In Liyue, 4 figures could be seen walking down the street one figure who led the way was Morax in his mortal outfit the other was Eldrin, Erskine and the ancient one,they drew quite a lot of attention which was natural due to Eldrin's and Erskine's unusual characteristics, like their wings,however they also drew the interest of a certain young man with orange hair and deep blue eyes, it was Childe.
"Who are these three?, never seen them before"thought Childe with deep curiosity.
Eldrin suddenly turned towards him and smiled.
However, Childe's reaction was strange, for some reason he seemed absolutely terrified, as if he saw his worst fear,and indeed he did , at some point Eldrin's form changed into Childes appearance making both seem almost identical, yet there was a distinct difference, unlike the original Childe, Eldrins Childe was consumed by the abyss, his eyes purple, his aura reeked of corruption and his smile was eerie with no trace of humanity,he then spoke with Childes voice in an ominous tone.
"Time is running out Childe,you still have a chance to escape this fate"
The corrupted Childe then slowly walked towards Childe who was paralysed by fear, and whispered to his ear.
"I will be seen you soon"
On the outside nothing changed, nobody saw Eldrin changing his appearance; the only one who could see that was Childe,so to the people outside he seemed like a man paralyzed by fear from seemingly nothing.
After a few moments, Childe slightly recovered, though the experience was quite traumatising for him, and after a few moments, he rushed towards his home.
Eldrin who saw that shook his head.
"Apologies Childe, but sometimes for someone to make the right choice they need to be slightly traumatised, only when they see their future no matter how terrifying, will they truly understand the consequences of their current actions."
A few hours later in Childe's home, Childe sat in a chair, he seemed to be in a trance looking at the wall with his eyes unfocused.
At some point, a man appeared sitting in a chair opposite of him looking at him, and he spoke.
"I must apologize for using such methods on you Ajax, but I had to make you take this seriously, after all, your decision today will either doom you or save you from a terrible fate."
Childe was startled, his eyes wide with fear as he looked at the man opposite of him.
"How do you know my fear!,and how do you know my name!,WHO ARE YOU!!"Asked Childe even more terrified.
"You may call me Eldrin,and as for how i know so much about you, let's just say that your life is one of the many stories I have read"
Childe could not understand what that meant, but when he saw the mans appearance, he asked with an ominous suspicion.
"Are you death, here to take me!?" and honestly who could blame the man for thinking that, Eldrin quite literally looked like an angel of death, black wings, long wavy black hair with black eyes,the only thing that was missing was a scythe.
"I'm not death,but i have caused quite a lot of it,what matters is not what I am, but what your choice will be."
Childe was confused and asked.
"What kind of choice are you taking about!?"
Eldrin looked at him in the eyes and said.
"Abandon your duties as fatui harbinger, and listen to that woman no more; give the location of your allies, sever your ties with Evil."
Childe answered with expected resolve.
"I cannot and will not betray her majesty,she will not carry the burden of her mission by herself"
Eldrin was impressed but not surprised by his loyalty and said.
"Your loyalty to Tsaritsa is commendable,however her mission is no longer necessary"
Eldrin grabbed Childes's shoulder and teleported to somewhere unknown.
Two figures out of nowhere appeared before a castle that seemed to be made out of ice.
Childe started panicking when he saw their location.
Inside the castle sat a figure on a throne with an expression as cold as ice it was Tsaritsa.
In the blink of an eye, two figures appeared before her,yet her expression remained as cold as ever and she asked.
"Who are you supposed to be?"
Eldrin looked at her dead in the eyes and answered.
"It does not matter who I am, what matters is my intention for coming here"
"And what's your intention the-
But she could not finish her words due to the man being no longer in front of her, but beside her,her eyes slightly widened.
"Let us get straight to the point shall we?,your mission is no longer necessary,disband the Fatui and give me their location"
However, the Tsaritsa answered not with words but with spikes made of ice that pierced through Eldrin's non-existent vitals.
BAAAAM!
In an instant Tsaritsa was grabbed by the neck and thrown across the room crashing into the wall.
Eldrin calmly walked towards her and asked again.
"What is the location of the fatui?"
But Tsaritsa was not an easy one to crack, she proceeded to attack Eldrin again this time by trapping him in a dome of ice and turning the interior into countless spikes that pierced Eldrin's body.
But Eldrin was already behind her.
BAAAAAM!
Tsaritsa was punched in the chin causing her to be sent flying into the ceiling of the castle hitting her head and crashing into ground.
Eldrin walked towards her again calmly and asked with slight anger in his tone.
"What is the location of the fatui!?"
However Tsaritsa showed no sign of surrendering.
Eldrin stopped and looked at her with a slight gentle smile on his face and said.
"You'r quite the tough one aren't you,you turn yourself into a villain but for a greater purpose,and that is peace, you sacrificed not only others but yourself too"
But when he asked.
"Do you seriously believe that you can defeat the heavenly principles with all the seven Gnosis?"
Tsaritsa's expression showed a hint of doubt at that question, even she was not certain if she could defeat the heavenly principles with all seven Gnosis, it's a doubt that was always in the back of her mind.
"Then what do you suggest we do? bear their tyranny,kneel before them while they wipe us out, making us suffer?!"asked Tsaritsa with slight anger in her tone.
Eldrin took a vial and injected it into Childe, who was restrained all this time.
Tsaritsa finally snapped, and she asked with anger.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!?"
Eldrin looked at her and said simply.
"Gave him the solution to his problem,power,true power"
He then walked towards her and handed her a vial while saying.
"Tomorrow I will come here, hoping you will give me the fatui's location, disband them, sever the ties with evil, it is not too late, let us handle the tyrants the right way without involving the innocent"
He paused and then said.
"There's still light in you buried deep inside behind all that ice, i can see it, its weak, flickering about to go out,do not let it"