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Zhongli has been alive for too long. He has lost count around 6000 years or so, and looking at the pink sky of his Serenitea Pot, he wonders when the end will finally reach him. He has started to forget some of his memories. He has forgotten how most of his Yaksha’s faces, he has forgotten most of his friends… But he remembers orange hair. He remembers shared breath and stolen kisses. He remembers blood. Yes. Zhongli has been alive for too long.
The days just resemble one another. He didn’t sleep much before, but now he tends to be tired. So he wakes up and do the same thing over and over again. He brews some tea, reads the books Xiao leaves to him sometimes, eats when his body reminds him to do so, then spends the rest of his time staring at the distance. Waiting. Always waiting.
At the beginning, Barbatos visits him. The Anemo Archon tries to make him talk about what had happened and Zhongli, filled with grief and shame, pushes him away. It doesn’t deter his friend. Every year or so Barbatos comes with a bottle of Osmanthus Wine and they drink to their fallen companions, to those who are gone, to those who just pass away peacefully. Then one day, Barbatos announces that he is going to sleep. That Teyvat is safe and changing rapidly. That they did the right thing. That he is tired. And as Zhongli looks at him, he can see in his eyes that his oldest friend is fading slowly but is pushing the deadline by trying to keep him company. He needs to rest. Zhongli offers one of his islands and promises to keep an eye on him. “You need to rest some too, old man,” is the last thing he says before enclouding the piece of land of his elemental power.
Even if Xiao is relieved of his contract with Rex Lapis, he still roams Liyue. Guarding the country he considers home. Zhongli is not an idiot. He can see the restless energy thriving in the Adeptus. He recognizes it because it’s the same energy that keeps him awake sometimes. Xiao keeps him updated on the changes occurring in the city. Xiao tells him that the Adepti have adapted and are mingling amongst humans. And as time passes, he learns that that the Archons have become legends, that those who died became stories… Zhongli feels tired more than ever.
The days pass and resemble one another.
Zhongli forgets.
Xiao visits.
Days pass.
Zhongli doesn’t want to forget the orange hair and the stolen kisses. He doesn’t want to forget the blue eyes, the calloused hands, the bumps of aging scars.
Days pass.
Xiao visits.
Zhongli… he forgets.
He only remembers the orange hair and the stolen kisses.
Xiao visits.
“I want to see Liyue again,” Zhongli says, and Xiao can only nod.
Ajax was born in Snezhnaya, to be more precise, he was born in a little costal city. His mother once said to him that he was named after a famous hero, who was also born in the village that grew into the city he is living in. Ajax was thrilled and, obviously, wanted to learn more about the famous hero.
He didn’t find anything.
Ajax has amazing friends. They throw together a goodbye party when he is accepted into a famous archelogy course over in Liyue. Ajax knows he will miss them, but he also knows that they’ll see each other again.
Ajax is anxious. Everything is new to him. Ajax is also excited. He is doing what he loves and Harbor City is majestic. Somehow… He feels home. He feels like every single decision he has ever made lead him to this moment. The gigantic red gate welcomes him and he feels like a child who discovers for the first time what snow is. He falls in love with Liyue.
He calls his mom every week and tries to convince her to come and live with him. He doesn’t like knowing that she is alone now. She reassures him. Says that this is where he grew up, where they were happy, she wants to stay there. Ajax says he will visit on his next break. They both know that the amount of work he has will make it impossible.
It’s been a few months since he came to Liyue. Ajax loves his school. He also finds a student’s job at a coffee shop. He wants to explore the city, wants to discover every inch of it, but he lacks the time to do it.
Ajax is impatient.
Ajax is restless.
Ajax starts to have dreams.
Ajax has dreams of a man. The man is tall, he has dark hair and amber eyes. They eat together, walk together, laugh together. The man is looking at him as if… As if Ajax holds every answer of the universe. When he wakes up from those dreams, Ajax feels happy, giddy even. He knows the man loves him, and he loves him all the same. They’re happy. Then the dreams change. They become somehow darker. Ajax can feel that something is coming. The way the man holds him is desperate, as if he’s going to disappear. In those dreams, Ajax wants to comfort the man as much as possible, but he has no control over his own body. It’s like watching a movie. They’re scenes already set. Ajax understands that whatever’s going on, he cannot change the outcome.
Ajax gets tired. His mom notices it when he calls and begs him to take some rest, but he loves what he is doing and getting tired means nothing, he will get some healing sleep sometime soon. Maybe after his midterm.
The dreams get violent. The man tries to protect him. Fails. It feels too real. Too much. Ajax experiences life quitting is body as the man holds him, begging him to stay by his side. Ajax wants to say how much he loves him, but blood rushes through his mouth, making it impossible to say anything. His hands want to touch the man, but his strength is leaving him. He can only watch as the man screams.
It was the last dream.
He’s been in Liyue for six months now. Merchants in the streets him are getting ready for the new year and a friend at school talks him into going on the shore to celebrate, Ajax accepts. He wants to get out and to not think about the man. The man who haunts him every day. The man he wants to hold. So he goes.
Apparently, the Lantern Rites is an ancient tradition. It goes back to a time of legends where gods were roaming amongst the mortal, where Adepti blessed humans into a good year, where letting go of a lantern meant to pay respect to the ancestors and bringing luck for the new year. When Ajax choses his own lantern, he is immediately attracted to a strange yellowish symbol. He asks his friend what it is supposed to be. “It’s the symbol of the ancient deity of Liyue. If you look closely to some of the architecture in Old Liyue Harbor, you can see that same symbol engraved on them.”
Ajax picks it.
They’re waiting for the right time. He can hear the music of the open theatre in the distance. He can feel the excitement of the small crowd gathered on the beach. His friend reminds him to make a wish as he helps him lit the lantern and the only thing he can think of is the man.
He stays a long time watching the scenery, mesmerized by the beauty of it. His friend went ahead first, saying that they’ll see each other later. It’s only when the air gets a little chilly that he thinks that’s it’s time to go home. When he gets up and turn around, he sees him.
The man. He is here. Looking at him.
And he remembers.
He remembers the long nights. He remembers the whispers. He remembers the hot breaths and the stolen kisses.
“I’m sorry for making you wait, Zhongli,” he croaks, emotions too strong.
The man is crying silently, walking slowly towards him.
“I would wait the end of the world to see you again, my love.”