Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

To hell and back. To hell and back is where he would go for him, and to hell and back he has been. It would never end, time after time and life after life. Time flew by like a bird being pushed along by the wind. Xingqiu’s peace, a peace of his own, a life with him. That’s all Chongyun ever wanted. So how did he end up in this situation? Is this what it meant to repent for your sins? What were they?

The dreary ambience that engulfed the forest fit the scene he was left to stare upon. The night draped over the forest like a blanket and the tall trees that surrounded him became mere shadows of the night. Hell, you could barely make out what was right in front of your face. That’s why Chongyun had a flashlight with him, a light that stabbed through the dark. But honestly, right now, he wished for anything but the light.

He swore he did everything right this time. He remembered the brightness of Xingqiu’s smile whenever he would rave about the newest book he had read, his mischievous yet handsome grin after he successfully pranked Chongyun. How he grinned into Chongyun’s neck when he cuddled with him. He assured that no one could hurt Xingqiu, he assured that he hadn’t hurt him. So, how could this have happened?

He pointed his flashlight downward and he looked down at Xingqiu’s body. His golden eyes had lost their light and his perfectly placed hair was tangled and sprawled onto the ground, much like the rest of his body. His head was turned to his left side and his right arm was sprawled above his head, the left one on his stomach. Although disheveled, there was an elegance to it. All of that despite the fact that body was simply a shell now. It was almost doll like, he could almost convince himself Xingqiu was alive, almost, if it weren’t for the blood that stained his chest and dripped out of his mouth.

Tears welled in Chongyun’s eyes as he looked at his partner, but they never threatened to spill over. A sight laid on him thousands of thousands of times nearly lost all meaning. But, somehow, it didn’t hurt any less each time it happened. The loop continued, each cycle showing less mercy than the last with himself on the verge is of rupturing. It was his move now, and it was his time to do what he has done time and time again. He took a couple of breaths to hopefully suppress a well of emotion that threatened to spill out.

After fully composing himself, he put his flashlight on the ground and he dug his hand into the pocket of his hoodie. He pulled out a small sack, no bigger than his palm. It was round with a drawstring near the opening, its color black. The color of the exterior matched the contents inside. There the sack rested in his hand. Delicately, he took his other hand and unwound the drawstring. He snuck his hand inside and took out a pinch of shiny black powder. He kneeled down and sprinkled it lightly on the ground while averting his eyes to Xingqiu’s body next to him. Then, he wrapped the bag back up in the drawstring and slipped it back into his pocket. He raised his hand to the air while breathing in and out. As he felt the cold cryo energy pulse throughout his body in flashes, he let out his command:

“SPIRIT BLADE, ATTACK!”, he yelled as he sliced his hand through the air.

The ice swords pierced the ground where the black powder was, and he could see the ground to begin to tear and fade into the all consuming void that finally decided to show itself. As the swords disintegrated into thin air, all that was left was a gaping black hole.
He walked closer and closer to it, quickly indulging in the beauty of the forest, of this world. Feeling the wind brush against his cheeks, the whispers of the living creatures in the night, and taking in the starry sky. Normally he would ask himself, ‘Would I be reported missing?’, ‘Would people even bother to look for me ?’, but no such thoughts overtook him. All he did was take one last glance at Xingqiu. He took one more step. This was another world never to be returned to, something that made him sadder than he would like to admit…but for the different reasons than one may think. As he stepped closer to the hole, he took in one more feeling, one more smell, one more sound, one more-

He let the darkness engulf him. He fell, and he fell:

Down

Down

Down

He let himself fall with the wind encompassing him in its tight embrace. It flew past every inch of his body, he swore he became one with it. Chongyun closed his eyes for but a moment, feeling it rush past his skin. He let his body relax as he continued to fall. His need for air disappeared as he drifted deeper, and his fall began to slow as well. The wind was gentler than before, and he rode a slow float as he came to his descent. As the peace vanished, he felt the tension in his body return.

His descent ended on a pitch-black floor, it was no different from the rest of the abyss that was this rabbit hole. The only difference was a faint light, which illuminated someone at work. The familiar sight of the man caused some of the newly built tension in Chongyun to be released ever so slightly. The man was stood upright and had light blonde hair, the front potion of it where his bangs would be was pulled to the back of his head into a ponytail, with the rest hanging down to just above shoulder length. What accompanied these features were cold blue eyes and a straight face. The man had a neutral expression as he worked, looking down at a variety of papers in his left hand and a correcting pen in his right. What also accompanied his right side was an alchemist’s table.

Chongyun trudged a bit as he approached the man. He raised his hand and began to make his presence known when the soft voice of the man arose,

“Ah, you’re back. Again. That truly is unfortunate.”, the man said with his eyes unmoving from the scripts in front of his face.

“Yeah, it really is Albedo.”, Chongyun said, moving to sit on the darkness that was the ground. The man turned towards him and placed his scripts and pen on the round alchemist’s table. He glanced up at him with a neutral face.
“I’m sure you’re fully aware that the contract that both we and they agreed to is going to come to a close soon, correct?”, Albedo asked, the same unreadable face plastered on him.

Chongyun sighed, of course he knew. How could he forget? “Yes, how much time do we have left?”, he asked.

Albedo spun on his foot towards the alchemist’s table. He began to rummage through the pile of scripts and papers, his expression changing ever so slightly as he furrowed his eyebrows in his search. After about thirty seconds of paper flipping and title checking, Albedo pulled a single sheet of paper out of the pile. He nodded his head slightly, assumingely in approval, as he looked at it.

“I ran the analytics of which his core, or “soul” I suppose, is deteriorating again and my answer is...,”, he replied. He looked back down at the paper, his finger tracing over the lines of text. “He has one lifetime, however long that one lifetime may be.”, Albedo replied, his voice smooth and serious.

Chongyun felt his stomach twist and his heart sink. The image of a dead Xingqiu flashed in his mind, so cold and so lonely. How….how could he be so calm? A flame lit inside of him, threatening to turn into a raging inferno. As the heat made its way up his body, he channeled some of the cryo energy to ice out his resentment and spread it throughout every part of his body. God knows what would happen if he wasn’t able to.
“O-one lifetime?”, Chongyun asked, his voice shaking, “I thought we would have at least five left.”, he said.

“I did too, but somewhere around lifetime forty-five, it seemed that his core began to deteriorate at a more rapid pace than we originally calculated.”, replied Albedo as he placed the paper back a top the mass on his alchemist’s table.
Chongyun could only stare down at the floor as he processed this information. It didn’t feel true…it didn’t feel real.

“I just…I thought we would have more time.”, Chongyun said. He put his head down and held it in his hands.

“As did I, but Chongyun, someone going through all the pain in all those lifetimes cannot stay strong forever. It’s a miracle he’s lasted fifty.”, Albedo said, “We’ve had our time, we’ve even been able to catch up to the present day.”, he continued. With his head down, the tears began to well up in Chongyun’s eyes for the second time today. But, this time, they tried their best to squeeze their way out. It felt like the worst type of self pity, one that was not for him. Chongyun blinked them away, he had no right to cry. Albedo was right, they were given time. He just hadn’t been good enough. He knew that, and yet he said,

“I... I can’t do this mission in one lifetime Albedo. I’ve already failed fifty.”

“I know, and it is highly improbable that this will end with a favorable outcome.”, Albedo said, “All you can do is give it one last shot. And if you don’t then-”

“Then the Gods do whatever they want with me.”, Chongyun interrupted.

Albedo sighed, “Well that’s certainly one way to put it.”

A moment of silence managed to sneak its way between them. So the Gods could do whatever they wanted, huh? ‘I guess I never really thought about what would happen if I lost, did I?’, Chongyun thought. With one final breath, Chongyun chased away the silence.

“So, where’s this last life going to be?”, Chongyun asked, still staring down at the floor.

Albedo rummaged through the stack of papers on the table once again. This time he pulled out a pack of papers that were connected together. He flipped through the papers, until Chongyun could make out that he was at about the back of the pack.

A moment of silence took over as Albedo read the paper he stopped on. Chongyun felt his palms sweat and his breath had picked up ever so slightly. It was a strange feeling, having no need for air… and yet using it intensively all the same. What could the world do to screw him over this time? Did he need to complete his mission in a land devoured by war? One with corrupted leaders? A world of no rule? What would he be thrown this final time?

“Huh, I see,” said Albedo. Another silent moment passed between them before Albedo looked directly back to Chongyun, “You’re going to be going back to where it all began.”, he continued.

What? But that was-

Chongyun looked at him and his eyes widened. He knew exactly what was going to come out of his mouth, “No, you can’t be- “, Chongyun said.

“I am Chongyun.”, Albedo said. With a final sigh, Albedo read out his fate. “You’re going back to Teyvat.”

Chapter Text

Albedo had left the void some time ago, which left Chongyun to stare down at the pitch-black floor with his legs crossed. He had no way to tell how long he had been staring, but the thoughts that crowded his mind prevented time from being an issue.

Back to.... Teyvat? Does he think he’ll even have a chance if he goes back there? What would they do to Xingqiu? They had direct access to him this time. If that’s the case…than…than… Chongyun gulped. Than the winner had already been decided. A smile entered Chongyun’s mind; it was a beautiful and radiant smile that belonged to the one he adored more than anything in the world. A wide smile, with Xingqiu’s blue hair falling into his face as he leaned over and tilted his head. It was a face Chongyun longed for more than anything. Would he really never be able to see it again after this?

‘I need something’, he thought. ‘A solid plan, just something that will just do something, anything, something to take down a God? Multiple? just-‘

“I suppose he told you then.”

A female voice emerged from the shadows, sophisticated and slightly accented. When Chongyun looked up to the speck of light by Albedo’s workspace, he was met with green eyes, a pale face, and long black ponytails. On top of the girl’s head was a hat like a witch’s and on the rest of her body was dressed in a leotard of sorts. Both pieces of clothing were reminiscent of the galaxy.

“That’s why you look like a mourning hilichurl right?”, she continued, her arms crossed where she stood. There was less bite to her voice than usual, as if she was holding something back.

“Well, if that’s how you’re going to put it...”, Chongyun said.

The girl’s teeth tensed together ever so slightly. She raised her hand for a second with her pointer finger raised as if about to speak. “Well-…”, she started. But, she she changed her mind and put her finger back down. She almost looked defeated. A silence drifted between the two, though before long, Chongyun decided to break it.
“Anyways Mona, where have you been?”, he asked. He stood up where he was sitting and straightened himself out. It was just to make it seem like he hadn’t been trapped in his thoughts for the past few hours. The least he could do was try to make ample conversation, after all, it may be the last time he talks with the two that have been accompanying him for so long.
“I’ve been in a meeting with Celestia’s Divine discussing your return.”, replied Mona. “Albedo has taken up both of our places and is wrapping up the meeting as we speak. But we have a general consensus right now.”, she continued. When she looked at him, Chongyun swore he saw a flash of pity enter her gaze.

Chongyun tensed up, what kind of consensus would they agree to from him? How much more difficult was this going to be? He tried to open his mouth, but it was as if it had been welded shut by the strongest of iron.

“I know all you’re going to ask.” Mona said. “Let’s sit first at the table. You must have been uncomfortable sitting on the floor for as long as you did.”

Ah, so she did know, of course she did. Well, it was obvious anyways.

Mona snapped her fingers three times. The light by the alchemist’s table floated its way to them and a small dining room table appeared, with three conference style seats to match. There was a chair at the head of the table and two chairs at opposite ends of the long sides. The chairs were brown, wooden, and without cushion.

‘Every uncomfortable person’s dream’, Chongyun thought, raising his eyebrows slightly.

Mona walked to the long side of the table opposite from Chongyun and said down in the seat, her arms in her lap. She gestured at Chongyun to sit in the chair across from her. He obliged and pulled out the chair, that could’ve been confused for stone, and sat on it.

“To start, no, they will not interfere with your time there.”, she said. “They want this to be a fair trial just as much as we do. They promised not to interfere unless deemed necessary. Right now, Albedo’s with them fleshing out what “necessary” means exactly, as well as processing a certain request we have.”, Mona said. As she was speaking, she began to play with water. She shaped it in the air and bounced it in her hand.

“What is it?”, asked Chongyun.

“You’ll see when the time comes.”, said Mona. A small smile graced her face for the first time since she entered the room.

“You two are always so secretive.”, Chongyun said.

“Ever necessary Chongyun. We wouldn’t want our goal to interfere with yours.”, Mona said.

“Speaking of secrets,”, she continued. “I have a present for you. It’s been a long, long time and you’ve done well. Besides, I’m not sure this is a secret we should’ve kept from you, contrary to what Albedo believes.”, she said.

‘A present? Shouldn’t have kept a secret?’ Chongyun thought. 'Since when do they inform me of their intentions?'

“Besides”, Mona said, “As a friend now, I don’t think I should’ve kept this.”, she continued

Mona got up from her seat at the table and circled back around to where Chongyun sat, going to his right side.

“Now don’t show it to him, it took a lot of effort to take it from his lab.”, she said.

Mona whipped her arm through the air, daring the air to defy her actions. A small cut of the galaxy appeared in the area she slashed. What appeared in her hand was a wallet. It was Galaxy themed and drenched in purples and blues, just like the rest of her attire. She opened it with a click and reached into it,

“Okay, so here it- “

“The council has ended the meeting and we have a set list of regulations, as well as good news about our request.” Albedo’s voice filled the room as he strode out of the darkness in front of Mona.

Chongyun saw the color in Mona’s face drain a bit as she put her head up and looked in front of her. She slammed her wallet shut which caused it to disappear back into thin air.

Chongyun watched as Albedo stopped in his tracks. He stared at them and raised an eyebrow. As quickly as it happened, he regained his composure. Chongyun looked from a confused Albedo to a shaking Mona. He did not dare comment on the situation. In Albedo’s arms were three separate scrolls stacked on top one another. All of them looked professional, wrapped up in bows, and about the length of a forearm.

“Anyways our request was deemed okay to be fulfilled. We will review other conditions as we actually step into Teyvat, we must not waste any more time in this dreary void.”, Albedo said as he continued to approach them.

What did he just say?

“Wait hold on, did you say “we?”, Chongyun asked.

“Yes, I did.”, said Albedo, “We’ve been allowed to accompany you for this final life.”

Huh?

“Wait…what? You mean it?”, asked Chongyun.

“Of course, of course he does Chongyun.”, said Mona.

Chongyun cracked a small smile when she said that. He felt something well up inside of him, threatening to spill over. A warm feeling that he hadn’t felt in a long time. A warmth that wasn’t threatening. It was a feeling that Xingqiu had given him for a long time, that slowly diminished each time he watched him suffer. Was this.... even if ever so slightly… hope? ….wait. The feeling left as quickly as it came. If they were allowed to come with him…what were the Gods going to do?

‘No, no don’t think like that’, thought Chongyun. Yet, the thought would never leave his mind.

“How did they allow that?”, asked Chongyun.

“Well, it’s not like you don’t communicate with us during these lives. Besides, we’ve caught up to present day where we actually need to be for our lifetime. It wouldn’t have made much sense for Celestia to say no if they wanted this to be as natural as possible.”, said Albedo.

“Yes, yes I’m sure he gets it.”, said Mona.

Albedo looked at Chongyun expectantly.

He nodded his head. “.... Yes of course I do.”, Chongyun said. He shifted in his seat, his mind still not at ease. But it was best to wait to hear conditions when Albedo deemed it appropriate.
“Albedo, when are we leaving?”, asked Mona.

“We are leaving now. All the Gods have said are that we are soon to close in on the time where we began.”, said Albedo. “The void is moving as we speak, although we have no exact time. I’d guess right now we’d be one or two days after we began our first meeting with the Gods, where they would accept our proposal for this entire experiment. So, we need to get back before people start to worry. However, we’ll be dropped at different places.”, Albedo continued.

“Mona and I will be dropped where we were right before our journey began, in Mondstat. You will be dropped into Liyue harbor, where you would have been if you had existed in this time period.”, he said.

‘A new life, a new “rebirth” as always...’, Chongyun thought. ‘But this one’s in Liyue...I wonder what’s changed.’ He could feel his breathing pick up and his heart race as he thought of that land.

Wanting to be more involved in the conversation, Chongyun got up from his seat and moved his chair around the table to be near Mona and face Albedo. It was as if Albedo was a lecturer and Chongyun and Mona were his students.

“We have a plan in regards to your identity.”, Albedo said. He quickly pulled one of his arms out from under the scrolls and gestured to them before he snuck his arm back under.

Albedo put down the stack of scrolls he was holding on the conference table, pulling out one that was a little longer than the length of his forearms. He rolled it open and held it in his hands. On it you could see the outline of a young man who looked like Chongyun on it, along with text surrounding him.

“You will be taking this with you. It’s an overlay of who you are and why you’re in Liyue.”, said Albedo. “I’ve made your position that of more importance as you’ll need it to get to Xingqiu this time.”, he said. “If anyone dares to question your position, we’ll be there to reassure them of your legitimacy.”, Albedo said.

He picked up the last two scrolls, both the same size as the last. “These other two diagrams are dedicated to Liyue. One is a map and the other is a basic layout of the families and businesses. We wouldn’t want you to be totally lost in the present day of Teyvat now, would we?”, he asked.

He took the plans one by one and stuffed them into Chongyun’s arms.

Chongyun watched Mona turn to Albedo and give him a confused expression,

“Why aren’t we giving him a bag?”, asked Mona. “You cannot mean to tell me you think he could just lug those around without drawing attention as an outsider.”, she said.

Albedo opened his mouth and then closed it. He went silent for a moment and put his hand on his chin, as if the question required deep contemplation. He looked back up to Chongyun and said,

“.... Well, I guess you’ll have to deal with it for a time Chongyun., Albedo said. “I apologize for not thinking about that.”, he added on.

“Do you have any other questions Chongyun?”, he added on, visibly trying to avoid Mona’s flabbergasted gaze.

“Yes, I do, “, said Chongyun. “You said we’ll go over Celestia’s conditions in Teyvat. But how exactly is communication going to work?”, he asked.

“We’ll be heading to Liyue as soon as possible. It’s about a day’s travel and it will take another for me to get the permission for a “work trip” to Liyue. So, it will probably take us roughly two days.”, said Albedo.

“You assume I’ll wait for you.”, said Mona while crossing her arms.

“I’m taking a gamble with that I suppose.”, said Albedo. It was a comment but ever so slightly dismissive in tone. “You’ll just have to hold on until then Chongyun. Make sure to use the scrolls.”, he said.

Something about being told he was going to be left alone in Liyue made Chongyun’s stomach churn. He knew that he had been in unfamiliar areas many times before, but still. Maybe it was the fact that this one wasn’t.

“Now let’s see, scrolls, communication, travel... Yes, I believe that’s all we have to go over for now.”, Albedo said.

“Shall we begin this last trial then?”, asked Mona who was backing off from the conference table.

“So soon?”, asked Chongyun.

“I think we should.”, said Albedo. He took two steps away from the table.

Both of them turned to Chongyun, looking at him expectantly.

Chongyun sighed.

“Of course,”, said Chongyun. Nevermind everything, the faster they got started, the better. They didn’t have time to be indecisive. He backed away from the table to follow suit.

“Well, all right, if you boys don’t mind, I think I can take care of this.”, said Mona.

She snapped her fingers three times, which caused the table and chairs to vanish into thin air, only the light source remaining. Mona pulled her wallet out from thin air, keeping it, specifically the opening of the wallet, in only her view. Out from it, she took out a small bag that looked similar Chongyun’s small bag of dust. Though, her dust was blue instead of black. Her gaze bounced between the two of them for a second.

“You’re going to have to stand back a little more than that.”, she said.

Chongyun and Albedo looked at one another and both took a couple of steps backwards from the triangular group they created. Mona sprinkled some of the blue powder on the ground. She made her legs about shoulder width apart and reached her right arm across her shoulders and near the left side of her head. She had an invisible aura surrounding her, that of mystery and power. Her hydro vision flashed, pulsing faster and faster as it built up with enormous power. Then, she released it all.
“DECIDED BY DESTINY.”, she yelled, throwing her arm forward and allowing the rest of her body to open along with it. The room resembled the galaxy for a moment, a never-ending abyss of stars. Even the ground below them became one with the starry illusion created by Mona and her hydro abilities. Within a few seconds, the illusion shattered, leaving another black hole.

Chongyun looked up at them,

“See you guys on the other side?”, he asked.

Albedo nodded his head.

“Of course.”, Mona replied.

Mona plunged down first. She morphed into a comet of water and fell like a rain droplet. Albedo followed suit with his physical body. He, after Mona, jumped into the darkness. Chongyun took a deep breath. This would be the last time he had to look down the mouth of this void. He took all of his determination with him, and he leapt into the air. The floor was not found beneath him and he fell into the dark of the void.

One last chance, that’s all he had. It was one last chance to defy destiny. His heart was beating faster than he could count or keep track of. Was it anxiety? Excitement? Maybe both at the same time. At the same time, would this trip finally answer all his questions? Why did he fail each time? How could he succeed? But, there was at least one question he would have answered. How would he spend this last life?

Chapter Text

The void began to disappear and the sky began to show as Chongyun descended through the darkness. At first, the wind whipped past him as if he was engulfed in a hurricane, him loosing grip of his scrolls. Despite the wind, they just danced along with the wind beside him. But the wind began to slow his fall, the sky became clearer, and the void became nothing more than a smog. Eventually, he reached sky and him and his belongings were thrust into the wind as the tunnel neared its end. The wind created a stream for him and slowly lowered him to the ground, while the void disintegrated below him. He came to the ground on his back, burying himself in the grass. There was only clear sky for as far as the eye could see.

‘Gorgeous’, thought Chongyun.

He laid on the yellow grass for a minute, taking in the sights and sounds. It seemed to be early morning. The birds chirped and the winds rustled a sweet tune across the world. It was so peaceful. He sat up slowly and looked across the grass, where there was a blue sky just beyond the grass he was lying in.

Wait, was he up on a mountain? There’s no way that this was ground level. It was also.... a very familiar peak.

‘Wait, is this- ‘

Chongyun ran to the edge of the mountain and looked down to see a bustling and prosperous harbor in the distance. He could almost hear the street venders and the bustling crowd. It...it was.... it hit him all at once as he saw the prosperous city, it was as if someone punched him directly in the stomach. He thought he was going to vomit. He could see the main square from here, and gave him shivers just to look at it. As the pit in his stomach deepened, he swore he heard a bell ringing in the distance as his mind ran 1,000 miles an hour. His chest tightened, his breathing picked up, and all he could do was break his eyes away from the harbor.

‘Calm yourself.’, he thought to himself. He attempted to slow his breathing and steady his heart, ‘It’s been years….decades…centuries’

Turned away from the harbor, he trudged back to where the scrolls had landed, still attempting to control his breathing. After a minute of controlled breathing, he sat down. If he wasn’t going to get moving quite yet, he should probably look at the information on the scrolls. He started with the most important, who he was, and rolled it open. He could hear the rustle of the scroll on the grass.

‘I wonder what I’ll do in this life’, thought Chongyun.

He read the diagram slowly, and did not miss a single letter.

Name: Chongyun

Sex: Male

Fairly standard so far.

Originally from: Mondstat

Reason for Liyue appearance: Searching for more cases to take care of in regards to work, as well as getting a fresh start in a new nation.

Associates: Albedo of Mondstat, Mona of Fontaine

Occupation: Exorcist

The last line made Chongyun stop in his tracks. He stared at the line, furrowing his brows and trying to make sense of it. Why an exorcist? He had very, very surely had that as an occupation before, Albedo had said there would be no repetition ever in regards to life. The only constant would be Xingqiu and maybe some familiar people from other lives. Wait if that was similar, what if....

He dropped the scroll in his hands and snatched up the scroll that had the family names and businesses on it. He threw it open in his hands, and his eyes began running across the paper. The side column of the scroll had the names of the businesses and families on it and the rest acted as a map with portraits and buildings. F, F, F Fa, Fe, Fei, there it was.

Feiyun Commerce Guild

Huh, so they were able to continue their “business”, although, it actually may be one now. They could even do so for a couple hundred more years. How...nice.

His eyes wandered to the names of the family members involved who ran the various businesses in Liyue. His eyes wandered down the page until he came to the Feiyun Commerce Guild once again.

Under related children, he found a name he didn’t seem to recognize. His sigh of relief turned into a gasp and cough as he read the second name under related children: Xingqiu.

His eyes gave way from the paper. What was the point of this? There was no way in hell this was a coincidence. What were they planning? He sighed, he could feel a headache coming on. At least Xiangling wasn’t listed on there under the Guild. Wait speaking of Xiangling, where was she? Was she on here? He put his hand on his chin, staring at the page as if he expected it to talk back to him as his eyes scanned the businesses once more. He found her portrait on the map and tried to match it to the business.... Wanmin Restaurant. He supposed it made sense, her eyes would light up whenever she looked at the kitchen in their childhood. Both him and Xingqiu would hide from her as she experimented, Xingqiu always got caught first and then sold out Chongyun for the sake of his stomach. His mouth twitched up slightly at the thought of the memory, even though it was just that, a memory.

He sighed and rolled up the two scrolls, putting both of them back in his arms. It was time to begin his descent. He looked around, making sure he had everything. He even ran his hand across side, even though he knew-

The feeling under his fingers was solid and cold.

Huh. His vision was still at his side. They hadn’t taken it. Yet, He felt another presence on the same side. He shifted his head back to look at the mysterious object. A pendant reminiscent of a hydro vision was stationed next to his cryo pendant his grip on it tightened, to the point where his hand shook. His eyes stared daggers at the object and in an instant, his sight blurred. Xingqiu’s face flashed before him, his face filled with tears and pleas. It was a face from long ago. Chongyun’s eyes narrowed and a very unwelcome fire threatened to escape him once again.

‘Deep breaths Chongyun, deep breaths. Heart be pure.... evil be erased.... mind be purged...world be-...’, he thought.

He sighed. He couldn’t even remember a stupid mantra. It’s been hundreds of years and he still...can’t remember... a damn mantra. Almost like he hasn’t aged a bit, which he hadn’t really, but still. He ripped the hydro vision off of his side and threw his arm back. He was about to swing but, his arm froze as he was about to chuck it off the mountainside. No, no, no. Calm thoughts, this can still be useful. With one last breath, he picked up all of the scrolls, reconnected the second vision to his side, and started his descent down the mountain. Despite the uneasiness in his steps, he found solace in the scenery. Liyue was still as beautiful as ever. Surprisingly, he could still recognize some spots that were outside of the harbor. Although, the harbor was really quite different. It had been “modernized” to say the least. The look of a thriving market area.

He walked closer and closer to the large entrance arch, that nauseous feeling in his stomach returning. Despite this, he tried to hold his head high as he carried his belongings. He was met with men in uniforms, holding spears pointed to the sky. The damn Millelith. He tensed up the moment he saw them, stopping only for a moment before continuing to walk with his head high. He watched them as he walked passed. Their eyes scanned him, narrowing for a moment as they inspected every part of him. Their eyes only stopped when their eyes came to his waist and they looked at the vision he displayed on his belt and the the square design of Liyue around it. Only then did they continue to look ahead, past Chongyun.

He continued onto a wooden bridge, the stun of the beauty of the modern harbor faded as he got closer to the wharf. It was so...complicated. This was going to be fun to navigate, but, that’s why he has a map.

He stepped out onto the wharf, and instantly felt the piercing stare of everyone who walked past. Some were subtle and took short glances at him, while others openly stared. He kept his eye forward, to try to avoid all of their gazes. He shifted two scrolls to the underside of his arm to hold, pulling out one of the scrolls that had the map of Liyue. Even then he could feel people staring.

Where does he go from here? Maybe he should just get a general view of the area, lounge a bit around a certain guild building. So, there he went, map in front of his face, navigating the bustling wharf of the harbor; a wharf he could barely recognize. At least the deep breaths he took were somewhat helping him. They sent a calm wave of relaxation down his body and he could feel his heart and body steady. He walked along the concrete curiously, he remembered when it was a simple docking area, not as modernized as it had become. He looked out at the ocean longingly as a memory came into view. It flashed before him as if it happened yesterday. Him and Xingqiu, dressed in their black cloaks would watch the boats as they docked at the shore. Each one would take turns talking about what they would do if they could get on one.

“I would leave with you.”, Xingqiu had said as he put his head on Chongyun’s shoulder. His hair was soft as it grazed Chongyun’s neck.

“Don’t you have a duty to uphold?”, he asked.

“Yes, but I don’t want that.”

“Why?”

I want justice, but I don’t want to do this. It should be everything I stand for…but it isn’t.”, Xingqiu replied. He went deeper into Chongyun’s neck. “Let’s not talk about this now…I’d much rather plan out a fantasy life with you.”

So that’s what they did. They discussed how far they would run, the memories they would make together; in a land away from everything. It was a moment for just the two of them. Sweet nothings, so innocent and naive. Whatever tension left in his body disappeared in that moment.

“Like the ships kid?”, He shook his head and brought him out of his daydream, realizing he had been staring for far too long. He was met with a woman, an eyepatch over her left eye being covered by her long, brown hair. His eyes widened in recognition. She still shimmered like the diamond, even one sentence from her showed that much. She really was someone to be looked at as a leader. In his lifetime, she was as a woman he had much to thank for but couldn’t tell. He couldn’t help but wonder if the letter that he had told Xingqiu to give her during their departure ever reached her.

“Uhhh, yeah.”, he replied, giving her a short and soft smile.

“Me too.”, she said, smiling back. “One of them is mine.”

“Oh which one?”, Chongyun asked, looking back out at the water.

The person who he assumed was named “Beidou” looked at the sea and pointed at a large junk style ship with red sails. The shop was reminiscent of the town of Liyue itself, sharing roof and wall styles with the homes. Not to mention, there was a dragon carved into the front of the ship.

“There she is, the Alcor. She’s gorgeous isn’t
she?”, asked Beidou.

“Yes, she really is.”, said Chongyun, staring at the ship. Though, despite the ship also being a part of the past, the ship in itself had a way of making Chongyun feel at ease. A reminder that they did win once. He looked at Beidou again to get her response.

But, Beidou just smirked in response before returning her gaze to the ocean waters.

“Captain Beidou!”, he heard someone yell.

“Yes?”, he heard her respond.

With that, he slinked away, not wanting to cause more disturbance.

He whipped his head back down to the map and walked to a set of concrete stairs and through a large red arch, into the central market area. At least it wasn’t where the square used to be, but he was getting close and would have to beat with it soon. He was met with an equally as busy and bustling hub in the square. Despite this, people still noticed him, stared at him, and glanced at him as he walked by. He kept his gaze focused on the map. How he hadn’t bumped into anyone yet was beyond him.

After a couple steps past another arch he felt his legs begin to shake. He allowed for his cryo energy to overtake him completely, nearly to the point of delusion. It has been remodeled, parts of it were missing, yet, it would still always only be one place to him. That town square and the sound of a ringing bell would be all this area would ever be. Yet, he would come here for a reason, even if he had to freeze every bone in his body. All he had to do was look right in front of him and he found it. The Feiyun Commerce Guild. There was a considerable amount of space for it. It was way bigger than he remembered. He smirked slightly,

‘Maybe they actually sell silks now’, he thought. Sadly, the hitch in his breath returned the longer he looked at it. It was a large and open area, with a fancy traditional building being assaulted by bright colors. Although fascinating, he couldn’t see anyone of note near it, although, he wasn’t sure what he was expecting. Maybe he could check out uhhh… what was it? Wanmin, yes, he should do that. Was he hungry? No. Maybe he was just desperate to see another familiar face.

He changed his direction to go on the left path, away from the commerce’s building and square. He continued downward, face buried in his map until he reached the edge of a small market area, circular in shape. Then, he continued down a small street corner, he had not travelled far before the scent of spice hit his nose. He scrunched it, trying his hardest not to turn back due to the smell. This wasn’t helping his nerves in the slightest. Ugh, he was getting hot flashes just thinking about the food they probably served, despite his vision still pumping energy into him on one of the highest intensities it could. Maybe he’ll check out the food anyways, you never know.

On the inside of a small shop building was an even smaller kitchen. Inside the kitchen, which was visible from the outside, he saw a girl with navy hair, her hair short with some of it in the shape of a bow in the back. She was cooking on a stovetop and seemingly talking to her...bear? There was something familiar about that fire spitting red panda beside the girl. He walked up to the counter, waiting for a minute before the girl saw him. She turned to look at him and there she was, the spitting image of Xiangling, yellow eyes, porcelain skin, it was her. She finished up what she was doing and walked over with a smile on her face.

“Hi! Welcome to Wanmin, what can I get for you?”, she asked, smiling as she talked.

She looked happier, that’s good. Maybe it’ll be the same for Xingqiu too. Both of them deserved at least that. As for her question, Chongyun blurted out the first thing that came to his mind,

“I’m just checking out restaurants around here for possible spots to eat later but, could I possibly get a menu?”, he asked.

She raised her eyebrow slightly and a silence grew between them for a few seconds. But she soon replied,

“I- ...suppose that would be okay.”, she replied. She reached her arm to the side of her and pulled a paper into view. She handed it to him with the most customer pleasing smiles you’d ever seen. “Wanmin looks forward to your possible patronage, have a good day.”, she continued.

“Thank you, you too.” He replied, reaching out and grabbing the paper. He scurried out of the area, maybe that wasn’t the smartest thing to do. But now he has confirmation on the state of her at least.

‘While I’m here I should probably explore more.’, he thought. ‘Plus, it would be kind of weird if I came only for that and left.’

He found himself with his map buried in his face yet again. He navigated and attempted to memorize the entirety of the harbor. With the map he travelled all around the city, and continued until he found himself walking back along the wharf, map still in front of his face. He believed he had scoured the town long enough for now. Although...there was one place he hadn’t checked. He’ll check it later...he wasn’t quite ready for that yet. He should probably find somewhere to rest where he wouldn’t draw as much attention and eat something as he had been walking for hour. It was almost being midafternoon, which he could assume by the sun being more westward than eastward. He reached down to his belt, to try to grab where his sack of essentials would be and the realization hit him like a truck.

He wanted to smack himself.

He is so stupid.

He forgot Mora.

Oh, of all the things he could’ve forgotten, it had to be the currency that would allow him to survive, and in the trade capital of Teyvat. Pat on the back to him. How’s he going to eat for the next day or so until his dear associates come for him? Does he offer his services? How many people actually need exorcisms? Maybe he could find work somewhere.

“Now I know how Mona feels.”, he groaned to himself.

How grand this was going thus far. He thought he saw a bulletin board near the Feiyun Commerce Guild, maybe he could post something on there. Couldn’t hurt to try, right? He inhaled and allowed cryo energy to flood his body at full blast again. He turned on his heel and started speed walking, and tried to take the map out of his face since he actually knew where the Guild was. Maybe he could ask someone to borrow a pen or quill or-

WHAM

He was knocked to the ground by a mysterious force that seemingly came out of nowhere. He thought he had been too lucky with not running into anyone all this time. He began to get up to his feet, brushing off his pants as he got up and picked up two of the scrolls he had dropped, as well as the Wanmin menu.

“I’m so sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going. May I help- “

He turned to see the backside of someone wearing an Ombre coat, black morphing into blue. The figure looked to belong to a young man. It was all too familiar, and the navy hair that entered his vision made him feel washed over with a sense of déjà vu. It was short and asymmetrical. The figure was sitting on the ground, picking up his dropped items, which looked to be multiple novels, as well as Chongyun’s map of Liyue.

“If you were going to ask if you could help me up, that would be most pleasant.”, the figure said. The person, collected once more, turned their head to Chongyun. Amber eyes met eyes of frost. A polite smile met a seemingly straight face.

All Chongyun could do was lean down and reach out his hand, reaching out to the boy. It was taken gracefully, and with that, he pulled the “stranger” to his feet.

“This is yours”, the boy said, giving him his map, his business-like smile never faltering. “And I apologize as well, I wasn’t watching either, I hope your time in Liyue is less.... bumpy.”

“Thank you....”, Chongyun murmured. Wait how did he- oh wait, map, right.

With that, the blue haired boy turned his attention back to his novel, walking the streets of Liyue with one arm behind his back and his face in front of a book. No wonder they both bumped into each other.

Despite how embarrassing that was, he couldn’t help but smile at that little encounter of fate, a light blush cropping up on his cheeks. He used the map to cover up his face, hoping to calm himself down a bit. Even full cryo energy couldn’t work miracles. He couldn’t help but think, even if it was just a formality, Xingqiu still had the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

Chapter Text

Chongyun watched the sky turn into an abyss as night began to fall upon Liyue Harbor. He watched as all the vendors closed their stands and and all the residents went inside their houses. Slowly but surely, the candles in the houses blew and the lights in the streets dimmed. Unfortunately, he did not have that luxury and had no clue what he was going to do about his living situation for the time being. He didn’t have mora for, well, anything. But, despite how tempting it was, the Millelith would surely find it suspicious if he slept in a known public area as someone who they had never seen in Liyue before. On top of that, he can’t get caught trespassing on private property. Plus, it was just generally embarrassing to be caught outside. As he pondered his predicament, a place flashed in his mind. It was open, but not under the watchful eye of the Millelith, or at least most parts of it weren’t. Plus, it would be easier to hide there in comparison to others places. Well…at least he thought. He just had to hope it was the same way in the present day.

‘Maybe it’s time to see it again.’, he thought.

He walked through the streets of Liyue with his map once more. He walked the empty streets of Liyue, staring at all the houses he had to pass by. Sometimes he would see a guard and he said would roll to the side. He would see some other people as well, but they would often be seemingly strolling the streets and disappearing soon after. He continued his stroll until he came to an arch. He looked up at it and walked right into it.

As soon as he walked in, Chongyun’s nose was met with the the sweet and flowery scent of the garden.

He looked straight ahead, taking in all of its beauty. It was a place of silk flowers and glaze lilies. The garden was still stunning, dotted with the whites, greens, and pinks, though they all were tinted with a bit of blue in the dark. It was calming, breathtaking, and most importantly, still reminiscent of the haven he once knew. He looked at the beds of the gardens and saw some men with pointed spears and yellow and brown uniforms. He sighed, the Millelith were on patrol on the other side of the garden, and they didn’t seem to be moving from their posts. Well..it was okay. He figured as long as he kept out of their line of sight, he would be fine. He tip-toed to the greenery on the periphery of the garden area and managed to get out of any possible line of sight of the Millelith, going behind a large and jagged rock.

As he looked upon the silk flowers in the garden, he couldn’t help but be reminded of long ago. A place of serenity and peace, a large garden with places to hide and sights to see, a small world. It was a part of the only world that Xingqiu and Chongyun knew and were able to explore. In fact, this place was the place where him and Xingqiu first… ...no, he couldn’t. Despite all he wanted to think of, his head interrupted him,

‘Why think about that when all’s going to be over soon?’, his thoughts asked him.

“Why reminisce on a dream long dead?”

Maybe those thoughts were right; he shouldn’t be thinking about that right now. He shouldn’t think of Xingqiu’s face in the flowers, how he placed the flowers delicately in Chongyun’s hair…none of it. He tried to block those thoughts from his mind and focused on the task at hand. He tiptoed to the back of the tall rock just a few feet in front of him, and laid down in a patch of grass right next to a silk flower bush. He tossed and turned on the ground, as he tried his best to become somewhat comfortable. He had some worry for the night to come, but at least he would be able to run away if anything went wrong, or, in the worst-case scenario, defend himself if anything happened. He held his scrolls close to him, put his head down near the bush, and closed his eyes, trying to get some sleep. Although it was no easy task, Chongyun’s exhaustion was undeniable. His eyelids felt as if there were thousands of pounds on them. They fluttered, and soon enough, he gave in to the whispers of slumber.

…….

Chongyun was awakened by a rustling noise coming from in front of him. He slowly opened his eyes to try to identify the disturbance. Everything around him was blurry, and he was met by nothing but the darkness of night and the faint shine of the moon up above. Not thinking much of it, he closed his eyes once more and attempted to go back to sleep, allowing his chest to rise and fall to the rhythm of his choosing. He could only rest his eyes for a few minutes before he heard a voice that was barely audible:

“Yeah......asleep.”

“Get....and run.”

He opened an eye ever so slightly, and in the midst of the dark, he was greeted with a man in a strange outfit and a bandanna over his mouth who was reaching his arm over to where Chongyun’s scrolls laid in his arms. Without thinking, he jolted up to his feet and gripped his scrolls in his arms as he looked at the unknown figure. There were three others with the person that had the same masks on. As he walked backwards, they jumped into action.

“Give us all your items kid.”, the one who had been trying to grab at his scrolls said, approaching him menacingly, hand outward. “Don’t make this difficult.” He looked to where the Millileth were once stationed to attempt to call for help, but they were gone. Of course they were. He scanned the garden space in front of him. There were nothing but those hostile and flowers all around him. All of the assailants surrounded him, drawing ever closer to him no matter how many steps he took back. With no chance of a clean escape, he was out of peaceful options.

“Okay, I won’t.”, Chongyun replied. He reached out behind him and allowed his vision to pulse. A claymore materialized under his grip. He pulled it to the front of him, tucking the scrolls in his shirt and-

The person chuckled, “Hey look at this kid, trying to scare u-“

“A touch of frost!”, Chongyun yelled. He swung his claymore towards the ground and knocked down two of the thieves instantly. He gripped his claymore with all his might and slashed at the two who had not lost their balance. Closest to him, a thief took out a hammer and swung it violently while running towards him, as if he had no control over it. Chongyun watched him swing it towards him for a moment, and dodged, rolling under the hammer at the last second. As he rolled, he saw the other thief hurling dirt at him through the corner of his eye. He ran back from the two thieves and used the rock that hid him as a stepping stool. He felt frost form under his shoes as he ran a third of the way up the rock and bounced off of it, flipping backward. He rammed his claymore into the ground as he landed on his toes. It cracked onto the ground and frost spouted from his blades. A small patch of smooth ice was formed on the ground as water and cryo splattered the ground. Wait…water? The last two thieves were thrown backwards by the splattered energy and crashed on the ground. But, soon enough, the two thieves that had been knocked down first launched up to their feet. He could see now they had bows and were readying their arrows. As they fired, Chongyun lifted his great sword to block the attack. Right on time, one of his spirit blades that was integrated into his ice ring dropped from the sky as the ring disintegrated, further knocking the assailants off balance, keeping two of them down.

He focused in on the members and he yelled,

“One with my blade!”, once again slamming his claymore on the ground, forming another rings and knocked the two bow users to the ground.

As he was about to strike for the final time, he heard the familiar whoosh of flames behind him.

He felt a burning sensation crawling up his back, the sudden change of temperature disoriented him as the warmth spread from his back throughout his body, like branches on a tree. He stumbled backwards. His vision started to blur as he tumbled to the ground and he lost his focus. Looking behind him, he saw a figure slinging bombs at him. This gave the thieves time to recover and soon enough, the thieves drew near him, he was trying to recoup but he couldn’t, it was like he was paralyzed. He took breaths in and out, trying to get his body to calm down, but to no avail. All he could do was panic, the fire had aggravated his condition too much at this point. He felt lethargic, and could only watch as the blobs that looked like the thieves drew nearer and nearer. He didn’t bring any damn popsicles either, how thorough of him.

“Told you we didn’t want to do this the hard way kid”, the blurry figure said as he approached him. The their came closer and closer, about enough for Chongyun to make out him raising his arm, about to smash him to the ground. He watched as the blurry mass drew closer to his head, almost in slow motion. He put his hand up to his head and turned away to brace for impact. He heard a splash of water and the sound of crackling. It was the sound of the freezing of water. The masses had turned into blue blobs from the frost that laid atop their skin.

‘How did- ‘

He felt someone tug at his hand.

“Come on, we don’t have much time before they free themselves.”, he looked up, being met with a blur, but it was most definitely a person.

He didn’t have any time to question or process anything at this point and took the stranger’s hand. The stranger burst into a sprint and Chongyun ran through his fatigue with them, well to the stranger it was probably more like dragging Chongyun. They ran through the sleeping streets at a lightning speed, eventually deciding to duck behind what Chongyun could only presume to be small row of shops and houses.

When the two stopped, Chongyun collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily and rapidly. It seemed the physical activity had only flared his condition.

“Are you okay?”, asked the stranger.

Chongyun was still in the midst of catching his breath, all he could muster was,

“Cold.”, he managed to wheeze through his breaths. “Need cold.”

The stranger looked at him and possibly down at their waist, he couldn’t tell. With a swift motion of their figure, water fell from the sky, drenching Chongyun. Strangely, though unconventional, he could use this. He took his hand to where he thought his cryo vision was, feeling the energy pulse though his body once more, and froze the parts of him that were drenched. Although, not really, his yang energy would never allow him to actually freeze, but, it sent chills that could only ever be given by ice down his spine. Yet, the sky became more clear and be gained back some of his coherency.

“Thank..you”, Chongyun said. He finally came to realize who his savior was as his vision cleared, although it wasn’t like he was all that surprised. The asymmetrical blue hair blocked off part of his savior’s face as the boy cleaned the blade of his sword, but, after years of experience, he could recognize Xingqiu anywhere. A comfort of sorts returned to him as he realized this.

“No problem,”, replied Xingqiu. He stopped and stared for a moment, analyzing Chongyun, from his head all the way down to his shoes, taking a few moments before speaking again. Chongyun would be lying is he said he wasn’t doing the same.

“Ah, I thought you looked familiar. You’re the visitor that I bumped into this afternoon, correct?”, Xingqiu asked, still cleaninf his blade.

Chongyun only nodded.

“It’s dangerous out here, what were you doing out so late?”, Xingqiu asked.

“No reason to it, I could ask you the same.”, Chongyun replied.

“Well, strolling out in the world is very good for your health. Plus, lots of residents are in danger of the exact thing you stumbled into when they leave their houses at night.”, replied Xingqiu. He looked at his blade and allowed it to dematerialize into the air.

“Sleep is good for you as well.”, said Chongyun. “Besides, isn’t it a bit dangerous to take stuff on like that on your own?”, he continued. He looked around as he was able to see again.

“You bring up a good point.”, Xingqiu said. He poked his head around the corner to the front of the housing block, obviously eager to leave the conversation quickly. That stung a little, but Chongyun tried not to take it to heart. “Yet I feel like this would have ended much differently if I wasn’t here.” Chongyun sighed, he was unfortunately right. “Which is why we should get you back to your place of stay”, Xingqiu continued. “I assume you are staying in a place like the inn run by Mr. Zhu outside of town considering you’re down in Liyue Harbor.”

Chongyun opened his mouth and then closed it as his mind blanked. Honestly, Chongyun didn’t really know what to say to that. He couldn’t just say to this man- Xingqiu, who he had technically just met, ‘No I was having a fun time being homeless and sleeping near the silk flower bushes in the garden.’ Well, he could, but he didn’t want to make a worse first impression. He had already bothered the man enough. So, against his better judgement, his thinking still slightly clouded by head, he said,

“Yeah....exactly.”,

This would be fun to dig out of if he was caught.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let us go- uhhhh, I apologize I seem to have forgotten to ask for your name.”, Xingqiu said, a small awkward laugh entered his voice.

“Chongyun.”, he replied.

“Ah, an honor to meet you Chongyun, my name’s Xingqiu.”, Xingqiu replied, holding out his hand.

‘I know that all too well’, Chongyun thought.

Chongyun took his hand, grabbed Xingqiu’s, and shook it.

“N-Nice to meet you as well.”, he said, trying his best not to show too much enthusiasm or the archons forbid, longing, as he shook his hand.

“Well, with all the formalities out of the way, would you like to start on our journey?”, asked Xingqiu.

“Uh- yes, let’s go.”, Chongyun replied.
Xingqiu nodded his head in response. Xingqiu motioned for Chongyun to follow him with his hand. They tip-toed out from behind the building and checked both sides of the road from the front of the shops. With Xingqiu scanning the right side of the path and Chonyun scanning the left, they were unable to see anyone who resembled any of the thieves and took it as a sign to proceed. Xingqiu motioned for Chongyun to follow him.

“The way seems to be clear, meaning that we’ll be safe in the harbor at least. There are no promises when we leave the harbor though.”, Xingqiu said.

Chongyun just nodded and joined beside him, somewhat comforted in the company.

It was a while before they would talk again, only doing so after they left the harbor behind and entered the wild of Liyue.

“So, Chongyun, what brings you to Liyue?”

“Just business and business opportunity, I suppose.”, Chongyun responded, matching Xingqiu’s pace. Well, that was what was on his profile at least. Was that what’s he was supposed to say? God it was like he was reading off a cue card and it had only been one sentence.

“Seems like you aren’t quite sure of that.”, said Xingqiu. “But everyone has their reasons I suppose. Onto a bigger question, what’s your business exactly?”

“I’m an exorcist.”, he stated. “I help to cleanse the land of evil spirits that may be wandering.”

Oh, he wished. Ironic, all these lives and never had he been able to live his dream thoroughly once. Well, without intense judgement at least. Plus, it was unlikely his condition would allow it anyways.

“Oh, I see,”, replied Xingqiu, “How many have you caught?”

“Uhhhh....none”, replied Chongyun, wait why did he say that? No, really, why did he say that? Ugh, no matter, the answer was only realistic.

Xingqiu looked at him, raising an eyebrow and staring at him for a moment.

“Really?”, Xingqiu asked.

“I-It’s complicated.”, said Chongyun, his cheeks flushed slightly, but not enough to be visible in the dark of Liyue.

“I’d guess so. Well, it sounds more fun than what I do, that’s for sure.”, said Xingqiu.

“And what’s that?”, asked Chongyun, pretending to be unaware.

“Business, that of dealing in silk trade to be specific, or at least that’s what I do when called upon.”, he said.

“Sounds...uh...fun”, said Chongyun.

“But of course.”, Xingqiu replied. “But I would much rather be out delivering repentance to evil doers much like your line of work.”, he said, a small smile still plastered on his face.

Silence followed, which signaled that was where their conversation died.

As they strolled through the grass, they soon came upon a small and humble inn.

“This is where you said you were staying, right?”, asked Xingqiu, pointing at the inn.

No.

“.... yes”, Chongyun replied, nodding his head. The hesitation was evident in his voice.

They made their way up to the inn, where they saw aman with brown hair and a mustache. He was near collection of wooden tables by the entrance of the inn. He looked at them and began moving towards them.

“Ah, young Xingqiu, do I have the honor of having the business of the Feiyun Commerce Guild?”, the man asked, smiling as he spoke.

“Not today Mr. Zhu, no.”, Xingqiu said. “I’m just here to drop off your client right here.”

He gestured do Chongyun.

Oh, he had to mention Chongyun was a client, didn’t he?

“Oh um, is he here to book a room?”, Mr. Zhu asked.

“No, just to recheck in”, Xingqiu said.

“I... see.”, replied Mr. Zhu. “Well, it is dark and my memory isn’t the best, you could very well be one of my clients. Come on, let’s see which room we have you in.” He gestured for Chongyun to come closer.

Chongyun looked back at Xingqiu. He swore he saw something new enter Xingqiu’s eyes as he turned to him, a small glint. Chongyun construed it as doubt, but there was something mischievous about it as well. It was a small sparkle of amusement, one that told Chongyun Xingqiu wasn’t done with him yet. Despite this, Xingqiu’s business like smile never faltered.

“Well, I suppose this is where we part ways.”, said Xingqiu.

“Yes, uh, thank you for saving me earlier.”, replied Chongyun.

“Think nothing of it. Always happy to oblige. Farewell my liege, I hope we meet again.”, Xingqii said as he waved his hand in the air. Xingqiu turned and began to walk off to pathway that led back to Liyue Harbor.

“Bye.”, said Chongyun.

Chongyun watched as Xingqiu walked back and made sure Xingqiu actually left before he turned to Mr. Zhu.

“Do you have a waiting room of sorts that I could rest in for a short period of time?”, Chongyun asked.

“Indeed, it’s just in the entrance of the inn near the front desk.”, Mr. Zhu said. He looked back at Chongyun, tilting his head to the side. “But wouldn’t your room be more comfortable sir?”

“Of course, but, I’m not ready to go up yet.”, Chongyun replied.

“If you say so, the customer is always right after all.”, said Mr. Zhu, letting out a small laugh and smile. Come get me when you need me, I’ll be outside seeing if any other patrons arrive.” Mr. Zhu walked off back to the area he was when Xingqiu and Chongyun first arrived.

“Thank you.”, said Chongyun.

He sped walked into the building, scanning for any possible ways out. There was a variety of wooden chairs and fluffy pillows across from a desk. The room was quite cozy, well, too bad he wasn’t going to use it. Across from the lobby area, he could see a back door. He turned his head and made sure Mr. Zhu wasn’t looking at the window. He wasn’t, he was simply standing outside and looking towards the harbor. He held his breath as he quietly walked to the door and skillfully opened and shut it. The door didn’t even so much as creek. He exhaled and relief washed over him. He began to set out back to Liyue Harbor from behind the inn, looking down the trail and into the dark.” /p>

“I see you’re enjoying the time in your room very much.”

A voice came out of the shadows of the bushes of the inn. Attached to it was blue hair a- It was Xingqiu. Of course it was. Chongyun felt his heart sink just a bit as Xingqiu came into view.

“How did you get here? I saw you leave.”, asked Chongyun.

“I’m a fast walker.”, said Xingqiu, “But that’s beside the point, what are you doing?”

“Going on a walk in the world is great for your health you know.”, Chongyun said sheepishly.

Xingqiu smiled as Chongyun said that, and he let out a small snicker.

“Come one now, where are you actually staying? It’s obvious that you’re trying to escape this.”, he said, an amused smile grazed his face.

Chongyun tried to visualize his map in his head to figure out what may be in the direction he was heading. He wasn’t sure but, in the end, he settled on,

“I’m heading to Wangshu Inn”

“You’re heading in the direction of Liyue Harbor.”, Xingqiu replied.

“An inn there?”

“There aren’t really any inns there.”, replied Xingqiu.

“Yes, there are.”, he swore that he saw some while he spent his entire day wandering the harbor.

“Fine, there are.”, Xingqiu rolled his eyes. “But most have been fully booked since earlier this summer. So, what actually happened?”

Curses to Xingqiu for knowing too much about his homeland.

“How do you know I didn’t book it prior? he asked.

Xingqiu visibly rolled his eyes at him again. Yet, despite that, Xingqiu still chuckled a bit under his breath.

“Debunking all excuses, I think you would’ve told me if there was a different inn. There would literally be no reason to lie about that Chongyun.”

“Well, I-“, Chongyun began.

He froze as he knew he had no more excuses. He was caught in his own stupidity. At this point, he didn’t have any choice but to either waste both of their time being stubborn or confess his lie. Xingqiu looked at him with anticipation, putting his hand to his chin.

“I may have had uhhh... nowhere to stay and was sleeping in the garden you saved me in before some assailants came in and attacked me.”, Chongyun said quickly. “I don’t know why I didn’t just say that, I am so sorry for wasting your time, energy...”, he rambled on.

Chongyun braced himself for a lecture or anger, but then he remembered, this was Xingqiu. He looked to see Xingqiu put his hand over his mouth and had put his head down. Was that, muffled laughter? Xingqiu’s shoulders and his words started shaking as he attempted to talk.

“I-I’m sorry, it’s just....”, said Xingqiu, laughter entering every word of his sentence. “You went through all.... of this... how committed.” Xingqiu took breaths in and out, looking a Chongyun with another smile, a genuine one. It made Chongyun’s heart melt a little bit.

“Would you like me to get you a room?”, Xingqiu asked. “I can get you somewhere in Liyue Harbor and pay for it.”

“I thought you said that everything’s been booked out.”, said Chongyun. “Also, no, no way are you paying for me.”

“Ooooh, I may have lied and yes I will.”, said Xingqiu.

Chongyun deadpanned at him.

“You what?”, asked Chongyun

“I may have lied, you have some...creative excuses though.” he asked, a small smirk forming on his face.

“Well, shall we?”, asked Xingqiu, gesturing to the path to Liyue Harbor.

He stared at Xingqiu and sighed. “Fine, but I’m reimbursing you later.”, replied Chongyun.

“Whatever you say.”, said Xingqiu.

Together, they went back to Liyue Harbor, first explaining the situation to Mr. Zhu. Chongyun apologized profusely the entire time, in the end Mr. Zhu laughed it off with some words that fell along the lines of, “Young people, will be young people.” They walked, but there was a bit more chatter this time.

“So do you always do this with new people?”, asked Xingqiu, the smile still not leaving his face.

“Do what?”, asked Chongyun.

“Tell them fake locations of where you stay in order to spend time with them”. Said Xingqiu.

“Hey, that was never my intention.”, Chongyun said.

“Well if you say so.”, said Xingqiu in a sing-song voice.

The conversation was filled with teasing all the way to the Harbor. Soon enough, they were near Wanmin restaurant and outside a simple building.

“Here’s a great inn, it’s near a good restaurant my friend owns as well.”, Xingqiu said, pointing to it.
They walked into the building, it was simple and quaint like the outside. There were a few wooden chairs with cushions near the front desk where they would check in, but not much else. They approached the lady at the counter, who had on her best customer pleasing smile.

“Hello, how may I help you today?”, she asked.

“One room bedroom, if you please.”, said Xingqiu, “twin bed”.

The lady at the counter looked over to them, her smile faltering for a moment before returning.

“How many nights?”, she asked.

Xingqiu looked to Chongyun for his answer.

“Uhhh, two”, Chongyun said.

Xingqiu raised an eyebrow, but nodded nonetheless.

“That’ll be 2,200 mora.”, she said.

Before Chongyun could react Xingqiu slammed a small pack of mora onto the counter.

“This should cover it.”, they watched as the lady checked the coins individually before she ducked below her desk, soon pulling out a room key, and handing it to Xingqiu. Xingqiu gracefully accepted it and handed it back off to Chongyun. Chongyun read what was engraved on the key. He was staying in a room on Floor 2, specifically Room 3.

After the hand off, Chongyun felt himself being pulled off to the side by Xingqiu, where the employee wouldn’t disturb them.

“I suppose this is where we part ways for now.”, said Xingqiu.

“I suppose we do, once again,thank you for everything you’re doing.”, replied Chongyun.

“Again, it is but no issue.”, said Xingqiu, “I do hope we can bump into one another again shortly.”

That was the last thing Xingqiu said before he left Chongyun in the lobby of the inn. He avoided the gaze of the employee at the desk, and made his way up the stairs to his room. He turned his key to the room, and slid open the door. He made sure to lock it after he went in. As soon as he got in the small inn room, he flopped onto the bed in the corner, not having the energy to really process anything else. But, despite that, with all the processing he had to go through with what had happened at night, he didn’t get much sleep. All he could think of was Xingqiu’s laugh and smile as he had looked at Chongyun that night…and how all the stars in the sky, no matter what life or time, could never compare.

Chapter Text

When Chongyun “awoke”, the sun was just barely making its way into the sky. He had tossed and turned throughout the night thinking of the day’s encounters and what it would mean for the future. It was tiring, but at least the reason he was unable to sleep that night was different from more common ones that plagued his nights.

He looked out the window as he sat up in bed, watching the sun peek over the horizon with his eyes half closed, dreary from the lack of rest. As he regained awareness of his surroundings, he felt lumps underneath him, poking at his side. He felt his heartbeat quicken and his body freeze as he wondered what it could be. Slowly, he reached his hand under him, only to feel two cool and round shapes. Immediately, he was hit with the realization that he hadn’t even bothered to change his clothes from the night before. The lumps were his two visions, well, one real and one fake. He sighed in relief as he felt them, glad they were just his possessions and nothing else. Though, in actuality, there was one vision he would have sighed with more contempt than anything had he not been startled. He would have been glad if it had been replaced. After all, he couldn’t use the fake one. The only purpose it held was to remind him of events long past. Speaking of the two, he was surprised no one had commented on his two visions yet, actually. But, that could’ve just been luck. For the sake of not pushing his luck, he took the hydro “vision” off his belt and put it in his hoodie along with his maps. Was it secure in the slightest? No. But had anything fallen out? Also no.

After that thought left his head, he continued to sit in bed to map out the day mentally. He still most likely had today ahead of him until Albedo and Mona entered Liyue. A hint of bitterness entered his mind as he thought of it. Curse Albedo and his Chief Alchemist title and Mona for being stuck with him. Every second not working on anything was a second lost with his and Xingqiu’s souls at stake. Why couldn’t they- He felt the creation of a pit in his stomach, and he could feel the guilt creep into him as he let the bitterness flow. It was selfish. He had done this alone before, he had done it alone fifty times. He could… he could…. He sighed Who was he kidding? This was different. This time, his life was about to crumble. His eternity would turn into hell before his eyes. Alone. Like he had always been. Well, he supposed he had Albedo and Mona with him throughout each life…

Although, when he thought about his friendship with them more, he laughed a little. It was very…secretive. It was a bond that was shared as his companions, one that connected them but could never fully bloom. Although, he didn’t really know any other kind, did he? He could only wondered what the two did in his rightful timeline. Would they have all been friends? Would they still be following their passions without restraint, without something- no, someone holding them back for a few centuries? The guilt filled him more each time he thought of these scenarios. The guilt flowed and flowed, and began to fill the void in his stomach that was supposed to be for food.

If he failed…would they be free? He buried his hands in his face. No, he can’t. He smacked himself,

“There is a mission at hand’, he thought. ‘Don’t think about that yet.’

All of a sudden, he leapt from his bed, just to get out of his mind. It happened more often than he would care to admit.

He sighed and walked to the entrance of his room and unlocked the door, stepping outside into the hallway of the inn. He locked it once more as he made his way outside, and made his way through the inn. It was only when he got outside when he realized,

‘What in the world am I doing? What am I going to do?’, he thought. He never got to finish planning out his day.

Maybe this could be...spontaneous? Xingqiu always told Chongyun that he could use a little more of that in his life, no matter what timeline and universe he was in. He may as well do something, get to know the town of the enemy. He finally looked up and watched the sky as the sun graced it with colors of yellow and orange as dawn came upon Liyue Harbor. He took a deep breath, and began to trek forward into town.

He began to walk down a street where he came across a bunch of small streets that branched off of one another, leading towards the wharf. As he looked at the sunrise, and how the rising sun glistened on the water, he wondered about what he could do today. Maybe he could scope out ruins, maybe he could go to Quigce village, he could even check our Wuwang Hill for suspicious activity. Regardless, a little adventure was in store while he had nothing better to do. As he walked down the street contemplating his dilemma, he heard someone shout from the right side of the street.

“Hey, hey you!”

He looked to the side of him to find a girl with short, black hair and brown eyes waving at him from behind the counter of the building, her whole-body swaying from side to side. Was that Xiangling? What was she doing here? He looked to the side of the building where there was a sign that acknowledged that the building was Wanmin Restaurant.

Why was she talking to him? Was she? He darted his head around the street but couldn’t see anyone else.

“Uhhh...hi? he responded. He raised his arm halfway and waved half-heartedly. She could probably barely tell it was a wave.

Xiangling beamed as she saw his acknowledgement of her call. She stretched out her hand and motioned him to come closer. He felt his breath break its steady rhythm and his hands clench up. He was hesitant at first, but he obliged, walking up to the building’s open window area where customers would order dishes.

“Hi, I know I don’t know you; I mean, I’ve seen you once, but, still. I couldn’t sleep last night and I have a new recipe but no one is awake yet. Would you like to be my guinea pig?”, she asked, her eyes wide with anticipation.

He smiled slightly, remembering all the times that he had been forsaken to her creations in the past. He would’ve said no, both due to that and his panic brought on by Xiangling talking to him, but was quickly brought back to his senses by his screaming stomach. He was grateful for Xiangling’s hospitality…but…he had to know:

“Is it spicy?”, he asked.

“No, it’s not, but if you want it spicy, I can do that too. I just thought it may be a little too early for that. It’s just a dish I’ve seen in Mondstat.”, she said with a giggle.

Not spicy huh?

“Then sure, I’ll try it.”, he said, not wanting to seem rude and deny her request.

Despite his polite smile, he had realized he had agreed to eat something before even knowing what it was; from XIANGLING. Now, Xiangling from his period could be an amazing cook, but.. she also had some more…out there…ideas. Furthermore, he had no idea what to expect from this Xiangling, though he was using the past as a comparison. If that was the case, he should teach a class on how to dig your own grave.

Xiangling grinned and reached below the counter. After a minute of scrambled arm movements, she pulled out a stack of four pancakes, seemingly having small chunks of sunsettia in them with chocolate drizzle on top. He let out an audible “hmm.” as he looked at the stack. This was, nothing like he was used to trying from her... it looked... edible. He observed the dish, quickly glancing at it from every angle, for anything abnormally shiny or unnatural in color, but, couldn’t seem to find anything. There was a small portion of it cut off, assumingely where he was supposed to take from.

‘It’s... abnormally normal.’, he thought. He knew he shouldn’t compare who they were in his rightful timeline to who they were now, but not too much had changed besides modernization. So, he was a tad bit suspicious of the dish.

He picked up the fork like utensil on the side of the plate, obviously another influence from Mondstat, and took a small portion of the cut off part of the pancake stack. He stabbed into it with the fork and lifted it up, laying it in his mouth. It was...really good, and not just because he was starving. He felt his eyes widen as a pleasant sweetness and fluffiness of the pancakes entered his mouth. He found himself about to dig for more, but, he stopped himself.

“Like it?”, asked Xiangling.

“Yes, it’s really good.”, Chongyun said, calmly, trying not to seem too eager. “I’m sure it would be a hit on the menu if you were ever to put it on.”

“Well, you can take the rest.”, she said.

He began to push the plate towards her, trying not to look at the goodness he was attempting to give back.

“Ah, no I couldn’t, I don’t have any mora to repay- “,

“Shoosh, no payment necessary. In fact, take it as a... umm… payment for being my Guinea pig.”

“I can’t- “

“Stop it, I will not allow you to give it back, I really won’t, so just take it.”, she said, putting her palm towards the plate, pushing it away from herself and towards Chongyun.

He was about to make a rebuttal, but his stomach started to growl once again. It was very audible. He looked at Xiangling who looked at him with her arms crossed as she stood her ground. Both him and her saw that he was starving, and she certainly wasn’t going to let it go. He couldn’t be a burden on her or take up more of her time than needed.

“Fine, if you insist, thank you for your kindness. I promise to pay it back one day.”, he replied.

“I suppose, you don’t need to thank me for it.”, she said.

“Don’t be modest.”, he replied, as he dug his fork into the pancake once again.

“I’m just being honest, don’t thank me for it. Now I hope you enjoy your meal.”, she said.

“Well, alright, thank you.”, he said. As he said that, it dawned on him that he probably didn’t make the best second impression. How to get out, how to get out. The pair sat in silence before Chongyun decided to speak.

“Well, I have somewhere to be.”, he said. “So, I’ll eat this while I walk and I’ll see you later I suppose. Really, thank you for all you’ve done.”, he said.

“Of course, once again, I didn’t do much, but do come to Wanmin again!”, Xiangling said with a chipper tone.

She waved goodbye to him as he walked away with the pancakes in hand, and he reciprocated the gesture while holding his fork in his mouth. Despite all the kindness, couldn’t help but wonder if there was something wrong with the dish he was consuming; as it was far too normal and convenient. But, no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find anything suspicious other than the act itself. Considering that, and the fact that his stomach was still growling, he walked around Liyue Harbor in the early morning while consuming the dish. He also decided to allow his cryo energy to flow through him as he walked, as to keep a cool head while he observed the town. To his surprise, a decent number of venders were already out. Everywhere he went, they all stared him down like he was prey. Well, not that he could blame them, they didn’t know he didn’t have Mora. As he lapped town once again, he got used to the stares and learned to ignore them. Eventually, the store owners got the message and stopped staring at him in the way a cat would look at a mouse.

It was on his third round (all avoiding Wanmin of course), when he stopped at the Commerce building and he realized he was carrying an empty plate and surrounded by people. Though it was full, he still recognized the town square, but, thanks to both the people and his cryo energy, all that occurred were some breaks in his breathing patterns. It seemed like everyone had risen despite it being early in the morning. Well, the early bird catches the worm, he supposed. He scanned past the crowds for some form of a trash can, but couldn’t seem to find any. So, he simply stuffed the plate in his hoodie to dispose of later, opposite to the other important things in there. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how much his clothing hated him as he stuffed the trash into it. As he looked at his hoodie, he noticed his pocket it started to glow slightly. At first, it was light, but it started to become flashier and more noticeable the longer it remained.

“Oh no, not now.”, he murmured. This had to happen in public, didn’t it?

His pocket began to glow, catching the glances and attention of nearby citizens. He put his hand on his cryo vision, and another on his hoodie, trying to make the cryo energy calm and mask the warm flow of the glowing dust. He felt as if he was stuck there, glued in place, as he silently trying to calm it. But, despite his attempts, it glowed brighter with each passing minute. People began to stare at him. They narrowed their eyes when catching a glimpse of him and looked at him haughtily. He watched as some of the children pointed at him from front of the crowd. There were small voices that said, “Look at the glowing man”. He desperately began to pump more cryo energy into the dust. Oh archons, a crowd was forming and he was practically frozen in place from his embarrassment. He felt his blood go cold and his eyes wander nearly everywhere. His only option was to scan the crowd to look for the source of his predicament. He scanned the faces of judgmental adults and curious children for some sign of the source, but still found nothing.

It was an eternity that remained until he saw a familiar purple and starry witch hat in the crowd of people. He watched as it pushed its way through the crowd of people to reach him. As the figure of the girl in the galaxy leotard came into view, his pocket stopped glowing instantly. The familiar astrologist had a sheepish look on her face, and quickly pulled him to the side of the crowd. She dragged him away through the small crowd that had formed, both of them bumping into countless people as she pulled him.

After they had made their way to the wharf area, where the crowd’s gaze stopped following, Mona looked at him. The sheepish expression on her face was still plastered onto her.

“Sorry about that.”, she stated. He stared at Mona as questions swirled his head.

‘Why was that necessary?’
‘Why was she here now?’
‘Where was her lab partner?’

“Why…. why would you do that?”, he asked. “And wait, where’s Albedo?”, he continued, “And why- “

“Shhh.”, she said. “I’ll explain everything in due time, don’t worry, nothing bad is happening.”, she said. She reached out and patted his shoulder, obviously trying her best to be reassuring. However, this just made Chongyun tense up.

“But,”, she continued. “We need somewhere more private to talk.”, she said. “But considering Albedo realized that you didn’t take any Mora with you, the closest we’ll get to somewhere private is behind a building in the public market center. Isn’t that, right?”, she asked with a joking tone. Yet, her tone held a hint of anxiety as well.

“No, actually, I have that all sorted out.”, he said. “Just follow me and we’ll be able to get somewhere private.”

He looked at Mona who simply said, “Okay” and motioned forward. Taking it as a sign to move, he started forward, praying the way he remembered to the inn was the right one. The walk there wasn’t anything special. They made small talk, rambling on about unimportant things. It was mainly discussion of Liyue and its past and present. He also got a bit of insight into her routine as a writer and astrologist. He got so caught up in meaningless chatter that as he approached the inn with her, he forgot to tell Mona about what had happened the last day.

‘No matter, better spoken in private anyways.’, his thoughts concluded.

As they walked into the inn, they passed the desk lady, the same one from the previous night with Xingqiu. She looked at them with narrowed eyes, which seemingly followed them throughout the lobby. He saw Mona tense up as they walked past her, and he was no better. After they had climbed the stairs and the two knew they were out of earshot, the conversation picked up again,

“Well, that lady sure is pleasant, isn’t she?”, Mona asked, her words dripping with insincerity.

“She may not be the most, uh, customer pleasing, but she could be worse.”, he said.

“She a bit terrifying.”, said Mona. Sadly, it seemed like she had seen something Chongjin did not have access to.

“Eh, I’m sure we’ll get used to it.”, Chongyun said.

“I don’t think so, but if you think so.”, Mona said. He saw her shiver as said it.

Finally, they came across the correct room. Chongyun took a key and slid it into the lock of the door, unlocking it with ease. Then, he put the key in his side hoodie pocket and turned the doorknob to open the door, making way for Mona to enter first. As they entered the room, Chongyun closed and locked the door to get straight to business.

“Shall we answer questions?”, he asked.

Mona, eyed the bed in the corner, and made her way there. She looked at him from the corner and popped herself onto the bed.

“Yes, we shall.”, she said.

“Starting off, why in the name of Rex Lapis did you decide to make me glow to find me?”, he asked. He felt his face warm as he recalled the memory, the thought of what had happened making him want to implode on himself.

“Why? it was the best thing I could think of. Albedo also soon realized we didn’t really have communication devices on us with the hurry we left in. To find you in Liyue would take way too long, probably well into the next day when Albedo would arrive.”, she said.

“That would’ve been fine-“

“But…”, she continued, interrupting Chongyun. “We have this, so communication should be no issue now.”, she said. She used her finger and slashed in the air, visibly creating a pocket, and pulled out a small orb. “This will allow us communicate with one another with no issues.”, she said, holding it in the palm of her hand. “When Albedo calls, we’ll be able to answer.”

“That leads into my next question.”, Chongyun said swiftly, “Why are you here alone? I thought you were kidding when you were talking about leaving without Albedo.”, he said.

“Well, it was intended to be just a joke at first, but I decided otherwise. This is why.”, she said. She swiped her other hand through the air, materializing her small, galaxy themed wallet into that hand.

“We have business to finish.”, she said. Without giving him time to respond, Mona set the orb on the floor and plunged her hand into her wallet, taking out a small bottle. Although, it was still too large to realistically fit into her pouch. It was sealed by a cork, being very reminiscent of - pocket sized wine bottle, and had a rolled-up paper inside it.

She held the bottle out with both of her hands, gripping onto it. “Here, take it.”, she said.

Chongyun grabbed the neck of the bottle with his hand, taking it from Mona. He examined it, and could only assume it was a letter for him. He put his hand atop the cork, and attempted to pop it open.

“No!”, Mona said suddenly. She put her hand over her mouth and then took her hands off her mouth and shook her head. Seeing her genuinely scared reaction, Chongyun stopped what he was doing.

“You’ll want it for later.”, She said. “Just trust me. You’ll want to read it when this life ends, whichever way it goes. If you know what it is now…it may leave you with nothing at the end if everything goes wrong…”, she said. A small look of realization of what she had just said came into her face. “Not that I’m expecting everything to go wrong of course but…”, her words trailed off and she held her arms close to her, as if she was trying to convince herself just as much as she was Chongyun.

After seeing her state, Chongyun decided against pushing the issue further and changed the topic to something related but not too similar,

“What exactly is this then?”, he asked as he held up the bottle. He caught a glimpse of light reflection on the glass, and watched the light dance on the it.

“It’s…something that helped Albedo and I to start this journey, something that he found. But it rightfully belongs to you. He doesn’t need it anymore, or he won’t anymore at least.”, she responded, calmer than before.

“Despite that, I’d hide it.”, she continued. “Although he hasn’t looked at it in a while, if he sees you have it, he may become a bit irritable. I will bare most of the brunt of making sure he doesn’t find out that it’s missing from his care.”, she said.

He looked at her curiously, with his eyebrow raised as he looked from the bottle to Mona. Wow, would she really do that? Ignore the will of her partner in this experiment? She would do that...for a test subject?

“Anything else I need to know?”, he asked.

“No, I promise that’s all for now.”, she said.

A silence drifted between them, one that Chongyun decided would be best to break.

“Did I tell you about my time here yet?”, he asked.

“No, you haven’t.”, she said, her visible worry replaced with a small smile. “Have you found him yet?”, she asked, a small glint of light shining in her eyes.

“Yes, I have.”, he said, smiling with her. For the rest of the day, he detailed stories of what had happened the previous night, with Mona adding on touches of Teyvat trivia to go along with it. It left laughter and content with the two them; the heavier topics left behind them. Yet, there was a tension that went unanswered as the two rambled, one that wouldn’t leave Chongyun’s mind. Quite frankly, these were thoughts that Chongyun didn’t really want to think about right now. But, learning this new news, he couldn’t help but wonder as he looked at Mona:

If his supposed friends and supervisors were able to hide something as big as this bottle seemingly was from him for centuries, what other important things were they hiding?

Chapter Text

It was late in the evening when the pair of Chongyun and Mona stopped talking. Somehow they had been able to distract one another the entire day through their strange stories and conversations. Although, most likely it was fueled through the fear of judgement of others after Chongyun’s whole “glowing incident”. Even though Chongyun could appreciate the company, he couldn’t help but think of it as slightly odd. It was how much she listened this time with no intent of observation record, how their situation wasn’t exactly brought up, boundaries were seemingly gone. Sure they were friends, but not by choice exactly. The whole bottle situation complicated this further in his mind.

Not to mention, Mona looked uncharacteristically anxious. She was fidgeting and her eyes were wandering randomly to different parts of the room.

“Hey Chongyun…”

Her voice was a bit quieter than normal, and she was looking to the floor. It was a look that he knew all to well. When he looked back on his own life, he had that same look plastered on his face.

“Yes?”

“If we made a different plan, if I proposed a different plan to you and Albedo that required a bit more risk…”

“What is it?”

Her eyes remained plastered to the ground.

“Uh…”

“What does it have to do with-“

“Never mind.”

She said it quickly,

“Let’s wait a bit, at least until Albedo comes to discuss this.”

She shifted where she sat, looking around the room.

“Oh…okay.”

“Speaking of sleep.”, he said. “We should probably get some rest for the coming day.”

“Of course.”, said Mona.”

A slight dose of relief could be heard in her voice.

“How should we sleep?”, Asked Chongyun.

“Since it’s your room, you can take the bed and I’ll take the chair.”

Chongyun looked at the wooden chair, well, stool, more accurately.

“Are you sure? That looks uncomfort-“

Mona laughed just a bit,

“Oh trust me Chongyun, I’ve slept on much worse before. I’ll be fine.”

He looked at her again, narrowing his eyebrows.

“I will be fine.”

Slowly, Chongyun sat on the bed.

“If you say so.”, he said.

“I do.”

Quickly seeing the discussion wouldn’t go anywhere, Chongyun sighed laid on the bed, slipping under the covers.

Mona stood up and blew out all the candles in the room.

“Goodnight Chongyun.”

“Goodnight Mona, see you tomorrow.”

With him in bed and Mona on a chair nearby, he laid down and closed his eyes, where images of a happy future surfaced. It was a pristine image, sparkling as if it was the finest of treasures z It was him and Xingqiu. Chongyun looked up to see Xingqiu reading to him, as he was laying in his lap. They were sitting next to a pond,

“And then the hero entered the cave, gallant and courageous…”

Xingqiu’s voice echoed with grace as he read. ‘The voice of an angel’, Chongyun thought.

Behind them laid small, wooden cabin. It was somewhere to call their own, and it had always been their dream. A peaceful mountainside to live out the rest of their days, raise children, pursue their passions. If only…if only. Slowly, the “reality” began to disintegrate around him. It was blown away like dust until all that was left was him staring at the walls of the inn. Normally nothing could stop that dream. But, his thoughts about Mona’s odd behavior couldn’t help but linger on as he laid still.

Research before companionship. That was the motto that they had all agreed to follow when this had all started. It led to them not talking much except for reporting and check ins. Albedo and Mona were friendlier, he heard them in the void chatting at times. But, he was decently cut off from them, only falling into brief casual discussion with them a handful of times. But something changed one day. It had started in the first half of the total lifetimes. Lifetime fifteen, that when the banter and bonds between all of them began….

…

He jumped into the void and out of his latest world. As the wind encompassed him, his mind flashed back to watching Xingqiu die… for the fifteenth time. A picnic table, a valley, contentment, and….a gun. It was their third anniversary too. He had failed once more. He put his hand up to his eyes, only to feel slight moisture rolling down them which got picked up by the wind and allowed to to fall with him. Although the feeling of emptiness and pain that it came with lingered, aching in the back of his mind, it was quicker this time. It was changing into something new. After all, there is only so many times someone can see something and still have a strong reaction. That reaction then may turn into something new…like pure determination. The wind began to slow and he felt himself drift onto the floor. As he drifted down, he was able to see a small puddle of light where he was to land. He ignored it and let himself drift into the void, looking back up and reciting the words he was to his partners. He looked to his right as he floated so he could find Albedo and give his report as quickly as possible. Albedo collected the data and then both Mona and Albedo drew conclusions. But, he was not met with Albedo when he landed. Instead he was met with a witches hat and clothing with an array of stars and space on them. He was met with Mona. She was holding a notebook and pen in her hands that Albedo usually had.

His feet drifted to the gound, landing lightly as the end of his descent came. As soon as he landed, Mona wasted no time and got to work,

“Standard report?”, she asked, her concentration fixated on the paper.

“Mission failed, the culprit this time was almost certainly a man by the name of Childe. Xingqiu was shot when I left to go get drinks for us while we were camping. We both made it to 21 with my lifetime length with him being six years. Besides this, trauma involved was based around a neglectful home environment…”, he felt his voice trail off as he spoke.

“Very good.”, Mona responded. She had her notebook in one hand and a pen in the other. Her hands scribbled violently across the page. Chongyun could only assume she was taking notes. Though, it was a bit intense.

“Will the be all?”, he asked.

Mona looked up from her clipboard, straightened her posture, and took a deep breath.

“No, but, this is unrelated to your lifetime experience or even work in general.”, she said. Now, you don’t have to say yes to this. It’s your decision and we understand it you don’t want to be friends with us exactly.” She took in another deep breath and the asked, “Would…would you like to eat somewhere together with Albedo and I?”

He was dumbfounded, sure. Hm. What had he done for them to assume he wanted nothing to do with them? He opened his mouth slightly but shut it immediately. His hand began to move on its own for a second, his wrist going into a circular motion. All of a sudden he was feeling fidgety, and felt the need to deny the request. Would they have bad news for him? Did something happen? But, at the same time, he was not one to deny his overseers.

“Uhhh…sure?”, he answered. “Why has this come up?”, he asked.

He watched a flash of pity go through Mona’s eyes. She looked up, as if she was engulfed by the sky as she answered.

“I just feel like we haven’t had time to develop anything.”, she said, tapping her notebook. “Teamwork requires trust right? What is that trust if built upon by circumstance only?”

“Probably not very strong.”, he said, a nervous laugh sticking itself on to the back of his sentence.

‘Why now though?’, he thought.

“But aren’t we due to leave onto the next world today?”, he asked.

“We’re due to leave tomorrow in order to get there tomorrow.”, she said. “We’ll only be out for a few hours, in a part of town you were never in, so no one will recognize you.”, she said.

Although hesitant, he decided it best not to ask any more questions or object. After all, they would not put this project in danger.

“….Well, alright.”, he said. “Just tell me when we’re set to go,”, he said, beginning to walk away to a different corner of the void.

“Gladly.”, said Mona. She smiled kindly at him as he walked.

Chongyun couldn’t help but think, although she looked joyful, there was a sadness behind her eyes whenever she looked at him.

They all did go out that day, going to a restaurant across town from where Chongyun had been living. It was a bit harder to get conversation out of him during that time due to the events of that day, but it was one of the first times they all had talked as individuals. It was the first time Chongyun had separated them as opposed to seeing them as a unit.

“Why a little sister of sorts? Chief alchemist Albedo, the myth and legend…having a personality outside of his work.”, Mona commented while moving her fork around in her salad.

“Why of course I have a personality Mona.“, Albedo rebutted.

“Yes one based around the words ‘alchemy’ and ‘research’. The past century has shown that well.”, she said.

Chongyun chuckled lightly over his cold noodles.

“See, he gets it”, Mona said.

“I’d say neither of you do.”, he replied. He looked between the Mona and Chongyun, and Chongyun saw a small smile crack onto his face.

Mona looked to Chongyun and used her fork to gesture to Albedo.

“Oh you should have seen him in the beginning of this project, he analyzed everything down to how many times a day you decided to breathe.”

“Wait you did?”, asked Chongyun.

“Oh well- I-“

“Hah, can’t deny it can you? Well at least you’ve become a bit more tame now-“

That dinner was one of the best parts of the project for Chongyun. It was full of laughter, and the thrill of learning about someone new. Well, someone new who wouldn’t forget it in a couple years. It felt like an actual connection.

After that day, they began to talk more during mission briefings, check ins through coms, even playing games with one another when there was time. Although, he would consider himself closer with Mona since Albedo stated direct boundaries. But regardless, they had found a way to become friends, but still, throughout all this time they had never broken the agreement of project over all else.

As this rule was still in place, Mona’s actions perplexed him in ways he couldn’t describe.

He thought about it late into the night as he looked around the room. Both random and paranoid thoughts entering his mind. What if she knew something? What if she decided she was sick of this project? What if…what if she was never on our side for a period of time? It left him to stare at the room. As he looked around, he was realizing more and more that the inn was a temporary solution which they would be able to change as Albedo would arrive the next day. Albedo….he huffed as he shifted in bed, the countless thoughts swirled through his mind like a whirlpool. Needless to say, sleep alluded Chongyun.

Eventually it centered around one idea in his mind. It wasn’t for anything that had happened that day, or even that of his previous lifetimes. Mona’s actions made him reminisce his own sin. The pity stirred something inside him, something waiting to bubble over and in it there was a feeling he couldn’t shake….

His gut was screaming at him that there wasn’t a future where this went well. No matter what he was told along with the many failed attempts, he couldn’t see a world where he succeeded in saving Xingqiu. Did he deserve for it to go well? Does someone who defied the order of nature based on their own desires deserve to live happily? He used to never question his position, but he now doubted it.

He thought back to the day where his own life was taken from him. There were many people there to witness the death of one deemed too deviant to live. The death of someone who never had the ability to choose his own path. Ironically, he made the decision that day to defy fate, and ended up waging a war with it. Even funnier, they didn’t even know he was that boy. He thought he was right…but…as Xingqiu’s many pained and dying faces flashed before his eyes, he wondered if he was. He couldn’t help but think that Xingqiu’s punishment would’ve been lighter if not for his actions. It surely wouldn’t have been his soul dammed to disappear.

‘Remember when for a time you thought you could win?’, his thoughts asked him. He does. His mind drifted further, with the beauty, color, and the peaceful atmosphere of Mount Hula. A time where he and Xingqiu stood a top of of mountain, looking down at the world at sunset. They ran in cloaks and masks in the light of day and the shadow of night. He did not remember much about it but he remembered what Xingqiu had asked that day:

“Will you love me forever my dear Chongyun?”, Xingqiu had asked, looking at him with his right hand lightly caressing Chongyun’s cheek. A lazy smile rested on his face as he looked at Chongyun. The light reflected off of Xingqiu’s face beautifully. The glow gave him the look of an angel… something the Gods deemed he wasn’t. But, he was Chongyun’s.

…he couldn’t quite remember what he responded with on that day as the years went by. He could only remember the feeling of lightness and joy, one of the happiest moments in his life as he and Xingqiu enjoyed each other’s company while watching a beautiful sunset. The epitome of perfection in his eyes…did he deserve that after all he had done? Could the Gods even answer that question? Well they had obviously since he was going through this, but, he couldn’t help but wonder who was right.

Ironically, all of this thinking was what eventually brought him to slumber late into the evening. With all the nights of sleeplessness catching up to him, he became too tired to push further into his thoughts. But, they tormented him while he slept. He did dream that night, he simply could only describe them as nothing close to a blessing. For only that much he was sure.

…..

“Agh!”

Chongyun woke with a start as he felt something cold dripping into his face. He sat up immediately, looking around the room frantically. There was a bright light shining in the window, temporarily blinding him in his sleepy state. As his vision adjusted to the light, he finally took in his surroundings only to be met with Mona at his right side of the foot of his bed. Her arms were crossed and she had an amused grin on her face. As he connected the dots, he looked at her with a straight-face, unimpressed. He could even say he looked at her irritably, his tone matching his demeanor.

“You couldn’t have done anything else?”, he asked.

“I did, you weren’t waking up. I said your name several times, I patted you a couple times, and I made a little noise by rustling and shaking things. You did not stir in the slightest.”, she said. “Not to mention, it’s already mid day and it’s bright outside, I have no idea how you slept or why you responded to the water but nothing else.”, she said.

Despite her somewhat lengthy explanation he could only pick up one thing from it:

“It’s mid day?”, he asked. He immediately felt himself lose his cool as he heard those words and he felt heat start to intensify in his body. All he could think of in that moment was how it was wasted time, wasted time, wasted time. “Did you try to wake me up before?”

“No I didn’t- ”, she said.

“Why didn’t you wake me up? Even with Albedo gone we can’t waste a day here. You should know this even more then I do. Yesterday was different but now we can’t waste a second, not when it’s the la-“

“I know just as well as you do Chongyun. I know it’s the last time, you’ve been worrying about it too much.”, she said, “You just looked like you could use some sleep.”

He could barely speak as he took in her words. Wasn’t she taking this seriously? Doesn’t she know what will-

….

Without thinking, he spoke the first thought that came to his head.

“I can sleep when Xingqiu is safe and sound, not condemned to a damned existence Mona.”, he raised his voice as he continued to speak. As he spoke he began to pull himself out of bed.

“This is what I mean.”, she replied calmly, pointing to him.

“What do you mean?”, he asked, voice threatening to let emotion control him completely.

“Chongyun you’ve been so preoccupied with this you haven’t been truly taking care of yourself.”, she said.

He looked at her, further stunned by her choice of words with his mouth slightly ajar. The filter that often ran through his head decided to malfunction further,

“Mona what- are you okay?”, he asked.

“I am, I assure you I am perfectly fine. I’m just worried about you-.”

“…Mona what did you do?”, he interrupted.

As he said that, he could see Mona’s face morph into one of offense, and then hurt as she lifted her hand slightly and her eyes and eyebrows dipped downward . “What do you mean what did I do?”, she asked.

Her voice trailed off.

Although Chongyun was close with Mona, there really was something she wasn’t telling him. He knew it, he just never voiced it. Everything she did had an essence of guilt to it, as if she knew something that could change the entire course of this project.

He quickly realized he had to backpedal for the sake of the group dynamic,

“It’s just- never mind. “, he said. He’s said enough already. He wouldn’t want to say anything else to cause more trouble.

“No I want to hear it-“

“Nevermind.”, he said. “You probably woke me up for a reason, what reason would that be?”, he asked her.

He watched as she gritted her teeth. “Albedo contacted us. He said he’d wait for us by the entrance bridge of Liyue.”, she said, dropping the subject. For that he was grateful.

“Let’s go then.”, he said. He took a few steps from the side of the bed and motioned for her to follow. He felt his tension release with the heat in his body dying down as he moved on from the previous topic. Despite this, all of his normal routines fell out the door in that moment.

Mona stood still for a couple seconds with her head towards the ground before following him. They walked through the streets of Liyue, the once playful mood was gone. They did not speak as they walked, he only had the courage to glance at Mona a few times.

…What was wrong with him? Why was he so off? All she did was let him sleep, why did it make him feel so betrayed? Why did everything she do feel so…off? Despite these thoughts, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything to her. The tense atmosphere only continued into the entrance of Liyue Harbor, neither one speaking a word to the other. It continued as they passed the market square, the harbor, and-

“Albedo, we’re here.”, he heard Mona say.

Chongyun hadn’t even noticed that they were at the entrance of the harbor yet.

“Ah, finally, there you all are.”, he said, looking up from a sketchbook. It seemed he was sketching the harbor. “Let’s get to work as quickly as possible, shall we?”, he asked, putting his sketchbook and art supplies in his bag.

“Of course.”, Chongyun said.

“I suppose.”, Mona said.

He looked to them and said,

“Do you all have a place of stay by some miraculous miracle or shall I pay for an inn?”, he asked.

“We…we have an inn.”, Mona said.

“Yes we do, but the time is running out today so we better pay for both extra time and an upgrade if we can.”, Chongyun said. There were three of them after all.

“Alright let us proceed then.”, Albedo said. “Lead the way.”

They walked side by side, Mona and Chongyun taking sides opposite of Albedo. Chongyun took the left side and Mona took the right. The walk back to the inn had conversation with Mona and Albedo with a couple “this way” statements being exchanged from time to time with Chongyun. It wasn’t unusual for the two to talk more often, but Albedo glanced at him a bit more often. His eyes asked if he wanted to add on to the conversation. Chongyun simply looked forward and continued moving towards the location.

As they entered the inn, Albedo looked at the two one last time before heading in first. It was as if he was analyzing them, to if something was different. Mona then made her own way through the door, followed by Chongyun.

They made their way from the lobby to the room quickly, not to waste any time. As they stepped in, Mona went onto the chair in the room while Chongyun sat on the bed. Albedo however, began slowly pacing around the room in order to discuss the situation with them.

“So what are we dealing with?”, Chongyun asked, deciding to grip onto a pillow for this ordeal.

“Well the Gods are the same as ever. The basic rules are that Mona and I aren’t allowed to interfere in any way that would aid you in this lifetime, you are not to discuss anything in regards to what you may know with Xingqiu unless he figures it out himself, and you are not allowed to act against the authority of the Gods in any way.”, Albedo said. Chongyun focused in on his words as he continued.

“As for them, the basic rules are based upon them not directly interfering with your life at this time, not directly interfering in the lives of others in relation to you, not resetting the timeline if you succeed, keeping their promise to heal Xingqiu’s soul if you succeed, etc. it all has to do with life meddling and you having to be of the same standing you would be if you had gone the path that had been laid for you in this life. ”, he said. “One note of importance is that you are not to receive any help from the Gods either, unless they’re willing for whatever reason.”,

“I didn’t think that would have to be specified.”, Chongyun said. “They never have aided me.”

“Correct.”, said Albedo. “I’m not sure why they specified that either.”, he said. “On another note, I hope you’ve read your scrolls by now.”

“I have.”, said Chongyun.

“Well, then you know you’re an exorcist in this timeline. I hope you still remember your chants and mantras.”, Albedo replied. “Tomorrow will be the first day of actual work. We have to get you in the loop as soon as possible.”, he said.

He looked at Albedo with a raised eyebrow.

“Why?”, he asked. He knew the importance of not wasting a day… but this seemed more urgent.

Albedo stopped pacing for a moment before looking at him with a blank expression. Albedo stared at him for a couple seconds before abruptly saying,

“We just want this to go as smoothly as possible.”, he said.

Chongyun looked at Mona, she had the same look on her face that Chongyun did when he asked his question. She turned to Chongyun, as their eyes met she quickly changed her face to something more relaxed and nodded at Albedo.

“Well that settles it then. Now that this briefing is over, would you all like to get dinner this evening for our next briefing? We haven’t done that in a couple lifetimes.”, Albedo said.

Silence came between the group. Chongyun didn’t know how to answer, although it would be so easy. The tension hadn’t let up yet and Mona wasn’t budging either, so silence remained as the two paid attention to everything but one another. Albedo continuously looked between the two of them in said silence. As it became clear no one would respond, he said,

“Actually, never mind, it isn’t a question, it’s a demand. With my free time, I am going to go draw the harbor. I’ll be in the business district if you need me, and I’ll see you all at Wanmin Restaurant when the sun touches the peak of the mountains. “, he said.

“Don’t be late.”, he warned.

With that, Albedo strode out the door of the hotel room, leaving only him and Mona in the room. He watched as she took out her vision, creating charts and logs with her hydro abilities. She didn’t acknowledge him whatsoever. He took it as a sign for him to leave and decided to make his way to the Harbor’s square. He had not intended to follow Albedo, but honestly, he hoped to talk to him about Mona to clear some things up. If anything wasn’t his middle name it was confrontation.

From the motel, he walked into the small residential square and wandered the area until he could find the entrance arch tothe main square. He walked into the square and scanned the area. He spotted Albedo by the business district near the jewelry store and walked up from behind him. He took his hand and lightly tapped Albedo’s shoulder. Albedo simply turned around, not phased by the sudden interaction.

“Oh, Chongyun, said Albedo. “Do you need something?” As he questioned Chongyun, he also turned his attention back to his drawing.

“I just had a quick question.”, he said. “It’s about Mona.”

“Continue on.”, he stated. As Chongyun had said that, he turned his attention from his drawing to Chongyun, looking at him with his arms crossed.

“Has anything happened lately? Have you two learned something monumental recently?”, Chongyun asked.

“No, I believe we haven’t,”, Albedo said, placing his hand on his chin. “Why do you ask?”, he asked.

“She’s just been…acting weird lately…that’s all.”, he said.

“Can you describe it more? ”, he asked,

“It’s just been things like excessive talking, bending some boundaries, things of that sort.”, Chongyun said, putting fingers up as he counted his points.

“Ah, so you’re suspicious…because she’s interacting with you like a normal person?”, Albedo asked, not changing his posture.

“That sounds kind of bad but yes?”, he said. “I umm….”

‘Just say it’, his thoughts said. ‘Worrying about the answer isn’t going to make it any more or less real.’ He took a deep breath before finishing his sentence,

“I was just wondering: Could she have used her hydromancy in order to see the outcome of this and that’s why she’s acting this way?”, he asked.

He could only get the first part out. Mona’s guilt was another matter entirely.

“Well, no, she has an agreement with the gods not to do that. They’d be able to break a rule if we did and I can’t detect any foul play. In fact, we would be shut down for good as our proposal was accepted on rocky terms. But, I’d say your reaction’s founded in our circumstance. I’ll be sure to have a talk with her about it. This study takes precedence above all, can’t have her doing anything that would upset our superiors.”

Chongyun sighed in relief as he heard this news. So she wasn’t foreseeing anything after all. Although, an uneasy feeling still settled within his stomach, even hearing it from Albedo.

“Yes…of course.”, Chongyun replied. The study will always take precedence to them, as Xingqiu’s life will always take precedence to him.

“You sound dreary still.”, Albedo said.

“Yeah I just… it’s fine.”, Chongyun replied.

“Well if that’s the case, let’s spend the rest of this time till dinner together. My drawing has already been interrupted anyways. Maybe we can think of ways for you to reconcile with Mona.”, he said. Chongyun watched Albedo begin to pack his drawing materials into his bag.

Chongyun opened his mouth,

“How-“

He stopped, feeling embarrassed he had asked ‘how’. He had asked ‘how?’ to the most observational person in their group.

“I’m not blind Chongyun. I’m not blind. The tension on the walk to the hotel was so intense it nearly took its own shape. Remember Chongyun, we only wish the best for you, although our interference is unwelcome. As friends and supervisors, although there are many things we can’t tell you, we would never hide anything from you that would be important, remember that.”, he said.

“After all, what is trust born of circumstance only?”

Chapter Text

The waning daylight of the sun shone upon the alchemist, exorcist, and mage as they sat on bar stools outside Wanmin restaurants waiting for their food. Despite Albedo’s best attempts, conversation never stuck and Mona and Chongyun still weren’t talking. This left awkward silence with Albedo chipping in a comment or two every few minutes with responses of “Yes”, “No.”, and “Maybe so” . After the topics were dodged by both parties, Albedo asked:

“So, shall we discuss our next move? It’s a job for you.”, said Albedo. He gestured to Xingqiu as he spoke.

Chongyun sighed, finally spouting more then two or so words as an answer.

“Shouldn’t this be discussed elsewhere?”, Chongyun found himself asking.

“I mean it’s just business.”, Albedo said.

A prolonged silence took hold of them for a bit. Chongyun tried to formulate a response, but it wouldn’t leave his brain. Should they be talking about this in public? Could they?

“Yes, it’s nothing personal to discuss.”, Mona finally said.

Chongyun watched Albedo nod and continue with his train of thought, “So I stated before that you would be doing some work tomorrow. I managed to pull this job in our free time yesterday. It took a lot of effort and time so make the most of it would you?,” Albedo said, looking to Chongyun.

Chongyun nodded and Albedo took it as a sign to continue.

“So, you’re going to be doing some work for the Feiyun Commerce Guild. They believe a ghost has been keeping one of their dear children from sleeping at night. I’m sure you can guess who specifically.”, Albedo said. He looked between both Chongyun and Mona, seemingly studying their faces.

“You’ll be going there mid day.”, he continued after turning to Chongyun.
“Mona and I will inform you when you should start walking there.”

He abruptly stopped talking after that, which caused Chongyun’s mind to question the job at hand. A sense of dread came over him as he thought of him walking back into the Guild so soon. Well, not soon exactly, but more like at all. He stared at the wall of Wanmin…could he ask him..? He turned to Albedo and huffed , he knew this was a stupid question but…

“Would… you two…be coming with me?”, Chongyun asked sheepishly.

Albedo just stared at him with his eyebrows raised for an uncomfortable amount of time. It was a face of confusion.

“Well Chongyun-“, he started.

“Yeah I thought not, I was just wondering.”, Chongyun replied. His voice trailed off as he continued to look to Albedo for some sign of acknowledgement.

Albedo swept the confusion off his face put his hands on his lap before he looked back at Chongyun.

“I’m sorry Chongyun, we can’t interfere that far.”, he said. “I can give you instruction and minor assistance but anything with Xingqiu has to come from you.”

Chongyun looked at the ground and sighed. He…he would live… right? He thought of the labs, the secret doorways, and the dreaded downstairs of the area he was never to leave during his time there. He couldn’t do or say anything. He felt Albedo’s eyes still on him and tried to steady his breathing, they…they didn’t have to worry about him.

He heard Albedo sigh. “Well…”, Albedo said. “Maybe we can accompany you there, but no further than that.”, Albedo said.

Chongyun’s eyes widened.

“Really? You mean it?”, he asked.

“Yes of course. Mona’s coming too, isn’t that right Mona?”, he asked, turning to his other side to look at her.

Mona, who was toying with a fork, quickly looked up from her plate to face the two of them.

“Oh, uh, of course.”, she said, soon going back to look down at the fork.

“Well I suppose that settles that.”, Albedo said. Chongyun looked at him for any other sign of discussion, but Albedo had tuned his head over to Mona’s side of the table. Seeing as he was unneeded, he resorted to looking around at the scenery for the time being.

“Your food’s here.”, a perky voice said.

He looked up to see Xiangling, looking bright as ever holding out three dishes atop her arms.

“Thank you”, he said. He took the salad from her hands, handing it off to Albedo to hand to Mona, before taking the almond tofu and handing it off to Albedo. Lastly, he took his own cold noodles.

“Enjoy your meal”, Xiangling said, before skipping off back into the restaurant.

The silence of voices was deafening. The chewing sounds of everyone echoed in Chongyun’s ears as he ate with them. It was a conversation he wasn’t used to. It was all wrong but, honestly it couldn’t have been any other way. They finished as quickly as they had been given their meal and left. As they stood, no one said a word. It was almost a silent agreement to go back to the inn, and only that silence silence protruded between all three as they walked back to the inn and turned in for the night.

……

Chongyun looked out of the inn window, murmuring mantras under his breath. The sun had risen above the clouds and high into the sky as the day commenced. With his eyes closed, he took out his frosty talismans and allowed them to spin. He stared at them, focusing all his energy into them, himself oozing out energy as each talisman caught it perfectly. They had to spin the perfect speed at the perfect distance, and in perfect time. It nearly felt like second nature to him, well channeling energy at least.

“You seem excited.”, he heard Albedo say.

Chongyun’s talismans floated to the ground as his concentration broke.

“Is that what it seems like?.”, Chongyun asked. No reply from Albedo. He moved onto the next task after he asked. He looked up and saw Albedo turn to watch him practice, supposedly. He was holding a clipboard in his hand.

Raising his arm, Chongyun attempted to steady his hand to practice an illusion of sorts but, for some reason it shook uncontrollably. He tried to breathe in and out, but the illusion simply shattered as it began to take form.

After the seventh illusion shattered like glass, Chongyun felt the urge to complain. “It’s been so long since I’ve practiced exorcism.”, he said. “The illlusions are bothersome, I was never good at them in general. Being nearly decades out of practice on them doesn’t help.”

With a sigh Chongyun said, “Maybe I’m not cut out for this job after so long.”

“Well I figured you’d be out of practice,”, said Albedo. “But, it’s something you know and something you did during that time, was it not?”, he asked.

“I wasn’t professional at all.”, Chongyun replied.

“No, but you wanted to be, didn’t you?, asked Albedo as he put his right hand under his chin.

“Why does that matter?”, Chongyun asked.

“Well you’ll finally get to live your dream won’t you?”, Albedo replied.

“Well I suppose so…I guess I would have preferred it not under these circumstances.” , Chongyun said.

“Well I can’t blame you for that,”, Albedo said, taking his attention away from Chongyun and turning his head to the clipboard in his hand.

Chongyun fumbled with illusions for another minute before anyone spoke again.

“Oh and take this.”, Albedo said as he looked up from his clipboard. He stepped towards Chongyun and handed him an envelope with a wax seal. “It’ll show you’ve been invited to be there for business .”, he said.

“I see, thank you.” , replied Chongyun. He put the letter in one of his pockets.

“Of course, it’s almost time to go anyway.” , Albedo said.

After a moment of silence, Albedo looked towards the back of the room seemingly asked the air,

“Mona are you ready yet?”

“Yes, I’m coming!”, she yelled back.

Mona ran out of the room while slipping on her golden high heels and placing her hat on her head. She looked up at the two of them and raised her arm to gesture her right hand towards the door. Yet, despite her pleasant demeanor, she still refused to look at Chongyun.

“Shall we?”, she asked.

“Yes, let’s go.”, replied Albedo, who was already making his way towards the door. Chongyun took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

‘This is the first step, the first step to…’

‘Failure’, something inside of him whispered. ‘Do you really think this will work? The fact still stands you haven’t won once.’, his head said.

‘Well I can…. I can…- ‘, he tried to think of a rebuttal to his own thoughts.

‘You can what?’, they asked. ‘Fail again? As if you could pull off a miracle.’

He felt his heart sink as his thoughts took over. He felt himself sink a bit, and his heart began to race.

“Chongyun?”

He heard a voice call out to him, pulling him from his thoughts. Slowly, he turned around to see Mona already at the door.

“Come on, the appointment’s nearing.”, she said as she turned from him and walked from the door to the hall of the inn.

As he came to his senses, he trudged towards the door. Soon and picked up the pace as he realized what was happening and what he had to do.

The walk there was a blur, a bundle of warm colors of the Liyue scenery mixed with the voices that accompanied the bustling market. The thoughts about what was to happen swirled around his head like a howling wind.

What was he doing?

Why did he think he could do
This?

Before he knew it, he was there, standing in front of the Guild’s building.

“Well are you going in?”, asked Albedo as he pointed to the door.

“Ah yes, of course I am.” He walked forward and turned to stand in front of Mona and Albedo. “Thanks to the both of you for accompanying me here.”, he said, trying to keep his voice steady. “I’ll see you two later.”

He turned away from them and began to step his way to the door. He strode, trying to seem competent, or at least put together, and put his fist up to the wooden door.

It froze, his hand froze, but only for a moment before it began to move again, but seemingly on its own.

Knock-wait- one, two, three, four
Knock knock, scratch, one two
Knock knock knock
Knock

His hand began to shake as he removed it.

-huh?

It was crazy to think he still had that memorized after all this time. Well, it’s not like anyone would remember it anyways. It just sounds like an odd knocking pattern now. He waited outside for what seemed like an eternity before he heard the door opening. As it cracked open and then swung, he was met with a man in traditional wear and glasses, sporting messy hair as well. The man was standing up straight he addressed Chongyun.

“Hello young man.”, he said. “What can the Feiyun Commerce Guild do for you?”

“I uh… I’m the uh… the exorcist that’s supposed to be here today.”, he said. Chongyun jumbled around his pockets before his hand landed on the parchment that contained his key to entering the house.

“H-here’s the letter I was told to give.”, he said.

The man took the letter from Chongyun’s hands. He flipped it from side to side, inspecting it extensively. After around a minute, the man finally said,

“Of course you are. I’m sorry for the inspection, we weren’t expecting someone so young.”, the man offered a polite smile as he spoke.

“Come in, please.”, he said, gesturing to the inside of the house.

The man held the door side open and Chongyun took a step into the house. All he could describe it as was beautiful. Gold framed nearly every wooden interior design choice, with bits of jade and even some lapis in the design.

“Follow me.”, the man said.

Without saying a word, Chongyun obliged and stepped into the palace. They walked along a never ending hallway until finally making their way to A black door. The draft felt all too familiar to Chongyun. The man opened the door and down into a spiral of stairs into darkness. They walked down slowly, too slowly. Once they had walked down a fair amount, the man escorting him began to walk quickly ahead of him. Chongyun stopped in his tracks as the darkness clouded his vision and took over his senses.

That was until a light shone through the darkness, the man seemed to be lighting lanterns, ones as bright as the sun. He was efficient, lighting each one up in under a second and taking only one second more to move to the next. Soon, nearly the entire hallway was lit up.

“The young master should be asleep so you should be able to-“

“I’m what now Xu?”, a voice asked. Out from the shadows of the hallway came the blue haired boy, posture straight and professional. Yet there was something disheveled about him and he seemed to have bags under his eyes.

The man acting as his escort, Xu, looked a bit surprised.

“Oh, young master I thought you had gone to bed. Why were you in the dark?”, Xu asked.

“I was reading”, Xingqiu said.

“You know that’s bad for your eye-“

“Yes Xu, I know, I know.”

Xingqiu looked beside Xu and directly at Chongyun. His eyes widened in recognition.

“Oh, so we meet again my liege.”, a small smile graced his face once more. Yet, it seemed to be brought out of force as his smile was slow and unsteady.

Chongyun waved, attempting to steady his breathing and look as, well, not anxious as possible.

“Hello again,”, he said.

Xu quickly interrupted them, not even questioning their interaction or how they knew one another.

“I hate to place this burden on you Young master, but now that you’re here, can you show this young exorcist to where the ghost may lie? You may be best fit for this considering it’s haunting you.”

“Alright.”, said Xingqiu. He looked at Chongyun, beckoning him with a hand. “Come along Chongyun. Maybe this can be the first ghost you exorcise.”, he said.

“Yes, coming.”, Chongyun said, following Xingqiu’s beckoning hand.

The two began walking down the lit hallway, Chongyun following Xingqiu.

“So what kind of ghost is this?”, Chongyun asked.

“Malicious, obviously.”, said Xingqiu. “They are ominous and don’t give you an ounce of sleep or peace. In fact, they plant horrible visions in your head.”, he said.

“Horrible visions?”, Chongyun asked. “What kinds?”

Xingqiu sighed.

“Unpleasant ones.”, Xingqiu said. “Ones I’d prefer not to speak of.”

“Oh well depending on the spirit I will have to know what they are to determine how to exorcise them-“

“Death.”, Xingqiu interrupted. “It grants visions of death.”

“Oh.”, said Chongyun.

Death…huh?

“Yes it’s rather distracting. I haven’t gotten a good sleep in days.”, he said. “I try to use my water magic to help keep myself awake at this point.”, he said curtly.

They approached the end of the hallway. Then came something quite familiar. Chongyun saw the portrait of the Feiyun Commerce Guild Founder. Huh. What if that was still under it? He watched as Xingqiu placed his hand on a small portrait of one of his ancestors, removing it from the wall. Under it lay a lever that he pressed. The ground creaked and groaned, unveiling a secret set of stairs. Chongyun felt himself tense up, almost involuntarily.

Xingqiu gestured to the downstairs.

“This is most likely the place of issue.”, Xingqiu said. “It used to be a base of sorts for our ancestors. They had certain activities that could have invited such animosity.”, he said.

Chongyun stared at the stairs as Xingqiu continued to talk.

“We’ve gone down once before to clear it but there very well may be things left.”, Xingqiu continued. “At the very least maybe the “condition” you mentioned could help to solve it.”

Chongyun could hear what Xingqiu was saying, but it felt like it flew in one ear and out the other. All he could do was stare at the stairs. It was as if they were dragging him down, beckoning him to come back. Yet, his body tensed and his head screamed at him to run.

“…Hello?”

“…hello? Chongyun?”

Xingqiu’s voice brought him back to Earth. Xingqiu waved a hand in front of Chongyun’s face, a confused look plastered onto his own face.

“Oh I’m sorry.”, said Chongyun. He shook his head and focused his eyes onto Xingqiu.

“Shall we go down?”, Xingqiu asked.

“Uh, yes…yes”, he said.

He watched as Xingqiu began to make his way onto the darkness ever so slowly, as if waiting for Chongyun to join.

‘Pull yourself together Chongyun.’, he thought. ‘It’s been centuries…..it…it’s been centuries.’

He took in one final breath, taking one step forward onto the stairs. He took one step, then another, and another, trudging his way through the darkness as he went to the all too familiar depths below.

Chapter Text

The creaking of the old wooden stairs grew ever louder as Chongyun made his way to the basement.

“Now give me a moment to light up the room.”, he heard Xingqiu say.

He heard the cracking of a flame, and watched as little patches of light flooded the downstairs. As he looked around, he found it to be an image frozen in time. Why was everything just as he remembered?

There were bookshelves full of old novels and old guides on magic. There were tales of the archons, the first editions of every trading manual known to man, as well as guides on how to use stealth and magic interchangeably. Yet, he couldn’t help but notice certain books weren’t there. It was most likely the price of letting this place remain where it was. Regardless, the books were nothing he would have ever had the privilege of reading. He watched as Xingqiu walked up to the shelf and plucked off a book. There were cushions of velvet opposite to them, enough for about three people. Beside the shelves were a make shift kitchen and about four other rooms. He knew exactly what each room held. One was his room, one was Xingqiu’s, another was a guan, and the last one would have been a bathroom. He had spent eighteen long years getting to know these rooms after all, of course he could remember and picture them pristinely in his mind. Though memories from other worlds faded, these ones never did. He couldn’t tell whether it was a blessing or a curse.

“Now”, he heard Xingqiu say, “You have free reign over this area, although I will say, the hallucinations worsen when I sleep in that room.”

Xingqiu pointed to a door at the very end of the hallway. It had a Cuihua wood frame with bamboo strands at the edges. It was the dojo door. The place he had spent countless hours with Xingqiu training to become the “heroes” they always wished they could be.

“Why do you go down here?”, asked Chongyun.

“I simply like it better than the upstairs”, Xingqiu replied, his nose deep in the book.

Chongyun nodded in response.

“Okay, so you have a lot of contact with the spirit. Now all we have to do is-“

As he turned toward the guan, Chongyun saw a bright light flash, nearly as bright as the sun. Chongyun felt pain rush through his head. He squinted and put a hand over his face. He tried to detach himself, to rip himself off from the world as he did with most practice exorcisms in his time when a spirit was near, but it wasn’t successful. Although a split second, it felt like a lifetime of pain in one shot to the head. Was that an attack from the spirit? But no it couldn’t be…

“I guess you feel something too.”, Xingqiu said.

“Yes…I suppose I do.”, Chongyun said as he recomposed himself. Despite his words, he knew it wasn’t a spirit he was feeling. He began to walk towards the door, and heard footsteps follow him. He looked behind him only to find Xingqiu there.

“What are you-“

“I hope you wouldn’t mind if I watch how you work.”, Xingqiu said with his nose buried within another one of the ancient books.

“U-uh-“

“I’ve always just found exorcism interesting”, said Xingqiu. “I’m sure that’s why you have that second vision, right?”, Xingqiu remarked. His tone was all too casual.

“Huh?”, Chongyun asked. “Oh wait-“

Chongyun had honestly forgotten it was there. He looked down at his belt, only to find the vision…glowing. A reaction of sorts?

“Yes, it is.”, Chongyun said dismissively.

He began to walk about, trying to find the reason for the vision to glow, looking for a brighter reaction from the vision. The closer he came to the dojo, the brighter it became. He heard Xingqiu creeping up behind him to follow. With a deep breath, he opened the dojo.

“Hmmm.”, Chongyun said as he looked in the room.

It was like a picture frozen in time; everything down to the woodwork was perfect. He could almost see himself and Xingqiu sparring on the wooden floors. He remembered how Xingqiu and him would have fierce matches. Chongyun would be paired with a claymore and Xingqiu with a sword. Sometimes they would even switch but, it was a bit…uh…less fierce with the weapons switched around.

He smiled just a bit at the memory. Then, he regained his composure and took out his amulet.

“From your description it sounds like the demon affects you in the night and not in the morning, you have no physical injuries, nightmares come, and yet, you are not possessed. It sounds like a dream demon.”, Chongyun said. “Hence it will only need a specific talisman or amulet to exorcise it, same thing if you just want to wear it off. Regardless, thunder rituals and such should not be necessary.”

“Why wouldn’t I want you to kill it?”, asked Xingqiu.

“Well it’s happened before. Oftentimes these spirits are lost souls that have been corrupted. Some people don’t want to erase them, but lead them to another path to a better afterlife.”, Chongyun said.

He saw Xingqiu stop at this remark, seemingly pondering his decision. It had to have been about a minute before he finally spoke again.

Xingqiu sighed,

“I guess scare them off then.”, Xingqiu said. “I wouldn’t be very chivalrous if I left someone who lost their way to die, would I?”

Chongyun smiled,

“I’ll get right to it then.”, he said.

He held onto the amulet, looking at the inscription on it. “I call upon the ancestors of the Feiyun Commerce Guild.”, he began.

Chongyun felt his stomach twist the second he uttered those words.

“Allow your descendant rest. By the power of our Lord of Geo, to fulfill your family’s legacy, I summon you to the land of the living.” His words began to stagger, as it became slightly harder for him to speak as frost climbed up to his throat from his core, as if he was the one being exorcised.

As he spoke, he felt his own body become lighter. He channeled the energy into his limbs, and watched it spew from his hands. As the energy left him, it filled the amulet with cryo energy. But, instead of being light blue, the energy was the blue of a deep sea. His concentration snapped, but only for a moment.

‘Odd.’, he thought.

He watched as the amulet pulsed. With each pulse, a ring of energy released around the amulet and raised the amulet up to the sky. Although he watched with absolute concentration, he knew very well that he felt no supernatural presence. Yet, he was putting on quite a show.

He watched as the amulet’s pulsing of the rings of energy became slower and weaker.
Slowly but surely, the amulet floated back to the his palm. As it gently laid back into his palm he simply said:

“Heart be pure, evil be erased, mind be purged…..”, he stopped it there. It wouldn’t hurt to leave out the last part.

He looked to Xingqiu, who was looking at him with intrigue. Xingqiu was sitting on the floor of the dojo watching him, his book forgotten by his side. It seemed Xingqiu’s fatigue had been washed away with the ,uh, “evil spirit”.

“Wow.”, said Xingqiu. He stood up and went up to Chongyun, though slowly.

“The ritual is over with the closing mantra.”, Chongyun said. “You may approach.”

Xingqiu nodded in acknowledgement and made the rest of the way up to Chongyun.

“It’s amazing you still practice those techniques.”, Xingqiu said, staring at the amulet in Chongyun’s hand.

“Still?”, asked Chongyun.

“Yes.”, said Xingqiu. “From what I know, or from what I’ve read at least, I believe those techniques are at least four hundred years old if not more.”

“O-oh”, Chongyun said. “Well my clan is very traditional.”

“I’m just amazed considering there are a bunch of newer techniques.”, said Xingqiu.

“Oh, was this not up to the Guild’s standard? If so I’m so sorry and I-“,

“No, no, despite newer techniques, traditional isn’t always bad, the passing of culture is tradition as well. I sort of wish my ancestors had kept more records of their own martial art styles and livelihoods.”, said Xingqiu.

‘You wouldn’t be here if they did.’, Chongyun thought.

“I think there’s more soul in what you do.”, Xingqiu continued.

For whatever reason, with that sentence, Chongyun felt his heart warm.

“Well, both myself and my clan thank you.”, said Chongyun, attempting to remain professional.

Xingqiu looked up at him abruptly, saying,

“I’m sorry if I was a bit snappish before. As you can see I haven’t had sleep in a couple days. Heh. But, I was wondering if you would want to walk around the basement a bit more just…just to see if there are more ghosts of course.”

“If it guarantees the safety of your family and you, I’m willing.”, said Chongyun, maintaining a friendly smile.

“Oh, well I didn’t know you liked me that much already Chongyun.”, Xingqiu replied, a small smile coming onto his face.

Chongyun felt a bit of warmth creep up to his cheeks.

“Oh it’s nothing I-“

Xingqiu simply smirked at him.

“I’ll let you think about your newfound love for me as we look around.”, Xingqiu said. “Shall we go?”

“Yes, yes, I suppose we should”, Chongyun said, looking down to the floor.

He heard Xingqiu laugh softly as he left the room. In every lifetime, was he really that much fun to tease? It’s not like he didn’t bite back, but every time? He sighed, looking back down at his two visions, then he stopped.

He saw his hydro “vision”create a glowing, blue line into the floor. The line flowed from the vision to the floor and beyond to the center of the room. Chongyun followed it with his eyes to the center of the room, where there was a large…..sculpture? It was two children, formed from the blue liquid that leaked from the vision. They seemed to be sparring. One was holding a claymore defensively in a solid and unmoving stance, and the other was attacking with the sword using the martial arts moves of the Guhua clan.

The more he stared, the more he realized it looked like him and Xingqiu as children. He stared at the image that even his mind had forgotten and reached out to touch it, even just for a moment. As he touched it, a blast of energy zapped through his body. He felt himself almost drift out of reality. Yet, besides that, nothing really happened. He looked back to the image, it was still there. Then, looking down, he saw another line leading to outside the Feiyun Commerce Guild. Where did it lead? He was contemplating following it. What if it was dangerous? What if it was a trap? But at the same time…

“Chongyun?”

“Huh?”

He looked back, Xingqiu was at the entrance of the doorway.

“What’s taking you so long?”, Xingqiu asked.

“Oh uh, nothing much.”, Chongyun said. “Uhm, are you seeing this?”, he asked, pointing at the figures.

“Seeing what?”, Xingqiu asked. “Wait are there still more evil spirits in this room you need to take care of?”

Well that told Chongyun all he needed to know.

He stared at the figures. He had thought of that too. They didn’t give off any malevolence. If anything, they gave off an air of comfort, of familiarity. Even the zap he had felt hadn’t been anywhere near awful or an attempt to cause harm. It was protective, as if a preservation tactic to not disintegrate the fragile memory.

“No, I didn’t get much sleep last night so it may just be me. They don’t give off any malevolence.”

Xingqiu looked at him.

“What if your lack of sleep is the reason why you can’t sense their malice?”, he asked.

“Not possible, it’s an innate sense in exorcists that doesn’t go away by a lack of one night’s sleep.”, Chongyun replied.

Xingqiu looked at him in contemplation.

“I’ll choose to believe the expert but if those dreams keep happening you’re in big trouble.”, Xingqiu said, side eyeing Chongyun just a little bit.

“I’ll hold you to it.”, said Chongyun, as he walked up to Xingqiu to leave the room.

“Oh trust me, you may run but you cannot hide.”, said Xingqiu.

Chongyun took one last look back at the memory before leaving the room. He’d have to come back to investigate later. Not to mention, he felt a little faint after the encounter.

He looked back to Xingqiu as he closed the door.

“So, where are we off to?”, asked Chongyun.

“So, you see, I’ve found this room-“, Xingqiu started. He stared at the bookshelves for a minute and then pursed his lips. “Actually never mind, not that room. Let’s go to the other bedrooms instead. Who knows, maybe children haunt the rooms.”

“Okay.”, said Chongyun, despite the fact he knew they probably didn’t.

“Here, let’s do this one first.”, Xingqiu said.

He pointed to the door on the left of the hall, framed, once again, with Cuihua wood.

“I’ve found some rather interesting items in this one.”, Xingqiu said while opening the door.

As it opened, he found a small mat for a bed with: scrolls lying everywhere, incantations written into the walls, and a small area that looked to be akin to a closet, all complete with random papers scattered everywhere. Everything was dusty, other then the scrolls. Despite the age, there was no denying it: it was Chongyun’s room. As nostalgic as Chongyun felt, he was also feeling the slightest bit self conscious.

“Well this is certainly uh, interesting.”, Chongyun said with his eyes wandering.

“Yes, quite, out of all the rooms here, I like this one the best.”, Xingqiu said. “It would be a shame if someone was haunting it.”

Chongyun looked around the room, looking at the mess the room was left in.

“I suppose?”, he said.

“You don’t think so?”, asked Xingqiu.

“I mean it has new information and such but I-“

“Oh no, it’s nothing like that, it’s just the feeling, I can’t describe it, but it feels safe.”, Xingqiu said.

“…safe huh?”, Chongyun asked, looking towards Xingqiu and then to the mat that he called a bed for all those years.

“Besides that, there are some very interesting notes.”, Xingqiu said.

“Wait, notes?”, Chongyun asked, closing his fists apprehensively.

“Yes they’re quite cute.”, Xingqiu said. “This person always writes about someone named “Blue”. It really is quite romantic.”

Chongyun felt his face heat up with the power of a thousand suns.

Xingqiu took out a paper.

“Here’s one of my favorites.”, he said.

Chongyun began to speak faster than he had in his entire life.

“No you don’t- you don’t have to, it’s okay, I think I can get the picture by your description of-“

“Oh it won’t take more than a minute.”, Xingqiu said.

Chongyun swore he saw Xingqiu smirk as he began to read the paper.

“X-Xingqiu that really isn’t-“

“Today Blue and I trained on top of mount Aozang.”, Xingqiu began. “I can’t explain it, but the way he looked at me was a bit different than usual. He looked at me as if in awe. Although I have been told to never seek approval or acknowledgement from Blue, I can’t help but want to see it again. I want him to look at me again in the way his father looks at his mother.”

Chongyun felt himself shrivel up on the inside as he heard his words hurled back at him. His breath picked up as the panic increased and his vision blurred. He tried to allow his vision to cool him down, but, he felt something other than his condition pulling himself down to the depths. As he fell into darkness, he saw two blue, glowing lines, branching off of one another.

“…Chongyun?”

Xingqiu’s voice was the last thing he heard before he lost sense of everything.

…..

It was a sunny day, or at least, It probably would have been.

The guan had the air of determination, all of it coming from the two fighters in the arena. The promise of victory fell onto both as they prepared for their final strikes.

Chongyun held his claymore tight as he swung at the sword wielding boy. Yet, it slipped off the sword as if the boy had doused his sword in oil. But, the wet and small splash of water said it all, it was the use of a hydro vision.

Chongyun needed to calculate it…What move would Xingqiu use next? Wait… he looked at Xingqiu’s legs, they were bent. He knew exactly what move. He took exactly two steps back. If Chongyun could calculate Xingqiu’s sword angle and shift perfectly, then he could win the match.

Xingqiu leaped into the air with the grace of royalty.

Chongyun moved his claymore up to the defensive position, holding it above his head with his legs apart. He allowed a small amount of energy from his cryo vision to surface. Xingqiu crashed down, sword-first, into Chongyun. This time, the sword froze against the claymore, allowing Chongyun to knock Xingqiu back with a simple push of the claymore. Chongyun threw the frozen sword off the claymore and ran up to the still down Xingqiu, cornering him. Lastly, he put his claymore to Xingqiu’s face.

“I”, Chongyun panted. “I win.”

Xingqiu tried to speak through winded breathing.

“Yes,”, he said “I- I suppose you do.”, he said.

Chongyun sighed, putting down his claymore just a bit. Xingqiu grabbed the loosened claymore and slammed it on the ground. He bounced up and pushed Chongyun to the ground. This time, he was at Chongyun’s face.

Xingqiu smirked.

“Never let down your guard dear Chongyun., Xingqiu said.

Chongyun’s face was probably the color of a tomato, with Xingqiu’s face only an inch from his.

“Well I- I.”, Chongyun began.

Xingqiu simply poked Chongyun’s forehead with his finger.

“I suppose I win.”, said Xingqiu, getting himself off of Chongyun only a moment after.

As much as Chongyun wanted to twist Xingqiu’s words on him, he was simply too tired and, well, bruised to retaliate any further. He sprawled himself on the ground, looking up to the ceiling.

“Yeah, I suppose you win again.”, Chongyun said. He inhaled deeply, how could he be so careless? He was so focused on technique he forgot the bigger picture.

“Don’t look so glum dear Chongyun.”, he heard Xingqiu say.

Chongyun looked across his body to see Xingqiu crouching down.

“You did very well.”, Xingqiu said. He smiled at Chongyun. “You just need to find a way to focus only on the things you really need to. You fought beautifully.”

Chongyun stared at Xingqiu’s smiling face. It was so genuine and lively, he was the one that was truly beautiful.

“Thank you.”, he murmured.

“Oh what was that dear Chongyun?”

He stared at Xingqiu with a slight glare.

“I’m not repeating myself.”, Chongyun said.

“Oh but you should, I feel so unappreciated by you, my dearest friend.”, Xingqiu said, reaching out his hand to help Chongyun up.

“Oh I’m the unappreciative one?”, asked Chongyun, taking Xingqiu’s hand. “Am I not the one that takes on the burden of Xiangling’s experiments for you?”

“Am I not the one who persuades father to take us out to Mount Aozang?”, asked Xingqiu, pulling up Chongyun.

“Am I not the one who takes on your chores nearly all of the time?”, Chongyun asked.

“Hmmm.”, Xingqiu said. “Well I guess we’re tied.”,

“Tied?”, Chongyun asked.

“Oh yes,”, said Xingqiu, who was now walking away from the guan.

Chongyun followed alongside him.

“Hey, what about that is tied?”

As the chatter continued, Chongyun felt the scene begin to fade to white. He felt himself float until he reached the top of, well, something. He couldn’t name it. Here the darkness consumed him again. Then, he felt light enter his eyes as he slowly opened them.

He saw he was on a mat. It was the room they were in before, but, Xingqiu was seemingly nowhere to be found. Chongyun slowly sat up, shaking his head and looking around, all while trying to adjust to the light.

After a little bit, Chongyun heard footsteps coming towards the room. Soon enough, the door burst open and revealed Xingqiu and Xu.

“Oh my archons, he’s awake.”, said Xingqiu. He looked at Chongyun with concern deep in his eyes. “I thought I had killed you.”

He heard Xu sigh.

“I truly didn’t know that all of those letters would affect you that much.”, said Xingqiu. “I am truly sorry.”

“T-there’s no need to worry about it.”, said Chongyun. He stood, although having to focus a bit more on his balance than he would have liked.

“Yes there is.”, said Xingqiu. He looked up, as if contemplating what to ask. “Here, let me walk you out.”,

“Oh, thank you”, said Chongyun.

He took Chongyun by the hand and held onto his arm, guiding him up the stairs to the ground floor and through the halls to the entrance of the commerce building. However, there was no discussion as they went up. Xingqiu just looked a bit distressed and Chongyun felt a bit too drained to ask questions.

Yet, by the time they reached the door, Chongyun had gained back an adequate amount of energy.

Xingqiu let go of him. “Should I escort you back to your quarters as well?”

“No I should be able to get back now. Thank you for helping me to the door.”, said Chongyun.

“It’s the least I could do.”, said Xingqiu. He wore slightly pursed lips and eyes that looked down to the ground.

“Once again, it is fine.”, said Chongyun, putting on his best smile. “I’m glad that I was able to serve the guild. Thank you, and I will see you sometime later.”

Chongyun turned to walk out of the home and to the inn. Frankly, more than he could process had just happened.

“How can I make it up to you?”, Xingqiu asked as Chongyun left. “Just say the word.”

“No, no really it’s okay.”, Chongyun said. “I know it was unintentional I just-“

“Oh I know!”, Xingqiu said. “Let me buy you lunch tomorrow, my treat.”

“Oh”, said Chongyun. “No I couldn’t, please-“

“Is that the wind I hear?”, Xingqiu replied.

“I’m serious it’s-“

“Immaculate my friend, meet me at Wanmin Restaurant tomorrow at noon.”

“I-“

“See you tomorrow.”

Before Chongyun could respond, Xingqiu slammed the door from the back. He sighed. Xingqiu was always…always like this. His code was to have some fun, but never actually hurt Chongyun. If he did he would repay it in full. He smiled to himself. Xingqiu really had never changed, no matter what life. As he walked back to the hotel, the question of change plagued his mind. He couldn’t help but think: Although Xingqiu had not changed from life to life…how much had Chongyun himself changed from those serene and peaceful days at the guan?

Chapter Text

Chongyun stood, looking up at a bookshelf in the inn room. He was figuring out what to read before leaving to meet up with Xingqiu. Yesterday had been quite the adventure, and he had given a full report to Mona and Albedo, all about the illusion and the reaction of the hydro “vision”. After all of that, he had been relaxing for most of the day, wondering if he could make reading a hobby. At least this time he didn’t have to have knowledge of the language implanted into him. Honestly, this time had a lot of interesting books, many of them were catered to the fantasy gen-

“Chongyun.”, he heard a voice creep up next to him.

He turned to see blonde hair and blue eyes, oh, it was Albedo.

“Yes?”, asked Chongyun.

He watched Albedo glance around the room.

“I wanted to ask you to do something.”, said Albedo.

Chongyun fully turned to look at him, leaning his arm on a bookshelf.

“What is it?”, Chongyun asked, raising his eyebrows. “It better not be anything risky.”

“Oh, no it’s nothing like that.”, Albedo said, looking down at the ground. “It’s for my own personal research project I figured I’d start.”

Chongyun looked at him for another moment, trying to read his face. Yet, to no avail could he.

“Well, if that’s what you say it is, tell me what you need.”, he said. A hint of suspicion lingered in his voice.

Albedo took in a deep breath.

“I’ve become curious as to how that second vision of yours works.”, said Albedo. “I’m aware there are means to see what’s in it. I was wondering if you could leave the second vision with me, just for now.”

Albedo looked around, as if he was trying to sense a presence. He leaned in a bit closer to Chongyun.

“Then, some other time”, Albedo said, in a quieter tone. I was wondering if you could get the records of it kept by the Feiyun Commerce Guild.”

Chongyun looked at Albedo in surprise.

“Albedo-“

“Quieter.”, said Albedo.

Raising an eyebrow once again, Chongyun lowered his tone.

“Albedo, all of that has been burnt to the ground and taken to all the archons in spirit- “

“I have reason to believe it’s still there, just buried.”, said Albedo. “You did say all the archons would gain the knowledge, correct? No matter their stance?”

“Yes,”said Chongyun. “I bore witness to every single one receiving it.” He tightened his grip as he thought of the memory.

“Than I believe my thoughts are well founded.”, Albedo said.

“How so?”

“You’ll see.”, he said.

Chongyun sighed. He tried to tell himself it had nothing to do with the experiment and Albedo wouldn’t lie to him, but, that was easier said than done.

“Well as long as it doesn’t have anything to do with our investigations, it’s fine by me.”, said Chongyun.

Though hesitant, he unclipped the vision from his belt and handed it over to Albedo.

“Just make sure not to break it.”, said Chongyun.

“Oh I assure you I won’t.”, said Albedo, taking it in his hand and examining it. Chongyun watched him run his fingers across the frame and the glass a top the elemental energy core of the vision. Albedo walked over to his small workshop, that he had set up in the corner of the room, and set it on the alchemist’s table.

Chongyun’s eyes followed him, and then moved around the room. There was something missing.

“Wait where’s Mona?”, asked Chongyun.

“Oh uh- I’m not sure.”, said Albedo.”She should still be here, I saw no one leave.”

He leaned on the wall next to the alchemist’s table.

“Well I hope she can see me out at least.”, Chongyun said.

Albedo sighed.

“When do you have to leave again?”, he asked.

“In a little while. I’m not exactly sure.”, said Chongyun. “The position of the sun looks to be high in the sky but I’m not sure if it’s at it’s peak. I don’t know, it’s been such a long time since I’ve had to use the sun to tell the time.”

“Oh that’s true.”, said Albedo.

“Yeah, after I learned how to work a watch in those other lives, I’ve never gone back to the way I learned, except for a couple times, though, it wasn’t really needed and not useful considering how different the sun behaved in those worlds.”

“Sounds like a burden to bear.”, said Albedo, his words breaking a part as he divided his attention, fidgeting with the vision.

“I wouldn’t quite say so-“

A sudden woosh went through the room.

“The sun shows it should be about noon.”,

A voice that sounded like Mona came into the room.

The air of silence engulfed the room. It was as if she had popped out of thin air.

Albedo finally looked up from the vision.

“Where were you?”, he asked.

“Oh, I got tired of sleeping in the room and chose to do a bit of a dimensional shift.”, she said nonchalantly.

“You did what?”, asked Albedo.

“Oh calm yourself, I was able to slow the void and got permission to be there.”, Mona said. She turned her attention to Chongyun. “I guess I’m on time to see you off then?”

“I suppose so.”, said Chongyun. “Well I’ll see both of you later.” All of a sudden, Chongyun decided he was going…whether it was noon or not.

He waved to the two as he made his way to the door.

“Have fun.”, Albedo said.

“Yeah.”, said Mona.

Chongyun walked out the door, taking deep breaths in and out.

He would see Xingqiu today…and everything would be okay. He could do anything, face anything, yeah. Definitely.

He walked through the streets of Liyue, checking his clothes for stains and making sure he looked presentable. He was even fussing with his hair while he walked towards Wanmin restaurant.

He sighed.

‘What am I doing?’, he thought.

Yet, he couldn’t help the butterflies that flew around in his stomach, not only that, but his wish for them to stay. Though he was to fail, he wanted them to stay.

Soon enough, he was over at Wanmin restaurant. He looked up at the sky; the sun was even higher than it had been when he left. Yet, he still couldn’t tell if it had peaked. He looked around the restaurant, only to see crowds and crowds of people, yet, the blue haired boy whom he had hastily made plans with was nowhere in sight. The time, near as could be, only made the butterflies more restless. He seemed to wait for hours, tapping his foot against the pavement and biting his lip. He had never really had a casual get together like this with Xingqiu in Liyue… What if he screwed up somehow and he would never want to talk to him again? What if he was simply too weird for him? What if he was messing this up before he even began? What if-

“Antsy today my liege?”

Chongyun gasped, grabbing his chest with his hand.

Wait…Calm…calm.

He took two breaths in and out. Xingqiu put a hand over his mouth and his shoulders seemed to shake.

“I suppose you are.”, he said, the remnants of a laugh in his voice.

“Ah, I’m sorry about that.”, said Chongyun, who was finally composed again. “You scared me.”

“I can tell.”, said Xingqiu. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“It’s nothing, I just came a bit early.”, Chongyun said, trying not to give away any more of the anxiety he was feeling.

“Ah, couldn’t wait to see me Chongyun?”, Xingqiu asked, the tone of his voice rising ever so slightly and a smile coming onto his face yet again.

“Well…ah…I”

“Oh my, did you?”

“No I- ugh.”, Chongyun said, sadly at a loss for words.

Xingqiu just laughed. He stood up and started to walk inside the restaurant.

“Well it’s no matter.”, he said. He reached out to Chongyun with his hand outstretched and beckoning.

“Shall we?”, he asked.

“Oh? Uh, yes.”, said Chongyun.

He followed behind Xingqiu as they walked into the restaurant.

The interior of Wanmin was quite nice. It had a quaint feel with bar stools and countertop seating.

As they stepped into the room, a rush of bright color came running at them.

“Xingqiu!”, said the person who sped to them. The voice was pitched and enthusiastic; one could only assume the voice was Xiangling’s.

“Hello to you too Xingqiu’s friend!”, she said.

Xingqiu gestured to Chongyun.

“Ah, This is Chongyun”, Xingqiu said, gesturing to him. He’s a friend I owe a favor to.”

“Yes, I am familiar with him”, said Xiangling.

“Uh yeah.”, said Chongyun, scratching the back of his neck. He felt himself get a bit skittish as the conversation began.

“Well your table’s ready.”, said Xiangling.

Already?

She gestured to the both of them, guiding them to the back of the restaurant. Huh? Why the back?

“Uh where are we-“, Chongyun began, yet his voice trailed off.

Xiangling opened a back door, where there was a private room for two. There were still two barstools around the table, but not much else.

“Yes, this is perfect, thank you Xiangling.”, Xingqiu said.

“No problem.”, said Xiangling. “I‘ll come check on you two in a bit to get your orders.”

She swiftly exited the room.

“Yes thank you.”, said Xingqiu.

“Thank you.”, said Chongyun.

They both went to sit atop the wooden stools, shuffling on it to find a comfortable position .Yet, afterwards, conversation did not flow between them. The two picked up the menu and simply looked at it. With nothing specific bringing them together, there was the same air as when the two had first walked to Mr. Zhu’s inn. The initial awkward silence was present in….every lifetime.

“So.”, he heard Xingqiu say. “Are you doing any better?”

“Yes I am.”, said Chongyun. He was unsure about what else to say.

“Well that’s good.”, said Xingqiu.

“Yeah.”, said Chongyun.

Before the invasive awkward silence took over, Chongyun changed the topic.

“What about you? How are the nightmares?”, he asked.

Xingqiu looked up at the ceiling for a minute.

“Um, they’re better I guess.”, he said.

“They’re not gone?”, asked Chongyun.

“No, they aren’t.”, said Xingqiu. “But they’re better; don’t worry about it. Something tells me those letters weren’t the only reason you passed out.”

“But it was my job to-“

“Don’t worry about it.”, Xingqiu said.

Xingqiu pulled the menu up to his face, and Chongyun followed suit. This was always so exceedingly painful.

After what felt like an eternity of staring at words, Xiangling pranced in again.

“Are you two ready to order?”

Xingqiu looked at Chongyun.

“Uh, I am.”, said Chongyun..

“As am I.”, said Xingqiu.

“I’ll have the mountain noodles.”, said Chongyun. “No spice and served cold.”

Xingqiu looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“I’ll have the Jueyun Chili Chicken.”

“Coming right up.”, Xiangling said. She reached out and grabbed both of their menus. Having taken them, she very quickly sped out of the room.

This just left Xingqiu and Chongyun to…well…talk to each other.

Chongyun thought about what to do: what had made Xingqiu talk before? Well for one, things he didn’t want to think about today… but also…

“Say Xingqiu,”, Chongyun asked. His voice was quiet, yet Xingqiu still seemed to hear him.”What’s your martial arts inspired from?”

This made Xingqiu look up from his menu.

“Oh, I’m a Guhua Clan Disciple.”, he said. “It’s a bit of a dying art, but it’s truly remarkable.”

Chongyun thought he remembered the name and style. It was one of the fighting styles Xingqiu and him had to study, though, he himself was never really good at it. He could never master the art of the originator of Guhua; he could never match the prowess of the man who wielded the Rainslasher.

“Oh so which art do you use? Raincutter? Light piercer? Maybe even Life Ender?”, Chongyun asked.

“You…you know of them?”, Xingqiu asked. His eyes widened, yet, not in surprise, but in excitement.

“Yes, legends must be passed down from generation to generation after all.”, Chongyun said.

“Why yes.”, Xingqiu said. “I suppose they must.”

Xingqiu smiled.

“Well, I study Raincutters.”

From that moment, the conversation seemed to flow between them as they waited for their food. It came before they knew it, and even as they ate, they interrupted their bites in order to trade martial arts secrets.

“The art of the eye, huh?”, asked Chongyun. “That’s quite an interesting perspective.”

“I’m glad to meet another person who gets it!”, said Xingqiu.

As they ended their meal, Xingqiu slammed a small pouch of coins on the counter.

“Come.”, Xingqiu said, beckoning to Chongyun.

“Huh?”, Chongyun asked.

“Come on.”, said Xingqiu.

“Uh… Okay?”, said Chongyun, standing up.

Xingqiu looked at him, anticipation written all over his face.

“Oh, you’re too slow.”, he said.

Xingqiu took Chongyun’s wrist and sped walked through the restaurant with him in toe.

“Where are we going?”, Chongyun asked.

“Well.”, said Xingqiu, still dragging Chongyun. “We’ve been talking a lot about martial arts.”

“Yes we have.”, Chongyun said.

“Well, why don’t we have a bit of practice out in the wild?”, asked Xingqiu.

“Practice?”, asked Chongyun.

“Yes.”

Xingqiu smiled at him.

“Consider it a welcome gift, a way to get to know Liyue.”

A welcome gift, huh?

Chongyun knew refusing him would not work. He sighed, he hoped he may get done a bit early to make up with Mona somehow. Yet, he was happier with this scenario.

“Well, then I accept.”, said Chongyun.

With those simple words, he let Xingqiu drag him into Liyue’s plains.

After running for what seemed like an eternity, Xingqiu stopped dragging Chongyun.

“Here we are.”, Xingqiu said, gesturing to the scene. It was in the valleys made by the mountains, far from the top of their peaks. “These are the valleys between the peaks of Mount Hulao, Mount Aozang, and Qingyun peak.”

Chongyun looked around, it was nearly the same as he remembered. The mountains still stood tall and human activity seemed to be nearly nonexistent, all there seemed to be was wildlife, nature, and bridges made from years long past. Then, there was the most important part: the peaks that stood over Liyue and acted as….abodes for the…Adepti.

“Maybe I’m okay with skipping this spot.”, Chongyun said.

“Ah nonsense, come.”, Xingqiu said, beckoning him again with his hand.

Chongyun sighed. He didn’t want to see any of the Adepti, yet, he couldn’t help but be intrigued by what Xingqiu was going to ask him.

“Fine.”

He followed Xingqiu through the plains and to a small cave near the base of what seemed to be Mount Hulao. Xingqiu poked his head into the cave, waving his hand and slowly taking more steps towards it to barely walk into its entrance.

“What are we doing here?”, asked Chongyun.

As soon as he asked the question, Xingqiu stepped out of the way of the cave entrance, and an orange glow took over Chongyun’s vision. It was two large pyro slimes.

“Ready?”, Xingqiu asked.

“What?”, Chongyun replied.

“I saw you fighting that day Chongyun.”, said Xingqiu. “Using that and combining it with your martial arts knowledge…”

He smiled at him, drawing his sword from the air.

“Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Xingqiu looked at Chongyun and then ran at the slimes. Huh?

Chongyun stared, flabbergasted.

He watched Xingqiu’s vision glow as he jumped into the air.

“Rain outlines your fate.”, Xingqiu said, determination entering his voice.

Swords of water appeared around Xingqiu.

Xingqiu’s raincutters slashed through the slime, a sizzle accompanying the meeting of water and fire.

Though on the floor with it’s flames drowned out, the pyro slime still attacked Xingqiu. It jumped up and down, trying to head-butt Xingqiu and knock him back so it could regain its flame. Meanwhile, the other slime set its eyes on Chongyun. It began to hop towards him. Without thinking , Chongyun allowed his blade to materialize under his grip and took a step forward.

Since it was an elemental creature he could….

“One with my blade!”, Chongyun called out.

He slammed his claymore onto ground, narrowly missing the slime, and a circle of frost spread out from it.

With his sword engraved with cryo, he went up to the impaired slime and swung at it , raising his claymore up and swinging again and again. The strikes were erratic, side, side, side, then, finally, he jumped up with his sword ready to burst and a stream of cryo energy ripped through his claymore and crashed onto the slime. He accidentally positioned himself a bit too far back, but the frost caught the slime anyways.

As the slime was enraptured by the frost, it began to enlarge and then shrink, enlarge and then shrink. It was almost as if…oh. Chongyun dove out of the way of the slime as he heard the dreaded “bang” of the slime’s self destruction. Yet, he was still knocked back. He tumbled and landed on his back. There he laid on the floor, panting.

Soon enough, he saw Xingqiu’s face appear just above his own as he looked at the sky. He seemed to be bending over Chongyun.

“You are quite good.”, he said. “I recognize some of your moves from Guhua’s founder and other practicers of the claymore.. Though, you were a bit slow”, Xingqiu said.

“Slow?”, Chongyun asked, panting just a bit.

“Yes, slow.”, Xingqiu said. “You hesitated, as if off your form, unsure of yourself. It suggests great martial prowess but an unwillingness to commit to the move, as if it pains you.”

…..wow.

“Um.”, Chongyun said. “Well I wouldn’t say that.”

“No, no, it’s alright.”, said Xingqiu. “I would not bare my soul to someone I just barely met either.”

He sounded so sure of himself.

“All I’m saying is that moves do not lie.”, Xingqiu continued.

Xingqiu reached out his hand. How was he there to pick him up every time he fell? Chongyun let his claymore dematerialize and reached up to take Xingqiu’s hand. Xingqiu pulled him back up to his feet.

“Well, that was interesting.”, said Xingqiu. “I have to say though, I wonder how it would be fighting with you.”

“Uh-, oh.”, said Chongyun. He froze a bit as he said that.

Chongyun felt his hesitance in his voice and body grow. To fight with him again, how great it would be. Yet, he was unworthy to think such things.

Xingqiu smiled.

“Oh we don’t have to.”, he said. “Come with me, Jueyun Karst is next on our stop.”

Chongyun followed, and Xingqiu led the two to a large lake situated in the middle of Jueyun Karst. There, Xingqiu ‘happened” to spot more packs of slimes, which forced the two into action. When Chongyun questioned Xingqiu and why there were so many monsters, Xingqiu only smiled and said,

“Who knows.”

Then, they moved onto the next location. They would chat about martial arts, be able to practice what they spoke of on some lurking slimes or whopperflowers, and then rinse and repeat, with Xingqiu’s cheesy smile greeting Chongyun at the end of each cycle.

Soon enough, the sun was setting on the horizon. The two had been on the move for hours, and were sitting on the stone ruins of Dunyu as they watched the sun disappear on the horizon.

“Phew.”, said Chongyun. His voice was weaker than this morning, and his body was screaming at him.

“Wow.”, said Xingqiu, whose gaze was fixated on the sky. “It’s late.”

Despite Chongyun’s own tired state, Xingqiu seemed to be doing quite well.

Yeah, we should probably head back.”, Chongyun said.

Xingqiu sighed.

“I suppose so. Even valiant warriors have to rest sometime.”, he said.

Xingqiu jumped down from the small stone ruin they were sitting on, some of it crumbling as he got off, and Chongyun followed suit.

“Do you want to stop anywhere for dinner? You must be starving after everything.”, Xingqiu asked as they began to make their way back to the harbor.

“No, I’m okay.”, said Chongyun. Surprisingly, he wasn’t lying. He didn’t feel hungry at all.

“Alright.”, said Xingqiu. “I guess I’ll have to eat all by my lonesome. How cruel can you be Chongyun?”

“Very.”, Chongyun replied.

“And here I thought we were becoming friends.”, said Xingqiu, a slight laugh in his tone. That infectious, infectious laugh of his. “Well you have to take me up on the offer some other time. Next time it’ll be your turn to pay as it’ll be a new day. However if we went today…”

Chongyun sighed. He really…really should go back to the inn. He shouldn’t be with him for this long.

“Ugh.”

Despite the fact he wanted to go back, it was like an instinctual reaction to want to be around Xingqiu. Yet funnily enough, it drove Chongyun from him all the same.

“Ugh?”, asked Xingqiu.

“I don’t feel like being mean today.”, said Chongyun.

“Does that mean-“

“Yes, it means dinner.”

Xingqiu’s face lit up, as if he wasn’t expecting him to actually say yes.

“Hooray.”, said Xingqiu. “We can go to Wanmin, so I can drop you off as quickly as possible at the inn…wait…are you still staying in the inn?”

“Yes,”, said Chongyun. “I was waiting for some people to arrive and they finally did.”

“Interesting.”, said Xingqiu. “Will I have the pleasure of meeting those who are friends with such a great martial artist?”

“Who knows.”

The chatter continued as the two walked away from the ruins and towards Liyue harbor. By the time they returned, the streets were dark and the lamps of the night were outside. Yet, hardly anyone was in the streets besides the Millelith. Normally this would cause Chongyun to worry, but, it seemed that with Xingqiu with him, those guards didn’t question much and simply kept their distance.

Soon enough, they closed in on Wanmin restaurant. Outside, it seemed like there was a shadowy figure that was awaiting something. It stood up and started moving as it looked at Chongyun and Xingqiu.

“Xingqiuuuuu.”, the figure said.

It was Xiangling’s voice.

As they came closer and she stepped into the lantern light, they could see she had a pout on her face.

“I didn’t know you would be coming back this late!”, she exclaimed. “I would have just left your food with Guoba and gone to bed if I had known-“

“Huh?”, asked Chongyun. “Your food?”

Chongyun saw Xingqiu’s eyes narrow at Xiangling.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Xiangling.”, he said.

“Mhm. Right.”, she said. “Well, it’s quite late, so I hardly have the energy to play this game. Isn’t it time for the other thing you totally weren’t planning on doing now?”

“Uh- I have no clue what you’re-“

Xiangling rolled her eyes and looked at Chongyun.

“Chongyun, as a part of your welcome to Liyue, we want to invite you onto a little sailing afternoon. It’s being done by the Crux and a lot of people will be there, so you get a chance to mingle.”, Xiangling said.

“Oh and feel free to invite whoever you wish.”, Xingqiu added on.

“Oh you know more people?”, asked Xiangling. “Well, the more the merrier. It will be happening about six days from now, once again, at noon when the sun shines it’s brightest.”

“Ah.”, said Chongyun. He thought of Mona and Albedo, would they like that?

“I’ll try my best to attend, thank you both.”, he said.

“It’s no big deal.”, said Xiangling. “We love welcoming newcomers in the community.”, she smiled at the two of them. Somehow, her smiles never seemed business oriented, they were always genuine. “Oh, I almost forgot.”

Xiangling held out two boxes, seemingly filled with food.

“Here are your orders.”, she said.

Both Chongyun and Xingqiu reached out and took them.

“What’s in them?”, Chongyun asked.

“Jueyun chili chicken, it’s a specialty.”, said Xiangling.

Ah he..he couldn’t eat this.

“Thank you for the food.”, Chongyun said, tipping his head. He should still express his gratitude…. while making sure he didn’t have to eat this.

“Of course, come in and sit down guys.”, she said, gesturing to Wanmin.

“Um.”, said Chongyun. He was contemplating the best way out of this. “I’m sorry- I can’t. I will enjoy this to the fullest, but my companions will be worried sick about me. I never fully realized how late it was.”

Oh he doubts they would be too worried, but anything not to eat this. He figured either Mona or Albedo may enjoy it though. Yet, something in him said that wasn’t the only reason he was lying.

“Oh I’m so sorry.”, said Xingqiu, fiddling with his box of food. “I forgot how late it is. I really wouldn’t want you to get in trouble because of this.”

Well he backed down quickly.

“It’s no issue.”, said Chongyun.” Thank you for everything today. Thank you as well Xiangling for providing lunch and dinner.”

“Of course.”, said Xingqiu. “Formally and officially, welcome to Liyue.

“ Yep, no problem!”, said Xiangling.

Chongyun said “thank you” one last time before he waved goodbye and walked a little ways away back to the inn. He tiptoed down the hallways as to not disturb other guests and sighed as he entered room he shared with his companions. He was tired and wanted to do a check in with Albedo and Mona as quickly as possible and then go straight to sleep. He looked around the room, only to see Albedo in the corner. He was toying with Chongyun’s second vision.

You’re back late.”, said Albedo. He didn’t even look up from what he was doing.

“ I’m sorry Albedo”, said Chongyun. “Xingqiu is quite a tour guide.”

“Don’t worry about it; it was simply an observation.”, said Albedo, not having looked up from the vision.

“Were you able to procure the blueprints?”, Albedo asked.

“Oh, no, I wasn’t.”, Chongyun said. “We never really got the chance to look in the Guild.”

“Well, no matter, we should still have a decent amount of time, although, the sooner you get them the better.”, said Albedo. He was fiddling with the exterior of the vision and gently applying geo energy to it.

Chongyun looked around the room, like this morning, something was missing.

“Hey, where’s Mona?”, Chongyun asked.

Albedo finally looked up from his project.

“She hasn’t come back?”, he asked.

Chapter Text

Albedo watched as Chongyun walked off into the distance to his aforementioned lunch with Xingqiu. He thought of what Chongyun had said yesterday, about the illusion he saw, and the memory that he was sucked into after he saw it. There was no doubt in his mind that It was the Tree. He looked at Mona, who was playing with a water illusion in her hand, making it bounce and flow, and keeping nearly all of her attention on it.

“So it seems like he’s seeing what he’s planted now.”, he said.

Despite her concentration, it snapped the moment Albedo said that sentence. Mona sighed.

She waved the hand that was not preoccupied with the illusion.

“Decided by destiny.”, she whispered.

Hydro energy spread throughout the top of the room, and a ceiling of stars formed above them. It was an illusion. Though a starry night on their side, it acted as a projection of them on the other to mask their actions.

“Yes, it seems he is. But should we really be talking about this now?”, Mona asked.

Albedo looked around the room and then put his hand on his vision to quickly resonate with his Geo energy to help him sense any unseen presence .

“There’s no one here, and the Gods aren’t watching.”, Albedo said. “Besides, I simply stated an observation, it’s not a plan.”

“And how do you know they’re not watching?”, Mona asked.

“Chongyun is out with Xingqiu, all eyes will be on them.”, Albedo stated. “Plus, I didn’t sense anyone when I was talking to Chongyun earlier. In fact, it’s been like that for a couple lifetimes…”, Albedo said.

Mona sliced her hand through the previous illusion she had been playing with.

“That’s not enough for me.”, Mona said. “We need to go back to the void for this. That’s the only place they can’t truly see us.”

“Mona, no, if we do that we could-“

“We can suspend time in that thing and you know it.”, said Mona. “If not we would not have travelled slow enough to actively follow Chongyun’s journey. We wouldn’t have been able to have those chats with all of us either.”

“I don‘t-“, Albedo started. “Oh.”

It clicked in him what Mona thought this conversation was.

“Mona I’m not asking about the future, I’m making a statement we say and then forget later on.”, he said.

Mona looked at him silently.

“It doesn’t matter. This conversation is long overdue.”Mona said. Slowly, her look of neutrality on her face turned into determination. “And with you not sensing the Gods…we need this conversation more than ever.”

Albedo looked at her and shook his head, they would only waste time with a fruitless conversation.

“Mona, the Gods exist outside of time.”, Albedo said. “They’ll be able to sense us move domains.”

“Well that may be, but there is a lesser chance of them catching on with my projection and if we can come back the moment we leave.”, she said. “Besides they can’t know everything. Considering what led Chongyun here, we can say they don’t know everything.”

Albedo remained stone faced.

“It won’t last very long, not without the God’s assistance.”, he said.

“Mere minutes is all we should need.”, Mona said quickly. “We’ll be able to at least hold the void still with the abilities the Gods have given us.”

Albedo opened his mouth, ready to retaliate. He knew what she was going to say- about how they should tell Chongyun about what they had been keeping, about how they needed to stand as one against Celestia. No, he could not have that, he couldn’t endorse it. In fact he- wait…this conversation may be exactly the thing that they need. He just needed to play along.

Albedo looked at her defeatedly.

“You truly are not willing to compromise?”, he asked.

“Oh absolutely not. I should mention that I can hold this for about three minutes. We have about two minutes for you to get in there and suspend time.”

“Or else?”, Albedo asked.

“Or else, I suppose we’ll just have to have this conversation here.”, she said.

…..
Albedo sighed.

“Sometimes I loathe you.”, said Albedo, pulling out a golden sack from his clothing. He sprinkled a little bit of dust on the ground.

“Moment of birth.”, he whispered, allowing his hand to travel towards him, and then burst forward to create a spectacle of stalagmites sprouting up from the ground. Not a sound came from any of the rising rocks.

The ground opened up underneath the two.

“Scribe.”, Mona said.

She waved her hand and created a small hologram of herself to hold up her illusion. She took one look in the hole and jumped immediately, not even looking back. She morphed into a droplet and fell, like a water droplet from a storm cloud.

Albedo quickly jumped in afterwards.

The two plummeted down with the wind as they entered the void. As they plummeted, Albedo took hold of his energy, and felt the Earth as it was present. He imagined the circle in his mind, how it would work, how it would feel, how it maintained balance, how it would benefit them. He threw his arm toward the dark void and released the image from his mind. He heard a faint crack below; it should have worked. Eventually, they floated slowly to the ground, ending up on the black floor.

As soon as they hit the ground, Albedo sprinted to the center area of the void where the magic circle he created should have been, and filled it with his geo energy. Mona rushed over as well and allowed her hydro energy to combine with it.

Albedo panted, they had made it in time, enough to catch the little delay the void held for travel. He went up to a little light in the void, the light of his alchemist’s table, and leaned against it.

“Well we better discuss this, and fast.”, Albedo said. He was panting.

“Agreed”, Mona replied, she also sounded out of breath.

They had to act quickly, even with both of their energies, maintaining the circle was going to be difficult.

Only the light of Albedo’s alchemist table gave the two any guidance.

“He found the creation.”, Albedo said.

“Yes.”, said Mona. “He just doesn’t know it yet.” She put up her finger, put it back down, and then clenched her hand into a fist. “Albedo what should we do? We have to decide.”

“We can’t do anything, Mona-.”, said Albedo, preparing to shut Mona down.

Mona’s glare sharpened and her fist tightened.

“Albedo this is ridiculous. You sought to bring the Gods down and yet you continue to play by their rules?”, Mona asked, her tone rising, and her breathing becoming more uneven. “We sought truth and yet we both lie? Have you not come to care for Chongyun at all? Do you not want him to succeed? Is that what this is?”

“Mona, don’t say that, there is simply no other way to win against them than to play by their rules.“, Albedo replied.

A stone face, he kept it as Mona interrogated him.He kept himself calm, he had to.

“It’s the last life, we could at least try!”, Mona said.

“You’ve seen what may happen if we try, even slightly.”, Albedo said curtly. “If you feel so strongly about it, at least talk to him.”

Mona went silent.

“That was different-“, she began.

Albedo pounced on the hesitance he heard in her voice, yet, his demeanor and tone did not change.

“No, it wasn’t. It was a change to the norm that resulted in a bad outcome, and that was just you showing worry about the direct plan as a friend. Imagine if we tried to play dirty.”, Albedo said.

Mona took in a deep breath, she seemed to realize how passionate she was getting. She looked down and took in a few deep breaths, trying to steady herself once more.

“If we could just use my hydromancy-“

“Mona don’t even think about it.”, Albedo said quickly. “The power of that tree is enough to surpass you a thousand times over. We aren’t in it yet, but we could be if you do something like that.”

“Who says the Gods know how to do that?”, Mona asked.

“You should know that they do.”, said Albedo. .

“They would’ve put us in from the beginning if they could.”, she said. “Albedo I think there’s more going on here-“

“Mona, they wouldn’t have.”

Albedo interrupted her yet again.

“It isn’t necessary. That’s why I get so confused whenever we discuss certain matters and you use the void. You know how they view us.”

“Albedo, would you let me speak? Would you let me finish?”, Mona asked. She sounded exasperated. “We can’t just do nothing. Not anymore. ”

Albedo clenched his fist and looked down at the alchemist’s table.

She wouldn’t let up, not when she believed in Chongyun to win, not while she believed he SHOULD win.

“ I know you’re right.”, Albedo finally said.

Mona’s eyes widened as she looked at him.

“Wait… so does that mean…”

“No”, said Albedo, “sometimes things just don’t work out. We can only play the cards they give us.”

“How can…how can you say that?!”, Mona said. Her voice teetered on the edge of screaming.

“Because I have to Mona.”, Albedo said, his tone flat and his fists still clenched. They needed to stop arguing. He felt his breathing pattern break ever so slightly. Quickly, he tried to re-stabilize by taking in a quick breath. He couldn’t waste energy, not when he could already feel every drop of it being drained from him. “Or else we won’t have a chance at all. We can only do what we can now Mona, do you hear me?”

Mona went silent.

“Start by talking to him. We can’t accomplish anything if we’re cut off from one another.”

Mona stayed silent. She looked tired, with her arms hung limp at her side and her struggling to stand up straight. He felt her fatigue, he had to lean on the crafting table bench just to maintain his appearance.

“Mona-“

“Albedo. How can you face him knowing what you know? What you’ve known for centuries?”

That was a question Albedo knew the answer to all too well. He had asked himself it for so many years.

“I do it because I have to.”, he said. “It’s my responsibility and it’s yours too.”

He said the truth, even if it was harsh and left no room for leniency. It was the truth about their situation, and both had different versions of it.

He looked at Mona, who was holding her head down, they were both nearly at their limit. He looked at her and back into the void. An uneasiness bloomed in his chest.

“We should go now. The circle won’t hold much longer.”, Albedo said.

He took out his small golden sac once more and unraveled it, taking out his golden powder and placing it to the floor.

He took a deep breath in, channeling any energy he may have had left.

“Feel this ancient power.”

As soon as he uttered those words, spikes of rock came bursting out of the floor. A hole began to form once again, where the two would exit.

Albedo looked back at Mona, struggling to get out the words he needed to.

“You’ve done well for centuries Mona.”, he said. “Never think that I don’t think you’ve been a good partner. But, it shouldn’t end here and I hope it won’t. We can’t give up like that.”

Mona was still silent.

With that, Albedo jumped into the void. He heard the ripple of water follow him. Back they went, falling and falling, until they slowed and sprouted up to the surface. In that instant, both the void and Mona’s illusion she had put there before had evaporated into thin air.

He trudged away, not looking back at her. He heard her steps tread the other way as well. He listened and he heard the front door open and close with a bang. He sighed. He made his way to his workstation in the hotel, a simple alchemist’s table and chair, and crashed onto the seat. Thankfully, he could feel his elemental energy replenishing faster since they were in the land of Geo. He picked up the second vision, that of which belonged to Chongyun. Though he felt he could not work a second longer, this was not work to him. He felt rejuvenation as soon as he touched what would be his project, and began to prod at it, comparing it with his own vision. He immersed himself in analyzing it down to the smallest swirl of design.

Yet, although his fatigue flew away with the energy of the land and his project at hand, the small doubt in his mind reigned above all else and knocked at his head. He wondered, did he do the right thing?

Mona had still not returned when Chongyun came back from his outing.

“You’re back late.”, said Albedo.

“Ah I’m sorry Albedo”, said Chongyun. “Xingqiu is quite a tour guide.”

“Don’t worry about it, it was simply an observation.”, said Albedo, not having looked up from the vision.

“Were you able to procure the blueprints?”, Albedo asked.

“Oh, no, I wasn’t.”, Chongyun said. “We never really got the chance to look in the Guild.”

“Well, no matter, we should still have a decent amount of time, although, the sooner you get them the better.”, said Albedo. He fiddled with the exterior and gently applied geo energy to it.

Slowly, he felt himself begin to block our Chongyun’s presence.

“Hey, where’s Mona?”, He heard Chongyun ask.

Albedo felt his awareness of what was around him come back to him in a flash. She wasn’t here?

Albedo finally looked up from his project.

“She hasn’t come back?”, he asked.

“You don’t know where she is?”, Chongyun asked.

Albedo sighed.

“No, no I don’t. She left earlier in the day.”, he said.

“Earlier?”, asked Chongyun.

“Yes, it was in the morning, only a small amount of time after you left.”, Albedo replied, standing up from his chair.

“Albedo, the sun went down long ago.”

For the first time since the morning, Albedo went up to the window and looked outside. The sky was like a black curtain, the only light being some stars in the sky that shimmered with it.

The guilt slithered into Albedo’s stomach like a snake. But, it was soon replaced by something else: fear.

What could she be doing…in such an emotionally charged state? Oh no.

“Come, we’re going Chongyun.”, he said, looking around the room for things to bring with him.

“Going where?”, Chongyun asked.

“We’re going to go find her.”, he said. “Let’s make the dust glow and everything, we have to find her.

Chapter Text

 
“We can only play the cards they give us.” 
 
Mona walked out of the inn, slamming the door behind her. The morning star that was the sun stood out to engulf Liyue In its brightness and warmth. Yet, none of it seemed to reach Mona.  
 
She walked along the busy streets of the harbor. Everyone went about their day without a care in the world. It was something Mona found truly miraculous. Everything was crumbling down to the ground, not only for her, but for them as well. Or, at the very least, it was about to , and she and Albedo knew the key to stopping it. Not to mention, Chongyun still wasn’t talking to her. She had abandoned everything, only for this outcome to come to fruition. Archons. What was wrong with her?  
 
 
As she wandered the streets, her guilt and confusion refused to leave her conscious. Not to mention, her fatigue from piling on her energy in order to freeze time itself was still a drain on her. It was as if she was trying to carry seven blocks of concrete on her back. The weight had been crushing her slowly, and she was soon to be trapped under it. 
 
 
How did Albedo remain so calm in all of this?  
 
 
Her mind flashed back to Albedo talking of their place in this situation. They weren’t to interfere, never to interfere directly. It was constant rules, rules, and more rules that would keep the young exorcist trapped in a never-ending cycle….and soon… hell itself. She and Albedo could break the cycle, they could do it, but no, apparentally this was Chongyun’s trial to fight alone.  
 
 
She had never used her astrology on Chongyun. No, it wasn’t that she hadn’t, it was that she wasn’t allowed to view it. As soon as she had accepted Albedo’s proposal, that boy’s future had become foggy, with no light in sight. The Archons could only know what that meant. Though, it wasn’t like she was allowed to view it anyways. They must not have trusted she would keep her word, in which, they were right.  
 
 
Soon enough, trapped in her thoughts, Mona made her way out from the harbor, refusing to give anything other than the path forward the time of day. Yet, as she cleared her thoughts, the ones of rebellion that had been brewing since the beginning of time became ever so obvious. The hints she tried to drop, and her preoccupation of events outside of the mission were all enough to be considered misdemeanors. Yet, both she and the Archons she couldn’t have been surprised. When the mission had started on the basis of rebellion, what could one expect?  
 
 
She wandered into Liyue’s grassy plains. Where was she going? Not even she knew. Where could she go? Once again, she had no clue. Yet, she was still pulled in some direction with purpose. She followed the dirt through the plains, the scenery around her changing, and yet, she could barely notice it. She could’ve had never left the harbor and she would be nonethewiser.  
 
 
The world had become a blur of colors. Yellow, orange, brown, everything. The colors of autumn surrounded her in a fog. Yet, she was not focused on anything else except her thoughts and the movement of her two feet. 
 
Had she been too naïve? What could she do to be better? How could she change if she could legitimately do nothing for their situation? A genius astrologist was useless in the grand scheme of the universe and its plans. Though, this had been nothing new for her. She had been able to read the stars from an early age, and people came to her for that. Yet, their fates could not be subverted in any way. She could only read them either happy fates or cruel truths, and she hated it. She knew that it couldn’t be subverted and had come to accept that as an astrologist. But, despite this, she could not lie to herself. She hoped more than anything else, that there would be some hope for a miracle for these people in the end. Maybe that was a naiveté that Albedo had the privilege of not having.  
 
 
She sighed. Most likely, she owed Chongyun and Albedo some sort of apology.  
She sighed again.  
At the same time, she couldn’t help but feel like she hadn’t done anything wrong other than begin to wish. But she knew all too well that even that in itself had become a sin. But why? Why did it have to be? There had to be something she could do, anything, anything at all.  
 
 
She went down the trail slowly, taking one step at a time. The heat had begun to take a toll on her, as if dragging her backwards while she was trying to move forward. She needed a place to rest.  
 
Luckily enough, she could see a large building, built into and on top of a mountain.  
 
 
From the position and brightness of the sun in the sky, it was around midafternoon at this point. 
 
 
She felt herself being pulled towards the building, if not just for a chance to rest and regain her energy. Maybe the nicer atmosphere that would most likely come with the inn would calm her mind.  
 
 
She walked up to the wooden deck, finding a sign of sorts. It read,  
“Wangshuu Inn,”  
 She entered, wanting to collapse onto the cooler wooden ground. It was quite homey inside, as well as eccentric in its architecture and design. Mona ran her fingers down the frame of the doorway as she looked at the place. With a sudden clarity of where she was, quickly pulled away and went inside the building. At least no one had to tell her to get out of the doorway.  
 
 
She sighed with relief as she went deeper into the building, though it wasn’t as cool as she would like it to be, it was better. 
 
 
She allowed herself to wave her hand into the air, summoning a watery mist, allowing the Particles to dance in the air around her and cool her skin.  
 
 
Yet, even as she entered, and climbed the stairs, even as she spoke to the host, she was barely paying attention to anything. The only thing keeping her attention was the phrase in her mind. 
 
 
“We can only play the cards they give us.” 
 
 
It echoed in her mind as if it was going to make a home and stay there forever.  
 
 
“Feel free to rest on the balcony for as long as you wish. Or, let us know if you need food or a room, and we’ll gladly accept your patronage.”  
 
The host spoke to her in a welcoming and helpful tone. Dare she say it even made her feel even slightly better.  
 
“Yes, thank you.” 
 
She almost asked the host for water, but she wasn’t sure what the price may be here.  
 
 
Slowly, she made her way up the stairs, slowly regaining more energy as she climbed. 
 
 
The world almost seemed fuzzy, her mind twisted and turned with each passing second.  
 
 
Yet, she found more and more flaws with Albedo’s statement as she thought about it.  
 
If this information on the Tree was a card they were given, why not play it? What if they acted more quickly than the Divine could respond? Especially since the Gods did not seem to be watching for some reason.  
 
 
Then, as she mulled it over for nearly the thousandth time, she felt herself have a small realization. 
 
She could still read the stars like a book and manipulate hydro energy. She simply cut off the possibility of true individual action. Somewhere along the line, she had excluded it as an option. 
 
The Tree, it was a part of the cards she was dealt by the gods. She could simply enter it and alter reality as they knew it. By the time it qualifies as interference in this cruel experiment, it would be too late.  
 
 
All the cogs seemed to fit together in the machine in her mind as she became surer and surer of her resolve. What if.... she took the plan she was going to propose to the group and carried it out herself? Why shouldn’t she? What good would she be as a friend if she didn’t at least try?  
 
 
If it didn’t work…if she was sent to hell, at the very least she could say that she tried. Maybe she would be out of their way in the end. Maybe it would be for the best. She tried so desperately to be of help, but she just wasn't as strong as them. It was something she wasn’t meant for, and she would resign, returning to her normal life in Fontiane and forever forget about the boy cursed by the Gods and the homunculus who challenged that verdict. If she tried, she would create a chance, an opening for the two of them. Then just maybe, she could cleanse her own guilt from herself. 
 
 
For the first time, she felt a light begin to burn inside of her, the smallest light of hope began to glimmer in her chest. It had been so many lifetimes since that had been felt by her, maybe even in any of them in actuality.  
 
 
She reached the top of the stairs, going to the balcony. She figured she could rest before she enacted anything. Out on the balcony, the sun of the afternoon was shining brightly, yet, its heat did not feel debilitating anymore.  
 
But it seemed one more surprise awaited her.  
 
 
She saw a boy out on the balcony, he could not have been much older than a teenager. He had short, dark hair with teal highlights.  
 
 
He turned around as she approached and looked at her with a blank expression,  
 
She heard him sigh.  
 
 
“What are you doing here?” he asked, his posture upright and proper and his arms crossed.  
 
 
“Getting some fresh air, thank you very much.”, she replied.  
 
 
As she looked at him and felt herself react to the air that seemingly clung to him. The muscles in her body tensed, and a sense of anxiety entered her. The air was dense, almost malicious in the way it swirled around him. Thank her lucky stars that the Divine had given them protection over the wrath of the Gods that laid in the lands of Teyvat. Though, that had come naturally with their power amplification.  
 
 
One feeling was all it could take, and that could have pinpointed who he was. She took a deep breath. An adeptus, to be more specific, general Atlas. In that moment she contemplated just leaving, and never looking back. She did not feel like looking in the eyes of a lackey of the Divine today. One that had been damned by them, but a lackey, nonetheless. 
 
 
Yet…she felt she couldn’t. She couldn’t help but wonder if there was a purpose for him being here…and what that meant. The Divine had been acting odd. After all, their silence was indicating dangerous boredom. Since Atlas wasn’t quite like the others, maybe he could be of some help…and if the gamemasters gave out a free hint by themselves, it wouldn’t be cheating, would it?  
 
 
She should try to be confrontational. If not only to show him she wasn’t stupid.  
 
 
“More importantly, what are you doing here?,” she asked.  
 
 
“I was going about my day.” 
 
The boy talked nonchalantly; he was almost bored.  
 
 
“Should I believe that?” 
 
 
“It is none of my concern whether you do or don’t.”  
 
 
Silence overtook the two. Yet, the Yaksha didn’t leave. 
 
 
‘I need to push further. He would never stick around this long if it wasn’t some sort of duty. I need to try harder.,’ she thought.  
 
 
“I will ask again, what are you doing here?” 
 
 
“I already told you. I am here to take a rest and then go about my day.” 
 
 
….. 
 
 
“Don’t play dumb Atlas. I don’t have enough patience for this today.” 
 
 
“Neither do I.”  
 
 
“What?” 
 
 
“I don’t have the patience to talk with you.”  
 
 
The two turned to face each other. Mona’s glare sharpened when she looked at him.  
 
 
“Then why are you still here?” 
 
 
“…..” 
 
 
There was silence for a moment, the formulating of a response.  
 
 
“It’s because I’m always up here. I just wanted to come to my preferred place.”  
 
 
“Yet, when anyone else comes, you disappear, don’t you?” 
 
Her prodding refused to let up.  
 
 
“No need for hostilities. You and your team simply have protection against my karma.” 
 
 
“Oh, do you honestly expect me to believe that’s all?” 
 
 
No response came out of the boy.  
 
 
The heat that had been building up within Mona came to a raging boil. With that silent rejection, she felt something inside of her crack.  
 
She felt her glare sharpen and her entire body tense even more. Her thoughts, full of frustration, finally released themeselves from her mind.  
 
 
“Ugh! You are stupid, stupid divine are always like this. You all are the same, all of you, heartless, cruel, and manipulative.”  
 
 
Mona felt the tirade spill out of her mouth, never ending, uncontrollable, as the heat blinded her into a fit of stress and anger. 
 
 
Yet, Atlas would not respond. 
 
 
“You never intended for him to succeed, did you? You’re petty, and just wanted to prove a singular, stupid point.” 
 
 
She continued with the air around her turning into her only form of sustenance.  
 
 
“Are you guys oh so proud of yourselves? Destroying the lives of those below you. Is that everything you could ever want? You “Heros and leaders,” things you all will never be!” 
 
 
Mona gasped. The air had left her lungs faster than she could replace it. Finally, the fire had died down, and only then could she comprehend what she had just said. 
 
 
Yet, the Adeptus simply looked at her, the same expression he had on his face when they first came together.  
 
 
He sighed, an exasperation slipping from him. 
 
 
“Now that you’ve...unburdened yourself... I will talk. The gods are cruel. They have never not been.” The man spoke calmly, as if speaking from a vault in his mind, replaying memories to describe everything. “Yet that is why your resilience must be all the greater.” 
 
 
‘Resilience, huh?,’ she thought. ‘What does that matter against the divine?’ 
 
 
It was a concept Mona had embodied or tried to embody for the longest time. Despite chasing it down, it had never felt more foreign to her than now.  
 
 
“Resilience has brought us suffering and the Celestia Divines’ entertainment. At this point, is it even a worthy concept to hold?”  
 
 
“That depends on how much you value your goal.”  
 
 
“….” 
 
 
‘Value…my goal?’ 
 
 
“If you fight for a cause that you wholeheartedly believe in, then that resilience could be the key to your victory.” 
 
 
“…. what?” 
 
 
“Maybe this can be your chance to fight back. Maybe even the first chance.”  
 
 
“I don’t understand- what are you trying to- “  
 
 
“Keep your resilience to the bitter end. That is all. Whatever you’re about to do, don’t do it.” 
 
 
Mona was left standing a bit dumbfounded. How did he know what she was going to do? How could he? She tried to piece it all together to an ample and stable conclusion, yet nothing came to her.  
 
 
“I’ve long grown weary of this one-sided conversation.” 
 
 
Mona looked up at Atlas as he turned from her. As he turned, he disintegrated into tiny particles of both his karma and pieces of anemo energy.  
 
 
What was that? What in Teyvat was that? It was so odd that her mind nearly disregarded what he said.  
 
 
Slowly, she got up from her position, and began to walk back to Liyue harbor.  
 
 
His words echoed in her mind as if they were a plague. Yet, she could barely comprehend them. 
 
 
“Keep your resilience to the end?,” she muttered. 
 
 
A part of her felt like she wanted to cling to those words, to tell herself all she had done was not in vain. Yet they escaped her like a paper caught by a breeze.  
 
 
‘Resilience?,’ she asked herself. ‘Sometimes resilience can be found in acting for what one wishes to stand for.’  
 
 
Yet, something in her hesitated, as if she had connected it to the wrong thing.  
 
 
Was it stupid to do this? Probably. But there was so much more to gain than there was to lose. Besides, though the Gods had access to the tree, they would not hurt her while she was inside. They would not get there in time, as they would have no power in that dimension. Or at least, that is what she assumed considering they did not go near it often. But they had observed figures of the Divine and the Archons go into it periodically, and they were always quite slow. From what she and Albedo observed, it seemed to mimic the power they forged in their visions, but it was uncontrollable by them. Despite that, they knew what it was and what it could do. Albedo and Mona knew as well after observing it for countless hours. It was the tree that could change reality itself. Even better, it seemed to shape dimensions.  
 
 
If she could just get inside it, she could alter fate itself. It didn’t matter how long it would take her, if it took ten minutes, or even a millennium, she would be able to do it. The Divine would be behind her, and it would take them the same amount of time to catch up once she got to the point of rule breaching. 
 
 
With only that thought in her mind, she dragged herself to Liyue Harbor. Maybe, just maybe, if she could do this, do this for her friends, everything could be normal. They could be normal. She could invite Chongyun and Albedo with no precedence of mission involved, she could meet the little sister Albedo always spoke of and watch them play, Chongyun could get that cabin with Xingqiu he always wanted, Chongyun could be happy. Or at the very least..they could live happily in their newfound companionship.  
 
 
It was a dream they all had risked everything for, and everyone had to do their part. This could be hers. She once fought for a rebellion against the Gods. But, at this point, she just wanted a happy life for her friends. The scope of everything was too big for them, they could only save their futures.  
 
 
When she arrived at Liyue harbor, the sun was setting on the horizon.  
 
 
She took a deep breath as she entered the harbor, walking through the streets to the Feiyun Commerce Guild building. No one was in the area, at least no one who could be seen. She snapped her fingers, creating a barrier of hydro energy around the area faster than it took for her to blink. It was paired with an illusion, which one, she didn’t know. But it would keep visitors out.  
 
 
As she got to the center of the square, she put a hand on her vision, allowing herself to resonate with her hydro vision and activate her elemental sight. Everything gained a light aura around it. Things that went unseen unveiled themselves.  
 
 
She saw it, the outline of a tree with its branches and roots reaching through the heavens and deep into the ground.  
 
 
As she kept her vision on, she allowed herself to resonate with the object. Reaching her hand out, she asked,  
  
“Stars above, allow me insight into what I must do to enter this domain of the divine and the world as we know it.” 
 
The circle she used to decipher the stars appeared in front of her, with her beginning her reading.  
 
 
The stars seemingly aligned, telling her a surprisingly simple story. 
 
 
“Allow your elemental energy to flow up the four central roots of the tree to create entry.” 
 
 
Simple enough.  
 
 
She looked at the Tree, finding four roots protruding from it. Each one seemed distinct, as if they connected to something that was large and important.  
 
 
As she had done many a time, she threw back her arm. She allowed herself to feel the hydro energy running through her, every ounce of it used for this singular purpose. 
 
 
“Written in the stars!” 
 
 
She threw herself forward, allowing all of the energy to leave her body and create an illusion. 
 
 
In an instant, the stars were created, surrounding the Tree’s base, and each and every root in turn.  
 
 
She watched as the energy reached the roots, seeping into them and turning them the color of a deep blue.  
 
 
The energy sunk into the roots and shot up the tree, triggering bright lights to be formed at the top of the tree. It circled the tree and slowly came down to the base of the trunk, ending in the lights coming together to create the symbol of Liyue  floating in midair. The symbol slid itself back, finally reaching the tree, imprinting itself on it. 
 
 
A door formed. 
 
 No, not a door, a portal.  
 
 
A white portal appeared, the entrance to the tree. Since they had monitored the tree’s activity ever since they had found it. She knew exactly where it led, to a center that could change fate as they knew it.  
 
 
She finally stepped forward, into the blinding light of the tree. She stopped and looked around. She half expected a divine elemental storm to rain on her, stopping her from going to the door, but nothing appeared. So, she took another step forward into the portal. 
 
 
The world warped in front of her. The brightness of the entrance turned into an abyss of starry sky. She found herself floating among them, not in control of where she was headed. 
 
 
Slowly she allowed her hydro energy to show the path forward, allowing it to form a circle, which she would use to read the stars. She closed her eyes.  
 
 
She noted the various stars, of which she assumed contained other universes. She could only contain the fate of this one at this moment, nothing more, nothing less. She watched as the sky dragged her along. Right before her, there seemed to be a collection of trees, the branches going to various dimensions. It may be difficult to figure out which one was the true dimension they were in, but she had all the time in the world to figure it out. The stars would be her guide. In each universe, they were aligned differently, and she could use that to her advantage. 
 
 
If she could let this happiness flourish, if she could save their future in the end, it did not matter how long it took her. She was done being a tool for the Divine, an unjust experiment and an unjust punishment had been served out to those who dared to defy them. Within this system she would implant something in that they could never reverse.  
 
 
Herself.  
 
 
If she could implant and place every drop of her energy into a reserve back in time, and let it grow, it could be possible for her to become a being that could challenge the gods. She also knew her target, she would implant her energy into the time of the Archon War, maybe slightly before, the energy would be enough to gain more power than imaginable. Then, she would place herself in the current era and claim it.  
 
 
It was the best chance they had, and even if it failed…at least a semblance of their future would be saved. Chongyun and Albedo would not be held back by her stupidity any longer. It was the only answer the stars would allow her to see.  
 
 
She let her energy pile on, every last drop of it condensing into one large mass, ready to leave her as soon as she said the word. That of course, would be saved for the correct universe and time.  
 
 
Yet, when the branches seemed within reach, a bright light appeared before her, sucking her into it.  
Wait…what?  
 
 
The scene before her shifted. The autumn trees graced the scene. She was still floating, as if a ghost trapped in time. It took her to the square where the tree first blossomed. Yet, it did not stop there, instead it took her to the Feiyun commerce building right next to it. She went through its walls and deeper, into its basement. This was where she saw a small living space. There seemed to be a small living room, two bedrooms, a guan, a kitchen area, and a bathroom.  
 
 
She saw two silhouettes inside the guan, seemingly training. Though, she could not identify them as she was quickly whisked to a small area behind the bookshelves of the living room. It looked like a laboratory with no shortage of machinery. There looked to be machines and research methods from Mondstat, Liyue, Inazuma, and even Sumeru. It was there she caught a glimpse of what seemed to be a vision sitting on the table, one with the power of hydro.  
 
 
Before she could comprehend any of that, she was thrown up to the sky once more. She was presented with the perfect view of the square in front of the guild. This time, there seemed to be a raised platform. On top of it was a sword, or at least, what seemed to be a sword. There was a figure on its knees as the sword sat on the ground. It seemed restrained, no doubt it was kneeling before something.  
 
 
But why was she being shown this? What were these illusions? And why did they seem so familiar? It was almost like someone had told her of these stories before- 
 
 
It hit Mona like a truck. Never in their research of this tree…did they ever even consider that this may not be a divine constructed structure. Could that be why…no one was coming to stop her? These were certainly not other universes. She knew it, not when she had been told these stories before.  
 
 
She felt her breath hitch. It was becoming harder and harder to breathe, and the jerking of her body was becoming increasingly intense.  
 
 
She instinctively put her hand up to her neck.  
 
 
‘What?,’ she thought. ‘What’ happening...why...is it rejecting me?’  
 
 
She gasped and gasped. Anyone should be able to go in here, she had seen it before.  
 
 
She felt herself getting ripped apart into small pieces, her body feeling as if it was being torn apart ruthlessly by the swirling of energy. She looked at her hands, they seemed to slowly crumble into dust. 
 
 
…. what?  
 
 
No this can’t… 
 
 
She hadn’t-  
 
 
She’d leave them-  
 
 
She hadn’t made up with Chongyun yet. She hadn’t made up with Albedo yet. She hadn’t made up for what she had done. If she couldn’t even try, she would never even come close. 
 
 
Her disintegration slowly spread throughout her, traveling up each limb. She could not sustain herself. There was no pain, just a haze. There was a haze of what was going on. The surroundings became blurry, no time for her to truly panic or react. She could barely even process what was happening. All she could do was continue to gasp and manage one final thought. 
 
 
“I’m…. I’m sorry. I just…wanted…” 
 
 
The darkness forced itself into her, and the last of her light was snuffed out by the overpowering energy of the tree as she felt herself fall into the never-ending darkness.  
 
 
…… 
 
 
“Mona?” 
 
 
“Mona?” 
 
 
“Mona are you okay?” 
 
 
Mona felt herself gasp, though a weight seemed to be holding her down. It was as if someone was sitting on her. Her fatigue felt awful.  
 
 
Slowly, she opened her eyes.  
 
 
At first it was a squint, feeling the chilly air make its way into them felt unnatural, but slowly she became used to the sensation.  
 
 
As she became coherent enough to process her surroundings, she was met with two figures above her. One had shoulder length golden hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. His face seemed stoic, though his eyebrows were tilted.  
 
 
The other had short sky-blue hair and equally light blue eyes to match. He seemed to have a much more concerned expression on his face, with his mouth slightly open and his eyebrows scrunched together.  
 
 
“Mona?”  
 
 
She looked up at them, only able to ask one thing.  
 
 
“Wh- wh- who…are…y-you?”

Chapter Text

“Who…. who are you?”

Chongyun looked at Mona in near horror as he repeated the sentence Mona said back to her. He felt his body go still, he wanted to move, but he couldn’t.

“Yes-who, who are- “

Mona’s eyes fluttered. She looked as if she was fighting her own body. But, she lost, and her eyes shut and locked themselves, and she went back to the ground.

Chongyun looked at Albedo. Albedo was kneeling next to Mona, placing two fingers on her neck with his eyes scanning her body, most likely looking for wounds. His eyes looked from Albedo to Mona at a rapid pace, as if uncontrollable. He could hardly believe anything was really happening, just a little while ago he had been having the time of his life with Xingqiu...and now this.

“Albedo what do we do?”

The words left his mouth before he could even think them.

“We should- “

“Albedo what are we going to do?”

He repeated it, as if Albedo had not heard him. He could not comprehend Albedo’s voice, or anything else close to him.

“Chongyun-“

“Is she going to wake up?”

His mind switched topics in an instant.

Mona. Unconscious. Ran away. What did she do? Why? Mona. Unconscious. Ran away. What did she do? Why?

It repeated over and over in his head. She would just be sleeping, right? She couldn’t be dea- no, no. She couldn’t- They still had so much to do.

“Chongyun-“

“What did she do?”
Chongyun’s quick breathing worsened. As his mind raced, the heat built up within him, threatening to boil over.

“Chongyun.”

Albedo’s voice gained a demand within it that refused to be ignored. Yet, he still had not looked at Chongyun.

With his brain still racing a thousand miles an hour, Chongyun began to feel the heat climb his body. Not only that, but he felt some sort of power in this area. It was intensive and felt like someone lighting up all of his senses at once, only encouraging his yang energy, fostering, and raising it up.

“I- “

The scene around him shifted to a blur as Chongyun continued to mutter. Albedo looked at him, finally standing up from Mona’s side. He walked over to Chongyun and swiftly grabbed Chongyun’s hand. He took it and pressed it firmly onto Chongyun’s Cryo vision, refusing to let his hand off of it for even a second.

As the coldness prickled Chongyun’s fingers, he regained a small bit of clarity. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for him to continue to pump cryo energy into his body. Slowly, he regained himself. He felt the heat tone itself down, though it still festered in him. The world became traceable again and his incoherent murmurs ceased.

When he fully became coherent again after a minute or so, he was greeted with a rare sight. In front of him stood Albedo, arms crossed and eyebrows slightly furrowed. As soon as Chongyun came to, Albedo took the opportunity to strike.

Albedo’s voice still demanded all attention from him.

“Chongyun, please, you have to keep it together right now.”

Though Chongyun’s breathing was still a bit heavier, he was coming back down to the ground. This time, he heard Albedo’s words loud and clear.

“Y-yes.,” he responded.

“Good, this is serious, I can’t carry both of you out of here. Let’s get her to the inn.”

“Yes-I’ll hoist her onto my back.”

“No, I’ll carry her, you just help with assisting.”

Though, the thought of carrying someone was less than appealing right now, it wasn’t like he had much of a choice. He was the strongest and Albedo could not carry her the whole way back by himself. They had to help one another as much as possible. He began walking towards Mona, the thoughts still running through his head.

“What do we do after- “

“What happened to her, is everything okay?”

Chongyun stopped, all he could do was stand still, yet again as his eyes widened.

A smooth voice came out from behind Chongyun. It came so quickly that one could only assume it had come out of the woodworks of the Feiyun Commerce Guild’s building behind them.

He heard the quick steps of the visitor echo in the night. From the swiftness of the visitor’s steps to their soft yet alarmed voice, he knew exactly who this was.

No. No, no, no. He could not be there; he could not see this. H-h-how would they explain this, why would he be out here? What-

“Chongyun? What happened to your friend?" The visitor’s voice echoed throughout Chongyun’s brain, and Chongyun’s world began to turn again. Yet, although his senses were leaving him, he could detect a modicum of panic entering the visitor’s voice.

Chongyun did not look at the person, his body would not allow him to.

“Chongyun, get over here!”

Albedo’s voice amongst the panic was clear, and he should go, but his body still would not allow him to function.

Then, he heard the voice of the visitor again.

“Wait Calx? Is that you?”

‘CALX?,’ his mind screamed at him.

The information ran through Chongyun’s mind rapidly. He could not begin to make sense of any of it. The heat had returned, and no amount of cryo energy was subduing it. The world around him began to blur and the voices of those around him fully faded out. The world began to spin even more….and he felt himself fall right before he could not sense anything else at all.

—————-

When Chongyun finally awoke, he was in an unfamiliar area. Everything from the smell, texture to the texture of the ground was off.

The ground was soft, and he was sunk into it ever so slightly. All accompanied by a subtle fragrance of silk flowers

Slowly, he opened his eyes. As he opened them, what could be assumed to be sunlight began to peak into his eyes, soon shining fully into them.

“Mm.”

He groaned as he came to, feeling about as coherent as he did when he passed out to begin with.

Soon enough, he was able to make out a voice.

“Ah, Calx, he’s awake.”

Calx? Who’s Calx? Where is he?

Chongyun rubbed his eyes, getting used to the light. His eyes slowly but surely adjusted. When he was finally able to open his eyes fully, he could see an ornate wooden bed frame. It certainly wasn’t from the hotel room.

Overall, the room was intricately decorated, with gold Inlaid into it and enough bookcases to beat out any other library he had seen in his life.

As he sat up from what he now knew was a bed, he saw a figure approaching him from the side in his peripheral vision.

“Chongyun?”

He looked up to see a golden man. An... irritated...golden man. It was Albedo. He stood above Chongyun with a strait-laced look on his face, only interrupted by his still furrowed eyebrows. A stark contrast to the otherwise peaceful room.

“What happened?,” asked Chongyun. He could only remember bits and pieces from before he fainted, mostly having to do with an irritated Albedo and an unexpected visitor.

“You passed out when we found Mona.”

“Oh-”

That’s right, Mona, she was asleep. They had to take her back to the inn.

“Albedo, I’m so sorry-”

Albedo sighed.

“It’s alright, at least I didn’t have to carry back both of you.”

He gestured beside him. Chongyun hadn’t even noticed another figure come up beside Albedo.

Strutting up with a smile on his face and not a hair out of place, was Xingqiu.

…. wait

…. wait XINGQIU?

He had his hands behind his back and was wearing a smile on his face.

Despite his rather pleasant appearance, Chongyun still felt his heart sink in his stomach.

“Oh…. Um…. Xingqiu… what are you doing here?”

He could feel his anxiety permeating through every word he uttered.

“I live here, what about you?”

“Oh, you live here.”

An all too casual acceptance on Chongyun’s part. It took a minute before his eyes widened and his tone became a bit louder.

“Wait you LIVE HERE?”

“Yes.,” Xingqiu said.

His gentlemanly grace coated every sentence. Though, it slipped for just a moment. For said moment, he saw Xingqiu’s hand cover his mouth ever so slightly and heard him breathe just slightly heavier. A small, invisible laugh.

“Welcome to the interior of the Feiyun Commerce Guild.”

Xingqiu’s voice vibrated ever so slightly in his recovery.

“Wait but then where’s- “

“Mona is right there.,”

Albedo answered him this time.

Albedo turned his body and pointed to her. Behind Albedo, Chongyun saw another bed, another ornate frame and cushion, with Mona’s sleeping figure in it.

Chongyun felt himself sigh with relief. She looked to be out, but peacefully so. It almost looked as if she could wake at any moment. He looked back at Xingqiu and Albedo.

“How long have we been out?,” asked Chongyun.

Albedo looked around the room and sighed.

“Two days, you’ve been out for two days.”

“T-two days? -“

Chongyun stuttered and stood up from the bed.

He looked at Xingqiu, who was right next to Albedo. He managed to take a few deep breaths, able to regain some form of composure while Xingqiu was there.

“Ah, two days. I…. I understand.”

He felt his body tense.

‘TWO DAYS?,’ his mind screamed at him. The heat that knocked him out threatened to come back and destroy him. But he couldn’t let it. He allowed his heavy breathing to slow and more cryo energy to flow through him. It seemed like the enlightening atmosphere that caused him to collapse was long gone, so he felt his body cool much faster this time.

Xingqiu looked between Albedo and Chongyun, his eyes seemingly observing every interaction.

“I’ll allow the two of you time to recoup. Um, just tell me when you need me.”

A light and awkward laugh accompanied his words. With that, Xingqiu strolled out the door and left the room.

Chongyun looked at Albedo.

“What’s going on?”

“Well…. After you passed out, Xingqiu helped with bringing you and Mona into the Guild building. He wanted to help carry you to the nearest medical facility, but Mona may have unheard of magical traces on her, so I convinced him to bring you two in here.”

“Wait, how did you manage that?”

“I told him we had dealt with this before and it did not require medical care. It just required a safe space for recouperation. I even named herbs and medicines that I could buy myself to get you two to feel better.”

The tiniest bit vague, yet convincing coming out of Albedo, well played.

“Then, how’s Mona doing?”

Albedo sighed and looked back at Mona. With only a slight furrow of his eyebrows and his mouth downward just a twinge, it was clear he was glaring daggers at her sleeping figure.

“She’s fine.,” he said. “Well, not fine per say, but she’s simply asleep. She’ll live. Though, I’m not sure how long she’ll be asleep.”

Though, as Albedo said that Chongyun saw his furrowed eyebrows relax into something a bit more solemn.

“Because of that…I think it may be best to stay here for a little while.,” he continued.

“Stay?”

Chongyun felt something inside of him sink. There had to be another way, not...not here.

“Yes…we should stay.”

“Albedo we can’t- “

“I know this is a sensitive subject, but we don’t have much of a choice Chongyun. If we take her back to the inn, people will see and call for medicine, and in medicine they may find traces of unusual divine energy. It is a miracle she is still alive, but she may not be if people find out, and she may not be the only casualty either.”

Albedo took a deep breath, Chongyun could see Albedo’s body tensing up.

“Not to mention, even if by some miracle we do make it to the inside of our room in the inn, the things we will have to do to keep people unaware are too much trouble. Who knows how long we will have to stay. Our best option is to leave the inn early and stay here.”

All Chongyun could do was look on in a bit of shock. In all these years, this was one of the most serious lectures Chongyun had ever received from Albedo. A frustration was building in Albedo and threatening to boil out of him like he had never seen before.

“But who knows if Xingqiu is okay with that? -“

“He is, I asked him already.”

“Wait how did he agree- “

“I draw pictures for his books. As long as I do that and you and I contribute some money, we are okay to stay here.”

It seemed like Albedo’s mind was traveling a thousand miles an hour. His usual composure and demeanor were nearly nonexistent. Nearly.

Yet, as quickly as he had seemingly lost his composure, he gained it back from in half of that time.

Albedo stopped in his tracks, seemingly now aware of what he said.

For the fourth time this morning, Albedo sighed.

“I- “

“Albedo I- “

“I apologize for my unprofessional behavior. I’m going on a walk.”

Albedo turned around, walking steadily out the door of the room. Chongyun didn’t try to stop him, it seemed like it wouldn’t be the brightest idea.

Despite how out of sorts Albedo sounded, he closed the door lightly, and without even the smallest amount of irritation.

Chongyun stood there, still stunned. He felt ice running in his veins. It was a feeling he was used to from all of his life experience, but definitely not used to feeling near Albedo. It felt unnatural, as all of your close friends had been replaced by almost identical versions of them, but there was still something missing.

Yet, at the same time…it felt like he had witnessed an argument as opposed to being the target of a tirade.

He heard the door creak open. Maybe Albedo had forgotten something or-

“Heh. Are you alright?”

He looked up to see Xingqiu, his blue bangs and the top part of his face poking through the crack in the door.

Reality snapped back to him, and a different kind of anxiety filled his chest, one that made his heart pound instead of sink.

“Oh- h-hi.”

Xingqiu came in, silently closing the door behind him. He looked at Chongyun, his hands still behind his back and a smile still plastered on his face.

“Sounds like you got an earful.”

Chongyun felt himself go numb, he felt his mouth go agape and his body tense. Wait was he listening? If he was... How...how much did he hear?

“Wait…you were listening?”

“Oh, not for long. I only overheard the last bit about you all staying over for a while.”

He smiled at Chongyun, his earnest demeanor shining through in his upright posture and small smile.

Well, good. It would have been bad if he had overheard the divine energy part. A small part of him felt strange,

“Oh.”

Silence overtook them and Xingqiu looked from Mona to Chongyun.

“Say, Chongyun, what happened exactly?”

“Uh, well- “

Chongyun stuttered a bit, his mouth running with the first story his brain could think of.

“An exorcism went horribly wrong. Albedo and Mona wanted to come with me. I exorcised it, but it seemed the yin energy it possessed was strong enough to make us woozy and knock us out when we were heading back. I assume Albedo just got lucky in that regard.”

Xingqiu eyed Chongyun, as if thinking that he could pry the truth from him with a simple stare. Chongyun did not break eye contact, instead choosing to face Xingqiu by looking into his eyes. Those…those gorgeous amber eyes.

Chongyun felt his composure loosen as the two held this mini battle, along with the slightest amount of heat crawling up to his cheeks. But it was controllable.

After a minute, Xingqiu pursed his lips. Out of it, a small smile curled onto his them.

That oh so familiar small and quiet laugh made its way to Chongyun’s ears. It sang a sweet tune to him in that moment, him nearly being able to forget about everything.

“Of course, I believe you.”

“Oh- “

Chongyun almost felt light when Xingqiu said that.

“Yes of course.”

Xingqiu’s snicker returned to him.

“You’re far too honest Chongyun, far too honest. I think that’s one of the fun things about you.”

Xingqiu smiled at his own statement, as if it was some sort of comfort.

“I suppose that’s a good thing.”

“Me too.,” he came a bit closer to Chongyun. “Well, I will say, I think I’ll enjoy having you and your friends around this place. It’s the chivalrous thing to do after all.”

“What about your family?”

“Oh, they come around when they can. I wouldn’t worry about it too much. I rarely see them when they are home anyways.”

The smile that formed on Xingqiu’s lips turned the slightest bit bitter. But the moment was so fleeting that Chongyun questioned if it had happened at all.

“Ah, well, you know best I suppose.”

“That’s right, I do!”

Xingqiu laughed yet again and then motioned for Chongyun to follow him.

“Come with me for a tour.”

Chongyun nodded. It wasn’t like he needed it…but…it could be nice.

—————

Albedo walked along the streets of Liyue, observing the land and everything about it. Everyone smiled happily. Families walked alongside one another in the streets, lovers held hands, and friends….

Ugh.

Albedo looked at all of them all with disdain at this moment.

He felt strongly, and yet, he could not quite pinpoint why. He could have been lighter with Chongyun back in the guild. Yet, it seemed this week’s events seemed to touch the homunculus deeply. So deeply, that his thoughts only repeated one sentence as he blended with the masses. It was a sentence that was incomprehensible to him, and yet, he wanted to decode it. After all: he had warned her so many times.

“Why did you do it?”

Chapter Text

Chongyun sat back in the bedroom where Mona lay. He sat by her bed, looking down at her with a look of guilt almost glued onto his face. It had been about two days since they had moved in with Xingqiu, and she still showed no signs of stirring. Not when they would try to replenish her hydro energy, nor when they would try to wake her using alchemical potions that Albedo worked on late into the night. Despite there being no signs of her awakening, he could not help but sit there. There wasn’t much else he could do. Albedo was pent up in a workshop he had set up in another room, trying to find some type of…well…something that could cure her. But, to no avail.

It seemed that without her, the plan could not move forward. He had tried to formulate his next plan of action, but that was also to no avail. The whole group was stuck with no way to continue.

He loomed over her with a sigh.

“Hey Mona”, he said. “You’ll probably be really confused when you wake up but…um..we live in a large house now. You could practice your astrology here if you were up.”

He continued to look at her. She seemed to be having a peaceful rest, her face was relaxed against the sheets of the bed as her body lay still on it, and her arm was used as her pillow. She looked as if she could wake at any moment…but she wasn’t.

“I hope you’re having…a nice, fun dream now…at the very least. Well, don’t have too much fun. We need you here. Both Albedo and I need you here.”

Chongyun pursed his lips, words that wanted to spew out of him formed on his tongue. He wanted to say them so badly, but he knew he needed to wait until she was awake.

He stood up, ready to leave the room and go to a job he had booked. Ghosts were supposedly haunting a local family’s house. Yet, as if she was a magnet, he took a few last few looks at Mona, the words slipped out of mouth in the form of a whisper.

“I’m sorry.”

He stared back at Mona, as if expecting those words to wake her. As if she would come out from her sleep and say,

“I’ve been waiting for that.”

She would say it and then tease him about how unreasonable he had been being…but then say she understood, because she always did.

Yet, she didn’t stir.

He couldn’t help but feel the slightest bit of embarrassment as he realized what he had just thought may happen. A mere fairy tail that he, above anyone else, should know would never come to fruition. But, he sooner realized that he had nothing to be embarrassed of.

After all…

It wasn’t like anyone but him had seen what he had done.

He walked down the hall with a bit of a saunter to his step, and left into town for the day.
…
Phew.

Chongyun walked out of the small house, the couple that lived there thanked him profusely for job well done, saying something about feeling like the job done was amazing and that the air felt lighter already. He had to admit, that job was tough. Although the ghost was immediately scared off by his yang energy, it kept trying to creep back in whenever it sensed he was about to leave. He supposed the ghost in Quinge Village had a bit more tenacity than others.

He looked at the sun, it was on the cusp of the mountains. Ah, that job had taken most of the day. That was unfortunate, he was hoping to spend some time with Xingqiu and Albedo today. Well, no big deal, he didn’t have anything on his schedule tomorrow anyways, maybe he could spend time with them then.

He walked through the wild of Liyue, thinking about what he could do at the end of this fine day. Maybe he should stop at the square in order to pick up some treats for Xingqiu and Albedo. Xingqiu had been kind enough to let them stay in his house, and Albedo had barely left his lab.

Maybe it would raise everyone’s spirits ever so slightly.
Soon enough, Chongyun found himself walking to the market. Many venders still had their stores open, despite the sun nearly having disappeared. They were yelling their advertisements and enthusiastic as ever. He walked down the market square until he came across a stall selling rice buns. it wasn’t much, but, it was something Chongyun could afford, and he could afford a decent amount of them. Sadly, he couldn’t do something too expensive, he still had to pay rent right now.

As he was walking back towards the Guild, he saw a familiar figure outside. A figure with a painting stand set up was looking at the scenery of the market and capturing it all with delicate strokes.

Slowly, Chongyun approached him.

“Albedo?”

The figure, as usual, refused to break his focus, each brush stroke meticulous and done with purpose. Yet, there was one thing that wasn’t exact about the painted replica, the colors seemed duller than the surrounding scenery.

He tried yet again to get the figure’s attention,

He pat the man on the shoulder,

“Albedo?”

This provoked a slight reaction; a flicker of Albedo’s eyes went to Chongyun for a moment. Yet the same response, with Chongyun being ignored all the same. He sighed, deciding ultimately to leave the rice bun by Albedo’s art bag. He supposed...now wasn’t the time.

He began to leave, looking back at Albedo every few seconds. He didn’t do much, not even when working on his painting, but, he did pick up the rice bun. Chongyun smiled ever so slightly before turning around and making the rest of the walk back to the Guild.
….
Back at the Guild, Chongyun immediately went to the room where Mona was, he had to check every morning, every afternoon, every night. She may wake up at any point. One day her breathing may change and she may stretch upwards, and he wanted someone to be with her when she did.

Sadly, it was like all the other times, nothing of note to be seen, not even the movement of sleep was present in her. The only new thing was the person who stood next to her.

“Xingqiu?”

The blue haired gentleman turned to Chongyun, standing upright by Mona’s bedside.

“Why yes, that’s me, hello.”

Chongyun walked into the room, beside Xingqiu by Mona’s bedside.

“What are you doing?”, he asked.

“I’m just looking over your sleeping friend here, still wondering what could have happened to knock her out this badly, yet she doesn’t need a doctor.”

Chongyun sighed.

“Me too honestly.”

Xingqiu mouthed a small “oh” as he looked at Chongyun.

“Ah looks like Albedo’s the secret keeper than.”, Xingqiu said.

“You have no idea..”

Xingqiu looked at Chongyun, his head perking up. .

“Hah! Well that’s Calx for you.”

Calx… oh yes, Xingqiu had known Albedo for a long time. He wondered if Xingqiu may know more about Albedo. He didn’t quite know how to communicate with Albedo anymore. It seemed as if the more he pushed, the further away Albedo tried to run. So just maybe…

“Oh yeah, I was wondering-”, Chongyun began.

“Let’s go to dinner.”

Xingqiu interrupted Chongyun in an instant.
“Um…well okay, uh, should we wait for Albedo? I saw him working outside but I’m sure he’s almost finished with his paintings.”

Xingqiu sighed, his head tilting to the side.

“Well, you see, I asked him, and he turned me down for a dinner with us three. “ Yet, the worry in Xingqiu’s voice was replaced with a light and happy disposition
.
“But I figured since you like me so much, it wouldn’t be an issue for you to have me all to yourself, would it?”

“Ah, I, uh, I-“

“Oh I was also wondering if we could go do some fun deeds. I heard there’s a couple monsters out in the wilderness that need a talking to. Would you mind accompanying me?”

It was like Chongyun didn’t have time to think.

“Uh-“

“I would love to see you use both of your visions.”

“Ummm…”

Xingqiu’s eyes widened, as if he fully realized everything he had just asked.

“Ah I’m sorry, take your time and answer as slowly as you need to, heh, I got a bit excited there.”

An awkward laugh found its way into Xingqiu’s voice.

“Ah well…”

It wasn’t that Chongyun had been taken a back by Xingqiu’s requests exactly, he just had been taken aback by his intensity.. The aura when he asked those questions was that of the one he had back then. Xingqiu would bombard Chongyun with questions about the outside world, even though Chongyun had only been outside a few times himself. He would ask him if he had seen any heroes, what the plants were like, if there were really evil people or creatures that attacked you like they did in the stories, he had so many questions…he always did, even as they grew up.

It made Chongyun smile.

“Well I can say yes to most of them.”, he said. “I just can’t really say yes to that last part, I’m sorry.”

Xingqiu looked back at him, a small twinkle in his eye.

“Ah, well let’s not worry about that then, let’s just do those other two things, let’s go!”

He began to walk, but then stopped and turned his heel back to Chongyun.

“Oh I almost forgot, how do you feel about meeting two of my friends there?”, Xingqiu added.

“Oh um…” Chongyun was hesitant… but he needed to meet new people anyways. “Sure, why not?”

“Great!”

Without warning, Xingqiu grabbed Chongyun’s arm, shocking Chongyun enough to have him drop the bag of rice buns he had. Xingqiu dragged him to the door, out of it, and into Liyue harbor. Chongyun stumbled on his feet as Xingqiu dragged him, a squeak escaping out of him. He swore he heard a chuckle escape Xingqiu he was whisked away to the restaurant. The streets became a blur as Chongyun tried to keep up with Xingqiu’s pace, his feet grazing the ground and then immediately being brought up as if he was going to fly only a moment later.

Soon enough, Chongyun found himself in front of Wanmin Restaurant again. Xingqiu waved down Xiangling, still while gripping down on Chongyun’s hand.

“Hey you two!”, Xiangling’s said, two dishes in her hands.

“Hello my friend.”

“uh…hi.”, Chongyun said, laughing awkwardly.

“Come on in!”

Xiangling placed the dishes down onto a table in front of a couple guests and beckoned Xingqiu and Chongyun into the restaurant.

Xiangling led them to a side table for two.
“Ah no private room this time Xiangling?”, asked Xingqiu.

“Not when you didn’t ask for them in advance, and they’re all booked, unfortunately.”

Xingqiu laughed lightly, sitting down with Chongyun.

“So what are you two up to?”, asked Xiangling.

“We’re going to eat and then afterwards we’re going to meet up with Xinyan and Hutao to fight some monsters in the wilderness.”

“Oh has Chongyun met them yet?”

“Oh no he hasn’t, uh, I know they can be a bit intense.”

“So that’s why you’re having him meet them both at once?”

“Now, now, don’t phrase it like that. It’s like killing two birds with one stone.”

Xiangling looked at him with a straight face, entirely unconvinced.

She looked from Xingqiu to Chongyun, giving him the same look. Her face screamed that she meant it

“Good luck.”, she said to him.

After a quick brush of her dress and a shake of her hand, she finally asked them about service.

“Anyways what do you two want?”

“ I’ll take any soup, doesn’t matter which one.”, said Xingqiu.

“Uh, I’ll take cold mountain noodles.”, said Chongyun, he smiled at Xiangling.

“Coming right up!”

Xiangling bounced from the table into the kitchen, the trail of positive energy she left in her wake evident.

Despite this, Chongyun couldn’t help but think to himself, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ “Who are these friends of Xingqiu and how so are they intense?’

Xingqiu made no comment on what just happened, he just looked at the wall, as if waiting for Chongyun to say something.

As much as Chongyun wanted to question Xingqiu, he had more important things to ask him. He turned towards Xingqiu to finish the thought he had before they went to dinner,

“So... you’ve known Albedo for a long time?”

Xingqiu’s eyebrows moved upward ever so slightly, as if surprised. He looked towards Chongyun and put a hand up to his chin.

“Yes…” Xingqiu’s voice wavered ever so slightly. “And no I suppose.”

“Hmm?”

“Well Albedo does illustrations for a fair amount the stories that I write. But, it’s only recently I’ve started collaborating with him more in person.”

“Only recently?”

“Yes, so, I guess I’ve known Calx for a long time, but I’ve only met Albedo recently.”

Chongyun would normally brush off a statement like that as unneeded, but, considering Albedo, it may be worth noting.

“ I have to say, it’s a bit strange though, how I met Albedo, I mean..”, Xingqiu continued.

“Strange?”

“Yes, he possessed little to no interest in meeting up before. I had asked him several times so we could maybe bond and have a better working relationship, but then, out of the blue, he said he wanted to meet.”

“Just...out of nowhere?”, Chongyun tried to keep his voice level, but, it was a bit hard to hide his curiosity.

Xingqiu looked at Chongyun, as if knowingly, a small smile on his lips once more.
“Yes, I got a letter one day saying he was coming to Liyue and wanted to meet up. I arranged a place for him to stay since he’s my dear illustrator. It was roughly two weeks ago I believe. He asked to meet up and questioned me, asking if I was having any odd dreams and things such as that. Afterwards after only a few days, he left.”

“Hm… odd.”

“Yes, quite. These questioning sessions would be sprinkled in with normal conversation. I think he thought I wouldn’t notice, but, I certainly did.”

Xingqiu sighed,

“I think it was just his odd way of getting to know me. But, in the end, who knows? That man is an enigma.”

Chongyun sighed with him.

“Yes, he is unfortunately.”

Xingqiu seemed to perk up at this comment.

“How long have you known him then?”

So…so long.

“A while I suppose…I guess you could call us longtime friends.”

“Longtime friends?”

Xingqiu’s eyes lit up at the description.

“Do you have any embarrassing childhood stories about Albedo?”

“Ah, ha ha,” Chongyun laughed awkwardly yet again. “No, I don’t have anything that fun.”

“Aw, shame.”, said Xingqiu, “What about some interests other than drawing and research?”

“Umm…”

Chongyun tried to reach into his mind, trying to find something about Albedo that Xingqiu may not know.

“…he has a sister of sorts. Her name is Klee.”

“Oh sister?”, that seemed to stoke Xingqiu’s interest. “That’s a new one, he always struck me as an only child.”

“Well they aren’t technically related…it’s more…adoptive?”

“Ah I see. Well, I guess even to close friends Albedo remains Albedo, ever the surprise.”

Close friends, huh? Chongyun looked down at the floor. It was true, Albedo remained a mystery no matter what. Throughout these hundreds of years, sometimes it still felt like he didn’t know Albedo. After all…he had been nothing like Mona in terms of openness or support.

“Yes, I suppose so.”

As if on cue, spry footsteps made their way to Xingqiu and Chongyun.

Xiangling greeted them yet again, with two dishes in hand, one with steam rising up from it and another with none.

“Ah, here are your dishes.”

Xiangling set down the two and went off to the side, standing beside Xingqiu’s chair.

“Uh…Xiangling?”

Xingqiu looked at her, a concerned look in his eyes.

“Oh don’t mind me! Just dig in.”

Xiangling looked as if she had stars in her eyes, as if awaiting this moment for some time.

Xingqiu cautiously picked up a spoon and dipped it into his soup. He pulled out a spoonful of soup and quickly shoved it into his mouth.

His face contorted,, his mouth creasing and his eyes scrunching. The color of his face turned the slightest bit crimson and he spit out the soup back into the bowl as if it was poison.

He took one hand, vision glowing, and allowed water to flow from his palm and into his mouth.

“Xiangling, WHAT?”, Xingqiu said.

Xiangling moved her head to the side and sighed.

“What was the matter with it?”

“First off, that is way too spicy. How much Jueyun chili did you use? Next, you got rid of most of the slime texture, but not all of it, so it just tastes weird. Lastly, combined together….ugh unpleasant.”

Chongyun felt his stomach churn from the description alone. Yet, it seemed a little harsh all the same.

“I’m sure….it wasn’t THAT bad.”

Xingqiu wiped his mouth.

“Oh really?”

Xingqiu raised an eyebrow.

“Then you try some!”

Before Chongyun could react, Xingqiu plunged the spoon back into the concoction and made the spoon fly, stuffing the soup into Chongyun’s mouth.

In an instant, Chongyun’s mouth was set ablaze. He felt the heat consume his mouth, a slight slimy texture coating his gums and throat. He felt himself gag, spitting the soup out and onto his mountain noodles.

Oh- oh wait…oh no.

His head began to spin, the sheer heat of what entered his mouth traveled down throughout the rest of his body.

“Uh…Chongyun?”, he heard his surroundings say.

What was in that soup?

He stumbled in his chair before his eyes began to close. All he saw before he blacked out was a bright swirl of light on the ground, leading out from the restaurant.

——————

……

He awoke yet again, his eyes heavy and his surroundings unrecognizable for but a moment. His surroundings were as if he was boxed in, only able to loon through small holes between bars.

“Chongyun!”

A small yet serious voice came to him from his side.

Chongyun turned to the left of him, only to see a small and child form of Xingqiu who had his fingers up to his lips. His hairstyle was the same as it had always been and he was wearing a large blue overcoat.

Now that he looked at his surroundings closer, the two seemed to be behind some type of bookshelf.

“Shhhh…if not she’ll find us..“

Chongyun’s body seemed to move on its own.

He felt himself nod his head and then move his head to peak out from the back of the bookshelf.

He saw a small figure walking around. She had two small blue navy buns on top of her head and was wearing a small apron and a red and orange dress.

“Chongyuuu-, qiuuuuu gēgē.”

It was a smaller version of a voice to come. Xiangling’s happy, loud, and high pitched voice sounded softer coming from this younger version of her.

She looked directly at Chongyun, a small gasp coming from her, as he realized he had been peaking out from behind the bookshelf a bit too long.

“Chongyu!”

Oh no.

She ran up to the bookshelf, looking at Chongyun and looking behind him, only to see Xingqiu stashed behind him.

Only now did Chongyun see she was holding a bowl of a reddish brown liquid with solid chunks in it.

Her face scrunched.

“I just want you guys to try my soup.”

She sat down behind the bookcase next to Chongyun, putting the soup to the side of her.

Chongyun felt himself tense as she came closer.

“Sorry…”, Chongyun said. “Your food is just…a little scary sometimes.”

“Yeah,”, he heard Xingqiu mutter behind him.

“Hmph.. you’ll see.”, said Xiangling,, looking up at the ceiling. “One day I’ll have a big restaurant and my food will be amazing!”

“Or you’ll poison everyone in Liyue.”, Xingqiu said. He leaned forward, looking past Chongyun to look at Xiangling and her concoction, but, never daring to go past Chongyun.

“Nuh-uh!, Tao says I won’t.”

“It sounds like Tao would want you to poison everyone from what you say about her.”, said Xingqiu.

“Yeah, she sounds scary.”, said Chongyun. He felt himself shiver.

“Hmmm…” Xiangling tapped her chin, as if that was all she had thought of in advance to prove her point. Yet it didn’t last long as her eyes lit up again, as if a lightbulb had gone off in her head.

“To prove it to you guys, you will be the first customers when I open my restaurant.

She sighed blissfully.

“It’ll be amazing.”

“But….we can’t go outside.”, Chongyun said.

No one responded.

“You can…but we can’t.”, he continued.

“Hmmm….” Xiangling said. “Well you guys can sneak out!”

She paused to think of her plan.

“I could distract Bàba, and you and Gege can sneak out and meet up at the restaurant.”

“But how will we sneak back in?”, Xingqiu asked.

“I will distract Bàba again.”

A simplistic and hopeful plan, characteristic of a young child.

“Plus if anyone tries to hurt you guys, Chongyu can protect you Gēge.”

Xingqiu looked up.

“Hm…that’s true, I do have Chongyun.”, hesaid.

Xingqiu looked to Chongyun with a smile.

“You’ll protect me, right?”

Chongyun looked back, feeling his child self’s face ever so slightly reddening at the perfect smile on Xingqiu’s lips.

“Yes, of course.”

“Yay! Let’s do it then!”, Xiangling said. “You guys will get out for a little bit and everything will be great.”

“That’s if you can make the restaurant.”, Xingqiu chimed in.

“I will, but I have to become a better cook first.”, she said.

Xiangling looked at Chongyun.

“So, eat this and tell me how it is!”

Xiangling took the spoon in the bowl that dripped with brown liquids unknown and shoved it into Chongyun’s mouth.

A familiar sensation of heat within Chongyun’s mouth took root, followed by dizziness, his head spinning and his body feeling light.

“Oh no, Chongyun!”, he heard Xingqiu say.

Slowly, the voices of the past began to fade out of Chongyun’s ears and the world went black yet again.

Chapter Text

Chongyun stirred as the light in the room around him hit him. He felt himself regain consciousness, light entering his eyes. He slowly opened them, blinking while trying to adjust to the brightness of what he assumed to be the morning or afternoon.

“Mmmm…”, he murmured.

He slowly put his hands on the ground behind him and tried to lift himself up.

The ground was soft…

He looked down, finally able to process his surroundings, only to find himself in a bed. He looked to the other side of the room, to find a sleeping Mona on the other bed.

Ah.

He flopped back down onto the bed.

What happened?

The last thing he remembered was Xingqiu feeding him that soup and then being transported back into his memories again.

This was yet another time where he remembered after he passed out. What was causing this? What was happening? Why did it feel like something was tugging at him, so close to coming above the surface?

Ugh

He woke from his thoughts as he heard the creaking of a door. He looked at the wooden door only to see an amber eye peaking out of it.

A strand of blue hair was visible and the figure behind it hesitated as they pushed the door open.

“Uh…Chongyun?”

The usually confident voice had gained a bit of anxiety in it, and a small shudder within it was prevalent.

“Oh…thank the archons again.”

Xingqiu fully opened the door, his hand brushed up against the door as he entered the room.

Chongyun allowed a small smile onto his face.

“Hey Xingqiu.”

“I…”

Xingqiu entered the room.

“I’m sorry. I-“ Xingqiu’s face twisted as he spoke into one of…guilt?

“Why ?”

“Well I fed you something that hurt you.”

“You didn’t know that it would.”

“Well I know, but, still, I get carried away sometimes. I forget that I haven’t really known you all that long… and I get carried away. If one is first meeting someone, they should be more sensitive.”

Ah.

To be honest, Chongyun forgot that fairly often as well. It was always Xingqiu, no matter what. There was no concept of time within Chongyun. He forgot that what Xingqiu usually did, he may not be comfortable with now. He had…not met Chongyun…after all.

Yet, in each and every life, he longed for that hint of nostalgia more than anything, a semblance of normalcy in his abnormal situation.

Though his nostalgia told him to, he has to admit, though he didn’t like chilis, he loved the feeling of Xingqiu giving them to him.

“Well I do not fault you.”, said Chongyun.

Xingqiu let out a small laugh.

“Well I suppose that’s good.”

The two sat in silence, just looking at each other for a little longer than Chongyun would like to admit. That age old feeling of butterflies entered Chongyun’s stomach as he looked at Xingqiu and his amber eyes.

A little mouthed “oh” appeared on Xingqiu’s face after a bit. Xingqiu shook his head a bit and smiled.

“I nearly forgot, let me get someone who may have been even more worried than me.”

Someone else?

“Uh…okay.”

Chongyun nodded along.

Just as Xingqiu turned around, Chongyun saw a flash of gold appear behind Xingqiu,

“Xingqiu, is he awake?”

Xingqiu turned his body around.

“Yes, he is, he’s all yours now.”

Xingqiu stepped out of the doorway, and went past Chongyun’s sight deeper into the hallway. In the doorway appeared Albedo, his usual solemn face, yet, it was more emphasized with the heavy bags under his eyes. His posture was slouched, as if using the doorway as a support beam for himself.

“You’re awake?”, Albedo asked.

Albedo did not come any closer than the doorway.

“Yes, of course.”

Chongyun heard a huge sigh come out of Albedo, as if he had been holding in that breath for weeks before he finally let it out.

“It’s been two days.”, said Albedo. .

“Two…two days?”

Wait but why? That memory had been the same length as his other one, if not shorter. That was a fair amount of time just in general. He internally cringed, hopefully he wasn’t too far behind.

“Yes. You couldn’t have woken sooner I guess.”

“I guess I couldn’t…”

Silence came between the two.

“I’m sorry.”, said Chongyun.

“No…no need to be.”

Albedo was still leaning against the doorway, he looked as if he could just about faint. His posture was odd for him, and Chongyun couldn’t help but wonder what the homunculus was thinking.

“Come here Albedo.”, said Chongyun. He gestured for Albedo to come to the bed.

“No, I….”

“Albedo, you’re exhausted, come in.”

“But-“

“No buts, come in.”

Albedo sighed, slowly walking towards Chongyun.

He walked up to the bed and sat down on its edge, , hunching his back over.

“Are you…”

“I’m doing fine.”

An immediate and cold response. Now he knew he couldn’t prod the man. Maybe a different tactic.

“Albedo… your eyes-“

“What about them?”

“The bags look heavy.”

“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep.“

Albedo said it as if it was the most logical statement in the world. As if a mere lack of sleep gave someone like Albedo that sad look in his eyes.

“…what happened in the two days I was gone?“

“Nothing… without you there was no way to formulate anything.”

Albedo sighed.

“Oh I-“

“And without Mona there was no way to try to find something to do or even suggest progress.”

Mona? A slip of the tongue seemed to possess Albedo.

“Without the two of you, nothing happened. I guess, I was just stuck on work, and couldn’t sleep at all.”

…

Albedo was gripping the bed with his fist, his hand looked like it was shaking.

Yet, nothing changed on his face.

Chongyun took a hand and put it on Albedo’s shoulder. Albedo turned to look at him, and Chongyun smiled at him.

“Well, I’m back now, aren’t I?”

Albedo looked over to Mona’s bedside and back to Chongyun.

“I guess you are.”

Chongyun relaxed his face, to allow a softness to come over it. He gave Albedo the most sincere look he could manage, and said,

“You can rest now.”

Albedo just looked down at the floor.

“Never scare us like that again, please.”

Chongyun couldn’t find it in himself to answer that statement entirely.”

He just patted Albedo’s shoulder and smiled at him.

“I’ll try.”

No one could force anything out of Albedo, no matter how hard they may try. If he had learned one thing about Albedo all these years, it was that. One of the few enigmas he had the opportunity to discover. All Chongyun could do, was play along. In this rare moment, what Albedo didn’t say when it came to his feelings, was loud and clear.

“Albedo.”

“Yes?”

“Do you want to get dinner later today, like we used to?”

Albedo’s eyes opened a little wider, and tilted his head as if confounded by the idea.

“Even after-“

“Do you want to have dinner Albedo?”

Chongyun would not leave time to let Albedo retort.

…

After a couple moments of silence, the tired and broken down man finally responded.

“Yes.”

Chongyun smiled,

“Wonderful.”

He had planned to get dinner with Xingqiu …but… maybe he could wait off on it just for tonight.

After all, it wasn’t like Xingqiu was the only important person in his life.

Chongyun finally stood up from the bed and looked out the window in the bedroom. It looked to be about midday.

“Go rest, I’ll get you when we go out.”

Yet, as Chongyun looked back, he saw had Albedo collapsed on the bed, eyes closed. Albedo’s chest rose and fell, as if the exhaustion had collapsed in on him all at once.

Chongyun smiled one last time, tiptoed across wooden floor of the room, and crept out the door.

Outside and just to the right of the doorway, Xingqiu was waiting for him with a smile.

He took Chongyun’s hand and motioned him to come with him.

Chongyun followed, and Xingqiu led him through the hallways and to the kitchen area.

“He hasn’t slept at all.”, Xingqiu said.

“Yeah, he told me as much.”, Chongyun responded.

Xingqiu smiled.

“I’m glad you gave him some peace of mind.”

“Me too.”

Xingqiu looked around the room, clicked his tongue and looked to Chongyun.

“Um… I was going to ask you about going onto the Alcor for a bit of a meet and greet, we decided on a time, that being three days from now in the morning all the way until the sun goes down.”

“Oh.”

“Yes, I thought that just maybe, it would help both you and Albedo adjust to Liyue. Especially Albedo.”

Chongyun looked up and mapped out that layout in his head. That may fulfill both work and other requirements for Albedo. Just maybe.

“I’ll ask him.”

“Please do, I want my dear illustrator to have a good time. Heh.”

It was a wee bit more complicated than that, but Xingqiu’s earnestness was appreciated above all else.

“Who wouldn’t?”, Chongyun asked. With a slight chuckle, Chongyun shifted the topic.

“Now, what have you been doing these last two days?”, he asked.

“Oh me, well you see-“

The pair began to talk about what the days without Chongyun had been like. A conversation so monotonous, yet so freeing nonetheless. The tales of Xingqiu’s heroics that he had managed to accomplish spun around Chongyun’s head, and danced around as the conversation continued. The two talked for a long time, well into the afternoon, moving from topic to topic.

As the sun began to set, another pair of footsteps made their way towards them into the kitchen area.

“Ummm…hi.”

Chongyun turned to see Albedo. The circles around his eyes were still dark, but, he seemed less tired.

“I apologize Chongyun. I seemed to have fallen asleep when we talked.”

“That’s nothing to be worried about. You got rest.”

“Yes,”, Xingqiu said.

He looked between the two and smiled.

I should actually be turning in about now, I have some papers to do.”, he continued.

“Oh really?”, asked Chongyun.

“Yes, but I’ll see you both tomorrow, a new day with new possibilities.”

Xingqiu stretched his arms above his head.

“Have a nice evening you two.”

Xingqiu walked down the hall, out of sight, each step releasing a small clacking noise.

Chongyun looked at Albedo.

“Shall we?”

Albedo nodded his head.

“Sure. Where are we off to?”

“Heyu Teahouse.”

“Sounds great.”

The two began their walk, yet with not much to say. Silence overtook them, with Chongyun asking the occasional icebreaker.

“How are your other projects going?”

“Have you thought about visiting Klee?”

Yet all the questions ended in mere sentences and ended quicker than Chongyun summoning frost with his vision.

Chongyun needed to make something stick. All these things where things he already knew, all things that Albedo would only have to use a couple of sentences to answer. Now what would peak his interest? Anything related to their work in the present day should be off limits.

As they sat down at a round table at the tea house, Chongyun felt a lightbulb go off in his head.

What if… he tried to make it so that it was something Albedo truly didn’t know about? He looked at Albedo, who seemed to be browsing the menu of the tea house.

He took in a deep breath and found it in himself to ask,

“Hey Albedo, do you want to hear about my time?”

He felt himself gulp as the question came out.

Albedo had heard bits and pieces but never had Chongyun been fully transparent before. This was an offer to know anything. Besides…it had been years anyways. Both he and Mona should know.

Albedo’s eyes tore away from the menu and looked at Chongyun, his eyebrows raised,

“You’re…you’re okay with that?”

Chongyun took another deep breath in.

“Yes I am.”

He felt the nerves creeping up on him. It was as if he was actually going to revisit that dreaded time. Yet, he knew Albedo knew better than to ask about specific memories better left forgotten.

“Well… I’m interested in the Feiyun commerce guild. What was it exactly? I remember you mentioning it was far different back in your time.”

Albedo hardly wasted any time asking about anything.

Chongyun thought about how to formulate his answer, how should he do this?

“Well…The guild was a means for silk trading, still, but that was just the front.”, he started.

“The front?”, Albedo asked.

“Yes. In the back the guild was a means for rebellion. With the fall of Khanrei’ah still fresh, those in Liyue who saw the Gods as not fit to rule banded together under that alias. With the silk trade they could fund their movement and research to go with it.”

Albedo had put the menu down and was fully concentrating on each and every word that came out of Chongyun.

“Quite interesting, how did none of this get out?”, he asked.

“Who said it didn’t?”

Chongyun looked up at the sky.

“The concept was public knowledge among nearly all in Liyue. But, if the guild really wanted to keep something secret, they would make it happen, that can be assured.”

Chongyun held out his hand, frost swirling in it, creating the silhouettes of two children.

“Like…Say some children that may cause problems.”

Chongyun lifted up his hydro vision that laid on his belt.

“Or the creation of an artificial vision.”

“Oh yes I knew about that second part of course. But I’m curious about the children. I assume you were one of them?”

“Hm. Yes I was. It was Xingqiu and I, alone in a basement. From the day my parents died I became his protector and was assigned to the same fate he was.”

“…mm…I see, I guess I kind of know what that’s like. Alice is hardly ever home, so I have to watch after Klee most of the time. Of course my coworkers help me, but I am largely her caregiver and protector…although.. she doesn’t always need it.”

“Ah yes, it’s fun to take care of children isn’t it?

“It’s probably more fun when you yourself are a child.

“I suppose. Probably doesn’t help that your sister can blow things up.”

“Ah.”, Albedo sighed. “I really hope master Jean is keeping her in line right now. One time Klee put a huge dent in Starfell lane because she wanted to go “fish blasting.” It took so long for me to close it up in time for no one to find out. But then Klee said she was sorry and handed me wolfhooks as a part of her apology.”

As Albedo recalled the memory, Chongyun swore he saw the corners of Albedo’s mouth turn up.

“Do you have any fun stories like that?”, asked Albedo.

“Ah no not really, I can’t remember much If I’m being honest. I’m surprised you still do.”

Chongyun considered telling Albedo about the memories he was seeing for a moment, but, he figured now wasn’t the time. Albedo needed rest, not stress.

“I could never forget.”, Albedo replied.

“I suppose I get that.”

Chongyun looked up at the sky, some stars beginning to coat it.

“Hey Albedo, Xingqiu is doing a get together in three days on the Alcor. I want to go, would you like to come with us?”

Albedo put a hand up to his chin, and looked up at the sky as well.

“Hmmm…Maybe…I’ll think about it.”

It was one of the quickest answers he had ever heard out of Albedo. If Chongyun was being honest, he expected a no.

“Really?“

A hint of surprise entered Chongyun’s voice.

“Yes, I’ve always wanted to see Liyue from the open ocean, a good way to practice my illustrations. But, at the same time, I want to be there just in case Mona wakes up.”

The conversation seemed to flow like a steady stream from that moment, until they returned back home after eating. Chongyun’s light laughter, and Albedo’s quiet voice could seemingly be heard from miles around. It was a conversation…between friends; and it seemed to Chongyun, in that moment, maybe the two had a bit more of an understanding than they did when they began.

Chapter Text

“I simply don’t see your concern.”

The goddess’s words flowed like every other part of her, steadily and smoothly. Her clothes moved as if they were one with the sea, as did her hair. She had her back turned to the mortal who awaited her, her posture composed yet relaxed, standing up straight.

“My lady, I can sense something, and it’s dangerous. Something’s different about this life.”

“Oh?”, the goddess asked, her tone flat and unamused. “Why do you say that?”

“I mean- the astrologist tried to reach inside that tree. That human’s tree.”

Slowly, the Goddess turned to face the mortal, her golden eyes sharp, yet her facial expression was locked into a neutral stare.

“So? I fail to see the problem.”

The mortal stuttered as the Goddess turned,

“I- It’s dangerous, they have never taken such decisive action before, if she had come out of that tree unscathed-“

“Well then it’s good she didn’t, isn’t that right?”

The goddess seemed to knock the mortals words of concern away without fail.

“But my lady,-“

“Shhhh-“

The goddess put a slender finger up to the mortal’s mouth.

“Child of man, you have not been around long enough to witness the true arrogation of human kind. Though, I suppose your bloodline has been. I have crushed rebellion after rebellion in my wake. Humans are spirit and nothing more. They are will with no way. They could never match me. I could decimate them all at the drop of a hat if I wanted to.”

Her flat tone showed no conceivable amount of emotion in it, merely an assumed correctness.

The mortal shifted on their feet.

“I just-“

“I forgive you for your ignorance, my child. But you must remember that ignorance is also arrogance. Arrogance you people fail to leave behind…even you.”

The shadowy mortal sighed.

“You are right as you always are. But, may my arrogance suggest one thing?”

The goddess stared at them silently, as if assessing them.

“Speak.”

“May I keep a closer eye on them from this day forward….and….can you give them a bit of a challenge?”

The goddess hesitated.

“Hmm, if you find a way for it to not interfere with your duties, yes. But also, that’s two requests. “

“Oh.”

The goddess sighed and waved her hand.

“Some days, I can’t tell if you’re the least arrogant mortal or the most arrogant. But, I suppose I’ll send a small warning.”

A small exhale could be heard coming from the mortal.

“But let what you’re about to witness lend to your learning, like what all those before you learned.”

The goddess took in a deep breath.

“Even if there is a will, there may never be a way. Arrogation is a sin that must be punished, and these humans are the most arrogant of all. There is a reason Celestia is above, and humanity is down below.”

————

“Is all of this really necessary Albedo?”

Chongyun was holding a basket full of different bottles of paint in one hand, a basket of brushes in another, and a large easel under one of his arms.

“Ugh.”

Chongyun boosted himself up with a quick jump to stabilize himself.

“Why yes, it is necessary.”

Albedo came out of the doorway with only a canvas under his arm.

“If I am to go on this trip, all materials are necessary.”

“Well I don’t think this trip will have much to do with you having to isolate yourself-“

“What a lie, of course it will. You’ll have the opportunity to make various connections throughout Liyue and meet people who you can get favors from. I only wish to monitor you. What could be more valuable than to have me isolate?”

“Well…if you want it that way.., I suppose.” Chongyun grunted again. “I just wanted you to be able to have fun too…”

Albedo looked at the canvas as if mapping out his painting on it.

“I will have fun…”

Albedo traced his finger over the canvas.

“I want to not only paint the day, but the night.”

He sighed.

“I want to paint the stars.”

Oh.

At this point, Chongyun knew better than to push.

“I see. Well, I bet they’ll be beautiful tonight.”

“Yes.”

The two, fully ready, set out to the front of the Feiyun Commerce building, where Xingqiu was waiting for them.

When they stepped out, Xingqiu was waiting in the grass, pacing.

“Finally, you two are out.”, he sighed.

Xingqiu looked between Albedo and Chongyun. As he looked at Chongyun, a smile spread across his lips.

“Your hands look a bit full.”

“You don’t say.”

“Heh.”, Xingqiu’s smirk widened before he turned around and held out his hand to the horizon.

“Come this way, I’ll lead you all to the beautiful and famous Alcor.”

The three walked across Liyue, Chongyun lugging a bit behind them as he carried the brunt of their cargo.

Albedo and Xingqiu walked and talked in front of him, mainly about the new novel Xingqiu was working on. Chongyun was able to butt in every so often with a quick suggestion or question.

Soon enough, they reached where the deep blue sea met civilization.

The sound of ocean waves crashed against Chongyun’s ears, and the yells of sailors and businessmen alike chimed about the harbor.

Chongyun couldn’t help but feel slightly out of his element..

“Ah, over there!”

Xingqiu pointed his finger towards the end of the harbor, where the docks ended. There stood a large pirate ship with a gigantic red sail and decorations reminiscent of dragons of folktale.

“Woah….”

Chongyun felt his eyes travel across the ship. Each plank was perfectly shaped and cut, not a color or accessory out of place.

“Wow…”

As they came closer and closer to the ship, it seemed even more vivid and stunning, as if it itself came from folklore.

The beauty of the ship kept true through every detail and crevice, each one seeming to be full of purpose, only adding to the ship’s rugged beauty.

“Ah, she’s a beauty isn’t she?”

A deep yet feminine voice crept up from behind Chongyun, booming into his ears.

He looked behind him past his shoulders, only to be met with an eyepatch and long brown hair.

“Oh-“

“Hey!”

The woman’s laughter that ensued echoed throughout the harbor.

“Oh, uh, sorry, didn’t see you there. .”, Chongyun said.

“No it’s alright, I like to scare people sometimes.”

“Ah, well then-“

Before Chongyun could get another word in, it seemed the woman had moved on to a different topic.

“Oh wait, you’re that young boy I met at the harbor a bit ago aren’t you?”

“Oh uh-“

Yes of course. How could he forget?

“I knew it! Say kid, how have you been enjoying Liyue?”

“I-“

“Oh Beidou, I think you’re scaring my dear friend.”

Xingqiu popped out from behind Beidou.

Beidou chuckled again, a friendly smile etched onto her face.

“Ah, I did start to go off, didn’t I?”

Still smiling, she loosely crossed her arms, while slouching slightly to look at Chongyun and Xingqiu.

“Can’t help it, new meat… and a celebration on my beloved ship; a two in one.”

“It’s our pleasure Captain.”, said Xingqiu.

“I think you have it backwards kid, I-“

“Captain!”

They heard a voice holler from the top of the ship, only to see a man waving, gesturing Beidou to come up to the ship.

Beidou looked at all of them.

“One second!”, she yelled back.

She looked back to Xingqiu and Chongyun.

“Well as I was saying, I-“

“You’re needed now captain!”

The same hollering voice came back down the ship and travelled to the group.

Beidou sighed.

“Well, seems like my crew needs me. But, I’ll see you all on deck!”

Beidou put two fingers to her head and waved the group off before running up to the ship.

Xingqiu looked at Chongyun, a chuckle escaping him.

“That’s the captain for you. Ever the striking one.”

Chongyun looked at the ship.

It seemed her ship was as striking as she was.

He would be lying if he said he didn’t have some hope for what was on that vessel.

Maybe if the underground remnants of his childhood were still in the Commerce Guild….remnants that Xingqiu would have left after the two had…parted… back then… would be on that ship.

Of course, he didn’t want to be a bad guest , so he would ask to explore, but you know.

“Yeah, definitely.”

Xingqiu and Chongyun walked together onboard the ship. Chongyun went off to the side, still holding Albedo’s materials.

A few minutes later, Albedo finally walked up the ship’s stairs.

“What do you want me to do with these?”, Chongyun asked, holding up the two baskets.

“Just put them near the edge right there, I can set them up.”

Albedo half heartedly pointed at the edge of the ship as he looked out at the sea. Though their view was a bit blocked, since they were right in the back of a large dragon statue that lay on the ship’s anterior, it was not enough to block out the vastness of the ocean.

“Got it.”

Chongyun gently sent down the materials, looking at Albedo. Maybe he would try one last time…

“Do you want to come meet everyone-“

“No, not particularly.”

The answer was immediate and that was all Albedo had to say. Chongyun nodded his head and turned, leaving Albedo to his drawings.

“Chongyun!”

Xingqiu’s voice called to him, despite the fact he was in front of him.

Xingqiu took chongyun’s arm and dragged him to the center of the ship.

He took Chongyun, put him in front of himself, and gestured towards him.

Only then did Chongyun fully register the various people surrounding him. Well- it was just three, but they were so varied in style that it felt like more.

“Chongyun, here are my dear friends-“

He gestured to a girl with pigtails, black nails, dark clothing and red eyes. Her stance was loose, and she seemed fairly relaxed.

“This is our dear owner of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Hu Tao.”

The girl waved quickly while seemingly analyzing Chongyun as she looked at him; up and down, left and right.

“Nice to meet you..”, she said.

There was a slight coo to her voice, as if a teasing remark was on the tip of her tongue, and her lips seemed to hold a natural smirk to them…or was it a smile? Chongyun couldn’t tell.

“Uh….nice to meet you!”

Chongyun spoke swiftly.

For some reason, when he looked at the smug girl, his stomach knotted. Though not like when he looked at Xingqiu….it was something a bit…sicker.

Another girl, one with curled hair molded into high pigtails and umber skin, came up to chongyun as Hutao finished.

She held out a hand as she beamed at him, she, like Hutao, had a natural smile on her face…but it was a bit different, almost an ever cheerful glow was what it conveyed. Her clothing was also quite eccentric, having spikes, a corset like top, and a largely black clothing set broken up by flashes of bright color.

“I’m Xinyan, I’m looking forward to rockin with ya Chongyun!”

Chongyun reached out his hand, and xinyan grasped it firmly in her own, and shook it.

“I-uh- nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure’s all mine, it’s a shame we couldn’t meet earlier due to your own…uh family emergency?”

Xinyan looked at Xingqiu, her eyebrow raised.

“Ah yes, that’s the best description.”, Xingqiu chimed in.

“Well, Xingqiu hasn’t stopped talking about you since you’ve gotten here, so I have some high hopes for you.”, she said. “But sadly that’s gonna have to wait another day. I have to leave at one of the stops for a tour a bit early.”

Chongyun looked at Xingqiu, who was looking at xinyan with a deadpan stare.

It was something Chongyun couldn’t help but smile at.

“Really?”, asked Chongyun.

He heard Xingqiu clear his throat.

“I may have mentioned you once or twice to them. “

Xingqiu’s eyes avoided Chongyun’s, and Chongyun could swear a hint of redness crept up on Xingqiu’s face.

Maybe…just maybe it had been more than just “ a couple of times.”

“Anyways Chongyun.”, Xingqiu looked to him. “Those are my dear friends and the main people who will be joining us. I believe we just have to wait for Beidou to come aboard and we will be ready to go.”

“Hey!”

A voice came out of the third person who had been standing fairly silently. She had navy blue hair pulled up into buns with clothes colored red, yellow, orange, and brown…oh and she also had her panda type creature with her.

“You didn’t introduce me.”

She put her hands on her hips.

Xingqiu rolled his eyes.

“You’ve already had the pleasure of meeting him Xiangling..”

The five made conversation for a bit as they waited for the ship to leave the dock. Hutao preferred to poke fun at Xiangling more than anyone else, Xinyan also tended to prod at Xiangling just a twinge, and the group had plenty of inside jokes, though it wasn’t like Chongyun was upset by listening.

The light banter was one of the most freeing things he had seen in a bit. He looked from here to there, from paying attention to the conversation to looking at Albedo at the end of the deck as he looked up at the sky.

Chongyun looked up…for Albedo’s sake…he hoped the skies sparkled like diamonds tonight.

….

It wasn’t long before Beidou boarded her ship, her hands at her side and a grin on her face.

“All aboard!” She yelled.

A final call.

A silence ring out across the ship.. Each crew member seemed to brace themselves for her next words.

“Let her sail out on the open ocean!”, she called.

In an instant, the boat left the harbor. The feeling of the water flowing below made Chongyun shift as the ship rocked ever so slightly.

He could hear a guitar start to play in the distance. The tunes were crisp, though admittedly, very loud.

“Let’s rock!”

“Wooooo, always a pleasure xinyan.”, called Beidou.

“I’ll start whipping up some dishes!”

“Ever the overachiever xiangling!”, Beidou called out yet again.

Chongyun looked back, it seemed Beidou was giving everyone their own individual assignments.

She looked at Chongyun and approached him. As she came up to him, she patted his shoulder.

“Kid, your job….is to enjoy the nice ocean breeze. Take in Liyue, enjoy it.”

“Woo hoooo!”

Beidou yelled back at her crew.

She returned to her captain’s post, navigating the seas.

As Chongyun looked around, he could see the harbor getting further and further away. Yet…at the end of a deck and looking out…was Xingqiu.

Chongyun went over to him, putting his arms on the edge of the boat beside him.

“Nice view?”

“Gorgeous.”

There was silence between them for a few moments.

“What I wouldn’t do to see more of it.”, Xingqiu said.

“More?”

“Yes…outside of Liyue, I mean.”

Xingqiu sighed dreamily.

“I love my home but…it’s all I’ve ever known, really. I’m a bit sheltered…so to speak. This town is all I’ve ever known, and look how tiny it is, even from this boat.”

“I see, you wish to explore.”

“Yes…you know the Adventurer’s guild? The one that lets you make a living off of exploration? I’ve always wanted to join them. But… I will never be free to.”

He sighed. .

“You’re from Mondstadt , Chongyun…what’s it like?”

Xingqiu put his head on the edge of the ship, and looked at Chongyun.

“Ummm…”

Chongyun hadn’t exactly thought about this part yet. How does he describe a place he’s never been before? How ironic, he’s been to places most could only dream of, and yet he has barely explored any of his homeland. Hell. He hadn’t even seen…outside of Liyue.

“Well….the wind is constant, and the breeze floats along with the green trees and grass. It’s as if nature is always singing a song. The forests are big, there’s ruins in interesting places, it’s like any other place. Though, it’s a bit more romantic than most, heh.”

Generic…basic…specific yet not…that’s all Chongyun needed. But…maybe that’s all Xingqiu needed as well.

“Forgive me, I’m not much when it comes to being descriptive.”, Chongyun said quickly.

Xingqiu smiled at him.

“That’s okay…. it sounds nice. I wish I could do that…float in the breeze of Mondstadt’s freedom. I feel as if I’ve been living my life inside a box.”

“A box?”

“Yes, a very small one.”

Xingqiu let out a forced chuckle and smile, and looked at Chongyun.

“But that’s enough about me.”

Throughout the rest of the time, Xingqiu managed to avoid the topic that he himself had brought up.

The two talked, others came and went…but this time Chongyun couldn’t help but see it all as a bit unusual.. Or maybe it was because he would just now notice how Xingqiu smiled much more on the open ocean, than he did at home.
…..

“We’re near what may be considered Mondstadt’s waters folks!”, Beidou yelled from her post.

They had dropped Xinyan off near Yaoguang Shoul just a bit before. She had a concert to attend, but she had still made friendly banter and exciting music while she had been there. Though, Chongyun would admit that it had been a bit much for him.

The scenery had changed from Liyue’s mountains to the icy peaks of dragonspine.

“Woooo!”

He heard xiangling yell, who was intently making pancakes and noodles…odd combination but…who knows, he wasn’t the chef.

He was relaxing near the dock by himself…though Xingqiu was close by, he always was after all.

He sighed, looking out, feeling the first chill of Mondstadt’s air.

“Wait…what?”

A surge of pain hit Chongyun’s chest.

He audibly groaned, which he assumed got Xingqiu’s attention, since he heard the scattering of footsteps come up to him.

There was an all consuming energy that felt as if it was sucking Chongyun into the floor, into itself….

A ley line? No… what was it?

“Chongyun…are you okay?”

He felt a hand on his back.

He looked beside him to find Xingqiu still sitting there.

“Y-yes”

Why…why wasn’t it stopping….

His temperature wasn’t rising either, in fact, he felt ice cold… what was happening.

He felt his breathing become heavier, his legs become almost jelly like. They couldn’t hold him.

“Chongyun!”

He heard Xingqiu cry out.

“Don’t you dare pass out on me again.”

“I- i-“

“Chongyun?”

He heard a female voice, but he could not register who it was.

It was a mixture of confusion and panic.

He could hear murmuring as assumingely more and more people crowded around him. Yet, he couldn’t seem to focus on anything, or truly process anything. All he knew was that it was cold, and it was getting dark. Everything was fading slowly into one puddle.

Yet, he could make out one thing from the crowd, though it was more of a murmur than the rest of the loud and chaotic voices.

“Those….ugh.”

“Turn…..around…..minute.”

Eventually, he felt another arm take his side, two arms dragging him across what he could only comprehend as a void.

Only then did his vision clear up and his breathing become steady. He looked to the sides of him, only to see Albedo and Xingqiu.

Albedo did not look at him, only looking at and seemingly giving instructions to Beidou.

“We shall not cross that point again, for the sake of Chongyun, we will stay within the bounds of Liyue. Is that okay…Beidou?”

His voice was firm.

“I’m not sure what’s going on but if it keeps a passenger of mine safe than I’ll listen.”

No questions came after that, surprisingly.

Strange…Chongyun felt good as new, as if that had never occurred.

“You’re alright?”

Chongyun looked to the side of him, where Xingqiu still held onto him, holding his arm.

“Yes….I’m sure.”, he said.

Yet…that moment of rest is all he would get.

Chongyun felt the ground move beneath him, at first slowly, then growing with intensity. He questioned if he was still delirious.

“Xingqiu….is the boat…rumbling”

Underneath himself, Chongyun could feel the shaking of wooden planks.

Xingqiu looked at him, eyes wide.

“….yes.”

“What in…”, Beidou’s shock could be heard as the boat’s floor continued to rumble.

Around them, the water seemed to swirl.

“What’s happening?”

“What? Oh no.”

“Crew, get her moving!”

Yet, the water vortex didn’t seem to stop. Instead, it grew. It grew taller and taller, almost threateningly.

As the water came about, it began to take form as it rose above the ship, in an almost cylindrical form. From there…the form became more detailed. The cylinder’s top turned into a sphere, which carved out a head. Each piece of the cylinder became a new body part on this model.

It took the form of a woman….and the more it formed, the more evident it all became what…THIS…was.

The shape of a young woman….with pigtails…a witches hat….and a leotard.

Yet, her eyes glowed ferociously, anger in them. There was no trace of kindness like the original.

Chongyun looked to Albedo, whose eyes widened with shock, just as much as everyone else’s did.

Though Chongyun was too stunned to speak, he heard Albedo stutter:

“M-m….Mona?”

Chapter Text

The towering figure of water stood above the crew.

Her skin was like the rest of her figure: a see-through ocean blue, and she looked…exactly like Mona..

“Oh my….archons…”

Those were the only words Chongyun could manage at first. Water splattered on his face, and he felt the small pricks on his skin as the winds picked up, sweeping his hair and loose clothes with it.

Yet, his mind snapped back nearly immediately as he saw the ferocity in the figure’s….Mona’s…. Eyes.

They glowed like the full moon on a cloudless night. They almost felt…Alive… despite the body looking anything but.

He roughly patted Xingqiu’s arm, which was still clinging onto his sleeve.

“Xingqiu, run.”

Xingqiu just stared up at the figure, his eyes wide, seemingly incognizant of Chongyun’s presence.

“Xingqiu-“

Chongyun patted Xingqiu faster, until Xingqiu’s gaze finally broke away from the figure and looked at Chongyun.

“Chongyun what are we-“

“Xingqiu run. Go below deck. I’ll send someone with you.”

“What?”

“Go!”

Chongyun gently pushed Xingqiu towards the area where one would go below deck, a small wooden trap door.

“Chongyun, I’m not leaving.”

His eyebrows furrowed.

“If something is threatening this ship than I-“

“Please Xingqiu, get out of here.”

Chongyun could hear his voice quiver, yet he didn’t care. It would not be Xingqiu’s time.

Chongyun looked from Xingqiu to Albedo, who was still looking up at the figure. Yet, there didn’t seem to be much shock.. Instead, Chongyun could see something else brewing in albedo’s eyes the longer he stared at the figure…and it wasn’t friendly.

As his eyes narrowed, Albedo broke his head away from his stare and looked to Chongyun, who was looking at him in desperation.

He ran over to Chongyun, and Chongyun could see albedo’s sword begin to materialize.

“Albedo, I’m begging you, take Xingqiu somewhere.”

“I will get Xiangling to-“

“But you can’t.”, Chongyun interrupted.

“I will get xiangling.”, he said. He looked at Chongyun, his stone face cracked with fury. “When I do we will take care of this.”

“Albedo…”

Albedo stood up, and ran the other direction, pushing against the wind, assumingely in search of the navy haired girl.

Xingqiu looked at Chongyun, confusion and sternness on his face.

“Chongyun I’m not leaving.”

“Xingqiu your hydro would be ineffective at best against this.”, the words flowed out of him crueler than intended, but it was all Chongyun could do to convey his point.

Xingqiu looked at him with a scoff.

“I am more then just a vision, I can fight with my sword and I have healing capabilities.”

“…..”

Xingqiu had a point…but…

“I believe in your strength Xingqiu but it may not be optimal this time around.”

“Optimal? What is that supposed to mean?”

Chongyun felt the words get caught in his throat.

He could not risk Xingqiu, not when every single universe was stacked against him. Not when the Gods themselves were against him.

Luckily enough, It seemed as quickly as Albedo had left, the quicker he came back with Xiangling, who was trudging beside him.

Xiangling reached out her hand to Xingqiu, the wind sweeping her hair and water hitting her face. She had to somewhat yell in order to be louder than the howling winds.

“Come Xingqiu, Beidou wants us below the deck.”

A loud crash echoed throughout the ship, and a strike of light seemed to hit just outside of it.

“OH-“

Chongyun took Xingqiu’s hand and pried it off of himself, handing Xingqiu’s hand over to xiangling.

“Wait! Chongyun!”

Xingqiu yelled, and seemed to trudge towards him.

Xiangling was far stronger than she looked, as she was able to run off with Xingqiu, who seemed to be resisting her, her Guoba not far behind them.

Chongyun felt a pang of guilt in his chest. He knew Xingqiu would want to fight…he knew that was Xingqiu’s pride and honor…and yet…he could not let him.

Yet there was no time for him to lament, as he looked back at Albedo.

“Albedo, what are you doing?”, Chongyun asked.

The storm grew fiercer, a heavy downpour drenched them as the loud crackling noises from the sky deafened them. As they looked up at the sky, the figure started to move.

“I’m helping you.”

Albedo’s eyes did not leave the figure.

“But-“

“No buts Chongyun. Look up there. Look at her.”

Chongyun looked up again, once again met with the familiar figure of his friend and looked back at Albedo.

“Seems like a breach of contracts by a certain party, Doesn’t it?”, Albedo asked.

There was a sharpness to albedo’s voice, a sharpness that came to a point so fine he may as well slice open Chongyun with his tone. Even though he, like everyone else on deck, was drenched from head to toe, he somehow looked more determined than ever.

He didn’t even look at Chongyun, he walked away from him and into the wind.

Chongyun finally looked up, and the figure moved; it jumped through the already blurry sky and whispered something. The voice was reminiscent of the monster known as an Oceanid who lived in Liyue’s waters. There was no remnant of what could be considered Mona’s accented and light voice. Yet…it almost talked like her, with every break in sentence and word.

“Written in the stars…”

A glowing orb gathered in her hands,

In an instant, Albedo whipped out his sword .

“Moment of birth.”

As geo energy surged out of Albedo, a stone wall was seemingly erected from nothing, and the bursts of hydro energy from the figure could be heard slamming against it.

“Ugh.”

Chongyun couldn’t be still any longer. But what could he do as that thing floated above?

The hydro energy splashed on the ground with a light glow.

It began to come together, each droplet piling on one another, creating figures…creating…animals?

As he glanced around, he saw a figure form directly behind Albedo, a frog. It set up its stance, about ready to pounce. The frog’s upper body lifted itself up, and it’s hind legs seemed to steady itself.

Chongyun stood up and ran, materializing his claymore.

“A touch of frost!”

He slammed down his claymore on the head of the frog, freezing and crushing it in the same motion.

As his sword crashed, a glowing orb like the one “Mona” was throwing floated above the floor, trembling, as if about to burst.. Albedo looked back, only to see it, and grabbed Chongyun by his sleeve.

“Duck!”

He dove to the ground with Chongyun as the orb rumbled, and it burst right on the spot, with an echoing crash.

Chongyun rolled onto his side, looking at Albedo.

“Thank you.”

“Same to you.”

Panting, Chongyun stood back up, not letting the figure of Mona escape his sight.

She seemed to dance in the sky, only whispering. What words? He could only imagine.

A meteor of water resembling a comet hurled itself at the two, this time both of them saw it, and they dove out of the way in opposite directions.

They could only be on the defensive…what was this thing?

Albedo grabbed Chongyun and put him behind him.

“Burst forth!”

Albedo slammed his hand on the ground, a flower blooming.

A field of Geo energy spread from it, covering both Chongyun and Albedo.

As it collided with the water, it seemed a blue, iridescent shield formed around them.

Albedo panted.

“Okay okay.”,

Chongyun’s sighs of relief were cut off by his realization that they were far from done.

“Albedo what is that? What do we do?”, he asked.

“I don’t know. But we need to kill it as quickly as possible. The Gods. They’re taunting us.”

Chongyun stayed silent, he had no idea what to say. It seemed the contract between them and the gods had been dishonored.

“Truly Chongyun…are we surprised? Considering what got us here begging them for second chances in the first place?”

Chongyun went silent.

“Listen, you take the creatures that form below, and I’ll try to get up to her.”

Albedo’s eyes narrowed as he spoke.
“This is now…what’s it called? Personal.”

“Yes sir.”, Chongyun replied.

The shield of geo crumpled around them as quickly as it had formed.

The creatures of water were spreading out everywhere. It seemed like there was no escape from them as they took the shape of ducks, boars, birds, frogs, anything that could be imagine.

Their bodies splashed and changed form, and yet not a single drop of water seemed to leave them.

“One with my blade!”

Chongyun smashed his blade to the ground, spreading cryo energy.

The wood of the ship and the watery creations on them froze, as the cryo energy spread throughout the top of the ship. The area it spread to seemed nearly uncontrollable as Chongyun needed more and more area to cover.

He took his claymore and ran at the nearest frozen creature he could find, striking it with the bare of his blade. As the claymore hit the ice, he could feel the solid ice crumble beneath it as he smashed it all to the ground.

His eyes locked on another target and he raced towards it with the same ferocity he did the last, letting it shatter beneath him.

He jumped up, allowing his frost to spread as he plunged his claymore into the ground.

A heavy frost came over them in an instant, leaving them motionless, and leaving Chongyun to swing at them, crack after crack. The booming sound of shatters rippled across the ship.

He swung, again and again, his spirit blades went above them and plummeted towards their flowing figures… and yet, they trampled on towards Chongyun without end.

He looked up towards Albedo, seeing him still travel across the ship with his geo energy, each flower bloom being used to get closer to Mona, whose figure seemed to be evading every single attack.

Yet, Chongyun couldn’t stop as the animals continued to trample the ship… the fact that the ship was still afloat was a miracle. Someone must have been controlling the waters.

They seemed endless…and Chongyun could feel himself tiring with each swing of his claymore.

“CHONGYUN!”

Chongyun looked up only to see Albedo jump down from the air, sword in hand.

Albedo maneuvered himself in the air to land on his feet on the ship, his hand on the ground, letting out immense spouts of geo energy to everywhere around him.

Slowly, a golden shield formed around the two, blocking out any water based creatures.

Albedo took Chongyun by his shoulder, the two leaning on each other in exhaustion.

“Chongyun… we need to get below.”

“Albedo, if we do that these creatures will sink the ship.”, he said breathlessly.

“I will heal it.”, Albedo said.

“But that takes too much energy-“

“Just trust me Chongyun, just trust me. Besides, the ship has stood all this time.”

Chongyun looked around at the creatures overwhelming them and up at “Mona” who still threatened them with her water manipulation.

Outnumbered and out powered.

“Fine.”

“Alright,”, Albedo said with a sigh.

“You are going to clear a path for us, and we will get below deck, I will focus on keeping the ship afloat, and in that time, SOMETHING needs to happen. Make a plan with the others. Do whatever it takes. We can figure this out.”

“But I-“

“We have no other options.”

…..

Chongyun took another look around at every obstacle. He sighed defeatedly.

“We don’t…”, he said.

Chongyun gathered up all of his energy, and put it into one final strike as albedo’s shield faded…

“A touch of frost!”

Chongyun felt the frost burst from Him, and he tried to get it to extend its reach as much as possible, shattering the creatures, and allowing his frost ridden blade to touch as much as possible..

“Now run!”, Albedo called out.

They covered one another. Chongyun’s frost and Albedo’s geo energy worked in unison in that moment as a shield. As the two looked up, they saw the figure of Mona looking down on them.

She looked at them for a moment, her eyes glowing. They widened a bit, a look of familiarity entering them. Yet, it didn’t last more than a few seconds. She raised her arm and snapped. As she did so, they saw the familiar orbs of water shoot down at them from the sky.

Albedo reacted immediately, putting up a geo energy constructed shield as the two ran, blocking each and every attack while Chongyun focused on obliterating the water creatures.

They ran across the wooden boards of the ship, their footsteps banging on the ground with each step.

They sprinted to the trap door that went below deck.

They threw open the door as albedo’s shield covered them a final time, and slammed the trap door shut.

“Oh archons.”

Quite frankly, Chongyun didn’t know if it was him or Albedo that said that.

The two fell down a flight of stairs as they rushed into the safety of underneath the ship.

They tumbled down, gasping.

Chongyun could care less about the bruising as he laid down on the wooden floor.

The air smelled musty instead of cold, and the cold air no longer nipped at his skin. Nor did the rush of water assault his ears. Yet, his body hurt too much to move it meaningfully. An ache persisted throughout it all. He had done a bit too much.

….wait…

Why couldn’t he hear the attacking of “Mona” right now? Why was this…why wasn’t this ship sinking? Why?….wait.

“Chongyun!”

He heard Xingqiu’s voice call over to him and footsteps rapidly approach him.

“Chongyun wait a moment.”

He looked up to see Xingqiu’s face riddled with concern…and maybe the slightest bit annoyance.

He watched as Xingqiu drew a Couple of water swords with his fingers. They were blue and intricately designed despite the rush Xingqiu used. He let them encircle him, and Xingqiu forced them to spin around Chongyun.

He put his hand on Xingqiu’s shoulder, reaching for him, for his touch. At least..he was okay.

“It’s alright, just wait a minute and these creations should heal you.”

Xingqiu gave him a small smile before turning from him to Albedo and going to go heal him.

Slowly, Chongyun felt himself regain movement, and the aching faded.

He saw another figure come up to him, that being Beidou’s.

“You two are so stupid…”, she said, pursing her lips.

“I was getting ready to come after you two myself.”

She kneeled down to Chongyun’s level and ruffled his hair.

“You alright kid?”, she asked gently.

Chongyun nodded.

He heard Beidou sigh with relief before turning to Albedo.

“What the hell is that?”, she asked.

“I….I don’t know”, Albedo said. He looked down as he slowly sat up.

“It looks like…”, Xingqiu started.

“It looks like Mona, we know”, Albedo said quickly.

His eyes narrowed.

“It seems to be an elemental life form, and yet, it recognized us.”

“How is that possible?”, asked Beidou.

Elemental…life form….?

But those eyes… it almost seemed alive…it knew Mona’s magic. It was as if it was predicting their every move…and knew their weaknesses.

Chongyun bit his lip…

He knew the answer…and so did Albedo.

So this was betrayal.

Betrayal by those who should be known as “fair Gods”.

Soul transmutation.

He had not truly seen it in action before…but it had been done to him before…and it could only be done by those in Celestia.

He knew that’s part of how he transferred from their various realms during his “punishment”. How he got into that black box, and how he stayed there for centuries.

He couldn’t just say that….and if Albedo wasn’t saying anything…it would most likely be best not to take action. So he simply didn’t…besides…that would be the only information he would have. How to beat it would be an entirely different beast.

Celestial magic was outrageously hard to beat…the only people that managed to surpass it…well… they were long dead.

“Chongyun?”

He heard Albedo call to him, and he looked up.

“Are you okay?”

“….yes”

“Are you sure-“

“Yes-Sorry I just….it’s a lot”

Albedo looked at him with furrowed eyebrows, and then his eyes wandered to the ground.

“Yeah….it is.”

“What do we do?”

Beidou sighed.

“Let’s think about this, shall we?”

With the entire crew involved, they gathered around in order to create a plan.

Chapter Text

There they were…trapped in the underground of the ship…. The only thing keeping the boat from sinking being Albedo and Xingqiu, with Xingqiu attempting calm the ocean waves and Albedo healing and fortifying the ship.

Small spouts of energy came from their hands, flashing yellow and blue.

Not only that, but Chongyun had noticed the storm clouds darkening even further with each passing minute, the boat quaking as it fought against the storm.

“How are we going about this, asked Xingqiu. “What do we know?”

He was still on the ground, but slowly rising up and away from the floors.

“Well, “Mona” is a hydro mimic”, Albedo began.

“Well, that’s obvious.”

A new voice entered; that being Beidou’s.

“Who came into close combat with her?”, she asked.

“That would be Albedo.”, Chongyun responded, gesturing to Albedo with his hand.

“Yes…I did…” Albedo said. “Here’s the issue: I could never get close enough to actually hit her, though, I could swear I did a time or to. So, I have no idea what added combat abilities she has in addition to what she already had. Obviously, there’s added agility, and the ability to fly.”

“If those seem to be some of her strong suits, first and foremost, we’ll have to freeze her.”, said Xingqiu.

He looked at Chongyun.

“You’re the only one who can do that.” He sighed. “We’ll have to get you close enough to her…. but how do we do that? Not to mention, how would we keep the other mimics away?”

Beidou raised her hand.

“I can take them in mass with my electro vision, you will just have to make sure none of you touch the deck. Electro spreads fast and I have protection against its sparks with my shield. But, you all don’t.

“I can help you not touch the deck with my flowers.”, said Albedo. “My geo flowers can float and fly. They can even be directed by any sort of burst of elemental energy. It would be as if you all had your own dragons.”

Albedo fully stood up, looking at then ground.

“Huh…”

Xingqiu, stop the waves, will you? Just let them be.”

“Wait why did you stop- “

“Let’s just test what happens when we do nothing.”

Xingqiu shrugged.

“Okay.”

Xingqiu slowly got off of the floor.

The flow and state of the ship didn’t change.

“Perfect.”, said Albedo. “The rocking pattern is exactly the same as when we were trying to stabilize it.”

Xingqiu sighed.

“How is it unchanging?”

“I don’t know but we shouldn’t expend energy on trying to keep the ship stable. It will seemingly do that on its own.”

“Yeah I suppose we shouldn’t question the blessing.” , Xingqiu said.
“Anyways….”, he continued.

“Beidou are you going to be the only one taking the mimics? Would you take any help? Maybe Xiangling;, she can create a whirl of fire and is great at spreading her energy.”

Beidou laughed.

“I’d love to have Xiangling on board…but…things tend to get a little explosive if pyro and electro come together. It would quickly eliminate my shield.

Xingqiu sighed,

“That’s true…”

He was silent for a moment, and put his hand on his chin in contemplation.

“What about me?”

Chongyun felt his blood run cold.

“You?”, asked Beidou.

“Yes I’ll come with you. You’ll be expending a lot of energy and the risk for you is very high considering enemy amounts. If it’s electro at play, I’ll be able to slice through the mimics quite easily. Besides this, I have the ability to heal, which will be essential to keeping you strong and the hydro mimics off of us.”

“But you’d be touching the deck kid.”, she said. “That in itself is dangerous to your safety. How could you help me when you couldn’t move?”

“Well how big can you make a shield?”

“Truth be told I have no clue. I’ve never tried to make it fit anyone other than me.”

Xingqiu spent another moment in contemplation, his eyes wandering to the floor.

“Hmmmm…well, we can test it today.”

He…he could what?

“Woah, Xingqiu.”, Chongyun butted in to the conversation. “What happens if Beidou can’t make the shield fit the both of you?”

Xingqiu looked at Chongyun, seemingly unfazed.

“My swords can act as a way for me to absorb any damage I come across. That would be more than enough for shocks.”

“What if you can’t put out enough energy for it to be constant?”

“I’ve done it before on electrified water.”

“What if Mona interferes with that ability somehow?”

“Then she’ll most likely effect everyone’s abilities and we all can regroup to form a new plan.”

“But what if-“

“I’m not staying back again Chongyun. I refuse to.”

“I’m not saying that-“

“Well, other than staying back, what else are you trying to suggest?”

Unfortunately, Chongyun’s silence said everything he wouldn’t.

“Well…..”

“Exactly.”

“Well, you are helping to make this plan, so you’ve done something-“

“Chongyun.”

Xingqiu looked Chongyun directly in the eye. His eyes darkened, and his voice was low.

“I watched you and Albedo tumble down a hatch, injured to hell and back, and I could do nothing. I did nothing.”

His voice was cold.

“I am not doing that again, I won’t let myself.”

He grimaced.

“But-“, Chongyun tried to interrupt.

“No buts Chongyun! What is up with you? After we fought off those thieves when we first met, and fought those monsters when we went out together, do you not believe in my abilities?”

Xingqiu sighed.

“I may bare a hydro vision in this situation, but I am not helpless Chongyun.” Xingqiu groaned in frustration. “Besides, we need everyone to pitch in. She’s powerful. We need every ability at our disposal somehow, no matter how others may feel about it-“

Chongyun was silent. He knew he agreed with Xingqiu, but still… he just couldn’t..

“You two take care of your little quarrel later.”

Albedo’s voice came out of the dark.

“Whatever little scuffle is starting between you two can wait.”

Albedo looked at Chongyun.

“I have faith in Xingqiu’s rain shield. We’ll use it. He’ll go with Beidou.”

“Albedo-“

“End of story, end of discussion, we don’t have time for this.”

“….at least have him with me.”, added on Chongyun.

Albedo held Chongyun’s stare.

“No. We need you for Mona, and we need Xingqiu for the horde.”

“But-“

“Stop trying to argue this, we are wasting time.”

Chongyun felt that burning desire to protect Xingqiu rushing through him. Yet, he also knew Albedo was right.

Albedo’s glare sharpened, as if daring him to go against him.

“….fine…”

Albedo nodded, his look softening.

“Perfect, I’ll support your team and face Mona initially. I’ll chase her to the dragon bow of the ship, and Chongyun, Hutao, and xiangling will corner her from all angles. I’ll be tired but not tired enough to not fight back.”

“Where will we stay in the meantime though?”, asked Chongyun.

Albedo stared off again, still contemplative.

“Hide somewhere on the dragon bow of the deck. Possibly the balcony, with you three climbing to the top. I’ll create some water shields by combining my geo energy with hydro water on the boat. It should be enough to withstand the electro energy. I’ll try to get her over as quick as possible and create flowers for you three.”

Albedo’s gaze sharpened, and he began to pace.

“When we have her cornered, wait for me to yell “now” and we’ll hit her with everything we’ve got. Hydro can’t withstand two pyro attacks, a cryo attack, and a geo attack all at once.”

Albedo looked around, searching for approval. Everyone nodded their heads.

Xingqiu finally spoke up again.

“Now that that’s settled, let’s break up into teams and decide our own individual strategy. Sound good?”

Once again everyone nodded.

“Great, let’s begin. Let’s regroup shortly.”

With that, everyone began to break off, with Xingqiu and Beidou in their own corner, fervently discussing tactics, and Chongyun, Xiangling, and Hutao gathering around a pole in the room.

“I can direct my energy into a fire whirl, but I’m going to need space, I don’t want to hit any of you.”, said xiangling.

“I’ll be fine, getting hurt makes me stronger.”, said Hutao

Putting him with pyro users wasn’t the greatest idea…but he would manage.

“What about you Chongyun?”, asked Hutao.

“Ah.”, he said. “We should place me the farthest from Xiangling if her energy expands. Put me on the side across from her. I’ll be able to handle being closer to Hutao, since her energy is for the most part limited to her body in terms of how she fights-“

“Chongyun can you come here?”, Albedo appeared behind Chongyun suddenly, causing Chongyun to jump at his sudden appearance.

Albedo looked to Chongyun and gestured to the back of the room.

“Uh…yeah….”

He looked at the two girls.

“Continue without me, I’ll only be a minute.”

“Alright.”

“Sounds good.”

The two walked to the back of the room.

As they stood by the wooden beams, Chongyun took a deep breath. He knew he should put this topic to rest, but-

“Albedo, can we talk about Xingqiu- please just-“

“Chongyun, cut it out.”

“But.”

“Emotions will get us nowhere here.”

Albedo’s tone was strict, as if he was Chongyun’s older brother and Chongyun was the dumb younger brother. Chongyun knew by the tone that he didn’t just mean in defeating Mona.

“Calm yourself.”, his glare said.

Albedo looked down.

Chongyun could see something creeping into Albedo’s eyes after the initial frustration… it caused albedo’s eyebrows to slope ever so slightly and him not look Chongyun in the eyes.

Albedo lowered his voice.

“Please, I didn’t come here to discuss Xingqiu’s role. I need to say something about Mona that I noticed but can’t tell the others.

This made Chongyun raise his eyebrows.

“What is it?”, he asked.

“There was black powder dripping from her. I could see it.”

“Black powder…?”

“Yes.”

“Wait…the void?”

The description took a minute for Chongyun to process, but as he made the realization, he felt a chill run down his spine.

“Yes….she has a gigantic weapon she can use against us. We need to confiscate it, lest the figure uses it.”

“How would we do that? Did you see the bag it was in?”

“Yes, I believe it is simply hooked onto her.”, Albedo said curtly. “It’s on her chest where her heart is supposed to be.”

He didn’t give Chongyun any time to comprehend what he had just said.

“While the others are focused on bringing her down, attempt to reach her, and you and I will get that powder back. That is something we can’t explain to them.”, he said.

“Wait but the rules have already been broken haven’t they? The gods broke them themselves.”

“Yes.”

“Then what’s to stop us from-“

“We shouldn’t tell them unless we’re desperate. If we tell them and they work with us, it gives the gods more people to target. They don’t need any reason to target anymore of them.”

Chongyun sighed.

“Xingqiu’s smart…he could be of help..but…they don’t need more of a reason to target him.”

“Exactly.”, said Albedo.

“You and I HAVE to do this. And this is only the first step.”

He knew exactly what Albedo meant, they would need to get those blueprints that Albedo had been trying to get from the guild, they would have to monopolize the void…. With this abrupt and dangerous change in routine…Time would have to move quickly.

“Yes…. I think I see the extent of this now.”

“Good, now let’s go back to the others. Remember: we will not say anything, this needs total secrecy.”

Chongyun nodded and the two walked to the others.

The teams had disbanded and met up with one another in the center of the room.

“You two done?”, Beidou asked.

“Yes.”, said Albedo.

“Alright, what’s the plan?”

Albedo cleared his throat.

“I will leave first and bait Mona out. She’ll follow me to the rear of the ship. Beidou and Xingqiu will come out too.”

He looked to Beidou and Xingqiu.

“Let the hordes of mimics follow you. Run like your life depends on it. That way, Chongyun, Xiangling,, and Hutao can make it to the bow of the ship without much trouble.”

“After you three are in position and hiding, let out a small flame to signal Beidou and Xingqiu.”

“From there, Beidou will be able to bring her electro energy out. I will allow you three total control over the flowers when I bait Mona into her encirclement.”

“After that…hit her with everything you’ve got.”

Albedo looked around at the five of them.

“Does everyone have that?”

Everyone nodded in unison.

“Alright, let’s begin.”

……

Chongyun watched as Albedo walked up the stairs to the entrance and sighed.

He really was overreacting, wasn’t he? Yet there was a large pit in his chest that formed when he thought of Xingqiu being out there. Mona having the dust too- ugh, it all made his head spin. He felt as if he was drowning, that feeling he felt every time he made it back into the void.

As Beidou and Xingqiu climbed up the stairs after Albedo, Xingqiu looked at Chongyun, his lips pursed and his eyebrows straight, almost contemplative.

He hesitated for a moment and then kept climbing after Beidou.

Chongyun just looked down.

“Come, let’s go, Albedo already has Mona.”, said Beidou as she looked down the door. She looked around. “The beasts have, oh-“
Beidou broke out into a sprint away from the opening. Countless mimics could be seen, chasing her. Their water pounded onto the ship.

He looked back to see Xiangling flashing a small smile at him.

“Let’s do this Chongyun!”

As she passed him, she lightly tapped Chongyun’s shoulder, as if attempting to comfort him just a little.

Hutao went ahead of him as well.

He shuddered as she walked past him, the uneasiness he got from her still strong.

She looked back at him.

“You seem stressed out.”, she said.

She paused for a moment.

“Do not fear death, it is a natural part of the cycle of life.”

She smiled at him, and yet he still felt unstable with her around.

He didn’t say anything, just nodded weakly, watched as she took a few more steps forward, and then followed suit.

As they reached the top of the stairs, Xiangling motioned for them to go towards the bow of the boat.

The thunder crackled, the ship rocked, and everything seemed free of hydro mimics. As he looked towards the rear of the boat, he saw Beidou and Xingqiu running at the speed of light away from the mimics, guiding them. They practically flew through the water, turning up more water from the ship than the mimics themselves as they ran.

Xiangling, Hutao, and Chongyun broke out into a sprint.
Beside them, Chongyun saw blue shards floating near them. As they ran, they ran through the shards, creating a blue ball, forming and sparkling around them.

“Up there!”, Xiangling said. It was almost a whisper, as to not be heard over the thunder.

He looked up into the rain to see a pole with a wooden deck built around it. There was no ladder to use to climb up the rough pole, and the only rope was one used for hoisting the sails up.

“Climb!”

With no other option, Chongyun dug his fingers into the wood of the pole, feeling small splinters scratch his hands. He hung on with his arms for dear life and used his upper body to hoist up his lower body, small splinters of wood becoming stuck on him.

The three began to scale the pole, one after the other. Maybe it was their adrenaline rushing but they were not lost for strength as they climbed.

They may not have looked like they would, but it seemed the three climbed with relative ease.

The three climbed up to the top of the deck, climbing over the thin wooden beams that surrounded the balcony and shuffling onto it from the pole, the ship still shaking in the storm.

“Hold onto something!”

Chongyun clung onto the pole in the middle of the ship, with Hutao clinging onto a rope, and Xiangling holding onto one of the poles the rope was attached to; the only barrier keeping them from falling off.

As the boat shook, the three swayed with it. It took everything in Chongyun to continue holding on and keep himself calm with deep breaths. All of their legs were shaking a bit from the height and sway of the boat involuntarily.

As they looked below, Chongyun saw ripples of electricity engulfing the deck. Wow, they hadn’t even sent out the sign yet.

Beidou’s figure was small, but she slashed through the mimics as if they were butter. It seemed Xingqiu was in the Bubble with her, slicing his sword and letting his water swords engulf the both of them.

He quickly looked to Albedo, who was chasing Mona through the sky.

They were just barely below them, but still on the other side of the ship.

Despite them being so far, Chongyun could see the black powder dripping from Mona’s waist. It sprinkled to the floor of boat like rainfall.

The powder bag was INSIDE of her, floating in her figure….it almost looked to be where her heart was.

“Oh no…”

He had to get the bag before she perished…if not it would be impossible to retrieve without others noticing.

“Chongyun, how’s Mona and Albedo’s fight looking? I can’t see in this storm.”, said Hutao

As Chongyun looked he could see Albedo almost coaxing Mona to one side, which made her go the other way…towards them.

“He has her where he wants her.”

…or as if it looked like he did.

Albedo had Mona coming closer and closer to them. The rush of water as she moved became louder and louder, even challenging the storm above them.

“They’re almost here!”

Small concentrations of geo energy formed around them. As Chongyun looked at Albedo, through his (at this point) soaking hair, he could see the concentration in his face. He strained himself, his entire body tense while trying to control planting multiple spurts of energy.

“The flowers!”

Three blossomed purple flowers formed in an instant, sprouting up from the ground.

“Get on!”, Chongyun said.

Hutao and Xiangling let go of what they were flinging to and clung onto the flower. As each of them got onto the flower, they levitated in the air.

“How do we control these?”, asked Hutao.

Chongyun realized Albedo had forgotten to tell them how to control their items with their energy. The only reason Chongyun knew was because he had done this before with Albedo when they were in the void together.

“Use your energy to power it forward! Create bursts of fire and direct! Act as if you were charging an attack.”

Hutao and Xiangling nodded.

Chongyun looked back, only to see Albedo and Mona flying almost directly below them.

He pointed at Hutao.

“South!”

He whipped his arm to Xiangling.

“West!”

“I’ll take east.”

Chongyun allowed his energy to build, feeling that cold rush of air build inside of him…and then, at the right moment, he let it burst out from him as if he himself was a bomb.

He felt the wind and rain pound on his face as he took off, breathing heavily.

He looked back at Xiangling and Hutao who kept up just fine.

Well, it was no surprise. Any vision user worth their salt knew how to channel their energy and make use of it.

The three formed a triangle almost at the head of the dragon.

Chongyun was the tip, with Xiangling to the front of him and Hutao to his left.. All that was needed was Albedo.

He arrived just in the nick of time, backing Mona into their trap. Mona’s back was facing them, only focused on Albedo. Albedo seemed to be lunging at her heart, the flower he was floating on going wherever he deemed it fit. It was almost as if he was jumping with it rather than flying with it. .

As Mona went further backwards, she became entrapped in their circle, each member going closer to the center as to not allow her to escape.

She turned from Albedo to face all of them, her glowing eyes analyzing each one of them.

Albedo lunged for her, but she evaded swiftly, her body creating a “slosh”

“NOW!”, he yelled.

“Guoba, get em!”

Xiangling sent out her fire breathing panda while waving her spear. She twirled it as if she were fire dancing, before releasing it, having it spin in an unending circle, slicing through the air, and slicing through Mona as a result.

Though he was father away from Xiangling, he could still feel the warmth of the fire grazing against him.

Mona turned to her. No reaction…was she…unharmed?

The fire hissed as it hit her, but it didn’t seem to have any impact on HER.

Hutao swung instantaneously after Xiangling, her spear completely sent ablaze and striking through Mona, attempting to use Xiangling’s leftover blaze to power her own.

Again, Mona just turned to look at her, unfazed and unharmed.

Albedo looked to them helplessly,

“Live!”

He yelled, creating a field of geo energy.

The geo energy burst like a bomb against Mona, and yet still no reaction.

“One with my blade!”

Chongyun was the last one, and as his frosted blade hit Mona… nothing. She didn’t even freeze.

“W-what???”

Albedo’s eyes widened.

“I- I was sure-“

In an instant, Mona waved her hand, a comet of water being summoned, and racing towards the four. Every single flower fell from the sky as it knocked against them.

The four fell down to the wooden floors of the ship, slamming against it.

“Agh!”

As they hit the floor, they felt the electric charge of the water enter them.

Chongyun felt himself convulse as the energy made its way into him. It wasn’t hot or cold. It was as if every nerve in his body was shaking…breaking even.

He looked up, only to see Mona looking down on them.

He heard Albedo.

“Mona no- don’t do it-“

His voice came out shaky.

Mona tilted her had to the side, and reached a hand inside of her chest, pulling out the pack of black dust.

“Mona….Mona don’t.”

Albedo said.

In an instant, they all heard a huge splash. Chongyun’s vision was growing blurry, but he could see the blue hair and black suit, accented with gold strike at Mona.

“X-Xingqiu- n- no.”

Soon enough, the figure fell to the ground with the rest of them.

Mona flew off, and from Chongyun’s blurry vision, he could only see certain times of when she sprinkled the black dust into the water.

“M-Mona!”

He could hear Albedo’s shaky voice become more desperate.

The figure of Mona came back to them, all of them still shaking.

Mona put her arm back and threw her body forward as she swung her arm back in front of her.

A hollow, almost echoing voice came out of her…

“Written in the stars…”

“NO!”

A star ridden sky allowed its illusion to cover the ship…. And then…everything went black.

Chapter Text

”Chongyun…wake up.”

Chongyun’s eyes fluttered opened, a blur around him.

He blinked a couple times to clear his sight, only to see Xingqiu standing above him, a dark abyss engulfing them on all sides.

“You awoke…finally.”, Xingqiu said.

Chongyun slowly sat up, a dreamy tone to his voice.

“Where…where are we?”

“I was about to ask you the same.”, Xingqiu responded, voice dull.

As Chongyun took In the surrounding darkness, his eyes widened.

There was endless darkness…. And an unnatural light illuminating what seemed to be an alchemy table. This was it; this was the void. Mona has successfully used the powder.

“I…i don’t know.”

He lied through his teeth.

“Drat.”, Xingqiu said.

“X-Xingqiu, where are the others?”

Xingqiu sighed and pointed near them, making a point to not look in that direction.

As Chongyun slowly turned, he saw a pile of bodies, sprawled atop one another pointlessly.

“W-what?”

He examined them more closely, only to see…all of them. Albedo’s sunken face, Beidou’s closed eyes, Hutao’s limp body, all piled atop one another into an unholy amalgamation.

They all stuck out like one big, dead creature, contaminating the floor of the void.

He felt his stomach turn over and over, and he put his hand over his mouth. It seemed every organ threatened to come up and out of his throat. These are all faces…he had seen on Xingqiu…and it did not fit the rest of them.

Xingqiu sighed.

“Don’t worry, they’re all still breathing.”

Xingqiu’s eyes were looking towards the floor. They were almost lifeless.

Chongyun ran up to the pile of bodies, examining them, putting two fingers on their necks…and finally…seeing their chests rise and fall… Xingqiu was right…they were Alive.

“Are they not waking?”, he asked.

“Yes…it’s a coma in a way..as if they’re stuck.”

Chongyun looked at Albedo and channeled a a bit of energy into his hand, his concentration coming out in a light frost. He allowed his swirl of frost spread onto albedo’s face. Albedo didn’t even flinch.

He channeled some more frost energy and stuck his hand on Albedo’s arm, giving him some form of an inconsequential frost bite. As Albedo’s arm turned red. Nothing, not even a wince. In fact, the frost seemed to melt right off his skin like he was hotter than Sumeru’s deserts.

Xingqiu looked at Chongyun coldly.

“What, do you not trust my judgement now either?”, he scoffed.

“Well I just wanted to see-“

“I’ve tried the same energy channeling to wake them. It won’t work.”

The coldness of Xingqiu’s voice stung him more than any form of heat he had ever felt.

He heard Xingqiu murmur.

“I should have done more.”

He put a hand on Xingqiu’s shoulder, but Xingqiu shrugged it off.

The countless “what if” scenarios seemed to plague Xingqiu’s mind as he ground his teeth and looked off into the distance. Chongyun knew it would. After all, it was Xingqiu.

“You did what you could…”, Chongyun started.

“No, I didn’t!”, Xingqiu yelled.

Chongyun took a deep breath, and made his voice as calm as possible.

“What more could you have done?”

“I could have made a more complex plan, I could have made it, so I left Beidou and went to confront the mimic of Mona with you…ugh…” he continued on. “I could have healed you guys, helped more than I did.”

“Xingqiu… I don’t think you could have, truthfully- Mona was…”

“That’s always what you’ve seemed to think so far…”

He looked at Chongyun with a blaming glare.

“You keep thinking I can’t do anything, you won’t let me help you….”

Xingqiu’s voice was turning from one of irritation and anger to hurt as he went on.

“The reason why I didn’t participate more in the plan was out of respect for you. I was going to suggest that I could take cover and then come into the fray, helping you guys when most of the hydro mimics had been slain by Beidou and I…. but…but then I saw the fear in your eyes.”

He looked at Chongyun almost sadly.

“I couldn’t do nothing but I couldn’t ignore that fear…so I compromised…look where that led us.”

He held up his arms while looking at Chongyun, gesturing to the pile of bodies.

“I shouldn’t have done that.”, he finally said.

“By trying to protect you emotionally, I may have failed to physically protect everyone else.”

They were tears in Xingqiu’s eyes.

“Why…why do you do that- why did you cower in fear when I went to participate in battle?”

Xingqiu’s voice crackled and stuttered.

Chongyun felt his heart sink as he heard Xingqiu’s words. They sped towards his heart and crashed into it as if they were shattering glass.

“I….I just…”, Chongyun finally started.

“You just what? Don’t trust me? Think less of me?”, Xingqiu interrupted.

“No not at all it’s just…”,

The silence was deafening. How could he explain this?

“I think that’s exactly how it is, and you just don’t want to admit it.”

“No, it’s not- “

“Oh, it sure looks like it is.”

“No just- “

Their voices grew louder with the overbearing frustration.

“Then why? Why did you do that?”, Xingqiu asked, his voice stern and on the verge of screaming.

“I had to!”, Chongyun said back.

“No you didn’t, but you did, why?”

“It’s not something I can say-“

“Why not? I knew you didn’t trust me. You can’t trust me to fight or even trust me with your own reasons.”

“XINGQIU, I WOULD LOVE NOTHING MORE THAN TO TRUST YOU WITH ALL MY HEART, BUT I CAN’T LET YOU DIE!”

Chongyun felt something within him snap like a twig.

He panted, having not screamed that loud since he first found Xingqiu’s body in the first life.

“…what?”

“I….I….”

His breathing turned shallow, and he looked down.

“Chongyun…who said anything about dying?”

There was still irritation in Xingqiu’s voice, but some of it had been replaced with a curiosity.

Chongyun just turned away from Xingqiu.

“Look…forget I said anything, that was a mistake.”

“But-“

“Let’s just focus on getting everyone out of here.”

“Chongyun”, Xingqiu said sternly.

“This conversation is nowhere near the top of the list of priorities right now, Xingqiu. Let’s just-“

Chongyun stopped, the clattering and splattering of footsteps on the ground echoed through the void.

It sounded as if someone was stepping in puddle after puddle.

The two turned to see a dark silhouette walking towards them, water dripping from its figure and splattering onto the ground. Chongyun wasn’t sure if it actually was that, but it was hard to see in the dark of the void.

“Chongyun…”, a voice whispered.

It was a low and soothing whisper, that only became louder as the figure drew closer.

“Who are you?”, Chongyun asked.

As the figure got closer, its translucent nature became clear. And the figure of Mona became more and more defined.

Chongyun went in front of Xingqiu, as if using himself as a shield.

Yet, as the figure came closer, there was something different about Mona’s desolate eyes.

They were no longer hostile and barren.

They almost looked warm and yet…sad…

She stopped a few feet in front of him.

Her voice echoed, and as she threw back her hand, he heard a phrase she had never used before.

“I promised you eternity.”

In a flash, the surrounds of the void were gone and replaced with the….wait…this was Liyue harbor…but…

Everything was older. The wood that made the houses seemed to be that of old Lihua trees, the port was a lot smaller, maybe a 10th of its original size, and the boats were reminiscent of older structures that had long been abandoned by the people.

“Woah….”

He turned behind him to see Xingqiu looking around.

Except….xingqiu wasn’t in his normal clothes anymore…he was in a black cloak with a hood on it.

Chongyun looked down at his own clothes; he was wearing the same thing.

“Where did we get these?”, Xingqiu asked.

“No idea”, said Chongyun.

He ran his fingers across the black silk of the cloak.

“Wait…why can’t I move?”, asked Xingqiu, who was putting his hands up in the air.

“What?”

Chongyun tried to walk, only to be trapped in a bubble. An invisible force encircled him, not letting him leave.

All of a sudden, his body started moving on its own, and it was if he was left as an observer of his own actions.

“Xingqiu, the master will be concerned if we’re out for this long.”

A voice that was his…but words that did not come from his mouth.

“Oh, please he wouldn’t know if I was gone.”

“You know that’s not true.”

Xingqiu shrugged.

“We can agree to disagree. It’s because of me he even agreed to let us out once a week anyways.”

Xingqiu smiled widely.

“Besides, why spend all day in that dusty old place, when I can spend time in the glorious outside with you.”

Xingqiu went up to Chongyun, cupping his cheek.

“Xingqiu….people are watching.”

Xingqiu chuckles.

“Well than I suppose I’ll have to have you all to myself later.”

He winked and took chongyun’s hand.

“I’ll indulge your worries and we’ll go back, but don’t expect to get out of this so easily next time my knight in shining amour.

Xingqiu took chongyun’s hand and dragged him along, back to the Feiyun commerce guild. The streets were bustling, but everyone seemed to make a path for Xingqiu and he waded through them with Chongyun in tow.

He felt Xingqiu’s hands, calloused, yet smooth.

In all of these incarnations, he had never been able to feel these hands. The hands of a skilled swordsman, the hands of the man he had first fallen in love with. Oh, did he realize how much he missed it.

———

The two got back to the guild a bit later than intended, having stopped for some sweets that Xingqiu just “had to have” along the way.

The two were on Xingqiu’s bed, laying down and looking at the ceiling. They seemed to do that a lot.

It was one of the few times where the isolation and desolation of their room was actually kind of nice.

“And then in the book they sail to a faraway land, where there’s no one except them and they can be whatever they desire.”

Xingqiu sighed.

“What a dream that would be….”

Chongyun smiled, yet even in his uncontrollable body, he felt his lips twitch with discomfort.

Xingqiu looked at Chongyun.

“Hey, are you listening to me?”

Xingqiu put up his hand and lightly flicked Chongyun on the head.

He turned to Xingqiu.

“Of course, I am, very intently in fact.”

“No you’re not.”

“Yes I am.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes…I am.”

Xingqiu lifted his head, and sit up, looking down at Chongyun.

He did not look convinced.

Xingqiu sighed and rolled his eyes, putting his hand on chongyun’s cheek.”

“How dare you take your attention off of me for even a moment…I might start getting jealous of that wall you were staring at.”

Chongyun just smiled at him.

“My apologies, my lord.”

“Oh, don’t get cheeky with me.”

Xingqiu slowly leaned down to Chongyun, looking at his face, from his eyes to his lips, as if memorizing every single one of his features.

“You’re lucky you’re so beautiful…if not I could probably be mad at you for at least a little longer…”

He slowly leaned in closer and closer to Chongyun.

Chongyun felt his heartbeat pick up and his palms start to sweat. His cheeks were tingling, and he felt short of breath as Xingqiu leaned in closer and closer.

In mere seconds, Xingqiu closed the distance between them. He held chongyun’s face gently, and leaned in closer to him, pressing his lips deeper against chongyun’s.

He was gentle, and his lips were tender. They moved against his own with purpose.

Chongyun felt tingles run up and down his body, his face tingling even more in each and every spot Xingqiu caressed.

His heart filled with warmth…as if he had felt the embrace of another for the first time. As if he had felt the want of another for the first time.

He felt his heart ignite, and his mind go blank as all he focused on was Xingqiu and how it felt to hold him; to kiss him.

After a few moments, the two pulled away.

Xingqiu’s face was red, and he smiled down at Chongyun, almost looking like a lovestuck puppy. His eyes looked at him softly and his smile was small but, it all worked together with his face to create a look of adoration.

Chongyun could only imagine what look was on his face.

“I love you.”, Xingqiu cooed, running his hand through chongyun’s hair.

“I love you too.”. Chongyun said back, closing his eyes as he felt Xingqiu’s fingers, soon reciprocating the gesture back.

……

The two had laid on the bed for the rest of the night. Every night they laid below the Guild, out of sight, out of mind. Normally they laid in separate rooms; but it had become more of a habit to “sneak” one into the others.

But who could blame them? The night was dark and cold. His only warmth was Xingqiu.

Yet, he sat up yet again.

He slowly crawled out of Xingqiu’s bed and opened the door to his room. He looked at Xingqiu one last time and smiled, and closed the door to his room, tiptoeing as if his life depended on it. He walked over every wood plank that he knew creaked, making sure his heal touched the ground as softly as possible.

He sighed as he made it down the hallway and moved to a different door.

It was right next to the dojo.

He knocked

Knock-wait- one, two, three, four
Knock knock, scratch, one two
Knock knock knock
Knock

He did it as quietly as possible, though one can only make those things so quiet.

Out of what seemed to be blank wall, the planks began opening as if it were a mouth, coming to ear Chongyun whole.

He looked to see Xu standing there in a dark robe, a strait-laced look on his face as he stood tall.

“You’re late.”, Xu said, monotony in his voice.

“I- I know. I’m sorry. Xingqiu- I mean, the young master took longer to go to sleep.”

“You were in his bed again?”, Xu asked with a raised eyebrow. Though, his mouth kept the same straight line.

“I-well…”

Xu sighed.

“You are lucky it is me running this and no one else. You’d be a dead man.”

“I know. Thank you Xu.”, he said, looking anywhere but Xu’s eyes.

Xu just stood to the side and motioned for Chongyun to come in. Chongyun complied and Xu quietly shut the doors behind the two.

The two went down a spiral staircase, even deeper than their own basement floor. The stairwell ended, only for Chongyun to be greeted by vials of mystery liquids, data sheets, and an alchemy set up. Of course, they were in Xu’s research lab, surrounded by books, beakers, baskets, and boxes.

Xu picked up a blue, glowing object from his station.

“We’re trying again.”

Chongyun sighed.

“Yes sir.”

Xu looked at Chongyun, and sighed almost mockingly, seemingly sensing his discontent.

“Look, we know this can work, we absolutely know it. I tweaked it last night to have more of Khaenri’ah’s magic to it. The right hilichurl blood does wonders. We know it is bound to you, but we just need to get it working.”, said Xu.

He handed Chongyun the object and watched.

Chongyun took a deep breath in and concentrated on the vision, trying to call out to the power inside it.

Yet, it seems to slam the door in front of him, refusing entrance to its secrets.

The glow got stronger, but Chongyun could not feel its energy flow in him like his normal visions.

He tensed up, trying to call to something, but it still refused to budge despite the object glowing brighter. He tried to reach it, as if running faster and faster to catch up to someone, but they stray farther and father. He was unworthy, not the winner of the race.

Finally, he gasped and collapsed to the ground.

Every time.

Xu sighed…

“At least…it glowed?”, Xu said, staring at the vision and looking from there to his papers.

“We should give up on this. Creating a vision is not possible without godly intervention.”, Chongyun said, looking at the “hydro vision” in his palm.

“No, no it glowed, it didn’t do that before, we’ll it did, but not as brightly. We’re close.”, Xu said, pulling a chair to where he was and sitting. “Again.”

“It’s been years. Why are we still trying?”, asked Chongyun.

“Precisely because it’s been years.

“That’s not a good reason to keep going.”

“It is for me”

“But not for me. It seems…juvenile.”

Xu just laughed.

“Chongyun, none of us would be in this situation if we all gave up so easily.”

“Well in that case…can I…not-“

“No,” Xu interrupted. “You know our arrangement: you help me, and I don’t tell Xingqiu’s family about your “close” relationship.”

Chongyun sighed.

“Yes of course…wouldn’t want that.”, he said, fiddling the vision in his hands.

“Yes, neither of us want that. You’ll be in trouble, and I lose a subject. Both of us lose.”

Chongyun looked from the vision to Xu.

He took a deep breath in.

“Xu be honest; is something going to happen soon?”

Xu looked up at Chongyun from his papers.

“What?”

“You’ve been pushing the development of this a lot more than before. I used to only come down here every few nights or so. Now it’s every night. Sometimes even during the day. It’s hard to explain to Xingqiu why I’m gone for so long sometimes.”

He fidgeted more with the vision.

“Not to mention our sessions are twice as long now.”

Xu looked up fully with a sigh.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t question it…you make things so difficult.

He stood up and put the papers down at his workstation, and brought his eyes back to Chongyun.

“I guess as the young master’s security you deserve to know.”

Xu started writing what Chongyun would make out as nonsense on an easel as he continued talking; as if busying himself on purpose.

“There is a rumor going around…let me repeat, a rumor, that Rex lapis and his followers have found out about this vision and the Guild’s endeavors…. needless to say, it’s a bit too much for him in terms of boundaries….”

Chongyun felt his entire body stop. Why was he…just hearing about this now?

“What….what does that insinuate?”, he asked.

“You know as well as anyone.”, Xu said nonchalantly.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to enlighten me.”, Chongyun replied.

Chongyun braced himself on a nearby wall, leaning against it.

Xu sighed.

“Do I really have to spell it out for you?”, his tone changing to annoyed. “A revolt Chongyun, there will be a revolt against the guild if the rumors are true.”

Chongyun sighed and stood back up.

“Yeah, I should have expected that.”

“Well than I assume you know what a revolt means. The burning of all research, the killing of all who participated in the opposing party’s cause. And that includes Xingqiu.”

“Who says they’ll find it?”, Chongyun asked.

“They will. They’ll raid the entire house. Xingqiu’s hiding means nothing when they know he exists. We’ve prepared for a day like this, which is why we sent away Xiangling to live with another family. Xiangling’s adoptive family will spearhead the rebellion, take over the Guild, and eventually Xiangling will inherit that. That way the line will carry on.”

“You’re so calm about this.”

“Well, I’ve accepted death and exile already….but before I go, I would really like to finish this research. Something needs to live on past us and drive the future forward.

Xu pursed his lips.

“We must entrust the future to those who come after, just like Khaenri’ah did all those years ago.”, Xu said.

“So, you’re just accepting death?”, asked Chongyun.

“No. Just accepting the idea of it.”

“But-“

“I said death OR exile, didn’t I?”

He smirked.

“Let’s move on from this topic. I’ve said all I want to. Now, try again.”

Chongyun sighed and did just that, attempting for focus all his energy on one specific spot, the fake vision.

In an instant, He felt a newfound energy rush through him, cumulating. It almost felt like a rush of cold water was engulfing him, pulling him into the sea.

He grunted as he tried to reign it in, but the ocean tide is merciless.

He opened his eyes, only to see the vision glowed again, for a brief moment.

He sighed, and tried to focus more, feeling the powerful waves wash over him.

‘Resist them.’, he thought.

An image of Xingqiu flashed into his mind, and he felt the energy being directed outwards, as if he was being pulled apart by the water.

His eyes opened and he saw water rise from the vision. Though, It fell immediately back down.

Xu stood up with his mouth open.

“It-oh, my archons…it worked.”

“I mean sort of-“

“No, no, enough of your skepticism. It worked for a moment- that’s what matters.”

For the first time since Chongyun met him, Xu’s strait laced face was replaced by a a small smile…and he laughed in some small joy.

“We may just have a chance after all-lead us to success young man.”

Chapter Text

“My lord…”

The figure in the cloak appeared in front of the floating goddess. The goddess’s hair was suspended in the air as she stood tall, her eyes narrowed, and her arms crossed.

“What?”, the goddess asked. Her voice echoed in the never-ending space. “What do you want?”

The figure bowed its head.

“I just want to give my opinion on this matter of this group that you seem so intent on punishing.”

The words came out far more jaded than the figure intended, yet it didn’t do anything to correct itself.

“I take observations from your reports. Not opinions.”,

“Well, I can give that to you too: though you already know they’ve gone inside the tree. Chongyun should almost be finished with his cycle in which they will battle Mona again and yada yada yada, they destroy themselves.”, the figure said, rolling its eyes.

“Great, you are now dismissed.”

The figure continues to kneel in front of the goddess.

“You’re giving them a hint that may be too big to take back.”

The Goddess sighed.

“Really?”, she asked.

“Yes.”, said the figure. “They run the risk of finding and letting Albedo get ahold of Xu’s research. I’m just saying- “

“Are you actually worried, Child of man?”

The goddess looked down on the figure, her monotone expression unchanging.

“I just am saying you could be more cautious.”, the figure said.

The goddess’s eyes sharpened at this comment and turned away from the figure with a scoff.

“And all I’m saying is that you should have more faith in your lord.”

She looked out at the empty skies.

“Besides, my loyal puppet, you will be there if they get too close…now, won’t you?”

Her voice had a hint of mockery in it, and the figure was almost able to taste the bitterness.

“Do not question my loyalties, Heavenly Principles.”, the figure said, clenching its fists.

“Then don’t give me reason to.”, the goddess snapped back.

The figure took a deep breath in and out.

“I’m just curious, if it comes to the point of interference, why not deal with them yourself in that case?”

The goddess was quiet for only a moment.

“Because I’ve trusted your family for generations, despite your crippling humanity.”

The figure clenched its teeth.

“But…”

“Young child. They are not going to win anything. Their arrogance will be brought to an end as quickly as it took root.”

“But what if- “

“Quiet. They will not find their power. The souls of those traveling nuisances were laid to rest long ago. None shall link the cosmos other than us.”

“But Chongyun will be more vigilant-.”

The god scoffed.

“Don’t use his name. The arrogation of that human will be too tied in desperation to its other half to notice a thing. They’re mortals with a sense for folly.”

“Maybe that’s what will let him notice it.”

…..

Finally, the god turned back to the figure, her hair and figure shining just a bit brighter than before.

“You doubt me child of man?”, she asked.

“I-….”, its voice trailed off, “I doubt this situation, not you.”

“That is the same thing.”, the goddess said, “And that is the issue with you humans. You always think you know more than the divine who built you from the ground up.”

Her voice turned into a bit of a growl, as if the goddess had swallowed something bitter.

I-“

The goddess put her hand up in the air, shining brighter than before.

“Rest. Child of man, rest,”, she said, her tone monotone again. Though, a small part of that bitterness stayed. “I will not listen to one who is not loyal to either their kind or the divine.”

________

Chongyun found himself at Xingqiu’s bedside once again in the early morning, looking down at Xingqiu as the light of the room illuminated his face.

Xingqiu got up slowly, looking at Chongyun and smiling, his words soft and slightly slurred.

“You left again last night.”

He put a hand up to Chongyun’s cheek, his eyes narrowed, obviously still half asleep.

“Where did you run off to?”

Chongyun put his hand over Xingqiu’s and held onto it.

“Just some business with Xu, as usual.”

Xingqiu raised an eyebrow and took his hand off of CHongyun’s face and grabbing his arm, dragging Chongyun down to the bed with him. Chongyun braced himself on the sides of Xingqiu’s bed, making sure not to crush the poor man.

“Fine, I believe you.”, Xingqiu said, a small smile on his face. “What are we doing today my dear?”

Chongyun sighed.

“Well, considering we were out all of last night, we should take today to rest...”

Xingqiu looked at Chongyun and sighed.

“You have to meet Xu again, don’t you?”, he asked, still hugging Chongyun’s arm.

“...you see right through me, don’t you?”, Chongyun said, a nervous chuckle escaping him.

Xingqiu pouted while still holding onto chongyun’s arm.

“That’s awful. You’re leaving me alone again, all on my lonesome, left to rot in this basement.”, he sighed, making sure to add a dramatic flair to it. “How are you going to make it up to me, dear Chongyun?”

Chongyun looked up at the ceiling and back down to Xingqiu.

“Well... just because I said that we would be resting the day away, doesn’t mean we can’t do anything at night.”, he said, running his fingers through Xingqiu’s hair.

Xingqiu smiled, leaning into Chongyun’s touch.

“I’m keeping you to that.”, he said.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Xingqiu pulled chongyun on top of him.

“Stay with me a bit.”, he said, kissing Chongyun’s hand.

Chongyun smiled softly before pulling away.

“I have to go now. You rest.”

Xingqiu pouted again and put his blanket over his head.

“Fine, have it your way.”

Yet, he peeked out of the blanket and kept on looking at Chongyun.

“I really do have to go.”, said Chongyun.

“Yes, yes, I understand.”

Xingqiu waved his hands and put the blanket over his head.

“Xingqiu...”, Chongyun said softly.

Xingqiu laughed under the covers.

“I’m just messing with you chongyun, seriously, go.”

Chongyun nodded.

“Alright, I’ll be leaving now. I’ll see you later.”

He smiled while looking at the mass on the bed and then crept out the door.

…...

“Has there been any confirmation on any uprising, Xu?”

Xu looked up from his paperwork, and back at Chongyun, who was fiddling with the artificial vision in his hand.

“No.No confirmation in the slightest.”

Chongyun bounced the vision between his hands.”

“Really?”, he asked.

“My answer’s not going to change, even if you ask me fifty times.”

Chongyun just nodded. “Yeah.”

Xu sighed.

“You have to give it at least a few days, Chongyun. I understand anxiety, but you must be reasonable about this. Worrying is not going to change the outcome.”

“I know.”, Chongyun said. “It will help me do what has to be done for the sake of Xingqiu.”

Xu pursed his lips.

“Are...” Xu’s voice stopped for a moment, hesitant pauses coating it. “Are you sure you really want to go through with what we’ve decided... if all of this comes to fruition?”

Chongyun just nodded, an unabashed silence falling between the two.

“Anything and everything.,” Chongyun said.

Xu nodded. “Just, well, checking. You know, it’s a pretty rash decision you’re making.”

“And...do I look like I care?”, Chongyun asked, his voice purposefully monotonous.

Xu just looked from Chongyun to the vision in his hand.

“Then let’s get started.”, he said.

Xu took out a pen and paper before sitting on a wooden stool.
“The build of this is supposed to be like a normal vision, holding and harnessing your inner thoughts.”, said Xu. You said last time, that once you thought of Xingqiu, the water rose, right?”,

Chongyun nodded.

“Then perhaps focus is not the way to control this, like your cryo vision. Perhaps the way to use it is to release all emotion in your body.”

“But that would-”

“Impede the use of your normal vision too, yes, we’ll work on it.”, Xu said, waving his hand. “Now, feel free to think of your fondest memory with Xingqiu.”

“Um...Alright...”

Chongyun closed his eyes...

What would he choose?

There were so many good ones....

Yet he found himself in a field of grass, the grass poking at his bare ankles and clothes as he sat amongst it. Though, only a bit of its green color was visible as he tried to look through the black cloak that he had on.

He looked to the side of him, where xingqiu laid, he was wearing his normal black and blue coat, just laying down in the grass, and an open book over his face.

He seemed to sense Chongyun’s gaze and looked up at him, only to smirk.

“You can take that off, you know, no one’s going to see us out here.”, Xingqiu said.

“I prefer safe rather than sorry.”, Chongyun said, looking around at the scenery, to make sure no human like figures were visible. Or, who knows, even animal like ones as well.

“ Well, I mean, I should be worrying more than you, dear Chongyun, and if I’m not, what does that say about this situation?”

He turned his attention back to his book.

“I’m not going to say that it’s safe.”, said Chongyun

“Well, you should, because it is.”, Xingqiu said dismissively. “So please do both me and you a favor and take off that cloak.”

Chongyun hesitated, but looked away, not taking off the cloak.

After a couple minutes of sitting in silence, an audible sigh could be heard from Xingqiu.

“Ahh, what am I going to do with you?”

Xingqiu sat up and put his book on the ground before turning himself completely towards Chongyun.

Xingqiu reached for Chongyun’s hood, but Chongyun dodged his attempt, tugging on his hood to make sure it stayed in place.

“Oh come on.”, Xingqiu said, grasping at it again, practically leaning on Chongyun’s body.

“No!”,Chongyun said, dodging again.

This time, Xingqiu got a firm hold on the hood and looked at chongyun, their two hands stacked on top of with one another as the two desperately tugged at the hood.

“Why you...”, Chongyun grunted.

Chongyun threw himself backwards, making the two of them fall, with Chongyun laying down on the ground, becoming pinned by Xingqiu, who was just trying to brace for the fall.

Chongyun’s grip on his hood loosened as he hit the ground, and Xingqiu finally snatched it off of him, revealing his messy blue hair and tired face, his eyes looking into Xingqiu’s, and his body sprawled beneath him.

“See, now was that so hard?”, Xingqiu said with a grin, still on top of Chongyun.

“Xingqiu...”

Xingqiu looked at chongyun.

“What? You embarassed to have me on top of you?”

Chongyun turned his head to the side, as to not look at Xingqiu’s amused eyes.

He felt something begin to break out of him, and he gasped as he snapped back to reality. He opened his eyes to see water rising up from the vision, and this time, it didn’t subside. It lingered in the air like Chongyun’s ice did, as if waiting for command.

Like his ice, he aimed it, and fired with a wave of his hand, splattering it against a wall.

Xu looked at Chongyun, his eyes wide.

“In all my years…”

He looked at Chongyun, then at the newly formed wet spot on the wall and started laughing, gripping his clipboard in his hands.

“The key was intense emotion. It has to be intense because it is not bound to you quite like a vision is…”

His smile didn’t fade.

“I assume it works for other emotions but they have to be equally intense. We’ll see.”

He laughed like a madman.

“My life’s work…. My life’s work…”

He mumbled.

“The power is graspable by humanity… what those twins showed us….it is attainable.”

…...

Wait....

That caught Chongyun’s attention. HIS attention, not in the past. In the past he had nodded along and moved on.

Now that he thought about it….Chongyun remembered this moment pretty decently. How long was it until the big event? Maybe a week? But how could he have missed that part of it?

‘Twins?’, he thought.

He could not open his mouth to ask questions and cursed in his head.

Xu seemed to have calmed down, his posture reverting back to its usual straight state and his face only twisted into a bit of a grin.

“We can do it.” Xu said, scribbling in his notes. “Humanity can attain divinity without the gods.”

Chongyun smiled.

“I’m glad you got what you wished for. “

Xu turned to Chongyun.

“Thank you for giving it to me. Devoted one.”, Xu said. “You know, If the day ever comes when you need anything. All you have to do is ask.”

Chongyun sighed.

“Thank you, but I have long used up that favor.”

Xu shrugged.

“I suppose you have. Speaking of which, don’t forget our meeting tomorrow.”, Xu’s said, his eyes softening as he looked at Chongyun. “Victims are seldom given time to prepare.”

It seemed that as soon as Xingqiu had woken up that morning and realized Chongyun was there, he had decided to become the equivalent of a cat.

“Chongyun! Why can’t I come with you?”

Chongyun dragged Xingqiu, who was clinging onto his shoulder, across the wooden floor of the guan.

“Because this is between Xu and I, my dear”, Chongyun said, his deadpan expression growing.

“But you were with him all day yesterday.”

“So I was.”, Chongyun said dismissively.

“I was sleeping by the time you got back.”, Said Xingqiu.

“This is also true.”

Xingqiu pouted.

“You can’t leave me for that long…”, he said, finally letting go of Chongyun, and instead following him.

“I can’t or you don’t want me to?”, asked Chongyun.

Xingqiu grumbled.

“Mhm. Now, I promise I’ll be back tonight, okay?”, said Chongyun, who was slowly making his way towards the door.

Xingqiu looked to one side and sighed, his eyes looking down at the floor.

“Fine.”

He started going off to the other side of the guan, where all the bamboo swords were. He just stared at the sword’s hilt, looking at it with saddened eyes.

Chongyun’s skin felt just a bit colder with the absence of Xingqiu’s touch.

‘Sorry…dear..”, he thought.

_____________

“I assume all of our affairs are in order.”, said Chongyun, for once, sitting down while talking to Xu.

Xu nodded.

“The ship is ready, as is Beidou, to go whenever they may come.”, Xu said. “She’s docked in the harbor and will stay here for however long.”

“And you’ll protect him?”, asked Chongyun.

“As you’ve protected my research with your life.”

Chongyun hesitated.

“I mean…in the end that still means little.”

Xu leaned on his arm and nodded as Chongyun spoke.

“Explain”, he said.

After a moment of silence, Chongyun spoke.

“You understand….if this comes to pass as you say…your research will die. The Millelith and people will destroy everything in sight. There will no longer be a Feiyun Commerce Guild. Hence…if we’re using that analogy it might end in a situation I would not like.”

He smiles.

You think me a fool Chongyun? Of course, I know. “, he sighed. “That is why…my research will stay hidden when that time comes. I will hide it underneath this lab, and not a soul in Teyvat will find it.”

“What if they break through the barriers and find it anyway?”, asked Chongyun.

“It’s impossible. I’m hiding it in a box that is impenetrable and requires a code.”, Xu looked down, a large sigh escaping him.

“Won’t your research die with you then?”

Xu chuckled.

“Humanity is curious Chongyun. There will be those who carry on my work, as unlikely as it is that it will be from ME. I just needed to know it was possible, so it may be rediscovered one day by brave generations anew that do not fear Celestia’s wrath.”

“Then what’s the point of preserving it?”, asked Chongyun, fidgeting with his fingers.

Xu looked up at the ceiling.

“Well...Maybe I hold on to some stupid naïve hope, that someone will see my work to its fruition, using what I know. Is it stupid? Yes. But do I want to believe it? Also, yes.”

Chongyun smiled as he entered the guan, having wrapped up his conversation with Xu a bit ago.

“Hey.”

He grinned more as he looked to Xingqiu, who was slashing through the air with his sword.

Xingqiu’s eyes widened, and he let out a yelp.

“Ah!”

“Ah?”

Xingqiu just looked at chongyun with a monotone expression and crossed arms.

“You mad?”, asked Chongyun.

Xingqiu looked away from chongyun.

“More than you know...”, he mumbled.

Chongyun slowly went up to Xingqiu and put his hands on his cheeks, feeling the warmth of Xingqiu’s face in his palms.

“Still mad?”, he asked, a nervous laugh coming out of him.

Xingqiu’s face attained some red shades as he let his face be squished by chongyun’s hands.

“Yes...”

Chongyun’s eyes softened.

“Than let me make it up to you.”

Xingqiu narrowed his eyes, before leaning upwards, and quickly kissing chongyun. The feeling stayed on Chongyun’s lips, and it felt like he held the electro element between his lips.

Chongyun just laughed and pulled Xingqiu in for a hug.

“I missed you too...”, he said.

________

The pebbles crunched beneath Xu’s feet as he walked along the city streets, taking in liyue’s fresh air.

Sadly, he wasn’t in the countryside of Liyue for an evening stroll. He was in a small rural community with small houses and ruins, looking for a very specific sign.

He saw the smoke billowing out of the windows of a house, a light ablaze inside.
He could hear the voices of other people, but they were nothing of terror or pain.
The cries that came out of them called each man and woman from land and sea, those wearing traditional clothing, wearing cor lapis, or had mora shoved in their pockets.

“The threat to our archon is now!”, they called.

“Kill the disloyal!”, they shouted.

“Remove their heads, obviously they’re broken!”, they cried.

He could hear hardy laughs coming from them as they spoke of killing and torturing the guild in every way possible.

Xu cringed as he listened to their folly. He let his ears catch one more phrase before walking away from the area.

“We attack in three days time. Down with the Guild!”