Chapter Text
Pain shot through his limbs and covered him. He felt like he was drowning, yet the only thing on his mind was him.
"Adeptus Xiao!" Aether called desperately, choking on his words as he received another kick to the gut.
"Shut up," a voice hissed into his ear, gripping his braid and using it to yank his head back. He cried out in pain as his vision began to blur.
"Adeptus Xiao!" he called again, but it was to no avail. Maybe it was for all the times Aether had called him when he wasn't in danger, for such stupid and trivial reasons. Perhaps it was payback for the argument they had where Aether called him and asshole. Maybe Xiao had grown tired of him and simply didn't like him anymore. Or maybe Xiao was in trouble, too.
"Adeptus Xiao isn't coming."
Aether wished he had a reason to deny it, but no matter how hard he racked his brain, he came up empty. Yet Xiao was his only hope. "Adeptus Xia-"
Suddenly, the shouting stopped.
Xiao felt terrible. He was ignoring Aether's calls, simply because of his pride. What if Aether truly was in danger? He brushed himself off, scoffing as he thought of the many times Aether had called his name for a picnic. He leapt down from Wangshu Inn's roof and walked towards Dihua Marsh, eager to find some hillichurls to take out his anger on. To help distract him from Aether's pleas.
By the time he got back to Wangshu Inn, the night had passed and the sun was rising over the horizon. And - much to his surprise, Morax was waiting for him on the balcony.
"Morax," Xiao said quietly, kneeling and fixating his gaze on the floor.
"Look at me."
Xiao looked up to see the angry face of the once-archon as he lifted his hand and struck Xiao's cheek. Xiao's head turned to the side from the force, and his eyes widened. Morax knelt and grabbed his jaw with his thumb and index finger, yanking it so Xiao's eyes met his own. "You made a promise," he all but growled. "And you decided to break it. Look where that landed us."
Xiao should have known better than to speak. He knew which promise he had broken. He knew how important those were to the God of Contracts. Yet he still spoke, much to Zhongli's surprise. "Where did that land us?"
Zhongli frowned, furrowing his eyebrows. A hint of pain could be seen in his eyes as he spoke. "You heard his calls, did you not?" Xiao nodded. "Then you must know that they stopped."
Xiao sucked in a harsh breath. Morax wasn't one to joke around. Aether-
He suddenly wished he could rewind time and help Aether. Maybe even resolve their argument. Talk to him, hear his lovely laugh, kiss him, hold his hands, and make love to him one more time. Just once. But Xiao had been alive for long enough to know that if anything was entirely irreversible, it was Aether's fate.
It was death.