Chapter Text
When Ajax was born, everyone thought he was a stillborn.
He came into the world a quiet little thing, sniffling silently instead of crying his lungs out. The midwives thought he was dead until they felt him breathe into their skin.
But his heart did not beat.
It was a curious, terrifying little thing. The midwives did all they could and ran out of the family home in fear, babbling about the cursed child whose heart would not beat but whose lungs breathed life into him, whose skin remained cold even after being swaddled, whose skin stayed pale instead of shining rosily. Soon little Ajax would begin crying in earnest, searching for warmth and the steady presence of his mother’s touches and begging for warm milk to fill his belly, but the heart remained still, unbeating in his chest.
Some would say it was a miracle, for a child to live while his heart stayed still within his chest. Some would praise the archons and thanked them for the life they granted the little boy who had only known the stinging bite of Snezhnaya’s cold even so close to his house’s hearth.
Most would call it a curse and condemned the boy to live a life of quiet solitude.
It came to a head the moment Ajax was fourteen. With a heart that did not beat but lungs that pumped life into his body, with desperation filling him from head to toe as he tried to be seen, he took a dagger and a loaf of bread and recklessly threw himself into the woods in search for vain glory, in search of something he knew he would not find there, but he had to try anyway.
The boy with a heart that did not beat fell into the Abyss and came out of it wrong. A broken puppet put back together in all the wrong order, wondering if it all had stopped or if it all had only just begun.
Still his heart did not beat.
The boy with a heart that did not beat came back from the Abyss all wrong, and his parents sent him to the Fatui in vain hope of fixing whatever was left of him.
Ajax may only be fourteen, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew the curse had finally gotten to his family, too, and resigned himself to a life where he was more of a weapon than a person. There was nothing he could complain about. He was still alive, his lungs still breathed life into his body, and the Tsaritsa deemed him useful enough to keep around.
Growing up with a heart that did not beat meant everything was a distant thing, every feeling muted, seen through a layer of frosted glass that threatened to crack every time Ajax neared. He had learned to recognize all emotional cues and acted accordingly – a smile here, just wide enough. A laughter there, perhaps a touch too loud and boisterous. A grin, to cover the fact that each moment of joy was nothing more than a drop of ink in an ocean of numbness as Ajax scrambled desperately for proof that unbeating heart or no, curse or no, he was still human, still alive.
It all felt futile when he came back from the Abyss. He was undoubtedly no longer human, with the power of the Abyss coursing through him. But the years of living while pretending he felt so much more than he really did had been useful and he found himself being trained to be a living weapon, giving the perfect responses at the perfect times so he could become the deadliest blade when the situation called for it.
And so Ajax climbed through the ranks and found himself crowned the Eleventh Harbinger, another one of the Tsaritsa’s collection of extraordinary people who others would easily point as cursed if they had the guts to do it. Ajax cradled his Hydro Vision that the Doctor had fused with an Electro Delusion in his hands and decided that if the Tsaritsa was the only one who was willing to see his presence as something useful, then he would take what blessing it was and become the best weapon she could lay her hands on.
He discarded Ajax away and took on the mantle of Childe, of Tartaglia.
Despite having a menagerie of cursed people working as Harbingers, the Doctor took one look at Childe, found out about his unbeating heart, and immediately took interest in him.
Childe’s feelings may be muted, but even he couldn’t deny the uneasy churn in his stomach at the way Dottore stared at him in open interest. Still, he allowed the Doctor blood tests and the like, a part of himself that was still the little boy who fell in his desperation to be acknowledged as a human still yearning for that confirmation, no matter how impossible it was.
“Curious, curious,” Dottore had said when the results came out. “Abyssal taint aside, your blood is very much human. There’s a lot more elemental energy in you than the average person, but considering your heart doesn’t beat it’s probably one of the things keeping you alive. But that’s not the curious thing.”
“What is, then?” Childe asked, more because a polite question was expected in a conversation than any real desire to keep the conversation going.
“It’s not Hydro or even Electro,” Dottore said. “It’s Geo. Now where would you pick that up, out of all elements?”
Childe simply shrugged. Dottore proceeded to grill him about family history and other Vision holders in his family tree, but as far as Childe was aware he was the only person to ever win the favor of the gods in his family. Distantly, he wondered if it would make his parents proud.
The Tsaritsa sent him to Liyue to steal the Geo Archon’s gnosis. Tartaglia set out with determination to succeed no matter what and donned Childe’s persona on.
Liyue was warm, the ocean sprays sending humidity that made Childe’s hair frizz out simply by standing around. Sunlight streamed through the lazily drifting clouds and Childe watched as the tall cliffs and rocks cast steady shadows into the blue waters that bobbed calmly. He could taste salt in the breeze and he found himself wondering how different the fishery here would be compared to sleepy Morepesok.
He left the boat with light steps and was immediately greeted by Ekaterina, a worker at the bank he was stationed in. Despite the rumors of his unbeating heart that Childe knew had been circulating wildly in the Fatui, Ekaterina was polite and efficient, not once showing discomfort at the possibility of working for a cursed boy whose heart did not beat.
Good. Childe had no time to maneuver someone who would fear him just because of his heart. In the end of the day he was a Harbinger first and foremost and all that he needed to know was that his subordinates could work well under his command.
With effectiveness that bordered on scary, Ekaterina set him up in his office and showed him bank work that he would need to do, people he would need to smooch up to, channels he would need to be familiar with in order to get started on his missions. She also gave him a pair of cheap chopsticks on his first lunch, said “good luck”, and went on to do her own work. In the end, Vlad took pity on him and let him borrow a fork, though he suggested Childe practiced with chopsticks because Liyue restaurants only offered chopsticks and the occasional ceramic spoons for soups.
“I know you people have heard of the rumors about me,” he said to Vlad when he went to return the fork. “You don’t seem to care that much.”
Vlad simply shrugged. “There are a lot of weird things happening in Liyue, Sir. Likely because of the proximity to the Adepti and such. We see a lot more weird things here than we do in Snezhnaya. Honestly, I would take working under someone whose heart doesn’t beat than the possibility of being beat up by the Conqueror of Demons.”
That piqued Childe’s interest. “Do you think I can get him to fight me?”
“Possibly? The rumors say he dislike mortals, Sir, but I don’t think he has any reasons to fight you.”
Childe hummed. “Let’s see if we can change that once I’m successful with my mission.”
The staff at the bank was friendly and welcomed Childe easily into the fold. There was still distance, but that was to be expected considering he was a Harbinger and they were likely uneasy with the difference in ranks. But they showed Childe the ropes and expected him to pull his weight, helped him when he needed it and expected him to do his part in turn, and before he knew it Childe found himself settling into his role with more comfort than he thought he would have.
He thought of sleepy Morepesok, of cold and distant Snezhnaya, and noted with muted amusement that he felt more at home in warm, foreign Liyue than he ever felt back in his own hometown.
The people in Liyue didn’t know of his unbeating heart, and Childe hoped to keep it that way. It was simply easier to charm his way through things when people thought he was just a friendly foreigner bumbling his way through a culture he wasn’t familiar with.
It took going to Wanmin Restaurant to eat and having Xiangling giving him a spoon to realize that the people in Liyue just didn’t care as much about it than he thought they would.
“Here, Mister Childe,” Xiangling had said when she brought the ceramic spoon to him. “Sorry, I forget sometimes that chopsticks are a bit harder to use for foreigners. You can use this instead!”
“Thanks a lot, Xiangling. You’re a lifesaver,” Childe said as he took the spoon from her hands. Their hands brushed, and there was a curious look in her face as Childe felt the telltale signs of dread pooling in his stomach at the coldness of his fingers that he could never deny.
Clearly unbothered – or unaware – of Childe’s growing panic, Xiangling took his hands and enveloped them in her warm hands. “Mister Childe, your fingers are so cold! Do you need warming tea to help you warm up? Maybe I can get something to improve your circulation.”
“Ah – I don’t think that’s necessary, but thank you.”
“Poor circulation is no joke, though – “ Xiangling’s eyes widened. “ – oh. You… don’t have a heartbeat.”
Childe stared, silent, waiting for the inevitable fear to break through Xiangling’s gaze.
Instead she just looked at him in worry. “Mister Childe, that can’t be good for your health! Have you seen Doctor Baizhu about it? Maybe I really should add more ginger into your food!”
Childe blinked. “You’re… okay with that?”
“Yes? Why wouldn’t I be?” the genuine confusion in Xiangling’s eyes really threw Childe for a loop, but the girl didn’t seem to understand why. “Qiqi is a zombie, you know! I bet her heart doesn’t beat either.”
“Qiqi?”
“The girl living with Doctor Baizhu! She gathers herbs for him. The Adepti keeps her alive with their arts. We love her!” She tapped her lips in thought. “Ah, and legends say that Rex Lapis’s heart of stone doesn’t beat either. But he’s a deity so the logistics is probably different. You really should talk to Doctor Baizhu and talk to him about this! I’m sure he has some exercises he can recommend to help with circulation. Qiqi does them too. Do you get stiff? Should I cook something to help with that?”
“I – no? Stiffness has never been an issue for me.”
“Good, good! I’m giving you more food with ginger anyway. I’ll prepare some almond tofu for your dessert later, heavy on the ginger syrup!” She whirled away before Childe could say anything, already greeting another customer who just walked in. “Welcome to Wanmin Restaurant! It’s been a while, Mister Zhongli!”
“Hello, Xiangling,” the customer greeted back, his deep voice warm. Something about it felt soothing to Childe, and he turned to look at the customer.
Warm amber eyes caught his gaze. The man screamed regal and expensive, with sleek long hair and dark suit that was clearly made from high quality silk flowers and made to emulate the image of Rex Lapis. For a moment suspended in time, it felt like there was nothing in the world but Childe and the customer that returned his gaze with calm that Childe wasn’t sure he’d ever felt before.
Something within his chest thumped with undeniable certainty.
With the distinct feeling of falling as the world was pulled out from underneath him, Childe drowned in the dark while the warm amber eyes watched.
Warm hands roamed, gently examining as Childe felt himself slowly come back into life. He blinked dazedly, wondering why he was lying on cold, hard floor, and once more found the warm amber eyes gazing into him.
“How do you feel?” the customer asked.
Childe blinked at him. He wanted to say he was fine but his throat made an odd strangled sound instead. His hand moved to grasp at his chest, fingertips clawing into the fabric weakly.
“Do you have heart problems? Does it hurt?”
Childe blinked again, still dazed. “It beat,” he managed to mumble. Childe’s heart had stilled once more, quieting back down into the slumber it had always stayed in his whole life. The yawning uncertainty of it all made something within him tremble.
“Perhaps it would be wiser to bring you to Bubu Pharmacy. Can you stand?”
Amidst Xiangling’s fretting and his own dazed confusion, Childe managed to catch the customer’s name as he brought him to Bubu Pharmacy. Zhongli easily maneuvered around the bustling street and led him up the stairs to the pharmacy, and before he knew it, Childe was seated in front of Doctor Baizhu, who looked so eerily similar to the Regrator that Childe took a moment to simply stare.
“It seems you are completely healthy, barring the fact that your heart does not beat,” the doctor said. “This is normal for you, you said?”
“Yes. It has never beat before,” Childe admitted.
“So the fact that it made a singular beat took you by surprise,” Doctor Baizhu surmised with a thoughtful hum. “Was it only one?”
“Yeah. It’s been still again,” Childe said. It was comforting, to know that his heart stayed still and unbeating again. People may say it was cursed, but at least it was familiar.
“Well, if it hasn’t been giving you any problems despite the fact that it doesn’t beat, then I don’t think there’s any urgency to do anything about it,” Doctor Baizhu said. “You are healthy and are in top physical form. Perhaps we can look into why it started beating if you’d like to, but if it may also be something that will never happen again. As of now, I don’t believe there is reason to fear.”
Childe stared. “Is. Is that it, then?”
“Yes, I believe so. Unless there is other health concerns you’d like to share with me,” Doctor Baizhu answered amicably.
“Ah, no. No, I don’t think there’s anything.”
Doctor Baizhu sent him out with advice to keep up with exercise to help with circulation, just in case. He also recommended qingxin tea mixed with silk flower honey for general heart health, heartbeat or no. Childe walked out of the examination room partly wondering what the fuck just happened and immediately came face to face with Zhongli.
“Oh! Hello!” Childe greeted almost instinctively.
“Greetings, Mister Childe,” Zhongli said. “Do you feel better now?”
“Yes, thank you – and please, call me Childe.” He grimaced. “Sorry, were you waiting for me? You really didn’t have to.”
“I want to. I’d rather I know if the man I dragged to a doctor came out of it alright,” Zhongli said with an easy smile. “This is perhaps a little backwards, but please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Zhongli. I work as a consultant in Wansheng Funeral Parlor.”
“I work in Northland Bank. Um, why would a funeral parlor need a consultant…?”
The simple question sparked a light in Zhongli’s eyes and before Childe knew it he was already listening to the man ramble about practically anything and everything under the sun. Despite the onslaught of information, Childe found himself relaxing to Zhongli’s voice and absorbing the information like a sponge.
“Where do you plan to go now? Back to the bank?” Zhongli asked.
“Mmm, I didn’t get to eat lunch earlier, so I’m thinking about getting back to Wanmin, actually.” Childe sighed. “I feel bad about worrying Xiangling, too.”
“Ah, I didn’t get to have lunch, either. We are headed to the same place. Allow me to escort you.”
Childe winced. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you miss lunch.”
“Please be at ease. Your wellbeing is more important than one lunch.”
“I feel bad though! Please, let me treat you to lunch to show my thanks.”
Zhongli’s smile was warm. “Thank you.”
There was something in Childe’s chest, squeezing, squeezing, squeezing, but it didn’t hurt, didn’t feel bad. It drew his lips into a wide smile instead, and Childe allowed it. He would always allow his muted feelings to guide his actions whenever it could.
It was only later, after he got back from lunch, that he realized his feelings really wasn’t as muted as usual.
Somehow, outings with Zhongli became a routine. He was truly an excellent cultural guide to Liyue, who explained everything in detail and easily switched gears when it became apparent that Childe was starting to get overwhelmed by the amount of information he was spewing. He also forgot to bring Mora more often than not, and Childe ended up paying for him nearly every time.
Unfortunately, he was also witness to practically all of Childe’s episodes, because for some reason his heart had taken to giving beats and stutters every time it was most inconvenient for him. Usually during outings with Zhongli.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Zhongli asked on one of their lunches together, when it felt like Childe’s heart squeezed and let two solid thumps that left him breathless.
“I think I’m fine,” Childe answered. “Don’t be so worried, Mister Zhongli! It’s fine. Hearts are supposed to beat anyway, right?”
“But you said your heart had never beat before. What changed?” Zhongli mused.
Childe shrugged. “I moved to Liyue,” he said, because the beating started after he’d settled here.
Zhongli frowned at the answer, though. His hand hovered over Childe’s chest, just shy of touching the hollow where his heart, once perfectly still, lay unbeating. There was a thrum in the air – not quite a beat, more of a low tremble that seemed to fill the space with what little it could offer.
Something bloomed within Childe’s chest. Calm certainty, stability, and then something keening and desperate, something that simultaneously made him want to leap in the air and weep. The sudden onslaught of it made Childe slump as a confused noise clawed itself out of his throat, and Zhongli held him by the shoulders to keep him upright.
As soon as it came, the feelings passed. Childe blinked, wondering what was going on, and looked up to see Zhongli. He froze at the sight.
Zhongli’s eyes were wide, and he stared at Childe with something he guessed was disbelief in his gaze. He looked like he wanted to laugh and cry at the same time and unable to choose which he should do. His hands moved, no longer supporting Childe’s weight or hovering by his chest, but instead they hovered by his face, as if unsure if he could cup Childe’s cheeks and keep him still for all eternity.
“Mister Zhongli?” Childe breathed, and the spell broke. Zhongli startled and shifted back, pulling his hands to his laps and wringing his fingers together.
“Apologies,” Zhongli said. “I – “ he stopped and cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, but there is an urgent matter I must attend to. I’m afraid I have to leave early.”
“Ah – yeah? Don’t worry, I understand,” Childe said despite the wave of confusion slamming into him. “I hope everything is alright.”
Zhongli forced a smile into his lips. “I hope the same. Until next time, Childe.”
Later, when Childe went back to the bank, all workers grew quiet once they saw him and stared. Childe felt that same confusion swallow him whole and asked, “What is it?”
“Sir,” Ekaterina was the one who found her voice first, because of course. “You’re… not pale. You have rosy cheeks.”
Viktor, for whatever reason, had a small hand mirror on him and offered a look. True to Ekaterina’s words, for the first time in his life Childe’s face looked alive with colors, healthy skin shining rosily, as if the life that once slumbered within his unbeating heart finally yawned back into wakefulness.
Childe returned the mirror and wondered what changed.
Dearest Eleventh,
It is with both great regret and joy that I inform you that you are off your mission to take Rex Lapis’ gnosis. He has approached me to work out a deal in which he is willing to relinquish the gnosis for a price.
He may come to you to speak of this. For now, stay in Liyue and monitor the situation there. You can do as you please while you work at the bank for now. I shall leave you more instruction at a later date.
Zhongli brought him to an excursion to Guili Plains, partly as a historical tour and partly so Childe could move around and clear up some hilichurl camps to work out. The letter he received from the Tsaritsa made him agitated and he needed to work it out.
It was only later, when he wiped away blood from his brows – not his – that Zhongli sat by his side at the fire in the newly cleared camp, calmly grilling sunsettia pieces, and commented, “You look calmer.”
“I think I’m calmer,” Childe admitted. If he sounded unsure, it was because years of having his feelings kept at arms’ length away from himself made it harder to recognize them when they came intensely enough to be felt, and calm was never something that reared its head demanding to be known. He shook his head. “I don’t think it’s that important, though. Uh, so what’s with the ruins?”
“Ah, yes.” Zhongli took the sunsettia pieces off the flames and offered them to Childe. “This used to be Guili Assembly. It was a city Rex Lapis built with Guizhong, the Goddess of Dust, before she fell in battle. Later the assembly, too, would fall, and Rex Lapis would go on to build Liyue Harbor.”
“So this is from before the harbor,” Childe noted as he pushed the sunsettia pieces into his mouth. It was warm, and the fire had caramelized the sugars enough that it tasted deeper than usual. “Who’s Guizhong, though? I’ve heard her name a few times, but no one’s bothered telling me who she actually is.”
“Guizhong is…” Zhongli paused. “Guizhong had been Rex Lapis’ lover. According to the records, they had built Guili Assembly together, stone by stone. At the day the walls had been finished, it is said they exchanged their hearts to each other, both as an oath to keep peace and safety amongst their subjects and to promise themselves to one another. It is believed them exchanging hearts had been the equivalent to marriage vows for gods.”
“Hearts…” almost unconsciously, Childe pressed a hand to his chest. His unbeating heart remained still and silent within its small chamber. He blinked. “But, wait. Didn’t Guizhong die?”
Zhongli’s smile was brittle. “She did. She fell in battle. It is said that she still carried Rex Lapis’ heart when she perished and he still carries hers to this day.”
“…oh.” His hand pressed harder to his chest. “That’s… sad.”
“Perhaps so.” Zhongli took a deep breath. “To this day, their story still serves as a reminder to mortals. Even gods are not spared from death, so mortals should live their lives to the fullest and not have regrets. We don’t know when we will fall. After all, Guizhong’s fall came so suddenly that she and Rex Lapis never knew to exchange their hearts back.”
“What happened, then? To the hearts?”
Zhongli fell quiet. “It is said that Rex Lapis never received his own heart back. It is said it perished along with Guizhong.” He put a hand over his own heart. “It is said that Guizhong’s heart lays still in his chest, because hearts will not beat for anyone but their true owners, even if they were willingly exchanged.”
Childe’s fingers dug into his chest. He looked down. There was a feeling curdling at his stomach, but he didn’t know what it was.
He missed the way Zhongli studied him carefully.
The traveler that had become the talk of Fatui officers arrived in Liyue, and Childe approached her out of curiosity. She was on her guard immediately, but relaxed after Childe assured that he really didn’t have any ulterior motives and treated her and the floating fairy to a meal or two. Or ten, considering the amount of food Paimon ate.
And then Rex Lapis fell. Somehow, Childe managed to drag Lumine out of trouble. She whirled on him, clearly ready to accuse him, but there must have been something in his face that changed her mind, because she paused and softened.
“You really didn’t know about this?” she asked again.
“I already told you my order is to stand by and monitor the situation,” Childe assured, again. “I wouldn’t mind fighting a god but even I know I wouldn’t be able to kill one easily. Still, this warrants some cleaning up. Come with me.”
Childe brought her to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. It was easy to slip in, since the ferrylady wasn’t even there, no doubt caught up in the Rite. But Zhongli was there, half sitting and laying on his chair, eyes closed. He opened his eyes once Childe came close to him, announcing his presence with a soft call.
“Childe,” he called, “and company.”
Childe’s heart gave a beat as something rose to the surface, overwhelming his senses and taking over everything, making him want to melt and smile and spend his day simply gazing at whatever made his heart swell. He stumbled on his feet and caught himself before he fell, but it still drew concerned looks from everyone in the room.
He laughed it off. “Haha, sorry, sorry! Don’t worry about me, though.”
“Was it your heart again?” Zhongli asked as he rose and approached Childe, guiding him to a chair. “Did it beat?”
Paimon immediately let out a confused noise. “What do you mean? Hearts beat all the time!”
Childe snorted. “Not mine,” he said. He let Zhongli push him to sit. “It’s funny, because my heart never beat ever since I was born, but after I moved to Liyue it started beating from time to time.”
He stared at them, gauging their reaction. A part of him braced for impact in case they showed the same fearful, disgusted reaction over his cursed unbeating heart. But Paimon just looked baffled, while Lumine stared in confusion.
“Hearts can do that?” she asked. There was probably at least five question marks there, from how confused she sounded.
“Apparently mine can! But it’s not important.” Childe turned his attention to Zhongli. “Mister Zhongli, I was wondering if you can help us with something.”
Quickly, they explained the situation while Zhongli listened raptly. When they were done he hummed in thought, fingers tracing his own chin. “I may have a possible solution,” he said. He opened a drawer, rummaged, and took out a piece of – not paper. Childe wasn’t sure what it was.
“Traveler,” Zhongli called, “this is for you. It’s called the Sigil of Permission, and it is said it will protect you from harm, either from humans or from the Adepti.”
“Why would I need this?” Lumine asked, even as she accepted it.
“With how things are going, it is perhaps best if you promptly seek out the Adepti,” Zhongli answered. “Go to Jueyun Karst. Show this sigil to the Adepti, and they should at least be willing to listen to you. If you tell them about what happened here, I’m sure they will be willing to help one way or another. It would be better for you if you get there before the Millelith, so they will hear your version of the story first.”
Childe planted his feet down. “Perhaps I should offer my help – “
“No, please stay here,” Zhongli stopped him immediately, placing a hand on his shoulder to keep him seated. “The Adepti would be suspicious of you, given your status as Fatui Harbinger. Stay in Liyue. It will be safer.”
“I wouldn’t mind fighting them, though,” Childe pointed out.
Zhongli’s lips quirked into a smile. “I’m aware,” he said. “But you would be safer here, in the harbor, by my side. Can you at least give me the peace of mind?”
Childe wondered why Zhongli even needed it in the first place. He was a harbinger. He knew how to protect himself. Still, there were things he could do from the city, and he cherished his friendship with Zhongli too much to worry him like that. With a sigh and a smile, he nodded. “Alright, then. Only for you, Mister Zhongli.”
An awkward cough caught their attention. They turned to look at Lumine and Paimon, who shuffled at their spot. “Uhhh, we’ll be going now,” Paimon announced. “We’ll be back as soon as we can. Bye!”
Childe watched as they made their way out, straining his ears to listen to them whispering to each other. Something about together and showing off? He wasn’t sure.
Well, if it was important they would say something about it. He turned back to Zhongli. “I’ll stay here,” he said, “but will you tell me why you seem so worried about this? Do you think it’s going to be dangerous in Jueyun Karst?”
“Not… necessarily,” Zhongli admitted. “Not in the sense that I thought the Adepti would maul you, no. But there is turmoil in the wake of a dead god. The traveler needs to clear her name, but you… the Qixing will likely suspect you. Staying here and keeping a low profile might be the best step you can take.”
“I… suppose that’s true.” Childe looked away, sighing. “I don’t like being a sitting duck, Mister Zhongli. I still want to help. Do you think you can help me divert the Qixing’s attention?”
“I shall do my best to help. What do you have in mind?”
Childe hummed. “Well, maybe the first step should be making sure it looks like I don’t have anything to be guilty for. Would you care for lunch?”
Zhongli’s lips quirked into a smile. “Wanmin?”
“Wanmin.”
There was one time when Zhongli brought him to the cliffs overlooking Liyue Harbor. Childe had turned to look at the jutting stones off the shores and asked, “What’s that?”
Zhongli followed his finger and rocked back on his heel. “Ah. That is Guyun Stone Forest. It is said that Rex Lapis sealed his enemies there, including a vengeful god named Osial.”
His heart thumped. He managed to stay still this time, held rigid by the sudden cold spreading and clenching in his gut. “Osial?” he repeated.
“An old foe of Rex Lapis,” Zhongli said, looking at the jutting stones in the distance and clearly lost in thought, “and the very god that is believed to have taken Guizhong’s life. It is said he wants Rex Lapis’ heart, for a deity’s heart is powerful and could bring the owner to their knees. But he realized too late that Guizhong had it, and she died before anyone could do something.”
Another thump. The cold had spread down to his fingertips. Childe brought them to his chest, suddenly feeling small and not understanding why. His hands were trembling.
“Perhaps if he ever awakens he will try to search for Rex Lapis’ heart again,” Zhongli mused, unaware of the way Childe shook. “He did swear it before Rex Lapis sealed him away. Though, I cannot imagine that the people of Liyue would let their god be devoured just like that.” A pause. “Childe? Childe, what’s wrong?”
“Huh?” Childe stared at Zhongli. “What?”
Zhongli’s warm eyes searched into his gaze, and something within him settled as Zhongli placed his hand over his clasped ones. “What’s wrong? Is it your heart again? Do you need to sit down?”
“Oh – no, no, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” Childe plastered a smile onto his lips and silently marveled as Zhongli’s touch warmed his hands, chasing away the gripping cold. “I mean, my heart did suddenly beat again, but I’m fine.”
Something within Zhongli’s gaze shifted. He suddenly looked like he either wanted to cry, or hug Childe and never let go, or scream into the void. “I’m sorry, Childe.”
Childe tilted his head. “What for? It’s not your fault I was born with a weird heart.”
There was a pause for a beat. “All the same, it’s not fair to you.” He squeezed Childe’s hands.
Slowly, Childe squeezed back. “No,” he murmured, remembering his lonely childhood and the way everyone thought of him as a cursed child. “I suppose it’s not.”
There were a lot of things Childe could do in town, and apparently, one of them was running around following Lumine and acting as her wallet while Zhongli began preparations for the Rite of Parting and they needed to collect all needed parts to make sure the Rite went smoothly. No one wanted a repeat of the disastrous Rite of Descension, and honestly, Childe kind of liked all the history tidbits he got to learn and the free entertainment of Lumine and Paimon frantically stopping Zhongli from emptying their pockets in one go.
The perfume lady was equally disturbing as she was amusing, though. What was up with Ying’er? And Childe intentionally kept himself silent when they were hunting for the “cocogoat”, clocking in immediately that Qiqi simply wanted coconut milk due to how often he ended up in Doctor Baizhu’s examination room and having interacted much with the girl.
And then he found out that the Fatui was somehow involved, and it stopped being funny.
“Go do your own thing, yeah?” Childe told the others. “I have some things I need to look into.”
He could understand the suspicious looks Lumine and Paimon threw him, and the frown in Zhongli’s face that followed him as he left. As the harbinger responsible for overseeing operations in Liyue, suspicion was bound to fall on him. But harbingers typically worked independently, and it wouldn’t surprise him if there was someone else who was trying to butt in on the territory he was supposed to supervise. He needed to get to the bottom of this.
Frustratingly, the lower ranking officers stayed mum about it all. He’d banked on Ekaterina knowing some things, but she was just as clueless as him. In fact, it looked like everyone in the bank was kept in the dark, and when they tried to reach out to ask, no one would tell.
Even behind the wall of apathy the unbeating heart kept, Childe could feel the bubbling anger rising to the surface.
There was little to no progress. With so little information, his movements were limited. He had no idea who he could trust within his own faction, even among the workers at the bank. He understood that sometimes, it was those who were closest to you that you should be wary of.
He could at least still find some amusement in the Qixing’s frustration in his apparent innocence, though. All he did was prance around Liyue Harbor doing basically nothing. The Qixing didn’t have anything on him.
Childe could feel the moment Lumine grew distant and decided to follow her from a distance. She slipped into the Golden House, and Childe followed with a frown in his face. Why would she want to go to the mint?
And then he saw the Exuvia, and couldn’t help the gasp that escaped his lips.
Lumine whirled on him immediately. He saw no point in hiding anymore, so he walked out to the open, staring straight at the Exuvia. “So this is where they’ve been hiding it,” he said, mostly to himself. “That’s… smart, actually.”
Lumine squinted her eyes at him. Paimon regarded him with similar suspicion, though there was a touch of confusion in it. “Why are you here?” Lumine demanded. “Are you here to take Rex Lapis’ gnosis, the way the other harbinger in Mondstadt stole Barbatos’? I’m not letting you do that.”
Well now Childe was just confused. “The… gnosis?” He stared at Lumine and Paimon, then at the Exuvia. “Look, I was sent to Liyue to get the gnosis at first, but Her Majesty took me off that mission and told me to monitor things. That’s all I’m doing, honest.”
“Then why are the Fatui copying the Sigil of Permission en masse? Aside from myself and Mister Zhongli, you’re the only one who has seen it.”
Childe shook his head. “I have no idea. Look, I’ve spent so much time trying to find out what’s going on behind the stage, but I still don’t know, and no one at the bank knows either. I promise you that I’m as clueless as you. In fact, you probably know more than me.”
Lumine faltered. “…then why follow me here?”
Childe stared at her. “Lumine, you just walked into the one and only mint in Teyvat. All sneaky-like and everything. Excuse me if I’m worried you’re getting into trouble.”
Paimon grimaced and turned to Lumine. “Paimon hates to say this, but Paimon can’t argue with that.”
Lumine pinched the bridge of her nose. “Okay. Alright. Fine. Say you don’t know anything. The fact of the matter is that the Fatui is still doing a lot of things behind the curtains.”
“Even Fatui have factions. Each harbinger can move freely and choose to obstruct another harbinger’s mission if they truly want to,” Childe said. “Look, there’s no point in arguing. Can we at least tell each other what we know so we’re all in the same page? I’ll start. To begin with – “
There was a shudder, a pulse of undeniable power, that immediately had Childe cut his words off. He whipped his head back to the door, eyes wide. The surge of power was remarkably strong, and he found himself reeling. It was brimming with Hydro powers and his own rose in tandem with it.
Lumine staggered. “What’s… going on?”
“I don’t know. We’ll find out.” Childe pulled her wrist and they rushed out of the Golden House, Paimon floating along. It had been sunny when they walked inside the mint, but now, a storm was brewing in alarmingly fast pace. Childe watched as Millelith and citizens ran about, then caught sight of the Qixing, the floating Jade Chamber speeding towards the sea. A glance, and he saw a Hydro-made creature – a hydra of sorts.
A name popped in his mind before he was even aware of it. “Osial,” he breathed.
“What?” Paimon shrieked, trying to get her voice heard above the cacophony.
Childe ignored the question. The people of Liyue are in danger, he immediately yelled at himself. He was already jogging away, ready to break into a run, when he yelled at Lumine and Paimon, “Go find a way to get to the Jade Chamber. Help the Qixing! I’ll do what I can to help down here!”
He ran to the wharf, feeling his Hydro energy swell. The waves climbed and lapped closer to the wooden boards underneath his feet. Away, worryingly close to the edge, he saw four teenagers – Xiangling, her two friends Xingqiu and Chongyun, and… Zhongli’s boss? Wasn’t her name Hu Tao? He immediately ran to them, feeling the first drops of storming rain fall, and yelled, “What are you doing here? It’s dangerous, get to higher ground!”
They turned to him. Xingqiu immediately looked wary, but Xiangling only grew determined. “We can help! And we’re just checking if there are still people around to evacuate, promise!”
“It’s practically empty around here. Just go,” Childe said.
“But – “
Waves jumped out, rising up high enough to swallow them whole. The teenagers froze at the sight, but Childe moved, battle instincts honed too well to freeze in the middle of a life-death situation. He called on his Hydro and forced the waves back, pushing it out of the way. Water scattered around them and fell like rain, drenching them in seconds, and the teenagers cried out in surprise.
“Are you okay?” Childe asked them. They blinked owlishly at him, though Chongyun gave a slow nod. “Good. Now, do me a favor and – “
“I didn’t expect you to help with the operations, but finding you actively causing problem for us is somehow still surprising.”
The feminine voice was familiar. Childe turned and narrowed his eyes. “…hi, Signora,” he greeted with no hint of warmth in his voice.
Signora smiled mirthlessly at him. Even with her hair plastered to her skin under the onslaught of the storm, she still looked regal. “Tartaglia,” she returned the greeting. “Are you going to stop fooling around and stay out of the way, or would you prefer to get frozen?”
“Neither, if it’s up to me. Are you the one who woke Osial?”
Signora shrugged. “Some of us have jobs to do. Getting Osial involved just seems like the fastest way to do it.”
“It’s not like you to take such a showy route,” Childe commented. “You’re more likely to slink around in the shadows like a rat.”
“Ha!” Signora’s laugh was as amused as it was bitter. “Desperate times call for desperate measures, don’t you think?”
Childe had no idea what Signora was trying to accomplish, but he knew that this didn’t bode well for Liyue Harbor. “Pull Osial back. You’re going to destroy the harbor at this point.”
“Oh, Childe.” Signora smiled at him, mocking. “That’s exactly the point.”
Realization dawned. He clenched his fists and breathed. “You’re telling me to let innocent people get hurt. You’re telling me to let the harbor get destroyed.”
“Anything for the glory of Snezhnaya,” Signora said. “Anything for Her Majesty.”
“There are innocent people,” Childe hissed. “Children who don’t even understand what’s going on.”
“Unfortunately, there will always be collateral damage.”
Childe’s eyes darted to the four teenagers. “Go,” he urged, and this time they complied. He turned his attention back to Signora. “I’m not letting you destroy the harbor.”
Signora tilted her head. “Is this it, then? You’re renouncing your loyalty to the Tsaritsa?”
Even his unbeating heart felt the pang of hurt. He was loyal to Snezhnaya. He was loyal to the Tsaritsa. But Liyue had been a home that he had never had before, and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t attached to the people here. Of Xiangling who found out of his unbeating heart and immediately offered warming food, of Doctor Baizhu who attentively tended to his unique condition without batting an eye despite knowing of his status as harbinger, of Zhongli, with his warm gaze and warm smiles and careful hands catching Childe whenever he fell without fail. Childe summoned his Hydro blades and stared Signora down. “I believe Her Majesty deserves all the glory Snezhnaya has had and will one day acquire. I also believe that it should not come at the cost of innocent lives.”
Signora’s lips parted into a vicious grin. “Well. Let’s see how you handle being ripped by shards of ice, then.”
Childe wasn’t stupid. Signora, despite her dainty looks, was a vicious battler. She held power over both Cryo and Pyro. Childe’s Hydro couldn’t compete with the Cryo unless he got truly creative, while his Electro… wasn’t exactly the most viable solution either. It was harder to control, and with the rain, it was possible that he would electrocute himself, too. Still, he refused to go down without a fight, and both the sea and the assaulting storm lent him some edge.
He was never one to dawdle. Lightning-quick, he summoned his bow and made the first shot. Signora may have the upper hand with her elements, but he had the upper hand with the terrain, and he intended to make use of it.
Signora used her ice to deflect the first Hydro shot, but Childe wasn’t counting on that connecting anyway. He urged the rainwater to bend to his bidding and shaped it into multiple Hydro constructs, mimicking the Oceanid’s powers. He’d already known how to construct a single whale to breach, and he didn’t need these ones to be detailed; they just had to be enough to swarm Signora and eat away her stamina.
Briefly, Childe entertained the possibility of having a breaching whale anyway. With the seawater sloshing behind him, it wouldn’t even make a dent in his own power reserves. He dismissed the thought, not keen on breaking the very floor he was standing on.
Signora clicked her tongue and froze the Hydro mimics. With a push, she sent them tumbling Childe’s way. He dodged them and allowed them to slide into the ocean with a splash, already calling into his Vision’s powers to send more mimics. Smaller this time, not big Hydro mimics like the Oceanid’s – they made easy targets, as it turned out. Hydro-made cicins materialized by the dozens and swarmed Signora. She snarled and froze them all with unforgivingly cold Cryo blast that immediately shattered them into diamond dust, but Childe had already sent another swarm as he closed in on the distance.
Just before Signora blasted them away again, Childe dropped his control over the cicins and allowed them to splash harmlessly into the ground, hands already gripping his trusty Hydro blades, ready to slash. But Signora was quick, tempered by her experience. With barely any effort, she had her catalyst block the blow and jumped back to create a distance.
“You have guts, to fight me of all people in the rain,” Signora called out. The air around her shimmered with unbridled Cryo, raindrops freezing in midair and shattering on the ground. “I’ll make sure you freeze to death.”
“You can try,” Childe challenged. He pushed the twin blades together and willed them into a polearm.
Signora bared her teeth as she smiled. It was one of the only times Childe had ever seen her looking feral, and a part of him, the little boy who fell and never got to grow up, paused at the sight in fear. The rest trembled with anticipation of battle. Childe swung his Hydro polearm and ran forward, readying a slash.
Signora threw a blast of frigid cold air to him. He barely had any time to call for the water around him to splash forward, taking the attack and freezing solid instantly. He used the polearm to shatter the shield and took in the reduced cold. It still stung, still bit, but Childe grew up in the embrace of ice and snow. He could take a little bit of frostbite. Ignoring the way his wet cheek slowly grew rigid with creeping ice, Childe swung the polearm viciously.
Once again Signora used her catalyst to block the attack, but this time she didn’t bother jumping back. Instead she rushed forward, extending her arm out, and Childe’s battle-trained eyes caught sight of the ice claws she had made around her fingertips. He spun the polearm to deflect her bow, only for her to stomp on the ground and created jutting icicles that threatened to stab him in the stomach. Childe could only thank the fact that the polearm’s movement was hard to stop and letting it finish its trajectory was enough to break the icicles.
Unfortunately, Signora wasn’t done. She easily called for her powers and slashed again with her Cryo claws. Her catalyst floated around her and sent shards of ice shooting at Childe. Before long, Childe’s left cheek was already completely covered in ice, and small cuts had littered his body from the claws and the shards alike.
Childe jumped back to get some distance and pursed his lips. He knew he was running into this at a disadvantage, but he hadn’t counted on Signora being this unyielding. She had a habit of simply delegating her tasks away to her subordinate that he honestly didn’t think she could battle much at all, but clearly he was wrong. He had to switch tactics here. He could call to the Abyssal powers coursing through him, but he would rather not take that measure yet. Both to buy himself time to think and to force Signora back, he shot another arrow, not bothering to charge it with Hydro this time.
Hydro. Water.
There was an entire ocean behind him.
His Vision shone with power as he called for the seawater to his aid. It answered his call and rushed up. Signora’s eyes widened at the display, then narrowed, the Cryo around her practically crackling with power. Childe grinned at her in challenge and willed the seawater to mold to his will, pulling and stretching at them to create smaller versions of his narwhals to breach and slam Signora down. A single gigantic whale slamming into the wharf might break it in one hit, but lighter hits from smaller creatures should be fine. Probably.
The moment three Hydro narwhals pulled themselves into existence, there was a tremble in the air, a reverberating something. Afar, Osial gave a cry that was halfway an underwater gurgling roar and a triumphant cry. Despite everything, Childe couldn’t help but pause.
Signora’s eyes were wide, staring at something behind Childe. Her jaw was slack, arms lowered, Catalyst spinning lazily and nonthreateningly. It wasn’t like her. With a frown, Childe carefully had a narwhal swim in front of him to make sure Signora would stay back and slowly turned around to look far past the shore, searching for whatever made Signora stop.
Osial’s multiple heads had turned to the harbor, and for some reason Childe was convinced they were all staring at him. His heart stuttered – a betrayal, making him sway as he blinked away the sudden rush of no, no, no, don’t look, don’t see me that swarmed him in an instant.
And then Osial cried, a horrible, horrible sound, and Childe found himself rooted at his spot.
He could feel the rush of pure Hydro energy speeding to the harbor while the multiple heads began to move. Osial was heading to the harbor.
“Childe,” Signora’s voice brought him out of the daze he had found himself in. “You have to go. We need you away from the ocean.”
Childe frowned at her, battle forgotten. The sudden change of demeanor was as worrying as it was suspicious. “Why? What’s in it for me? What’s in it for you?”
“You don’t want to win Osial’s attention. Go, you might be able to make it to the mountain if you’re fast. I’ll try to hold him back – “
Signora didn’t get to finish her sentence. The sea exploded around them, and they called to their elements to try to shield themselves – Childe forcing the water back before it could sweep him away, Signora trying to freeze the water. Neither of them succeeded, and the seawater smashed at them and pushed them back, closer to the stone walls bordering the wharf. Childe conjured a Hydro blade and stabbed it to the wood to stop the trajectory. Next to him, Signora immediately mimicked his trick with her own Cryo-made spike.
Far away, the hydra-like body of the old sealed god screeched as projectiles slammed into it from the Jade Chamber. In the wharf, a Hydro body spun itself into existence, taking the form of a man with long hair and elegant, flowing robes and a chest plate. The Hydro construct was clearly not stable, with the way it dripped water from the tips of its fingers and hair. But it was marvelously detailed, and Childe found himself face to face with sharp eyes and lips that smiled vindictively, revealing a row of razor-sharp, shark-like teeth.
“Rex Lapis,” the construct said. Its voice was bubbling water, gurgling drowning scream, the haunting echoes of an unknown creature in the blind of ocean depths, pressing into Childe from all sides. “I will have your heart this time.”
Signora sent shards of ice to the construct. It simply waved a dripping hand aside, and one of Childe’s narwhals shot forward to intercept it, losing shape and splashing into a puddle the moment the attack hit. Childe gasped when he felt his control over his constructs ripped away from his hold and watched wordlessly, eyes wide, as the construct made his narwhals circle around it.
With a slash of its hand, the two narwhals shot to them at incredible speed. One swallowed Signora whole and turned into a dome, similar to an Abyss Mage’s bubble, and something churned in the pit of Childe stomach to see Signora slowly drown in it. The other swallowed Childe and dragged him closer to the construct, then turned into bands that held him down. Childe tugged at his hands desperately, but he was tied down to the ground, unable to move with his limbs, waist, and neck strapped down by impossibly strong Hydro bands.
“Let me go,” Childe hissed.
“Bold demands from someone who is under my mercy,” the construct said. “But you have always been a bold one, haven’t you, Guizhong?”
Something in Childe’s brain stopped working at that. “What… did you just call me?” He blinked at the construct. “You’re… Osial?”
The construct – Osial – smiled, all teeth. “Pleasure to meet Rex Lapis’ chosen heart vessel,” he said, and pressed a cold, wet hand over Childe’s heart.
Childe gasped as his heart thumped, again and again and again. The curdling feeling in his gut spread coldness along his limbs and he finally recognized the feeling as fear. A strangled cry wrenched itself out of his throat as his heart gave another thump – then another, then another.
“Give me the heart,” Osial gurgled his demand.
Childe forced the fear down. The loud beating of his own heart drowned the sounds around him. “Fuck off,” he growled.
“Stubborn,” Osial mused. “But I suppose this won’t be the first time you died trying to protect that heart.”
The hand over his chest grew claws that jammed into his skin. Unable to move, there wasn’t anything much Childe could do but cry out in pain. His heart hammered frantically against his ribcage, too strong and too fast, pumping fear all over him.
A burst of Geo, the steady presence of mountain stone. Afar, someone coughed and hacked and gasped. Yet another snarled out a name that Childe couldn’t hear clearly in the rushing in his ears. Another burst of Geo, and yet another, and far away, something sent a shockwave that had Childe keening and curling into himself as Hydro splashed harmlessly around him.
Through the deafening beats of his heart, he thought he heard a warm, familiar voice call him. He forced his eyes open, unaware that he had even closed them in the first place. Another helpless keen climbed out of his throat, and he would have been embarrassed if he wasn’t so overwhelmed by the yawning void of anxiety and fear that accompanied the frantic beats his heart gave.
Warm golden eyes, sharp and bright, met his gaze. He scrunched his eyes back shut again and let out a sob as the edge of the hungry void drew nearer.
Steady arms held him against warm chest and gentle hands brushed his hair out of his face, settling to cover his eyes. Warmth washed over him and slowly, slowly, the frantic beat of his heart calmed, and it beat lazily, growing slower with each beat. Childe reached for it, clinging to the rock in the middle of the storm.
“Rest,” Zhongli’s voice rumbled around him, warm and soft and safe. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”
Childe trusted him.
He felt his body sag into Zhongli’s hold. The world dissolved away into blurry dreams filled with warm golden eyes and smiles as delicate as the soft petals of silk flowers.