Dominator Stellae

20 | The Stars' Masquerade (1)

As with plenty of the other gods, my identity has changed more times than I could count. I could become anyone I wanted in the blink of an eye and I could just as easily shed my more problematic identities. The one that stood out the most was Belphegor, Overlord of Repentance and Misfortune. Before I'd met Morax, I too had been an easily upset, violent god. People came to see me as an omen of bad news when I appeared.

It had been painful once I realized the amount of damage I had caused through my temper. It wasn't without reason though, before I'd become engulfed in my own emotions I'd been friends with a great many gods. I took a sip of my tea as I recounted my younger days. I'd been nothing but two hundred years old, Delta had been three hundred two, when gods began approaching us for companionship.

We were young, easily impressed. So we agreed. I ended up being closest to the gods and Delta kept her distance. So, it only made sense that when fights over territory began and my beloved friends were killed mercilessly that it affected me more, right? I'd always been like that...getting too attached fast and crashing hard when everything fell apart.

So I turned to anger to grieve them, not even Delta could calm me. "Embarrassing," I muttered, staring into the steaming cup of tea. Third Round Knockout was quiet today due to the Rite of Parting reaching its peak on Yujing Terrace. I'd wanted to go up but knew that Zhongli would be there and I was going to keep my word that he would have to come to me.

Besides, reminiscing while drinking a warm cup of tea was fun... for the most part. I was content. Wonderful. Whatever else word that meant happy. Very much so.

I sat the teacup down and put my face in my hands. Every part of me felt heavier than usual and I was admittedly tired. When you've lived as long as I have, sadness seems like an inevitable part of everyday life. Especially since I spent four millennia avoiding talking to pretty much anyone for long. I looked up when I heard a chair in front of me being moved.

"Mind if I sit here?" Zhongli asked. I stared at him for a long minute but begrudgingly agreed. A waiter, having seen him sitting down, came over to take his order. Once they're finished, it's us alone at the table. I raised an eyebrow at him. What did he want, now? Wasn't he supposed to be at his funeral? I continued to silently play over my food, the appetite I'd once had gone along with my earlier sadness.

Zhongli was quiet for another moment before he spoke. "I feel two days has been long enough for us to process all that was said during our last conversation," He started, clasping his hands on the table top. I sat up so he knew he was actually listening. "And, I want to resolve this. I'd rather not have you leave again, not after spending four thousand years waiting..."

My expression softened. When I first left, I didn't think any of them would miss me. I honestly thought that, just as I had in history, I would fade away from their memories. I've been proved wrong, I supposed. Zhongli continued.

"I shouldn't have brought up Guizhong, nor should I have made you feel dumb," he said apologetically. "So, I can understand if you're still upset with me, but I just wanted to apologize."

I sighed, wearily. Arguments were never fun. "I also apologize for my attitude. I'll admit that I let my emotions cloud my judgment...it won't happen again," I said, feeling a bit better. "I just felt like you weren't hearing anything I was saying."

Zhongli pursed his lips, looking slightly ashamed. "I suppose I wasn't. If you would like, I could help you with reading Common and Liyue's language. You're going to need it at some point."

My cheeks immediately flushed red. I would really need it since I accidentally made a fool of myself ordering tea. The words on the menu hardly made sense to me and I only recognized the "tea". The poor waiter had looked so flustered as I struggled to read. I, honestly, wanted to evaporate into nothingness. It would be amazing to avoid having that happen again.