𝐁𝐔𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐊 - ★彡[ᴢʜᴏɴɢʟɪ]彡★

1 - 𝕱𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖉 𝖄𝖔𝖚

(F/n) blinked open her eyes. Around her was a cold desolate place. The ruins of buildings, dead bodies scattered around, her sitting in the center with wounds that would take years to heal.

    The symbol of Rex Lapis lay before her on the ground. She could not remember anything except for the memory of the man standing before her with a look of hatred on his face and now the tattered remains of what seemed to be her hometown.

    I'll kill him.

    I will kill Rex Lapis.

.  .  .

    "Mr. Zhongli, a message from the bank," the brown-haired man raised his eyebrows at the person who had burst into his room. Zhongli sighed and placed his tea cup down, folding up the portfolios he had been going through in his free time.

    Taking it into his rough hands, he unfolded the paper and skimmed over it with his eyes. "Alright, thank you for delivering this to me."

    Zhongli stood up and wrinkled his brow. More debt. I could just make mora, but exploiting the system like that...

    Striding past the man, Zhongli gazed straight ahead. The papers were filled with nothing but statistics on his unrealistic spending tendencies. They had begun to compile so much that he had been contacted multiple times. The thought of having so much idle chit chat with those Fatui members at the bank hurt his brain. Liyue hadn't changed all too much in the many years since the archon war. Even with the technological advancements most of the buildings remained very similar and the only major new construction was a giant dock with an increase in marketing.

    All of this was so familiar to him, yet seemed so forlorn. All the people that surrounded him knew nothing of the past trauma and battles that occurred. The memories that had been created through crevices of the past slowly slipped down below the surface of the earth, leaving just Zhongli to sorrowfully live above them. There was no one who shared these memories with him. He used to wonder where they all had gone.

.  .  .

    I watched from the shadows as 'Zhongli' plodded down the streets of Liyue, looking thoughtfully at each and every store. He was wearing a long brown robe-like outfit, with a geo crystal draped over his neck. It was unlike his past clothing, a long white robe that concealed his long hair. Now he wore it in a long ponytail that flowed behind him as he walked.

    I didn't understand why, but I blamed Rex Lapis for what I had woken up to that day. A village completely in tatters... It was all his fault. I needed to threaten him, come up with some excuse to kill him...

And that was what I did.

He stopped to chat with citizens every five seconds so it took a strenuous amount of time until he was finally alone.

    I seized the small moment where he was alone, and grabbed his arm, thrusting him into a dark alleyway. I took the sheath of my sword and pressed it against his throat, signaling to him that resisting would be a bad choice. A dark spot was beginning to form on his throat from how hard I was pressing down onto it.

    "What is your business?" he stated, still managing to tower over me even when he was held at the throat. Rex Lapis had those amber eyes that seemed to glow whenever you stared at them, like those of a devil, it was hard to not cower before him.

    "Rex Lapis," I pressed the sheath a little harder against his throat, "the geo archon. You shamelessly and crassly abolished many villages in your reign. Now, in order to repay all those lost lives, I'm going to kill you right here."

    "I don't know what you're talking about," Zhongli snatched the sheath from my hands and then pointed it emotionlessly at my throat, "but if you're going to threaten me, I would suggest you reconsider."

    I quivered in fear at the way he was staring at me. His eyes seemed to be sorrowful rather than filled with malice as I had suspected. "Kill me then," I hissed, "I dare you. Say this is a test of your humanity and aptitude."

    Zhongli's eyes widened. "I cannot... do that, (L/N)."
    My eyes widened as I stared at him. Somehow, he knew my name. I found myself feeling frustrated that he wouldn't kill me. "I wish to kill you, Rex Lapis. I hope you understand that."

    "If that's what you really wanted," he started to walk away slowly, "then you would've killed me as well."

    "I know your identity," I smirked, "so I could just tell all of Liyue, couldn't I?"

    He narrowed his eyes, and there was a glint of anger for a second in his stone-cold gaze. "I'm aware of that. I hope that your common sense will prevent you from doing so. Don't act like a petulant child."

    Zhongli's gaze bored into mine, and I nodded before disappearing into the darkness.