ミ☆

the inside of the golden house was silent aside from the pair's light footfalls.

compared to the outdoors, it felt like a different realm entirely. the distant sound of wind blowing through tiny crevices filled their ears. on either side of the black marble stairs were piles of mora, so full to the brim that it could make a poor man rich with just a few handfuls.

xiao's senses were on high alert. he definitely wasn't prepared when (y/n) gently touched his shoulder, whipping his head towards her at an ungodly speed.

"look!" she urged, pointing to a pair of legs that stuck out from behind a ledge. she found herself rushing towards the fallen man, and upon further inspection, she discovered that it was a millelith soldier. his spear lay few feet from his hand.

xiao loomed over her shoulder as she put two fingers against the guard's neck, releasing a breath of relief when she felt a shallow pulse push against her fingertips.

"he's alive, just unconscious," her hands dropped onto her bent knees briefly before she curled her arms around the guard's in an attempt to drag him closer to the ledge. she intended to prop him up into a more comfortable position.

"i'll get this arm."

the teal-haired adeptus moved to his other side and assisted in moving the guard. once the deed was done, the only thing they could do was continue to look around for the exuvia until they could go get help. to their luck, it was in a separate corner only a short distance from the center of the lofty room.

the girl stopped in her tracks to look up at the dragon held stiff in mid-air by some unknown force. her grip on the handle of the sword tightened to the point where her knuckles screamed for her to stop. xiao couldn't bring himself to look directly at it, merely closing his eyes and turning his head to the side.

a few moments of silence passed before either of them spoke.

"i wish i could have met him before..."

"you already have. it was a long time ago," xiao replied softly.

"i don't know when it'll come back to me. he probably would have helped me figure everything out if we had the chance." sadness made itself evident by the creases caused by her remorseful expression.

xiao put a hand on the back of her neck and pulled, gently knocking his forehead against hers. she felt his fingers tangle in her hair as his hand moved up from her neck. the gesture was endearing and made her spirits lift slightly, knowing the adeptus would do everything in his power to help her.

"how sweet!" a sickeningly sarcastic voice startled the pair out of their moment. "i see you've found yourself a companion, little miss (y/n). romance was always the one thing i could never comprehend."

childe strode before them with empty hands, acting as if nothing was wrong despite the situation presented in front of them. she could only muster a venomous glare towards the man. her and xiao were the only thing standing in the way of childe and the exuvia. this wasn't going to end well.

a low growl resonated from the depths of xiao's throat. before she could even blink, he had summoned his spear to charge at the harbinger. however, he was quickly restrained by an onslaught of fatui agents that had been lingering out of sight, effectively catching him by surprise.

(y/n) had no time to react before rough hands grasped her shoulders. she was swept off her feet as her arms were pulled behind her back, short bouts of pain bolting through her shoulders as more agents pressed her hard into the ground. her struggle was short-lived as a metal-toed boot rammed right between her eyes.

"fuck!" a string of curses left her mouth as the impact made her eyes water. warmth trailed through her nose and landed in red drops on the marble in a steady stream. she heard xiao's snarls grow louder. yelps by the fatui agents penetrated the sound of roaring blood in her ears. when her eyes opened slightly, she saw that he had managed to knock two of the agents away in an outburst.

they doubled down on him again. he wasn't going to escape this time.

clapping resonated throughout the room once the both of them had finally been neutralized. "wow, i'm impressed! he's quite the feisty one, isn't he?"

"leave him alone!" (y/n) managed to gasp between labored breaths. only one of her eyes could open wide enough to watch as childe approached xiao's tense figure. he leaned forward as if to inspect the boy's face, only managing to escape xiao's sharp fangs clamping down on his nose by a hair.

laughter erupted from him. "even with every limb tied up, you still manage to find something to use as a weapon. oh, now what is this?"

childe had found the mask hanging from xiao's hip and unlatched it from its hold. curious, he brought it to his face, only to recoil as she had the day before. his blue eyes were wide with surprise, only to shift to something sinister. his gloved fingertips glowed purple as he planted what looked like electricity in the inside of the mask. was he an electro user after all? she swore she'd seen the glint of a blue vision at his hip.

"what do you think you're doing?" xiao's voice was intense enough for the fatui holding him to tighten their grip. childe grinned.

"just a little experiment. i'll be needing a test subject, however." he didn't hesitate before shoving the mask onto the adeptus' face, who immediately began writhing in turn. (y/n) was reminded that she was a part of this too and began to struggle against her captors.

"childe, please," desperation was evident in her tone. "take it off of him."

finally, the harbinger's baby blue eyes found her impaired gaze. something had come unhinged inside of him. this wasn't the childe she had met initially.

"what's the fun in that?" he replied with quirked eyebrows. "while i love a good fight, i have to prioritize the mission at hand."

"what mission?"

childe failed to respond as he approached the exuvia. while his back was turned, (y/n) assessed xiao's state. he was now on the ground completely, clawing at the mask with everything he had. it seemed that despite his efforts, it wasn't going to budge. anxiety rose in her throat. the mask was already a threat to his life, but whatever childe planted within it was clearly taking even more of a toll. she would have to hurry.

the harbinger wasted no time in plunging his hand into the exuvia's body. a surprised gasp escaped from her lips as she watched him search for some unknown thing. he stopped after a moment, shoulders stiff with hesitation. before he could turn around, he was swiftly knocked to the side by a burst of electro energy.

(y/n) panted hard, hand outstretched towards him and fingertips crackling with purple. childe looked pleasantly surprised as he uprighted himself. the agents groaning on the floor made it clear she had outsmarted them in escaping.

"you're quite the little rascal! i can't help but feel a little excited right now," his arm swung to the side, droplets of water swiftly running down his arm and shaping themselves into a weapon made purely from hydro. "my favorite part of these missions are the battles that ensue. i see an opportunity to better myself and i take it, every time."

"why must it come to this? you may not be from liyue but after residing here for so long, you must be aware of the people's admiration for rex lapis. why can't you let him rest in peace?"

"if he's dead, then why does it matter what happens with him afterward? besides, he has something the tsaritsa needs. something you have," he skillfully whirled the hydro blade in his hand, spinning it over his knuckles as he took a step closer. so he was hydro after all. how did he wield electro, then?

she hesitated. "i don't have whatever you're looking for."

"don't bother lying! hand over the gnosis." he snarled and sent a wave of hydro in her direction that she scarcely avoided. he slipped the mask on his head over his features. the only thing she could see was the malicious glint through the narrow slits where his eyes were.

she swallowed the lump in her throat and summoned her blade. her arsenal of electro weapons hovered around her, waiting to be used. despite the blood shrouding one of her eyes' views, she was well aware of her surroundings.

the gnosis? she echoed in her mind. whatever it was, it must have been important.

"i suppose i have no other option then, do i?" she grasped the hilt with two hands.

"don't go disappointing me now. since i respect you, i won't be going easy on you."

"then so be it."

childe rushed forward, propelled by water at his heels. he moved to strike her in the side but only hit empty space. she had rolled to the left, now low at the ground, she swung her sword at his ankles using one arm.

her blade met his right before contact was made. pushing against him, she moved back in an attempt to put more space between them. (y/n) switched her blade for a bow and shot three arrows in quick succession, hitting him in the shoulder with one.

childe grunted. his agitation seemingly increased at the slip-up. he came at her again, faster than before, and they scuffed in close quarters. she had yet to switch from her bow so she used it to pary his jabs the best she could. he caught her off guard by swinging his leg in the air and meeting the side of her head with the hard toe of his boot.

her bow disappeared in a flurry as she lost her footing. pain rendered her immobile for a few seconds, which was just enough time for childe to slam a heavy foot onto her chest to hold her in place. he had an arrow loaded into his own bow, which, unfortunately, was aimed right between her eyes.

"a shame. for a moment, i thought you had more vigor than you let on. i didn't even have to use my delusion!" his heel dug achingly into her ribs, and an audible crack resonated somewhere within. her hands grasped his ankle roughly as a distraction from the injury.

he drew the string back. she thought this would be the end of her until a body staggered onto childe, startling him enough to lose focus on the girl beneath him. she dug her nails into his leg and charged it with electro, effectively causing his knees to buckle and allowing her to elbow him in the crotch.

as he fell to the ground, she rolled out of the way and onto her knees. the one who had caught him off guard was xiao, who was back to his pained position on the floor. he had forced himself to get up simply to save her from dying at childe's hands. even through his own turmoil, his only focus was keeping her out of harm's way. she suddenly wanted to cry.

"dirty move," childe gasped through gritted teeth. his free hand lay protectively over the area she had struck.

"i almost died! fuck you," (y/n) shouted back. she scrambled to get back onto her feet despite her body screaming at her to stop. her concerns now lay with xiao.

the girl rushed to his side, sliding on her knees to be at his level. a layer of sweat had begun to form over every inch of his body as he heaved. she put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and tilted his chin towards her. she felt him tremble under her touch. her heart squeezed distressingly.

shuffling behind her alerted her to childe's recovery. (y/n) pulled xiao into her arms and watched as the harbinger pushed his mask off to the side once more.

"i have a feeling you don't actually have the gnosis. it's true, isn't it?" the harbinger spoke his thoughts aloud, moving his injured shoulder in slow circles.

she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of a reply, but the words slipped from her mouth. "whatever it is, i hope you never find it."

he chuckled in defeat. "ah, so you fought me simply to protect this corpse? you truly are a strange being. however, i can't help but admire your devotion to an archon you never had the pleasure of reuniting with."

that stung more than she liked to admit.

"although, i believe you still have a chance. the fact that neither of us has the gnosis, and it isn't in the exuvia, tells me one thing. it was never here to begin with. do you believe in zombies, (y/n)?"

yes, actually.

childe's head tilted towards the ceiling as his arms extended from his sides. water rose at his feet, crashing like the ocean waves at the shore of the harbor. golden lights appeared from thin air, shaping into small yellow papers she recognized from before.

"sigils of permission?" (y/n) said in disbelief. "what are you planning on doing with those counterfeits?"

"why, my backup plan, of course!" the sigils began to spin so quickly that they merged into a ring of gold. "i'm going to awaken a god that lies beneath the guyun stone forest. osial, overlord of the vortex. such a regal title!"

the name sounded familiar to her. xiao shifted in her arms, one of his gloved hands grasping her wrist tightly. she brushed the hair from his face; he was clearly disturbed about something.

"we can't... no! no, no, no..." the adeptus' fierce murmurs made her palms begin to sweat.

"an ancient god bent on destruction is sure to draw rex lapis from his hiding spot. such an admirable archon wouldn't leave his city defenseless. i wasn't going to resort to this so soon, but my urgency has gotten the best of me after all." the storm outside the golden palace worsened. thunder resonated throughout the sky and shook the floors with its might.

the sigils converged into each other and were suddenly gone in a flash. childe followed their lead, shifting himself into pure elemental energy and zipping towards the exit.

"what the hell did you do?" she cried out angrily.

a sinister chuckle reverberated from the hydro ball as he ascended. "you're free to stay and enjoy the show! i hope we meet again, dear (y/n), and best of luck to you on your journey."

with that, he was gone.

xiao squirmed in her arms. she could tell he was agitated at the way his breaths began to sound more like growls. his skin had grown paler than it was before. with furrowed eyebrows, she grasped either side of his shoulders and propped him onto his knees.

"um," she stammered fearfully, fingers outstretched towards his mask. "i'm going to try something that may or may not work."

he slouched in place. she placed her hands on the sides of his face and charged her fingers with electro in an attempt to somehow undo whatever childe had done. she started off light, but when that didn't work, she sent more force into the mask. it felt as if her energy was only being absorbed instead of what she had intended.

(y/n) pulled away with a gasp of air, and he collapsed into her shoulder headfirst. it didn't work.

she hugged his head against her torso, fingers tangling into his soft black locks. wetness streaked down her cheeks. she felt utterly hopeless. even with the excruciating suffering he was experiencing, he mustered the strength to come to her aide in such a dire situation. yet she couldn't help him in the same way.

(y/n) didn't deserve him. the heartache found its way into her bones and settled in the pit of her stomach. a few moments passed of sobs racking through her body before the adeptus she held sighed wistfully.

with shaking limbs, he separated herself from her embrace. her tears subconsciously ceased as she watched the palms of his hands cup her reddened cheeks. the hard material of his mask pressed into her forehead as he leaned closer.

"break it." he rasped. hiccuping, she blinked owlishly at his words.

the mask?

she hoped that's what he meant. his hands fell back to his sides as she hesitantly stood to her feet. xiao looked up at her despite the absence of eye holes in the mask. from where she stood, he looked utterly submissive.

in the silence, the sound of raindrops crashing down on the roof reached her ears, causing goosebumps to rise on her skin. she curled her hand into a fist, charging it with crackling energy. as if asking for permission, the girl sent a concerned look to the adeptus. he simply dipped his head.

then, she swung.

his body lurched to the side. a sound similar to that of broken glass echoed throughout the room, and pieces of black and teal material scattered across the marble floor. she slapped a hand over her mouth at the sight of him cradling his cheek with one hand... mask-free.

"no way..." she tackled him into the tightest hug she could muster, burying her face into the crook of his neck as she laughed in disbelief. he gently held onto her waist as if not to hurt her.

"i can't believe—" when she pulled away to look him in the face, her joy faltered. his amber eyes were misty as he studied her reaction. "what's wrong?"

"...it was like a personal hell wearing that damned thing," his voice cracked. "usually, the karmic debt is bearable enough to get by. the reminder of my failures is what drives me to abide by my contract with rex lapis. i hear the screams and cries repeat like a broken record, but this time... all i heard were yours."

his eyebrows squeezed together at the memory, clearly in pain at the thought. "i couldn't save you two-thousand years ago, and just now you almost--"

(y/n) shut him up with a frantic kiss. he felt her tears return as she pressed into him, returning her force with equal desperation. she pulled away after a few long moments.

"it wasn't your fault!" she cried. "i don't blame you for a damn thing. you're near perfect in my eyes, and i can't sit here and watch you beat yourself up for something so far in the past. i'm here now, all i want is for you to see that. i would give anything to see you be the happiest version of yourself. because fuck, you deserve it."

he covered his eyes with his arm, not wanting her to see just how deep she touched his heart. wiping whatever evidence was left on his face, he kissed her again softly.

"now that you've returned to me, there's no need for you to give anything at all. somehow, despite everything i have done, i think fate brought you to me," he remarked, tracing her jawline with a feathered touch. "it took you away from me as punishment, but for you to have come back now of all times... i believe it counts for something."

(y/n) beamed at his change of heart. she stood up, offering a hand to the adeptus. he gladly took it.

"when this is all over, i think a date between the two of us is in order," she said brazenly. xiao chuffed, but didn't seem opposed to the idea. "we'll save liyue harbor and make it a reality."

★彡

okok so do y'all know noctis from ffxv? and his royal arms ability?

that's always what i imagine when she summons her arsenal of weapons