Archive of Our Own

Ajax Ryabakov has seen his fair share of fantastical scenes in his life. Being a Fatui Harbinger — and a citizen of Teyvat in general — has given him plenty of opportunities to see the wondrous sights the world has to offer. Some of which includes but is not limited to: the frightening depths of the abyss, in which he almost died more times than he can count; thousands of Fatui soldiers standing at his call, a mere flick of his wrist all it taking for them to slaughter an entire nation if he wished; golden, skyscraping palaces that reached for the heavens with jeweled towers and bedazzled walls; and, most recently, the fall of Liyue Harbor, city of commerce and trade, to the ancient god Osial, which Ajax himself had unsealed for his mission.

Ajax has painstakingly fulfilled his duty, following the Tsaritsa’s orders down to a tee; yet in the end he found out he was nothing more than a mere pawn in this bigger game that belonged only to the heavens. Zhongli, or rather Rex Lapis, had betrayed him, pretending to be his good friend when all along he was pulling the strings behind the curtain, guiding Ajax like a puppet on a stage. And once his purpose had been fulfilled, there was no reason left to keep him around. Like a puppet left to gather dust on a cold, forgotten stage, Ajax was tossed aside by the former god. It didn’t matter that he had drained his energy to activate numerous sigils of permission at once, or that he drew upon the depths of the abyss within him to fight off the otherworldly traveler. It didn’t matter that he had to hurt hundreds of innocent people, pushing down his guilt and emotions in order to fulfill his mission, lest he and his family be killed. Zhongli knew none of that, or maybe he did and just didn’t care. But, oh well, it’s not like Ajax could blame the man. Gods have much better things to do than entertain a betrayed mortal like him. Besides, right now, he had much more pressing matters to attend to. Namely, the fact that he has just watched his timid butler spill the tea he was pouring out for the third day in a row.

The butler trembled before Ajax, terrified of the violent, bloodthirsty Harbinger that “Tartaglia” was rumored to be. Ajax sighed, waving a hand as the butler visibly flinched at the gesture.

“Clean it up and bring me a new cup,” Tartaglia ordered, to which the butler immediately sprang to action. Once he left the room, Ajax reached across his desk, pulling closer to him a mysterious box.

Three days ago, Ajax had been out on a new mission, ordered by the Tsaritsa to find an ancient artifact hidden somewhere in Liyue. It was meant to be his last mission before he left for good, being the only Harbinger in Liyue at the moment. It didn’t take long, considering that Ajax had lived here for the past year for his previous mission, and at this point he knew Liyue like the back of his hand. Ajax had no trouble sneaking into Jueyun Karst, finding the domain of the late adepti that owned the artifact he seeked. While there had been a few monsters and puzzles set up to keep out intruders, Ajax was the legendary Tartaglia, Eleventh Harbinger of the Fatui, and he was able to make quick work of the domain’s security.

Ajax had brought the artifact home, planning on traveling back to Snezhnaya the next day after a nice, long nap. Apparently, the heavens decided they had other plans for him, because he woke up to receiving the same letter from the Tsaritsa as yesterday, the handwriting unmistakable. Interestingly enough, the artifact was still in his possession, despite the order being issued for the first time today. Stumped, Ajax decided to deliver the artifact to Snezhnaya, hoping that once it reached the Tsaritsa’s hands this weird deja vu would go away. But as soon as his head hit the pillow that night, he reawakened in Liyue Harbor, the same pigeon delivering the same letter from the Tsaritsa, and the same artifact on his desk once again.

Today was the third time Ajax was going through this dilemma. It didn’t take long for the Harbinger to realize that he must be caught in some kind of time loop, no doubt due to the artifact he was ordered to secure.

“Release me from your hold,” he had tried demanding of the artifact. But it did not speak back, and Ajax was left looking like an idiot for speaking to an inanimate object. Ajax sighed, leaning back in his chair and dragging a hand over his face. All he wanted at this point was to go home and see his siblings again, but even this final mission in Liyue wouldn’t let him go. Determined to get this ordeal settled, Ajax rose from his chair, strolling out of his office. A maid quickly stepped towards him with his coat while another opened the door for him. Ajax had a feeling that he wasn’t concealing his irritation very well, but no matter. If he couldn’t solve this time loop in one day, then his people would quickly forget their Harbinger’s anger once the loop restarted.

Ajax walked across Liyue Harbor to the library, sparing no time and striding at a brisk pace. Ajax went down the aisles of books, scouring for the adepti topic. His gloved finger gently traced the edges of the books as he went down the line, quickly scanning their titles. The more irrelevant books he walked past, the more he felt a migraine growing in his mind.

“This is going to take a lot longer than I thought,” Ajax grumbles to himself.

———

It took one loop for Ajax to find relevant books on the artifact, and another two loops to go through them all. Ajax spent a very long time sitting at those library tables, flipping pages and slamming covers shut. He… may have lost his temper once or twice, but no matter. Once twenty four hours had passed, no one even remembered his outburst anymore. Ajax’s hard work had paid off, however, and he now had a clearer understanding of this mysterious loop.

The books he read did not have much information, but thankfully it was just enough to help him figure out how to escape the time loop. Three rules were listed on the old pages, nearly faded but still legible. Ajax thanks his 20/20 vision for holding out long enough to read those rules after literal hours of doing nothing but reading. The rules, Ajax read, more or less stated the following:

1. The artifact must be placed in a safe environment and kept away from evil.
2. Resolve all regrets within oneself.
3. If the two conditions are met, signify completion upon death.

The first rule was simple enough to decipher once Ajax read a few more books. As long as the artifact was far away from any ancient evil gods such as Osial, the artifact would deem that as a safe place. The Tsaritsa is the Cryo Archon for cryo-ing out loud (haha get it), so Ajax isn’t sure how much safer the artifact can be once he delivers it to her icy hands. Sure, she may not have the best intentions for it, whatever they may be, but she’s not an ancient evil Liyue god, so all is well. As soon as Ajax can break this loop, deliver the darned artifact, and complete his mission, he can finally board the first ship to Morepesok and fall into his lovely siblings’ embraces. The thought alone is enough for Ajax to feel his motivation return with a blazing inferno, and before he knew it, he was already planning out his next steps. The only thing that stopped the Harbinger from just up and leaving for Snezhnaya was the second rule that lay on the yellowed pages before him.

“Resolve all regrets within oneself.” But what exactly did that mean? Ajax was unable to find any information on that particular rule, which left him stumped. Did the rule want him to apologize to every family which he killed one of their kin? Rebuild Liyue with his own two hands? Return the toy sword to that Fontanian merchant he stole from at the ripe age of five? Whatever it was that this artifact wanted from him, the young Harbinger could already tell that it was going to be an absolute pain in the arse. The third rule was already weighing on him and he did not need the second rule to be crushing him down as well.

Ajax turned towards the window as golden sunlight beamed on his figure, his pale skin caught in the orange glow. The sun was already low in the sky, the great ball of fire nestled between the rocky peaks of Liyue. Ajax had spent too long pondering the rules of this loop. He needed a nap. No, scratch that, he can’t sleep during the darned time loop. A better idea quickly came to mind as he stood up, stretching his sore arms over his head. Ajax needed some kind of break, so why not test the limits of this time loop at the same time? Ajax already found himself fishing out his wallet as he headed for the lantern-lit streets of Liyue, the distant smell of meat over fire wafting towards him.

“Liuli Pavilion, here I come!”

———

The time loop, as Ajax discovered, was not so bad after all. The young Harbinger woke up with no bloating of the stomach at all, despite binging on enough food for a small family of three. Not even an inkling of a stomachache came to the Harbinger, even now as he stepped off a ship several hours later onto the snowy lands of Snezhnaya. Ajax breathed in the icy air of his homeland, sighing in relief. While the bustling streets of Liyue and its traditional architecture was indeed a wonderful view, the homey iceland of Morepesok would always be a wonderful sight for sore eyes.

While Ajax would love to just go straight to his home and embrace his lovely siblings in his arms again, he still had a mission to do. Ajax hopped onto his carriage and watched the scenery unfold as he made his way towards Zapolyarny Palace. The journey was quick and smooth, and before he knew it he was walking down the familiar snowy path as the Fatui soldiers on guard quickly opened the doors for him. Ajax didn’t bother to take off his coat or scarf, instead making a beeline for the throne room. The guards seemed surprised at Ajax’s sudden arrival, but when they saw that he had no intention of stopping, they hastily opened the doors for him with a fluster.

“Announcing Tartaglia, the Eleventh Harbinger!”

Ajax, now Tartaglia, slowly made his way down the carpeted floor, an easy smile on his lips. He stopped a few meters away from the throne and slowly bowed, his form perfect and his posture flawless.

“You may rise,” the Tsaritsa says, her voice gentle yet powerful enough to lightly echo through the room. Ajax rises as he’s ordered, finally allowing himself to look up at the Cryo Archon.

“Your Majesty,” Tartaglia greets, his lips turning upward into a handsome smile. “I have completed my final mission in Liyue. I bestow upon you the artifact which you seek.”

Ajax fishes out a wooden box from his coat, presenting it to the Tsaritsa. At her gesture, he steps closer to her, holding out the box with both hands. The Tsaritsa reaches forward and opens the box. Inside, the artifact lay on a plush interior, glowing dimly with a hum of ancient power. The Tsaritsa hummed in approval before closing the box.

“Well done, my Eleventh. Take it to The Doctor’s laboratory when you can. You are dismissed.”

With a final bow and polite words of departure, Ajax leaves the throne room, the large wooden doors shutting behind him. Ajax sighs with relief, his shoulders sagging as the tension left his body. Every time he spoke to the Cryo Archon, it felt like an icy, heaving weight was pressing down on him, like it wanted to crush him into the ground. He wasn’t sure if the Tsaritsa was aware of it, or if it was just a side effect of her powers being on a whole other level than Ajax. Whatever the case, he always felt a deep sense of relief whenever he got to leave the throne room.

Ajax shook himself out of his wandering thoughts, quickening his pace as he walked down the hall. Now that the artifact had been safely delivered to Snezhnaya, surely that meant he was done, right? He could finally end this darned time loop once and for all (and never have to see that blasted gold trimmed ceiling of his Liyue bedroom again). A hand rested against the side of his coat, feeling the box beneath the cloth. Finally, he would be freed from this stupid thing’s curse. Finally, he would be able to take that long overdue nap he’d been desiring. (Finally, he’d be able to see his family which he missed so dearly.)

———

The artifact box had hastily been passed off to one of Dottore’s henchmen without so much as an explanation, other than, “Get this thing out of my sight.” Thankfully, the poor minion knew better than to ask a Harbinger questions, and instead quickly ran off with the box in hand. Normally, “Tartaglia” was much more kind and polite towards the lower ranks, however the Harbinger was starting to go a little mad having slept a nice zero hours. Even though his body would recycle with the rest of the world every loop, Ajax had a feeling that his mind would not be spared from the effects of sleepless nights.

Ajax doesn’t bother to put his coat on a hanger once he reaches his room. His scarf and gloves are tossed onto the back of a chair and his coat unceremoniously dumped on the bed. The Harbinger reaches underneath his pillow for the knife that he sleeps with (one can never be too careful in a place full of Harbingers). Ajax looks down at the rug by his bed. Hmm, he wouldn’t want to spill blood onto fabric. Ajax knows by now that blood is nearly impossible to wash out of things, especially if left soaking for too long. The Harbinger heads for the bathroom instead, where at least he knows his death won’t cause a huge mess. It’s only once Ajax is standing in front of the bathroom mirror, knife clutched in hand, that he realizes how messed up he is.

“Those eyebags could hold mora,” he winces at his own reflection. He couldn’t remember the last time he looked so visibly tired. Usually when things got this bad he would cover it up with some light makeup, but the time loop was very quickly giving Ajax the bad habit of acting without care for the consequence. (It’s not like anyone will remember what he does, anyway. No one remembers these past few days at all, except for Ajax.)

Whatever. I just need to get this over with and then everything can go back to normal, Ajax thought, shaking his head and pumping some determination into himself. Ajax raised his hand, the knife glinting in the light as he held it close to his throat.

But… What if it doesn’t work?

Ajax hesitated.

What if something goes wrong and I just… die? Just like that?

Ajax had never quite figured out what the second rule meant, and it was only now when he had the knife in his hand that he was realizing that.

Shit… maybe I should go back and cover up my eyebags real quick. It would be stupid if that ended up being a regret that ruins my attempt.

Ajax was so deep in turmoil that he never heard the bathroom door open. He didn’t have time to react as someone abruptly snatched the knife out of his hand.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?”

Ajax nearly jumped out of his skin, eyes going wide as his gaze snapped to the side. A familiar large hat came into view, long veils dangling off the brim. The hat tilted up to reveal The Balladeer’s irritated expression; and Ajax’s knife in his pale hand.

What is Scaramouche doing here?! Isn’t he a puppet? …Does he even need to pee??

The Balladeer seemed to read Ajax’s thoughts and scoffed, rolling his eyes as if Ajax had less brain cells than a hydro slime.

“I came in here to wash my hands,” he said, his tone full of exasperation. “Now, why don’t you tell me what you were about to do with this knife?”

Ajax suddenly found himself fumbling as words refused to come to mind. What was he supposed to say when he was just interrupted mid-killing himself?

“I, uh… was cleaning it…??”

Great job, Ajax. That didn’t even sound convincing to himself. Scaramouche rolled his eyes once again, looking more and more displeased by the second.

“Sure, sure, you were just about to clean your knife with your own blood,” he said with all the sarcasm in the world. Somehow, Scaramouche’s frown seemed to become even more disapproving, if that was even possible.

“Now, how do you suppose it would’ve made me look if I was the one to discover your lifeless body in the Tsaritsa’s palace? I will not have you ruin my perfect reputation as a Harbinger, pathetic excuse of an Eleventh.”

Suddenly, Ajax found himself being scolded like a child stealing a cookie from the fridge. Except Scaramouche was a very blunt, very cold, and very mean mother. Ajax stopped tuning in at some point when Scaramouche started to talk about how disappointed the Tsaritsa will be to hear about this, and oh shıt is he planning on telling the Tsaritsa what he did??

All of a sudden Ajax was paying full attention, but not to The Balladeer. His eyes zeroed in on the knife Scaramouche still held, dangling it in his fingers as he continued to scold Ajax. (Seriously, how is this guy still going?? Does he have some kind of dictionary built into his puppet brain?)

The Balladeer’s words fell on deaf ears as only one thought rang loud and clear in Ajax’s mind: The Tsaritsa will never find out what he did if he restarts the loop.

Scaramouche made a vague gesture as he spoke, the knife now dangling a little closer to Ajax. The young Harbinger silently sprinted forward without a word. Scaramouche was still talking when Ajax was suddenly in front of him, snatching the knife out of his palm. The Balladeer’s eyes widened with a mix of shock, confusion, and mild irritation as Ajax now loomed over him.

Scaramouche threw up his arms, ready to defend himself.

The blow that he expected never came.

Blood splattered across the floor with a wet splat, as well as on The Balladeer’s clothing. Ajax’s hands trembled, his white–tight knuckles clenched around the hilt of the knife. Scaramouche’s gaze slowly lowered to the bleeding wound in Ajax’s chest. The young Harbinger only remained standing for a second longer before he collapsed to the ground.

“...leventh…!”

Ajax thinks he can hear The Balladeer shouting something at him, but the world is starting to spin and his vision is blurring.

“...hey…! Can… hear me…?”

Ajax feels his body being moved by cold hands, or maybe it’s his body that’s cold. He can’t quite tell. Ajax coughs at the movement, blood spitting out and dripping down his chin.

“...Childe…!”

Ajax always thought that death would be painful. And at first, it was. The knife he buried deep into his own heart was as painful as the monster claws slashing across his back when he was a child in the Abyss. Feeling his own warm blood pour out and out of his body with no clear sign of stopping was terrifying, up until the point his vision went woozy and suddenly everything was numb. No longer did he feel the stabbing pains in his chest every time he inhaled, nor the dull throbbing of his heart rapidly beating in an attempt to pump more blood through his system. Even the bleary sight of The Balladeer’s face, which had gone from annoyed to concerned, didn’t stir up a reaction in Ajax. If he was in different circumstances, he had no doubt he would’ve been teasing Scaramouche for finally showing some kind of empathy for once.

Honestly, Ajax was highly doubtful that The Balladeer was actually concerned for him right now, despite the man’s hands suddenly coming up to fruitlessly try and stop the bleeding.

Yeah, he’s probably just worried that the Tsaritsa will fire him for not saving my life, Ajax thought. He would’ve laughed at that, but Ajax didn’t even have the energy to keep his eyes open for much longer.

“Hey, don’t you dare close your eyes right now! No, stop it right now! I– I order you to!” Scaramouche’s voice had quickly become panicked, as if he actually cared that Ajax was dying rather than the consequences that would come from his death. Despite Ajax only being half–conscious, the young Harbinger had a feeling that Scaramouche wasn’t really seeing Ajax right now. His eyes were looking past Ajax, at something only The Balladeer could see.

He must have lost someone before, Ajax realizes. Suddenly, a well of guilt stirs up within him. He shouldn’t have done that in front of Scaramouche. Clearly, he was reminding the man of his late loved one. But it was too late for Ajax to take back his actions. Another nasty cough forced blood out of his lungs, his fingers twitching involuntarily. Scaramouche said something again, but a ringing in Ajax’s ears prevented him from hearing anything. As the world faded into black around him, the pain and emotions he felt dissolved into unconsciousness. Until all that was left was a calm, quiet, emptiness.

Ajax wakes and all at once is filled with anguish, adrenaline, panic, and guilt. It takes everything he can to not immediately throw up all over himself. Ajax throws himself out of the bed he finds himself in, falling clumsily to the floor. Bamboo floors, he realizes. Ajax shifts himself on trembling arms, glancing up. The ceiling is sandbearer wood bordered by gold, dragons carved into the shiny metal. A familiar sense of dread fills him, immediately followed by confusion, then a deep anger. This was undoubtedly his bedroom. His bedroom in Liyue.

“I’m… still alive? But why…?”

Ajax turned around. That damned wooden box was on his desk again; like it was mocking him. Ajax had to physically haul himself out of his room before he did something drastic to that box, and his desk along with it.

———

Some time later, Ajax had calmed himself down, a mug of tea in hand and the artifact box across from him. After some thinking, he had quickly come to the conclusion that he felt bad for killing himself in front of The Balladeer. Yes, that had to be it. He felt guilty for reminding Scaramouche of painful memories, even if he wasn’t all that close with the man. Leave it to Ajax to be so sympathetic in his not–so–last moments. Well, it was too late to change his actions, so no point in feeling down over it. At least now, Ajax knew that all he had to do was kill himself on the other side of the palace, instead. (Far, far away from The Balladeer lest he stop him again.)

One dissociation session later, Ajax once again found himself in Snezhnaya. Once again, he presented his findings to the Tsaritsa, and once again he passed off the box to one of Dottore’s minions. Except this time, instead of going to his room, he went the complete opposite direction of it. The farther away he was from there, the better. At least here, he’d have less of a chance to run into The Balladeer again.

And of course, just when Ajax thinks he’s far away enough to relax, he’s spooked out of his wits when a gruff voice calls out his name.

“Tartaglia.”

Ajax slowly turned around at the name. Good news is, that wasn’t Scaramouche behind him. Bad news, it was Capitano behind him.

“Back from your mission in Liyue?” The Captain asks. Ajax nods. He doesn’t trust himself to not scream in frustration if he opens his mouth right now.

“I see. It’s good to have you back, Eleventh.” Capitano starts talking about some other things, Ajax isn’t really sure what because he’s starting to crash out a little inside.

By the time Ajax tunes back in, Capitano has been staring at him for a while now, his posture expectant. Ajax promptly realizes that he must’ve been asked a question, and he has no idea what it was. Capitano seems to notice the young Harbinger’s fluster and spares him the embarrassment.

“Sandrone is hosting another tea party today,” Capitano repeats. “It would be nice for us all to gather again now that you’re back. Would you like to join us?”

No thanks, I’m busy trying to die right now, Ajax wants to say. But instead, he blinks, and all of a sudden he finds himself being seated beside The Captain in a lavish room with snacks and tea before them. Arlecchino and Columbina are sitting across from the two men while Sandrone is at the head of the table, her companion Pulonia standing behind her.

“How was your mission, Tartaglia?” Arlecchino asks, making some small talk as she reaches for her teacup.

Absolutely terrible. I never want to see Liyue again.

“It was quite educational. I learned a lot about the gods and their legends.”

Arlecchino hums in acknowledgement and lets the conversation drop, satisfied with Ajax’s answer. Columbina and Sandrone seem to have gotten into an argument again, The Knave turning her focus to them. Once the attention is off of him, Ajax allows himself a small sigh of relief.

Ajax does not dislike the company of the other Harbingers, really. But right now, he’s far too tired to be playing charades around the Fatui, pretending to be the great Eleventh Harbinger Tartaglia he’s known to be, much less the playful Childe of Liyue. He’d drop the act if he could, but if he’s successful in breaking the loop this time around, they would remember “Ajax.” And there was no way he was allowing anyone to see him, much less the Fatui.

As the conversation around him continues, Ajax looks down at the teacup in his hands. The translucent liquid is a light brown color, ripples gently breaking the surface every time Sandrone angrily slams down her teacup. (Ajax’s reflection distorts with the ripples, and it reminds him of his current predicament. He looks away before he starts becoming queasy at the notion.)

A thought quickly comes to Ajax as he turns back towards the table, his gaze landing on the porcelain plates of tea snacks. Maybe I can leave this loop sooner than I thought.

Wordlessly, Ajax reaches into his pocket, slipping a small vial into his gloved hand. He spared a quick glance to the side, confirming that the other Harbingers were still distracted, their conversation topic now on Tevyat’s shape. (“Are you an idiot, or do you not have a brain in there at all??” Sandrone huffs to an unbothered Columbina. “If Tevyat was round, surely we’d all have fallen off by now!”)

Ajax took the window of opportunity. He uncorked the vial and threw the contents into his tea, resealing the empty vial and shoving it back into his coat. Capitano turned around. He was met with Childe’s friendly smile, laughing at something Columbina said. Nothing was amiss. Capitano turned back around.

Ajax’s gaze traveled back down to his cup. He squeezed the empty vial in his pocket before bringing his hand out, fingers resting against the teacup’s side. Growing up in the Fatui, young Ajax had quickly learned to never be defenseless no matter where he was. And if he was going somewhere that forbade weapons, then the best self defense was a small, undetectable vial of poison. It had certainly gotten Ajax out of a couple risky situations before, when his usual method of killing everyone in sight didn’t work out.

The poison in question was a special kind that Ajax learned to make back when he was in the Abyss with Skirk. It contained no scent, no color, and almost no elemental traces at all. It was the perfect poison to take out his enemies when needed; it was the perfect poison to take himself out of this loop.

Ajax glanced up to where a new scuffle was happening, this time Sandrone explaining the anatomy of a bird and how it could not in any way fit a camera inside for the Heavenly Principles to spy on people.

“But hey, what if they’re using some kind of elemental energy to spy on us? You never know,” Childe said with a waggish wiggle of his eyebrows, clearly attempting to stir up trouble. It worked.

Sandrone was halfway through another bird rant as Ajax brought the tea up to his lips. He only hesitated for a second before bringing it close and taking a slow sip. Ajax downed the cup in one gulp, leaving no traces of the poison behind.

And now, I wait.

Ajax wasn’t entirely sure how long the poison would take to kick in. He had never actually used it enough times to memorize the seconds it took for his targets to collapse. Ajax guessed it would be roughly about five minutes before he passed the point of no return.

A shadow fell over Ajax’s form, slightly startling him as he quickly pulled himself out of his thoughts. He turned around to see Pulonia looking down at Ajax, teapot in hand. Pulonia bent down, refilled Ajax’s tea, then stood back up and clomped away. Ajax listened as Pulonia’s heavy footsteps slowly faded away until he returned to The Marionette’s side.

That was close. I thought someone saw me, Ajax thinks, his shoulder’s sagging with relief. Tension that he didn’t even know was there slowly seeped from his body as the seconds ticked by, his imminent doom finally, finally, rolling closer. (As well as the chance to go home and see his dear family again.)

“Tartaglia,” Capitano’s voice calls out. Ajax quickly turns around to find Capitano gazing at him, expression thoroughly hidden behind that mask of his.

“You haven’t spoken much today. Are you feeling alright?”

Ajax opens his mouth to reply. A thick wave of nausea hits him all at once, and he barely manages to shut his mouth before he promptly gagged on air. Of course, now that someone is talking to him, the poison decides to take effect. Of course.

“If you did not feel like coming to today’s tea party, you could have told me sooner. I would not have extended an invitation to you if you were feeling under the weather,” Capitano says at Ajax’s silence (he prays that The Captain doesn’t notice his nausea, but he doubts the infuriatingly perceptive man wouldn’t notice).

“It’s nothing, really. I’m just a little tired after my mission, that’s all,” Tartaglia replies, flashing a playful grin. Ajax hopes (desperately prays) that The Captain doesn’t see through his mask.

“Just a little tired? Boy, you look like you’ve been constipated for five days,” a familiar voice scoffs. Ajax’s smile faltered. Across the table, Sandrone seemed to have decided that their conversation was interesting and chose to insert herself into it. The Marionette’s elegant posture and doll face made such a contrast to the foul words that came from her lips that Ajax almost thought he heard wrong.

“C–constipated?” he squeaked. A small flush came up his cheeks, though no one seemed to care about his embarrassment as the Harbingers all turned to face him.

“You’re not looking so well, Eleventh. Are you sick?” Columbina asked, her voice soft like a cloud. She didn’t sound entirely concerned to Ajax, though. She seemed more curious, like Ajax was a houseplant she forgot to water.

This isn’t good. If everyone’s attention is on me, they might notice the poison in time to do something about it.

“I assure you all, I’m perfectly fine like a pine in a dine on Wuwang Hill,” Childe says with a laugh, hoping that his horrid joke will distract everyone. Miraculously, it works.

“Fine like a pine in a– what now??”

“On a Waffle Hill, I believe,” Columbina supplies helpfully.

“There is no way that’s what Tartaglia said. Do you need to get your ears checked??” Sandrone scowls.

“Wuwang Hill,” Arlecchino steps in. “It’s a hill in Liyue rumored to be haunted by ghosts.”

“See, Columbina, you really need to get your ears checked, because in what universe did the Eleventh say anything remotely similar to waffle?!”

“Well, if you really think about it, Wuwang and waffle both start with W, so isn’t that kind of the same thing?”

“Why, you, Columbina–!!”

A cough interrupts Sandrone’s words. Both Harbingers turn around to where Capitano is already looking. Ajax is hunched over slightly, bangs falling around his face as his hand clutches onto his mouth. Ajax pulls his hand away with a shaky breath. Blood drips from his lips onto the silken table cloth below.

“Tartaglia.” Arlecchino sits up a little straighter, brows furrowed in concern.

Ajax weakly waves a hand at her, followed by a not–so–convincing, "I'm fine.”

“You don’t look very fine,” Arlecchino states. Ajax opens his mouth to tell her not to worry. Instead he chokes out more blood, which he barely manages to cover with his trembling hand. All at once, Ajax is collapsing out of his chair and Capitano is standing up and Sandrone is yelling something that Ajax doesn’t hear.

The ceiling lights are blinding. The world is a blur as colors smudge together.

Ajax decides it would be a good idea to close his eyes.

The other Harbingers don’t seem to agree.

“Tartaglia!”

A large hand pushes Ajax’s sweaty hair out of his face. The gloved hand lingers there for a moment before leaving. Already Ajax feels cold.

“His temperature is high and he’s concerningly pale,” Ajax hears Capitano say. “I don’t sense anything odd with the elemental energy around him, but this does not seem like a normal fever.”

Ajax feels the world rock and his migraine becomes infinitely worse. He thinks he might’ve groaned in pain, because suddenly the shaking becomes gentler, and Ajax feels okay enough to open his eyes a little.

Pulonia’s armored face greets Ajax’s weary eyes, the robot’s large frame shielding his gaze from the blinding lights. A gentle hand unexpectedly comes up to press against his neck, dainty fingers feeling his throat. Normally Ajax would’ve freaked out at that, the potential threat of an assassin never being zero in the palace. Columbina’s face comes into view as she carefully looks (can she even see?) at Ajax. His eyes meet her closed ones for a moment before she pulls away.

“His pulse is weak. And though it’s faint, I believe I sense poison in his system.”

Ajax feels his heart pound with panic. What? How did she sense it?!

A fresh wave of nausea hits Ajax and he nearly hurls his lunch all over himself. Pulonia senses the movement and rolls Ajax over in time for him to retch blood all over the floor. His head is pounding, his breaths shaky, and he feels too cold and too hot at the same time. He hears Sandrone yelling orders at Pulonia, but he can’t make out what she says when his head feels like it’s going to kill him any minute now.

Poison is a horrible way to go, Ajax thinks to himself as his eyes flutter shut. He doesn’t get the chance to think about anything else again as his systems shut down one by one.

Ajax opens his eyes. There’s something soft and painfully familiar cradling his head. His eyes meet a sandbearer ceiling with gold trims at the edges. Ajax sits up and turns around. There’s a wooden box on his desk bathed by morning light; the only wooden box he’s been seeing lately.

Ajax buries his face into his pillow and screams.

———

So Zapolyarny Palace was not the right way to go, Ajax now realizes. Both times now, his attempts there have failed miserably. Ajax never thought that the other Harbingers would try and save him like that, but apparently they would. Ajax doesn’t want to think about what that might mean about how they feel towards him, or how he feels towards them for that matter (he chooses to ignore the painfully warm feeling at the fact that they seem to actually care for him).

Ajax is starting to run out of ideas now, despite really only attempting twice to end the time loop. He knew he needed to get the artifact out of Liyue, and then he had to die, yet somehow every time he tried the second rule of regrets seemed to keep coming back for him.

I’ll just figure something out later, Ajax thinks as he stands up, grabbing his coat. First, I’ll deal with the artifact.

It’s nearly become a habit now for Ajax to easily find the first ship heading for Snezhnaya. The ride passes by quickly as he thinks of ways he can die without the Harbingers interfering. Perhaps… he can strip himself and stand in the cold snow until he freezes to death? Yeah, no, that already sounds like a horrible idea. Maybe Ajax can find some local wolves in the forest and let them tear him apart? The mere thought makes Ajax wince as ghost fangs piercing through his skin.

A cool ocean wind ruffles Ajax’s ginger locks, the salty breeze a refreshing breath of air to the Harbinger. Ajax’s eyes trail towards the sea, his gaze lingering on the deep blue waves around them. The ocean stretches for miles all around with no end in sight, foamy blue waves lapping at the surface.

An idea swiftly comes to mind as Ajax stares into the deep sea, which seems to go on forever and ever. If, say, one were to hypothetically leap into that great big sea, surely it’d be difficult for anyone to rescue that person, wouldn’t it? Especially if said person was a hydro vision bearer that could plummet themselves deep into the ocean by will.

Ajax doesn’t even realize it when his body hastily brings him to one of the Fatui on board, shoving the artifact into his confused hands with a quick mumbling to bring it to the Tsaritsa. Ajax makes a beeline for the edge of the ship, stopping only to look around the deck for a moment.

Too many people. Someone might jump in after me.

Ajax walks towards the back of the ship. Here, there doesn’t appear to be anyone around. Good, Ajax would be able to go quietly. He wasn’t entirely sure how painful drowning would be, but at this point he really couldn’t care less. As long as it got him out of this time loop, he’d be able to deal with it.

With a deep breath to calm his nerves, Ajax climbed over the railing and, without looking back, leapt into the great sea.

Ajax tightly shut his eyes as he broke through the surface, his hydro vision shielding him from the painful impact. He slowly opened his eyes as he began to gradually sink below the surface, the sunlight filtering through the water in various shades of pale blue. As a school of fish darted away from his sinking body and the bubbles around him rose to the surface, Ajax almost forgot what he had come here to do.

The ocean is beautiful, he thought to himself.

Ajax admired the view for only a second longer before remembering what he was here to do. Drawing power from his vision, Ajax swung his arms and swam further away from the ship, hoping to gain some distance. If anyone saw him, surely they’d be after him by now; and Ajax couldn’t allow them to easily rescue him.

The young Harbinger was so busy trying to create distance between himself and the ship that he didn’t notice the other larger ship looming just behind him. It was only when the vessel’s great shadow blocked out all the sunlight that Ajax turned around, eyes going wide as a panicked stream of bubbles shot out from his lips. Ajax barely maneuvered out of the way before he was steamrolled into a pancake by the massive boat. Ajax quickly found himself caught up in the currents, his body rolling around wildly like a bird in a tornado, except he was more like a fish caught in a swirling whirlpool.

The current finally ebbs away, the lingering force tumbling Ajax to the surface. The boy breaks through the water, gasping for air and coughing. Jeez, he may have wanted to die, but he didn’t want to die by being crashed into by a huge ship. The poor crew would have to scrape his body off of the hull if he didn’t pierce through it and drown everyone on board.

The loud waves crashing against Ajax paired with the cries of birds overhead rendered Ajax nearly deaf to the point that he doubted he could hear himself speak. But then Ajax heard a man’s voice yelling in the distance and suddenly he didn’t care at all for the loud ambience. Ajax turned around, and much to his horror, a man on board had noticed Ajax in the water. He was yelling something and pointing at Ajax, most likely calling for the other crew members to come over. Ajax wasted no time in dipping back below the surface before anyone could see him.

Ajax sped through the water like his life depended on it (ironically, it was the opposite). Thanks to his vision, Ajax had a good head start against the ship, already far away enough to easily make out the entire ship in his view. Unfortunately, the ship was starting to turn around and head for Ajax’s direction.

This isn’t good. I need to hurry up and drown myself before they pull me out!

Changing directions, Ajax drew more power from his vision and plummeted down into the sea, the light from the surface slowly fading away the lower he sank.

Ajax coughed and air escaped his lips in a stream of bubbles. Ajax, in his panic, had forgotten that science exists and was now being crushed by the sudden and immense pressure of the sea. His descent slowed as his focus on his hydro vision faltered, the excruciating pain of the sea’s weight stealing all his attention and breath away. Ajax grimaced as more air squeezed out of his lungs. With every second he spent down here, he felt like a giant hand was slowly crushing him in its grip, squeezing tighter and tighter until he burst. Ajax made the mistake of inhaling, and icy cold water flooded into his lungs.

Just… hold out until I die, Ajax reminds himself, even as the pain starts to become unbearable. The weight of Teyvat’s seas was not something a single mortal could carry.

Once I die, it’ll all be over… I won’t be stuck in this stupid loop… anymore…

Ajax feels something seeping into his brain, adrenaline maybe? Whatever it is, it makes the pain fade to numbness, the salty water in his lungs now feeling no different from the air he breathes. Ajax closes his eyes, letting the abrupt calm wash over him. Maybe this time, his last moments won’t be so painful.

…

There’s a rush of water around Ajax and the faint muted sound of multiple somethings crashing through the ocean’s surface.

Ajax opens his eyes.

Ajax opens his eyes wider because there is a giant fishing net on top of him and now it’s wrapping around him.

Ajax doesn’t even get a chance to react as he’s swiftly yanked out of the water as fast as his vision got him to sink. The sunlight becomes brighter and brighter as he’s hauled towards the surface like a fish and suddenly he breaks the surface, deafening crashing waves and bird cries piercing his ears as well as the heat of Liyuan air. The net hauls him all the way up and doesn’t stop until he’s deposited against the wooden floors with a wet thud.

Ajax rolls over and pukes salty water all over the deck.

There’s people around him clamoring, hands pulling at the net and orders being barked out. The ocean is loud, the birds are loud, these fishermen are loud, the drastic shift in pressure hurts, and Ajax thinks he’s one inconvenience away from passing out.

“The Snezhnayan diplomat?? What were you doing stranded in the middle of the ocean?”

A pair of boots appear in front of the net that Ajax is currently being untangled from. He looks up.

Ajax’s eyes are met with a sharp red eye and an eyepatch.

Captain Beidou…??

Ajax doesn’t get the chance to ask anything further. The young Harbinger promptly passes out, forehead kissing the deck.

Ajax wakes up in a familiar bed. This time, he’s not surprised in the slightest to smell the Liyuan air around him.

Right. I forgot falling asleep resets the loop too.

Ajax doesn’t even feel disappointed anymore to be waking up in his Liyue home; he’s starting to become a little numb to the feeling by now. Still, he takes a moment in bed to just… breathe for a minute. Sitting in the silence alone for just a short moment does wonders for his mood, and soon he’s thinking about his next course of action.

If I can’t die in Snezhnaya, and I can’t die by drowning, what else can I try…?

Ajax gets out of bed, taking the artifact box with him as he leaves his house. He makes a quick stop at Northland Bank and asks one of the Fatui soldiers, Felix, to deliver the artifact to Zapolyarny Palace.

Well, if all else fails, I suppose I should go for the classics and jump off a building.

One carriage ride later, Ajax finds himself at the tallest building he knows of in Liyue to jump from; Wangshu Inn.

“Hello sir! Room for one?” the receptionist asks upon seeing Ajax.

“Ah, no, just visiting a friend,” Childe says with a charming grin. The receptionist is quick to believe him and lets him go on. Ajax drops the smile as soon as he’s out of sight and heads straight for the stairs.

It’s a quick walk up for someone physically fit like Ajax, and in no time he’s on the highest balcony of the building, a gentle breeze blowing past him. The view of Liyue’s golden peaks and grassy fields from up here is a breathtaking sight, and Ajax almost regrets not visiting sooner. But then he remembers the second rule and all of a sudden the view isn’t really all that great.

Ajax walks towards the balcony’s edge, stopping just in front of a table and chair. An empty plate is on the table as well as a used spoon.

Someone must have been here recently, Ajax realizes. He needs to get this over with before they come back.

The motion of climbing over the railing is familiar as Ajax easily swings himself over, standing on the short ledge for a moment. Ajax looks out at Liyue’s scenery, at the trees swaying in the wind and the birds soaring overhead. It’s not a bad place to be having his last moments at.

Ajax inhales the crisp Liyue air, then exhales. Without much hesitation, Ajax steps forward and allows himself to free fall.

The wind howls against the boy’s ears, whipping his hair and clothes around in a frenzy. His brain sends a surge of panic through his system, but Ajax just bites it down and closes his eyes.

Just let me die in peace already, stupid brain! Or else we won’t get to sleep anymore.

Ajax tries to ignore the whistling winds and the knowledge that the ground is coming closer at lightning speeds to crumple his body apart. Instead, he thinks about Morepesok, his precious siblings that are waiting for him, and the nice, long nap he’ll have once he breaks this time loop. Ajax feels his muscles relaxing a little at that.

Suddenly, there’s a change in the sound of wind around him. Ajax peeks an eye open. Strangely enough, there’s a swirl of wind to his side much like that of an anemo user’s power.

Oh shit.

Ajax doesn’t get to react as he’s promptly slammed into by the anemo power, knocking any remaining breath out of his lungs. The cold anemo wraps around him as it veers to the side, leaping off Wangshu Inn’s walls and then off a tree branch before descending to the ground. When the movement stops, Ajax finally hazards a peek through his squeezed–shut eyes.

Ajax’s eyes go wide at the sight of a blue demon’s face staring down at him. The arms that Ajax didn’t realize were carrying him disappear and Ajax falls to the floor with an unceremonious thump.

“Are you an idiot?” the demon growls at Ajax, who’s busy wincing at his crushed butt. Ajax looks up and realizes very quickly that it wasn’t a demon who saved him. A hand comes up to push the mask out of the way, and icy yellow eyes pierce into Ajax’s blue ones.

“I got saved by the freaking Conqueror of Demons?” Ajax mutters incredulously. Never did he think that he would ever meet the Yaksha in such a situation.

“Do not mistake my actions for kindness. I am merely saving myself from the inconvenience of scraping your body off the ground,” Xiao growls.

“Now…”

The sound of metal against wind rings out as the tip of a spear is suddenly in front of Ajax’s nose.

“Why don’t you tell me what your real plans are, Abyssal creature?”

That certainly gets Ajax’s attention. The Harbinger’s eyes snap up to meet Xiao’s.

“How did you–??”

“You cannot fool me. Any adepti could easily sense the Abyssal energy clinging onto you; I doubt you’re even a real human. Tell me, what do you intend to do here? I will not allow the Abyss to destroy Liyue in any way.”

Ajax opens his mouth to speak, but then he remembers something.

Aren’t I literally trying to die right now?

Ajax looks down at the spear before him. Ajax looks back up.

He doesn’t give Xiao any opportunity to react as he suddenly grabs the spear and forces it towards himself. Unfortunately, the adeptus is quick to react and immediately swings his spear away. But not before Ajax is able to receive a shallow cut on his throat.

“You truly are insane,” Xiao hisses, eyes trailing the blood dripping down the Harbinger’s neck.

“Tsk. You’re faster than I thought,” Tartaglia mutters, disappointed that he wasn’t able to stab himself in time.

Well, that’s just fine. Who’s better at baiting a fight out of people than me?

Ajax lunges and Xiao steps back just in time to avoid hydro blades slicing the air where he stood. A maniacal grin spreads across Tartaglia’s face, the Yaksha’s frown deepening ever so slightly.

“You monsters disgust me,” Xiao growls. His spear has materialized in his hand, but he makes no move with it. “Just because Liyue Harbor has been recently attacked does not mean you insignificant beings have any chance at destroying it further.”

Ajax laughs at that, dredging up the worst “Tartaglia” has to offer. “And who do you think was the one to summon Osial?”

Oh, that was a bad idea, Ajax realizes as realization dawns on the Yaksha’s face, and Xiao’s eyes absolutely light with fury.

“I will have your head and present it to Lord Lapis for your sins!”

Xiao lunges faster than before, and Ajax barely manages to scurry away before his leg is sliced clean off.

“What Lord Lapis? Last I heard, he died at the hands of a mere mortal.”

Yikes, that was low even for Ajax. If he’s successful with breaking this loop, he’ll be sure to apologize a thousand– no, a million times, and he’ll offer his firstborn child to Xiao.

Ajax is quick to discover that Xiao is a formidable opponent. It’s not many times in life that Ajax has gotten the pleasure of fighting someone on par with him. If it weren’t for his current predicament, Ajax would be absolutely thrilled with this spar of theirs.

Xiao’s spear plunges forward. All Ajax needs to do is duck and swerve to the left before he’s given an opening to counterattack.

Ajax ignores that train of thought and instead twists to the right.

“Agh!!”

Ajax cries out in pain as Xiao’s spear skewers his stomach, tearing through his skin like paper. The spear is gone as soon as it came and Ajax crumples to the ground.

Ajax is too busy bleeding all over the ground to see Xiao approaching him.

“You’re… human? But how? The abyssal energy… it’s completely fused with you.”

Ajax glances up at Xiao. The adeptus is staring back at Ajax with shock and confusion (there might be thinly veiled regret as well, but Ajax decides that it must be false).

As Ajax watches the Yaksha, something in his face changes, as if he’s made up his mind about something. Xiao bends down beside Ajax, seemingly assessing the wound.

“I have made a grave mistake. Although you have admitted to many sins, I should have checked first that you were telling the truth. In my error, I have failed to fulfill my duty and protect the mortals of this land.”

Huh? What is he talking about?

Xiao reaches out, and all of a sudden Ajax is being lifted into the air, carefully so as not to disturb the wound.

“Clearly, you must have been possessed by an abyssal creature of some sort. After all, no mortal could possibly survive with this amount of abyssal energy.”

“Wait, what–”

Ajax doesn’t get to speak as a flurry of anemo surrounds them, whipping the words out of his mouth. In a flash, the sunny skies and grassy fields outside Wangshu Inn are gone, now replaced by the interior of a wooden building.

“Oh, the adeptus is back!” an older woman says upon entering the room. Her eyes widened at the sight of a bleeding Ajax in Xiao’s arms.

“Please administer first aid to this man,” Xiao says, setting Ajax down on his feet. The woman is already by their side, dragging Ajax with her to sit down.

“Goodness, how did you get like this, young man? You adventurers ought to be more careful out there!”

Ajax is left stunned as the woman zips about the room, bringing back bandages, then ointment, then soup, and even a blanket at some point. Xiao stands in the corner of the room, silently watching. Ajax doesn’t notice when, but sometime or other Xiao had cleaned the blood off of himself.

“Venerable Yaksha, please watch over the young man. I will go fetch fresh water to clean his wounds.”

The elderly woman and Xiao exchange a nod before she leaves with an empty bin in hand. Ajax is left sitting in awkward silence as Xiao stares out the window, neither acknowledging the other. The silence only breaks when Xiao finally decides to speak to Ajax.

“When you are fully recovered, I will be interrogating you for answers. Don’t think I’m letting you go that easily.”

The adeptus turns away to face Ajax, his expression indecipherable as he observes the Harbinger. Ajax almost gulps nervously at the prolonged eye contact.

The staring contest only breaks when there’s the sound of slow, heavy footsteps outside the room. Xiao glances towards the doorway, lingering for a moment before getting up.

“Let me help you with that,” Ajax hears Xiao say as he exits the room.

“Oh, don’t you worry about me! You adepti work hard enough as is! Let this old woman do just one chore for you.”

“I insist. It is no trouble at all.”

When it becomes clear that the two won’t be coming back any time soon, Ajax wastes no time scrambling out of bed. The boy reaches for the cabinet, pulling out what he recognizes to be sleeping pills.

Yeah, there’s no way I’m gonna be able to break the loop this time around. Might as well restart peacefully this time.

Ajax pops open the lid, and down the hatchet the pills go.

Upon waking, Ajax immediately hands off the artifact to a Fatui soldier as soon as he steps foot outside his insufferable Liyuan house.

No Zapolyarny, no Snezhnaya, no ocean, not even Wangshu Inn. Where the heck am I supposed to go this time??

Ajax only contemplates the issue for a few minutes before he decides on something, subconsciously nodding at the thought.

Right. I’ll just go with the classics again. Surely, an accident in the mountains isn’t anything new to Teyvat.

Ajax makes his way to a random mountain outside of Liyue Harbor, making sure he is far away from any settlements (or adepti domains for that matter). At some point he doesn’t even know where he is anymore, which is perfect. Surely no one would find him out here if he himself didn’t know either.

Ajax only needs to wander the wild for a short moment before quickly finding a hilichurl camp. A small one, Ajax will admit, but good enough for an accident to take place. Ajax unsheaths his hydro blades, the sound quickly drawing the attention of the monsters. Hilichurls jump up with snarls, the two mitachurls hauling their axes off the ground with a ferocious roar. A grin spreads across Ajax’s face at the sight of the monsters running towards him.

Perfect.

The first hiluchurl makes it to Ajax, and he promptly slices it in half, the monster’s body dissolving into black ash upon death.

The small fry won’t do. Only a monster as big as a mitachurl will make for a believable accident.

Ajax fends off the hilichurls that swing their clubs at him, his twin blades parrying them back with ease. At the very least, if Ajax is going to be dying here, he gets to go down with a satisfying fight. Soon, the first mitachurl makes its way towards Ajax, its large arms clambering to swing its axe at the Harbinger.

Ajax closes his eyes, waiting for the blazing axe to make its lethal blow.

“Starfall!!”

…Huh??

Ajax opens his eyes. He watches as the mitachurl is abruptly shoved backwards by a boulder jutting out of the ground, geo crystals flying out of the structure. Ajax turns around just in time to see a familiar blonde traveler leap over the boulder and bring down her sword on the mitachurl.

“Childe! Snap out of it and pick up your sword!” the loud screeching voice belonging to Paimon screams. Ajax finds himself obeying the flying dumpling, summoning his hydro blades once again.

Lumine leaps back as more hilichurls come running, some of them now sporting shields with their clubs. Before he knows it, the Harbinger is quickly pulled into a 2 v 8 fight, the traveler slashing her way through the monsters while Ajax defends her back. The duo makes quick work of the hilichurl camp, and soon the final mitachurl is collapsing to the ground with a thud, black dust fading into the wind.

It’s silent for a few moments, the traveler and Ajax both catching their breaths and sheathing their weapons.

“Childe! What are you doing out here? And why were you spacing out in the middle of a fight?!” Paimon asks, her squeaky voice full of curiosity and a little bit of concern.

“Traveler, Paimon! It’s good to see you again! How have you been doing these days? I heard you were leaving for Inazuma soon!” Childe skillfully deflects, plastering on a charming smile. Lumine doesn’t fall for it. Paimon does.

“We were planning on staying for a few more days before we leave!” Paimon explains cheerfully. “The Traveler and I were out looking for wild herbs for a merchant when we happened to hear you fighting out here!”

Paimon’s expression scrunches up in ponder before she suddenly gasps, clenching her tiny fists in offense.

“Hey! You didn’t answer Paimon’s question, you– you weasel!!”

“Weasel? Well, that’s a new one! Most tend to call me Fatui scum!” Childe laughs awkwardly, hoping to calm the angry flying bao. Behind Paimon, Lumine’s expression has changed to one of concern.

Ah, here we go again.

“You’re not hurt anywhere, are you? You almost got hit by that monster,” Lumine says. Paimon’s anger quickly transforms into worry at the traveler’s implication.

“Oh no! Are you sick, Childe? Why would you be fighting monsters while you’re ill?”

“Ahaha, don’t worry about me, really. I was just momentarily distracted, that’s all!” Childe insists, waving his hand dismissively. “If I really were ill, I wouldn’t be working, now, would I?”

Lumine’s shoulders slump slightly at Childe’s insistence, but a look of doubt remains in her eyes. Ajax hopes that she’ll drop the topic now, since Paimon seems ready to. But of course, nothing can go Ajax’s way today, as it has been for the past few todays he’s been through.

“Let us take you to Bubu Pharmacy,” Lumine suggests. “Just in case, you should get checked over by a doctor.”

“The Traveler is right! You should come with us!” Paimon agrees, nodding enthusiastically. “And maybe while we’re at it, we can stop at some food stalls along the way!”

“Ahaha, you shamelessly chase after my wallet even now, Paimon?” Childe teases, a small laugh escaping his lips. “But really, there’s no need. I wouldn’t want to distract you and the traveler from your duties. Aren’t you out here collecting herbs for a merchant?”

“Oh, that’s right!” Paimon exclaims, eyes widening at the recollection. Paimon turns towards Lumine.

“Hmm, well, if he’s absolutely sure that he’s okay, why don’t we leave, Traveler?”

Lumine glances over at Childe, eyebrows furrowed as she contemplates Paimon’s suggestion.

Please leave, Ajax prays in his mind.

“...I don’t–”

Before Lumine can finish her sentence, a snarl interrupts their conversation. All three of them snap their attention towards the sound. A weakened samachurl is standing amidst the dead monsters, leaning against its staff. The samachurl waves the staff and starts to chant incantations.

“Ahh! There’s still one alive?!” Paimon screams. Ajax and the traveler both draw their weapons, but the samachurl’s spell is already underway. Suddenly there’s a flash of green, and Ajax looks down to find thick vines wrapping around both his and the traveler’s legs.

Ajax slashes at the vines, jumping back before they can grow back.

“Eek! There’s another one!” Paimon screeches, Ajax’s gaze snapping up.

Lumine is stabbing at the vines, but they grow back faster than she can cut them down. And behind her, much to his and Paimon’s horror, a lawachurl is making its way over, its heaving stomps growing louder as it approaches.

Ajax rushes to the traveler’s side, bringing his hydro blades down and slicing away the vines as fast as he can. Paimon floats down and pulls at them with her hands (she doesn’t help much, but it’s the thought that counts). Ajax quickly glances up as the lawachurl abruptly roars, the trees around them quaking as the monster imbues itself with geo energy.

The lawachurl lowers its head and charges for Lumine.

“Traveler!!” Paimon screams.

Ajax doesn’t think as he sprints forward, hydro blades dissolved away. In one swift motion Ajax stands between the traveler and the rapidly approaching lawachurl. Arms wrap tightly around the traveler, her head pulled protectively into his chest. Lumine stiffens as she glances up at the Harbinger.

“Childe–!!”

The ground rumbles with the lawachurl’s stomps. Ajax squeezes his eyes shut.

Ajax wakes up again. The ghost feeling of sharp horns stabbing into his back fades after a few minutes of deep breathing in bed.

He doesn’t spare a moment of rest as he hands off the artifact and walks off to Archons–know–where.

Ajax doesn’t know where he got the rope from that he’s suddenly holding. He doesn’t bother trying to remember. Ajax makes a familiar knot with the rope and slings it over a tree. He steps onto a hydro platform of his making and slips the loop over his head.

…

Ajax is promptly lying on the floor with a torn rope in his hand and Hu Tao’s arms around his body. He vaguely registers her saying something about how she doesn’t need any new Fatui customers at the moment before he closes his eyes.

The next time Ajax wakes up, he goes in the opposite direction as before. The Harbinger walks into Northland Bank, where he’s greeted by his subordinates upon arrival. Ajax heads for his office, making sure to announce that he will be very busy today and would like to be left undisturbed. Ajax locks the door before hastily tying the same knot once again, making sure it’s tight when he tugs on it.

Ajax hangs the rope on a wooden ceiling beam and drags over his office chair. Ajax slips the rope over his neck and kicks away the chair.

…

Apparently Ajax did not lock the door properly, because Ekaterina comes inside his office and screams, to which Andrei and company rushes inside. Ajax finds himself falling to the ground as Vlad slashes the rope.

The last thing Ajax feels before he closes his eyes is multiple arms on his body, lifting him up as voices are yelling for a doctor and someone is assuring him that everything will be okay.

Ajax does not go anywhere near any Fatui headquarters this time around. Instead, Ajax goes as far away from the Fatui he can get in Liyue Harbor. The boy soon finds himself at the top of Bubu Pharmacy’s steep steps, the place a quiet change from the harbor’s bustling streets.

Ajax approaches the counter and asks to be examined. A small child going by the name Qiqi leads him to a room behind the counter.

As soon as the child leaves Ajax pries open the cabinets and makes himself a concoction of poisons and drugs, whatever he can find that looks even somewhat lethal.

Ajax is halfway done chugging the contents when arms suddenly wrap around his body and squeeze his stomach. Ajax vomits the poisons as Baizhu lowers him to the floor, gently thumping his back to stimulate the process of throwing up the drugs. Baizhu says something about how many zeroes are in the prices of those medicines before Ajax passes out.

Third time’s the charm, Ajax thinks this time. In his desperation he tries going back to Zapolyarny palace one more time, avoiding both the Scaramouche side and the Capitano side, ending up somewhere in the middle.

Ajax runs headfirst into The Doctor Dottore himself. Dottore starts saying something about how wonderful it is to see Tartaglia again, and if maybe he doesn’t mind participating in one of his completely harmless experiments for the sake of their benevolent Tsaritsa’s goal.

Ajax doesn’t bother letting The Doctor finish before he grabs the nearest Fatui guard’s sword and slashes himself with it.

Ajax stays in Liyue Harbor. He avoids the Fatui, Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, and Bubu Pharmacy. Ajax finds a random alleyway that nobody spares a glance at and heads inside. Ajax finds a discarded wine bottle on the ground and smashes it before slamming the jagged side into his lower torso.

Ajax doesn’t even bleed onto the floor yet when an elderly merchant happens to round the corner and gasps at the sight of Ajax bleeding out. The old man rushes over to press a jacket into the wound, yelling for the Milileth to come over. Ajax already blacks out before any Milileth respond to the merchant’s cry for help.

Ajax decides that there are too many people who know him in Liyue; and people who don’t, but are meddling and nosy like there’s no tomorrow (which there isn’t, for Ajax). Ajax takes a ship back to Snezhnaya, but instead of going to Zapolyarny Palace he goes back to Morepesok. When Ajax opens the door and his siblings run up to him with cries of joy and a million questions, for a second he thinks he feels something in his chest. Just for a second. It goes away after his parents enter the room and ask him how Liyue had been.

Ajax doesn’t get the chance to be alone for a long time. His siblings don’t stop asking him questions, his parents are trying and failing to catch up with their son, and his older brother is asking him to help prepare dinner tonight.

Ajax can’t bring himself to say no and he finds himself peeling potatoes in the kitchen, the movement as habitual as brushing his teeth. His older brother leaves for a moment to fetch more carrots for the curry and asks Ajax to watch the stove.

Ajax glances at the kitchen knife for a second. It’s one second too long.

Tonia wraps her arms around Ajax and tells him to leave the cooking to their older brother today.

Tonia doesn’t leave his side for the rest of the day. Ajax falls asleep to Tonia’s arms wrapped around him, Teucer on the other side, and Anthon on top of him.

Ajax wakes up to sandbearer wood ceilings trimmed with gold. The gold is etched with Liyuan dragons and geo symbols.

Ajax stays in bed for a long time.

He doesn’t get up even when the sun starts to grow brighter and shift across the room.

…

I tried to kill myself in front of my siblings.

…

…

My siblings.

…

…

…

Ajax turns around. A wooden box sits on his desk, bathed in morning light. The artifact’s wooden box.

…

…

…

…

Ajax throws the box across the room with a painful, agonizing scream.

All Ajax can see is red as he destroys everything in sight.

———

Ajax sits on the couch in his living room wrapped in a blanket. A mug of tea sits on the table in front of him, but he doesn’t touch it. The maids have bandaged his hands for him and started to throw away the splintered furniture he demolished.

Ajax sits silently on the couch without a word. He doesn’t reach for the tea, nor does he glance out the window. He just sits there by himself for a long time.

The silence is interrupted when a maid enters the room with a timid bow.

“Master Childe. A guest has arrived requesting to see you.”

“...”

“Master Childe…?”

“Send them away.”

“T–the thing is… she’s from the Qixing.”

“I don’t care. Send her away,” Ajax snarls. The maid flinches.

“Please don’t be angry at your servants. I’m the one who insisted on coming inside despite being told no.”

There’s the sound of footsteps as someone walks closer to the Harbinger. Ajax finally decides to look up.

Ganyu stands before Ajax, black horns delicately curling around her fluffy blue hair. Her doe eyes are fixed on Ajax, traveling down to his bandaged fingers, then back up to his face.

“I shall leave you be. Would you like me to bring some tea?” the maid asks.

“Oh, no, it’s alright. I won’t be here for long,” Ganyu insists. The maid nods and leaves the room. Ganyu sits down on the couch across from Ajax.

Silence descends upon the room as Ajax chooses to remain silent, eyes vacantly staring at the table. Ganyu fiddles with her hands at the awkward silence, an unspoken tension filling the space between them.

When it becomes evident that Ajax has no intention to speak, Ganyu makes the first move.

“Master Childe.” Ganyu speaks gently, carefully. Ajax glances up at the call, and the adeptus takes that as her cue to continue.

“Have you gone anywhere… dangerous, lately? Or perhaps, somewhere eerie?”

“Why?”

Ganyu shifts in her seat, as if she is nervous to bring up her next words.

“When I walked past your house this morning, I could feel an ominous energy coming from inside. That is why I came to you. I am not here on official Qixing business, but as the adeptus Ganyu.”

Ganyu stands up, approaching Ajax slowly. She walks until she’s standing in front of him, then lowers herself.

“There is an oppressive energy clinging to you. It is not malicious, but it is harming you. If you know what may be causing it, please tell me. I know we are not very close, but I wish to help you with this matter.”

Ajax glances down to where Ganyu is kneeling; her eyes are truthful and kind. For a second, Ajax feels something warm flutter in his chest. But it goes away as quick as it came (he knows she won’t be able to help him despite her insistence).

“If I told you to kill me, would you do it?”

“H-huh?”

Ganyu’s eyes widened in shock at Ajax’s words. Her violet–yellow eyes search his expression, but the Harbinger gives away no context to his words.

“...No, I would not,” Ganyu finally answers. Ajax huffs, as if to say, “I thought so.”

“Then there is no need for you to be here any longer.” Ajax stands up, the blanket around him falling carelessly to the ground; Ganyu quickly follows suit. At his full height, Ajax nearly towers over Ganyu’s smaller frame. However, the dead–tired look in Ajax’s eyes and the slight slump of his shoulders give no intimidation to his height at all.

“But… the energy…”

“I will deal with it myself. Now, please leave.”

Ganyu tries to protest, wants to stay and help Ajax, but she takes one look at his eyes and it’s clear to her just how exhausted he is.

“...Okay,” Ganyu finally says, quietly.

Ajax watches as Ganyu departs his home, standing there until he hears the front door shut behind her.

As soon as she’s gone Ajax heads for the bathroom, pulls out the first prescription bottle he sees, and downs the pills.

Ajax wakes up to sandbearer wood ceilings trimmed with gold. The gold is etched with Liyuan dragons and geo symbols.

…

Ajax doesn’t think he wants to get up today.

(Or ever again.)

———

It’s long past noon by the time Ajax finally gets out of bed. He doesn’t know what compels him to get up, but he does. By habit, Ajax’s body subconsciously brings him to Northland Bank. He should probably give the artifact to someone and have them deliver it to Zapolyarny Palace.

Ajax keeps the artifact in his pocket and leaves.

(He’s given the same order to the Fatui over and over by now. He thinks he might really lose his mind for good if he has to say those words again.)

Ajax blinks. He finds himself wandering the streets of Liyue. He doesn’t know when he got here, but it’s a pleasant distraction from the turmoil in his mind. Ajax allows his body to lead him down the road, the ramblings of merchants and the sizzling of grills filling his ears.

Liyue Harbor is always busy no matter the time of day; it’s something Ajax quickly learns after living here so long. Merchants are always busy moving their goods, pitching sales, and gossiping on the streets. Where there are no restaurants, vendors set up shop, temporary stoves on wheels making it easy for them to pick a new spot every night. On more than one occasion already Ajax had found himself being roped in by an elderly merchant insisting he buy some fresh fruit for himself and perhaps take a look around while he’s here; and left fifty thousand mora lighter.

The memories are fond ones for the young Harbinger, and he thinks he’ll miss Liyue Harbor once he returns to Morepesok (if he ever will).

Ajax, caught up in his reminiscing, doesn’t notice someone approaching him, and he bumps shoulders with the civilian.

“Sorry about that,” Ajax mumbles, and on his way he continues. He wouldn’t be surprised if the civilian yelled at him to watch where he was going or something along those lines, but he was too tired to deal with that right now. Hopefully he could just shoot them a classic Tartaglia glare and they’d leave him alone.

Instead, Ajax feels a hand wrap around his wrist, stopping him in his tracks.

“Childe?”

Ajax feels his blood freeze.

He turns around and comes face to face with familiar amber eyes lined in red.

“Zhongli,” Ajax breathes.

The two men stand there for a moment, taking each other in. Ajax hasn’t seen Zhongli since… how long has it been, actually? He’s been in this time loop for so long, he doesn’t know how much time has actually passed for everyone else. Ajax wracks his brain, trying to think of when he last saw the consultant…

Ah. That’s right. Signora.

A flood of unpleasant memories resurface as Ajax recalls the gnosis trade at Northland Bank.

I forgot I was avoiding him after the incident. He may not have seen me in a few days, but for me it’s been several months now.

“Childe, you…” Zhongli’s words trail off as the concern in his eyes quickly become alarm and panic the longer he stares at the Harbinger.

“You what? Seen better days? I know,” Childe scoffs. He’s sure that there must be deep, drooping bags beneath his eyes that could carry the weight of the Exuvia itself. Ajax doesn’t particularly find himself caring, not when he knows everyone will have forgotten about them tomorrow.

“Childe, what have you gotten yourself into? The energy around you is terribly suffocating.”

Zhongli is frowning, brows furrowed together as he stares at the Harbinger. Ajax feels his heart flutter at the sight for a second.

(He wants to believe that Zhongli is genuinely concerned for him. But Zhongli used him. Why should he care about Ajax at all?)

“Childe.”

Ajax looks up. Zhongli is looking at him.

“Please come with me. I will help you be rid of this foul energy.”

Ajax doesn’t have the energy to say no. The boy allows himself to be led down the streets of Liyue until Zhongli brings him to a house in Yujing Terrace.

Zhongli’s home is, of course, extravagant and well–decorated. Priceless artworks hang from the walls, ancient artifacts proudly displayed on podiums in the hallways. The architecture is unmistakably Liyuan, traditional to a fault. Ajax doesn’t think there’s any other house out there that is a better fit for the archon.

Zhongli leads Ajax to the living room, seating him on the couch. It doesn’t take long for Zhongli to procure two cups of tea, setting them down on the table before the two.

“Childe,” Zhongli says once the two have been properly settled in. “Can you tell me what happened to make this energy cling to you?”

“Fucked with the wrong god, I suppose,” Ajax laughs, but there’s no real emotion behind it.

Ajax is tired. Ajax is so, so tired. He supposes that’s why it slips out of his mouth so easily. His mission to collect the artifact, the way he tried to go to bed but woke up repeating the same day. Ajax doesn’t tell Zhongli the details of his time loops, but it seems the old Archon easily picks up on the implication.

“Oh, Childe. How you have gotten this far is beyond me. Most mortals wouldn’t have lasted over a week.” There’s something in Zhongli’s eyes that looks a little like pity; Ajax decides not to dwell on it further.

“Yeah, well, I’m not most mortals, am I? I’m the great Eleventh Harbinger Tartaglia, bloodthirsty warrior of Snezhnaya.”

Ajax fiddles with the tea cup in his hands, but he doesn’t bother to drink it. It’s started to go cold by now, the warmth having seeped into the boy’s hands.

“The fact that you are even able to talk to me so clearly is a miracle in itself,” Zhongli says with a shake of his head. The artifact box is sitting in the Archon’s hands, lid opened; Ajax had given it to him at some point during his explanation of the cursed thing. (He was glad to have it off his hands, even if he hadn’t really held it very often.)

Zhongli looks away from the artifact to face Ajax once more.

“Childe. You said that in order to break the loop, you had to leave the artifact in safe hands, resolve your regrets, and then perish, correct?”

Ajax nods. Zhongli hums in thought at the confirmation, glancing back down at the box in his hands.

“Well, as the former Geo Archon, I’d say I am a safe enough place to keep the artifact, wouldn’t you agree?”

The indication doesn’t go unnoticed by Ajax. The Harbinger sits up a little straighter, suddenly feeling a bit more energized than before.

“You mean… you can break the time loop for me?”

There’s more vulnerability in Ajax’s words than he’d like, but he can’t be bothered to care anymore. The prospect of finally being freed from this god–forsaken loop, of finally being able to rest and sleep and go home, is almost enough to make him cry right here and now.

(He wouldn’t actually, though, he thinks. Not in front of Rex Lapis Morax himself.)

“I can certainly try,” Zhongli says. Those words alone are enough for Ajax to nearly collapse with relief.

“However.”

Zhongli’s expression turns grim, lips pressed into a small frown.

“I cannot guarantee that you will survive.”

“...Oh.” Ajax blinks.

“That’s… that’s all?”

Zhongli looks up with widened eyes.

“Childe, this is a serious matter. I can help you break the loop, but not even I am aware of whether you’ll live through the ordeal.”

“Zhongli.”

Ajax’s tone is unlike any Zhongli’s ever heard from the boy, and it makes the Archon stiffen. That, paired with the exhausted look in the Harbinger’s eyes, renders Zhongli silent as he awaits the boy’s next words.

“You of all people must know how tired I am.”

Ajax looks up. His darkened blue eyes meet the Archon’s conflicted amber ones.

“I really don’t care anymore whether I live or not. As long as the loop ends. That’s all I want, Zhongli.”

Rex Lapis has no doubt that Ajax is telling the truth.

That is what the old Archon is fearing the most.

“I cannot make this decision for you, Childe. Are you truly sure you wish to go through with this?”

“Yes.”

The lack of hesitance deepens the frown on Zhongli’s face. But he has no choice other than to accept the boy’s words.

“Then if you insist, may my words be bound by stone. I, Rex Lapis of Liyue, will aid Childe of the Fatui in escaping this ancient time loop.”

Zhongli’s signature spear materializes in his hand, and Ajax almost feels a small shiver at the hum of energy emanating from it.

Ah. It’s finally happening.

“I will make this quick. I promise it will not hurt.”

Zhongli hesitates. His eyes bear the look of someone that’s had to do this before too many times.

“It’s okay, I can do it myself,” Ajax says, standing up to meet Zhongli’s height.

“No. You should not have to do this. You never should have had to do this so many times at all.” Zhongli shakes his head pitifully. He hurts for Ajax, for this poor mortal that’s had to go through so much pain because of Liyue. Because of him.

Childe would never have had to collect that artifact if my wishes didn’t drag him to Liyue, Zhongli thinks. It hurts his heart to admit it.

“If you insist, then I won’t stop you,” Ajax replies. The boy steps forward, until the spear is resting against his chest.

Zhongli can’t find any fear in the Harbinger’s eyes. The realization only pains him further.

“I will do everything I can to ensure your survival,” Zhongli promises softly. Ajax lets out a small laugh at that.

“I trust you, Zhongli.”

Ajax closes his eyes.

Zhongli swings the blade.

———

Ajax wakes up to a birch ceiling adorned with geo carvings. Vermillion red stone lines the edges and trails down into thin pillars against the walls.

Ajax sits up in the dark room. The sheets on his body are softer than his own; they also hide the bandages he just now notices are wrapped around his bare chest.

A window is on the far wall from Ajax, curtains drawn closed. There’s the distant sound of birds singing and harmonizing with one another. Ajax crawls out of bed, ignoring the ache in his muscles. He limps across the room until he’s in front of the window, taking a moment to lean against the wall and rest his aching body.

Ajax draws the curtains open. Pale, golden light swallows the room, bathing Ajax’s body in the rays. The sky is a greyish blue hue, fading into a dusty yellow where the mountains meet the sky.

“Never look directly at the sun, or you’ll lose your sight,” Ajax remembers being told in school. He ignores the words and stares straight ahead at the gap between the rocky mountains. Bright golden light shines through Liyue’s peaks, dotting the city and Ajax with thin beams of light. The longer Ajax watches, the clearer it becomes that the sun is going up.

Dawn.

The sun rises for Liyue Harbor. The sun rises for Snezhnaya. The sun rises for Teyvat.

The sun rises for Ajax.

If a maid comes by to bring breakfast for Ajax, and she opens the door to the young boy slumped to the ground sobbing into his arms, then no one needs to know.

Epilogue 𓂃 ོ⋆☀︎𓂃ᨒོ 

Zhongli sits on his couch. His hands are neatly folded together on his lap, knees pressed together and back straight.

He’s never been more nervous in his ex–archon life.

A door quietly clicks open. Zhongli springs up from the couch.

“Shh.” Baizhu places a finger over his lips. Zhongli stands with a held breath as Baizhu turns around, carefully shutting the door behind him.

The breath that Liyue doesn’t know it held is exhaled.

“How is he?” Zhongli asks, keeping his voice low. It does nothing to mask the worry in his tone.

“He’s been stabilized. If all goes well, he’ll wake up tomorrow morning with a sore body.

Zhongli sighs a deep, relieved sigh, sinking back onto the couch with slumped shoulders.

“Thank archons,” he whispers. Baizhu carries his medical tray to a nearby assistant, allowing him to take the tools away. The doctor removes his gloves and discards them before joining Zhongli on the couch.

“I must say, it isn’t every day that I’m rudely awakened and practically dragged out of bed by a knowledgeable consultant of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.”

Zhongli winces slightly at the words.

“I apologize. It was an emergency. And I was… quite panicked.”

Panicked and deathly afraid that his first companion in a long time was about to die to his hands, Zhongli doesn’t say.

“Panic is an understatement, my friend. Never have I ever been threatened by a secluded adeptus to save a Snezhnayan diplomat lest I face ‘the wrath of the rock.’”

Zhongli slides over a fresh pot of tea. Baizhu doesn’t miss the way Zhongli guiltily coughs into his fist.

“Well, now that I have stabilized the patient’s condition, mind explaining just how he got into this predicament?”

Zhongli’s expression turns gloomy at the question, his eyebrows pinching together.

“It’s a bit of a lengthy story,” Zhongli says.

“I have all night to listen,” Baizhu replies.

Zhongli explains the situation; from meeting Childe on the street, to the boy’s explanation of the artifact, to Zhongli’s promise to help him end the loop. Baizhu does not interrupt the Archon, instead quietly sipping his tea as he takes in the information.

“That’s quite the dilemma the diplomat has gotten himself into,” Baizhu finally says once Zhongli finishes recounting the story. Zhongli nods in agreement to the doctor’s words.

“I will have to check on his mental health once he wakes,” Baizhu notes. “I’m sure the whole ordeal has left significant damage to his mental state; I would be surprised if he wasn’t.”

The two men sit in silence for a short while, Baizhu sipping his tea and Zhongli lost in thought.

“He must have been in so much pain,” Zhongli murmurs, almost to himself. At those words, Baizhu sets down his teacup.

“You said he struggled to break the time loop because he didn’t know what regrets he had to resolve?” Baizhu asks. Zhongli gives a clarifying nod.

“Childe is strong, especially for a mortal. It’s a shame he’s so dense that he can’t figure out that the people around him care for him,” Zhongli says, laughing slightly at that.

“He must not have realized how much he cared for them, either. I reckon one of his many regrets was not spending more time with those people,” Baizhu mused.

“Of course, that includes you as well, Mister Zhongli.”

“...Pardon me?”

Baizhu raises a brow. “Don’t tell me you couldn’t tell either?”

At Zhongli’s blank stare, Baizhu can’t help but let out a sigh.

“Clearly, you two must have had some kind of fight before all this, am I right? Despite that, Master Childe still values you as a close friend. He tried to be angry with you but couldn’t. Do you get it now, consultant?”

Zhongli stares at the table, deep in thought as he mulls over Baizhu’s words. Baizhu almost wants to laugh at the sight; the great, knowledgeable Zhongli, unable to process such a simple fact.

“Once he is fully recovered, you should have a long talk with him. Sort out your problems and realize that your friendship is strong.”

Baizhu stands up, Zhongli quickly following suit when he notices.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to rest for a few hours. At least until Master Childe wakes up and I have to check him over.”

“Of course. Please head down this way to the guest rooms. I’ll be… staying here. In case he wakes up.”

Baizhu walks past Zhongli, who is starting to sit back down. Before the doctor disappears around the corner, he pauses, turning back towards the archon.

“Mister Zhongli.”

The man in question turns at the call.

“You need to do a better job at hiding your identity, Morax.”

Zhongli blinks.

Baizhu laughs and heads down the hallway. Tomorrow will be an exhausting day, that he’s sure of. But at the very least, it’s sure to be an interesting day with these two fools around.