Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

At some point it began to rain. 

I was soaking wet; the fabric of my Glorybringer dress had grown heavy and my long hair was clinging to my skin. I should have probably found some shelter to wait out the storm, but by the time I realized my current predicament I was already drenched. 

I suppose that’s what I get for being so wrapped up in my own head. I had meant to take a short walk around Liyue Harbor just to stretch my legs, but I kept getting distracted by my own wandering thoughts. Eventually I decided to stop in the middle of the bridge I was passing through at the time and stare out at the water rather than unintentionally walk into someone or something.

Seeing as I was already wet, I saw no point in getting out of the rain at this point. Not to mention that the cool water felt nice on my skin. 

At the very least it had been a nice momentary distraction from the events of a month ago when I had found and confronted my son, Aether.

“I’m sorry, mom. But if you plan on getting in my way, then that makes you my enemy.” Aether’s eyes were as cold as ice as he raised his blade at me. 

I raised my own blades. Fighting my son was the last thing that I wanted to do, but I knew that I could not allow him or the Order of the Abyss to go through with their schemes. “Then I’m sorry too, Aether. But I can’t let you do this.”

I allowed him to strike the first blow before countering everyone of his attacks afterwards. Aether was stronger than when I last saw him years ago, but I had over a thousand years of experience over him and it showed. Many of his minions had tried to intervene, to slow me down in their attempts to help their leader, but they all fell to my blades. This only served to enrage my son, increasing the strength behind his blows as he made good on his promise to treat me like an enemy if I chose to oppose him.

Unfortunately for Aether it wasn’t enough. 

While his fighting style had diverted somewhat from what I had taught him, I could still see he relied heavily on the basics and techniques that I had pounded into him and his sisters when they were younger. This made it easy to break through most of his defenses and knock him onto his knees.

I could have ended his plans right then and there, but... I had gotten distracted. We both did, but Aether had recovered from it much faster. 

I felt his sword pierce right through me seconds later. 

“MOM!” I heard a female voice scream. 

Despite the outcome of the battle, Aether had not gotten away unscathed. 

Being impaled had been unpleasant, but my son had also provided me with the perfect opportunity to place the seal I had created specifically for this moment. 

Reaching out, I yanked my son closer by pulling his sword further into my body before slamming my hand into his chest and activating the seal. 

If my son insisted on this path, I was not going to make it easy for him. 

But that had been as far as I got before a spell cast by one of those creatures accompanying him,  called an Abyss Mage, had hit me point blank and sent me flying backwards. The ground gave out underneath my feet as I was pushed back and too late I realized that the two of us had been fighting by a cliff.

All I remembered after that was falling. A voice calling for me as I fell. Angry screaming followed by the sounds of swords clashing being renewed. And then pain and darkness when I finally hit the bottom of the ledge we fought at. 

Even now after a significant amount of time had passed, I still wondered.

Who had been the one calling out for me then? The one who had unintentionally distracted Aether and I during our fight, giving Aether the opportunity to stab me and myself the opportunity to seal away his powers?

I remembered the female voice had screamed for me. Had screamed for mom. So it had to be one of my remaining two children, my daughters. 

Lumine? Or was it Serafina? 

I knew it had been one of them to bring me to Liyue a month ago. The green haired owner of the pharmacy I was staying at, Baizhu, told me that I had been dragged in by a young girl with the same blonde hair as me from the little he saw beneath the cloak she was wearing at the time. 

“Should you not be recovering at Bubu Pharmacy, Miss Selena?” A deep baritone voice asked me, snapping me out of reminiscing. I could hear the strong disapproval in it. “What are you doing out in this weather?”

I winced, feeling like a child that knew they were about to be scolded. “Well…” 

I froze when I realized several things. The first was that there was no more rain. Or rather, I could still hear it but I was no longer being drenched in water. I glanced up and saw an umbrella over my head, which explained why I couldn’t feel the downpour any more. 

The next is that the voice sounded close. Close enough that the owner of the voice was standing right next to me. 

And third? 

The voice belonged to a certain consultant from the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor who I tried to avoid whenever possible. 

I felt a shiver run down my spine. 

Of course. 

I should have stayed in the pharmacy. 

My body stiffened before I forced myself to relax. Turning in the direction of the speaker, I tilted my head upwards so that I was staring straight at him. “Hello, Mr. Zhongli. I thought I would take a nice stroll. I’ve been feeling somewhat restless lately.” 

It wasn’t a lie. I did leave the pharmacy to get some fresh air. As kind as the pharmacist, Baizhu, and his little assistant Qiqi were, I was beginning to go stir crazy. So when the owner of the pharmacy was busy attending to a customer and Qiqi was off collecting herbs, I took the opportunity to sneak out and get some air. 

I just didn’t take into account that it would rain. 

Or that I would be so lost in thought that I didn’t realize the downpour until it was far too late. 

Now finding myself standing next to the tall and elegantly dressed man who worked at a funeral parlor, I officially regretted all my life choices. 

In trying to distract myself from the awkward silence that settled between us when neither of us spoke any further I noted that despite the fact that it was pouring cats and dogs, the consultant of the Wangsheng Funeral was as impeccable as always. I couldn’t help but feel jealous considering I must have looked like a drowned cat, but he had been smart enough to bring an umbrella with him. 

Long brown hair that faded into a lighter colour at the ends tied into a ponytail that fell past his waist, a form fitting formal brown suit that was tailored perfectly to him, amber eyes that always seemed to see right through me no matter how much I tried to put on a poker face...

Once upon a time in a past life I would have been ecstatic that I was talking to the man right in front of me. He had been one of my favourite characters, if just for his deep voice, his endearing eccentricities, and his good looks.

…

Bahamut, I could feel my face burning. I hope he can't see my face turning red. 

“In the rain?” He said dryly. If he did see me blushing, he thankfully didn’t point it out. “When people take strolls, they often do so when the skies are clear.” 

“That was an oversight on my part.” I admitted with a wince. “I probably should have brought an umbrella with me before heading out earlier. I’ll be sure to do that next time.”

I turned away from him and started walking back in the direction of Bubu’s pharmacy. No doubt the owner and his employee Qiqi were wondering where I was. I was going to have to apologize for dripping all over their store once I returned. 

That, and I wanted to put as much distance between me and the man in front me as possible. Getting out of the rain seemed like a good excuse to get away, right?

“Please wait.” Zhongli’s voice spoke from behind me.

Though it sounded like a request, the tone in voice told me it was more of a command. One that spoke of authority that demanded respect. 

“Yes?” I asked. “Is there something that you need?” 

Please say no.

The consultant looked at me in disbelief… and was that concern? His lips were set in a frown as he moved towards me once again. Much to my embarrassment, I felt my body tense as he got closer. I didn’t realize that I had brought my arms closer to my chest until I was clutching my hands. 

“You’re bleeding.” He finally said. “Did you not realize that?” 

I was what? 

Blinking, I looked down and indeed saw a large red stain on the fabric of my white dress that was spreading. 

It was around the area that Aether stabbed me during our confrontation. 

“Ah.” I finally said. “No, I didn’t.” 

Was I really so out of it that I completely missed this?

Something brushed against my body and I looked up to see that Zhongli was no longer wearing his coat. Glancing downwards, I realized that was because he had draped it over my shoulders

“What are you doing?” His coat was warm and as much as I wanted to snuggle into it once I realized just how cold I had become, I couldn’t accept it. “I’m already soaking wet and as you pointed out, bleeding. Your coat’s going to get ruined.” 

I tried to shrug his beautifully tailored coat off, but found that it was being readjusted firmly over me again by its owner.

“My coat is the last thing you should be worrying about in this situation.” Zhongli, for the first time since I’ve met him, looked exasperated. “Rather, your concern is misplaced. Perhaps I should remind you that you have reopened an injury to the point that it is bleeding? Or that you could easily get sick in your state due to you deciding to stand around in the rain for a long period of time?” 

Zhongli shot me a look that made me feel like a little kid who got caught trying to steal cookies. 

“But still-!” I wasn’t able to argue about it any further because I suddenly found myself being lifted off my feet and into Zhongli’s arms. 

I squeaked. 

“What are you doing?” I started pounding my arms against his chest, feeling my heart rate go up as I started to flail in his grip, dignity be damned. “Let me go!” 

“I apologize.” Zhongli said as he shifted his hold on me, tightening his grasp. I squeaked again as I was nestled more tightly against him, my head resting against his chest. “But we are getting nowhere with this and it’s imperative that we treat your injury. Not to mention that the more you stay out here in the rain, the more likely you are to get sick. Hold on.” 

And then he ran. 

I clung to him as if my life depended on it. 

Chapter Text

“It’s a girl.” The midwife announced as the familiar wails of an infant filled the air. “Congratulations.”

I barely heard the midwife speak as I wiped away my tears and sweat. After what felt like an eternity of being in labour and pushing out three infants within that time frame, all I wanted to do was sleep for a week uninterrupted. Even fighting Belial and Lucilius combined hadn’t been as painful or exhausting as giving birth.

But as much as I wanted to pass out, I couldn’t do that yet. Not until I held my third child in my arms and saw her for myself. 

When the midwife approached me with my daughter newly bathed and wrapped in a fuzzy yellow blanket, I sat up a little straighter, ignoring the protests of my body. My hero for the entire duration of my labor smiled at me before carefully handing me the one who had been giving me hell for hours. 

“Hello, sweetheart.” I placed a kiss onto her small head as the newborn sniffled in my arms. “You’re finally here. Do you have any idea how much trouble you put me through?” 

Golden eyes blinked up at me innocently as I brushed away her tears. Her eyes looked just like mine. Her siblings also had the same golden eyes that ran through my side of the family. 

Though I knew it wasn’t much, it was a small blessing. I didn’t know what I would do if any of them had blue eyes like their… patriarchal donor. 

My daughter gurgled at me and I laughed, knowing exactly what she wanted. 

"Hungry like the other two, I see.” I began to pull down the collar of my dress, exposing my chest and bringing my daughter closer to me so that she could latch on. “Alright, go on and eat.” 

As the infant drank greedily, I heard the door open.

“Come in,” I called out to the person on the other side. It was either Lyria or Aurora, the two women who had been by my side the entire time I was a complete mess throughout my entire pregnancy. They had originally been by my side when my labour began, but then left to go to a separate room to look after my other two children as I pushed out my third.

To my surprise it was neither of them.

Instead peering from the edge of the door was a little girl no older than six with blonde hair and cinnamon coloured eyes. Her eyes sparkled when they landed on me and with the lack of restraint all young children displayed, she threw open the door with a loud bang that startled the midwife and ran towards us. 

I saw the midwife head over, no doubt to intercept on my behalf but I shook my head. She stopped with an uncertain look on her face, but then went back to cleaning up. But I could tell that she was keeping an eye on the both of us as she worked. 

“Selena! Selena!” The little bundle of energy was practically vibrating by the time she reached my bedside. “Did the third baby finally arrive?” 

She was the very image of the great-grandmother she was named after, except for the eyes. Those cinnamon red eyes belonged to her great-grandfather.

Looking at her was like standing aboard the Grandcypher again. Whether it was standing on the deck staring at the bright blue sky as we flew to our next destination or her personal office where we would discuss what to do next… It brought back a lot of memories. 

“Mmm-hmm.” I would have ruffled her head had I not been holding my daughter. “Do you want to see her, Djeeta?”

“YES!” The little girl declared loudly. 

“Alright. But can you wait a little? She’s very hungry right now because she hasn’t eaten yet.”

“Okay!”Djeeta nodded enthusiastically. 

“Djeeta!” A woman with curly dark brown hair and the same eyes as Djeeta rushed into the room looking frantic. There was exasperation written all over her face as she raced over to pick up her own daughter. “You know that you aren’t allowed in here!”

“But mommy!” Djeeta protested, puffing up her cheeks. “I heard the baby cry! I wanted to see her!” 

“That’s not the point, Djeeta.” Her mother sighed as she gave me an apologetic look on her daughter’s behalf. “We aren’t allowed in unless the midwife tells us. Giving birth is exhausting and your Auntie Selena just gave birth three times.”

“It’s fine, Aurora. She was just curious.” I assured Aurora in regards to Djeeta being in the room.

“But still… she shouldn’t have done that.” Aurora shifted her daughter so that the little girl was resting on her hip. Djeeta was pouting, no doubt upset about being scolded.

“I know from past experience that children are bundles of chaotic energy. I was here when your mother was born after all.” Speaking of children, I could feel my own daughter fussing against me, signalling that she was done feeding. I shifted the sleeve of my dress to cover myself up. “I suspect that’s something I’ll be dealing with in the years to come myself. And there’s three of them.”

“Oh, yes.” Aurora sighed. “If you think waking you up in the middle of the night and all hours of the day is bad, then them walking around and exploring everything presents a new set of problems.” 

Despite her scolding Djeeta earlier, Aurora moved so that she could get a good look at my daughter herself. 

“She looks just like you.” She sounded relieved. “Have you decided what to name them yet?”

“I have.” In the late stages of my pregnancy, the doctor declared that I needed bed rest to reduce the risk of complications. Even more so because I had been pregnant with twins. At least, that was what the doctor said. Child number three took me by surprise. “The boy will be Aether. The girl who came after him will be Lumine.” 

I looked down at the baby in my arms. 

“And this one will be named Serafina.” 

I hadn’t always been Selena. 

Selena was my name in my second life. 

Before that I was an ordinary woman trying to find her way in a world that seemed to be getting worse and worse by the year. Prior to my death the first time around, the world seemed to be rushing to its own end. 

Extremist religious organizations, pandemics, global warming pretty much becoming irreversible, forest fires, ect. 

And that wasn’t going into my own personal problems at the time. Which I could sum it up as debt and working a job that was physically and mentally draining. Not to mention trying to figure out what the hell I wanted to do with my life in my late twenties. 

So when I had been reborn as Selena and I realized that my first life was over, I felt relieved. It was like I had been released from the shackles of a world that was soon about to implode from all the societal issues. 

At the same time though, I did feel regret. Not so much regret at what I wasn’t able to do in my first life, but regret at how much pain my death would cause my parents, especially my then mom. She had made it clear that she did not want me passing on before her. Like any good parent, she did not want to outlive her children. 

Unfortunately, I was unable to keep that promise. 

Being reborn as Selena was an interesting experience, that’s for sure. While I looked human, I was very much not. Turns out I was part of a race of immortal beings who flew with golden wings. While we had a variety of eye colours, every single member of the race had golden hair. 

Did I mention that every single person was blessed with beauty genes? Including myself. Atypical of my race, I had blonde hair. And from my dad’s side of the family I inherited golden eyes. 

My current race, as was the case with all immortals, were stronger and faster compared to humans. We were enhanced to every degree and even the strongest human who could make meteors rain down from the sky was no match for us. I guess we could be compared to gods considering our powers and our strengths. As well as the sheer scale of what we were capable of such as traveling to different words .

Of course, this made my race as arrogant as hell. And I was absolutely not ashamed to admit that this superiority complex most of my race had disgusted me. Perhaps it was because I had been human once upon a time or maybe it was because I was familiar with the legends of arrogant gods and immortals in my first lifetime, but I found the common attitude towards the people of other worlds insulting and abhorrent.

Thankfully my second family didn’t believe in these views of supremacy, but still. It was hard to be comfortable in a society where people constantly saw themselves as being better than other races. 

Eventually, when I was old enough, I decided that I wanted off my world and away from the constant holier than thou attitude. 

So I left. 

The first world I ended up in was the Sky Realm. 

A world of floating islands and airships where the people who traveled the endless blue skies were known as Sky Dwellers. From there I ended up on a small floating island known as Zinkenstill and met a young girl accompanied by a small red dragon who dreamed of adventure and reuniting with a long absent father who sent them a letter from a legendary island that was said to exist in tales.

It wasn’t until the girl introduced herself as Djeeta and her dragon companion as Vyrn that it hit me. 

That I was in a gacha mobile game and that the person standing in front of me was the protagonist of said game, Granblue Fantasy. 

And I was, for better or for worse, some sort of reincarnation protagonist from those isekai novels I used to like in my first life. Even more so after I gave birth to my children.

It had been quite the shock when it hit. Thankfully, Djeeta didn’t ask why I had been staring at her like a complete numbskull. Because if she did, I was pretty sure that I would have blurted out the truth right then and there. 

The last thing I needed to do was cause an existential crisis in a girl who had just turned fifteen. 

But Djeeta became more than a character over time. She became my best friend.

Though I originally accompanied her because I got caught up in the events that set off her journey, we became a lot closer as we traversed the skies. Fighting an empire, foiling evil plots, fighting against strong opponents, or just going on adventures… 

Centuries after her death I still missed her. 

My travels with Djeeta and the other members of our crew who we recruited throughout our journey had given me a lot of needed perspective on how I viewed others who I recognized due to past memories, but never truly met. Just because I knew their back stories and what they looked like in appearance didn’t mean I knew who they were as a person. 

And that they were real people. While my memories of my past life knew them as characters in a game, the reality of my second life was very different. These same people who used to be pixels on a phone were flesh and blood. 

They laughed. They cried. They could feel anger, pain, and despair. 

But most importantly they could die and there would be no way to bring them back. 

When I found out that I was pregnant while I was hiding in the Sky Realm, it slowly dawned on me who my children might be. Especially after I had been told that I was carrying more than one baby. It wasn’t until they were born that I was forced to face the truth no matter how much my heart ached. 

My children were the twin travelers of another game that I knew of in my first life known as Genshin Impact. Or two of them originally were. My third child had been unexpected, but I loved her regardless.

I had noticed the resemblance my new appearance had to the female protagonist of Genshin Impact in the past, but I didn’t think much of it. After all, I didn’t have a twin. I did have an older brother and a younger sister but that was it.

Not to mention my name was Selena. Not Lumine, which was the default name for the female twin. 

But I should have thought harder about it. After all, weren’t the traveler twins blond? With gold eyes? Didn’t they originally have wings? Have the power to travel to different worlds prior to them landing in Teyvat?

And most damningly was that my older brother and father in this life strongly resembled the male protagonist.

Or should I say Aether looked like them ? 

Just like Djeeta became more than a character of a story to me as we traveled the skies, my children were so much more than just the player characters of a game. More than just the Traveler who ran around Teyvat looking for their missing sibling or the missing sibling who became the leader of the genocidal organization known as the Order of the Abyss. 

And there was Serafina who had turned what were originally twins into triplets. I had no idea what kind of role she would play in the future, but I knew she would have her own role in the world of Teyvat.

The three of them were my flesh and blood. 

My world. 

I had carried them in my body for close to nine months. I had watched them grow from infants who relied on me for everything to children who were swinging swords, going through the motions as I taught them how to fight and defend themselves. 

Regardless of the circumstances of their conception, I loved them. 

That was probably why even though I had Aether at my feet and completely at my mercy over a month ago, I couldn’t kill him. Even though he was essentially the head of an organization that wanted to genocide an entire continent, he was still my son. 

I hoped, though, that the people of Teyvat would not suffer too much for my moment of weakness. 

I woke up in a dark room with no recollection of how I got there in the first place. There was a weight over top of my body that I soon realized was a blanket. 

The last thing I remembered was that it was raining and that Zhongli had put his coat over me before picking me up bridal style and running-

I immediately sat up, wincing in pain as the wound in my middle flared. As I tried to grasp where I was, a soft mumble from somewhere close alerted me to the fact that I wasn’t alone. I looked around until my eyes landed on a brown desk where I saw a figure partially slumped over it. 

It was a girl. Or a woman? I couldn’t tell. The little I could see of her from where I was told me that she had fair skin and dark brown hair that turned red at its tips. She was wearing a black outfit and right next to her was a black hat decorated with red flowers, branches, tassels… and was that a talisman on the front?

That hat looked familiar...

She was hunched over the desk. Her arms were folded in front of her and her head was resting on top of her arms. She was fast asleep. 

Looking down, I realized that I was on a couch. And that someone had changed my clothes, because I was no longer wearing my white Glorybringer dress but a grey dress shirt that was much too big for me. 

…

In a panic, I instantly threw off the sheets as I quickly stood up to get a good look at myself. I had  passed out and someone had changed my clothes. Who knows what else they could have done while I was unconscious?

I heard a snort and my head snapped to the direction of the desk. The girl who had been previously out like a light was now awake as she rubbed her half-lidded eyes, no doubt still half asleep. She sat up straighter in her chair as she raised her arms, stretching them as she released a yawn.

I instantly recognized her. 

It was Hu Tao, the 77th Head of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and Zhongli’s boss. I had never met her in person, but I already knew she was from the memories of my first life. 

When she was done, she finally seemed to notice that I was staring at her. 

She blinked several times before a grin lit up her face. 

“Good morning!” She chirped. “Or should I say good night in this case? Did you have a good sleep?”

Chapter Text

“Though the food is already cold, come eat! Come eat!” 

Hu Tao bustled back and forth as she started putting food on top of her desk. Then she pulled out a chair that she placed in front of her desk and gestured at the seat, indicating that I should sit on it. Mindful of the fact that I was still just wearing a dress shirt and no pants (thankfully I did have shorts on to preserve what little dignity I still had), I took a seat and grabbed a plate and some utensils that Hu Tao had set aside. 

Just as my host had said, the food had long grown cold. But as I eyed all the choices in front of me, I found it hard to decide on which dish to try first. Eventually, I settled on what looked like lemon chicken- it was one of my favourite dishes in the past. I also got some of those long flat noodles that were deep fried in soy sauce as well as a shrimp dish. 

Though I had no idea what it was, I also decided to try a colourful rice dish with carrot… and other ingredients I could not identify. But the aesthetic was nice.

It was an unconventional dinner for sure- though I did not know much about Liyue culture, I’m pretty sure laying out what looked like a five course meal on top of your work desk was not the norm. But considering Hu Tao was giving me a free meal and I was starving, it was not my place to comment on it. 

“It’s delicious!” I had taken several bites and before I knew it, I was scooping more food onto my plate and tackling it like a starving lion. 

The food would have been better if it was hot, but it was my fault for not waking up earlier. 

“Isn’t it?” Hu Tao was also digging into her own plate quite ravenously. “I ordered this from Wanmin Restaurant! My friend Xiangling’s father owns it and they make some of the best food of Liyue! And for a good price too!”

Xiangling? Wasn’t she a playable character who happened to be a chef?

I felt slightly guilty when I realized that Hu Tao must have been waiting for me to wake up so that she could eat as well. While I appreciated the company, she didn’t have to. Getting me food was more than enough.

Once I had gotten over the shock of finding myself in someone else’s clothes, I had asked who Hu Tao was and how I had gotten… here. 

And who had changed my clothes while I was unconscious. While the grey dress shirt was warm, comfortable, and made of high quality by the way it felt against my skin, I felt absolutely naked wearing anything outside of the Glorybringer Dress (with the exception of the Chrysaor armour). 

But rather than answering my question immediately, Hu Tao declared that I must have been hungry and that she would be happy to answer all my questions once we had gotten some food into our systems. 

I would have preferred that she answer my questions first, but my stomach had chosen that exact moment to growl. Seeing the mischievous smirk on her face, I realized that it was a lost cause and that I would be eating dinner before I got my answers. 

“I was the one who dressed you, by the way.” 

I immediately looked up from my food, chopsticks in my mouth as I had been in the middle of eating. 

“Wew?” I said, mouth full. I took out the chopsticks and swallowed my food before trying again. “I mean, you?” 

“Yup!” She nodded. “Mr. Zhongli may usually act like a rambling old man with his head in the clouds half the time, but he at least had the decency to ask me and the ferrylady for help when it came to removing your clothes.”

I let out a sigh of relief that I hadn’t realized I had been holding in until now. 

“Don’t worry! He left the room as soon as he saw that you were in good hands! He actually went to get an extra shirt and some towels for you while I provided the shorts!”

“Oh, I thought this looked familiar. So this shirt is Mr. Zhongli’s?” I looked down at the dress shirt I was wearing. Now that I was looking at it in closer detail and not flipping out about the fact that someone had undressed while I was unconscious, it did look like the exact dress shirt that the funeral parlor consultant wore everyday underneath his brown coat. 

“Uh-huh!” Hu Tao grabbed some more food from the containers in front of her. “My clothes wouldn’t have fit you and the ferrylady didn’t have extras, so the old man said you could use his extra shirt. Thankfully my shorts did fit you.”

By the blessings of Bahamut that they did. I already felt uncomfortable dressed as I was. I didn’t know how I would be able to handle being literally half naked. 

“Well thank you for providing me with clothes and food.” I said gratefully. “You didn’t have to.” 

“We also redressed your wounds too.” The playfulness dropped from her face as a serious expression took over. Her red eyes met mine. “It… we had to administer some ointment to ensure that it wouldn’t be infected, but…”

Silence filled the room as we both waited for the other shoe to drop. In the end it was Hu Tao who decided to break the silence. 

“That’s not a normal wound, is it?” She finally finished.

And now for the first time since we’ve interacted, I caught a glimpse of sharpness in her eyes. 

While I didn’t know much of the girl in front of me as a person, I did know she was a prodigy who could already read at the age of three. At the age of thirteen she inherited the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor from her grandfather and had been running it ever since. Considering that the funeral parlor was doing well, she certainly knew what she was doing. Even with her quirks. 

I had never been a good liar nor was I one for deception when it wasn’t required. So I decided that it wouldn’t hurt to be honest to a degree. I also had the feeling for all the eccentricities that Hu Tao was said to display, she was not the kind of person who was easily fooled. That was something that she and her employee Zhongli seemed to share; their gazes always seemed to pierce right through you and dissect your being piece by piece. They would not figure you out right away, but there was no doubt that they would get their answers eventually one way or another.

“No, it’s not. I got it…” From my son when we fought. “When I was fighting off a member of the Order of the Abyss. I defeated them, but unfortunately they were able to get one last attack in before they fled.”

Which was true. I just left out a lot of the more… personal details. 

“I didn’t realize that there was anything off about it until the pharmacist pointed out that I was barely healing at all.” And that didn’t go into the… occasional pain I experienced. The kind that had me doubling over at times and trying to remind myself to breathe. “But how could you tell?”

Hu Tao leaned back in her seat, arms folded behind her head as she examined me. I stared back at her, folding my own hands across my lap. 

“Mmm. I could sense the taint coming off from it and my co-worker seemed uncomfortable when she saw the wound as well.” Hu Tao finally said. “But if it was related to the Order of the Abyss...”

Hu Tao looked like she was deep in thought about what was going to say next.

From the little I glimpsed of the game before I died, the Order of the Abyss managed to corrupt one of the Four Winds of Mondstadt. The corrupted being was Dvalin, a massive dragon creature designated by the Anemo Archon to protect the people under his charge. Corruption of such a powerful being was not an easy feat and it highlighted just how dangerous the organization was if it could turn one of it’s powerful protectors into a being who wanted to destroy it. 

I was aware that I was sitting on some invaluable information regarding the Order of the Abyss, but at the same time I knew very little about them. Or at least, I had no idea what the people of Teyvat knew about them. Everything I knew about this sinister shadowy organization was based on my memories of my previous life. 

As well as what Aether had told me during our confrontation. 

Which was the destruction of Teyvat as a whole for the fall of an ancient advanced civilization.  

“Monsters of the Abyss have been around for a long time.” Hu Tao said as she leaned forward, placing her elbows on her desk and intertwining her fingers. “But it wasn’t until recently that they started being… more organized. Smarter. There is very little anyone knows about this organization such as how many monsters make up their membership, their leadership, the degree of power.” 

The girl stared at me with calculating eyes and once again I felt like she was looking right through me. 

But I wasn’t going to give her any answers. At least the ones relating directly to Aether. Though I did wonder how the head of a funeral parlor got that kind of info. 

The first reason for not telling Hu Tao anything was because what went on was because the info I had could make the girl in front of me a target for an organization that insisted on hiding in the shadows. And the second reason is that what went down between me and the Order of the Abyss was personal.

I had no idea what Order of the Abyss had done to my son, but I could barely recognize him at the time even with the resemblance between him, my brother, and my father. Admittedly it had been a long time since I had seen him, seen any of my children. 

But when I saw Aether… I instantly knew that there was something wrong with him.. 

His eyes were ice cold with not a trace of warmth in them. They were apathetic, uncaring and they looked upon others as one would stare at those who they believed were beneath them. I had seen those kinds of eyes on other people; people who were driven by personal goals and who would achieve them no matter what, uncaring of the collateral damage that they caused around them. Or perhaps the whole point was the collateral damage in the first place. 

The powers he wielded against me when we fought screamed ‘darkness’. Darkness that reminded me of the darkness that came from the Crimson Horizon; that corrupted and tainted everything it touched. 

I had no idea what happened. I had no idea whether Aether was willingly working for this insidious organization of the shadows or if he was brainwashed into being their leader. If it was the former, I was going to drag Aether kicking and screaming out of the shadows and kick his ass. If it was the latter, I was still going to knock some sense into my son and first born, but most of my anger would be directed at the organization that brainwashed him and I would stop at nothing to destroy them come hell and brimfire.

How dare they corrupt my son? How dare they fucking turn him into someone who sought the destruction of innocent people?

I was going to destroy them.

Suddenly the food that Hu Tao had graciously provided me had become unappetizing.

I think it was beginning to hit me.

Aether was the Prince of the Abyss. 

Aether was the fucking Prince of the Abyss. 

I knew that my children would be heavily involved in the events of Teyvat even before they were born. And despite the fact that it was supposed to happen, I planned on fighting their fates. Perhaps it was the mother in me that fought against what I knew was in store for them.

But then the beautiful world of skies that we all called home was at war. What had once been a mostly peaceful world erupted into flames and the skies that were once blue could no longer be seen as they were covered in smoke and crimson. Attacks rained from the sky and every day islands would either be destroyed or knocked down into the Crimson Horizon. 

The Sky Realm had become a war zone and at that time I had to make a painful decision that I knew my young children would resent me for in the future. 

I sent them away from the Sky Realm with my siblings. Had they stayed behind, they would have been forced to witness the atrocities of war, the destruction of everything they knew. I could have easily fled with them, but the Sky Realm was my home. The home of my friends, even if they had all died a long time ago. 

I had to stay behind to defend it. 

Sending them off-world was a temporary solution at best. If they traveled to other worlds, they would likely be witness to other wars. Other tragedies. But the triplets at the time were too young to fight in the war. They were still children, they were still learning how to fight themselves. Maybe if they were older, I wouldn’t have sent away with my siblings to our original homeworld.

But they were still so very young and as their mother I couldn’t bear to subject them to the destruction and loss of everything they knew.

So while they cried in the arms of my siblings, calling out for me, I had turned my back on them as I prepared myself for war. 

And now they are grown up. No longer children but young adults. I did not doubt that they had to make decisions in my absence; decisions that children should not have to make despite their immortality. 

I had watched them grow up as children, but I had in all likelihood not been there at times they needed me the most.

I put my plate back down on the desk, no longer hungry. 

I found myself in a vibrant field. The scent was sweet, the water that flowed at a nearby river was clear, and the colours were all but blinding. 

And as aesthetic as the scenery is, I was not thrilled to be here. 

Why did I keep finding myself in places that I had no memory of even going to in the first place? 

Last I remembered was helping Hu Tao repack the leftovers we hadn’t eaten and then settling myself comfortably on the couch in her office while Hu Tao slept in the lounge. So unless I just got up and slept walked here… 

Was this a dream?

I looked around to get a better view of my surroundings when I saw him. 

I didn’t know if I had been distracted by my surroundings or he had slipped into my blindspot, but standing before me was a male figure who was hovering over the ground barefoot. He wore a sleeveless, form fitting white cloak that had a hood pulled up and covering the top half of his face and simple black pants. Though his clothes were basic in colour and designs, I couldn’t help but notice that his cloak had a gold outline just like my dress did. His arms, though humanoid, were a dark brown and had gold lines weaved in an intricate pattern printed on them.

It wasn’t his somewhat strange appearance or the fact that he was levitating that had frozen me to the ground though. It was his presence. One that was ancient, as old as the earth itself. It demanded respect and authority, threatening to drown me in its overwhelming might.

Though I had never felt this particular presence, I had felt similar ones enough times in the past to be able to put a name to it. 

The main in front of me had the presence of a god. 

And there was only one god in Liyue that the natives worshiped and revered. 

Rex Lapis.

The God of Contracts. The God of Commerce. The Lord of Geo. The Prime of the Adepti. The Warrior God. 

Morax. 

The Oldest of the Seven. 

The Geo Archon. 

And Zhongli’s true form and identity. 

No matter how much the god in mortal form had tried to hide it, I already knew who he was from the start. Not just because of my… previous knowledge, but because he just wasn’t good at acting human. While he certainly looked the part of a well-versed gentleman, he talked and sounded much older than he appeared to be. He was very knowledgeable in history, but spoke of events as if he had been there to witness them himself. 

Events that took place centuries ago, mind you. 

But the most damning thing about him was his eyes. Even if he managed to nail down being human perfectly, he could not hide his eyes. Whoever had said that eyes were the windows to the soul, they had been very accurate. Zhongli may have looked like a man in his mid-twenties to his early thirties, but his eyes betrayed his true age. 

He had the eyes of an immortal. Ancient, weary eyes that had seen so much. That had suffered loss after loss after loss. That were used to and resigned to losing the people around them. 

And I was sure he could see the same in mine. Immortals were pretty good at seeing through other immortals.

Even when he hadn’t been interacting with me in his Zhongli guise, I had constantly felt the god’s presence everywhere I went, his gaze always watching me no matter what I did. But this was the first time that he had ever visited me in person as Morax/Rex Lapis. 

I could barely breathe, but I refused to buckle in his presence. I refused to submit to anyone, even if the one in question was a god. 

“Rex Lapis,” I choked out. Though his presence was unexpected and unwelcome, showing a modicum of respect never hurt anyone. And besides, he was the one who shaped Liyue Harbor into the powerhouse it was today. Even if I didn’t think highly of him invading my dreams, he still deserved the respect the people of his lands showed him. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” 

He chuckled as he floated closer. 

“So you know who I am, Outlander?” His voice was deep and sounded vaguely familiar. If I hadn’t already known he went around incognito as Zhongli, I wouldn’t have picked up on it. 

“Kinda hard not to.” I rolled my eyes. “Your symbol is literally printed on your shirt.” 

I pointed at said symbol. 

“The presence you exude screams god.” I continued. “And lastly, I’ve been around enough gods in the past to be able to pick up when a god is crashing my dreams. ”

The tone of my last words had a lot of bite in them, but I really did not like it when anyone decided to pay me a visit within my consciousness. The only time a person got a pass was when it was an emergency. 

Though I could not see his face, I got the impression that he had raised an eyebrow. 

“This is not the first time you’ve been visited by a god?” He asked curiously. 

I could already feel a headache coming on from remembering all my previous encounters with past gods. 

“Not at all.” I groaned. “And oftentimes they visited me for one thing.”

Though I highly doubted that Rex Lapis had entered my dreams for that purpose, I just had to ask anyway. If just to annoy him for invading my privacy in the first place. 

“You’re not here to proposition me for sex? Or to be your concubine? Or your wife? Because that’s how my interactions with gods in the past have gone.” How I managed to get away from those horny bastards, I will never know. “By the way, my answer is ‘no’ on all accounts.” 

I could feel him staring. 

I stared right back. 

The silence stretched for a long time until the god in front of me broke it. By laughing. 

It started as a chuckle before it turned into laughter that had him bending over and holding his middle. This continued on for several minutes before he was finally able to reign in his amusement again to chuckles. 

“Got it out of your system?” I could feel my face burning. Geez, it wasn’t that funny. Not to mention being laughed at by a God, especially if you were the butt of that joke, wasn’t a good feeling.

Rex Lapis straightened himself quick and coughed, probably to try and salvage whatever dignity he had left. But I could still hear the amusement in his voice when he spoke again. “Well, I will be honest. You are one of the most beautiful women to have ever stepped foot in Liyue in the years since it was founded.” 

My face burned even more. He had to be exaggerating. 

He smirked. “But that was not the reason I came to talk to you. However, I would not be adverse to taking you as a wife or a partner-” 

“No thanks.” I quickly interrupted. “I’m pretty sure my answer was and still is ‘no’.” 

Rex Lapis chuckled. “Well, the offer still stands should you wish to revisit it.” 

“No.” He was so infuriating. I can’t believe I had a crush on him in my first life. “Anyways, can we get back to the reason why you decided to pay me a visit in my dreams? I would like to get some semblance of sleep after this conversation.” 

Because someone visiting your dreams was tiring. 

I supposed the God of Contracts agreed, because he cleared his throat and all traces of his earlier amusement had vanished. “Straight to business, I see. Very well then,” Rex Lapis folded his arms across his chest. “Why are you here, Outlander?” 

“I’m looking for something.” My children. “And it just so happened to end up in Teyvat.” 

“That told me absolutely nothing. ” The god said flatly. 

“It’s the truth. Even if it’s the bare minimum.” I shrugged. “Forgive me for not going into detail, but that’s more personal.” 

Silence reigned between us again. 

“I suppose we are all entitled to our secrets.” Rex Lapis gave a slight nod to indicate that he would not pursue the issue. “However, I wish to ask… what are your plans for Teyvat?” 

And for Liyue, went unsaid. 

It made sense. Rex Lapis had protected Liyue for thousands of years. He had nurtured the people from humble beginnings into the powerful trade centre that it was today. He watched over these people, and had watched over their ancestors before them. He was invested in their well-being, in the well-being of the land he had a hand in helping grow. Had defended with the help of a friend that had passed away long ago.

It made sense he would be concerned about an immortal alien suddenly stepping foot on his lands. One who happened to be very powerful and whose motivations were unknown to him. 

I had absolutely no intention of doing anything that could harm the natives of this world with the exception of self-defense, but how were the powers in charge to know that? I was also technically an invader, and invaders were never looked well upon. 

“Well once I can walk around without bleeding out, my next plan would be to travel.” I said. 

I still needed to put in time for the owner of Bubu’s pharmacy to pay off the treatment for my injuries, but as soon as I could I would leave. 

Liyue Harbor was beautiful. It was rich in culture and had thousands of years of history to its name. There were so many things about the city to explore, to learn about. 

But I could not stay forever. 

Not when my children were out there and were about to be involved in upcoming events that would take Teyvat by a storm. One that would likely change the nation as people knew it. 

Aether was the Prince of the Abyss and plotting out genocide with vengeful monsters.  

One of my daughters had dropped me in Liyue and then disappeared without a trace. What she would do in this calm before the storm, I had no idea. But I know she had gotten into a fight with Aether if my last conscious moments of hearing sword fighting was accurate and then escaped with me afterwards. 

And my last daughter, if events were still going by what I remembered, would become a renowned individual labeled as the Traveler who would go on to achieve great things in her future. 

“In search of that something you are looking for, I assume?” Rex Lapis clarified. 

“Yes.” I said. “I highly doubt what I’m looking for will come to me in Liyue Harbor. That would be a little too easy.” 

A rich laugh left the oldest God’s mouth. “Yes, it would. Very well, I will accept that explanation.” 

Thanks, I guess. 

“Lastly.” I could see a glint of amber peeking out from beneath the hood and I could tell that I was not going to like this question. “Why do you carry the taint of the Abyss within you?”

Chapter Text

Right.

I just thought I would let you know that I decided to scrap this fic and rewrite this. 

I already have the prologue out and on planning on posting the first chapter later. The reason for this is because I was writing Quaesitor by the Seat of my Pants and no direction. Which isn't good in the long run. 

I already wrote the prologue a while ago, but I didn't post it because I wanted to complete the first chapter. Consider it as an apology gift for suddenly canceling this story and taking a long time to plan it out. 

So yeah. Thanks for sticking with me and I hope you enjoy the successor to this fic known as Seeker of the Stars.