someone would finally join his team, knowing that finally, the unluckiest boy in Teyvat has found a real treasure. Or maybe no, maybe they would think it was just a one-time thing...
He bit his lip nervously. If they ask, he thought, gripping the sword tighter. If they ask then I’ll give it to them he promised to himself. He looked up, and seeing that he was close to the city, he nodded to himself and sent the new sword to the void.
Albedo sighed, putting yet another book on the side. Absentmindedly he reached toward the pile of other volumes just next to him. Lisa gave him quite a funny look when he went to her to register all of them, but didn’t ask him any questions, which the man was thankful for. Maybe she simply accepted the fact that after the recent incident with Stormterror every single Mondsatadtian was suddenly really fond of stories involving dragons.
And truth be told, this incident awoke something in Albedo as well. Being in Mondstadt for a relatively short time, he didn’t hear much about Dvalin, and the existence of the dragon has made him wonder if it was the only representative of its species that has visited this part of Teyvat.
He swiftly skimmed through the text before him, and grimaced, noticing that it was yet another book full of stories for children. Well, there goes another future Klee goodnight story.
He was about to reach for another volume when he heard a sound of frantic knocking coming from the entrance of the house. Despite his tiredness, he smiled to himself. Only two people in the city had a habit of knocking on his door in that way.
“Open!” he softly called.
Bennett stepped through the threshold, a wide smile stretching his face. Subconsciously, Albedo scanned him for any injuries, being used to the boy’s tendency to get accidentally hurt during commissions. He released a sigh, noticing a few scratches above the place where his gloves ended and something that looked like a burn on his cheek, but other than that he looked healthy.
“Bennett! I have to be honest, I didn’t expect you to be back so quickly” he said. The boy shrugged, already taking his backpack off.
“Well, it wasn’t a really hard commission.” Albedo softly chuckled. As if any of his commissions for Bennett were difficult. “And besides, your lecture from a few weeks ago about those um… pressure points or whatever, really helped, you know?”
Albedo nodded, his eyes already going to the chunks of silver ore that Bennett started to get out from the backpack.
“I'm glad that this was of help to you,” he murmured, and noticing the look in Bennett's eyes, silently asking him where he should put the minerals, he added “Put them in the lab, please. You know the way.”
Upon hearing that, Bennett nodded and marched in that direction. Albedo took that as an opportunity to check if the boy hid any leg injuries, but no. The teen wasn’t limping or anything, quite the contrary. He seemed full of energy, almost jumping with each step he took, which made Albedo quite curious. It wasn’t often that Bennett had such good humor. Sure, he was a cheerful, optimistic boy, but he had the same problem as Kaeya did: he hid his true feelings behind a smile.
Turning toward his own traveling bag to fish out a money pouch, he called out:
“Something good happened today? You look quite happy with yourself.”
He heard a happy giggle from the other room.
“I’ve saved a slime from a pile of rocks,'' came the answer. Albedo raised his eyebrows. The slimes weren’t fond of Dragonspine, the only ones he had seen there were the Cryo ones. “It was pretty cute, you know? Although it was really scared at first, it let me help.”
Huh. Then maybe some Pyro slime has lost its way in the mountains. They were more skittish than any other of their kind, and that would also explain the burn marks on Bennett’s cheek.
“Well, I’m happy that you had your own little adventure then,” he said and raised his gaze, hearing as the boy returned from the lab. Bennett rubbed his neck with a shy smile.
“Yeah…” he murmured, looking down. “Pretty neat.”
Without another word, Albedo threw at him the money pouch, which Bennett caught right before it hit him on the face. The boy weighed it in his palm, and Albedo barely hid a smile when the teen’s green eyes grew wide.
“That’s too much!” Bennett said, but any further protests died on his tongue, as Albedo calmly lifted his hand.
“Consider this as a bonus for such a quick delivery,” he said, and then beckoned at him. “Now show me those scratches and burns. Knowing you, you’ve probably forgotten to clean them.”
Bennett made a pained face that reminded Albedo of Klee whenever she was told to do something she really didn’t want to. He held back a sigh. Truly, while way different in age, those two could be very much alike.
Fortunately though, aside from making a face, Bennett didn’t protest as Albedo started to clean the wounds. He would wince here and there, but other than that, his eyes would stay trained at the table behind the alchemist.
Just as the older man was wrapping the last dressing on the boy’s cheek, he asked:
“Albedo? Why are you so suddenly interested in dragons?”
The Chief Alchemist shrugged.
“Well, with all of the commotion with Stormterror, it simply picked my interest. Who knows, maybe other dragons are lurking around.”
Bennett perked up.
“That would be cool, right? Meeting a dragon?”
Albedo quickly averted his excited gaze. Memories of snow and his Master’s stories entered his head.
“Yeah” he whispered. “Pretty cool.”
Shaking his head, he quickly tried to cover up by adding “But I don’t think the Traveler would be of the same mind as you.”
Thank the Archons that Bennett didn’t notice his slip up. The boy nodded, already getting up from the chair.
“Haha, maybe so. Anyway” he picked his backpack from the ground and turned to smile at Albedo. “I think I gotta go. It’s getting late, dads will get worried.”
Albedo nodded absentmindedly, standing up as well and turning to go to his lab.
“It would be wise to not keep them waiting then,” he said. He heard the door being opened, and suddenly remembering something he called: “Ah, Bennett?”
“What?”
He turned around and nearly chuckled, seeing as the boy looked like he was frozen, with one leg up in the air and one hand at the handle.
“I’ll be needing some help with one of my experiments in a few weeks. Sucrose and Timaeus are out of town for the time being, so if you are willing to…”
Bennett's eyes shone brightly. He immediately nodded his head in excitement.
“Oh, yeah! Sure thing, I’ll try to help as best as I can!”
At that Albedo simply smiled.
“I'm happy to hear that. Now off you go, before Walter will get worried and start looking for Kaeya again.”
Bennett grimaced, indubitably the memory of the accident now filling his mind.
“Yeah, you’re right. Goodbye, Albedo!”
And he left the house before the man could answer.
Turning toward the lab, Albedo smiled to himself. Maybe to some people, it would be strange to ask Bennett for help in his experiments. After all, his clumsiness could cause some difficulties with said experiments, but Albedo didn’t mind. Klee could be much more destructive on her best day than Bennett was on his worst. And, for him, Bennett’s insights were the main reason he would invite the boy to experiment with him. His mind wasn’t yet burdened with all of the laws of alchemy that Albedo had all but carved in his memory, so he was able to give a pretty good comment on something that could escape the alchemist.
Shaking his head fondly, Albedo turned toward the ores. Truth be told, he only wanted to compare them to some of the minerals he already had, hoping to discover something new. But when he took one of the chunks in his hand, he felt something… Familiar pulsating from it. Something that he has felt only once.
He furrowed his brows. Well, that was unexpected.
He turned to one of the shelves, taking a vial with a yellow substance in it, and let a few drops fall on the ore.
The result was almost immediate. He saw a shield of purplish crystals covering the ore, and one by one they started to break. With a silent puff, Albedo was left with a pile of silver dust on his desk.
He stepped closer to it, delicately putting the dust into one of the empty vials he had standing nearby and put it on the stove. While observing it, he curled a piece of hair that escaped his braid on his finger.
Those spell crystals weren’t something that silver ores normally had. The fact that they also broke so easily meant that they were just an illusion, meant to lure something or someone into a possible trap. But if it was just that, the crystals wouldn’t have been purple, but silver or gold. This meant it was a powerful spell, designed for something much more sinister. And it reminded him of…
Albedo shook his head. No, that couldn’t be it. He shouldn’t let his personal bias influence the experiment at hand. Durin was dead. The things that he has seen while traveling with his Master were proof of that. The fang that he back then held in his hand was the only thing left of the dragon.
And yet this has made him wonder. Was the corruption stronger than death?
The sudden pop coming from the vial made him look at it. His eyes grew wide as he noticed how the dust turned into a dark, red liquid.
Albedo carefully took the vial in his hands, and grimaced, feeling the all too familiar power coming from it. So the corruption created the fake ores. Where did Bennett get them from? Where did he send him?
Trying to recall the events from the morning, he glanced at the stack of books in the other room. None of them mentioned something that would imply Durin has ever been near Mondstadt. Yet the vial said otherwise. Where did he send Bennett?
He blinked as his eyes traveled toward his window. His sight landed on the mountain looming in the distance. Wyrmrest Valley. Of course.
Setting the vial aside, he quickly grabbed his coat and traveling bag. The need to check, right here, right now, filled him. Quickly grabbing all necessary things and carelessly putting them in his bag, he scribbled a note for Klee, asking her to stay at Kaeya’s for the night. With all of that settled he set off to the night.
Or at least he would have if he didn’t bump right into someone’s chest upon opening his door. He stumbled backward, and only a pair of calloused hands prevented him from falling on the ground. He heard a familiar chuckle ringing above him.
“Careful, Captain, or you’ll injure that smart head of yours.”
Despite his haste, Albedo managed to huff a laugh. Lifting his head he murmured:
“That would never be a problem with you always looming around my chambers, Kaeya.”
The man in front of him turned his head, abashed. If Albedo didn’t know any better, he would say that the Captain was pouting.
“Well, how could I know you’d be sprinting out of them in such haste?” He shook his head and took a step backward, taking the alchemist in. “Another nightly escapade?”
With any other person Albedo would just brush them off, saying that he was busy, but with Kaeya… Well, any chat with him had a calming effect on the alchemist. This one was no exception, as he could feel himself relax a bit, his mind slowing down. Maybe meeting Kaeya could even prove efficient in the long run. After all, making discoveries in a haste would lead to mistakes, and Albedo didn’t want to make them. Especially in a case as important as Durin’s corrupted powers being present somewhere in Mondstadt.
So he nodded his head.
“Something like that, yes.”
Kaeya looked like he wanted to sigh, but thought better of it. Taking his hands off of Albedo’s shoulders he asked:
“I get that Klee’s staying at mine tonight then?”
“If you’d be so kind,” the alchemist said, a smile dancing on his lips, seeing Kaeya roll his eye playfully.
“And here I thought I could get you to agree for a drink at Angel’s Share…”
Albedo cocked his head to the side. The invitation wasn’t anything out of ordinary, to be honest. Both of them would frequently spend time together in the city. But Albedo has noticed that from some time Kaeya would invite him more and more often, and he really didn’t like the possible implications of that. He knew that the man wouldn’t waste so much of his time to spend it with other people, despite what the Outrider would say. And in his experience, Albedo knew it usually meant one of the two things for the man before him: either that he was investigating someone or some kind of… romantic feelings.
The latter was troublesome. Albedo has already found maintaining friendships difficult. Romantic interactions seemed to be even more challenging, and despite what one would say, the alchemist didn’t want to destroy the relationship that he had with the Cavalry Captain. It wasn’t that he was opposed to the idea, but the fear of not excelling at the role of a possible lover has kept him doubting himself at times when his mind wasn’t too occupied with making a new discovery.
Yet still, the possibility was making him feel curious. So maybe that was why he answered with a gentle smile:
“Maybe some other time, Kaeya.”
He was glad that the Captain returned his smile. He truly didn’t want to upset him.
“It’s all right. I should probably be resting anyway.”
That made Albedo take a closer look at him. Despite standing straight, the slight slump in his shoulders gave away how tired he was, which made Albedo frown. With any other person, such posture would indicate just a small case of tiredness. With Kaeya's stubbornness of not showing any sign of exhaustion though, it meant that he was close to dropping dead on his feet. The alchemist kept himself from shaking his head. He really wasn't the one to talk when it came to overworking himself.
“It appears so” he agreed, and fixing his traveling bag on his arm he added, “Well, luckily for you, Klee is probably already tired out of her mind, so she shouldn’t make any scenes” and sensing that the Captain wanted to ask him a question, he said, “She should be back in the Headquarters in ten minutes if she kept track of time.”
Kaeya chuckled, amused, which made Albedo feel a little bit warm inside. He liked hearing his laughter, at least the real one. That meant he was truly at ease.
“Well then, I won’t keep you any longer,” and with that, he stepped aside. “Have a safe trip.”
Albedo nodded and with a light squeeze on Kaeya’s arm he said:
“Thank you. Rest well.”
He didn’t notice the Captain’s surprised stare nor a faint blush that dusted his cheeks.
He reached the Wyrmrest Valley right before the sun had fully set. He sighed in content, feeling the cold air surrounding him. While many people felt discouraged from scouring Dragonspine because of the freezing cold, Albedo found it refreshing. Besides the snow… It made him think of his travels with his Master.
Shaking his head to clear it from somber memories, he looked around, making sure it was the spot where he had sent Bennett. Judging by the lack of silver ores in the places where they normally should be, he was right.
Albedo crouched and let a few droplets from the vial with the corruption drop on the snow. In an instant, the liquid glowed brightly, and a moment later he saw purple lines that covered almost every ounce of snow like a set of glowing, purple veins.
He pressed his lips, feeling his body tense up. So the corruption indeed was connected with Dragonspine. Now the only question was, where was the source of it?
He absentmindedly summoned his sword, even though all logic told him that if he was to meet with Durin’s power, the weapon would do little to protect him. But well, it was the only protection that he had.
He carefully followed the veins, walking in the direction where they glowed the brightest, quickly realizing that he was going further up the mountain. Soon enough he’s gotten to a place that he hasn’t seen before. Right above him, he noticed something that looked like a giant ribcage, which made him frown. That was a rather unusual thing to be created naturally, and besides… With the corruption being so strong here, he couldn’t help but wonder if he was staring at something that once was Durin.
He couldn’t rule out the possibility that the dragon was indeed buried here. True, he hasn’t stumbled upon any story that would indicate that, but with the evidence staring right at him, Albedo would be a fool to just call it an accident. Something must have happened here. When he comes home, he’ll have to look into the books once again.
So focused on the things that were above him, he didn’t notice some trinket buried in the snow. He tripped. Cursing under his breath, he looked around.
The first thing that caught his attention was a giant cave with a red light coming from it. Albedo could feel the sheer power accumulated there. That… that was Durin’s corruption. No question about it. The power was too familiar.
The next thing that he noticed was a fabric laying a few paces away from him. Taking it carefully to his hands and examining it, he quickly noticed the Treasure Hoarders emblem sawn on it. Oh. That wasn’t good.
He tentatively stepped closer to the cave. Part of him wondered if it will even let him in if the corruption won’t kill him in an instant. But no. Nothing has happened.
When Albedo entered the cavern, he felt the warmth surrounding him, which made him frown. Was it another trap for the people? First the possibility of getting rich from the ores, then the warmth, and then… Then what?
He stared at the center of the cave. In front of a giant, red orb stood a peculiar-looking rock. Albedo stepped closer to it, keeping his eyes trained on the orb. He could feel the power of Durin coming from it. And he wasn’t exactly sure, but if his ears didn’t deceive him, he could hear it pulsating in a rhythm that reminded Albedo of a heartbeat. Oh, if only his Master could see it… How many travels would that save them…
He looked at the rock and noticed that it was covered in the corruption lines. But these weren’t glowing like those outside, as if their power had been taken away from them. Albedo frowned. Were they giving their strength to something else?
He thought back to the fabric with the Treasure Hoarders emblem on it. So was there a treasure here? The last step of the plan to… To do what exactly? Corrupt a mortal? And then what? What could the corruption seek from people? What powers did they have that Durin didn’t?
Furrowing his brows, he called upon his Vision. Feeling the familiar power sweeping through him he placed his hand on the rock, trying to bring its memory out of it. A golden light appeared in front of his eyes. A moment later it took the form of a sword, its tip burrowed in the stone before him.
Albedo felt his blood run cold, as the realization struck him. There was a sword with Durin’s power running through it in Mondstadt. And it was in the enemy’s hands.