Archive of Our Own

Venti appeared in a rush of dandelions and feathers, just pure wind energy, on top of one of the hills near Liyue Harbor. He could see the paved road towards the large green gate, and the city by the sparkling water spreading and rising towards the mountains. He glided down, laughter on his lips, and landed at last on one of the wooden bridges. Ah, those weren't new but they had definitely been remade in the last five centuries. Felt sturdier than before, more polished.

He ran across the wharf, passing by the stands of merchants and fishermen. He glanced at every face, looking for the familiar golden eyes. No such luck. He shrugged and climbed up the stairs to the upper part of the city. The place had changed yet only in the most transient ways an old city can change. He saw buildings and new restaurants under the old terrace. The lion dog statues were always the same as before. Familiarity among progress.

"Hmmm, what to do, where to go?" he thought aloud, fingers holding his chin. A woman glanced at him before walking away. "I really should've asked the Traveler for more details but I assumed they'd come with me. Guess it's up to me to find this Zhongli guy by my own means."

He decided to settle on a side of the road. The easier way would be to ask random people for hints, do some detective work. Someone must have met Morax's new identity by now. And even if he happened to not ask the right people, there was always their mutual friend Ping who lived at the city unlike other adepti. And maybe that qilin girl with the red horns still worked as a secretary. Either of them would know how to find their Rex Lapis. But that way was too predictable! Better to save it as a last resort.

Venti was going to try it in a more chaotic way. He had called Morax's attention before in the past by singing to him. If word spread out that a bard from Mondstadt was performing at the plaza in Feiyun Slope, he would run to see if it's good old Barbatos, right? And maybe, just maybe, his angelic voice would move him to tears and he wouldn't immediately throw a boulder at him? Especially not in front of all these nice mortals, they would be unfortunate casualties! Yes, that sounded like a good plan!

Venti grabbed his lyre and started to play a nice ancient requiem from now forgotten times. The sort of solemn yet soothing, elegant music that you would play for an important deceased. He found it fitting since they were in mourning for their god. A performance in honor for Rex Lapis' passing. That would show him to fake his own death and not letting his last old archon friend know! He wanted to pretend now? Venti was an excellent actor as well.

Slowly but surely he was gathering a small crowd. Elder people on their way to the terrace, a couple of young ladies, some customers for the shops nearby. No one was familiar with Northern bardic music. It was a curiosity. If you added the fact it was an adorable-looking foreigner with a fancy outfit and a mind-blowing talent, it was quite the spectacle to behold. They might even remember it for the rest of their lives and keep the seed he was planting in their hearts, the hope among the sadness in the lovely bard's song. You guys will be alright. You're beloved. You're free. You can do everything you want.

"Excuse me, sir," someone called Venti. It took him some seconds to come out of his trance and stop strumming the strings. Bummer. He was so focused on his performance. He turned around, hoping it was this Zhongli, his friend in disguise. But no, it was a Millelith on his beige uniform carrying a lackluster polearm.

"Yes?"

"You need a permit for public performances on the street. May I see your papers and your permit?"

"Papers?" Venti blinked. "I'm just a tourist! Don't tell me I need to go through bureaucracy to visit Liyue Harbor and play a little song!"

"Well, not for the first part…" the soldier sighed. "But you cannot just stand there and do that. Even beggars and backpackers need to be approved by the Ministry of Civil Affairs."

"Oh, it's not begging. I'm not collecting Mora. Look, I even kept my hat on. This is just an ode to your Geo Archon. I've been sent by Lord Barbatos to send his condolences to the people of Liyue. I'm representing Mondstadt, this is part of our funerary rites. I'm just late to your ceremony because our god was informed later."

"Nice try, kid. All of Teyvat knows the Anemo Archon is gone. I doubt he'd handpick someone to send him to sing for us without informing the Qixing."

"He returns every now and then, I swear!" Venti curled his hands into fists. "Look, can you just pretend I have papers? I have a bottle of dandelion wine with me~ It's yours if you say everything's in order."

"That's illegal too, you know. I can't take bribes," the Millelith frowned.

Just his luck, getting one of the honest guards! Venti considered the option of promising he'd get the permit and then making a forged illusion to show him later. That was rather annoying because he had no idea what those permits would look like. But before he could make a choice, he heard a loud voice.

"Ah, there ya are!"

One of the girls in the audience had stepped ahead. She had dark skin, brown and red hair tied in two bushy pigtails, and a wild combination of spikes and laces in her outfit. She had a string instrument and a drum hanging from her back.

That definitely wasn't "Zhongli" in disguise either, but Venti appreciated her aesthetic. He rather liked spikes, to the point he put them on his own wings.

"I was looking for you," she told Venti. "I told you the venue was at the outskirts, not here!"

Venti looked at those fiery golden eyes and immediately understood. "Oh, right! Sorry, I got lost and thought this was a good place to sing."

The girl turned to the Millelith. "Sorry man, this is my guest and my opening act. He came all the way from Mondstadt to rock and roll with me. He didn't know Liyue's so strict!"

"Yes, because you didn't mention it before!" Venti crossed his arms, feigning outrage. "Can you believe it? Big sis here doesn't give me an address or tell me I needed permits for that! It was her fault!"

"Yeah, my bad," she laughed. "Anyway, he's with me so I'll make sure he behaves and only plays on my shows in the designated venue where I'm allowed. It should be fine since he's part of my crew, right?"

"Well, your crew is normally only you, Xinyan…" the Millelith said. "But now that I know the situation, I'll turn a blind eye. Make sure he doesn't perform on his own in the city though."

"Of course!"

"I'll play only with Xinyan-jie, I promise," Venti nodded and put a hand over his heart.

The crowd scattered as the guard turned around and left. Only another girl was staring at them.

"Yikes, that was close!" the girl called Xinyan winced.

"Thank you so much for making up an excuse for me," Venti smiled. "You don't even know me but you helped me out without batting an eye."

"Don't mention it, bud! It just pissed me off because I'm usually the one the Millelith run off the streets! Only thanks to my friend Yun Jin's contacts I managed to get a permit and yet it was filled with annoying safety clauses and I can only perform in the outskirts. Can you believe it?"

"I actually can because it's Liyue," Venti smirked. "Uptight god begets uptight country."

"You can say that again. This Millelith was fortunately one of the ones who likes my rock 'n' roll. If it had been one of the ones who hate me, you wouldn't be off the hook right now."

"Rock and roll… It's that really strong music from Fontaine, right? We don't play it in Mondstadt but I know of it." Venti glanced at Xinyan's interesting lute.

"Yep but I adapted it to my own style. Your music right now sounded kinda old-fashioned but I could feel some spunk into it. That and you playing here like me, I think you're pretty rock 'n' roll yourself."

"…Thanks? I'm not sure what that means when I'm a bard who play mostly ballads, but sure!" Venti's smile tensed.

"Ah, rock is an attitude and a lifestyle, not just a music genre. If there's fire in your soul, you're rock 'n' roll. It's about resistance and defiance. Just living free and rebellious and fighting the prejudice and unfair rules in our lives. That sorta stuff."

"Oh!" Venti bumped a fist against his palm. "If it's about the spirit of rebellion, I know all about it! That's what we bards in Mondstadt aim for, to keep the old tales and the desire for freedom from previous centuries alive. In fact…" a sad smile crept in Venti's lips, "the one who taught me about music was just like that. He was a real rebel that boy, I think he would've liked you a lot." Venti's heart ached from the memory of his friend. "Anyway, the oldest music in Mondstadt is in fact just hymns of past revolutions. Our modern music is more tame."

"I had no idea!" Xinyan nodded. "I don't hear much about Mondstadt, then again. I'd love to hear more about that."

"Me too," the second girl said. She wore an elaborate hairdress and a cute purple dress. "Sorry to interrupt, I thought your requiem was sublime, I rather enjoyed it and your voice is like nothing I've heard before. But indeed, I'd be interested in listening to stories of these common people turned heroes as well."

"Is that so?" Venti felt more cheerful. "That sounds like a great plan. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Venti the bard!"

"I'm Xinyan, which you already knew. This is Yun Jin."

"It's my pleasure." The second girl bent her knees in a bit of a reverence.

"Since we told the Millelith we're doing a collab, we can do that on my stage and then actually do a duet if you want! We can figure out a way to play rock 'n' roll songs with your lyre."

"Actually, that sounds really interesting. I'm looking for my friend at the moment, but after I meet him we can do a concert together. Old meets new."

"That would be awesome!! We can meet here on Friday at sunset if you're not busy then. That's my next gig."

"Sounds good to me, let's play together!" Venti grinned. He was already looking forward to it. He of course knew every song from the past, present, and future, and that included rock music. It wasn't his sort of thing yet, but he could let this child do all the passionate screeching that didn't suit his own softer voice.

Oh, but speaking of rocks… he still needed to find Zhongli. His original plan was busted, so he'd have to do things the boring way and investigate.

"By the way, ladies. Perhaps you know where I can find my friend? He sent me his address but it's not in my pocket anymore." He sighed. "Does any of you know a guy called Zhongli? Tall, handsome, talks a lot, deep voice, looks clever but he's a blockhead."

"Oh, that guy! Yeah, I know the dude. He's kinda weird."

Venti almost let out some cackles.

"Same here, he's one of my opera troupe's biggest fans. I don't think he's a blockhead though, quite the contrary. I've never met someone who knows so much of old opera customs."

"…That sounds like him, he amasses a lot of random trivia." Because he's so old, he thought. "So you work on opera, Yun Jin?"

"She's the director!" Xinyan laughed. "And a big deal of a singer and actress too. Even I who doesn't like that stuffy music find her performances pretty impressive."

"I still have much to learn," Yun Jin blushed. "Of course, Master Venti, you're invited to come and watch our operas. Go to Heyu Tea House, tell Mr. Fan Er'ye I sent you."

"That would sound lovely and I'll do that, thanks!" Venti grinned. He was actually fond of Liyue opera and their way of storytelling. Mondstadt could use some of that pizzazz, but in the end they had the same goal as bards: share stories and music with people. "If I manage to get a hold of Zhongli I'll ask him to drag me there. Does any of you know where he lives, by the way?"

"I'm afraid I've only met him at the tea house," said Yun Jin. "I didn't see him this morning."

"I actually know where he works," Xinyan said. "It's right around the corner, before the bridge to Chihu Rock. If he's not there today you can try asking his co-workers."

Oh, Morax had a mortal man's job? Curiouser and curiouser.

"That works. Thanks, you've saved my bacon for the second time."

"No problem! Let's take you there, but I have to warn you first." Xinyan went serious. "If his boss catches you there, she's gonna try to sell you their services with a smile on her face. So don't be creeped out, Hu Tao has always been an oddball since we were little. Just say no and ignore her. She's not trying to kill ya or anything. I can tell you that we Liyue peeps aren't usually like this."

Venti remembered the story the Traveler and Paimon told him about their adventures in Liyue, and particularly the circumstances in which they met Rex Lapis in his new identity.

"Just so we're clear, he's still working at the funeral parlor as a consultant even after the Rite of Parting for the Geo Archon?"

"Yuuuuuup. In my experience he's as out of touch as A-Tao. Freak for freak."

"This I have to see," Venti put his hands on his hips. "Take me there, my dear ladies."

The building would be quite a cozy spot —by the bridge, with some stone benches to sit and relax, in a location with access to both halves of the city— if you ignored the fact it was a place for the dead and therefore taboo for most folks, and a stray white cat that was already making his nose twitch. Venti knocked on the door and a lady opened it ajar.

"Hello!" he cried. "I'm looking for Zhongli. May I speak to him, please?"

The woman looked shocked, as if she wasn't used to other people talking to her. After a silent break, she spoke. "Mister Zhongli is attending some business. May I take your message?"

And miss the look on his face when he heard someone who looked like his friend Barbatos was calling him? Heck no.

"Ah, no, I'm a tourist so it'd be hard to catch me back. Is it alright if I wait for him here? If he's coming back today, that is."

"You want to stay here…?" she seemed even more confused.

"May I? I'll just sit and won't bother the clients, I promise. I'll behave. I can even sit on the benches outside if it's not allowed."

The lady hesitated, but she opened the door more.

"Very well. Please come inside, I'll brew some tea."

Venti was brought to a dark wooden table with four chairs in a lobby. The woman provided him with a teapot and a mysterious veggie dish that was shaped like little ghosts. The flavor was rather strong but Venti didn't dislike it. It just made him quite thirsty.

Then a young woman with pigtails jumped down the stairs with a 'yoohoo' sound and landed energetically with a flair. Venti could relate to that energy.

"Aiya? Who are you and what are you doing at the staff's dining table? Are you a customer?" she asked.

"Well no… I'm just…"

"It's fine!" she grinned and pointed at him with fingers full of rings and manicured nails in black. "Radiant glow, healthy posture… Yes, you're not a customer yet. May I interest you with a plan for your future funeral while you're here? Have you ever thought about the arrangements you want for your last big adventure? It's never too early!"

That was a good question. Venti always figured that he would disintegrate into anemo energy and become one with the Thousand Winds when his time was up. Gods don't really need a grave or a coffin, do they?

"We have coupons!" the girl continued. "2x1 in caskets!"

He assumed this was the director that Xinyan warned him about. He let her ramble happily about morbid options before giving her the ultimate technique that would make her cease and desist and decease.

"Miss, this is all pretty interesting but I have no Mora. I can't even afford to drop dead." He said that with a grin to rival hers.

"How about your family–?"

"My mother has been missing for ten years," he lied. "I live on my own and camp outside in the wilderness. With just apples and berries as my meals, the sky as my roof, and the wind guiding me!"

"…Oh." The girl stopped smiling. "So you can't pay any of this."

"I can't even pay normal living, ehehe!" Venti chuckled.

"Um, then what are you doing inside the funeral parlor? You're definitely here for something other than that which falls within my regular line of work, aren't you? Are you a home invader or something?"

"Haha, no! My name's Venti the bard and I'm Zhongli's friend! Since I came here to do a collab with this rock 'n' roll girl Xinyan on Friday night, I'm surprise visiting him since I'm at the Harbor. May I stay here, please please pleeease? I'll behave and won't disturb the clients. Or the dead. Both."

The girl gave it some thought, tapping her chin with her index finger. "You know what? Why not? I want to see his reaction. Nice to meet you, Venti. I'm the 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Hu Tao."

"Nice to be of your acquaintance. Let's hope Zhongli will restrain himself since we're indoors and doesn't crush me with a boulder!"

"Ahahaha!" She laughed with mirth. "He won't. He can't afford to rebuild the funerary's manor with his paycheck anyway."

Venti cackled at the mental image of Morax getting a long bill rubbed in his face.

"You seem like a fun, chaotic guy," Hu Tao mused. "How did you and that stuffy Zhongli even become friends, by the way?"

"Guess you could say we used to be coworkers," Venti said, an answer he had rehearsed and said many times to mortals in previous visits to Morax or other archons.

"Weird. You're a bard, right? Zhongli isn't a musician. Unless you were also a funeral consultant in the past."

"No and no, we're both history scholars," he lied. "I just specialized in ballads and epics in order to become the best bard in the world, though."

"Oh, is that so? So you're also a walking encyclopedia like him?"

"Only when it comes to songs! I really like your hat, by the way," Venti pointed out at the big red flowers. "Plum blossoms? Really pretty!"

"Thank you! It was my grandfather's and I treasure it. I like your hat too! I've never seen cecilias before in person, only drawings in books about floral arrangements and stuff."

"Hehe, they're my favorite flower! Sadly they only grow in high cliffs of my homeland so I'm not surprised you've never seen them."

"Hmmm, I feel like using them in a poem… 'between harsh winds, like a cecilia under the moonlight.' You complete the verse. You bards are versed in poetry, right?"

"Hehehe, versed."

"Good one, isn't it?"

"Let's see. 'Between harsh winds, like a cecilia under the moonlight, my heart stands tall and carefree against this world's plights.'"

"'Don't ignore this world's delights, or you'll be like the white qingxin. Her taste bitter to the tongue, only cryo thaumaturges would gladly eat that junk in.'"

Interesting rhyme.

"'Gladly eat it would also the qilin, and the mighty adepti on the Karst. On the high cliffs should the gods rest, let the mortals do their best.'"

"'Let the mortals throw a fest, never mingle with the unknown. Otherwise a silly billy hilichurl might steal the face you own.'"

Things got harder and weirder, but nothing Venti couldn't handle.

"'A face as beautiful as yours you should never hurl. Don't let by sadness get it snatched! Your smiles and tears, they shine like dew on cecilias from Starsnatch.'"

"Whoa, you connected it to the beginning!" Hu Tao clapped, grin from ear to ear. "Hey, you're pretty good! Hold on, let me get my notebook to write these down for my future anthologies."

"By all means!" Venti nodded.

"Xinyan and Zhongli kept this gem of an auteur hidden from me, unbelievable."

"Much obliged. You're not too shabby yourself, Miss Hu."

"Just Hu Tao, please." Hu Tao started to scribble fast on a brown leather-bound book with a doodle of a happy-go-lucky ghost drawn on the cover. "Care to repeat your ad-libs?"

They spent another hour exchanging poetry until the front door opened wide.

Zhongli was standing on the threshold, eyes wide open, as he found Barbatos casually singing in tandem with the young funeral director. A most horrifying sight. They stopped by the sound of the door latch, but their mischievous smirks just grew wider as they stared at the tall man.

"Ah, Zhongli! Your friend Venti came to visit!" Hu Tao said, pointing at the green-clad bard.

"Long time no see, Zhongli!" Venti chirped, and then mouthed with no voice: "Please don't kill me."

A few seconds passed, expectation growing for the tricksters. But then, the consultant's expression soften and an amused smile showed on his face.

"Indeed it has been, old friend," he agreed and walked towards the table.

It was Venti's turn to blink in surprise. Morax just grabbed a fancy teacup from the cupboard and joined them, not looking irritated or upset.

"Why didn't you tell me you had such a fun buddy?" Hu Tao slapped Zhongli's shoulder after he sat down. "Complete opposite of you."

"Well, it's my fault," Venti admitted. "I've stopped visiting a couple of years ago so he must've thought I didn't like him anymore. Or he's gotten pissed at me."

"Things have been quiet without him coming over," Zhongli jabbed as he served himself tea.

"Peace is over," Venti said, relieved everything was going okay. "I brought a bottle of dandelion wine, of course."

"That brings me back," Zhongli chuckled. "Hopefully not stolen?"

"Hey, I paid with my music for this one!" Venti pouted. "Now I'll have to make Mora like a normal person on Windblume Festival to get a hold of the limited edition vintages."

"That should be interesting, you working at all," Zhongli said.

"That's my line. Look at you, with a respectable job and all. Hu Tao here told me you took care of Rex Lapis' funeral? Interesting case for sure!"

"Yep, thank goodness we had hired him before that tragedy happened," Hu Tao took a bite of her ghost-shaped vegetarian abalone. "None of our other consultants were familiar in such detail with the ceremonies and rituals for the adepti. It's much more complicated than regular human send-offs for sure."

Venti glanced at Zhongli with a meaningful look.

"It was most fortunate that I happened to have that knowledge," Zhongli agreed, sending Venti a glance of his own. "That way, our archon can now rest in peace."

"Oh, he's resting in peace alright," Venti nodded, "thanks to your efforts. And a certain traveler's."

"Aha, I see you've met the Traveler. I knew it was them who sent you in my direction."

"Kinda, but you could also say the other way around? I actually led the heroic wanderer to Liyue right before the Ritual of Descension. So if you really think about it, I'm indirectly the one who saved Liyue Harbor! So you're welcome."

"Nothing to thank you for. You didn't do anything," Zhongli grumbled.

Venti threw a judgmental stare at Zhongli. So rich, coming from the guy who caused it all and didn't bother to help when things got out of hand? At least Barbatos would show up if Mondstadt was in fatal peril!

Oh well, at least he wasn't treating the mortals as babies anymore.

"I still kickstarted the seeds of that particular story," Venti shrugged.

"We will not thank you for such a thing, but I am grateful you allowed me to meet such a wonderful individual," Zhongli sipped his tea. "So I guess some thanks are in order."

"Ehehehe," Venti laughed.

"Curiouser and curiouser," Hu Tao mused.

"Hmm?"

"You guys must've been pretty close friends," she said. "I've never seen Zhongli acting like that with anyone else before. He's usually more polite with his other friendships from what I've seen."

"We go way back," Venti agreed. "I always bring out the blockhead within him like nobody else."

Hu Tao laughed, her hands covering her mouth.

"Enough," Zhongli placed his teacup on the table. "Let me give you a tour around the city. You're a horrible influence on the director."

"You're just worried about the kind of old, embarrassing stories I could share with her. But no worries, I won't tell her anything she shouldn't know."

Like him being an archon and an adepti, and Venti himself being an archon as well.

"It's fine, it's fine," Hu Tao shook her hand. "Zhongli, I'll give you the day off today so you can be his guide. I imagine you two have a lot to catch up and I have to get ready for a burial later. Go, go!"

"Thank you," Zhongli got up. "Care to join me, Venti?"

"That's why I'm here!" Venti stood up too and followed Zhongli outside.

As they stepped outside and there was no roof over Venti's head, he realized he was in danger. He could get hit on the head by a small mountain without endangering others. Morax had been acting calm but perhaps he was mad at him and bidding his time, since the human girl was present. He braced himself and closed his eyes when Zhongli stopped in the middle of a bridge and turned around.

There was no impact. Long, strong arms pulled him against a chest covered in brown and gold hues of silk. Venti's jaw dropped. With a knot in his throat and large hands on his back, he returned the embrace and clenched his fists at Zhongli's coat. It felt suffocating but warm and moving. When was the last time someone had held him tight?

Morax had surely changed if he was just hugging him like that. Even after they broke apart, the golden eyes were kind and mirthful.

"Welcome back," Zhongli said, switching to the ancient tongue. "We haven't seen each other since the Calamity."

"Sorry for keeping you waiting. The fight against Durin weakened me so." Venti grinned in realization. "You missed me a lot, didn't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Zhongli crossed his arms, too proud to concede.

"You missed me, the old man missed me," Venti said in singsong.

"I just wondered about your welfare every now and then, it's not the same."

"Mmmm-hmmm. Gotcha. You missed me. After all, we're the only ones left."

"And did you miss me, Barbatos? It sure took you some time to visit after your recovery."

"Well, you see..." Venti scratched his cheek. "I thought you'd be angry at me and I procrastinated. The more time passed, the more awkward it was to come."

"Hmmm."

Venti sighed as he looked at the shops and restaurants of Chihu Rock, avoiding Zhongli's gaze. Birds gathered near the pond. Beautiful kites of all colors lied on the ground.

"You know, when I heard the news about Liyue... I didn't believe for a moment you were dead. Everything sounded so fishy, especially the official version from the Qixing. But it made me realize that one day, you or I will be gone from this world or our minds eroded all of a sudden. So I was being stupid, and I was going to regret not seeing you again. So I asked the Traveler how was Morax nowadays, and they said you were now a mortal called Zhongli. So I decided to come with them and make amends."

"You came with the Traveler? Where are they?"

"Ah, they got busy in an adventure so I came alone. That's much better. We wouldn't have to be careful when talking around them or Paimon, even if they know our identities. Just in case."

"You're only reasonable when it comes to keeping secrets."

"Don't we both?" Venti retorted, not wanting to elaborate on his own secrets.

"Heh. But yes, I'm rather glad we could meet again while we can," Zhongli smiled with a tint of sadness. They walked towards the streets, one next to the other.

"Youth in Liyue is rather interesting in this era, huh? Your boss aside, who's delightful when she stops being creepy, I've been invited to perform in a rock concert and to be a spectator of the opera within half an hour of my arrival."

Zhongli chuckled. "This generation is full of talents and potential, yes. Shall we go to Third-Round Knockout? It's a tavern I'm rather fond of."

"You got me at tavern and you know it, hehe."

"Drunkard as always," Zhongli shook his head.

They sat on a table outside and ordered tea and alcohol, and wine-fermented sweet rice balls. The storyteller wasn't on stage that day, but that suited the gods just fine as they had much to talk about. They kept chatting in the old language to keep prying ears away from mysterious words.

"Zhongli." Venti had a solemn tone on his voice.

"Venti."

"I'm not even sorry for what I'm about to say. You need to hear it." Venti put his hand on Zhongli's shoulder pad.

"What is it?"

"Four words. I. Told. You. So."

"..."

"I told you so, Morax!" Now the voice was smug.

"Now..."

"No, I told you so! You gave me so much crap over this and now, two thousand years later, you finally reached to the same conclusion that I've been preaching ever since I reached godhood. You stubborn mule, you stone brain. Recognize that I was right when I assured you that humans can take care of themselves and shouldn't be underestimated."

"It is not the same situation—"

"Why not? Give me that victory, c'mon."

"First of all, when you left them to their devices, it was in part out of laziness."

"While I won't deny I avoid work, you're been lazy too! The whole concept of retirement when you're still not that eroded, it reeks of you not wanting to deal with it anymore because you're tired."

"It's call delegating, Barbatos. It's not doing all the work by yourself."

"All archons delegate, you moron! Even me! Especially me. Can you believe it? My Four Winds judged me so hard when I asked for help while your adepti run to die for you."

"There must be a reason for that." Zhongli's fingers tapped around his cup. "Secondly, I had to make sure humankind from my nation grew and they were mature enough to rule themselves completely."

"That's bullshit." Venti bit a rice ball, chewed, and swallowed. "Mortals are already quite mature and know what they want. We've both seen them take reins of their fate and going against gods, both in success and failure, joy and tragedy. I think you were the one who needed to mature to realize you were treating them as babies. Only then you decided to test them, and boy was that an overly complicated way to do things."

"Huh." Zhongli drank more tea in silence for a minute. "Yes, I'll have to concede. You had a point."

"Tell it like it is, Morax. Say the three magic words."

"You... were right." Zhongli sighed.

"There you go, old man," Venti smiled softly. "Was that so hard?"

"It was."

They both smiled and kept drinking and eating in silence.

"You're still too neglectful, however," Zhongli retorted a bit too late. "None of our nations was truly balanced."

"Hey, better than others! We're quite tame compared to what the rest of the archons are doing. Both Mondstadt and Liyue are pretty much happy and live mostly at peace. They can handle it. And when they don't, we'll be there."

Zhongli laughed.

"Things are surely getting intense in the mortal realm as of late."

"Yeah, be careful. Can you keep a secret from Celestia?"

"It's not like I'm at speaking terms. Go ahead."

Venti made his index fingers touch each other over and over.

"A Harbinger just ripped my gnosis from my chest. So be careful, she is trying to collect those and they'll try to steal it from you."

"Ah, too late. I made a contract."

"What do you mean, you made a contract?"

Zhongli told him the entire story. Venti's face turned pink.

"Wait, she negotiated with you?! But with me, she just chose violence and had her goon freeze me and kick me in the stomach while wearing high heels?! How rude!!"

"I understand she was rather angry at you," Zhongli reminded him. Venti was already quite aware.

"Well, I just think she could've had that Signora kick you a little, too. Just for equality. They could've asked me nicely at least!"

Zhongli shook his head. "You didn't even defend yourself, did you? You could have put up a fight, you are not as weak as you present yourself."

"The winds of this story cannot advance and spread the seeds otherwise. Still... we're better off without that hunk of junk. So, how's freedom doing for you?"

Zhongli looked at the sky, now tinted in yellows and oranges and purples. He smiled.

"I'm happy. A dragon soaring into the skies, its body free to roam the world and its spirit unbound to aim high... Most inspiring indeed."

"Well said. Welcome to the rest of your life, Morax." Venti patted on Zhongli's back. "Now let's drink to ends and beginnings."

They made a toast and clashed the cups. They kept at it, looking back on past days for the rest of the night, and for the rest of Venti's visit. They attended the opera and watched Yun Jin, as promised. Zhongli was in the audience while Venti and Xinyan almost caused a fire with swirling pyro during their concert. Hu Tao filled half of a notebook with Venti's ad-libs to her poetry.

Even though Morax had changed with the centuries, osmanthus wine tasted the same as Venti remembered.