The Price of Victory | Xiao x Reader x Zhongli

𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙞𝙭: 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦

MENTIONS OF BLOOD AND VIOLENCE!

He's no stranger to you. You've seen him around the construction sites many times, always surrounded by the whispering of bystanders. They say that he wants to find a hardworking wife to take care of him and their future children.

And this is the exact reason that you've always avoided him.

In comparison to Rex Lapis, the one that stole your heart, this man is simply ordinary. It's stupid to compare a god to a human, yes, but you'd rather stay by his side, even if it means to never have your feelings acknowledged than to become the slave of a human weaker than you.

You're worth more than that.

"Xiao, let's go," you're not going to give him a chance to speak. When you look around though, the yaksha is gone. The bastard let you handle this on your own.

They finally arrive in front of you and he climbs off the horse.

"I've looked everywhere for you. I'm so happy that I finally managed to find you," you're not happy at all. Xiao climbed on a nearby tree from which he's listening to the conversation.

"Please, get straight to the point. I have a lot of work to do today," you give him a forced but polite smile.

"I'm sure you're familiar with the rumors about my quest to find a wife. And after looking everywhere, I finally found you," he grabs your hand and holds it between his. "Be my wife, (Name). You're strong, beautiful and you'd be an incredible mother to my children. I can give you everything that you want and you've ever dreamed of"

You retreat your hand.

"You can't. What I dream of is out of your reach as a human. There are many things I want to learn about myself so I can't settle down and have a family yet. I have to turn down your request. I do hope that you find your happiness next to someone else, but I will never be that person. Now, if you excuse me, I need to go back to my training"

You turn on your heels, ready to get out of here as soon as possible. Even if all the humans, adepti, and gods perish and you two are the only ones standing, you will still not want anything to do with him.

"Wait!" He grabs you by the wrist and that triggers an alarm in your mind.

"Let go of me!" You immediately shove him away. The ground cracks between you two and he stares in disbelief at the huge and deep rift. "You were the first person that spoke up and called me a monster. Even now," you take one step towards him and he backs away quickly. "Even now, you still see me as a monster. You don't want to marry me because you suddenly had a change of heart, but rather to chain me up and tame me and then have the people praise you for your bravery"

"How...How did you...." You close the crack and turn your back to them, walking away without waiting for any of his excuses.

Anger flows wildly in your body. You really, really wanted to punch him, but you know too well the consequences of such action.

After walking a good distance, Xiao finally appears next to you. He starts talking before you can lash out at him for leaving you all alone.

"Keep in mind that I am your mentor today strictly for training. The matters of your own personal life are something that you have to solve by yourself. Alone. If you want to get married to that man, neither I, nor Rex Lapis nor Guizhong can stop you. I didn't want your decision to be influenced by my presence so that's why I left"

You take a big breath and then let it out loudly. "You're right, I'm sorry. I just wished to have had someone there to support me"

"You handled it quite well. Let's hope that he got the message. But there is one thing that I would like to remind you. You carry a great power on your shoulders. You must learn how to control it before it starts controlling you. You will end up succumbing to the darkness in your heart before you realize it. I've seen many powerful individuals lose their ways like this"