"What're you reading?"
"Something you don't need to concern yourself with. There's a high chance that you may not even know about it."
Within the Akademiya of Sumeru, where knowledge itself is currency, two feeble scholars conversed.
One of them, who had a cold and stoic look on his face, read a book with an indifferent and steadfast expression. His silver hair coupled with his sharp eyes easily gave off a peculiar impression of him.
The other scholar beside him, meanwhile, held three books stacked upon one another. Despite this, he still managed to pester the other person.
"Just because I don't read the same thing as you doesn't mean I don't read!" The blond-haired young man grumbled as he sat down with his stack of books. Then, pointing at the books he brought over, he continued, "Just the fact that I live in Sumeru already makes it hard for me to not see any books."
"Is that so?" The other man replied without much of a bat of an eye, his eyes still stuck to his book. "Then why not go on and leave? Have a safe trip to Liyue or even run free in the dandelion fields of Mondstadt. That seems rather more interesting than sitting here, don't you think so?"
"Oh, shut it with your sarcasm." The blond man grimaced, almost wanting to pick up his thick book and slam it to the other person. But restrained himself and calmed down a bit before continuing. "I was asking a genuine question."
The other person flipped another page, lingering for a bit longer, before giving a brief reply. "I was reading about mythology and history."
Hearing this, the blond young man tilted his head slightly. "Hm? Why the sudden interest? I didn't know you were into myths."
"I read many topics." The other person briefly responded with his same flat tone. He then returned to the question. "As for why I'm reading this... Well, it was merely the first thing I saw."
The blond man shifted his head and looked at the book that the other person was holding, and saw that the book looked a bit old now. Still, despite the decrepit appearance, he was still able to read the words written on it.
It took him a moment, but he was able to read it quite easily since the language wasn't unfamiliar.
"An Elegy of Fire and Ice?" The blond man asked with curiosity. "What a strange name. It sounds like something fitting for those Inazuman titles I've heard about."
He then continued, "What's it about?"
The other person took his sweet time reading and comprehending the texts in the book before sparing any attention left to the blond young man across from him.
He lifted his head and looked at him with his sharp eyes, and spoke steadily with that same flat tone.
"Although the book was classified as a fable, it does have some interesting accounts that could be paralleled with real historical records." He explained smoothly, befitting that of a scholar. "The book is composed of many fables dating back to five hundred years ago, detailing some myths and legends from that time."
"Myths and legends, huh?" The blond tilted his head. "What's the point of recording those? The era from five hundred years ago is basically a myth in and of itself by now. That's like scooping a glass of water from the ocean and claiming you've captured it."
He crossed his arms. "Besides, the historical section of the library has far more credible records, doesn't it?"
"That's true." The silver-haired man admitted with a faint nod. "But just because something's forgotten doesn't mean it's useless."
"Tell me, have you heard of this fable from our history books?"
Following that, the man continued to tell his story from the book. "In the far north, under the dominion of the Cryo Archon, there was once a fable of a wandering knight that arrived at the edge of the wilderness. The fable depicts him as a delusional knight, holding on to the fragile idea of justice, with his chilling sword in hand, vanquishing evil that sought to corrupt other living beings."
"And with nothing but his pure will and tenacity to go against the gods, he charged forward with no regard for his own life, just to save others he barely knew. Be it windmills or abyssal creatures, they all fell under his blade."
"In light of his will to defy even the deep darkness present in all human beings, the Cryo Archon took him in and raised him to be her loyal knight, her stalwart shield, and her beloved pawn that would willingly sacrifice himself at a moment's notice."
After saying that, the silver-haired man then looked up from his book and to the blond young man once more.
"This fabled knight has no name, nor any real history in any books. So why then, does he exist as a mere fable?"
"That doesn't mean anything." The blond man argued. "This is just from one book. The knight could very well be something the author just made up as a bedtime story or something."
"Ah, but that's the thing." The man hummed. "This isn't the only book. In fact, there are others. And just like this one, all of them are forgotten, tucked in the hidden corners of this library."
"But do you want to know what's even more interesting?"
The man then tilted his head slightly and looked upwards, above the ceiling, above the concrete, towards a certain chamber at the very top of the city.
"This book, as well as the others like it, all coincidentally landed in my hands, after each night of dreaming about it."
"..."
Upon hearing this revelation, the blond man remained silent for a few moments. Then, with a cautious tone, he continued with uncertainty. "Wait, you don't mean...?"
The man silently shook his head.
"That's that. I won't delve too much into it, but since it had already found its way into my hands, I guess I'll continue reading."
"..."
Seeing how he wasn't planning on continuing that conversation, the blond man lingered silently for a bit as he looked around.
Then, he sighed heavily before opening one of the books he brought. While doing so, he asked one more question.
"So what are you reading now, then?"
"It's about the sword that fabled knight used." The other person replied. "Said to be forged from the bones of a dragon... It could command the darkness the knight had slain and bring terror to his foes. Yet every time it was drawn, the knight had to pay a price."
---
In Nod-Krai.
Wielding his new blade forged from darkness that has an ivory body, Isaac's mental clarity slowly returned.
The countless maddening whispers circulating within his mind were still loud, yet they were beginning to sound more manageable.
And that was enough for Isaac to take control of his body.
'It's odd...'
He thought to himself, feeling the cold radiating from the hilt of the dark sword he was holding. 'I don't know what it is... but I...'
'I feel connected to it.'
Isaac had never once seen this sword nor had any knowledge about it. But the mere fact that it was formed from the darkness engulfing him meant that it probably had a connection to him in some way.
Yet, this connection he was feeling was way too strong. It was as if the sword was stubbornly reconnecting with him, like a pet reuniting with its owner.
And that alone was enough for him to keep up with the Captain right now.
- Bam!
Leaping backwards, Isaac made a distance between him and the Captain before jumping back and diving with a thrust.
Darkness surged beneath him, which further aided his strike.
The Captain, meanwhile, shook off the black tendrils spawned by Isaac and blocked off his attack. Following that, he deflected him away before leaping up and performing a forward thrust midair, his frost accompanying him.
Each slash made by the Captain generated ice crystals and snow, and each thrust was like an unstoppable force.
Yet, similarly, Isaac's blade matched him. With each swing and thrust, darkness boiled and surged all around him, not only supporting Isaac, but also hindering the Captain.
'This... This is crazy...'
By all accounts, Isaac should have been defeated right now. But because of his unexpected power up with this new blade, he was somehow contending with the Captain.
Their fight seemed less of a brutal death match now, and more of an elaborate play.
And that was because...
'I can see it.'
In Isaac's eyes, he was seeing a phantom image of the Captain, moving just before he took action. This phantom allowed Isaac to 'read' the Captain's moves, while simultaneously allowing him to exploit gaps in each move.
Not only that, but his body was also moving instinctively in accordance with the phantom.
As if each blow dealt by that faceless phantom was memorized by his body.
'Th, this isn't too bad...' Isaac smiled wryly as he dodged another ice projectile from the Captain, moving swiftly while also going in for the offense. 'I might actually win this!'
'I—'
- Thud.
Suddenly, Isaac's thoughts trailed midway in his mind.
His muscles started to spasm as his legs began to shake uncontrollably. His previous darkness eyes slowly regained their color, but we're slowly being replaced with bloodshot red.
Following that, he felt his heart tighten. Really tighten. As if it was being gripped by a hand getting pulled out of his chest.
"Auk... Agh..."
Isaac froze in place as he had difficulty in breathing. He felt his own body screaming at him, gnawing at him, begging him to stop and lay down.
All at once, all the pain shot up his spine and entered his brain, overstimulating him and causing a mental shock.
- Thud.
He fell on his knees, his eyes still wide open. He tasted a faint metallic taste on his tongue, accompanied by a loud ringing in his ears.
"I..."
Before he could utter any word, Isaac's head lowered. The last thing he saw before blacking out was his new blade assimilating back to his body.
And the Captain, appearing by his side, whispering faint words he could barely even hear.
"...Well done..."