#adeptus

will there be part two

how would lohen react if reader also had karmic dept?

(P.s I love your work and hope you have a good day/ night)

thanks for the request anon! love ya pookie have a good day/night yourself as well

assuming that reader would be a yaksha in the case they have karmic debt, lohen doesn't pretend to understand what centuries of karmic debt feels like. he also doesn't pretend it isn't real. even if you're somehow just an adeptus and not a yaksha, that wouldn't change.

warning: might be a little ooc

Lohen doesn’t react the way most people do when he learns about your karmic debt. No pity. No fear. Just: “So it’s permanent battlefield debuff. Gotcha. Range of effect? Triggers? Can it be baited into enemies?” You: “It is not a weapon.” Lohen: “Everything is a weapon if used correctly, dear Esteemed Adeptus [Name].” He still respects it though. which is worse. because it means he took notes.

lohen is also not like "you'll be fine 😐" because he knows you won't. or at least, not completely.

being from mondstadt, he was never too interested in liyuean(liyuese?? idk) history unless it gave him more insight into future expeditions. but after learning about your karmic debt, he started learning a bit more on adepti history. Before meeting you: "Liyue has some pretty sick monsters to fight." After learning about karmic debt: "…Explain everything." He checks out every history book the Knights have. Lisa notices. "…Vice Captain?" "Yeah?" "You've borrowed fourteen books on illuminated beasts." "…Research." "Into?" "[Name]." "Excellent."

Lohen suddenly becomes the Knights’ most dedicated library borrower. Topics include: “Illuminated beasts of Liyue” / “Adepti physiology (not creepy, I swear)” / “Historical karmic calamities and how badly they killed people”

He has absolutely no idea how adeptal medicine works and he was a little distraught when he found out there's no physical remedies for something like karmic debt. So his attempts are… creative. Brings you tea, food, spicy snacks, dried flowers, medicine Theodore insisted on including. Makes sure you've actually eaten. Scares away people trying to bother you. Somehow acquires your favorite ingredients. A tiny note saying I wasn't sure what would help. So I brought several possibilities. -Lohen

You ask him why he bothers doing all this and he responded "because you're always taking care of everyone else. someone should probably do it for you."

oh and his "fight me" gets updated. Old Lohen: "Fight me." New Lohen: "…Only if you're feeling well... otherwise we can just… walk.... or something... I dunno." be patient with him pls he has a fat crush on you

lohen isnt very good at staying silent. he hates silence and always has to fill it with something. but he'll try his best. like when your karmic debt flares and your aura(??) becomes oppressive, most people step back. lohen finds you a few hours later with some gum. "Can I sit here?" "It will harm you." "Not if I adjust properly." (he does not adjust properly. he just gets stronger pain tolerance and calls it adaptation.)

your karmic flare-ups confuse him less than expected. most people get uncomfortable when you go quiet and still. Lohen just sits nearby and watches the horizon like he’s on guard duty. If anyone interrupts: “Don’t.” He later says: “Noise makes it worse, right? So I removed noise. Tell me if it gets worse. I'll handle everything else.”

his biggest frustration is that it isnt something he can fight. he fights monsters, bandits, harbingers, wild hunt. he knows where to stab them and make it hurt. but your karmic debt? you can't exactly stab it.

he hates that. he hates that it hurts you and he cant even challenge it to a proper duel. he actually once muttered to himself before "coward"(talking about your karmic flares) "wont even come outside..."

a stupid 5th company recruit says: "Aren't adepti supposed to be above things like pain?"

Lohen stares.

"..."

"...You wanna repeat that?"

"No, I just mea—"

"You think living longer means hurting less?"

"..."

"...'Cause that's the dumbest thing I've heard all week."

Considering this is the man who once considered poisoning himself to build resistance... That is an astonishing insult.

His Love Language Is #ReducingYourWorkloadWithoutAsking

You wake up and someone already:

cleaned your weapon

sharpened it

left a plate of your favorite food on your nightstand

repaired your cloak

chased off three people looking for you

organized your paperwork

Lohen is pretending none of this happened.

"...Did you do all this?"

"Pshht, no."

"..."

"...Maybe."

"..."

"...I got bored."

The first time he witnessed one of your more intense flare ups, he expected pain. He did not expect that.

One moment you're speaking normally.

The next, your hand is gripping your own sleeve so tightly your knuckles pale.

Your breathing goes uneven.

Your expression barely changes but he notices anyway.

You suddenly freeze.

"[Name]?"

"...They're getting louder."

"What is?"

"The voices."

Silence.

"...Don't listen to them," Lohen says instinctively.

"...I know. They're my own head."

That answer stays with him for a very long time. Everyone else backs away. Because they should. The corrupted energy makes every instinct scream: Leave.

Lohen's instincts scream too. His pulse races and every hair on his arms stands up. His body recognizes danger before his brain does. But he still walks over nonetheless.

He knows he isn't immune, but he also knows he refuses to let you weather it alone.

He never says things like "You should rest." Instead he'll ask, "Can you keep going?" He hates it when people guess his limits and finds it only reasonable that you would likely hate it as well.

If you answer yes, he believes you. If you answer no, plans immediately change. No complaints. No guilt. No disappointed sigh.

Lohen finds combat to be the worst part. Every battle worsens the debt. He catches on pretty quickly when your stance grows heavier, our reactions become just a fraction slower, and every strike looks like it hurts but you keep fighting anyway.

he sometimes gets pretty furious and worked up in his head about it. Not at you. no, never at you. At the ancient gods. At fate. At whatever decided that someone who spends their life protecting people should carry centuries of hatred that wasn't even theirs.

your karmic debt especially makes the hallucinations REALLY bad. Sometimes you answer questions nobody asked. Sometimes you suddenly look over your shoulder. Sometimes you stop walking entirely because you heard someone calling your name even though nobody did.

Lohen'll actually actually walk over and look around, later coming back and promising "Nothing there." Arguing with hallucinations has never helped anyone but grounding you does.

If the voices get louder, he notices and uses his unprecedented talent of redirecting your thoughts. Without warning he'll say "So... do Ruin Guards have knees?" "...What?" "They kneel and fall over eventually. You should've seen when I beat one with some crayons I traded Klee for." You stare. The voices lose their grip for just a second. Mission accomplished.

On bad days he doesn't touch you immediately without asking. Sometimes the answer is yes. Sometimes no. Sometimes later in the relationship/friendship "...Stay close."

Without another word he sits beside you. Close enough that you know he hasn't left while also far enough that you're comfortable.

But he respects the danger of staying close by. He read about testimonies where karmic debt seeped into the environment, mutating monsters and driving ordinary mortals into a berserker state.

If your karmic debt begins leaking into the surroundings, he's already moving civilians away and keeping monsters from wandering closer. He knows you'd feel guilty if anyone got hurt.

Lohen knows he can't carry your karmic debt.

He can't split it.

He can't cure it.

He can't even truly understand it.

Yes, it irritates him to no end.

But there is one thing he can do.

He can make sure you never have to endure it completely alone. So whenever one of your flare-ups begins, there is a decent chance you'll eventually hear footsteps.

Then his familiar voice.

"...Mind if I sit?"

"...You may."

"Cool."

"..."

"I brought gum again."

"..."

"I remembered you liked the mint one this time."

Whenever the debt convinces you you're becoming dangerous, whenever you apologize for keeping your distance, whenever you worry you'll eventually lose yourself, he answers the same way every time.

"Then I'll stay close enough to remind you who you are. And if one day you can't remember..."

He smiles.

A small one.

"I've got a good memory. I'll remember enough for both of us."

Happy Lantern Rite!!

I am honoured to be the chronic doodler behind Keith Silverstein's newest Zhongli print!

Divine Ingenuity . 2024 . I couldn't pinpoint what it was about the name I chose for this piece until I couldn't take it any longer and googled it only to realize it's the name of that one event where u create ur own domains lol. Tbh I think such event also suits CR so I'll see it as my subconscious being aware of it.

Ganyu - Qilin's Beach Day (Genshin Impact)

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