Chapter Text
The soft rays of sunlight began to appear, in fact it was very early, and you were sitting on the balcony admiring the sun warming and giving color to the vegetation, after a rainy and cold night. Afterwards a night awake watching for possible dangers or threats, there is nothing better than to see the day rise quietly.
When daylight came, it was just another part of your routine. After a sleepless night, normally if nothing had happened during the night, you would go out to your 'little research area', a place you made to see the effects of miasmas on monsters.
Your purpose for this research was to find a way to combat Karma, which was an evil that haunted all Yaksha. Coming from the anger of the gods killed by Morax, it was a corruptive force. And this is what we were summoned for, to help Morax take care of this situation, subjugating the gods and ending the corrupted forces they emanated in the land of Liyue.
But this in the long run brought damage to the Yaksha, before there were several of us, the main ones being Alatus, Bosacius, Bonanus, Indarias, Menogias, Astridias, which was you.
Karma was responsible for bringing insanity and darkness to those who witnessed it, and so it was no different with the Yaksha. They perished one by one, leaving only you and Xiao, who constantly suffered from his karmic debt.
You and Xiao were the most resistant to Karma, you had not yet experienced any symptoms, but Xiao suffered greatly at times from experiencing Karma.
So since you hadn't felt anything so far, you decided that you would be the one to study Karma and understand a possible cure, or a possible way to take better care of Xiao, as well as a way to make the other Yaksha awaken.
"Are you leaving already?" Xiao asks, turning to you.
"Yes, I have many things to do. I think before nightfall I'll be back." You say grabbing a bag.
"Take care." He says simply.
You give him a half smile, and leave.
The place you were heading to was a small cave near Qingce village. It was a well hidden place, and with many monsters, which made it easy to see the effect of the miasma on them.
What you had discovered so far, was that the more time the monsters were exposed to the miasma, the sooner they acquired the Karma, but the biggest problem was that when the monsters had the Karma, they were corrupted and became stronger. Besides that they clearly presented signs of insanity, the longer they were exposed to the miasma, the monsters you were studying had been there for a few months, so their habits were completely different from the usual ones.
The Hilichurls were the first to show signs that they were already with Karma, besides starting to fight with the 'nothing', possibly had hallucinations, often fought among themselves. The Hilichurls were not very intelligent, but had a great sense of group, knew how to act in collective, which changed completely in these last days, the group initially was of 15 hilichurls, which now was reduced to 6. Possibly many ended up killing each other, and the others succumbed to insanity.
You stayed hidden on a small rock, analyzing and writing down the remarkable changes you noticed. Your expectation now was to try to give some of the healings you had done to a hilichurl who was already in a very advanced state of Karma, and had already ripped off one of his arms in an outbreak. Your hope was that it would have some reversive effect, or at least some effect that would make the symptoms stay stagnant at the same point.
Little by little you got closer to hilichurl, he was more isolated, which in theory would make it easier to reach him. Slowly you try to lift him up, which quickly became a problem, because a mitachurl saw you, and he didn't react well.
Quickly advancing towards you, and then you slightly put yourself in battle position. Before you could react, a shadow attacked him, causing the mitachurl to fall dead to the ground a few seconds later. The shadow was familiar, the long hair, the dark sophisticated clothing, and the bright amber eyes.
It was Morax, even though he had changed during all these centuries, even though he was now called Zhongli, his presence was still unmistakable.
You accidentally dropped the materials you were going to use, so you started to collect them. Even if you didn't look at him, you knew he was staring at you. It had been a long time since you two had seen each other, at least whenever you could you avoided him.
"Curious to find you here, I didn't imagine that you would be the one in charge of this place."
"Yeah, if I knew I'd run into you I wouldn't have come today." You say with the coldness and indifference you used to speak to him.
He chuckles. "Still as sharp as ever."
You didn't answer him. He never seemed to resent you, in fact he always acted normal, just like old times. And that was probably what bothered you, the fact that he seemed to be stuck in the past reality, that he didn't see things as they were now. Times have changed, and so have you.
"Still looking for a cure?"
You gave a cynical smile in response, how could he still have the audacity to say that?
"They're in a vegetative state, do you think there's anything left to do?"
"I won't know unless I try." You say picking up the materials that had fallen.
"You've been trying for centuries, decades. Don't you think it's time to give up?"
Give up? How could you let your family die?
"Have you no sense? Are you crazy or something? Stop talking and listen to yourself, are you asking me to just let them die?" He opened his mouth to speak, but you continued. "If you have no appreciation for us, that is your problem. Now don't ask me to abandon those who matter most to me."
You could feel the anger radiating from you, your hands clenched and shaking. Every time you met him that was the feeling that came from your chest, anger, and even anguish at remembering the old days.
"I just imagined it would be exhausting, working so hard and not getting any results."
Funny, it has always been like that all our lives, the Yaksha always worked for him, just out of gratitude, and when Karma started affecting us, he didn't even try to help us. We always helped him without getting a crumb back.
"We did it all our lives for you, and we're still doing it. And when we needed you most, you turned your back, and went off to play the benevolent Archon who saved the nation." You say with disdain written in your voice.
He was now at your side, analyzing you from head to toe. Maybe it was your tantrum, but everything about him irritated you, the calm and solemn manner he managed to maintain, the way he looked, the way he acted. Just everything about him was annoying, he didn't have a quality that you could see.
"The point is that this poses a risk to people, don't you think? This little game of healer of yours, could get out of hand one day. I can understand your intention, but it's not convenient."
You pull him by the arm in an abrupt manner. Your patience was already running out. What did he think? That you were trying just for the sake of trying?
"You're the joke. You're a joke as a being. You missed what you were supposed to hit. After all you've done, you still have the nerve to say that what I'm doing is a little joke."
"I'm just telling the truth, I understand that it's painful, but we both know that there are cases where there is no salvation." The modesty in his voice would drive you mad. It was as if we meant nothing to him.
"You know what I find ironic? You didn't think that way with Guizhong, on the contrary, you went after the best treatments and the best cures for her."
Guizhong was his wife, she ended up perishing after being injured in a war, in addition to a terrible disease she contracted. He had sought out the best treatments in Teyvat, not caring about the cost or how much work it would be to suddenly come up with a new remedy. But that was the point, he did it all because he cared about her. As for us, the situation was quite different.
"Watch what you're about to say." The threatening tone was obvious, you had touched on a sensitive subject.
"What? I'm telling you the truth, you don't care about us, we're mere servants. You only pay attention to us when it's convenient. You are nothing more than a worldly man, who only cares about yourself, about your own interests."
You were throwing everything away, no matter what he was going to do, it had been stuck in your throat for centuries.
He was not the benevolent Archon he claimed to be, he was low and despicable. What mattered to him was only himself, and how the people around him would serve him.
His eyes met yours, and he had a steely gaze and his spear drawn, ready to strike you if he wanted to.
As for you, your anger was clear, clear as daylight, and pure as the waters that flowed there.
"I order you to stop these searches. This will be my last warning." He said, coming closer.
"I won't stop, you're not the one ordering me. The only way to stop me is to kill me." You say while also raising your spear.
The least of your worries was his unfulfilled threats, all that mattered was saving the others. No matter what the cost, you would go all the way.
Unexpectedly, he put the spear in your neck, not before making a cut on your cheek.
"Don't make me do this." He presses harder against you, making a small cut across your neck.
"I'd love to see you try." You fight back by pushing him away, and giving his arm a cut in return.
His expression was furious, as he stared incredulously at his own arm. He had always been used to giving orders and being obeyed, but he had lost all credibility the moment he turned his back on the Yaksha, who had been along with him, the forerunners of Liyue.
"And you still have the audacity to go against the Archon himself." He says through clenched teeth.
"I'm not afraid of you. Take it as a warning, I will not hold back, in case I have to go against you." Your eyes clenched, along with the angry expression you were wearing.
"I'll take it as nothing more than your rudeness." He says getting up and looking at you seriously.
"A pity."
You were not going to stay to endure another of his annoyances. You just teleported back to the Wangshu Inn.
"What happened?" was the first thing you heard when you arrived.
"Nothing much, just a silly fight.” You say, putting the materials you would use on the table.
Xiao put one of his hands on your wounds, then lowered his eyes to your hand, which was stained with a golden hue. "Did you encounter Morax?" He says investigating you.
"Yes." You say concentrating on doing a remedy you had recently learned, and praying that it would have some effect this time.
"The silly fight was with him?" His voice began to take on a more serious tone with each moment he realized what had happened.
"Yes." You say quietly.
"Are you crazy? Is karma starting to affect you too?" It was a mix of disappointment, worry, and irritation, all displayed in his voice.
He was the most loyal to Morax, and would not accept anyone bad-mouthing him. He said he was just grateful that Morax had saved him, and of course it was honorable what him had done, but he managed to ruin it soon after.
You just sighed and kept focused on what you were doing.
"Can you look at me for a minute?” He pulls you by the arm.
"What do you want me to say?” You say angrily.
But in fact, what did he expect? You had no appreciation for the Archon, much less any empathy for him, you just saw him as a scumbag.
"You may not like him, but a fight? Do you want to kill yourself or something?"
"If that's what it takes. What I don't want is to see you suffer every day with this damn disease."
You had nothing and no one, you always knew you were just a killing machine made to help when needed. But still, you clung to the other Yaksha, and now you were a family, caring for each other. Even though the only 'sane' ones were you and Xiao, the others were in a coma. And you were going to do everything possible and impossible to make them well and come back to life.
Xiao just sighed in response. Even though he forged this image of endurance, he was heartbroken for everything that had happened. It had been extremely painful to watch, our partners going crazy one by one, killing each other little by little.
Karma made them insane, often fighting among themselves. Many times they couldn't even remember why they had been hurt, and you would tell them that they had been fighting all night. The feeling of not being able to do anything was inexplicable, besides the weight of knowing that it would also happen to you, Xiao was the most resistant to all of this, but his suffering broke you up.
"Even if you don't like it, we still work under his command." Xiao says in a more appeased tone.
"You. I haven't followed that man's orders for centuries." You took a deep breath and continued. "I work under the orders of myself, if he really cared about the position of Archon, he wouldn't have decided to live as a mortal."
And you were not wrong, if it was his duty, why did he throw everything away and decide to have a mediocre life as a consultant of the Wangsheng funeral parlor?
"You know things aren't that simple. Besides, he is still doing the functions of Archon. He just doesn't officially assume the title."
"Oh sure. Letting the mortals fend for themselves, do you remember the abyss monster incident? A horde of them almost entered the city, if it weren't for us, together with the mortals, what would have happened?"
This happened a few months ago, and many civilians died in this incident. While Morax was just observing, according to him, it was like a test to see if the mortals were able to defend themselves.
Xiao remained silent this time. Even if he wanted to, there were attitudes of Geo Archon that were indefensible.
"I made new analgesic for you." You say, completely changing the topic.
You hand the package with the analgesic into Xiao's hand. "If you need them, use these. They're a little stronger, but also more effective than the others."
He nods and takes a quick look at the package.
"I'm going to go to the bedroom. I need to do some things."
"Right. If you need anything, let me know. And don't worry, I'll be in charge of patrol today."
You nod and head for the bedroom. What you were going to do was test the cures you had done, as well as improve the ones you had done.
Night soon fell, and you had already done most of those things, including medicating the respective Yaksha. You had already given them the medicine a few hours ago, and still no result. Not a single movement, not a single bodily reaction.
Which again disappointed you, if only there had been some progress in their recovery, but nothing seemed to be working. Of course you wouldn't give up so easily, but it was discouraging to say the least.
So you went down to get some silk flowers, which had good medicinal effects, besides being used in perfumes and various other things. You accidentally hit someone, raise your head to see who it was, and you see that it was Morax.
"These silk flowers look good, if you want to use them for medicine, look at the ones with the most petals. Usually those are the most ideal for this case." He says, analyzing a flower that fell to the ground.
You look at him with a furrowed brow, it would even be useful what he said, if you didn't know it.
"I hope they at least bring good effects."
"If you don't mind my curiosity, what kind of cure do you seek?" His look was calm, completely different from what you saw a while ago.
"One that makes them react, currently they are alive, but not responding to any medicinal stimuli. So I am studying how Karma affects creatures, making it easier to find something usable, as well as trying a better analgesic for Xiao. One that is more effective."
"I see. Have you made any progress?" He says with a hint of reluctance.
You shake your head in denial.
"Hey, hey, I hear they need a coffin for some dying people here, are you interested?" Hu tao says in that mischievous tone, she is the director of Wangsheng funeral parlor.
You snorted and rolled your eyes, turning to leave quickly.
"Did you have to talk like that?" Morax says in an annoyed tone.
"You're the one who said there were dying people here. It could be a great deal for us."
Morax sighed and crossed his arms. The reason he had come was that he wanted to talk to Xiao, they had a close connection.
"Zhongli." Xiao called out.
Morax turned around and flashed a slight smile, he could not deny that he was happy to see his old friend.Xiao soon led him into the inn, taking him to the quietest place he could find.
In the middle of the conversation, Morax asks. "Xiao, can you take me to where they are?" For the first time in a long time, Xiao heard Morax speak in a hesitant tone.
"Are you sure?" Xiao was not the type to contest any of Morax's decisions, but this time a bit of doubt emanated from his voice.
Morax nodded in affirmation, and Xiao led him into the room where the others were. All lying on a bed, wrapped in sheets, while you gently cared for each one.
"Xiao I-" You stopped your sentence as soon as you saw that he was accompanied, a presence you did not desire.
"He asked me to see them, so I brought him." Xiao says simplistically.
"Fine, I'll work on a few things outside. Just don't make too much noise or mess." You say, leaving the room.
And then a hint of guilt filled Morax's chest, a guilt for having walked away without giving the slightest satisfaction. For seeing his partners in this state, knowing that he could have helped them in the slightest.
Perhaps the cowardice, the fear, the pain of again seeing everyone around him leaving before him. Nevertheless, he had his reasons for this.
"Are you okay?" Xiao hurriedly asks, after seeing Morax's tearful eyes.
"Don't worry. Just old memories.”
Now Morax could understand your anger, the resentment you had for him. He should have helped, but now it was incredibly late to try to do something. At least that's what was running through Morax's mind, but you wouldn't give up, you would stay with them until your last breath.