|A Lone Adeptus| xiaoven

十五

A lovely harp resonated deep through the ground, vibrating in my ears and right down to my soul. I awoke, feeling the warmth of the sun on my face, the smell of the humid summer air, and the cool grass brushing against my ears.

The sun glowed through the green leaves of the tree I lay under, and the cushion of dewy grass reminded me to breathe in peace.

Across from me was the grand harp, its strings plucked by none other than him, Barbatos. His eyes were closed, his pale fingers lifting and his hair swaying with the melody that he played. The sun shined against the strings of the harp, and the sea of white flowers below his feet seemed to stare up at him with awe.

I watched with a lightness in my chest, almost absent of the brandish voices. My breath was taken away by the music that tugged at my heart. I wanted to approach him, but did not want to hear the song end.

He paused and glanced up to the blue sky of white clouds and flocks of cranes. How they shined as bright as the vast sea, with a glimmer of salt and a dancing flower in the rain.

Before I knew I was staring, he turned his attention to me, his lips curling into a round smile of solace. He drew in a breath of the crisp air and exhaled as the final note adjourned, "What do you think?"

I was at a loss for words, shaking my head in disbelief, "As if I had never fallen from Celestia." I rose from the cool ground and plucked one of the many flowers to bring to him.

The cecilia placed by his ear was missing, so I brought forth a camellia which symbolized the layers of his sympathy, the astute centre of selflessness, and the charming scent of his songs.

I knelt and held out the flower to him, a smile etching onto my face, "Would my lord accept my gift in exchange for another song?"

His laughter filled the space of nature around us until he could no longer suppress his smile, "I accept, my adeptus."

Hearing a phrase such as that was enough to bring my heart to skip a beat. I stood and placed the flower behind his ear, looking into his eyes as if they were a pool of glowing moonfins.

We stood and peered into each others' eyes for a while, time slowing around us as we seemed to tell each other through our eyes alone, "I've missed you."

I drew in a quivering breath, preparing to speak, but he raised a hand and placed his finger against my lips, shaking his head, "Don't speak. I already know." Everything about him was so comforting, but I couldn't help but feel that something was seriously wrong.

"Alatus," he whispered, but he was not there.

My heart began to beat faster as if preparing for something that I hadn't even known was coming. "What is it?"

He stared into my soul, his smile dissipating with the warm sun until it was only us that sat in the darkness of a void. The light in his eyes vanished, and he faltered forward into my arms.

"Barbatos?" I gasped and held onto him, looking for anything that might have caused this, but he did not respond.

"Venti?!" I called again, shaking him and turning his face to look at me, but there was no life left in his eyes.

He clutched onto his heart, blackening blood oozing from between his fingers and staining his clothes, "You did this. You knew." The blood began to pool beneath us, and my mind grew numb with confusion and anguish. My karma. 

"VENTI!" I pressed my hand against his to stop the bleeding, but it wouldn't end. The world around us was stained red with karma and darkness, and the shining moon in his eyes left, leaving his body in my arms.

"Xiao..." he choked before he left.

"Venti," I whispered back, swells of tears pooling in my eyes as my body tightened in pain. "Please..." I pulled his body close to mine, but it was cold.

"Xiao..." he continued to call, but I did not hear the voice from him; it was in my head. "..Xiao..XIAO! WAKE UP!"

I jolted awake, the light of the day welcoming me to realize it was all a dream. I lay back down, sighing out with utter relief, swiping a hand over my face, but it came back wet with tears.

The small room seemed to belong to a pharmacy in Liyue Harbour, the wooden shelves packed with files, vails, packets, and hanging dried herbs. I wiped my face until my face was dry, realizing my sleeves were stained with dried blood.

"You're awake," a small voice said as she entered the room.

I turned my attention to the doorway, where a small purple hat followed up to the bed I lay in.

"Qiqi," I sighed again, but how did she drag me here?

The little zombie girl set down a tray next to the bed, pouring a cup of hot tea that smelled strongly of qingxin and sweet flowers before handing the cup to me, "Dr. Baizhu told me to give you medicine."

I stared at the steaming cup for a moment, wondering why they attempted it when they knew mortal medicine didn't work on me. "Thanks." But it made the most sense that the zombie didn't remember any of that or our meeting on the shore of Yaoguang Shoal.

She hopped onto a stool, watching me finish the cup before pouring me another until the pot was finished. The talisman on her head that I had previously overlooked seemed to have been rewritten with fresh ink, and the movements in her expression were smoother. Was there someone that kept watch of her?

A man with an albino snake wrapped around his neck entered the room before I could think more about the matter, "How are you feeling, Mister..?"

The interaction between humans was never an easy task, which was why I typically would 'snap' with my responses, but Barbatos had taught me better. "Just Xiao will do, and I feel fine. What happened?"

He hesitated and motioned towards whoever was in the doorway to enter.

"We're so sorry, Xiao," the traveller hesitated, holding up his hands together as Paimon floated over and began to check if I was alright in a ramble of unintelligible words and tears. "Please forgive us! It's a really long story, but-"

The whole story was a jumble of the traveller attempting a new battle tactic and launching his weapon into the air, where I had been struck. I had no idea how that could have happened, but if the traveller were behind it, then I would forgive him. After all, it was Barbatos himself that taught me so well how to forgive. "It's fine. Just some bleeding, right?"

"Actually," the doctor smiled and held up a mirror for me to hold. "It's a little more than that, but nothing you adepti should be able to handle...I do hope." The snake on his shoulder hid underneath the doctor's green hair as if preparing for disaster.

My reflection was different from the night before, or however long I had rested. Instead of my hair being well kept, it was cut short in some areas, and white bandages wrapped around my head. It seemed like I had suffered a great deal of bleeding, but I hardly felt the side effects. One thing was different about my reflection though, I looked younger.

I looked at each of the people in the room, then back to my reflection. I'm getting weaker.