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Xiao would never admit to it, but it was a matter of fact that he had been to the Mondstadt Windblume Festival before. Multiple times.

He would never call himself a regular though. His arrival was always due to exceptional circumstances. And this year, he supposed festival counted as a particularly exceptional turn of the seasons.

The arrival of the mysterious Traveller had brought with them a turbulence Teyvat had never before seen. The demise of Rex Lapis had sent ripples throughout the seven countries, a loss never imagined possible. Far away, in a distant cold land, plans were secretly set in motion, plans that Xiao suspected had been decades in the making. Within a few months, the world had found itself standing at the precipice of change, and no one knew when they were jumping.

In such circumstances, though Aether was the one who physically dragged Xiao to the City of Freedom, the adeptus knew he would have turned up regardless.

He had obligations other than those he owed to Liyue.

Hey! The people of Mondstadt had become more adventurous lately! It seems a lovesick couple took over our usual spot at the tip of the Starsnatch Cliffs this year. What do you say to doing our thing somewhere new for a change? I propose the cliffs south of the Windrise Tree. It's got a pretty view that I think you might enjoy, and it has been a long time since I had set foot there myself, too. I'll find you under the tree at midday of the Windblume Festival, then we can head up together! Don't leave before I get there!

He looked at the letter held in his glove-clad hands, golden eyes narrowing at the scrawled cursives spelling out new instructions for this year. He let out a soft sigh at the whimsicalness of it all. It would not be the first time that mortals had interrupted their "ritual", but the humans were always easy to chase away. One glare from the Yaksha would usually be enough to do the job.

Frankly, Xiao admitted he did consider throwing the letter away, then head up to Starsnatch Cliffs to clear the location himself. However, after the third time a gust of wind blew the discarded letter back into his face, the golden-eyed adeptus sighed and resigned himself to his fate, climbing up to and lying down on the lower branches of the giant oak tree. The talismans he wore at his belt jingled in the breeze, an out-of-beat click-clack discordant in these green fields, the only signal to his presence for any mortals who might be wandering near.

He was about to doze off under the warm afternoon sun when a green-clad figure was finally running across the rolling hills towards him.

"Xiao!! Long time no see! Sorry I'm running a bit late! I got roped into working as a poetry teacher with Aether, would you believe it? Come on. Let's get going. I can tell you all about it on the way."

"It has been a while, Archon Barbatos." Xiao sat up, jumping effortlessly from the branch to land on his feet before the foreign Archon. He gave the deity a small nod. "Please save your energy. With all due respect, I would soon know of your activities anyways via-"

"But it's more fun this way." The bard only laughed and winked in reply. "Maybe you can even consider this… an appetiser."

The seven nations suffered still from the unseen miasma of the dead Archons. They all did. Xiao could still taste the bitter tang of it, centuries after the War's end. It was not the first time he had wondered if a role like his existed elsewhere, especially in a land as 'godless' as carefree Mondstadt. The thought made him spare a glance at the merry bard skipping next to him, up the verdant path and into the hills.

He still remembered how that one time, at the banquet of Rex Lapis, Barbatos had frozen, mid-sentence, his arm still lifting a bottle of wine. The joyous smile was plastered unmoving on his cherubic face, his eyes empty, his mouth painfully stretched. It was as if his entire body had temporarily been placed out of the flow of time, a shapeless wind suddenly imprisoned in stone.

Rex Lapis and the other Archons had leapt up and tried to help, but none of them knew what was going on. A full minute must have passed before the Anemo Archon blinked and seemed able to control his body again. He had dismissed everyone's concerns, saying that this was his way of dealing with the miasma in Mondstadt, and it was only a minor convenience in the grand scale of things.

Xiao wondered whether that was true, and if Barbatos suddenly freezes while gliding, whether there would be anyone to catch his fall.

After that banquet, it became clear to Morax, Mondstadt's cloest neighbour, that the Anemo Archon slept for incomprehensible amounts of time.

The power of the Archons depended on how directly their kingship was felt. Younger Archons such as those of Electro or Cryo often preferred ruling directly, showing their faces to the masses, rapidly gaining worship as god-kings of a country. Rex Lapis, being the oldest, favoured a more subtle approach due to already having millennia of worship accumulated. Barbatos of Mondstadt was an outlier. Yes, there was a Church of Barbatos, but the god had hardly ever made himself known. For the average Mondstadt resident, and even for the Knights of Favonius or the clergy, Barbatos might as well not exist. The god had left the city to rule itself, fitting for the nation meant to symbolise freedom.

"How's Grandpa Morax doing these days?"

Venti's cheerful voice sounded next to him. Xiao looked sideways at the god in a young boy’s guise.

"He's doing well. Like us, he travels occasionally with Aether and Paimon."

"Ahh, yes. Now you mentioned it, I had glimpsed him out west around the Old Mondstadt ruins."

Xiao figured Venti would have seen through the "Zhongli" cover immediately. Even without the Archons' abilities to sense other powerful inhuman beings, "Zhongli" was not being subtle. Besides, Xiao suspected the two Archons were still in communication with each other, given the events that had occurred these past months.

"That is true. Aether had been taking many excursions throughout Liyue and Mondstadt."

"Mmm, and what about you, O Guardian Yaksha?" The Anemo Archon grinned, their similar height making it hard to avoid the sight of the mischievous smile. "How goes your watch along the path that links our two countries?"

"The Wangshu Inn is quiet even in this turbulent year." Xiao answered simply. “All is well.”

"And the ones whose duty is to cover your operations for this generation? How are they doing?" Teal eyes locked onto his golden ones.

"They are well cared-for and send their regards." Xiao replied truthfully.

"It's all owing to you that the land passage out of Mondstadt remains safe throughout the ages. My country's economy owes a great debt to you." Venti whistled and looked up, putting his hands behind his head, gracing Xiao with the chance to break eye contact with the foreign deity. "Pity the current Master of the Dawn Winery thinks so little me, otherwise I'd get him to send you a crate of the best stock every year. Verr Goldet may not be from Mondstadt, but I know for a fact she likes wine as much as anyone born here. She would have liked it as payment for looking after the Inn in her lifetime."

Xiao gave the Anemo Archon a look and decided not to comment. Even here, in rural Mondstadt, he preferred not talking about his role in the history of Wangshu Inn. Just like he knew the Archon of Mondstadt never liked to discuss these episodes he used to have, moments when his body was completely out of his control.

The second time Xiao saw Barbatos freeze was forty years after the first incident. As Liyue provided the main export route for Mondstadt's famous wine, Rex Lapis and Barbatos used to meet to discuss such matters in the absence of other Archons. The incident was more unpredicted this time. Barbatos, ever the flighty one, was skipping down the mountain slope of Jueyun Karst, with the Geo Archon sauntering a few steps behind. Then, in the blink of an eye, Barbatos was tumbling down the mountainside, his limbs stiff and body non-responsive as gravity took its toll on his divine form.

Xiao had instantly leapt to save the Geo Archon's honourable guest, barely managing to catch Barbatos before the unfortunate god plummeted to his… death? Xiao didn't quite have time to think whether Archons could even be killed by falls. He only reacted instinctively. And as he already had an encounter with the Anemo Archon in Dihua Marsh, it somehow felt fitting.

It was soon clear that something serious was going on. Barbatos’s long naps, which Xiao had frowned upon as a sign of laziness and irresponsibility, was something far different.

While Xiao killed and ate the nightmares of the land, Barbatos soaked himself in it and slept.

After seeking permission from Rex Lapis, Xiao made a contract with the weakest Archon of Teyvat.

Mondstadt was by far the most powerless nation out of the seven. Its soil was not fertile, its original climate brutal and harsh. Even Archons did not wish to fight over such a petty piece of territory. There were few immortals native to the land, no guardians or adepti to keep watch and shoulder its burden. The people were short in their memory, no dutiful statesmen holding on to the knowledge of ancient times. From this weak land bred a weak Archon. And as a consequence, the duty of preserving the land from the corruption of past divines fell solely on Barbatos.

Xiao's position in Wangshu Inn allowed him to hear words of Mondstadt's current affairs. Given Barbatos's temperament, the deity was guaranteed to visit town for Windblume Festival whenever he woke up. Xiao made an arrangement to help him at the first Windblume after every nap. Should the Anemo Archon have just missed the Windblume, the current proprietors of the Wangshu Inn will know to pay particular attention to Barbatos's condition for the entire year, alerting Xiao if necessary.

At every one of these Windblume Festivals, Xiao would ingest the fermented nightmares of the Anemo Archon, assisting with processing the residual agony left behind on every inch of Teyvat over its long years.

The Anemo Archon had not had an episode since.

Zhongli has a friend named Alice from Mondstadt. Xiao remembered the Geo Archon talking about the wonders that woman had excitedly shared with him, things that even the oldest Archon did not know.

Alice had compared Xiao to something called 'Dreamcatcher', a device that existed in other worlds as a warding talisman. Apparently, these devices would protect a sleeper from bad dreams and evil spirits, ensuring the person's soul and dreams remain untainted by malevolent influences. The strange woman from Mondstadt had enthusiastically equated Xiao's role with the said device. Xiao only scoffed.

He wasn't a dreamcatcher at all. He could and did eat all dreams, good and bad. He didn't discriminate only towards the nightmares. And he wasn’t protecting Liyue from invading malevolent enemies. The lingering hatred of the dead Archons were as much a part of Liyue as Xiao was. So, he considered himself different. He served out of duty and admiration for Rex Lapis and for the nation called Liyue, not because he was some feather twirled into patterns for the protection of one individual.

He was acutely aware that he actively chased down and consumed Venti's bad dreams, though.

Venti's dreams were terrifying. Xiao had never eaten an Archon's dream before - he would not dare to even entertain the thought for Rex Lapis. He was therefore woefully under-prepared.

A black dragon screeching over the Mondstadt cityscape, its body wriggling with obsidian ink, its burning gaze sending hot needles of pain straight down Xiao's spine. Horrid beasts pouring out from a fallen kingdom, human bodies twisted beyond recognition, their flesh being charred alive by divine fire as screams pierced Xiao's eardrums. Endless whispered threats from a presence sitting atop a dark tower, always looming on the very edges of sight, its murderous intent morphed into a heavy weight pressing down on Xiao's chest. Venti's dreams were chaotic, confusing, formless and all-permeating. It was the gurgling memories of thousands of years of rebellion compressed into one petal of windwheel aster, its expanse and density making Xiao emerge from the experience gasping for air.

Was this what it meant to be responsible for an entire nation's ancient grudges? Liyue's dead Archons were violent, but it was a type of terror that Xiao could comprehend and fight back. He knew how to defeat such evil through sheer strength of arms, how to run his spear through a screeching entity and cast it back into the darkness. But he didn't know how to drive back the ghosts that haunted Venti's dreams. They were too intangible and shapeless, and he hastily closed his teeth over them, not daring to consciously process them for longer than necessary.

What would it do to him, if he were to dream nothing but dead horrors for centuries at a time?

He was Venti's willing dreamcatcher.

Venti lied down on the ground with little fanfare once they reached their destination. Soon, those teal eyes were closed, and the Archon was sinking into sleep. Venti’s hands were closed over his abdomen. His brow was creased, his head tossing and turning as he drifted amidst trouble dreams, hair a tousled mess about his childish face. Xiao knew a thing or two about why Venti chose to look like this. He would not ever disclose the reason to others, though.

The adeptus lifted his hand and held it above Venti's forehead, watching as wisps of dark grey snaked out of Venti's face, coalescing into a hazy ball of shapeless miasma, the kind that Aether always used his Anemo powers to dispel. How ironic. If only Aether knew this was inside the Anemo Archon all this time.

Xiao reached his hand into the miasma and grasped the soft, slithering core of this nightmare. The grey shimmered and shook. Xiao grasped the thing in his hand harder.

Liyue's defeated gods were usually reptilian. Dragons, lizards, serpents. In comparison, Mondstadt's Archons were airier or took the guise of woodland creatures. But form wasn't what mattered. In Xiao’s eyes, all the Archons were the same. They were extremes. Abstracts. Rex Lapis, for example, was absolute in his adherence to contracts. Whether good of evil, Archons only offered extreme emotions. Even kind Archons, like Havria, harboured a kindness where she would literally cut away her own flesh to feed her people - a kind of pure, absolute, inhuman emotion that will never be replicated by most people.

That was why Xiao finds human dreams bland, and their food too.

But… what would absolute freedom taste like?

Liyue still contained traces of Rex Lapis's wars everywhere. It would be hard to cross a mountain or traverse a valley without seeing some statue of lost gods or touch terrain shaped by Morax's very hands. Liyue’s people were bound, both by contract and tradition, to remember. Mondstadt was different. Barbatos had completely reshaped the land. The countryside was now green and full of life, the icy memories of the old Wars long overgrown by fragrant wine grapes. Even the Knights only knew of their land's history like a distant, unreal fairy tale. Its people were free to forget, free to move on. Whenever Xiao or Ganyu reminisced about the Archon Wars, the humans around them respected the sentiment and understood them. But for the God of Mondstadt…

Venti might be the only one who still remembered the parts the Anemo Archon had played throughout Mondstadt’s conflicts.

No. Xiao silently corrected himself. He, Venti's dreamcatcher, remembered them too.

Xiao yanked his arm back from the font of miasma. A grey ball of soft jelly laid in his hand, no bigger than the beads he wore around his neck. He took it up to his mouth and bit down.

It tasted like the vast emptiness of despair, and had the chipped texture of broken screams.

In this dream, he once again saw a dragon.

This was not the same black dragon he had glimpsed before. This one was teal blue in colour. Xiao had seen enough of Mondstadt's history to know its name. Dvalin, a dragon that could have claimed the seat of the Anemo Archon itself. A wave of warm familiarity swept over Xiao as Venti recognised the familiar creature. In these dreams, Xiao saw what Venti saw, felt what Venti felt, and he felt the second-hand relief from the Archon as Venti turned and slowly took in his surroundings.

Soft tendrils of numbing grey caressed the edges of his field of vision, a tell-tale sign that they were in a nebulous, subjective dreamscape. They were at the Old Mondstadt ruins, a place that Xiao had come to know quite well over the years. The world was infused with a shade of teal, the sky and the ground hardly distinguishable from each other in a swirl of green and blue. The dragon’s form loomed over the broken dome of the old ruins, its blue eyes and its verdant scales shimmering bright. Venti smiled and opened his arms, his tone jovial as he greeted his friend.

“Dvalin! What a pleasure to see you again. This may be a miasma dream from dead Archons, but it is always a relief to see a familiar and friendly face. We have always been on good terms, haven’t we? Are you here to help me through the dream?”

The Anemo Archon grinned wide and took a step towards the dragon, yet the only answer the dragon gave was an angry growl.

Barbatos, you betrayed your promise to Mondstadt.

“Dvalin! I would never do that!” Venti’s tone was still light and teasing. He appeared to be comfortable here, probably because the dream would most likely be another recollection of his days in Old Mondstadt, when he fought the previous Anemo Archon Decarabian and dethroned the other immortal. Maybe this was Venti’s style of coping. Or maybe he was relaxed because Dvalin would never harm him, in reality or in dreams.

The dragon slowly roused itself and sat up, its massive eyes slipping closed as it gave out a long-suffering, disappointed sigh. A low and rumbling voice, reminding Xiao of how Rex Lapis sounded in dragon form, came out of the giant beast.

You promised to bring peace on Mondstadt, to give its people freedom from strife. And yet, you will now break that peace.

“What? Dvalin, what are you talking about?” Venti blinked, before grinning carelessly again. “I have done no such thing in the past! Neither you nor the cause of this dream, which I assume to be Decarabian, have any evidence for such a claim.” The Anemo Archon then looked around. “Speaking of Decarabian, where is he hiding in this dreamscape? Or is this one of his twisted trials I have to get through before I get to see his face?”

Barbatos, do not speak to me. You are unworthy.

“… Dvalin?” Venti tilted his head. “Even for an enemy in a dream, you’re awfully touchy. What’s the matter?”

You are no longer fit to protect Mondstadt. With my new power, I can do better.

“New powers? I’m afraid I don’t understand –”

Tendrils of vivid purple, interlaced with pitch-black, crept up the dragon's luminescent body and coalesced onto the horn on the dragon's head. When the dragon looked up again, its eyes were a shade of furious red, its body dripping with wriggling black ink.

“… so, you are showing me visions of Durin’s taint, aren’t you?” Venti muttered in a low voice. “This is more like the dreams I remember.”

With a swing of its giant wings, the Dvalin of this dream roared and sent out a massive gust of wind. Venti stood his ground, bracing against the onslaught. The rushing wind cut into the skin of his face and stung his eyes, sending his air whipping around him. The Anemo Archon only huffed out a dismissive laugh.

“Nice try. I’m not going anywhere unless the core of this dream shows up, though.”

With this, Venti looked up, staring challengingly at the mirage of a dragon directly in its eye. The shape of the beast was completely covered in dark purple now. It struggled and climbed out of the broken dome of the ruin, taking into the sky and swooping down upon Venti.

The Anemo Archon only chuckled as a pair of azure gliders appeared behind him and he took to air, expertly avoiding the corrupted dragon’s attack. Unsuccessful, the dragon roared again and circled the ruins, letting out periodic screams that Venti shook his head at.

“Try harder, dead Archon! This won’t be enough to disturb me.”

"Barbatos."

Looking down at the ground, Venti spotted someone else Xiao had recognised from the Anemo Archon’s memories. It was a tall, imposing young woman with flaming red hair. Vennessa the gladiator, a hero in Mondstadt's history books. The slave who, with Barbatos's help, overthrew the corrupt rule of the nobles and restored Mondstadt's freedom. It would not be a stretch to call her, a Muratan by birth, Mondstadt’s national hero.

“Well well, the whole gang is here.” Venti tipped his hat jokingly towards the ground. “What might Vennessa be doing in a dream from Old Mondstadt?”

There was the sound of something sharp flying through the air, so fast that even Venti did not manage to see it. Xiao heard chains cluttering against each other at the same time that he felt a heavy weight dragging on Venti’s left leg, and the god lost his balance and plummeted to the ground. He barely managed to land on his feet and looked questioningly at Vennessa, who was holding a ball-and-chain in her hand, one end of which was wrapped around Venti’s left calf.

“Barbatos!” Vennessa’s voice was desperate and sad, and there were tears streaking down her handsome features. “Why did you betray me?"

The flippant smile disappeared from Venti’s face as he quickly ran up to Vennessa, ignoring the weight dragging his leg. “Vennessa! What’s wrong? What is happening –”

"Why did you send me to that wretched place?" The gladiator that Xiao remembered to be so strong and stoic was weeping, heaving small hiccups as she look down at Venti. With a clank, she dropped the chains and they disappeared in a flurry of red sparks. "You hated Celestia, so why did you agree to have me go up there!?"

Venti hesitated, his actions temporarily paused as he looked at Vennessa from head to toe. “I’m so sorry, Vennessa… that was not my intention.” Walking closer, he offered a hand towards the woman. “It was what we had to do. It was for the good of Mondstadt… for the good of your people…"

"You say that, but I know what you did." Vennessa sobbed and fell to her knees, bringing her hands to her eyes as she openly cried. "You are going to undo all the work we accomplished. You are going to… bring war to our land. You made my sacrifices pointless!"

Venti shook his head and put on a timid, uncertain smile. “Don’t say that. Mondstadt had centuries of prosperity because of you. We didn’t do anything wrong…”

Vennessa only sobbed harder as she took in shuddering breaths, her body hiccupping with how hard she was crying. Venti walked right up to her and embraced her with his petite arms, running his hand through her hair soothingly, whispering reassurances. Vennessa was a turning point for the country’s history. She must have occupied a special place in its Archon’s memories. Xiao frowned. He felt the slivers of guilt that floated towards him from Venti’s soul.

You have failed Mondstadt at the end, Barbatos.

"… Decarabian. Shut up."

Venti muttered in a grim, cold voice, as the form of Vennessa in his arms disappeared into thin air, scattered into the wind. A torrent of air currents rose from below Venti’s feet and bore him back up to a platform high in the ruins, where he could look directly into the centre of the broken dome. Right there, twisting and twirling within the dome, was a cerulean orb of wind that cackled upon seeing Venti.

Ha! Why should I?The sphere of wind made a mocking sound. I've watched how Mondstadt had changed since you came to power. You tried to make this land prosperous. You changed the blizzard and snow this country was famous for. You even spent centuries sleeping away my vengeance, chipping away at me piece by piece. And yet you're inviting trouble yourself now. How ironic.

“You and I have a grudge, but making Vennessa accuse me was a low blow. You have never even met her.” Venti’s tone was low and dangerous. “You have no right to comment on myMondstadt and mypeople.”

No no, I insist.The ball of wind positively giggled. It's so good to know that you will be the one undoing your own hard work. How much power did you spend, reshaping the climate of this country? You detested the way I ruled, but now you know I did it to cloister us away from the other Seven. You know, it's not too late to admit that you did wrong. If you want to go back to how Mondstadt used to be -

"… Just as I thought, you are the reason for these visions.” Venti’s laugh this time was sharp and dismissive. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. The vengeful miasma of Decarabian… I will purge you, as I did countless times already."

Venti raised his hand. His white and green garb was breaking apart, and pieces of fabric flew off into the wind. A pure white light encircled his body, eating away at his hat, short jacket, and stockings. His torso became covered by a chest piece of white fabric, with a metallic circle in the middle. Giant, feathery white wings levitated behind his slim figure, the ribbon tied to the wings fluttering in the wind. Asymmetrical tights wrapped around his legs and his feet were bare, as if he were a newborn child, unknown to the dangers of the world.

This was the divine attire of the Anemo Archon he wore when he ascended his throne, the appearance he took when he overthrew the corrupted nobles. A glowing azure bow appeared in Venti's hand with an arrow already notched. The God of Wind moved to draw back his right arm, to cast his power into the heart of the vengeful nightmare, only to have a slender hand sneak out and clasp his wrist, holding him in an iron grip.

A boy looking identical to Venti was standing in front of him.

The divine arms stretching the bow hesitated and froze. Dumbfounded, Venti stared at the figure, at the form and dream he had been wearing for two thousand years.

"You know what is coming for us." When the boy spoke, it was with the same voice as Venti. "Your actions will draw the wrath of the World and destroy Mondstadt."

"No. No. No no no." Appearing truly confused for the first time in this dream, Venti shook his head frantically, all his eloquence having temporarily left him. "Damn Decarabian… Not you too –!"

"You saw what happened to the godless kingdoms. You helped destroy them." The boy continued. "Stop. Repent. You are weak and cannot withstand the onslaught of Heaven. Confess the perpetrators' plans to Celestia."

"It's not the same. It's not the same this time…" Venti grabbed the boy's wrist in return. The divine bow dropped to the ground with a clang. "Why are you saying this? You would never say this. You are nothim… you are another mirage conjured by Deca-"

With a lunge, the boy wrapped his fingers around Venti's slender neck and squeezed.

Traitor.

The word echoed through Venti’s skull as the fingers on his throat applied relentless force. The small bones of Venti’s neck cracked ominously. The Archon gasped as the other boy lifted him up by the neck with inhuman strength, the fingers digging hard into his skin. The images of the Old Mondstadt ruins around them crumbled, pieces of rock and mortar breaking off and tumbling into the ground. A black, oily goo was seeping over the green grass, slowly turning the grounds below into a pool of endless darkness.

Venti’s legs kicked in vain as his nail scrabbled against those hands holding him up. The visage of the young bard who gave his face to the Anemo Archon was crumbling with the scenery too. Flakes of skin fell off his face, revealing a darkness where there should be flesh and bone. Hair, brows, teeth, brow – like the layers of paint over a statue, the colours peeled off the being’s form, until there was just a humanoid emptiness standing there, holding Venti up with unmoving arms.

Are the rumours true? Have you betrayed our trust?

The humanoid darkness expanded out. Borders formed around it in the shape of a door. Hinges, knobs, two panels of pearly white gates emerged around the shadows holding Venti. The darkness swirled and twisted, its expanse becoming littered with glowing stars, pulsing and sentient. For every second that Xiao watched, new stars sprang into life and old ones combusted into its end. Tendrils stretched out from the open door, wrapping themselves around Venti’s neck, as the pulsating darkness beyond the door seethed with a very human sound.

Answer us, Barbatos, or do you want that silver tongue of yours cut off?

The island of Celestia was before him, spreading out to both sides of his field of view. Snow-capped mountain ranges, trees that spread their boughs into the sky, flocks of birds – all those were behind a tall, impenetrable white wall. More black arms reached out, holding Venti’s limbs in place, tilting his head back to reveal his neck, sinking into his collar to sneak down to the skin over his chest where the Gnosis lies. The arms were slimy, cold, wet, and slithering. Venti shivered under its touch, and the darkness cackled in joy.

Goosebumps emerged all over Xiao’s metaphysical skin, Spasms of electricity ran down his spine and he felt naked under the eyeless gaze of the island of paradise. Venti’s arms struggled fruitlessly as he was held and kept exposed under divine scrutiny. The Anemo Archon was only able to croak out a few words.

“How… did you know?”

Heaven’s entrance only cackled again, dry and repetitive, and Venti suddenly struggled harder.

“No, no… you cannot have known…This is just a dream. Decarabian’s miasma… this is all his dream!”

A desperate, mad laugh tore out from Venti's throat. Xiao watched, frozen, as the Anemo Archon reached up, and with surprising strength yanked the black arms off his limbs and flung them far away.

"This is enough, Decarabian! You cannot have known of my plans, nor have you seen what lies inside Celestia. This dream makes no sense! Begone!”

There was one last scenery when the images of Old Mondstadt faded.

The world was covered in the darkness of night. There was a horizon, a gibbous moon overhead that outshone the stars blinking in the sky. The Anemo Archon was still dressed in his divine garb, the flimsy white piece barely covering the essentials of his material body. He lurched forward, stumbling to sit on a rock that emerged out of the shallow water that surrounded them. The water lapping against Venti’s ankles ran black and red, droplets clinging to the Archon’s pale white clothes and skin. The reeds around them were felled by something sharp, stalks and leaves lying haphazardly all around. There was something crouching in the water a short distance away, something whose movements created ripples that only added to the dark vermillion already staining the marsh.

Xiao blinked. This was no other than Dihua Marsh. Xiao would have recognised it anywhere. On the horizon, the massive tree that supported Wangshu Inn loomed over the shallows all around it, the crown of the inn large and ominous under the moonlight.

And that thing crouched in the water, amongst the flax –

Venti puffed out a weak laugh and thatthing, that person, lifted its head. The Archon had drawn its attention. There was a streak of green and it was immediately in front of him, standing right before Venti, the tip of its jade spear glittering in the darkness.

Xiao mutely faced his own feral, golden eyes, staring back from an impassive face smeared with black blood.

“Vigilant Yaksha…” Venti breathed, still sounding amused. “You cannot have been something conjured by Decarabian’s shadow. He had never met you. So… what are you doing in this miasma dream?”

“Barbatos.” The cold voice of the bloodstained Yaksha replied. The tattoo on his right arm was glowing emerald green. “You are the one who is dreaming.”

Venti paused. The waters darkened by another shade and a putrid stench wafted out of the marsh.

“But the miasma… the taint…”

“Barbatos, are your fears taking over?”

The water lapped at the Archon’s feet. Where possible, they became even darker after leaving the Archon’s snow-white skin.

“What… what are you?” Venti’s voice was quiet, infused with a remarkable calm.

“I am something created by you.” The construct wearing Xiao’s face answered. “I am the guardian of your own dreams, the catcher of your own miasma. Barbatos, your fear and terror at the possibility of your plans failing is consuming what little energy you have left. Without your Gnosis, you are losing control.”

The waters around Venti’s feet frothed, the bubbles tinged an inky shade of green, like foul mould taking over the murky waters of a stale pond. The Archon gave a shaky laugh.

“That makes too much sense… This entire dream, all the ones who came after Decarabian’s time… he would not have known any of this. The only thing his dead essence could do was make me re-live our struggles… Also, the real Vigilant Yaksha will see you, wouldn’t he? Heh, I wonder what he will think. Will he laugh at me for creating a mirage of him in my dreams? Or would he simply huff and call you boring?”

Xiao felt awkward at being addressed as a third person, but he was neither laughing nor calling anything boring.

“We need to give the real Xiao a warning.” The Yaksha in the dream continued. "Celestia has a need for humans, and yet It cares little for them. It would bear even less love for immortal races It has no use for. Morax will try to use the loops in his contract to get the residents of Liyue out of divine reckoning, but Xiao walks too close to us. He needs to disengage.”

“I fully understand.” Venti only gave a wild grin. “But first, you need to do something about this.”

Wisps of darkness was coming out of Venti’s chest, tufts of black smoking rising from the metallic circle on his chest piece. It was the same thing that Xiao had seen rising from the remnant of dead Archons - tendrils of dark smoke, the condensed fear and guilt and anger of past Archons, represented in physical form. But Venti …?

"You need to get me out of this." Venti was saying. "Come on. That's what you are here for, isn't it? To buy me as much time as possible. To catch my bad dreams."

Xiao felt his heart skip a beat as the Yaksha in Venti's dreams nodded and took a battle stance, his jade spear held ready and pointed straight towards Venti's chest.

"As you command, Barbatos."

The Yaksha's mirage lunged. Xiao anticipated the piercing pain, expected to feel his skin and muscles being ripped open. But instead, the world around him went dark.

… Xiao jerked awake, gasping for breath as sunlight burnt his eyes. He was back on the green hills of Mondstadt, back into a reality where humans happily frolicked and flowers bloomed every year. Xiao looked around frantically, scrambling to grasp his spear, to ground himself back into this plane.

Venti was twisting on the ground before him. The god's eyes were still closed as his body positively writhed in his nightmare, his chest heaving as he took in uneven, shuddering breathes.

Black curls of smoke were rising from Venti's hands. His fingertips have already dissolved into dark mist, as if he were going to fade out of existence.

Archons never die, but they were reduced to shapeless thoughts at the end. They needed power in the form of human worship to sustain their physical appearance. The Gnosis granted to each of the Seven also acts as a potent power source, allowing each of the Seven to persist on the mortal plane even with no worship. However, without his Gnosis, and without having ruled Mondstadt for a thousand years, Barbatos was too weak.

Xiao leapt forward instinctively, just like how he did so many years ago at Jueyun Karst. He clasped Venti's hands tight, directing the dark smoke into himself, willing his adeptus body to process the negative taint rising out of a still living Archon.

He felt Venti's fingers solidifying into shape once more in his hand. Releasing a breath he didn't realise he was holding, Xiao sat back with a relieved sigh. The sun was still shining above the horizon, the trees rustled in the gentle breeze, and birds chirped high above ground. This was rural Mondstadt, the same as it has been for the past thousand years.

All around them, the World of Man still stood.

The two of them sat together in a secluded alcove afterwards, a small clearing protected from the elements by a rocky overhung overlooking the sea. Venti had whipped out some wine and offered it to Xiao, and the Yaksha waved it away as always. The Anemo Archon looked at him, an enigmatic smile on his face, but did not press further.

Xiao could feel both of them wanting to talk about what they saw in that dream, but neither were comfortable starting the conversation.

In the end, it was Xiao who opened his mouth with feigned disinterest.

"So, you really gave away your Gnosis to that woman Harbinger?"

Venti gave a clear, short laugh. "Yes, I did. Just like Gramps Zhongli did, no?"

So many people forget Venti was the second oldest of the Archons. His form was deceitfully naive, and his mannerism even more so. He looked at Xiao, teal eyes unblinking. Of course he, the governor of all the winds, knew about the deal between Rex Lapis and the Tsaritsa.

"That is true. However… while it was a shock to learn of my lord Rex Lapis's actions, his Gnosis was not irreplaceable to him or Liyue." Xiao replied in a low voice, trying to convey his confusion. Xiao had seen the forms of the Archons' Gnoses many centuries ago during a meeting held in Liyue. Despite the immense respect he held for Rex Lapis, he had seen the form of Venti's Gnosis, and had understood its significance.

"Rex Lapis's Gnosis was the Rook Piece that mankind built a country around. It was powerful, but his Lordship had accumulated enough worship to remain one of the strongest beings in this world on his own. And now, Liyue and the adepti had proven we too could survive without the Gnosis's power. The King Piece, on the other hand… can Mondstadt and you manage without it?"

"Ahh yes. The King Piece. The weakest, least useful, yet most important piece. The one you were never meant to lose and must protect at all costs…" Venti laughed carelessly and sat up, stretching lazily.

"This isn't a laughing matter, Lord Barbatos." Xiao frowned.

"And I'm not laughing because I think it's trivial." Venti was still smiling as he tilted his face, indicating towards where he was facing with his chin. "Why do you think I agreed to give it away, hmm?"

Xiao followed his gaze. Their current perch faced south. Far away, but never out of sight, laid the Dragonspine Mountain, the highest point of Mondstadt, a stark reminder of how this land was before Barbatos's ascension to its throne. A citizen of Mondstadt would think that perhaps Venti was reminiscing of the old and cruel days, when the land was so inhospitable.

But Xiao begged to differ. He had heard the tales from Aether, of the frozen and buried palace in the heart of the mountain, of the scattered heads of Ruin Guards muttering a broken code, of the shattered nail staked through a civilisation's last hope. And above it all, barely glimpsed at the very tip if the mountain, that ever-present shadow upon the entire world -

Of course, Venti's eyes moved up and gazed at the needle that Aether had pulled out of the mountain, and Xiao knew he was right.

On that tallest peak of Mondstadt, one could still glimpse the floating realm of gods overlooking Teyvat. It was the closest one could get to Celestia.

"Maybe us Mondstadt folks can give you a tour of the Dragonspine mountain when you have some time."

"I'll pass. A native of Liyue isn't made for such cold temperatures. I have heard from Xingqiu and the brat Harbinger that even the power of their Hydro Visions froze over on that peak."

"Mm, a wise decision, I suppose."

When Xiao brough his eyes back to focus on Venti, the Anemo Archon was gazing at him with a scorching intensity, one that made Xiao pause.

"You know, Xiao, a part me was being pretty serious in the dream. You shouldn't associate with me too much. If you want, I can even temporarily take away your Vision to show Celestia we are not on good terms -"

Xiao's right hand flew to the Vision he wore on his left wrist, pressing it into his skin possessively as he growled. "No."

Venti sighed and gave him a look. For once, Barbatos's expression was befitting of his age, as his eyes and ends out his mouth tilted down in apparent disappointment.

"Why have you insisted on helping me for all these years, Xiao?"

Xiao had pondered that himself. The assistance given to the Anemo Archon wasn't out of duty, contract, or obligation. It wasn't to appease the evil that sleeps in Xiao's homeland, nor to redeem the sins of the Yaksha. It wasn't out of gratitude for a new name, and it wasn't due to a sense of purpose.

It was the same kind of similarity that instinctively drew him, ever since he saw the Anemo Archon lose control at that banquet, so many years ago.

"I don't know. You simply feel familiar." Xiao mumbled, not meeting Venti's face.

There was a soft huff from the Archon, still tinged with amusement.

"I'll ask a different question then. What do you think an Anemo Vision means, Xiao?"

Xiao bit the inside of his cheek, his mind racing. What does the Anemo vision mean… a multitude of thoughts flitted past his mind. Freedom? Liberation? But these words did not apply to himself.

"I cannot tell." He answered stubbornly. "Adepti are born with the ability to manipulate elements. We do not understand what warrants a Vision to be granted to a human."

"You say that, but adepti don't just get elements willy-nilly either." Venti sighed dramatically and answered his own question.

"It means to seek for the world the ideal freedom that you envision, even if you can never obtain it yourself."

Xiao thought back to the other Anemo users who had travelled with in Aether's company. He thought of Sucrose, seeking an impossible utopia for the world, and of Jean, seeking a perfect and heavenly Mondstadt.

And him… did he endure the karma of Liyue because of duty? Of obligation?

Xiao recalled the happy, laughing children who sent off lanterns and prayed fervently to the sky in Liyue every year, and he wondered.

He looked back at the Archon, who was dusting off pieces of grass that clung to his leggings and standing up, stretching his arms as if nothing had happened.

"… what do you seek then, Archon Barbatos?"

The Anemo Archon gave another one of his soft smiles, as if indulging in a bygone memory, and turned to Xiao.

"As for me, I seek freedom for every piece on the chess board called Teyvat."

What would that cost Venti? What would that mean for Venti at the end?

"You don't have to join this mad gamble, Xiao. You can still back out. You don't need to defend me against bad dreams anymore. They will only get worse, not better."

Xiao stood up as well. Venti was still talking.

"Vennessa and Dvalin would tell me this is a crazy daydream, but I still want to achieve it. I have my own reasons and my own plans. I will see it done. You have no need to worry about the fate of Mondstadt."

“But what about yourfate?”

Venti blinked. Xiao was standing next to him now, his golden gaze drilling into the Archon’s teal eyes.

“Well…” a bitter grimace briefly appeared on Venti’s face, “you already have an idea, don’t you?”

Xiao didn’t know how to answer.

“Leave me now.” Venti shook his head. “You saw how my past allies called me a traitor and accused me of discarding them. Justifiably, too. I don’t want that to happen to you.”

“You did not discard me at Dihua Marsh.” Xiao blurted out. “You had no obligation to save me two thousand years ago, but you did.”

Perhaps it was fuelled by the last scenery Xiao saw in the dream, of the bloodied Yaksha who once fought alone in Dihua Marsh and was sure he was going to die. Perhaps it was because that dream awoke an ancient memory that Xiao had thought forgotten, reminded of him of the loneliness he had felt as he laid in a puddle of blood, and the relief he experienced when the sound of the flute flooded over his soul. He knew what he was fighting for – he was fighting for a Liyue without the taint of the dead Archons, even though all he wanted for himself was to repose and dance amidst a field of blooming flowers. He would keep fighting for that dream even if the humans of Liyue shunned him and feared his appearance, even if he had to shut himself away from the rest of society, or put on a perpetual mask to hide his true heart.

All of that, he suspected, also applied to Venti.

“But you owe me nothing.” Venti was still trying. “You are not obligated. Look, I’m not even your god - ”

“I understand. But we are doing the same thing for our respective countries, and you have come too far for you to die,” Xiao interjected, and then added, almost as an afterthought. “… even if you had no plans to survive.”

Venti blinked at him, then burst out laughing, shaking his head as he did so. Xiao stood his ground and looked at the boyish figure before him, his face remaining passive. Was Venti truly laughing at him due to his naivete? It was so hard to tell what Venti was truly thinking of beneath that forever smiling face. Sometimes, Xiao was sure the only way to understand what Venti really felt was through his tortured dreams.

Though his dreams were dark and cryptic, Xiao felt it was the only window into Venti’s heart.

“Perhaps you are right. There is a certain level of familiarity and understanding between us.” Venti finally ceased laughing. He heaved a deep breath and sighed, an indulgent smile on his lips. “I saw you in the Marsh, covered in blood and vengeance, trying your hardest to fight back a miasma that wasn’t yours to deal with. You were so different to the other Liyue adepti I knew. Not self-possessed like those of Hydro, not conflicted like those of Cryo, and definitely not steadfast like those of Geo. I had wondered… I wondered if you were fighting in the same way as I was. That was why I decided to save you. Just like you said, even if you happen to have no care for your own wellbeing, it would make me feel terribly guilty if you died before you saw the freedom you were fighting for.”

Xiao nodded and lowered his head. The Archon made no move to stop him, so he took it as a silent consent. He kept lowering his head until he was giving the ruler of Mondstadt a deep bow, a gesture that the Yaksha had only ever given to those he felt immense respect.

As one of the only people who knew the full extent of what Venti had done for Mondstadt and the World, Xiao felt Venti deserved it, deserved this silent renewal of their unconventional contract.

When the Yaksha lifted his head, there were tears in the Anemo Archon’s eyes as Xiao spoke in a tight voice.

“Rest assured, Lord Barbatos. I will continue to be your Dreamcatcher -"

" - until the day you fall.”