Night cloaked Liyue's alleys as Tartaglia slipped into the shadows.
A figure emerged, faint red glinting from their mask, a debt handler of the Fatui.
"My lord, our reinforcements from Snezhnaya have arrived, awaiting your orders in the outskirts," they reported, kneeling low.
Tartaglia nodded sharply, "Good, they're swift, keep them hidden until the Invitation Ceremony nears."
"Understood, I'll see it done," the handler replied, voice steady.
They paused, a flicker of doubt crossing their masked face.
Tartaglia's eyes narrowed, "Out with it, no stalling in my presence."
"Forgive me, lord, it's just… are we truly planning to strike the Geo Archon at the ceremony?" they ventured.
Their words hung heavy, head bowed, awaiting the harbinger's cold judgment.
A chill swept the alley, Tartaglia's stare piercing like winter's edge.
"That's not your concern, loyalty to the Tsaritsa demands unflinching resolve," he said.
"Even against the Seven, hesitation is betrayal," he added, voice icy as Snezhnaya's winds.
The handler shivered, "I understand, my lord, my duty is clear."
Their devotion to the Ice Queen burned true, yet mortal limits gnawed at them.
Facing a god head-on promised no victory, only a fool's grave.
"Do your job, and do it well," Tartaglia snapped, turning away.
"Also, dig deeper into that outsider, Xander, we can't risk interference," he ordered.
With that, he melted into the night, leaving the handler to vanish in his wake.
The Fatui's audacity blazed, plotting a god's fall on foreign soil.
Tartaglia's arrogance dared to challenge the divine, a reckless gambit.
Unseen, a street wanderer lingered at the alley's mouth, catching every word.
Zhongli's calm shattered, a rare flicker of lethal intent stirring within.
Assassinate him, the Geo Archon, at his own staged farewell?
All the Fatui's might couldn't withstand a single swing of his stone-wrought will.
His retirement ruse—playing dead at the ceremony—kept his wrath at bay.
Otherwise, these schemers would face a reckoning too swift to feign.
Dawn broke over Liyue Harbor, sunlight gilding the docks in amber hues.
Workers swarmed the piers, their industrious clamor heralding a new day.
Xander, however, sprawled in bed, lost to the pull of lazy slumber.
No commissions tempted him today, granting permission to linger in dreams.
Only when the sun climbed high did he rise, stretching toward Wanmin Kitchen.
A day had passed, yet whispers of the broadcast and "Master Carver" still buzzed.
Over lunch, Xander pondered his next victim for the Second Creation Broadcast.
Liyue offered a gallery: Ningguang, Beidou, Ganyu, Shenhe, Yun Jin, Xiao.
Zhongli, the sage of streets, and Tartaglia, the harbinger, loomed as options.
Mondstadt dangled its own cast: Jean, Barbara, Lisa, Amber, Eula, Rosaria.
Wendy, Diluc, Kaeya, Klee, Diona, each a spark for his mischief.
Inazuma beckoned across the sea: Raiden Shogun, Yae Miko, Kujou Sara.
Kamisato Ayaka, Sayu, Thoma, Gorou, a roster ripe for his schemes.
Too many choices swirled, a kaleidoscope of potential chaos.
Before crossing, he'd devoured thousands of Genshin spoofs online.
Hundreds of gems filled his mental vault, a treasure trove of inspiration.
This abundance was bliss, a creator's playground at his fingertips.
Who'd bear the brunt of his next jest, the second to fall today?
His gaze drifted upward, catching the Jade Chamber's gleam in the sky.
A grin split his face, inspiration striking like a thunderbolt.
Beidou had ferried him to Liyue, linking him to Ningguang and Keqing.
Why not keep the spotlight close, on faces tied to his arrival?
Ningguang and Beidou would star in his next broadcast, a duo of delight.
They'd be thrilled—or furious—either way, their reactions would fuel him.
Xander chuckled darkly, imagining their faces twisted in mock dismay.
The Shadowfang Blade at his hip pulsed, as if eager for the fallout.
He finished his meal, the harbor's rhythm a backdrop to his plotting.
Ningguang's wealth and Beidou's grit, a perfect storm to unleash.
Back in the shadows, Zhongli mulled the Fatui's reckless scheme.
His retirement hinged on feigning defeat, a mask he'd wear with ease.
Tartaglia's ambition amused him, a child's tantrum against stone eternity.
The Invitation Ceremony loomed, a stage for both their plays to unfold.
Xander, oblivious, savored his quiet power over Teyvat's tale.
Ningguang's bounty on the broadcast nagged at him, a risk to dodge.
He'd weave this next spoof with care, keeping his hand unseen.
Beidou's brash laugh from their first meeting echoed in his mind.
Ningguang's poised elegance joined it, a contrast ripe for satire.
The broadcast slept, recharging for its next gleeful strike.
Xander rose, leaving Wanmin Kitchen, the day his to shape.
Liyue thrummed around him, unaware of the jests he'd soon unveil.
His steps carried him homeward, mind ablaze with wicked whims.
Two titans of Liyue would dance to his tune, a spectacle brewing.
The Jade Chamber floated high, a silent muse for his next move.
Xander's laughter lingered, a whisper lost in the harbor's din.
Teyvat teetered, its strings pulled by a traveler's unseen hand.
***
Support me on Patreon to read 50+ advanced chapters: patreon.com/Nocturnal_Breeze