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“Alright fuckers! Are you ready to rumble?” Beidou’s voice echoes in the distance. “Welcome to the Crux Clash Championships!”
It’s as familiar to Xiao as the tremble of earth under thousands of people stamping their feet, as familiar as the thundering roar of his name. It’s familiar enough that Xiao simply listens and continues to wrap bandages around his knuckles. He runs through his list of fighting rules – it’s one of only two things that calms his nerves during a fight.
In the past, Beidou would clap him on the back and laugh at the way his knees would nervously bounce to the rhythm of the stadium’s rumble. Now, his knees are as solid and strong as steel.
“Betting pools are now closed as we welcome our fighters to the floor!” Beidou continues. Xiao flexes his fingers, tests every joint. Then he swings his knee and rolls his shoulders. Everything is working as it should. Good. It’s almost showtime.
“Entering on the left is tonight’s rising challenger! She’s fast, she’s furious, and she has more tricks up her sleeves than her tiny floating friend! Please welcome…the Traveller!”
Xiao snorts. He’s seen a few of her matches. The Traveller, or Lumine, is a new face around these parts, but her fighting style is aggressive and unpredictable. It’s no surprise that she’s accumulated so many fans in such a short amount of time.
“And on our right, our reigning champion! No one knows who he is behind that cold mask, but we’ve all seen his merciless attacks! He’s undefeated this season, but can he keep his streak tonight?”
That’s his cue. He can almost hear the smirk in Beidou’s voice. Xiao rises to his feet, his metallic arm and leg creaking. The mask hanging on his hip feels particularly heavy. He runs his fingers over the carved edges, then secures it over his face.
“Everyone put your hands together for our favorite little cyborg…the one and only….Guardian Yaksha!”
The flashing lights of the arena don’t blind him, nor do the towering walls of the stadium intimidate him. Not anymore. Beidou’s underground fight ring is more packed than usual – it is the championships after all. An old, flickering neon scoreboard keeps track of the current bets as every scoundrel in Teyvat rushes to earn some quick mora. Behind the cracked walls and barbed wire ceiling, thousands of people scream his name. As familiar as the mask over his face.
Xiao’s Fight Rule #1: Keep your head down.
Across the arena, the Traveller twirls a long, sleek sword. Neon gold glyphs shine along its edges. If Xiao is hit, that sword could melt all of Xiao’s metal upgrades. He can’t let that happen.
“Good luck.” The Traveller calls to Xiao. He nods back.
“Fight!” Beidou bellows. The Traveller immediately leaps into the air. Xiao rolls out of the way, just as the blade slices through the air where he was just standing. Xiao slides behind the Traveller and swings his own polearm. Lumine instinctively blocks Xiao’s attack but the force sends her skidding backwards.
“Not bad.” Xiao raises an eyebrow. “They say you haven’t lost yet.”
Lumine grins cheekily. “Why don’t you come a little closer and find out?”
Xiao’s Fight Rule #2: Overconfidence is a death sentence.
Xiao dashes forward. The tip of his spear grazes against the Traveller’s side, but she easily flips over Xiao and counters with her own strike. Lumine sweeps at Xiao’s legs, and Xiao hops into the air. He lands on the flat of Lumine’s blade. As Lumine struggles to pull her sword out from under Xiao, the Yaksha swings his fist at her face. Lumine grunts and plants a powerful kick squarely in Xiao’s stomach. He flies across the arena, barely managing to tuck into a roll.
Lumine massages her jaw. She grimaces.“That hurt, asshole.”
“Could’ve been worse.” Xiao shrugs. As soon as he’s back on his feet, he and Lumine circle each other warily, searching for openings. Xiao’s gaze flicks to the audience, once, twice. No signal yet. For a split second, his vision blurs, but Xiao blinks it away. His cybernetic eye must be failing, but he can’t afford to make mistakes.
“True.” Lumine must be crazy, because Xiao swears he catches a gleam of excitement in her eyes. She glances at Xiao's silver, metallic limbs. “You could’ve used your other arm.”
Xiao growls. His fingers itch with the urge to claw, to cleave, to tear through his opponent with cold, merciless ferocity. He dashes forward again. This time, Xiao’s attacks are quicker, more precise. He changes direction mid-swing, feignting and ducking around Lumine. She swivels in circles, struggling to block Xiao’s furious onslaught of attacks. Xiao strikes his polearm against Lumine’s shins, her unprotected sides, anything he can reach.
Then suddenly, everything becomes blurry. Xiao shakes his head to clear it away, but it’s too late. Lumine takes advantage of his momentary distraction. He sees a flash of silver and golden glyphs, then Lumine’s sword slices into Xiao’s metal arm.
The blade easily cuts through the protective plates and wiring of Xiao’s arm. It sparks and whirs loudly. Immediately, Xiao flips away. Lumine clutches her bruised side and holds her sword up again, panting.
“Listen, I just want to talk.” Lumine calls to Xiao. “I’m looking for my brother, and I heard you might know something. Please-”
“What’s going on?” Beidou’s voice booms throughout the arena. The spectators start to boo and throw their drinks against the wires of the fight cage. “Looks like our Traveller got a lucky hit, but this is no place for talking. We want to see a fight!”
The audience roars in agreement. Xiao understands the thinly veiled threat underneath Beidou’s words, but he can tell from the doe-eyed look on Lumine’s face that she hasn’t caught on. Xiao’s arm sparks again, and he curses under his breath. He scans Lumine desperately, looking for openings, for anything he can use against her.
From the corner of his eye, he catches a glimpse of green. He turns slightly, enough to focus on Lumine while studying the crowd in his peripheral vision. In the distance, a worn, green cap waves high above the audience’s heads. Then it disappears into the crowd.
And there’s his signal. Xiao takes a deep breath. His eyes narrow as a new wave of adrenaline courses through his veins. His metal arm pops again, and he can feel the metal burning the flesh where it's connected to his shoulder. Looks like he’s out of time.
Xiao’s Fight Rule #3: Xiao is a weapon, and weapons don’t let their feelings get in the way of a fight. Weapons don’t have feelings at all.
“You talk too much.” Xiao redirects all his power into his synthetic arm and races forward. His movements dissolve into a blur of black and green smoke. He rains blow after blow on Lumine, quick swings of his polearm followed by deadly strikes from his metallic limbs. He doesn’t give Lumine any chances, and it's all she can do to block the brunt of his damage. Slowly, he drives Lumine back, until she’s nearly cornered against the arena’s walls.
Xiao’s metal arm sizzles, one last time, then dies. The dead weight startles Xiao. He falters mid-punch and stumbles, right into Lumine’s attack range. Her golden sword slices through the air, inches from Xiao’s chest-
In the blink of an eye, Xiao shifts his weight. He drops to the ground, swinging his metal leg to knock Lumine’s feet from under her. Lumine hits the ground with a hard thud. As she struggles to stand, Xiao launches off his metal foot. The extra height propels him over Lumine’s head. Xiao kicks off the arena walls and plunges his polearm downwards. His aim is precise. The tip of his polearm doesn’t touch Lumine, but the force of the strike’s area damage knocks her back to the floor.
Xiao’s Fight Rule #4: Xiao is built to kill. But that does not mean Xiao has to kill.
Xiao jumps and plunges again, dozens of times. Each time, he makes sure to land in the exact same spot – the only people close enough to see that Xiao’s attacks haven’t touched Lumine at all are Xiao and Lumine themselves. Each time Lumine attempts to get up, Xiao plunges again. On his last plunge, Xiao lands lightly in a crouch, next to Lumine’s limp body.
“ Stay down! ” He hisses. Lumine meets his eyes. Xiao recognizes the despair, the anger, the burning will to fight in her gaze. As familiar to him as the flecks of blood on the tip of his polearm.
“I need to find my brother.” Lumine mumbles.
“You can’t find him if you’re dead.” Xiao raises the blunt end of his polearm. In one movement, he knocks it against the back of Lumine’s head. She slumps, unconscious.
“And the winner is….the Guardian Yaksha!” The crowd bursts into wild cheers and screams. Xiao twirls the polearm, then tucks it against his back. A hidden door swings open in the arena’s stone walls, and Xiao immediately heads toward it, back to the fighters’ quarters underneath the arena. He doesn’t look back, not at Lumine’s limp body nor at the frenzied crowd.
Xiao’s Fight Rule #5: Never let them see weakness.
He’s a fighter, a weapon. This is what he’s built for.
So why does he feel so empty?
The backstage areas of the arena are reserved solely for Beidou and her fighters. Once again, Xiao is grateful for the privacy. It’s always awkward when others watch him replace his broken parts.
Xiao grits his teeth and breathes slowly. He braces himself, then with one last pull, he yanks the dead arm from his shoulder. It’s a miracle that it lasted as long as it did – Lumine cleaved through almost all the protective layers. Even now, the arm is only held together by a few, frayed wires.
Xiao almost wants to laugh. This is the second arm he’s had to replace this month. Absentmindedly, he rubs his chest. Just over his heart, his shirt had been ripped open from Lumine’s quick strikes. If Lumine had been a second quicker or Xiao a second slower, then he would have needed more mechanical replacements than just one arm. At this point, Xiao is nearly 60% metal. But he never complains. Every injury, every upgrade, every moment where Xiao feels less than human – all of this is his karma catching up with him. It’s simply the debt he must pay for his victories.
He tosses the old scrap metal away and digs through his locker for a suitable replacement. He pushes aside the flamethrower arm that Xinyan gifted him for his birthday, and an old hand with only three fingers that Yanfei once conned from a drunk politician. His fingers brush lightly against a sleek, bronze limb, inlaid with Cor Lapis. He still remembers when Zhongli had given it to him, after his second year competing in the Crux Championship. Back then, some of the wiring had been sliced and torn, as though the arm had been forcefully ripped from its socket. Xiao had smiled, thanked Zhongli, and pretended not to see the reports of murdered robotic engineers in the news the next morning.
“That’s a good one. Matches your eyes.” A familiar voice chirps behind him. Xiao sighs and slams his locker closed. He turns around. Venti leans against the opposite wall of the locker room. Xiao’s gaze drifts from the worn, green cap nestled on top of Venti’s hair, to the discarded metal arm in Venti’s hands. Xiao frowns.
“Don’t play with my arm.” Xiao mutters.
Venti tilts his head. “Why? You’re not using it anymore. Can I keep it?”
Xiao scowls. “Venti, just leave it.”
Venti pauses and studies Xiao carefully. The fighter holds his ground and meets Venti’s gaze evenly. He won’t back down from a challenge, but the way Venti’s eyes glitter with sadness makes Xiao hesitate.
“Ven,” Xiao says, slowly, gently. “Look. I used that arm to fight, nothing more. It served its purpose, but now it’s broken. It’s a hunk of scrap metal. You can’t fix it, you can’t save it. There’s nothing you can do.”
“Is that really how you see things?” Venti counters.
“It’s the truth.” Xiao glares at Venti. The other boy pouts at Xiao, clutching the arm tightly to his chest. It takes Xiao two seconds to melt under Venti’s look. “Alright, fine, do whatever you want with it.”
Venti grins triumphantly. Xiao sighs as Venti carefully tucks the arm away in his old, brown backpack. That bag had once belonged to the great Cyrus of the Adventurer’s Guild, until it was nicked by Teyvat’s craftiest pickpocket. Now, it holds whatever treasures Venti can get his sticky fingers on.
“By the way, this is for tonight’s mission.” Venti pulls out a bundle of cloth and throws it to Xiao. The fighter catches it with his one hand. “If you break it fighting some hotshot rookie, I’m gonna be pissed.”
Xiao struggles to unwrap the cloth with his one hand. When he finally manages it, he lets out a low whistle. Inside the cloth, a new silver arm gleams in the light.
“Arm for an arm, huh?” Xiao carefully connects the wires of his new arm to his shoulder.
“State of the art. It’s built to pack a punch, which hopefully we won’t need to do tonight.” Venti nods towards the cloth in Xiao’s hand. “There’s something extra in there, free of charge.”
Once Xiao’s new arm is connected to the rest of his system, he curls his fingers into a fist. This arm feels stronger, more flexible and powerful than he’s used to. He takes another moment to admire his new limb, then carefully digs through the cloth. He finds a glass orb and holds it up to the light.
“New eye, new features, new fun things for us to play with.” Venti claps his hands with excitement. “Put it on!”
“I don’t need a new eye.”
“You can’t hide it from me! The one you have right now is malfunctioning, right? Otherwise, that Traveller would have never landed a hit on you.” Venti puts his hands on his hips. “Besides, you won me thirty thousand mora tonight. It’s the least I could do.”
“You bet on me?” Xiao looks at Venti, dumbstruck. Mora is scarce in these parts of Teyvat. Venti doesn’t have much money, otherwise he wouldn’t be involved in such shady dealings. For the thief to bet so much money on Xiao….for him to trust Xiao’s strength that much….
“Of course!” Venti replies. “An arm for an arm, an eye for an eye. Besides, I gotta take care of my investments, and you need some upgrades. If you lose your next match, how else am I supposed to make money?”
“You’re so annoying.” Xiao grumbles. Venti giggles.
“Hehe, that’s my specialty. Hurry up, my darling yaksha. We need to get going.”
“Everything’s set then?” Xiao asks. He turns away to quickly replace his old, cybernetic eye with this new one. Venti’s right – Xiao’s long overdue for upgrades and maintenance.
“Yeah. Zhongli’s waiting at the drop-off point.”
As Xiao waits for his eye to connect to the rest of his system, Xiao swivels back to Venti and jerks his head towards the door.
“Then let’s not keep him waiting. After you, asshole.”
On any other day, Xiao would never have thought of Teyvat, this glorified shithole, as beautiful . Maybe it's his new eye finally connecting to the rest of his systems (or maybe it's Venti’s comforting presence) but for some reason, everything seems just a little more surreal. Venti and Xiao leap from rooftop to rooftop, away from prying eyes. From their place high above the bustling life of Teyvat, Xiao sees everything more clearly.
The city is split into seven districts, each with their own little quirks, charms, and secrets. The district of Liyue is no different. Glittering maglev trains race and dance around soaring skyscrapers covered with flashing neon billboards. Lights, of every color and shape, outshine the stars. On the streets below, people bustle between crowded storefronts and market stalls, searching for the next high-tech goods. It’s luxurious, advanced. Breath-taking.
It’s a beautiful mirage. Xiao knows what hides under Liyue’s sparkling image. Black markets deals exchanged behind averted eyes, deadly criminals lurking in shadowed alleys, fight rings hidden below abandoned warehouses. It’s a complicated duality, reflected in every brick and stone of Liyue’s foundation. Wealth and poverty. Fantasies and disillusionment. Those who pretend they have mora to flaunt, and those who won’t hesitate to take it for themselves.
Xiao sneaks a glance at Venti. The thief glides from rooftop to rooftop, always one step ahead of Xiao. His footsteps are so light that it seems like he’s flying. Venti comes from the nearby district of Mondstadt, and his reputation as a thief has placed him in the center of Mondstadt’s network of spies and information. Xiao doesn’t know why Venti works with Zhongli’s ragtag gang or why he trusts them so much. But he’s glad that Venti considers him an ally. Those who become Venti’s enemy do not stay alive for long.
There’s something pure about Venti, untainted by the machinery and darkness that swirls around Teyvat. He’s not like Xiao, whose heart is hardened by steel, nor like Zhongli, who signs his contracts in blood. Xiao would be a fool to ignore Venti’s connections to the dangers that hide in neon shadows. But for now, Venti is free from it all.
And Xiao will do anything to protect him.
“It’s suspicious we haven’t run into trouble yet.” Xiao breaks the silence. He casts a wary glance towards Celestia. Teyvat is ruled by a secret council that lives in isolated chambers floating high above the city. No one has ever descended from the heavens, but their presence is always there. Always watching.
“I trust my sources.” Unlike Xiao, Venti doesn’t look back.
When they finally reach the colossal walls that line Liyue’s borders, Xiao can’t help but slow down and stare. No one knows what lies beyond the walls of Teyvat. There are rumors that it’s a desolate wasteland, whispered stories of an even more advanced civilization than Teyvat. It is said to be the only place safe from the prying eyes of Celestia. Even now, as they flit along the wall, Xiao peeks through the cracks in the walls, but only glimpses flashes of fog and shadows. It’s pitch black out there, far darker than the endless lights of Teyvat.
“Xiao, don’t look.” Venti warns. Xiao snaps his head forward, embarrassed to have been caught. Venti shifts to Xiao’s other side, so that he’s between Xiao and the walls.
“What happened here?” Xiao whispers.
“I don’t know.” Venti shakes his head and looks away. Xiao catches the tremble in his voice. Venti’s lying. “Curiosity killed the cat. And there’s nothing in this world that can bring it back.”
Xiao shivers and stares resolutely ahead. It only takes a few more minutes until they reach their target — the abandoned ruins of the Northland Bank. It had once been a prosperous business, until a rival Liyue gang had felt threatened by its wealth and burned it to the ground. Venti’s sources say that there’s a mass amount of abandoned mora still hidden inside. Millions of mora…that amount would be life-changing. They could rebuild the poor neighborhoods of Liyue, feed the hungry in Mondstadt. The possibilities are endless, tantalizing. It’s all the more important that they get to it first.
It’s far too easy to break into the building. Xiao breaks the window with one punch, then he and Venti swiftly climb inside.
“Where’s the mora?” Xiao murmurs to Venti. The bank is eerily still. It feels wrong to speak in anything but a whisper. Venti must feel it too, because he responds in a hushed voice.
“In the vaults underground. Does your eye have any fancy tricks we can use?”
Xiao blinks. The eye whirs in its socket, then holographic windows pop up in his vision. Xiao scans the options — microscopic lens, thermal lens, x-ray — and settles on night vision. Immediately, his new eye provides some light, which helps Xiao scan their surroundings. Rotten planks of wood, cracked glass, and filth litter the bank’s floor. Every surface is covered with inches of dust.
“Something feels weird.” Xiao mutters. “Be careful.”
Together, Xiao and Venti slink through the halls of the bank. Xiao leads the way, one hand always on his spear. Venti clings to Xiao’s back, one hand clutching the fabric of Xiao’s shirt. The hallways of the Northland Bank twist and turn, but other than an incredibly confusing layout, nothing seems out of place, until-
“Stop.” Xiao holds out an arm, and Venti nearly collides into him. The fighter points to dark smears on the walls ahead. Xiao runs a finger through one of the smears, then rubs the pads of his fingers together.
“What is it?” Venti asks, nervous.
“Blood.” Xiao knows what this is. He’s all too familiar with it. “Less than a day old.”
“Xiao-” Venti’s eyes grow wide. Xiao nods.
“We’re not alone.”
“Do you think the mora’s still here?” Venti hisses. Gods, Xiao hopes so. They need that money.
“You trust your sources, and I trust you.” Xiao answers simply. He draws his polearm and points it at the shadows of the hallways ahead. “Stay close to me.”
“I can defend myself.” Venti huffs. He pulls a knife from his pocket and waves it as proof.
The corner of Xiao’s mouth twitches upward. “I know.”
They creep deeper into the bank. For someone made of so much machinery, Xiao walks with light footsteps. Venti is just as silent, though Xiao can feel his nervousness in the tight grip Venti has on Xiao’s shirt.
All of a sudden, a light flickers ahead. Xiao immediately whirls and drags Venti into a side corridor. He pins Venti against the wall and covers Venti’s mouth with his palm to muffle his startled yelp.
Xiao leans forward to peek around the edge of the wall. Two tall figures stride in their direction. Xiao frowns. Their fashion is nothing like anything he’s seen in Liyue or any other district in Teyvat.
“...surveilling the Wolf of Mondstadt.” Xiao catches bits and pieces of their conversation. Footsteps echo in the distance, slowly growing closer. “We’ll strike within the week.”
The other figure nods. “Most of our men are in place. We still need a few more materials to keep Celestia’s attention away.”
“I look forward to the day we pull them down from the heavens, stone by stone.” Their voices draw closer.
“Patience. Trust the Prince’s plan.” Xiao holds his breath as the two figures stop their hiding spot. The light swings towards them. Xiao instinctively presses his body against Venti’s and flattens them both against the wall. Xiao can feel Venti’s warm puffs of breath against his palm.
“What is it?” One of them asks.
“...Nothing. I thought I saw a rat.”
The two figures continue on their path. Xiao waits a few moments to make sure that they’re gone, then lets out a sigh of relief. Something wet and rough brushes against Xiao’s palm – what the fuck, is Venti licking him?
“Gross.” Xiao mutters. He carefully disentangles himself from Venti and wipes his palm on Venti’s shirt. Venti grins.
“What else was I supposed to do? You’re heavy, metal man.” Venti dusts himself off and glances after the two figures. “We should go. Those people are dangerous.”
“You know them?” Xiao reels in surprise.
“Doesn’t matter.” Venti brushes past him and heads down the main hallway. Xiao hurries to catch up with him.
It’s clear that Venti knows more than he’s letting on, but Xiao won’t push. Xiao trusts Venti, more than he should.
If only he had known that this would be the beginning of their downfall.
They finally find the vaults far underneath the bank. They make a perfect team – Venti easily picks most of the locks, and Xiao smashes through anything that Venti can’t open. Venti is about to open the door, when Xiao places a hand on his arm to stop him.
“If we open the door, the alarms might go off.” Xiao warns. “We’ll have to be fast. Just grab everything you can and go.”
Venti waves his brown backpack with a cocky grin. “I bet I can carry more than you.”
“3…2…1…” Xiao swings the vault door open. Instantly, an ear-splitting siren screeches through the air. Venti races inside, while Xiao kicks debris from the destroyed locks to block the door. Then Xiao dashes in after Venti.
Inside, a sea of mora covers the floor. The golden coins glitter in the faint light. Venti is already kneeling on the ground, shoveling as much mora as he can into his backpack. Xiao follows suit, stuffing his pockets and his own bag with mora.
“I’m almost done!” Venti yells over the wailing alarm-
THUD . Something pounds against the door. The old wood creaks under the force, but somehow manages to hold. The pounding continues, slowly growing faster.
Xiao and Venti exchange a panicked glance. Xiao shoves mora into his bag. Venti races over to help him.
“Xiao, hurry!”
“I know-”
“Gimme your-”
BANG ! The door bursts open, and two tall guards rush in. Xiao recognizes them as the two figures they passed in the hallways earlier.
“I knew there were rats!” One of them hisses. In one movement, Xiao leaps to his feet and swings his spear, just in time to block a guard’s sword.
“Venti, time to go!” Xiao yells. He rushes to block the other guard’s attacks.
“Almost done!” Venti scrabbles for mora and wedges it into his bag.
Xiao grunts. He’s fought thousands of opponents, whether for Beidou’s fight ring or Zhongli’s gang. These two guards are undeniably the most skilled and dangerous he’s ever faced. Their attacks are strong, quick, and perfectly coordinated. It’s completely unpredictable, nothing like any of the fighting styles Xiao has seen before. Blades flash as Xiao struggles to defend against their onslaught of attacks.
One of the guards swings his sword at Xiao’s feet. The cyborg stumbles backwards, as the second guard closes in, ready for the kill-
Venti’s knife whizzes through the air and buries itself in one guard’s arm. He screams in pain and reels back. From the corner of his eye, Xiao glimpses Venti, arm still extended from the throw. Taking advantage of their shock, Xiao leans down, grabs a handful of mora, and flings it at the other guard’s face, who falls backwards. As the guards struggle to regain their composure, Venti grabs Xiao’s hand and the duo run for it.
They sprint through the bank, Venti in the lead and Xiao right on his heels, swerving through hallways as they search for the exit. After a moment, the sound of heavy footsteps echo after them as the guards give chase. Neither Venti nor Xiao dare to look behind them.
“Keep going! I’ll hold them back!” Xiao yells as they turn another corner. He tries to pry off Venti’s fingers, which are still encircled around Xiao’s wrist.
“No way!” Venti’s grip tightens. “We’re in this together.”
“Ven, I’m a weapon, remember? ” Xiao protests. “This is what I’m built for. Let me go!”
“I said no!” Venti finally glances at Xiao. “I’m not leaving you, and you’re not just a weapon! You’re my friend, Xiao.”
Xiao’s eyes widen. No one’s ever called him a friend before.
“I…”
Xiao never finishes his sentence. The next hallway they run into is eerily dark. Shivers run through his body, and his skin prickles with goosebumps. Instinctively, Xiao draws his polearm and pulls Venti behind him. Just in time. A golden blade slices through the air where Venti was standing.
A blonde man steps out from the shadows, twirling a sword. He looks vaguely familiar. Xiao doesn’t stop to think about it. He swivels, ready to run back where they came from, when the two guards arrive and block their escape. Xiao and Venti are cornered.
“Prince!” One of the guards calls out. The blonde man – Prince? – holds up a hand. He leans forward to peer at Venti.
“I didn’t think I’d find you here.” The Prince chuckles. “Are you stupid? Or did you have so much faith in this scrap metal-” He waves carelessly in Xiao’s direction. “That you thought you could leave here alive?”
“Fuck off.” Xiao growls.
Venti pulls Xiao back. “It’s okay, Xiao. This is between me and him.”
The Prince snorts. “Sure, just ignore us. After all, that’s what your precious friends have been doing all these years. Tell me, did any of you bat an eye when Celestia burned our homes to the ground? Did you mourn for us? Or did you just bury the truth so you could pretend like you could wash your hands of blood? How convenient.”
“Ven…?” Xiao hesitates. He looks desperately between Venti and the Prince.
“Xiao, buy me time. Two minutes.” Venti murmurs. He shrinks behind Xiao’s back. The cyborg’s eyes narrow. Venti’s been acting shifty ever since they entered the bank. No…Venti’s been on edge since they approached Liyue’s borders.
“You know something about this place, don’t you?” Xiao lowers his voice.
“Do you trust me?” It’s a simple question, with a simple answer.
Xiao trusts Venti. More than he should.
Fuck.
“I….” Xiao clenches his metal fist and glares at the Prince. He straightens up to hide what ever the fuck Venti is doing behind him. “What are you trying to do here?”
The Prince shrugs. “I live here.”
“This is an abandoned bank.”
“Well. Finders keepers.”
“Then why didn’t you take the mora?” Xiao challenges. “The largest, unclaimed pile of mora in all of Teyvat. Enough money to reach the heavens. Why didn’t you touch a single coin?”
“You set your sights too low.” The Prince grins. “I’m after something far greater.”
Xiao frowns. The Prince, those guards…they don’t dress or fight like anything Xiao’s ever seen. Instead, they talk about…Xiao’s eyes widen as he recalls the guards’ earlier conversation.
“Pulling Celestia down, stone by stone.” Xiao realizes.
“I’m going to burn the heavens down.” The Prince’s eyes flash with fiery anger. “I’m going to make them pay. Starting with you.” The Prince points his sword at Venti. “Come out here, Venti. I’ll even let your little pet go.”
Xiao shifts, placing himself firmly between Venti and the Prince. The blonde man raises an eyebrow.
“You’d protect him after everything he’s done?” The Prince scoffs. “Venti hasn’t told you the truth. When the time comes, he won’t even bother trying to save you. He’ll leave you to die, just like he did with us.”
Venti taps Xiao’s back softly. He’s ready. Xiao lets out a low exhale. “Good thing I can defend myself then. Thanks for monologuing, asshole.”
As soon as the words leave Xiao’s mouth, a mass of silver and wires hurtles from behind Xiao towards the Prince.
The memory of Venti holding Xiao’s broken arm flashes through Xiao’s head.
No fucking way. Venti did not turn his old arm into a fucking bomb.
BOOM.
An explosion wracks through the hallway. Chunks of tile fall from the ceiling as the Prince is knocked backwards off his feet. In a blur of motion, Xiao swivels on his feet. Two lightning-quick swipes of his polearm, then both guards are sent flying. Xiao and Venti only manage a few steps away before the Prince launches into an attack. Xiao rushes to block the whirlwind of steel.
“You turned my old arm into a bomb?!” Xiao yells. He tactically retreats under the Prince’s merciless sword, inching closer to the edge of the hallway. Venti follows his lead, while throwing fallen rocks at the guards to stop them from getting back up.
“I told you that it wasn’t useless!” Venti protests. “It was gonna blow anyways!”
Xiao doesn’t respond. The Prince picks up his attacks, slashing and hacking away at Xiao’s defenses. Xiao struggles to keep up. The Prince swings his sword at Xiao’s head, and the cyborg ducks. He doesn’t see the Prince’s foot until it’s far too late. The blonde man kicks Xiao away, sending him crashing headfirst into the wall. The force of the impact cracks the wall. Xiao groans, too dizzy to stand up again. His spear rolls away, just out of reach.
Then, three things happen all at once.
The first is that a soft breeze tickles Xiao’s nose. Just above his head, sunlight streams in through a hole in the wall. Relief floods through Xiao. They found the exit.
The second is that Venti cries out and lunges for Xiao. He sees the fear and concern in Venti’s eyes so clearly. Something dark burns in Xiao’s stomach. Venti should never look that afraid, ever.
The third is that the Prince swings his sword, aiming for Venti’s exposed back. His eyes are sharp, calculating. The blade descends in slow motion. He won’t miss.
Xiao’s unfocused gaze slides from the hole in the wall to Venti to that deadly falling sword. The Prince’s and his guards’ attention are clearly elsewhere. Xiao could escape right now. He could take the mora and run. He doesn’t owe Venti anything.
Xiao’s Fight Rule #5: Never let them see weakness.
The Prince’s blade never touches Venti. In the blink of an eye, Xiao throws himself in between Venti and the sword and holds up his metal arm to block the Prince’s attack. The blade slices through Xiao’s arm, embedding itself into the thick layers of silver.
Xiao almost laughs. Imagine losing two arms in the same way in one night. What are the fucking odds?
He can’t help it. He trusts Venti, more than he should. They’re in this together. There’s no going back now.
Both the Prince and Venti gape at Xiao in surprise. Xiao leaps back, yanking the sword from the Prince’s grip. He pulls the sword from his arm and twirls the handle, testing out its make.
“Nice sword you got here. I think I’ll keep it.” Xiao grins. Then he rushes forward.
Xiao’s Fight Rule #4: Xiao is built to kill. But that does not mean Xiao has to kill.
It’s like Xiao’s possessed. He fights — more ferociously than he’s ever done before. His movements disappear into a green and black blur. So fast, that the soles of his shoes create sparks against the bank floor.
This time is different. Xiao’s fighting to kill. He aims for vital points, slashing and slicing and scoring his opponents. They tried to kill Venti. It’s only right that he returns the favor.
The Prince is forced to retreat under Xiao’s relentless attacks. Even the guards struggle to defend when they join in the fight. Xiao dodges their blows gracefully, and takes advantage of every opening he can find.
Xiao’s Fight Rule #3: Xiao is a weapon, and weapons don’t let their feelings get in the way of a fight. Weapons don’t have feelings at all.
“Xiao, stop! Let’s go.” Venti’s voice rings behind him. Xiao doesn’t - no, Xiao can’t hear him. All he sees is red, red like blood, red like rage and anger and-
Xiao’s Fight Rule #2: Overconfidence is a death sentence.
He could kill them. He could strike them down right now. They would never harm anyone again. Never harm Venti again.
A soft touch on Xiao’s shoulder. Xiao freezes, mid-swing, and looks behind him. Venti tilts his head towards the hole in the wall, a pleading look etched into his face. In the light, his green eyes don’t look as innocent or mischievous – they look haunted, heartbroken.
Slowly, Xiao lowers his sword. He blinks the red haze from his eyes and steps away from the Prince. The Prince pants for breath, clutching a deep gash on his shoulder. One of his guards collapsed a long time ago. The other leans against the wall, sword raised in a pitiful defense.
His metal arm is sparking. Xiao hadn’t even noticed the searing pain where the skin of his shoulder meets overheated metal. He throws the sword at the Prince’s feet in disgust.
WIth one last look, Xiao takes in the strange guards and the Prince. They’re dangerous. But Xiao has a feeling that this will not be the first time they cross paths. Even now, the Prince’s sharp gaze makes Xiao feel small and vulnerable. He has the eyes of a predator. The eyes of a killer. Xiao may have had the upper hand this time, but next time he may not be so lucky.
Xiao’s Fight Rule #1: Keep your head down.
“I’ll see you both real soon.” The Prince smirks. “Celestia’s not the only one who’s watching.”
Xiao watches the Prince as long as he can while Venti escapes through the hole in the wall. Then Xiao follows after Venti, as he always does. As he always will.
“Let me see your hand.” Xiao gently pulls Venti’s hand towards him. They sit on the roof of another abandoned building, in a safe spot between the towering border walls and the slums that line the outskirts of Liyue. The bags of mora lay abandoned at their feet. After leaving the bank, they ran as fast as they could. Neither of them looked back.By the time they had run a safe distance from the bank, a light rain had started to fall. Xiao is grateful. At least he can pretend that the rain is the reason for the chill that has set in his bones.
Venti hisses as Xiao slowly examines his fingers. His skin is pink and raw, covered with blisters.
“You burned yourself when you put your hand on my shoulder.” Xiao realizes. He takes off his shirt and tears off strips to wrap around Venti’s hand.
“No, no, I’m fine, it’s okay.” Venti protests. Xiao ignores him and continues to bandage Venti’s hand. The thief turns his head away from Xiao.
“Why?” Xiao asks quietly.
“You’re my friend. Um, more than a friend.” Venti murmurs. He still won’t look at Xiao. “I care about you.”
Xiao finishes wrapping Venti’s hand. Only then, does he notice the red tips of Venti’s ears. He places his hand against Venti’s cheek, and the other man jolts in surprise. “You’re flushed. We should go inside so you don’t get sick.”
“It’s not- it’s because-” Venti splutters. “L-let’s just stay here, okay?”
Xiao shrugs. He starts disconnecting his metal arm from his body. The metal had cooled back down to a standard temperature, but the Prince’s attacks left it considerably damaged. In the fight, most of the plating had been cut away, and Xiao would prefer not to leave the wiring exposed to the rain.
“How’s your arm?” Venti finally turns back to Xiao. The fighter doesn’t mention the flush on Venti’s cheeks.
“S’fine. Just another debt to pay. Sorry I wrecked your gift fighting some hotshot rookie.”
Venti giggles. “I’ll get you another one.”
“You can have this one.” Xiao holds his arm out to Venti. “Rewire this one into a bomb too.”
“See, I was right! You shouldn’t just throw these away.” Venti grins triumphantly. “Just because it’s broken doesn’t mean it can’t find another purpose.”
Xiao’s lips tug upward. He knows – and appreciates – what Venti’s trying to say.
“Ven, I need answers.” Xiao shifts the topic. The smile fades from Venti’s lips. A silence settles over them, broken only by the soft pattering of raindrops.
“There’s no going back.” Venti finally says. “This information has cost people their lives.”
“I think it’s too late for that. Ven, please.”
Venti studies Xiao intently. “Do you believe in gods, Xiao?”
Xiao raises an eyebrow. Venti’s eyes flick to Celestia, still floating in the distance. They’re always watching .
“I believe in those who have earned it.” Xiao answers cautiously.
“When people hold power, we turn them into gods.” Venti stares down at his hands. “Zhongli is one of the most powerful people in Liyue. Everyone looks up to him. No deal passes on the black market without Zhongli’s approval. He could be a god.”
“Well, you’re the center of Mondstadt’s information network. You could be a god too.” Xiao points out.
“Eh, if you say so.” Venti brushes it off. “If you look closely, each of the seven districts has a few central people who have risen to power. Gods among people. But none of them could have achieved this by themselves. How could they? This city is shit. Nothing's fair in Teyvat.”
Xiao simply nods along. He knows of the cruelties of Teyvat better than anyone.
“So, gods among people, whether Teyvat knows it or not. But there’s only one force great enough to grant these gods their power.”
“Cel-” Xiao’s eyes widen with realization.
“Gods among gods.” Venti cuts him off with a meaningful look. He lowers his voice. “They’re always watching. But they never step in. Until they do.”
“The…Prince.” Xiao starts slowly. “He wanted to tear it all down.”
Venti shakes his head. “They’re called the Abyss. A revolutionary group, led by a man named Aether. In the beginning, he wanted to change things. Now he wants revenge.”
“He said he lives there.” Xiao stares into the distance, as though he could still catch a glimpse of the wasteland behind Liyue’s boundaries. “Beyond the walls of Liyue.”
“The eighth neighborhood of Teyvat. It’s the only place where Celestia won’t look, because they don’t have to. They’ve already wiped their hands clean. But there were survivors, and they never left.”
“If you knew all this, why didn’t you do anything?” Xiao whispers.
“Because even gods have people to protect.” Venti sounds haunted. Xiao shudders and looks to the faraway lights of Liyue. “Is it better to stay silent and live another day? Or to speak out and watch everything we love fall to divine destruction?”
Xiao doesn’t have an answer. He can’t imagine how difficult it’s been for Venti to live with this information. Xiao peeks at Venti. Such a small figure, with such a heavy burden.
“So what happens now?”
“I…I don’t know. But you’re involved now. There’s no going back. If Aether really is planning a revolution-”
“Then we’ll face it together.” Xiao says, determined. He rises to his feet and brushes his hand off on his legs.
Keep your head down.
Celestia…gods…revolutions…the Abyss… it’s more dangerous than Xiao can imagine. But…he also feels at peace. He’s always been a weapon. Always fighting to make mora, to stay alive, to finish the missions he’s been given. But this is different. For the first time, Xiao has something – someone – to fight for.
Overconfidence is a death sentence.
This is bigger than anything Xiao was expecting. These are gods that can level neighborhoods, bitter hatred that runs deeper than any criminal institution in Teyvat. He’s not stupid – it’s impossible for Xiao to face these forces, no matter how adept his fighting skills. This is a death sentence. Yet he’s not afraid.
Xiao is a weapon, and weapons don’t let their feelings get in the way of a fight. Weapons don’t have feelings at all.
Venti looks up at Xiao. Everything that happened today, they did it together. There’s something about Venti that gives Xiao courage. Something that sneaks its way past Xiao’s machinery and takes root in Xiao’s beating heart. For that Xiao is grateful. He’s more than grateful. He’s not ready to explore those feelings yet, but he can’t ignore them either.
Venti reminds Xiao of the parts of him that are still human. Venti is special.
Xiao is built to kill. But that does not mean Xiao has to kill.
Xiao remembers the Prince – no, Aether. His gaze was cold, unreadable, ruthless. The eyes of a killer.
People will die. That’s for certain. Aether is out for blood. If Xiao ever crosses blades with him again, he has no doubt that Aether wouldn’t hesitate to kill him. If Xiao wants to protect the people he loves, then he can’t hold back. At the end of the day, how much blood will stain Xiao’s spear?
Never let them see weakness.
But Xiao would do anything for Venti. He’s already broken so many of his rules. What’s a few more?
Xiao holds his hand out to Venti. “Together.”
Venti looks at Xiao’s hand, then up at Xiao. Slowly, he takes Xiao’s hand and lets the cyborg pull him to his feet. Venti shakes Xiao’s hand firmly. He looks into Xiao’s eyes and smiles.
“Together.”
“Lumine.”
“W-who are you? How did you get in here-”
“My name is Xiao. This is Venti.”
“You’re Guardian Yaksha. From the Crux Championships. You kicked my ass, you bastard. Wait til next season, I’ll defeat you and-”
“Lumine! We found your brother.”
“What? Where is he?”
“He wants to destroy the gods, but he’ll destroy everything in his path. We need your help.”
“And why should I help you?”
“Because you have people to protect. We do too.”
“...What’s the plan?”
“Revolution. We’re going to save Teyvat.”