#lemonadecandy

Game: Genshin Impact

About: Zhongli x fem!reader

Note : The premise is that 'you' get transported into the game and journey through Teyvat along with the traveler. This is a reinterpretation of the Liyue Archon Quests. Hope you enjoy~

Warning: Mentions of violence, slight profanity.

I had failed to come up with any conclusions on the geo archon’s behavior. The quests had caused us to relentlessly run around Liyue, then in the off-time, my mind would wander elsewhere, trying to enjoy the semblance of peace I had attained in the last few days. 

And now, I find myself facing him once more. But he had ended up keeping to my  request  of ignorance. I suppose I wasn’t too surprised, he was still being  courteous  to me. Maybe it was because of all the time that had gone by, but the awkward tension between us had subsided to a large degree. I didn’t feel like I was hyperventilating with fear every second he was close to me. 

“La lala la~!”, the traveler concluded her song. It hadn’t been much, but I was surprised to find out that Lumine’s voice was unexpectedly melodious. Perhaps because of her status as a warrior, she tends to speak in a stern tone. Now that she had softened it into a gentler one, it was strangely soothing to listen to.

But just as I had anticipated, instead of a beautifully blooming Glaze Lily, what we found were whopper-flowers. I had already taken a step back with caution and hence was spared from the sudden burst of icicles that jutted out of the ground. My companions quickly dodged the assault as well. “What happened? These flowers are jumping!”, Paimon screeched as she frantically flew around. “Is it because we sang a song from Mondstadt, and they don’t understand because they are from Liyue? Quick, traveler!”

At her command, Lumine jumped in front of one of it and impaled it with her geo construct. 

Just as she managed to finish one off, the other popped out right next to her, shrouding her in an icy mist. But with a few slick maneuvers, the second one was down as well. I silently let out a sigh of relief as the enemy slowly withered to dust. Even though I have gotten used to the constant violence that I encounter in this world, I still can’t stop myself from palpitating in shock. I really need to learn how to maintain my cool, especially in front of such ‘measly’ enemies. 

And just as I had loosened up my tense nerves I was suddenly pulled to the side.  That’s right! There were supposed to be three! Two whopper-flowers are too easy of a challenge. 

“Y/n!” The geo archon called out to me as he pushed me to stand behind him. Reacting to Zhongli’s movements, Lumine swiftly swooped to finish the job. 

“Eek!”, Paimon yelped, pulling onto my hair as she too sought protection behind the shield created by the archon.

After checking for any other whopper-flowers in our vicinity, the traveler rushed towards me. “Haven’t I told you to  always  stay by my side?”, she frowned.

I let out a guilty laugh as I looked away from the gaze of the trio. Their worry made me a little uncomfortable. “That  always  ends with  me  getting in your way and  you  getting injured.”

“Me better than you.”, she huffed as she glanced at my forearm. Following her gaze, I realized that it was bleeding. The wound wasn’t severe in any regard, it seemed like one of the icicles had ended up grazing me.  I suppose it isn’t that bad because of… him.

Peeking a glance at Zhongli, I begrudgingly mumbled, “Thank you.”

“No need…”, he indecisively stared at me with a long pause but ultimately ended up saying nothing.

Feeling awkward and confused by his actions I cleared my throat as I tried to get back on track, “So… what about the glaze lilies?”

And just as those words came out, Ganyu made her entrance. 

══════════════════

Having finally completed all the preparations for the Rite of Parting, we started making our way back to Liyue Harbour. I glanced at the setting sun whose heat was slowly waning in intensity. I wanted to feel relief that this arduous quest was finally coming to an end, but I knew what was yet to come.  A dragon versus a harbinger, heck even a god.  I sighed in mellow.  I suppose I have already fought a ‘god’ once. 

I timidly glanced at Zhongli who was walking behind us, only to catch him looking at me as well. He had constantly been peering at me.  Did he find something to be suspicious about…?  But just like every other time I fought him, he only looked away, avoiding any deliberation.

And right as I turned my head forward, he called out to me. “Y/n, wait.”

I skeptically turned around and noticed his hand that hovered in the air, uncertain if he should grab my shoulder. But he quickly put it away as I had already responded to him. “Just say it… You are freaking me out with your hesitation. Did you change your mind?”, I cocked my head sideways in annoyance. At this point battling Childe beats staying around his confusing moods. “Want to kill me now?”

“No. I am not a mindless killer Y/n. As we agreed, as long as you don’t take action against this nation, I will not do ‘anything’.  Despite  what your status regarding that possible danger, maybe.”, he spoke with a certain intensity. I couldn’t quite place the expression on his face.

“I see… Then what is it?”, I looked back towards Lumine and Paimon, who were not too far away, but still out of hearing range. They were too busy talking about food to realize that the two of us had hung back. “And hurry up.”

Nodding at my words he suddenly started rummaging around his pocket dimension with determination. Finding what he was looking for, Zhongli pulled out what seemed like a feather. It was a regal yellow, almost golden, but the ends were deep brown. The tip of the shaft had been inserted onto what looked like a traditional Liyue ornament. If I wasn’t wrong, it looked similar to the badge that the Millelith wore, only that this specimen looked a bit old-fashioned. Zhongli extended his hand towards me, motioning me to take it.

“This is an old artifact crafted by the adepti. It is imbued with some of my own power, letting anyone who correctly activated it, receive its protection. The feather is only one part of a set of five that have already been lost to time.”  Wait a minute— I know where I have seen this!  “I am afraid it isn’t as powerful without its counterparts, but it should still help. I may not have your gift of foresight, but I am an adequate judge of my actions to realize that you this can be of help…, especially in the  near  future.”

I slightly gasped with realization as I understood the connotations of his words.  Is he talking about Childe…?  Eyeing the ‘artifact’ in his hand, a sudden recollection hit my mind.  Tenacity of the Millelith , that’s what the set was called, right?  That  will certainly be helpful.

But instead of taking the help, I was offered I took a step back as I glanced at Zhongli cautiously.  Why is he doing this? I don’t understand. I don’t understand him.

Reacting to my response, Zhongli quickly tried to explain, “I understand that you don’t want anything to do with me. But perhaps  I  know better than anyone how vulnerable  you  can be during combat.”

“I don’t see how that’s supposed to make me  want  that feather.”, I scoffed in offense.

“I do not mean to belittle you. I… Please… take this.”, he took a step toward me. “We shall probably never cross paths again. Consider this a sign to commemorate the goodwill found through our contract.”

Goodwill? Seriously?  I let out a sigh of frustration as his words sunk in. I don’t think I am ever going to get used to his behavior, I suppose that’s expected…  he isn’t human.   Despite my pride desperately revolting, I accepted the artifact. I had promised myself a long time ago that to protect myself, I would do anything, it was a  contract  I had made with myself. Back when I was in the deepest pits of despair, when I was on the brink of death.  That’s right… anything goes.  But surprisingly as I accepted Morax’s gift I didn’t feel as bad as I thought I would.

Zhongli’s eyes seemed kind, just like when we had drinks at the dock, or when he comforted me near the statue of the seven. I didn’t understand him or his actions, but he felt  reassuring . As if truly  believed  me and didn’t think I was some freak of nature. Maybe that’s because  he isn’t human.  Supernatural must be the norm. I sighed as memories of similar kindness flittered through my mind.

“Psst! Hey! Whatever you are thinking— don’t do it!”, an energetic voice called out to me from somewhere beyond the iron bars of the prison.

Broken out of my daze of hopelessness, I weakly looked around, terrified that the flame user was back already. “Here! In front of you.”, the voice called out to me once more.

I squinted my eyes trying to make out the figure in the darkness, and sure enough there stood a boy in his teens right outside the prison bars. “Who are you..?”, I asked cautiously. ‘What are the knights pulling this time?!’ I couldn’t make out any details other than his height and form.

“I happened to hear what you have been claiming about Dvalin, I want to know more~!”, he spoke, entirely ignoring my question. ‘Don’t tell me…’

“Listen, boy, you shouldn’t be here, if the knights find you… it won’t be pretty. Whatever you heard were just silly rumors…”, I sighed realizing the situation. “…just some ‘crazy’ ramblings of a ‘crazy’ woman—”

“They aren’t crazy… I believe you.”, the boy instantly replied. I squinted once more, feeling an overwhelming sense of familiarity in his voice. And as if to quench my growing curiosity, he stepped forward into the dim light of the lone lamp near my cell. “If I set you free~, will you answer my plea~?”

“You—“, my eyes widened in recognition. “Venti?!”

“Oh~? We have never met, and yet… you know my name?”

“What are you doing here?”, I questioned the anemo archon, still trying to process the appearance of yet another familiar persona.

“I am here to break you out, only if you allow me the bout~”, he nonchalantly rhymed as he pulled out some keys from his pockets, keys that most likely matched the lock on my cage.

Dazed by the sudden occurrence of ‘good luck', I questioned the boy in a mumble, “W-why?”

“Like I said, I believe you. And I also want to help Dvalin, I trust that you understand the correlation?”, the archon held out the keys towards me from between the rods, as if beckoning me to a challenge. “So? Do you want to help me… and ‘yourself’?”, his eyes glinted with strange curiosity.

And the god had ended up staying true to his words, he not only freed me from that prison but also from my mind’s crestfallen melancholy. It had been the first time I realized that I didn’t have to just die. I could fight back, I could push through, I could go back home, no, I will go back home. Never had I expected the archons of Teyvat to sympathize with me more than the humans. A slight smile crept onto my lips as I sharply inhaled to ready myself. The commotion and panic that had struck Liyue Harbour was already apparent, the Millelith were scurrying about in agitation. The main show of the archon quest had only yet begun. 

Banner art by Qing on Twitter.

Game: Genshin Impact

About: Zhongli x fem!reader

Note : The premise is that 'you' get transported into the game and journey through Teyvat along with the traveler. This is a reinterpretation of the Liyue Archon Quests. Hope you enjoy~

Warning: Mentions of violence, slight profanity.

The sky had begun to darken as the waves crashing against the harbor slowly increased in intensity. Most of the area around me had already been evacuated due to the quick reflexes of the Qixing. While the stage was being prepared for the main act of the play, Osial, the overlord of the Vortex was rising from the tumultuous sea. And then, right on cue, the Jade Chamber flew over the dock and approached the ancient god. This was the final test. This was what everything had been leading up to. In the countless millenniums of my existence, I had faced and fought through countless dire events, but none had me as anxious as I was now. Perhaps because this time, it isn’t me who faces the calamity.  Will Liyue be able to pull through…?

But strangely, I also felt composed as  her  words once more appeared in my mind.  ‘Liyue will be able to handle it, maybe even prosper from it.’  I hadn’t entirely bought her excuses about otherworldly powers of foresight, but I couldn’t deny her credence when she spoke. It felt as if she believed in this city more than even I did. And there had been something strangely enchanting yet comforting about her words. I wanted to trust her, as though her words were the absolute truth. Perhaps it was precisely for this reason that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t view her with cynicism, I was ready to forgive her for the first plausible excuse she presented. 

That said, the facts she yielded, had all been completely accurate. I need to understand her more before I can truly put my mind to ease. But that is going to be near impossible to achieve. By her outburst outside Third-round Knockout, I doubt she ever wants to see my face again. For the little while we did spend together after that incident, she has built a stone wall between us that even I am not confident I can break. I have already terrified her enough, with our contract in place, the only right thing to do was to respect her wishes.

Heavy doubt had been gnawing at my mind for these past few days. Another  new  experience… I have been decisive all my life, so why was it that whenever the thought of Y/n came up, did I feel utterly lost and hesitant? What I did, was how I  always  dealt with my enemies.  Maybe that was it… deep down I didn’t even acknowledge her as my enemy.  I sighed in frustration at my thoughts.  What’s even the point of thinking about this… 

That said, Y/n is a clever one. Would another approach have even worked on her? It clearly seemed like she had been faced with a similar situation a few times prior. Is that why she was able to maintain her cool so well while I was confronting her? If so, I wonder how those other encounters had gone.

As a measure to not stand out to the Millelith I stepped back under some shelter. Osial had now started his onslaught of attacks, but the Qixing along with the Adepti had already posed their counters. By what I could manage to make out from the hazy sky, it seemed like they had decided to use a copy of the Guizhong Ballista. A clever strategy, but not one that can guarantee their victory. I started becoming increasingly anxious as the battle continued, it was a feeling that I hadn’t been well acquainted with. Every part of me wished that I could somehow contribute, but I tried to maintain my calm.

After having defeated the Harbinger, the traveler must have already hurried to the Jade Chamber.  I wonder if Y/n went along as well? 

And as if to answer my query, the woman I had been thinking about made her appearance. She seemed to be coming from the direction of the Golden House. On closer observation, it seemed like her right leg had been injured causing her to limp as she walked. There were a few other cuts and bruises on her body, but none as severe as the one on her leg. I looked around but her companions were nowhere to be found.  Did they insist she stay back because of her wounds?  It was plausible, the trio seemed to dote on each other a lot. I considered offering my assistance but quickly decided against it. She seemed to possess healing capabilities and I was probably the last person she wanted to see. 

Y/n’s attention had been captivated by the skirmish in the skies but soon noticed my presence. She instantly looked away and proceeded to walk past me, acknowledging her ignorance I looked away as well. But strangely, before she completely overtook me, she had paused. Fazed by her actions, I glanced at her with caution. Y/n was staring at my hands as she sighed with what seemed like pity, “It will be fine.” 

Following her line of sight, I looked down at my hands as well, they were shaking. Not just my hand, my entire body was trembling. I also came to the realization that I had been holding my breath, causing me to lightly pant. I raised my right hand to pop a few buttons on my collar and slightly undo my tie to help calm myself with a deep breath.  I hadn’t even noticed the state of my body!

Despite my attempts, I was unable to entirely regain my composure. I looked back at Y/n who was once again engrossed by the sky. Comfort identical to the one I felt when I’d had drinks with her reached out to me from her unmoving figure. Suddenly she looked back and tossed something toward me. I reflexively raised my hand and managed to catch the item.  

“It worked.”, she huffed with annoyance.  It's the feather…!  I had imbued it with some of my own power, providing protection to anyone who carried it on their person. Y/n had rather begrudgingly accepted it after some insistence. “Thanks”, she scoffed in an almost inaudible whisper. 

But I hardly felt pleasant about her gratitude.  And yet… her leg has been injured.

Contrary to my expectations, instead of swiftly making her exit after returning the artifact, Y/n opted to stay. We only stared at the sky with agitation. The Qixing’s plan had been interrupted by the appearance of the Fatui skirmishers. The traveler seemed to be running around, trying to fend them off. I nervously gasped for air as the ballista slowly started losing its form. Despite the realization, the Adepti pushed forward, trying to hold the line.

Suddenly, Y/n spoke up, “There are tall buildings… super tall ones. More than even 160 stories… but none that float in the sky. Though we do have vehicles that fly in the sky, pretty fast as well. Elemental powers and visions don’t exist there, nor do gods… But we can still be powerful…. Still, perhaps not as close to you archons… But we do have the internet!”, she rambled. I didn’t quite understand her statements, but it seemed like she was talking about  her  world…? She was even fondly chuckling at her own words. “You guys are still a long way from that…”

Tall buildings… and what is ‘the internet’?  I wondered as I remarked, “It sounds like a wonderful place.” Flying vehicles… wasn’t there some novel series that featured those?

“I don’t know… there are ugly parts… a lot of them. But still… it’s my  home …”, Y/n’s tone was solemn. I could make out great sorrow in her eyes as she uttered the last few words. The desolation on her face was similar to the one when she spoke about her family. I too know the loss of losing the ones beloved to you.  I wonder if there’s a way for her to go back home…? 

I was once more tempted to try and comfort the foreigner that stood beside me. It was only adequate for the amount she had unknowingly provided me. I raised my hand to pat her on her head but quickly pulled back as I recalled her words.  ‘We are not friends.’  At that moment I felt a strange surge of disappointment in myself.

Unfortunately, Y/n had caught my movements and glared at me through narrowed eyes, “Don’t be mistaken…. You’re the only one who knows…” She sighed in frustration. “…that’s why.”

I wasn’t sure, had she brought up the topic of her home to distract me or comfort herself…? Either way, it seemed like she really wanted to talk about it. And I felt the urgent need to let her know that her confidence in me wasn’t something unpleasant. “It isn’t pity, nor is it charity. You are one of the strongest mortals I have witnessed. If I were ever to entirely lose Liyue, ‘my’ home, I would lose my mind. Despite knowing the limits of your physical powers, you still persevere. Your desire to go home keeps you fighting, pushing forward. I can’t help but respect such show of fierce resolve.”, I recalled the foreigner’s bravery when I confronted her, it had been quite inspiring. “If you were from Teyvat, your ambition would have gained you a vision by now.”, I stated in hindsight.

“Is that why you  spared  me?”, I glanced at Y/n once more and she seemed a little shocked by my words, but it soon turned into skepticism. “I am flattered… but you overestimate me.”

“Oh? If you were that ‘weak-minded’, you wouldn’t be out here chatting with the one who tried to kill you.”, I remarked, a little taken aback by the lack of self-confidence in her own courage.

“Misery loves company, no?” I had not a clue of the troubles Y/n had faced before arriving in Liyue. But it seemed to have greatly broken spirit. Perhaps… even my  own  actions had played a great part in it. And this fact was truly disheartening to me.

“Y/n—“, I began, but was interrupted by her tapping my shoulder and directing me towards the battle ensuing in the skies. It seemed like Liyue was on the losing side. The Guizhong Ballista had been completely decimated and many of the soldiers had been gravely injured. Caught off guard by the outcome, I tried to take a step forward to perhaps take action before matters got much worse. But Y/n tugged at my elbow, signaling me to stay back.  That’s right, this is a ‘test’.  And all hope has not been lost yet. 

What followed thoroughly impressed me and put my mind at ease at the same time. Unexpectedly, Ningguang seemed to have taken the route of great sacrifice. The jade chamber crashed down onto the ancient god with a giant explosion, pinning him to the surface of the ocean’s floor forever. I felt myself smile with exasperation as the final realizations and implications dawned upon me.  Liyue… will be fine.  An overwhelming sense of melancholy rushed over me as I subsequently rejoiced in the success of my plans. 

“See? I told you, didn’t I?”, Y/n remarked from beside me.

I glanced at her and she too held an appreciative grin on her face. “Yes.”, I affirmed.

We observed the group as they safely descended back onto the ground with the help of the Adepti. “Off to La Signora, I suppose?”, Y/n asked taking a step back to probably go and check on her friends.

“Ah! You’re… right”, I was once more startled by the precision of the foreigner’s abilities. Maybe I should stop being so skeptical and just accept her explanations.  It’s almost frightening how accurate she is.

I sensed a strange heaviness in my heart as I watched Y/n turn around to take her leave. It felt as if a myriad of emotions were tugging at me. But the one which stood out the most right now… was  guilt . I felt a strange premonition, that I wasn’t going to get this chance again, a chance to apologize… a chance to meet  her  again. Right now, the only reason we were interacting was because of the traveler’s quest to meet the geo archon. But what after that? Judging by the state of things at present, she would instantly turn away even if we happen upon each other in a chance encounter. And I didn’t quite understand why, but immense despondency settled within me as I came to this revelation.

“I… I apologize… I sincerely apologize for what happened that day.”, I impulsively blurted out the words that had constantly been haunting my mind. “I could have taken a more peaceful approach.”

I knew that this was just the bare minimum, not even close enough to get back on good terms with her, but it was what I  needed  to do. It’s clear as day that she has had similar encounters before… I know it for a fact, and I also know that they didn’t go any better, it was so apparent from the way she behaved around me. 

Besides, everything was pointing to her innocence. The more I look into it, the clearer it is. I  owe  her an apology. She was just an unfortunate soul who had been given the burden of knowledge, a knowledge that was better not possessed. And I hadn’t even paused to understand her.  Even after all these years… I still can’t reach even a semblance of Guizhong’s gentleness.  She must be disappointed in me.  I  am disappointed in myself.

Y/n looked back, but the expression of solace from just a few moments ago had once again been replaced by cautious resentment. Unsurprisingly, I was only met with a scoff at my attempt at asking for forgiveness. “Well, in a sense you did do the right thing, if you hadn’t threatened me with death, I would never have come clean.”, she sighed as she replied. “Zhongli, you are a mortal now, try being a bit more  considerate  from now on. As for your apology… I will consider it.” 

That’s right… It’s the beginning of a new life, I must let go of my ways as an archon.  But at that moment, instead of her advice, what captivated my attention was the slight smile on her face as she said those words. It was a rather gloomy one. But even in the desolation of her expressions, I could make out an inkling of warmth, of kindliness… of  hope . Hope that it was not entirely over, that there was still some light at the end of this tunnel. And right then, I felt my heart skip a beat. A strange sensation built in my chest as a smile crept onto my face.  Wait, what—?!

“Alright, that’s it I suppose?”, Y/n cut in and interrupted my thoughts, she was once more readying to leave.

“Just one last thing!”, I hurriedly tried to hold her back. Opening the pocket dimension, I rummaged through to retrieve the feather Y/n had returned. Using the power of my gnosis for perhaps the final time, I successfully attempted to enhance the powers of the artifact before handing it back to her. “Keep it. Your journey will only get harder from here on out. I have imbued it with some more of my power, as long as you use it well, you shall be able to evade more injuries.”

This time Y/n accepted the item without any counter. She explained as she examined the feather, which now had a glowing sheen to it, “As much as I want to reject, adeptal magic is a little too good for me to consider passing on.” She smiled with what seemed like sincere gratitude, “Thank you.”

“I am only paying back what I owe.”, I smiled back.

Game: Genshin Impact

About: Zhongli x fem!reader

Note : The premise is that 'you' get transported into the game and journey through Teyvat along with the traveler. This is a reinterpretation of the Liyue Archon Quests. Hope you enjoy~

Warning: Mentions of violence, slight profanity.

The storm raging inside my head just won’t stop. Everything was a mess and the harder I tried to navigate through it, the more futile my attempts seemed. I was breathing heavy gasps for air, and everything I saw through my eyes was blurry. Everything except the figure that lay on the bed. My eyes were hyper-focused on his body. Lacerations and contusions had mauled the man’s abdomen, still bleeding despite all of the treatment.

I slowly stumbled towards him, agony and shock had taken over my body.  Why was this happening?  “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”, I mumbled in my daze. But before I could reach the man, I had been shoved back into one of the other beds in the infirmary. My head hit squarely against the metal rods of the frames. “Get back!”, the red-haired man hollered as he drew his mighty great sword against me. 

Looking up at him, I noticed the look of unadulterated spite in his expression. Tears slowly started welling up in my eyes, “D-Diluc! I am sorry! I didn’t think this would happen.”

“Didn’t  think  this would happen?”, provoked by my words, he raised his weapon to strike me, only to be stopped by the Acting Grandmaster. 

“Sir! You have to calm down!”, she pulled him back with her forearms. 

“Calm down?! It’s been three days! Kaeya hasn’t woken up for  three days  now!”, snatching away from the blonde’s arms Diluc dropped his claymore and walked back towards me. Bending down, he grabbed my face with his right hand and pulled me up. “It was a  trap , wasn’t it?”

His fingers that were digging into my lower jaw were searing like the coals of a glowing fire. My legs were helplessly dangling in the air as I raised my hands to claw at his forearm trying to speak through his iron grip. “N-No! Pl-eas-e t-ru-st me!”

“Diluc! You have to let her go! This is against the regulation of the knights!”, Jean tried to persuade the raging brother.

“I am NOT a knight!”, he shouted. “Tell me,  everything  foreigner .  Otherwise, I will not hesitate to end your life.”

══════════════════

How had it come to this? I only wanted to repay the favor. That’s all. I just wanted to help out. Was this happening because a small part of me was selfishly hoping that I could go home? Perhaps, I wasn’t as selfless as I thought. 

For the past countless hours I had been sinking in and out of consciousness, but I was neither fully awake nor completely knocked out. My body was tired from the beating but I couldn’t sleep.  I just want to die.  I no longer even wished to go home, I just wanted the pain to end. Diluc was going to be back soon, he and Jean had only left to deal with Stormterror’s attack.  I was right…  The abyss was actually the one behind the attack, after that hellish interrogation, my mind is crystal clear. The game had explicitly stated their involvement.  But then what happened with Kaeya?

I leaned further back onto the cold metal walls of the prison as the incidents from the past few hours kept replaying in my mind. I had unwittingly rambled on about the truth. But instead of faith, all I had received were faces of disgust and alarm. 

  A crazy woman…  I suppose they are right. At this point, I am starting to wonder if it is all truly a delusion. Maybe this ‘home’ is just something I dreamed up. But when I spoke of their pasts… it seemed like I was speaking the truth. Then where did I even obtain such information, was I truly some sort of spy? I don’t have a single memory of that sort…

I am sure Diluc is going to scorch me to death this time , the only reason he had been even mildly lenient is that Kaeya had finally gained consciousness. I looked out through the metal bars of the window, the sun had already set. After being saved from that cave, I thought everything was going to be fine, but it seems like I was too naive.  Why did I even try to meddle…?  Now that I think about it, the main character hasn’t even arrived yet. I wonder if it will be the brother…? He was always the poster boy. Perhaps I should have gone with the original plan to wait for them to complete the story and then ask for their help, but Dvalin’s attacks had seemed too terrifying… I couldn’t keep to myself.  Well, it’s not like I will even be getting the chance to see them anymore. 

I closed my eyes with an overwhelming sense of defeat hanging over my mind,  I guess it’s better to just die peacefully now.

As if to break me out of my daze of despondency I heard someone call out to me. A strange premonition hit me as I slowly came to consciousness,  the anemo archon!  I was convinced that I had recognized the person correctly as if I had already lived through these events.  I am going to be saved once more!  But I had been utterly incorrect. The one to walk through the iron bars of the jail was none other than the  geo  archon. He had his spear drawn, and his eyes and hair were glowing as well. 

When he spoke, it felt like the whole room resonated with his voice. But I couldn’t make his words out, they had been overlaid with everyone else’s. All of them threatened to kill me. It felt like molten lead was being poured into my head, trying to melt my mind. I raised my hands to my ears trying to make it all subside but the intensity only kept increasing. So I started screaming as well, trying to drown out their whispers of malice.

Unable to take any more of it, I pried my eyes open. But instead of the ceiling of the dark and dingy prison cell, I saw an ornate one, presumably made out of wood. I wasn’t sleeping on any cold metal either, it was a soft bed…  the hotel bed.  I raised my hands in front of my face as I tried to calm myself.  Another one of those dreams.  But it had been a while since I had revisited my memories from the city of wind. Shivering from even the thought of an incident that had long gone by I sat up and glanced at my companions who were sleeping soundly on the bed next to mine.  Thank god… it doesn’t seem like I woke them up.  Carefully getting up, I tiptoed out of the room and into the balcony to get some fresh air.

 Ever since  that  incident, I had been having these hellish nightmares even more frequently. So much so that I was hardly getting any sleep. Still, despite my apprehensions, the archon quests had proceeded to continue as they were supposed to. In fact, they had carried on even more smoothly than before. Perhaps it was because this time, I had truly dissolved into the background.  I hope everything continues this way, I can let what happen to Kaeya, happen again.  We had come back a bit late tonight since the geo archon had treated us to a meal at Third-round Knockout.

That’s right, ‘today’ was when Zhongli was supposed to ask us out to dinner.  I wonder if I had noticed that discrepancy earlier and managed to decline his invitation for drinks… would I not have ended up in that  situation ?   I sighed as I tried to dismiss that topic from my mind for the hundredth time today.  No, that exchange by the sea might just have been what saved me. There is no need to worry anymore, ‘he’ will not hurt me.  We hadn’t really interacted after that confrontation .  It was too awkward to even share greetings. But then again, how could I  not  feel awkward around a man who had tried to kill me? It wasn’t the first time someone had to tried to take my life, it wasn’t even the first time that it had been a prominent ‘character’. At one point, all of Mondstadt had tried to assassinate me. Perhaps this exactly was why I had freaked out when I first saw him, maybe I was actually right to be afraid. The geo archon’s merciless brutality was too unnerving for me to bear.

But that was not what had been causing my distress. No matter how you look at it,  Zhongli has gone easy on me.  While his attacks did truly wound me, none of them were fatal injuries. In fact, other than the lacerations on my hands, which were mostly self-inflicted, none of the hits were severe enough to even cause me to bleed. The pain from my body had subsided merely a day after the incident, all that was left was soreness, so I am sure there weren’t any internal injuries either. I am glad that was the case,  but why?!  Not only did he  not  kill me, but he also let me off the hook pretty easily. I did do my best, but was he truly so easily convinced by my excuses? I have been pretty vigilant and unless he’s using some sort of archon magic, I am not being investigated in the off time either. The final nail in the coffin for my suspicions is the fact that he tried to instantly eliminate me. Without even attempting to interrogate me, he had skipped to directly killing me. It was as if he were trying to spare me from the pain of torture.  ‘This is the most gracious I can be, Y/n.’,  that’s what he had said.

 But once again,  why?! Why was he being gracious?  No matter how hard I tried to rack my brain, there just came no plausible reason for his leniency. There had to be something I am missing. “What the hell are you scheming?”, I unwittingly mumbled under my breath.

“Who?”, the traveler asked from behind me, causing me to flinch in fear. 

“Lumine! I thought you were asleep…?”, I nervously chuckled.

“I heard you getting up.”, she moved beside me and leaned on the railing of the balcony as she spoke. “So, what’s the matter?”

“Huh?”, I asked in confusion.

She had a perturbed look on her face, “Don’t think that I haven’t noticed the changes in your behavior Y/n.”

Realizing the connotations of her words I looked away, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“You keep waking up in the middle of the night in a frenzied mess for the past few days… like  right now.  Ever since we parted ways to make that potion you haven’t spoken to Mr. Zhongli even once, in fact, you flinch every time he even looks at you. The awkward tension between the two of you is  literally  palpable. You keep saying that nothing happened but I am having a hard time believing you Y/n.”, Lumine’s eyes were unwavering as she tried to confront me.

Jeez, she’s reminding me of Zhongli.  “You are being delusional. There is nothing going on… I was just reminded of Mondstadt with all of the archon talks these days.”, I sighed as I tried to make plausible excuses.

The traveler’s expressions immediately softened as she moved closer to me. She didn’t say anything for a while, but soon spoke up as the silence got increasingly uncomfortable, “I saw the two of you… outside Third-round knockout. Y/n, it didn’t seem like the conversation that you were having was very  pleasant.”

Shocked at her confession I turned to look at her, but by the look on her face, it didn’t seem like she had overheard us.  That forsaken man is going to be the death of me… even if he isn’t the one to do it.  Incomprehensible frustration rose within me as I remembered our exchange. “It’s not a big deal… we were at odds about a  historical fact . You know how stubborn I can be.”

Lumine narrowed her eyes in skepticism as she huffed. “Again.”

“Hmm?” I carefully observed her, trying to determine if she had bought my words.

“You are avoiding me again. I thought we had become much closer than last time. I know— I understand, that what happen in Mondstadt is very hard for you to talk about. You were lucky to have the anemo archon’s favor, but I wish you could depend on me a little more. Just like you said when you first met me, our journey is not going to be easy, that’s exactly why we should  trust  each other.” The distress on the girl’s face was intelligible. 

I felt guilt and sympathy well up inside of me…  Perhaps I shouldn’t have said anything to her.  Despite all the perils I faced in the city of wind, things had somehow managed to work out. All of the knights even tried to appease me when the situation was resolved and my innocence was apparent, though it was clear they still held some reservations against me. At the time, I had wanted nothing more than to get out of that place. Barbatos had been kind to me and had promised me safety but I didn’t manage to let go of my agitation.  If things could go wrong in Mondstadt, then what about the rest of the story?  After defeating Dvalin, I could have cut off my ties to the traveler but instead, I played with her feelings.  She knows that I have a clue about her brother… that’s why she wants me to trust her.  Unfortunately, I never planned on telling Lumine more than what was necessary to let me accompany her. I took her hands into mine as I tried my best to apologize, “I am sorry Lumine, I can’t tell you what you want to hear from me.”

It’s not like I didn’t want to put the lonely traveler out of her misery, but I knew better than to interrupt fate.  I really do want to tell you, but how could I? If you ask me where your brother is, I am afraid I won’t be able to answer, forgive me.  Perhaps noticing the sincerity in my expression Lumine suddenly embraced me. “I will find him… right?”

The traveler’s voice was clearly faltering as if she was about to burst into tears. “Yes. No matter what… at the end of this journey, you  will be reunited. ”

“Then, stay alive… and when I find him, don’t forget to ask for  that  favor.” I raised my arms to pat her back in an attempt to calm her down. She didn’t show it very often, but the traveler truly only had one thing on her mind, and the more time that went by, the more strung up she got. 

I chuckled, “I wouldn’t dare to forget.”

“You know… whenever  you  say something  will  happen, it feels like the ultimate truth, as if it was written in stone.”, she sniffled as she pulled back. 

This was perhaps the first time the traveler had broken down before me, I can’t imagine how much harder it will get as she starts learning the truth. I ruffled her hair as melancholy for my strange friend took over me. Startled by my touch she pushed my hands away, “Hey! I am much older than you think.”

I giggled, “I know.”

Smiling at my response she stretched her hands wearily, “Come on let’s get some sleep. We won’t be seeing Mr. Zhongli tomorrow, so there’s no need to get more worked up.”

I huffed at Lumine’s words, “That’s right, we’ll be meeting someone far more important…”

“Paimon seems very excited about the visit.”

“Well, she  is  the Tianquin.”

“I must say that I too look forward to seeing the Jade chamber.”

“ Me as well.”, I affirmed. “Though I think I need a few more minutes out here, I‘ll come in soon.”

I took a deep breath of the cold midnight air. Even though we were considerably far away from the docks the salty fragrance of the sea was still lingering. Lumine’s words ran through my head as I closed my eyes to try and enjoy the calm. Soon the events from outside the restaurant took front place in my mind. I still hadn’t managed to come up with a reason for Zhongli’s action. His behavior  now  was far more puzzling than when he was trying to end my life.

“Y/n?”, I was enjoying the ‘otherworldly’ delicacies laid out in front of me as I flinched at the familiarly terrifying voice that questioned me. I turned to my side and just as I thought, it had been Zhongli.

He had a curious expression on his face as he took a seat next to me. Flinching at the proximity I moved to the furthest end of the bench. I truly had come back to square one. Noticing my uneasiness, the geo archon shifted away as well. “I am hoping that everything is going well…”, he whispered so as to not catch the attention of Lumine and Paimon who were busy listening to the storyteller give exposition about the Tianquin, Ningguang. 

Sighing at my seemingly never-ending misery I asked, “Do you know what my most powerful weapon is?”

“Your ability…?”, he inquired in confusion.

“That’s right. You see, my ability can only work once. And the outcome where your plans succeed is the best possible one I could hope for.”

“I don’t understand.”

“If I mess with what is going perfectly well… I will lose my only advantage in this world.”, I looked towards the geo archon with conviction. Measly fear shall not become the cause of my downfall. “Rest assured that I will not ‘renege’ on my words.”

“I realize that…”, Zhongli started cautiously. “But I was merely curious about your recovery…”, he looked down at my hands with worry.

Sudden vexation welled inside of me. I was furious, but it was hard to comprehend its impetus. This! This is exactly what has been irritating me these past few days! Zhongli has been incredulously courteous towards me. As if we were friends! As if he hadn’t tried to kill me! In fact, the only one being awkward was me, this man had continued with his considerate facade. “You did this to me.”, my voice was raspy with resentment.

Getting frustrated by his callous nonchalance I got up from my seat and made my way out to get some air. Unfortunately, the geo archon had followed me. “I was of the understanding that our differences had been settled?”, he politely questioned.

“Settling our differences you say?”, I scoffed at his almost innocent ignorance. “You threatened my life and then spared me at your whim, and I only complied. All because I didn’t want to die, mind you.”

“Exactly—“, the naive confusion on Zhongli’s face only served to fuel the fire of my rage.

“We are not friends. I am not going to merrily greet you nor am I going to indulge you in your fancies of companionship. So stop behaving like we are!”, I sternly cut him off. “The only relation we have is the one enlisted in our contract.”

Taken aback by my outburst Zhongli stayed silent for a moment. “I seem to have deeply offended you with my show of courtesy. I hadn’t realized your great dissatisfaction with our situation.” He took a step back as he spoke, “I understand now, and will keep your words in my mind.”

Perplexed by his reaction I fell back, burying my face in my palms as I sighed. “Just like you don’t intend to apologize for your actions, I don’t intend to forgive you.”

The confusion on the geo archon's face had been replaced by a remote calm. “I… understand.”

“If you wanted to kill me, at least act as if you meant it out of malice. I am not a charity box for your pity.”, my voice was wavering. The way Zhongli behaved like a robot with the only 'setting' of being ‘polite’ made me realize how utterly meaningless I must seem to him. “There’s no need for you to heed your hostility.” 

But the geo archon only remained silent. 

Frowning at his austere response which still seemed to be filled with unwelcome consideration, I walked back into the restaurant since Ganyu would be arriving at any moment.

I didn’t have the will to spare even a single glance towards the archon for the rest of the night, and he hadn’t bothered me either.  I hope by the time we have to face him again, I will have figured him out a bit.  Cursing at my fucked up life for the millionth time I retired to the room as well.

Banner art by Maria Rose on Twitter.

Game: Genshin Impact

About: Zhongli x fem!reader

Note 1: The premise is that 'you' get transported into the game and journey through Teyvat along with the traveler. This is a reinterpretation of the Liyue Archon Quests. Hope you enjoy~

Words: ~1.7k

Battle fatigue…”, Zhongli started as I moved away from his arms after having gained some semblance of stability. “It is a common illness among soldiers. After having experienced trauma at the battlefield some are never able to get over it, even in the entirety of their lives.”

I sniffled as I wiped all the tears away from my face, “Oh.”

“I was not aware that you had experienced that sort of history…”, he glanced at me as he trailed off.

I let out a dry chuckle, “I had never expected to experience such an incident either.” We had been seated near a tree, away from the bloodied camp. The corpses had all but disappeared into thin air, it was a strange phenomenon that occurred in this world, erasing every trace of my crime, as if it hadn’t even happened. I curled up my limbs in fright of my mind as I tried to put the whole incident behind me.

The geo archon sighed beside me as he continued, “Those… creatures of the abyss, they are monsters that bring harm. Do not torment yourself for only doing what is right.”

“Monsters, yes… yes, I understand.”, I spoke in a mumble as I looked up in front of me.

Zhongli didn’t say anything further and we just sat in awkward silence for a few moments. The wind rustled through the Sandbearer tree we were leaning against, a few of the golden leaves falling down due to the force. I extended my right hand to catch one of them in my palm. On closer inspection it looked like the leaves were almost transparent, there seemed something… strangely fleeting about them. “Pretty…”, I let out in an inaudible whisper.

Somehow managing to catch my words, Zhongli responded, “These trees are very common in Liyue, hence their beauty is hardly appreciated. But if admired carefully, they have something truly mystical about them.”

I smiled at his attempt to bring comfort to me as I played around with the leaf in my hand, “They might just be my favorite… they don’t stand out even one bit among the more exotic varieties, but they can still be so remarkable with how they enhance the beauty of the entire area.”, I started. “I imagine a field full of silk flowers wouldn’t look that pleasing.”

Zhongli chuckled at my statement. “I suppose that’s true.”

Smiling along with him I continued, “If I imagine myself to be like these Sandbearer trees… ordinary yet impressive… I feel a sense of solace.”

“Only a few comprehend the joy of finding beauty in the ordinary… I understand what you mean.”, the geo archon seemed to be reminiscing about something himself.

“…” The feeling of vulnerability in my heart hadn’t vanished yet, but I also felt unusually at ease. “It was some time ago… was it a human or a hilichurl… I do not know.”

“Did it attack you first?”, Zhongli turned to face me.

“Yes.”, I continued to look away.

“Then you only did what you could, you did not have a choice.”, he replied nonchalantly.

Feeling a prick of guilt, I explained, “… I did. It was trying to run away.”

To my surprise, the geo archon only sighed, “There is a certain ‘code’ followed by the brave warriors of the Millelith. If one raises their weapon intending to fight, they have declared that they are ready to be killed.”

My eyes widened in confusion as I looked at him. There was only empathy in his expressions as if trying to convince me that I truly didn’t do anything wrong. Never once had I entertained the thought that my actions were actually in the right, to me I had only committed a grave sin. And just like yesterday, Zhongli once again lightly patted my head with tenderness. Do I believe him? Do I believe that I didn’t do anything wrong? Turning my head back the other way, I sullenly whispered, “But it still… hurts.”

“This karma is a weight we must all bear, it will be a burden on you forever and you can never relieve yourself of it. But it is necessary to accept it if you wish to survive. The best you can do is to still hold on to your morals and beliefs and continue to move forward.”, there was melancholy in his voice as Zhongli spoke. The weight of the actions committed over numerous millennia shone in his words. “Great sacrifices need to be made if peace is to be achieved.” That’s right… Rex Lapis… he has killed far more beings than a single hillichurl. Some of who were probably innocent as well. I smirked as the realization that the person sitting next to me was a veteran warrior hit me. To him, my concerns must seem childish. But I somehow feel consoled by hearing these words from someone like him. I feel acknowledged.

“Thank you.”, I smiled, trying to muster as much of my gratitude as I could in my expressions.

Smiling back at me, he retracted his hand after giving me a final pat on my head. Embarrassed, I raised my hands to my head as I looked away. “It seems like I always make a mess of myself when I am in front of you.”

Zhongli bent forward trying to peek at my face as he chuckled, “I hope it is because you are able to find at least an inkling of comfort in my words.”

My face probably flushed even more as I replied, “Certainly… I do.”

Feeling somewhat relaxed I stretched my limbs. The fear wasn’t gone by any measure, but I had regained my motivation to some degree at least. I gathered a few more of the Sandbearer leaves in my hand, trying to arrange them by size. Interrupting the silence, this time Zhongli spoke out, “Guizhong… they were surely closer than mere partners.”

Shocked by the sudden change in topic and the content of his words I gasped, “Huh?”

“What they shared was a deep bond of respect and admiration. Sadly, there never came a time where they could act upon and refine their affections for each other.”, Zhongli was leaning against the bark of the tree with his eyes closed.

“So… do you mean…” Trying to comprehend his words, I didn’t respond for a while. Wait a minute… admiration means ‘love’ right? He did mention ‘affection’ as well, which I’m pretty sure means love. If that’s so, is he admitting to what I think he is?! Trying to contain my bewilderment I asked, “Was he truly in love with her?”

“….”, he didn’t reply making me impatient but before I said anything else he opened his eyes. “Perhaps… but before he realized the true depth of his feelings, it had already been… too late.”

“She died…?”, I proposed, but he only responded with a nod. “That is…” There was a myriad of emotions in Zhongli’s eyes, some that I couldn't even begin to understand. He must have really loved her a lot.

“She had been put down by Rex Lapis himself… the one she adored so… and the one who unknowingly returned those sentiments as well.”, he continued. But it seemed like he was talking more to himself than me. Unwittingly I placed my hand on his shoulder. Zhongli looked pitiable once more. I had never truly experienced romantic love in my life, for I had been brought here before I could even live out that aspect of my life. But I could still greatly feel the pain of his unrequited love in my heart as well. Seriously… even an all-powerful being like him can be so easily affected by something so trivial. Zhongli didn’t even realize that my hand was on his shoulder, or maybe he just didn’t mind it. Honestly, as payback, I kinda wanted to pat his head too, but I don’t think I want to find out how kindly he would take to that action.

“Great sacrifices… is this what you meant…?”, I asked remembering his words from a few moments ago. Still, being in love… and having to take down who was probably your best friend are two very different things.

Perhaps unable to speak further upon the topic he remained silent. “It was probably best him than anyone else if I had to go down by somebody’s hand… I would be glad for it to be the one I loved.”, I tried to cheer him up. But he continued with the solemn expression on his face. “Rex Lapis must have been so terribly devastated, but he still took up the responsibility. The God of Dust must have been a truly special person to him. Even towards the end, she seemed like she wanted Morax to only be happy. Otherwise, why would she tell him to stop trying to open the dumbbell? And I am sure she must be very proud of how Liyue has grown!”, I rambled on, trying to say anything appropriate that came to my mind.

Zhongli broke into a chuckle at my helpless attempts. Not exactly the reaction I was hoping for, but this works as well. I smiled along, but when he didn’t stop for a while I narrowed my eyes a little offended by how I was being mocked which only made him laugh harder. “I merely wanted to comfort you, but instead you’ve done so for me, it’s as if—“, he suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

“What happen?”, I asked slightly taken aback.

“Nothing.”, he shook his head.

I smirked at his reaction as I got up. We should get the work done now. Noticing the Guili Assembly once more, I spoke, “A love so great… despite the pain, it must have felt amazing right?”

“Mhm, she truly meant the world to me.”, the geo archon replied from behind me as he stood up as well.

“You must miss her immensely…” I slowly started making my way towards the statue of the seven.

“…Yes, strangely I still find myself thinking about her every other day.”, he spoke as he opened his pocket dimension to retrieve the cleaning supplies once more.

“That’s just how love is.”, I casually remarked.

But then instead of his usual composed replies, he called out to me with a strange tone, “Y/n…”

“Hmm?”, I turned around in wonder. Zhongli stood with his spear pointed to my neck, there was hostility in his eyes.

Banner Image art by: Twitter @plus_Q_

Part 9:

I bet that his love language is that if Y/N explains the ENTIRETY of Liyue history, from start to finish, to him he’ll just look at her with love eyes with a dreamy look to him like a love struck student having a girl-crush on their teacher that they find very attractive.

Lmaoo~~~ That sounds pretty accurate~!

Game: Genshin Impact

About: Zhongli x fem!reader

Note 1: The premise is that 'you' get transported into the game and journey through Teyvat along with the traveler. This is a reinterpretation of the Liyue Archon Quests. Hope you enjoy~

Words: ~3.8k

Warning: Mentions of violence, slight profanity.

“Who… are you?”, Zhongli’s eyes were fierce, all the camaraderie from earlier seemed to have evaporated. Even his voice was raspy from the animosity.

My body instantly froze up as the realization dawned upon me. I fell for it! I fell for his trap! Trying my best to gain stability in the situation I started, “What happ—“

But I was only met with the geo archon taking a step forward, his lance resting on my collarbone, causing me to reflexively raise my hands in the air. “Our little chat at the harbor mitigated my suspicions of you, but I shouldn’t have let my guard down.” My body had immediately started shivering in fear but I didn’t dare to take a step back, there was wrathful resolution in the geo archon’s expressions. “The Fatui?”, he suddenly proposed.

Completely caught off guard by his suggestion, I immediately perked up in my defense, “The Fatui?!” Reacting to my motion Zhongli probed his spear sideways lightly cutting the skin where it made contact. “Agh!”, I yelped. He has definitely figured out that I know of his identity, but he wouldn’t immediately jump on the offensive because of that. There is something else… But why the Fatui? I need to make sure we are on the same page. Taking a deep breath to stop my jaw from jittering, I continued, “I am not in any sort of collusion with the Fatui!”

Expectedly, the chillingly calm composure of his face didn’t shift even a little, he only continued in his stern voice, “You may be aware, but Rex Lapis once said, ‘The one who reneges on their words shall suffer the Wrath of the Rock.’”

Oh my god! He has totally made his mind up to kill me! Strangely, instead of panicking, a peculiar calm had taken over my mind, maybe it’s because I have already been afraid of him, or maybe it’s because I know him now… at least a little, I suppose. I felt hope… hope that I could talk this out. But first I needed to get him to retract this spear from my neck. “Contract…?”, I tried my best to calmly reply as I looked straight into his reptilian amber eyes that were dark from spite. “I have no idea about what you are implying.”

“Drop the act Y/n. I have noticed you constantly glancing around at the Fatui agents that have been spying on us. You even recognized the Harbinger. Tell me…”, the geo archon cocked his head to the side as he questioned me, “Was it Signora?”

So that’s it… I should have known… I was being observed. I opened my mouth to reply as I glanced to my side as if something had caught my eyes, causing Zhongli to quickly flick his eyes to follow my line of sight. I instantly took the opportunity to grasp at the polearm, planting my hands on the cor-lapis shaft. Instantly registering my attempt to push it away, he pulled the lance towards him causing the sharp metal to cut through my fists. “Urgh,” I grunted as the pain spread through to the entirety of my arms. Expecting me to let go, Zhongli prepared to thrust it back towards my neck but instead loosened his grip with confusion as I continued to hold on to the tip of the spear. The edges of the weapon buried themselves deeper into my palms causing deep red blood to unstoppably gush out. “You—“, he growled in disbelief. Because he had suddenly released the pressure, the spear threatened to fall out of his hand, but instead of trying to regain control, he let it drop. I looked up at him in confusion, uncertainty had crept onto his face but instead of pausing to comprehend it I immediately started running away towards the statue of the seven. What the hell…?

After reaching the statue I scampered around to the front before I quickly peaked back at the geo archon and sure enough, he was chasing after me. And he was angry. I quickly placed my numbed hands onto the statue, trying to activate it despite the frantic state of my mind. Whatever was making him hesitant has definitely been resolved. Well then… I should get out of here now. Once I teleport he can’t follow—

“There is no point in trying to run away.”, the archon hollered. “‘Ones who break their contracts shall suffer the Wrath of the Rock.’” Zhongli had already almost reached me. This! This is just like that quest! He seriously isn’t going to give up. After teleporting, where do I even go…? And what of the story?! I… I have to face this right now.

I nervously gulped as I moved my right hand to my waist. And just as Zhongli made his way around the statue, I struck him with the dagger I had pulled out from my pouch. One advantage of not using pocket dimensions is that the opposition can never hear you draw your weapon. But before my blow could make contact with his body, I had been deflected. I helplessly fell back as I slowly noticed the almost transparent, golden wall that surrounded the geo archon. His shield! “Your petty tricks won’t work on me twice Y/n.” Materializing his polearm once more, he readied to strike me. Barely having maintained my balance I managed to roughly parry his blow.

“Do you not think it’s fair that you at least explain what crime you are accusing me of?”, I grunted through gritted teeth.

“Oh?”, he scoffed as he slowly increased the speed and intensity of his strikes. I kept trying to clumsily block them, but it could hardly even be considered ‘countering’, I was only managing to endure the hits on my fingers. “If you aren’t with the Fatui, pray-tell how you found out my identity. Besides any normal friend would inform of strange occurrences like a Harbinger spying on them, right?”

“Urgh!”, I cried as my nails started bleeding from his attacks. I need to give him a convincing reply. Racking my brains hard, suddenly a memory flashed into my mind. “Your eyes!”, I exclaimed, holding the dagger horizontally with both my hands to block all the charges. 'Rex Incognito', it was an in-game book about his alias’ in the past. It mentioned how even though his form changed multiple times, his eyes always remained the same, leaving him vulnerable to being recognized. This should make a plausible excuse! “Only Morax is said to possess reptilian amber eyes.”

And just as I had anticipated, Zhongli paused and took a step back. I eased my stance and started panting for air, even simple dodging seemed to eat up all of my stamina. The geo archon stood unmoving in front of me, it was clear from his countenance that he was trying to process what I was saying. “It seems… I might have mistaken your affiliations.”, he spoke as he turned his eyes towards me. But before I could rejoice with relief, the man had knocked me down to my feet. I crashed into the rocky terrain of the hill behind me, the sharp edges bruising my limbs. I didn’t even see that one coming! My body felt numb, even my head was ringing from the impact. I raised my hand to my forehead, and luckily, it wasn’t bleeding. Despite the rapid convulsions of my body, I tried to get up. The sound of Zhongli walking toward me had started fueling me with adrenaline. Why didn’t that work?!

And as if in response to my thoughts the geo archon explained, “You truly do not have any association with the Fatui, I believe you. Since they do tend to train their agents well in combat.”, he spoke as he swatted the dagger away from my hand with the shaft of his polearm. “Y/n… you seem to have affiliations far more dangerous than that.”

My attempts at trying to get up were immediately thwarted by the rumbling of the ground. Intricate geo structures jutted out and caged all of my limbs to the wall of the hill I had been thrown against. I wasn’t able to move even a single muscle as absolute dread slowly settled into my body. I had been driven into a corner, both literally and figuratively. Dammit! I should have just teleported. The pacifist approach is never the way in this world. “What are you talking about…?”

“During Guizhong’s death, the only beings around were the adepti and the other gods.”, having confined me, Zhongli started to slowly pace around. “Most of the adepti have now turned to stone, while the gods lay sealed. Many of them have turned vengeful, and would take any opportunity to bring havoc to this time of peace.” His eyes flicked towards me, they were glinting with fury. “It seems that my time has not yet come, there is still much to do.”

Does he think I am trying to resurrect some older god…? “Listen, I really am not in cahoots with—!”

“Careful Y/n. Speak only if you intend to tell me the truth.”, the geo archon interrupted me with his unyielding tone. “And you can count on me to detect when someone is lying.”

I nervously gulped at his threat. The truth? What truth do I tell him? It would all sound like nonsensical gibberish to him. And even if he does believe me… what of the story…? “I did actually read about all of this somewhere! No god told me about—“

“Where?”, he harshly cut in.

I bit my lip as I tried to think of an answer, the metallic taste of blood gushed into my mouth. There is no in-game book that talks about this… it was a ‘weapon’s’ description. “I do not remember.”, I solemnly spoke.

“Wrong answer.” The sky suddenly darkened as the rumbling of the ground increased in intensity, I looked up at Zhongli in trepidation.

His eyes and hair seemed to be glowing with a golden shine and his hands were crossed at his chest. “That was your only chance, Y/n.”

I broke into a cold sweat as the realization dawned on me. “No! Please don’t! Please don’t do this!”, I shrieked as the ground only shook louder, almost drowning my screams. “Please! I beg you! I mean no harm!” Isn’t the logical solution to try and investigate me?! Why is directly jumping to the final step?! Despite knowing that my efforts were in vain I kept moving my body, trying to pull out of the stone locks on my limbs. They had all started bleeding from scraping against the sharp edges of the geo constructs. “I beg you! Don’t do this.”, I cried.

But I was only met with the geo archon’s animosity. “This is the most generous I can be, Y/n.”

I felt the hair on my body stand up as the familiar feeling of death knocking on your door spread through my body. This was real. Just like back in that cave. This sense of my impending doom was real. Lumine is probably still far away, there was no one to save me. I was actually going to die, without having gone back to my world and without getting to see my friends and family for one last time. Heck, I’m not even a little close to my goal and I am just going to die this early on. I started chuckling hysterically as Zhongli summoned his little meteor. “The traveler might probably never meet her brother because of this, right?”, I mumbled under my breath.

The man standing in front of me was a bit taken aback by my reaction, but only continued with a frown. “I will have—“

“Another world! I am from another world as well!”, I screeched before he could complete. I’m sorry Lumine, but I need to live. Intrigued by my words, Zhongli paused, causing the sky to brighten a little and the rumbling to subside. Inhaling a deep breath I continued, “Just like Lumine…” I coughed as I tried to speak clearly. “I am from another world as well.”

“And how does that explain anything…?”, Zhongli scorned my words. Even though the meteor had disappeared, he still had his spear drawn at me.

“You could call it a power… of sorts.”, this idea had struck me just a moment ago. I could tell him the truth without sounding too crazy. “I know intimate details of your life because of that…” Besides, how do I even begin to explain the concept of a video game to him?

“Huh?”, the geo archon narrowed his eyes with clear skepticism.

“Azdaha! He is still alive, right? Sealed below the Dragon-Queller in Nantianmen? Harvia, Goddess of Salt, her benevolence is what killed her, that was a great lesson to you during the Archon War. You don’t like seafood. That is because you had to capture and wipe out some squishy monsters from every nook and cranny of Liyue. And…” I racked my brains trying to remember more details. “In exchange for your gnosis… you made a contract with the Tsaritsa. A contract to end all contracts… she wants to bring down Celestia and that… that’s a way to protect your Liyue, no?” Zhongli’s eyes widened more and more as I stated each fact. And now as the final nail in the coffin! “Childe… he’s just a bait in your schemes, right?” I made sure to state completely unrelated information from varied times, this way it won’t seem like either the Fatui or some ‘god’ told me about it. To be honest, it ‘is’ kinda clever that he came to such a conclusion.

Lowering his spear, the geo archon beckoned, “Continue…”

Huh?! Is that not enough?! I bit my lips once more as another idea popped into my head. Wait! This can sell it even more! “Osial… He’s the one who will attack soon, right? And the Tianquin and the Adeptus will fight it, but if things go wrong, you’ll step in. Which won’t happen…”, I gulped under Zhongli’s strict gaze. Too much Fatui! “T-The perfume, that Lumine is going to bring, the statue is going to resonate most with the more mature women’s style… cause this is all for Guizhong… right?”

“Another world’s power you say…?”, Zhongli trailed off, probably still trying to make sense of my words.

“Yes…”, I meekly replied, still unsure if my strategy had even worked.

“And you know the details about everyone’s lives? Even futures, by the looks of it…”, he inquired.

“Significant individuals *shine* brighter than others you know, and only significant events… events that are on your mind.”, I made up some mumbo-jumbo. The playable characters of the game indeed stood out to me more than the others, but that was purely because I knew about them. This world, in no way, revolved around these people, I had encountered multiple remarkable individuals here. Some, that stood out even more than the playable characters, but they had never been mentioned in the game, not even as NPCs. In fact, to even me, perhaps the most significant person would be the one who got me out of that cave.

“It sounds like astrology.”, Zhongli remarked. It seemed like he was slowly coming around to the idea.

“I suppose…you could call it that.”, I played along.

“What are you doing here with the traveler?”, he cautiously prompted, the wariness in his eyes still remained.

I sighed as I answered, “I only wish to go home, that’s all. I don’t know how I even got here in the first place, but if I could, I would leave this second… The traveler has the power to send me home.” I looked up at Zhongli with determination, trying my hardest to plead my case. The geo archon only responded with his silence, deliberating his next moves. “I promise! I promise I have no intention to intervene with your plans, and I don’t have anything to do with this city either. I only want to help Lumine, who is completely innocent.” I tried to emphasize the ‘innocent’ as much as I could. If I didn’t make it out of this ordeal alive, I at least wanted her to be able to continue her journey peacefully. “But I will leave Liyue this second if that’s what you wish”

“…” Zhongli continued with his silence for a few moments until he suddenly undid the stone restraints. My body was already numb from the pain, causing me to collapse to the ground. Puzzled and slightly optimistic I tried to quickly lift myself with the help of my forearms. Sighing at my futile attempts he held out his hand for support, “Will you sign a contract with me?”

Astonished by his suggestion, I blinked a few times to process his words, “Huh?”

“Take an oath that you will not take any action that will bring harm to the people of Liyue, and in return, I shall let you go.”, he elaborated.

Neglecting the hand he lent me, I leaned against the hill trying to let the connotations of the geo archon’s proposal sink in. Rex Lapis is definitely a straightforward type of person, and there are no loopholes in his proposition either… “As long as I don’t bring harm to Liyue, you don’t bring any harm to me…?” I suggested a counter. I am literally at his mercy and am in no position to make demands, but there’s no point in only prolonging my death by agreeing to a faulty ‘contract’.

Smirking at my misplaced courage he replied, “Alright. As long as you don’t bring harm to Liyue, I won’t bring you any harm either.” He did not retract his hand, only turned it to offer a handshake instead.

“Okay then… I agree.”, I extended my bloodied hand to meet his. Throughout the entirety of the fight, he managed to keep himself and his clothes entirely unaffected, only to be soiled by a truce. How ironic.

“Beware Y/n, ‘The one who reneges on their words shall suffer the Wrath of the Rock.’” With the support of his hand and some geo constructs, Zhongli helped me get back on my feet.

“I understand.”, I nodded with assertion. Relief had slowly started flooding through my mind and body. Is this over? Am I really going to live? I knew for a fact that Zhongli was an honorable man, he wouldn’t dare to go back on his word. Making a contract with him was literally the best possible outcome to this whole situation.

I looked to the geo archon in wonder and noticed that he had nonchalantly gotten to work with cleaning the statue. I scoffed at the sight. Seriously? After all that… This must be an ordinary event for him. Trying to kill a potential threat, sparing said threat, making contracts… All in the average day of a god perhaps. But I still couldn’t help but sigh in disbelief.

“Why… why didn’t you kill me?”, I unobtrusively inquired, having had my curiosity getting the best of me.

“Because you made a contract with me.”, he responded instantly.

That’s it?! “Really?”, I asked with skepticism.

“No.”, he replied with the same intensity.

“?!”, my face frowned with confusion,

Slightly chuckling at my reaction, he spoke, “It’s part of the reason… if you keep quiet, you most certainly don’t have the physical prowess to cause any effective amount of harm. And you’ve experienced firsthand how easily I can end you.”

“That’s true…” I sighed. Still, it would be easier to just kill me. Is this just him being ‘kind’? Though, he is described as anything but that. Rex Lapis is supposed to be brutal and merciless.

“The other day… you said that Liyue will be just fine in the future, in retrospect, you probably said that because of your ‘ability’, and you didn’t seem to hold any malice when you spoke, I place my trust in those words… also, people tend to speak their true intentions when faced with death.” Zhongli suddenly prompted, pulling me out of my daze of racing thoughts.

My eyes widened at his recollection. “I see…” I didn’t think something as trivial as that would come back to save me in such a way.

“On another note… your injuries…”, Zhongli prompted as he glanced at my hands. “We should get you to a hospital.”

I followed his gaze and finally noticed all the bruises on my body. Now that I think about it, the only reason I am standing is because of the support Zhongli’s geo constructs were giving me. The entirety of my body was burning with pain, realizing it had resulted in the dissipating of the last of the adrenaline. I winced as the sensation multiplied when I tried moving my hands.

“I won’t apologize for my actions, but perhaps we can consider it part of our truce?”, the geo archon coldly responded to my suffering.

“A hospital is not necessary… just close your eyes.”, I suggested.

“Really?”, he raised an eyebrow in feigned disbelief.

“What? No! I swear I won’t try to run away or attack you.”, I retorted as I realized his implications.

“Well, you anyway won’t be able to.”, he scoffed as he complied.

Cocky asshole much? But I bit back any insult that came to my mind, afraid to shatter the newly obtained amity. I slowly made my way back to the front of the statue, each step felt like stepping on a thousand hot iron nails, but I eventually managed to make it there. Placing my palm on the statue I concentrated my mind, trying to activate it. The statue indeed had healing powers, just like the game, and miraculously it healed me too. But it only ‘healed’ the injuries, the pain continued to endure and there was no way to relieve that.

“You don’t have a vision, do you?”, Zhongli suddenly inquired.

“No, none of the elemental powers.”, I affirmed.

“But the traveler…”, he wondered.

“She is a special case.”, I explained. She is a literal star. “Done.”, I beckoned the geo archon to open his eyes.

Zhongli’s eyes widened as he observed the recovery of all my wounds, “Another power from your world?”

“I suppose you could call it that… but this magic very much originates from this world.”, I smirked as I thought about his query. Honestly, there is no real need for me to hide this, but how the hell do I go about explaining the healing capability of the statue without sounding suspicious?

“Oh?”, he inquired with a puzzled yet bewildered expression.

“Ah! Please keep today’s events a secret from the traveler.”, I implored. This is the best countermeasure I can take to make sure this event doesn’t disrupt the story…

“…?”, Zhongli looked at me with confusion. “Lumine seems like a close companion—“

“You want your plans to go smoothly, right?”, I quickly cut him off.

“I understand.”, he smirked with intrigue in his eyes.

P.S: And hence, another day goes by where the people of Teyvat never learn of the true utility of the statues of the seven!

Banner Image art by: Pinterest @exlo5158yorom

Game: Genshin Impact

About: Zhongli x fem!reader

Note 1: The premise is that 'you' get transported into the game and journey through Teyvat along with the traveller. This is a reinterpretation of the Liyue Archon Quests. Hope you enjoy~

Note 2: This has not been proofread.

Note 3: This part is longer than the others. Around 2.3k words.

Guizhong’s love for various mechanics and puzzles was fairly known about in the mortal realm. But very few knew of the dumbbell she used as a weapon and even fewer knew that it is referred to as the Memory of Dust. Y/n does seem knowledgeable and it isn’t too far fetched to assume that she stumbled upon this information after some research. What doesn’t add up is that she associated the dumbbell in my hands to the one she read about. Guizhong’s dumbbell isn’t the only historically significant one, in fact there are many others that are more iconic, why did she not take any of their names? 

When she first saw me, she had quite reaction as well, as if she was scared. I am very well aware of the kind of fear she held in her eyes, it’s the one that I often saw on the battlefield, but I am confident that my current form as a mortal isn’t too intimidating, not even a child has been this terrified to see me. Y/n surely knows something, but it seems like the other two don’t, seeing that their response is entirely different from hers. Is she perhaps someone sent by Signora? I think I made it clear that I don’t want any interruptions on my side of the plans. She could also be someone sent by a third party, but no one should have been able decipher that I faked my death this quickly. It has to be the Fatui. I shall observe her more to confirm my suspicions, and if Signora has broken the contract, she will pay the price.

——————————

Of course. Of course, it had to end up this way. Dinner had went well actually. I thought the night would end there and this ordeal would be past me. But, a certain someone had to keep insisting on having drinks. Maybe it was punishment for my hubris. 

“It is Liyue custom to have a few drinks with your guest before you part with them.” I could feel the sly intentions in Zhongli’s words. He was clearly making this ‘custom’ up. First of all, Zhongli didn’t even invite the traveller for dinner until after the rite of parting and secondly, never once was such a custom ever mentioned in the game. I should have noticed this discrepancy sooner, but I was too caught up in my thoughts to catch it. He clearly invited us with a hidden motive.

“We would love to honor such… customs. But I am afraid Lumine and Paimon here cannot drink.”, I said trying to come up with the most plausible excuse as possible.

“Well then, you can honor it on their behalf.”, the geo archon stated.

“I am afraid I can’t quite hold my liquor. And I would prefer staying close to my companions.” “What are you talking about? You used to spend every other day at Angel’s Share getting drunk with Venti.”, Lumine cut in. I flinched and gave her a glare. But she only seemed to get more confused. Stop ruining this for me! 

But suddenly, her face lit up as if understanding the situation and she whispered in my ear, “You don’t have to be so shy.” Alarmed I pulled away to look at her and she seemed to be giggling. What in the world is she thinking?

But before I could question her about it, she quickly stood up, taking Paimon with her and said, “Y/n, you shouldn’t hold back for our sake. Paimon and I will get going now, we are too tired from our journey today.”

“That’s right, Paimon needs sleep.”, the floating fairy said as she followed the traveller drowsily. “What? Wait! You—“, I shouted after them, getting up to follow them. But Zhongli quickly grasped my hand. I looked back towards him, “Excuse me… but the bill hasn’t been paid yet.”, he said with the plainest expression on his face. My jaw dropped at the unbelievable situation I had just been pushed into. Letting out a long and frustrated sigh I sat back down, burying my face in my hands. Not only have I been betrayed and abandoned by those two idiots, but now I have spend time with this walking bomb… alone. I looked up at the person sitting before me. He was looking away, signaling the waiter to bring the bill. And I also have to support this crazy man’s ridiculous expenditure. Out of all the details of his characters, of course this one had to stay.

The bill turned out to be humongous. I wonder if Childe can reimburse me for this? “Which kind of wine do you enjoy?”, Zhongli asked from behind me as I handed over the mora to the owner of the restaurant. 

“The cheapest one… for I am the one who will be paying for it, no?” I said not even bothering to look at him. This day couldn’t go any worse. Maybe I should actually try dying, I might just end up returning home that way. I was met by a chuckle to my statement. “I know a small outlet near the docks, the alcohol there is quite affordable. It may not taste very exquisite, but I would argue that it has a charm of its own.”

“Lead the way sir.”, I said pocketing the change in my bag.

The night was late, contrasting the hustle of the morning, the only sounds heard were the whistling of the land breeze and the mellow chatter of the patrons of the night time restaurants. All the other shops and businesses were closed and resting. I too wished to hurry back home to my residence and relax after the day’s events. But ‘day’ was not even close to ending. Zhongli walked ahead of me in slow and small steps. It was nice of him to be considerate and try to match my pace. What is he thinking? Was he actually going to take me to an obscure alleyway and kill me there? There was no chance of me surviving that. Chills ran through my body at the thought of this occurrence. I could feel my stomach clenching in stress. 

“We’ve arrived.” Zhongli said turning to me. I looked to my side, and noticed the outlet. It truly was ‘small’. There were no customers, just an old man, who was presumably the owner. 

We walked to the stall as the old man greeted us. He seemed to have recognized Zhongli. “What would you like?”

“Whatever he gets.”, I said motioning towards the man besides me.

“I would like the regular.”, Zhongli replied. “Should we sit near the docks as we enjoy our drinks?”, he asked looking towards me.

“Sounds good.”, I complied. This place near the sea smelled salty, but in a good way. There weren’t a lot of people around, just other sailors, drunk beyond consciousness. The spot we picked to sit at had a nice view of the water in front of us. The full moon shone brightly and reflected beautifully on the golden crane structures near the dock. This place was so much more mesmerizing than how it was illustrated in the game.

Unfortunately the drink tasted awful. Whatever was the charm Zhongli talked about. I flinched as I tried to stop myself from spitting out the liquid I had ingested. Noticing my reaction Zhongli laughed. “It’s advisable to have it in small sips, helps with the taste.”

I rolled my eyes, “Could have told me this before I drank it.” But Zhongli just continued chuckling. “So? Why are you doing this?”, I asked him. It was nice that he hadn’t killed me yet, but I wasn’t going to just sit around waiting for it like a lamb to slaughter. Maybe I could ask him directly and talk this out. 

“Is it a crime to show interest in someone you are curious about?”, Zhongli didn’t seem fazed by my confrontation in the least. He looked at me with a strange kind of intensity in his eyes. Unable to maintain eye contact, I looked away as I felt heat rise up in my cheeks. I unwittingly took another gulp of the drink in my hands only to give an even worse reaction than last time. I coughed as the liquor burned through my throat. Zhongli patted my back to help me relax, “Careful!” Flinching at his touch, I quickly regained my bearings shaking his hand off. “What are you curious about?”, I asked.

“What do you think of Liyue?”, he replied as he pulled back and looked at the rolling waves. 

I stared at him blankly, caught off guard by his seemingly out of place question. It was an ordinary question, but why was he asking me this all of a sudden? Noticing my silence, he said as he continued to look forward, “I really care for this city, so I am curious what an outsider like you thinks of it.” His face wasn’t clear due to the night sky, but the moonlight shone enough to make out the change in his expressions apparent. They were soft and melancholic. It held a mix of many different emotions, pride, sorrow, satisfaction, doubt…? Was he perhaps, still insecure about his decision to let Liyue go? Is that why he asked the traveller the same question as he was asking me right now? That’s right, the Morax we get to know properly is the one after the events of this quest. The turmoil and doubt he would probably be facing right now is not something that would need to be talked about later. This is something different too, huh? Never would I have imagined to see Zhongli so unsure and… afraid. I too turned away and looked at the sea, feeling as if I had seen something I am not allowed to see. I took another sip of the wine, a small one this time. Nah, it still tasted awful. 

“It’s almost enchanting.”, I said. Zhongli looked to me, puzzled. “The city, I mean.”, I continued as I glanced at him. “It seems to have a life of its own. In the mornings it’s loud and colorful, but at nights it’s calm and serene. The people here are so friendly as well, I can feel the spirit by just standing on the roads here. And as you were saying earlier, Liyue feels like it’s bursting with culture and heritage. You can so easily feel the presence of the god who walked with his people for more than a millennia. It’s quite the contrast to Mondstat... not that one is any better than the other.”, I giggled. Zhongli let out a chuckle as well, he seemed to be pleased with my answer.

“But, Liyue’s god no longer walks with them.”, he mumbled.

“That is indeed very disheartening. But I think Liyue will be fine.”, I said catching his words. I couldn’t help but want to cheer up the man who sat besides me, for I knew that all that lied in the future for him was peace, so he needn’t be this dejected. Perhaps it was the alcohol that made me more sympathetic? I took another sip of the drink as I continued, seems like today I just couldn’t find in myself the will to run away from miserable things and situations.

“The geo archon has left his people with so much knowledge and even a time of peace and stability. I personally think that he has finished his job and his duties to his people. It will be a rough time as the people try to gain their bearings, but from the few days I have been here… I think Liyue will be able to handle it, maybe even prosper from it.” I couldn’t really drive away his worries by telling him about my knowledge of the future, but the least I could do is reaffirm the very reasons and beliefs he put his trust in while he made his decision.

“Your words… they are comforting to hear.”, Zhongli replied. Even his voice seemed softer. Liyue was probably like his own child, I understand why he was so anxious to let it go. Why he came up with such a risky plan to just confirm his choice. “This reminds me of a certain memory. That incident took place at the docks as well, and I had the same thoughts back then as well.”, he continued. Was he perhaps talking of the time when the idea of retirement first occurred to him?  

“I hope it’s a good memory.”, I say as I take another sip, this time emptying my cup. Zhongli refills it for me as courtesy.

“Only time will tell.”, he replies.

We just sat there in silence for a few moments, I had started feeling the buzz of the alcohol in my system, it calmed my nerves that had tensed up over the course of the entire day. I looked towards Zhongli, he seemed lost in his own reverie. He seemed much less terrifying than before, no, in fact he didn’t look terrifying at all. He looked human. He looked… real. That’s right, Zhongli is real, so is the traveller and so is Teyvat. I keep forgetting that. Now that I think about it, most of my fear stemmed from the fact that I felt that Zhongli seemed different from his in-game counterpart. Nothing about him was inherently scary. I just made the differences out to be objects of fear. And now that I have taken a proper look at him, nothing feels chilling about him, in fact I have become curious about him. He isn’t just a character. He’s a person.  That’s right, I should probably stop seeing this world through the lens of it being a game, but instead, for what it really is.

P.S.: This one is longer because I just couldn't find a good place to end it.

Part 5: