Chapter Text
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Mt. Hulao, ah what a pleasant place. Amber cores covering nearly every inch of the rocky terrain. Zhongli, the Geo archon himself, was found walking up the mountain. A light breeze blew by him, his hair ever so gently breezed over his face.
Morax took a long, deep breath. Breathing in the rich, earthy atmosphere. The air carried a slight blanket of coldness, making it smell like freshly fallen snow. Zhongli continued up the path, a small content smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. As he stepped against the soil, his dress coat slightly swayed with the gust of the wind. The Geo vision promptly jingled now and then, the gold chain secured to the back of his coat.
The Geo archon observed the light fluttering wings of birds that flew overhead, reminding him of his prime. The birds flew gracefully, nothing there to stop them. Zhongli forgot what that feeling was like… to feel free.
There was no contract that bounded him from turning into his dragonic form, but rather his duties stopped him.
Morax reminisced over when the wind freely blew against his scales millennia ago. His gold and earthy color palette would have practically shone under the sun as it settled. Though he now can not return to that time.
Zhongli was to watch over Liyue discreetly— not panic them with the fact that their god and savior seems to have just risen from the dead unexpectedly. Yes, it was a cruel thing to leave Liyue to fend for itself suddenly, but for countless centuries he’s been their archon. Tirelessly working to keep his people happy and content with the lives they live.
This, this is the peace that he desired all those years ago. No impending doom of war, no outrage, no—
As soon as Zhongli had fully made his way ontop of the great mountain, his train of thought was interrupted with the sound of Hilichurls.
Morax looked towards the creatures that were essentially attempting to break open the seal. As they swung their arms and slammed their feet around animalistically, it made Zhongli cringe inwardly as water was being splashed and thwarted around. ‘What idiotic animalistic behavior they are showcasing..’ Zhongli thought to himself.
He sighed, knowing that eventually that this would have happened due to the mysterious nature of Hilichurls. Too bad they now have to face order.
Zhongli walked towards the creatures with elegance, his footsteps slow yet delicate. Each footstep soon made contact with water, the indescribable sound of beeds of hydro splashing around. The Hilichurls soon became aware of his presence, and immediately began to become hostile. It was stupid of them to attack him, though he supposed they didn’t know any better.
Morax closed his eyes, relishing in the scent of the rocky nature that covered the entire mountain. The Geo archon took a breath.
The Hilichurls rushed towards the man, waving their weapons and yelling. As the Hilichurls neared, Zhongli opened his eyes and ever so slightly smiled. Although the Hillichurls were running toward him ominously, the way they staggered and almost fell as they trudged forward through the pond was comical in a way.
Rex Lapis summoned his Basalt Pillar, the pillar sending a Hilichurl high into the sky as he summounded his skill. The scent of blood poured through the air and sunk into the clear water— painting the area with the pillar around it a dark ink shade.
He rushed at the Hilichurls, taking his spear and slicing at each one with precision. He sent barrages of attacks to the Hillchurls as they were affected by the geo energy, his spear flying towards each one before it teleported back into his palm. Blood splattered into the pond with each fallen creature. The peace of Mt. Hulao was interrupted, nothing but fighting clearly present on the mountain.
A sudden burst of a loud, screeching Mitachurl made him look towards right where it came from. Reinforcements soon arrived, more Hillichurls came rushing towards who was fated to take the remainder of their broken, yet pointless lives. Zhongli didn’t stress, he simply crossed his arms as the abyssal creatures came rushing towards him.
“I will have order!”
A huge meteor-like rock was sent tumbling down onto the Abyss creatures. The creatures immediately froze, geo energy flowed through their bodies, and their bodies turned to stone.
Zhongli looked up at the Mitachurl, seeing the cracks that slowly began to form. Little by little, the abyssal creatures crumbled into nothing but a pile of dust and stones. Morax frowned, looking back up to the sky. The birds that once flew gently towards the mountain began to turn around, flying away from the now fallen danger.
The Geo archon sighed, he supposed he should get cleaned up now..
Rex Lapis looked down towards water that surrounded him and he immediately frowned at the sight. What was once beautiful, such clear, and pure water was now ridden with the stench of blood and a gray hue. Crimson flowed through the water with each passing moment, turning the once peaceful sight into a horrific scene. Morax didn’t want this to happen, not at all.
“Ohhhh Zhongli!~” A familiar voice called out from behind. Rex Lapis’s eyes widened at the sound, before he quickly composed himself.
“Ah, director Hu Tao, I did not expect to see you here.” Zhongli turned around with his hands behind his back, now wasn’t exactly a…good time.
“Guess who I brought with me! And gosh- let tell you what a haste it was to bring them both here!” Hu Tao looked behind, and signaled to some people to come up to the peak of the mountain.
“Hm? Who have you brought with?” Zhongli asked, sincerely intrigued. Hoping that she wouldn’t notice the blood bath… but that thought was short lived.
“Well— you remember— hold on why do you have blood on your face? Oh my gosh, are you hurt?!” Hu Tao stopped the explanation, and now a sense of worry washed over her. She knew Zhongli seemed to be the type of person that could take care of himself, but y’know, he’s still a living being.
“Don’t tell me you are!” Hu Tao practically ran towards him, unexpectedly, and began checking for injuries. The rushed and anxious demeanor was much unlike Hu Tao, and it made Zhongli almost chuckle.
This made the footsteps of those unnamed stop briefly, and Morax could here slight muttering. He couldn’t tell who they were due to them being so quiet, but he could distinctly tell that it was a woman and man.
“What were you doing up here anyway? I was looking all over The Funeral Parlor until I finally got an update about your trip up here!” Hu Tao put her hands on his hips, clearly slightly annoyed.
“I simply enjoy a casual stroll around Liyue every now and then, It’s… a good way to clear my mind.” Morax explained, his eyes ever so slightly squinted at the last part of his sentence.
“You and your walks… well, what happened here? It looks like a blood bath! And are there any souls~?” His boss inquired, and of course she asked about the souls. It was her job.
“Sadly, there are no souls here for you to collect. I simply took care of a few Hilichurls and a Mitachurl, they were disrupting the seal by their constant nitpicking at the entrance.” Zhongli pointed over to the seal, a few clubs and rocks still present around the area.
“…boo. Well, at least that explains whatever is going on with those ink-like stains in the water and ground..” Hu Tao deadpanned, her eyes almost immediately growing cold. She muttered a few unintelligible words, before she looked back up to Zhongli face.
“Zhongli? You realize you have a splotch of Hillichurls blood scattered across your face, don’t you?” Hu Tao questioned.
“…I do? I was— unaware.” Rex Lapis brought his hand up to his right cheek bone, he swiftly reached into his coat pocket using his other hand to retrieve— a mirror. Of course he kept one on him, as he went out daily, he wanted to make sure that his eyeliner on the bottom of his eyelids weren’t smeared. Although it wasn’t like he was still an archon that he had to impress his people daily— he still believed that in this form presentation is one of the most important parts of himself.
Zhongli opened the little travel sized mirror. He did indeed have a streak of dark colored blood going across his face, he almost thought he himself was bleeding.
“I suppose I was too immersed in the thought of battle that I didn’t realize… my apologies for worrying you.” Morax put the mirror back into his pocket as he wiped the blood off of his face, it wasn’t dried yet, so it came clean off with just a simple brush of his sleeve gliding across his face.
“It’s fine Zhongli, now what was I going to do again..” Hu Tao muttered to herself, before she remembered and brightened up.
“Ah right! Hey you two, you guys— or well one of you for the first time, can finally meet Zhongli!” Hu Tao beamed, her voice loud and clear.
The whispers and mutters of the two unnamed people stopped when Hu Tao asked them to walk over. The sound of footsteps grew closer with each passing second. A gentle breeze of wind blew through at the peak of the Mountain, and the gust of wind made Zhongli’s hair sway ever so slightly. Rex Lapis looked back up towards the sky, seeing a couple of birds flying overhead. Zhongli gently smiled as Hu Tao practically bounced with excitement, but he couldn’t help but feel…uneasy.
There was this, familiar, yet strange type of…aura? It reminded him of a feeling he understood years ago, yet it was distant. With each growing footstep, Zhongli’s curiosity increased.
The distinct sense of hydro authority was blaring into his senses, and his heart nearly stopped.
Hu Tao walked over to the mysterious people, and she stopped to hold her hand out to someone. A white glove grabbed Hu Tao’s hand, and an enthusiastic voice replied.
“Why thank you, Ms. Hu Tao!” White hair, differently colored eyes…
Ms. Furina.
Hu Tao giggled, and spun the two of them around. Furina laughed cheerfully alongside her as she wasn’t expecting the twirl. The two looked polar opposite, even had polar opposite visions. Both Furina and Hu Tao were giggling like they had been friends for multiple years— and it made Zhongli content with how they grew so fond of each other when they met not long ago.
“Zhongli, my trusted Funeral Parlor Consultant, I would like you to finally meet none other than the Judge of Fontaine himself—“ Hu Tao began, slowly spinning slower. Morax’s smile immediately dropped, he should have realized it would have been him. Ms. Furina never strays away without him by her side..
And now Zhongli knew he should have followed what his gut was telling him.
“Monsieur Neuvillette!” Furina finished, and the both of them held their arms out as they posed. The footsteps stopped, and none other than the Iudex stood between the two females. Another gust of wind blew by as Zhongli could feel the other man’s eyes practically bore into his face. Rex Lapis looked elsewhere, the sky, a few amber cores, all while hearing a silence envelope the area.
Zhongli’s hair gently blew by his face, his amber eyes radiated a gentle gold color as he took a deep breath. Morax turned his head toward Neuvillette, and his eyes ever so slightly relaxed, a gentle smile formed on his face. Zhongli was met with a striking looking man, and it made him admire the moment.
Neuvillette, The Judge Of Fontaine, stood there. His long white hair swayed in the wind, and his blue-under shaded strands stood out to his appearance. Monsieur Neuvillette was adorned with his beautiful blue, white, black and gold colored robes. His dress coat flowed with the wind, his pale skin tone matching his cold demeanor. Neuvillette had almost a blank expression as he stared at Zhongli, his eyes racking over the older man.
Morax dreaded this moment, though he could not turn back time. Zhongli took a few steps forward with his arms crossed behind him, stopping a couple feet away from the three. His strides were careful and delicate, being utmost careful to not create a gigantic splash of water as he trudged towards the others. Each step he took a soft clink would echo across the rocks from his shoes once he made contact with the solid ground. Zhongli bowed his head lightly, he could practically feel Neuvillettes gaze judging his every move.
Zhongli stood back up straight and tall, and to his surprise the other man was taller than him. Not such a huge height difference, though the fact that Zhongli was already tall and that the Iudex was taller made him seem all the more intimidating. Rex Lapis slowly raised his hand, trying to put a warm expression on his face.
“Great Judge Of Fontaine, it is an honor to have you in my presence.” Zhongli spoke quickly and precisely.
Neuvillette’s eyes raked over his form once more, almost as if assessing him. In all reality, Neuvillette hadn’t met Zhongli before, and he truly was making sure he wasn’t a threat. The Hydro dragon was taken aback by how grovely and how sophisticated he sounded. Though he didn’t show it on his face with his blank expression, as his brain was turning numerius cogwheels. There was a strange familiar feeling, something he hadn’t felt since the prime of his youth.
Neuvillette could sense a strong amount of Geo energy resonating off of the man that stood before him, yet it seemed all too complex and tangled. It felt… particularly restricted and strained. Strings of energy were weaved together into an impossible untangleable bundle of yarn, making The Iudex question how much this Zhongli’s power could be.
This resonating energy was deeply rooted, yet he couldn’t place his finger right on it at the moment. He had just met Zhongli, who carried himself with such elegance, yet he began to wonder; is this Zhongli an ordinary man?
Neuvillette took Zhongli’s extended hand, shaking and holding it with much more force that would be considered a hand shake.
“I…apologize for the scene behind me. This meeting was… unprecedented.” Zhongli looked a bit to the side, uncomfortable with how firm of a grip the other man had on his hand.
Neuvillette said absolutely, utterly nothing. Furina had looked towards the two, then back towards Hu Tao in distress. She leaned into her side and whispered “Hu Tao… I don’t believe that they will make good acqua-“
“Don’t worry— they will! Hopefully….” Hu Tao whispered back to her, yet she was unsure herself. She originally thought the two men would immediately hit it off with their similar behavior and personalities, though perhaps she was—
“I do not mind it at all. It is an honor to meet you too, Zhongli.” Neuvillette bowed his head down ever so slightly, the other man being slightly caught off guard.
Zhongli smiled at the respect that the other showed, what used to be the firm and secure grip handshake, was now Neuvillette’s hand gently grabbing and holding Zhongli’s hand. As Neuvillette bowed, Zhongli felt a strange sense of relief wash over him as he did the same. Perhaps…
Perhaps Zhongli wouldn’t dread this encounter.