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onyx232323 · 10 months

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An Adeptus' Last Wish- Zhongchi fic

(22/30)

More chapters here! <33

Summary-

After the Gnosis incident, Childe decides to take a much-needed break away from Zhongli.

However, how was he supposed to react, when all of a sudden Lumine showed up outside his apartment sounding terribly mortified, "Childe......Zhongli.......Zhongli....is in grave danger."

Of course, he was going to do anything to help the dying man.

Sure, he still felt a lot of contempt for him, after what he did, but his heart still loved him.....

But, what he hadn't expected was the sudden wisp of golden light that somehow transported him during the times of the Archon War?!

What the FUCK?!

__________________

Chapter 22: Passionate Confessions, Hurtful Truths and a Bitter War Pt. 2

The morning after the news of Havria’s death was announced, the atmosphere was somber, and it cruelly reminded Ajax of what occurred the day the news of A-Qiu’s death spread around their small own.

Ever since then, Guizhong was holed up in her domain, Cloud Retainer had disappeared to train for days on end, Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver had completely disappeared, Madam Ping was alongside Guizhong, and Morax was in an urgent meeting with his people.

He had gone to the meeting early in the morning; Ajax remembers the feeling of cold lips being pressed to his forehead, as Morax whispered a promise to be back as soon as he could.

They had stayed inside Ajax’s cozy cottage, until the public panic had settled down.

And besides that, Ajax's cottage was more comforting than the cold cave walls of Morax's domain.

However, even the house was comforting, they had stayed together mostly for mutual comfort for their shared despair.

____________________________

Morax had cried after he had come back from the meeting.

Although he wasn’t as close to Havria as some of the other adepti, Havria and him had still shared some good times together, and were good friends and allies.

And so, the news of her death still wracked Morax with grief; it pained him terribly.

But as always, he had managed to hold in the pain he felt at the news of her death, and had remained stoic in front of others’ eyes.

But Ajax knew the truth.

He knew it painfully well when Morax came wobbling back to their home, clumsily holding onto his well-maintained composure, golden tears welling up in his warm eyes, threatening to spill over long eyelashes.

He had not uttered a word, but, it was not necessary.

Until Morax had gotten there, into the comfort of their house, their home, Ajax had been attempting comforting himself as well as he could.

Which mainly consisted of drowning his own sorrows by doing menial household chores.

For some reason, he had not found it in himself to go out and fight. The itch to do so, had mostly faded out when the news of Havria's death hit, and for the first time in a long time, the abyssal creature had stopped stirring inside of him.

And so, he had stayed home and was now in the kitchen, making some pirozhkis for him and Morax.

Pirozhkis; savory and warm.

A reminder of his homeland, of the small moments, the days where his mother would silently slide a plate towards him after a particularly rough day, a comfort after a cold day. A food that he too would make for Tonia and Teucer whenever he visited them, shared with laughs and over lively conversation.

Ajax guessed that the sight of him donning a frilly apron (one that was bought as a gag gift from Guizhong on one of their many escapades to the market), humming to himself while he made pirozhkis was enough to cause the man to fall apart.

To shatter.

But, Ajax understood why Morax had succumbed to his emotions, after holding them in after so long.

He understood when Morax wobbled over to him, body trembling as he buried himself into Ajax's shoulder, sobbing like a small child.

For Ajax, Zhongli had been his comfort.

His escape from the harrowing days spent as a soldier, as a servant to his Tsaritsa’s every beck and call.

He understood what the sight of someone waiting for you at the end of each day meant.

He understood how much such a simple thing could affect someone so much.

Everyone needed someone to patience and willing to be their pillar of support after something especially rough as a death.

And so, the sight of someone so comforting and warm awaiting you with reassuring smiles and touches was enough to break someone in half.

And so, Ajax did not utter a word, as he felt his lover's arms curl against his waist and shake like a leaf, nor did he say anything when he felt his shoulder become wet, and instead; he merely kissed Morax through his tears, blinking back his own tears.

____________________________

But now, no comfort was shared.

Morax was not here.

Ajax was alone inside of his bed cover.

Feeling awful and gut-wrenched, as if a string had been pulled loose from a well-crafted doll.

He had unraveled.

And he was glad he had no one to see him do so, this time.

Xiao and the other children had been in Sky Bracer’s care, since the beautiful man had taken it upon himself to take care of the kids, after he had realized that everyone else was out of commission and not able to take care of anyone.

He knew that Sky Bracer still felt the full blow of Havria's death, as he had been closer to Havria, but, he still knew that the children needed to be taken care of and guided, especially when all of the other adults around them were not able to do so.

He had undoubtedly stuffed down his own grief and mourning, and put on a placating smile as the kids continued to bombard him with questions about what had transpired.

Ajax had no doubt in his mind that he has to reward him some time soon, perhaps with a nice present or maybe a nice home-cooked meal as a thank you once this is all over.

But today, he could not find it in himself to move out from his bed.

The news was cathartic, and had hit him harder than he had expected it too.

And now, he was stuck inside of his bed, cheeks puffy and eyes red-rimmed as his mind throbbed with a certain emptiness he hadn’t felt in a long time.

But, it wasn’t because he was particularly sad that Havria had died.

It was because of the overwhelming disappointment he felt.

His failure.

His shame.

He had sworn to change things, he had sworn to make things better this time, but he was prevented from doing so.

He had failed, and he felt so hollow.

If he had failed to save Havria, then it would most certainly be true for everyone else he had sworn so earnestly, so foolishly to protect.

He let out ugly sobs as he buried himself underneath his covers, and curled himself up in a pile of his own misery.

____________________________

A while passed, and Ajax was not sure what hour it was.

Was it night yet?

The next morning?

Would this nightmare come to an end already?

No.

Instead, he heard the gentle knocking of a familiar presence.

But, his limbs felt too heavy and he felt tired.

As if he had been run over by a hundred horses, twice.

He didn’t have it in himself to get up, open the door and face someone.

Not now.

So he ignored it.

But, the knocking persisted.

He wanted to scream at it, to tell it to leave, to leave him waste away in his own fucking misery!

To fuck off!

But all of his tumultuous emotions, suddenly came to a halt when he heard the opening of his door.

His bedroom door.

And then quiet steps, and then a soothing voice overhead, slightly muffled but ever so gentle.

“.. Dearest…are you alright?”

A familiar hand stroked the uncovered part of his hair, and his entire body shivered at the touch, it felt so…faint.

And painfully warm.

He didn’t reply.

His lack of reply caused the figure to continue his ministrations and softly whispered, “Dearest…would you mind lifting the covers for me…I would love to look at your lovely face once again, before I’m gone.”

…What?

What the fuck did that even mean?

Morax never spoke that much, always grunting out replies or showing his feelings through his actions. And when he did speak, it was never through such flowery language.

This wasn’t him.

He lifted his covers, ready to confront whatever was attempting to pass off as his lover. He summoned his dual swords, before he jolted out of the covers, pinning the stranger behind his dual swords.

Distressed and alarmed.

But, his momentary panic, came to a halt.

And his entire body froze.

He was right, this wasn’t Morax.

Not at all.

But, the identity of the being surprised him more than any other stranger could.

Because the man standing before him was none other than Zhongli.

Zhongli!!?

Wearing his usual Funeral Parlour uniform, hair neatly tied into the usual low ponytail he wore, eyes gentle and expression soft as he gazed at Ajax with the familiar patient expression, even as dual swords were pressed up against his throat.

What was he doing here?

Ajax felt a wave of sadness hit him, as his emotions swirled into a twisted monsoon, and as his body shook and his mind reeled at the sight.

The sight of his love.

His beautiful and doting lover, Zhongli.

He let out a long drawn out wail as he withdrew his hydro swords and flung himself at the man who stuttered back a few times, before he crashed into the wall.

The man was evidently surprised, but Ajax didn’t care.

His hands clung onto Zhongli with a force enough to tear the fabric of his uniform open, it didn’t.

Zhongli huffed a soft laugh as he carefully patted Ajax’s hair, his other hand tracing small patterns onto the small of his back.

“..My dearest treasure, what ails you so? Why are you so melancholic? What is the matter?”

Ajax wailed even harder at the sound of Zhongli's voice, or his concern.

And he let out ugly cry after cry, uncaring of the ugly noises that ripped out from his throat, and he held Zhongli closer to him, harder, tighter.

He didn’t have it in himself to ask how Zhongli had gotten here.

Nor if this was simply another dream of his.

He just needed to feel him.

Needed to touch the man for a while longer, until he had to face the harsh reality he knew was coming for him.

Zhongli huffed a laugh, before he pressed a gentle kiss to his head, and inhaled the smell of his lover in and pressed himself further into him, relishing the touch and press of his body against his.

“....Dearest boy, dearest treasure, I have missed you so terribly.”

Ajax didn’t say anything and merely continued to sob, as Zhongli did his best to soothe his distress.

Zhongli passed his fingers through Ajax’s long hair, combing it with his fingers as he drew a strand to his mouth and kissed it, “...So much….How much time has passed,dearest?....Your hair has grown so much already…It’s so lovely, dark like blood when wet, but it dances like bright flames in the sunlight. And yet, it also glows dimly, like a stray ember of fire in the moonlight.....It is one of the many things I have missed so terribly about you, dearest boy..”

Ajax sobbed, as he clutched onto Zhongli harder.

It really was him.

Who else would be ridiculous enough to wax poetry about his stupid hair at such an awful time.

He let out a wet-laugh as Zhongli withdrew his face and cupped it, “...I apologize for sending you off without a proper warning, it was rather cruel of me to do so without a warning....I apologize, but there is no need for you to be so upset, love.....The time for us to meet again is soon approaching…do not fret…”

Ajax sobbed into Zhongli’s hand as he placed his own over the one on his cheek and placed a kiss on the gloved hand, “..I…k-know…B-but…it’s been so hard without you here…And I…don’t know if I can save them…I…couldn’t even save…her…I.. ”

Zhongli chuckled as he placed a kiss on his eyelid, scooping up his tears with his tongue as he hummed, “Dearest…there are some things, we have no control over…Havria…knew of her death…and decided to follow through with it. She wanted to transcend over to the plane after this existence, it was her choice.....It was not something you could have ever foreseen, do not blame yourself dear. Moreover, if Guizhong did not have absolute faith in your abilities, why would she have sent you here?”

Ajax shook his head, in stern denial, “No! I shouldn’t…...I shouldn’t have been sent here, Zhongli…Guizhong was wrong …I…I can’t do this…I can’t…”

Zhongli places a hand on Ajax's lips, and he sighs, “..My dear, Guizhong knows things that even I do not know of...…If she sent you here,then she has faith in your abilities."

Ajax goes to shake his head, but Zhongli merely speaks up once again, "She has undying trust in you…I can feel it…And so do I.”

Ajax feels tears prick at his eyes once more, as he blinks them back.

“I know.....I know…It is cruel of me to request this responsibility onto your shoulders…and if I had a choice…I wouldn’t have done so…but…it is already done.…But, I will say one thing.....Please… please,” Morax leans in closer, “Please do not blame yourself for anyone’s passing.....Fate is something neither me nor you can change…please do not let yourself be swayed....even by him.”

Ajax feels a tide of overwhelming sadness overcome him.

His ideals were too unrealistic.

But Ajax had always been stubborn, he wanted to save everyone, to be with everyone again.

…But, deep down….he knew that he would not be able to save everyone.

Havria was a perfect example of that.

Fate did not allow him to save her life, and it wouldn’t allow him to save others.

And that…that hurt.

Zhongli's eyes soften and fill with a warm that threatens to drown Ajax, before he pulls him in tighter to himself, “Please, do not blame yourself for that grief-stricken dragon's actions…he…will be irrational in his thoughts the more his closest ones die, and will be unreasonable and irrational......He will succumb to his grief and become someone unbearable..…So I beg of you, please do not let yourself be pulled into a grief that is not your own…”

Ajax feels his heart clench at those words.

Because, somewhere in his heart, he had known that Morax would eventually lose himself in his grief.

A part of fate he could not change.

A well-documented and written event in many history books.

Morax's grief and mourning had caused the conception of Liyue Harbor, after all.

Without his grief and mourning, the earth would not have been shaken, remolded, reshaped into what it would be now.

The past could not be changed, at least not too drastically.

But, he had also dreaded the fact that he would have to see a Morax that was drowning in his own grief, unable to forget the faces of those he had failed to save, blaming himself entirely.

And he also knew that eventually, his grief stricken self, and his unpredictable emotions alongside his heavenly principles would lead him to turn his back on Khaenri’ah.

He knew this.

And yet, he loved the man.

He loved all of Morax.

Zhongli stirs, and manages to stir him away from his thoughts, and he gently thumbs his eyes as his tears soak into his gloves.

He smiles gently at Ajax, “Do not worry your pretty head about such matters, dear…Guizhong will visit you to guide you…and…even if I do not visit you…I will always be here with you, to watch over you, to protect, and to love you, Ajax.”

The notion that Zhongli will no longer visit him after this last time, causes distress to spark up inside of Ajax, but he pushes it aside and focuses on the man in front of him.

The present is, after all, the only time that matters to those living in it.

Zhongli smiles at him and whispers, “Now…will you care to indulge me for a bit, dear?...I would love to hold you in my arms…once more..”

Ajax blinks, registering the words and fighting back the sadness that he feels.

Zhongli will be gone when he wakes up.

But, even so with that harsh reality thrown at his face in this devastatingly sweet dream, he takes the lie with all he has and nods.

Zhongli passively nods at him, before he turns to scoop him up and carries him to his bed, placing him in his lap, burying his face into his long hair, caging his arms around Ajax’s waist in a death grip, “... Ajax…..I love you..”

Ajax offers him a wet-laugh as he relishes the body warmth, and comfort in Zhongli’s overwhelmingly peaceful presence; a presence which always served to calm him down even at his most horrid states of mind.

However, something else seems to take care of Zhongli, Ajax could feel it in the way he shifts slightly underneath him, arms gripping tighter, almost bruisingly, as he buries his face in his neck, inhaling Ajax's skin.

It’s not nearly as outwardly possessive as Morax.

Far from it.

It’s less aggressive, and instead it is reassuring, grounding.

Ajax sighs contentedly, as he lets himself get whisked away by the charming man, “...Hm?”

Zhongli’s grip loosens dramatically as he sighs and kisses at Ajax’s neck with the same gentility that he always showed, a far cry to the near bruising grip he had on him moments ago, “... I….…please do not forget me…...even when you are with him…hm?”

Something in Ajax’s curls inwards, as he heeds Zhongli’s words.

And yet, it is not guilt.

Instead, it is subtle amusement.

And, he can’t help but feel slightly endeared by his lover’s cute words.

He loved Morax and he loved Zhongli.

They were one and the same.

And everyday he was starting to notice parts of them in each other.

But, as much as he loved Morax, Zhongli was the only one for him.

His love, his soulmate, his life-partner, his one and only.

Ajax chuckled, passing his fingers through Zhongli’s hair, before loosening it from the low-ponytail he had it in. He then, scratched at his scalp, nearly laughing when the man nearly turned into putty at his ministrations.

“.. Of course I won’t…you know that…you know…”

Zhongli chuckled at his declaration, and then gently pushed the hair out of his way before he softly bit at the nape of his neck, causing Ajax to draw in a sharp breath, “...Mn…I know…but...it’s unfair that he had the chance to properly declare his intent to wed you to the rest of the world here,” he taps at the geo sigil on his nape, “ ..before I did…...that impatient dragon.”

Zhongli grumbled, biting at the geo sigil on his neck which shook and vibrated in the presence of the Geo Archon.

It seemed as if the geo sigil was similarly excited to see Zhongli.

Ajax barked with laughter as he grinned, “...Is that so?...Well then, I guess you’ll have to lay a mark of your own when I get back…hm? ”

Zhongli only chuckled at his words, before he dropped a sweet kiss on the back of his head, “Of course, baobei.”

Geez.

Ajax’s face burns bright at the nickname, and in an instant, he feels like a giggling maiden laughing when her beloved calls to her gently as they refuse to depart from each other’s embrace.

A moment passes by, and Zhongli shifts once more, carrying Ajax’s body with a practiced ease that does not go unnoticed by Ajax, “Hm......Something tells me that this is not the first time you are carrying men into your bed Zhongli?...Have you had lovers neither Liyuen historians nor I am aware of, you saucy minx?”

His words are meant to tease Zhongli, and are meant to be light-hearted in every way possible.

But, it causes the man to pause as his face turns oddly serious, “No. You have been the only one who has ever caught my attention, I would never carry others like this into my chambers.”

He sounded utterly outraged at the notion, upset.

The sound makes Ajax feel strangely reassured, even though it's a silly thought.

Because it matters not to Ajax how many lovers or how many other people had embraced Zhongli because for now and forever, Zhongli was his lover.

But, he continued to tease his boyfriend and grinned widely, the spitting image of a tempting huli jing, “Mhmm…sounds like denial to me.…There's no need to be ashamed, it’s alright with me if you have….With the way in which you are carrying me, it looks as if you have…And I do not blame you of course, the mighty Morax surely has had many trysts with beautiful men and women alike, I’m sure..”

Zhongli’s frown became deeper, “..Never…they never held none of my interest, not then, not now. You were the only one who has ever held my keen interest, my love, then and now.”

Ajax felt even more pleased and laughed as he was tucked in carefully into the freakishly plush and soft covers, “... Charlatan! I’m sure you’ve told all of the eager maidens that line before..”

At this point, Ajax is sure that Zhongli can tell he is merely joking from the way his dissatisfied expression gives way to an exasperated smile.

He sighs, and makes his way into the covers himself, pulling out a book from Celestia knows where, “...What will I ever do with you, dearest?”

Ajax grins wide, as he cuddles into Zhongli’s frame, “Hmm.....Stroke my hair?”

Zhongli’s eyes seemingly sparkle at his lover’s cheekiness and he complies and strokes his hair before he gently massages his body, making Ajax relaxed and sleepy.

Zhongli chuckles when he notices Ajax attempting to fight the sleepiness that has taken over his body, hugging Ajax and holding him close to his chest.

“Rest now, dearest….rest for now…”

And he does.

Inside of the warmth of Zhongli’s arms; in his beautiful dream.

____________________________

When he wakes up, as expected, although rather disappointedly, Zhongli is nowhere to be seen.

Only the faint smell of silk flowers and sandalwood incense are a gentle reminder of his presence here, or perhaps Ajax was imagining it.

Even so, he feels particularly rejuvenated, filled with energy and with a clear mind.

He had people that believed in him, and were relying on him to do this.

Setbacks were expected, setbacks were welcome, they were needed in order to advance.

He grinned as he slowly stretched and made his way out of the door.

Things would surely get better, he was sure of it!

____________________________

Things did not get better.

In fact, they only got worse.

In less than 4 months, things were heading for the worse .

Tensions were high between everyone in the alliance, as everyone suspected each other of being on the brink of madness as Havria’s wife was.

They started to develop an aura of distrust towards each other, and no longer wanted anything to do with one another. Whilst others wanted to stick together and form a close pact, as they waited out the war from the comfort of their separate parts of the world.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, the villagers were similarly getting nervous as the once bustling town was dead, as if it had been abandoned.

The streets were no longer aligned with enthusiastic vendors who attempted to scream out their affordable prices and how better their product was to an awaiting crowd.

Instead, they were deathly quiet, and that showed up even more as the snow started to fall and slowly melt as the weather started to clear up a bit.

And if that wasn’t the worst part about it, even if they had started to attend dinners and breakfast once again, the lively conversations and jokes were gone and replaced with dull conversations which always related to what they would do in case the war were to rage against them.

The children had started to grow older (but perhaps they had always looked like that, it was just the lack of proper nutrition that prevented them from properly developing). And they seemed to be older than they used to look like, and Ganyu was now taller than Xiao…ah…

That sentiment greatly displeased Xiao, but even if he grouched about it, he never admitted it in front of A-Yu…preferring to merely compare himself to the taller girl when he thought no one was looking.

As expected, Morax had begun to properly train Xiao, after Ajax suggested that he would be the best at teaching him since Morax’s weapon of choice was a polearm after all.

Xiao was rather embarrassed at the prospect of being taught by his idol, and dutifully listened to every single order and command from Morax….it seemed that after all this time, Xiao was still destined to be Morax’s #1 most filial son-uhh…disciple.

And he was quite the jealous disciple…frowning whenever another one of the disciple’s got near Morax or got to train alongside him.

And…his strange jealousy seemed to waft into his and Ajax’s relationship as he nearly growled at the sight of Ajax bonding with anyone that wasn’t him….

The only reason Ajax didn’t outwardly reprimand him (though he did have stern talks about why it wasn’t acceptable to growl at family) was because his behavior was merely a cause from the years of neglect he had endured.

The kid most likely felt the most secure with the both of them, and even if he didn’t think of them as parents, a part of his subconscious certainly did, and wanted all of their attention to himself.

Which was justifiable.

But even so, Ajax sighed whenever he saw Xiao act subtly passive-aggressive towards an oblivious Ganyu after Ajax had started to show her how to wield a bow (even if he sucked at using one himself).

Lessons which she eagerly took in stride, and even similarly punched an arrow until it pierced right through its target…which caused Cloud Retainer’s jaw to nearly detach from her face…

Needless to say, after a swift reprimand, Ajax promised that he would not teach her such unorthodox methods…even if Ganyu seemed rather eager to throw her arrows in that matter, as it was much easier to do than constantly reloading and drawing your bow string.

Ajax agreed of course, but perhaps it was just because he was always so impatient when it came to using a bow, preferring faster weapons.

Morax had also started to supervise the two of them, after Cloud Retainer nearly threw a fit, but Ajax always managed to teach Ganyu the wrong methods…which hey, they were certainly much faster.

And well, sweet little A-Yu would always listen to her gege, and eagerly comply, even after he explained to her how to properly gouge people’s eyes out of their sockets…for interrogation purposes.

…You can’t really blame him.

In the fatui army, they taught you such dirty tricks, in order to gain the upper hand in any battle in case you lost your weapon.

It, of course, caused more migraines for Cloud Retainer, but certainly amused Morax.

But of course, his extra attention directed towards Ganyu, caused a certain green yaksha to visibly shake with jealousy.

…It seemed like he took after Morax in more ways than one…

Celestia above, what would Ajax do with these two possessive idiots!

He was incredibly fond of them both.

In fact, he was fond enough of them, that he had even allowed Xiao to sleep in the same bed as him, even though he was stable enough (as his night terrors had been decreasing over the months, and had gotten to the point where he could sleep longer without them) to sleep on his own.

He even had his own room for Celestia’s sake!

But, the stubborn boy somehow, preferred to use the room as storage for his clothes, hairpins, and other miscellaneous items (that were most likely gifts from Ajax or Guizhong).

He still preferred to stick to Ajax, like a baby-bird refusing to leave its mother’s nest.

And it was hard to refuse the poor boy, mostly due to the terrible childhood he endured and because of his stupidly squishable baby-cheeks!

Xiao would merely endure the relentless pinches from Ajax and huff, puffing out his cheeks, before he would march off to train with Bosacius. Ajax knew that he enjoyed the attention, even if he pretended that he didn’t.

But it seemed as if those two had grown close to each other, most likely due to the immense dedication they had to train, and even more so because of the war which threatened their lives…

And whilst the rest were similarly dedicated in their respective training, they took far more breaks than those two…and Ajax couldn’t find out if it was a bad or good thing.

Who knows?

But at least his sanity was still a constant…for now…at least.

Morax was as doting as ever, refusing to leave his side, like the clingy lizard he had made himself to be. And because of his clinginess, and Ajax’s refusal to bear with his embarrassment and sit on his lap during a 2 hour meeting with his people and the alliance, which greatly displeased the ridiculously possessive dragon.

Who was so ridiculous that even in times of literal war, still wanted to cling and dote on Ajax, even in front of possibly disloyal allies.

And so, in order not to deal with the constant stares from the other gods in the allyship, he decided to do something about the dragon.

He struck up a deal with Morax, a contract.

He would have to attend his meeting whilst Ajax was in a different seat, but he would get to sleep alongside him and be as clingy as he wanted to be the rest of the day.

Morax had accepted the deal, with a slight frown on his face as he sealed the contract with a shake of his hand.

And now…he had both a clingy baby-bird and a clingy dragon at his sides during the night, in that small bed of his, as he was squished in the middle of them.

And that would not be entirely unpleasant, as the weather was still relatively cold, and so the extra body heat was very much welcome.

However, the two of them clung to him the entire night: Xiao clung to his arm and Morax clung to his waist.

So bothersome!

He looked towards Xiao who was now sitting at the edge of the bed, quietly sharpening his spear with a stone.

Morax had gifted Xiao his very own spear, crafted out of pure jade and infused with adeptal energy, before he left it up to the kid to decorate it how he pleased.

Xiao had accepted the gift with near tears in his eyes as he reverently took care of it as if it was a precious item and not a weapon…

The kid and the rest of his small disciples had each developed a sense of style, with Xiao preferring for more aerodynamic clothes with a color palette that always consisted of green, red, white, black, and very often dark purple.

The colors had fascinated Xiao ever since he saw them Guizhong’s many qixiong ruquns, and when his eyes widened as he stared at the color with transfixed awe…Ajax knew he was going to have to collect far more materials to make the color. And the kid even started to wear particular charms made by Cloud Retainer, to protect the kid from harmful spirits. And the kid somehow despised outercoats, preferring to merely wear shuhe’s over zhiju’s any day.

Whilst Menogias had started to dress far too much like Zhongli…with a taste for browns and golds as he wore many layers and even designed and tailored his own outfits together…And well…Ajax vaguely wondered if perhaps Morax had asked Menogias to make him something himself…as the stitching and the patterns were far too much like Zhongli’s usual outfit to not stare at them.

However, unlike Zhongli, Menogias seemed to wear far fewer layers, and bolder cuts and design choices than Zhongli would ever be comfortable with. He was now about 16-ish, tall, and very particular with the way he liked things done.

Bosacius dressed far too inappropriate for the era, with his entire top half being out, with very striking tattoos that aligned his arms (Xiao wanted to get one, but Ajax had forbidden him until he was about Bosacius’s age…and Xiao had merely frowned before agreeing to it). He always wore pants, colors always either purple or black, but he would refuse to wear a shirt.

However, even if Menogias and Cloud Retainer attempted to get him inside of a shirt…he always threw a fit and disagreed with their choice, proclaiming that he would move better without clothes and that it wouldn’t fit all of his arms.

Cloud Retainer would always huff and roughly peck at his head before she would throw him the clothes and ordered him to get dressed for the meeting they were having later…Bosacius would always start to complain but after a sharp glare from Cloud Retainer, he would shut up and steadily agree, grumbling and slipping on the shirt.

Meanwhile, Menogias always had to argue with him and nearly wrestle him to get him to agree to wear it.

Indarias was quite the bold one with her fashion, however, that wasn’t a bad thing. In fact, she reminded Ajax a lot of Xinyan with the bold red eyeliner, predominantly red and yellow clothes and unconventional patterns and stylized hanfu. And her fiery and yet sweet personality was what struck Ajax the most similar to the rock and roll musician. She would always be keen to train alongside the others and was quite gifted but…was also quite the slacker…

Ajax knew for a fact that people would surely take after her stylized versions of the many qiyao ruquns she was made to wear for formal events.

Bonanus was a different story, as she preferred the colors Ajax often saw Madam Ping wear.

She had taken a liking to Madam Ping’s choice of colors ever since she found out that Madam Ping was a creature belonging to the sea as well, and Ajax guessed she found a sense of camaraderie and familiarity to her.

However, unlike Madam Ping, she mainly wore shades of blues but would on occasion add a pop of green into her outfits.

But, other than her deceptively sweet appearance, there was something else besides that.

….Bonanus was quite the accomplished troublemaker, always tricking the others (predominantly Bosacius since he was always slightly clueless when it came to people playing tricks on him). And Indarias would often be her accomplice, although sometimes, they would manage to drag Bosacius into it.

They were harmless pranks, but it did not mean that they did not annoy a certain temperamental yaksha.

Ajax still remembers that mean prank they played on his poor, poor de-facto son.

____________________________

Xiao had been asleep against a wide tree (...he had been doing such ever since he saw Morax do it..) to rest his tired body after a long day of training.

Ajax remembers passing by him, stopping to stare at the boy in awe.

He had started to grown older in features and knowledge, and was growing day-by-day.

The entire reason Ajax had even encountered him, was all because of one reason.

He went out to fetch Morax out in the training fields, in order to get him to wash the clothes that he had gotten dirty.

Morax had soiled the precious clothes with iron-rich blood, after slashing the many throats and stomachs of the hordes of rift wolves that were arising by the days. He had warned Morax to not get those particular sets of zhiju dirty, since those were the ones Guizhong had commissioned specifically for formal events…but the stubborn dragon had paid him no mind and gotten them dirty anyways.

And so, Ajax was not going to wash them: One, because blood was hard to get out of clothes (since he himself has had to wash the many clothes that he had stained with blood after his many bloodthirsty urges had gotten the best of him). And Two, because he did not have it in him to deal with another load of clothes, unless he wanted to have his hands uncomfortable and rubbed raw for the rest of the day.

So he was there to fetch the man, since he knew that their lessons typically ended around noon.

But of course, he was stopped by the sight of his de facto son lazing around and completely relaxed against the tree, hands on his sides as he dozed off.

However, in his state of endearment, he failed to hear the muffled laughter of many. But as they drew closer, he could see the vibrantly colored hair and clothes of his many disciples making their way into his line of vision.

There were three of them, Bonanus, Indarias, and Bosacius.

Menogias had most likely gone to go over the many blocks and attacks he had learned from Morax, always such the overachiever that one was….it was no surprise he was the most praised and favored disciple amongst Cloud Retainer and Mountain Shaper.

He was their dream disciple: he didn’t show up late, he used formal language, followed instructions, obeyed orders, went above and beyond to ensure he did a certain move correctly, and even helped them with their errands.

But, Ajax couldn’t blame them, he truly was such a well-disciplined young man. Even Ajax knows that he would be delighted to train him, and perhaps he would…if he ever got the chance to.

Bonanus had a shit-eating grin on her face, as she held up a small calligraphy brush (most likely from Cloud Retainer…as she patiently taught the unruly girl how to properly write and read), before she waved at Indarias.

Indarias seemed to understand what she wanted to do and silently walked over with a small cartridge of what appeared to be ink…ah…

Ajax saw where this was going, and was going to stop them when he saw the joy on their faces…

He sighed and watched them carry on.

Bonanus conjured up a small droplet of water, and plopped it into the small cartridge of ink, and slowly swirled the brush into the ink, watching as the pale brown brush turned pitch black, full with ink.

She giggled before she carefully brought it down on Xiao’s face, painting small cat whiskers on his face.

Surprisingly, Xiao did not move.

Ajax guessed that the boy did not wake up because he was so tired and spent that his normally alert state seemed to relax somewhat.

Bosacius similarly started to muffle his laughs, as he exchanged mischievous smiles with Bonanus as he took the brush and started to paint absurd patterns on Xiao’s face…that were mostly just strangely drawn on shapes all over his face.

Indarias nearly burst into laughter at the state of Xiao’s face, but muffled it as she hunched over and bit her sleeve to prevent her laughter from escaping the confines of her throat.

She too took the brush, and with eaze, drew a silly mustache on Xiao before drawing slight swirls on his cheeks…

Ajax chuckled at the sight, and was reminded of the many antics of his younger siblings.

He remembers waking up one day, after falling asleep on the couch and waking up to many silly drawings all over his face…which were hard to scrub off.

He wasn’t mad at them, he could never be mad at his baby siblings, but he was mildly annoyed at how hard they were to scrub off.

So, he knew that Xiao would be…livid when he woke up and realized the absurd drawings all over his face…but just like Ajax, he would not stay mad at them and merely huff and scrub off the drawings.

But, Xiao was not someone anybody wanted to be around when he got mad.

The boy was already notorious for his temper, even after a mere months of being with The Adepti. Even the people of Qingce Village knew how relentless and fierce he could be when he got ticked off.

Nobody wanted to be around that angsty ball of fury, especially not after he had made his temper known (after the other children had poked him too much).

Ajax sighed and marched off, hoping that he did not have to act as a meat-shield whilst Xiao chased a giggling Bonanus…yet again.

______________________________

He did.

And Ajax remembers having to deal with the unruly children, as Bonanus and Indarias ran away from a raging Xiao, who had woken up to Bosacius painting silly pictures of flowers on his cheeks…

Bosacius had definitely gotten the bad-end of the stick.

And he was buried underneath the ground, only his head sticking out from the large hole Xiao had dug and promptly swung him into before caging him in with seals used for demons.

Ajax had them laying around…ever since there were reports of dream demons around town, Cloud Retainer had made them specifically in case there was ever an infestation of them again.

Ajax knew it was just to be safe.

But either way, he saw it in poor taste to leave them in the children’s line of sight.

And so, he had gathered them, and looked around to find a well-hidden spot to guard them in, since Cloud Retainer nearly threw a fit when she heard he was considering destroying them.

And so, in order to appease her, he had thought it best to keep them well protected into a small wooden box all the way in the bottom of his closet.

But….it seemed as if he had miscalculated with the spot he had chosen to hide them in.

Because Xiao found them almost immediately (damned brat!), and had gotten his powers momentarily sealed with the small yellow seal…which had caused Ajax to sigh as he called Morax to help him get it off.

Morax was (thankfully), good at seal-making and breaking in general, as according to him, he had been taught how to do so from Cloud Retainer who (in the early days) had insisted that a righteous and well-rounded ruler should learn how to make seals, learn calligraphy, learn how to play a variety of instruments, amongst a lot of things that nearly made it sound as if Morax was a sheltered prince…instead of a tall, burly, muscular, and unruly adeptus…who had a predilection for violence in the past.

The man had complained at first…as he was in the middle of lounging around Ajax’s expensive furnished couch which his beloved shijie had brought him as a birthday gift (after she had heard that she had missed his birthday…and since they had broken the couch in half after Morax was particularly rough…ahem..).

But Ajax did not hear any of it, and dragged the man out of the couch to help their reckless son.

Which he did, although with a sleepy grouchy expression, looking almost identical to Xiao.

Like father, like son…

______________________________

Guizhong started to look livelier these past few days, wearing a small smile on her face, dressed head-to-toe in white.

In fact, Guizhong had not stopped wearing white, even after Havria’s funeral proceedings took place.

Ajax still remembers the sight of all of his loved ones, dressed in pure white attire, as they lowered Havria’s body into a casket.

Havria herself was dressed in her favorite clothes, with her most expensive jewelry on befit of a goddess, as flowers surrounded her casket, making a rather bittersweet sight.

The smell of burnt paper and incense filled Ajax’s nose, as Havria’s followers and her loved-ones burned joss paper and lit incense in her memory.

The sound of her followers bowing down to her and mourning her loss, as something Ajax thinks he might never forget in his entire life.

A sound so harrowing that it left Ajax feeling hollow afterwards.

He had not known Havria as long as the rest of The Adepti had, and yet, her cryptic words still left a mark on him. But, even then, he could tell that she was someone who was most likely aware of her own fate.

As she had a sort of omniscient aura about her, otherworldly and strange.

Ajax remembers comforting his crying shijie, as she mourned the loss of her close friend, hunched over on the floor, bowing to her.

It always scared Ajax to see Guizhong grieving, because unlike everyone else.

She grieved with her whole heart.

The other members of the adepti and the children just stood awkwardly before the sight of much mourning, and some even allowed themselves to be swayed alongside everyone’s emotion and cried.

Afterwards, some of the adepti had refused to stop wearing white, at least not until they could have some sort of closure with their loss.

Those were: Guizhong, Cloud Retainer, Madam Ping, and Sky Bracer.

They were the ones who were the closest to Havria.

So it was no wonder that they would continue to wear white even after the funeral.

And Ajax swore they looked like ghostly apparitions every time he saw them up ahead, it was chilling.

But, the good thing was that Guizhong had started to come out to eat more often, and had even gone on night walks towards Havria’s grave to sit alongside her and share a cup of Pu’er tea, her favorite.

They had buried Havria next to her lover, with countless haitang blossoms planted around them, the flower that was associated with Havria when she was alive.

They all were slowly coping with her loss and attempting to return to the way they used to.

But it would surely take time before that was a possibility.

______________________________

Ajax’s birthday was celebrated a day after Guizhong had first emerged from her reclusive state.

If it was up to Ajax, he wouldn’t have bothered to tell them of his missed birthday, as he didn’t think it was all that important.

But, of course, he had to let it slip that his birthday had already passed.

It was just a slip of his tongue.

But, that was enough for the word to pass by the children, which eventually landed its way to Guizhong’s ears.

It had happened during one of their many days spent training.

Normally, it would have been Cloud Retainer and Sky Bracer who helped train the kids, but…the sightings of rift wolves was becoming worse, so they kept watch and dealt with that, whilst Morax and Ajax trained with the kids.

The oldest of the kids were technically considered to be teenagers now, but it was all the same difference to Ajax, who still considered them to be kids in his eyes.

And so, Morax and him had made their way over to the training grounds, Xiao following beside them, already the height of Ajax’s hip.

He was growing so fast!

Of course, Xiao had struck up a friendship with the other kids, and so he looked like he was far more eager to train alongside them than when he first arrived.

Little A-Yu was also training alongside them, and was already there when they arrived.

She looked to be about the age that Xiao was when he had first arrived, and was now able to talk more and more. And although Ganyu was taller than Xiao (since she had a very unexpected growth spurt), he still felt a need to protect the girl and get her away from harm.

Even though Ajax and Xiao knew that Ganyu would eventually be able to protect herself, as the way she was advancing with her bow was promising, she was still far too young to be able to protect herself for now.

And so, he felt proud of the boy and constantly gushed about it to Morax, who merely hummed and combed through Ajax’s hair with one of his ornate wooden combs.

As they arrived at the training grounds, Ajax was proud to see the kids already there, dressed in shuhe and looking eager to train.

Morax stepped forward and when they saw him, they immediately tensed and straightened their posture, “Grab your weapons.”

The children immediately went to grab their weapons, getting into stance as they stood near their separate training dummies.

Morax hummed, nodding, “Begin.”

At once, they began to practice their attacks and blocks.

Ajax grinned as Xiao hastily went over to Ganyu, when he saw her trip on a small rock.

He smiled, as he went over to Indarias who was wielding her stone broadsword, pummeling a dozen targets with swift motions.

The way she wielded it, reminded Ajax of a certain boisterous Captain, whom he held very dear and near to his heart.

In fact, he even gave Indarias some pointers, from his own experience using a broadsword and from what he had seen from Beidou.

When he saw Ajax approaching, she stopped, breathing heavily and settling her weapon down to her side, resting on its hilt.

“ Ge! What are you doing here? I thought you were with Shigu at the frontlines.”

She asked, slightly tired and yet curious.

He paused, “Ah…well...I have come to give you kids pointers, the same as usual, mei-mei. ”

“Oh, then can you teach me how to block attacks?...You mentioned a counter-attack I could use, if I harnessed my pyro energy…but I’m having some trouble with locating it so that it absorbs attacks…And I can’t even form a shield to save my life!”

He grinned, his smile becoming all fox-like as he teased his junior, “Hm I see..…but are you really ready to learn?”

She pouted at him and groaned, “Of course I am, ge! I have been training on and off for days, I’m positive I’m ready to learn!”

He raised his eyebrow, “...Are you really really sure?”

Her pout became deeper as she nodded eagerly, “Yes! I am, I swear, ge! I can do it, just teach me! Please!~”

He burst into laughter at the sight of her face, reminding him of the times Tonia would get mad at him for withholding the ending to a story, “...Alright! Alright! I’ll teach you.”

Her pout immediately became wide as it nearly blinded him with the intensity of it, and he could swear he could see sparkles and stars in her eyes.

She pumped her fists into the air, as she yelled, “Fuck yeah!! Let’s go!”

Ajax paused at her words, as she came to the realization and covered her mouth in a panic, “I’m sorry, Shigu- I mean ge!! Please don’t peck me!”

The poor girl had probably been used to Cloud Retainer’s strict rules and her horrid pecks to her head after slipping up.

He laughed as he passed a hand through her hair, “Silly girl, I won’t peck you, I don’t even have a beak! Now, come on then, let’s go and teach you that shield and counter-attack.”

Her excitement nearly buzzed out of her skin as she grinned and followed Ajax.

______________________________

After they came across a nearby lake, he stopped and turned around, “Alright, so, I’ll teach you how to conjure up a shield…Now, draw out your energy and hold it to your chest, like this.”

Ajax called out to his hydro vision and carefully conjured water near his chest, swirling it so much that it formed a strange white light.

Indarias nodded as she followed him and similarly conjured up her fire near her chest, as she swirled it around, “I can do this, but I always mess up at the next part.”

Ajax nods, “I understand, but just try to follow me, and then I’ll see if you are doing something wrong.”

He carefully spreads the energy that he conjured up and in the blink of an eye, it has formed a shield around him that sparkles lightly like a soft sheen.

Indarias sighs, “Okay, ge. But I don’t think this will work,” she similarly concentrates and closes her eyes, softly spreading the energy that is in her arms, spreading it until it forms a wonky shield around her.

Ajax feels proud and is about to praise her, when the energy suddenly snuffs out.

She opens her eyes and huffs, “See! I can’t do it!”

He sighs, and goes over to her, “No, no. I saw what you did wrong. You’re scared to put too much force behind your energy, so you lessened it so that it caused the shield to not withstand for a long period of time. Just try to put more energy into it, if anything goes wrong I can always snuff it out with my hydro.”

Indarias looks frustrated, but she nods and closes her eyes again.

This time, she makes a bigger circle and spreads it out more quickly. Just like Ajax suspected, it spreads over her and is much spherical than it was, and it lasts a few more seconds than last time.

Indarias opens her eyes and sees the shield that she has formed around herself, before it softly disperses, and she frowns, “...Why isn’t it staying?”

Ajax chuckles, patting her shoulder softly, “Hey, don’t sweat it kid. It took me a long time for me to be able to counter-attack, much less form a shield….Let’s switch over to the counter-attack for now, okay?”

She nods, and conjures up her energy.

He aims his hydro vision towards her and sends it out in a quick flash, she easily catches it and sends it out, blowing a tree in half from the impact.

She opens her eyes and sees the damage done and she jumps in joy, pumping her fists in the air, “Fuck yeah!! I finally did it!”

Ajax grins wide, before he goes over and pats her head, “Good job, mei-mei!”

She grins up at him, before engulfing him in a tight hug that reminds Ajax of the way Guizhong hugs people, “Thank you, ge!”

He chuckles and rolls his eyes, “Yeah, yeah. It was no problem, silly girl…Now, don’t think just because you’ve done this that you are done with your training, you still have to master your shields. So, get to it!”

She groans into his chest before she pulls away and nods, “Fine..”

______________________________

After a while of training, they went back to the others, after Indarias’ shield lasted about a minute or so.

Everyone was still training, as Morax was sternly guiding the kids on their attacks and correcting their stances and postures.

Ajax felt endeared all over again, as Morax gently corrected their grips on their weapons and praised them in his own unique way.

The others did not notice them coming back, likely focused on their own training, as he turned around to see his tired mei-mei.

She looked half-way to death with how tired she looked, and so, Ajax decided to spare her some pity.

He picked up her weapon and placed it beside a nearby log, “Come on, let’s rest for a while. You’ve earned it.”

Indarias’ eyes glittered with thanks, nearly bursting into tears, “...Can you always train with us, ge?”

Ajax felt amused at this, and could already feel the prickling jealousy wading off of Cloud Retainer’s feathers at this earnest declaration.

“No, I am here temporarily. Your Shigu will be back in a few days or so, I am just filling in her position for now…And besides, you shouldn’t say that…you don’t want to be pecked to death..”

She sighed, “Aww….okay..”

He chuckled before he sat down on the grass, patting the area next to him to get Indarias to sit next to him.

The girl instantly plopped down onto the spot next to him and let out a sigh, resting her chin on her palm.

After a while the girl spoke up, “... Shijie has mentioned something about a ‘birthday’....Apparently the mortals celebrate the day people were first born, and make it a celebration of sorts…..But I can’t even remember the day I was born…I just remember waking up..”

Ajax sighed, patting her head.

He hadn’t realized that for many adepti, they did not have someone to mark down their birthday for them, and since they aged so rapidly, they had no use to celebrate a birthday, “Well.....I..do not know if it has been mentioned to you, but I…I used to be a human..”

Indarias whips her head so fast to look at him that he thinks it might fall off, “Really?! Ge was once a human? Then how did ge become an adeptus?”

“Ah…that’s…”

Complicated.

He cleared his throat, “...Someone dear to me turned me into one…but before that…I used to be a human being…”

Indarias nods, “That’s so cool! Then, does that mean you also have a ‘birthday’?”

“Yes, I do…But I…haven’t celebrated it…in a long time…”

Indarias’ expression falls and she frowns, her eyebrows knitting, “Why?”

Ajax sighs, staring ahead to see his juniors working hard to train, as Morax stood by to give them pointers, as a soft breeze passed by him, blowing his hair slightly, “...I do not think it’s a big deal…I…We are nearly at war with…many…And so, it I found it to be slightly inconvenient to celebrate such a thing when we are coming up on a war….”

Indarias pouts as she pats his arm in an attempt to be reassuring, “..That still must hurt to know nobody celebrated such an important thing…”

Ajax feels a pang of endearment at his junior’s earnest sympathy, and laughs, before running his fingers through his hair, feeling the slightly rough texture, “No need to feel so bad for me, silly girl…It’s simply something that I will celebrate… later on…Feel bad for things that matter, and worry about your training for now…”

Indarias’ pout becomes deeper, which causes Ajax to continue to pet her hair, “...Cheer up, silly mei-mei… And enjoy your break before your Shigu comes to reprimand you.”

The mention of Cloud Retainer causes the pout to turn into a scowl as she closes her eyes and relishes the much-needed break.

Ajax chuckles and enjoys the sight of his lover up ahead, patiently teaching the yaksha.

______________________________

Guizhong had approached him shortly afterwards, a large frown on her face.

It was when he was outside of his house, taking care of a recently planted garden he had set up for himself.

He needed something to do in order to not go mad, so he had planted a variety of plants outside near the side of his house, and was watering them with the old watering can he had laying around.

The sight of such an awful expression was enough to cause concern in Ajax, as he wondered what may have caused his shijie to be in such a foul mood.

Of course, he was relieved that she was finally out and about, but the frown on her face was enough to erase any relief he might have felt.

She was dressed in a fully white qixiong-ruqun with a matching coat overtop it all, with a simple white ribbon to tie her hair back into a high ponytail.

She almost looked like one of those infamous cultivators who cultivated for hundreds of years on top of mountains from those legends that Ajax had heard about in the many textbooks and stories from Liyue.

“Shijie? What’s wrong?” He stood up and placed his watering can on the side.

Guizhong’s frown turned into a scarily neutral expression, before she sighed and hit his arm, exasperated, “....Shidi! Why didn’t you tell me that we missed your birthday!”

“I…uhh…didn’t think it was important enough to mention…nor celebrate.”

She huffed, crossing her arms, indignant, “Of course it is important shidi. It’s the day you were born, the day you were brought into this world with a purpose. Of course it would be important!”

The passion behind her words were almost enough to make him feel bad for not telling her so he merely shrugged, “I…We are approaching a war, shijie…It’s not important to celebrate such minute things…”

She didn’t relent and merely surged forward and embraced him in a bear-hug, “Well, you’re wrong!…And I even set up a celebratory dinner for you! A-Ping even made your favorite!….So, there’s no way you can’t come!!”

She pouted and caused a laugh to erupt from Ajax’s throat.

He really was weak against her after all.

He sighed into her shoulder and was immediately hit with the scent of glaze lilies, “..Thank you shijie.. .”

She hummed, “Mn…now let’s go! We are almost late!”

And then, he was dragged from his garden, covered in dirt as he was escorted up the mountain and to the table, where Madam Ping was waiting for him, with a bowl of Calla Lily Fish Soup.

It was piping hot and it was delicious as ever.

The others were similarly present, and although times were dull, they tried their best to make it as lively as they could.

They shared laughs, wine, and riveting conversation as the night carried on.

And that’s why his house was filled with many last-minute gifts, which consisted of the aforementioned couch Guizhong had gotten him.

He also received a book of medicinal herbs from Cloud Retainer who urged him to start making his own ointment….if all he was going to use her’s for was….ahem…‘shameless reasons’ and not medical ones.

He got a warm coat from Madam Ping, which was rather useful, especially because of the especially chilly mornings and nights this time of year.

A calligraphy set from Mountain Shaper, as he urged Ajax to take up another more useful skill, and a sharp stone from Moon Carver to sharpen his weapons.

A shiny set of earrings from Sky Bracer, which were made of fiery rubies and dipped in silver, they dangled and even had small red tassels attached to them. They were certainly some of the most beautiful earrings he had seen in a long time, and he would make sure to cherish them.

And many assortment of bracelets and flower crowns made of tiny flowers from the children.

Xiao had even gifted him wrist guards, especially bought from downtown…which were originally bought to be a ‘thank you’ gift to Ajax weeks before…but were hastily shoved into the bottom of his closet until Xiao could find the right occasion to do it.

They were a simple black and red, which complimented many of his shuhes.

He had thanked Xiao with a tight hug, which caused protest to the shy kid, but Ajax didn’t take it to heart.

He knew Xiao cared about him, and that was enough for him, even if he profusely denied it sometimes.

And afterwards, at night, inside Morax's domain, he was gifted with many kisses, praise, and tender whispers from Morax as the man endlessly pleasured Ajax, leaving behind scratches and marks in his wake.

They would surely leave his body sore and throbbing the next morning, but Ajax didn’t mind.

It was all in all, a good day.

The right step in healing.

______________________________

Tensions were getting higher and higher as the days passed, and things were looking to be worse than ever.

More and more gods were becoming corrupt, driven mad from the same miasma.

They killed their people, and were driven by a madness that urged them to kill anyone they came into contact with.

And it made everyone of the gods The Adepti had a mutual agreement start to retrieve their statements and annul their side of the contract.

The contract that allowed for peace in their respective growing nations.

Because now, if any of them went mad, the other was allowed to kill them at any moment’s notice.

Guizhong still wore white, but she looked even more stressed out nowadays, as she was desperately attempting to keep people on their side, but was helpless as they each pulled out of their mutual agreement.

Morax’s past tendency for violence did not help persuade the lesser powerful gods, who all cowered in fear for the potential destruction Morax could do, if he was ever corrupted himself.

Of course, Ajax knew that Morax had never been taken by the madness that took others’ lives, but…he was not so sure now.

Havria had died early.

And the war was coming upon them faster than he had anticipated.

All because of him, an outlier in their reality, had come in and changed everything, and had altered the way things had been for years.

So, at this point…anything could happen. And probably would.

And well…that wasn’t exactly the best for Ajax’s stress levels.

As now, he had to juggle his own relationships as well as the constant pressure that he exerted on himself to: retrieve the gnosis, save Zhongli, save the Adepti, and ensure that Liyue would prosper the way it was destined to.

It was a lot of pressure for one person.

Ajax had his doubts that he would be able to accomplish such a thing, but given as he was entrusted by Guizhong herself…perhaps she knew better than him.

So, it was up to him to rely on himself…he supposed.

And so, to pass the time and lay off steam from the constant migraine-inducing levels of stress he felt, he went out alongside Cloud Retainer to deal with the rift wolf infestation.

Riftwolves had always been such an unpleasant sight for little Ajax back in the Abyss.

He always attempted to stay clear from their path when he was alongside his master Skirk, as at that point he had been too weak to take them on himself.

However, as he grew stronger, and as Skirk rebuilt his entire physiological structure through a painful process…he could take them on rather easily.

They were more pests than anything at that point, so Ajax was always displeased to catch the sight of one.

The only good thing about rift wolves was the fact that they were large vessels of abyssal energy, which greatly pleased the monstrous side of himself.

It was always such a relief to eat such a delicious meal after a long day’s work.

And more so when he had them available nearly 24/7 now.

In fact, he was glad that the rips in Teyvat were mostly rift wolves and not other more hard to deal with and traumatizing beasts.

Ajax had mostly blocked the memories of the unsightly ones, a trauma response, no doubt. And so, he did not want to see them roaming around once again.

He vaguely remembers his master Skirk warning him about the beast that roamed around their version of ‘noon’.

No one had ever caught a sight of it, and yet Skirk told him stories about how she had nearly gotten eroded from its intense abyssal taint.

That was the thing about the beast.

It destroyed everything in its path, including other beasts.

Which…was good in a way since it got rid of the other monsters…but also bad since it put them in risk of getting turned into nothing but a pile of goo on the floor.

And well…it wasn’t like the monsters got instantly turned into piles of blood, guts, and other such fluids.

The monster slowly eroded their forms, so that they had to watch themselves melt as they were helpless to do anything.

And so, Ajax was rather happy that all they had to deal with was rift wolves, and the occasional wraith butterfly.

But of course, it wasn’t as if he could play around with his meals, not if Cloud Retainer was around anyways.

He still remembers the look she had given him when he did play around with the rift wolves before he plunged his spear into their stomachs and turned them into a fleshy pile on the clean grass below.

It was very judgemental, if not horrified.

But well…he couldn’t help it, even if a part of him was equally disgusted at his own antics.

It was just a part of his nature.

So, he had to get over with it quickly and eat up the abyssal energy as soon as he could, because Cloud Retainer always pulled a face at the sight of him eating up the energy like a starved man.

However, it seemed as if not everyone had the same reaction to his antics.

On the rare occasions Morax had been released from his duties (as Guizhong had let him off and dealt with the worried humans herself…bless her heart), and had joined him alongside Cloud Retainer.

…What a day that was.

______________________________

Cloud Retainer nearly rolled her eyes at the sight of the two lovesick fools making heart eyes at one another, as she walked towards the source of the recent rift wolf activity.

She was in her human form, wearing her best armor and carrying her steady polearm, ready to strike anything that came into her view.

Rift wolves were always so annoying to deal with, and Cloud Retainer dreaded dealing with them.

However, she had to ensure that everyone back at Qingce Village was safe.

That was her duty.

She was entrusted with that duty when she made the contract with Lord Lapis, and had strived to give every inch of her life for that duty to be honored.

But…even so…

She could not deal with those two insufferable fools!!

Lord Lapis had joined them after Lady Guizhong had taken it upon herself to deal with those pesky humans, who were truly crying over nothing.

Cloud Retainer had nearly scoffed when she heard them frantically praying at her statue, lighting incense and giving her offerings of shiny jewels and such…

The war had not even begun yet, no lives had been lost, no tragedy had taken place.

So, in her eyes, there was no need to mope around and cry over something that had not begun.

It was a waste of tears, it was a waste of time.

And so, each and every time her followers had prayed to her, she had merely huffed before reprimanding them in the form of sharp pecks to the back of their necks…in their dreamscapes of course.

Her followers had taken the hint and graciously accepted her response, like the strange fools they were.

Hmph .

She was glad that Lady Guizhong had taken it upon herself to deal with the whimpering fools.

Cloud Retainer would not be able to stand yet another prayer pertaining to a war that had not started.

Unfortunately, Cloud Retainer now found herself taking care of two lovefools, who were shamelessly proclaiming the limits of their affections towards one another.

It was quite outlandish in fact.

Cloud Retainer had not seen her Lord being so shameless ever in her entire servitude to him and Lady Guizhong.

Nor had she ever seen him act so docile when in the company of others, until that insufferable brat, Ajax came along.

If she was informed of this years prior, she would have ignored such an outlandish claim and merely proclaimed that someone was slandering her Lord’s name.

And yet…here they were.

Shamelessly holding each other’s hands, as they walked alongside each other, behind Cloud Retainer as they made their way to the small opening she had made note of when surveying the land.

It would have been fine, if that’s all they were doing.

Merely walking in silence as they observed the area for any sound.

But the two idiots were shamelessly adoring each other in their every comment, as they practically swooning over the other for anything and everything the other did.

It was very insufferable.

To the point where Cloud Retainer was considering abandoning them and flying to their desired destination on her own.

But…those two knew not of where the location was…

And so, Cloud Retainer had no choice but to plug her ears and continue walking, hoping that a rift wolf would dash out from the shadows to distract her from the awful cooing of the couple.

But, it seemed as if fate was certainly never in her favor.

She sighed and continued on, suppressing the lingering sadness at seeing the couple be so happy.

The truth was…Ajax somewhat reminded her of her A-Ling.

Hmph..

Clearly, she was the better one.

But, on occasion, she found herself saddened at the ghost of her girl plastered on top of that foolish boy.

Cloud Retainer knew that A-Ling would have taken a liking to the foolish brat, they would have found camaraderie in each other and would have surely been close friends.

But…thinking about it…hurt too much.

The woman she once knew, bright and full with vitality and never-ending energy.

Was most likely dead.

Dead and forced to have lived a lie, tied to a man she did not love, tied forever and bearing his ugly children until she died.

Cloud Retainer felt her eye twitch, and closed her eyes, swallowing the rage and melancholy she felt from her A-Ling’s death.

There would never be another for her.

Certainly not in this lifetime.

And certainly not in the next.

Mei Yingling had been taken by the wind, her soul lost, torn, and remodeled into the brightest star in the night sky.

She no longer wished to be with another, and whilst she was aware of the large entourage she had accumulated, which mostly consisted of women.

Even if she was attracted to their outward appearance, as women were certainly beautiful in their own right, she did not feel it in her to bother with them.

And whilst she was tempted every so often, with a temporary arrangement, she declined, stuffing down her own lust and moving on with her life.

However, there was this one woman who always attempted to gain her attention, by any means possible.

____________________________

It was during the time A-Ling had gone off during the night, to the hands of a man, far off, and no longer with her.

After a long time spent mourning her loss, the loss of her relationship.

The loss of her love.

She met another woman.

Her name was Li Mei.

She was about the age A-Ling was when she was wed, and she was always dressed in the finest qiyao ruqun that she could get her hands on. Head to toe in pearlescent jewelry, shoe-less, and with quite extravagant hair-styles.

She was a dancer.

And a great dancer at that.

Cloud Retainer remembers being utterly captivated by one of her several shows.

The way her silken robes danced in the wind, as she smiled and looked up to Cloud Retainer, during one of her many private performances serenading Cloud Retainer.

Her cheekbones were high, her eyes reminiscent of A-Ling’s but without the usual warmth that A-Ling had, and, besides that, her eyes were a lighter shade of brown, her skin was lighter, and she did not have the beautiful moles that A-Ling had, in fact, her face was entirely without moles.

Her body was also different, curvier and lacking any visible muscles. And her personality lacked the tenderness and foolishness that A-Ling had.

But, the thing that drew Cloud Retainer to her, was her playful personality, as she winked at Cloud Retainer and continued to dance before her.

Cloud Retainer had never paid her any attention before, because whenever she paid any attention to any of her followers, they reminded her too much of her beloved girl.

But…

It seemed as if Cloud Retainer’s well-maintained composure eventually cracked, and a moment of weakness was unearthed.

She drew closer to Li Mei and gently touched the dip of her collarbone, as the woman’s cheeks turned red, and as her ministrations came to a stop.

The woman looked up to her, lips red and eyes transfixed onto Cloud Retainer, as she gave a curt nod of permission.

Cloud Retainer cupped her face, feeling her thrumming heartbeat beneath her fingers, as her eyes glowed with desire underneath the moonlight, looking into the woman’s eyes.

Li Mei’s eyes became filled with shameless lust as she looked up at Cloud Retainer, her breath fanning Cloud Retainer’s face, as she whispered, “Yes.”

Cloud Retainer felt her throat form a lump, as she dove in and kissed her roughly, without gentility nor care for her lip’s state as she bit and sucked on them.

That night…was a regret.

One of the biggest regrets of Cloud Retainer’s life.

But, she could not undo what she had done, and she merely succumbed to the warmth of her body, as she embraced the woman and spent several nights next to her.

Their relationship was merely physical, and it seemed as if the both of them found companionship within the other.

Cloud Retainer similarly found out that Li Mei’s own secret lover had been killed in retaliation to her rejecting a proposal from a wealthy tailor.

And they never loved each other, they couldn’t.

Their true loves were gone.

They did not need another lover, not at all.

Just someone to accompany them, someone to spend time with, and someone to share mutual pleasure with.

But as all things in an adepti's life, their arrangement was temporary.

And gone, in a blink of an eye.

Li Mei was killed the morning shortly after her birthday.

During one of the sudden invasions from another God.

Cloud Retainer had only found out after she scoured through the mounds of dead bodies, in order to return them to their respective families.

Her body was intact, and she was pale, her lips blue.

She had not died from any direct attack, she had died from asphyxiation.

Cloud Retainer couldn’t find it in herself to feel sad, as she hadn’t truly been connected to that woman, in any emotional way.

But, she still sought to offer her a proper burial.

And so, she picked up her body and carried her to the site of her lover’s grave.

It was underneath a hawthorn tree, marked only by a small engravings on the tree, scantily done, almost as if the person who had been writing it was in a hurry.

That read:

For my dearest, for always, and ever.

____________________________

Cloud Retainer sighed, letting the regret she felt wash off her in waves.

Turning her attention on the task before her.

The past was in the past.

Dwelling on it would only cause her further distress and would interfere with her concentration.

She would worry about such matters later.

Right.

____________________________

They stumbled upon the path soon after, the rift wolves had caught wind of their presence and had attacked them.

In a flash, Cloud Retainer retrieved her spear and tactfully killed them before any harm could be done to her.

And scoffed when she saw the stains of crimson on her pristine armor, silently whining on the pain that it would be to wash it out later on.

Blood was notoriously difficult to scrub clean, especially when it was dry.

Meanwhile, Morax was brutal (as always), spearing through them as he crushed their bodies using his geo constructs, not faltering as the blood was sprayed on his face.

And well…

Ajax…..was Ajax.

As always, he laughed maniacally as he joyfully slashed through the hordes of rift wolves, wrapping their entrails around others’ throats, as he pushed his hydro spear through their eyes.

He always did enjoy toying around with his prey.

He did not mind their blood being sprayed on his face, and it even goaded him to continue his masacre.

And he eagerly soaks up their abyssal energy, sighing in satisfaction.

Morax noticed his lover's lack of self-preservation and immediately surrounded him in a geo shield, to protect him from his momentary madness. But, even then, Cloud Retainer knew that her Lord was incredibly fond of the man, even when he lost himself to his homicidal tendencies…and blood-lust.

His fondness was something that was not understood by Cloud Retainer, but even then, she guessed she couldn’t blame the brat. Although he had not disclosed his past in the abyss, it was clear it was a sensitive topic for him.

His association with The Abyss was not voluntary, Cloud Retainer had surmised as much when getting to know him over the years.

And well, she didn’t want to disclose her past either, so she understood.

The hours passed by, and by noon, the rift wolves were dealt with, as Ajax finished up the last bit of abyssal energy, content and well-fed.

It, of course, earned a glare from Cloud Retainer who recoiled in the presence of such toxic energy, and immediately pinched her nose in disgust.

Meanwhile, Morax merely gave him a tender smile when he saw his treasure satiated and well-feed. He always did love to see his dearest treasure in action.

A trait that usually made him disgusted, but Ajax always did serve to divulge his expectations and tastes.

Ajax gave him a grin, attempting to wipe the blood off of his face with his sleeve, but merely smearing it further.

The sight caused Morax to chuckle softly, going over to his future spouse and carefully tilting his face up to wipe at the blood with his own sleeves.

The action caused Ajax to blush fiercely, as he stared up at Morax, who had stars in his eyes, completely enraptured in his dearest boy, “...Ajax.”

Ajax grinned up at him, looking at Morax through his eyelashes, as he batted them in a manner he knew would be enticing, “What is it, Morax?”

Morax’s eyes glowed and his pupils constricted as he looked at the seductive huli jing in front of his eyes.

And, they were about to head back, when Sky Bracer came rushing towards them, face pale and panicked.

Ajax felt his stomach sink in.

Fuck.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

“Lord Osial! Lord Osial!!”

They stared at him, puzzled.

Sky Bracer screamed again, his voice shaky and afraid.

Deathly afraid.

“Lord Osial has been corrupted!!”

Ajax's heart dropped.

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