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Some days it’s hard to see.
“Mister Zhongli!”
He lifts his head and sees the Traveler, Paimon floating beside him. He smiles politely, setting his cup of tea down.
“Here for a few tales? I didn’t know you two were connoisseurs.” He asks curiously.
The floating pixie shakes her hand and simultaneously waves her hands in a no. “We’re actually here for you, Mister Zhongli! Do you have time?”
He smiles gently and nods. “I’m rarely short of time. What is it you need?”
“We need someone who understands geology. We’ve accepted a special commission from the Adventurer’s Guild, you see.” Aether explains.
“And you have come to me because?”
“Mister Zhongli, do you jest?” Paimon asks. “Who else in Teyvat is more qualified other than you? You’re, well, you know. Besides,” Paimon pauses, taking a deep breath before continuing. “The requester says he has the number one geologist! But if it isn’t you, he must be wrong!”
He chuckles. “You seem to have taken this quite personally on my behalf.”
Aether sighs, lips upturned into a slight smile. “You know Paimon and her competitive spirit.”
“Hey!” The latter complains. “Paimon just wants to enlighten Uncle Dai! He doesn’t know what he’s talking about, claiming to have hired the greatest rock expert in Teyvat.”
“Is that so...” Zhongli muses. “I wouldn’t mind accompanying you. Although you must know that despite my expertise, I cannot claim to be the best.”
Paimon rolls her eyes, waving her arms. “Stop being so modest, Zhongli. Well, traveler, we got him. Let’s head back to the docks!”
“...”
“I... I’m sure I recognize you... Have we met at the parlor? Wait, I’ve never been to the parlor...”
Intriguing.
That’s one word Zhongli can describe this young man named Kun Jun, who seems to know a lot about geology and ores. Not a lot of people study these nowadays, so it is rare for an inborn genius like Kun Jun to exist.
“Uncle Dai, it would be a mistake for Mr. Zhongli not to join us!” The young man persuades the elder, hands moving animatedly. “Trust me when I say that his level of expertise is unrivaled in the trade. You won’t come across another of his caliber in your lifetime.”
Zhongli smiles inwardly. This young man reminds him of someone he used to be very, very close to.
He shakes his head internally. He shouldn’t be thinking of that right not. It was a long time ago, it doesn’t matter anymore.
Uncle Dai nods in agreement to the young man, gesturing for the road. “Very well then. Let’s head to the Chasm.”
¤
“I can... perceive the memories of ore.” Kun Jun explains, gesturing to the chunk of core lapis near his feet. “I’ve always sensed that ore contains ‘memories.’ Sometimes it records events that occur in the surrounding area. All I have to do is touch one and focus my attention, and the memories come to me.”
Zhongli goes silent for a moment as Paimon and Kun Jun converse about his ‘gift.’
He has seen many who acquired the ability to see the memories of the ore. Of course, this gift was given by Rex Lapis, by himself. There is one certain person, however, who had the special treatment…
‘Get it together, Morax.’ He internally scolds himself.
“Stone-seeing... fascinating. A rare ability indeed. It was prudent of Uncle Dai to recruit you, Mister Kun Jun.”
The young man laughs good-naturedly. “Haha, you flatter me, Mister Zhongli. Although, I’m glad I can be of assistance.”
They meet another miner who claims to have been with the four missing miners they have been commissioned to search for, and with their clues, they head back to Uncle Dai. This leaves them alone to start their own travels, as Uncle Dai offers to meet them at Wangshu Inn.
“Where’s Kun Jun?” Zhongli asks worriedly, looking around.
“There he is! Over there!” Paimon points. “Kun Jun! What are you searching for? We’re all out of clues, let’s get going!”
The young man stands, slightly askance. “Ah, apologies, I’m conducting a quick search for my own benefit. I’m looking for a precious stone known as Dragonfall.”
‘What?’
Zhongli bristles, feeling suspicious. “Dragonfall is often used in forging. What use do you have for it?” He asks, almost confrontationally.
“I... I don’t know. I—I’m sorry, I don’t recall why I’m seeking it... I’ve been feeling very... absent lately. Name and address aside, I’m having trouble remembering things.” Kun Jun mumbles. Zhongli tries to calm himself down, his inner dragon growling. He hasn’t heard about that stone in millennia.
“In fact, I’ve been feeling extremely... anxious... as if there’s something I’ve forgotten to finish.” The young man continues. “It’s... an unpleasant sensation.”
Zhongli once again falls silent as Paimon and Kun Jun talk, not trusting his voice.
“I see…” He finally manages to voice out. “If I am able to during our endeavour, I will help you look for this stone.”
The young man looks gratefully at him. “Thank you, Mister Zhongli. It would be a big help.” Kun Jun smiles, bowing in thanks.
He freezes.
That smile is so… familiar.
The god feels slightly sick to his stomach.
“T-Think nothing of it.” He manages to mumble.
If I was a fool, or you, a thief.
By now, they had managed to find more clues from a researcher called Wanyu, and they had also found one out of four missing miners.
Zhongli sighed. He has not been this active in so long, he was starting to tire out. The last time he was this riled up was when he fought…
No.
He stares at the stone given to him, twisting and turning it in his hand as the uneasiness was still in his stomach.
“Traveler...” He calls, the blonde male. “Does Dragonfall mean anything to you?”
The young male shakes his head. “Not that I know of, no.” He replies, head turning to Paimon. “You mean the ore that Kun Jun’s looking for? What’s so special about it?” The pixie asks curiously.
“Dragonfall first emerged in the midst of a great battle, thousands of years ago. Powerful clashes of elemental energy gave birth to elemental crystals. When the fighting ceased, these geological remnants were miraculously preserved.” He explains. ‘There is no need for the full story, not yet.’
“And yet they are crystal creations all the same, few and far between, relatively unknown. A few hundred years ago, they were virtually mined into obscurity.” He pauses, toying with the stone that still sat in his hand. “Why is it then, that a citizen of Liyue now wishes to strike upon ore that has long since vanished from the earth?” He muses.
“There are those in the mining trade who retain a keen interest in Dragonfall. But for someone like Mister Kun Jun... whose motivations for seeking it are unclear even unto himself... it’s practically unheard-of.” He continues.
“So you think he has ulterior motives?” Aether asks, to which he shakes his head.
“We cannot be so sure.” He decides on saying, a hypothesis forming in his head. ‘It is most unlikely, yet it is not impossible.’ He thinks. “Call Kun Jun when you’re done resting. I’ll be tending to this miner of ours.”
It was an excuse to busy himself, of course.
‘It couldn’t be him.’ He thinks as he dresses the miner’s wounds and lights the fire to make stew. ‘He wouldn’t be able to do that to those miners. But then again, all those centuries ago…’
Questions haunt him as he cooks and finishes, gently force-feeding the unconscious miner as Kun Jun, Aether and Paimon ate.
“Aren’t you going to eat, Mister Zhongli?” Kun Jun asks as he puts his own bowl away in his satchel. Zhongli shakes his head. “I’m not hungry. Also, I do not have my own bowl.”
The young man chuckles, taking his own bowl back out and filling it with the soup, holding a spoon up to the consultant’s mouth. “Since you are busy feeding our friend here, let me help you eat. If you do not mind, of course.”
Zhongli tries his greatest to not let his cheeks heat as he feels Aether and Paimon’s gaze on them.
He slightly opens his mouth and lets the man guide the spoon to him. He sips up the stew and looks away as quickly as possible as Kun Jun scoops up another spoonful.
‘See, it’s not that so hard, is it? Say ah, xīngān-’
“Say ah, Mister Zhongli.”
His eyes widen, his pulse quickening. What was that scene?
He opens his mouth again, accepting the stew in his mouth as his mind ponders the thought.
¤
“There are many beautiful rocks here, but nothing out of the ordinary. I couldn’t find any clues.” Kun Jun states as he returns once more when he left after their meal. “Then again, the memories of ore can shift with the passage of time and the changing of the environment.”
“Is there a certain pattern to it?” Traveler asks, obviously curious.
Zhongli stays silent.
“Hmm, difficult to say... I feel that ore memories tend to be from the recent past.” Kun Jun muses, similarly amused. “Rocks endure, but as eons pass their memories are erased. Those memories that survive are rooted in powerful emotion or thought.”
This piques the consultant’s interest.
“It’s the same for people!” Paimon compares, and Kun Jun nods. “Indeed it does.”
Made it through the maze to find my one in a million.
They walk further into Nantianmen, until they reach…
“Wow, such an immense tree!”
Zhongli’s eyes widen at the sight of it; its delicate-looking trunk with blue crystal-like veins, its lush yellow-green leaves that sway in the breeze.
“This ancient tree…”
He turns to the others, seemingly determined. “Let’s conduct separate investigations. I’ll take that area, perhaps you could survey this section.” He points to near the back of the tree. They agree, and he walks slowly towards the place.
He won’t deny that he comes here when he can. He often brings small meals and tea or wine as drinks, eating as he sat on the protruding roots of the tree. Pretending that he was still there-
His eyes widen as he reach the side of his area to investigate, staggering back ever-so-slightly.
“A-All of you, come here.” He calls out, and almost immediately, they are with him.
His eyes travel to Kun Jun, who looked at him with unconcealed concern. His eyes glow gold ever-so-slightly, and it confirms his suspicions.
“Is that a voice coming from the tunnel? Eek! Someone else go first!” Paimon exclaims.
Zhongli takes a deep breath, gripping his tie. “There is an unusual presence emanating from inside the tunnel. Prepare yourselves, and tread lightly.”
Their eyes meet and he sees the young man’s eyes widen in recognition. He looks away bitterly.
“Compose yourselves. I will lead us in.”
As the miners, who had dug a tunnel up to the ancient seal beneath the tree, attack them, they walk carefully with Zhongli’s jade shield as protection.
Even so, he had failed to notice the yin energy slipping into the barrier.
As he was about to fight the energy off, Kun Jun blocks the attack from hitting him and fights it with his own activated yang energy. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Traveler and Paimon’s eyes widen in shock.
The force of Kun Jun’s yang energy fractures the yin energy from the young girl, which retreats back to the seal, breaking it in the process.
A powerful gust of wind emerges from the opening, pulling them in. With how taken aback he is, he fails to ground himself, and struggles to stay on his feet. He claws at the ground but it was no use, the wind was too strong.
Kun Jun, who had held on to a rock to keep himself from being blown in, grabs his hand tightly.
Their gazes meet again and Zhongli’s eyes widen in surprise, as he sees Kun Jun’s irises glow gold with desperation; desperation to keep him from danger.
They both know what lies on the other side of the seal, they both know how dangerous it is.
Their hands unclasps and they both try to extend to their arms to reach for each other again, but it was no use.
“Morax!”
“Azhdaha!”
¤
The chamber shakes with vigour as the earth trembles with raw elemental power.
“Morax... you arrive at my doorstep of your own volition. Excellent, taking revenge for sealing me away will be all the easier!”
Zhongli’s eyes close, tears threatening to spill. He can’t, he can’t let the Traveler and Paimon see this side of him, it was humiliating.
The sound of the voice of the beast rings in his ears like a siren.
“So, the little girl is your power incarnate.” He decides on replying, trying to gain his ground. “But if you recall, Azhdaha... this is not how we intended for events to transpire.”
Azhadaha roars in his fury, hatred evident in his voice. “Waste not your words! Your life is mine!”
He remembers what happened years ago. It was something Zhongli will never forget, something that remained fresh in his mind since it happened, something that he regrets and denies to himself.
“Is once not enough!? You would forsake me again!?” The voice bellows, and it tears at Zhongli’s heart like an iron branding.
An iron branding that marked him since a thousand years ago.
An iron branding that said ‘traitor.’
Now you’re just a page torn from the story I’m living.
¤
The scar I can’t reverse.
In our last tale, Rex Lapis was walking alone in the mountains. He heard a remote voice unlike any other, coming from a crack in the earth.
Morax was, by any means, curious at heart. Perhaps this was Guizhong’s influence; and her challenge he sought to be both brawn and brains, thus making him seek more knowledge than what the human brain can comprehend.
Naturally, his curiosity was piqued when he heard a voice that did not come from around him, but below him.
It was in the area they called Nantianmen, where the earth had always slightly shaken beyond the god’s control. He was never able to get a grip on Nantianmen’s earth, no matter how hard he tried.
The voice answered all his questions.
Today, the tales would say that the voice was sad on a day, thunderous on another.
To Morax, the voice was both.
As he felt at the earth, he listened to the gentle yet powerful voice that sang beneath his feet, if pleading yet full of longing.
“Let me see the glow of the rising sun, as it basks your beauty in its soft light.”
The masculine voice croons, deeper than his own. It keeps him in a trance, urging him to delve deeper into the earth to look for the source.
“Let me walk the beach when the day is done, as the moon rises to give way to night.”
Morax did not know how to navigate Nantianmen’s earth; for even if it was Liyuean, it was not his. Thus, he searched blindly through the earth as he goes downwards to the depths.
“Let me fight with you on the battlefield and watch our enemies cower away.”
‘Perhaps the owner of this voice is the guardian of Nantianmen’s land.’ He mused, feeling the geo energy grow stronger as he plunges further into the deep.
“Let me be your spear, your sword and your shield to help you rise without any delay.”
The trills don’t stop, yet Morax doesn’t mind. He finds the voice heavenly, finding himself wanting to listen to more of the lines of the song. The crack he leaves in the earth doesn’t close up behind him, leaving the light open to flow in.
“Let me caress your skin with deft fingers, as you’re draped in silk worthy to adore.”
His feet land in a small cavern near the bedrock, where the singing was as loud as can be as it echoed through the walls. He lets the strands of his hair glow as he explores, lighting his way.
“Let my touch comfort you as it lingers, and I’ll let you come and beg me for more.”
His feet stop before a kneeling figure, frozen there like a stone statue, yet his mouth moved as the tune from his mouth soulfully exits him.
The male’s hair was long, similar to Morax’s yet it was jet black rather than golden brown. Horns protrude from the two sides of his head, coated with heavy dust, to which the god suspects were as such due to a long time underground.
His eyes were an empty void, frozen into staring up.
“Let me long for this wish, someday will come true...”
He gently cups the statue’s face with a hand, smiling sadly. ‘How pitiful, for a dragon like myself to become like this.’
The statue begins to crack, layers of stone peeling away from the scales and skin that it originally had. Morax’s fingers brush over the male’s eyes, mumbling a spell of creation, a spell of sight.
His fingers glow with unrivaled elemental magic, as the closed eyelids of the statue begin to crack and give way to the real skin covering the eyes of the dragon.
“I pray it does, for I long to see you.”
As the last piece of stone falls, the statue’s eyes open.
They glow gold; almost red-orange like the sunset. They glow with power as they stare up at Morax, a tear gently making its way down the soiled cheek.
The god smiles, extending his hand out to the dragon in human form. Scales mixed with skin show in his naked physique, mirroring the marks on Morax’s own limbs.
“Would you like to come with me aboveground?”
¤
“Have you heard? Rex Lapis is back from his year-long trip a few months ago and has hired a new general for the army.”
“Really, who? Is it another adeptus? A god?”
“They say it’s someone like him.”
“Like Lord Morax... a dragon?”
“They say so.”
“Perhaps it is Rex Lapis’ mate? They seem to be very close when they first arrived about five months ago.”
The god smiles, closing his eyes as he walks comfortably down the halls of their court in Liyue Harbor.
“They seem very curious to know you.”
Another deep voice chuckles from beside him. Morax opens his eyes and peers up at him, curious to see how he had reacted.
His lips were upturned in a modest smile, like always. He never did take credit for anything he did, much to Morax’s bewilderment, but he doesn’t question it.
“They do not even know I how horrible I hold a spear.”
Morax laughs. “But you wield a claymore naturally. Better than I, I dare say.”
“But you have mastered the spear, can aim precisely with a bow, and can slit my throat in a second with a sword.” The other insists. Morax shakes his head, tapping his shoulder. “You should stop praising me, it’s becoming your habit.”
The male smiles, wrapping an arm around the thin waist. “But I like praising you.” He whispers.
Morax blushes, looking away.
“Not here in the hall, people can see.”
In the short period of time after he took the elemental being aboveground, he had taught his fellow dragon the basics of life from a god’s point of view, and of course, how to wield a weapon.
‘You did promise to aid me in my battles, did you not? Or have I heard the song wrong?’ He had asked, and the dragon had laughed.
And in that time they dwelled together in Nantianmen alone, they also developed a connection, a strong sense of intimacy for each other.
Morax has never experienced this before.
Of course, he had loved Guizhong, the god whom he ruled the Guili Assembly with. But Guizhong was like his family, his elder sister who pulled at his ear yet loved him all the same. The feeling he had with this male dragon was different. It was exhilarating and confusing at the same time.
“Let them see.” He whispers, and Morax gives in, just as he always does.
When the more it heals the worse it hurts.
“Rex Lapis, General Azhdaha!”
They push each other away, laughing seconds later at their antics. Cloud Retainer lands near them seconds later, shifting back to her human form.
Morax coughs, embarrassed. “Ehem, yes, Cloud Retainer? Any reports you have to give?”
The adeptus nods, bowing. “Havria is defeated.”
The god’s eyes widen. “And who has put her down?” He asks. “Hasn’t she stood neutral due to her abilities?”
Cloud Retainer sighs.
“Her own people decided to give her a swift and painless end rather than consign her to defeat at the hands of other gods.” The adeptus explains. Morax raises an eyebrow. “That is dangerous, do her people not know that?”
Cloud Retainer nods. “The power that surged from her body after her death salinified the city and its inhabitants, while her own body withered away into a small salt flower. Some of her people sought refuge here in the harbor, Lord.”
Morax goes silent, massaging a temple with a hand. The dragon, Azhdaha, squeezes his other hand comfortingly, tracing patterns on his palm.
“Let them in, accept them as my people.” He mutters. “Is there anything else?”
Cloud Retainer pauses.
“The sea seems especially vicious today, Rex Lapis.”
He peers at his fellow adeptus, his longtime friend, along with Guizhong. He knows what she meant.
“I’ll take care of it.” He replies stiffly. “You are dismissed.”
Cloud Retainer bows, shifting back to her true form.
“Oh, my lord, would you and your mate be so kind and not do... what you have been doing, in our halls? Ganyu and Xiao could be right around any corner.”
Morax blushes furiously, and Azhdaha only chuckles.
“I said you are dismissed, Cloud Retainer.”
The adeptus laughs heartily, wings flapping as she leaves, probably to tell the other adepti what she saw.
He turns to Azhdaha, who looked at him expectantly, like he knew that Morax was about to tell him something.
He sighs.
“I sense that the final wave of the war may start tonight.”
Azhdaha nods, gently cupping Morax’s cheek with a hand, as the latter did to him back then. He purrs, nuzzling into the touch.
“I will be there with you. Always, my emperor.”
Morax chuckles, looking up at him. “I am not the emperor, yet,” to which Azhdaha responds, “But you will be. And if you won’t, you will always be my god. I will always worship you, xīngān.”
The adeptus blushes harder. “There you go, praising me again.”
“But you love it.” Azhdaha smiles.
“I do.” Morax replied, both an answer and a promise. “I always will.”
¤
He can feel arm wrapping around his body, and his eyes struggle to open out of exhaustion.
“Morax, come back. Come back to me.” A voice whispers, and his eyelids flutter to look at the owner of the voice. “Azhdaha. How long was I out?” He asks, laboring to sit upright, the general’s arm supporting him.
“Just a few minutes.” The general assures him. “Look.” He continues, pointing toward the middle of the Liyuean sea. Morax turns his head to gaze at waters, only to see a cluster of small islands jutting out from the ocean. “Is that my doing?” He questions.
Azhdaha nods. “Your spears cracked and turned into dust, the remnants that sealed Osial had stayed and become islands.” He explains, caressing the brown hair, which tips glowed gold from using his elemental powers.
“Liyue is yours.”
Morax sighs contentedly, resting his head on Azhdaha’s chest. He listens to the heartbeat there; the heartbeat of the earth which comforts him.
“Liyue is ours, not mine alone.” He corrects, looking up at him from his position of sitting on the other dragon’s lap. The latter chuckles, angling his head so their eyes meet. “I barely did a thing to help you.”
“If you call killing every mimic that stood in my way to Osial’s defeat nothing, then sure.”
Azhdaha laughs good-naturedly. They go silent for a while, as if contemplating what else to say.
“We were in a contract.” Morax whispers softly. “We were enemies since we knew each other, but we were at peace for a while.” He continues, eyes straying to the sea. “I made a contract to appease him. A bride every year to be sent to his palace beneath the sea for every year with no storms at the sea. If the bride behaves, they will be sent back to their families aboveground.”
The dragon general nods, as if telling him to continue.
Morax sighs. “Until one such bride whom he had permitted to return to the surface world caused the destruction of her village. She asked for Osial’s aid when her daughter was to be taken away from her to be offered as his bride. He found it as a loophole to say that the contract was broken by my side.”
“He sounds sadistic.” Azhdaha comments, nose crinkled in distaste. Morax laughs. “He was rough around the edges, mostly because he was the embodiment of the sea. Thus, he was unpredictable.” He continues. “I know this from firsthand experience.”
“He was your first, wasn’t he?”
Morax blushes. “You did not have to mention that.” He chides.
They go quiet again.
“Did you love him?”
“No.” Morax says firmly. “I did it for Liyue.”
“So did you save me for Liyue?”
Morax glares at him. “I saved you because I was drawn towards you. Don’t ever say that again.”
“I jest.” Azhdaha chuckles, raising his two hands in defeat.
They stare at the sea, as if waiting for something to come out and interrupt them. They stayed there for a long time, until the sun started to peek behind the horizon to start the dawn.
“I love you, Morax.”
The god doesn’t reply.
He releases a soft sigh before he opens his mouth.
“I do not know yet what to name this emotion, Azhdaha.” He starts, tone guilty. “I have never experienced this before. But I am willing to learn,” he looks up at the dragon holding him, reaching up to caress his horns. “I am willing to learn with you.”
General Azhdaha smiles, leaning down to kiss him softly.
“That’s good enough for me.”
Gave you every piece of me, no wonder it’s missing.
It started with a small headache.
More or less, a thousand years have passed since Osial’s defeat and Morax’s ascension as the Geo Archon. Azhdaha had been by his side throughout the years, true to his word.
He never tired of Morax’s continuous state of wanting to learn something new, and instead, learned with him.
“Are you alright?” The archon asks, sitting on his side of the small tea table in their shared room, carrying a tray of snacks and brews. Azhdaha sighs, massaging his temples.
“I keep getting headaches recently.” He relays. Morax smiles, handing him a cup. “This might remedy your pain. You should really rest these days, you’ve been working too hard.”
The general takes it, sipping on the tea, and Morax watches satisfyingly as the crinkle on his brow eases.
“You always make the best tea.” Azhdaha murmurs, looking at him with a soft smile.
Morax walks over and the general reaches to hug his waist, burying his face in the archon’s stomach, gently blowing on it and Morax laughs. “Don’t, it tickles.” Azhdaha grins, placing his hand on the god’s stomach. “Then I better work harder to tickle you more.”
He lifts the archon up and sets him down on their bed, tickling him all over as Morax laughs, lightly hitting the general’s back in an attempt to make him stop.
Azhdaha’s fingers brush along his chest, and he lets out a strangled noise, startling the general, who gathers his bearings quite easily and chuckles. He repeats his actions, with Morax trying and miserably failing to make him stop.
“You always quite liked it when I touched your nipples- Ouch!”
Morax hits him on the head, pouting. “That’s lewd of you, Azhdaha.” He complains, and the general laughs, kissing his stomach.
“You know I cannot keep my hands to myself when you’re around, xīngān.” He reasons. The archon sighs, smiling fondly. “I thought your head was aching.” He changes the subject, and Azhdaha shakes his head, nuzzling Morax’s stomach in the process. “It passed when I drank your tea.”
The archon sighs, nodding.
“That’s good.” He mumbles, caressing the general’s hair.
Azhdaha didn’t need to know, not yet.
¤
He was not there when Morax came home a month later.
“Azhdaha? Azhdaha!”
He frantically looked around, searching for the tall figure around their floating palace in Nantianmen. He was not in the kitchen, nor in their room or the dining area and the ballroom.
Where else has he hadn’t checked?
The garden! He rushed down the stairs and to the gardens, dashing mad with worry. ‘Azhdaha wouldn’t leave me, right? He would never.’
Azhdaha was sitting on the garden soil, one hand clawed into the dirt, the other massaging his temple.
“Bǎobèi, what are you doing here?” He asks, resting his hand on the general’s shoulder. The latter shoved him off, not speaking.
Morax bristles, taken aback. “Azhdaha, what’s gotten into you? I looked for you everywhere. I was worried and thought you left!”
“You knew, didn’t you.”
Confused, he sits beside him. “Knew what?”
Azhdaha looks at him blankly.
“You knew about the humans desecrating the Ley Lines. You were healing me with geo energy through the tea you always gave me.”
Morax’s eyes widen. “How did you-”
“Earth is earth, Morax.” He bluntly states. “I investigated the cause of my headaches.” He explains, looking at his hand that had clawed in the earth. “I felt the pain. I can still feel it.”
The archon pulls his hand out of the dirt, holding it tightly. He did not say anything, knowing that he could make no excuses. The truth was out.
“Why? Why didn’t you do anything?” Azhdaha asks, voice cracking. “You knew they were hurting me. They were taking every bit of me, piece by piece. Why did you just stand by and watch?”
“I cannot break my contract, Azhdaha.” He replies weakly. “They aren’t breaking any rules stated in the contract.”
“And so you decided that I suffer in their stead?”
“No, it’s not like that-”
“It’s not like that!?” The dragon exclaims, furious. He pushes the archon away harshly, hand clawing at his own clothes near his heart. “It’s exactly what’s happening, Morax! Do you think you’re righteous in letting the humans take what they desire without knowing you’re teaching them to be greedy? And placing me in danger for our people?”
Azhdaha chuckles bitterly, shaking his head. “After all, what am I to be worthy of being saved by Rex Lapis.”
A harsh slap hits his face, making him stagger back.
Morax’s fists were tightly balled, the ends of his hair glowing in rage.
“I took you aboveground!” He cries, pushing at the dragon’s chest. “I took you aboveground and gave you your eyesight! I let you rule alongside me as my general! I gave you this life you have right now!”
“And you’re taking away the life you gave to me, again!”
Azhdaha jabs a finger at his chest crossly. “I have loved you ever since I met you, Morax. You know you are the light of my life, the earth I walk on and the sky I look up to. You know you are the only god I worship. And yet…” He trails off, withdrawing his hand.
“I wonder if you ever did love me back.”
Morax’s eyes widen as Azhdaha turns and walks away.
He falls to his knees on the garden floor, not caring how much it had hurt.
His heart aches more than what he had expected.
Don’t know how to be so close to someone so distant.
¤
It all fell down, it all fell down.
“The general went mad!”
“General Azhdaha went insane!”
“Lord Morax!”
“Rex Lapis!”
“Please help us!”
“Morax, stand up right this instant and subdue General Azhdaha!”
There was nothing but demand in Cloud Retainer’s voice as she shook Morax, who continued to sip on his tea stubbornly even as tears stream down his face.
“Do you not hear your people!?” The adeptus exclaims, furious. “Morax, Azhdaha is destroying the Chasm and killing everyone, what else do you want to see for you to stand and rescue Liyue?”
The cup slams down on the table, startling Cloud Retainer as Morax stands, not looking her way. He grabs Azhdaha’s claymore, The Unforged, and his own spear, the one he used to conquer Osial.
The last time she had seen him like this was when Guizhong was corrupted.
“This is my fault.” He whispers quietly, and Cloud Retainer pats his shoulder. “Moon Carver, Mountain Shaper and the Yakshas will accompany you, my lord. There is no telling what may happen to you when you seal that beast.”
“Now you’re calling Azhdaha a beast!?” He shouts, and the adeptus slaps him. Hard, and points to the direction of the Chasm.
“Look and listen, Morax! Is that not a work of a beast?”
“This is not his fault!” He screams, pointing at his own chest. “I stood and watched as he eroded day after wretched day! I chose him over the people who were killing him, Cloud Retainer! Do not blame Azhdaha.”
The adeptus glared at him, turning into her true form.
“Then fix your mess, Morax.”
¤
His legs felt like lead as they travelled to the Chasm, heart wrenching at the bellows he can hear from afar.
Morax!
Come here and face me, Morax!
Show me the might of the god that rules over the insects you so dearly love!
Their eyes meet, and Morax’s heart cracks in his chest.
The glimmer of hope and happiness were not there. All he saw was a void of red, as his general had transformed into his true dragon form. He smiles viciously at the god, returning to his human form to face him properly.
“It is time, Morax. We settle this now!”
The general grabs the claymore from him and swings it with brute force, that Morax almost forgets to duck.
Azhdaha’s attack narrowly misses him and he crouches, striking his feet with his lance but the other steps back, swinging his claymore back at him.
It was like a dance. But dances were supposed to be romantic, exciting.
This wasn’t the case for this dance at all.
Attack and parry weren’t supposed to be the moves, the heart of a dance wasn’t supposed to be a fight, or hate.
Azhdaha’s cold stare breaks his heart over and over again as he lets his tears fall freely from his eyes. ‘Mercy, show me mercy.’
“Crying won’t help you win, Morax!”
It all fell, it all fell down, it all fell down.
He was starting to tire, and the other adepti must have felt it to, for they flew down to assist him.
“Are you that weak so ask for the help of your subordinates, Morax? Where is the god that subdued Osial with his own two hands!?”
“Don’t make me do this, Azhdaha!” He cries out in grief. “Please, calm down.”
“I’ll killed your people who tried to desecrate me, Morax! Don’t make me kill you as well!”
There is no use reasoning, anymore.
Morax takes a deep, shaky breath and meets the eyes of his fellow adepti, who get the signal.
In his speed, Alatus trips the general from behind the they all hold him down when he falls to the ground with a thud, shouting curse after curse at Morax. The archon kneels on the general’s chest, meeting him eye to eye from above. He pointed his polearm at the dragon’s throat as they all try to catch their breath.
By this time, they had reached Nantianmen through their fight.
“Morax, you think you can destroy me!?” Azhdaha growls, trying to break free.
A lone tear falls onto the general’s cheek, followed by more and more tears. The fog clears from his eyes and he sees Morax above him, crying. Seeing his state back to normal, Mountain Shaper releases one of his arms, which quickly cup Morax’s face.
“Shh, don’t cry.” He murmurs, and Morax sobs, burying his face in Azhdaha’s collarbone. “I don’t want to seal you away.” He cries.
The general raises his face with the released hand. He smiles sadly.
“You have to.”
The archon sobs harder, hand overlapping Azhdaha’s to keep him from removing his hold. “I don’t have to. I can tell the people to stop mining too far, I can heal you again with elemental energy. Let’s go home, Azhdaha.”
The dragon’s smile doesn’t leave his face as he was released. He wipes Morax’s tears away as the adepti step back, letting them have their conversation.
“I am already broken beyond repair, Morax.”
Morax shakes his head in denial.
Azhdaha lets him go and removes his upper clothing, and the archon stares at the toned body, skin traced with scales and scars alike.
“This,” Azhdaha pointed to a gash on his arm. “This is from our first spar, do you remember?” He asks fondly. “We tried sparring using swords but I was no good at it, so you accidentally injured me.”
Morax hated how it sounded like a goodbye.
The general continued, still smiling. “This one was in the fight with Osial, a mimic had hit me when I blocked its attack from hitting you.”
The Geo Archon shook his head, cupping Azhdaha’s face.
“I can’t do this.” He whispers.
The general chuckles, lifting Morax up so they were both standing.
“Then I will do it for you.”
It all fell, it all fell down, it all fell down.
Morax’s eyes widen as the adepti restrain him as Azhdaha walks off farther from them.
“Let me go right this instant!”
The creaking of their palace slowly sounded, as if it was falling.
“Azhdaha, no!” He pleads, trying hard to stop the dragon and break free of his captors, whose eyes were closed to avoid seeing the painful scene in front of them.
He breaks free at last, running towards the area, but he was too late.
The glistening palace plummets in the setting sun, falling towards the general.
“I only wanted to see the sun, but you made me see the world, xīngān.” He starts, smiling brightly and sadly at the same time.
“I love you, Morax.”
The deafening crash reaches Morax’s ears as he kneels in front of the wreckage that had driven downwards, deep into the earth, returning Azhdaha back to where he was, to the darkness where Morax had saved him from.
The archon wails, and it shook the ground of Liyue. It echoes like a broken record across the land, letting the world know of his grief.
When his throat tires, he bends towards the ground in tears, hunched over.
He can’t leave, he can’t leave this place. This was their home, this was Azhdaha’s home, this was his home.
Azhdaha was his home.
He whispers into the ground beneath for a sign, but he all he received in return was his own voice, whispering back to him.
Broken sobs escape his lips as he claws into the ground.
“I love you.” He confesses, but no one was there to hear anymore.
“I love you, Azhdaha, I always have. Please, come back to me.”
It all fell, it all fell down, it all fell down.
¤
And all I gave you is gone, it tumbled like it was stone.
“Morax…” The deep voice from so long ago calls. “It's been a while.”
They had managed to subdue the yin force of Azhdaha, who now stood in front of them in the form of a young girl named Jiu.
Zhongli smiles. “During the battle, you imbued us with your power.” He recalls, and Azhdaha, in the form of Kun Jun, laughs his good-natured, modest laugh. “Haha, yes. It was all I could manage.”
As Azhdaha explains the split of the two forces to the Traveler, Zhongli is in his own mind. To think that Azhdaha had grown this weak after years of being trapped beneath their once shared palace, frightens and tugs at Zhongli’s chest.
“I was barely conscious, I couldn't remember who I was. Only the past would elicit a reaction from me. But my aim was clear.” The dragon recalls. “Find Morax... and aid him in stopping you.”
“I had sensed that something was amiss when you mentioned Dragonfall.” He murmurs with a small smile. “Had your power been but a little stronger, I would've recognized you.”
Again, the former general laughs. “Don't blame yourself, I have changed beyond all recognition.” The sentence had a double meaning, and they both knew what. “Only when I touched the stone tablet... did I truly remember.”
“It's been so long.” Azhdaha sighs. “A secret beyond all comprehension of youthful humanity and ancient dragon-kind. Morax, would you let me tell the tale?”
He smiles longingly. “There would be no harm in it. The decision is yours.”
“Haha, you haven't changed.” Azhdaha notes, smiling as well. “Then allow me.”
He relays their story to the Traveler, leaving out the details of their relationship that weren’t relevant.
Zhongli chuckles in melancholy, eyes moving back and forth between Kun Jun, Jiu and the Traveler.
“I am the remnants of Azhdaha's benevolence, the echo of a contract set in stone. I harbor a willingness to go further, a willingness to coexist peacefully with mankind.” Azhdaha’s spirit in Kun Jun finishes, looking towards Morax.
The one in Jiu growls, furious. “No, no! It is I, Azhdaha, forged of elemental crystal, bearer of the weight and memories of the earth, older than the mountains and the oceans that decides! I will not swear allegiance to this insect!”
“Morax is not an insect!” Kun Jun growls back.
“A lord over insects is nothing but an insect in turn!”
“You forgot yourself.” The spirit in Kun Jun shakes his head. “Nobody held Morax in higher regard than you or I. That which you have forgotten, I hold here in my heart. If you are the memory of the earth, then I am the memory of coexistence; of coexistence with humanity.”
Azhdaha smiles, turning to Morax.
“All powers under heaven, rise and fall of land and sea.” He speaks, and Morax knows this.
“A star appears within the wild, a sun ascends as bright as... jade.”
The embodiment of Azhdaha within Jiu fades into nothingness.
I thought we built a dynasty that heaven couldn’t shake.
“Are you satisfied, Azhdaha?” Zhongli asks, and the dragon grins. “I had to make amends. Satisfaction had no part in it.”
He opens his eyes to look at the god, a small smile on his face. “So, Morax, you call yourself Zhongli these days?”
“I do.” He replies.
“The time of departure.” He murmurs thoughtfully, laughing lightly soon after. “Well, I'm afraid old habits die hard. To me, you're Morax.”
“As you please.”
“I never did forget your gift of sight.”
“I hardly lifted a finger. Think nothing of it.”
“And yet you could see.” He insists, chuckling.” You wouldn't know the yearning of a blind dragon, searching for the sun. A pair of eyes, from Morax to Azhdaha. This, I will remember this.”
They go quiet once again.
“Your power is nearly spent.” Zhongli speaks up.
“Perceptive as always, my friend.”
Zhongli smiles sadly. “Shall we get going, you and I?”
“Surely the pressing matter is still that of the miners trapped outside the seal?” Azhdaha asks. Zhongli chuckles. “Indeed. Hence the need to get going, to fix the damage left in your wake.” He teases.
Azhdaha sighs, yet his smile never leaves his face.
“Ha, straight down to business, as always. Let's go.”
They help the miners out and pass them on to Uncle Dai, and stay behind to talk further. Although bewildered, Uncle Dai allows “Kun Jun” to stay at Liyue Harbor before they leave.
“Kun Jun! Oh, uh, we should be calling you Azhdaha.” Paimon mumbles. You're coming back to Liyue Harbor too, right?”
Azhdaha shakes his head. “Not I, merely this body.”
“Once I'm gone, the true owner will accompany the miners back to Liyue. Kun Jun hails from a family of famous artisans — he too will be famous in time. It would be a shame for someone of his talent to go missing.” He explains, and Zhongli smiles.
“You always did have a great admiration for blacksmiths.”
Azhdaha smiles. “Curious how swords and daggers are blind, yet their creators see so much. Perhaps empathy is mankind's proudest achievement after all?”
The silence between them is comfortable, like a thousand years have never passed.
“Azhdaha. I am no longer the Geo Archon.”
“I can sense it.”
Zhongli turns to him. “Today, I am just an ordinary citizen of Liyue.”
Azhdaha nods. “Even you met such a fate.” He murmurs, before shaking his head. “Let's get the difficult part out of the way. I cannot guarantee that I won't be awoken a second time.”
“No matter. If that day comes to pass, Liyue must prepare itself to face you.”
“And how will Liyue fare without Rex Lapis?”
“Even without a god above, this remains a nation of men. I was once their god, I ought to be here to witness their rise and fall.”
“All life is shaped and then ground away by the endless flow of time.” He quotes. “You were always the strongest among us, yet it would seem that even you have been eroded.”
He chuckles. “That's unimportant. Fate is ordained by heaven. Even if our mission had already concluded, it would be cowardly not to strike out on the road of departure.”
Azhdaha had always done this, trying to make sure he does not regret his decisions.
“You may live forever, doomed to a lonely existence, yet even this is temporary.” The former general continues. “When you reach the end of time, those people, those past and future relationships predetermined by fate, they will be waiting for you.”
“I do not pretend to match your rhetoric when it comes to the subject of a life long-lived.” Zhongli teases, turning to face him. “I fear that the life of an elemental being is longer than any in this world.”
“Were it not so, you would have killed me long ago, and would not be having to face me again now.”
“You've brought a smile to my face. When all is said and done, a reunion between old friends is an auspicious occasion.”
I thought we built a dynasty like nothing ever made.
“That day in The Chasm? Did you hesitate?”
Zhongli sighs, closing his eyes. He did not want to cry in front of the Traveler. “A heart of stone is a heart nonetheless. But I am the God of Contracts, and was, for a time, a god of the people of Liyue.”
“You chose justice, but did not forsake your kindness.” Azhdaha agrees. “You came to me not as an assassin, and so I was willingly sealed away.”
‘You sealed yourself to save me.’ He thinks quietly, and he could almost hear Azhdaha reply, ‘You know why I did it.”
“Do not forget that I was there with Liyue's founder. The face may have changed, but the content of the contract remains intact.” He says, bowing slightly as a sign of respect. “Old friend, God of Contracts. I hereby honor our agreement.”
The former general straightens his posture, smiling brightly and sadly, just like that day.
Zhongli did not want him to go, not yet.
But that was not his choice to make. “Thank you, Azhdaha.”
The dragon closes his eyes in contentment. “My life is nigh on eternal. I will go on with the infinite flow of time. And you, Morax; you too will live for many a day to come.”
“You’re leaving?” Zhongli asks, even if he knows the answer.
Azhdaha steps closer to him, cupping his face with a hand. The face is different, and so is the warmth, but the feeling is not.
He nuzzles closer into the touch, his hand overlapping Azhdaha’s. Just like that day. Tears finally fall from his eyes, and the former general wipes them away.
“If it is fated, Morax,” Azhdaha whispers, kissing his forehead so softly, like feathers, like the silk of their old bed. “We will meet again.”
Soft flecks of light evaporate from Kun Jun's body, and just like that, Azhdaha is gone.
“People abandon and surrender the things they love to pursue the right path. Perhaps this is the erosion imposed on me by the Heavenly Principles. But I was a god of mankind. My identity may change, but my eyes will bear witness to the history of humanity.”
I thought we built a dynasty forever couldn’t break up.