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“Should we do anything to stop it…?” One asked, worry stretched across their face as raindrops from the storm pelted them.
Staring at the five-headed beast of the sea, Jade Chamber daring to face it as the ballistas shot adeptal energy from the platform. Fatui entered through shaded portals and mortals battling with steel weapons. The sound of clashing could be heard even through the downpour and roar of the seas from where they stood, so far out from the fight yet close enough to determine the true victor.
They watched from afar atop the gates of Liyue with crossed arms. Citizens fled for safety as the storm caused the sea to blast the harbor, the guard doing their best to have order as they ran. To the mortals and the blind one would describe it as utter chaos. But to them, it was normal in the eyes of gods.
To the side in the streets of Liyue, a lone figure clad in white and gold and brown stood with intense focus at the raging battle… A smile crossed the features of the second figure as they turned their head back at the god.
“No, they can handle it. They still have the Geo Archon’s protection, afterall.”
In the horizon, the chamber fell… an explosion erupted… with it came sunshine.
-
You weren't exactly sure how you got roped into an investigation, but here you found yourself wandering the lands of Jueyan Karst on the lookout for potential murderers. The Millileth came to you under the information that corpses of Fatui members were found, quite literally, littered all over Liyue. Fear of any diplomatic issues that could arise from internal investigations, they asked you to find out in their stead.
It didn't take long until the stench of burnt flesh caught wind, it stung the nostrils and brought tears to your eyes as you attempted to fight off the smell. Rounding the corner you found bodies scattered everywhere in the camp, traces of fire and ice caked on to the remnants of their clothes. Blood splattered the once pristine grass, bushes and trees were tattered beyond repair, a fight definitely broke out here… yet it was not a struggle, they lost as quickly as they started to fight. An instant ending, some would say.
Camp after camp did you find more, your floating companion growing more anxious at the thought of running into the murderers.
"Paimon thinks we should head back and tell them… maybe they could handle it due to the volume…" Paimon mumbled hesitantly as her eyes kept scanning the area.
"You know we can't do that." You remind her with a long sigh. Of course you didn't want to deal with this, but you've already accepted the commission.
Slowly the two of you trudge over a hill to another camp, however there stood two figures amongst the corpses. Without hesitation you summoned your sword into your hand, Paimon escaping into the hidden dimension to hide. Seemingly aware of your presence did the two turn towards you, eyes slightly wide to find you standing there.
Two women? You squinted slightly, noting the blood coating their hands and boots. Upon further inspection, they were not ordinary citizens of Liyue or Mondstat. Their attire was foreign to you, never once seeing the patterns and types before.
One had horns coming out of their head, hair colored like ever-burning fire, and silk cloth covering her body in the colors and patterns of the ocean.
The other had cryo-colored hair, short and unruly. A fur and silk cloak covered her shoulders, black sleeveless robes and gloves covering the rest of her. On her wrist… a Vision? You've never seen the matching ornament it was set in.
The grip on your sword grew tight, you could feel the strain on your knuckles as one of the figures' eyes turned violent.
You felt your heart stop for a moment when one of them spoke, the one with the red hair, she looked at you with astonishment.
"An outlander? Well, it's been awhile since I've seen one."
How could this be?
The next moment, you felt the flash of anemo adeptal power crash between the three of you.
-
All of it happened so quickly, you weren't exactly sure how but you all managed to leave the area rather unscathed. Xiao had arrived feeling the disturbance all the way from the inn. It didn't take long for a fight to break out, the Cryo-user was able to keep up with him with ease… It wasn't until the fiery one, she was in charge from your assumption, calmed the other down. They looked at you and Xiao with some sort of familiarity, a wholesome kindness that put you on edge.
On the way to Wangshu Inn, they explained to you that they were out purging Fatui and those that raised their hands against the Archons. A mission, they told you.
It definitely didn't put you at ease, if anything made you weary. But the fiery one was insistent to treat you with kindness and not hostility, they said they didn't want to make an enemy of an Outlander. They also promised to keep your secret… well a secret.
You found it quite strange. How did they know?
Returning to the inn to rest on one of the balconies, they casually chatted amongst themselves in a language you could not understand. Guessing that it was from the land that they hail from, you wandered your attention towards the Yaksha to pass the time. It wasn't until they asked you a surprising question that you tuned in.
"What was that again?" You asked hesitantly.
"Could you tell me the whereabouts of a man named Morax? I have choice words for him." The fiery one asked.
-
The next morning you found yourself traveling from Liyue Harbor with the man in tow, how you managed to persuade him was a mystery but thankfully he came without much of a fight.
Xiao, having been involved in the brunt of the fighting when you encountered the two and had overhead of the question, opted to join you. Considering the situation it should not surprise you, afterall it involved two parties that he cared about the most… Rex Lapis and yourself.
With each step you lead the way up to the private balcony that Xiao stayed at, the two figures stood by the railing to look out at the marsh below. To the side, a table was there… they must've brought it up while you were gone. Heavy footsteps came into contact with the wooden flooring, causing the two to carefully turn their attention from the sky to you.
A quiet gasp escaped out from behind you, and immediately you knew they knew each other.
“F-First One?!” Zhongli gasped as he looked down at the figure, who wore a cheeky grin with her hands on her hips.
“Been awhile, hasn’t it?” The fiery one laughed, lifting her hand to gently tap her cheek with one finger. “It has been a long time since a god has called me that, though.”
“How exactly… are you here?” Zhongli asked with a slight cough, attempting to gain back some composure. “You’re quite far away from your home, after all.”
“Where exactly are you from…?” You asked cautiously, curiosity getting the best of you.
“We should probably explain ourselves, shouldn’t we?” The ice-blue one asked with a smile.
“That would be a good idea, why don’t we get some tea before starting?”
-
“First off, introductions seem to be in order… As Morax had said, my original title used to be First One, to some it was Dragon Queen, but other names had come and gone in the span of the ten millenia I have lived. Today, I just simply go by the name Aki. To my right, is my trusted guardian and claimed mortal… Fuyumi. She comes from a village of the island that we lived on, which worships the dragon gods of eld.”
“A pleasure to meet you.” Fuyumi bowed slightly, a warm smile crossing her features.
“Wait, so you’re older than Zhongli?” you asked curiously.
“Yes, my existence has predated back to the beginning of this world.” Aki smiled warmly, fingers tapping the cup gently.
“When the world was born all those years ago, we dragons lived on this planet with a humanoid like race. The time then was primitive, we dragons had no names but existed in vast colonies across the world and would frequently interact with the beings. We were made of pure elemental and celestial energy, wielding the powers you know as Visions or Gnosis like first nature. There were times when we assisted the humanoid like beings, trading knowledge and material goods… It was rather pleasant. However, a cataclysm caused by the lunar cycle failing destroyed said civilization and wiped out their population, leaving us dragons alone for thousands of years.
We lived in silence for quite some time until envoys of Celestia arrived to change the world. It was a land ravaged in drought, rainstorms, blizzards, and other various elements after the disaster... At the time we believed the world could not have been saved until they arrived, changing the land and bringing humanity with them. We lived in comfortable silence along with the mortal races until the Archon War.
Some of us dragons had lived on an island far off from civilization, a land of our own so to speak, until hoards of humans came looking to escape the war engulfing the planet. They needed no god or archon to dictate their life, only did they ask for peace from the rage that spread throughout the lands. Seeing that it had been several millennia since we had any interaction with the mortal beings and the rather grave situation, we gave them the freedom to live on the island so long as they did not tread up the mountain that held our den... thus founding the civilization of the island by mortals. As it stands now, it falls under the domain of Inazuma, however it is not ruled by their Archon.
That war spanned for a near two thousand years, even though it never reached our shores the uncertainty was always there. Many of my kind had gone off to stop many of the skirmishes that occurred across the land in hopes of bringing peace, however they were promptly killed by the gods in search of power to ascend the thrones. All that remained were six, including myself, until the end of the war.
In an attempt to protect our home and the humans under our care, we fought on the mortal lands away from our homes… and we all died that day by the hands of the gods.”
To the side; Zhongli casted his eyes off to the side with a solemn look, seemingly lost in thought. Fuyumi joined him, speaking a silent prayer.
“By forces that I am not even known to, I was reborn a century later on the first day of Autumn. I had awoken in my old den, which was untouched since the day we left it... I had scaled down the mountains to see that the village had been intact, and was greeted by the villagers. They had said something along the lines that their prayers had finally reached us, however only I was ever reborn back to this world…
Another cataclysm came to pass, from the fall of a civilization in a far away land. Darkness, monsters, chaos, destruction… All of it came in the wake of that empire. With it… I saw a pair of shooting stars pass through the land, Outlanders not of this world, they left so quickly yet returned just as swiftly... And like that, the world went silent.
Thankfully, the encroaching darkness never reached our shores, however it shaped the mindset of the villagers of my island that the outside world was deemed too dangerous.
Since then, I have kept my silent vigil over the island as the sole deity until overhearing the death of the Geo Archon. I came out here to investigate but it seems to have been a waste of my time.”
Aki smiled ever so slightly, shifting her eyes over to the man beside her.
“Sadly I don’t have much of a grand story as Aki here…” Fuyumi chuckled nervously as her fingers fidgeted in her lap. “As she stated earlier… I hail from that village on the island. While the population is not like Inazuma or Liyue, it is quite grand considering the situation. Majority of it is fishermen and farmers, we are known for our skills in agriculture and many of the citizens there are masters of the trade. Most end up like myself, enlisting ourselves with the Bakufu of Inazuma and living our lives there to protect the Archon.
For my story… The first day I met Aki was when I came across a band of treasure hoarders invading into her territory. It was that day, when I attempted to fight them off, that I got my Vision… However they outnumbered me, I was only seven at the time, they were much more skilled than I was. One moment I breathed out for help, the next she was at my side in her dragon form… I couldn’t catch it as it was happening so fast, but she had killed them with just her claws alone as she swept them out into the sea... I pledged to her that day to serve her, even though she insisted that I needn’t do such a thing, and we’ve known each other ever since.
When I had hit the age of fifteen, I managed to join the Bakufu and start my life in Inazuma. On the last day before my departure I went to Aki to explain the situation, my desire to get stronger to protect the people of the village and her, and she laughed at me…
In her words… ‘I admire your courage, but is it something you truly desire? Strength to protect? If so… then receive my mark; my blessing and my protection. Become my mortal if you wish, our fates will be intertwined until the end of time.’
Bearing the mark of the First One, did I finally leave the island to enter the Bakufu. The reason for our presence here was under the order of the Archon, to investigate the situation with the Geo Archon’s death.”
“That is… quite a lot to take in.” You chuckled weakly, mind lost in thought as you tried to process it all. Especially the note of the stars… did she happen to see you and your twin all those years ago?
“We tried at least! Ten thousand years of history is quite hard to summarize.” Aki laughed. “I can always explain in more detail if you’d like, traveler.”
“I am surprised you are still here, given that your search has technically been solved.” Zhongli asked with a raised brow.
“While that is true, we have also found out that much of this was due to the fact that the Fatui have been after the Gnosis’ of the Archons. Since then, we’ve been clearing them out so it would pose less of a threat to Inazuma.” Fuyumi nodded as her hands wrapped around the tea cup, warming her fingers ever so slightly.
“You really had to go out of your way to make my life more difficult…” Aki sighed as she took a sip of her tea, the lingering herbal taste coating her tongue as she set the cup down. “I swear, I will never understand you Archons.”
“There’s no need to be like that.” Zhongli scoffed playfully as he drank from his own cup.
“So how did you get the name, Aki? Did you give it to yourself?” You asked, spoonful of Almond Tofu in your mouth as you tilted your head to the side.
“That was my doing.” Fuyumi laughed quietly. “She didn’t really have a name until I met her, I simply asked if she would like one and she said as long as I came up with it. I thought the name was fitting considering it hails from the traditional language of the area.”
“And your strength, Fuyumi?” Zhongli asked curiously. “Your powers must surpass that of mortals, considering what I heard from Y/N."
Xiao couldn’t help the scoff that escaped his lips, mumbling in discontent before shoveling his own Almond Tofu in his mouth.
Though the battle ended in a tie, you assumed he felt like he lost considering Fuyumi needed to be stopped and not him. Hell, Aki had not attempted to fight him yet she was a god.
You found it quite cute and amusing to see the Yaksha grumble angrily.
“This is where I say, that is my doing.” Aki grinned slyly. “You should know Morax, the process of claiming a mortal and bearing a mark on them… You can also grant them a portion of your powers. With this, she can keep up with me in combat and withstand the strength emitting from me. It wouldn’t do well for her to be overwhelmed by such power and evaporate because of it.”
“W-Wait… you mean… similarly to intimately marking someone?” You asked hesitantly, your face turning red instantly. A pout stretched across your features when you heard Zhongli and Xiao let out a cough and choked laugh.
“In most cases, it is sexual between immortal and mortal.” Aki waved her hand casually before cupping her own cheek, leaning into it with half-lidded eyes. “However our relationship is purely platonic, it’s a means to offer protection and thus is used as such. I have no need to curb sexual desires unless out of boredom. After all, I am just an elemental being that takes on a form of my tastes.”
"Anyway," Zhongli began with another cough, pink tinting his cheeks. "It's good to see you again, will you be staying in Liyue long?"
"As we deem fit." Aki shrugged casually as she lifted the cup to her lips.
"We will more than likely return back to Inazuma to report our findings, once we deem that it is safe to return to Inazuma."
Thank the Archons they knew nothing about your relationship with the harbinger, or whatever you called it… It really only consisted of weekly fights-
Wait, return to Inazuma… you could…?
"Can I come with you when you do?" You asked bluntly before you could reason with yourself to stop.
They stared at you with widened eyes before Aki let out a quiet laugh. Red rose to your cheeks almost instantly again as your heart raced.
"I like you, so obvious and blunt when you want to be." She grinned as she waved her hand playfully. "When we leave, I'll give you the option to join our flight across the seas. Until then, I suggest you ready yourself for that day."
A smile stretched across your face, finally you had a lead into Inazuma.
-
“Do you regret that day? And… do you hate me for it?”
Aki hummed questionably as she rested her cheek in her hand, eyes glazing over the cup of tea before her that has now grown cold. The others had already retired for the evening, leaving the two to their own devices. Silence seemed to be a common interaction between them... The sun was setting over the horizon and painted both of them a warm shade of red and orange, as the breeze caressed through their tinted locks. This was all strikingly familiar.
She couldn’t help but chuckle at the concept, barely able to hold it back as she gave the Archon a smile. “Now why would I hate you?”
“Because I killed you.”
The corners of her lips fell ever so slightly, her index finger of her free hand gently running across the rim of her cup. The playful nature in her features relaxed to be replaced with bittersweet remembrance. A memory she remembered vividly… afterall… Days, months, years… it was a trivial concept to her, they blended and melded into one another that it was hard to tell whether an hour had passed or if it had been years. But the memories in the long stretch of time, those were always there.
“A necessary endeavor.” she commented, no bite in her voice. Closing her eyes she found herself reliving the small moment in time… “In your words, it was merciful.”
Her and the others, the dragons remaining at the time, had left the island to go and protect it. War had not reached their shores but it was close enough to put them on edge. She could remember the sorrowful look of the villagers as they bid them farewell, worry stretched across their features in varying amounts.
Together in tandem they flew across the sea and vanquished the foes that drew too close, they were monstrous in size, simply breathing their elemental energies down on the land would kill their enemies instantly. The war they waged upon the foreign shores lasted for days unending, together they slew gods-to-be-archons and mortals alike that dared raised their weapons against them.
But no battle can last forever.
Eventually they met their demise, with gods weakening them through magic and poison, gaining near-victory over the ancient race. Amidst the corpses of her kin did she lay battered and bloodied, wings clipped and torn, eyes barely with any life as she hung by a thread. She watched… she waited… for them to end her there. But she continued waiting, as death never came for her by their hands. Looking up from the blood-soaked ground did she see a man stand in the ruins of their attackers, elegant and regal as the power of geo resonated from him. Another god, she presumed, in the fight for the throne.
She waited for him to end her, but it never came.
“Who are you?” The man asked.
“The first.” She breathed heavily. “And now, the last.”
The man simply approached her, taking a seat by her muzzle, golden eyes looking out into the distant horizon with a sorrowful sense glazing over. His hand closest to her reached up to press against the tattered scales, thumb brushing at the edges before drifting off to the next. The gesture was surprisingly soothing, as sweet winds graced them and carried the smell of blood and magic away from them.
“And you?” She asked weakly before closing her eyes, relishing in the soft breeze.
“Morax.” He replied simply.
She hummed quietly, feeling herself balancing too far to the edge of sleep. “The mortals must like you a lot, considering your gentle nature.”
“...None as much as those you protect.” He scoffed slightly.
“Ah, so you have heard of us. And here we thought we lived in an outcast world.”
“No god or deity has lived on Teyvat without knowing your kind.”
Comfortable silence fell between them, with only the sounds of her pained grunts and the wind blowing through the trees and ruffling their leaves. Had this been a different time, or perhaps on the island, she would have reveled in the pleasantries. To bask in the warmth of other companions or the mortals that lived with them…
To reflect while on your deathbed was always such a somber experience.
“To leave you like this is not merciful.” He started with furrowed brows, swallowing thickly. “Yet to end you under the guise of mercy, especially that of my origins, is no better.”
She reflected for a moment, opening her eyes slowly to watch the horizon with him. “I do not pity you, it is not an easy decision to make… yet a necessary one.”
“...Please accept my apologies for being merciful.”
“Until we meet in the Celestial Sea, Morax.”
The power of geo had never felt so comforting as it did that day.
Slowly opening her eyes, she saw his eyes observe her form as she had gone silent for several moments. Worry replaced with relief as he turned his attention back to his tea, sipping it graciously before letting out a gentle sigh.
“I thought I lost you there.”
“Somewhat, just a walk down memory lane.” she smiled warmly as she closed her eyes for a brief moment.
“Ah, of course.” He replied without a second thought.
Silence, it was always so comforting between the two… It was warmth, acknowledgement, it did not threaten to suffocate them as it would others. Like a blanket in the days of winter or like a cup of tea as the rain fell around them.
“Morax?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you for being merciful.”