𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐗𝐢𝐚𝐨 ―𝐠. 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭

1 || Old Friend

It took a few days to get to Mt. Aocang. After giving the cooling salve as a goodbye to the elderly woman in the early dawn of day, you left her cottage and made your way to your destination. Roaming leisurely from village to village, you helped those in need and received parcels of food for the journey until finally, you found yourself on the familiar mountain pond. Sitting in the middle were the three seats you saw so regularly in the past.

"There sat Cloud Retainer," you thought nostalgically. "There sat the lovely Guizhong, and there sat-"

"Buer?" came the voice of an unfamiliar man. "Is that you?"

Turning around, you saw a man of tall stature. He was brown and gold all over, and there was a familiar amber color in his eyes that made you smile. He never changed in that regard.

"Morax. How are you, old friend?" you asked. He walked closer and reciprocated your warm smile, scanning your shorter body from head to toe. With a curious hum of thought, he wore his usual stoic expression and shrugged.

"I wouldn't have recognized you if it weren't for your particular taste in oversized clothes," Morax noted, pointing out your giant robe. He pulled you into a hug as you were about to spout the advantages of such clothes. "I'm well. It has been long, Buer, God of Medicine."

"Enough with that name. I go by (y/n) in this day and age. A nice name, don't you think?" you said as you pulled out of his embrace and leaned against the tree. The breeze made you close your eyes in bliss.

You missed it here.

Noticing you resting, the God of Contracts sat down in his seat and hummed, "I, too, have this new mortal vessel. I go by "Zhongli" in this form."

"I see you've decided to go with a male vessel this time. I liked your last female form. Quite foxy and enticing."

"And you talk like an old man, yet you took the form of another unidentifiable figure."

"Well," you answered as you dug in your bag for the Glaze Lillies you plucked along your journey, "I can treat both men and women without judgment in this form. It's quite comfortable, but maybe I'll take on a female vessel in the future just for fun."

"Guizhong always wished to see you in a female form, saying she hoped to dress you up," Zhongli reminisced, prompting the two of you to spend a few minutes in silence. Guizhong and Morax had an undeniably intimate bond. You and Cloud Retainer bore witness to their days of happiness. Even during the Archon War, the two remained close allies and kept each other sane amidst the bloodshed. And yet... If only you weren't so far away...

"I am sorry," you murmured, thinking of how you could have saved your friend from her untimely death.

"Say not," replied Zhongli. He closed his eyes and took a deep sigh as you placed Glaze Lillies in the seat Guizhong once sat in. "You were doing your job. Should you have focused only on us, none of Teyvat would be the way it is today."

You couldn't help but bitterly agree. During the war and years of the aftermath, you traveled through all of Teyvat to heal the mortals of physical and mental illness. Had you not done so, billions would have perished. Yet, even with this line of reasoning, you couldn't help but feel guilty for the death of such a long-time friend.

That was your reason for leaving Liyue. Unable to bear the guilt, you decided to become a vagabond traveling the lands to heal the sick in atonement. You refused monetary payment believing you didn't deserve it, and you roamed aimlessly through every realm. Then, after hundreds of years, you found yourself back in Liyue. 

Not wanting to sour your reunion, you took a breath and smiled. "Anyways, I came here after so long because I missed you. Tell me of your time as an Archon. I'm in need of some interesting stories."

Zhongli recounted the days after your departure from Liyue. How he saw the formation of Liyue Harbor, how he had to subdue Azhdaha, how he saw the deaths of the Yakshas, how he met a certain traveler from another world, how Liyue dealt with Osial, and how he retired from being an Archon.

"Damn," you exhaled, processing the hundreds of years of history. Spawled out on the base of the tree, you turned to face your companion. "It seems like I missed quite a lot of things." 

"I see your habit of losing your mature facade hasn't ceased," Zhongli smiled. "I find it hard to understand your need to feign maturity when your true self is akin to Barbatos."

"Shut up. That's an insult."

The two of you laughed and talked about the drunken God of Freedom for a while.

"He gave a vision to the last remaining Yaksha," Zhongli commented, taking a sip of osmanthus wine you pulled out of your bag from the mention of Venti.

"Oh? Little Alatus, right?" you asked as you looked up at the sky in thought. Although you never met the Adeptus in person, Cloud Retainer mentioned him from time to time in the past.

"Yes, Adeptus Xiao," the former Geo Archon nodded. "I'm quite worried for him. His karmic debt seems to be destroying his body quicker in recent years. Seeing his fellow Yakshas perish over time must be burdening him as well."

"Survivor's guilt," you noted, taking a glass of wine for yourself. "I've seen more cases of that than I should've during the War."

Silence filled the air as the two of you sipped your wine. Suddenly, your companion set down his cup and looked sternly in your direction.

"...Buer--" hearing Zhongli call out your God-given name, you became sober-- "is it possible for you to look over him? As the God of Healing, there must be a way to give the young Adeptus repose."

"...Rex Lapis," you hummed, malice oozing out of your body as you set down your cup. The said man's fists were clenched despite his stoic face, knowing firsthand how dangerous you become when angered. Although you were a lover of medicine, that didn't mean you were necessarily a pacifist. "You know how much I hate being tied down. Tell me...is this a contract or a favor from a friend?"

"I am asking for a favor as an old-time friend," Zhongli exhaled calmly, glancing up at the demonic, warping figure beside the tree. He knew all too well how you hated contracts because of the contract with Celestia--the one that shackled the majority of your powers after Celestia realized your powers could give humans immortality. Claiming that you were losing your abilities as a god, you ran rampant and destroyed almost everything in your path until Celestia agreed to lessen the constrictions. It was said that the God of Healing was the same being who created the need for healing.

Though, that was thousands of years ago.

The visible hostility evaporated in a split second, and you returned to your usual, benign self. Taking a sip of wine, you smiled, pleased with Zhongli's reply.

"Alright. But in return, give me a place to sleep for a while."

"Have you heard of Wangshu Inn?" the God of Contracts inquired. "A splendid inn that stands in the beauty Guili Plains where Adeptus Xiao watches over. I will ask the owners to let you stay as long as you need."

"Great," you grinned. "I was too broke to ever stay in there. It's hard to get mora as a traveler."

"Mora...I also seem to have a lack of funds whenever I roam the streets of Liyue Harbor. The other worldly traveler I mentioned was shocked to find that I had no mora. We had to borrow from a friend of mine."

"Aren't you literally the God of Wealth?"

"I had little need for mora as an Archon. In a mortal vessel, it is different," Zhongli replied. His impassive yet pathetic explanation made you laugh, and the two of you began bickering about life in the mortal realm. 

Soon, the sun left the sky with a beautiful starry night, and you headed down the mountain toward Guili Plains with your long-time companion, continuing to talk about the shared memories of the past.