Ch. 5 Can Gods Love?

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Book Cover Credit: https://mobile.twitter.com/Qing11502143

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 A clarification. When the two met, Zhongli took the form of Childe's age, a teenager. Think of it as a younger version of the current in-game Zhongli. A few years later, where this story is right now, Zhongli is at his in-game age (the age he looks like). I saw a lot of people getting confused in the first chapter. Alright, that's it! Enjoy the story!



Tonight, Childe's dream was off. It wasn't the usual haunting he had of his victims; something was wrong. He was in a strange, dark indescribable place, and in front of him stood a boy of short stature. He tried to step closer to get a better view, managing to get a glimpse of the boy's golden braid and foreign clothing before someone else came into the picture.


"Z-Zhongli?" Childe called out, surprised. In front of him stood Zhongli; this person was Zhongli, but he appeared to look slightly different. There were horns atop his head, his ears pointed, and there seemed to be patches of scales on his face and arms. Zhongli glanced at him and then wrapped an arm around the boy with the golden braid, guiding him away from Childe.


"Zhongli! Zhongli-" Childe continued to call out, but his body was unable to run after them. His body was sinking further and further into the ground, and soon, half of his body was underground, entering the Abyss below him. As it began to be harder to breathe, Childe stretched his hand and called out again, "Zhongli..."


No one answered.


Childe's eyes jolted open. He was dripping in sweat, lying in bed again, next to Zhongli. Zhongli looked normal; his ears human with no horns atop his head. His skin was smooth and had no trace of scales. Childe tried to catch his ragged breath, his heart racing as a piercing headache began to form by his temples. He had often woken up from nightmares, but nothing could compare to this. Was his dream his ultimate fate? Would he someday lose Zhongli and be forever intertwined in the place that had made him a monster? Childe rubbed his temples, massaging them as he flipped over and sat on the left side of the king-sized bed.


"That's right; it has to be karma. There's no other explanation. Maybe I should stop. I should back out of this contract so that Zhongli won't be bound to me. I'll still uphold my side of the contract; I'll help him, yes. That way, everything will be fine. After this whole Aether thing, I will continue to serve the Tsaritsa and try to conquer the world until I die. I shouldn't get attached to him. Just be like the usual. Treat it like a favor. You don't even remember him, do you, Ajax. It shouldn't be a problem. But what if I lose him? What am I doing, what am I saying, who am I, what am I-"


Childe stopped talking to himself as he felt a hand place itself gently onto his shoulder. Zhongli had woken up. They had gone straight to bed after standing on top of the mountains. Childe usually slept with his shirt off, but it looked like Zhongli had joined him that night. It was the first time that Childe saw Zhongli sleep, and by his side too. Not knowing if he was conscious or subconscious, Childe turned around.


Zhongli stared back at him groggily, his eyes barely open, still tangled in the sheets. "Childe?"

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