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Lumine swung her sword, the blade cutting into one enemy after another. There were way too many of them. Treasure hoarders, kairagi, nobushi, a trap set by the Fauti. Lumine fought with her friends, Amber and Fischl sniping from a distance, Keqing, Bennett and Beidou fighting up close. She had pulled all her friends, all the connections she made in the various lands to help her stop the Fauti’s plan.
She felt a sharp pain in her back as a blade cut into her shoulder, her mind going white as she pitched forward from the pain. She could hear the echoes of her friends calling her name, Barbara running over and a guttural cry, something that chilled Lumine to her very bones.
Her face hit the ground hard as she struggled to get up by her body would not obey. The cries of the battlefield faded as she felt the hard ground against her skin. The pain pulsed against her back, angry and upset. She just wanted it to stop.
The pain faded as warmth spread from the point of injury and in her fading vision, she could make out Barbara’s white dress.
“Thank Barbatos I made it in time,” she said with a sigh.
Lumine slowly sat up as the pain faded and she became aware that the usual sounds of battle were replaced by guttural cries and screams of terror.
Looking up, her eyes finally able to focus, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing at first. Xiao, surrounded by a black mist, his body covered in feathers. Instead of his mask, he bared snarling fangs, his hair slowly transforming into feathers. He wielded his spear with anger, cutting down the enemies with a cruelty that Lumine never expected from him.
“What happened?” Lumine asked Barbara. She noticed even their allies had to flee to avoid getting in the path of Xiao’s weapons.
Barbara shook her head and clasped her hands to her chest. “When you got hit, Xiao went into a rage.”
“His emotions are getting the better of him,” said Zhongli, walking over. Unlike everyone else, he watched Xiao’s rampage with a level of calmness. “Seeing you, someone he cares very much about get hurt like that probably brought him back to the days of his past. I can subdue him but I cannot guarantee the results would be to your liking.”
Lumine nodded and stood. Zhongli didn’t need to say it outright. “Let me try first.”
“Of course.”
She took a few cautious steps towards him, her hair whipping around her from the pressure of his presence alone. “Xiao,” she called to him.
Xiao pulled his spear out of a fallen body and turned to look at her, an angry growl emitting from his throat, his golden eyes glowing and wild. The black mist invaded Lumine’s nose, the taste rancid in the back of her throat. Was this the karma that Xiao had collected over his years of being alive? How could he stand having all of this karma on his shoulders?
Shaking her head, Lumine pressed on. Xiao let out an angry growl and adjusted the grip on his spear, the feathers on his body puffing up.
“It’s me Xiao,” she said softly. “It’s just me. I’m fine. Barbara helped me.”
Xiao growled again but he didn’t move away or make any other overtly threatening gesture so Lumine continued on. Now within touching distance, she slowly reached out with her hands and kept her voice as soft as possible. “You’re okay Xiao, everything is fine now, I’m here.”
Xiao’s growls slowly got softer and softer, his spear falling from his hand as Lumine put her arms around him in a hug and had him rest his head on her shoulder. “It’s okay Xiao, it’s okay…”
The black mist was cloying and burned her nose hairs and in the back of her mind Lumine was worried she would be unable to taste food for at least a week after this. It was fine though, it was a small price to pay to help him.
She didn’t know how long she held him. Hours, days, it might have only been a few minutes. Slowly but surely she could feel the feathers fading away, the black mist dissipating as well.
“Lumine…” Xiao’s voice was hoarse like he had been screaming for a long time.
“Yes?”
“You can let me go now…”
Lumine did so and looked Xiao in the face and the haunted exhausted expression as he looked at the carnage around him. Silently she took his hand and gave it a quick squeeze. There was nothing she could say that could make this better, she knew that.
He clenched his jaw and looked to her. “How is your shoulder?”
“Better. Barabara healed it up.” Lumine rolled her shoulder so he could see.
“That’s good.” With a shaky breath, he pulled his hand away and summoned his spear. “There are probably still stragglers. We should make sure to take them all out.”
Lumine knew there was no point in telling him to rest, especially now. “We should,” she said in agreement. She looked to her friends who were gathering together with their weapons, all taking off against the stragglers. By the time she turned back Xiao was gone. She knew she had to find him later to chat about this. Not now though. She adjusted her grip on her own sword and took off after her friends.