Chapter Text
Time-Fracter
Curio No. #85773
Possessed by Xianzhou Luofu
Time-grade | Non-lethal | Physical Object
Size: 35 cm diameter | 2 cm thickness
Shape: Antique stopwatch in gold
Able to:
- Warp time
- Put the user through worm-holes
- Puts the user through the past? / some kind of jamming of the usual time flow of the current location (citation needed)
This is what Master Diviner Li puts down in his notes as he sees the stopwatch before him; encased in Darksun Glass, before he opens the lid, and— Oh. Where the hell is he? He's being unfairly harassed by the universe, the stars are right at his face, and the constellations are blinding him. This is humiliating. Where the hell is he? Again, Yiyun repeats the question.
And he lands flat on a tiled floor. Green, tinted blue in a night sky, with the purplish hue already a sign Yiyun has landed in Conclave Hall. When he gets up, he’s met with a startled gasp, before he puts his hands up in surrender. He is in the Xianzhou Luofu, yet, he feels that he’s somewhere more outdated. the steps feel less dense, he surmises, and the model of the starskiffs flying by are much, much older than he remembers. There is a wire in his head that snaps as he finishes analyzing the entirety of this, alternative Divination Commission.
Oh, dear Lan, he really did travel back into time. Though, he does try to reach out and ask. “What…year is it?” Remember what she said. Blend in. “The ordery is disorder now, I still have to work overtime to set it back.” Good job. It’s all in the same raspy, sighing voice that is his General’s, one that certainly would laugh in his face if he managed to communicate this to her.
“7304. Must be those borrowers, huh?” The diviner says, patting his shoulder before walking behind him. “Sure, just remember not to die in the office.” She adds this with a wry chuckle, before walking away.
... 7304? Doing the math, I'm almost eight-hundred years in the past. I remember General was appointed this year, I'm sure she'll understand. Or maybe even her Lieutenant, or the Master Diviner— Diviner Caiyuan must be much younger, but very alive here. This isn't Yiyun's perfect rationale, but it is logical and sound for him to think of how he'll do so. He'll eventually have to go to the Seat of Divine Foresight, a routine task he's been doing for centuries, and ask an audience with the General.
The sky is... beautiful. It's admirable even in the past, where the stars are a few inches away from how they are in his present. He finds Auriga to burn the brightest among them. Yiyun is caught within the cage of the projected sky of the Luofu, eyes reflecting off the light.
And if he remembers, Diviner Caiyuan is always present among the steps here. He hasn't seen her in a while, probably because she's been gone for a few decades now that he took over her role in the present. She looks flawlessly young— youthful, in fact, he berates himself for forgetting a face as young as hers. Which he remembers very correctly, now that the woman takes her first step down. He approaches; slow, yet casual, Yiyun reminds himself, raising a hand. "Diviner Caiyuan...?"
She heeds his call, pausing at her step. Her sleeve raises as her hand comes to a fist below her chest. The swirling halo of planets halts, and she waits for him to speak. Surely, this is something important for the Master Diviner. Her head tilts at the title, and she seems utterly surprised one would still be present at such a late hour. Overtime? Workplace accident? Ah, what a pain. All three of her daughters are waiting and—
"I seek an audience with General Taiyang, I have urgent news for her." It is left without explanation, but still, Caiyuan, ever the kind woman, entertains his idea, sighing. She has leverage, if anything. He could get to the gates without much question except for maybe a cloud knight mistaking him for a servant of Caiyuan's. (As embarrassing as it is, he just has to accept it.)
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The starskiff ride is familiar at best, long at worst. He taps his foot lightly against the floor, as Caiyuan stills with a straight posture, hands clasped behind her back in a seemingly neutral mood. The shame had crept onto his fingertips, the embarrassment of having to ask to see the General in the first place. It felt invasive to want to see her when she was so... young. Like he was intruding on her story. Even worse when he could clearly hear her voice through the abacus, clear with laughter as she joked around with the Master Diviner, granting the latter with an audience as she asked. The Master Diviner shows neither annoyance or contentment with Yiyun's sudden arrival, and Yiyun finishes on her what transpired to his arrival. He reveals three, important things:
He comes from the future. Eight hundred years in the future. The Luofu thrives under General Taiyang! He avoids the topics he doesn't seem to know about, then slides the subject to the Sky-Faring Commission, and the eventual disrepair that the Arbor falls into which the General swiftly dealt within the blink of merely two days, as expected and impressive of the youngest person to ever hold the title. Caiyuan is fairly content with this news, and laughs as Yiyun marvels over praises.
He is the Master Diviner of the present. He is her aid, her crutch in battle. He preens under the praise Caiyuan gives him, a talk of "I must've trained you well, then." She smiles slightly at such concepts, and is gleaming in her heart. Her duty to the General carries on, then, in the hands of this capable starseer.
And his name. Yiyun Li. A strange name with the formatting. A vidyadhara who had been in an unfortunate accident with a curio that was placed in the Luofu's possession from the IPC for study due to some historical links it had. Yet, when the starskiff comes to an abrupt halt, the two don't stumble. This joyride is simply too routine that they've long abandoned the idea of even missing a step to the halls of the Seat of Divine Foresight.
Instead, when the door is slid open, they walk out in sync, Yiyun tailing behind her much like an actual tail, into the grand doors. When the cloud knights open so, Yiyun is met with two pairs of eyes. The familiar, passive stare of the General, and—
Excuse me?
Blue eyes that of ice shards. A piercing glare that sharpens at the sight, yet disappearing just as quickly as a snowflake.He is met with none other than Stellaron Hunter, Shuangzhi at the right hand of his General, docile and attentive, unturned of the Master Diviner's entrance. Hands clasped behind their back, in robes and garb that denote the uncommon and rather stylish Luofu nobleman, and their hair effortlessly swaying behind them in a wind even Yiyun cannot feel.
But what follows is even stranger:
Shuangzhi comes upfront, walking down the steps of the platform that the General sits upon. They have a gentle expression, almost inviting and alluring; the siren call of conversation and poetry that wrack Yiyun with an uncomfortable zing as Shuangzhi's body moves first, then their eyes drag over the diviner. They address the two with a nod, silently, they gesture for one of them to speak, unclasping a single arm. "You may speak, Diviners." Their hand comes to gesture such, as if giving the stage of the xiangqi match to the two.
Looking towards her, Yiyun sees the same nervousness from Caiyuan, as she swallowed down what seemed to be her pride as her mouth opens.
"This young man came to me, saying he comes from the future." Caiyuan addresses with such a clarity that one would've believed it. General Taiyang watches carefully, eyes dragging to each person carefully, their posture, their stance, their behavior. She eyes Yiyun, especially after Caiyuan's recent revelation. And surely, Yiyun can feel the blade of her iris prickle at his skin. Even younger, she seems so much more paranoid and horrifying.
The General's eyes— it's prodding into his hand gestures, his face. But it narrows, slowly, yet she sighs. She walks down, joining to look at Yiyun. Her eyes do not reveal her suspicion, but her mouth unveils so. "Tell me, Sei'qing, he surely looks familiar, no?" Her arms cross, revealing the wide tapestry on her sleeves of battle and war. Though, her head seems to lower slightly to Shuangzhi's level, and nudges them playfully, a smile happening across her face.
Shua — no, Lieutenant Sei (Yiyun doesn't know his last name) seems to nod. They speak for the General, opening their mouth as they move the holographic pieces across the board, moving a cannon piece a much more farther on the board, too Sei-like in manner to act effortlessly swift. "I trust you know me, Yuehu Sei and our great General?" They ask, walking from the side of the board over to Yiyun. Their tone is rather expectant, prideful and arrogant, almost, if Yiyun didn't catch the desperation veiled beneath it.
Lieutenant Sei's steps are long and slow, as if they had been dragging their feet across the tiles. But the glare they give makes it seem less like a sickened, lazy man, and more like a snake encircling upon its prey. That crackling frost still exists beneath their eyes, and Yiyun cannot handle keeping contact.
"Yes, I do. You two are regarded highly." What a lie. He seems to sweat at Sei's slow steps, before he adds nervously. Not too much, not too little talk, acceptable in the eyes of the Frostweaver. Yiyun finds himself avoiding the stare as he talks. "But... I don't think the High Elder favors you, Lieutenant."
Lieutenant Yuehu— and General Taiyang bursts out laughing, smile stretching to accommodate the croak that left their throat. Lieutenant Yuehu seems to occasionally pat at the fabric of their robes, and when Yiyun tows his eyes to General Taiyang, he finds her stopping her abrupt laughter, a hand covering her mouth to avoid the laugh. Caiyuan, a person who knows said High Elder, seems to sigh. Even in the future, the poet is hated by the High Elder.
"Hah. Oh, Yun, Yun... How old are you?" Taiyang- or rather in the presence of Lieutenant Yuehu, Sara, seems to ask, looking around before realizing the boy is right across the xiangqi board, as Lieutenant Yuehu guides her eyes to the shorter man. Yiyun remembers she is still as tall as she is in the present - it is still very, very, painful to deal with how her height is. (No, Yiyun would never disclose how many of those neck-compressor pads he bought after work due to this - he doesn't dare tell her of all people, because she doesn't need to bow down to him for his own comfort.)
"350, General." Yiyun addresses with a lowered head. He shifts slightly, attempting to straighten his back and greet her properly. "It's... nice to see you, General."
"Oh, you are the Master Diviner of my future— we're no strangers." Sara smiles, an exasperated sigh escaping her nose. Though, her eyes seem to narrow and zoom in to his ears, realizing he's a vidyadhara. "And your name?"
"Li Yiyun." He answers with the conviction of sheet metal, flimsy and bending, creating an awkward noise that couldn't be deciphered as words at all.
Lieutenant Yuehu first assumes Yiyun's way of getting here, to this past, was via some messed up mechanic related to The Finality that accidentally intertwined with the Divination Commission's business. When Yiyun has to assure that he is the Master Diviner of the present, and it has nothing with said occupation. When inquired so, Yiyun has to embarrassingly explain that he had a screw-up with a curio that sent him to a wormhole directly to the past.
"A curio that was handed over to the Xianzhou Luofu was given to me for inspection, and I, had accidentally triggered the mechanism for it to activate, and sent me here." Yiyun's voice almost cracks in such a nervous, internal frenzy from being stared down by his superior and his superior's...? Ah, why is he trying to scope there?
The Lieutenant's eyes are full of conviction. It rains down on the two diviners that they are completely suspect of both. Of course, it's expected. Caiyuan, trusted Master Diviner brings in some stray, but what they didn't expect is a stray from their unforeseeable future. Yet, Caiyuan, having stayed silent for a relevant amount of time finally speaks, though her voice is eerily young to Yiyun, the General and Lieutenant seem all them ore happy to hear her thoughts. She starts with raising her index, a common habit to grab the attention of others when she speaks, before her voice seems to even hit anybody's ears.
"Do you two trust me, Lieutenant, General?"
A nod is followed. When the Lieutenant turns her head to find the General agreeing, they come in tow.
"Then trust him."
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Least to say, the group of four seems to circle in on the platform in the Seat of Divine Foresight and they are whispering like children gossiping in recess. Yes, even Caiyuan, the objectively oldest of the four is covering her mouth in complete shock as Yiyun explains random, niche gossip in the present. What was he even doing here, giving grown men and women the definitions of modern-era terms that they'll never see a wink of?
Sara's still the General. It surprises nobody except herself— she thought she would die in another decade! Jieshi Yun still hasn't rebirthed, probably due to the whole 'Final Emanator of Long' thing, except for one, crucial detail:
"What of A-Qing?" Sara asks, before catching her own tongue, sighing. "... Yuehu Yiqing. What then? He'd most likely rebirth around 200 years ago for you." She coughs, and Yiyun's eyes seem to narrow for the name. Yiqing, Yiqing... Who were you? He seems to muse, before realizing. Former Deputy of the Helm Master, the youngest one in such a position. Vidyadhara male who died in the battle for the Fanghu in Star Calender Year 830... 4.
Ah. He's going to be caught in this gory mess. What a horrible, horrible time to be alive. Though he hides his face, he lies. Again, this Sara does not know him - he is a stranger. "He's an honored hero." Is all Yiyun croaks.
All three all let out satisfied sighs, and Yiyun is happy pretending. No, he doesn't know who Yiqing personally was, just that he was taken under the wing of the General before the new Lieutenant. Sara seems content at knowing this, and gives Sei a soft smile. The one Yiyun says when he tells her about his day after his usual reports. It is familiar, almost warm, and completely unbelievable.
"I feel we have an obligation to be polite to our guests, Master Diviner of our present," Sara starts, getting up slowly, and Yiyun sees her bathed in the glorious, overhanging light of the eternal dusk of the Seat of Divine Foresight as her backdrop. She bears no stress, no worry of both past and future. There is something in her gaze that makes Yiyun able to set his own General and the General before him apart: this one is unbelievably expressive. "Please, let us help you going back to your Luofu."