Chapter Text
In the dead of night, when most mortals have retired for the night, a lone figure emerged from the water surrounding Dihua Marsh. Said figure grunted as they shuffled through the dense shore, his legs too exhausted to allow him to lift them and walk properly. If not for the Primordial Jade spear - that once glistened in the sun the way only a creation blessed by the divine would but was now covered in mud from the trip in the water and the dried blood of Liyue’s enemies - he used as a crutch, the figure would have fallen into the water ages ago.
The young man collapsed on the shore, heaving. He felt like his insides were coming undone, as though his lungs had shrivelled up and his heart begged to still. The karmic bonds on this Vigilant Yaksha’s soul have accumulated to the extent that they physically pained him, again. He bit down on his tongue before he could scream and began crawling towards the Statue of the Seven depicting Rex Lapis, which lay in the middle of Dihua Marsh.
Each inch forward felt like pure agony. His bruised knees felt as though they were bleeding out all the blood in his body, and his calloused hands send thousands of prickles of pain to his pounding head each time they contacted the earth. His vision blurred to the point where keeping his eyes closed granted him more favours. Eventually, he stopped and desperately tried to breathe.
All others would stop here, lay on the grass, and hope the karma acts fast or even pierce themselves with his spear. But he had a contract to fulfil. He had lives to continue protecting, people whose memories he still had to honour. With a shaky breath, he opened his eyes and determined that if he continued forward, ignoring all his pain, he could make it to the statue in five seconds. “Five seconds is nothing in the face of eternity,” he thought, echoing the words of someone of higher stature than he.
As he stood there - crouched on the ground, shaking like a leaf, feeling as though he were on the verge of death, vision black – trying to gather the strength needed to push on, the wind picked up. It carried a soft, gentle tune to his ears, one that was in such a sharp contrast to his current state, he might as well take it as an insult. But for some reason, he felt drawn to it, like a geo crystal fly to ore. He could hear it getting… closer? His body began feeling lighter and colder as the karmic binds began slightly loosening themselves and the wind became stronger. His vision continued to provide no aid, as he frantically searched his surroundings for the sound. The head swivelling brought his attention back to this pounding headache, which sent him violently falling back down to the earth, causing him to become soaked in the water below. “When had I returned into the water?” His mind began racing as he materialized his spear once more. “When had I put it away?” Could this be the result of some new enemy he had yet to encounter? A siren perhaps?
In his uncharacteristic state of being lost in his mind, he was caught off guard by a pair of hands that cupped his face gently, as though he were the most expensive artifact known to the mortal realm. In his newfound state of awareness, he found that the gentle tune from earlier had stopped as well. Perhaps this was an enemy’s trick.
“-iao? Xiao?” a voice called out to his ears that were ringing just moments ago, but whose hearing had suddenly been restored. It took him a moment to recognize the voice, one which sounded as though it belonged to the divine. When he realized that before him stood the Anemo Archon Barbatos, he relaxed. Then when he realized that he was currently clinging onto the lord’s arm for dear life – subsequently covering him in mud and blood – while pointing his spear at him, his heart began to soar, and pure fear forced his body to work for him again and he stumbled backwards onto his back.
Pain and panic began to flood his senses once again, the karmic binds tightening once more, and the embarrassment of presenting himself to his superior in such a state, in such a way, settling deep into his mind. The hands returned to his face, removing his own hands to gently intertwine their fingers. “Xiao, it's okay, I’m here now.” Barbatos pulled Xiao up from their connected hands, and guided his head down on his lap, after some change in position on his part. He continued to have his hand intertwined with one of the Adeptus' hands, while the other ran through his murky hair.
The Archon began to sing. It was a simple song really, a tale of Old Mondstadt, sung in a hushed tone – as though the god meant this song just for him. It calmed him down, ease his pain. Although he found himself semi-submerged in the marsh water, he would deem himself to be in paradise right now. Although he found himself tense and fidgety at the close contact, the feeling of the Anemo Archon’s hands through his hair, the song is sung by his truly divine voice, the pure feeling of benevolence pouring from him, the feel of this plush thighs beneath his head… all this felt like paradise.
There they sat till twilight, and the first rays of sunlight peeked over the horizon of far, distant mountains. His vision had long since returned, leaving him no longer alone in the dark. For the first time in a long time, Xiao found himself relaxed beyond all reasoning. He turned to lay on his back and made eye contact with Barbatos, who smiled down upon him with grace and beauty. His face began feeling hot, and he immediately returned to his senses. He rolled off the Archon and stood up, finding it nowhere as difficult as before, only to return to the ground on his knees to bow.
“Thank you, Lord Barbatos, for aiding me through the previous night. Please forgive me for my transgressions against you, I forgot myself,” he recited, slight panic evidence in his voice. The god before him simply huffed in response. “Haven’t I told you to stop being this formal? Honestly, we’ve known each other for how long now?” Xiao looked up at Barbatos, who sat in his archon attire, looking down upon him with a pout on his face. “Forgive me, my Lord.” Said lord sighed once again and rose to his feet, cleaning the mud off himself and then with a few strong flaps of his angelic wings, hovered a meter above the ground. “It's fine. Think nothing of it, Xiao,” he chirped with a sunny, closed-eyed smile.
Xiao looked down as to avoid eye contact and slowly rose to his feet. The two then remained in relevantly awkward silence.
“Oh dear!” Barbatos began, fluttering about nervously, calling Xiao’s eyes to him. “I seemed to be lost! Might I ask you, oh Golden-Winged, ever Vigilant Yaksha, to lead this poor god to Morax’s abode?” he asked animatedly. After blinking in surprise, Xiao gave a quick short nod before pointing in a westerly direction. “If you proceed to… fly… over the-” “Nah, I’m terrible with those types of directions. You’ll have to escort me personally~” Barbatos interjected, extending his arm out with his wings flared out behind him. Xiao hesitantly put his hand in the Archons, and the two began to soar through the skies, Barbatos not needing as much help as he had previously advertised.
When the two made it to Mt Aocang, the found the lord of Geo setting teacups upon a large, round stone table. “Ah, Barbatos. I was wondering when you would finally arrive. I took the liberty of preparing some Turmeric Green Tea,” the archon said as the two approached. Barbatos immediately jumped forward with a gust of wind and pounced on the Geo Lord from the front. The latter had foreseen this as he simply caught the shorter god with one arm, while picking up a teapot to pour into a cup for the smaller wind god.
“Xiao, why don’t you join us?” Barbatos quipped, causing Rex Lapis to turn his gaze to the Adeptus. Xiao’s eyes widened momentarily in surprise, as he scanned both gods’ expressions. Barbatos – still clinging to Rex Lapis’ side with his arms around his neck – flashed him a bright smile, while his own Lord continued to bore into his soul with his unwavering gaze.
“Thank you, my Lord, for the invitation, but I still have to patrol the easternmost area-” Xiao replied with a short bow. The statement earned him a nod of approval from his saviour, while Barbatos detached himself from the taller god with a frown and huff of annoyance. “Very well. Oh, how I long for the day you do take me up on my offer,” he sighed dramatically, and he fainted into Xiao’s arms, the latter caught off guard by the display, and the large wings in his face. “Barbatos, have a sense of dignity for Celestia’s sake. The other will be arriving shortly, do you mind lending me your assistance?” came Rex Lapis’ stern voice. “Coming dear!” the Anemo Archon replied as he leapt out of Xiao’s arms, only to turn back to him as he picked leaves from his hair – practically preening him. “See you soon!” he cheered and fluttered over to Rex Lapis’ side, who now had a fond, gentle expression on his face as he watched his fellow archon.
The sight caused something to stir within Xiao and he opted to make haste towards Mt Tiangheng, overlooking the harbor. He sat on the cliff edge, and reminisced about the previous night, the angelic voice and the peace that came with it. He would have to properly thank the Archon for his assistance once again and repay the dept.