Ren
"Here it comes," Ren whispered, his grip tightening on his sword.
Beside him, the fused Divine Dog lowered its stance. The massive black and white wolf bared its fangs, a low growl rumbling in its chest.
The sandy patch in the center of the cave exploded.
Dust and debris blasted outward like shrapnel. Through the cloud of pulverized rock, a massive shape erupted. It towered over them, casting a long, undulating shadow against the cave walls.
Ren's eyes widened. "You have got to be kidding me."
It was the Great Serpent, Orochi. But it wasn't the shikigami that was described from the usual 10 Shadows. The Orochi of his world was a creature of pale scales and flesh.
This thing was a fortress.
Its scales were jagged, crystalline plates of Geo, glowing faintly with a rhythmic, golden pulse. It looked less like a snake and more like a Geovishap that had been stretched into a nightmare.
"Geo armor?!" Ren realized, a mixture of fear and vindication washing over him.
'So my feeling was right. The Ten Shadows really did mutate from Teyvat's native energy.'
The serpent let out a hiss, but it didn't lunge at him. Instead, it slammed its head into the solid bedrock of the cave floor.
Ren braced for an impact that never came. Instead of crashing, the snake swam into the stone. The solid rock rippled like water around its armored body as it dove underground, disappearing in a flash of amber light.
'Of course, rocks are its thing. Why fucking not?!' Ren shouted in his mind as he jumped back just in time to dodge a spike of Geo rock that burst from the floor.
"Totality, it can manipulate Geo, watch your step!"
The wolf didn't have to be told twice. It blurred to the left just as a jagged spire of rock erupted from where it had been standing.
The fight had begun.
"Can't let it get the upper hand!" Ren muttered, reinforcing Cursed Energy into his legs.
He dashed along the wall, trying to confuse the vibration sensors he assumed the snake was using.
'Unless it's sensing my Cursed Energy, the only way for it to know where I am is from vibrations.' He thought as he purposely stomped hard on the ground and changed his running pattern.
Whether it actually sensed vibrations didn't matter that much, though, as all Ren needed was to draw it back out to the surface.
The ground beneath him bulged. Ren leaped, grabbing a ledge on the cave wall. Below him, the massive jaws of Orochi snapped shut on empty air, shattering the stone where he had stood before.
"Totality!"
The wolf capitalized on the miss. It lunged, its claws raking across the serpent's flank.
CLANG.
Sparks flew. The claws that could shred steel barely scratched the Geo-infused scales.
The snake whipped around with terrifying speed, its tail slamming into Totality mid-air. The wolf was sent tumbling, smashing into a stalagmite before recovering by Ren's side.
'It has really tough skin,' Ren analyzed, his mind racing as he stared down the serpent. 'It's too tanky. And every time it misses, it just retreats back into the ground. It's making this a game of attrition, and I still need to save my reserves for Nue.'
He watched the snake dive again, leaving only a ripple in the stone.
Ren's tactical mind took over, suppressing the urge to panic. Totality couldn't cut it so he sure as hell couldn't.
'Think, there has to be a weakness I can exploit…'
The ground rumbled again as Ren grabbed onto Totality as more spikes emerged from the ground.
Not long after, the Great Serpent emerged again. Twisting and clashing with Totality, but this time, Ren was finally able to get a close look at its armour as it fought.
The only time the armor was vulnerable was when the plates shifted—when it opened its mouth or when it made a sharp turn.
He needed to pin it and attack between the plates.
The serpent ran back into the ground once it saw its attempt had failed. At the same time, Ren began formulating a plan in his mind.
"I need bait," Ren muttered, looking at the empty cave floor.
He looked at Totality. The wolf was fast, but if it got caught, Ren would lose his primary damage dealer.
He looked at himself.
"Oh Archons…" Ren sighed. "I really, really hate this plan."
He dropped from the wall, landing softly in the center of the sandy patch. He sheathed his sword. He stood perfectly still, closing his eyes, extending his senses into the earth.
"Totality, wait for my signal," Ren whispered. "Get to the high ground."
The wolf melted into the shadows and reappeared on a high ledge near the ceiling, crouching in the darkness.
Ren waited.
He felt the vibration first. A subtle tremor, getting louder, getting closer. It was coming from directly beneath him. The snake sensed his presence on the surface. It was coming up for a swallow.
Ren's heart hammered against his ribs. Every instinct screamed at him to run, but he stood firm.
The ground turned hot. The rumble became a roar.
'Extension Technique: Toad!'
Ren didn't summon the full shikigami. He manifested just the long, sticky tongue from his arm. It shot upward, wrapping around a sturdy stalactite on the ceiling.
Ren pulled hard and yanked his body violently into the air just as the floor erupted into shards.
Orochi burst from the ground, its maw wide enough to swallow him whole, snapping shut inches below Ren's feet.
The force of its lunge carried it high into the air, its long body fully extended, its belly plates shifting and exposing the softer skin beneath.
"Now! Break the floor!" Ren screamed.
Totality leaped from the high ledge, diving past the snake's head. It slammed its massive paws into the edge of the hole Orochi had just created.
The massive impact collapsed the surrounding bedrock.
The stone shattered and caved in. As gravity pulled the massive snake back down, the hole was no longer open water—it was a jagged, crushing vice of debris.
Orochi slammed into the blockage. It tried to swim through, but the chaotic, broken mess of stone jammed its movements.
It was stuck, half-in and half-out, thrashing against the collapsing stone with its plates shifting constantly.
"Totality!" Ren dropped from the ceiling, drawing his sword mid-fall. Cursed Energy flared around the blade.
It hissed, turning its head to strike Ren, but it was too slow.
Ren landed on the creature's back, driving his blade into a fissure between the Geo plates.
He poured all his strength into the strike. At the same time, Totality lunged, its jaws finding purchase on the snake's neck between more plates.
"Haaah!"
With a wet tear and a final, earth-shaking shudder, the Great Serpent went limp.
The massive body dissolved into black fluid, sinking into the ground.
Ren collapsed to his knees, gasping for air. "That's… One down," he wheezed, wiping stone dust from his face.
He felt a new presence within the 10 Shadows, one that he could finally control. It felt heavy. Solid. Like he was carrying a mountain in his pocket.
"Okay," Ren stood up, his legs wobbling only slightly. "That confirms it. Teyvat buffs the summons. Which means..."
He looked up at the ceiling of the cave, where the shadows were deepest.
"Nue is going to be a nightmare."
/ — /
Ren leaned against the cool stone wall of the cave, wiping a mixture of sweat and rock dust from his forehead.
He already desummoned Totality. He couldn't risk draining his reserves too much, especially now that he knew the shikigami were buffed.
"Okay," Ren muttered, staring at the spikes of Geo that Orochi had manifested. He walked towards one of the spikes, gently tracing his hand on it.
"The Great Serpent is now saturated with Geo Energy, and can manipulate the element while also gaining tougher armor… That's a massive buff."
He looked up at the cave's ceiling, hidden in deep gloom.
"So, what does that mean for Nue?"
In the records of his world, Nue was an electric chimera—a bird with the face of a monkey and the body of a tanuki, capable of summoning lightning.
In Teyvat, elemental energy was the thing that flowed through basically everything. If Orochi was Geo, Nue was undeniably going to be Electro.
Ren grimaced. "Electro means speed. And if Teyvat's logic holds..." He looked at the damp walls of the cave, slick with moisture from the nearby waterfalls. "It means Electro-related elemental reactions."
That complicated things. He never truly researched the extent of potency needed for an elemental reaction to occur. So he didn't know if a small body of water was all it needed to create an Electro-Charged reaction.
'Will I get fried if I step on an Electro-infused puddle? No, no, calm down. It's still manageable.'
He checked his reserves. The fight with Orochi had cost him, but his Cursed Energy was already refilling quite fast. Something he already gotten accustomed to since he got to Teyvat, but it wasn't fast enough to ease his worries.
"I can't outrun lightning," Ren decided, stopping his pacing. "Tanking an attack from it is too risky. Orochi can take a hit, but Electro could probably still hurt him a lot."
He had three shikigami now. Divine Dog, Orochi, and Toad. Two fighters and one utility.
Summoning Totality already put a dent in his reserves. Orochi will only add to that burden. He needed a way to beat Nue quickly or risk running out.
"Ok, this might work..." Ren narrowed his eyes, a plan forming in his mind. "I'm going to be counting on you guys."
Making his hands into two familiar hand signs, Totality and Orochi rose from the shadows, and Ren could feel the drain on his reserves immediately.
He walked to the center of the cave again. But this time, he put his sword away inside his shadow storage.
"Totality, get ready to draw Nue's attention," Ren commanded. The wolf chuffed and melted into the darkness near the entrance. "Orochi... get ready to play tank."
Ren took a deep breath.
He raised his hands, interlocking his thumbs and fanning his fingers to create the silhouette of wings.
"From the shadows, rise."
The atmosphere in the cave shifted instantly. The heavy, grounding pressure of Geo vanished, replaced by a frantic, buzzing static that made the hair on Ren's arms stand straight up. Sparks of purple light began to arc across the cave floor.
"Nue!"
A screech tore through the air—a sound like tearing metal.
From the darkness above, two massive, glowing eyes snapped open. They burned with a violet intensity that illuminated the entire cavern.
Nue descended.
It was magnificent and terrifying. It was easily twice the size of the one Ren remembered from the records.
Its feathers were a deep, iridescent purple, constantly shedding sparks of Electro energy. Arcs of lightning danced between its wings, snapping against the cave walls with the sound of gunshots.
Nue didn't wait for introductions. It flapped its wings once, sending a gale force wind tearing through the cave. Then, it shrieked, and the world turned white.
A massive discharge of Electro energy exploded from its body. Ren's eyes widened as a dome of violet death expanded outward, seeking to fry everything in the enclosed space.
'Now's my cue to leave!'
Ren didn't run. He dropped straight down, sinking deep into his shadow.
Utilizing the utility aspect of the Ten Shadows, Ren submerged himself into his own shadow. The world of light and sound vanished, replaced by a cold, muffled, inky void.
Above him, he could feel the heat. The Electro wave washed over the spot where he had been standing, scorching the stone and boiling the puddles of water.
'But I can't stay here forever. I need Totality and Orochi to anger Nue enough for me to sneak attack it.'
He pushed his consciousness outward, connecting to his Shikigami.
On the surface, the ground rumbled. The Great Serpent coiled tightly and erected three jagged slabs of rock, creating a triangle shaped Geo shield.
The lightning struck the rocks. The Geo constructs held, grounding the electricity harmlessly into the earth.
"Totality! Take their attention!"
The black and white wolf used the distraction. It sprinted up the side of Orochi's stone pillar, launching itself into the air. It snapped at Nue's talons, forcing the bird to dodge sharply to the left to avoid being hamstrung.
Inside the shadow, Ren tracked their movement.
'It's getting annoyed,' Ren noted. Sensing Nue dodge another attack from Totality and Orochi. His shikigami's constant pestering successfully got Nue's full attention.
He could feel the pressure shift. Nue folded its wings, turning into a purple streak of light. It was aiming for Orochi, intending to shatter the Geo shield with a dive bomb.
This was his chance
'Wait for it... wait for it...'
The screech grew louder. The heat intensified.
Just as Nue passed the ten-meter mark above the ground, Ren made his move.
He didn't resurface completely. He popped his upper body out of the shadow directly beneath the bird's flight path.
'Extension Technique: Toad!'
A long, thick, pink tongue shot out of Ren's shadow like a harpoon.
Nue, focused entirely on Orochi, never saw it coming.
The tongue wrapped around Nue's neck and left wing, snapping taut instantly. The momentum of the dive worked against the bird. The sudden stop jerked Nue out of the air with a bone-jarring crunch.
The bird slammed into the cave floor, stunned.
Ren vaulted out of the shadow completely, drawing his sword. The blade hummed with Cursed Energy.
"Stay down!"
Nue shrieked, trying to discharge another burst of lightning, but Orochi was already there. The serpent uncoiled and slammed its heavy, armored body on top of the bird, pinning the remaining wing to the ground.
Ren closed the distance in two strides. He didn't hesitate. He swung the sword in a clean, decisive arc.
The blade bit deep, slicing off the Shikigami's head clean.
The massive bird dissolved into black smoke, swirling and funneling into Ren's shadow.
Ren stood there, chest heaving, his sword lowered.
"Two shikigami," Ren panted, "That went… A lot better than I expected!"
He looked at his shadow. He could feel the new weight there—a buzzing, restless energy that sat alongside the heavy stability of the snake.
He had air superiority. He had a tank. He had a frontliner.
Ren wiped the sweat from his eyes, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. He felt ecstatic. His plan went so smoothly that he didn't expend that much Cursed Energy at all!
He had taken down two mutated monsters in less than an hour.
"I'm on a roll," Ren laughed, the sound echoing a bit too loudly in the quiet cave. "Maybe I was worried for nothing. If Teyvat buffs them this much... maybe I can handle the Deer."
"Just a deer," Ren whispered, sheathing his sword. "Sure, it can use Reverse Cursed Energy, but if I can handle Chongyun's positive energy, Round Deer shouldn't be any different, right?"
/ — /
Ren slumped against the cave wall, uncorking his canteen with fingers that wouldn't stop trembling.
He took a long sip, letting the cool water wash away the taste of copper that coated his tongue.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, a breathless, jagged laugh bubbling up from his chest.
He looked down at his shadow. Feeling comfort at the bottomless well swirling with the heavy stability of Geo and the frantic feeling of Electro.
The fear that had dogged him since waking up in this world began to recede. In its place, a dangerous, intoxicating confidence took root.
If things went as smoothly with the deer, he could start to plan taming the rest of his shikigami (besides the obvious, of course).
With this arsenal, he was confident he could stand his own against Xiao.
Beat him? No chance, he wasn't that drunk on success to think he could take on the Yakhsha that has killed literal gods. But he could definitely hold his own, and then run away.
A sorcerer should know when to pick their fights, after all.
So should he stop here today? His legs felt heavy, the skin on his arms was red and stinging from the previous fight, and his reflexes were definitely slowing down.
But he had a tank and a flyer now, which should be enough to deal with the deer.
The adrenaline was a potent drug, and he was riding the high straight into the next fight. He turned his attention to the final name on his mental list.
Round Deer
Ren stretched his neck, feeling a satisfying pop. Round Deer was more of a support unit—a battery of positive energy used to heal injuries.
While its offensive applications were useful. Using RCT to neutralize or disturb an opponent's Cursed Technique was a dangerous ability. But he was fairly certain that he would be fine.
After all, he was able to go against Chongyun with little difficulty. And Chongyun had a reputation for so much positive energy that it straight up exorcises evil spirits from getting near him.
If Ren could handle that, Round Deer shouldn't be too much trouble.
"If I leave now, I'll just have to hike back up here again..."
"Alright, the final battle," Ren muttered, pushing himself off the wall. "I'll summon it, have Orochi wrap it up so it can't bolt, and then Totality and I will land the finishing blow."
He walked to the center of the cave, his boots splashing carelessly in the puddles left by the earlier storm.
He clasped his hands together, forming the hand sign for the Deer—interlocking his fingers and raising his thumbs to mimic antlers.
"From the shadows, rise."
The shadows stretched, losing their chaotic, violent edge and smoothing out into something serene.
"Round Deer!"
The atmosphere in the cave shifted once again. The chill of the mountain air vanished, replaced by a humid, heavy warmth that smelled of wet earth and blooming flowers.
From the ink, the creature rose.
It was magnificent, standing easily two meters at the shoulder. Its fur was a pristine, glowing white that seemed to repel the gloom of the cave, and its antlers branched out like the canopy of an ancient tree. Its eyes were calm, golden pools of light that swept over the cavern with an ancient, terrifying intelligence.
"Let's do this," Ren grinned, his confidence blinding him to the danger. "Orochi! Restrain!"
From his shadow, the Great Serpent emerged. The Geo-armored snake burst forward, jaws wide, aiming to coil around the Deer and pin it in a deadly vise before it could flee.
But the Deer didn't seem fazed by the charge. It simply lowered its head and exhaled.
A blinding, crimson light exploded from its body. The moment that red light touched Orochi, the snake screamed.
It wasn't a sound a reptile should make. It was the sound of energy being violently unraveled.
The Geo armor shattered into dust, and the black liquid body of the Shikigami hissed and boiled away like water dropped on hot iron.
"What the fuck?!" Ren stepped back, throwing his hands up to shield his eyes. "Totality, come on!!"
The wolf leaped from Ren's shadow, snarling, ready to tear the throat out of the prey. Ren also got ready beside it, prepared to fight alongside.
But the second Totality entered the radius of that crimson pulse, it yelped. Its form destabilized instantly, turning into wisps of harmless black smoke that vanished before they even hit the ceiling.
Ren froze, his brain struggling to process the impossible. 'How is this even possible?! Chongyun's positive energy didn't do a thing to Totality… Just how potent is Round Deer's RCT?!'
The red light pulsed again, washing over Ren. It felt oppressive, a burning pressure that made his skin crawl and his Cursed Energy retreat deep into his core.
"Okay, new plan!" Ren yelled, his voice cracking with rising panic.
'Extension Technique: Nue!' He felt a large dip in his reserves and manifested Nue's ability to summon Electro energy around his blade.
He charged the Deer, keeping his eyes sharp to see any incoming attack.
The Deer looked at him. Its golden eyes held no fear, only a cold, serene judgment. It raised its front hooves and stomped onto the stone floor.
CRACK.
Dendro energy surged through the cave floor, mixing with the oppressive red light. Before Ren could close the distance, the ground beneath him erupted.
Thick, gnarled roots burst from the rock like spears. Thorny vines, thick as a man's arm, lashed out with blinding speed.
"What the—"
Ren tried to slash the incoming vine, but his sword bounced off the wood as if he had struck iron.
The vines were reinforced by the dense vitality of the Deer's energy, harder than any plant had the right to be.
A vine wrapped around his ankle. Another caught his wrist.
"Shit!"
Ren was jerked off his feet and slammed into the ground, the air leaving his lungs in a pained wheeze. Before he could recover, the roots swarmed him. They coiled around his chest, his legs, his arms, pinning him to the damp cave floor.
He struggled, thrashing against the bindings, but they didn't budge. He could see faint veins of green Dendro energy pulsing through the wood, amplified by the red glow of the Reverse Cursed Energy.
He tried to summon the Nue's power to electrify the vines. But nothing happened.
'Its stopping me from using Extensions?!' The positive energy was so dense in the air that his negative energy couldn't take shape outside his body. It fizzled out the moment he brought it out.
This was bad. He severely underestimated the amount of potency the Round Deer would possess.
"Shit! Come on!" Ren grunted, tugging uselessly at his bonds.
The Deer walked slowly toward him. Its hooves clicked softly on the stone. It stopped directly above him, its massive bulk blocking out the view of the cave ceiling.
Ren looked up.
The Deer lowered its head. The massive, multi-pronged antlers were aimed directly at Ren's chest. They were tipped with points as sharp as spears, glowing with that terrible, searing red light.
'I'm gonna die!'
Ren braced for the piercing agony of antlers tearing through his chest. Even if he was going to be impaled, there was still a chance for him to attack once Round Deer got close.
Even if he had to bite or scratch his way through, he won't go down without a fight!
But the pain never came.
Instead, a sharp, high-pitched whistle tore through the stagnant air of the cave. It was the sound of air being compressed to a razor's edge, followed instantly by a thunderous boom.
A blast of teal energy slammed into the Round Deer from the side. It was like a condensed cyclone, spinning with enough force to grind boulders into sand.
The Deer didn't even have time to react. One moment, the majestic, terrifying creature was looming over Ren. Next, it was simply erased.
The Anemo blast disintegrated its form, scattering the white fur and golden light into harmless motes of dust that vanished into the wind.
The oppressive red light winked out. The heavy, suffocating warmth evaporated, replaced instantly by the biting chill of the mountain air.
The ritual was turned void.
Ren lay frozen on the ground, his eyes peeling open.
The thorny vines that bound him withered instantly, turning brittle and grey before crumbling into ash. The Dendro energy that had sustained them was gone, severed at the source.
Ren coughed, dragging air back into his burning lungs. He scrambled backward, kicking through the piles of ash until his back hit the cold stone wall.
"Ganyu?" Ren wheezed, seeing a blue, blurry figure slowly approach him.
'So she followed me….' He should have known. She had given him the letter, after all. She must have been watching him, keeping an eye on her reckless friend.
He slumped forward, a weak smile tugging at his lips. "I know I have a lot of explaining to do, but—!"
The voice that answered him wasn't the soft, hesitant tone of the General Secretary. It was a melodious, echoing feminine voice that dripped with imperious disdain.
"You mistake One for that child?" the voice scoffed. "How insulting."
Ren froze.
He rubbed his eyes, his vision finally clearing.
Standing before him was not the horned, blue-haired secretary. Standing before him was a crane.
A crane taller than a man, with plumage of breathtaking azure and gold, and eyes that glowed with a bioluminescent intelligence.
"A... bird?" Ren whispered.
The crane narrowed its eyes.
"One observes," the Adeptus continued, her beak clicking shut with a sound like a hammer strike, "that you possess the arrogance to trespass in the abode of the Adepti, the incompetence to nearly die by your own hand, and the audacity to misidentify your savior."
Ren blinked, his brain stuttering. "I... wait..."
"Silence," the crane commanded.
And then, she stopped holding back.
Up until this moment, the Crane had been suppressing her aura, keeping her presence small to observe the intruder.
Now, she stopped holding back.
A pressure descended on Ren that was infinitely worse than the Round Deer's red light. It felt ancient.
It felt like the mountain itself had suddenly decided to focus all its weight on Ren's soul. It wasn't the overwhelming malice of Xiao, nor the bottomless power of Ganyu.
This was the crushing weight of a demigod who had lived and fought by Rex Lapis's side.
Ren couldn't breathe. His instincts screamed at him to run, to hide, to dig a hole to the Abyss and never come out. But his limbs wouldn't obey. He was paralyzed, pinned to the floor by sheer, primal awe.
'Just my luck. I trespassed onto an Adeptus's doorstep!'
Cloud Retainer loomed over him, her shadow engulfing his small form.
"Insolence," she declared. "Pure insolence."
The world tilted sideways. The blue feathers, the glowing eyes, the crushing aura—it was too much. Ren's brain shut down from the overstimulation.
Ren's eyes rolled back in his head. His body went limp, and he slumped forward, face-planting into the stone floor with a dull thud.
Silence returned to the cave.
Cloud Retainer blinked, the crushing pressure vanishing instantly. She stared at the unconscious boy, her feathers ruffling in genuine confusion.
"Sleeping?" she asked, tilting her head. She poked him gently with the tip of her wing. He didn't move. "No. He has fainted."
She let out a sigh that sounded suspiciously like a huff of disappointment.
"How rude," she muttered. "One had not even begun to list his transgressions. The mortals of this era are woefully lacking in constitution."
She shook her head, "One wonders why that child would provide her protection for a tainted soul…'
She straightened up, turning her gaze away from Ren and toward the shadowed entrance of the cave. Her expression sharpened, the casual arrogance replaced by a razor-edged focus.
"You may reveal yourself now," Cloud Retainer said, her voice echoing off the walls. "One has known you were watching since the boy began his noisy ritual."
For a moment, there was only the sound of the waterfall outside.
Then, the shadows near the entrance rippled. A figure stepped out of the gloom.
Yelan walked into the light, her coat draped casually over her shoulders, her expression unreadable.
She looked from the unconscious Ren to the towering Adeptus, and bowed her head slightly—respectful, but not subservient.
"Cloud Retainer," Yelan said smoothly. "My apologies. I didn't want to interrupt the lecture."
Cloud Retainer huffed, turning back to look at the boy drooling on her floor.
"One assumes," the Adeptus said dryly, "that this stray belongs to you?"