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Wine has always brought memories to him, even if many people drink to forget.
Venti discovered, in his early days as a mortal, that he has a fascinating resistance to alcoholic beverages, so he is able to see people getting drunk and sleeping over their tables or being carried by friends or their pairings. He has tasted different types of alcohol from all Teyvat, as different as the people that live in their regions.
Sometimes, it brings good memories of summer breeze, a song and the sand under his feet. Sometimes, it brings memories of destruction, of fallen cities, of wars. Sometimes, it brings voices of those who are not alive anymore, young as his dear friend and not that young as Guizhong.
He has many things to regret, maybe that is why he decided to sleep about that time. Sleeping you don't remember… or, at least, it doesn't hurt that much.
But it's not cowardly and useless to keep trying to run away from memories? Maybe that is why he decided to finally wake up. Maybe that is why he is here now.
"When I heard you're dead, I just couldn't believe my ears. And as a good bard, I have to verify the information with my own sources."
The tall man among the animated Liyue Harbour, with that particular golden ended brown long hair as Venti remembered him, turns around to look at him.
"Barbatos. What are you doing here? I thought you're…"
"I go now by Venti, as you know well. I can't believe you, out of the Archons, decided to do this." Venti laughs. "But I think it's not appropriate to talk about this here. Also, I brought wine! Dandelion Wine, even if I know it's not your favourite, but it's a Mondstadt specialty."
"You're never going to change, aren't you?" He sighs.
"That's my line, old man." Venti follows him around, even if he knows where they're going.
Liyue is the same as he remembers. Maybe the main city has changed and people, obviously, are not the same, but the landscape with mountains and beautiful trees hidden in them are always fascinating. Also he can recognize some of the shapes Zhongli made in ancient times, while they were discussing and he decided it was a good idea to try to hit the Anemo Archon with a mountain, which ended up cut down by his breath.
Morax leads the way until they reach a particular lake over a mountain, the yellow coloured trees over the place giving it the nostalgic brush that all paintings in Liyue have.
"This place hasn't changed at all…" Venti smiles, taking a seat where usually other Adeptus were. This was Cloud Retainer's one…?
"You have slept too many centuries, Barbatos, but not enough to make it disappear."
But enough to lose many things. Even if the place stays the same, there are people that aren't there. Venti used to be in the middle of a crowd, Yakshas, Adepti, other Gods. For Morax, it has to be even worse. He hasn't been sleeping like Venti, he has seen every death, every year passing through without being able to stop it.
Even the stone suffers from erosion, and Venti is one of the few gods that remains after… After that destruction, for not to say he's the only original Archon that is alive aside Morax, just because he decided to avoid the world and sleep all he could.
"I think I owe you an apology" Venti says, placing the wine in the middle of the stone table.
The scratches are notable, but it remains as strong as he remembered.
"You don't, I don't have any voice of your decisions, neither as an Archon or God. To tell the truth, I must say I am the one who has to apologize to you."
Morax… or Zhongli, as he's being called on his mortal vessel, smiles at him, and Venti really doesn't understand.
"I am the one who hasn't come here for centuries. I can't imagine how alone you have felt…"
"You don't owe me anything, Barbatos." He takes the bottle and serves it on his particular glasses. "Even if I admit that your annoying presence has been missed sometimes, I believe that, in this time, I have been able to finally understand your methods."
Venti knows what he means. He is referring to his faking death and all the problems Liyue has faced without him, and the bards, taking their shot, have already made songs and tales.
He's referring to let humans govern themselves, without the protection of an Archon. The same principle that Venti had in mind when he helped to rebuild Mondstadt: a city where humans can sing and be free of any chain.
Morax has never been with him, and really thought he was only avoiding his responsibilities as an Archon, never understanding why he fought for a title he wasn't using properly. Venti has never fought for that, his friend has never fought for that. Their fight was for liberty, and it has to remain as it. If a title and a gnosis provides it, well, he would take it.
"Humans are able to see for themselves. They have their highs and lows, but aren't gods the same?" Venti laughs, taking a sip of his wine. "I prefer to be between them as a simple bard rather than over a throne where I can't see what I'm looking for. I think you start to feel the same."
"For Liyue, the era of humans has come and I am not the one who is going to stop Liyue's progress. It's for the best." Morax, always pragmatic. "Mondstadt, on the other hand, has been always a city in constant progress and their citizens are free, even if freedom doesn't always bring good things."
"I can't be the one who says what's right and what's wrong. That's not freedom, or at least, not the freedom that I seek. They can make mistakes, and they would learn from them, no one is perfect, and again, not even the gods. You know that perfectly, don't you?"
Venti smiles, but he knows Morax can see the reason behind his smile.
They are not perfect. Morax has fought uncountable gods, a black stone mask over his face when he had to slash friends turned foes. Venti, Barbatos, has to seek for his citizens and their freedom, and he remembers every single face of the gods that dissipated with his breath.
Don't die, there are people looking for you.
That was the mantra they repeated for themselves, praying the other wouldn't turn an enemy. They met in the worst of the context, as Archons fighting for the near land in a merciless war.
Barbatos can face it. Venti barely can, but he did his best and, centuries later, went to sleep. Nevertheless, there were gods and he can say to himself it was for the best.
What he couldn't hide under that rug was a human civilization, with no god to fight. Only humans, falling by the hand of a power they couldn't face.
He can see the regrets in that golden gaze. He wonders if Morax can see on his face too. What he is thinking, what he is remembering while the sweet flavour of Dandelion Wine passes over his tongue time and time again.
Kids, adults, families… Every human falling. Venti can still see the faces of those who thought he was an angel when he was their assassin. After that destruction, he regretted not have changed his appearance. His friend didn't deserve to be remembered as that.
"You know we can't talk about it."
Yes. He knows. They made a contract with Zhongli which he couldn't talk about, they threatened Mondstadt, they killed Sumeru Archon, they changed Snezhnaya's one… He doesn't even know what they made to Electro Archon, or Hydro, or Pyro, but he thinks he's better not knowing it.
"What I know is that I would never forgive them for it."
Celestia. If Mondstadtians think Decarabian was bad, they definitely haven't known Celestia's true face.
In silence, Morax takes a sip of his wine for the first time, and Venti sees the new glass he serves himself. Red, like the fire of Natlan God, as the blood he has seen many times, staining his hands, his clothes, his heart.
Wine often brings memories back. In a companion, memories are usually better.
But they aren't always good ones.