Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ajax laid his book face down onto his lap, yawning softly. The weather was wonderful, the warmth of the late spring sun seeping into his body. The slight wind rustled the leaves on the trees and made his hammock sway ever so gently. He didn’t know how long he’d been here, reading a book.

A bit further away, he could see Valeria run in circles, giggling maniacally while her father chased after her playfully. Eventually, he snatched her up, her giggling not stopping as she was lifted from the ground.

“Got you!” Artyom called triumphantly, moving her upwards so she could sit on his shoulders. He walked towards the stairs of the palace, where Maya and Yulia were sitting, watching them as well while they were talking.

When Valeria was born exactly a month after Ajax’ 26^th birthday, nobody had been surprised that she sported their signature red hair. Some money was exchanged from the few non-believers who had argued that maybe, she would take after her mother. But that bet was promptly lost. The ones of them who had insisted that the child would have red hair, of course claimed that there was never a chance that she wouldn’t have it.

Well, what was one more redhead? After all, Ajax had belonged to the group that bet on their first niece or nephew taking after their family. And everyone did agree that she was incredibly adorable anyways, no matter which hair colour.

Of course, as the first niece, granddaughter and great-granddaughter, she was properly spoiled. Her parents still wanted to take care that she wouldn’t actually become spoiled rotten and would appreciate the things she had and received. They wanted to find a balance between how frugally they grew up and how much more they could offer their own child here in Liyue. Which was sensible, Ajax found.

She’d be three years old this summer, and he was already wondering what he should gift her. Well, he’d probably discuss it with Maya and Artyom first, as he usually did. Perhaps there was something that they would like for her to have. They knew he was willing to spend anything to make his niece happy.

Those three years had gone by in a flash. He sometimes couldn’t believe everything that had happened in between. Heck, some days he still woke up from an especially deep sleep and took a moment to register that he actually was married to Morax, and the last four years of his life hadn’t been an extremely elaborate dream.

And elaborate it would have had to be. As if life before their wedding hadn’t been crazy, things afterwards hadn’t been much less so.

Short after their return from their honeymoon, Ajax had kept having strange dreams about this huge whale. Just like he had when he had been in the abyss, but until he got them again, he must have suppressed the memory. And then this strange feeling, that he should go to Fontaine.

Morax hadn’t liked it one bit, but had let him go begrudgingly. But only with a promise that he would take care and that he would call for Morax, if he needed him. He hadn’t expected to be gone for long, initially he had planned to go and ask Neuvillette about the whale. Maybe he knew something.

In the end, he’d found the whale while swimming in the waters of Fontaine, when it opened a crack in space and pulled him into the abyss. Where he kept fighting it for who knew how long. Well, he knew about how long.

After all he knew which day he left for Fontaine, and which day he returned home. But he couldn’t leave, seeing as he wasn’t able to open rifts or gateways back into the normal world. Maybe Skirk would now be able to teach him, though.

So, he had to wait, until he was able to escape from out of the whale, shooting out in front of Neuvillette, as he was trying to subdue the whale. He did his best to help, but then felt his energy leave him and passed out, back into the whales’ mouth. Next thing he knew, he woke up back in Liyue.

What happened after he passed out, he had heard from Lumine, who also had been in Fontaine at the time and also present when he exited the whale. Apparently, her and Neuvillette entered the rift left by the whale and fought it and then met Skirk.

Skirk was the one who sent him back, having learned how to create portals herself in the time since they last saw each other. As Lumine said, she tossed him into the portal one-handed, “like a trash bag on pickup day”. Which did indeed sound a lot like his master, so if he hadn’t already believed she’d actually met her there, he’d known at that point. After all, she could still beat him one handed. So her throwing him like a bag of potatoes absolutely was in the realm of possible things.

Being dropped onto a couch in their living room wasn’t too bad, luckily Morax found him quite quickly and brought him to bed. Only for Skirk to turn up soon after to explain to him what had happened to Ajax.

When he woke up to find himself in bed with his husband, he couldn’t help but use whatever remained of his energy to hug him tightly, not wanting to let go again. At first, Morax found it funny and laughed about it. But then realization about the differences of how time flowed in the overworld, and the abyss seemed to hit him, and he got quiet.

Morax hadn’t seen him in two weeks.

He hadn’t seen Morax in almost fourteen months.

So of course he got a little emotional upon seeing him again, finally. Which resulted in him feeling a little clingy for the next while, not wanting to be apart from his husband for long. And Morax was much the same, considering he now realized the gravity of the difference in their perception of time. And he was equally happy to see his family, of course, so he made sure to spend a lot of time with them, too.

All the while, he was spoiled rotten until his energy levels had recovered a bit. Morax wouldn’t let him do any housework or other strenuous activity, no sparring either. Not even cooking! No, he was thoroughly cooked for, even if his whole family avoided to do it while the boys could notice. So, while they were away at school, he’d constantly receive plates and bowls of food or got brought sweets and snacks.

Morax had been worried about his mental health too, until Ajax assured him that this stay in the abyss hadn’t been anything like his first. The area seemed to be very isolated, and apart from the whale, he hadn’t encountered anything except some strange fishes. That he’d hunted and eaten raw. Which certainly wasn’t his preferred method, but he’d eaten sushi while in Inazuma, so… And his stomach had been able to keep it down, so they must have been alright to eat like that. Else it probably would have been safer to cook these strange, unknown fishes.

In any case, he’d recovered within a few days, but the others insisted on making sure he was resting a little while longer. And for their sake, he relented.

After that, Lumine had successfully made it to Natlan and from then on further to Nod-Krai, which was technically part of Snezhnaya but an autonomous region. They didn’t worship the Tsaritsa, as the rest of Snezhnaya did, so she didn’t have much say there. And from there, she’d gone on to Snezhnaya proper, where she’d arrived quite recently.

Which had come with quite a few surprises, for both her and him.

Firstly, she’d met her twin again. The abyss order was working with the Tsaritsa, trying to overthrow the status quo of the world and bring Celestia down. As the abyss prince, Lumines brother was working closely with the Tsaritsa and – as her closest advisor – Pierro.

The ensuing confrontation revealed a much more unexpected truth, though.

It hadn’t been the Tsaritsa pulling the strings, but rather Pierro all along. The former royal mage and sinner of Kaenri’ah had become bitter after Celestia punished their nation and placed curses on the people. He then used his abilities to manipulate Aether into conspiring with Chlothar Alberich, the founder of the abyss order.

Later, he did the same with the tsaritsa, after she had become an archon. In her grief after the loss of her beloved, who had killed the former cryo archon and been deemed unworthy by Celestia, she had been an easy target.

Sometime during the confrontation, Lumine was able to finally fully gain back her original abilities, and was able to cleanse their corrupted, manipulated minds with the light element. The tsaritsa did not react kindly to realizing what had happened to her, and promptly made sure that Pierro would never harm anyone again.

She then released the people that she had encased in ice as punishments and dissolved the everlasting snowstorms that plagued large parts of the land and made life a lot harder. Snezhnaya would never be a warm place, being all the way up north and the nation of cryo. But without those storms, life for the people would be much easier and the ground would yield crops at least for a few more months.

Lumine and Aether were finally reunited and decided to take some time to themselves, so they could catch up and decide what to do next. With her abilities back, she would be able to go world-traveling again, but she also admitted that she’d gotten attached to all the friends she made in Teyvat. So, they took their time to decide on how they wanted to keep going.

Meanwhile, Ajax received an elegantly written letter that Lumine brought him immediately after things in Snezhnaya had been resolved. She had wanted him to have it before her and Aether were taking their little break.

Much to his surprise, it was a letter from the Tsaritsa. Well, he had known when he’d seen the handwriting, he would recognize it anywhere. The content of it was her explaining everything that Lumine told him as well. With a sincere sounding apology and that his and his whole family’s exile was null and void. As well as his former subordinates. So, they all were welcome to come and go as they pleased or return to their homeland if they so wished.

With immediate effect, the fatui as they were, would be dissolved and instead she would be keeping only a few trustworthy individuals to build up some new branches of government in order to help better the lives of people. Arlecchino for example, would keep the house of hearth intact, but no longer operating it to train soldiers but as an orphanage alone. Which seemed to be very much in her interest.

She also congratulated them on their wedding and wished them all the best for their married life. And that she hoped that – if they were amenable – they would be able to talk about everything face to face sometime. But first, of course, she would have to fix many things within Snezhnaya itself. And naturally, she would return the obtained gnoses to their rightful owners in person soon as well.

He talked about the letter with Morax, and his parents and siblings – minus the boys, of course. Luckily, his family had no interest to return to Snezhnaya, they wanted to stay here in Liyue. And Morax also agreed to accept her apology and even extended the invitation that she could come visit them in Liyue anytime she liked or invite them, and they would come.

Those had been the two major things. More minor things, there had been dozens. Their wedding seemed to have kicked off a bit of a wedding-boom almost. Just a few months after theirs, his parents renewed their vows in a beautiful ceremony.

Then, a bit over a year ago, it had been Alhaitham and Kaveh. They had been invited to Sumeru, and it had been incredibly sweet. They had only invited the ones closest to them, which meant that there were a couple of friends, Nahida and some family members. Thanks to Nahida being there, it was a little less awkward for Morax, else he might have sticked out a lot. Kaveh even had laughed about how many mortals even got to have multiple archons at their wedding.

And a couple of months ago, Ping and Guizhong had tied the knot as well, with all their friends and family present. Even Yanfei’s parents were there, having received the invitation during their travels thanks to Kirara, the courier from the inazuman Komaniya express.

Lian and Rong were talking about renewing their vows too, as they had around the time were Morax and him got married. But Rong insisted that it would be better to wait until the chance presents itself to maybe mend things with Lians’ relatives. Which hadn’t yet happened, despite her and Ganyu talking about it three years ago already.

But according to Lian, it wasn’t uncommon for adepti to be like this. Three years was hardly worth mentioning in the lifespan of adepti, so it was normal to talk about something and then only actually doing it maybe a decade or so later. Their way of thinking was a little different compared to humans in that regard.

There also weren’t any hard feelings on their side that her family hadn’t contacted her yet, just because it was quite normal like that. She compared it to how humans would sometimes talk with each other, saying that they would have to go out to do an activity together sometime. But then they’d only get around to actually doing it weeks, or even months, later. This case wasn’t any different, just that for humans it might seem a long time. When for them as adepti, it didn’t feel much different than those weeks or months would have for humans.

And not long after Morax and him had come back from their honeymoon, Chongyun had left on a journey with Shenhe, in the hopes of finding a way to either fix or at least manage his pure yang spirit. They’d been gone for around two and a half years now, travelling across all of Teyvat. Much to Xingqiu’s dismay, who clearly missed his best friend dearly. But he also didn’t want to go after him or ask him to come home for a visit, not wanting to interrupt something that was so important to Chongyun.

Around the same time, Morax remodelled the realm. What existed before was still intact. But he added two more islands connected to the one where the palace was on. One with several houses for Ajax’ family, the other with houses for their friends and his own parents. And he’d also adjusted the realm keys so that they all could make adjustments to their homes as they liked, so they didn’t need him if the counters were too low or they wanted the walls to have a different coat of paint, or desired for an extra room. Even though having their own homes now, everyone was still in the palace a lot of the time. Which was nice.

Morax had also added some more things to the islands, like a couple of trees next to the palace, where Ajax was now currently lying in his hammock. A little bit away, Tonia was sitting under another tree, a small tray with a glass of juice and a container of ink next to her. On her lap was a thick book that she was brooding over, carefully writing something in the margin with a quill.

She was currently studying for the entrance exam for the Sumeru Akademiya, having settled on wanting to join the Amurta darshan and study biology and medicine there. She had worked hard for it the last three years and was now just a day away from the exams.

Clearly, she was still nervous and went over her preparation materials several times still, but there was also a quiet sort of determination and confidence in the way she behaved recently. Which might be owed to the fact that she had worked that hard to get where she was now, and she also knew how many people supported her.

Not only had Morax hired tutors for her to help her in her early time here, to help her adjust (and his younger brothers too). She had also taken up a little part-time job at Bubu pharmacy, helping out a couple of hours every week for a little salary. Baizhu had clearly taken a liking to her and must have seen potential in her. Because he had hired her to do small errands and more menial tasks.

But soon, she was allowed to join him as he prepared herbs and made medicines. He gave her a leather-bound book, in which she would take notes about different ingredients and their different effects. And he would check over her notes to make sure she didn’t write down anything wrong and would end up memorizing something incorrectly.

When Nahida had caught wind of her wanting to go to Amurta, she arranged for one of the top graduates to help her prepare for the entry exams. So, with her permission, Morax created a realm exit in Ghandarva Ville, so she could easily go to her study sessions with him. Tighnari – who he had met when they were invited to Alhaitham’s and Kaveh’s wedding – was very nice, but also a strict teacher when it mattered, according to Tonia. Which she really liked, because she was able to learn a lot from him and he even promised her to still help her if she actually got into the Akademiya.

So, with all this support from the people around her, she clearly felt well-prepared and was planning to crush the exams. Ajax really hoped that she would be able to do that. To see her become this confident was quite incredible. Sometimes the difference between the insecure young girl in Snezhnaya and the confident young woman she was now, almost gave him whiplash. But he couldn’t be prouder.

Life really was good now, and he couldn’t wait to see Tonia succeed and get into the Akademiya. She deserved to fulfil her wishes and achieve her goals. And he absolutely had a gift ready for her, for when she got in. Because he didn’t doubt that she would, for him it would be surprising if she didn’t pass at all with how hard she’d worked and the sheer mass of knowledge she’d already acquired from books, Baizhu and Tighnari.

He just knew that she would pass, no matter what.

Chapter Text

Slowly, Morax walked down the stairs of the palace, where Maya and Artyom sat with their little daughter and Yulia, chatting in the warmth of the spring sun.

“Momo!” the little girl called out as soon as she spotted him, stretching her little arms out towards him.

His name had been a little hard for a human child to learn at such an early age. So, after a few times of gently repeating it in front of her as she grew older, she had settled on “Momo”. Which, well, probably was appropriate for her age. And he didn’t mind, he understood that she couldn’t help it. Perhaps, as she grew older, she would come to call him by his actual name. Though the others said he might as well stuck being “Uncle Momo” now. Which, again, he didn’t mind.

What was more unexpected was that she seemed to have taken a liking of him. Whenever he was around, she would be like this, joyfully call for him and make little grabby hands at him. So, he often ended up with the little girl in his arms, even if at the beginning, he had been utterly overwhelmed.

But everyone around him was so patient and understanding. When he’d been hesitant to hold her at first, he’d decided to explain his thoughts and feelings around the matter. He didn’t want to come across as if he didn’t care or didn’t want to help or hold her or anything.

So, he had slowly worked on it and was now able to hold her relatively comfortably. Still, he often worried he’d accidentally hold her too tightly or do something wrong. But it felt a little less stressful than it did at the beginning. And the way she would ask for him was admittedly adorable.

Artyom laughed apologetically as Morax took Valeria from him. “She really picked you and Ajax as the favorite uncles, can’t help that.”

“I understand Ajax, I’m more confused on why she picked me, too. Not that I mind. But you’d think I’d be scary to her.”

“Of course you aren’t, she’s known you since her first few days in this world. Even if she registers that some of the people around her are different, for her you’re all normal. Horns and all. She probably won’t start to question it until she’s quite a bit older and learns that not everyone has people like that in their family.” Maya said softly, squinting a little in the sun.

“If you’re looking for Ajax, he’s over there in one of the hammocks,” Yulia provided.

Morax smiled at her. “Thank you,” he replied, handing Valeria back to her father carefully.

As he walked over to the area with several trees on the side of the palace, he couldn’t help but feel grateful for how things had turned out over the last three years. Their families had meshed together almost seamlessly, creating one big family unit.

For someone like him, who had been very lonely for a long time, it sometimes was a little bit much, but the company was still very welcome. He loved his new, big family. He loved being an Ivanov and proudly introduced himself with his full name whenever he could.

When the issue with the Tsaritsa had resolved itself, Ajax had been worried that his family would take the opportunity to move back to Snezhnaya. He would have understood, considering the circumstances that caused them to move away in the first place. But luckily, none of them wanted to. They liked their new lives in Liyue, and enjoyed how their familial bonds had gotten closer and included new people. So, they didn’t want to lose that.

It was clear that Ajax was incredibly relieved to hear this, having been on edge ever since he’d read the letter. Morax had felt quite confident that they wouldn’t want to return, but of course, he could have been wrong.

As he got over to his husband, he looked up at him with a grin. “Hey there.”

Morax laughed softly. “Hey there.”

It was quite incredible. Three years of marriage had done nothing to dull the butterflies swooping in his belly whenever he was with Ajax. But luckily, he knew that his beloved felt just the same way.

“Everything still as planned tomorrow? That you and I will accompany Tonia?” Morax asked, creating a stone pillar with a wave of his hand and sat onto it. “Or did she change her mind?”

“I didn’t,” Tonia called, and Morax turned his head to see her sitting under one of the trees not far away. “If you’ve got the time, of course. It’s less that I need someone with me… More so that I’d appreciate having someone around to distract me before the exams start. Else I’ll just keep going over my materials and drive myself insane.”

Ajax hummed. “There you have it.”

“Of course we have time. Even if we hadn’t, we’d make time,” Morax insisted.

She hummed, happy. “It’s good to be the favorite sister-in-law.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “Even if you weren’t.”

“Right, you two are like that.” She closed the book and put it next to her in the grass. “You could go chat with Nahida while I’m working on the exams. Then I could come up to the sanctuary whenever I’m finished.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Ajax said easily. “The exams do take several hours after all.”

“Mhm, Master Tighnari said that it took him around five hours to finish them all, and he was very fast with it. He said he was in the top five of fastest ever completions of the Amurta entrance exams. And still scored top ten results.”

“Don’t hurry because of us. You take your time with it and go at whatever pace is right for you. You’ll be done when you’re done, and we’ll be waiting for you. Even if it takes you ten hours,” Ajax said firmly.

“If it takes me ten hours, I’m an hour over the allotted time,” she replied dryly. “So, the absolute latest you’ll see me is after nine. Lunch is provided on-site to make sure nobody leaves and gets cheat sheets or something.”

“Hope it’ll be a good one at least,” Morax hummed.

Tonia nodded. “It should be. Master pointed out that there’s several options for different dietary needs or preferences and that the food provided is delicious and nutritious, to make sure that people will feel well to continue with the exams. Apparently during registration in the morning, I’ll be asked to make my pick.”

“Hope you’ll get some good choices then,” Ajax said.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bad choice in Sumeru. Even the simple things I get in Ghandarva Ville are delicious. Ah… say, does the offer still stand with the realm exit in the dorm? Because as much as I want to go to the Akademiya, I don’t want to not see you for weeks at a time. And I don’t have a vision, so I can’t use the teleport network. Except you or Ajax want to come pick me up all the time… But then I’d like to maybe just come home when I miss you or want home food…”

Morax smiled softly. “I’ve already talked about it with Nahida. When you pass, you’ll get your own hidden exit in your room. So, you can come home as much as you want to. Even if you just want to sleep in your own bed. You can just use your dorm the way I use the harbor apartment. Or you can actually stay there and just come home whenever you like for whatever reason. Completely your choice to make.”

Tonia got up from where she was sitting and came over to him, wrapping her arms around him to hug him. “Thank you. You’re the best brother-in-law ever!”

“I promised, didn’t I? I’d help however I can, so your wishes come true. And this is just a small thing for me, creating a realm exit is hardly effort.”

“But still, you talked it out with Nahida and are doing this just for me.”

“We all know how much you want this. And we’re all rooting for you. Plus, the realm exit would also allow you to travel to any other destination with an exit, so Ghandarva Ville as well.”

“Ah, so I could keep up my tutoring with Tighnari. He did say he’d be willing to keep helping me through my studies if I do get in,” she murmured into his shoulder. “Really, I appreciate it.”

Morax gently patted her back. “It’s nothing, but I know you do.”

She let go of him and stretched her arms above her head. “I should take a bath in the hot springs and relax a bit. I’ve learned as much as I can, I think. Now I should make sure I’m in top shape tomorrow.”

“Sounds like a plan. Eat well and get enough sleep, too,” Ajax said, carefully sitting up in the hammock and getting out of it.

“I will, don’t worry. See you then, and don’t be late!” She moved to pick up her tray and her book and off she went towards the island with their family’s houses.

The next morning, they got ready and had a light breakfast before heading outside to wait for Tonia. They didn’t have to wait a long time for her to come walking from the other island, a little leather backpack slung over her shoulder and looking quite chipper.

She hooked both her elbows into theirs as she caught up with them and started pulling them towards the realm exit. “Well, good morning, let’s go!”

Ajax laughed, letting himself be pulled along. “Good morning.”

“Good morning. You’re in a very good mood.”

“I feel ready to tackle anything right now, I’ve slept so well even though I was nervous. That herbal tea you recommended really worked wonders.”

Morax hummed, glad to be of help. “Good, I was hoping it would.”

“I fell asleep at eight.” She said. “Eight!” She emphasized. “ I don’t think I ever slept at eight since I was a child.”

He chuckled. “Well, your body probably needed the rest.”

“Mhm, probably. But on the bright side, I feel amazing now, so I’m sure I’ll pass!”

Ajax had a proud smile on his face. He knew just how proud he was of the young woman his sister had become, and Morax felt just the same. Seeing her grow up and become more confident with every month had felt special. And being one of the people that she seemed to trust with no questions asked to the point where he was someone, who she felt safe to confide in or wanted him around for milestones like these.

At this point, she was so confident even, that she didn’t even care about being accompanied by Ajax and him today. There would be hundreds of hopeful students trying to get into the Akademiya, waiting to be let in, either by themselves or with friends and family.

People might stare, considering how the two of them looked. But when he brought that up with her and asked if they shouldn’t transform themselves instead, she had only laughed. Then, she said that if she appeared in their company, people probably at least would already see her as competition.

That’s how confident she was in her knowledge, that she actively wanted to be seen as competition. And sure, Guizhong could have given her all the knowledge with her dumbbell. But Tonia didn’t want it. She wanted to work hard herself and achieve her goal on her own merit.

Morax was confident that she would achieve exactly that. She wasn’t yet sure whether she wanted to specialize in biology more – like Tighnari – or if she leaned more towards herbology and medicine, or if she even wanted to study all of them. Which would be hard, but if Tonia had made up her mind about something, it seemed there really was no stopping her.

Before Morax could react, Tonia pulled them into the portal, and they came out in Sumeru City, hidden behind some plants at the bottom of the large tree. It was already noticeably warmer at this time than it as in Liyue, and the smells and sounds of the nearby market and the crowds heading to the Akademiya filled his senses.

He was used to the hustle and bustle of Liyue harbor, but it always felt like Sumeru City was a little bit busier still. Or perhaps it was the same and just felt different, with the different place, smells and sounds.

Tonia didn’t give them more than a few seconds though, before she pulled them further. “Come on guys, I don’t want to be late! If I’m late, they won’t let me in anymore.”

“We’re perfectly early still,” Ajax reasoned.

“And I’m not taking chances of even remotely being late and having to wait another year. I’ve waited more than enough, I want to get in now. I have years of studies ahead of me still!”

“You know how punctual Morax is, he wouldn’t let us be late.”

Tonia hummed.  “Punctual, yes. Though if he couldn’t create Mora out of thin air, he’d still be screwed all the time because he forgets his Mora pouch still, even after all these years.”

“Hey!” He complained softly, but couldn’t help but laugh.

“Am I lying though?” She asked, looking back towards him.

“…No.”

She laughed heartily, then sped up into a light jog, her coppery hair bouncing behind her. What a sight they surely were! The young woman pulling two grown men with dragonesque features with her, dragging them along the walkway up the tree until they arrived at the front entrance of the Sumeru Akademiya. There was a whole crowd gathered there, from young teenagers to adults of any age even.

And at the entrance, Naida stood with five other people, dressed in the colors of their corresponding darshans. For a moment he wondered why there were only five instead of six, until he remembered that one darshan specialized in things like astronomy and astrology. So surely their entrance exams happened either last night or would happen this night.

They waited quietly for a moment, not unaware that some people gave them curious glances. A few more people arrived, standing off to the sides and leaving ample space around the door. Tonia rummaged in her backpack, taking out the small registration slip that she had received upon signing up for the exam. A confirmation that she would be allowed to take part, with a little note on the bottom that said to bring it to the exam, else you would be turned away.

At the sound of a gentle bell, everyone became quiet.

“Good morning everyone,” Nahida said with a big smile. “I hope all of you are feeling well today, even if I’m sure you’re nervous. It’s normal to be nervous. It doesn’t mean that you aren’t prepared well enough, but rather that you care about what happens today.

The exams will start shortly. To make things a bit more orderly, we have a representative of each darshan here. We will call out each darshan one after another. Those of you who are here for that darshans’ entrance exams will have two minutes time to say goodbye to your friends or family that accompanied you, and to gather here at the entrance.

Then, the representative will guide you inside to the classroom in which your exam will be held. The examiner at the door there will ask you for your registration slip and you will be let inside and sit down.

At each desk, you will find a pitcher of water and a cup. Make sure to drink enough, especially our foreign applicants who might not be used to the heat. There will also be a small tray of snacks provided, as the exams will take a long time. Also, you’ll find a small paper slip there with the options for your lunch. Please check it immediately and fill it out, so the examiners can collect it before the exams start.

The exams for all darshans will start in thirty minutes, when everyone has settled in their classrooms. When you are done with the first part of your exam, put the paper to the side so the examiners can see that you’ve finished. They will then provide you with the next part. You can go at any pace you like, you will have a total of five hours time in the morning, then an hour of lunch break, and four more hours in the afternoon.

Exam sheets will be collected at noon for the lunch break, you will receive them back afterwards. You may take a break for yourself whenever you want to, if you need to close your eyes for a couple of minutes or just need to let your mind wander aimlessly, don’t hesitate to do so. There will be clocks in all classroom that are visible, so you’ll know how much time you still have at your disposal at any point.

Once you’re done with all parts of the exams, the examiner will quietly dismiss you and you’ll be allowed to leave. Over the next week, the exams will be graded and you’ll receive notice about your grade and whether that means that you got in or not.

If you do not manage to get in this year, don’t lose hope. Work hard and try again next year. Sometimes it’s just a bad day. I wish you all the best of luck and much success, may wisdom guide you.”

She stepped to the side while the students murmured quiet “Thank you’s”.

A man dressed in yellow stepped forward. “Vahumana!” He called out and within the next two minutes, about fifty students gathered around him and then disappeared with him into the Akademiya building.

A woman in red was next. “Spantamad!” The same pattern repeated, another large group of students gathered around her, to be led inside.

Then, a woman in green. Tonia perked up next to them, taking a deep breath. “Amurta!” The woman called.

“This is me,” Tonia said softly. “Wish me luck.”

They both moved in to hug her tightly and could feel her hug them back just as tight.

“Good luck. You’ll do awesome, I know it,” Ajax said firmly. “I’m so proud of you, princess.”

“Good luck. Even if you won’t need it, because you’ve worked so hard for this, you’ll get through this with flying colors,” Morax murmured.

“Thank you two. See you later,” Tonia replied, sounding a little wet, but quickly turned around to join the representative. Her coppery hair was well visible amongst the small crowd, and he could see how Nahida turned her head to look at her. Their gazes briefly met and the goddess smiled, winking at her, before Tonia disappeared into the building.

The students for Kshahrewar and Haravatat were called as well, and when the only people left outside were some family members and friends still lingering behind, and Nahida, she walked over to them.

“Good morning you two. Feeling nervous on Tonia’s behalf?”

“Good morning. A little bit, even if I’m sure she’ll crush it.” Ajax admitted.

“Good morning. Not really, she’s worked too hard to fail now.”

Nahida hummed, swaying on her feet a little. “She really has worked incredibly hard. I’d be surprised if she didn’t pass with how much extra tutoring she took on. But sometimes, things just can go wrong, no matter how prepared you are. But we’ll stay optimistic. Come on, lets head up to the Sanctuary, I recently got a new tea blend that I’m sure you’ll enjoy.”

And with that, they followed her up the rest of the way to the Sanctuary of Surasthana, to pass the time until Tonia would be done with her exams and be able to tell them how she felt she did.

Chapter Text

Not long after, they sat on the low table in the Sanctuary. There was already a full spread of different sweets and snacks as well as fruits on there and a large pot of fragrant tea was served to them. Wanderer – who still hadn’t chosen a name and still went by this title – sat down too, next to Nahida.

He breathed in the scent of the tea, floral and sweet. Careful, he took a sip and hummed with delight. It tasted as nice as it smelled and had a gentle, blue color.

“Kalpalata Lotus,” Nahida explained. “They’re blue flowers that grow on vines down cliffsides. They’re not actual lotus flowers though, they just look similar and that’s how they got the name.”

“It’s delicious,” Morax said softly. “Light and floral, fragrant and sweet… And the color is quite stunning, too.”

“I’m glad you like it. Though I was quite confident that you would, I’d like to think I’ve gotten a good grasp of your tastes over our time of being friends. Especially the last couple of years since we’ve been in contact more.” She took a glance at Ajax. “Don’t worry about Tonia, she will do just fine.”

His beloved took a deep breath and smiled apologetically. “I know, but I can’t help but be nervous. She wants this so much. And for three years now. So, I’d hate to see her not succeed even if I feel sure that she will.”

“Like any caring brother would. But I’m sure your worries are unfounded. I have only seen or heard of part of her preparation for this day and her future studies in Amurta. And even with only that much, I can tell she’s spent more time preparing herself for the exams than possibly two thirds of students did.

I’d be surprised if she doesn’t end up amongst the best entrance exam results in history. Especially having been tutored by Tighnari, who himself was a prodigy. He could have gotten every prestigious job with incredible pay. But he chose to do what he is passionate about.”

“I could see that for Tonia too. Her entire reason for doing this is because she’s passionate about learning, after all. And I feel like helping out at Bubu pharmacy and in the rainforest also has given her a few new viewpoints to consider.” Ajax replied, leaning back in his chair.

“It’s a smart choice. It’s not good to view things only from one perspective,” Wanderer said quietly, brushing his hair to the side. “I try to be more open about things like that, too.”

“Mhm, I keep learning about too, even with how old I am. Sometimes I think I have everything considered, and then I still miss something crucial. Like with my retirement fiasco,” Morax admitted. “I was sure I had considered everything and then missed so many details. I had no idea people would be so sad about my supposed death. And then, when it all blew up in my face, I was sure nobody could ever forgive me.”

Looking back, his worries had been warranted. People were so different, every one of them unique. They would have had every right to feel betrayed and hurt, angry at him and not wanting him anywhere near. But they had chosen to be kind. To try and understand his reasoning for what he had done and had chosen to forgive him. Moreso even, to embrace him in their midst and accept him.

He loved the way his life was now, the best of both worlds, so to say. While he still retained his function as an archon, he still did very little when it came to the day to day affairs of Liyue. After all, the Qixing had them handled very well, no need for him to interfere with them.

The few times when he appeared in an official setting were enjoyable and the Qixing would work with him closely. He especially loved taking part in the preparations for lantern rite. Sometimes he’d also go over to help them with things pertaining to Liyue’s history, assisting in straightening out timelines between events or clearing up historical records.

And what he especially liked working on – where Ajax was heavily involved in as well – was bringing the culture and history of the adepti closer to people. Ajax had helped greatly when it came to how to make things appealing to children. Like the plush toy line with different sizes of soft, huggable toys shaped like different races of mythical illuminated beasts.

There were also books for any age, from illustrated children’s books to storybooks that parents could read to their children (or the children could read on their own), to the ones who were more realistic and with more violence, which were suited for an older audience. And the stories were also recorded on spin crystals, so people could listen to them. Morax himself had served as a narrator for many of them, after being told repeatedly that his voice apparently was very well suited for such a task.

All of these things had been a hit in the harbor, so from the very small assortment at the start, they quickly expanded more and more. It was surprisingly fun to do. Though he still couldn’t help but laugh when Ajax brought home one of the Rex Lapis dragon plushies. Because of course he’d gotten the tallest size. As tall as Morax himself from head to the tip of its tail. Which now had an honorary space on their luckily very large bed. Else things would have gotten a little cramped.

Of course, he also still worked at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Hu Taos ongoing support and generosity was a major reason why he was even able to do all these things. If there was nothing urgent going on, he was able to freely divide his time how he liked it, and still had a lot of free time to spend how he wished.

For someone with a long lifespan like him, three years were but a blink of an eye. For humans, it was a lot more time. It had become normal for him to spend time in the harbor, as he used to do when he was still Zhongli. And most of the time, people didn’t acknowledge him in a way that was out of the ordinary.

Because for the people of Liyue Harbor, seeing their archon had now become an almost daily occurrence. It was normal for them, not especially worth any mention. Not that they didn’t appreciate it when he spoke to them or spent money in their shops. But they treated him normal. Respectful, but normal. Which was all he’d wanted anyways.

It was still a little funny to get the reaction of other people, from other parts of Liyue or other nations even. Seeing the shock and astonishment when they realized they were sitting at the table next to the geo archon. Or that the gentleman who had just given them directions or recommendations was actually the archon. Which wasn’t something he minded, as most people still stayed respectful, and the locals usually were quick to explain how things were around here. Of course, most people were very surprised, but usually pleasantly so.

A warm hand came to rest on his knee and broke him out of his thoughts. He looked to the side to see Ajax, smiling at him lovingly. “Everything alright?”

“Ah yes, yes. I was just lost in thought about the last few years,” he explained quickly. “Sometimes I can’t believe how lucky I am, with how everything went.”

His beloved hummed, hand squeezing his knee. “Things have gone really well for us.”

“Were you able to schedule some more sessions with Neuvillette?” Nahida asked curiously.

Ajax made a noncommittal noise. “Not that many. But he’s been incredibly busy with everything that happened in Fontaine and in his personal life, too. It’s hard, suddenly being in charge of a whole nation. Even for someone as capable as him.”

“I cannot imagine how hard it is to suddenly have to take over for someone,” Nahida nodded. “Suddenly being in charge of a nation and its people, it is scary. It was already scary for us back then, wasn’t it?”

“For sure. I tried to play it off, but I was very much intimidated by it. Especially knowing that so many people now relied on me. It wasn’t just the adepti or the guili assembly. It was the entire nation and everyone in it now. Relying on my knowledge and guidance, requiring me to make the right choices for them, so they could prosper.” Morax said quietly.

Internally, he had been scared out of his mind, felt way too young for the responsibility. But he had it and couldn’t just give it to someone else. So he had to be what he felt he wasn’t, make up for anything he felt he lacked, even if it was just for show.

It felt easier to do it by being the one to charge ahead, stand in front of them and protect them. The image of his back turned to his people becoming a symbol of protection for them. Which was why in paintings and such, he was very often portrayed without facial features or with his back turned away. Because for a long time, many people hadn’t known what he really looked like, apart from hearing about his golden eyes.

“It’s a steep learning curve indeed,” he added.

“But I’m confident that he’ll do well. He is very capable and kind, too. He just needs the confidence to trust his own judgement, now that he is the sole judge and can no longer rely on being backed by Focalors’ machine.”

“Which he should be, considering they both gave out the same verdicts for hundreds of years. And isn’t his place amongst the dragon sovereigns the one of a judge, too?” Ajax asked.

Nahida nodded. “Yes, indeed. Which is why he’s also sworn to judge us archons, seeing as we are the usurpers. But you know how he is, he’s not in a hurry with that. Especially now that he knows us all personally.”

“He even said he might come to us for advice if he needs any, considering we’re his seniors in this new position, which is kind of cute,” he chuckled. “And seeing as he now knows how we could give back the elemental authority, he also doesn’t expect us to all follow Focalors’ example. He understands what a tremendous effort it would be for all of us.”

“And it’s risky, the heavens might awaken and that could turn out terribly for him, if they realized that the status quo is no longer intact and a dragon sovereign has received his full authority back, and one of the divine thrones was destroyed. They might consider sending a divine nail down onto Fontaine. And I don’t believe he’d see it worth the risk, too many innocent people would suffer. And that wouldn’t be just, which would go against anything he stands for.”

“Nahida is right, he definitely wouldn’t risk that,” Ajax said, taking a sip of his tea. “He’s nice. And I still hope I can learn some tricks from him, from hydro dragon to sort-of-hydro-dragon. I mean what am I, other than an abyssal version? Even he says it and is convinced I could profit from some tutelage.”

“Which there hasn’t been much of though, as you said,” Wanderer corrected.

Ajax huffed and laughed, setting his teacup down. He shuffled a bit and got more comfortable. “It’s not a bother. It’s been only around three years; that’s not a lot of time.”

“It is for humans.”

“I’m starting to think differently,” his beloved said quietly. “For the longest time, I’d still been holding onto that human mindset. And I still do, regarding the mortal people around me, like my family and some of my friends. But I’m also starting to see how my thinking changes.

More like all of you do, too. Where three years is not a long time, when you have hundreds and thousands of years ahead of you. So, in that regard, I am not bothered. It is strange to start thinking like that though, especially while I’m still keeping up with the human way of thinking, too.”

“I can see how that could be a strange change,” Nahida replied gently. “And more so, one that none of us can help you with, seeing as we’ve always seen the world that way.”

With a noncommittal shrug, Ajax reached for a piece of sunsettia. “It’s fine. I’ll come to terms with it sooner or later. For now, it’s just weird. Stuck between the chairs, tied to the mortal world with my family and friends and the immortal world with my husband, other family and other friends.

And while I was aware that my lifespan would be different, I guess during all that time in the fatui, I never really thought about it too much. I pushed it aside, focusing on spending time with my siblings when I could and not focusing too much on the future.”

“You now have the time to think about the things that you didn’t really consider before. You pushed it all aside in favor of doing your duty as her vanguard, ignoring the personal consequences,” Wanderer said. “I can relate to that. Only after deleting myself from Irminsul and starting new, I was able to start mentally unpacking everything that happened in my past and how it made me feel. And while I am a living puppet, it seems I do have a heart and that I do feel. Even if I don’t like it.”

Ajax nodded. “And it’s probably going to take me a lot more time still to come to terms with things.”

“That’s fine. Taking your time is important. Is what Nahida says, at least.”

“See, our talks do help. That’s why I still say it’s important to keep going!”

“Alright, alright, I get it, auntie.”

They talked for hours, in between Wanderer quickly left and fetched lunch at Lambad’s tavern for all of them and returned with a generous assortment of delicious dishes for them to enjoy. Then, in the middle of the afternoon, there was a knock on the door and upon Nahida calling for the person to enter, Tonia stood there.

“Hi everyone. Finally done,” she grinned triumphantly, though also evidently tired.

“Amazing, congratulations. Seven and a half hours, that’s a really good time,” Nahida praised.

“Feeling good?” Ajax asked, unable to reign in his curiosity.

She nodded. “Very.” She sat down next to them, quietly thanking Wanderer as he handed her a cup. “It might be stupid, but I feel like the questions weren’t too hard but also not too easy? Like how you sometimes feel the questions are easy but then you get them wrong still, because they weren’t actually easy?”

Ajax nodded, clearly understanding. Morax himself couldn’t quite relate, considering he had never gone to school or done any exams. Most questions that he was asked, he knew the answer to, because they would usually fall within his expertise.

His husband leaned over, hugging his sister sideways. “I’m so proud of you. So, so proud, you hear me?” He murmured softly.

Tonia laughed softly, clearly endeared. “Thank you. I’m just trying my best.”

“And you’re doing fabulously. I sometimes can’t believe how much you’ve grown up in the last couple of years. I honestly can’t wait to get those results and see how well you did.”

“What do I get when I score in the top ten?”

“Oh, I already have my plans for that,” Ajax replied with a grin, letting go of her and ruffling her hair a little.

She blinked. “Seriously? I didn’t expect anything, I was joking!”

“I know, but do you really think I didn’t already plan on getting you a gift? You worked so hard, you deserve one.”

With a soft huff, she closed her eyes and shook her head. “I know telling you that it’s not at all necessary would be futile. So, thank you.”

“Of course that would be futile. Spoiling my younger siblings is part of my life’s mission. Where’s the fun when I can’t do that? Well, and spoiling other people too. I can’t help it, I like to spend money on the people I like,” Ajax laughed, a little sheepish.

“I guess I really have to deliver now. What do you say, Nahida, can you pull a few strings?” She asked, mirth sparkling in her blue eyes.

“I shan’t, imagine if I were to interfere with the grades. Besides… No need for that. I have no doubt that you passed,” the goddess replied softly. “I’m feeling confident on a top spot, too.”

“Oh, come on, you can’t know that,” Tonia laughed. “I mean I did feel confident, but still.”

“I am the goddess of wisdom. Do you really think I don’t have the ability to see someone’s potential? I know a hundred things just from looking at you. I could read your mind, if I wanted to. So, I am fully aware how intelligent you are and how much knowledge you have collected over the last couple of years. Of course, it also depends on how you use it. But I have little doubt that you don’t know what to do with it. And your determination… It’s as solid as stone itself. It will be interesting to see who will win you over…”

“Wait, what do you mean with that?” Tonia asked, her brows furrowed in confusion. “You mean what I want to do with my studies? If I want to become a biologist, doctor, or whatever?”

Nahida shook her head, a secretive smile on her lips. “Determination as solid as stone and a hard-working character. Fiery passion to achieve your goal however hard work it needs to be fulfilled. And a drive for knowledge like I’ve rarely seen it. A wish to help people around you and strong ambition, flexible to do anything you need to succeed… It’s a four out of seven situation. But only one can win, if anyone will win at all.”

“I understand even less now,” Tonia groaned.

Morax blinked, carefully considering Nahida’s words. He had thought about it before, though less detailed than she had done, clearly. It was easily visible that she’d given this a lot of consideration, and as the goddess of wisdom, her prediction could be right.

“It’s on, Morax~” Nahida said cheerfully, eyes shining with glee as they always did when she discovered something that intrigued her.

He only huffed. “Not like either of us can do anything about it. All we can do is wait and see where the dice fall.”

Chapter Text

„So… Are you going to tell me what it meant what Nahida was saying? Or is it something I’m not supposed to know?” Ajax asked, lightly massaging his aching collarbone.

Sitting around on pillows on the floor had been comfortable for a while, but over time he’d started slumping, and aggravated his pains. Thanks to Morax’ herbal oils and other concoctions, the pains had become less in general, but of course there was no complete cure.

Morax stood there, carefully undoing his braid for the night. “It’s not something you’re not supposed to know. In fact, I thought you probably understood in the first place.”

“Not really. Four out of seven? And her challenge towards you…”

“It wasn’t really a challenge. More than anything, friendly banter,” his husband corrected, running his fingers through his long hair, finger-combing out any knots. “In the end, neither one of us can influence anything. I mean we can, we can ask for visions to be given on purpose. You know I asked for Ningguang to receive one. Or more… made a recommendation. It’s difficult, I didn’t tell the heavens to give her one per se, but I also strongly insinuated she deserved one. And she got it. But in the end, it’s much more interesting to see which one someone receives in a more natural way.”

Blinking, he took a moment to think about his words. “So… Wait. I don’t understand. Please go a little slower, it’s been a long day.”

“What Nahida was saying, is that your sister currently strongly shows characteristics befitting different visions. The drive for knowledge that is characteristic for dendro allogenes; fiery passion to achieve her goals, deserving of a pyro vision; the flexibility and ambition shared amongst hydro allogenes and the determination and hardworking nature befitting my own element.”

“You two think she’s going to receive a vision soon.”

“She might not, we aren’t all-knowing after all. But if her ambitions are strong enough, she certainly could. It most definitely wouldn’t surprise me, it’s not the first time I’ve thought about it,” Morax hummed, putting his hair tie away.

“It does surprise me,” Ajax admitted. “Not that I’d be against it. But I’m also a little surprised that you thought about it already.”

“It’s a natural thought process for me, I guess. Seeing someone so driven and mentally trying to match them with our respective ideals. I wouldn’t be surprised if the other archons were the same.” The god tutted, taking off his earring and his bracelets and putting them away in the vanity as well. “And one more thing… Amongst your siblings, your sister is the most like you. So that is another point for me.”

“Hm?”

“You were the one to achieve it, gaining a vision. At such an extraordinary young age, even. So that your sister, who is so much like you in so many ways, could also achieve such a feat… It wouldn’t be farfetched. Hence why I’ve thought about it before. Though… I do have to admit, I’m currently feeling like she might be teetering more towards a dendro one. But in any case, it will depend on which part of her is going to shine brightest in the decisive moment.”

Ajax furrowed his brows and sighed. On one hand, of course, she deserved it. On the other…  Wouldn’t it be dangerous? Many vision wielders ended up working for the adventurers’ guild, and those jobs could be dangerous.

Then again… Baizhu had a vision too, and he was a doctor. Come to think of it, what did someone like Baizhu do with their vision? Probably make herbs grow faster, most of the time. Or create things like vine-ladders or bring fruits and plants closer to him to pick them.

If Tonia really ended up gaining a vision, he would have to make sure she knew how to defend herself properly. Sure, she had learned some self-defence from Katya already. But a vision would give her a lot more possibilities.

“Don’t think too hard about it,” Morax said softly, bending down to press a tender kiss onto his forehead. “She might gain one, she might not. There are many people who have the potential, but less that actually make it happen.”

“But you feel like she will. And Nahida does, too.”

“We do, but we might as well be wrong,” the god hummed, another kiss following the first one, this time his soft lips lingered for a moment. “Please don’t worry about it too much, it’s no use. And even if she gets one, it doesn’t mean that she’ll have to put herself in harms’ way. Many people with visions live mostly quite ordinary lives. You don’t see Ningguang going out and fighting hilichurls. Or Yun Jin. Baizhu and Qiqi.”

Ajax reached up, hand wrapping around the side of his husbands’ neck to pull him down a little. Slowly, he pressed their lips together, sighing against him. When he opened his eyes and pulled away again, Morax’ eyes were bright and warm.

“Seriously, don’t worry your pretty head, my love. Vision or not, she’ll be just fine.”

“She’s my baby sister; I can’t help it. When I was in the abyss, I kept thinking that I have to return to her. Even if she was so young, she would have been devastated, that’s how close we were already. I took care of her so our parents could work and bring money home or even just work around the house in peace. If anything, ever happens to her, I won’t be able to forgive myself.”

Morax gently kissed his temple. “I know, I understand. Or well, probably not, but I get that she is incredibly important to you and that she was a large reason for why you survived. But you’re not alone now. I promise you; I’m looking out for her just as much and will protect her with all my might.”

“I know. Thank you,” Ajax murmured, reaching out to squeeze his hand. “I appreciate it.”

“Anything for you and your happiness, and those you love that I have to come to love as well,” the god said softly, squeezing his hand back. “I promised.”

Ajax sighed and closed his eyes as his husband took off his shirt for him. By now, this was a well-practiced routine. Warm hands brushed along his shoulders and then he could feel the oil on his skin. Gently, Morax worked the fragrant herbal oil blend into his skin, massaging his sore muscles with care.

Instead of mixing the oil blend fresh every time now, Morax made whole batches of the two most used blends and would sometimes just add other oils with them if needed. One blend to warm and soothe soreness, the other more cooling at first and then mellowing out.

He relaxed slowly, focusing on his own breathing and the movement of his beloveds’ hands. Even when it was such a common occurrence, it always felt so special to have this kind of absolute trust in someone, when he used to be always on guard. To just close his eyes and relax, calming his mind and body in the presence of one he cherished.

And he knew that Morax, too, appreciated these moments. Showing his love and devotion by caring for him, helping him. That was how he was, no matter what. He was deeply devoted to his nation as the geo archon, to his work at Wangsheng funeral parlour, and to being a husband. Everything this man did, he did with the utmost attention and care, pouring his heart and soul into it.

It still left him reeling sometimes, to be on the receiving end of such deep-seated love and care. In the three years of being married, there’d been plenty of instances where he’d witnessed this famed draconic devotion. He wasn’t quite sure if it was because he too, was a dragon, or just because he was himself, but he found that he shared Lians’ views on these things.

Which was, that he couldn’t understand how anyone would be bothered about something like this. How could someone complain about a partner, who so deeply cared about their beloveds’ happiness and wellbeing? Sure, Rong and Morax weren’t people with extreme jealousy, so someone who would have to deal with a partner like that definitely wouldn’t see it the same way. But the positive traits emerging from that draconic love, paired with them being genuinely some of the most incredible people that Ajax had ever met, made for possibly the perfect partners.

Then again… He’d always been a lost case, hadn’t he? Since that first evening down at the wharf, the moment their gazes met. Amber and blue, and the almost magnetic pull that had taken hold of him that very second. Pulling him towards the beautiful stranger who intrigued him upon first glance, made him want to know everything there was to him.

And four years later, they’ve been married for three years.

After all this time already, he was more sure than ever that he would never give this up. He would be foolish to. Having a husband as great as him was one of the greatest gifts someone like Ajax could get in his life. Especially considering how often he felt undeserving, considering his past and everything he was.

A warm, tender kiss was pressed against the back of his neck, right at his hairline. Hands at his waist, holding him carefully. It made him shiver ever so gently.

“Are you still with me?” Morax murmured lowly, so close to his ear.

“Always,” Ajax replied, putting his left hand on top of Morax’, where it rested on his waist. “I vowed to be, after all, didn’t I?”

A soft chuckle was his reply, followed by a gentle squeeze on his waist. “You did.”

Slowly, Ajax turned around so he could look at his husband. “I was just thinking how lucky I am to be yours. My resolve to stay with you forever is greater than ever,” he said quietly and reached out to place his hand over Morax’ heart.

Suddenly, he could feel a zap of elemental energy. He blinked and just for a second, he could see a small, glowing mark on Morax’ skin. His riptide mark. But it was gone as quickly as it appeared, and he couldn’t feel the familiar elemental connection that his riptide mark usually had.

Morax looked down, clearly just as confused as he was. “What was that?”

“My riptide mark. But I didn’t activate it on purpose. I don’t even have a reason to activate it subconsciously now,” Ajax replied, furrowing his brows in confusion. “What the…”

“Strange…”

“Very. I don’t understand why I did that. There was literally no reason.”

With a thoughtful noise, Morax lifted his hand from where it was still on his chest and kissed his knuckles. “Maybe we could go over to Fontaine and ask Neuvillette about it sometime. Perhaps it’s a hydro dragon thing?”

“It could be. It’s still hard to say for me which things are my vision and which my draconic powers. But it’s probably nothing, maybe just a subconscious mark because I was being a little possessive? It disappeared after all.”

Morax shook his head. “I can still feel it. Not bothersome, but clearly you left some kind of elemental marker on me.”

“Seriously? I can try to remove it.”

“Maybe it’ll go away on its own in a bit,” the god said softly, shrugging. Clearly not bothered by the whole thing.

“If you say so,” Ajax replied, figuring that if Morax didn’t care, it probably wasn’t anything major. He was a lot more experienced in such things and would surely know if it was a problem or dangerous, even. So he relied on him knowing better.

“We could always go to Fontaine in a week or two, if we still think anything is up with it. Maybe Neuvillette has some time for us. Possibly even to show you a few things.”

“Right, I’m sure things have calmed down for him by now.

“Don’t worry your pretty head. If it’s something, I’m sure it’s nothing harmful. I feel fine. As I said, just the faintest hint of energy clinging to me still. And you wouldn’t harm me on purpose.” His husband assured, making him feel warm. “And if it’s still around in a week or so, we go ask Neuvillette.”

“Fine,” Ajax sighed, unable to not still feel a little uneasy about it. But if Morax wasn’t worried, he would try not to be either. He had seen and experienced a lot more than him, after all. And if it was just a little elemental energy marker, surely there should be no harm.

Even when used in combat, his riptide mark didn’t harm foes by itself. It merely served as… sort of a homing device for him, helping keeping track of how many enemies were around and being able to pull them in closer to then unleash waves of water on them. But the mark alone, that didn’t do much.

So there was no way that it would harm Morax, especially since he didn’t want it to, either. And as much as he was still learning about his abilities, he did have a pretty good grasp on when he wanted to dish out damage and when not.

No accidents on his watch. Well, at least he tried.

And he was also sure that Morax would feel if there was any danger from the mark. If it harmed him in any capacity, he wouldn’t just have played it off like that. At least that’s what Ajax hoped. They were husbands, for Celestia’s sake. So Morax would and should tell him something like that.

When his skin felt mostly dry and only a little bit of the oil still clung to him, he put his shirt back on. He took the small towel that Morax had used to wipe his hands, when he could hear him say “Mh, pity you put it back on.”

Feeling his cheeks heat up a little, he promptly threw the towel onto the gods’ face. Upon impact, he groaned softly but then laughed under the towel. “I’m sorry, you know I like watching your pattern move.”

“I know, I’m just messing with you,” Ajax replied fondly. He walked over and picked up the towel from his face, chuckling softly. “You stood there too perfectly for me to not do this.”

“Always at your service,” Morax said, bowing elegantly. “Even if it’s just as a target.”

He laughed and moved forwards to capture him in a sweet kiss as an apology. Morax purred against him, he could feel it even more as he put his hands on his muscular chest. And below the vibration of his purr, was the quickened beat of his heart.

Even after three years of marriage, Morax’ heart still beat faster when they kissed.

Not that Ajax’ reacted any less.

But that knowledge still did funny things to his heart, knowing that this man loved him like that, reacted like that. What a blessing this love was. Beautiful and warm.

Large hands gripped his hips, pulling him even closer. Ajax sighed into the kiss, relaxing against his beloved. Then, he carefully picked him up in a bridal carry and brought him over to the bed, setting him down gently.

Ajax relaxed against the soft mattress and pillows while Morax moved onto the bed too, getting comfortable next to him.

“I wish we already had the results of Tonia’s exam,” he sighed softly. “I can’t wait to know how she did.”

“Mhm, I understand. I’m sure she feels the same. But we’ll need to be a little patient. Though I am sure that she will pass, but I’d love to know the result too. But we can’t rush them, it wouldn’t be fair.”

“I already have a feeling Nahida is going to tell them to hurry up with her results more than anyone else,” Ajax said.

Morax chuckled and nodded. “Probably, knowing her. She’s just as excited about Tonia going to the Akademiya as all of us.”

“It’s endearing.”

“It really is. Well, with how close we’ve been in recent years, I guess it makes sense. She’s become attached to everyone, too, so she would be excited to welcome her to the Akademiya. And as the goddess of wisdom, I’m sure it must always be nice when people want to learn.”

Slowly, Ajax moved closer to his husband, their legs tangling together. Morax pulled him even closer, their chests flush together. Warm breath fanning over his skin, a tender kiss on his forehead.

“Teucer is already talking about wanting to go there, too,” he said softly. “Even Anton considers it.”

Morax chuckled softly. “They’re a bit young still. Well, Teucer mostly.”

“He wants to go to Spantamad and learn about magic,” Ajax replied, quiet. “So he can still use some things in case he won’t get a vision.”

“Clearly, a well-thought out plan,” the god laughed. “And Anton?”

“Ksharevar, I think. He is interested in design, after all. He’d make a good architect, or maybe an interior designer.”

“Ah, yes. Yes, I can see that. I saw some sketches of the harbour that he drew, they looked quite good for someone his age. With proper schooling, he could certainly succeed.”

“Mhm, or maybe he has a different plan. You never know with these two. Tonia too, I wasn’t sure which darshan she’d go for for the longest time, it was hard to gauge…”

“And she kept it secret for a while, too,” Morax nodded.

“So annoying,” Ajax huffed. “I kept trying to get her to tell at least me. But no, she wanted to talk to Nahida first. Ask her what she thinks about it.”

“But still, a sensitive choice. Because Nahida would probably know best and be able to explain the subtle differences between all darshans. And also give advice which would be best suited for her,” Morax reasoned.

“I know, but my pride as a big brother got hurt!” Ajax whined, theatrical. “I was supposed to be the first to know!”

Chapter Text

It was just two days later that Nahida surprised them with a visit. In her hands, a letter. Ajax was well aware that it was his sister’s future, wrapped in a green and white envelope and held in the hands of the goddess of wisdom. How symbolic.

Of course, she refused to tell them anything before they were with Tonia. So, they made their way over to the house where their parents lived with his three younger siblings. It was an adorable wooden house, quite similar in style to the one that he’d grown up with. But of course, much better quality and more luxuries overall. As if Morax would let them have anything subpar or anything that wasn’t working as it should.

To the side of it was a coop with chickens, so they all always had access to fresh eggs. Also, a sizeable patch in which they grew their own vegetables. They all took turns helping with it. Of course, they still needed to buy things in the harbor. But it was also nice to sometimes have vegetables that they’d grown themselves. Knowing the hard work that had went into growing them and then making a meal out of them made them taste even more delicious. And being able to just go outside and rip some carrots out of the ground while you’re cooking was pretty fun.

Ajax knocked on the door. From inside, his mothers’ voice could be heard, telling them to come in. So, the three of them did, following the voices of the others into the cozy living room.

As he entered, he could see that Teucer sat on the floor, writing something that looked like homework. Next to him, Anton was doodling. Their mother sat on one of the couches with a cup of tea, a book in her lap.

“Nahida is here,” he said softly seeing Tonia sprawled over another couch with a book. She immediately jumped up and put her book onto the coffee table.

“Oh archons, my exam results. Are they good?”

“I don’t know, she wouldn’t tell me,” he laughed, shaking his head. “You’ll have to see for yourself.”

Nahida smiled and handed her the envelope. “Here, I’m sure you’ve been anxiously waiting for this. Which is why I decided to come over as soon as I was told your score was known.”

“Thank you. I’m scared though, I kinda don’t want to open it,” she admitted softly, her blue eyes filled with worry. “What if after everything, it still wasn’t enough?”

“Then you’ll try again,” Morax said gently. “No shame in it. You tried your best.”

“I was also very cocky about it, convinced I’ll ace them,” she groaned. “How embarrassing if I don’t deliver after that.”

Their mother hummed softly. “Then maybe make the misery stop for yourself and open the envelope. You’ll finally know.”

“Come on, open it!” Anton chimed in.

“Hurry up!” Teucer demanded, pulling at her sleeve with urgency.

She groaned. “Alright, alright!” Unceremoniously, she ripped the envelope open, clearly wanting to get it over with. “I’m still scared, though,” she said quietly, as she took a deep breath and started reading the first piece of paper inside, her hands trembling.

Ajax felt his heart skip a beat as her mouth fell open, her eyes flicking over the words. Then she held the letter in one hand and moved it aside enough to be able to see the next paper, her eyes moving erratically over whatever it was.

“And?” Their mother asked quietly, carefully.

“I got in,” Tonia whispered, almost inaudibly. “I got in!”

Pure chaos erupted in the living room as they all went in to hug her and congratulate her. As she held onto Ajax, she started sobbing softly. “I got in,” she repeated. “I did it.”

“I know you would,” he replied, brushing her hair out of her face. “I’m so proud of you.”

“I’m sixth,” she choked out. “Sixth highest points out of dozens of others. I would have been stoked if I even managed to be tenth. If I managed to get in at all and not even make top ten.”

“You deserve it,” Nahida said with a smile. “You worked incredibly hard. May your studies be successful and may wisdom guide your way.”

“Thank you so much. All of you. I couldn’t have done it without all the support I got from everywhere,” her voice cracked. “I’ll have to go and thank doctor Baizhu and master Tighnari, too. They taught me so much already and studied with me for the exams for so many hours.”

“They’ll be proud to hear your results,” Ajax murmured. “They believe in you just as much as we do.”

Tonia took a shivered breath, hugging him tighter. “I can’t believe it.”

“You better do, because I’m sure there’s a whole list attached with things that you’ll need to get before you have your first day,” he replied with a grin. “Lots of books, couple sets of uniforms…”

She nodded. “Mhm, third page. Loads of stuff.”

“There’s also a list with tailors in Sumeru that know how to make the official uniforms, you’ll be able to commission any of them. I would advise you to get enough, else it’ll be annoying to wash them every other day.” Nahida said. “Oh, and you’ll be able to access your room starting two weeks before your first day. So that students have enough time to move in and get settled. Maybe you want to decorate it a bit, even if you might decide to go home after school. Sometimes you might have an hour or so between classes and might just want to rest or do some homework there.”

Again, Tonia nodded. “That sounds great.”

“And I’ll get the portal done for you,” Morax hummed.

“Is everything alright?” Their father’s voice came from the entrance. “I just got home; did something happen?”

Tonia let go of him, running up to their father to hug him. “I passed! Sixth best in Amurta, even! I get to go to the Akademiya!”

He blinked, wrapping his arms around her. “Seriously?! That’s great news! I’m so proud of you, my dear.”

She let go of him and pushed the letters towards him. “See?”

He took them carefully, taking the time to read through them. “That’s amazing. I knew you’d make it, you’re so smart.”

“I can’t believe I really did it,” she said softly, looking at the letter again. “I really did.”

“Of course, you did. You worked so hard for it, after all,” Morax said firmly. “You deserve it. And we all know you’ll make the most of it.”

She nodded quickly. “I will!”

Tonia didn’t lose much time before running off to tell everyone else the good news, too. It hit him once again how grown up his baby sister was by now. Chasing her dreams with passion and determination. When it felt like yesterday that he’d held her in his arms as a newborn, looking down at his first younger sibling.

He’d sworn himself that he’d do anything to protect her and to make her wishes come true. Even if then, at ten years old, he’d had no clue that he’d ever get the means to do these things. But with all the might that he had at that age, he still made that oath for himself. And then again when Anton was born, and years later with Teucer, too.

Those two still didn’t know the truth about him, he still felt they were too young. Even if Tonia had known at a young age, he didn’t want them to have to live with the same knowledge so soon. If he could have helped it back then, she wouldn’t have known that young either.

So, he wanted to protect them from knowing about the fatui and the abyss for as long as he could. One day, yes, he would have to tell them. But ideally, they’d be close to adulthood by then. He would just hope that they’d understand why he kept it from them for so long. That they’d see his side of things too and realize that it would have been too much to know.

And if he was honest with himself… He was putting it off as much as he could, of course. Because he knew that telling them everything would inevitably and irreversibly alter the way his little brothers saw him. Which was something he feared.

Tonia had never despised him for who he was, even once she learned of some of the darker things. Even now, when she knew pretty much everything, she didn’t see him differently. For her, he still was the same person that he’d always been. But with his brothers… There was no guarantee that they’d see things the same. Even though they had only ever known him the way he was now, not like their older siblings who knew the Ajax before and the Ajax after. But they could still see him drastically differently, once they knew the truth or even just part of it.

Sometimes it made his head hurt, thinking about these things. As much as he liked seeing his siblings grow up, he didn’t worry any less about them, the older they got. On the contrary, it almost felt like he was just starting to worry more and more.

Teucer had briefly voiced ambitions to become an adventurer but luckily was quickly dissuaded and moved on to a different goal. Maybe it was hypocritical of him, considering how many dangerous things he’d done. But he didn’t want them to put themselves in danger. There just was no need to, especially not considering they no longer needed to worry about money. Back in Morepesok, he would have understood, kind of. Being an adventurer would pay relatively well, especially more dangerous jobs. So, for many, it was a way to earn decent money compared to other jobs.

And sure, he sometimes took commissions from the adventurers’ guild, to help the people out. It felt right, considering he was pretty damn strong, near immortal and also the husband of this nation’s archon. Katheryne knew to call for him especially if there were any threats of abyssal monsters. Any regular adventurer would get sick from the abyss influence, having it poison their body over time. But it couldn’t harm him. So why should he let other people suffer, when he could easily eliminate them and neutralize the abyssal energy?

Anyways, he really didn’t want his siblings to get anywhere near danger. They deserved to be safe and sound, living calm and quiet lives. And he would do anything in his power to make that happen for them. They deserved the safety and security that he didn’t have for a long time, not having to worry about anything major. No life altering events for them, apart from their move from Snezhnaya to Liyue and the fact that they now had the geo archon as their brother-in-law.

And he was lucky enough that his younger brothers didn’t seem to question his cover-up stories yet. They didn’t question if he really was sent to Liyue to sell toys, or why he suddenly didn’t have a job anymore for a while, or why the Tsaritsa had gotten upset that some random man from a snezhnayan village fell in love with the geo archon. Well, maybe they did question things, but at least they never voiced anything like that.

He really hoped it would stay that way for a long time still. Because he had no idea how to even begin telling them the truth. It was too much, too dark, too complex. Too many things, too. It would most likely completely destroy their close-knit relationships, and he was scared of that. Terrified even. He only had a limited time with them, and breaking this bond, shattering it into pieces by revealing his lies and deceptions… He wasn’t sure if he could do that. Even if he knew that they deserved the truth.

One day. One day, he would be strong enough and just do it.

Even if it would break him. But they deserved the truth.

Morax’ warm hand between his shoulder blades brought him back to the present, out of his frankly depressing thoughts. “Are you alright?”

He nodded. “Just thinking. They all grow up so fast,” he replied quietly. “It feels like yesterday that I held Tonia when she was just a few minutes old. And now she’s going to study at the Akademiya.”

“Understandable. I’ve only known her for a little over three years and it’s already quite incredible how much she grew up. Which is normal of course, I’ve seen humans grow up all the time. But… I guess being closer to someone makes it different than when I was just incognito amongst my people and still tried to keep my distance more.”

“That could definitely play a part,” Ajax replied softly. “Of course it would feel different.”

“But in any case, I’m incredibly happy to see her pursue her goals. She’s worked so hard, after all. I can’t help but be curious what she’ll decide to do with her studies. Will she become a doctor? A biologist? An herbalist? Something else entirely?”

“Or all of those,” he laughed softly. “Knowing her, she’d try to do everything at once.”

Morax laughed too, nodding. “She would, for sure. She’s an ambitious one.”

“Definitely. I used to wonder what we should do with her, back in Morepesok. I wanted to send her to a school in the capital, but that would have meant she’d be very far from home. It’s not far with the teleport network but seeing as she’s not a vision wielder… Getting from the capital to Morepesok would have taken a few days depending on the weather.”

“And relocating your family to the capital wasn’t an option either?”

“I did talk to them, but they didn’t want it. It was mostly the elite living there, so everything was expensive. I could have easily afforded it for them with my salary, but my parents didn’t believe that and even if, they wouldn’t have felt comfortable there. The people would have been too different too, all rich and fancy that would have looked down onto them. I already didn’t like the people there because they were so snobby. They definitely would have been miserable in that kind of environment.”

Morax huffed softly. “Ah, I see. I can understand that, sometimes other people are just too different.”

Ajax nodded. “Yeah. And while technically – considering my salary then – my family would be considered rich; we didn’t live that kind of lifestyle because my parents always insisted on not taking much money from me. If I wanted to support them, I had to buy physical things. And even then, they often only accepted them after lots of insisting, because they didn’t want to be a burden on me.”

Gently, carefully, his husband took his hand. Looked into his eyes with a loving expression. After all, he’d been there for the messy fallout of their estranged relationship, had supported him through finding the footing with his family again. And had witnessed firsthand how Ajax and his family had worked hard to put their misunderstandings aside so he could be a proper part of the family unit again.

Some pain would always stay. Even if he forgave his family for the lack of support and belief in him after he’d come back from the abyss, it would always still hurt a little. But they had apologized and tried making amends, and he had pulled back on his own after all, too. Had made his own wrong assumptions on how the others saw him and removed himself further. So, it was his own fault as well.

But he was quite happy with how their progress was going. They now knew the majority of what had happened, understood that it hadn't been all in his head. Knew Skirk, even. Who still came to visit occasionally, though of course for her it was always a lot more time in between than for them. And she still beat him using only one hand, even if his ego didn’t like it.

They’d also welcomed Morax with open arms, hadn’t made it weird that he was an archon. Morax had even told him about the conversation that he had with Ajax’ mother on the day where he revealed who he was. How he had practically begged her to treat him normally, to not think about the fact that he was an archon. That he’d only told them to alleviate their worries, not because he wanted to be worshipped or treated specially. He just wanted to be himself, and most of all, Ajax’ partner.

They sometimes went fishing, their little group of boys and men. And any of the women, if they wanted to. Xiao sometimes joined as well. Some days, all of them would get up early, prepare food and pack it up. Take some blankets with them and go somewhere out to the countryside for a picnic, enjoying the quiet. If a river or lake was close, they’d fish there and grill it freshly caught. Spend the day like that, just enjoying themselves, talking, reading, picking flowers or berries close by.

And none of them ever felt left out, even if they sometimes split into little groups to do their own things. It wasn’t even the spouses staying together, often him and Morax ended up doing different things. Last time, he’d sat on the grass making flower crowns with Lian and Tonia, while Morax was teaching Anton how to fish with a spear instead of a fishing rod.

Sometimes his siblings would even come and just casually kidnap his husband to do something with him. And Morax, ever the gentle soul, would just let himself be dragged along with whatever they were up to. Just happy to be included and having people around him who genuinely enjoyed his company.

Life really was fun this way.

Chapter Text

Of course, Tonia’s success was celebrated with a big celebratory dinner that went on until well into the night. Everyone was incredibly proud of her, and so they wanted to make sure to properly celebrate her and her amazing achievement.

The next two weeks, they were busy arranging everything. Ordering all the necessary books and purchasing the other supplies she would need. Going to a tailor and having her measurements taken so that she could order a couple sets of uniforms. And they also went to order or purchase any things she would need or want for her own room at the Akademiya, to make it a bit more homely and personal.

Tonia was practically vibrating with excitement throughout the whole process, even the more boring bits. It was fun to see her like that, picking out anything she liked for her room and spoiling her. Ajax had also gifted her a beautiful necklace with a small four-leaf-clover, as a good-luck charm for her future tests and exams.

Once they were done with it all, things went back to their usual quiet. Morax still had that strange elemental marking on him, but it really didn’t bother him, so he didn’t see a reason to go and see Neuvillette immediately. It was only ever so slightly noticeable for him, and only if he actually concentrated on it. So, it likely wasn’t anything concerning.

Today, Morax and him had done some shopping in the harbor and met up with Xiao for lunch. Xinyue Kiosk had still tables available, so they’d decided to stay there. Xiao arrived shortly after. He was now switching his wardrobe up more often, especially with Menogias constantly designing new clothes for everyone. Not wanting to see him pout if he didn’t wear the things regularly, he relented.

This time, he wore simple black pants and boots that ended below his knees. The dark purple shirt was reminiscent of liyuen robes, wrapped around his torso and tied closed on the side, with long and wide sleeves. With it, he’d styled a simple gold necklace with a small piece of jade attached to it, as well as a matching jade bangle on his wrist. Both had been gifts from Guizhong for his last birthday.

He smiled at them as he saw them, politely greeting a passing waitress before greeting the two of them and sitting down at their table.

“Did you finally get everything done for Tonia?” He quietly asked, looking curious.

“Yep, we’ll only have to move everything into her room once it becomes available. Right now, there’s still a graduate living in it, but he’ll be moving out as soon as he has the graduation ceremony.” Ajax replied.

Xiao nodded. “Do remind me before she starts school. I have a gift for her that I’d like to give her. Nothing fancy.”

“You know her, she’ll be excited no matter what,” Ajax replied with a smile, endeared that Xiao had prepared something for her.

He pulled out a little velvet bag, opening the drawstrings at the top and shook the content out onto his hand. It was a bracelet made from round, polished noctilucous jade beads, in a beautiful shade of blue. Clearly high-quality stones. He could feel a low hum of gentle energy emitting from it.

“I imbued it with blessings of protection,” he explained.

Ajax smiled again. He couldn’t help but think that it was adorable that he wanted her to have a little protective charm with her.  “She’ll love it. That’s so sweet of you.”

 Xiao smiled back. “I’m glad then.”

The door of the restaurant opened again, and he spotted a familiar head of blonde hair with her white-haired friend walk in, a blonde man behind trailing in behind her, looking around. They spoke to the hostess, likely being told the same as them – that enough tables were still free and that they should just pick one. They walked towards the mostly empty room.

Morax followed his line of sight and waved immediately. She waved back and came over to their table. “Lumine! Good to see you, it’s been a while!”

“It’s good to see you all too, it really has been! I’m sorry for disappearing like that, but we really needed some time to process everything that happened and think about what to do next. Ah, this is Aether, my brother. Aether, those are Ajax, Morax and Xiao.”

“It’s nice to meet you all, I’ve heard a lot of you from Lumine,” he said quietly but with a warm smile.

He could see Xiao stare at him for a moment, blinking. Then he swallowed and quickly said “Hello.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, we have heard a lot of you from Lumine as well,” Morax replied. “Would you like to join us for lunch? We haven’t ordered yet; we could still get a larger table together. But of course, we understand if you’d like your privacy, so don’t feel like you have to say yes.”

Lumine gave Aether a quick glance. He nodded back at her, so she nodded as well. “We’d love to.”

“Wonderful. Then let’s take the table over there, there’s enough space.”

They quickly switched to the other table, Xiao sitting down next to him to his right with Morax to his left. Across from Morax sat Paimon, then across from him was Lumine and lastly Aether across Xiao.

“Order whatever you like, my treat,” Morax said.

Excited, Paimon floated up from her chair a little. “Thank you so much, Morax!”

Lumine nodded. “Thank you.”

“That is very generous of you, thank you so much,” Aether replied, bowing his head ever so slightly in a show of respect.

“Please, it’s nothing. I’m happy to have you here in Liyue. The least I can do is be a good host.”

The waitress came by, and they all ordered, shortly after she reappeared with their drinks and told them the food would be ready soon.

Ajax noticed how Xiao kept his head down a bit but would keep glancing at Aether. He wondered if he was suspicious of the other man, unsure if he’d really changed his ways after he was the abyss prince for so long. Surely, he didn’t want Lumine to be disappointed and also likely was concerned with the safety of everyone.

Admittedly, he didn’t get a bad feeling from him at all. He seemed gentle and kind, like Lumine. Well, they were twins after all. “By the way, which of you is the older twin? Just curious.”

“Aether is,” Lumine said immediately. “By a couple of minutes. Else we would have been born on separate days.”

“Really?”

“Mhm, Lumine apparently made it with just two or three minutes to spare before midnight. So we could have been born on two separate days,” Aether explained.

Morax chuckled softly. “That would have been interesting, I haven’t met twins born on different days yet. But having the same birthday and being able to celebrate with each other surely is nice, too.”

“Oh definitely, we’d always celebrate together before we got separated. I’m sure we’ll start doing that again.”

“Have you made a decision about what you’ll do then?” The god asked, reaching for his tea. “Or are you still unsure?”

Lumine swallowed and set her own cup down. “We decided to stay here. I have made so many friends and felt quite at home here in Teyvat. While Aether did get to see much of it but not experience everything quite as thoroughly as I did.”

“Since I was manipulated very early on, I did not pay much attention to this world while traveling through it. Lumine met so many people, experienced so many things… I want to see this world properly now. Meet all the interesting people she met, see the sights, learn the cultures and history… And make amends.”

“Amends?” Ajax couldn’t help but ask.

Aether nodded, his expression serious. “Even if I was manipulated, I did a lot of harm in my time as the abyss prince. And while I can’t undo what I did, I feel like I need to actively do something here to make things better. I want to help where I can, who I can. So, we’ll just go back and forth between different places and help where help is needed.”

“Xiao is often out and about helping people! He’s the guardian yaksha after all,” Paimon piped up. “Maybe you can help him sometime!”

Next to him, Xiao choked on his jasmine tea, coughing pathetically. Gently, he patted his back a bit to help him through the worst of it. “I’m fine,” he croaked. “Just swallowed wrong.”

“I would love to help out, if I wouldn’t be a bother,” Aether said softly, looking at the yaksha.

“Sure,” Xiao replied, voice still a bit strained. “I just hope your fighting skills are up to par with your sisters’, else we’ll have to work on those first, so you won’t get in the way.”

“I’ve trained with Lumine all my life, I’d say our skills are pretty evenly matched.”

Xiao nodded. “Good. If you want to help, I’m usually around Wangshu Inn. If you cannot find me, speak my name.”

“And then he just appears out of thin air, so creepy!” Paimon exclaimed. “But it doesn’t work when Paimon does it, for some reason. It always only did when it was Lumine.”

“It doesn’t work when you do it?” Aether asked.

“I just don’t want to, that’s all,” Xiao said under his breath, just loud enough for them to hear and for Paimon to probably overhear.

The blonde man looked at him for a moment and then started laughing. “I see, that’s how it is.”

“Don’t tell her, she’ll terrorize me by saying my name all day,” he whispered. “Please, have mercy with me.”

“Don’t worry, my lips are sealed,” Aether replied, winking at him mischievously.

Xiao stared for a moment, his cheeks turning a little pink. “G-Good, thank you.”

Ajax blinked at him, taking a moment to process this. Xiao was blushing! Besides it being absolutely adorable, he couldn’t help but wonder if Aether had caught the yaksha’s eye. He was attractive, of course. Not as stunning as Morax, but he was biased.

But nevertheless, he had a handsome face and beautiful bright eyes like Lumine. Long, blonde hair tied into a braid. And while he had a slim build, he was a little taller than Xiao. And he seemed to be nice, kind and sweet. It fit with what Lumine had told him about her brother while she was still looking for him, not being able to understand why someone like him would join the abyss order.

He wondered what Aether was thinking of Xiao. Did he find him cute? Pretty, maybe? Did he think he was funny? Wanted to get to know him better? It was a pity that he wasn’t a mind reader. But maybe he’d get the chance to find these things out anyways. It wasn’t his fault that he was nosy!

Xiao kept glancing at Aether while the food was served, the blonde lighting up with visible delight. “This looks incredible.”

“Food all over Teyvat is incredibly delicious!” Paimon squealed, floating around happily before settling down in front of her plate again. “Paimon always wants to eat everywhere because everything is so good!”

Aether laughed, warm and bright. And from the corner of his eye, he could see that Xiao saw it as well, the blush on his cheeks appearing again. He brushed over his face with his gloved hands, then quickly occupied himself with his chopsticks.

Next to him, Morax hummed softly, looking content. He knew that his husband always enjoyed having food in good company, so he was happy for sure. Relaxed and satisfied.

As always, the food was amazing. Even if he could cook many liyuen dishes himself now, he still enjoyed the difference in flavor when they were eating at restaurants. And it was nice not to have to clean up on some days. The people of Liyue were always happy to see them out and about, too.

Aether happily ate his dragons’ beard noodles, even if he struggled a little with his chopsticks. It reminded Ajax a lot of how much he had struggled at first, too. But the more he practiced, the better he got. By now he was proficient at using them and could pick up pretty much anything with them.

“Trust me, the chopsticks get easier over time,” he said gently. “Takes some time to get used to them, but if you keep practicing, you’ll be fine.”

“I hope so,” the blonde man laughed. “Because right now I’m losing half of my noodles.”

“Ajax was just as bad at first,” Morax replied. “But look at him now, you wouldn’t think he wasn’t even able to pick up a single thing four years ago.”

“Not a single thing?”

Ajax shook his head. “Nothing. I stabbed the meat pieces with the chopsticks. Much to Morax’ horror, who quickly informed me that it’s terrible manners. Of course, back then I didn’t know I was just offending the geo archon himself.”

“Narrowly escaped the wrath of the rock, huh,” Xiao hummed before putting another piece of tofu between his lips.

He gaped at the young god, gasping softly. “How dare you.”

“At least you know better now,” Xiao grinned. “Else you’d embarrass your husband constantly.”

“May I remind you that I’m technically your stepfather and deserve some respect?” Ajax asked, clearly joking. Banter now came easy between him and Xiao, when they had time to get used to each other and get to know each other better. Their relationship was less father-and-son like it was between Morax and him, but a little more brotherly.

“Some,” Xiao replied between bites. “But only some.”

Morax chuckled softly, shaking his head fondly. “You two.”

Gently, he bumped his shoulder against his husband’s, catching his gaze. Reaching for his hand on the table, briefly caressing it. “You know we’re just messing with each other.”

“I know. I’m glad you do, after all the first time you two met, Xiao was determined to put his spear through you.”

He could see that Aether choked on his food, quickly recovering from it. “I guess it’s good we didn’t meet while I was still with the abyss order.”

“He would have made quick work of you for sure,” Ajax hummed. “Xiao doesn’t mess around with any threat to the safety of Liyue. He’s protected the nation for thousands of years, after all.”

“Is that so?”

“Indeed. As one of the guardian yakshas, he’s worked hard to get rid of the miasma of the fallen gods from the archon war. And more recently, he’s also started to get rid of any abyssal energies,” Morax explained. “He’s very diligent and has done his duty for millennia, it’s a miracle he has held out so long without succumbing to his karmic debt. But he was rewarded for his persistence.”

Again, Xiao was looking a bit flushed, trying his hardest to focus on his food. “I just did what I swore to do.”

“Still quite a feat. And clearly the heavens agreed, considering they granted you divinity.”

Aether stared at Xiao, scrutinizing him. Maybe looking for any visible signs of his divinity. But considering his outfit, his hands and arms were covered, and the lighter parts of his hair didn’t look so different that they’d immediately give it away.

“You’re a god?”

Xiao’s mouth was full, so he only nodded as he chewed.

“Healing and Protection,” Ajax added. “That’s what he’s the god of.”

“Huh.”

Next to him, the yaksha bristled a little. “Can we stop talking about me now, please? Don’t we have any more interesting topics?”

There was a strange look on Aether’s face as he looked at Lumine. He leaned back in his chair and took a sip of his tea, brows furrowed a little, clearly thinking about something. Had it made him uncomfortable, learning that it was two gods at their table instead of only one? Or had he been interested in the other man, but hearing he was a god put the former abyss prince off for some reason?

Or maybe he just felt that Xiao’s request was rude, instead of subtly trying to change the topic. But that was just how Xiao was, not rude most of the time but just a bit more direct. And he understood that he’d feel a little uncomfortable with the focus being on him so much. But it had felt like the blond man was interested in him, wanted to hear more about him.

Well, the important thing was Xiao’s comfort, in the end. Whether or not Aether was interested in him. If he didn’t want to share certain things, that was fine. He just hoped that it wouldn’t put off Aether, if he really was interested. But if he was equally as nice as Lumine, then he was sure he’d understand. Slowly build a relationship with Xiao and be patient until he was ready to tell things on his own.

Lumine set down her teacup, sighing softly. “Ah, the food in Liyue is always wonderful. Thank you again for the invitation.”

“You’re very welcome,” Morax replied warmly. “Seriously, we’re very happy to hear that you’ll stay here.”

“We can take up our sparring sessions again. We’ve been neglecting those a bit with how busy you were, saving the world,” he grinned. “Maybe your brother is going to join, too?”

She nodded. “Sure! I’m sure Aether wouldn’t mind either, right? I already kicked his behind once, so…”

“Hey!” Ajax laughed. “It’s been almost four years since that time; I got better too.”

“You didn’t get rusty from being married and enjoying a calm life?”

“I’ll have you know that I kept up regular sparring sessions. With Morax, Xiao, the other yaksha’s, Rong, Lian… Even Azhdaha!”

Lumine laughed too. “I was just teasing.”

“You better, I’ll show you what I learned next time!”

Chapter Text

Aether groaned softly as they left the restaurant a while later. He was happy to meet all of Lumine’s friends, now that they’d decided to stay in Teyvat. But he definitely needed more practice interacting with people, else he’d keep making a fool of himself.

And what he also needed, was more information about the people they were going to meet. Sure, this time it had been unprepared, so of course Lumine hadn’t been able to tell him more. And with how many people she knew, all the stories she told him, their names and identities… Had started to bleed into each other. It was a bit hard to keep them all apart.

But telling him that Xiao was a god would definitely have been good, else he wouldn’t have been so surprised. He probably thought badly of him now, thought he was rude or ignorant or something along those lines.

To be fair, he should have seen it coming. There was something otherworldly about him that immediately made clear that he was no ordinary person. At first, he chalked it up to him being one of the adepti most likely. But being a god was a whole other level.

And then, there was another problem. He’d seen Xiao and immediately felt his heart beating faster. Which…. Was he insane? He’d spent years as the abyss prince, doing awful things. And now that he was normal again, he jumped straight to crushing on the first pretty guy he saw?

Seriously, was he insane?

But Xiao really was pretty, and he seemed to be nice. Humble probably as well, considering how he’d tried to deflect when it came to his achievements. Maybe a little shy or just reserved? Though he’d also joked around a little, so clearly, he had humor as well.

He’d looked forward to going to help him and do some good. But admittedly, he had second thoughts now. With how stupidly he’d reacted, the god probably felt offended. All just because he felt his chances fade away immediately.

Which was stupid in the first place because why did he even get his hopes up? Just because it had looked as if he’d been blushing a couple of times? That didn’t have to mean anything, maybe he was just embarrassed. Or because of the little glances he gave him? It could have been the fact that he had no idea how to eat with these sticks and that he made a fool of himself.

“I can hear your thoughts from over here,” Lumine sighed. “What are you so bothered by? Should I not have taken up their invitation? It looked like you told me to do so. Or was it too many people for you, for now? I’ll have to do better and try to limit things a little, then. I don’t want to overwhelm you.”

He quickly shook his head. “No, no. Nothing of all that. It’s just… I probably shouldn’t go and try to help Xiao, should I? Towards the end it seemed like I offended him somehow, so it might be better to keep my distance from him. I wouldn’t want to bother him.”

“Don’t think too much about that. If you feel like you offended him, going and helping him would be a good opportunity to apologize. But you might not have offended him he’s just…”

“He’s just Xiao,” Paimon interrupted. “He’s a bit gloomy. It’s gotten better since he became a god, but I guess changing as a person is a slow process.”

“Xiao has spent thousands of years in pain. The karmic debt he racked up trying to cleanse Liyue from the miasma of the fallen gods from the archon war was immense. Then, around three years ago, Ajax was able to help him get rid of it with the same technique he used to gain control over his abyss taint. That’s when he became a god.

And then he also managed to revive the four other guardian yakshas, who had died from that same karmic debt during the archon war, from Irminsul branches. So… he hasn’t had it easy. And while he has become a bit friendlier and spends more time with people, it will probably take a while still to work through everything. After all, he was used to not get close to people, else his karmic debt would affect them.” Lumine explained.

“He took a long time to warm up to Lumine too, but he gradually did. And he’s already a lot friendlier to you than he was with her back then,” Paimon added.

Aether blinked, hand coming up to brush his bangs out of his eyes. “Is that so… Then maybe I should go to Wangshu Inn later, after all. Apologize in case I did something wrong and ask if he’d still like my help.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Lumine hummed. “Also don’t think I haven’t noticed how you looked at him.”

“W-What?”

She raised her eyebrow and laughed. “I’m your sister. And I’m not blind. You were staring. I bet even Morax and Ajax noticed, and those two fools were blind when it came to their own mutual feelings.”

“Is it a problem?” He muttered, feeling a little embarrassed at her having clocked him so easily.

“Shouldn’t be. Just be serious about him, if you decide to go for him. He’s a dear friend and he deserves to not have his heart broken from what I assume would be his first time experiencing these things. And also, he’s Morax’ adopted son, basically. I may be able to do many things, but I’m not sure I can prevent the wrath of the rock striking you, if you break his heart.”

Aether huffed, frowning. “You should know me well enough to know I wouldn’t do such a thing. If, hypothetically, he’d feel the same and we’re just not compatible, then that’s just how it is. No need to be horrible about it, I’m sure we’re both civilized people.”

She nodded, satisfied. “Also, considering his history it would probably be best to take a slow approach.”

“I’m not going to immediately kiss him, Lumine.”

“I’m just saying. He takes a while to warm up to people and to become more open about his thoughts and feelings. But I’m sure if he realizes that you’re honest and kind, then he’ll start liking you. Even if just as a friend.”

“I’d be fine with just being friends, if that’s all he wants to be. I… I don’t even understand why he’s immediately drawn me in like that,” he groaned. “I’ve never had a crush on anyone, and then comes this guy?”

“There’s a first time for everything, dearest brother,” she tutted, putting her arms behind her back. “I mean, there’s many worse options than Xiao. If you get to know him better, you’ll see that he’s actually quite sweet and kind. Thoughtful. Loyal, too.”

“In any case, I want to try and be friends. Anything else… we’ll see. I mean just because I think he’s very pretty and that so far, I liked what I saw of his personality… That’s not much to go off, it’s only been a little over an hour after all.”

“Still,” Lumine said, looking at him over her shoulder. “I do think you two would look cute together. And you might just be good for him.”

“You think so?”

“You’re my brother. I know you better than anyone else. Just show yourself from your best side and be gentle and understanding with him. Give him space if he needs it, and don’t press him for information he’s not ready to give.”

Aether nodded, storing these pointers away for later. Maybe he really should go to Wangshu Inn and try his luck at helping Xiao. It sounded like he had a monumental task with cleansing the land, and perhaps he could be of help. And apologize.

Wangshu Inn was quite the sight. He’d walked past it before, but anytime he saw it again, it impressed him. The thick, large tree standing proudly above the plains, the cozy looking inn built into it. He’d heard from Lumine that the chef there made really nice food. Maybe he would try it today.

He took the elevator up to the inn and approached the receptionist, when she looked at him. “Wait just a second please, sir.”  Then, she turned her head a little to look behind him. “How is he? Was it bad?”

“The leg was broken. He was lucky that I was right there, if he’d fallen further, it would have been a lot worse. I set it back in place and healed it. Of course, it’s all fine and solid now, but he probably still should rest a day or two.”

That voice-

“Thank you so much, Xiao. I told him repeatedly to stop fixing those stairs by himself,” the woman sighed and shook her head. “That stubborn man… I will go and ask a carpenter to fix them. Next time he tries to do it, he’ll fall and break his neck!”

“Tell them to check the whole staircase while you’re at it. Better safe than sorry, you can get everything fixed instead of having to call for them again in a week, if something else breaks.”

She nodded. “Good idea. Perhaps one day we should switch to a metal staircase… But I like the wooden look.”

“Just takes more upkeep,” Xiao said quietly. “But it certainly looks nicer with the tree, it’s less disturbing visually.”

“Mhm, I think so too. Well, in any case, thank you very much for patching up my idiot husband.”

“Don’t be so harsh on him, he meant well.”

“Still an idiot, falling and breaking his leg… I can’t believe that guy… Well. Thank you for waiting, kind sir. My husband happened to have had an accident a couple of minutes ago and I was anxiously waiting to hear how he is. I apologize.”

He quickly shook his head. “Ah, no need, it’s fine. I… uhm. Was actually looking for Xiao.”

She looked at him curiously, her eyes dangerously perceptive. “Oh? Is this a friend of yours?”

“That’s Aether, Lumine’s twin brother,” Xiao explained as he stepped towards the reception. “I assume you’re here because you want to help?”

“I am, if you’ll have me,” he replied firmly. “And if you even have the time.”

“I do,” Xiao stepped closer still. “But before we go out to hunt, I want to test your skill. I need to make sure that you can manage. I don’t want to have to explain to Lumine that you got hurt, even if I’m able to heal it.”

The woman at the reception chuckled softly at their exchange, even though she’d busied herself with some papers. “When you two are done, come eat. It’s on the house for you as well, Lumine has helped us a lot.”

“That’s very kind, thank you so much, Miss…?”

“Just Verr is fine. My husband Huai’an and I are responsible for the Inn. Now shoo, off you two go. And be safe!” She waved at them with a smile and Xiao moved his head towards the exit.

Xiao led them outside and walked with him towards the elevator. As they were inside the small wooden contraption, Aether started to feel a little restless at the silence. He should apologize, first and foremost, especially since Xiao still was willing to accept his help.

“I’m sorry if I came across as disrespectful during lunch. Lumine hadn’t made me aware that you are a god, if she had, I would have reacted differently. I’m pretty sure that she hasn’t, at least. She told me about so many people, sometimes they start to merge together in my head… But I hope that’ll get better once I meet everyone. So really, I’m sincerely sorry if I was disrespectful or offensive.”

“It’s fine, I’m used to people reacting strangely when they hear.” Xiao said, his voice quiet as he looked outside the elevator. “I’m not what most people expect from a god. It’s why I usually stay quiet about it and don’t bring it up unless necessary.”

“Hm. I mean who cares what people expect. Lumine probably isn’t what most people imagine when they hear about a heroine who has saved several nations and the world as a whole. Yet she still did it.”

The god crossed his arms in front of his chest and took a breath. Only now did Aether notice two small earrings in his left ear, one at the top portion of the side and the other on the lobe, both of them small golden hoops.

“I guess you’re right. It just sometimes bothers me, but maybe only because I only got my divinity so recently. I’m… probably the first new god since the archon war. Whatever that means for the world as a whole.”

“Maybe the heavens have realized that a world with many different gods wouldn’t be so bad. Just that maybe, they should be pickier now about who gets the privilege,” Aether chuckled. “So, I’m sure you must be very special that you were able to achieve that.”

The elevator stopped and Xiao stepped out. “I just got lucky, that’s all,” he said, so quiet that Aether almost didn’t hear him.

Aether took a few hurried steps to catch up with him and they walked for a little bit. The sun was warm and nice, a light breeze making everything even more enjoyable. It smelled of grass and sun-warmed earth. Liyue truly was a beautiful place, he understood why Lumine liked it here so much.

“This should be far enough,” the god suddenly said, stopping. “I didn’t want us to be too close to the inn, not that anyone uninvolved gets injured.”

“That’s sensible.”

“Just a quick spar so that I can test your skill level a little bit. As soon as I’ve seen that you’re sufficiently able to fight, we can stop,” Xiao explained while he moved his hands and let a beautiful jade colored spear appear in them, twirling it a little bit.

Aether nodded, summoning his own sword. As he looked back at Xiao, he was gone. He blinked, looking around. Then, a sudden flurry of teal and black appeared and he was just quick enough to parry the strike.

“Hm. Your reflexes aren’t bad,” Xiao said, his yellow eyes looking almost glowing, hypnotizing. “Your parry is quite sturdy.”

He didn’t want to just stand around, so he moved swiftly, going onto the offense. With quick, repeated movements he tried to get at Xiao, but he parried them all with his spear. Then he disappeared again, only to reappear beside him and thrusting his spear at him. With a step to the side, he was able to dodge it, only to immediately have to move again to escape further attacks.

They were moving almost in a circle, so he couldn’t help but laugh. “If you want to dance, you can just say so.”

For a second, there was a stunned expression on the other man’s face. But all too quickly it was replaced by a more neutral expression. In the second that Aether was still distracted, he could feel a harsh kick against his leg, making him stumble.

“Oh, come on!”

“Easily distracted it seems. You’ll have to get better with that,” Xiao tutted.

What an unfair assessment, considering it had been him who had distracted him in the first place. But he couldn’t tell him that, that would be way too forward at this point. But it certainly wasn’t his fault that the god was pretty and fascinating. And even if he felt like the fact that Xiao was a god was likely further diminishing his chances, he just wanted to spend time with him. Learn more about him.

“Does that mean I’m out?”

“No, it just means I’ll need to keep an eye on you.”

Aether swallowed, trying not to blush at the intense expression on Xiao’s face. “I’ll put my life in your hands, then.”

“Just remember that I’m the god of healing and protection, not the god of life and death,” Xiao huffed. “And again, I don’t want to explain to Lumine that you got hurt. I’m not sure she’d forgive me for that.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not entirely useless, I can take care of myself,” he assured.

“I’d sure hope the former abyss prince can,” Xiao said, moving his spear towards him again, making him dodge another quick slew of attacks. “Hm, I guess it should be fine,” he concluded.

“So that means I can help?”

The god nodded. “Just don’t be reckless.”

“Promise.”

For the next hour, they walked around the plains and looked for any threats. The ones they found, they made quick work of. Maybe Aether imagined it, but he felt like he really could feel Xiao’s intense gaze on him more often than not. Well, he had said he’d keep an eye on him, after all.

In turn, Aether used any chance he got to observe him as well. It was fascinating how he fought, both elegantly but sometimes also with sheer strength. And considering the spear was quite large compared to Xiao’s height, but he seemed to expertly adjust his grip when necessary.

His powers were quite interesting too. Between the regular attacks without any magical or elemental help, there also was something that almost seemed like some type of anemo aligned power. But there was no anemo vision on him. And then of course, there were also Xiao’s protective powers, that he could spot manifested in a teal colored shield.

He would have to ask him over dinner, perhaps he would be willing to give him answers to his questions and talk a little bit about himself. But he didn’t want to pressure him. Trying probably wouldn’t hurt, though. The worst he could say was no.

Maybe he did have some other powers. If he remembered right, he’d heard that Liyue’s adepti often had elemental powers without owning visions, depending on what kind of illuminated beast they were. Perhaps it was that.

He’d definitely ask.

Chapter Text

A while later, they sat on a small table outside, enjoying the food that Smiley Yanxiao had made for them. They both had received large plates of rice, vegetables and grilled chicken and some berry tanghulu. Aether had been very happy and thanked him profusely. Which was nice, it showed that he clearly was very polite and didn’t take things for granted.

“So… You’ve been doing this for how long?”

Xiao blinked. “Cleansing the land, you mean?”

Aether nodded.

He took a deep breath, thinking. “Around four thousand years, give or take. During the archon war, when the adepti first noticed that the energies of the fallen gods started to permeate the world and its inhabitants, the geo archon tasked the yaksha with cleansing the miasma. The five foremost yakshas received the titles of Guardian Yaksha, as well as being titled Generals.”

“You’re one of them, right? Morax mentioned it…” Aether looked thoughtful, probably thinking back to lunchtime.

“Yes. The youngest of them, but still one of them. And the one who has done his duty the longest, seeing as the others succumbed to their karmic debt during the archon war still. Though, they are back at it now.”

“Wait what?”

“Ah,” Xiao felt his cheeks heat up a little. “It’s a complicated story, even I don’t grasp exactly how it worked. Long story short, the dendro archon brought us fallen-off branches from the main Irminsul tree that were different colors. I… was able to use my powers on them and restore a physical form for them. It’s not quite reviving the dead; I’m not a god of death and life. But somehow, I was still able to take what was left of them in the world and make it something.”

Aether gave him a long look and then laughed softly. “Lumine really was right about you.”

“Huh?”

“She told me that you’re pretty incredible, but don’t take enough credit for it. The way you told that story sounded exactly like that. Yes, I brought back several people who were dead, but I only managed to do that somehow, it has nothing to do with me being very powerful and clearly very special, especially considering I survived much longer than everyone else with the same condition.”

Xiao felt the heat getting stronger. “I mean I am aware I got a strong gift, and as a guardian yaksha I was strong to begin with. I am perfectly aware of that. I just don’t see a need to… How do the humans say it… Toot my own horn?”

The blonde laughed, bright and warm. “I see, I see. So you’re perfectly aware just how good you are, you’re just trying to be humble about it.”

“Being too arrogant about your own abilities can kill you in my line of work,” Xiao quietly explained. “Never assume you’re too strong for a foe, because that’s when you let down your guard.”

“Right, that’s true.”

“And also… I may be strong, but I have spent enough time around the geo archon, have seen enough of what he’s done in all this time… It’s humbling, too. Seeing all he’s done for humanity and Liyue as a whole. It will be a long time before I come even marginally close to achieving something like that.”

“I’d say spending thousands of years cleansing the lands is very impressive. And bringing several people back to life – whatever the technicalities are behind it – even more so. Top that off with being probably the first new god since the archon war. Imagine how special you have to be, for the heavens to recognize you like that.” Aether said softly, looking at him intently. “But I think it is a show of your character, that you look up to Morax like that and aspire to do even more.”

Xiao chuckled, pushing a piece of chicken around with his chopsticks. “I guess so. How can I not look up to him?”

“Lumine mentioned he’s your father.”

“Ah,” he hummed, picking up the chicken and biting it, swallowing. “He is. I… I was another gods’ servant during the archon war. He defeated my master and found me in a bad state, and brought me along to the guili assembly, where he resided with the goddess Guizhong.”

Aether furrowed his eyebrows briefly and shook his head. “Sounds like that other god wasn’t kind.”

Xiao mirrored him, shaking his head as well. “No. But Guizhong and my father were. They nursed me back to health and raised me. Practically adopted me, those two. Although… My father and I only got a much closer relationship around the time where I became a god. Before it was just… We didn’t talk about certain things. So I saw him as my father figure, but would have never addressed him as such. While he thought of me as his son, but also didn’t want to be too overbearing.”

“But then you finally talked, I take it?”

“I wanted to die, I was so embarrassed,” Xiao admitted, feeling strangely at ease with Aether. Perhaps it was because he was so similar to Lumine, who he had already opened up to a lot more. “But we talked, and we did figure it out, and I started officially addressing him as my father. Even if our respective species’ age, we’re not… so far apart in age, technically the age gap would be small enough to qualify him as my older brother. But things are the way they are,” he shrugged.

“Oh? I guess ages are complicated for gods and adepti too, no? They’re for Lumine and me, too. Here in Teyvat, everyone thinks we’re barely adults. Just last week, I couldn’t even get a glass of wine because the server wasn’t convinced about me being legally allowed to drink.”

Xiao laughed. “I almost never drink alcohol, but when I do, I only get it at places where I know nobody makes a fuss. Here at Wangshu Inn, or the restaurants in the harbor know me too. I could also get drinks in Mondstadt in the Angels’ Share Tavern, because Barbatos sits there constantly and apparently let the owner know that if someone by my name and appearance comes in, I am fine to be served.”

“That’s the problem with looking young and being short,” the blond sighed. “I don’t drink a lot, either. But on rare occasions, I might.”

“I think gods can’t get drunk,” Xiao hummed, unsure. “I’d have to ask Barbatos, he’d know for sure. It takes a lot in any case. I’ve seen him drink when Ajax and my father married, Nahida kept count.”

“How many glasses did he drink?”

“That’s the problem, she lost count at around 60.”

Aether laughed, his whole face lighting up. “That’s a lot of alcohol.”

“Just another day for him.”

“I guess, Lumine mentioned he’s known as a drunkard.”

“Eh, half of the time he is completely sober. He just drinks cider and wine like others drink tea or water. And he acts drunk, so the humans won’t catch on that he’s not like them. He likes his human disguise a lot, it’s the pinnacle of freedom for him.”

“Mhm, that I can understand. Do you disguise yourself too?”

Xiao huffed. “No. I am the guardian yaksha, one of the mighty and illuminated adepti. That commands respect of the people of Liyue.”

Aether clumsily dropped his chicken, with an annoyed sigh he tried to pick it up again.

“Your grip isn’t right,” he said, observing the way he held the chopsticks. “That’s why everything slips.”

“I do it the way Lumine showed me…” He replied sheepishly.

“Her grip is terrible, too, she just manages to hold onto things by sheer force. How she does that, even though her grip is wrong, is beyond me. Here, I’ll show you how to do it properly, maybe it helps,” Xiao said softly, leaning over.

He held out his hand, waiting for Aether to mirror him. “Use your dominant hand, ideally,” he explained. Then, slowly, he demonstrated how to properly place the chopsticks into his hand and how to move them. Then again, and again. Until the other man understood how to move his fingers right.

At the end of his little lesson, Aether had much improved already, joyfully picking up his food and putting it in different places on his plate. “I know I shouldn’t play with my food but it’s so much easier now! Thank you so much. Maybe I can teach Lumine now…”

“You may try; I have given up. Both her and Paimon are hopeless in that regard, but you’re welcome to finish what I started,” he sighed.

Aether laughed at that. “Sounds like you tried for a while.”

“I did, until I realized I might as well try to teach a boulder how to fly.”

“Can you do that? Fly?” Aether asked, a fascinated expression on his face. It made him feel warm, to be looked at this way. It was a strange feeling indeed, but not unpleasant.

Xiao picked up his teacup. “Of course,” he said, taking a sip and setting it back down. “Else I wouldn’t be able to try and teach a boulder how to do it now, could I?”

Again, the blonde laughed. Xiao had never considered himself to be a funny person, but somehow he’d repeatedly managed to make him laugh. “I’m sorry, that was funny,” the blonde said softly. “I’m laughing because of the boulder thing, not because of you being able to fly.”

“Don’t worry, I figured.”

“Can you do it because you’re an adeptus?” Aether asked, leaning forwards a little.

“Did Lumine not tell you such things?”

Suddenly, he looked away, a hand coming up to the back of his neck. “I mean, she did tell me some things. But she didn’t tell me every detail about everyone. And also when you get information about so many people, it does become difficult to keep track of who’s who. Plus, I’d much rather learn more detailed things myself. It feels… weird, meeting people and already knowing too much about them. Invasive, kind of. They don’t know me at all, but I know everything about them.

I’m sorry if my questions are annoying, I thought it was a given that you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. I just wanted to know more about you, you’re pretty interesting.”

Xiao could feel his cheeks heat up again. Oh, by the heavens, couldn’t that just stop?! “Ah, no, no. I didn’t mean it like that. I was just surprised, I guess I expected her to have given you a full-on brief on anyone you’ll going to meet. I’d let you know if a question bothers me. I… have been told I can be pretty blunt at times, as I often don’t understand the whole thing humans have with not saying what they mean as to not upset others.”

Aether immediately looked relieved. “I’m glad then.”

“To answer your question, yes, because I’m an adeptus. I don’t know if she’s explained it to you, but Adeptus is merely an umbrella-term for different illuminated beasts. I am part of a species that is referred to as golden-winged peng. We are birds, so we can fly.”

“So you have wings, then,” Aether said softly. “Because you’re a bird.”

“I do. I just keep them hidden most of the time. It’s a hassle to have them out, and… Because of what happened while I was with my old master, I don’t like the reminder of what I am. When my father took me in, he gave me my name, so that I could rid myself of my old name and start fresh. Because I didn’t want everyone to know that I am a peng, I’d tell people that I am a mountain demon.”

“I can understand that, feeling bad because of things that happened in your past. I feel so guilty for what I did while I was the abyss prince. And sure, I wasn’t myself and was manipulated, but I still feel bad that I wasn’t able to snap out of it myself.”

Xiao nodded, understanding. “Mhm, yes, I feel the same. Although, my case was a little different.”

“How so?” Aether asked. “As I said, you don’t have to reply.”

But something in Xiao wanted to reply, feeling like out of all people in the world, perhaps Aether would understand best. So he did, telling the story that he usually would prefer to keep to himself.

Much, much later that night, Xiao finally retreated to his room after accompanying Aether to the nearby teleport point, seeing him off, returning back to Liyue Harbor.

Xiao had to admit that Aether wasn’t a bad fighter. He was actually useful during his time helping, even if he had to sometimes shield him or get rid of a monster approaching him behind his back. But overall, he did a better job than many others would have.

At first, he wasn’t sure whether to talk to him or not. Even if he no longer had his karmic debt, he still felt awkward around new people often. And he didn’t quite know what to do with the fact that he thought that Aether looked pretty. He reminded him of Lumine, but prettier.

Admittedly, he wished he didn’t think that. He wasn’t stupid, he was well aware what it probably meant. That didn’t mean he liked it. This was Lumine’s brother, for the sevens sake! What was he supposed to tell her?

“By the way, I’m pretty sure I’m attracted to your twin?” Yeah, no. She was one of his closest friends, and it felt like he was betraying her.

Maybe he should still tell her, it was only fair. But he wouldn’t try to pursue him. Chances were that he was attracted to women anyways. And Xiao didn’t even know how to pursue anyone, so he definitely wouldn’t make a fool of himself and try.

He groaned softly, burying his face in his hands. Thank the stars, he was alone now. Spending this much time around Aether hadn’t been good for his heart. Especially seeing how cute he looked when they received food from Smiley Yanxiao. Just like Lumine, it seemed he very much enjoyed food.

They also did talk, which Xiao wasn’t very good at but had become a little better over the past three years. Which Aether probably was able to notice very well. He wished he wasn’t so awkward, but that was just what he was like. Probably something that would never change.

But it didn’t seem to bother Aether. If he noticed that any question he asked seemed to be too personal or so, he would back off immediately and change the topic. Which was nice, that he was so considerate. Not everyone was that perceptive and would keep pushing topics that he didn’t want to talk about.

He tried to keep the conversation going, but he usually found it difficult with people that he wasn’t close to. He didn’t want to ask about things that were too personal, so he didn’t dare to ask about Aether’s past too much, even before he joined the abyss order.

He didn’t want to be too intrusive, so he was hesitating to ask him more about himself, even if he wanted to know. Instead, he’d relished in any information that Aether was willingly giving up and filed any questions he had away in his head for another time.

With a groan, he let himself fall onto his bed. The topmost room of Wangshu Inn had been his for pretty much as long as the Inn existed. The first owners had insisted he take the room to use for himself, to recuperate, even if he insisted he didn’t need it. But then he didn’t want to seem ungrateful and had started using it.

Having the room all the way at the top meant that he was able to come and go without being seen by guests or bothering anyone. And the room was further up than the other rooms, a small winding staircase leading up from the hallway beneath. A little sign at the bottom of the stairs informed guests that the staircase led to the quarters of one of their employees and to please not go upstairs.

So far, almost everyone had followed it. Rarely, a human had climbed the stairs. Even rarer they had knocked on the door while he’d been around. Usually, when he opened, people realized that he probably was no mere employee and quickly left again. Humans sometimes were able to tell when someone was an adeptus, their intuition could be quite good at times.

One time, a human that had knocked on his door had proceeded to yell at him, unhappy about something in his room. Huai'an had heard, come upstairs immediately and promptly told the guest off. He even went so far as to tell the guest about him being the guardian yaksha, just to drive home how badly he had acted.

Of course, the guest then immediately was terrified and started bowing and apologizing. Xiao had no interest in acting benevolent at the time and instead just closed the door and went back to sleep.

Apparently, the guest had afterwards been convinced that he was now cursed, having insulted Xiao and not received forgiveness and had left in a hurry. Well, maybe it taught him to be kinder to people in general.

He sighed, turning to his side and getting under the blanket. Maybe he really should talk to Lumine about this, first. Before trying to see Aether again, even if only on friendly terms. She did deserve to know he was interested in her brother, even if he didn’t properly understand his own feelings. But after tonight, he was quite sure that it wouldn’t just go away again.

Because he had fun. He had enjoyed talking to Aether, enjoyed spending time with him. And enjoyed the way he’d felt, a warm feeling in his chest and a gentle flutter in his stomach.

How did humans say it when they were in a difficult situation?

Oh yes.

He was fucked.

Chapter Text

The next while was quite uneventful. Their day to day life after their wedding was wonderfully mundane, and neither of them minded. He’d had enough chaos in his life and so had Morax. So, they enjoyed the peace and quiet of their new life.

Tonia started her classes at the Akademiya, usually returning home after school except when her study group would run late and she didn’t want to wake their parents by returning home close to midnight.

She absolutely loved it, that much was clear after the first few days already. Everything seemed to be incredibly exciting to her, even the homework and assignments she did happily. And he had to say that some of their assignments weren’t as boring as he’d predicted.

Her current one was to take small samples of plants local to her home nation, photograph the whole plant and press the small sample, creating a small folder describing the plants and their properties. Which was something right up Tonia’s alley.

But she still asked him and Morax to come along, for some company and to help her get around with the teleport network, seeing as she couldn’t use it herself. They didn’t mind, the weather was nice, and they took the opportunity to prepare a basket of food so they could have a picnic somewhere.

They left early in the morning and started in the harbor. Tonia took a photo of the silk flower bushes there and took a petal and a leaf, putting them in her small wooden flower press. Right next to it, she photographed and plucked one of the glaze lilies. Then she also carefully got one of the lotus flowers from the ponds.

“Off to a great start!” She grinned happily. “Hey, Morax. Are there special plants in Jueyun Karst, which don’t grow outside of it?”

“Yes, a few. And I know what you’ll ask next, yes, we can, don’t worry.”

“Yes! Thank you!” She pumped her fist excitedly.

Quickly, she took out her notebook and wrote down a few notes on the silk flowers, lotus and glaze lilies, just roughly. She would write the proper texts later and did know many of the necessary information by heart, but taking notes of what she wanted to write, as she went collecting the plants, surely wasn’t a bad idea. And they weren’t in a hurry. She still had about three weeks of time for the assignment, considering the plants needed to be pressed and properly dried to prevent them from getting moldy.

Ajax hummed as he trailed behind her with Morax, holding his hand. The weather was as beautiful as it could be, pleasantly warm and the sky above them a bright blue. A light breeze that smelled of sea salt and spices from the food stalls.

They kept walking further, along the street leading out of the harbor, overlooking the area where they’d gotten married three years ago. Morax was looking down at it fondly, squeezing his hand. “Best day of my life,” he murmured, pressing a quick kiss against his temple.

“Mhm, for me too.”

“Morax! Can you please give me a lift with some geo? I’ve seen violet grass up there!”

His beloved chuckled softly and with a wave of his hand, a stone platform appeared. He waited for Tonia to step onto it before slowly raising it high enough for her to safely take her photo and pluck the flower from the cliffside. Just as carefully, he lowered her again.

She sat down on the platform and wrote down her notes, placing the flower in her press while the two of them caught up to her.

“How many plants do you need?” Ajax asked.

“Prof didn’t specify,” she said, getting up again while Morax made the platform disappear. “I just want to get a good variety, not just for school but personal purposes too. I want to add some notes about the medicinal purposes as well.”

“Diligent as ever,” Morax said, looking back at the harbor.

“Of course. You all gave me this chance, I’m going to do my best with it.”

Ajax smiled and walked over to her, gently ruffling her hair a little. “We can see that, and we’re all really proud of you.”

“Thank you.” She beamed at him, then quickly ran off when she spotted a particular bush she wanted a leaf off.

“So energetic,” Morax laughed.

“Mhm, but it’s nice to see her enjoy her life like this. She was much calmer in Snezhnaya. She really blossomed since coming here.”

His husband nodded, watching her. “Definitely, even I can tell the difference. She’s become much more excitable and upbeat.”

“Come on, you two!”

Ajax chuckled and gently pulled Morax with him. “Seems like she’s found something.”

About three hours of walking and teleporting around later, they decided to take a break in Jueyun Karst and eat their food, and then Tonia would be able to go and collect some more plants there. Tonia had to be reminded to eat slowly, because she was so eager to go and get more plants for her assignment. But Ajax insisted she take a proper break, eat and drink something.

After all, he didn’t want her to suddenly feel unwell with all the running around she did. And sure, she was an adult woman, but she was still his little sister, and he would care for her wellbeing. But he knew she appreciated it. Seeing her this happy made him incredibly happy as well.

Tonia hummed, laying on the large blanket with her eyes closed. “I know you two can’t relate to that, but life really is too short. So many things to do and see and learn… So many experiences to have. I kind of envy the two of you, you get to do it all forever. Unlimited time to do what you want. If you want to spend five years learning how to paint, it doesn’t matter.”

“I understand what you mean, but it can also be terribly lonely if everyone around you passes on,” Morax said quietly. “If you do not have the luck of others with a long lifespan around you, it is a very sad existence.”

“You’ll always remember me, right? Even in a thousand years.”

“Of course,” Ajax said, feeling his heart clench. He’d thought about it often enough, even if he tried not to dwell on it. One day, he would lose them all, one by one. And there was nothing he could do about it, powerless against the passage of time.

“If there one day comes the day where you no longer will be with us, you will shine bright like gold in my memory,” Morax said quietly.

Ajax took a shivered breath, closing his eyes. “But there’ll be a long time before that. You’re so young still.”

“It’s strange to think I’ll be old and wrinkly one day and you’ll still look the same,” she laughed. “That’ll be so weird. Imagine me making old people friends and introducing my older brother and my brother-in-law and you two are, well, you.”

“Why do I feel like you think it’d be fun to mess with everyone like that?” Morax asked, voice clearly amused.

“I would. Absolutely.”

He smiled and opened his eyes, looking at her, her bright red hair sticking out against the green of the grass and the warm brown of the blanket. She opened her eyes and looked at him. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. It’ll be a long time still; I don’t plan to die young. I’m going to be hundred years old, still going on your nerves and having you remind me to eat,” she said with a grin.

“Can’t help it, sorry,” he sighed.

“It’s such a nice day, we shouldn’t even talk about depressing things like that. You two stay here, I think I saw one of the bushes I want to use a bit further away.”

“Be careful,” he said as she got up.

“Don’t worry, the worst that could happen here would be a rock hitting me,” she said, pointing at the cliffs around them. “And I’m sure there’s not going to be a major rockslide right now. Doesn’t that usually happen after winter, if it does, because of the water freezing and causing cracks to widen?”

“One of the possible causes, yes. It is rare for something like that to just happen during the late spring or summer,” Morax confirmed.

“See, all good. I’ll be back in a minute.”

He leaned against Morax, putting his head on his shoulder and sighing softly. His husbands’ arm immediately wrapped around his back, hand coming to rest as his side and a warm kiss pressed on top of his hair.

“Don’t worry so much.”

“Can’t help it, she’s my baby sister, no matter how old she is. That’ll always be the case, even when she’s eighty.”

“I may not have siblings, but I understand. You only want the best for her and your little brothers.”

“My other siblings too,” Ajax added. “But it’s different because they’re older. I guess I feel less like I have to protect them because they’ve lived longer than I did.”

“Even though you’ve been through more than them.”

“Mhm, it’s strange,” he said, watching Tonia walk further and further away and then around a bend. “I guess it feels like I shouldn’t say anything about how they live their lives since they’re older and should know better. Probably do know better.”

In the distance, there was a loud noise, sort of crashing, crumbling, strange. But it wasn’t that noise but rather the scream that followed that let the blood freeze in his veins.

Tonia.

Morax looked at him for an instant and they were both on their feet, running towards where he’d last seen her go around the protruding mountainside. The closer he got, the more nauseous he felt. Panic rose in him, every inhale felt like it was burning his lungs.

A hole.

There was a hole where the ground had given way, and Tonia was nowhere to be seen. And from the hole, he could feel the miasma of the abyss emerge in lazy curls.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no!” He tried to run closer, but Morax held him back, tightly holding onto his arm.

“Wait.”

“I can’t! She’s- Tonia is-“ his voice broke, desperate. Tears filled his eyes, and he felt like he couldn’t breathe. “She’s nowhere to be seen. You heard what I heard.”

“The ground isn’t stable, more could break. Let me stabilize it first.”

“It doesn’t matter if I fall in, the abyss can’t hurt me,” he gasped. “I have to. I have to get down there. I can’t leave her down there. She deserves a burial. Let me go.”

“Ajax-“

“Let go of me!” He yelled, ripping his arm out of his husband’s grasp. “My little sister just died! On my watch! And every second I spend here, chances are that there won’t be anything left of her for me to find!”

“Ajax. Listen to me.” Morax said firmly, and he was mentally preparing to see his husband’s anger directed at him for the first time. As he looked at him, his eyes were glowing bright gold but to his surprise, he didn’t look angry. “The dice have fallen.”

“What?” He asked, confused. He had to hurry!

“It’s rescue, not recovery,” Morax said. “She is alive. Probably not well, considering the circumstances, but alive.”

Ajax blinked. “What? How do you…?”

“Remember what we talked about? Her potential? And way back when we were in Sumeru, when Venti came looking for Xiao because he felt his vision fade and we explained to you that we archons are more or less aware of our allogenes?”

“You mean-“ again, his voice broke. No way. No way.

“So, go. Find her, I will stabilize the area and will stand guard. I will handle everything up here. Find her and come back home.” The god said, voice firm and steady.

“If- We might need to stay for a while.”

“I don’t care; I will stand watch. I can call upon the yakshas to help and relay information to your parents if it takes long. Don’t worry about things up here, worry about her and yourself.”

Ajax nodded weakly. Then he surged forward, kissing Morax hard. Who knew how long it would be until they saw each other next. Then he gave him one last, good look. “Thank you. Take care. I love you.”

“I love you. Be careful and stay safe.”

“I’ll try.” And with this, he let himself fall into the hole, ready for whatever he was going to find.

When he opened his eyes again, he was in what looked like a massive cave. The air was incredibly humid, which made it hard to breathe. There were large rock formations with purple glowing crystals. He exhaled slowly, trying to stay calm even if he didn’t feel that way.

Morax had said she was alive. That he could feel her, because she’d gotten a geo vision. But that didn’t mean that she was still alive now. With how vast the difference in time was between the abyss and the overworld, it would have been… A couple of hours since she fell. A minute in the overworld was around thirty minutes in the abyss. So even if they had been quick, it would have been an hour or two for her very, very fast.

He had to find her. Everything in him prayed that she was safe. But she wasn’t close to where she’d fallen in, so that made him worry. Calling out for her was also risky, it could attract predators. And this was an area of the abyss that he knew nothing about. And he didn’t know which way to go, either. It was dark, but thanks to the glowing crystals he could still see enough.

Slowly, he walked forwards where he could see an opening, making his way through the cave system. He concentrated on his senses, glad that they were enhanced thanks to his abyss taint. His footsteps echoed through the caves, even if he tried to walk as silently as he could.

Just to be prepared, he summoned one of his hydro blades so that if he would get attacked, he’d immediately be ready to fight back. After all, down here, I was survival of the fittest even more than up on the surface.

And he had made it out alive of here once before, he would do so again. He’d just have to try and keep track of which way he went, so he’d find the hole again. With how confusing the abyss was, gigantic labyrinths twisted into each other, it might become difficult to find their exit again.

Last time, when he fought the all-devouring Narwhal, it had been Skirk who had sent him home through a portal. But he couldn’t count on her and her skills here, he had to survive and make it back himself.

Hopefully with Tonia in tow.

If she was still alive, the abyss had already started permeating her. So, either she was turning into an abyss monster, or she’d still hold out and would suffer from the abyss tearing through her body. Sure, she knew that he’d utilized Irminsul. But there was no way she could do it herself with no instruction.

So, if she was still in a good enough state, he could teach her. If there was Irminsul close by. He really wished he had Morax with him now, so he could talk to him, tell him how scared he was. Ask him if he still felt her vision or if it had already faded as fast as her ambition had shone brightly.

And to apologize to him for yelling. He hadn’t meant to, but he’d been so distressed in that moment, that his self-control had slipped completely. He hadn’t been fair to him, Morax had only wanted him to be safe and to tell him that he was able to feel her vision.

He would apologize as soon as he saw him again. Morax wouldn’t hold it against him, he knew him well enough for that. But he deserved an apology, because Ajax hadn’t been fair. Being distressed wasn’t an excuse to treat his husband like that. Especially not when he had only meant well.

 So far, this area seemed oddly devoid of life. Apart from small, crab-looking things that quickly scurried away behind rocks as soon as he approached. Clearly not a threat, then. Perhaps edible, though. If he’d have to stay for longer, that would be important.

Although he really hoped that he wouldn’t have to stay long enough for food to become important. On the other hand, if he was to try and have Tonia reign in the abyss taint, learn to neutralize it and make it part of her… A week, minimum. Maybe two. Depending on how far away it would take them, too, and how quickly she’d get a grasp on the technique.

And most importantly, she would need to learn to control her new powers. Both the vision and the abyss powers. Well, Morax was surely going to be very happy and help her with the vision. Not that he knew how to use a vision, Ajax would be able to help her with that, but Morax would be able to show her how to use her element. He definitely would be able to teach her some creative ways to use geo.

If she survived.

The fact that she had been alive when he’d been above still, didn’t matter. Every single second in the abyss could kill you. But he was hoping. She was his little sister. Everyone always said how much she was like him in some regards.

So please be like me in that regard, he prayed.

He felt uneasy again, hurrying up a little more. Further ahead he could see another opening, and he approached it quickly. If she had gone this far, at least she likely didn’t have broken bones. He stepped through the opening and found himself in an even larger cavern, but this one was a lot brighter. More crystals, and the woodsy smell and warm sheen of fire.

“Well, well, look who decided to join us. Don’t stand there staring like a fool. I taught you better than that.”

Chapter Text

Ajax caught himself and ran into the cavern, past Skirk, sitting at a campfire with a large pot on it. He fell to his knees, sliding the last bit and hugged Tonia tightly where she sat in the middle of a small cluster of Irminsul roots.

She hugged him just as tightly, and even if he tried to, he couldn’t hold his tears back. “You’re alive,” he choked. “Alive.”

“I am. I’m fine. Well, mostly,” she replied with an awkward laugh. “Ouch, my ribs. Careful please, I think I cracked them.”

“Sorry,” he murmured, carefully adjusting his grip. “How badly injured are you?”

“My ribs and my ankle hurt, I think the ankle is just sprained… The ribs, I’m not sure. Else just some scrapes, scratches and bruises.”

“Nothing attacked you?”

“Well, there was this gigantic crab thing that wanted to snip me into pieces. But uhm, when I fell, I got a vision and even if I had no idea what I was doing, I was able to shield myself with it. And then Skirk came and helped me.”

“And I’ve made crab stew,” Skirk’s’ voice came from the fire. “She was lucky, this area of the abyss is one of the safer parts. Certainly safer than where you fell in.”

“The holy grounds of the adepti are right above, maybe that has some kind of influence,” Ajax wondered, letting go of Tonia and wiping over his cheeks. He turned to look at his master. “Thank you so much for helping her.”

“Of course. I was here resting and heard the ruckus, so of course I went to see what that was about. Imagine my surprise when I saw Tonia there,” she shook her head and laughed. “Imagine the flashback I got, seeing here there, clutching a vision. Something is clearly wrong with your bloodline, boy. Or right, depending on viewpoint. Almost nobody survives falling into the abyss. And yet, here you two are.”

“I was above, losing my mind, thinking she’d died until Morax told me that he could feel her having received a vision.”

“I made sure to sit her down between the Irminsul roots immediately, so she wouldn’t transform into a full abyssal form right away. It’s not healthy,” Skirk said, tutting. “She’ll be fine, she’s adjusting. Give her some more time with the Irminsul and she’ll be as fine as you were. Probably better even, considering we’re in a much safer place and she won’t have to experience the things that you had to.”

With a shivered exhale, he relaxed a little. Tonia was fine. Well, as fine as she could be in this situation. “So, the abyss taint has already taken hold?”

“Of course it has. You know how it is; even mere moments are enough. See the bright side, you will not lose her anytime soon.”

Tonia blinked. “Wait, does that mean I’m now immortal too?”

“As close to immortal as one can get, at least. You can still be killed, so don’t be foolish,” Skirk said firmly. “And you will need to learn how to use your new powers – both the vision and the abyss. We can’t let you go back up there without being able to keep your abyss taint in check, you could harm people.”

“How long will I have to stay?”

“Well, it took me around two weeks or so to get my abyss taint in check, mostly. The rest of the time was us doing further training,” Ajax said slowly.

“Two weeks?! I can’t miss school that long!” Tonia gasped, looking at him wide-eyed. “They’re going to kick me out!”

“Tonia, calm down. Time down here is detached from the overworld. I was three months down here, our family thought I was gone for three days.”

She blinked, calming down. “Right. So, two weeks would be half a day then.”

“And Morax is up there too. Do you really think that he wouldn’t send word to Nahida some way, to make sure she can handle everything and make sure you won’t get expelled? Have a little trust in us,” he said gently, brushing over her hair.

“Ah, true… I guess I wasn’t thinking straight, everything happened so quickly…” She admitted softly, sighing. “It was pretty scary, but then I saw Skirk and felt relieved. At first I didn’t even know I was in the abyss, I thought I’d fallen into a normal cave. But then I saw the rift above instead of a normal hole and with Skirk being there… It suddenly made sense.”

“I’m half tempted to drag your whole family down here and see if they’d all survive too,” Skirk said. “Either you’re incredibly lucky or there’s something in your blood.”

“Please don’t,” he groaned.

“I wouldn’t. It’s just interesting to me. I’ve seen so many die when falling in or right afterwards, and here you two are, completely fine. And from the looks of it, Tonia has understood the technique I taught her and is neutralizing the abyssal energy just fine. You can be proud of her.”

Ajax nodded. “I am.”

“Please, you were fourteen when this happened to you. And, as Skirk said, in a much more dangerous area. So this doesn’t feel like much of an achievement…”

“Tonia, even making it past the first couple seconds when you fell in was an achievement in itself,” he said firmly. “That you’ve made it this far is another achievement.”

“Still-“

“No. I was sure you’ve died. Because I know just how unlikely it was for me to survive. I didn’t even want to listen to what Morax was trying to tell me because I was so focused on that singular fact, I was so sure of it. All I could focus on was getting down here and recovering what I can, before any predators or anything could get to you, so that we could at least give you a proper burial. And I’ll have to live my whole life with the guilt that I let you out of my sight and that this happened to you, but at least you’re still alive.”

Tonia blinked up at him. “I mean, the whole abyss transformation thing is a little… scary, I guess? Intimidating would be a better word. But… as stupid as it probably sounds, in a way, I’m happy.”

“Happy?!”

“Well, if this means that I’ll be as immortal as you are, then that means you at least won’t lose all of us. Once they’re all gone, we’ll still have each other. A tiny piece of our family, but it’s better than nothing, right?”

He nodded. “Right. But still, it isn’t all just fun and easy. The abyss has its downsides. It won’t be long before you’ll start hearing its whispers. And mastering the foul legacy takes time and a lot of work. And it’s not… it’s not easy. Or completely painless. You get used to it over time and there’s more painful things, but it’s definitely not pleasant.”

“You did all of that. I will do it,” she said firmly. “Even if it hurts, even if it’s hard.”

By the fire, Skirk laughed ever so slightly, more a soft huff than actual laughter. “I’ve heard almost that exact sentence before.”

For a second, Tonia looked confused. Then, she realized. “Ajax?”

“Obviously,” she replied. “There’s a reason he’s been my only student so far. Stubborn and surprising mental and physical resilience, even as young as he was back then.”

Ajax sighed. “You’ll do it, I don’t doubt that. I’m just trying to prepare for what lies ahead since it won’t be easy.”

“I probably will start looking different, too, right?”

He swallowed and looked towards his master, unsure. Even if he’d guess that that was really the case. But Skirk was more experienced in these things, and he’d follow her guidance. After all, she’d been in the abyss for probable centuries, if not millennia.

“Of course. Your abyssal form has started to take hold; the abyss already has decided your potential,” Skirk replied, stirring the stew a little. “If you take after your brother, it will be a large potential for sure.”

“Watch me end up as a dragon!”

Ajax shook his head and sat down next to her, leaning against the large Irminsul roots. He felt incredibly exhausted after the emotional turmoil. Slowly, surely, he was calming down again. Tonia was fine. And he wouldn’t lose her. They just had to teach her some things, and he’d probably have to keep mentoring her for a while once they were back in the overworld. Morax possibly too, considering her vision element.

But then there was also the difficult task of explaining things to their family. Well, their younger brothers. The rest would be fine. Tonia would likely not be able to control her abyss form by the time they’d have to go back up. And considering she wasn’t going to experience the same traumas that he had, she probably wouldn’t suppress her changes unconsciously, like he had all this time.

And if she just stayed in Sumeru and didn’t return home until she had it in check, it would also be suspicious for Anton and Teucer, because they were used to her returning home almost every day. So, her suddenly changing that routine would come across as strange and likely lead to more questions.

Anton and Teucer weren’t as little anymore – Anton almost as old as he had been when he fell into the abyss, Teucer almost as old as Anton had been when they moved to Liyue – but they were still children. So how would they cope, seeing their sister so different suddenly? And maybe still acting a little strange, as she got used to this new abyssal part of her.

How could they explain it to them, in a way that they wouldn’t be scared? Without having to tell them about the abyss? Because telling them about the abyss might lead to them realizing that he’d lied to them and that his change had nothing to do with his relationship to Morax. Then, he’d have to be honest with them. Tell them how he’d lied to them, even if it was to protect them. Shield them from the traumas he’d experienced at a much too young age. And what it made of him.

Consequently, the right thing to do would be to also tell them about him being with the fatui, too. He wasn’t completely sure, but it was likely that they already knew about the fatui in general. They weren’t a secret in Snezhnaya, especially in the cities they were out in the open and most of the time, easy to spot.

Working for the Tsaritsa was considered both an honor and dishonor at the same time, seeing as people knew she’d pick skilled individuals for the higher ranks. But it was also known that many of them were bloodthirsty and liked to cause trouble. So being associated with the fatui was a double-edged sword. While people might respect you in the upper ranks and knowing you had to be strong to get where you are, they still eyed you with caution.

So, if he told them he was part of them for several years and even made it to the harbinger rank… Chances were that they’d understand the implications behind that. And that they’d see him for what he really was.

Which still scared him a lot. He’d spent all their lives trying to avoid this. Sure, his little toy-seller lie was now legitimized by him being an actual toy-seller now, even if it was just a side job he did because it was fun and he liked making children happy. And because he felt that as this nation’s archons’ husband, it also was his duty to protect their history, traditions and stories, especially with his immortality added to it.

But they would know that initially, it had been a lie. And that so many of the things he told them had been lies too. So, he wanted to avoid that, but he really had no idea how to address this issue else. He sighed softly.

Perhaps he shouldn’t worry about this now. His top priority should be what was happening right now instead of what was going to be happening in a week or two. At least for them, for the others in the overworld it would be a couple of hours. Which made it even more difficult, because how did you explain such a change happening over a couple of hours?

He groaned and let his head fall back against the roots. “What a mess.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have run off like that,” Tonia said quietly.

“It’s okay. You couldn’t know. We didn’t know either. Even Morax didn’t, and he’s the geo archon, even he didn’t detect anything wrong with the area. Then I’m not sure he’d even have felt it immediately or if he’d had to be actively trying to find something wrong.”

“Probably that. But still…”

“We had no way of knowing there’d be an abyss rift. Look, I’m talking from experience. I know how this goes. Do you think I saw the rift coming and jumped into it, back then when I was fourteen? No, I tripped over roots or something and fell and suddenly there was the rift.”

“Still-“

“No,” he interrupted. “You will not feel guilty about this, not on my watch. You did nothing wrong, you were just walking. It could have happened to me or Morax, too. Or anyone else passing through there. The important thing is that you survived. As Skirk said, that alone is incredibly rare. Extraordinary, even. Everything else, we can deal with. You’re alive, that’s all that matters.”

“But it’ll be difficult,” she said softly. “And it’s putting you at risk too.”

“I didn’t mention it, but when I was helping in Fontaine with that Narwhal… I was fighting it in the abyss for around two weeks, overworld time. But for me, that was almost fourteen months. The abyss itself can no longer hurt me; there’s no risk for me down here except its creatures. Any creature that could be a threat… Well, master alone is already strong enough to get rid of almost anything, and I may not be as strong as she is, but I’m plenty strong myself. So, you needn’t worry about that either.”

“That’s not what I mean,” she said sharply. “I’m fully aware that you’re capable of beating pretty much anything down here. At least that’s what I assumed.”

He opened his eyes and turned his head a little towards her, blinking slowly in the light of the Irminsul roots. “Then what is it?”

“The boys. We’ll have to find some explanation.”

“I know, I’ve just been thinking that. But we have other priorities now. Trying to find some explanation or giving them the proper one… Is something we have time to think about.”

“We’ll have to relocate in a while,” Skirk called over. “The Irminsul here isn’t very dense.”

Tonia blinked. “And that’s bad?”

“The abyss taint enters you more and more, the longer you’re in here. For now, there’s not a lot of it accumulated and you’ve been by the Irminsul roots quickly. But the longer you stay down here, this small cluster of roots won’t be enough,” he explained.

“Even if I keep neutralizing it?”

“It’s likely that while we’re talking, you’re not neutralizing a lot. At least I needed to focus a lot on it at first, any little distraction would stop the process. And you need to take breaks from it, too, it’s exhausting. There’s only so much energy that a small cluster of roots like this is giving off at a time. So the more abyss taint you have, you’ll need more Irminsul energy to neutralize it.”

“Complicated,” she sighed.

“If I give you one berry every second and you eat one every minute, eventually you’ll have a lot more berries than you can reasonably eat in your entire lifetime.”

She stared at him for a moment and then laughed. “You didn’t need to explain it to me like I’m a child, I did understand the process. It’s just complicated.”

“Oh, come on, you laughed. That was my main goal.”

“How long will we stay here still, then?” Tonia asked, looking at Skirk.

“A couple of hours or even until tomorrow should be fine. Then we’ll make our way further into the caverns. I have a place in mind, but it might take us a while to reach it, as we’ll have to cross some more dangerous places in this system.”

They both nodded. He would follow her guidance, after all he knew firsthand how experienced she was down here. She had saved and protected him when he was fourteen, sent him back home to his husband after what happened in Fontaine, and now she was here and helping his sister.

He’d never be able to repay her.

There was nothing for her to gain, but she had done so much for him just out of kindness. Even if she was seemingly cold on the outside, she was far from being anything like it on the inside. Hardened by battle and survival, yes.

But with a gentle soul.

She was something like an older sister or even a mother for him, had looked out for him when he’d been too young to see such horrors down here. And had taught him the abilities necessary to defend himself and instilled in him the drive to constantly get better. Even if he still hadn’t fully mastered the bow.

He looked at her, sitting by the fire, observing her stew so it wouldn’t burn. Without her, he wouldn’t be here today. Nothing in his life he would have, if she hadn’t made the choice to help him. Anyone else might have left him to his own devices, not wanting to have a child with them in a place like this. But she had taken him in and taught him everything.

And now, they were going to teach his sister together.

Chapter Text

They stayed long enough to have some of the crab stew that Skirk had made and then packed up and left. Ajax didn’t take a second to think and picked up Tonia carefully, even if she protested. After all, she’d gotten hurt during her fall, and he didn’t want it to get worse. Especially not her ankle, if she strained it too much now, it would definitely get a lot worse.

When she understood why he was doing this, her protests died down and instead complained that she had to be too heavy to just carry around like that. But once Ajax explained that he barely felt her weight and that he’d thrown around grown adults when he was only 14 years old, that stopped as well.

Skirk had instructed him to walk behind her. That way, if any threats showed up, she could take care of it. Tonia still had to learn how to use her vision, so right now anything she did with it was purely instinctual. At the beginning, a vision would usually react to its wielders’ emotions. Especially ones like fear. Just like Tonia’s already had, shielding her after she fell down here even when she had no idea how to purposely shield herself.

Over time, she’d have to learn how to draw on the vision’s power and how to use her element. The more creative she’d be able to be with it, the better. Initially, when he’d gotten his hydro vision, he had been a little bummed because he didn’t yet understand just how versatile it could be. But once he thought harder and then tried his hydro weapons with Skirk, making them better and more stable with each time, he understood just how creative he could be with it.

He was sure that once she figured things out, she’d learn more and more techniques. Though it was probably still a good thing that Morax was around to give her some pointers on what geo could do. Because personally, he was a little stumped even after knowing and living with Morax this long.

Though Morax used his elemental abilities less than Ajax did. He’d often just sit around and summon hydro constructs for fun or do that when they were out and about to entertain nearby kids. Morax did it sometimes with a miniature meteor, but he used his abilities more when they were outside on walks or so, creating stairs or bridges so they could walk without having to look for ways around obstacles.

He sighed softly. There surely hadn’t a lot of time passed above, it probably had barely been two hours down here since he entered. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder how Morax was holding up above. Was he scared? Worrying that they would get harmed, or worse? Or was he calm, trusting in Ajax’ battle prowess and experience in the abyss?

“Am I getting heavy?”

He shook his head. “No, I told you, you barely weigh anything to me.”

Tonia hummed in reply, resting her head against his shoulder. “Is it normal to feel super tired down here?”

“It’s normal, yeah. On my first day in the abyss, I was very tired too. On one hand, it’s the adrenaline that keeps you going at first and once that gets lower, you feel how tired you are. But it’s also the abyss energy making you tired.”

“I thought it’d be that,” she replied quietly. “Does it make you feel tired still?”

“No, once you’ve gotten some progress with making the energy yours, it won’t be like that anymore. If anything, it makes me feel more energized?”

“We are creatures of the abyss, an abundance of its energy… Is like recharging, almost,” Skirk said. “Not that I feel it much, being down here almost constantly. But I can imagine that it’d be like that for you, after years up there. That it feels like an extra energy boost.”

“Mhm, yeah that’s it I guess.”

They kept walking, making sure they were mostly quiet to not attract any abyss monsters to their location. There were some parts that were uncomfortably narrow, where he’d have to do his best to squeeze through, especially with Tonia on his arms.

The cave system they were in was not very spectacular to look at. Normal grey rock, some glowing moss and mushrooms. Ajax briefly wondered if the mushrooms were edible. He moved to pluck one from a little ledge, but before he could touch it, Skirk made a sharp noise.

“I wouldn’t touch those if I were you. The spores are toxic, and they hurt a lot when they get onto your skin. Washing off doesn’t do much, it can last for hours.”

“Oops,” he said, quickly moving away from it. “I was hoping it would be edible.”

“If they were, I’d have told you to pick them up,” she replied softly. “No different than back then.”

He nodded and kept walking. As always, it would be safest to have her take the lead. He might know some things about the abyss, but compared to Skirk, his knowledge was miniscule. Insignificant. And he would never catch up with her massive amount of knowledge about this place.

Not that he wanted to. It would mean spending a lot more time in the abyss. And he didn’t really want that. He already knew he was going to miss his husband, his family and his friends. Only the fact that for them, it wouldn’t be remotely as long as for him, was a bit of solace for him.

But he already couldn’t wait until he saw his husband again, and it had been only a couple of hours. In his panic, he’d most definitely reacted terribly. He yearned for a hug, and to be able to apologize. Explain why he’d freaked out so much and ask him for forgiveness. He’d undoubtedly receive it, he knew that Morax would understand and tell him that an apology was unnecessary. But still. It was important to apologize if you had done something wrong.

For a while, Tonia even fell asleep. He panicked for a split second, scared that the abyss taint had suddenly overwhelmed her after all, or that perhaps her injuries had been worse than she thought. But Skirk seemed to notice his turmoil and quickly pointed out that she was breathing calmly and evenly.

Sheepishly, he apologized. He just couldn’t help it, being scared and worried. She was his baby sister. The reason why he’d fought tooth and nail to get home back then. The reason why he’d worked his ass off in the fatui, to make sure that she wouldn’t lack anything.

He’d never wanted her to experience these things as well. But he couldn’t change anything now, they had to roll with the punches and make the best of the situation. That was what he’d always done, at least. And she’d have to learn that too. But he would be here, supporting her on every step she took. She would have the support that he never had.

Their family would react differently this time, for sure. After all, they now knew that he’d said the truth back then and would understand if Tonia would act strangely for a while at first. Surely it won’t be as bad as it had been with him, considering she wouldn’t have the same trauma. But the abyss left its traces anyways.

But he was sure that they’d be able to keep the abyssal whispers in check. Regular sparring would do her good. Perhaps even Morax’ divine presence. Or maybe Xiao’s abilities. In any case, she would have support in abundance. She deserved it. It was enough that he had struggled. His own trauma and hurt didn’t need repeating.

He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of abyss creature she would become. For her sake, he hoped it would be something manageable. What exactly he hoped for, he wasn’t sure. There was only a limited amount of abyss creatures that he knew of in the first place. Skirk knew more, of course.

There also was no way to influence it, as far as he was aware of. The moment she had fallen in, the abyss had already chosen her shape for her. And from what Skirk had said, it would slowly start manifesting over the next days.

Ajax, at that point in time, hadn’t even known that was happening to him. Back then, he’d only been aware of his foul legacy, and not the abyss changing him like that. It had taken him until he was almost twice that age until he learned of what he’d truly become.

And even then, as an adult, he had struggled with it. Perhaps he would have struggled even more if he hadn’t had Morax by his side, who had been so excited to see he was a dragon as well. But if he had to deal with it all alone, it would have been very different for sure.

Thanks to his partners’ support, he’d been able to cope with it relatively well. Even if he still felt strange sometimes, especially when he looked into a mirror. He had gotten used to his new appearance, but then sometimes, the differences still struck him as so odd.

Even if he quite liked his new features, he couldn’t help but wonder what people thought when they saw him. When they noticed the inhuman glow in his eyes, the moving striped pattern, the blue mark on his forehead and his horns. What did someone who was entirely unfamiliar with him think about him?

Not that it mattered, not in the grand scheme of things. He didn’t care too much about what strangers thought, apart from wanting to make a good impression due to being Morax’ husband. He didn’t want to reflect badly onto him.

It was only curiosity, nothing more than that. He’d always been curious about such things, even when he’d started out in the fatui. Back then he’d wondered what people thought, being beaten by a short fourteen year old child.

And he had been short for his age, shorter than Anton was now at almost the same age. He’d easily looked only eight or nine years old. Which was at least good for one thing: having the element of surprise on his side.

If he’d learned one thing from Skirk, it was that being unpredictable was one of the keys to survival. If your enemy didn’t know what you were capable of, they’d underestimate you. And if they underestimated you, you could win the upper hand more easily.

That had been one of her core teachings during their time in the abyss. Something that he’d considered one of his most important lessons. He’d lived his life in the abyss and in the fatui mostly by three rules:

Become stronger.

Be unpredictable.

Survive.

And survived, he had. No matter what had been thrown his way by the abyss, by the higher-ups when he was still a low-ranking fatuus, or by the Tsaritsa herself once he’d been a harbinger. No matter what had happened, he’d thrown himself into it with everything he had.

Eventually, he’d made it to the other side. He’d escaped the abyss, rose through the pecking order in the fatui, became a harbinger and left that life behind as well. And then, he’d thrown himself into his life with Morax with the same all-encompassing devotion.

Only to get back to where he started, almost back to square one. Back in the abyss. Well, not quite the same as then. Skirk had a little more respect for his skills by now, even if she still kicked his ass one-handed. And this time, the student wasn’t him, but his little sister.

It was a strange repetition, almost a Deja-vu, but not quite. There were parallels with how they’d both fallen into a hole and gotten their vision when they fell, both being found by Skirk. But he’d do everything in his power to make Tonia’s experience better.

“We should rest here for a while. There’s some Irminsul roots here, and the next part will be a bit more dangerous than here. Can you feel the heat already? There’s some volcanic activity ahead.”

Tonia’s eyes went wide. “T-That sounds very dangerous.”

“We’ll be fine. Ajax, use foul legacy when I do. Speed will be essential. The lava pools erupt like geysers; you don’t want to get that on you.”

“That sounds even worse than it did before,” Tonia groaned. “I’ll remind you; I don’t know how to use my shield yet.”

“You forget that I’m both a hydro vision wielder and a dragon of the abyssal deep. If things get bad, I’ll just try it with that. Easy as that. And we’re very fast in foul legacy.” He assured. Sure, she had seen him in foul legacy a couple of times before, but he also didn’t use it that much. Especially not when Anton or Teucer could see him and get scared.

“Still…”

“Tonia,” he said gently. “You don’t have to worry, I promise you. Skirk has centuries of experience down here. And I have several years of fighting experience and also a bit of experience in the abyss. We know what we can handle. Master said that almost nothing around here is remotely as dangerous as the area where I fell in. So that means even if there’s some more dangerous parts here, they’re still relatively safe. Right, master?”

Skirk nodded. “What he says. Almost no place in the abyss is completely save, but there’s places that might just kill you when you so much as breathe in their vicinity. We are nowhere near such levels of danger. Sure, there’s creatures and lava, but those are small problems.”

She groaned softly. “This is insanity. Utter insanity. In what world is lava a small problem?”

“In the abyss. Welcome to my life, dearest sister.” Carefully, he put her down next to the Irminsul root cluster. “And I had to deal with that when I was fourteen, at least you’re nineteen already.”

“I seriously start to understand why you weren’t quite right in the head anymore afterwards,” she muttered quietly.

“You haven’t even seen anything yet. Wait until you do, that’s when you’ll truly understand. Though I really don’t want you to fully understand. My goal is for you to get out of here with almost no trauma.”

“Almost.”

“Well, I can’t guarantee that there’ll be none. I won’t pretend that I can. But I’ll do my best to minimize the chances. And to be fair, I have no idea what kind of abyss creature you’ll be, and from my own experience, this whole change is super weird too.”

“Still. This whole place is so strange in general… But also, I definitely need to take some plants with me from down here. Can I?”

Ajax shrugged, unsure. He didn’t know how safe it was to take things out of the abyss. So he looked to Skirk, hoping for her verdict.

“The plant life here is imbued with the same abyssal energy. It’s fine to take them with you, but you shouldn’t let ordinary people be exposed to them too long.”

“That means?”

“Keep them for yourself and maybe briefly show them to someone but from maybe an arms’ length away. They shouldn’t touch them. You could take them and lay them next to the Irminsul roots for a while right before you leave again, that should draw out most of the energy.

What little would return back into the plant for the last bit until you’re out again, shouldn’t be harmful. It’s what I usually do with my supplies, before I head into the overworld. And ask me before you touch anything. Some plants are very dangerous, and you should leave those alone.”

Tonia nodded, clearly mentally filing this information away for later. Ajax sat down next to her, taking a deep breath. “Listen to Skirk, you can learn a lot from her.”

Again, she nodded. “Will do. I’ll have to learn what I can, after all.”

“Exactly. Without her, I would never have survived the abyss. And you’ll follow her orders, understood? Or mine. If we tell you to stay where you are, or to run, you do what we say.” He said, unusually firmly. “Because that might decide over life or death. So, it’s important that you do as we say.”

“Understood.”

“And no running off on your own. Down here, this can kill you. Especially considering you have no control over anything yet.”

“…I don’t think I ever heard you be this strict with me.”

“I have to, this is important, Tonia. I have died dozens of times in the abyss. I know what it feels like. And I don’t want you to experience that, it’s not nice. I want you to get out of here with the least amount of trauma possible. I have enough for the both of us.”

“I’m sorry,” she said softly, looking down.

“Don’t be. I don’t want you to feel bad, I just want you to take this seriously. I’m glad if you don’t feel all scared and sad and can still joke around or focus on other things. But these things will help you tremendously and will make things easier while we’re down here, so I need you to follow these things.”

She nodded once more. “Okay, I understand.”

“Good,” he said quietly, leaning back a little. He hated being strict with her, but it was necessary. She needed to really understand that listening to Skirk – and to him – was paramount to ensure her survival.

Whichever creature she’d become might be more or less resilient, but there were still dozens of threats in the abyss. Even the most unimpressive little fern could be toxic enough to kill you within seconds. Or the tiniest creature could be revealed as a decoy of a much larger creature hiding underground, waiting to devour its prey.

So it was important that she understood these things, before they ventured further into the abyss.

Chapter Text

When they finally reached the area that Skirk had mentioned, he could already feel the intensity of the heat. His skin started to hurt a little, probably already getting slight burns.

“We’ll have to be fast, especially to protect Tonia,” she said quietly, looking down at the large field of lava beneath them. “The heat here is awful…”

Tonia meanwhile was looking confused. “Is it that bad? I only find it slightly warmer…”

He frowned and put his hand on her forehead, making sure she didn’t have a fever. But luckily, she felt normal. Having a fever down here would have been bad. Which reminded him that he really, really needed to take the time and work on his healing abilities. Once they were back home, he’d go and ask Bonanus, Ping or even Xingqiu for some guidance on hydro healing. This wasn’t the first time that he regretted not bothering to learn it as much as combat.

Skirk gave her a long look. “This might be a sign that your abyssal form is starting to take hold. Could be something that might be immune to higher temperatures.”

“Like what?” Ajax asked, holding his breath.

“I don’t know every single abyss creature in existence. Could be anything from a lava bird, which is akin to a phoenix, to a scorchfish, diamond harpy or perhaps a firewolf. Those are the ones I know off the top of my head… And there’s more that I don’t know whether they’re sensitive to higher temperatures or not. And creatures I don’t know at all.”

“Why does scorchfish sound ugly?” Tonia asked, frowning. “I don’t know why, it just sounds like it would look ugly.”

“They do. They look like roasted pufferfish, but they’re alive. But they live in waters so hot, their outmost layer of scales and skin get continuously scorched. On the good side, if you manage to catch one, they’re already half cooked, so there is less cooking time.”

Tonia shuddered a little. “Yeah, okay, sounds gross too. I mean I don’t mind cooked fish or living fish. But living half-cooked fish sounds bad.”

“They taste pretty bad, too,” Skirk replied, shrugging. “But if you’re hungry, you eat what you can get.”

“Well, anyways, we have to get over there. All the way to the other side. There’s really no other way?” He asked, looking over the vast area with several huge lava pools, bubbling and hissing below. Occasionally, a stream of hot lava shot up like a geyser.

Skirk shook her head. “No other way through here. It’s the fastest way. I can’t use my abilities with her either, I’m not sure the abyssal energy has taken hold enough yet. Using my portals on her else could cause damage.”

Ajax nodded, sighing. “Got it. We’ll just have to be fast, then.”

“Don’t burn yourself.”

“You too.” He replied, transforming into his foul legacy form. It was easier to use down here, with ample amounts of abyssal energy around him. In the overworld, it always exhausted him because he had to use his own energy reserves to keep it up. Strangely enough, his draconic form was much easier to maintain, perhaps because it didn’t rely on abyss energy to keep up.

Tonia looked at him, she had only seen foul legacy once or twice in all this time. He didn’t use it often, after all. Luckily, he could see no fear or disgust in her eyes, just curiosity. “Are you scared?”

“…Worried. It’s quite a distance and if the lava gets us, we’re literally cooked.”

“It won’t. I’m fast,” he assured. “Especially in my foul legacy. Master taught me well, I promise.”

“I don’t doubt that. I’m more worried by the lava taking us by surprise.”

“That’s why I’ll go ahead,” Skirk said quietly. “Last time I passed through here, I got a good look at how the pools behave and I was able to spot where most of the geysers would erupt shortly before they did. I’ll be able to warn you. See that part over there, where there’s that little ledge, about halfway through? I’ll wait over there and keep watch. Once you join me, I’ll go over the rest and watch out again.”

“Are you sure?” Tonia asked.

“I am. It’s easier for me to navigate, I can move faster when I’m not the one carrying you. And I’m a little faster than Ajax anyways. Like this, it should be fine.” And with that, she sped off.

With her immense speed, she was able to dodge the lava geysers as they shot up, sometimes managing to escape within seconds only. Seeing it was a little terrifying, especially thinking he’d have to do the same thing in a couple of moments. Worse, with Tonia on his arm. He had to make sure she’d be safe, wouldn’t slip, wouldn’t get burned. She had taken enough damage already.

He still didn’t know how to step under their parents’ eyes, explaining to them that his little sister had fallen into the abyss while being out and about with him and his husband. Somehow, he felt like a child, watching his younger siblings, going home after they’d fallen and scraped their knees or hands.

It had always made him feel terrible, not only because they’d gotten hurt, but also like he was incapable of watching them. Even if his mother always assured him that things like that just happened. Falling into the abyss didn’t just happen.

“Your turn,” Skirk called from the ledge.

Carefully, he picked Tonia up, pressing her against his body as much as he could without hurting her. Then he started flying, and with a deep breath, shot out into the cavern.

“Go to the left,” Skirk called out immediately, so he complied. Feeling the heat as lava shot up to his right as he went past.

“Stay back, pause.” Again, he complied, lava shooting up in front of them, barely two meters away. “Go, hurry,” she instructed as soon as the stream went back down, so he picked his speed back up.

“Go right.”

“Go left.”

“Left again.”

And with a groan, he finally reached the ledge. It hadn’t been that far of a distance, but the mental strain of keeping up with everything was a lot. He set Tonia down for a moment, sighing.

“Half done,” Tonia said softly, rubbing against his shoulder reassuringly.

“Thankfully.”

“Take a breather, I’ll do the rest in the meantime,” Skirk said, already speeding off again.

“You didn’t get injured, did you?” Tonia asked, looking worried.

He shook his head. “No, don’t worry. Even if, I’m more concerned about you.”

“Morax is going to punt me into the sun if I come back up without you, so you better be careful.”

“He wouldn’t,” he huffed. It hadn’t been that long yet and he already missed his husband. Yearned to be close to him, cuddle with him. Feel the stress and the nerves melt away and letting himself be soothed by the gods’ calm aura.

But it would be a while still before he could do that. He wasn’t sure how much time exactly had passed since they fell in. Keeping track of time in the abyss was hard. Back when he had been here when he was fourteen, he had only been able to keep track of it with Skirk’s’ help.

He wondered what Morax was doing. Was he pacing in front of the hole? Sitting there, waiting, watching? Had he already called upon Xiao to relay a message? Was he worried, scared even? Or calm, trusting that Ajax would be able to bring them both home safely?

Of course, he was aware that thinking about such things was absolutely useless at the moment. But he couldn’t help it. Ever since he’d fallen into the abyss the first time, he hated caves and the like. It wasn’t exactly claustrophobia; he could handle it without panicking. But he still hated them with a passion and wanted to be back outside as fast as possible.

But large parts of the abyss were cave systems. So of course, his thoughts would circle around his husband instead of thinking too hard about where they were. Except when he needed to actually concentrate on his surroundings, which he needed to, but every moment of downtime he was allowed, his thoughts would go back.

They were insanely lucky that Skirk was with them. Yes, he most likely would have managed this all alone with Tonia. He would have had to. But having Skirk here was safety and comfort. She knew much more than him, was much more experienced. He wasn’t foolish or inexperienced, but she was so, so much more than him in any regard. So having her here allowed him to feel a little better.

And because of that, he would keep following her guidance and put his trust into her, as when he was fourteen years old. She hadn’t misled him then, when she had no reason to take him in as her student in the first place. So, she wouldn’t mislead him now, and neither his sister.

“Ready?”

He carefully lifted Tonia into his arms again, once again making sure he was holding onto her tightly. “Ready.”

And with that, he sped off to cross the remaining distance.

Again, Skirk’s watchful gaze and her following instructions led him, managing to cross over the lava pools without getting himself any terrible burns. Under his armor, he could feel the heat, his skin stinging from it.

When they were finally over, he leaned against the wall of the cave and let his foul legacy dissolve. He closed his eyes and breathed for a moment, then summoned some hydro in his hand and started moving it along his arm. The soothing coolness of the hydro did wonders for his heated, slightly reddened skin. He repeated it on his other arm and his face, sighing in relief.

Tonia on the other hand, looked completely unbothered by the heat. No signs of any effects. Even when he asked her, she still insisted that the area didn’t feel uncomfortably hot for her. Meanwhile, he had sweated through his clothes already and got rid of the moisture with a flick of his hand.

His master looked almost as unbothered, perhaps considering a good part of her body wasn’t normal but rather crafted from abyssal energy. So maybe because of that, she was able to handle such temperatures a little better?

“We should keep going for a little more, get away from the heat. Then rest and get some sleep.”

When they arrived in a safer spot, with ample clusters of Irminsul for Tonia to rest by. It would still be better to go somewhere with larger ones, the more abyss energy was accumulating in her, but according to Skirk those roots were large enough to serve their purpose for now.

Ajax insisted on taking the first shift of holding watch, because he was quite sure that Skirk most likely had been awake longer than him. And she did say that the area here was pretty safe, so the possibility of something happening wasn’t quite zero, but on the lower side.

They set up a small fire and Skirk divvied up some dried mystery meat and bread between them. He knew that things in the abyss didn’t taste quite like they did in the overworld, but he still couldn’t help but laugh when Tonia grimaced at the taste of the meat.

“What is this?”

“You don’t want to know, some type of dried abyss monster,” Ajax explained, chuckling. “I’ve had these exact strips more than I can count. Though they usually all taste different, because Master will just dry any protein she can get her hands on and keeps them all mixed in her bag.”

“Weird to think that I’m eating an abyss monster…”

“You ate the crab stew,” he pointed out. “That was an abyss monster, too.”

“But it looked like a normal animal, just really big. Not much of a monster in the classic sense.”

“Still an abyss monster by definition. Any animal down here is one, anything alive down here is. And you’re in the process of becoming one, too.”

“My mind can’t quite settle what to think of this. On one hand, it doesn’t bother me too much. You’re one too, and you’re fine. But I’m still worried and still feel kinda weird…” She admitted softly, staring down at the meat strips in her hand.

Ajax hummed. “That’s normal. I felt like that, too.”

“Except that you already were a menace back then,” Skirk said softly, looking into the fire. “I remember the day we met and you asking if I’d teach you like it was yesterday.”

“There wasn’t much I could have done else,” he replied.

“Any other child that age would likely have cried for their parents and despaired in this place. It was surprising to see how strong you were mentally.”

Ajax huffed. “I had to try and keep it together outwardly. I was sure that if I didn’t, you’d refuse to teach me. And I really wanted to learn from you, after you saved me like that.”

“In the abyss, you can’t be weak. The weak die,” she said.

“I can’t be that weak, then,” Tonia muttered.

“That’s why I’m starting to believe it’s genetic.”

Ajax laughed. “I doubt it is. A massive coincidence is more likely.”

“Maybe because I knew about the abyss because of you. Maybe because of that I wasn’t as scared and didn’t die?”

“Knowing about the abyss from me should make you more afraid, not less.”

“As I fell, I did think that if that’s the abyss, then I have to make it back up to you. That this wouldn’t be the end of me. If you survived, so would I. And when I hit the ground, I noticed my vision in my hand.”

He reached out and brushed over her hair gently. “Whatever it was that saved you, I thank every higher power in existence for it. I was distraught, thinking I’d lost you.”

“I know,” she sighed softly. “I’m sorry for worrying you.”

“Hey, at least now I get to keep you with me forever,” he replied, putting his arm across her shoulders to hug her sideways. “I struggled with knowing that you all would die. So I at least get to have you.”

“I always hated knowing you’ll be alone one day. So I was happy that Morax would be by your side, and all his friends and his parents, too. But now I get to be there, too. And hey, imagine what I can do with a lot of education and such a long life,” she laughed softly. “I could take over for Doctor Baizhu at Bubu Pharmacy. Liyue Harbor would never be without a doctor to help them.”

“Already making plans?” He couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re really something. Even now, you’re just rolling with the punches.”

“Can’t do much else, can I?”

“You could despair. Be scared of the future. Cry. Lots of options,” Skirk muttered, taking a deep breath. “But it seems you are fit for survival. You will thrive once you get the chaos of the abyss taint under control. I can see it in your eyes.”

Tonia looked a little surprised, but there was also a quiet kind of determination emanating from her. It was clear that even if she didn’t yet understand everything, she was set on doing the best she could with whatever hand she was going to be dealt.

For her sake, he hoped whatever creature the abyss made her, was something that was manageable to have. His own body and mind had suppressed the changes from appearing to keep his sanity intact back then. He doubted that the same would happen for Tonia, considering she was aware of the transformation.

“Is she going to learn foul legacy?” Ajax asked. That one was still up in the air.

“She would benefit from it, if she’s strong enough to master it,” Skirk replied. “Of course, it is exhausting to use up in the overworld, with no abyssal power around you. But…”

“But it still makes for a strong defense or offense,” Ajax added. “Even if it can only be kept up for a little while, and takes at least a few minutes, if not hours or days to recover from, depending on usage.”

“Is it that bad?”

“You know how exhausted I was when the Tsaritsa came to Liyue. And I didn’t use my foul legacy long, then, or did a whole lot with it. If I would have done more, it would have taken me days to get my energy back.” Ajax explained. “In the abyss, we can use it indefinitely, because there’s always a lot of abyssal energy around that we can absorb and use as our own energy. But up in the overworld, it relies on our own energy reserves.”

“It’s the same as with my limbs,” Skirk said softly, raising her hand and looking at it. “Down here, I have no problem maintaining them. But if I’m in the overworld for too long, it becomes difficult for me. And without my limbs, I am practically defenseless.”

“So they’re all from abyss energy? How did you lose them, if I may ask?” Tonia looked at her curiously but apologetic.

Skirk just took a breath, and stared at the fire. “They are. Let’s just say that when I became your brothers’ teacher… I did not want to repeat my experiences with my own teacher.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. But thank you. At least like this, sometimes I’m in the right place at the right time.”

“But it’s difficult still.”

“There’s nothing easy in life from start to finish, remember that. The things you want in life, you will have to fight for them. And sometimes, even surviving is a constant fight.”

Tonia nodded.

“Down here, you will learn how to survive. I will teach you how to be a fighter, how to survive things you would have never thought you could. And when you leave, you will be stronger than you ever believed you could ever be.”

Chapter Text

When Tonia woke up again, she still felt heat coursing through her veins. She had felt it before, too. And at first, it had scared her, but she had stayed quiet about it. Instead, she had checked over herself, making sure she didn’t run a fever. But she didn’t. So… She came to the conclusion that it was probably part of the abyss taking hold of her. Or in her. Whatever.

Sure, she could have told Ajax. But she felt if she did, he’d only worry even more than he already did. When she did say that she didn’t find the lava place to be so terribly hot, he’d already been worried. But there had been something about his gaze. Something that told her, that he also thought that it might be the abyss changing her.

She did hope that whatever she was becoming was something interesting. Not something gross, like that half-boiled fish that Skirk mentioned. Slowly, she sat up and leaned her back against the rocky wall. Her long hair was falling over her shoulders. She had tied her hair ribbon around her wrist before she went to sleep, so she wouldn’t lose it. As much as she loved her long hair, if left open and flowing, it could be in the way quite often.

Only a second later did she realize that her hair had changed. Her regular ginger hair was now a bright, fiery red towards the lower part of it, a smooth gradient in between. And her nails had changed as well. Gone were her short, unpolished nails. Replaced with longer, pointy almond shaped ones in a deep golden color.

She moved her hand across the stone floor, nails dragging against it a little. Much to her surprise, there were scratch marks in the stone, even if she’d only made the slightest contact. Blinking slowly, she did it again, more purposefully this time. And indeed, there were deeper marks left in the stone. So, these new nails had to be incredibly sturdy, she doubted that the marks were because of her geo vision, she didn’t feel like she was drawing onto that power at least.

“It’s starting.”

“I already felt it when we were still walking towards the lava room,” she admitted. “I didn’t want to worry Ajax, so I kept quiet. He… I’m his little sister, I don’t think he’s coping well with the situation. Blames himself when he’s not at fault.”

Skirk sat up as well, leaning against the wall next to her. “Understandable. I remember how much he talked about you back then. You kept him going and well, partially sane, at least. If it hadn’t been for you… He might not have made it.”

“I’m worried that being here will bring back his trauma,” she replied quietly. “As much as I’m glad to have him here, I’d like to tell him to go back up and leave me here.”

“He wouldn’t. But also… I don’t think you need to worry about him that much. He’ll be fine. Especially if you’re adapting well, which so far seems to be the case. Takes quite the mental strength.”

“I guess I’m not that scared because I know about what happened to Ajax, and I know you. I trust you two. And I know that this time around, our parents and older siblings will do better than they did with Ajax. The younger two… That will be difficult to handle. But we’ll make it work, one way or another.”

Skirk hummed, reaching out to carefully take her hand into her own. “Those new nails of yours are very strong. A powerful tool. Very good.”

“Can you already tell what I’ll be?”

She shook her head. “It’s too early to tell still. The traits should emerge more within the next couple of hours. Do tell if there’s any discomfort, if you need breaks or anything.”

“I just feel like my blood is hot. It’s strange. But it’s not painful.”

“Something fire-aligned then, most likely. You did not feel bothered by the heat from the lava either… May I try something?”

Quickly, Tonia nodded. “Sure.”

“It might hurt a little, or it might not…” Skirk said absentmindedly, taking a small stick and bending forwards to the fire. As a small flame took hold of the stick, she moved back and took Tonia’s hand again. Slowly, she moved the fire next to her hand, watching her closely.

“You don’t react. I’m holding the flame directly onto your skin, you’re not twitching a single muscle. Do you not feel it?”

“It feels warm. But not the way it would normally do, I’ve burnt myself before.”

Skirk moved the flame away, bringing her hand close to her face to examine it. “No sign of burns. You’re completely unharmed.”

“So… I’m immune to fire, now?” Tonia asked, blinking.

“Seems like it.”

Tonia stayed silent for a moment, contemplating. “That’s pretty cool,” she then said. “Useful.”

Skirk nodded. “Powerful, too. A possible pyro-alignment would prove efficient combined with your geo vision.”

“Throwing lava around at every minor inconvenience,” she joked.

“Better not. Ajax could always put it out with water.”

“I was joking!”

Perhaps she could ask Bonanus, Marchosias, Xiangling, Xinyan and Hu Tao for help. They all had pyro powers, after all. Though Bonanus and Marchosias might be closer to her own, considering they weren’t based on visions. If she asked, they’d surely be willing to help her.

She just hoped that whatever being she was changing into, was something that wouldn’t hinder her studies too long. She wanted to be back at the Akademiya as fast as possible. Every missed lecture would annoy her to no end. After all, she hadn’t worked this hard only to stray from her path now. No, she would keep going, no matter what.

Especially considering she now had a much longer lifespan to look forward to. So, she could accomplish a lot more than she ever would have been able normally. But that didn’t make her feel like taking her sweet time. Rather it fueled her determination even more. Just what would she be able to do with this long life? Make the best use of this unlimited time that was granted to her?

Right now… She really felt like learning as much as she could. Becoming an herbalist and doctor would be beneficial for the harbor. Doctor Baizhu had quietly expressed how he hoped to live long enough to fully train someone else with his own knowledge, not wanting to leave Liyue Harbor without a doctor.

Of course, he had Gui who he was working with closely and training. But he too, was mortal. Perhaps the doctor would be amenable to fully take her under his wing and teach her everything he knew, so that they would never be without a doctor. Maybe she could even travel to other nations too, learn the local doctors’ wisdom as well. And maybe, with her long lifespan, she’d be able to keep improving the recipes and come up with new ones, too.

With unlimited time to learn any skill she wanted, there were no limits on what she might be able to do one day. After all, Morax also had a seemingly never-ending number of skills. She couldn’t help but look forward to becoming like this as well, being so capable and knowledgeable. Perhaps that way, she would be able to give back a little bit for all the help she’d received ever since she got to Liyue.

“Do tell us if you start feeling badly,” Skirk said quietly, watchful gaze on her. “Both Ajax and I are intimately familiar with what the abyss does to your body, so you don’t need to try and play it off.”

“I will. For now, it’s not too uncomfortable.”

“It has begun?” Ajax asked, looking at her. She hadn’t noticed him waking up, engrossed in her own thoughts as she had been.

She nodded. “Quite clearly, yes.”

Her brother moved over to her, kneeling down next to her. Careful, he picked up a lock of her hair, looking at the new color gradient. “Your hair changed.”

“My nails too,” she replied, lifting up her hands.

He made a thoughtful noise. “Reminds me of Xiao’s.”

“They’re pretty sturdy. I can scratch the rock with no effort.”

“Impressive,” Ajax said softly, sighing. “It’s going to take a while to get used to this. Experiencing the abyss is something I never wanted for you.”

“It’s not so terrible with the two of you. I’m more worried about what’ll happen once we’re home again. I… don’t think that we can fool the boys this time. They’re not as gullible as they were when they were younger.”

“I’ve thought about that, too. We’ll have to see how it goes.”

“To be fair, if I do tell them I fell into the abyss and it changed me, they might not connect that to you. They might still believe what you told them. So you might be in the clear. I wouldn’t want to out you like that, either. But I have a hard time coming up with a fake explanation.”

Ajax sat down next to her, groaning quietly. “I know, I know. It might just be time for me to come clear, too. I just feel they’re still so young…”

“You’ll always see them as babies,” she hummed. “Just like me. We’re you’re little siblings, it’s natural. You’ll always want to protect us from the harsh realities of the world.”

“I guess so, yes. I know Anton is around the age you were when I was exiled, and we moved to Liyue. Both of them are way older than you were when I fell into the abyss. And you’d always known, kind of. I couldn’t protect you from the knowledge then, because I was struggling too much myself. That’s why I wanted to protect them.”

“Sometimes life doesn’t work out the way we want it to. You’d know.”

He grimaced, looking pained. “I know. But as your older brother, it’ll always be my wish to protect you all, as you said. We’ll have to figure it out once we’re back home.”

“And I’ll have to figure out how to keep studying.”

“If you feel well enough, you can just go. Don’t let changed looks stop you. I mean… If you’re stronger than me, you can just own this whole abyss-thing, you know. I kept it to myself mostly, even if just to keep a secret ace up on my sleeve. Which was an important thing to have in the fatui. But if you feel confident enough, you don’t have to. The people in the Akademiya would probably get a kick out of it and want to be friends just to hear about your experience in the abyss.”

Tonia laughed. “Maybe. I could. Might be the best option, just flat-out telling people I’ve fell into the abyss and survived.”

“It’s almost unheard of, after all,” Skirk said. “You might get popular.”

“I don’t really care for being popular. I’d rather have genuine friends. But it’d be better than lying and eventually being caught because I stumble over details,” she replied, brushing her fingers across the ground, feeling it give way underneath her nails. It was quite fascinating, wasn’t it? What else was she going to be able to do, once the abyss had fully changed her?

“I wonder how much time has passed in the overworld by now,” Ajax said quietly, looking a little worried. “It’s always hard to keep track of time down here.”

“Time goes slower up there, do you think anyone knows what happened yet? Apart from Morax, I mean?”

“It’s probably only been around one day down here, so not much time has passed up there. So, I doubt it. For Morax, it’s probably barely been an hour since we last spoke. I’d assume our family doesn’t know yet.”

She sighed softly, moving her neck a little until there was a satisfying cracking. “Well, we can’t do anything about that now. We’ll just have to make the best of the situation down here and trust Morax to handle it up there.”

Ajax’s eyes went soft, his hand brushing over the pendant of his scale necklace, tracing along Morax’ scale. “We know he does.”

“Probably much better than either of us,” she added. “I wonder if he’ll be excited about my geo vision.”

“He will be, trust me. Probably can’t wait to start teaching you all the tricks. Knowing him, he’s thinking of a teaching curriculum as we speak.”

Tonia laughed softly, feeling warm fondness well up inside her. In all this time, Morax had been the greatest brother-in-law that she could have ever wished for. She understood why Ajax had fallen for him. There was something about the quiet strength of his support, the way he just was there, and you knew you could count on him to help you, no matter what.

It was a kind of support that Ajax hadn’t known after returning from the abyss. So of course, it made him feel safe. And with how Morax liked to talk to people, but more so listen to them and understand them, hear their stories and experiences without judgement… Ajax had finally felt seen, understood and supported.

Even if sometimes, she still thought how crazy it was that her brother-in-law was the oldest of the seven archons.

Probably because most of the time, he was just Morax. Who seemed quite normal, even if the way he carried himself surely wasn’t ordinary. But it became clearer when he casually talked about things several thousand years ago. His divinity only really ever became very obvious when he was fulfilling his more ceremonial roles. And of course, back when he’d fought against the Tsaritsa.

She could imagine him up there now, probably wanting to move heaven and earth so that Ajax and she would be safe. But the abyss was the one place where he couldn’t reach, where even the mighty geo archon had no influence.

Surely, he trusted in Ajax’ abilities. He couldn’t know that they were with Skirk, had her help and support too. But most likely, he was up there, fully trusting in how capable his husband was. And in the fact that this was where Ajax knew how to survive.

Which was what she trusted into, as well. Skirk and Ajax would help her survive, learn her new abilities and bring her back home safe. Different, but alive. Just like how Ajax had returned back then. Well, just not with the same amount of trauma, most likely.

After they’d silently eaten their breakfast, they kept going. Keeping the heat of the lava behind them, as they further descended into the abyss. It was darker here, but not dark enough for her to not see anything.

Once in a while, Ajax gave her a strange look. It was probably hard on him, seeing her change in real time. Seeing what the abyss made of her, when he hadn’t known about the extent of his own change until over a decade later. For her, while it felt strange… It wasn’t too terrible. Considering it wasn’t painful, she could deal with it.

“Tonia… Do you not have trouble seeing?” Ajax asked after some time of him walking behind her.

“Huh? No, why?”

“It’s almost pitch-black darkness,” Skirk pointed out. “I’ve been following your lead for a while, and I assume that Ajax has as well.”

“Mhm,” her brother hummed, affirmative. “Sure have.”

She blinked, feeling a little flustered. After all, she didn’t know where to go. Then again, there only was this corridor, so no way to really get lost. But there had been tripping hazards and sharp rocks from overhead.

“I could have sworn it only got slightly darker…”

“I would have long since ran into a wall if I wasn’t able to see you still.” Ajax admitted. “Seems like you’ve got good vision in the dark.”

“Seems like it…”

“It’s useful,” Skirk said flatly. “Gives you an advantage above others. And advantages are always good.”

She nodded, even if she wasn’t sure that the other two could even see it. “As a child, I used to read in the dark with a candle. Our mother was always worried I’d set the house on fire in the night.”

Behind her, Ajax chuckled. “Right. No need to worry about that anymore now.”

There was a painful pang in her chest when she thought of their parents. Ajax had such a hard time with them after he’d returned from the abyss. They knew better now and she felt they’d surely do better with her. Maybe even more so to try and make up for how wrong they’d acted with him.

But it surely would hurt him, too. Seeing how different they’d treat her. Of course, he’d be happy for her. Knowing she wouldn’t have to endure what he did. But she couldn’t help but feel a little guilty because he should have had that, too.

Instead, he spent years feeling like he was no longer a proper part of their family. Someone unwelcome who they begrudgingly allowed to visit for the sake of the younger ones. Which hadn’t really been the case, but it had appeared like that to him.

He’d gone through so much trauma, so many difficulties, at such a young age. Far younger than she was now. Stars, at her age he’d already been a harbinger! She had been aware of these things when she was younger. But somehow now, it was worse. Maybe because she too, was older now. Because she better understood just how young her brother had been, when his whole world had flipped upside down and became a constant fight for survival and power.

Considering that, she was even more happy that his life was so different now. He no longer needed to fight, he only did so for fun or to help the adventurers’ guild. Well, and now to help her. But once they were out of here, they could return to their normal life.

Well, whatever her new normal was going to look like, at least.

Chapter Text

Xiao sat in the sun-warmed grass, polishing his spear. He did so meticulously, making sure it was shiny and well taken care of. It absolutely wasn’t the second time in two days that he did this, just to take his mind off other things. And those other things definitely had nothing to do with a certain blonde travelers’ brother.

He really was very much like his sister, patient and understanding. Well, at least that was his impression after spending a couple of hours with him. Admittedly, also quite capable in combat. Which was to be expected, honestly. Anything less than Lumine’s own skill would have been a disappointment. Just like her, he favored a sword as his weapon. Admittedly, he had nitpicked a little when he pointed out that Aether might be easily distracted.

 “Xiao, could you spare a moment?” His father’s voice resounded in the wind around him. He blinked and let his weapon disappear. After all, it was clean already anyways.

Quickly, he used his anemo powers to reappear right next to his father, who stood in front of a large hole in the ground. The god immediately held out his arm protectively, making sure Xiao wouldn’t get to close. He stared down into it with a tight, worried expression, the set of his jaw tense.

“Is something the matter? You don’t look good…”

“I… was out with Tonia and Ajax,” he began. “Tonia ran off because she wanted to collect some more plants. The ground opened up beneath her and swallowed her.”

Xiao blinked. “Where is she, I’ll heal-“

“She fell into the abyss.”

The yaksha’s eyes widened. “Oh no.”

“She survived the fall. I can feel her; she received a geo vision as she fell. Of course, Ajax jumped straight after her to make sure she’d have someone helping her,” His father explained. “They’ve been gone for three hours now; I intend to stay here to stand watch.”

“You need me to pass the information on to the others, in case it takes hours more,” Xiao guessed, likely correctly. After all, he’s known him for long enough, knew how dedicated the man was to the ones he cherished. “Because you refuse to move until they’re safely back with you.”

The man nodded. “Please. Inform Ajax parents, and mine too. So, they won’t worry if we don’t return for a while longer.”

Xiao swallowed and nodded, trying not to let the cold dread he felt distract him. Over the years, he’d bonded with Tonia, as if she was his own sister. Her usually calm demeanor had been a little easier for him than Ajax’ younger brothers, who were still very much children at the time and needed a little more patience on his part. Their overexcited nature was something that he hadn’t encountered much so far, so it had taken a little more time to bond with them. But at this point, they were all one large family.

If she had received a vision and Morax still felt her, then she was still alive. And he was sure that Ajax would be alive, too. It was familiar terrain for him, after all, even if the abyss was different in different places. He would know what to do down there.

“I will forward the message,” he replied quietly. “Is there anything you need that I can bring you?”

His father shook his head. “I’m fine, thank you. The most important thing is that they’re informed. I do hope they’ll be back in a couple of hours, Ajax said they might need a week or two down there. Abyss-time, of course. So that would be… Around half a day for us.”

Xiao sighed. “Couple more hours left then. You must be worried out of your mind.”

“I trust in Ajax’ strength. But the abyss is unpredictable, and I can’t help them from here. All I can do is keep my promise and wait.”

Someone who knew him for less long probably would not have noticed the expression on his face and the tenseness of his posture. He was worried but tried not to focus on it too much. Trying to ground himself, to trust in his husband’s strength and ability, even if it was dangerous. He’d looked the same when Ajax had gone to help with the situation in Fontaine not long after their wedding.

Understandably, he was still scared of losing him, even if he was a skilled fighter and near-immortal. Immortality of their kind still meant that you could be killed, after all. And the abyss was filled to the brim with monsters of all kinds, one deadlier than the next.

“Will you be alright?” He asked, looking at him carefully.

His father nodded, reaching out to squeeze at his shoulder. Ever so slightly, he smiled. “I will, don’t worry. But thank you.”

Xiao took a breath. “Fine. I’ll be off then.”

And with that, he made his way to Liyue Harbor, to enter the domain. Steeling himself for how worried everyone would be, while he still felt his insides twist uncomfortably himself. He only hoped that this time, mistakes of the past wouldn’t be repeated.

When he reached the house in the realm, where Ajax’ parents lived with their three youngest children, he couldn’t help but feel nervous. He didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but there was no other way. Plus, the news weren’t all that bad. After all, she was still alive. Well, for now.

But he really hoped this wouldn’t change, especially considering he knew how much she meant to Ajax. So, chances were that Tonia would only die over Ajax’ own dead body. And that… would probably mean the end of Liyue, drowning in the sea after a massive earthquake caused by the grieving geo archon. He shook his head quickly, trying to get rid of these thoughts. Hopefully, it would all turn out fine.

Carefully, he knocked at the door. It didn’t take long for Nastja to open, smiling at him warmly. “Xiao. What a surprise.”

“Hello. Is Ivan home as well?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“The boys are at school still?”

Again, a nod. Slowly, her gaze became worried. “Yes. Is anything the matter?”

“… there is. I need to talk to the two of you, but you should perhaps be seated. May I come in?”

Her eyes widened. “Who died?”

“Nobody. But there is… a situation.” Xiao groaned. “Baba shouldn’t have sent me, he knows I’m not good with words.”

“Your usual directness might be preferred,” Nastja replied, moving her hand to coax him into the house. “Ivan is in the living room, let’s go there. If nobody died… Someone is injured?”

“Maybe. We don’t fully know what’s going on. Well… Baba can’t monitor the situation as close as he’d like.”

Nastja led him inside to the living room, where Ivan sat with his reading glasses on, a book on his lap. He looked up when they entered, looking curious when he saw Xiao. Naturally, he usually wasn’t just coming here for no reason.

He sat down opposite of the man, taking a breath. Immediately, Nastja sat down a cup of tea in front of him, and he thanked her quietly. She sat down next to Ivan, who put a bookmark in between the pages, putting the book down onto the coffee table. Then, he folded his glasses and put them on top of it.

“So…?” Nastja looked at him, gaze worried.

“I… There’s not really a gentle way to say this. I take it you know that Tonia was out and about with Ajax and baba, right?”

The two humans nodded.

“She ran ahead, and the ground gave out underneath her.”

“Please tell me she’s not dead,” Ivan pressed out.

“Last we know, no. But… She fell into the abyss. Baba felt that she gained a geo vision, and he can still feel her. So, she is still alive. And Ajax immediately jumped in after her to help her. Considering time in the abyss flows differently, they might be back in hours, or in days. And she… well. Will most likely be different when she returns.”

“Like Ajax,” Nastja said quietly. “When he first came back.”

“Well, she might not be like that. From what he told me I know he was constantly in survival mode. We know Ajax. He wouldn’t want her to become like that. So, I’m sure he’s going to do whatever he can so that her experience is better, even if only slightly. And the abyss is vastly different in different areas, so where they are might not be as dangerous as where he was.”

“But she’ll… change into something, too, right?” Ivan asked.

Xiao sighed. “I’d assume so, yes. But Ajax is already experienced with that, so he’s helping her through it. I’m confident her experiences will be better than Ajax’ then. Especially since I’m sure she’ll have the support of her family.”

Immediately, the two of them looked guilty. Ivan bit his cheek. “Something we weren’t able to give to Ajax back then.”

“But you’ll be able to make good on past mistakes now. It would also show him that you learned from the whole ordeal,” he replied, reaching for the tea and taking a slow sip. “So surely, she won’t act out the way Ajax did.”

Nastja took a shivered breath, looking worried. She ran one hand down her face. Her husband gently put a hand on her arm, squeezing it. Comforting her.

He couldn’t help but wonder if it was nice, having someone by your side like this. Of course, he had his family. But it might be different with a partner. He shook his head, chasing the thoughts away.

“She’ll be fine, I’m sure. You know Ajax. He’ll do anything to keep her safe.” She said, voice a little unsteady even though she tried to come across confident.

“That, he’ll do. But we still can’t help but worry. The things she’ll experience down there…” Ivan said quietly. “We only know part of what happened to Ajax, and it was already bad.”

“Tonia is strong. If anything, she’s probably excited about her shiny new vision.” Xiao reasoned.

The man chuckled. “Geo. Fits with how headstrong she is. Morax blessed her in the opportune moment, even if it wasn’t done consciously.”

“We’ll inform our older children. The boys… We’ll have to think about what to tell them. They don’t know about Ajax’ true experience yet, after all…” Nastja sighed. “I do not want to tell them, Ajax said he wants to wait…”

“Then perhaps it’d be best to wait with them until they’re back. Tell the others but let the boys be. And once they’re back, we’ll bring Tonia into Morax’ and Ajax’ house first. The boys won’t question if they don’t see Tonia for a few days, after all she does stay in her dorm sometimes,” Xiao suggested.

“Sounds like a plan,” Ivan replied. “Then we can come up with ideas. They won’t question if we go over to their house, either. We’ll just have to be careful if they go.”

Xiao looked at him firmly. “We’ll manage. We’ll all work together.”

Nastja nodded. “Thank you for coming to tell us.”

“Baba keeps protecting the area and keeping an eye on the hole, so he’ll immediately see when they’re back. We’ll come get you as soon as we can.” He said, emptying the last of his tea.

Again, she nodded. “Thank you.”

Finding his grandparents wasn’t hard either, hearing his grandmother’s soft singing through the garden. They sat underneath one of the trees together, her singing and embroidering a piece of fabric, his grandfather humming along to her singing while he bent thin metal wire into shapes. Likely working on some kind of jewelry for his wife.

They looked up at him as he approached, smiling immediately. It often still surprised him immensely how they’d immediately accepted him as if he was their flesh and blood, treating him as their grandson. Ever gentle and sweet, caring and warm. The way he’d always heard humans speak of their grandparents.

Telling them would be easier. After all, it wasn’t directly their own child that was in danger. Of course, they were also quite attached to Ajax and Tonia, so it would shock them as well. But there was less… tact needed. He could just flat out tell them, pretty much. And being inhuman themselves, hearing about the potential change to Tonia would surprise them less either.

Though, admittedly, their parents had reacted surprisingly calm. Might have been the initial shock, too. Or simply the fact that for them, it mattered more that she was alive after all, no matter if she now was an abyss monster herself. Which definitely was Ajax’ viewpoint as well. He knelt down in the grass, feeling how warm it had gotten from the sun.

“Baba sent me to inform you two as well,” he said. “When they were out this morning, Tonia ran ahead, and the ground gave way beneath her. Below was an entry point to the abyss.”

“Oh no,” his grandmother said softly.

“She should be okay. Baba said she received a geo vision as she fell, so he could feel her presence. Ajax jumped after her. So now they’re down there, making sure Tonia gets the abyss taint under control, like Ajax did.”

His grandfather furrowed his brows ever so slightly. “She’ll change, too, right? Like Ajax did, becoming something not human.”

Xiao nodded. “For sure, I’d say. Not that I know everything about it, but when it happened to Ajax, I imagine it’ll happen to her, too. Once they’re back out in… well, hopefully a few hours, we’ll bring them into the palace. The boys can’t know Tonia is here while she recovers, Nastja and Ivan will tell them that she’s staying in her dorm for a while.”

“That’s smart. That way she can take some time to herself and relax, coming to terms with the changes and all that. She might not have time for that while they’re down there…” His grandmother replied.

“Yes. Baba is staying there, standing watch until they’re back. I’ll go back to him soon, but I think I’ll stop by Wanmin first and get some food and tea. He shouldn’t neglect himself as he waits, but I also know him well enough that he doesn’t want to move away in case they’ll reappear quicker than he thinks.”

“I’m sure he’ll appreciate it a lot,” his grandfather said with a smile.

“There were enough times where he took care of me,” he replied quietly. “It’s only right that I give something back when I can.”

“Even if he doesn’t expect it.”

“Especially because of that. Family takes care of one another. So, I’ll help any way I can. It might be best if I stay with him until they’re back, in case they need to be healed. Depending on injuries, any delay might be a problem.”

Lian smiled warmly, nodding. “I’m sure Morax will be glad to have your company. He’ll likely feel a bit calmer, knowing you’ll be there and ready to help if they come back injured. Hopefully, they won’t. But, well… According to Ajax, the abyss is unpredictable. So, we have to assume…. Maybe not the worst, but better to be prepared for them to come back injured.”

Her husband hummed in agreement. “We’ll prepare everything here. Please tell Morax. He won’t have to worry about anything. This too, we shall work out as a family.”

“I will, thank you. I’ll leave now, get food and go back to him.” And with that, he sped to the exit, back to Liyue Harbor.

Once there, he picked up to-go boxes and bottles of tea from Wanmin. Marchosias was very busy manning the restaurant, that had significantly grown in size in the last three years, alone that day. But he made quick work of his order. The food already smelled delicious from the containers, so he was hopeful that his father would get hungry a little from the smell alone.

Of course, in a situation like this, worry surely took over and prevented him from truly noticing any needs like this. But Ajax would be angry if he heard that his husband had neglected himself like that, and so he was determined to at least make sure that he ate some of the food. Even if he only ate half of it, that was better than not eating at all. And he’d also ordered osmanthus tea, hoping its gentle floral and sweet taste would entice him to drink.

It reminded him a little bit of when he’d first arrived at guili assembly. When he hadn’t wanted to eat at first, because he had been too scared of the foreign environment and people. It had taken them a little while to coax him into eating, eventually succeeding with some sweet berry pie. He hadn’t ever had actual sweet food before, so his curiosity outweighed his wariness.

Sure, the dreams he had devoured tasted sweet too. But it was different, dreams or nightmares weren’t actual sustenance for him. It was… comparatively, more similar to hard candy. You had the taste in your mouth, but your body would still deteriorate if it wouldn’t get actual food.

Back then, he had only survived because of the kindness of the people he now called his family. Even if there was no blood relation whatsoever, these people were the only family he had ever known. And he’d do his best to be just as supportive as they had been towards him over the years.

Getting back to his father was a matter of seconds, and he quickly saw that nothing had changed in the little while that he’d been gone. They still hadn’t returned. His father still sat on the stone chair that he’d summoned, staring at the hole, only now noticing his arrival.

“Ah, I didn’t expect you to come back.”

“Of course, I thought I’d let you know that I’ve informed them. So far it seems the best course of action will be to bring them to the palace, so they can recover. And so, the boys won’t see them. After all, they still don’t know what happened to Ajax. Your parents told me to pass onto you that they’ll prepare everything, you don’t have to worry about anything.”

“That’s great, thank you so much.”

Xiao took out one of the to-go containers and one bottle of tea and handed it to him, chuckling at his surprised expression. “You have to eat. Ajax will be mad at you if you don’t take care of yourself. And if this takes longer than a couple more hours, I’ll make you go home and sleep for a while. I’ll keep watch during that time.”

“But- what if something happens at Wangshu Inn and they need you?”

He huffed softly. “Have you forgotten I have four siblings that are just as capable? They’ll have it under control without me for a while. And if push comes to shove, I could always come get you again. It takes me maybe ten seconds.” With a hum, he took out his own container. “And I thought time might pass a bit quicker with some company. Plus, once they come back, they might need healing. Except you’d prefer to be alone, of course.”

His father looked at him, gaze warm and gentle. “Thank you. I’d love some company.”

And with that, he waved his hand, summoning another chair and a table in between them, angled so that they could still keep watch on the hole.