Chapter 2: Silver > TeyvatTHE INTERWORLD, “MUD” ARENA, COMPETITOR WAITING ROOM

  Sitting around a small table, Valerie, Rapi, and Belle put their heads together and bounced ideas off each other. Not far away, a pair of shadow guards drag the corpse of another defeated fighter and throw him down a garbage chute. Valerie vaguely recognized the round red, white, and blue shield he was carrying, but it could be her imagination.

  “Rapi’s grenades combined with Valerie’s psionics might have enough explosive power to break down the walls,” said Belle.

  “It can’t be that easy. Otherwise, the shadow guards wouldn’t let us keep our weapons even when we’re not in the Arena,” replied Rapi.

  “She’s right.” Valerie lightly raps her fist against the wall behind her. Her hand made a metallic cnk even though the material looked like solid stone. “Whatever this stuff is, it’s damn sturdy. It seems to negate any form of energy you apply.”

  “How is that even possible?” asked Belle, but Valerie just shrugged.

  “The only thing that makes sense here is that nothing makes sense.”

  “However, the main door we were brought through is made of another material and seems retively unguarded.” Rapi points to the rge armored door at the end of the hall. It was the only way out of the MUD Arena from the waiting room. “Maybe if I draw the guards away, you can crack the lock, Belle. Or we could destroy it.”

  “Unlikely, they’ll see through us in a second, and I’m not familiar with the technology used here. Can’t you just create a portal to get us out, Valerie?”

  The older woman ughs dryly in response to Belle’s inquiry.

  “That’s literally the first thing I tried. This pce also has some kinda subspace scrambler blocking portals,” Valerie informs. “It’s even powerful enough to stop that one ashen-haired swordswoman with a cheek scar.”

  “For a sports arena, the security here is watertight,” Rapi remarks.

  “Well, every system has a weakness. If the MUD Arena has music pyers, a media room, and advanced spatial technology, there must be a central power source. Maybe we can take that down,” Belle suggests.

  “Not gonna work. Besides, like Rapi said, none of these ideas can get off the ground without the shadow guards finding out.”

  “You keep talking about these shadow guards like they are invincible, Valerie. Perhaps you are simply overestimating their strength.”

  “No, I’m being serious for once,” Valerie answers Rapi with a sullen frown. “Anything you do just goes right through them. They’re literal living shadows, and those sticks they carry hurt like hell.”

  “Now that you mention it, the only workers here are shadow guards…” mused Belle. Valerie didn’t need her powers to see that the wheels in her head were turning.

  “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

  “That if I make the shadow guards vulnerable, we can start a prison riot? Then, we’ll break down the main door and liberate the whole Arena?” Belle asks. “Hell yeah!”

  Valerie lifts her hand, and she and Belle high-five enthusiastically. Even though it was an unlikely pn, at least they now had a chance at freedom.

  “Ow!” Belle winces, shaking the pain out of her wrist. “You weren’t kidding when you said you were strong…”

  “Sorry.”

  BEEP BEEP

  A sharp electronic tone cuts through their short celebration.

  “What is that!? Are we under attack!?” gasped Rapi.

  “Easy there. That sound is just to let us know that there’s been a change in the schedule,” Valerie replied. “Someone probably got a stomach bug or something and forfeited their match. Belle, you’re small and wily, go check it out.”

  The Proxy stands up and scurries over to the main screen before anyone else. On it, the brackets for the preliminary matches are taken down and repced with a new set of names. The main event was starting ahead of schedule.

  “Hey, Valerie, aren’t you supposed to be the champion here?” asked Belle.

  “Yeah,” she replies.

  “Well, if I’m reading this right, the next few hours are gonna be very busy for you.”

  “Wait, what?”

  Shoving her way through the small crowd that gathered, Valerie joined Belle in the front and looked at the screen. Sure enough, she was in four different brackets, some with multiple opponents.

  “‘Knights of Favonius,’ ‘Fatui,’ some state ending in ‘y-u-e’ that I’m not even gonna attempt… Oh, fuck yes! I’m up against Teyvat!” she cheers.

  “Huh?” Belle looks at Valerie, who senses her confusion. “Also, I think it’s pronounced ‘Liyue.’”

  “Teyvat, a world known as the cushiest pce in the Multiverse!” Valerie expins. “No crime, no war, no inequality. It’s basically paradise by my standards.”

  Belle mutters in agreement. Not a stranger to a dysfunctional society, she envied the citizens of Teyvat.

  “I swear, this is gonna be a walk in the fucking park! I’ll be sure to put on a show; that’ll give you and Rapi plenty of time to do your thing.”

  THE INTERWORLD, WASTELAND CLIFFS

  FLASH

  “Kyaaaaa–!!”

  *thud*

  Landing with a nimble roll, a blonde traveler draws her sword and tenses up. Despite tumbling in the dirt, her clothes remained unblemished and white. A second ter, to her relief, her flying companion floats down gently by her side.

  “Oh, my Archon… What happened? Where are we?” Paimon cries, frightened, before clutching her stomach. “Ugh… Paimon knew she shouldn’t have had seconds st night…”

  Lumine carefully scans her surroundings even though the darkness makes it hard to see. Without the stars or moon, the only light came from some strangely shaped lumps scattered around them.

  “It’s okay, Paimon. There’s no one here.” Trusting her intuition, Lumine rexes, and her sword disappears.

  “But it’s so dark,” said Paimon. “Paimon knows simir things have happened to us before, but this time, something feels off. And where did the stars go?”

  Paimon has a point, something does feel off, thinks Lumine. No stars, no Ley Lines, no Celestia… I don’t think we’re in Teyvat anymore.

  Switching to Pyro, Lumine creates a small fme in her hand to illuminate her surroundings. This was a mistake.

  “Kyaaaaa–!!” Paimon screams again.

  Apparently, those strange lumps were two dozen brutally mangled corpses. The faint light was coming from their red and gray armor, which might’ve protected them from decomposition. Many were covered in gore and ice; some were missing limbs or had swords sticking out of them. Paimon retches, disgusted by the grisly scene.

  Meanwhile, Lumine was more confused than repulsed. The firearms they held didn’t look Fontainian, nor did she recognize any of the symbols they wore. All of them wore an eight-pointed blue and white star somewhere. They must’ve been a combat squad of some sort.

  With a grunt, Lumine pulls out a sword that pinned a tan woman with a braid to the ground. She inspected the bde with Elemental Sight, but the Cryo energy surrounding it felt as unfamiliar as the weapon.

  “Paimon, I think these people were ambushed,” said Lumine. “We should get out of here. Stay close to me.”

  “Uh-huh…” Paimon gasps. “But… who would do this? And why?”

  “I don’t know, but if I find out, I’ll make them pay,” Lumine answered confidently. After all, in five years of traveling, no vilin has gotten the better of the Traveler. “Let’s go.”

  *poof-poof-poof-poof*

  Suddenly, the shadows around them coalesced, shaping themselves into four humanoid torsos with two arms and a head. Lumine draws her sword again, as crystalline staffs grow from their smoky hands.

  “You must be the ones responsible for this massacre!” Lumine accuses. “Get behind me, Paimon. Hyah–!”

  With no hesitation, Lumine sshes her sword at the closest specter. Its body flickers as the bde passes through, dealing no damage.

  “Huh?”

  Unfazed, she throws a trio of Electro bolts at another, but they also do nothing.

  “What!?” Before she could attack again, the shadow casually poked Lumine with its staff.

  *zap*

  “ARGH–!!”

  In an instant, Lumine feels intense pain in every part of her body; more than she’s ever felt in her life. She falls down, howling and writhing in agony.

  “Travel–”

  *zap*

  “GYAHHH–!!”

  A few meters away, Paimon is subjected to the same fate. Luckily, her friend passed out in a second, sparing her from most of the suffering.

  “Congratutions, you are now the property of our Master, Grand-Mirror,” announced one of the shadows. “Obey, and you will be cared for. Disobey, and this is the punishment.”

  “But… but…” Lumine sputters in between spasms. “Th-These people… you–”

  “We did not do this,” answered another, surprising Lumine.

  “Then… who…”

  Before she could finish her inquiry, the pain overwhelmed Lumine, too. She feels her vision turn hazy as her surroundings ripple. The st thing she sees before falling unconscious is a vaguely familiar pair of heels walking toward her.

  THE INTERWORLD, “MUD” ARENA, ARMORY

  “One Power Pill and two ten-round magazines for .45 Julian pistols. Universe of origin: Epsilon-Omega 616,” ordered Valerie.

  *whirrr*

  Before her eyes, a machine creates exactly what she asked out of thin air. The MUD Arena “armory” is actually just a room filled with these “replicator” devices. However, access to it is strictly reguted by the shadow guards.

  “Also, one pint of vanil ice cream with caramel drizzle and rainbow sprinkles,” adds Valerie.

  BEEP

  ERROR: IRRELEVANT ITEM REQUESTED

  “Meh, always worth a shot…”

  After swallowing the vile-tasting pill, a pair of shadow guards escort Valerie to a small, cramped dugout. They shove her in and close the door behind her. Then, a transparent force field activates, separating her from the arena while giving her a great view of the fight.

  “Wait here,” said one through a small cutout. “Then, you will fight the victor.”

  “You know, for a race made of cannabis smoke, you guys are quite uptight,” Valerie jokes. Unamused, they shut the cutout and left her. “Oh, crap. That might’ve been offensive.”

  In the arena, Valerie watches a knight with ice magic named Eu Lawrence locked in a fierce duel against a bureaucrat named Taoqi. Both used greatswords and were evenly matched in skill; either could be her next opponent. Despite its name, the floor of the MUD Arena was actually made of concrete, which inexplicably repairs itself after every bout.

  Despite using a rge weapon, Eu is very agile with more combat experience. Taoqi knows she’s outcssed offensively and is only fighting from behind the safety of her shields. Taking her on would be preferable, but Eu’s gonna take the W.

  Watching from behind the force field, Valerie carefully analyzes their fighting styles and inner thoughts. Back in her world, she was known for looking into her opponent’s minds and pying on their insecurities. While using such cheap tricks isn’t necessary, in a fight to the death, every advantage counts.

  Hmm… seems Eu had a friend killed in the prelims named Amber. People from Teyvat must not take loss well. However, Taoqi is also stressed about being away from home.

  “Freeze to the core!!”

  CRASH

  Once the mist clears, Taoqi’s head is revealed to be severed from her body. Taking no pleasure in her victory, Eu solemnly bows in respect to her decapitated opponent as shadow guards appear to clean up her remains.

  “Oh-ho, now that’s what I call ‘cold’ steel!” cheered Grand-Mirror from his tower. “Unfortunately for her, Eu’s next opponent won’t be so passive. Will this vindictive victor finally fall, or has our special soldier met her match?”

  “So, pce your bets and show our champion some love! I give you… Silent Control!!”

  THE INTERWORLD, “MUD” ARENA (ROUND 1)

  The force field comes down, and Valerie swaggers into the arena. She waves to the crowd, encouraging them to cheer louder. With a wink, she finishes by drawing a heart with psionic lightning, eliciting a number of adoring sighs.

  “Ahahaha~! Thank you, thank you. I love you, too! Especially you!”

  Eu rolls her eyes as Valerie blows kisses to her many fans. Many of these spectators got rich in the Interworld by gambling on her. Her perfect combination of power and showmanship won her Grand-Mirror’s favor in the first pce.

  “Are you going to keep showing off, or are we going to fight?” asked Eu.

  “Oh, cool it, sugar mama. You’re just jealous I’m sexier than you,” Valerie taunts while gripping her guns.“The st time I squared off with an elite, she had much better hair.”

  “This haircut cost two hundred thousand Mora!”

  Valerie chortles. “Then, that blind dude with hedge trimmers totally ripped you off!”

  Enraged, Eu spins her cymore and points it at the silver-haired wise girl. “I’ll make you regret saying all that! Mark my words–”

  “Yeah, yeah, skip the catchphrase!”

  BANG-BANG

  Valerie swiftly draws both her pistols and fires them. Eu quickly angles her weapon to block them but feels a sharp pain in her thigh.

  “How the–!” she groans as blood drips down her leg. The bullet went right through her sword, leaving a small hole in the bde.

  “Hurts, doesn’t it? Gauss guns got a bit more oomph than a Fatui peashooter.”

  With that, Valerie rushes at Eu while firing. The Spindrift Knight elegantly dodges most of the bullets, only getting grazed a few times. Once Valerie is within striking range, she pivots on her heel while charging her bde with Cryo.

  “Rack and ruin!”

  *swoosh*

  Valerie acrobatically slides under the attack. She then aims her guns at Eu’s injured leg.

  Gotcha…

  BANG BANG BANG

  “Urgh–! Damn you!!”

  Powering through the pain, Eu madly sshes at Valerie. Holstering her guns, she shields herself with a barrier while counting her strikes. Slice… double slice-spin… and–

  CRACK

  “HYAAAH–!!” Eu shrieks when the broken bones in her right leg finally give out. She tries to use her cymore as a crutch, but Valerie shatters it too with a kick.

  “Looks like you’re never gonna dance again,” Valerie mocks before punching her in the left eye. Eu looks up slightly, only to earn herself another punch in the same spot. No normal person could ever get this strong, not even one with a Vision.

  “What… are you?” she gasps, her face covered in blood. Valerie stands over her; she isn’t smiling for once. In response, Valerie grips the sides of Eu’s head and twists hard.

  *snap*

  The stands erupt with shrieks and appuse as Eu falls to the ground unceremoniously. Her Vision slowly turns gray as Valerie reloads her guns. Above her, Grand-Mirror makes some puns, but she doesn’t listen to them.

  “Just a girl who’s far from home…”

  THE INTERWORLD, “MUD” ARENA (ROUND 2)

  BANG

  *jump*

  “Shit!”

  BANG-BANG

  *duck*

  “Fuck!”

  After closing the distance between them, Valerie’s next opponent, Keqing, lunges at her with her sword. Using her pistols, she barely blocks her rapid strikes.

  “Back off!”

  BAM

  Valerie knocks Keqing off-bance with a swift headbutt to her nose. Unrelenting, she stays on the attack, hitting her with a pistol-whip and two kicks to the jaw. Riding the momentum, Valerie spins and sends Keqing flying with a third, more powerful kick. However, the Liyue noble nimbly flips in the air and nds lightly on her feet.

  Two elites in one day? What are the odds?

  “An impressive trick, but your skills are rooted in aggression,” said Keqing, out of breath. “Not all battles can be won through brute force.”

  “That’s just ’cuz you didn’t use enough.”

  Valerie knew Keqing knew she was too fast for her pistols. Her superior weapons weren’t going to help her this time. So, after unchambering them, she tosses them at Keqing’s feet while rolling a crick in her neck.

  “Do you yield?” Keqing asks.

  “Not quite…”

  *vmmm*

  “Huh…?” Grabbing Keqing with telekinesis, Valerie forces the young woman to drop her weapon with a twist of her wrist. “What is this!?”

  “It’s called psionics. Keep up.”

  Clenching her fist, she pulls Keqing toward her–

  WHAM

  –then drives her knee into her ribs with devastating force.

  “Ughh–!!” Keqing moans, feeling her ribs shatter. Out of spite, she flicks a st-ditch stiletto at Valerie.

  *thunk*

  “Oww! What the fuck!?” Valerie yells. Looking down, she sees the hairpin sticking out of her chest. The tip was likely mere centimeters from piercing her heart.

  “Hehehe… I think my titties just saved my life!” Realizing this, she ughs almost madly. “Damn, if I were just a cup size smaller I’d be… dead…”

  Before her mind could spiral, Valerie forced her memories back down. Biting her lip, she yanks out the stiletto and throws it on the ground. As she heals her wound, Keqing exhales sharply behind her.

  “You are… an idiot…” she spits. “To murder another person… and ugh about it…”

  Valerie flinches in anger. “What do you mean by ‘person?’ You are just one Keqing out of an infinite number of Keqings! You are a meaningless atom in the piece of shit we call the Multiverse! You don’t matter, none of this matters!!”

  “Everything… is something…” Keqing wheezes. “Everything has… meaning…”

  Enraged by her defiance, Valerie grips her head with both hands and starts to squeeze.

  “Is that so? Then, do you know who my favorite Finding Nemo character is!?” Keqing’s eyes widen from the increasing pain as Valerie increases the pressure on her skull.

  “Crush!!”

  CRUNCH

  “Also, I hate cats…”

  Thanks to Valerie’s gruesome execution choice, the cheering from the stands was even louder this time. But this didn’t excite her like before. Despite being covered in blood and purple hair, she fills her mind with the same two words:

  Don’t remember… don’t remember… DON’T REMEMBER!!

  THE INTERWORLD, “MUD” ARENA, COMPETITOR WAITING ROOM

  After returning to the waiting room, Valerie finds Rapi and Belle in a corner and runs up to them. They were sitting around Eous, Belle’s rabbit doll (which she called a Bangboo). It had been carefully disassembled, exposing its inner workings.

  Next to them sat a cardboard box with items from multiple worlds, and Valerie didn’t recognize half of what was inside. It looked like Belle had cannibalized anything she could find to get parts for their pn.

  “What in the world happened to you?” asked Rapi. Even though Grand-Mirror gave her a break so she could freshen up, that was the st thing on Valerie’s mind.

  “Forget that, I have only a few minutes, so if you girls have news, make it snappy! By that I mean use the minimum number of sci-fi words to expin what you did to your Marty McGuffin doll!”

  “First off, it’s called Eous. Second, I was going to do that anyway,” answered Belle.

  “When you told me everything passes through shadow guards, that got me thinking about phased matter. Ethereals from my world are simir, but since they can only exist in Hollows, some ws of science don’t apply to them. Luckily, shadow guards exist in our dimension, which makes things a lot easier.”

  “Rapi and I are scrounging up some tech for me to make the upgrades. She even donated some of her NIMPH. Once I’m done, I’ll be able to project an energy field to force shadow guards back into phase with normal matter. That way, we can damage them.”

  “Huh, not bad for an outw.” Belle smiles at Valerie, proud of her work. “But an upgrade like this will require a huge amount of energy. Where are you gonna get it?

  “From me,” replied Rapi. “When we are ready, I will supply Eous with energy from my core. It’s risky, but we don’t have access to a better power source.”

  “Taking one for the team, I see. Mad respect.” Valerie pats Rapi on the back before a hand grabs her from behind.

  “You were not permitted to socialize, Silent Control. Get ready, Grand-Mirror has scheduled a very special match for you,” said a shadow guard. Then, it looks down and sees the upgraded Bangboo. “What is the meaning of this?”

  While Rapi and Belle panic and fear they were about to be discovered, Valerie saw this coming and had a pn.

  “Well, I’d expin it to you… but you wouldn’t get it. Like, what’s the point of talking to a literal bag of hot air with no brain? I’ve smoked smarter things than you! How do you even–”

  *zap*

  “FUCK!!” Instead of groaning in pain, however, Valerie sticks her tongue out at the guard. “Barely a tickle… I didn’t even wet myself…”

  *zap… zap*

  “GAHHH–!!”

  Carrying Valerie over its shoulder, the guard takes her away to get cleaned up. Rapi and Belle watch wordlessly, surprised by her selfless act.

  “Ahem… Well, we’re back on the clock,” said Belle. “Can you find me one more flux capacitor, Rapi? I burned out the st one.”

  “Roger.”

  THE INTERWORLD, “MUD” ARENA, COMPETITOR WAITING ROOM, MEDIA ROOM (MEANWHILE)

  CRUNCH

  *slump*

  “Also, I hate cats…”

  “Oh, my…” gasped Lumine as she watched Keqing’s life come to a gruesome end. Behind her, Paimon had closed her eyes and covered her ears.

  “Is it over?”

  “Yes. However, another of your friends has perished,” answered a deep yet motherly voice. Next to Lumine stood a very tall woman with eerie X-shaped pupils. Back in Fontaine, she allied with the traveling duo to achieve a greater goal. Now that they were in the Interworld, she needed them once again.

  “It would do you some good to get accustomed to seeing blood, Paimon,” Arlecchino adds. “There could be a lot of it in the near future.”

  “Hooo… no thanks. Paimon will pass,” replied Paimon. “Still, Paimon isn’t sure how you want us to help you. You said Silent Control is a killer, but you said you don’t pn to stop her?”

  “Yes, because my children told me she and her associates have a pn to escape,” she revealed. “If there is even a chance Silent Control can dismantle the MUD Arena, it’ll be in everyone’s best interest.”

  “Everyone except Eu and Keqing,” spat Lumine to Arlecchino’s dismay. “I also want to know why you’re making us watch this.”

  “To dissuade you from seeking vengeance,” Arlecchino expins. “In fact, my children and I were captured at almost the same time as Silent Control. We’ve seen more of what she’s capable of.”

  “Doesn’t matter, the Traveler isn’t scared of her! We’ve taken down bigger bullies before!”

  Ignoring Paimon and her hubris, Arlecchino focuses on Lumine instead. The Traveler might be a hero, but in this situation, her uncompromising morality will be her downfall. Hopefully, she can still listen to reason.

  “Let me ask you something, Traveler. When Silent Control fights, why do you think she’s always ughing?”

  “Because she’s crazy?” Lumine guesses.

  “Close.” Arlecchino rewinds the footage before zooming in on Silent Control’s belt buckle. Upon seeing a familiar eight-pointed blue and white star, Paimon and Lumine’s eyes widened. “I presume you know this symbol?”

  “Yes, but the people wearing it were dead,” Lumine replies. “Are you telling us those were Silent Control’s people?”

  “Her squad, to be precise, and she was their commander. I’m not certain as to who is responsible, but I think they sacrificed themselves for her. She’s already a loose cannon and continues to lose more of herself. Now, she smiles from agony, ughs at her anguish.”

  “Wow, that’s so sad…” whimpered Paimon. “Now Paimon feels bad about wanting revenge.”

  “That’s not all,” continues Arlecchino. She resumes the recording at the point where Silent Control batters Keqing at close range.

  “Look at her ferocity, her ruthlessness. Silent Control isn’t a monster; she comes from a world of war and is strengthened by her pain. This is a type of enemy you know how to defeat.”

  “All we can do is inform the other captives that they could be freed very soon. The chances of our escape will only increase the more people are involved.”

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t put my fate in the hands of a psychotic super-soldier who killed my friends.” Next to Lumine, Paimon nods in agreement.

  “Even if we are outmatched, someone has to stop her. It is the right thing to do.”

  Arlecchino sighs sadly at their choice, having expected it. Even though they couldn’t see the big picture, their determination was commendable… and foolish.

  “Then, ask one of the shadow guards. I’m sure they will grant you that chance.”