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Xiao had rescued her.
Actually, that wasn’t really accurate.
It was Alatus.
Yes, this time it was not Xiao, but the Golden Winged King, Alatus.
Two pairs of wings; large, golden, and powerful, flapped through the air as if controlling nature itself. He was navigating through the sky diligently, but on high alert.
Keqing, wrapping her arms tightly around the Yaksha’s neck, was being carried firmly in his arms.
The two were in the middle of Cuijue Slope, avoiding a Ruin Hunter in high pursuit. The Millelith had been dispatched to dispose of it, but the automaton was much more aggressive than usual. Thus, the Conqueror of Demons and Yuheng, who’d been patrolling the area, took matters into their own hands.
Their relationship was still a secret in Liyue, but the matter was too urgent for any of the officers to question why the Vigilant Yaksha was conveniently tagging along with Lady Keqing. As soon as they caught wind of the situation, they began to close in, attempting to lead the Ruin Hunter further into the valleys where it could be defeated.
Unfortunately, whatever Abyss magic was at play here was stronger than what either Keqing, or even Xiao, were used to. The pair found themselves losing the upper hand quickly. The Ruin Hunter began to launch attacks toward them, far too quickly for them to anticipate. While Xiao was able to adapt, Keqing could only move so nimbly in such an uneven space.
When she could dodge attacks no longer, Xiao immediately came to her rescue. Summoning his golden wings, those which he had rarely used, he scooped Keqing into his arms, while the Ruin Hunter gave chase.
Now, as Keqing was calculating their next plan of action, she caught a glimpse of the Yaksha’s face. His eyes were focused ahead of them. Narrow and determined. To complete their mission, yes. That much was certain. But also, she knew he was more worried about her safety. And despite the urgency of the situation and the fact that her heart was admittedly racing at how quickly things had turned on them, she steeled herself to remain calm.
And despite his own lack of confidence in dealing with such a powerful foe, Xiao’s grip never loosened.
If anything, it grew tighter, pulling Keqing closer to him.
She knew she was safe.
She always felt safe with him.
Nevertheless, Keqing knew that Xiao couldn’t continue like this. He was just barely avoiding the slashes of the machine when he summoned as much additional power as he could muster, teleporting the pair a considerable distance away, setting Keqing on part of the cliff that extended outward and formed a small crevice.
“You’re unhurt?” He asked.
“I’m fine.” She replied.
Keqing could see the doubt in Xiao’s eyes. She had sustained a few cuts and bruises from a missile that had been fired at them when they initially approached the rouge Ruin Hunter. While she was able to avoid it, she’d still been caught by some of the debris.
“I’ll be fine.” Keqing assured him. Xiao could tell by her tone that the “as long as you’re here” did not need to be voiced.
“It’s becoming too dangerous.” Xiao said, rising to his feet. His shirt was falling off him, barely hanging on after his wings had torn through it. “I’ll have to lead the automaton away from here before trying to challenge it. It has too much of an advantage now. You’ll have to stay here.”
“But Xiao-”
“You’ll be hurt if I continue like this. It knows that. That’s why its targeting you.” Xiao said, firmly, before his tone became softer. “Wait here, okay? Just hide. Don’t let it see you and don’t move from this area until I come back.”
The concern for her in his voice was evident. As much as she hated it, Keqing knew this was no time to be stubborn. She refused to be a burden, even if it meant having to take to the sidelines.
“Okay. Just hurry back.”
The Yaksha nodded, pressing a kiss onto her forehead before suddenly darting off, as the Ruin Hunter whizzed after him. Had he remained a second longer, the creature would have potentially slammed itself into the cliffside, eliminating all three of them.
Keqing’s heart raced as she realized how close she’d come to death. Despite having selfishly wished she could have had Xiao’s lips remain on her forehead for another moment, she inwardly praised his ability to sense that he was in no position to do so.
The Ruin Hunter gave chase, but Xiao wasn’t making it an easy feat. While it was not particularly the time to be admiring him, Keqing couldn’t help herself. It was magnificent, seeing him fly. It was only recently that Xiao confessed to her that he hadn’t used his wings in centuries. Ever since his return from the Chasm, he’d felt compelled to show them to her; to reveal a part of himself to her that he’d previously kept hidden away. Only his former comrades and Rex Lapis had seen them.
Immediately, Keqing had fallen in love with them. And it only deepened her love for the one who controlled them. His wings were beautiful, and Keqing had been honored that she had been the first one to see them in hundreds of years.
He’d been getting accustomed to using them again, and Keqing was always eager to see them summoned. Whether the Adeptus was training, doing surveillance, or simply…taking her on a ride to see Liyue…it was a breathtaking sight, seeing the Demon Conqueror control the skies. Thinking about those moments allowed her to push aside any feelings of helplessness that were threatening to overtake her.
It had taken Xiao a lot to put aside his pride and allow her to take care of them for him after a hard day’s work. She would wash them, comb through them, and then finish with a relaxing brushing. It was a soothing pastime the two were growing to enjoy. As Keqing’s eyes remained on the Yaksha, she kept her mind focused on how many hours it was going to take her to get them back in shape once they finished the mission.
Not that she minded. She could stay cozied up beneath his wings for hours. There was something intimate about it that made her feel safe.
Xiao’s flight wasn’t as good as it usually was. Keqing could tell. He’d taken a few hits while he’d been carrying her, putting him at a disadvantage. Still, Xiao tried to keep the Ruin Hunter’s attention enough to lead it out of Cuijue Slope, but at a distance to avoid taking any more serious damage.
He had almost made his way out of the valley when the automaton suddenly seemed to be moving faster. As if it had been capable of doing so the entire time and had been holding back. Its body glowed; something in the area was making it stronger. Keqing looked around for some sort of Leyline disorder, her eyes darting along the ground, but unable to notice anything unusual. As her eyes were zipping, something caught her attention, bringing them back forward.
The Ruin Hunter, assuming a tremendous amount of speed, pulled its drill-like arm backwards, before piercing it into Xiao’s left wing.
Keqing flinched, squeezing her eyes shut and willing herself not to call out to Xiao, lest she attract the beast’s attention. It was a serious injury, she knew. And painful. But as painful of an injury as she could tell it was, she knew it was something the Conqueror of Demons could quickly free himself from.
At least, that was what she thought.
Until she heard the strained scream echoing through the ravine.
Immediately, her eyes shot open, and it was only then that Keqing noticed that Xiao had not only had one wing pieced, but both wings on his left-hand side. The nerves had been torn apart and neither could be controlled.
“XIAO!” Keqing screamed. “Get out of there!”
The Ruin Hunter ripped the drill from Xiao’s wings, sending the Yaksha hurtling downwards as he desperately tried to keep himself air bound. He was trying to hide it, but it was clear Xiao wasn’t going to be able to carry his own weight with only his right wings to work with. The Ruin Hunter began to close in on Xiao’s weakened state.
Instinctively, Keqing lunged forward, a move that would have certainly sent her flying off the edge of the cliffside to her death. She had no idea why she moved or no inkling of what she intended to achieve by doing so, as she and the Conqueror of Demons were hundreds of feet apart. She just felt the urge to do something. In an instant, she was surrounded by a field of Anemo energy, encasing her where she sat. Despite how weak he was, Keqing was unable to break through the field Xiao had just cast.
Keqing continued to scream helplessly as she watched Xiao continue downward. He was facing the Ruin Hunter now, his Jade Spear in hand. He eyed the machine for what felt like minutes before it lunged at him once again. This time, Xiao managed to twist his body to avoid the attack and land on top of the creature’s body.
It flew around recklessly, waving its mechanical arm in the air and puncturing through one of Xiao’s remaining good wings. He gritted his teeth, fighting against the pain as he drove his spear through the eye of the machine.
It flailed wildly, trying to regain control. But Xiao, concentrating all his energy into the Jade Spear, pulled it from the eye and, with one final strike, blew the Ruin Hunter into pieces that went hurtling toward the ground.
With no more strength and his wings barely usable, the Yaksha, too, plummeted toward the ground below.
The "NO" Keqing screamed echoed through the canyon until Xiao’s body was no longer in sight.
A second later, the Anemo field disappeared. And with it, Keqing’s heart sank.
She was immediately on her feet, scaling her way to the bottom of the canyon. Her heart was racing; it felt as though her entire body was shaking with every move she made. She was hardly stable on her feet and relied mostly on her Vision to blink to the spot where a cloud of dust was starting to clear.
She heard sounds of footsteps, quickly looking up with a rush of relief, but was disappointed to see it was only a few Geovishap Hatchlings and Hilichurls feeling from the area.
Slightly behind them, she caught sight of what looked like a large lump of golden feathers.
Keqing swallowed as she made her way closer to it, carefully avoiding any feathers on the ground, lest stepping on them somehow hurt the Adeptus a few feet away from her.
She approached Xiao slowly. Carefully. Forcing herself to remain calm.
He’s fine. He’s always fine.
“Hey…Xiao…” she said, quietly.
He promised me he’d always be fine.
“That was…a really hard fall, wasn’t it?”
Keqing moved closer, expecting he’d have gotten up by now. Her heart pounded in her ears as she steeled herself with each additional step that the Adeptus lay motionless in front of her.
“Mm…b-but…you’ve survived far harsher falls than this one. I’ve…I’ve seen it.”
Keqing kneeled beside Xiao, his body unmoving. He’d landed on his side, the impact evident by a deep indent around him. His wings seemed to have broken much of the fall, but a red pool under his body was threatening to coat Keqing’s heels.
“Xiao…come on. You’re…losing a lot of blood.” Keqing said, finally bringing herself to touch the Yaksha. She gently shook him, blinking dust out of her eyes.
He didn’t move or flinch when she touched him.
“Xiao…Xiao…get up.” Her voice was shaky, growing louder as she continued rustling him.
“Xiao…we have to hurry. I can’t carry you that far by myself.” Keqing said, grabbing one of his arms and attempting to pull him up.
His body was heavy. Far heavier than it had ever felt before.
The grim reality began to sink in as Keqing forced herself to examine the Adeptus. His expression never changed. He didn’t show any signs of pain. His fingers failed to curl around hers. Blood continued to spill from his body and wings.
And he wasn’t breathing.
Keqing looked around, fighting a desire to scream. She wanted to call for help but knew it would be useless, even if the Millelith happened to hear her. She wanted to release her anguish and curse every Abyssal name she could think of to blame for this. She wanted to cry.
She wanted to punch Xiao and tell him he was an idiot. She wanted to tell him how stupid he was and that he could have been killed being so reckless. She wanted him to say, “I know”, and pull her into his embrace, and tell her, “But I’m still here, aren’t I?” like he always did.
But she could do nothing at this point but weep.
Silently, softly, her tears kept flowing.
She crawled beside him, under one of his tattered wings. Still beautiful and warm, despite their mangled state. She took his arm and draped it over her body, as she curled up as close to him as possible.
There she lay.
Under his wings.
Where she felt safe.