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As the seasons go by, Xiao found himself gradually becoming thankful for the once-cruel truth that he was alive.
The Adeptus once despised his immortality.
This body, frozen in time on the outside, yet agonizing and rotting with each passing millennia on the inside.
This mind that observes and begs itself to forget, though faces and sounds from lifetimes ago still haunted him whenever darkness invades his vision.
This power, this duty that lies upon his shoulders, the eternal title of “ the Vigilant Yaksha” that he cannot bring himself to forsake, though the contract that bound him to it in the first place had long been terminated.
He detested the pain, the karmic debt that seems to rip him apart limb to limb every night the moon hides behind the cloudy sky.
Given half the chance, Xiao would have thrown it all away, if it meant that his release would be the salvation of somebody else. Otherwise – Xiao thought – he had no right to die.
His world had been darkness and bloodshed. It always had been. Should have remained that way. How dare he begs to differ, after all the sins he had committed?
And yet, she came along, and suddenly he felt like breathing again.
The Traveler, so patient and true, reached out to him when the world said he didn’t want anything to do with the mortal realms ( He truly did not).
The Honorary Knight of Monstadt, who had the privilege of seeing him as a tool, yet his name never quite rang a bell in her stubborn mind as she stood firm on her ground against all foes until she cannot find the strength to continue her fight.
The Hero of Liyue, who brought him handmade Almond Tofu and Qingxin flowers every evening, telling him all about her unique adventures and tiring commissions, and never failed to shoot him the sincerest smiles and the purest, most adoring glances of golden shine.
The Liberator of Inazuma, who ventured the perilous and cursed Chasm for his sake, and told him he could stay by her side to his heart’s desire, despite his ongoing protest of not letting others be tainted by his karmic debts.
Lumine, who he had sworn he’d use his everything to protect. Lumine, who refused to let go of his hands and shouted a tearful “ I love you”. Lumine, who showed him that there was nothing wrong with loving and being loved.
Lumine, his light, his melody, his Goddess, the love of his life.
Two thousand years ago, in red robes, lanterns, and the blessings of Teyvat, their souls and fates were forever intertwined.
And today, Lumine…
The wooden door flung open and slammed mercilessly against the wall with no mercy, gaining the attention of a man pleasantly enjoying his evening tea on the armchair right opposite it.
“ X-Xiao…”
In the doorway, a frail woman shivered, braided blonde hair messy and unchecked, as if she was in a rush. She was breathing heavily, the corners of her eyes red and swollen, and in her hand, a golden folder was clutched so tightly it could rip apart. The man in green shot up from his chair and in a blink of an eye, his arms were supporting her waist and shoulder, his amber eyes flaring up with anxiety and concern.
“ Lumine, sit down first, then tell me what happened.”
“ No, Xiao, this is…I…” The tighter Xiao’s grip on her got, the more she trembled. His mind was racing in a million different directions, and so was his heart. He had not seen his wife like this in centuries. Not since the last time Aether and Paimon departed for another journey. Something couldn’t have happened to him, could it? Did he finally come to give his final goodbye? Or perhaps, it was something much, much worse-
Xiao’s train of thought was cut short when Lumine escaped his grip and tackled him to the ground, locking him in a bone-breaking hug, her face covered deep into his chest.
“ L-Lumine? Lumine, talk to me, tell me what happened.” He tried to keep his voice as composed as possible, but his arms were already protectively shielding her back, preparing for whatever the ex-Traveler had to say. He felt water staining his shirt and the heat of her breaths hitting violently against his skin. “ Whatever it is, I will be there by your side, do not be afraid.”
His words only made her shaking worse. He attempted more: rubbing circles on her back, kissing and patting the top of her head, and even her favourite: whispering into her ears his sweetest “ I love you”s, yet Lumine said nothing, just snuck a little closer to him with every action. Xiao did not rush his lover. Time was the one thing he never doubted he could give her.
After a while, Lumine seems to have calmed down. She lifted her face once to look at him, consumed his entire existence with her stare, the corner of her lips trying their best to not form a visible upward curl, and she went back to hiding in his chest. An inaudible sigh of relief escaped Xiao. ‘ Not bad news then.’ His fingers combed her hair time and time again, undoing her braids and putting the stray hair from all that ruckus back into line. He tried to reposition them, gently sweeping Lumine’s legs off the floor and letting them fall to a side, careful not to form a distance between them. His wife’s embrace got even tighter. Xiao waited.
And that was when his eyes fell once more on the golden folder, now lying flat on the floor next to them. Whatever Lumine had witnessed, Xiao had a gut feeling it was related to what this folder contained. He withdrew a hand from Lumine’s back and tilted forward to reach the item. But as if she was dissatisfied with the motion, the ex-Traveler leapt out of his arms and quickly hid the folder behind her back.
“ No peeking, Xiao. I want to tell you this myself.” Sensing the visible confusion of her husband, Lumine gave him a reassuring smile, to which Xiao returned with an understanding nod. “ For now,” Lumine stood up and took a deep breath, pulling Xiao up too as she did “ Would you like to go on a walk?”
Xiao observed his wife’s expression, looking for a clue as to why she was acting so strangely, but to no avail. Silently, he gave in and headed to the coat hanger for a sweater. “ Where are we going?”
She simply grinned.
“ Just follow me.”
It was an hour of silence. Neither Lumine nor Xiao uttered a word, just soft breaths and the rustling of fallen leaves as they trek through the darkness of Mount Aocang, where they now call their home. Cloud Retainer had always been rather fond of the “ fated lovers” – as the Adepti circle would call Lumine and Xiao- though she refused to admit so. But when she called the two over to her side to ‘ leave the place in their care’ when it was time for her to ascend, no confessions were needed. Instead, as a reciprocation for her affection, a humble wooden house was built beside the jade-coloured lake, overlooking what used to be the respected Adepti’s domain, keeping it safe and undisturbed for thousands of years.
The silence was present, still. But through the way Lumine’s fingers intertwined with Xiao, her thumb caressing the side of his palm, how he returned her tightening grip every few minutes, they understood all that had to be said. Still, Xiao wondered, what in the mortal and Celestial Realm had bestowed his beloved – the Witness of all this land and the worlds beyond had to offer – such childlike excitement.
Though he had promised not to use Adepti Arts on Lumine without her permission, the curiosity was quite a challenge to contain. So, the Adeptus figured, perhaps a tiny bit of insight on her emotional wavelengths would not be so bad as an intrusion. Xiao closed his eyes, and focused.
‘ Lumine.’
As the chant was whispered in his mind, Xiao felt as if he was being embraced by a wave of stars.
Even when the winds of Liyue’s fall brought goosebumps to one’s skin, Xiao thought his entire body bathed in Monstadt’s spring sunlight, and his soul the melodies of their finest bards. He tried hard to steady his steps when he was already levitating somewhere high above the clouds. And though Xiao still counted his breaths, dear Rex Lapis, he could have sworn someone had taken them away.
This sensation – so foreign, so surreal, so phenomenal – even all the most majestic dreams he had consumed lifetimes ago combined could not match this divine feeling Xiao was harbouring in his chest. These were the overflowing emotions that Lumine was trying so hard to hide under the burning constellations in her eyes.
Lumine stopped and turned to him. She smirked.
“ Xiao, you were trying to connect with my emotions, weren’t you?”
“ How did you-“ Xiao’s face instantly flushed, but before he could finish his sentence, Lumine’s hands already cupped his cheek.
“ This, silly.”
Xiao raised a hand to feel his face, searching for the evidence that exposed him. And,
“ Oh.”
On his lips, boldly and confidently, was a smile that had long sneaked its way to his face outside his knowledge and control. Not that soft smile Lumine had taught him to make. A whole new one – an ear-to-ear smile, and somehow he cannot shake it off despite his outrageous humiliation. The woman in front of him busted out laughing so heartily it woke the nearby family of birds from their slumber, and she had to lean onto a tree to prevent herself from tripping. Xiao’s face was comparable to a Jueyun Chili, yet he too started laughing, even louder than Lumine ( he blames it on the airy, fluffy thing that was blooming inside his chest).
“ Lumine, now I’m truly curious.” The Adeptus took the chance to state his question after finally calming down. “ What is...this? What made you feel this way?”
The ex-Traveler wiped a tear out of her eye and finally stood up properly again. “ You’ll have to be patient, my dear. I can’t tell you before we reach that place.”
“ Is that so?” Xiao stared at Lumine.
“ Yes, absolutely.” Lumine nodded.
“ Alright then.”
In a flash of black and teal mist, the two of them were nowhere to be found.
The blonde lady landed gracefully on the wooden planks, her hand still lingering on her husband’s, which was wrapped around her waist. “ Dear me, you’ve read my mind. You are still as keen as ever, Adeptus Xiao.”
They arrived at a very familiar spot. This was their rendezvous for every Lantern Rite and Moonchase Festival, a place for them to go back every time the flows of time sweep their newfound connections away too unforgiving, too fast. Somehow, Wangshu Inn stood strong through the highs and lows of Liyue, and as if the watch tower itself had gained the immortality that the lovers share, its presence – from the structure to the atmosphere and the memories – they seem to have been frozen in time.
“ Do not underestimate the power of the Adepti,” Xiao smirked. “ And you have not forgotten your godlike reflexes, Traveler.”
Lumine shot Xiao a sly look, her index finger masterfully tracing the Adeptus’ jawline. “ It’s not like you ever let me forget.”
In response, he snaked his left arm around her waist and pulled her closer, catching her chin the moment she planned to look away and forcing her to look him straight in the eye.
“ You are stalling. My patience is thinning, starlight.”
Lumine’s eyes slightly widened, but they soon melted into a warm, loving gaze. She cupped his cheeks and pulled his face lower so her lips were adjacent to his ears. He surrendered himself completely, resolving to bury his face in the crane of her neck, waiting for her signal.
“ Xiao, do you still remember the day before we got married?” She spoke at last, in the form of a whisper.
“ What a silly question. I always will.”
“ Then, I will give you a test.” Lumine gently removed herself from Xiao’s embrace, and to the Adeptus’ dismay, she walked away while muttering something under her breath. Finally, she stopped at the railing of Wangshu Inn’s top floor, the majestic silver glow of the moon dressing her in a godly aura. Xiao motioned forward, aiming for the position right next to her, but was stopped at his track
“ I counted my steps. We are exactly three steps away from each other. Tell me the three things we promised each other that night, and you may take one step with each correct answer.”
At his wife’s determination on completing this ‘ test’, Xiao decided not to give any snarky remarks. Furthermore, he was eager to find out what awaited him on the other side of this easy win.
“ You are unimaginable, but this is nothing I cannot oblige.”
Xiao took his first step with no hesitation.
“ The first promise: Treasure our own lives and each other’s lives for all of eternity. Because what is the meaning to stay in this world if you aren’t by my side.”
Lumine hummed, satisfied. “ The second?”
“ To share all pain and joy alike, and no burden should be carried alone, no matter the circumstances.” Xiao took another step.
At this point, Lumine could no longer contain her smile. She hid her hands behind her back, summoning the golden folder she had kept hidden, and prompted Xiao one last time. “ You’re doing wonderful, my beloved. Now, for the final one.”
“ The final oath between us is one that we have both agreed to keep at bay until the time is right. That is-“ Before the last step was taken, something clicked in Xiao’s mind.
Lumine’s frantic form, her shimmering eyes.
The golden folder she tried so hard to keep from his sight.
Her silly, unexplainable smiles. That divine flush of emotions he felt in her heart on the way.
No, not just those. The clues trace further back. For the last few weeks, Lumine had been refusing some of her favourite dishes. She woke up earlier than usual, and her sleep had been disrupted not once but several times by feelings of nausea, which they had both assumed to be caused by her new eating patterns. And just that morning, she would refuse to let Xiao tag along with her to wherever she was going, when she had never denied him a walk.
Oh, Celestia. Dear Rex Lapis.
How could he have not suspected a thing?
" Lumine..." The Adeptus' step came to a halt as he tried desperately to condition his breathing. " Lumine, you... It can't be. Please tell me I am being foolish."
Lumine struggled to stay in place when all she wanted to do right now was leap into Xiao's arms and whisper to him time and time again, the thing they have both prayed for - yearned for - all these millennia. She took out from the golden folder a single piece of paper, and though Xiao could not make out the exact content of the thing, the iconic red symbol of Liyue's Maternity Hospital stood out from the rest.
" You have to finish the game, Xiao. Come on, push forward for me." An encouraging gaze was sent Xiao's way, and subsequently, the breathtaking sight of Lumine lovingly resting her palm on her belly, an adoring smile blooming on her lips. " For us."
Xiao stepped forward, but he could have sworn he was stumbling. Balance was no longer a concept existing in his mind. Time and space, Adepti and mortals, Archons and Celestia, karma and justice, he no longer knew of any of those things. Xiao could feel his entire life shaken to the core, as he mustered the very last of his strength to fulfil the promise of putting this expired game to an end.
" Our third and final promise, the dream we have been harbouring for all this time..." The Adeptus looked into the depth of Lumine's eyes one more time, and there, he found the answer he had been looking for - the sweet harvest for all the pain and suffering they had endured for this world. His arms no longer lingered on his side, and instead wrapped around his wife's equally shaking figure, erasing any distance between them. The only thing left behind was Xiao now digging his face into Lumine's cardigan, gradually dying it into a darker shade as the piece of clothing became stained with tears. " That when my karmic debts had been paid off, we will have that one thing of our own, after all this time..."
The million times he had overheard her in Pervases’ temple, giggling idly over the blurry veil of smoke. “ You should see how the children at the harbour cling to him. He’s got a way with them, though he would never admit it.”
“ He would be a great father.” How she would always whisper to the wind.
The million times he’d seen her laughing by Qiqi’s side, and fantasized how her eyes would shine when the tiny hand clung to hers is of a child of jet black hair and golden eyes.
The endless sleepless nights he laid in her lap, feeling the warmth of her fingers caressing the scars that run deep on his back, his arms. And she told him, that the day will come when Yakshas will no longer be born just to suffer, but to be happy and to love. How he’d kissed her palm, and counted the days.
" A family." They finished together.
At that moment, Xiao and Lumine were the embodiment of happiness themselves.
“ Oh Lumine.” Breathe, Xiao, breathe. “ Please tell me I’m not dreaming. Please, please, please.” The Adeptus fought back the overflowing tears that were pushing their way through the thinning lens of his eyes, relying on the rise and fall of Lumine’s chest to navigate through the rush of pure bliss. His beautiful wife – the mother of his child – laughed into his hair, but he could tell that she too - was sharing the tears of a two-thousand-year dream.
“ Of course not, Xiao. All of this is real.” Lumine rubbed circles on Xiao’s back, melting into his familiar warmth. “ We’re having a family of our own, my love.”
How was it that the first being who experienced happiness millennia ago found again the way to breathe? How did one stop themselves from laughing and crying at the same time? Surely, Xiao and Lumine did not know.
As the piece of paper flew out of Lumine's hand, a golden shimmer stirred the night.
In the oldest tales of Liyue, existed the spirits of time. These tranquil and man-loving spirits lived among mankind, yet away from their sight. ‘ But rest assured, children, as the seniors of the harbour would tell the kids on Lantern Rite nights, ‘ They are always watching over us, and in each and every moment in our life, they are there to bear witness. When you feel your heart racing like the far winds of our dear neighbour the Anemo Archon, and joy fills your world with nothing but love, they will appear before you, and bless you with the most beautiful gift – memories.’
Eyes fluttered open behind a veil of tears and kisses, Lumine found herself greeted by sparks of light. A smile bloomed on her lips, and her fingers found their way to Xiao’s.
“ Xiao. Over there.”
Though Xiao did not desire to part with his beloved – not in this moment, not ever – he followed Lumine’s gaze, and found himself too, eyes wide and mouth agape.
“ Lumine, that is…”
“ The tales were true, Xiao. The spirits of time. They have come to celebrate with us.”
“ Is this why you chose this place?” Xiao asked, his heart beating faster and faster with every word. “ Because of…this?”
Lumine grinned. “ Partially. I always wondered what they looked like. Lovely, aren’t they?”
“ ‘Lovely’. This cannot simply be called ‘lovely’. This is…”
‘ Ethereal’. But Xiao found nowhere the strength to whisper the word. His eyes carved into the miracle before him, one just as otherworldly as his wonderful partner in life and death.
On the balcony of Wangshu Inn’s top floor, illuminated by what seemed like a thousand fireflies, appeared three figures. One was small and energetic, floating happily in the air alongside her companion. The second, was a lady of petite build and hair barely reaching her shoulders, looking out admiringly at the scenery before her. The last, a man dressed in white and green with his arms crossed, and his glance not on the scenery he was all too familiar with, but on the lady who had barely sensed his existence right beside her.
As Xiao extended his arm to touch the light, they discarded and reformed once again. This time, two figures dominated the scene. The moonlit, cloudless sky, was recreated by waves of prism scattering in the air. A Traveler, much so tranquil, sitting on the floor, gazing down with adoration in her eyes. An Adeptus, the impenetrable guardian of Liyue, soundly asleep on her lap, as her fingers comb his hair in endless cycles, brushing away the countless sleepless nights.
This was the blessing bestowed upon them.
“ That was our first meeting. And the night you finally accepted my feelings.” Lumine leaned onto Xiao’s shoulder, carefully guiding them both to sit down. “ I can’t believe how far we’ve come.”
Xiao’s eyes lingered on the recollection of lost times for a little longer, and when they finally left, they once again fell onto Lumine. Unconsciously, he reached up to tuck a strand of loose hair behind her ear.
“ You didn’t have long hair back then. And you could never stay in one place for more than two weeks.”
“ And you had the cutest messy hair, plus the funniest attitude. But I still love your current braid, so don’t you worry about it.” Lumine chuckled. “ Your catchphrase back then was ‘ You have no respect for the Adepti’, remember?”
Xiao sighed, pulling Lumine closer. “ I have no more reason to say such things now. We are equal, in life and death. Though I suppose…” Xiao’s gaze landed on his wife’s belly, and his amber eyes glowed with love. “ I can show our child the way, so he or she doesn’t inherit your stubbornness.”
“ You talk as if it weren’t my strong will that brought us together in the first place.” Lumine fumed, earning a snicker from the Adeptus. “ And besides, you’ve never actually disliked it either.”
“ I can never dislike anything about you, Lumine. You gave me the world.” Xiao smiled, the softest smile Lumine had ever seen, and it made her feel like that lovesick girl aeons ago.
“ Then, can the great Vigilant Yaksha lend me his hand for a moment as a favour?” Lumine laughed, and Xiao obliged without question. She held his hand, and guided it forward, then below, and finally, on the place she had named just now ‘ Heaven on Teyvat’. She observed as Xiao’s expression went from surprised to panic, then mellowed to that of pure adoration. And she placed her hand above his, bent her head, keeping her voice so low it seemed she was telling a secret only the three of them were allowed to know. “ Darling, meet your father.”
At that moment, with the stars and the spirits of time as his witness, and his wife’s radiant existence as his assurance, Xiao signed with this child – their child – a contract of a lifetime.
" Nice to meet you, little moonlight."
‘ For as long as this soul of mine wanders the surface of the mortal world and beyond, no pain shall get through to you. I promise.’
As the seasons go by, even the mightiest mountains may decline. But what awaits beyond the cruel façade of fleeting time, what brings meaning to every blossom of spring, every shine of summer, every dry leaf of autumn and every snowflake of winter – is perhaps, something as simple as the sweetness of a dream fulfilled. Xiao thinks to himself and smiles, as a lively figure tackles his leg from behind, and Lumine laughs.
“ Good morning, daddy, mommy! Are we having Almond Tofu for breakfast today?”