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As the current overseer of the Mondstadt Corporation, Venti has less time to take a breather and time for himself. But he has accepted the consequences when he inherited the position. It wasn’t all that bad, he quite enjoys it.
When he was younger, he didn’t want to have a place in the company. He wanted to create a future for himself, and not by inheriting a company that he doesn’t believe he deserves. But his parents kept on persisting and in the end, he gave in.
There are other companies owned by the Archon family; like the Liyue Corporation, which has the current overseer Rex Lapis, or his older brother, Zhongli.
Zhongli is only one of his many siblings that cared to interact with him on a weekly basis. Perhaps it's because their companies are close with each other, nevertheless, he is always welcome to visit.
The man will always visit unannounced and cause quite a stir at his lobby. Which will always cause his employees to pause their work and stare at his rather perfect looking older brother. So in return, he would also visit unannounced at Liyue and drink at the lobby.
“Venti, are you listening to the current discussion at hand?”
Venti blinked at his older brother and gave a shrug that would surely disappoint him.
“I humbly apologize, Rex Lapis.”
He knows how much his brother hates being called by his other name.
“How many times do I have to tell you to just call me Zhongli.”
Zhongli has told him many times actually.
“A couple more, please!”
In truth, Venti couldn’t be bothered to call his brother “Zhongli” again. Sure, it’s only just the two of them, but it’s been engraved in his mind to call him “Rex Lapis” or “Morax”. Just as how his other siblings just call him “Barbatos” and not “Venti”.
But that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t indulge his brother for a bit.
“Can you please refrain from drinking at my lobby?”
“But I like drinking at your lobby, Zhongli. You have comfortable sofas.”
Venti is quite known in the family to be a troublemaker.
When he wasn’t still the overseer for Mondstadt, he would always rebel against his parents and run away for some time. The longest time he didn’t come home was a month, and his parents have already called the police to look for their beloved youngest child.
Maybe that’s why his siblings, other than Zhongli, hate him. Their parents favored him more than his older siblings, even if he was a rebel. Constantly creating headaches for anyone that crosses his path.
“Rex Lapis, I have been made aware that someone has snuck into the building,” A short man with nearly the same hair color as him entered the room. “Should I find them and make them leave?”
Venti grinned at his brother, as if asking him to introduce the person that is currently looking for him.
“Ah, yes. Xiao, the person you are actually looking for is Barbatos. As much as I would like him thrown out of the building, he is still my brother.”
The new bodyguard, Xiao, nodded his head and scanned Venti with a critical eye.
“So, he is the infamous Barbatos. I can now accept that the rumors are indeed true.”
Venti felt his jaw drop at Xiao’s statement.
He knows the rumors about him, and most of them are negative ones. But he never let it get to him, because in the end they’re just that. Rumors. Sure, the rumors that he drinks constantly and never does his job were right. But he can’t believe that a statement coming from his brother’s bodyguard could hurt his pride this much.
His ego was beyond fixing.
Zhongli only laughed at his demise as the bodyguard still looked at him with a much more critical gaze.
“H-hey now, that wasn’t very nice.”
He was still trying to move on from the insult-like statement.
“Apologies, I was just confirming.”
What a nice gentleman…
“I think I should head back. It was nice talking with you again, Rex Lapis!”
For the first time in forever, Venti felt like working. His company needs him! (No, they don’t.)
“Well then, Xiao, please escort Barbatos to his vehicle.”
“Oh, I don’t need any escorts--,”
“Nonsense, bring Xiao with you.”
“Okay…”
He wants to slap his brother.
----------
Usually, Venti would have agreed to let someone escort him to his car, making small talk to the person. But his escort is someone who had openly insulted him, making him feel even tinier than the already tiny man.
Oh, the tragedy.
“Um, so, Xiao, right? Why are you working for Rex Lapis?”
The bodyguard seems to be less dignified than the usual bodyguards his older brother would hire.
For example, Zhongli’s oldest bodyguard, Ganyu, is a respectful and dignified young lady. She knows how to show respect to those who have a higher title than her. Offering tea, or in the case of Venti, dandelion wine.
However, this “Xiao”, never even offered anything.
The bodyguard wears a fitting black suit, a rather cheap-looking silver pocket watch, and an earphone in his right ear. There were also some tattoos inked onto his neck if you look close enough. But it seems like he is hiding it from others.
Most importantly, he is also--
“Short…”
Venti let out a gasp and covered his mouth, looking away from the golden-eyed man.
“You seriously have no tact, don’t you, Barbatos.”
“IT JUST CAME OUT!”
The bodyguard let out a sigh and answered the previous question.
“Whatever my reasons, working for Rex Lapis is not your business.”
The atmosphere turned cold.
Venti is not smart like his siblings, but he’s a natural empath. He knows when to shut up and let the conversation die down. That’s what he always does when he is being talked down by others.
They say that the overseer of Mondstadt is terrible and his employees have it hard. Which on the outside, that would be the case. But when you start working for the corporation, you would understand that he just runs the place more differently than how it was intended to be.
Venti never wanted to be an overseer.
Like any other person, he has his own dreams and desires. He never wanted to be stuck at a dead-end job until another more competent person replaced him. All he does is sit in his wide office and read, then sign important documents.
He wanted to be a musician of some sorts. At a young age, he has shown appreciation for any form of art, especially for music. So, he taught himself how to play a lyre and he became amazing at it.
In childish ignorance, he played for his parents and asked if he could become a musician when he grows up. However, he should’ve known that he was not supported by them.
Their eyes showed nothing and he was afraid of them.
The next day, he found out that his beloved lyre was taken from him. He searched for it for the whole day, even asking his older siblings that hated him. But it was all just a fruitless endeavor.
Anger seared from his chest and for the first time, and definitely not the last, he ran away from home. He ran, and ran, and ran, until his lungs gave up on him and his legs crumpled to the ground. The sweat running down his face helped cool down his heaving body. Droplets of sweat sliding down his clothes, slowly forming an ugly patch.
That day, he realized that he was nothing but a tool used by his parents. And he has no choice but to obey them.
“Barbatos, we have finally arrived. I’ll be going now.”
The voice cut the aqua-eyed man from his trance.
He had nothing of note to say, so he just nodded at the bodyguard and entered his car. The familiar smell of his car helped him calm down his nerves.
He watched the bodyguard go back in the elevator and go back to Zhongli.
“It’s all in the past now…”
----------
It had been a few weeks since Venti visited Liyue. He has become more busy these past couple of days and he hasn’t even taken a sip of his favorite alcohol. Being sober for more than 3 days is not a part of his agenda. But if he didn’t sign the documents, he would be told off by Zhongli again for not doing his job.
After what happened with Xiao, he was suddenly getting dreams from the past he would have hoped to forget. It wasn’t the bodyguard’s fault for his insomnia, but he was fully blaming the golden-eyed man.
“I’m tired…”
He slumped over his desk and mulled over what has been happening for the past days.
Two days ago, he got a surprise visit from Tsaritsa’s “special employee”. Her name was Signora and she has a huge ego. She would openly berate him right in his face, with no shame whatsoever.
Barbara nearly fainted when she heard the insults coming from the woman’s lips. The poor girl just wanted to bring in tea.
The voluptuous woman is as cold as his older sister.
“Let me get straight to the point. The Tsaritsa is demanding that you give up your position as overseer, and let her have it.”
Venti’s eyes bulged from his sockets and nearly giggled at the woman’s outrageous request.
“Now, now. Are you sure you should be joking for that matter? I mean, I used to prank Tsaritsa all the time. Maybe she finally wanted revenge.”
The woman smiled in such a manner that he felt goosebumps forming on his skin. He realized that she is not joking and is actually serious.
“If I were joking, I would have your head beneath my heel.”
He stood up from his seat and called in Jean and Noelle to escort Signora out of the building.
“As much as I would love to continue our talk, I must ask you to leave the premises. I’ll think about the demand and give an answer at a later date.”
The woman frowned and left the office without looking back. Jean and Noelle escort her on the way out.
If this continues again, he’ll be sure to lose his position and have nothing to gain. Because the moment he leaves the overseer position his parents would not support him. He’ll end up dead in a ditch somewhere if Tsaritsa does accomplish taking his position. And for what?
Venti is more stressed out than ever before and he has still yet to give an answer.
A nice, cold bottle of alcohol would calm his nerves but it’s not the right time to be drinking. Especially, when his whole life is on the line. One wrong decision and it’s game over for him. None of his siblings would care, maybe Zhongli, but he doubts it.
It was starting to bring him into a panic attack.
Vulnerability was something he hated about himself. If he showed any sign of it, he would be taken advantage of. So, he had to stand up and smile deceivingly. Tell others that he’s fine and don’t need any help.
Venti is quite done with everything.
He is done playing pretend. Pretending to be a leader, when he is not. He’s just a boy who was given so many heavy responsibilities. He had a dream and that was taken away from him.
When he first ran away from home, he met someone that cared and loved for who he is. And as a boy starved with that kind of love, he latched on and never let go.
He was crying in an empty park when someone called out to him. A voice so gentle and sweet that it made him calm down a little, like a breeze of wind comforting him. Of course, he called out to the voice. He wanted to meet the person that is comforting him, a little boy that has a runny nose from all the crying he has been doing.
“W-who’s there?” The boy asked.
“Your new friend.” The voice gently whispered.
He followed the voice and sat at the roots of an ancient tree.
“What’s your name?” He asked.
“I can’t tell you my name--,” The voice said. “I would get punished if they catch me telling my name.”
The boy nodded his head and fell into a sense of tranquility when the voice started humming a tune that he was unfamiliar with. He tried following along, humming with his new found friend. Another new experience that he openly welcomes.
That night, he promised his friend that he would visit him again. The voice was ecstatic and giggled to show his excitement.
And so, his running away became a habit and he almost visited his friend every night. None of his older siblings nor the staff cared about his frequent disappearances. He was thankful for the first time that they never cared about him.
The nights with his friend was something he cherished from the bottom of his heart.
On a special occasion, the anniversary of the first time they met, his friend had gifted him a special gift.
“Is this a lyre?” The boy wondered.
“You said that you lost your lyre when we met. So, I wanted to give you one and hope that you wouldn’t be sad anymore. It’s made with a special kind of material that it’s harder to destroy.” His friend said.
Tears started forming from his eyes, he clutched the lyre to his chest and thanked his friends profusely. Promising that tomorrow he would give a special gift in return.
Gifts weren’t anything new for him. He receives one everyday, and frankly, he wants it to stop. But this one was something he never received before, a gift from a friend. Someone other than family.
When he was walking back home, he was abducted by a group syndicate and was locked in for days. Even though he was the one prisoned, he was worried about his friend.
Who would visit him? They would be all alone…
----------
Venti was aimless.
He has been walking aimlessly. It should’ve been that way. But he arrived at the place he loved to visit as a child. The ancient tree at the park.
“Barbatos?”
“Xiao…”
Zhongli’s bodyguard was also at the park, sitting at the roots of the tree with a novel in his hand. He dons a dark green turtleneck sweater, grey pants, and that cheap-looking, silver pocket watch. He looks nice.
They fell in a comfortable silence.
Venti hummed a tune an old friend used to hum for him. So, imagine his surprise, when Xiao, the stoic bodyguard of Zhongli hummed along with him. They just hummed together until it came to an end.
He stared at the bodyguard with anticipation.
“Where have you heard that tune before?”
“None of your business.”
“Ehh… C’mon, don’t be shy.”
“No.”
Xiao is a strange man. He strives so hard for his mysterious persona, that he turns people off with his constant rudeness. But he wasn’t being rude, he was direct. Never the one for idle chit chat, especially to those he doesn’t think deserves his attention.
The golden-eyed man had always been that way.
“Why are you here, Barbatos?”
“Oh, this is a special place for me and someone I loved.”
“Were they important to you?”
“Yep, they were my best friend.”
We fell into a comfortable silence again.
----------
The others are busier than usual with the upcoming festival to prepare for. The elders and the adults are preparing the coming of age ceremony for Xiao.
To be honest, he wasn’t excited about it at all. He would’ve preferred to stay at his post and guard the entrance of the forest. Maybe get to listen to the person playing the flute.
“Alatus.”
He hated that name, he much preferred to be called Xiao instead. But the elders say that true names are important for our clan. And him discarding his name is a sin worthy of death or exilation.
He followed along their idiotic antics and waited for the right moment to run away from his clan.
His clan is an ancient one that it’s basically forgotten by anyone, but it is a secretive clan, so it’s no surprise that it was forgotten. The mark of being a part of the clan are the tattoos that would be given to the attendees from the coming of age ceremony.
“What?”
“It is time for the ceremony to begin. Please follow me this way.”
He followed the woman that would lead him to the ceremonial grounds.
Pushed down to his knees, he offered his right arm to the clan’s priestess. The woman pricked the skin with turquoise and slowly painted his arm with it. She was gentle and would pause if she felt him tense from the pain.
The place was covered with a light fog and the elderlies were praying, their tattoos glowing from the fog.
Within an hour the priestess was finally done with her work and the ceremony was done. He asked to be excused, so that he can be by himself again and hope that person would be playing their flute again.
The walk from the ceremonial grounds to the entrance of the forest was quite far. But the forest was peaceful and he wanted to stretch his legs from kneeling for so long.
A couple of birds chirped from the trees as he went past them. The green-filled land made a small smile from his lips. Humming the song that he heard from before.
He arrived at the entrance and observed the surrounding area.
“Oh, it’s the guard from before.”
The voice seemed to come from the trees, but he couldn’t see the person.
“Would you mind me playing my flute?”
“It’s fine. You can play it.”
The voice giggled and played the same tune he had first heard from them.
Xiao felt completely at ease.
The music from the flute made him want to dance on a field of flowers. It had a sense of gentleness he had never felt from someone else before.
It spread around the forest and some birds started harmonizing with the flute. The wind slightly picked up creating a rather nice sound with the song.
“Wow, you seem to really enjoy it! Can I ask what’s the forest’s guardian’s name?”
“Alatus.”
“Pff, I asked what’s your name.”
He was confused about what the voice was asking of him. He said his name.
“The name you want. What’s your name?”
It’s the first time Xiao had been asked what he wanted to be called.
“...It’s Xiao.”
----------
It was raining hard today.
Venti was being chased by an assassin that was sent to him by Tsaritsa. He doesn’t even doubt that it was ordered by her.
He was getting tired of pretending, tired of running away.
It was a rainy night like this too when that happened. When the most horrific event that happened to him.
He was waiting for his friend to arrive at their designated spot. It was finally the night where he would be able to give his special gift to his dearest friend. He stayed seated at the root of the tree and hummed the tune that he had known by heart.
He was earlier than usual to surprise them.
The wind swept his face and right before him was… Him?
The doppelganger has the same characteristics as him, the only difference is that his hair and eyes are a different shade and color. It’s like looking in a mirror.
“You are me?”
His friend(?) dropped his head in shame.
“No… I’m not you.”
Everything was starting to be confusing and his head started to hurt. His friend that he has known for years looked exactly like him.
“I’m sorry, Venti.”
“Why are you sorry?”
“I copied your form! You should be getting mad at me!”
His friend was getting hysterical, the wind around them picked up.
“I’m not mad at you.”
“WHY?! YOU SHOULD BE!”
“Because I’m your friend. Friends are supposed to accept each other right?”
Venti hugged his friend and let him cry on his shoulder. An hour has passed and his friend has already calmed down.
“What’s your name?”
“Barbatos. My name is Barbatos.”
The black-eyed boy smiled at his friend and patted his head. They were comfortable just listening to the wind and being by each other’s company. However, an arrow was fired at the two of them.
Barbatos grabbed the hand of his friend and they ran away from their assailant.
They reached a bridge where they would jump off from when Venti saved Barbatos with his body, getting pierced by two arrows at the chest and stomach.
The spirit cried out and carried his friend away from more danger. He used the last teleporting crystal he had and teleported to a forest. He gently laid his friend’s body as a smooth rock and started crying.
“THIS IS ALL MY FAULT! I SHOULDN’T HAVE COPIED YOUR FORM AND YOU’RE DYING BECAUSE OF ME! FORGIVE ME, VENTI! PLEASE, DON’T LEAVE ME!”
“It’s… alright.”
“What are you talking about? YOU’RE DYING!”
“At least, you’re here… with me… someone… who cares.”
Barbatos cried more as he saw the slow fade of life in his friend’s eyes.
“If you die, I don’t know where to go. I love you so much, Venti. Please, fight for your life.”
“Don’t… worry. Become me. Live… as me.”
“W-what? Live as you?”
Venti reached for his pocket and gave a pocket watch to Barbatos.
“My… gift. My family… will… keep you… safe. I promise.”
It was a silver pocket watch that was made to look cheap. But if you carry it, it’s quite heavy. There was a design of a lyre in the middle of the watch, glowing a soft aqua.
This night was supposed to be a happy one for both of them. Yet it ended with one of them dead. It was tragic.
The spirit stayed with the boy’s body for a week. He watched it slowly decompose from the different insects that started eating the body. Tears ran down his face as he used his magic to absorb the mana from the body, leaving no trace of Venti.
Even though the pocket watch was gifted to him. It hurt him to wear it. So, he left it laying on top of the rock, as a remembrance of where his friend took his final breath.
----------
Barbatos was lost.
He was in a forest, walking aimlessly, with no direction in mind. The trees give a nice cool shade from the sun. The birds were quiet, no chirps to share.
The spirit stood in front of an ancient tree. It’s leaves are luscious and vibrant, the trunk strong and sturdy, and a hole by its roots.
The entrance to the human realm.
The same place where he had thought he had lived in forever. The place he thought he belonged to.
There were footsteps behind him. It was light, but still there.
“Welcome back, Barbatos.”
Barbatos looked back at the voice.
“Back?”
“Yes, have you forgotten this place?”
“This place took the most important person from me, Xiao.”
Xiao stood closer to him.
“I’m still here.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I was not sure if it was you. I found this pocket watch on top of a stone and noticed it was covered by your traces. So, I followed it, but lost it quickly.”
The pair held each other’s hands”
“Y-you’re an idiot.”
“Maybe, but I was determined to find you again. Who would’ve thought you would be someone entirely different.”
The forest was void of noise. The sky was void of the sun. Everything seems to be there, but also void of any importance.
Barbatos and Xiao felt indifferent to everything, but their company.