they say the worst betrayals never come out of your enemies, but your loved ones. if only zhongli knew how true that was.
in which zhongli doesn’t give away his gnosis so the tsaritsa devises a new plan with you at the center
cw: archon quest spoilers, zhongli x gn fatui harbinger!reader, established relationship, betrayal, major character death, manipulative!reader, angst no comfort, descriptive violence
He knew he should never trust a harbinger, that’s what everyone told him when you first entered his life. But you were so full of life and ideas, matching his thirst for knowledge and need for long talks on philosophy, with a hefty enough wallet to afford another one of his expensive whims.
Zhongli knew what it was he was falling for, he was no fool. He was sure that if you truly had a deeper, hidden side that you would show the cracks in due time.
But when he did see behind your perfect appearance, he saw a broken person with desires and raw emotions. He saw the pain in your eyes as you told him you didn’t want to continue working for evil, but you had no other choice. He cried for you, just as you cried for him. He loves you, and you loved him, no matter what other people may say.
And you understood him. You understood his personality, the hidden motives behind every action, and even when he did some of the most questionable acts, you knew that it was for the better of Liyue.
You were flawed, just like any other human being, but oh, were you perfect in Zhongli’s eyes.
He knew you were meant to be together as your lips fell against one another’s, perfectly synchronized like you knew what Zhongli was going to do and matched him perfectly. He knew you were meant to be together as you both went walking around the plains during a full moon, singing to glaze lilies and having to fight back against the whopperflowers that came.
He knew you were meant to be together when on your first anniversary, you smiled at him as you handed him a gift wrapped in ribbon, that smile that only seemed to have him in your eyes forever.
And ever.
And.
Ever.
“…why?”
He knew he should’ve never trusted a harbinger, heeding to the warnings of the people around him saying that you were a spider trying to get him caught in your web. He should’ve known the hidden truth behind the crocodile tears that escaped your eyes and the venom that poured out of your lips every time you spoke another beautiful lie.
“I’m sorry Morax.”
Why didn’t you sound sorry?
Why were you smiling so sinisterly that Zhongli couldn’t recognize who you were and why you had taken on the appearance of his kind lover?
“I tried to encourage you to give away your gnosis, I really did! Oh, but you were just too stubborn and forced me to take it myself.”
He still wanted to believe this was all a sick joke, even as your hand went through his chest and tore out his gnosis from within. But no matter how much he tried to wake up from this nightmare, he could never escape the condescending grin on your face.
You must’ve been planning this for a long time to know a way to forcibly pull out his gnosis without his permission.
He wondered if you could feel the way his heart sank from where your hand was.
“We could’ve been something, ya know? Too bad luck just wasn’t on our side, right honey?”
You took your hand out of his chest, holding the small chess piece in your fingers, the light orange jewel in the middle was dyed red with his blood. Zhongli fell forward into your arms as he could no longer support his own body from the gaping hole inside of his chest that caused him severe blood loss. He grabbed onto your shirt tightly, bunching up the cloth in his hands as so many yet so little words tried to escape his mouth.
“…how much of it was real?”
Oh, he hated how warm the arm you had around him that prevented him from falling over was. He wanted to believe you still loved him, that this was all just you being blackmailed into doing another mission by your crazed ruler.
“My dearest Morax.”
My.
You said my.
Zhongli’s eyes lit up with hope as he craned his head to gaze at you. You cradled his chin in your hand just as you always did, and smiled kindly at him.
“None of it.”
That smile was anything but kind.
“Every archon except the Tsaritsa could die for all I care, as long as it’s in her interest nothing matters. Whatever made you think I could love you beyond the act I put up to get you to trust me? You’re a filthy, conceited and no good God that is undeserving of the dirt at the bottom of my shoe.”
Every word you spat out in hatred sounded so lovely, velvety as it resounded in his chest. Or at least what was left of it.
“…why?”
He would’ve preferred it if you just killed him before he fell deeply in love with you.
Zhongli felt his eyes brim with tears. He wanted to laugh at how foolish he was for ever believing your lies that you coated in sweet deception and false adoration.
“Morax. You are the strongest archon, with full devotion for your people who love you equally as much. But the higher up one is, the harder they fall.”
Your eyes narrowed coldly, in the same way you gazed at your enemies. Frankly, the only reason why you bothered to give him his desired answers was because of all the time you spent together.
“That’s why we decided that if the losses would be too great if we fought, why not just betray you? Ah, but you don’t hold anyone close to you, so we had to create someone.”
You watched as he writhed in your hold, trembling as he cried into your embrace and despite the circumstances he couldn’t help but still find the comfort he felt before today.
“Please Morax.”
A hand laid on the back of his head as you hugged him, feeling how he gradually lost the energy to continue fighting.
“Just die quietly.”
Your fingers combed through his hair and he couldn’t see the expression you were making, but he didn’t desire to. For once, he just wanted to pretend to himself and imagine that you were crying over him.
“If I wasn’t an archon, would you have loved me?”
“Perhaps. I hope Celestia will find a place for you there, and you won’t despise me too much.”
He laughed sorrowfully.
“I could never hate you.”
And now here you stood, holding your fallen lover in your arms, with his gnosis in your hand. His blood dripped from his body to the floor beneath you, and all you were left to remember him was the emptiness in your heart where he once filled.
“Happy first anniversary, Xiansheng.”
—end















