#qixing

Ninguang: So, Rex Lapis isn’t dead, but he faked his own death. This leaves us with an obvious problem. What do we tell the citizens of Liyue?

Keqing: Um, the truth? He got bored of doing his job.

Ninguang: That’s not what he said! He said he had fulfilled his purpose.

Keqing: Sounded more like he was bored to me.

Ganyu: What about that he went on vacation?

Ninguang: Then they’ll just ask us when he’ll be back.

Keqing: I know! He never existed. He was just a figment of our collective imagination, a symbol we all put our faith in, in the hope it would improve our inconsequential mortal lives.

Ganyu: ...

Ninguang: He was right here an hour ago, Keqing! We all saw him.

Keqing: Nobody else needs to know that.

Ganyu: Why didn’t they put “what to do when your deity fakes his own death” in the civil service handbook? If they had, I could have studied for this!

Ninguang: Study? That’s it! A test! He failed a test.

Keqing: You want to say that Rex Lapis failing a test resulted in him dying?

Ninguang: We’ll call it something better... a divine trial!

*Keqing and Ganyu look at each other and shrug*

And so, the next day in Liyue Harbor :