A Dance of Frostflakes (Kamisato Ayaka x Male Reader)

Mountains, Tremble From Thunder

(Just like before, all artworks featured in this book isn't mine.)

Warning : Rare ship included! Turn back or just don't read this chapter if you don't like it. Don't say I didn't warn you folks.

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Two thousand years in the past... Archon War aftermath.

"Morax...? Are you okay...?"

Her words were like a snap. Loud besides his ear, but was the gentlest whisper which the wind could carry anywhere. He had not recognized that he just zoned out into the void, only to have been awoken from it by the woman whom he had been acquainted with for centuries, ever since she and her twin sister first appeared as the new Electro Archons, the first case to have ever took place in history where Celestia acknowledged two deities of the same element coexisting at once.

Nonetheless, the younger sibling kept insisting that she was a "Kagemusha", a shadow present only to guard the true Archon. Whilst the elder sibling was out to negotiate with the other Archons, and to pay tribute to Morax and the Adepti's lost, said shadow decided to console the now heartbroken Lord of Geo, bowing his head to hide his disoriented expression beneath a pearl white hood.

She gasped a little when he tilted his head upwards, revealing his true conditions. He was... mourning... in a way that she had never seen before. Rows of fresh, amber-colored tears ran down his chiseled cheeks. His long, chestnut hair was a disheveled mess, spreading from one direction to another. She could not make out clearly whether or not, that Morax was sad, angry or overall, just in too much pain. She figured it was a mix of all three, though it can only be seen as her personal assumptions.

"I... have heard about the Lord of Dust's passings and... I came here... to pay my condolences."

Morax's movements were still, and almost reaching the point of mechanical-like, where he behaves like a machinery that remains unoiled for decades to come. Ei now contemplates if reminding him of Guizhong's death was a wise choice, as she would not prefer if he went feral and harm either her or her twin sister, along with the rest of their newly established Seven Archons of Teyvat.

"I... see. My utmost thanks go to everyone else within the Seven, who spent their precious time to go all the way here... I will pay back in adequate amounts."

The violet haired woman shook her head, and gently placed her hand on Morax's shoulder, taking no more than a second to admire how muscular and sturdy his vessel was. She did not want him to repay his debts, not like he had any in the first place, with meaningless physical rewards. She was here because she was willing to, wanting to comfort a broken acquaintance. Guizhong did a toll on Morax's mental health, one that was slowly becoming sturdier as he spent time with the now deceased deity. Now, with her gone, his unhinged self could arise at any time given, whereas he becomes a bloodthirsty killer known long before, his notoriety of a past time now dissipated in every Liyue resident's memories, but never in the Archaic Lord's personal mind.

"No... that is not needed. We are here not out of obligation. I and my sister were willing to come."

Her exclamation made Morax felt... relieved, in a way. Most people who came here are either just out of their unwillingness, or to literally spat in his face, telling how pathetic he was to mourn over a nameless god. Of course, he almost gave said person a facial surgery out of brute force, but he was reminded that they are Archons, they have their own responsibilities and killing each other will not be tolerated by the higher ups.