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theotheroccassionalfanficwriter · 3 years

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Between Lust and Love 2/?

Summary: You are standing on a bridge enjoying the view; Someone’s watching you from a balcony. The moon adorns your window; You adorn someone else’s dream. (Fragments, Bian Zhilin)

Rated E for explicit description of Zhongli’s wet dream

A/N: implied semi-public 3some

Chapter 2: I Adorn Your Dreams

The gentle and almost reverent touch of your fingertips as it ghosted through the skin of his chest was enough for Zhongli to be drunk on. The usually kept and proper funeral parlor consultant was lounging atop of his soft bed, his outer coat was left lying on the floor, his vest unbuttoned along with his white shirt. You sat between his legs, crawling on top of him with a sultry look in your eyes.

The tent of his pants was noticeable, and Zhongli knew that he would not be able to remove the stain of his precum as your other hand lightly touched his groin, all the while smiling like a vixen as you placed kisses on his stomach slowly making your way up, each touch of your lip sent an electric shot down his spine, making his cock ache for you. And yet he made no move to hasten you, he waited for you to serve yourself to him, an arrogance well-deserved for a man—nay, a god like Zhongli.

The way the soft orange light of his room illuminated you brought out your sensual side, the kind of eroticism that only existed between lovers found in stories, the red color of your hanfu was enough to make Zhongli think that this was the bridal chamber, and you were his eager newly wedded wife. The redness of your plump lips as it hovered before his lips tempted him to grab a hold of you, pressing your groin against his as he captured your lips. And that was what Zhongli did, the sudden friction caused by his hard cock that was pressing itself against your wet groin made you moan.

Opening your mouth wide enough for Zhongli to slip his tongue in and devour you, like a parched dragon finding a sweet oasis after a drought. Your sweet moans as your body surrendered itself to him only drew to make him want you more. Your clothes were removed from your body as Zhongli’s large hands explored the smooth expanse of your skin, he paid a particular attention to your chest, groping it and teasing it in the exact same way he had seen Childe done. His mouth had moved itself from your mouth to your neck biting and kissing as he listened to the melody of your moans.

The broken call for his name as one hand groped your chest and the other gently caressed your thighs, sliding it open to rub your wet pussy easier against his hard cock. Your slick had drenched his pants and Zhongli let out a soft grunt of pleasure as you began to move your hips on your own.

His tied up hair was left undone, making it fall to the side and frame his face as he laid you on the bed, gently kissing your lips and committing into memory the taste of your sweetness.

“Zhongli…” Your sweet voice called him and he smiled, you were such a sight to behold.

Your flushed face, coupled with tears that gathered at the edges of your eyes made his heart burn, the rapid rise and fall of your chest from the lust only made his cock harden further.

“Shhhhh” He comforted you as he placed a gentle kiss between your breasts before leaving a mark. He stood up and freed his hard cock from its confines, delighting at the way you drooled at the sight of it.

“Please...put it in already…” You begged, the innocent begging coupled with your lewd action of spreading your legs further apart and using your own fingers to spread your own pussy brought a tantalizing erotic sight that spurred him on.

“Anything for you” Zhongli replied as he grabbed his dick and slowly entered your wet pussy.

You moaned and your body arched as you felt his tip slowly enter, and then all at once you were filled with his thick and long cock, your toes curled in pleasure as you felt him move slowly before finding the perfect rhythm that made your mind melt from the amount of pleasure he was giving you.

The soft moans you let out, with the occasional broken call of his name made Zhongli pleased. He fucked you like the whore that you were, hands leaving bruises on your thighs with each hard and fast thrust he gave to your squelching pussy.

“Zhongli—I—!” You came from one of his particularly hard thrusts, your pussy squeezing his cock so good that Zhongli came inside you. Spilling his thick white seed inside your pretty and glistening cavern. His eyes were closed from the pleasure of fucking you, the feel of your cunt and the sound of his name as you moaned appeased his inhuman side.

Zhongli let himself rest for a few moments before opening his eyes, to an empty room, devoid of you and any evidence of the lascivious deeds you had done together with him. The soft morning chirps of the birds outside his bedroom window, and the sizable stain in front of his sleeping robe made him pensive.

Zhongli sighed, and closed his eyes before opening it again.

“How am I going to face them today?”

While Zhongli pondered on his own day, neither you nor Childe were doing nothing. You were doing commissions for both the Mondstadt and Liyue Adventurer’s Guild while Childe was collecting information to prove your claim of Zhongli’s inhumanity.

Though you both knew that the Adventurer’s Guild was a strict non-partisan guild that held no ties to any of the nations of Teyvat, Childe also knew that it was an open secret within the Adventurer’s Guild HeadQuarters that you took private commissions.

Commissions that were illegal in nature, ones that were almost no different from the ones the Northland Bank occasionally did. So it hadn’t surprised the new recruits that you were to lead them for the day, Childe made no secret of his ties with you, though both you and him kept your romantic entanglement under strict wraps, that the two of you knew each other from birth was not unknown to those who knew to ask.

Your strength and undeniable mastery of your Cryo vision also led to the awe of the new recruits that was lent to you. It made your job considerably easier, more so since you were collecting information on the events that took place in Mondstadt, the Honorary Knight and the Dragon.

You knew how the Fatui worked, there was no reason why La Signora and Scaramouche would linger in the vicinity of Liyue. The Tsaritsa made sure to never let her Harbingers gather in one place for too long.

‘Signora should have left after taking the Gnosis, there’s no reason for her to stay here this long and in hiding unlike Scaramouche’ You thought as you coldly watched over the recruits practice in Sal Terrae, ‘Scaramouche has been stationed here to prepare for Inazuma...there’s no reason for the two to linger, not when the entire plan has been ironed out.’

“Good job, Men!” You praised them, facade easily taking over your serious face “Lord Tartaglia would be pleased to know this particular batch of recruits are talented.”

Your smile turned sweeter upon seeing their pleased and puppy-like enthusiasm, “I’ll be sure to tell him that you lot are worthy of a spar for him.”

“““Thank you, Lady Columbina!!!”””

You hummed as you looked in the direction of the dawn winery, the cogs of your brain turning, ‘Unless there’s another plan...one that my darling Tartaglia was not made aware of…’

As you played with this thought, the more likely it seemed, “Well then, as good as your battle prowess is, the Fatui must also be discreet in its dealings…”

The recruits listened attentively, standing straight as you walked between their ranks, inspecting them with the cat-like glimmer in your eye. You were living up to your fame as an S-class adventurer, you continued as you stopped behind them, smiling in the direction of Mondstadt and its repurposed castle walls, “For your next training, infiltrate Mondstadt without alerting your fellow Fatui and the Lord Harbinger assigned to it.”

You paused at their silence, “Ah, hesitating? How smart”

Their unease could be felt in the air, and you couldn’t fault them. You weren’t a Fatui, you were just someone who was strong enough to work exclusively with one of their harbingers.

“Face to the left!Face!” You barked at them, and they did so, “Face to the left! Face!”

You smiled at them once they were facing you, and yet the recruits could tell that despite the smile on your face, you weren’t smiling at all. You invoked a certain fear and awe, one that reminded them of Her Majesty’s Ever Winter.

“Lord Tartaglia would be pleased to know that this bunch of recruits can think for themselves…” You dropped your smile and leveled them a cold look, “Don’t worry, this training was meticulously planned by our beloved Lord Harbinger, Tartaglia.”

It was a lie but no one needed to know that.

“You have three days to prepare for the training mission, once you’ve decided on how to infiltrate Mondstadt, report to Ekatrina of the Northland Bank. You’ll be given your funds and then be dispatched.”

You left them and began your trek back to Liyue, Mondstadt’s wind gently blowing through your hair. You felt your good mood coming back,

‘Ah~Today would be a good day.’

There were a few things in his life that brought him great unease, for Childe one of them was being subjected to your displeasure, the other was being on the receiving end of Zhongli-xiansheng’s unfathomable stare. And right now he was experiencing both, Childe cursed himself for forgetting his schedule.

He knew of your suspicions towards Zhongli, and he also knew that you understood Zhongli was necessary to achieve the Tsaritsa’s goals. He was lucky in that regard, you knew how to draw a clear line between your professional and personal life. It was one of the reasons why he had pursued a relationship with you. Beyond the love and bond forged from the harsh winter of Snezhnaya, whether he was Tartaglia, Childe or Ajax, the one thing constant among his identities was his love for you.

Which was why he had always done his best to make you happy, ensuring that you would live a comfortable and carefree life. It was the least he could do for being the way he was.

“My dear—”

“Mr. Zhongli, I know how lovely my Childe is but there’s no reason for you to intrude on our date.”

“Actually I’m—”

“Yes, our Childe is certainly a lovely individual, however our lunch appointment had already been scheduled prior to your arrival.”

“Xiansheng, I’ll buy you whatever you—”

“Oh? You’ve booked my Childe for lunch for his entire stay here in Liyue?”

“That-Darling it isn’t set in stone so—”

“Yes, after all is he not the diplomat sent over by the Tsaritsa herself?” Zhongli smirked, it was an uncharacteristic sight for him. One Childe hardly ever saw unless the man had solved a particularly interesting puzzle or problem.

Childe glanced at you and saw the hard look in your eyes, bit by bit the cogs of his brain turning rapidly as he pieced together your revelation and the information he had gathered over the course of the morning. Slowly the fog was lifting and the bigger picture was slowly becoming clearer.

He didn’t really understand what was happening yet but Childe trusted you, even though the churning of his gut was unpleasant... he could and easily stowed the unpleasant feeling away.

“Xiansheng.”

Zhongli turned and found himself the recipient of Childe’s charming smile, one devoid of any honesty. It was his business smile, often directed to the bank’s clients or in one particular case the Liyue Qixing.

“We’ve known each other for a while now,” Childe began as his hand reached for his teacup, “You aren’t the type to push something unless it was important.”

Zhongli could feel the temperature in the air change, and privately thanked Childe’s foresight to book a private room. On the other side of the table, you sat with your back straight and deceptively relaxed as you poured Childe his tea.

“Yes” Zhongli admitted as he stared at the floating tea leaves on his cup of green tea, he lifted his head to stare straight in Childe’s blue eyes, “I would like to offer a contract between you, your lover, and me.”

Childe blinked, his eyes staring at the odd glow in Zhongli’s eyes, one oddly reminiscent of a beast. A warrior.

‘Adepti’ his mind whispered.

Childe wasn’t aware but the slow lift of his mouth, curving into a smile carried no trace of humanity, it was a smile that reminded Zhongli of the height of the Archon Wars. It was a captivating smile that took Zhongli’s breath away.

‘Ah, I really want both of them right now.’

Once lunchtime was over, the streets of Liyue was ripe with new gossip. In particular, involving the esteemed gentleman of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, the consultant Mr. Zhongli, the Childe of Northland Bank, and the S-Class Adventurer from Snezhnaya.

The three had left Liuli Pavillion, you and Childe were flanking Zhongli, attached on either side of him in a suggestive way. That you had left both Childe and him with a kiss on the cheek only served to fuel the confusion. No one knew what had occured over the private room of Liuli Pavillion but the barely noticeable mark on Zhongli’s neck and the slightly disheveled look of your clothes and Childe’s knowing grin left much to imagination.

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#zhongli x reader #zhongli x childe x reader #genshin impact x reader #childe x reader #zhongli x childe #R-18

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probably-haven · 3 years

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Since someone asked about Guizhong now I must ask... Thoughts on the Tsaritsa?

So there's a few things about the Tsaritsa to get out of the way first. there is.... a lot of different possibilities for what is going on with her, whether that be in her past, her goals, her methods, and her character overall. We just know so little about her and theres so few guidelines to direct any character analysis so it really branches out into a bunch of different independent theories.

that said, lets see what i can put together into coherent sentences!

To start, a lot of the information that we have on the Tsaritsa seems to come from or center around the events of 500 years ago so lets kick this off with an unformatted list of random things im pulling from canon that seem significant to me!

A: About the Tsaritsa:

“Too gentle, in fact, and that's why she had to harden herself. Likewise, she declared war against the whole world only because she dreams of peace” - Childe about the Tsaritsa

She’s collecting gnosises (info from traveler’s own experience)

“Sorry... to also have you shoulder the grievances of the world. Since you could endure my bitter cold, you must have the desire to burn? Then, burn away the old world for me." - the Tsaritsa (Shivada Jade Gemstone)

She became Cryo Archon between the archon war and the fall of Khaenri’ah(unless they pull another Ei on us) (info from Venti after the Mondstadt archon quests)

“She is a god with no love left for her people, nor do they have any left for her. Her followers only hope to be on her side when the day of her rebellion against the divine comes at last” - Dainsleif about the Tsaritsa

“Five hundred years ago, I knew her well. But I can't say the same is true now. You see, a certain catastrophe happened five hundred years ago, and after that, she cut off all ties with me” - Venti about the Tsaritsa

Negotiated a contract with Zhongli for his gnosis. (info from Zhongli and- that scene) (might have been done via harbingers, not Tsaritsa herself)

Tsaritsa once was the god of love (info from Dainsleif)(heavily implied)

Now before i get into analyzing what these might mean, because of the morally grey nature of a lot of the Archons’ actions, I’m going to go over the sources.

A1) Childe despite his Fatui alignment is a straightforward person. While his perception itself is likely biased, this still stands as either the truth or at the least, the impression of herself she has chosen to give the harbingers/Snezhnaya as a whole. A2) Our own eyes is a valid source A3) Direct quote from person = valid A4) As an archon with unspoken connection to Celestia among a number of other things, Venti is not a valid source. This and connected analysis should be viewed with skepticism. A5) Dainsleif’s connection to Khaenri’ah gives him a bias, but outside the abyss order he seems to have a duty towards truthfulness and neutrality. Still too many unknowns to be a valid source tho, view connected analysis with skepticism. A6) Venti is not a valid source. View with skepticism. A7) Zhongli is not a valid source either, but the rest of the actions in the scene support this enough to give it weight. A8) Implied by enough varied sources to be valid.

ANYWHO NOW THAT THATS DONE!!! lets get to the analysis, starting with... aimless rambling until I find a direction- nifty!

So I do believe that the Tsaritsa does ultimately have good intentions, and its pretty clearly implied that her end goal is to essentially rebel against Celestia, or perhaps the heavenly principles themselves (to the extent of completely destroying it based on A3). Now as for why, lets take a little look at when everything changed: 500 years ago Now I have to be careful not to turn this into a ramble about Khaenri’ah, so instead of analyzing what exactly might have possibly happened back then, I’m going to stick to looking at it’s possible effects... if that makes sense.

Before the events of the cataclysm 500 years ago she was described as “too gentle” and implied to possess the ideal of “love” in a general sense of the word. Now if all the above evidence is assumed to be true, this is what we already know about the impact it had on her: She abandoned love as her ideal, lost all love for her people, cut ties with Venti(though seemingly not Zhongli), deemed Celestia’s punishment towards Khaenri’ah as unjust, and gained a vendetta against either Celestia, the heavenly principles, or divinity as a whole... among other things

The Tsaritsa was not the only one who seemed to respond like this however, as many aspects of this actually mirror Ei’s own response to the cataclysm, with the abandonment of an old ideal, cutting ties, lost faith in the heavenly principles, and yada yada all that- However, in Ei’s case there were a lot of characters involved that hadn’t previously been mentioned, so it stands to reason that it would be near impossible to correctly form any theory about what exactly it was that impacted the Tsaritsa so greatly until we get more information, but what we can say is this.

The Tsaritsa, like a vast quantity of the others in genshin impact, is an immensely traumatized individual, and a lot of the actions she takes and the ambitions she holds are influenced heavily by the emotions remaining from the events of her past. In her case, the most potent of these is her wrath towards Celestia, a new priority that has drowned out whatever ideal she may have had in the past.

It is of note however, that the Tsaritsa and the Fatui by extent seem to be uncannily linked to that which has to do with Khaenri’ah and the cataclysm, and i dont just mean as an origin. Let’s take a look at the harbingers we know anything substantial on so far:

1. Pierro: implied to be a sage from Khaenri’ah by the Pale Flame set, which mentions him as an inferior sage, unable to stop the ruler of an unknown country from tearing away the “veil of sin” that brought on the country’s destruction, giving him his own Vendetta against the “divine” 2. Scaramouche: a puppet created as a result of Ei’s own response to the cataclysm, an early attempt at pursuing her own newly acquired ideal. 3. Signora: quite literally the crimson witch of flame, who became so in order to avenge her fiance(husband? one of those), Rostam, who died in the cataclysm 4. Tartaglia: gets his power from the Abyss(khaenri’ah’s curse) and his foul legacy is just- coated with abyss/khaenri’ah iconography/ 5. Dottore: I mean come on- he’s like basically known for his ruin guard experimentation- that and..... y’know... Collei

the others have only been mentioned without really any context or info

Now this is most likely coincidence, but i just think its really interesting to think that, as a sort of tribute, or more reasonably, as a mere set of guidelines, the Tsaritsa actually seems to be taking large amounts of inspiration from and using a considerable number of techniques similar to those that were used by Khaenri’ah in the past. I just can’t help but feel that the mirroring is kinda worth mentioning because it is something of note that these methods and techniques didnt exactly work well for Khaenri’ah in the past and all. It probably doesn’t mean anything, but i just think it interesting.

Anyway moving on from that meaningless tangent! Let’s talk a bit about end game

to requote the description for the Shivada Jade Gemstone:

“Sorry... to also have you shoulder the grievances of the world. Since you could endure my bitter cold, you must have the desire to burn? Then, burn away the old world for me.”

Now... excuse me while i tear this quote apart piece by piece because its the only thing we have from her and there’s just- a considerable amount. (also cuz in general i think the gemstone descriptions say a lot about both the Archon that narrates them, and those who receive a vision of the corresponding element)

“you could endure my bitter cold” implies that the Tsaritsa is actually likely pretty darn self aware, which i just find really interesting. She’s viewed as cold by her harbingers and her people alike, and she herself doesn’t seem to view her own element in a very positive light either. Whether the visions are given by the Archons or by Celestia, she seems to view them as more of a burden than as a gift, something difficult to endure. This could mean the vision itself, the process of getting it(not fun for most), or perhaps what must come after.

“Sorry... to also have you shoulder the grievances of the world” shows that she is still capable of feeling remorse for things, not completely heartless. Now the word grievance is basically an unfair treatment worthy of protest or complaint, or just a feeling of resentment over something unfair. This models not only her resentment towards Celestia for the punishment of Khaenri’ah but also the stories of a number of the cryo characters.

“Burn away the old world for me”

NOW THIS!!!!!!!!!!! I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS LINE

The Tsaritsa is a being of ice and frost. Whether her abilities were granted to her by Celestia or some other being or if they have always been hers to wield is unimportant. Fire is the complete opposite of ice, something that shouldn’t be within her ability. Reasonably, if she desired to destroy the old world above all else, wanting to do so with the most efficiency and highest chance of success, she would do this through her naturally present cryo abilities. And yet she doesn’t. She doesn’t just pick some alternative method though, she picks the polar opposite of cryo. By expressing her “desire to burn” she is outright rejecting her own element and in doing so, might as well be issuing a direct challenge of defiance against the “natural order” of things that Celestia is so adamant about maintaining.

Not only is this a huge power move, but it also shows that she retains a sense of sentimentality, of emotion that can cloud her path to success. She not only wants to destroy the divine, she wishes to do so in a way that rejects them entirely, goes against all they stand for, even if it means this will be more difficult to do. This truly serves no purpose except for the poetic symbolism that few but herself will ever take note of, but such is the way of vengeance to cloud judgement with spite.

and yet- fire is known to symbolize purification, a return to nature- something modelled perfectly in Childe’s quote: “she declared war against the whole world only because she dreams of peace” And in a world where corrupted divine influence is woven into every rock and leaf and breeze on the wind, then how can one ever hope to achieve peace without being willing to tear it apart.

----------------------

anyway i kinda mainly focused on her character itself in this since ive seen a lot of theories out there about what she might be doing or specific parts of her plan, but i truly dont believe theres any way we can predict those at this point, so I figured this might be a bit funner! I’d be more than happy to expand on any part of this though or any other thing about the Tsaritsa(or anything really) just let me know, the Tsaritsa is a really interesting character to me in nearly all aspects, so- yeah

also lol, a lot of this is probably far af from canon but youll never get anywhere if you’re not at least a little “out there” about things so- hopefully it didnt end up sounding too far fetched lol. that tends to happen with rambling so- just hoping it still somehow managed to fit the request at least somewhat decently XD. Anywho thank you so much for the ask bestie, sincerely!!

#genshin impact #genshin theory #genshin analysis #genshin tsaritsa #fatui #i can probably tag more but can think of any at the moment #ahaha- this ended up a bit of a mess #hopefully not too much tho #i have a lot of thoughts on her and a lot of things so if theres a certain kind of thoughts youre curious about specifically #then unless you specify theres a high chance i might ramble about a completely different category of thoughts #i am- an abomination when given free reign #sorry for this

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fraink5-writes · 3 years

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From Darkness Into the Lantern Light - Chapter 11

Now that the fun plot twists are out of the way, it’s time for the suffering!!

But first, a thank you for @leio13 AKA the best editor ever!

Summary: Once upon a time, there was a cold-hearted queen. Although the Tsaritsa, as she was called, possessed her own divinity, she coveted the powers of the other Archons. Aiming to steal the Geo Archon’s gnosis, she sent her strongest warriors to Liyue Harbor. But just when Rex Lapis was almost defeated, he escaped to another vessel, that of a powerless baby, and was swept away to a hidden tower for his protection.

Many years after the great fight, the young and ambitious Harbinger, Childe, arrives in Liyue to grant the Tsaritsa’s desire, but, on his search for the Geo Archon’s gnosis, he ends up tangled in a mysterious man’s dreams to see Liyue Harbor’s Lantern Rite.

This chapter can also be found on Ao3 here. Without further ado, please enjoy!

Zhongli peered at the distant display of fireworks. Like shooting stars, their colorful streaks of light fizzled out before reaching the sea. The encroaching darkness and the thunderous booms isolated Zhongli.

But as quickly as the explosive light show began, it ended, and Ajax had not yet returned. There was no objective reason to worry about him: he was a skilled fighter and experienced adventurer. And yet, the rhythmic crash of the waves and the hushed cries of insects goaded Zhongli towards anxiety. He stood up hesitantly in the parked boat, spear in hand, but he was without a clue as to where Ajax had gone.

As Zhongli studied his surroundings, two silhouettes emerged along the beach: a masked woman in purple and a bespectacled man in gray. They stepped up casually to the rowboat. “You must be Zhongli,” the man spoke.

“Who are you?” Zhongli’s grip on his weapon tightened as he created space between him and the strangers. “How do you know about me?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” The woman laughed. “Don’t you recognize this mask?” She pointed to the gray mask on her face.

Yes, over the past few days, Zhongli had constantly seen a similar but embellished, red mask. No…

The woman smirked. “Master Childe told us all about you—and your magic hair.”

It can’t be…

The man in gray closed the distance with confident steps, brandishing a dagger. “If you come quietly with us, no one will need to get hurt.”

Zhongli neither drew nor put away his polearm. His trembling body was defenseless as his brain whirled frantically.

“Zhongli?!” A familiar voice almost knocked Zhongli out of his paralysis before throwing him into a deeper state of shock. The new arrival deftly pushed past the suspicious bunch, knocking both out with concise blows to their heads. The tiny light in the boat illuminated her silvery blonde hair and sharp, periwinkle eyes as she ran towards Zhongli and threw her arms around him, brushing her hands through his hair. “Zhongli, are you alright?!”

Physically, Zhongli was in good condition. Mentally, he felt cluttered and overwhelmed. Exhaustion crashed down upon him, and he caved into her embrace.

“I was so very worried about you, you know. When I got home and you weren’t there, I panicked. Luckily, I got here just in the nick of time!” She sighed. “But enough about me—you must have been terrified, having been taken to this dangerous place by a stranger!”

Terrified? Zhongli could not remember being afraid. All the emotions he had so strongly felt earlier in the day had vanished into abyssal emptiness. “I’m sorry,” he muttered weakly, “Mother.”

“You must be so tired. Let’s hurry and get you home—away from this deranged place! Then you can tell me all that happened.” His mother supported Zhongli to a nearby moored sailboat. “Just rest now. We’ll be safe at home before you know it.”

When Zhongli and his mother arrived home, she sat him down on his bed with a cup of tea and asked him to explain what happened. Starting from "Childe's" inexplicable appearance, Zhongli recounted the adventure he had had over the past few days—minus a few details. He didn't mention the name "Ajax," the countless comforting touches they shared, nor the new contract. Those were gentle thorns that coiled around his secret heart.

"There, you understand now," his mother remarked as she plucked the last glaze lily from his hair. "That's why we stay in this tower. Humans are cruel creatures. Even humans have fangs, you know; they're just better at hiding them."

"I understand."

"Well, you must still be hurting from the whole affair. That's to be expected, but you can't grieve forever. Why don't you drink your tea and get some more rest? Then, you'll feel better." His mother picked up the collection of flowers and the ornate spear. "I'll take these with me; I'm sure they only bring back bad memories." Then, she left the room, calling out one final comment, "Since so many people here now know about you, I think we ought to consider moving. But we can discuss that later."

Zhongli sipped his tea (even his favorite variety felt without flavor) and fell back onto his bed. The aching vacuum in his chest left him vulnerable to the assault of memories that he had been repressing since the other morning. As they invaded his mind, he didn’t have the strength to resist them. 6,000 years of memories burst inside his brain, and with every painful explosion, he felt relief as though a suffocating cage had been broken open.

In his attempts to reorient himself with his new awareness, he lost his footing and fell to the ground.

“Zhongli?!” His mother cried out from downstairs before running into the room as he stood back up on unstable feet. “What happened?”

“I’ve remembered everything.”

“Huh?” She frowned in confusion. “What are you saying?”

“I now know who I am.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Her laugh was nervous.

“Do not feign naiveté. I am Liyue’s archon, Morax. But the question remains: who are you?”

“I am your mother—why are you spouting such nonsense?”

“No. Tell me the truth: why did you take me to this tower?” He towered over the woman’s sinking presence.

“To protect you! I knew that cruel people would try to use you and your powers to their benefit, so I—”

“No, you were using me.” He grabbed her shoulders with trembling arms. “I don’t belong here.”

“Then where will you go?” She smirked. “You can’t possibly be thinking of Liyue Harbor!”

“I am Morax, and Liyue Harbor is my city.”

“Oh, surely you must have seen it: Liyue Harbor is a prospering city. Over there, Rex Lapis died years ago. You wouldn’t want to set them back with your return, would you?” She plucked his fingers off one by one as she spoke.

He couldn’t deny her words. For thousands of years, he dreamed of Liyue’s citizens taking control of their country and its future. He had always been afraid: would they survive the current of time without a sturdy boulder to lean on? So even as his strength chipped away, he remained as their guide. But in the years that he had disappeared, Liyue had prospered beyond his own predictions. How could he take this future from them?

In his time away, it was not Liyue but Morax who had lost his solid foundation. His legs quaked, threatening to topple him.

“You see? Liyue doesn’t need Rex Lapis.”

His body gave way beneath the boulder of exhaustion, and he crumpled to his knees. “What did you do?” He sputtered.

“Oh that?” She glared down callously. “Just a little tea to calm you down.”

His vision swirled in and out of darkness.

“I hope we can have a reasonable discussion when you wake up.”

#Genshin Impact #Chili #Zhongli #La Signora

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