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Night descends upon the nation of Liyue, as the merchants begin to close up their shops and return to their homes; the townspeople close off another day with some well-deserved rest.
“You’ve finished your duties, go ahead and call it a day.”
The phrase that was uttered between employers and their workers once it was time to go home. Home… does the nation you once ruled over and guarded count as one? During this time, Zhongli would leave the harbor to go for a stroll. By far, the place she frequented most were the mountains and hills, where she and the other Archons would often gather to share a drink. How the times have changed, only two of the original seven remain. Whenever he visited Mt. Aocang, he would sit at the stone table and reminisce over the memories they once shared. Whether they laughed, cried, or even had playful banters with each other, it would always bring a smile to his face whenever they spent time together.
Of course like all good things, they had to come to an end; the other five were nowhere to be found. The promise that they would always be together had long been broken, only she and Barbatos remained.
Sitting atop Mt. Tianheng, watching over the people, these thoughts brought nothing but nostalgia to the Archon. He still remembers when Barbatos first came to Liyue, forsaking his duty to deliver a mere bottle of wine. Silly as it sounds, the days that passed were some of the most memorable, more than the life changing events that brought him to where he is now.
As the years passed, and they grew more distant with each other, he always found himself drowning in his own thoughts the most. What would she do now? Even when the Cryo Archon changed, when she separated herself from the rest of them, Zhongli always found herself yearning for the day she would come back and spend time with her like they used to; when they would all chat with each other like they once did all those years ago.
Times have truly changed, even Liyue no longer needed its Archon to protect them, was there any place where he could truly belong? Even Childe had his own things to deal with. Zhongli never minded this, yet there were times where her thoughts would consume her as she yearned for someone to stay by her side; this was one of those days.
Teardrops began to fall from his face and clouded his vision, he wished to return to those days. He missed listening to their voices, seeing those expressions on their faces, sharing memories with the rest of his friends. He knew he would change as well someday; doing it alone was the last thing he expected, and it hurt like hell the more he thought about it.
Only he remained in this moment; it was quiet, peaceful, but lonely, oh so very lonely. The contract he thought would last forever, broken.