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“Glaze lilies are beautiful, aren’t they, Morax?”
“I suppose they are,” Morax replied, picking one up and resting it in his hands. Its gleaming petals were basked in the sun’s mild rays and its stalk was so very delicate and fragile. For such a small flower, it was incredibly intricate, just like the rest of its species in the vast ocean of glaze lilies the pair were sitting in. Not to mention the fact that it felt very warm to touch, embraced in Morax’s hands, filling his whole body with a sense of protection and serenity.
He heard the young woman next to him sigh and collapse into the field of flowers, arms stretched out wide. Gazing up at the night sky- which was peppered with millions of sparkling stars- she wrapped her arm around his whilst letting out a small giggle.
“You seem to be enjoying yourself.” Morax stated, sending a loving, small smile in her direction.
“Of course I am!” she exclaimed. “Even though Liyue is filled with loads of hustle and bustle right now, I always feel a lot calmer when I’m with you.”
Morax felt his cheeks flush with a shade of bright pink at her compliment.
“Hehe, you’ve gone as bright as a Jueyen Chili!” the raven-haired woman laughed. “Oh, and speaking of which, today's your birthday, isn’t it?”
Seeing his nod of confirmation, she continued, “Yay! Happy birthday, Morax! I was hoping I didn’t accidentally get the date wrong, as I’m usually really forgetful when it comes to things like this, and I made you….”
She stopped for a second, fumbling through her seemingly endless mess of robes and fishing out what looked like a flower wreath.
“……this! It’s a glaze lily flower crown!” she grinned, immediately placing it on his head (albeit a bit wonkily) in his head. “What do you think? Do you like it?”
“It’s gorgeous.” answered Morax, taking it off to further examine it. Each glaze lilie’s stalk weaved seamlessly into the next and there were even some silk flower petals adorning the top. “Thank you.”
“Teehee, I’m glad you liked it! But that’s not all, I still have one more present for you!”
Hastily, she kissed Morax’s cheek. Although it was only for a brief moment, it felt like forever in his mind. Like time just froze as he cherished the precious moment. Her lips were so tender and soft, and for them to actually kiss him……it was Celestia on Teyvat for him. He sat stock still, as if he’d been paralysed, unable to comprehend what’d just happened.
Finding his reaction quite humorous, the lady giggled, waving her hand in front of his face. “Morax? Moraaaaax~”
“Oh sorry! I was just a bit…..well, surprised that you’d do something like that.” he stuttered, taking in her beauty. From her short,jet-black hair-complete with a lone glaze lily pinned in it-that framed her ever-enthusiastic, youthful face like a painting’s canvas to her traditional Liyuean robes which flowed down to her ankles, it would’ve been impossible to guess that she was the god of something as dull as dust.
“Hey Morax! You do remember we’d promised Cloud Retainer and the rest of the Adepti to watch the fireworks with them, right?” Immediately, the girl took off, smirking back at him. “I’ll race you there! Last one is a rotten Geo Hypostasis!”
“Eh? That’s not fair! Wait up!” Morax yelled, startled at her immediate head start. He caught up to her fairly quickly, and off the pair went, dashing through the vast, expansive lands of Liyue, like it’d be their last time there.
And, in one of their cases, it was.
*
Zhongli felt the presence of someone else in his room. Was it Hu Tao? No, whoever this was was far too quiet to be someone as trouble-making and loud as the 77th funeral director. To add to that, unlike Hu Tao, who was like an annoying-yet lovable younger sister to him, he felt a lot more….relaxed with this mysterious being. Suddenly, he heard them tip-toe closer and closer to his bed, each footstep barely making a sound. Once echoing far, far away, the footsteps ceased, and Zhongli felt the presence lean towards him, before feeling a tender hand laying itself on his neck.
Immediately, Zhongli got up, shocked at the sudden action. However, the initial shock wore off quickly and his expression changed to one of disbelief as he realised who it was.
“Guizhong.”
Guizhong. The God of Dust. Zhongli’s partner throughout almost all of his past, when they used to be in charge of the Guili Assembly. Right, then she died, that field of glaze lilies. But if she was dead, then…..why was she here?
Heck, every cell in her body seemed to be the exact same as it was. The same dark locks of short hair were nestled around her head; the same sparkling eyes stared inquisitively at him, brimming with curiosity; the same frail, curved body was cloaked in the same cascading, deep red-and-white robes and the same lone glaze lily was hiding in her messy bob of hair, gleaming brightly with a warm glow amidst the darkness. There was no doubt about it, that was the exact same Guizhong he used to know.
But again, Guizhong was dead, wasn’t she? She’d died in a fierce battle over 3,000 years ago, there was no way in all of Teyvat she was sitting there, right in front of him.
“What’s with the sour look, Morax?” she asked, her eyes sparkling.
Morax. Morax, Morax, Morax…. he hadn’t been addressed by that name, his actual name, for so long that hearing it felt foreign. However, he had to admit that he favoured that name over any other, especially when it was rolled of Guizhong’s tongue.
“Come on, tell me!” she said, her face forming into an adorable pout.
“Oh it’s nothing,” he replied, although that was a clear lie. It wasn’t nothing. In fact, he was more than surprised to see her again. And -just like anyone else in the completely normal situation where your dead partner from 3,700 years ago miraculously comes back to greet you again- he had no idea what to do.
Instead, without thinking, he blurted out, “Why did you come back? You- you’re dead, aren’t you?”
“Huh? What are you talking about? Anyway, I had to meet you again, especially seeing as it’s your birthday!” she responded. “You really wouldn’t want me to forget about it, would you? Plus, it’s been quite a while since I’ve been to Liyue harbour, so it’d be nice if you could show me around again!”
If he wasn’t confused before, he certainly was now. Not only did Guizhong (or her ghost, to be more specific) basically ignore his question, it seemed that she forgot -or didn’t know- she was…..dead. Guizhong still thought she was alive and just hadn’t seen Zhongli in a long time, much to his surprise. Or she might be trying to meddle with him, trying to get him to believe that she was still……actually, never mind. But if that’s what she really was trying to do, he’d have no other option but to play along with it.
“Very well then, Guizhong.” he smiled. “I’ll gladly take you around the harbour. I think you’ll enjoy seeing how much Liyue’s changed.”
“Yay!” Guizhong cheered. “Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s go!”
Zhongli blankly watched as she ran off and out of his room, still unable to comprehend what’d happened. He gave himself a quick slap in the face to see if he was dreaming or not. Nope….he wasn’t. Archons, it just made no sense. But if she really was back, it would be better to just enjoy her company, no matter how bizarre it was. After all, it was his birthday.
After coming to that conclusion, he hastily got ready before Guizhong could run too far off.
*
“Morax, look at that!” Guizhong yelled, getting a few skeptical stares from passer-bys.
Zhongli hissed, quickly sending her a cold glare. “I told you not to call me that in public!” It was bad enough that anyone and everyone could see her, sohe really did not want to continuously remind her to call her by his other name.
“Oh, right. Sorry, Zhongli.” she eyed him sorrowfully, like a little puppy.
“It’s okay. How about we go to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor? There’s someone I think you’d like to meet there.” he asked, quickly changing the topic.
“Really? Ok then!” she exclaimed, before getting another strange look from a random person.
It must be what she’s wearing, Zhongli thought to himself. Not many people wore traditional Liyuean clothing nowadays, unless they were quite well known, so of course it would be bizarre for some ‘nobody’ to waltz out of nowhere wearing those kinds of things.
It also didn’t help that Liyue was especially crowded during the Lantern Rite season: it was hard to see anything even a few metres away from you with how many people there were. It only made her stand out more, seeing how most people wore similar, duller looking clothes, whereas she was a whole burst of colour.
After a short walk through the bustling streets of Liyue Harbour, the pair arrived at Wangsheng Funeral Parlour. Even though it was closed for the festival, Zhongli was certain that the person he wanted to see would be there…
“Oh hi, Mr Zhongli! What brings you here?”
…yup, she was.
“Hello, Hu Tao. I’m not here for any major reason, I just wanted to see how you’ve been doing this Lantern Rite.” he said.
“Phew! For a second, I thought you were gonna make me work even today~ Well, if you’d found Qiqi and brought her here I’m sure I wouldn’t mind the work, that zombie would make the best client…” Hu Tao rambled, letting her crimson-red eyes wander around until they met Guizhong’s. “Wait a second, who’s that, I haven’t seen her around anywhere. Or could she be a new client of mine?” she giggled, giving Zhongli a smug smile.
He laughed quietly to himself. “No, she’s a friend of mine, Guizhong. She came to visit for this years’ Lantern Rite, and I thought you’d like to meet her.”
After saying that, Guizhong gave Hu Tao a friendly wave, but the smaller girls’ eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“Wait a second…did you just say her name was Guizhong? As in, like, the God of Dust Guizhong?” the brunette skeptically squinted at the now frozen-solid duo, both too stunned to speak.
Archons, how could Zhongli forget about Guizhong’s name? Of course people would suspect something was not quite right if her name was the same as one of Liyue’s most influential gods. It also didn’t help that his brain seemed to have malfunctioned with making excuses for her strange name, the ones he could come up with just didn’t seem believable enough.
For at least two minutes, the two gods and the Funeral Parlour Director stood there, staring at each other awkwardly in pin-drop silence, until Guizhong spoke up.
“Actually, it’s because my family have a lot of history with her, and most of my relatives are named after Liyuean Gods too! That’s why my name’s Guizhong! It’s great to meet you, Zhongli’s told me a lot about you! You’re his boss, right?”
The skeptical look on Hu Tap’s face changed into one of a smile. “Yup, that’s me! Also, you’re so lucky to have such a cool name! I must say I’m jealous!” she grinned before gasping. “Wait! How could I be so rude, making you two stand outside like this! You know, a few friends and I were planning to go to Wanmin Restaurant for lunch, and you can tag along if you like~”
Guizhong’s face lit up, her bright eyes sparkling even more than they usually did. “Really? I’d love to come!” saying that, she turned to Zhongli, eagerly anticipating his reply.
“It would be my pleasure,” he softly smiled, before realising that the two ladies had already set off before he could even finish his sentence. “And I thought one Hu Tao was too much to handle…” he muttered to himself.
*
“Hi Chongyun! Hi Xingqiu!” Hu Tao waved upon seeing two blue haired boys already seated at a table.
“Oh, Hu Tao! Hi there!” Chongyun said, patting the darker-haired boy- Xingqiu- on the back as a way of telling him to stop reading the book he was currently engrossed in.
Snapping back to reality, Xingqiu added. “Hi, Hu Tao. Oh, and you’ve brought Mr Zhongli too, hi! And…” he squinted, staring at Guizhong who was staring back at him innocently.
“Who’s that?” Chongyun asked.
“That’s Guizhong, a friend of Zhongli’s. And no, she’s not a God!” she teased. “Now, where’s Xiangling? I can’t wait to try some of that Spicy Jueyen Chili Pasta she’s been telling me about! Oh, and if she’s not here then how about o cool for you all instead?” she laughed.
Hearing her laughs of dominance, Xingqiu groaned. He hated Hu Tao’s random rambled with a burning passion, the girl just never seemed to know how to shut up. Chongyun giggled at his boyfriend’s groans of agony. As much as he loved him, he also loved to see his more irritated side when they were with Hu Tao.
“Hehe, I caught you blushing Chongyun!” Hu Tao, announced, pointing at the young exorcist’s face, which was now tainted with a slight shade of pink.
The brunette’s sudden declaration made the same pink tinge appear almost instantaneously on Xingqiu’s cheeks too. The two boys stared at each other for a few seconds, before they let out peals of small laughs.
“Aww~” Hu Tao smiled, turning to Guizhong and Zhongli, who were also sharing the same mutual blush. “You two are just waiting for the food to arrive, aren’t you?”
“That’s right.” Zhongli stated. “And, while we wait, how about I tell you a story?”
“Ugh, here we go again,” groaned Hu Tao, rolling her eyes.
Unlike the director, however, Xingqiu seems quite eager to hear it and Guizhong was a whole ball of energy, practically jumping up and down in her seat.
“Very well then,” the old man began, seeing their nods of approval (other than Hu Tao though, who’s face seemed like she’d been tortured). “We begin in a desperate battle fought in the Guili Plains, over 3,000 years ago…”
*
The Lord of Geo and the God of Dust had decided to seek refuge in a cave. They had both been fighting for who knows how long, and they had gained many injuries during that time.
“Morax, can I see your injuries? I need to check that they’re not too serious before we go back onto the battlefield.” she asked him earnestly.
“Very well then,” he said. “But what will you do if I’m too hurt to fight?”
“Then I’ll go and fight myself!”
“Huh?”
“Yeah, I know I’m the brains and you’re the brawn in our partnership, but if you’re really too weak then I can’t let you go back out there only to die! I know I’m one of the weaker gods but I’ll still try!” she cried, entwining her hands with his. “Now, take off your shirt so I can see your injuries.”
Listening to her, he took it off, revealing tons upon tons of injuries, scars and everything in between. The God of Dust, Guizhong, covered her mouth with her hand in shock.
“No, there’s no way I’m letting you go back out there like this!” she demanded. “I’m sorry, Morax. I’ll find someone who can heal you, and then I’ll go and fight, for our sake.”
Morax was still too stunned to speak. He felt her gentle, soft hands gently caress his face, her brown eyes radiating a warm glow that almost seemed to be saying, everything will be okay, I’ll come back.
“Don’t worry, Morax.” she smiled a small smile upon seeing his teary-eyed face. “I’m not going to leave, okay?”
“Don’t lie.”
“What do you mean? I would never leave you, never ever!”
As much as she tried, her protests were useless against him. Unable to control his emotions, the God snapped. “Of course you will, you’ll have to! There’s no way you’ll survive out there! You’re just…you’re just not strong enough!”
Outside their temporary shelter, they heard the overpowering crashes of thunder and rain piercing Liyue’s lands from the heavens above. Not only that, the distorted, strangled screams of innocent people, people who didn’t deserve this harsh kind of fate, could be heard.
“I know…” Guizhong mumbled, sorrowfully looking down at the ground. “But before I go, if I don’t make it, promise me that you’ll forget about what I gave you, the dumbbell. Forget about me, too. I don’t want you to be sad like you are now ever again, so it’s better if you just forget about me. Promise me you’ll lead the Guili Assembly to victory as well!” she pleaded, pointing to the stone dumbbell that he always kept with him, with a lonely, sad smile on her face.
“I will Guizhong! I will make sure we come out of here with victory!” he cried, before pressing his lips against hers.
Her eyes widened with shock. Of course it had to be a goodbye kiss, how cliché. But…she enjoyed the momentary scene and the feeling of her first and final kiss with him. She wished time stopped there, and so did he. Oh, how they both wished what followed never happened, but it was inevitable.
Next thing Morax knew, he saw Guizhong leave the cave and step out into a familiar place. The field of glaze lilies. Although this time the flowers weren’t painted in gorgeous bright colours, gleaming in all of their glory. No, this time they were drenched in the blood of innocent lives, and soon his partner’s blood would be there too. He let out one final, desperate scream, his voice muffled between stinging tears.
“I love you, Guizhong!”
*
“Oh, I’m feeling quite teary eyed now~” Hu Tao sniffled, ending up enjoying the story a lot.
“Same here, I feel sorry for the two of them.” Xingqiu said, Chongyun nodding in agreement.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” Zhongli smiled, looking at Guizhong who shot a weak smile back at him.
Suddenly, a blue haired girl snuck up on them, bringing tons of food with her.
Immediately recognising her golden eyes and wide smile, Hu Tao exclaimed. “Xiangling! It’s a good thing you came, or otherwise I’d have to cook for everyone~”
Xiangling laughed. “It’s a good thing you didn’t, that would’ve been a disaster! Okay, Jueyen Chili Pasta for Hu Tao, Shrimp Platter for Xingqiu, Crystal Shrimp for Chongyun, Dragon Beard Noodles for Zhongli and Zhongyuan Chop Suey for Guizhong! Sorry, as much as I’d love to stay for a bit, we're really busy at the moment, so enjoy your food!” the girl said, before waving and leaving.
Lunch was spent in a deafening silence. It felt like the story of Guizhong’s death was etched in everyone’s heads, to the point where that was all they could think about.
Once they were all done with their food, Guizhong and Zhongli bid farewell to the others and returned to the streets of Liyue Harbour. Fortunately, it was a lot less crowded now, with most of the hustle and bustle of the morning now cleared up.
For the rest of the day, the two went around visiting different shops and food stalls that dotted the city. After they were both too tired to go on, Guizhong asked, “Zhongli, do you think they’re going to set off the fireworks soon? It’s getting really dark now.”
Looking up, he saw that the sky was now dyed in pure black, peppered with tiny, shiny stars.
“They probably will. How about we go to Yunjing Terrace? There’ll be a nice view up there.” he said.
Guizhong’s face scrunched up. “No, that’s too boring! Plus, everyone will go there and it’ll be too crowded to see! Let’s go somewhere more fun, like…umm….” She took a second to think. “Let’s go to Mt. Tianheng!”
“Really? I thought you were too tired to climb all the way up there.” he asked, raising an eyebrow at Guizhong.
“Aww, please~” she pleaded, staring at him with those big, sparkly puppy-dog eyes again.
Sighing, he gave in. How could he resist such an adorable person anyway? God, she was just so cute.
“Yay!” she exclaimed, bouncing excitedly on the spot. “And once we get there, I’ll show you the present I got for you!”
“Very well then,” he replied.
*
Zhongli helped Guizhong up the final stretch of the towering mountain. She was panting heavily, yet she was still smiling. He wondered how she always had a smile on her face, for someone who carried so much sadness. Was it true that she really forgot that she was dead? No, because she did seem quite hurt by the story he told at Wanmin Restaurant. She was probably just pretending to be oblivious to the fact that she was a literal ghost, to keep both him and her happy.
“Phew, that was a long way up,” she sighed, wiping the sweat dripping from her damp forehead. “Anyways, thanks for helping me up the final stretch.”
“No problem.” he grinned back.
“Right, and here’s what I got you!” she presented a vase filled with glaze lilies to him. “I hope you keep it forever and ever, and that they’ll remind you of me!”
“Guizhong does that mean that you’re-“ Zhongli began, before being cut off by her.
“Yes, Morax, I’m leaving again. I wish I didn’t have to, okay?!” her voice escalated with the second exclamation, as she tugged his shirt tightly.
“I know you don’t want to, but…” his words trailed off as he stared at her with loving eyes. Her face was wet with tears, her usual bright smile now turned upside down. Archons, he couldn’t bear to see her like this. He sat down, Guizhong following him and hugging him so very tightly.
“Don’t go, Morax…” she whimpered.
Zhongli-no, Morax- patted her head. “Look, the fireworks are about to go off. You don’t want to miss them, do you?”
Just as he said that, they heard a loud explosion. Looking up, the gods saw a bright yellow firework illuminate the night sky, spreading warmth to all of Liyue.
Morax stared in awe, before turning to Guizhong. “Happy New Year!” he exclaimed.
Guizhong giggled softly, “Happy New Year, Morax.”
Looking back up at the sky, Morax took in the beauty of another firework exploding magnificently in the air, this time in the shape of a glaze lily. Expecting Guizhong to immediately comment about it, he was surprised when he was instead treated to the sound of silence. When he turned around to see her, she wasn’t there. He tried to smile a small smile, but the tears welling up in his eyes were just too much to bear.
Just as quickly as she had come back, she had left him. Again.