If, and Only If || (Xiao x Reader)

十九

Art: @URASHIMA_ZZZ

The birds were chirping... which was odd...

There were demons in Liyue, sticking to monsters, and ones with evil intentions. Or just any hostile enemy you would encounter.

Xiao hadn't stopped fending off the demons for the last 3 and a half hours. How can he continue to harness so much of his power for such an entirety for so long? He knew it hurt him physically, and chewed on his health. And Y/N would probably, if not— very much, would scold him for this.

If he ever finds her again...

Sweat. And heat. And blood. Along with more of the hurtful feelings, and with the hopes of being able to stop it all.

He just wants a rest...

He's tired...

He feels hopeless without someone else with him...

And lonely again without her.

But he can't stop. And as long as evil doesn't stop fighting, he won't either. Not even for a minuscule would he want to let the humans handle everything on their own, because now, he would feel like a nuisance.

He was surprised to find himself laying on the grass, breathing sharply, trying to feel again. His senses starting to become dull and his arms and legs felt numb to the feeling. He could barely feel the prickling of the green grass, while seeing the sky start to darken.

He didn't want it to end. He didn't want the feeling of staying in this world to end. He wanted to continue to live like those mortals did, and live a little longer with Y/N.

He didn't feel like he was dying. And it didn't feel painful. Nor suffocating.

Was he even dying in the first place?

Xiao didn't feel like caring about that at the moment, and felt his eyes close.

"Just... a little rest."

"Xiao. If you're ever tired, you're allowed to rest." Zhongli had once told him, a few times because of his lack of rest. And overworking nature. He was just so devoted to fulfilling Rex Lapis' contracts to serving and protecting Liyue, as an adeptus. And a Yaksha.

'What else was I told?' Xiao shifted in his spot as he continued to think about his past memories.

He was sat on a mountain. The mountain looked more eerie, like of the place on the other mountain with lots of fog, and supposedly sprits there.

The trees looked dead. And you wouldn't see the deeper parts of the mountain.

Despite the condition, he felt like he's been here before.

The little sounds of twinkling lights, and a few grass being blown by the breeze.

It didn't really fit, to have such a warm breeze of wind in such a scary looking place. Usually it would be the most silent, which makes the place the much more of a scary effect.

Xiao was deeply immersed at the sight. He didn't feel... delirious.

It was the forgotten memory of when he was still so naive. And had the feeling of a child's, always happy. Smiling more often than now. Before he was taken advantage of, and stripped of his freedom.