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The humidity of the underground was suffocating and definitely not the ideal scenario for untreated wounds. Xiao was laying on a rock, apart from the rest of the group and with his eyes closed; it was the only moment Lumine reminisced seeing him so… at peace. The Yaksha always seemed to be on guard, with a pained look painted on his face that preserved the memories of his disruptive past; but at that moment, at that small speck of dust in the infinity of time, he looked as if all his problems and troubles had been solved and put into a case closed file.
She observed how his chest lifted and came down once and again, prove that he was still alive and that his injured state was not enough to cause an imminent death the moment she’d turn around. One of his tattooed arms was placed on his left knee and the other was around his torso, where he had been hurt during the battle. If only he communicated with them the way the group was hoping, they would be able to understand where they were heading to. However, the young looking Adeptus was too stubborn to let them in and share his experiences, thinking of himself as a burden to every single mortal he finds himself in the presence of.
“How’s the little buddy there? Flouting Lavender Melon is asleep as a brick.” Itto asked as he approached Lumine, a very unnoticeable concern frown forming on his brow.
“He’s fine, just resting.” She sighed, turning around to meet her friend completely, “His wounds were too much to bear awake, apparently. I’m glad he’s taking some time for himself, though.”
“Yeah, for being so short, he must have put some hell of a fight. Nothing as I would have, though.” He giggled at the end of the sentence, the typical arrogant tone overtaking the care he was showing at first. Lumine just smiled, knowing he had the best of intentions even if he didn’t sound like it.
“For sure, Itto.”
“Hey! Don’t mock me!” the Oni exclaimed while crossing his arms over his chest, a very nice try to look more intimidating, “I really would!”
“Boss, stop disturbing the traveller.” Shinobu spoke from behind Itto, tired of babysitting him but covering it perfectly.
“I’m not! I was just… explaining! Yeah, explaining.”
“You mean exposing your point?” Shinobu asked, gaining a quiet laugh from the blonde woman across them.
“That’s what I was saying.” Itto murmured in what looked to be the beginning of a tantrum. Sensing the danger, Shinobu acted fast.
“Hey, boss, come eat something. You need to keep your energy to help us all, right?”
Itto’s ears perked up, interest crossing his semblant and his body betraying him by moving towards the little fire his second in command had settled. Lumine swore to have seen drool rolling down his chin at the thought of food even if he wasn’t hungry.
“Hell yeah! I need to protect all these people. Especially little guy and floating lavender! Let’s go check on her.”
Itto ran towards where the food laid and where Paimon was resting, the loud white noise of his presence being lost around Lumine. Shinobu, on her part, blinked at the blonde traveller, amused, and followed her boss, probably to prevent an accident.
It was true the situation they were at wasn’t the most convenient of all, and that there was a high risk of perishing on that quest given the fact there was no way out of the underground, but she was happy to be with people she trusted and cared for. Yanfei and Itto were reliable; Yelan and Shinobu, even after just meeting them, she knew they were intelligent and resourceful; and Xiao… well, he was the person she trusted the most in all of Teyvat, excluding Paimon. He was always there for her, helping her without seeking anything in exchange, responding to every call of his name that fell off her lips, treating her with such kindness and respect that dwelled under that layer of rudeness and toughness he faked to protect himself from being hurt. Xiao was special for her and no one would change that.
Soft grunts warned her of a presence at her left, turning around to find a very cute Yaksha rubbing his eyes and trying to get up, only to grunt louder and place his right hand over his stomach. Lumine, observing his state, ran to his side and supported him by putting her right arm around his waist, being careful to not harm him more than he already was. His breathing was erratic and his balance was inexistent, and even in that condition, he tried to put Lumine aside, far from him.
“It’s… not safe.” He groaned, pushing the girl away from him, her arm falling limp on her side.
“But Xiao—”
“No!”
While Xiao did his best to stabilize, Lumine kept her distance, though not far enough to not get to his side in time in case he was to fall. He tottered for a few seconds before being able to stand straight, lifting his head to look at Lumine, who just observed his every movement with worry. The Yaksha hated the eyes she was giving him, despising to cause problems for others, especially for mortals.
“I’m fine.” He claimed, sighing tiredly and with bored eyes.
“That’s not true.” Lumine just answered with a plain tone, insinuating she knew better.
“Don’t worry about me, traveller, and don’t get near.”
“Oh, I see you’re awake, Conqueror of Demons.” The icy voice of Yelan interrupted the two friends and approached them both, “I’d like to have a few words with you.”
“So you were looking for Bosacius, uh?” Yelan asked, rubbing her chin in thought.
“How sure are you that it’s him?” Yanfei followed with a kind look, smiling slightly to make the Yaksha feel more at ease.
“Not much. I just followed the clues I have.” He shrugged.
Lumine was, to put it simply, concerned. She could tell the awkwardness coming off Xiao’s body, along with his anxious moves, probably coming from the warn he gave a few minutes before about the contaminating Karma that surrounded him. She got lost in thought and, when she returned to the real life after a squeak from Paimon, her heart clenched at what she heard.
“I’ll open a breach with everything I have and you all get safe to the surface.” The Yaksha commanded, seeming confident on his proposal.
Everyone stood there trying to process his words, the silence so foreign in a cave that had taken their voices —Itto’s, in particular— and made of them a giant echo for what appeared to have been years. Now, the prove of life that had inhabited the underground was taken down by the strong and brave words of the Conqueror of Demons.
“But,” Yanfei was the first one to speak, breaking the wall that had been built between the Adeptus and the mortals, “what about you?”
“Yeah! What— What is that about ‘everything you have’?” Paimon exclaimed, angrily.
“Xiao, you don’t mean…” Lumine started, her heart racing the more she thought about his implications.
“It’s the only way, I can’t just use some of my energy. To keep the portal open for everyone, I’d need to use all of it.” He explained, his eyes connecting with Lumine’s for a bare second before dropping down to the ground.
“No! Xiao, that’s—,”
The traveller got interrupted again but, now, by Yelan, who furiously began quarrelling with Xiao about the topic, calling him selfish for wanting to give up on his life. Even if they were harsh words, as much as Lumine wanted to confront Yelan and make her apologize, she knew the woman was right. Xiao wasn’t taking into account their desire of leaving together without any casualty; and, to say the truth, Lumine didn’t want to leave Xiao behind, she wanted to be with him and keep on her adventures knowing he would have her back.
So why, why was he so adamant on fulfilling a suicidal mission? What was the point? It was true they had no other idea, but did that mean he was free to chose without letting them oppose? It was hard to not cry, to not go towards him and shake him from the shoulders to make him come to his senses; she had to let Yelan do her thing.
However, the scolding didn’t last much as a loud explosion-like sound echoed in the walls of the cave, attracting the attention of all the present folk. Definitely, Lumine did not expect to find Itto punching the rock wall and forming a whole leading to another section, but there he was, in all his Oni glory.
“Wow! There you go, baby! Told you I was taking you all out of here, hehe.” He pushed his hair back with a comb he brought with him, “But, oof, suddenly I’m so tired. Floating Lavender, make me room I’m… I’m coming with…”
And as he came, he went, laying unconscious on the ground of the cave. No need to say that everyone seemed shocked and, mostly, worried for the wellbeing of Itto, even the Adeptus himself.
“Itto?” Paimon began, floating towards the limp body of the sleeping Oni. “… Itto?”
At the end of the day, Itto had done so much for the group, as the hole he created leaded to a new domain that could be the answer to flee away from there. Xiao had gone by himself, as well as Yelan; Yanfei, Lumine and Paimon went together, and Shinobu and Ushi stayed with Itto to take care of the knocked-out demon.
However, at one point, everyone appeared at the same place, finding a very shaken Yaksha arguing with the air and with his lance prepare to attack at any given moment. The traveller walked to his side, wanting to know his concerns, but he launched her a few inches away from him with his vision.
“Stay away, this is my battle.” Was the only thing he said before starting battling with a purple circle with eyes.
The group of women were obliged to keep their distance and observe how their friend fought the force of… whatever that thing was. To whoever that heard Xiao without knowing him would have thought of his words to be rude, but the traveller knew better. Especially when the man took a bigger posture as if to protect them from the thing. Lumine was trembling, desiring to join him in battle and help him out, sweat falling down her temple and with her face screaming concern. She had known him for a long while now, and never had she seen him so afflicted and hurt emotionally and physically.
She wished to know, to understand and to swap places with him so he could rest for a bit of all that was eating him inside, to be able to see him breath without his past haunting him and drowning his lungs. How she wished to be the one to free him from his demons and see him smile in that way he does, the one where she can swear to see irises flying around him, when the moon is high and its light reflects on his pale skin. That’s what she wants him to have.
An arduous battle was taking place in that space, Xiao was on his limit and, with a last lunge of his lance and an attack of his vision, the monster he was battling with perished. That was the call for the three women and floating creature to approach the wounded Yaksha, who this time didn’t push them away, searching for the eyes of the blonde traveller. They made contact, finding deep care and worry sprayed all over her soul, and he felt like throwing up. That was what he wanted to avoid, it was too late for it, nonetheless.
“Xiao!” Lumine shouted, reaching for him and placing her right arm over his shoulders, side-hugging him. “Are you okay?”
“I’m… fine.” He sighed, not taking his eyes away from hers even when Yelan spoke.
“What was that?”
Lumine looked at Yelan with a warning look, asking her silently to give the man a break. She caressed his back with a delicate touch, turning towards him again to find his eyes still fixed on her.
“How are you feeling? Better?” She murmured.
“Yes.” He answered in a mere whisper, for then to cough and turn to the rest of the group, “That was Bosacius, or an illusion of it, at least.”
Of course the domain was playing with their minds, and their theories confirmed after reading the letter Yelan’s ancestor had redacted, explaining the war against the Khaenri’ah monsters and the sealed with him and Bosacius as the last survivors of the quest. Not only that, but Lumine felt her heart break when they read how the Yaksha had lost his mind and, at the very end of his life, he remembered the name of his Yaksha siblings.
She couldn’t help but look straight to Xiao, observing a very imperceptible glimmer of sadness in his face. It must be hard to learn of the cruel death of someone you held dear after 500 years. The only thing she could contribute with was support, so shyly she took his hand with a feather like touch, afraid of pushing boundaries; he did jump a little at the foreign feeling of her warm hand, though he didn’t take it from there, keeping it intertwined with hers and noticing a prominent blush take over his porcelain cheeks.
He knew it had to stop, whatever was going on with his tachycardic heart anytime he saw Lumine and the need to keep her safe above everyone else. He didn’t understand what it was, but it surely meant he was becoming too close to a mortal who could be affected by his karma. For millenniums he had avoided the situation so, what was so different about her? Why couldn’t he control himself?
The feeling of protection became bigger when he saw her walking towards the illusion of her brother in the Abyss space, keeping a fair distance between them but still following her around. Her blonde hair dancing to the rhythm of her steps and her beautiful dress flowing. He imagined that same scenario but in a green valley, full of those flowers he knew she liked, a big smile on her face while looking at him and, finally, running up a hill with him chasing her. How he wished to be able to relax, but that lifetime didn’t seem to be the one to do so.
“The Fantastic Compass!” Yanfei exclaimed, taking him out of his own fantasy and watching how Lumine had stopped around a compass with the same design of the ones they had been seeing all over the domain, “Maybe this may be the key!”
“Let’s go back and we can talk about it there.” Yelan commanded.
“So to activate it we just need the energy of an Adeptus and a mortal?” Paimon asked, tilting her head in confusion.
“In theory, yes.” Yelan nodded.
Yanfei stood there, thoughtful, for a few seconds, contemplating whether to say what she had in mind. “It worked with me, but I’m not strong enough to keep it active for more than a few seconds.” She explained, rubbing her chin. “Luckily, we count with an Adeptus and a mortal familiar with the magic arts.”
Everyone involved, except for Itto who was still sleeping, turned to look at the two possible saviours. Yelan sighed, nodding and acceding to do so, and Xiao hummed, taking the device in between his hands and offering it to Yelan, who placed hers on it, too.
Lumine can’t explain what exactly happened, but she remembers how Xiao’s body started shining in a green light and his mask covering his face while he used his power. Shinobu took Itto in her arms and brought him to where the rest was waiting and, once he was secured, the floor trembled and it lifted, floating and flying in a straight line in a dark tunnel.
She looked at Xiao, who was holding his right wrist with his left hand, as if he was supporting his own power. She was about to go next to him when a few red ghost-like figures appeared in the middle of the way out, trying to attack the platform they all were in. The Adeptus was too busy to fight, and Shinobu needed to protect the sleeping Oni, so the other three women prepared to fight.
Lumine throwed an electro attack that Yelan complemented with her Hydro vision, taking out some of their enemies. Yanfei fought with her Pyro vision, keeping sight of those angles the other two couldn’t cover.
From time to time, the traveller took glances of Xiao, checking if he was doing well, and what she saw didn’t like her a bit. Xiao’s mask had broken and fallen off his face, showing the effort he was doing to keep the platform moving towards the surface.
It is said that there’s a moment in time when everything comes to term and all of your life makes sense in a way it never had before, a moment of epiphany for those who live it. That moment for Xiao was when he saw Lumine looking at him in despair, her hair a mess and sword in hand, the biggest enemy of the domain behind her and with no possibilities of protecting her from it.
Her golden eyes that matched her hair, her smooth skin, her parted lips and her white and blue dress. Everything was too overwhelming and complicated to him and, at the same time, so clear and simple. His mission this time, his last one, was to keep the woman he cared for safe.
So, with a last glance at her, he used the remaining energy he had left to create small portals for the mortals. The women saw that green pillar surrounding everyone but him and comprehended what was going on, losing it at that exact moment.
“XIAO! NO! PLEASE!” Lumine screamed, desperate to reach to him.
Yelan, on her part, broke her rude character to look in fright to her comrade who she was about to lose, extending an arm to grab him, though it was too late and travelled upwards before she could touch him.
He knew they would be mad at him, but when his eyes found Lumine’s for one last time, he didn’t regret his sacrifice, because she would be safe and maybe she’ll get to run up that hill he had dreamed about before, without him, but he hoped that she would do it happily for him.
The tears of Lumine remained in the air even when she had already disappeared from the platform and the Adeptus could feel his heart clench, he had made her cry. And, as he fell, he thought of his Yaksha siblings, of his Lord Rex Lapis who took him under his wing, of the Wangshu Inn workers who cared for him and last but no least, of his Lumine, the traveller who had stolen his nights and days. Maybe in another life he’d be able to spend eternity with her and his Lord.
The sun hurt her eyes when she opened them, finding herself laying on the dirty ground of The Chasm. With a dizzy head, she stood up and looked around, finding everyone around her alive; everyone but him.
With her heart on her sleeve, she searched with more detail this time, convincing herself that she just wasn’t observing in a right way. Though the more she looked, the more tears that filled her eyes at the realization that, indeed, he didn’t come with them, sacrificing for the sake of the group.
“Xiao! Where are you!?” She shouted, alerting the rest of the women who were awake.
“Lumine, he—” Yelan started with a broken voice, getting interrupted but the blonde.
“XIAO!” He always came when she called and she refused to believe he wouldn’t that time, calling him again and again.
“Lumine, please, this isn’t helping.” Yanfei touched the blonde’s shoulder in a comforting way, only to get pushed by her friend who was definitely suffering of a panic attack.
“XIAO! Xiao, I need you! Xiao!” The traveller kept screaming his name, each one becoming weaker as he was nowhere to be seen.
Yelan, Yanfei, Shinobu and Paimon looked at her with pity and sadness, still shocked with the Yaksha’s sacrifice and also heartbroken for their friend, who had just lost someone too dear to her.
In a last attempt, Lumine screamed his name to the top of her lungs, waiting a few seconds for his teletransportation, that one he always did when she called him. However, no Xiao appeared in front of her, and the traveller broke down, crying her eyes out at the realization of what she lost.
Although, the sound of sand under feet and quick breathing brought her attention, turning around quickly and seeing, in fact, dark hair and golden eyes directed at her, only at her. Any other person would have been frozen in place at the sight of their loved one who they thought was dead being alive, but Lumine ran. She ran as fast as she could towards him and hugged him with all she had, passing her arms around his shoulders and nearly dropping him to the ground.
“Xiao.” She whispered, pressing her forehead on his, sharing his breath with hers.
“I heard you calling.” He mumbled, his head turning to the higher point of The Chasm, sensing the presence of his Lord.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Lumine kept repeating, hugging him even closer if it was possible.
“For what?” Xiao’s eyes fell on her again, softening at the look of relief she had. He placed his strong arms on her waist in a protective manner, one that had the rest of the group looking away as if they were witnessing an intimate moment between two lovers.
“For answering my call.”
The rest of the group came to see Xiao and thank him for keeping them safe and to say goodbye. The Adeptus nodded and walked away, stopping a few meters away from them, something that didn’t go unnoticed by the blonde traveller. So, when her friends said they were leaving to have dinner at Liyue Harbor, she just waved them off and walked along with Paimon towards the Yaksha, who turned around to meet me.
“You knew I was waiting for you?” Xiao asked with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Yes, it was obvious.” Lumine responded.
Paimon sensed the tension between her two friends and, without a word, floated to a safe distance away to leave room for them to talk.
“I don’t know why I always feel like I can tell you anything.” Xiao commented after sharing the information about the former Yakshas, looking like a lost puppy and having Lumine smiling warmly at him.
“I’m actually really glad to feel comfortable enough to share so much with me, Xiao. It makes me happy to know you trust me.”
The Yaksha’s heart jumped a little after that confession, returning a small smile, too. “You’ve gained my trust.”
“And you mine.”
Lumine felt like a teenager being left alone with her crush, going around the topic over and over again and feeling awkward about things that were so natural. Xiao, on his part, was preparing to share something else with her.
“You know, I always thought that my fate was to end in misery like the rest of my siblings. And I was ready to die down there saving all of you.” Xiao said, breathing deeply and trying to find the courage in him.
“That’s not true.” Lumine replied softly, stepping nearer to his side.
“I guess… I did have one regret.”
That took the girl’s interest, unconsciously leaning towards him waiting for him to continue. And then, he smiled, that smiled she had recalled on the domain, where the irises fly around him and his hair sways with the wind though, this time, it was the sun what was illuminating his soft skin. She was so lost in him that, when she wanted to realize what was going on, Xiao had already pressed his lips on hers as he had watched so many couples do in Liyue Harbor for centuries. It was short, but he felt something he didn’t know existed, a twist in his chest that definitely had his breath stuck in his lungs in a very pleasurable way.
Lumine, on her part, felt like melting. Not in a million years would she had expected for Xiao to kiss her, and less out of nowhere like he had just done. However, she wasn’t complaining, as giddy as she was for having her Xiao sharing a kiss with her. When they parted, she wished to have his lips on hers again, but she also wanted answers.
“Sorry, I don’t know—”
“Don’t apologize! I… I liked it.” She murmured shyly, blushing deeply.
“I… liked it, too.” The Yaksha agreed, coughing and turning to the left to hide his reddened face.
There was silence between them, wondering what to say to explain what had just happened. Lumine attributed it to the lack of experience of human feelings on Xiao, but he knew better, knowing the overwhelming feelings he got when he was around her had taken over him and his lack of resolution to speak about them with her.
“Why did you do it? Not that… It’s not that I didn’t like it! As I said, I did! But, I guess I want to know… Ugh, forget it.” Lumine covered her face with her hands, embarrassed for making a fool out of herself.
After a few seconds of contemplating, Xiao spoke, “Like I said, I was expecting my life to end right there, in misery as all the Yakshas’ lives end.” He started, looking up at the sky, “But ever since I know you, every time I’m with you, that sense of… emptiness dissolves. I get to smile. My karma... It can affect you, I know, and it's selfish of me, but I like being with you.”
Lumine felt dizzy at his words, she hadn’t realized she had that effect on him, the same one he had whenever she was with him, her brother slipping off her mind when she got to speak to him.
“So when I saw that thing behind you back down there, I had to protect you. My only regret was not letting you know how I felt, even if I don’t completely understand it myself.”
No other words were needed, understanding the undertone of them. Lumine lifted her hands, tempting to press them against his chest and he left her, enjoying the soft and delicate touch of her hands on his skin. When her fingers reached his neck and played with his hair, that was when Xiao closed his eyes, pressing his forehead against hers the way she had done in their reencounter. He felt so at ease, never had experienced that peace in his life. And now, thanks to a blonde traveller who was now nuzzling her nose with his, he felt like he maybe could change the path of his fate.
So when her lips touched his once more, in that hill at The Chasm, where the wind whistled to the beat of their hearts and the sun set to illuminate just the two of them, Xiao knew that the fantasy of having her smiling at him in a green valley, running up a hill in a white dress could become reality. And he surely would chase her for eternity.