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The group around the traveler had been stuck in the corrupted chaos domain after the collapse in the Abyss. They have experienced several glitches in the domain, showing desperate fragments of the demon slayers state. Having navigated the domain without finding an exit for a while, they decide to rest for a while. Everyone is resting, collecting their wits.
Yanfei, after noticing how badly Lumine was affected by the chamber of the abyss, and her worry for Xiao, decides to involve her in her plan.
“Traveler, I think that we’re in a domain of chaos, the projection of Xiao that we saw, I think it wasn’t meant to happen. We happened to be in a space where the limits of the constructed reality were overstretched, and in that moment were able to manifest our imagination. That’s why Xiao was so shocked, and why the connection was cut short”, Yanfei elaborates.
Lumine seems to hardly hear her, whispering hesitantly, “Do you have an idea how we might use this to our advantage? He seemed to be battling. I don’t know how much time we have”, her voice is growing more desperate, “What if we’re too late already, and this is a cruel joke?” I-”. Her voice becomes choked up by unshed tears. “Yanfei, please tell me you have a plan? Even a faintest idea. I don’t know how much hope I have left”.
Yanfei looks at Lumine kindly, “I know you and the conqueror of demons are close. I’m sure he wouldn’t want you to give up on him”, she encourages gently. Lumine huffs a weak, almost resigned laugh, “I appreciate you, Yanfei, but I’m not sure if he would care much. If he were to perish, I feel he might be relieved. Self-sacrificing, for the sake of clearing his debt.”.
The legal advisor understands where Lumine is coming from, but also sees how the traveler seems to be deaf to the desperation in Xiao’s voice when he heard that the traveler was also in the domain. “I’m sure he cares to not leave you behind like this, Lumine”, the two women share a small hug, “Now let me share my plan before you go catastrophizing more”.
The half-adeptus shares how the chaos might work in their favor if they harness it, instead of being misled by it. The strategy is to fully focus on what could be, not what is. “Lumine, I want you to call out to the conqueror of demons, and imagine with all your hope and might where his reply is coming from”. Lumine raises an eyebrow, clearly doubtful, but seeing how it’s their best bet, braces herself. She takes a deep breath. How should she call for him? Her previously failed attempt is making her more hesitant. But she needs to believe. Xiao told her, many nights ago, that he would come for her if she called for him. No matter where she was, how she’d gotten there, the wind would carry her call to him and he’d find her. Lumine hoped that somewhere, Venti was watching over them, and would carry her voice to Xiao’s ears.
“XIAO, WHERE ARE YOU???”, she screams, the sound bouncing off the cave’s walls, carrying through the tunnels. There’s no answer, no wind, but there’s a tugging in Lumine’s chest, carrying her further ahead. She exchanges a look with Yanfei, pointing in the direction of the tugging, "I feel something strange beyond". A wall is ahead of them. “Alright”, Yanfei says cheerfully, “let me see what I can do”, throwing her elemental skill and burst at the wall with full might.
Rather than exploding, the wall simply ceases to be, revealing a tunnel with many branches. Lumine will make sure to thank Yanfei later, but her growing hope is keeping her entire focus on following the tugging that she can only hope to bring her closer to Xiao. She closes her eyes to better follow the feeling, guiding herself along the cold, damp walls of the tunnel system. Yanfei is closely following her, careful not to make too much noise. “Xiao, can you hear me?”, Lumine is no longer yelling, knowing that it’s not the volume that matters - it’s her intent. “Please, Xiao, let me know where you are”, she whispers a silent plea. Time seems to have become flexible, and she feels like she’s followed the tugging for hours. Finally, she reaches a dead end that doesn't yield to their attempts to destroy it. It's here that Lumine opens her eyes. Yanfei places a reassuring hand on her shoulder, letting her know she’s not alone. “Is this as close as you can get to him?” Yanfei asks. “I think so, I can feel a strain still, but I don’t see a way to get closer”, Lumine replies, feeling suddenly exhausted, and resting her back against the damp walls. Yanfei has her suspicion what phenomen has guided Lumine here, Madame Ping had shared some of the legends of such connections with her, and how much they can drain or replenish someone.
“Conqueror of demons, Adeptus Xiao, can you hear us?”, Yanfei calls out, and a portal like earlier cracks open, green, Anemo-infused light brightening the dark tunnel. Small sparks at first, it shapes into a misshapen rip in the walls of the tunnel. “Yanfei, why are you moving deeper into the domain, you shouldn’t be in this dangerous place!”, Xiao says, his voice seeming far away, and slightly distorted. “Adeptus Xiao, the traveler and I were able to locate you in the chaos space, we’re stuck here and-”, Xiao interrupts Yanfei, “The traveler is with you?”, his voice has an edge to it, and could almost seem panicked. “I’m fine”, Lumine speaks up, trying to force her voice to be steady and strong. She straightens up, no longer leaning on the wall, “I needed to find you. When we last spoke it seemed like you were fighting. Are you alright?”. She’s tense for a second, waiting for his reply, worried he might disappear any second like the last time. “I’m fine, you shouldn’t worry about me. Where are you?”, Xiao asks.
“Adeptus Xiao, we are somewhere in the chaos dimension, Lumine was able to locate your presence, by following her ... intention. Are you able to try that?”, Yanfei speaks up, hoping to bring the conversation to a productive place, lest time runs out for them. “I can move, yes, but how do I find you?”, Xiao says through their connection, “Lumine, how did you find me?”. Lumine decides that this isn’t the space and time to be bashful or embarrassed, so she takes a quick breath, and shares her approach: “I called out to you, and imagined with all my might that you’re hearing me. I felt a sort of tugging in my chest, and I followed it. I - … I can’t explain it better than that”. She feels silly, saying it out loud, hearing how it doesn’t seem like more than a hunch or luck, but she hears no protest from Xiao. “I will try, wait for me you two… and traveler, we’ll talk about this. When we’re out of here”.
The connection ends there, the portal closing, plunging the tunnel’s dead end into darkness again. Yanfei lights a small lantern she took with her, placing it on a flat rock. She had a hunch that Lumine was quite close to Xiao, more than just two high-ranking and respected Liyue heroes would be. She doesn’t jump to conclusions, her actions all “legal advisor”-like, calmly evaluating. But she stores the dynamics of the two in a mental folder to revisit later, possibly to arrange for Madame Ping to have a talk with Lumine about some of the more unique characteristics of adepti. Lumine and Xiao..., they might both be too miserable or self-sacrificing to act on what seems to be blossoming between them. If she has to, she will give them a nudge, but not now.
“I think we should remain here, if we don’t move it might be easier for him to locate us”, Yanfei states, noticing how Lumine is restless. Lumine sighs and nods, pacing slowly in small circles to keep her body busy. Some time passes, and suddenly Xiao’s voice fills the tunnel “Step back!”.
Seconds later, a wind arises, and from a small upcurrent the Anemo User manifests, falling to his knees as he lands on the cold floor. Lumine hurls around, scrambling closer to him, falling to her knees. Yanfei also slowly kneels to the ground, to get a better view of the Adeptus. Lumine reaches out towards him, stopping herself before touching him, just barely suppressing her urge to grab his face. She wants to reasure herself that this isn't just an empty shell or broken body, but Xiao.
He looks like he’s been through a rough battle, fresh scars scattered over the Yaksha’s skin, still leaking with the bad karma contaminating his body. He’s breathing heavily, but seems stable otherwise. “You shouldn’t be close to me, my bad karma is dangerous for humans to be around”, says Xiao, his voice exhausted but angry. Lumine is still staring at his face, as if convincing herself that he’s real, so Yanfei replies, “This place is dangerous, you’re posing the least amount of danger to us at this moment in time. The monsters, the abyss, and the chaos is our highest priority”. At the mention of monsters and abyss, Xiao finds Lumine’s gaze. “Are you hurt?”, his voice is less angry now, and more desperate. His eyes graze over Lumine’s body, not finding anything significantly worrying, but noting the bruises and dirt all over her skin. Yanfei sighs, not holding it against the Yaksha that that question for well-being seems to be exclusively for Lumine. Lumine shakes her head gently to answer Xiao’s question, her eyes glazed, holding back what Yanfei suspects might be unshed tears.
As much as she doesn’t want to interrupt their reunion (Yanfei thinks she can SEE the yearning seep out from both of them), Yanfei decides to lead them back to their camp. She instructs Lumine to support Xiao, who tries to refuse in fear of tainting her with bad karma, but quickly gives into it. The battle seems to have taken a lot from him, and he needs her to anchor himself. Yanfei leads the way, holding the lantern so that the two trailing her can take safe steps. The way back to the camp goes by smoothly, and as soon as they reach the elevated, dry cave where Kuki Shinobu had set up their fireplace, Lumine helps Xiao to the ground to rest. His arm is dragged over her shoulder, and she’s supporting his weight with her hips. As she lowers him down, she allows her hands to stay on his body for longer than they need to be. To make sure he doesn’t fall over. That’s her reasoning if anyone would call her out. But no one does. Yanfei had asked their team members to give them some space, since the Adeptus would need rest.
Xiao seems to be in a state somewhere between awake and passed out, his eyes only half open, head resting against the stone wall. Lumine allows herself to indulge just a little, reaching up to brush the Adeptus’ hair out of his face, tucking it behind his ears. She feels her skin tingle, the aura that surrounds the Adeptus curling around her fingers, and blending into her skin. For as much as Xiao insists that this bad karma is dangerous, and will hurt humans, Lumine barely feels anything. What she feels though is an aching in her chest, a longing to hold the Adeptus in her arms until all his wounds are healed, shielding him from the world. But she’s already crossed a line by touching him like this, and she won’t violate it further. Not while he’s vulnerable, recovering from a fight that obviously cost him a lot.
Lumine has the suspicion that her constitution makes her react to the corrupt karma differently than others, just like with abyssal corruption, that doesn’t weaken or pain her in the same way. If he’d let her try, she’d give everything to try to cleanse the corruption from Xiao. If he would allow himself to see her as more than a liability ... Would it be different if she were stronger? Would he allow himself to be closer to her if she could prove just how strong she is?
She swallows, and abruptly stands to her full height, worried that any more thoughts would bring her right back to her knees, not leaving Xiao’s side. His chest heaves, and it seems that just for a moment his body arches up towards her, but he quickly sinks again. His eyes are closed shut now, a sheen of sweat on his forehead suggesting a light fever. Lumine heads to the campfire, where she takes some of the water that Shinobu had set out. Who knows if Xiao had taken provisions with him when he came into the domain. Lumine takes a seat at a respectable distance from Xiao, placing the water bottle next to where his hand rests. If he doesn’t wake up soon she’ll have to consider a different approach, but for now she hopes he’ll wake up soon and drink himself.
The next few hours pass, her teammates coming to sit with her, hearing her side from the story too. It’s nice to take her mind off Xiao for a while, chatting with her friends and acquaintances. She's glad for Paimon especially, her friend sharing with her all the stupid things Itto said while she was gone. It gives her a sense of normality in this domain, and talking with her team leaves her optimistic that they’ll find a way out together. Hope settles in her chest, but soon enough, her amber eyes drift towards the Adeptus, catching as his body stirs. He seems to slowly be coming to his senses, reaching his hand up to rub his eyes. His hands graze the water bottle she’d placed to his side, and he intuitively reaches for it, downing it in one go. The others have also noticed his awakening, Yanfei coming closer. “Adeptus Xiao, are you feeling better?”, she asks. Everyone is eager to hear his response, all eyes on him. His eyes open to scan the environment, taking a look into the round, “Fine. Don’t worry about me”. Tough guy, of course, not one to like being perceived as anything but strong and capable. He answers questions with few words, his gaze restless, "Lumine, my light, where is she?", is the first coherent sentence he strings together.
Lumine had rushed off to get him another water bottle, offering it to him as she sinks down next to him again now. “You shouldn’t be this close”, Xiao says to her. She didn’t need to hear his ‘Thank you’ out loud, Lumine knew he was grateful for the water, for the fact that she didn't acknoledge his weakness in this moment. Yanfei wishes she could tell Lumine, that seconds ago he was calling out for her, only to urge her away when he knows her next to him.
“Hey little buddy, I’m sitting way closer to you, shouldn’t you also give me a warning?”, Itto bursts out, sulking. Yanfei rolls her eyes, Lumine is clearly one of the Adeptus’ priorities, everyone else gets secondary treatment. Xiao addresses the whole round “The karma I carry is dangerous to humans. Keep your distance”. He’s speaking into the room, but his eyes so clearly target Lumine, Yanfei notices. The blonde woman sighs, shuffling back on her knees, to create more space between her and the Yaksha. But her amber eyes stay on him, as if he’s the only one in the cave. There's a sense of desperation visible in her gaze, and Yanfei wonders if Xiao is turning a blind eye, or truly unable to recognize it.
The group exchanges what they’ve learned about the realm they're in, and the different possibilities of escape. After all being aligned but no step closer to a solution, Xiao speaks up again. “I can get you out of this domain. The adeptal energy here is high. I was battling a former Yaksha, and the space is corrupted by his energy after coming into contact with the abyss. I have ” - he pauses "cleansed his corruption. I can control this space better now".
He continues, “With my force, I might be able to create a big enough disruption within the chaos, to thin the walls of the realm and create a way out for you”. A relieved sigh is let out by the whole group, they had rescued the conqueror of demons not for the sake of escaping, but it was a great relief that he might be able to help. Xiao stands up and dusts himself off, stepping away (from Lumine, and towards Itto. It’s clear who he’s trying to protect here. Or maybe Itto is immune to the karma anyway. He had speculated that he was “buit different” and “simply chose to be immune to the bad vibes”). “I will get started, please gather closely. Upon my signal I also need you to unleash your elemental energies to feed the instability”, he instructs. Everyone gets ready, and when Xiao gives the signal, unleashes their elemental skills and bursts. What starts as a small glowing light freckle starts opening up like a gash, with the signature glow of a portal. As soon as it’s big enough, Yelan moves forward, “I will go first, if it’s not safe I have the best method to get back and warn you”, and she is gone into her elemental skill sprint. She shortly reappears after jumping in the portal “The end seems to be in Liyue, you can follow me”, Yelan says. Yanfei ushers Shinobu and Itto in, though Itto protests, “As a leader and bro, I can’t leave behind anyone, I should go laaaaaast---” (Shinobu has pushed him into the portal, jumping in after). Yanfei goes next, holding the worried Paimon close, waving Lumine and Xiao to come after them quickly.
Lumine moves towards the portal, when a terrible feeling overcomes her. “Xiao.. you’re the one who opened the portal and is sustaining it. How are you yourself going to get through it?”, she asks, her body twisted towards him. She suddenly remembers how he specifically didn't say that he could get "us" out, but only directed his instructions at everyone except himself in the group. His mask is hiding his face, but Lumine knows he’s frowning, “I’m not going”, Xiao says, “I’m getting you out. I’ll figure out everything else after”. Lumine’s heart drops in her chest, “You’re sacrificing yourself. You didn’t make that clear! We would have never let you go through with this, Xiao - “, she feels as if a rock is stuck in her throat. He did it on purpose, he didn’t let them know that he’d be left behind. “Lumine, go through the portal, I don’t have much of my power left”, Xiao urges. He tries to not look at her, her eyes welling up with tears, shoulders trembling. He tries to not look at her hurt expression either, knowing his resolve might falter. He needs her out of here, he needs her safe. And if he perishes here, he at least has made up for some of his sins by keeping her safe.
“I cannot leave you here, Xiao, stop this”, Lumine screams over the noise of the portal. It previously was quiet, but it’s started cracking, seemingly eroding and destabilizing. Xiao won’t let her join him in his demise, his mind is set on this. He’s concentrating all his power to keep the portal open, his body straining. He feels his body failing, his mind slowly crumbling, as the power is draining from him. Lumine notices his chest rising and falling frantically, how he seems unstable on his legs. She made up her mind. Instead of turning towards the portal, she fully turns towards Xiao now, charging at him.
His eyes widen, following her figure as she moves around him. He twists, seeing her behind him now. She doesn't look quite human like this, dashing towards him with a supernatural agility, as if carried by wings. She's beautiful like this.
He wants to warn her, to get away from him, to get away from his karma, wants to desperately command her to jump into the fucking portal he created for her to get out. But before he can speak up, her eyes glint, and she shoves him. Lumine shoves Xiao into the portal with all her might, losing her balance and stumbling. The Adeptus tumbles into the portal's reach, and within milliseconds starts being sucked into it. Xiao is completely panicked now. Lumine pushed him, he’s in the portal, and the portal is collapsing with him. She doesn’t have enough time to get in too. She’ll be left behind, if he doesn’t act this very moment.
Time seems to slow around him, he sees Lumine in front of him, falling towards him, but too slowly. Xiao channels his power with all his might, a scream coming from his chest that seems to shake the whole cave system. He’s forcing his body to remain here, before the portal can devour him, reaching his hand towards Lumine. He doesn’t want to expose her to his Karma, but he’d rather expose her to his Karma than leave her behind to die. He barely grasps her wrist, yanking her towards him and the portal. Her body crashes into his, pushing them finally into the full hold of the portal, and they are sucked away.
Xiao’s heart is pounding, as he’s holding Lumine to his chest, worried that if he lets her go she may never be returned to him, lost in the collapsing in-between world of the portal ley line system. The flashing colors and sounds around them overwhelm their senses, and they travel through the portal, watching it crumble as they pass through it. Lumine cannot speak, her breathing is uneven and panicked, and Xiao realizes that she’s hyperventilating. He pushes her away the tiniest bit, to see her face and her tear-streaked cheeks. Something claws in his chest, a punishing, cruel pain, reminding him that he made her cry. That he made her like this: crying, hyperventilating, and shaking, a mess in his arms. He had forced her hands, giving her no choice in leaving him behind.
“Forgive me”, he whispers, knowing forgiveness isn’t enough for someone like him.
As the portal spits them out, like Yelan said, somewhere seemingly in Liyue, Lumine remains silent. Her eyes hold an empty pain that seems deeper than the abyss when she looks at Xiao. Paimon is immediately by her side, fussing over her, “Traveler, you took so long, I was so worried, I thought you might not make it. Paimon was so worried”. Lumine brushes away her tears, smiling brightly at Paimon “I’m fine, I’m sorry for making you worried, the travel affected me a bit and I’m just nauseous”. She wasn’t fine. She was about to completely break down. The muscles in her face from the strain of putting on a smile, wearing it like a grimace. “Heya buddy, you let us wait! Great powers you have there”, Itto throws his arm around Xiao’s shoulder, “I really owe you one”. Xiao absently nodes, he’s waiting for the second shoe to drop, for Lumine to reveal what he had tried. That he wanted to sacrifice himself for them all, not because he’s so noble, but because he doesn’t consider himself worth saving. But Lumine stays quiet, she doesn’t say anything. Xiao feels that listening to everyone praise him is punishment enough, knowing it's a lie he isn't deserving of being told.
Yanfei notices the odd strain in the group and takes the initiative, “Yelan went to confirm, indeed we seem to be close to Liyue Harbour! What do you say - should we grab some food? I’m positively starving!”. Itto immediately agrees, and so does Paimon, the two gluttons starting to reminisce about what they should eat first.
“Go ahead”, Xiao says, “Go ahead without me, I’ll quickly check on the traveler and then bring her to you”. The others seem slightly confused, but their appetite is stronger than their worry, especially as Lumine reassures Paimon that she’ll ask Xiao to bring her over as quickly as possible once he’s done. Lumine sinks to the ground, seing her companions well under way. The grass is ticking her shins, her hands touching the soft ground. “How could I leave you behind, Xiao?”, her voice is a mere whisper, but Xiao would always hear her. If she was on the other end of the world, surrounded by crowds, in a thunderstorm, he would always hear her, her voice sure to aim straight into his chest. “How could you? HOW COULD YOU WANT TO LEAVE ME ALONE?” her voice rose several octaves, a desperate cry now, “Without a choice, having to watch you destroy yourself being the last time I could see you?”.
Xiao cannot reason with himself, he cannot control his body, as it gravitates towards her, he kneels down before her. He wants to wrap his arms around her again, hold her close to him, protect her from the world, but he cannot allow himself this indulgence. He’s exposed her to too much, and already hurt her enough. Lumine’s light brown eyes find his, and he cannot look away, “Do you not feel it?”, she asks, “The tugging in my chest, the constriction around my heart, the empty void in my soul? Am I the only one suffering when I’m away from you?”. Xiao’s breath halts. She feels it too. He had his worries when she had described to him how she found him in the chaos realm. Following her imagination, the tugging in her chest, deep within her soul. He knew now that the suffering he had bestowed upon himself had caused her pain too.
He had been aware of the bond between them when he gave her the promise that wherever she would call out for him, he would find her. Though he hadn’t believed he still had a soul after all these centuries, it seems in a cruel twist of fate, his tainted soul had been bound to hers. Bright, shining with potential and ambition, he couldn’t help feeling guilty for weighing her down like this. So he chose distance, he avoided her, in hopes that she’d find happiness without him. But her soul called to his, in the same way his called to hers. “No, you’re not the only one. The bond binds me to you, as much as it shackles you to me. Forgive me, please, for what I’ve become”, he begs. His karma, his centuries of fighting, the demons he battles regularly, she’d have to accept it all. How it pained him to make his soulmate suffer like this.
Lumine throws her hands around his neck, fully sobbing into the crook of his neck. He cannot bring himself to push her away. Not when it would hurt them both. He engulfs her body in his arms, wrapping his arms around her frame, his hand caressing her hair. He’s forgiven. Not because Lumine forgave him, but because he forgave himself. He forgives his sins, his shortcomings, all forgiven, with the promise of doing better - for her. Between her sobs, Lumine chokes out, “I’m in love with you”, crying bitter tears.
“I’m sorry” he whisperse, for being a bad person to have your soul bonded to.
And adds, “Forgive me” for making her suffer, while trying to protect her.
He can only hope that she one day would understand the true meaning of his words.
Lumine leaves her truth unspoken. She knows that he’s in love with her too. They can fix this, with time.
Xiao allows himself to fully sink into Lumine’s embrace, holding her tightly, vowing to himself to not let this be the last time they are close like this. He feels it in his chest, the bond between them emitting a healing warmth. Lumine feels it too, how she feels her chest loosen, an emptiness she couldn’t place before slowly filling. She allows herself to hope that they will find a way to work everything out. To be together, one day. Maybe not tomorrow, or next week, but soon. “Please”, she speaks, “When you drop me off to eat with the other, join us. Don’t leave me alone just yet”. And how could he ever refuse her.