Chapter Text
“A companion…” Zhongli mused, tapping his fingers against his desk. “A reasonable suggestion for materials to make her with would be Geo energy, for I am adept in wielding Geo.”
Zhongli had been challenged to a (metaphorical) duel by his dear friend Guizhong.
Somehow, Guizhong, that social butterfly of a friend had seen children playing with mud, competing to make the best mud person, and decided that the two most powerful gods in the whole expanse of land under their governance should participate in their own version of “Person-making” (and no, this is innocent kind, not those kind of person-making you might be thinking about)
Of course, Zhongli did not agree at first. After all, the Warrior god with the highest god kill count refused to participate in these kind of lowly activities.
However, Guizhong wore him down with her infinite wisdom and patience, using inane but somehow logical arguments like, “We need a companion who understands us as gods. We both know that we will have to be separate sometimes, and I would be lonely. You are, too! It’s just that you deny it. Since the great god Rex Lapis would never feel lonely! But, whatever. Trust me, Zhongli. This will end up well, just accompany me in doing it, pleaseeeeeeeeeee?”
Zhongli conceded after 4 years. The constant persuasion from all the adepti enlisted by Guizhong was starting to get on his nerves.
Snapping out of his reverie, Zhongli returned to brainstorming about his project.
Cor Lapis would be the ideal choice due to it being sturdy and hard to break. My companion would be strong, and can fulfill the role of protector for Guizhong’s creation. I heard she is making one from rice? Her companion might be fragile.
He gazed out of the window in his room at the silhouette of the towering mountains. “Hmmm…She could be strong, but I want her to feel like a human, not just any creation of a god. From what I observed of humans, they can adapt to any situation. I’m sure rocks cannot change. The Cor Lapis she is created from signifies Earth, and I can incorporate feathers to signify heaven. She will be delicate looking like a feather, but more durable and sturdy than any rock or boulder.”
Zhongli pushed back his chair with a screech and stood up. “Looks like I will have to pay a visit to Mount. Hulao and Mountain Shaper.” After arriving at Mount. Hulao, Zhongli immediately mined all the Cor Lapis he could find. He would need to pick the best pieces for his companion, and he could sell the rest or give them out to his people.
Mountain Shaper flew over just as Zhongli finished mining the last piece of Cor Lapis. “Morax, what are you doing? Why do you need so much Cor Lapis?” Zhongli nodded at Mountain Shaper as a sign of acknowledgement. “Ah, Mountain Shaper. I believe you have heard about the small competition Guizhong proposed? The one where we each have to make a companion? I have decided that my companion shall be mostly formed from Cor Lapis due to it being tough and hardy. It is against my wishes for my companion to get hurt easily.”
Mountain Shaper flapped his wings and a few feathers dropped off. “Well then, Morax. Help yourself to however many Cor Lapis you need. Is there anything else you require?” Zhongli stared at the feathers Mountain Shaper had shedded.
“In fact, there is something I require. I need feathers for my companion to be light and carefree, and also to signify the heavens. The Cor Lapis represents Earth, and my creation will be a harmony of heaven and earth. I was planning to ask you and Cloud Retainer to donate a few of your feathers to me.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Mountain Shaper waved a wing and levitated a few feathers in front of Zhongli. “I know I’m not supposed to take sides, but I wish you good luck with your creation.” Zhongli smiled and thanked Mountain Shaper before leaving in the direction of Mount. Aocang.
After getting feathers from Cloud Retainer, Zhongli returned to his quarters to create his companion. As condensed Geo, the Cor Lapis should be the skeleton and support of the body. I can then integrate the feathers into the structure. The feathers would allow the creation to fly or float once I feed my elemental energy into the body.
After putting everything together, Zhongli condensed the whole form into the size of a fist and placed it in the bud of a Glaze Lily in the pot of soil on his windowsill. (He named the condensed rock “Condensed Form”) Everything was going smoothly, and he would only have to wait for the Glaze Lily to bloom in order for his companion to be complete.
However, he knew that Glaze Lilies needed nourishment for best blooming, and Zhongli was sure of exactly what they needed. Wild Glaze Lilies grew better than domesticated species due to them having better soil, mainly the Shimmersoil found by the banks of Dihua Marsh. Even though he knew that the better the Glaze Lily was, the better the transition his companion would have once she was fully developed, he could not place the Condensed Form in a wild Glaze Lily, for the fear of the Glaze Lily being destroyed by animals and all his hard work being gone. Zhongli also knew he had other matters to attend to, and regretfully could not spend more time on the Glaze Lily, so…
“Can someone help me call Ganyu?” Zhongli asked the humans outside his quarters, who were bustling around. Everyone nodded and told him that they would tell Ganyu to come find him.
Finally, when Ganyu arrived, Zhongli stood up from his desk to greet her. “Ganyu, there is something I need your help with. I'm sure you know about the competition between Guizhong and I for who can create the best companion.”
“Does what you want have to do with the competition?” Ganyu asked curiously. “Yes, Ganyu. I am in need of one last material, which is Shimmersoil by the banks of Dihua marsh.”
Ganyu understood what Zhongli wanted her to do, agreed immediately and left to get the soil that Zhongli needed. He thanked her before she left, and returned to his work. Ganyu arrived with the soil just as Zhongli was finishing up. “Rex Lapis, where would you like me to place the soil?” She asked meekly, no trace of the curiousity when she had talked to Zhongli before.
“There is no need for formalities, Ganyu. Just call me Zhongli. Also, can you fill the plot of soil over there with all the Shimmersoil you have gathered?” With a wave of his hands, all the normal type of soil in the said plot flew out of the square land and touched down beside the hole, in a pile. Ganyu immediately hurried over to deposit all the soil she had gathered. Once she was done, she left Zhongli’s room with a hurried bow, seemingly very busy. Zhongli watched her leave with a fond smile on his face. Ahh, how much Ganyu had grown.
“Enough reminiscing. You should get to work.” After chiding himself internally, Zhongli took the flowerpot that contained the single Glaze Lily, and moved the Glaze Lily from the small pot into the big, squarish plot of land. He could almost see the Glaze Lily straighten up a bit. After watering the precious Glaze Lily, he left his garden. The only thing I can do now, is wait and pray that this endeavour succeeds…
Fast-forward eight~days~later
That day, Ziqiao visited Zhongli in the morning. She had been recently freed from the painting Zhongli found her in. They chatted for the whole morning and afternoon, while drinking Osmanthus Wine. “Zhongli, I heard that you and Guizhong have a competition going on?” Ziqiao had asked when they were eating lunch together.
Zhongli finished his mouth of cai fan, did not deny it, and told her most of the competition details, what he had planned plus what Guizhong was doing. Ziqiao expressed her thoughts on what Zhongli could improve on, and since she was the God of Soil and Grain, Zhongli took her suggestions to heart. “I guess I could form another layer of Geo around the glaze lily to protect it before it bloomed…” Zhongli agreed.
As Ziqiao had planned to stay in Guili Plains for a few weeks to familiarise herself with the new environment, she and Zhongli had decided that she could temporarily stay in the wing opposite Guizhong’s until she made her decision whether to stay or go. After their chat, they both retired to their rooms.
The afternoon light didn't just fade; it was swallowed.
A bruised, heavy canopy of charcoal clouds rolled in from the horizon, snuffing out the sun and plunging the landscape into a premature, sickly twilight. For a moment, the world held its breath. The birds went silent, and the air grew thick and stagnant, charged with a static tension that made the hair on the back of the neck prickle.
The rain followed with a sudden, rhythmic violence. It didn't fall in drops, but it descended in relentless, wind-whipped sheets that hammered against the rooftops of Zhongli and Guizhong’s shared residence, producing drum-like sounds. Visibility vanished behind a shimmering grey curtain as the dust of the road was instantly churned into a frothing slurry of mud.
Trees that had stood tall moments ago were now whipped into frantic silhouettes, their branches clawing at the dark sky like drowning hands. The air, once stifling hot, was suddenly sharp with the metallic tang of ozone and the cold, drenching scent of wet earth. It was a symphony of chaos, a reminder that despite all human artifice, the elements still held the ultimate power to command the world to a standstill. (Like gods)
“Many may see rain as a disturbance, but I find it a necessary cleansing. Rain has always been a harbinger of growth and there is a certain sincerity in it… It demands no contracts and requires no payment, but performs its duty to the earth.” Zhongli mused. Just then, he saw the swaying trees and a horrifying thought struck him. Curse it, it's raining so heavily! What if the glaze lily cannot bloom well tonight, and the transition is ruined? I had it all calculated that the Lily would bloom around now. Why did it have to rain? I hope my creation will be fine…
With that horrifying thought, Zhongli rushed out of the compound (not before shielding himself) and ran over to his precious Glaze Lily. Ziqiao, who seemingly had a sixth sense, came rushing out after him just a few seconds after his departure from his cozy room. Thankfully, Guizhong wasn’t home yet, as she was visiting Streetward Rambler and Cloud Retainer for a get-together.
The poor Glaze Lily was shivering and swinging back and forth in the wind, with the stem seeming about to snap any minute. Seeing that sight, Zhongli breathed a sigh of relief, (he’s weird, i know) “At least the Glaze Lily is still intact and alive. It would be worse if it had already died by the time I reached it.”
Zibai stared at Zhongli, her Jadelight Canopy blocking the rain and acting as an umbrella. “What’s wrong with you? The Glaze Lily looks like it's about to die and you are relieved?!?!” Just then, a bright flash of light emitted from the Glaze Lily. Both gods turned their attention back to the Glaze Lily. Slowly, it started to bloom. The second its petals started quivering, Zhongli channeled a ball of condensed energy into the flower bud to inject a consciousness into the condensed form.
Zhongli and Ziqiao stared at the flower bud, tension filling the air even more with the addition of lightning that would strike every few minutes. Ziqiao, as the Glaze Lily expert (she uses Glaze Lilies for her ascension), offered to sing for the flower to bloom better. Zhongli agreed without further ado, while scratching the back of his head a bit sheepishly. He had totally forgotten that Glaze Lilies bloom only in the presence of music. “What a terrible blunder on my part…”
Finally, after a nerve wracking five minutes, the blue petals unfurled, revealing a little baby the size of a thumb on the inner flower of the Glaze Lily.
Then, the sky split open.
A jagged vein of violet-white lightning tore across the firmament, illuminating the scenery in a strobe-light flash of stark, terrifying clarity. A heartbeat later, the thunder arrived—not as a rumble, but as a bone-shaking explosion that seemed to vibrate within the chest cavity itself.
Ziqiao stopped singing, letting her throat have its much needed rest. The baby was curled up on her side with her eyes closed, and she was wearing a dress made entirely from Glaze Lily petals. As if sensing that her time to shine had come, her eyes slowly opened, revealing deep pools of dark blue, bordering on black. Zibai could not help but let out a “Awww, so cute!” as she lifted the baby up and passed her to Zhongli.
“Do you have a name in mind?” Ziqiao asked Zhongli, who was staring thoughtfully at the baby while stroking her black hair. “She was born in a rainstorm, and her birth brought thunder, while she was born during the sunset. I think the name 雨夕 (pronounce yu-xi) would be suitable for her. This name captures the fleeting beauty of a sky in transition, and evokes the sense of 晚清, serene, golden clarity that emerges when the sun breaks through after a storm. It suggests a life defined by both depth and light, promising that even after the rain, she will always find her glow.”
Ziqiao nodded thoughtfully. Then, as a joke, she said, “Hey, Zhongli, how about I train her? After all, she was created from a Glaze Lily, and I am the only Adepti who has a connection with Glaze Lilies. I can even sense part of the connection I have with the flower branching off to her.” Zhongli considered her words.
“Hmmm… That would be a valid reason. You are in fact quite strong, almost as strong as me, and I am sure that Yuxi can gain a lot if she studies under your wing.” Ziqiao stared at him, surprised that he had actually taken her seriously. “Wait, Zhongli! It was a joke!” She exclaimed.
“I…do not understand. Don’t you want her to be under your care? Yuxi is very cute, and she is mostly well behaved. She could be your disciple.” Zhongli intoned.
“How do you know…Oh, you created her, you would know…” Zibai muttered sheepishly. “Well, fine! I’ll take her as my disciple after she is older.”
Now, there was only one last thing to do: “What about her adeptus name? She is going to be an Adeptus, right?” Ziqiao asked.
Zhongli glanced at the baby who was now sleeping soundly, cuddled against his chest. “We shall see in the future. She needs to cultivate a talent first. After all, titles should be earned, not born.” Ziqiao smiled, approving his decision and silently making one of her own.
And thus, a new god was created in the same day that an old god stayed.