(Y/nxHer weapon collection)

"Caelus, snap out of it you dumb piece of—!"

Y/n was whacked with his goddamn bat, a bit harder than before as her brain bounced around in her cranium like a damn football.

💩. He wasn't budging.

Concussions were the one thing that never healed quick enough for her.

Even with that damned regenerative ability she'd never asked for in the first place.

Y/n staggered back, the most she could do to avoid being hit again as the world around her began to swirl. She felt nauseous, like— really nauseous. The dizziness wasn't helping, but through her blurry vision, she could see Caelus coming at her again.

'Damn it, I can't...!' she thought, 'I've gotta help Caelus, no matter how much it sucks!'

Push through it. No matter how much it hurt! She had to save her fellow Himeko and Welt stan so they could admire their amazingness together! Y/n couldn't be a simp alone!

"Miss Y/n!"

"huh."

Side Character 27891 had jumped in front of y/n and punched the damn bat, the noise alost making y/n cringe. What a punch! The only person she'd seen punch something like that was... well, her. And Gepard when he docked her in the face during their second fight. Y/n still felt it... (@Yaralissa suggested we name this cutie Shiwen and a couple of people agreed. Idk if he already got a name in game but shall we make it official?)

(Bruh idek why I can't use @, it just doesn't work lol)

"Miss Y/n, are you alright?" Side Character 27891 demanded, helping y/n balance herself as a few other Cloud Knights rushed over to surround Caelus and prevent him from going at her again, "Are you hurt?"

"🚚 off, don't touch him!" y/n shouted at the Cloud Knights who all flinched and looked back at her in alarm. She was breathing heavily, her gaze pained but sharp and attentive as she fixed the group of Cloud Knights with that familiar piercing glare. "Lay a hand on my friend... and I'll-- urgh..."

She slumped over in Side Character 27891 grasp, the man gasping as he was suddenly holding her up rather than just supporting her, "M-Miss Y/n! Hey, can you hear me?"

'No. My ears are ringing.' she thought with a slow blink.

"There's no time to let pain slow you down in battle, keep moving-"

'Shut up, no flashbacks.' y/n puffed out a breath of air as the wary Cloud Knights were ushered away and told to back off by a Vidyadhara woman. Still, the Cloud Knights kept their weapons at the ready as Caelus clutched his head with a pained look. At least he wasn't attacking.

"Whew..." y/n gave Side Character 27891 a smile, "That was quite the impressive punch..."

Side Character 27891 beamed, "I was taught by you, Miss Y/n, of course it was an impressive punch!"

"...huh."

"Caelus! What happened?" the woman demanded as she walked closer, giving the other Cloud Knights a sharp glare, "Caelus? Calus, wake up! Be careful, don't cause him any harm."

"Bit too late for that, don't you think?" Caelus wheezed, breaking into a fit of laughter as he moved his hand from his face, "Haha, who the hell hit me so hard?"

The gray haired hydrogen bomb let out a heavy breath of air, wiping blood from his nose and brushed some of his hair away from his face before giving Qingzu a smile, "I'm alright."

A look of relief settled on the woman's face, "Thank the stars, I thought we might lose you!"

"Lose me? What happened to me?" Caelus inquired.

"You seemed to have become stricken with mara." y/n hummed and Caelus' smile immediately dropped at the sight of her, "I know a thing or two about that, y'know."

"Y/n..." Caelus breathed as he stumbled over to her and Side Character 27891, the man giving him a wary look and holding onto y/n a little tighter, "The hell happened to you?"

"Oh, you know, just fighting you. I was lucky you didn't have a bladed weapon, those bat swings were no joke!" y/n laughed before her head drooped, "I haven't even fully recovered from those concussions Gepard gave me..."

"There was more than one!?" Caelus demanded before shaking his head, "Not the point, sorry, I'm really sorry--- holy 💩, your nose is bleeding!"

Y/n shrugged, then glanced over as Qingzu, "My friend didn't become stricken with mara by natural means. It was the work of the Chief Alchemist: Dan Shu."

"Dan Shu?" Qingzu echoed, "She did this?"

"She gave Caelus a pellet. Called it something I can't even bother to remember, but I believe it caused this." y/n hummed as she carefully pulled herself from Side Character 27891 grasp and stood upright, "Caelus has been your little errand boy for a while, but he needs to be examined now. Please. Take care of him."

"Oh boy, you're going to do something stupid." Caelus whispered.

"Stupid?" y/n echoed before a smirk settled on her face, "Just something long overdue. I'll be back." she glanced at Qingzu, "You need more Disciples of Sanctus Medicus to question, right? I'll bring you twenty. As bonus, I'll get them to crack and tell you everything."

Side Character 27891 took a step forward to go after her but Qingzu stopped him with a shake of her head, "Let her have this one."

"I know it must be a personal thing, but shouldn't she have backup?" Side Character 27891 whispered.

Qingzu crossed her arms and sighed.

Backup, huh?

"Backup? Nah!" a grin, and a pat on the sword at her side, "This is my backup. Punching gets boring, I've gotta keep up my swordsmanship so I can show it off, y'know, y'know?"

"Show it off to who now?"

"Mm... nobody in particular. Also— can you swap me out with another Cloud Knight for guard duty at the Shackling Prison? Pretty please?"

"Y/n, you can't keep doing this, you have a responsibility as—'

"🚚 it, give it to one of those little scrubs who wanna be a Captain or something. Let them see just how much paperwork and 💩 it brings! Pretty please? I'll save some snacks for you too, just let me do this and I'll handle all the consequences!"

"No. Leave her." Qingzu sighed, "Just think of that expression she had."

Side Character 27891 glanced back to where she'd left, an unsettling feeling in his gut as he recalled that look in y/n's eyes. Far too focused for someone who'd just gotten a concussion.

"She's not playing around. There's no need for backup." Qingzu hummed as she turned away to where a healer was checking a begrudging Caelus, "On second thought... send a couple of healers. Quickly."

"Healers?" Caelus wondered.

...

"GET OFF OF ME!"

"But sir, we still need to make sure-"

"YOU'LL HAVE MULTIPLE DEAD BODIES TO DEAL WITH IF I STAY,  GET OFF!!!"

Y/n's footsteps were at a steady pace as she made her way through the Artisanship Commission, humming as she gave the newest addition to her weapon arsenal, or rather a returning old friend, a careful look.

A sword forged in the brilliance of a dying star, its light forever captured in its beauty.

Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous.

It'd be a crime not to use it, but she didn't need her enemies to die instantly.

"Been a while, hasn't it?" she murmured as she approached a couple of Disciples of Sanctus Medicus (were those mfs floating?). They noticed her coming and immediately faced her with the hostility of an enemy. Killing intent.

Y/n gave her knuckles a small kiss, her gaze not once leaving the two cult members.

"I'm gonna make this hurt."

. 　。　　⋆　　•　 　ﾟ　　。 .　.　.　。 .　。

⋆　　　。　　 ⋆。　 ඞ 。　 . • . . ⁎ 。　. 　。　.　　⋆. 　　。 .　 .　　 . ⋆. 。. ⁎ 。•　 　ﾟ　　。

No. No. No.

Caelus ran past various unconscious cult members, them either being tied up or taken away by wary Cloud Knights as the young man hurried along.

NO. NO.

Holy 💩, there were more! What was that, fifteen?

NO!!!

Caelus let out a groan at the sight of the gate blocking his path. It was clearly intentional.

He looked around frantically before taking a different path, running as fast as he could and up some stairs before finding Dan Shu and two cult members. THEY WERE FLOATING!!!

"Miss Dan Shu!" Caelus shouted breathlessly, "You..."

The woman turned to face her and one of the two disciples looked about ready to attack the young man, "Master, stand back. Let me handle this Seat of Divine Foresight dog."

'D-DOG!?' Caelus thought in disbelief, 'This piece of-!'

"Stand down. He's my friend." Dan Shu stated as she approached Caelus.

"Master? Many of our brothers have fallen by his hands-!" the disciple protested.

"Yes. I am aware." Dan Shu hummed.

"But... "

"I said he's my friend. Leave us."

The disciples backed off, and Dan Shu was the first to speak.

"Caelus. I hadn't expected yout o come after me." the woman stated.

"You're the head of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, aren't you?" Caelus murmured.

"The head? What a crude way of putting it, I am Master of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, scion of Merciful Medicus." Dan Shu corrected him and he scowled, "I shall lead the entire Xianzhou Alliance onto the Path of Abundance."

Oh. The ♀🐶 was crazy, Caelus knew it.

"Did you take the Brumedew Concentrate Pellet I gave you?" Dan Shu inquired as if she hadn't just said some of the most delusional 💩 Caelus had ever heard.

"Yeah, unfortunately." Caelus grumbled, "Almost made me kill my friend and some innocent Cloud Knights."

"Your... friend?"

"That'd be me."

The two disciples looked up, finding y/n perched atop the gate with her arms crossed. Yikes... what a terrifying expression! No traces of that playfulness or reassuring aura. Just...

Caelus gulped, 'Bloodlust.'

"You! You're-!" Caelus flinched while Dan Shu didn't even twitch a brow as both disciples were beheaded, the only evidence as to what happened being the gleaming light in the air.

Dan Shu showed no change in expression when y/n grabbed her by the front of her clothing and roughly shoved her against the gate with a sharp, "What the hell did you give Caelus?"

The woman was silent for a long moment.

"Answer me!" y/n's grip tightened and Caelus felt sweat roll down the back of his neck when he saw the veins in her hands from how tightly she was gripping the gleaming blade in her grasp, "Every second you waste will be another minute I spend gutting you before more Cloud Knights get here!"

"Holy 💩, y/n!" Caelus squeaked, "Chill out!"

Dan Shu let out a small breath, "The Brumedew Concentrate Pellet initiates the transformation from a short-life species into a Xianzhou person. Or, an abomination, depending on your viewpoint. Caelus, y/n, I never once had the intention of harming either fo you. I wanted to offer you a chance to obtain immortality and freedom." the woman couldn't see y/n , she knew that, but it felt like she could when she turned her attention to her, "And to fulfill your wish."

"My wish?" y/n echoed, her voice trembling ever so slightly, "What you gave me. It brought me back that first time when I died. Those abominations... their goal changed from trying to kill me to finding a way to make it hurt as much as possible. They killed me again, and again, and again trying to make sure the pain would make me stay dead, but I just kept coming back."

Her grip on the woman's clothing tightened, that horrible burning sensation returning. Fiery pain merged and mixed with old wounds that had long healed and disappeared from her body. Cool iron piercing her flesh, hot bullets shredding flesh, muscle, bone, everything.

"What wish could be so important that I'd have to die over and over again with no escape?" y/n whispered as tears began to roll down her face, "That you'd turn me into... this mess."

The alchemist inhaled lightly, then puffed it out.

"To bring an end to the suffering. Make it so that nobody else would have to lose a friend, a brother, or a loved one ever again." the woman tilted her head to the side slightly, "Even if it cost you your life. I never wanted you to die, so I gave you that gift, hoping that you could fulfill your wish without having to die a meaningless death."

The hell? This ♀🐶 knew this would happen?

"However... to die more than once and still come back wasn't supposed to happen. One extra chance at life, that was all it was supposed to be." Dan Shu murmured before a ghost of a smile appeared on her face, "Merciful Medicus blessed you yet you continue to stubbornly cling to the Devilish Archer's ideals."

"You sick 🚚er." y/n seethed, Caelus jolting when that not broken sword glinted, "I'll rip the life right out of you!"

Dan Shu didn't seem bothered in the slightest by the threat. "Y/n. Caelus. Leave the Luofu, please. Abandon this struggle, the truth isn't what it appears to be,"

Caelus looked to y/n.

Oh boy... she was quiet. She wouldn't be of any help if she was provoked into another outburst, so it was up to Caelus to diffuse the situation.

"What did the minions of the Seat of Divine Foresight tell you about this conflict? That the Reignbow Arbiter is the emissary of the righteous? That the Arbiter is chasing the heather Plageus Author across the stars, while the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus abet their heresy?" Yo.

"Do you really think that is the case? You don't understand Merciful Medicus, nor the Devilish Archer Author, but you understand me. Do you see me as a heretic?" Yes. Girl, stfu, you're not helping!

"I do not want to trouble you with picking a side, I only ask that you leave the Luofu. This isn't your fight, and I do not wish to make an enemy of you."

Caelus let out a heavy breath, "Dan Shu..."

"Since none of us are eager to engage in combat, let us respectfully part ways." Dan Shu hummed as she eased y/n's hands off of her clothing, "I have been thinking.... The Devilish Archer is not a benevolent god, nor is Merciful Medicus a malevolent one. Your choice to align with Jing Yuan was simply due to meeting him first..."

The woman heaved a sigh. "Most unfortunate. Had you known me first, perhaps we could have been good friends."

(How the heck did friends go to fitness???)

"If you put friends through the same hell y/n had to go through... mm," Caelus shook his head, "Nah."

Oh, out came his lance. He pointed it at the woman, the heat coming off of it reminding snapping y/n out of her daze.

"I'm an outsider when it comes to the Luofu's business, but this place is home to a dear friend and her family. What you're doing could cause them suffering, the kind y/n was willing to sacrifice herself to protect them from it." Caelus continued, "She's worn out, and there's only so much she can take, so I'm going to step up and fight alongside her."

He glanced at y/n who was giving him a look of confusions, and gave her a warm smile, "We're very close buddies after all."

"Is that so?" Dan Shu murmured, her expression growing cold, "I sincerely wish that this will be our last meeting."

As she turned away and began to walk off, Caelus began to give chase only for more goddamn disciples to pop up.

"Damn it, how many are there?" Caelus complained.

"Caelus?"

He paused, then glanced at y/n.

He couldn't see her face as she readied herself for a fight, but he did spot the tears that dripped down onto her hand which gripped the handle of her sword.

"Thanks for that."

The young man smiled.
"I'd do it a thousand times over."

(*cough**cough* what the 🚚... *cough*)