#🖋️pong letters

[glasseelie]

Ancient God - Reincarnated as a Kid in Teyvat

Characters: Zhong Li; Childe; Diluc; Cyno; Kazuha.

Summary: You don't know why you, an ancient God that has lived tens of thousands of years and even slept for more thousands of years - suddenly died and got reincarnated as a regular child. Seriously, what is up with that? Now, all you can do is roam whichever nation you got dropped in and observe the changed world from another point of view.

Category: Platonic Reader Gender: Neutral

Notice: Everything in this post is 100% platonic - reader is in a kid form, so any insinuation of romance between them and characters is not acceptable.

Zhong Li ; sharing tea and memories

Even though nothing changed the fact that the leaves from your home brewed for much better tea, Liyue was a sure enough good competitor - specifically the Yanshang Teahouse.

The rich aroma of fine quality tea quickly enticed you to start working in here; that's how things were run in the current world - you must work at any case and that people have long since made up "currency" (you still struggle with this concept sometimes).

With you new and squishy little body, you couldn't do much else then bring cups to and from the tables, but it gave you an excuse to smell the tea some more and the Teahouse owners seemed a sweet couple, so it was acceptable.

But...

"Oh? Who's this adorable bunny?"

"Careful not to trip! Such small feet you have!"

"Aiya! So cute! Thank you little one! Jie-jie promises to bring you some delicious candy next time!"

Everyone was treating you like a child.

To be fair, you did look like one. With short limbs and squishy cheeks, slightly red with youthful eagerness. Physical activities seemed 10x hard too; all in all, you did not miss being this small - last time you were like this was when you were born tens of thousands of years ago.

The worst thing about it was that no one took your requests seriously.

You wanted to learn about Liyue's history - you've been sleeping practically the whole time it was created, so you were clueless about everything. But everyone you asked either told you folklore stories for kids or gave you a picture book that explained nothing (though Liyuen style of art was quite beautiful).

One day, on a busy evening, your eyes caught something different - an adeptus. Sure, you saw some adepti come down for a drink or two from time to time, but this one was extraordinary.

This adeptus had an aura of divinity achieved by experiences of thousands of years - a retired god perhaps? - your mind supplied. Calm, knowing amber eyes and neat, mature attire.

That was your ticket to knowledge.

So you swiped the order from another waiter and went to deliver the Misty Garden tea - strong aroma with caramel, certainly someone with a good tea taste.

You tried not to look funny with your tiny steps as you approached the table on the west ting overlooking almost all of Liyue. The magnificent vermillion color of the local styled ting and all the pavilion construction was beautiful against the golden layers of the nation.

The adeptus looked down at your much smaller human form and smiled politely "Hello, thank you for bringing me my tea" he says and takes the porcelain teapot and cup set off the tray.

You watch him for a little, observing for any signs of him wanting to be alone; he busies himself with inhaling the sweet aroma instead. Finally, you ask "Can I sit with you for a bit?"

The adeptus is surprised, but doesn't seem perplexed about the idea. "I don't see why not" he answers after a bit, he motions at the other seat across from him and encourages you to join him.

Both of you seem to be in a comfortable silence as he seems to be patiently waiting for you to break it. Though you're content in just listening to the bustle of the city, after so many years of silence, you can't let this opportunity slip between your fingertips.

"May I know your name?"

"Of course. I go by Zhong Li"

"I see, Zhong Li, I have a small request."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"Since you are an adeptus, I was wondering if you were knowledgeable in Liyue's history."

If you knew about anything, it's that adepti appreciated straightforwardness - not having any time for meaningless pleasantries that humans deemed necessary for everyday life.

The said adeptus quickly analyzed what was going on, put his teacup back down and nodded with a pleased smile "I would say I'm quite proficient."

"I have just come to Liyue a little ago, I know not of its history and everyone treats me like someone who can only understand simple pictures." you said, somehow keeping your calm, despite being frustrated to no end "So I ask of you to please, share your memories"

And that is how an alliance started between two retired gods. One brought expensive tea to the funeral parlor down the street, the other talked about his vast memories of the very nation they drank their aromatic delicacy.

Gaining a person that can share the memory.

Childe ; giving advice from ancient times

As a god, before achieving glory, you had survived in most horrid conditions. Danger looming over you at any corner, withstanding the harshest of winds and the darkest of nights. You had gone numb to many uncomfortable factors like the cold and the dark long, long ago.

And yet, this small human body was not getting the hint.

You woke up from your eternal slumber couple of days ago, shaking uncontrollably in a collapsed hut, not being able to keep your teeth from chattering. Interestingly, humans bodies turn bluish when cold enough, but you couldn't bring yourself to be fascinated by the revelation as you were hours away from death.

Thankfully, after dragging your feet around the vast forest (not even trying to hunt in this condition), someone found you. This person turned out to be a young man, he looked like a fledgling barely out of the nest, yet he seemed to be commanding people all around and giving them orders.

He immediately picked you up from the cold ground, your numb feet finally off the snowy terrain. The young man wrapped you up in some kind of warm fur and assured you that everything would now be okay - it was admirable, how a person, who you considered a kid, logically, had so much protectiveness over a stranger child. Was this how all humans behaved?

"Don't worry okay? I'll get you warm and snug in no time!" he tried to rub your cold hands to warm them up as he rode his horse towards somewhere.

The clicking of the saddle additions and the hooves on the stony ground, where snow did not manage to cover enough to muffle the iron.

Your voice was hoarse and your throat felt painful when you spoke, but you were glad to find your voice again (though, this small and squeaky thing could never be your true voice); you needed to assure this kid that you knew you were somewhat safe now - being in a child form really has the benefits of people being kinder, you knew that way before all this.

"It's okay, I will be fine" your confidence seemed to have a positive effect as the young man calmed down a bit and continued to ride at a high speed while holding you securely in the thick makeshift blanket.

Wherever it was that he took you, it was echo-y. It reminded tiny bit of your own chambers that existed eons ago, sophisticated details and shiny gems littered all around - was this a young lord? Or a diplomat perhaps?

You found thinking hard as unconsciousness slowly took hold of your weak body. But, you jolted into full awareness when your legs were submerged in a tub of warm water - oh, that felt nice. So that was what humans did to aid frostbite... or was that something else?

"I know, I know! You hate this, but otherwise your legs will fall off!" the young man was trying to shush a child that has not even protested - you'd be a fool to not to take a helping hand.

You try to keep awake as you watch him towel your feet dry and tuck you into a bed with a thick blanket. You felt incredibly small in this form, not only physically. The fireplace at the corner casted a bright orange glow alongside some lamp crystals.

"What's your name?" you asked, barely contain yourself from adding 'kid' at the end (that probably wouldn't fit in with this situation).

The young man smiles broadly at you and sits on a small velvet chair beside the bed. "How about you call me Ajax?" he encourages and suddenly ruffles your hair.

You're caught off guard, this kind of gesture... you remember it distantly. What a warm feeling... was this what it felt like at first? Back when you lived in your mother nest with your older siblings? Before you all achieved glory and divinity?

"And what's your name?"

"'I... don't remember" lying was necessary not for any fear of this human boy, or of distrust - but to make Ajax's life a bit easier by just being a kid he saved, not a reincarnated deity.

Ajax doesn't let his expression dim as he nods in understanding "That's fine, solnyshko. Just stick with brother Ajax and I'll get you settled in Snezhnaya, okay?"

Snezhnaya... is that the nation you were in?

Either way, you appreciated the sincerity of Ajax, a kindhearted soul truly - at least to what he thinks of is an innocent child. Though you can't help but notice the different kind of look in his eyes - like darkness that lurks just beneath the surface.

"You are tired."

"Quite interesting you say that, zaichik, since you're the one who should be going to sleep right now" he jokes, squishing your doughy cheek, but you insist.

"To rest is to respect the boundaries of your nature. Nature will reward you when you listen to it." you say quietly, trying to finish before sleep finally pulls you under "Someone... told me that... long... ago..."

You don't know if your words were what made the difference between you being put in the care of a woman serving under the palace Ajax presided in; and instead being welcomed into this young man's family in the far away village, but it was a wonder how warm family feels, after all this time.

Now, Ajax will come to rest at his home frequently and you will repay this unspoken one-sided debt by silently watching over his little siblings grow.

Such true is an advice that stands through time.

Diluc ; to heal a tired heart

Mondstadt was quite the nation. A beautiful landscape, culture that would enchant anyone from anywhere. Mondstadt was largely known for brewing the finest quality wine - Dandelion wine.

Or so you've heard.

Too bad you weren't allowed to get a drop of it form the nation's best winery. The owner seemed to not even entertain the thought of giving alcohol to a 'child that seemed barely of age to walk around alone' - he said, word for word.

You weren't about to drop off all your dignity and beg a stranger for wine when you fully knew you were now inhabiting a small human's body, who was not meant to be drinking.

But something still stayed on your mind.

As you walk around the outskirt streets of the square, you catch the warm light that was coming from the Dawn Winery. The yellow of it spilling down the cobblestone ground like honey and stretching onto now empty streets.

The tavern is now empty. Lonley figure remains inside.

You step inside, making no effort to be quiet; your small, stubby legs don't make it any easier. The owner, who's hair and eyes endearingly match, looks up to see who came in; you almost laugh at how his expression drops into disappointment and amusing blankness.

You hold up your hand "Not here for a glass"

Though still looking at you with a skeptical eye, he resumes drying the wine glasses; he neatly places them all in a row on the shelf, just as he does every night before blowing out the center chandelier altogether.

"Children shouldn't be out at all at this hour. Where are your parents anyway?" technically, your parents have been turned into concepts of chaos and peace, but speaking about such mediums to a human may put this mortal being at unease; that's not what you want.

"Can I stay here for a bit? It's windy outside."

Maybe it was the nature of a soft human heart, or just unique kindheartedness to this human; either way, he allowed a stranger child - you - to stay while he wiped down the bar.

"What's your name?" you ask, taking embarrassingly long to climb a stool at the said bar.

"You come into a bar so frequently, pester me to give you alcohol and only now you ask of my name?" he says, annoyed and clearly irritated, but he relents "I'm Diluc."

"Your heart is tired, Diluc."

You were far too old to say that you couldn't stop the words tumbling out of your mouth, no, after eons of being alive, you mean every word you say.

So you didn't slap a hand over your mouth at overstepping privacy with Diluc, or pretend to be at shock at your own words. It must be quite a shock already, such words coming out of a child's mouth, gods, sometimes you wished for your godhood to be back so badly.

After looking at you with a puzzled face, Diluc raises an eyebrow "Look at you now, which grown up book did you read that phrase from?"

You knew deep down, he knew the truth of it too. His heart is tired and it's lonely; no matter how much humans try, they are still creatures of habit. Habit of enjoying company and warmth, which Diluc must have had at some point.

Always so tense, a permanent furrow in his brow.

"Don't brush my words off so easily-"

"Okay, I'll think about doing that after 10 years, after you will be a big and serious adult, how about that? Will you quiet down now?" he says as he pushed a cup of something in your direction and turns away to continue his business.

Your eyes sparkled at being able to drink wine again - until you took a swing and realized it was grape juice. Though it irked you that Diluc delighted in your surprise, it was quite a delicious bevarage.

After that, every evening, after working hours, you'd sit at the bar with a glass of grape juice; help clean up around the winery and sometimes even let your little self fall asleep at the spare sofa.

Diluc never asked about your parents again, instead offering for you to stay at the Ragvindr household. Well, mortal human life isn't as bad when you have someone who can listen to a child wax poetic with a glass of grape juice.

Even though you won't dig up any of the wounds open about his past, you want to make this human smile again. If your happiness makes him happy too, then it's good enough for you.

Time helps heal tired hearts.

Cyno ; depth of understanding

Deserts never change, you decided.

They have always been unbearably hot and full of the sands that sting your bare feet. Not to mention how delicate your skin turned out to be - not the worker kind. Thankfully, you found some abandoned camps that had a dried fruit or two still good, so you weren't starving, but you were very close to passing out from the heat.

It was frustrating. You - an eons old god that had endured all types of warfare - were now struggling to drag your feet across the scorching desert that seemed to have no end.

Silence, heat, it was sickening at a point.

After couple of days like this, you suddenly hear a noise out of the blue. Before you can even register the sound, you are faced with someone who's holding a polearm towards you threateningly.

With sun-kissed skin and clothing resembling of the roaming guards of the divine back at your time, you guess this person could be a watch-guard stationed at the desert.

You can only see one magnificently reddish eye, like the blazing sand that scorched your feet. Out of a delicately crafted amethyst headpiece, locks of long, white hair fall. A truly interesting looking individual.

"What are you here for?" he asks, curt.

"I don't know" you answer truthfully "I woke up here couple of days ago..."

He looks at you with suspicion, never once faltering his gaze down at you "Why is a child with no supervision left at the desert?" knowing that neither of them would have an answer for it, most likely, he followed up with "Where do your guardians live?"

Your guardians? you suppress a melancholic smile. You greatly miss your guardians, but in this new life, you're not sure if you have any - or if you need them.

Your stomach growls.

Scratch that, you definitely need a guardian in this new era.

"I don't know..." it was again, the truth. The stranger seemed to sense that you were being honest, since he lowered his weapon; he sighed with exhaustion.

"I will take you back to the Aaru village, but it's a long way back." he warned, as if you had a choice - or maybe it was a statement; either way, you weren't about to ignore this miracle.

You took a step closer, should you bow in greeting? Is that what people still did in this era? Should you just ask?

"What's your name?"

"My name is Cyno. How about you?" he answered and asked swiftly, seemingly also quite curious.

"I don't have one."

After pointedly looking at your feet, Cyno had no problem picking you up with his free arm to give your body some relief; it was a bit of a surprise, but you're sure you'd do the same with a small child in his place.

"That's fine, well, what do you call a child lost in the sand? Sandy, I guess."

The sudden joke caused moments of silence as you looked at his blank face in surprise, before you burst into laughter from the sheer absurdity of the joke; now that seemed to really excite the stranger as he started to make his way towards the promised civilization.

"it was funny, right?"

A child's piercing laugh was an enough answer.

Sure, your new body was a bit annoying to get used to - weak and uncoordinated. But it was worth it, living amongst these people, sharing their joys and their grieves. It's fascinating to see humans grow and to be aware of eons worth of knowledge and grow up with it, but such trials and tribulations could be mended.

As long as this kindhearted person comes by to tell you jokes that pain the rest of the village, you could deal with the rest.

The depth of mutual understandings about simple matters between the two of you. That's apparently what it means to be human.

Kazuha ; whispering of the universe

Inazuma as a nation was a bit of a mystery to you. When you woke up, you were surrounded by a sweet scent (that you later discovered were Inazuman cherry blossom trees). That, and it rained.

A lot.

The air of strange mystic aura and alluring spirits; it left you with confusion, left to wander around the beautiful flora with just the clothes on your back. Your feet hurt from worn out sandals and the weak body you were granted with had problems moving for even a day.

It frustrated you to no end, but if you have learned anything during the many thousands of years of your life, is that complaining about things you can not change is truly a waste of breath.

So, you walked on.

From time to time, you came across some lavender melons, but it wasn't enough to nourish the body of a growing child; so you knew if you didn't settle down somewhere, you were in for trouble. You were no longer a god with no binds to your strength, but a tired human child.

So, you set up a small camp, still having crystal clear memory of how to survive in wildlife - sure, Inazuma had its own quirks, but the base of it was still the same. Shelter, water, fire, food. in that order.

Your plans came crashing down when you got stuck in a small crack between two hills. You were holding onto the edge, yet you didn't have enough legroom to fling yourself up - curses! Had it been your old form, you'd been able to pull yourself up with just one hand.

Gods, were you about to die as soon as you woke up in your second life?

Suddenly, a gush of wind leaps you into the air; not having the time to even yelp, you land into stranger's waiting arms. "Hello little one, you look like you've been full of mischief" a calm voice said with no real retribution.

You looked up to see a young man with unique hair and delicate features; his gentle smile set you at ease. A vermillion streak in his light hair was an eye-catching feature, distantly reminding you of an autumn spent painting the fallen leaves with your peers.

"Where did you come from, little wanderer?" he asked, safely setting you down on the ground; he crouched down in front of you to eye level.

Finally, someone that could guide you to a nearby civilized settlement "I don't know" you decided to be truthful "I woke up nearby here..."

"My name is Kazuha, do you know where your parents might be?"

Oh boy did you want to answer with the truth, but in reality, this child's parents were probably nowhere near "I don't know that either..." gods, your whole life you hated that sentence and even subjected your diplomats to a day of lecturing whenever they used the phrase 'I don't know'.

"Alright, how about your name?"

"Don't think I have one" right now.

Kazuha nods with an unfazed smile, stands up and holds out his hand "Would you trust me to lead you back to somewhere safe? this isn't the best place for you to be" he had kind eyes that had wisdom of life embedded into its marble surface between sadness.

You guessed as such, if cracked ground and unstable weather was anything to go by; you took his hand and you two begin to make your way back to wherever Kazuha came from.

"If you don't mind me asking" you finally spoke after being silent for days, so you had to ignore the scratching of your throat "How did you end up here?"

"The wind told me."

"Oh, I see."

"You don't find it weird?"

You shook your head "Wind tells many stories."

So does the earth and the vast seas. Every leaf and every pebble tells a different, priceless story. To be in tune with one's self is to be listening to the universe around you - it rewards when one lends its stories an ear.

Kazuha found your answer pleasant, his smile stretching just a bit "It sure does."

Soon, you found yourself at a beach, or a makeshift dock of some sort - in front of a giant ship. Awed at how much bigger everything seemed from a child's eyes, you couldn't help yourself but quicken your step towards it.

As you stared at the ship, you noticed a tall lady approach you with a smile. "Hey there kiddo! Ya like the ship?" she asks with a booming voice you'd expect from a motivated general. She had an eyepatch and wore bright maroon clothing.

Was this the captain?

"It's magnificent" you answered truthfully.

"Oho! Such big words there! Smart kid! Where'd you come from?" she was standing in front of you now. She was pretty tall; in your previous form, you'd be twice as taller, but in this life, you had to painfully bend your neck.

"The small one is with me, captain Beidou" Kazuha caught up with you to stand behind. The easy smile on his face suggested the woman in front of you was an ally.

Captain Beidou seems to glow with excitement "So, coming aboard then?!" she seems ecstatic to have you on the ship. Maybe she's the type who's good with children? In that case, you're not sure if she'd like a child who has a soul of an ancient god.

Kazuha rested a hand on top of your head "I guess so, can't remember the parents or even a name. It's better if we keep this one a bit of company for now."

That's how you ended up on the Alcor, amongst the fleet that called itself 'The Crux'. Soon enough, you fell into a routine of helping around; sure, you were small and got tired easily, but you still remembered all about ships and navy - after all, you'd led soldiers across many seas before.

Looked like Beidou appreciated your helpful nature as well, looking over you with an approving expression from time to time.

Still, despite proving that you were more than capable of handling the routine aboard, Kazuha insisted on accompanying you most of the time.

Maybe because he was the one who found you, a small child, tired and bruised from horrible living conditions.

Maybe because you still tripped on your little feet from time to time, eliciting a playful laugh from everyone, including Kazuha himself, before he swiftly pulled you up back on your feet.

Maybe because Kazuha enjoyed being in company of someone who could understand his wax poetic - as you two sat at the very end of the Alcor and looked at the boundless waters of Teyvat.

He teaches you of the modern ways people try to listen to the world around them, and of haikus he loves to drop on you suddenly - maybe he thinks of you as his successor; it's a little funny, how in reality, you're the one supposed to be teaching this young soul.

But you're content to just sit beside him and listen to the whispers of the universe.

[end of part one.] [i will write one character a nation per part, any suggestions?] [thank you for reading.]

©glasselie. 01/12/2022.