Chapter Text
With a simple movement of his hand, Dottore called upon the power of the moons and lulled the traveler into a deep sleep. Lumine stood frozen in place, her body suspended in an unnatural stillness even though she was no longer conscious. This position could not possibly be comfortable, he taught, studying her with a clinical detachment. As the gentleman he prided himself on being, he teleported both the traveler and himself back in his laboratory, where a proper bed awaited her.
He laid her down, with a delicately that would certainly surprised her, upon the sheets and adjusted her position. He ensured she was in a natural restful position before bringing a chair to sit next to her. Now he was alone with his thought, waiting for the traveler to wake up.
He could not understand why she kept refusing him.
After Dottore had accidentally placed Lumine in a month-long slumber, a miscalculation that irritated more than he could admit, he found himself in an abundance of time to analyse where his approach had failed. He started to wonder what could have been wrong with his words. He had taught about this plan meticulously, obsessively, for a very long time. Since their first encounter in Sumeru, he recalled with perfect clarity, watching the memory play out in a simulation he had constructed. The traveler had always fascinated him in so many ways, defying his usual scientific detachment.
She was everything he was not, and perhaps that was exactly why she consumed his every thoughts. Where she was courageous and fierce, stepping boldly into dangers with that insufferable heroic determination, he was content plotting in the shadows, manipulating events behind the curtain of his various segments. She had so many friends, numerous allies who had rush to her aid without hesitation, while he had been turned down, casted out, rejected by others who could not comprehend his vision. She was the righteous light to his calculated darkness, the hero to his villain in the great scheme of Teyvat.
So different yet so fundamentally similar when one looked beneath the surface. Lumine was utterly alone in this strange world, regarding how many companions surrounded her. Her supposed friends, as well meaning though they might be, could not truly understand the depth of her pain and loss. How could they ? They hqd never traveled between worlds, never watched their siblings torn away by an unknown god, never wandered for so many years searching for answers that remained frustratingly elusive or out of reach. Nobody could comprehend that particular agony except him.
They were the two faces of the same coin, two individuals who stood apart from the natural order of this world. They complete each other in a way that seems almost destined, even if he hated destiny. They were made for each other, Zandik had concluded after countless hours of observation and analysis. If only he could make Lumine see it as clearly as he did.
However Dottore was above anything else a man of science. When faced with failure, one must revise his approach. So he did what he did best and conducted an experiment. Drawing upon the data collected from his encounters with the traveler, he constructed another simulation, one far more sophisticated than those that had come before. In it, he meticulously recreated the scene precisely where he and the traveler had left off.
He replayed their confrontation countless times, each iteration was a slight variation of the last. Each time she refused him, and she refused him every single time, he would reset the simulation and adjust his speech. The doctor would change a word here, altering his tone there, restructure his arguments with the methodology of a researcher pursuing a perfect formula. Everything he said in their actual encounter had been grounded in absolute rationally and indisputable facts, he was a scholar of the Akademiya after all.
However, as the simulations progressed and he accumulated data from hundreds of failed attempts, he slowly began to realise a troublesome truth, the descender was not a perfectly rational creature like himself. Unfortunately Dottore had to completely abandon his initial approach and start to form his strategy from its very foundation. It was disappointing and maddening.
Instead of making her see his truth from logic and reason, Zandik started to employ a very different method, one that required to go against everything he was. He genuinely attempted to put himself in her place. He began to wonder what she would actually want to hear him say, what could resonate with her heart rather than her mind.
Lumine had always wanted to find her brother and obtain the answers to all of her questions about this world. Yet she still refused him when he promised her exactly what she yearned for. Initially, she had not seemed to cared about her friends and the future of Teyvat more than her own personal quest, prioritising the search for her brother above anything else. Perhaps something had fundamentally changed during her long journey across the seven nations. Perhaps Teyvat had become something more than an obstacle in her path, Perhaps, somewhere along the way, it had become her home.
Dottore found himself regretting his dramatic declaration that he would destroy the current order of the world to rebuild reality according to his own design. It had been a foolish mistake, he now recognized. It was an uncomfortable revelation that had poisoned the well before he had the chance to convince the descender. He had been too eager to share his vision, too confident that she would understand and embrace his plan. He would not make the same error twice.
After so many failures, after hundreds of iterations through the simulation, the traveler’s reactions started to change in subtle but measurable ways. She became hesitant when he made a particularly compelling point, her certainty wavering for just a few seconds. It was everything he wanted. She grew less vocal about her refusal, her protests began to lose of conviction. The most telling thing was that she stopped flinching when he reached out his hand to play with a strand of her hair, no longer repelling from his touch as if he was poisonous.
Zandik began to regain hope, a sensation he had nearly forgotten during his centuries of isolation. He finally knew what to say. He had cracked the code, solved the equation, found the perfect combination of words that would unlock her heart.
She had such a beautiful shade of gold. Her hair caught and reflected the sunlight, filtering through the laboratory windows. The strands were shimmering like liquid gold, giving her an angelic halo. Maybe she was really an angel, he mused, descended from the sky to save his poor, unfortunate soul from the darkness he had willingly embraced long ago. Or perhaps it was to condemn him further, showing what could never be his. He was not certain which prospect intrigued him more.
He paused the simulation with a simple gesture of his hand and the illusory Lumine disappeared. The soft sound of the machinery brought Dottore’s attention back to the real world, back on the real traveler who was lying motionless before him. She was still deep in sleep, her breathing slow and steady, meaning he was free to admire her for a few moments without her cold and judgmental gaze she always fixed upon him.
The traveler wore a remarkable calm expression on her face right now, so very far from the cold and angry stare she had been giving him earlier, before the doctor had to put her to sleep. Her features were relaxed, peaceful, almost innocent and filled with vulnerability. Lost in his thoughts and observations, memorising every detail of her face with his scientific precision overlaid with something far less clinical, Dottore had not realised that his hand had moved on its own accord. His fingers were tracing the curve of her cheeks and her lips with a gentleness that would have surprised anyone who knew him. His touch was a mix of reverence and possessiveness.
Lumine started to shift slowly in her sleep, her head turning slightly on the pillow, a frown appearing on her beautiful face. These movements meant that it would not take much longer until she finally awoke from her prolonged slumber. The doctor withdrew his hand reluctantly and straightened in his chair. He recited his carefully crafted script to himself one final time, each word was precisely chosen and weighted, before he clasped his hand together in anticipation. Everything had to be perfect. He would not have another chance.
When her eyes finally began to flutter open, golden and disoriented, he took an inspiration and stood up. He was ready. He patiently waited for her to regain consciousness, acknowledge her new surroundings and most importantly, him. He watched recognition dawn in her expression, followed immediately by wariness and anger.
“Where am I ?” The traveler asked, her voice hoarse from not talking for a so long time. Her hand moved instinctively to summon her sword. He could practically see her every thoughts playing across her face. The rapid assessment of her situation, the calculation of the possible escape routes, the frustration at finding herself at his mercy once again.
“In my laboratory, my personal section exactly.” The doctor said calmly, gesturing the surprisingly comfortable room around them. It was far from the sterile, clinical environment one might expect. There were books linig one the walls and big windows welcoming the sunlight. “I brought you here so we could have a more personal conversation. One without unnecessary distraction from the outside world. Just you and I, my dear, as it should be. ”
He remained standing, giving her space to not crowding her, despite every instinct that urged him to move closer. The simulations had taught him patience by showing him that approaching too quickly would only trigger her fight or flight response.
“I have never once lied to you.” Zandik began, his voice measured and methodical, stripped from the theatrical grandiosity he liked indulging from time to time. This required sincerity or at least the convincing appearance of it. “You know what I say is the truth. It is factual, verifiable and undeniable. This world has taken everything you own, even your family that was torn away from you by forces beyond your control. You have saved countless people and nations from destruction. How did they reward you? By offering treasures you have no mean? Hospitality that expires that moment you leave their borders? Empty gratitude that does nothing to fill the void inside you?”
He paused, letting his words settle, watching her reactions carefully.
“We both know that you do not want any of these things. What you really want, what you have always wanted, is family. Someone who could understand you, someone who would never leave your side. I simply wish to give you everything you deserve, everything this world has failed to provide you. I can give you purpose without wandering. I can give you answers. I can give you belonging.”
Lumine looked genuinely puzzled, a frown appeared as she processed his words. She scrutinized the doctor with her perceptive golden eyes that seems to pierce every deceptions. She was searching for the trap she knew must be hidden somewhere in his speech. Then, after a moment too long for Dottore, she looked away, her gaze dropping on her sword. Her next move greatly surprised the doctor. She put her sword away, making it disappear with a movement of her hand. This reaction was new. Very different from all the immediate rejections in all of their encounters. He was on the right track, the simulations had not failed him.
“It is not so simple.” She finally said, her voice quiet and hesitant, lacking the firm conviction that was expected. Good. Hesitation meant consideration. Consideration meant possibility. “You will inevitably hurt people. Your schemes, your experiments… They always come at a cost. How can i trust that you will not destroy everything I have come to care about?”
“With you by my side,” Dottore replied, allowing himself a small carefully calibrated smile. It was far from the manic grin of a mad scientist. It was something softer, almost gentle. “I could be a diligent god. Guided by your conscience rather than driven solely by ambition. I am not proposing that you become my subordinate or my possession, Lumine. I wish for a true partnership. You and I will be equal in all things. I will listen to your counsel, heed your commands, follow your judgement on matters of morality.”
He took a step towards her, leaning forward slightly. His voice took on a tone of earnest conviction.
“I swear to you, my dear, on whatever you would have me swear upon, that nothing will happen to your precious little friends or the innocents of this world. I will restrain my methods. I will temper my ambitions. I will be whatever you need me to be. As long as you stay by my side, obviously.”
He added that last word with deliberated casualness. As though the condition were merely a minor technical detail rather than the entire foundation of his offer. As though he were not offering to reshape his very nature and abandon centuries of methodology for the simple privilege of her presence.
“Think of what we could accomplish together,” he continued, taking another step toward her. The doctor was now only a few centimetres away from the descender. He leaned his head next to her ear, his voice dropping low, intimate. “You possess the power to change this world. i possess the knowledge and means. Together, we could remake Teyvat into something better, not by destroying it but by perfecting it. We could create a world where siblings are never separated, where the gods cannot arbitrarily tear families apart, where no one has to wander alone, searching for what was stolen from them.”
Dottore straightened up and reach out a hand toward her. His palm was up, showing an invitation rather than a demand.
“All i ask is for you to give me a chance to prove that i can be more than the monster you believe me to be. Everyone deserves a chance, does not it ? Let me show that we are not so different, you and I. That we could be extraordinary together.”
Hesitantly, the golden haired woman extended her hand a little, Her fingers trembling almost imperceptibly. He smiled at her once again, a warm expression and encouraging on his face, urging her silently to continue, to fill the gap between them.
“I have a question.” She said, a voice steadier now as she was directly looking at the doctor’s face. Lumine was searching intently for any sign of sincerity.
“Of course, my dear.” The doctor replied smoothly, his tone gentle and patient. “Ask me anything you want. I have no secret for you, not anymore.”
“Why do you want me by your side?” Lumine asked with genuine curiosity, her golden eyes still filled with suspicion. “You are now a god, omnipotent and omniscient. You have obtain the power you always craved, the knowledge you always sought. You do not need me, so why? Why going through all this efforts? Why not just create a simulation if you wanted my compliance?”
The question hung in the air between them, weighted with significance. This was the peak of it all, the one thing the simulations had struggled the most to address.
“Oh my dearest Lumine…” Dottore exhaled slowly. The answer pained him to speak aloud so fast in their relationship, when she had yet to agree to his offer. He was going to reveal the traveler something precious, something that made him vulnerable. He reached forward and took Lumine’s semi-stretched hand in his own previously extended one. His fingers curled gently around hers, warm and careful. “Was it not evident ? Was it not written in every actions i have taken, every words that I told you?”
He paused, his masked face concealing whatever emotion might have flickered across his face. However, his voice carried a raw emotion that even he found surprising.
“I want you. Not as a tool, not as a means to an end, but as you are. Your place had always been at my sides. I have known this since our first encounter in Sumeru. Our two souls are standing apart from this world natural order. We were made for each other. Even with your countless rejection, even knowing you despise what i am, I cannot help but continue to yearn for you. I have try to excise this feeling, making go away this obsession. But it remains. You remain.”
His thumb traced small circle against the back of her hand, an unconscious gesture of tenderness.
“Using a illusion would give me nothing but an empty shell, a puppet that wears your face. I do not want your obedience, Lumine. I want your partnership, your presence, your brillant mind working along mine. You will guide me. I want you to choose to stand beside me, knowing fully who and what I am. This is the only victory that will hold any meaning.”
Lumine’s cheeks began to slowly heat up. A faint flush of pink spread across her pale face. It certainly sounded like a love confession, perhaps because in the doctor’s twisted mind, it really was. She started to wonder if the harbinger, who had committed countless atrocities in the name of knowledge, could actually feel love. Could he know such an emotion, something he had never truly experienced himself in all his long existence?
“I…” The woman hesitated, no really knowing what to say. Her thought were racing in her head as she tried to process the emotion and sincerity she heard in his voice. There was a genuine longing that emanated from Dottore. She looked down at their joined hands, at the ways his fingers held hers with such careful reverence, as thought she was something precious and fragile. “As long as you are staying true to your words, as long as you keep your promises… I will stay by your sides.”
The words left her mouth before she could fully realise their weight, driven by something she could not quite name. Perhaps It was loneliness, perhaps it was the hope to finally being understood by someone who truly grasped the isolation she felt.
Dottore could have sworn that he just felt his heart exploded in his chest, a sensation so foreign and overwhelming. For the first time in so many years, he felt simple, pure and unrestrained joy. Finally, after so many failures, after hundreds of simulated attempts and carefully calculated adjustments, she had agreed. She had said yes.
If only he could kiss her at this very instant, claiming her and sealing this moment into permanence. Fortunately, he possessed enough self control to recognize that such action would be too premature. The doctor would not shatter the fragile trust he had just obtained.
He did not want to scare her away, not when he was so close to everything he desired.
“You make me happier than I have been in centuries, my dear Lumine.” Zandik said softly. He could not believe this was real. His free hand approached Lumine’s golden lock of hair, wanting to play with it just like he did in the last simulation. “I swear to you, on my very existence, that you will never regret this decision. I will prove myself worthy of the faith you have placed in me.”
He exhaled, before releasing her hand reluctantly and stepping back to give her space.
“Rest now, if you wish. When you are ready, we will discuss the details of our partnership. For now, simply consider that you are home."
With these words, Zandik left Lumine all alone in the chamber, with only her thoughts to occupy herself.