Genshin Impact - One Shots

The Night falls without End (Xiao)

"Come on, dear," a middle-aged man hurriedly whispered to the woman alongside him, who seemed to be his wife. "This journey has taken us far too long; I feel like we're being watched."

"L-Li, what is the problem? Are we in danger?" The wife wore fright on her face.

"If we keep up the pace, we should be fine, Yue," Li tried his best to reassure his beloved, although he was barely unable to supress his own fear. He could sense it; she could sense it; death loomed near.

Moonlight shattered across the coastline and eliminated all shadows in the ruins of Wuwang Hill. It gave the illusion that it would be impossible to hide anything here, even danger. "It's not far until we reach Qingce Village now, we're nearly there!"

Their pace had been kept high, as the married couple was guided by the moonlit traces of their home. Without the menacing pressure the area provided tonight, one would consider this a peaceful stroll in Liyue. However, his night continued to prove itself different.

Distantly, the cracking and breaking of rocks echoed across the valley, followed by high-pitched screams and laughter. Li grabbed his wife's hand instinctively, trying his best to keep her close. Never did the laughter stop, and never did it get further away.

The couple's feet clattered on the ground as they hurried in fear of their lives. The distant laughter slowly merged into singing, as the frightened ones' pulses grew more rapid. The couple still had a hill to conquer, before they had finally made it home, but it was futile. The menacing laughter and cursed singing grew louder, and louder, and louder, and louder, and louder.

Until it stopped. Wuwang Hill returned to silence once again, in an instant. This moment of quiet appeared so abruptly, the husband and wife halted their pace out of shock; looking each other in the eyes questioningly.

"It..."

"Stopped?" Yue voiced relief, but Li only feared something stronger, something darker. Without further hesitation, he pulled his wife along with him yet again, as they made the final dash home.

———

Masks, coated in deep, dark crimson. Drowning in it. They all lay before him, motionless and drained of life. With his eyes glowing jade, he watched over the hillside, carefully watching the married couple traversing the ruins without danger. 

Once they were in the clear, the vigilant creature slowly undid his frightening mask, to reveal a face of solemness. He looked down at his feet, where he stood in a puddle of his enemies' remnants. His jade spear now wore a glow of red. His consciousness now faded a shade darker. Once the smell of hurt and death finally kicked in, the long-lived man fell.

Clenching his hands in the grass, while the sounds flooded in. Laughter, singing, cheering, all happy memories. Happy dreams. Forced to watch what he had ended, what he had prevented. Being force-fed his victims' hopes and aspirations, or their fears and desperations. It was a price Xiao used to pay, and now it lived on as a scar, never truly fading out of existence.

Slowly, Xiao got back up, huffing and panting, exhausted from the mental anguish. Struggling his way to a nearby creak, he made sure to wash away the blood of the Hilichurls from his equipment and his body, to ease the weight just in the slightest.

He had no time to waste, the night had barely begun. Such trivial matters shouldn't halt him from performing his duty successfully. Even after thousands of years, some of the dreams he had seen still managed to affect him. Yet he had also learned to tuck it all away, and even feed his strength with those visions.