Chapter Text
The first rays of dawn stretched across the faraway stone peaks of Mt. Aocang.
Liyue awakened as it always did everyday.
Boats drifted into the harbor, merchants began preparing their wares, and the Millelith changed shifts beneath the morning sun. A nation, no longer burdened by gods and monsters alike, welcomed another peaceful day.
For those who lived within it...
It was simply home.
...
Far on the top level of the harbor, atop Yuehai Pavilion, a half-qilin quietly arranged stacks of documents into neat piles.
The years had taught Ganyu many things: How to negotiate contracts. How to mediate disputes. How to balance the endless requests that reached the Qixing every passing day.
Yet despite all those centuries...
She still occasionally forgot breakfast, even in her ridiculous life-long diet of only flower seeds…
"...Ah."
She stared at the untouched bowl of Qingxin congee sitting beside her desk. "...Again."
A soft sigh escaped her lips, then smiled sheepishly before finally setting her brush aside.
"Cloud Retainer would scold me..."
She picked up the bowl.
"...and aunt Guizhong would agree with her."
The smile lingered for just a moment longer before she quietly resumed her work.
Outside her window, Liyue Harbor bustled with life.
A city worth protecting.
A city they had all once dreamed of, back when the yet-to-be-Geo-Archon Rex Lapis and his retainers moved the people of Guili Assembly to the harbor early into the Archon War…
...
Elsewhere within Yuehai Pavilion...
Ningguang calmly observed the harbor below from behind her desk.
A merchant sought permission to expand a warehouse. Two fishermen argued over docking rights. Three letters from Fontaine awaited her signature.
Another ordinary morning in the life she had built.
She signed the final document before setting her brush down.
Her eyes wandered toward a framed photograph sitting quietly upon a nearby shelf.
The annual Lantern Rite.
Herself.
Keqing.
Ganyu.
Shenhe.
Yanfei.
Cloud Retainer—no...Xianyun.
A faint smile crossed her elegant features.
Family did not always share blood.
Sometimes...
It shared burdens.
Even the mysteriously knowledgeable consultant Zhongli of the Funeral Parlor and his boss Hutao, not to mention the almighty Traveler and Paimon, never felt like outsiders.
She carefully dusted the frame before returning it to its place.
"There."
Only then did she return to her work.
...
Amidst the plains of center Liyue, the Wangshu Inn stood peacefully beneath the morning breeze.
Upon its highest balcony sat a lone Adeptus, eyes closed, jade-bladed spear resting beside him.
The gentle rustling of leaves replaced the screams of demons that had once filled his every waking moment.
Peace.
An unfamiliar companion.
He opened his eyes.
Far below, children laughed while chasing one another through the inn's courtyard.
One little girl tripped.
Before her mother could react...
A gust of wind steadied her.
She looked around in confusion, the wind had already disappeared by then.
Xiao quietly looked away.
His duty remained.
Only, it had changed.
No longer protecting Liyue from endless spawns of gods' dead remains.
Simply purging any leftovers
And… protecting quiet mornings like these.
...
Footsteps echoed up the stairs.
"I knew I'd find you here."
Without turning around, Xiao already knew who it was.
"Ganyu."
The half-qilin stepped onto the balcony carrying two small bamboo baskets.
"I brought Almond Tofu."
"...Two Almond Tofus."
Xiao observed.
"I take it you'll be eating one."
She smiled gently. "So Xianyun insists."
A brief silence settled between them.
One basket eventually disappeared from Ganyu's hands in a swirl of wind onto her brother's.
Neither spoke for a while.
Below them...
Life carried on as always. Children laughed as they played, birds and animals sang about, carts, traders and travelers alike came from Mondstadt, from the valley of jades and tea just further North,...
Peace endured.
After several moments, Ganyu finally spoke.
"...Lantern Rite is approaching again."
"...Mm."
"I was thinking..." She hesitated. "...Would you join us this year?"
Xiao looked toward the distant harbor.
“You know what I would say."
"I know." Ganyu answered, turning back to her lunch. “Noises and people. You're so secluded.”
She giggled softly to herself. “Can't say I was any better.”
Another silence loomed over them.
"...I'll think about it."
A simple answer was all he gave.
But for Xiao...
That was already an answer.
Ganyu smiled.
"Good."
She looked toward the harbor as well.
"...Aunt Guizhong always said family gatherings become traditions if someone keeps inviting everyone."
Xiao remained quiet.
His gaze drifted toward the horizon.
A memory surfaced. Memory of a bustling table.
He and Ganyu were the same age, and so too were they both under Rex Lapis and Guizhong’s care.
But Xiao had another family he could call his own more than the half-qilin:
A family of five siblings…
The eldest always laughed loudly at the table. The middle sister would often tease the second eldest about another set of robes he crafted. Xiao's elder sister, who was also around her age, quietly smiled as she listened.
Rex Lapis shook his head, whilst Lady Guizhong laughed the loudest of all, sat together at the head of the stone table.
...
The memory vanished as quickly as it had come.
Only silence remained.
"...It's been a long time."
Ganyu's smile softened.
"...Yes."
Neither spoke again.
The wind gently carried fallen leaves across Wangshu Inn.
Far away...
Beyond the mountains...
Something ancient stirred beneath layers of weathered stone.
Elsewhere…
A pair of eyes fluttered open, blue orbs struggling to adjust. The eyes of a girl awakening from her slumber, struggling to adapt to the bright, merciless sunlight.
‘Where are the clouds? The dust?’ She thought as she lifted her large, black hands to attempt to block the sunlight.
She noticed the big, black, tattoo-ridden claws that made her hands. After a few seconds, her eyes focused enough on them.
…soaked in denatured, dried red…
Her orbs shrunk. She quickly sat straight, worried. “The Miasmas!!”
Yet as she took a look around, she found herself in unfamiliar territory: Were her fears misplaced? Why was the scene before her so different?
A part of her wondered if she was even in Liyue.
But she should be. Who was she to leave her home in its battle?
She pondered to herself in her panic. “W-what of the demons? Where’s my Lord? My Lord?!”
She took a second to examine her appearance. Her black and blue bodysuit was covered in dust and dirt alike, much like her hair and fair skin. She hurried and knelt down in the nearby river, seeing her reflection in the nearby river. Pale purple markings still adored her temple and under her eyes, her bangs still styled where her Lady had styled them in. In short, she was the same.
But to her, everything else was not…