Work Text:
Watatsumi island stood tall and lifeless within the dark. It was much different than what it would become, in mere hundreds of years. The only humans on the island were not truly human, but God's.
The smaller was Barbatos. He was the God of Freedom, creator of the nation of Mondstadt. Far away from home, he stood before the God of Eternity, creator of Inazuma. The taller went by many names. Baal, Beelzebub, the Raiden Shogun, the Raiden Makoto, although the one used most commonly was the latter.
Her aura was as mystifying and beautiful as the woman herself, with long purple hair that flowed down her back in a braid, becoming a more neon purple as it reached the tip. Her light purple kimono etched down, kissing the top of the tall grass, which turned a deeper purple the farther it got down the sleeves. A muted purple parasol spread out behind her, purple wisteria flowers hanging from the edges. A black and purple hair piece clung to her head.
Barbatos, however, had an upbeat yet powerful aura. He wore two bright blue braids at the front of his face, the rest of the locks being a dark black and blue color, wild and not styled in any particular way. His outfit was rather scandalous for a God, with a white crop top with a hood accented in gold. His stomach was completely uncovered, and his hips to the tip of his thighs were covered by white shorts. Not much of his right thigh showed, however, as a white sock came up halfway and a golden slipper covered his food. On his hips were two gold pieces, in which a short cape flowed from. A cecilia flower sat atop his hair.
"Well, I suppose that about wraps everything up!" Barbatos spoke cheerfully.
"I suppose it does. Thank you for your help, Barbatos." Raiden Makoto replied.
"Of course! No need to force the arts!" Barbatos did a mocking bow, causing the other God to chuckle.
The two of them had just finished forming the land of Inazuma. It was comprised of five main islands, along with some smaller ones. Makoto was having trouble figuring out how she wanted her newly claimed lands to look.
Barbatos had just recently finished building his city, Mondstadt, so the Goddess asked for his help.
The young God was unsure why he had been chosen for this. Morax, God of Contracts and ruler of Liyue, would have been a much better candidate. Morax was more adept with terraformation than any of the other Gods.
However, instead of continuing to entertain this thought, Barbatos inquired the thinker herself.
"Before we depart, may I ask you to impart with a piece of heart?" Barbatos asked, questioning in close rhymes, as it was his main way of speech.
"What might you need?" Makoto asked, quickly decoding his message.
"Why choose me?" He spoke straight to the point.
"It's because I simply wanted to get to know you. I am great friends with the Greater Lord, and Rex Lapis, among others." The taller smiled sweetly. "But not you."
"How beautiful your reasoning is. Why, I could make an immovable tune here and now!" Barbatos produced a lyre.
"While that would be wonderful, I shall be off now. I must get back to Ei. She gets antsy when I am away for too long." Makoto turned away from her 'colleague', gracefully moving towards the main island.
"May we meet again, by fate of the wind." Barbatos spread his wings, the angelic feathers spanning twelve or more feet, and took flight under the cover of darkness.
The wind rushed through his hair, and Barbatos wondered what he would do without any form of flight.
Flapping his wings, he passed over Liyue, the realm of Morax. Morax was the first to claim land, and was also the first to obtain something called a "Gnosis", and the title of "archon".
From Barbatos' understanding, a Gnosis was something gifted to you by the realm above, life's true creator. Celestia.
The Gnosis was supposedly a small yet powerful solidifying your position as the ruler of your faction-- your nation. It also gave you to the title of an "archon". However, Barbatos was unsure of the terminology behind that word. It was likely a Celestial term, and Barbatos had yet to visit.
Upon seeing the tip of Cape Oath, one of the mountains of Mondstadt, Barbatos angled himself in such a way that would help him land feet-first, which helped him switch from flight to walking in mere seconds.
His feet gracefully made contact with the land below, wings fluttering and contracting.
"Ah, Mondstadt!" Barbatos breathed in the fresh air of his nation, relishing in it. He looked down the mountain, past the treetops, and to the glistening stone-walled city.
It was of his peoples design, and he loved seeing the freedom bestowed upon them, and the choices they'd made (with a little guidance, but only when asked for or needed).
"Barbatos, God of Freedom." A voice behind the God said, startling him. Turning around, he came face to face with a woman.
Well, face to face wouldn't be the correct phrase. What Barbatos had turned to had a void-like face, dripping black ink. A white line, supposedly her mouth, was curled into a cheap imitation of a smile. The rest of her skin, however, was pale. In certain spots, it even looked blue.
Her blonde hair, which was short and curly, was the same as her regular skin, tinted blue in the light. She wore a black ball gown accented with blue, that had an open chest. Her sleeves ruffled out at the ends, and reached the base of her fingers. A golden pendant rested between a necklace of blue ribbon. A tasset of the same color wrapped around her hips and waist, a glowing blue gem rested at the top of it, on her stomach.
The most intriguing part of her, however, was her golden crown. Black vines that seemed to come from her skull snaked around the crown. A red ruby gem was visible right in the middle of it.
"Who are you?" Barbatos stepped away from the woman, confidence filling his words.
"My name might be of no concern, but my title is." The woman spoke in a cryptic way, the white line moved with her speech patterns. "I am the princess of Celestia."
Barbatos sucked in a sharp breath, before immediately flushing and bowing. His reaction to Her arrival replayed in his head.
"I apologize deeply for the way I reacted, Your excellency." He spoke firmly and apologetically.
She chuckled. "It is no trouble, God of Freedom. In fact, I am here for you." She made a motion with her hand, in which Barbatos rose to.
"Me?" He questioned.
"Of course. This is your nation, Mondstadt?" The Princess turned to look at the city below.
"Yes. Well, it isn't mine, per say... I have given the right of government to the people, and only declare in their affairs with their prayers."
"Hm. How... In character." The smile dropped slightly.
The Princess turned back to Barbatos. She moved her hands, making a circle shape with them.
Muttering something, the space between her hands glowed brightly. Barbatos winced at the sudden light.
"I have a gift for you, God of Freedom." The light continued glowing brighter, and brighter. Barbatos closed his eyes tightly.
When it had mostly dissipated, a glowing blue chess piece was held within an orb of energy.
"Does this ferocious light unveil... A Gnosis?" Barbatos asked curiously. He leaned in, but not too close.
"Indeed it does. This small piece could bestow upon you the title of an Archon." The Princess moved her hands closer, ever so slightly.
"What is an Archon, exactly?" He did not want to accede without knowing the terms.
"I'm afraid I cannot say. But you will gain the power of Anemo, and become the God of Wind as well as Freedom."
"That is very tempting, I'm afraid to say... But will you stab me while I'm unsuspecting?" This could be a trick question, to test his greed.
"Of course not. I am not allowed to deceive you."
"May you allow myself some time of thought?"
"You must choose now." The Princess left no room for argument, growing impatient by the second. "If you do not choose, I will for you."
Barbatos hesitated for a moment longer, before experimentally touching the Gnosis with his index finger.
The Princess took it as a sign of consent, and jabbed the energy straight into his chest.
He gasped, the wind completely knocked out of him. Power surged through his veins, completely engulfing his thoughts. He fell to his knees.
After a moment of breathing, the newborn God of Wind stood back up.
"Do you like it? The power?" The Princess' smile was sinister. "Tell me you like it."
"I... Yes." Barbatos replied. He didn't know why he had said 'yes', when he was truly going to voice his concern over the pain he was experiencing.
"Good, good. I just have one more thing, then." The veins that grew around her crown started to grow, covering the crown completely. The ground beneath the Princess was now a puddle of ink.
"Go to sleep."
The only thing Barbatos heard was that line, as he fell to the ground once more. The world went dark, as he heard a new voice shout his name.
What did the Gnosis do to me? He thought faintly. He could register voices and movement around him, but he couldn't open his eyes. He felt himself truly drifting off as he realized...
The Gnosis might have given him power, but in exchange for that... Was control.
He was being controlled. The Gnosis beared invisible shackles that would bend to the will of Celestia and its Princess.
Barbatos, God of Freedom, chuckled. How ironic it is, to chain the God of Freedom.
"You will awake in one thousand years time, when the tyrants son has won for a fifth, upon the start of a flame touched muratans true life." The Princess whispered, truly cursing the Godling.
"NO!" A new voice shouted, this one deeper and more masculine.
"You were too late, Brother." The Princess' tone was filled with cockiness. "He has taken the Gnosis. He is under my influence now."
Barbatos heard footsteps. The padding slowly decrescendos, before the Prince, supposedly, speaks again.
"It isn't too late..." The Prince's voice started cracking. "Not for Beelzebub, at least!"
More footsteps, this time coming closer to the Godlings limp body.
"You shall rise five hundred years after a celestial ascension, for the exemption of the Godless nation. You, among others, shall be called upon by Myself to descend upon it, and show the Princess what a Godless world truly looks like." The Princes tone filled with malice as he modified Barbatos' curse.
There was silence for a moment after.
"Please... Pass on this legend for me." Barbatos felt something touch the top of his head.
A lovely melody passed into their ears, the words and images came into his head.
"Once, there was a glorious kingdom established among the heavens."
Celestia. The castle glowed brightly, before zooming into its throne room.
"From that kingdom came a crowned heir, tasked with seeking out the Genesis Pearl from the Kingdom of Darkness."
The Princess appeared, bowing before somebody presumed to be the King of Celestia.
"The first crowned heir began her journey of seeking the pearl."
It moved to the Princess in front of a mountain range, a large clam floating just in front of her.
A large black snake moved around the pearl, eyes glowing brightly.
"But she was deceived, and the memory of her noble origins faded."
Her crown appeared, caked in dark vines as it fell to her head.
"She now believed that she was the queen of the Kingdom of Darkness."
The Princess then sat on a throne, a golden goblet in her hands, a smug look on her face.
"But take heart, a second crowned heir had already taken up the path where the first had stumbled."
A man that looked similar to the Princess came onto frame, on the other side of the field where the Princess had been deceived. He assumed this was the Prince, the one telling this story.
Immediately, a person that looked much like the Prince, but with blonde hair, and a completely different outfit, appeared in his head.
The traveler. Was what he thought, upon seeing that image.
"Thank you, Barbatos, for listening to my story. I hope you can pass this on to the traveler, child of the stars."
The pressure on Barbatos' head lifted, and he drifted off into a flurry of dreams.