Archive of Our Own

Xiao's dream is very simple, and it is merely a lovely dream.

The leaves outside rustle in the night breeze. Some fall the large height from the inn's tree branches, and others are whisked away to another corner of Liyue. The dim glow of lanterns outside flickers warm light into our room, onto our dresser, our sheets, your skin. Your long blonde hair fans out underneath you, almost glowing, ethereal.

You shift a little closer, mumble in your sleep. Your whisper was too quiet for me to hear, but words need not be spoken. I take your hand, you smile. You finally lay still.

I rest my head against yours, and speak my blessing onto your lips.

"Sweet dreams, Aether."

You slumber on peacefully.

"The time of contracts between gods and Liyue has long since passed. Now is the time of contracts between Liyue and its people."

When all was said and done, when the battle was over, these words were spoken. And they were right. Though I longed to roam the streets of Liyue Harbor, try the dishes and take in its scenery, I no longer fit in with the Liyue of today. Standing on the south wharf, we adepti of old were now just a footnote in the Harbor's story of change and prosperity. We are relics of an age gone by, an age that passed us by. With Rex Lapis now gone, it seems that that time has truly come to an end.

(Who am I without my duty? My sole purpose? Even my name was bestowed upon me by Rex Lapis. My contract became my identity, and I cannot seem to remember my life before it.)

I set my gaze onto the ocean, at the sun rising from the peaks of Guyun Stone Forest. After the battle last night, the dawn rises once more; a new golden age for Liyue.

I return to Wangshu Inn, and vanish into the breeze.

Waves crash against both the dock and the Alcor's hull. The harsh noontime sunlight beat on our heads. The crew bustle around us, loading cargo and supplies for their next voyage.

I turn to you; you who will be joining them.

Your gaze is distant over the horizon, towards an island nation far away. Your lower lip is between your teeth, in nervousness or suspense. (Cute, I think). I take your hand once more.

Your smile at me is tentative, uncertain. I rub circles on the back of your hand, trace the patterns of Celestia onto your skin. You sigh, and bow your head.

"So, this is it. I'll finally be continuing my journey." You look up, lock eyes with mine. Your smile this time is sad, bittersweet. "I'll miss you," you say.

I close my eyes, and like this, we are the only two people in the harbor. Us two, connected by the hands linking us together, and the pulse i feel underneath.

"As, will I," I reply. Nothing more needs to be said, for you already know it all.

You take our hands and bring it to your lips. "I'll see you again. I promise." You place a kiss on my palm. When you let go, I close my hand into a fist, and bring it to my chest.

"Stay safe," I plead. That is my only selfish request of you.

You simply smile, and turn back towards the boat. I watch your back as you leave.

(I open my palm again, and command the breeze to deliver you my affections. Your footsteps lighten, as the wind carries a whisper into your ear.

I love you.)

"Come with me," you blurt out suddenly.

"What?", I ask.

The sunset tints the whole scene a vivid orange. The wind echoes through the reeds, and the bamboo stalks clatter against each other rapidly. The scent of flowers from Qingce Village's fields still lingers in the air as we trek our way back to the inn.

"I was just thinking," you explain. "Come with me to Inazuma."

The wind, the noise, and the flowers all cease to exist when I realize what you are asking.

For eons I have roamed this land. One may call this existence monotonous, but they have not gotten to know Liyue as I have. They have not known the way the peaks of Jueyun Karst split the clouds between its heights. The way the harbor lights up like a beacon from the shores of Guyun. The way the dust settles and the winds blow throughout all the ruins and monuments lost to time. I have seen it all.

But as I am slowly coming to learn, unlike the carved facsimiles of Rex Lapis scattered across Liyue, I am not a being set in stone. I can still learn new things, experience new joys. I can still learn to live again.

As I weigh these things in my mind, silence and stillness befalls us two. You watch me, ever so patiently. When I meet your eyes, the conflict I feel must be reflected within mine, for you smile reassuringly. "It's okay if you're not ready to part with Liyue just yet," you say. "I can wait."

You resume walking, and I follow you.

"Then," I request selfishly, "please wait a little longer."

You take my hand, and smile indulgently.

"For you, I'll wait for all eternity."

Things were quiet at Wangshu Inn after the debacle with Starsnatcher. The monsters that appeared subsequently in Dihua Marsh were not particularly infernal or stained by karma, and were easily dispatched.

However, one thing that changed is the frequency of your visits.

Previously, you've only visited me once after the battle with Osial. You placed a plate of almond tofu on a table in my balcony, expressing your thanks for saving you. Even then, I did not appear to greet you, but you left in good spirits all the same.

(The almond tofu tasted of a particularly good dream, and I tried to savor it as much as I could. However, everyone knows that dreams are fleeting.)

Since then however, you've visited me several times thus far. You would offer your customary plate, and sit down near the railings. You would talk about your latest commissions, your latest adventures, fights, and travels. You'd mention the peaks of Juyeun Karst, the ruins of Lingju Pass, the plains of Qingce Village; all sights I've seen and paths I've walked before. Yet, why did I feel the urge to see them again, with you by my side?

As the bonds of my contract are overwritten, undone, and as I flounder in the midst of my purpose and loss thereof, it is you who keeps coming back. Not for glory, nor for favors, but simply to see me, and feel my presence.

Perhaps you see something in me that I have forgotten a long, long time ago.

Tonight, you enter the inn's premises once more. You head down the kitchen, and come back up with your usual plate of dessert. This time however, I tear open the liminal space separating us, revealing my visage to you. You give me a big smile, and absurdly, I smile back.

"Hello, Adeptus Xiao," you greet me. You fiddle with your braid, its length swinging back and forth.

"Hello, Traveler," I reply. I take the plate from your hands, and settle down next to your usual spot. You follow after a beat, and we watch the merchant carts traveling the road below.

As you begin to talk, and as I begin to listen once more, I wonder if maybe you were the one listening all along.

When the news reached Liyue that Inazuma was a closed nation no longer, I chuckled heartily. I just knew you were behind it somehow.

As I stand in the wharf awaiting your return, the sun's rays reminds me of promises and good byes made on this very dock. I catch a glimpse of blond hair, and as I hold my breath, it's you. The sun haloes your face, your hair and golden eyes, and its you. It's you, it's you, it's you.

You grin, and wave your arms widely. I dash forward, and lift you up into the air. Your laughter peals throughout the wharf, and I'm sure my smile rivals your own.

When I bring you down, I rest my forehead against yours. I sigh, and my breath ghosts across your lips. "I missed you," I say.

You close your eyes as well. "I missed you too."

Our kiss was salty as the sea breeze, but still sweet all the same.

Later that day, under the Sandbearer roof of Wangshu Inn, you recount your exploits to me once more.

"The Archon there pursued eternity, because of her fear of loss," you explain. "But the eternity she envisioned for Inazuma was stagnant, a hollow caricature of itself. It was an Inazuma with no Vision, a country with no ambition."

I ponder on this, that night. With only the moonlight as my witness, I step out onto the balcony. If I focus my eyes, the shape of Inazuma's islands can be seen rising from the fog.

Hearing your story of immortals and eternities reminded me of some things. Of my past contract, doomed to never-ending torment. Of my losing myself, slipping between the bonds of my karma.

But I suppose, even then I had a Vision: my desire to be free. And the strength of my ambition was worth even Barbatos's acknowledgement.

I look at my left gauntlet, where my Vision is inlaid. Its soft verdant hue glows and says, Here you are. You are free from your contract, are you not?

So what are you waiting for?

In the morning, when you wake up, I finally have an answer.

"Yes. I'll accompany you."

You grin, and I find myself smiling back. The dawn heralds a new day, and for both of us, the start of a new journey.

"Achoo!"

I pull a face. "I knew you should've dressed warmer."

You giggle, and wrap your scarf tighter around yourself. "Let's find shelter first before you start nagging at me."

I huff, but turn away before you can see my fond smile.

Eventually, we find a cave big enough to handle this Snezhnayan snowstorm. We unpack our belongings and quickly set up a fire. When all is said and done, the storm rages outside, but the inside is warm, quaint, and safe. We warm ourselves near the flame, and find ourselves at peace.

In the quiet moments like these, I can't help but be reminded of all we have journeyed across. Although Liyue would forever be my home, nothing there resembled the deserts found in Sumeru, the metropolis of Fontaine, the volcanoes of Natlan, or the tundras of Snezhnaya. In Liyue I found comfort in the familiarity, but in traveling, I have found the wonder of discovery.

Perhaps you share a similar line of thought, for you turn to me then. "Hey, Xiao," you call out.

"Yes?", I answer.

You sigh, and a smile adorns your face. "Nothing. Thanks for traveling with me."

Thank you for inviting me, I think. Instead, I take your hand, calloused as my own. I warm it gently in my own palms, cradling it against my chest. My heartbeat stutters along to your pulse, and like this, we are back at Wangshu Inn, or Fontaine's Grand Hotel. It doesn't matter, because the world falls away until it's just the two us, the start, the end, and the infinity stretching in between. For all eternity, you had once promised. For all eternity, I answer back.

In our little haven, outside of the snowstorm and the gray sky, history lies behind us, and the rest of our lives stretch out in front of us. And I, for one, cannot wait to meet it.