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Once again, Zhongli found himself ending the year sitting on the cliffs of Guyun Stone Forest.
It was a nice spot to wait for the new year to roll in. Tranquil, mostly undisturbed, and far away from the celebrations of Liyue and its citizens. Even now that he’d given up his godhood, he still found himself avoiding both Liyue Harbor and Jueyun Karst, despite those being the most logical locations for him to celebrate in.
Perhaps he just couldn’t bring himself to see the new year in without reminding himself of the rival-turned-enemy he’d once trapped in the very spot he now stood. Osial, Overlord of the Vortex, That Which Lies in the Deep. His final resting place was not where it once had been; for better or for worse, both the Fatuii and the Qixing had seen to that. No, he had died elsewhere, but for Zhongli, the spot to say goodbye would always be the beaches of Guyun Stone Forest.
Osial had become a monster. So too had his wife, Beisht, at his loss. He didn’t know if her motivations were grief-stricken madness or calculating revenge. In the end, it didn’t matter. Just like they vanquished her husband, the citizens of Liyue vanquished her.
When the new year had officially come and Zhongli had said his goodbyes, he’d return to the place where he’d sealed Azhdaha away. If he said goodbye to a rival, it was only fair he wished the monster that was once his friend a happy new year. Even if he could not see his face, even if he could only do so from above the ground, even if he was speaking to a friend that was long gone from the husk left below, Zhongli would at least offer Azhdaha that.
There was no contract holding him to do so, but there might as well have been. He felt some responsibility for the monsters he’d collected (and perhaps even created).
Idly, his thoughts drifted to the Traveler. There was no denying how impressive her heroics had been. Lumine had clearly endeared herself to a number of the Liyuen citizens, and for good reason: she saved multiple nations multiple times over. Even now, she chose to return to Liyue and celebrate the new year with the friends she made.
She saw him around the funeral parlor when she’d stopped by to see Hu Tao. Paimon had been notably absent, distracted by food or something of the sort. Lumine didn’t say much in her floating companion’s absence, just softly asking if he wished to join her for her celebrations.
He declined, and she did not ask again.
Why now did that interaction come to mind? Zhongli stared long and hard up at the sky above him. He’d seen it, the look in Lumine’s eyes that showed whatever had happened, it had changed her. She had changed since leaving Liyue, faced even more trials and tribulations—perhaps even discovered more truths, truths she undoubtedly hated him for hiding (or would hate him for hiding, if she didn’t know them yet).
As powerful as she was, the Traveler was unpredictable. And hadn’t each of the monsters he collected started out the same way? He never knew the end result would be his sealing them away, and yet, time and time again, it happened.
The Yaksha had been driven mad, destroying each other till only Xiao was left—Xiao, who was self-destructive and always at risk of hurting those around him with the karma he took on. The former gods of Liyue were slain, many by his own hand. Perhaps he had the Adepti now, but he was not so foolish as to believe there was no risk in them.
If it came down to it, even his status as a former Archon would not keep him from stopping the monsters he collected from destroying Liyue. It had not stopped him with Azhdaha, Osial, or even Guizhong. Lumine would be no different.
He’d seal them all away, if only to preserve what was left of them for himself.