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Within times of peace and humanity, Rex Lapis, now under a new name of Zhongli, no longer interferes with affairs in the nation he once governed. As he had with his initial inclination during the awakening of Osial, he had instead taken to playing his part as an observer with the utmost significance, never interfering unless crucial and absolutely climacteric.
“Adeptus Xiao,” His tone visibly lights up at the younger's presence, grip settling down with his teacup to instead greet the yaksha warmly. “It is quite rare to be greeted with one’s great presence.”
The spear-yielding adeptus simply takes to shrugging at the formalities, concerningly unusual - considering he normally corrects the consultant and reminds him that the teasing is uncalled for in private.
Despite the ex-gods' decline in status, Xiao had wished for their exchanges to not change much more than before, which was initially, in his fair opinion, difficult. While the adeptus had grown more comfortable beside his presence in the millenia they had fought beside each other, he likewise wasn’t blind to the small servant-like formalities the yaksha could not work himself out of (to tuck his head as he had over the centuries and more trinkets he constantly reminded Xiao was not needed of him anymore).
But now that he could regularly meet the yaksha without duties to hinder him in this mortal form, he had begun to see progress about breaking down those boundaries, and had grown glad that a year since the day he revealed this new form to the yaksha, Xiao was comfortable enough to speak casually to him more often than not.
“Zhongli.” A certain someone interrupts, ears the faintest shade of pink. The consultant then realizes that he’d zoned out for an uncountable amount of time.
Having escaped from his spiraling thoughts, he inspects the adeptus’ creased eyebrows and rigid posture, a telltale sign that there was a severe matter on his mind. Xiao is closer to his face, but as per usual, just distant enough so that Zhongli can read his expression but not close enough for him to so much as reach out a hand to his shoulder. Although he would never do such a deed unless permitted, both out of respect and what he suspects to be a fear of physical touch, he keeps a noticeable distance between the two of them.
“Is there something that burns your mind?” He questions, both in amusement and concern.
He hadn’t been lying earlier - while Xiao didn’t not welcome his presence, Zhongli was normally the one who initiated their gatherings, so it was a pleasant and alerting occurrence that the yaksha had seeked him first.
“Bosacious…” He firmly states before cutting himself midway. Zhongli had an inkling about what business he might want with the yaksha who disappeared centuries ago.
“Bosacious.”
“I’ve thought about it over time, and I want to find his whereabouts. The other yaksha, the one’s I once called brother and sister, all succumbed to the karmic debt I face today. While I acknowledge the last time I saw him he too had succumbed, I wish to know of his ending.”
“His body was never found, I recall.” Zhongli repeats, voice firm but contemplative. He is sent a nod of acknowledgement from Xiao’s side. In all his might, he builds up the courage to not burst in defense from the suggestion immediately, especially since they both know the dangers that lie ahead.
“Rex Lapis, I request your permission to proceed.”
The yaksha using the title he had abandoned a year ago meant that he came to him not as a friend, but as the god he once was. It’s both disheartening and not uncalled for considering the severity of the matter, so he chooses not to comment on the name.
It also almost sounds like Xiao wishes for him to join, but knowing his selfless nature, he’s almost sure he will immediately refuse, have Rex Lapis propose it.
“This trip might be dangerous, and yet you insist on going.” This wasn’t the first of many conversations they had regarding the topic, and each time Zhongli had not imposed him to discontinue, but expressed concern nonetheless.
Now he stands with confidence, but Zhongli has watched the yaksha for millenia - and the Conqueror of Demons could not escape his piercing gaze. Despite his small size, he stares back with the same ferocity when faced with his enemies, somehow mixed with the gentleness and kindness he showed only to his previous god.
It’s definitely a step up from the shaken stare he used to receive three millennia ago.
He turns over to face the railing, crossing his arms in sternness as he further absorbs the request. Xiao doesn’t have the opportunity to read his expression for whatever further conversation may transgress.
“You are one of Liyue’s strongest warriors, if not one of the most, the strongest, but even you cannot avoid it if all that awaits you is the unknown.”
It is liable that Rex Lapis, ergo in his retirement, prioritizes keeping in contact and maintaining connections with at least some the immortal and mortal deities that he has conversed with over the years (albeit, the latter is easily more difficult). Foremostly, those he treasures with his utmost heart.
Xiao has definitely never fallen short of the list. To Zhonglis despair, one of the most primal instincts he had cultivated over the years was prioritizing his old friend. Surely not an unfamiliar aptitude considering the renowned and ruthless nature of the adeptus when he came to protecting all but himself.
Like every time before, Zhongli can only force himself to watch, to not comment further have he accidentally step over the line he could never wish to transgress. To order Xiao would be to abuse their previous contract, which he abolished the moment he took on this new name.
“I have guarded this place for several hundred years. Only to seek the nameless yaksha, do I request Rex Lapis’ approval.” Xiao's tone despite the counter is soft, between the fine line of I need this and also expressing the peril that comes with the journey itself.
Zhongli presses his lip to his teeth, expression unseen by the yaksha behind him.
“Fine,” he finally concurs, “But promise me one thing.”
“A contract?”
“You know I am done with those.” He nearly laughs at the nervous shifting following afterwards, but instead he turns to meet the yakshas scrutinizing gaze.
“You ensure that you return back at all cost necessary,” Xiao's pupils dilate, vivid and coruscating, “I have already lost too many to count. In my retirement, I hope that the remaining of my brethren finally stays.”
“You hold me in too high regards—”
“For that, I cannot promise.” Perhaps Xiao shouldn’t have left the words unsaid, but death had been waiting at his door for much longer than any other yaksha. If anything, his time was overdue.
The wind of the time-distorted landscape is stagnant and far from liberating. His shoulders brim with sweat and tension, definitely a result from the days of turmoil he’d spent in this space fighting alone.
But all in all, it is not like it is not a proceeding he is unaccustomed to. Like he has acknowledged many times before, yaksha are creatures of battle and do little to thrive in ‘peaceful’ times. Battle is not a routine, but a custom for him.
So when isolated and alone with no demon to fight nor accompany him, Xiao wilts. He only has the demons in his heart to keep some remnant of noise,
And they are oh, so loud. There was something about the Chasm that drove buried gods insane. But that was a priority he could avoid for the time being.
It would be more effective if he were to explore the domain - but the few times he had entered back and through the time-warped door situated at the north, he had grown dizzy and only found himself returning to the same dimly lit and iron red patch of land.
Thus, he sits, crosses his leg into the lotus pose Rex Lapis had taught him when he was a much younger being, and waits for any trinket of sound. In turn, only warm and blazed winds brush against his ear, a thundering and roaring echo heard in the background. It warns of a looming threat, but never proceeds with the blitz.
Xiao, despite what many of his other adepti may think, can wait when needed.
Now that his nerves are slightly calmer, he needs to plan a course of action, so what else can he do other than explore the miniature space he is currently situated in?
He does not know how much time passes, for he soon gets lost in his thoughts, wandering alone in this confining patch of dead land.
— “Both mortals and adepti write out their final wishes so somebody will carry them out after they pass. It’s known as a last will and a testament.”
“And this can be done at any time?”
A simple piece of paper sits beside a clock-like contraption, or perhaps was it a compass? He bends down to pluck it from its whereabouts nonetheless.
There is no writing on the slip, but a fountain pen seems to have dropped next to it. To his luck, for if Xiao were to write without a pen - he would’ve not hesitated to use the blood dripping from his forearm. The positioning is alerting and obscure, so his first instinct is to wonder if it’s a trap.
Despite this, he tests out the ink on the soiled paper, having been left here for god knows how long. With the little mortal words he has learnt over the years, he should somewhat be able to convey a message have his worst fears twist to reality.
Which, concerning what he had felt earlier, was very possible. No further elaboration would be needed on whether or not the ‘fear’ itself is actually fear or a wish.
First, he would have to sign his name.
“Foremostly, you draw the radical for ghost, followed by xiào for resemblance.” Morax had drawled, painting each stroke in a careful manner so that Alatus could get used to writing it himself.
When the god of contracts first took him in, it was a struggle to even sign the agreement that would later tie their bond down the road. Since his previous mistress had been adamant in control over him, his lack of literacy was no coincidence. It was a result of her insisting that learning mortal script would only hinder his battle prowess. In all the times a contract was required, she had attached a string to his wrist so that she could command his movements.
"Don't worry, little bird. Leave it to me."
Yet, Morax insisted that he at least know the basics of writing by his own hand.
“Or, if you wish, you may use your previous name. I by no means wish to compel you to use the name I suggested unless you yourself stand by it. I too go by many names.”
He is a strange master— to not want to exercise power over a weapon. What use was a weapon who could sign a name not by his will?
“You may control my wrist to sign it once—” He stops there, breath catching in his throat once he realized he had spoken against his new master.
“Please forgive me for reprimanding you. It was unworthy of this one. I will face all consequences needed.”
Morax bent down to press a palm to his scalp, and Alatus felt the edges of his hair bulbs vibrating in response to the touch. He first expected the older to tug at the strands and slam him into the ground before his feet until Alatus was bleeding for days, but instead
Morax’s fingers slid down to grab his chin and push it up so that they met eye to eye. It had been the same grip that held the Primordial Jade Vista, the very one who killed his mistress.
“Xiao, stop.” Alatus is unsure if tears are welling up in his eyes.
“I want you to agree to the terms of the contract. Not for me to agree with myself. There is little purpose if that was the case.”
“My lord—”
“You are not unworthy. Now, if you wish to not proceed, I will not force you into obedience. You’re welcome to walk out right now, or terminate the contract in the future if needed.”
“I…” Bile rises at his throat, clawing at it and keeping him from speaking further.
Alatus inhales, analyzing the desolated and sympathetic expression on his lord’s face before he shifts his two bare feet.
Grabs the calligraphy pen,
And hereby scrawls a name that isn’t Alatus.
Back then, Rex Lapis had mistaken his hushed movement for adrenaline, but Xiao in truth had just wished to get it all over with.
He had thought that his new master's words were merely lies meant to coerce him, as he was a creature who had been shaped into obedience over centuries.
“You are my most loyal follower, Xiao. I was glad to have someone as trustworthy by my side in the eons I have spent.” Zhongli, now residing in a mortal form, had told him many years later, “Have I succumbed to erosion one day, I wish for you to host my funeral.”
Please, don’t leave me too.
Xiao holds little in his arsenal. His room in Wangshu Inn had always been the most minimalistic due to him never sleeping unless crucial, a once in a blue moon occurrence. Save for the antiques Zhongli had gifted him the past year and the shrine he had set up in a little corner of his quarters, he owned very few property.
He stares at the jade spear in his hand.
This too was carved by his archon’s hands, had been his finest weapon of war and the weapon has not retired since - it is battered and bruised, stark in contrast to Xiao who has not aged a year in the mortal form he chose to take.
Zhongli had offered to remodel it the other day, to which Xiao refused. It was a token of the many hardships he had come to experience with Rex Lapis over millennia. Not to mention, it was in good enough shape that it didn’t hinder his performance too much.
Even then, he’s sure the ex-god isn’t visually impaired to see that Xiao himself had to remodel the weapon multiple times over the years. But Zhongli often doesn’t say anything unless needed. Even after all these years, Xiao would be embarrassed if he didn’t admit to at least picking up on some of his lord's habits.
He scribbles some notes about what he would like done with the flowers by his bedside, as well as the heirlooms he had preserved over the centuries, but most importantly—
The Jade Winged Spear is my most prized possession. I wish for it to be preserved and kept by funeral consultant Zhongli until his time too passes. Let him conduct my funeral. Hu Tao will know of the proper arrangements.
He pauses. Stares back at the slip of paper before realizing at least half his possessions were going to the aforementioned ex-god.
As he expected.
He hopes Zhongli isn’t maddened that people will grow to question the nature of their relationship in his death.
Bosacious was a lively creature.
Having been almost as old as Rex Lapis himself, Xiao naturally came to see him as a mentor figure. Though he does not admit it, the closest thing he would ever receive to a brother.
Fighting against the irrational remnants and sloppy illusions Bosacious fighting before his death drove Xiao impetuous. This space was certainly thriving to provoke him.
Bosacious was clearly was not the man he used to be— going from the way he spoke to the way he irrationally attacked unlike what Xiao vividly remembers. The more the anemo yaksha heard echoes of the electro, the more uncertain he grew about him surviving.
With this heedless technique, he’s convinced that there is no way Bosacious would’ve survived the dwellings of the Chasm.
To not even announce his name, that could only mean he had forgotten it.
This, too, is a contributing factor to Xiao’s ultimate sacrifice.
For with reminders of the past, he began to grow painfully aware of just how long he dwelled on Teyvat. It also made him grieve in ways unspeakable. He had held onto the tight string that Bosacious might be alive all these years, and yet a part of him just always knew.
Xiao was no stranger to death.
“How do you feel?”
Xiao tilts his chin up to observe Rex Lapis’ imposing figure, a woman who shares similar features to Guizhong, who had passed when Xiao had only been in Rex Lapis’ following for about a decade.
Rex Lapis had grieved heavily the following century, only so much time could heal when you’d been in each others care for a millenia.
They are the only other remaining figure. Everyone else he had loved - had made himself vulnerable for - had left him behind to the debt he feels thriving through his adeptal blood. He rubs the red off his mask, dishearteningly ignoring the karmic bonds that tighten around his wrist.
“You have watched Indarias yield, Bonanus and Menogias rip each other's lungs, and Bosacious disappear without a trace. Xiao, just how are you doing?” They question, concern and fellow sympathy in their eyes.
Terrible, he wishes to utter, so numb that grief is but a fleeting emotion he wishes to ignore.
“Rex Lapis, when I had been born into this world - you were already an ancient being. How much longer till you too leave me too? If I do not leave you first.”
“I still have a long time ahead of me. Don’t fret about me. I will stay.” Lies.
“And what if I burden you?”
Xiao had ignored the tears welling in his eyes, but fell into the embrace of Rex Lapis’ temporary human form when they reached their hands out to wrap around him.
“You were never a burden, Xiao. I can assure you that your fellow yakshas felt the same way in the long time you had spent together.”
Rex Lapis’ shoulder is wet.
Zhongli camps for days outside the Chasm. Although he no longer has his gnosis, he is not short of power and uses the remaining adeptal energy he has to watch the team of explorers from a distance.
It would be minacious to enter even as the ex Geo archon, especially in a mortal form that could alert those like Yelan. So, like Osial, he patiently waits, as he had every century since he met Xiao. The yaksha is more than capable of handling himself, and Zhongli has interfered too many times in his life before. He is not the century-old yaksha enslaved by his mistress as he had first met him, Xiao is the protector of Liyue who has slain for many eons and more.
[well, zhongli hopes he can replace the word slain with rest]
It takes some time, but he immediately knows the moment Lumine rises to the surface with no Xiao in tow that the latter had sacrificed himself.
You’re foolish, Xiao. Foolishly stubborn. Zhongli could never tell him that if Xiao would grieve him, he would likewise grieve the yaksha the way he had desired to stay close to Xiao all these millenia.
A bind of geo escapes, soaring out into the abyss of the chasm just to catch Xiao in time and teleport him away.
Xiao knows. Zhongli walks away.
“You broke our promise.”
The adeptus evidently gulps, Adam's apple rising from his throat.
Midnight strikes Liyue Harbor, and after what had transgressed during the earlier day he had more or less expected Xiao to seek him.
“As expected of the god of contracts… I apologize, desperate times came for desperate measures.”
“Still, a promise is a promise. Today was extremely close.”
“Again, I apologize,” Luckily, his head isn’t at Zhonglis feet, which is actually a well-deserved relief. “Also, I hate for the bad timing - but I wrote a will.”
He quirks an eyebrow at this, hand stretched out as he receives the slip. It’s small, extremely simple, just like Xiao himself.
“Most of your possessions will go to me. Some to Hu Tao, Ganyu and the other adepti. A decent portion for the traveler as well.”
“You are a consultant. I don’t trust myself to carry this any longer considering it was almost ripped to shreds before I could hand it to anyone after the amount of energy I used today.”
An adeptus' mortal form can be adjusted to look as youthful and flawless as needed - but they do reflect many aspects of the adeptus themself that even the adeptus may not notice. The eyebags that anchor Xiao’s eyes are clearly noticeable.
His guard is down; the distance between them is shorter than usual. With this, Zhongli tugs his wrist so that the smaller falls into bed with him, Xiao’s head falling into his chest as his back hits the soft fabric. Silence.
“Ah—”
“It is your punishment for nearly breaking our promise. Had I not interfered, I’m not sure what would’ve happened.”
He glances down at the yaksha, that for some reason has the gauge to smirk at him.
“As you please, master.” Zhongli refrains from gagging himself at the phrasing, especially since the last time Xiao had called him as such it had been over a decade and it was inappropriate concerning the position they were in.
“I am not your master anymore. Rest. We will continue talking about it in the morning. You worry me with how much you exert yourself.”
“You too, Zhongli,” He pauses before he presses a kiss to his knuckle, “Thank you for saving me again, as you had many times before.”
You have saved me many times too. Do not undermine your importance in my life. He wishes to say out loud.
Heart thumping against his chest, Zhongli watches as his yaksha unwinds and slackens against his body.
He looks peaceful in his sleep.
Zhongli smiles, and then lets his eyelids fall in sync with Xiao's measured doze.