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After reflecting for a while in Pervases' temple, the Traveler long gone, Xiao ported back to his perch in Wangshu Inn.
Overlooking the surroundings — the grassy wetlands of Dihua Marsh, the misting mountains in the distance, and the winding roads passing through — Xiao looked for any signs of danger with a trained and diligent eye.
He fell back to his role as the sentinel of Liyue, one he's done for over a millennia, contract-bound by Morax. Far were they from the countless deaths of the Archon Wars and its aftermath, Xiao's sharp edges having softened and blunted, slowly but surely.
He hated to admit to it, but as the last remaining Yaksha, the title — his identity — has become little more than a relic of the past. Even the great leader and god of them all has now retired and spends his days as nothing more than a "mortal", opting to blend in and live through their mundane and finite ways.
Where did that leave him? If even Morax has willingly shed his golden heavenly robes?
His place has always been to serve and to eradicate, and neither are no longer encouraged nor wanted.
So, the Conqueror of Demons is left in a chaotic and contradictory imbalance as he continue to vigilantly look over the lands he calls home. It is these thoughts that ultimately spurred him like a war bird in the front lines, to seek Bosacius, the strongest of them and also whose fate remained unknown until now.
Xiao sighed and opened the cloth pouch attached to his belt where fragments of his shattered Yaksha mask lie. It finally gave in after countless use in vicious battles, the moment the last of his powers left his body in their desperate retreat from that tomb.
He still was in shock about the events that had occurred; so close to touching the depths where all his brothers and sisters had ultimately succumbed to... What he will inevitably succumb to, but alas it was not to be yet.
The Lord of Geo had deigned to personally ensure his safe retrieval at the last minute.
Just then, his eyes quickly locked to Morax's figure walking gracefully up to the Inn's outdoor deck, like he had sensed the Yaksha's will to see him (which he did).
From his vantage atop the roof, Xiao controlled the spike in his cardiac rhythm and summoned himself before the highest of all adepti, one knee bent and his head deeply bowed.
The full moon shone much brighter than usual in this tranquil night, providing much illumination for the people below.
"I have to thank you for saving my life, my lord. Whatever it is you ask in return I will do so without any questions. My life is yours."
"There is no need to be so formal Xiao, calling me Zhongli will suffice."
"I understand my lor— I mean... Zhongli." It still felt somewhat scandalous to Xiao to simply say that name, like they were a mere person that did not span thousands of years of age and wisdom.
"May I ask... Zhongli — why did you rescue me?" Xiao looked up to his savior, the being he is indebted to for all his days.
Zhongli beckoned him silently to stand and to walk closer to his side.
A secret that he guards close to his heart is that there is nowhere else in Teyvat with which he feels the safest than besides his god. The Yaksha's body relaxed from its stiffness and fatigue almost instantaneously once he was an arm's distance away from Zhongli.
For a few minutes, they just looked over to the scenery that never failed to leave them in a reflective trance, not a single word spoken. It seemed to Xiao, that these moments were when Morax was the most at peace, which reflected within him in return just as the morning sunlight does on the water's surface.
"It should come to no surprise that I will be there to look over you. After all, it is the same thing that you do for me." Zhongli broke the silence with the calming richness of his voice.
"The Traveler and Paimon also gave a similar explanation."
"And they are right."
"It's just, I don't deserve any of your help... I was ready to give it all to save my— them, and I did." He almost had said the word "friends" to describe the people that he had worked with in the Chasm... How foolish.
Maybe Traveler or Paimon, but the others? Xiao probably won't be seeing them again.
"And who's to say I deserve your devotion? The times have shifted and I am but a mortal in the grand scheme of things. If we don't look out for each other, it is easy to be led astray by forces which only work against us. I too am not impervious to this. There will come a time when you might see a side of me that I do not wish for anyone to see, and yet somehow I am reassured that there will be those I cherish as friends that will ease my burdens as my being erode."
"Don't say such things Morax!" Xiao couldn't comprehend why his lord is telling him this now. "Of course I will be by your side as long as I live, please do not question my devotion to you and— and that you will perish." It hurts too much to think of it. His heart might as well stop beating right there and then for the overwhelming sadness he will be unable to endure.
"If that time comes, please end my suffering with you."
"My dear Xiao, this is precisely why I come before you underneath this moon-lit night. I wish to atone for my selfishness. I couldn't allow you to leave my side just yet and broke my own contract of remaining indifferent to the dangers posed to the adepti. For I know attempting to save all lives is futile, but if I could protect yours then a part of me is preserved."
Zhongli turned around and clasped his gloved-hands behind the sturdy tower of his back.
Xiao dared to take a step closer.
Nothing has changed from that time long past when he had been so weak he was crawling across the field of glaze lilies, rotting corpses all around him, until he lifted his eyes and laid upon the illuminated back of the undefeated geo adeptus, Morax.
If he raised his hand, perhaps he could even touch Morax's magnificence with just his fingertips, unworthy that he is.
"From this day forth your contract to me is null and void. I release you from your sworn duty to guard Liyue and sever your ties that binds you to me."
"What? No, no I don't want—" Xiao rushed towards Morax but he was stopped as glowing seals of amber which held his contract surrounded them, only to be dispersed by solid rock pillars that had shot up from the ground.
"Please Zhongli, don't do this! Please this is all I have left..." His voice cracked as he felt his throat tightening up. Hot tears were threatening to spill from the corner of his eyes.
"That is far from the truth and you know that, my dear Xiao."
"How could you say that after taking my only duty — no, my only reason to exist from me? How?!" He was sobbing, knees to the ground as his mind and body deflated. It barely registered to him that they had ported now in Morax's adeptal realm.
"Because you have many people that look to you as their friend and their ally. You give yourself little to no credit for how you've touched many lives with your existence, including mine."
Xiao tried to suppress his uneven, shuddering breath. In mere minutes, he was reduced to crying like a child, unbecoming for one who prides themselves as a Conqueror of Demons.
"You save my life only to end it here. I gladly accept my lord's command."
Xiao wiped his tears and fixed his posture enough to bow before Morax. He forced a compliant numbness to overtake his sadness.
"Xiao, you are free. I do not hold any power over you any longer, as such I have a confession I must make before I fear it is too late."
The Yaksha looked up to Zhongli, fear and hope dancing across his reassuring gaze. He stood up shakily, absorbed with the god's intent.
"I wish to spend the rest of my life with you through your own volition. This time there will be no contracts, only your acceptance in which you are free to choose or not."
"Is— Is this a test?" Xiao's brain was slow to decipher Morax's words, his chest still beating like a drum. It sounded like he was not being pushed away and actually being asked to stay... Right?
So why did it feel different?
The sky in the adeptal realm was a peachy pink hue, low yellow rays peaking through wispy white clouds.
"No, nothing of the sort." Zhongli gave him a soft smile, eyes liquid honey.
"Then... I can stay besides you?" Xiao looked everywhere except directly at the god in front of him. His face was warmer, but it must be the change in climate surely.
"Yes, if you so choose. I will greatly appreciate your company."
"You know my answer, my loyalty lies with you."
Zhongli stepped closer to him, so close that Xiao had to tilt his head up if he were to meet Zhongli's gaze. At the moment he was content to hide his relieved expression from his lord's view.
"Is that a yes?" Zhongli's hushed voice blanketed him with a feeling of compassion so desperately needed that he didn't even fight the tears that dripped from his lashes.
"Yes, yes over and over," croaked Xiao, "just please, don't let go of me like that ever again."
A gentle finger tipped his chin back, wiping the wet streak on his cheeks.
"I won't."
Xiao relished the rare, yet welcome touch from Zhongli and smiled in return without reservation.
It's true he had lost so many of his brothers and sisters in the ruthless unending march of both time and conflict.
However, it's also true that he had never been truly alone during any of those moments, not since Morax had came to his life — a light, a hope.
His place had always been to be besides the god, now turned mortal by choice. Without the contract, Xiao still feels the same, no, more strongly now than ever before.
Before, he'd taken for granted that the contract will always bind him to Morax, come hell or high water, but oh for even that fleeting moment of loss and rejection...
Xiao's thoughts were so far up the clouds that he failed to notice that he had held to Zhongli's wrists and kept his face cupped in his warm palms. Long, slender fingers brushed on the sensitive shell of his ears and the adeptus gasped from the sensation.
"M-Morax! Uh, my apologies!" He swiftly air sprinted back a good two meters away. He motioned for his mask to hide his absolute embarrassment only to come out with nothing.
"Tsk! Why must this happen?" Xiao cursed underneath his breath. He turned his body slightly away from Zhongli but not completely, out of respect. If he could only kill the way he blushes he would have done so in an instant and without remorse.
"Your Yaksha mask was destroyed when you depleted your powers. I hope you don't mind me turning it to an earring instead. It suits you much better." Zhongli found Xiao's current state of distress to be highly endearing, and hid a small laugh in his hand.
"An earring?" Xiao touched his left ear and felt the cool smoothness of the precious jewelry.
"Made into a piece of archaic stone and beads of the finest cor lapis — the fragments of your mask turned timeless and beautiful."
"I will wear this gift with honor and gratitude. Thank you Zhongli." Xiao bit the inside of his cheek and bowed his head for the umpteenth time. He felt a momentary reprieve from having his face hidden from sight, and yet it did little to calm his feelings overall.
"You are my close friend Xiao and no longer serving a contract, please be at ease around me as someone of the same status."
"I— I am at ease... It's just a lot to take in."
"Take all the time you need for you're a welcome guest in my abode. I have your medicines readily in stock and you will heal faster here after that tremendous ordeal."
Xiao silently followed Zhongli while he talked to him in that gentle tone, giving a brief tour through the rooms in the two-story Liyue-style house.
"This here is a guest room that shall be your room. If you have any needs or concerns simply let me know and I will do my utmost to accommodate it."
Xiao was quite simply stunned at such service directed towards him, from his lord no less, and mutely nodded. He doubted the words that will come out of his mouth — having to rewire centuries of learned patterns and behavior that screamed for him to simply bow down in apology and get out of Morax's hair.
"Rest now Xiao."
"I will try to my lord, uh I mean Zhongli," Xiao sighed.
This will be a difficult journey, but one that he chose for himself and no other.