Bound by Contract || Childe x Zhongli || Genshin Impact

Ch. 9 I Trusted You, And?

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Childe knew that he wasn't just having nightmares. He knew Zhongli had broken the contract term between the two that stated that the two parties wouldn't look into each other's identity.

Ajax.

Childe ran that name over and over across his tongue, the sound of it foreign to him after all those years. Ajax was the weak little boy before Tartaglia. Ajax was no longer him, Ajax was dead.

Yet, when he imagined Zhongli reading over the name, an unspoken fury bubbled inside of him. He never once questioned Zhongli's motives until recently. Childe placed his complete trust onto Zhongli, brought him this Aether child of his to him, and what ended up happening?

Childe played into Zhongli's hands perfectly. He wasn't sure what Zhongli was planning, but he was going to start to act on his own volition now.

When it was noon, Childe headed over to Golden House at the designated time, and knocked the two guards at the front unconscious. He sidestepped their bodies and opened the door slightly, slipping in. Once he was in Golden House, he slashed through a few dozen guards that came rushing at him with little effort, trying to keep his scarf from getting in his face. With each flick of his hands, a polearm went flying through the air, until each one and their respective owners lay on the ground. Childe felt his mind go numb as he focused on slicing through the waves of guards. Once he finished and the last guard hit the floor with a thud and a groan, Childe tried to smear the blood from his face with the backside of his palm as he dissipated his two hydro blades, cackling slightly and marveling at the sight of the Exuvia that lay in front of him. He realized that trust was so ignorant. It inhibited him to be what he could've been. Fighting was his strength, and murdering was what he is best at.

How foolish he was to hope for a future where he didn't have to do either.

Right as he was deep in his thoughts, he heard the clinking of light footsteps behind. Quickly, he dove behind a pillar as he watched Aether step up onto podium, examining the Exuvia. Childe frowned, confused. What was Aether doing here? What did Aether have to do with the Exuvia? Wasn't Aether Zhongli's prized possession? A realization hit Childe. Was Zhongli, this entire time, trying to get a hold of the Gnosis himself, and sent Aether here?

That was it, Childe confirmed with himself.

Smiling, Childe revealed himself to Aether, and tauntingly challenged him to a duel.

"You see, I can't let you have the Gnosis." Childe drawled, stepping closer to Aether. "It's very important to me. More important than you may think." He lifted Aether's chin with one finger, meeting Aether's brown eyes.

"And you're in my way."

With a snap of his fingers, he summoned his double Hydro blades, and slashed at Aether, only to be met with a gust of Anemo. Staggering a little, Childe lunged again, in rapid succession as he hacked away at Aether, only to be met with par after par. Childe could feel Aether's energy diminishing at a faster rate than his was, so he thought to himself that if he could prolong the battle he would win. But his hypothesis strayed from the actual path of events.