── '♕ ( ❝ 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙭 𝙤𝙣𝙚 !! ❞

[miko `]

a 1x1 between me and ai c:
dont post unless ur a mod!

[‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‎‏‏‎ yanyan `]

──────── ( 𝙆𝙐𝙉 𝙍𝙊𝙉𝙂𝙓𝙄𝘼 ! )

xxxxxxxxsilk flower. a faint and flowery scent — the smell of its petal against the nose is sickly sweet, reminiscent of raw honey, a smell so familiar to rongxia during his moments of insomnia. nonetheless, it proves itself to be quite effective in candles; a sense of relief emerges from the smoke of a recently lit wick. it brought him comfort during nights in which falling asleep seemed impossible.

xxxxxxxxit had been many years since rongxia had last slept.

xxxxxxxxthe archon peels himself from his bed, shaking off a mountain of pillows and blankets. how long has it been since he’s gotten a good night’s rest ? weeks ? months ? he raised his head to eye the clock that hung itself on his wall, its hands ticking rhythmically towards 10 PM.

xxxxxxxx“ ah, “ rongxia exclaimed, his fingers clicking in a moment of realisation, “ the market should be open at around this time. “

xxxxxxxxrongxia smiled to himself as he stood up to his feet. patting the wrinkles out of his clothes, the archon carefully pulled at the strings of his mask to fasten it to his face. approaching the sliding doors at the end of his room, he fashioned a robe made of silk embossed with cor lapis and draped it over his shoulders. after stumbling into the hallway, it appeared that wangshu inn had become unusually busy that night. sure, it had always welcomed an influx of guests, but rongxia had never seen it to this extent before.

xxxxxxxxit was a sight to behold.

xxxxxxxxcustomers from all over the liyue harbor, standing shoulder to shoulder; talking amongst themselves and exchanging the latest gossip. the typical behaviour that you would see from the people of liyue. in an effort to avoid being the topic of their conversations, the archon averts his gaze and parts his way through the crowd and into the fresh air.

xxxxxxxxhe was determined to make it out after all. there was someone he had to meet.

xxxxxxxxoh, how rongxia’s heart aches at the thought of him. who would’ve thought that an all—mighty archon would be swayed by mortal emotions ? while making his way to the other side of the road, he clings to the ends of his sleeves, bringing them up and into his fists. as he graces amongst the people of liyue tonight — not as their lord of geo — but as one of their noblemen, he can afford acting so shamelessly out in public. for the past several months now, rongxia had been trying to figure out the reason behind the fascination he had towards this person, but he — just — hasn't been able to put his finger on it.

xxxxxxxxto help him figure out why, the archon established a temporary contract between himself and his suitor; a man who went by the name of alexei. in the contract, it's written that the parties had agreed to meet regularly at 10 PM outside of wangshu inn at its neighbouring market stalls; to spend one night a week, sharing any valuable intel that would aid them in accomplishing their goals.

xxxxxxxxthat's all there was to it. a simple, beneficial contract that was purely business.

xxxxxxxxright—

xxxxxxxxbusiness.

xxxxxxxxthe word clung onto the tip of his tongue. is that what this is ? whatever this is ? grumbling to himself, and getting lost in his own train of thought, rongxia cupped the bottom of his face with his hands. there was no telling how long it would take for alexei to get here. they always had this habit of taking their sweet time after all.

xxxxxxxxmaybe, a cheap excuse for dramatic effect. maybe, he was completing an errand on his way here. whatever was holding him up, he was worth the wait in the archon’s eyes. and that’s what he did. at the edge of the bridge, not too far from the market stalls of wangshu inn, rongxia waits tirelessly for his contractor to show up. he waits tirelessly for his troubled heart to be soothed.

xxxxxxxx“ it wouldn’t hurt to wait a few more minutes. "

xxxxxxxxrongxia huffed, shoulders sinking with an — admittedly, uncharacteristic — sigh.

xxxxxxxx

[miko `]

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██ 𝑨𝑳𝑬𝑿𝑬𝑰 𝑪𝑯𝑬𝑹𝑵𝒀𝑺𝑯𝑬𝑽𝑺𝑲𝒀 ！

xxxxx
xxxxxthe ship from snezhnaya had docked at liyue harbor before the sun could rise that morning, the moon hanging low in the sky, casting a faint glow upon the pale man’s face. alexei was well acquainted with such darkness, the hours before dawn cradled him on his sleepless nights, the tranquility offering him a sense of peace that he felt once a blue moon.

xxxxxfor a harbinger, peace was but a fleeting feeling.

xxxxxthe blood on his hands and the sins that weighed him down would never allow him to befriend peace, as though dragging him underwater, the surface so hopelessly far from his reach.

xxxxxbut alexei had never minded his path in life. the bloodshed and the fighting, it was all to enact the will of the mighty cryo archon.

xxxxxfeet hit wooden planks without as much of a sound; he’d always been light on his feet, somewhat akin to a feline creature, years of training and stealth missions had rendered him close to becoming a shadow. the same could not be said about the other passengers that had boarded the same ship as him, their footsteps loud and clumsy, clearly attempting to avoid alexei in their path further into the harbour.

xxxxxalexei was well known amongst snezhnayans, tales were told about the young harbinger that was saved by her excellency viktoriya herself, but more commonly stories were told of his ruthless nature and seemingly impossible feats, instilling a sort of fear amongst the people of the land of everlasting winter. perhaps one day he’d become a myth that parents would tell their children to get them to behave.

xxxxxhe could live with that.

xxxxxbut enough standing around on the dock, there was work to be done before the evening.

xxxxxalexei spared one last glance at the ocean as the ship from snezhnaya set sail, presumably back to its icy home. the moon’s light reflecting off the water, sparkling against the soft morning waves, and again, that sense of peace returned to him, however fleeting it may be.

xxxxxhis face remained nonchalant as he turned his body towards the city of contracts, breaking into a confident stride while unwrapping the scarf around his neck that kira had insisted he’d worn before departing. he had places to be.

xxxxx───────────

xxxxxthe agenda was as follows: check the affairs of the northland bank as soon as he set foot in liyue harbour, visit and inspect the fatui camps in liyue throughout the day, meet with a set of designated nobles regarding some issues with trades, and finally, meet with the lord of geo in the evening at wangshu inn to disclose any valuable intel he may have.

xxxxxno time to rest, no time to think. a day full of work.

xxxxxon orders from kira, of course. though, partially, alexei had insisted that she’d set him a schedule of sorts to keep him busy. he liked being busy, never one to stay in one place for too long.

xxxxxthe affairs of northland bank had gone smoothly, along with inspecting the camps. though not without alexei scaring the subordinates half to death, that is. despite kira not expecting loyalty from the ranks of the fatui, alexei was different. kira may be the cryo archon and the overarching leader of the fatui, but who the subordinates truly feared was alexei. they knew that if they ever stepped out of line, he would not hesitate to kill them. he would go miles upon miles to find you, nothing able to stop his wrath. disloyalty and betrayal towards the cryo archon were a death sentence in alexei’s eyes, and at the end of the day, alexei was an executioner.

xxxxxthe talks with the nobles went as well as they could with alexei being the diplomat. he was tense and on the edge of his seat during the talks, nerves hanging by a thin thread and a string of curses and insults threatening to spill over his lips. but he’d kept his composure, all for the sake of kira. he knew that she held diplomatic issues at a high regard, but alexei wasn’t really cut out for this work. nevertheless, he managed to reach a compromise with the nobles, a sense of pride in himself emerged. whether for being successful or for not losing his temper, he didn’t quite know.

xxxxxthe time was 9:30pm by the time he was done with the nobles, giving him but thirty minutes to get from liyue harbour to wangshu inn.

xxxxxright, the main reason that he was even in liyue to begin with.

xxxxxhis contract with the geo archon.

xxxxxalexei hadn’t let himself think about it during the day, he couldn’t let himself think about it. his throat dried up at just the thought of seeing the geo archon again. what had possessed him to sign the contract? kira’s incessant encouragement of course.

xxxxxhe remembered just last month when kira had dropped by his office in the zapolyarny palace, alexei had blurted out his worries and conflicted feelings about the geo archon, expecting some comfort or advice from the usually doting cryo archon, only to have her burst into laughter.

xxxxx‘oh my archons! you like him!’ she’d exclaimed, only for alexei to profusely refuse the claims with a reddened face.

xxxxxeven the memory had managed to get blood rushing to his ears.

xxxxxalexei was to stay in liyue for the next few months, exchanging intel with the geo archon on a weekly basis, and alexei could not be less happy about it.

xxxxxhe had to keep himself composed, he told himself as he started his trek towards wangshu inn, the geo archon’s flowery words shouldn’t get him so uncharacteristically flustered. he was a harbinger and killer for archons’ sake! why does even the thought of the tall man make his throat go dry?

xxxxxit was useless thinking. he was already late to the meeting, rongxia undoubtedly already waiting for him, and alexei was over here loitering around guili plains in an effort to mentally prepare himself. but why did he need to mentally prepare himself? it was just a simple meeting to go over business, nothing more, nothing less. so why did he find himself being so nervous?

xxxxxhe neatened his uniform and ran a hand through his hair as soon as he noticed that he was approaching the large tree that served as the famous wangshu inn. it seemed lively, market stalls open and people bustling around, the bright lights a sheer contrast to the darkening of the evening.

xxxxxhis eyes wandered aimlessly to take in the sight, only for the young man to freeze in place upon seeing him.

xxxxxoh, and what a sight he was.

xxxxxit had been a fair amount of time since alexei had last seen rongxia, and admittedly, he still looked as good as ever.

xxxxxit took a second for alexei to actually collect himself before approaching the geo archon, his usual solemn look plastered on his face, devoid of any emotions in the hopes that the god before him wouldn’t be able to read him. he’d like to think he’s good at concealing what he truly thinks, being fully aware of his own manipulative nature.

xxxxx“good evening,” he started, voice level toned and calm, nothing to give away, “i hope i didn’t keep you waiting.” there was only a tinge of sincerity in that sentence. he had been purposely late, but he didn’t regret it. part of him wanted to keep the geo archon on his toes, the other part simply wanting to have the ground swallow him and have him not meet the geo archon at all.

xxxxxthat, however, was in the past. now, the only thing on the harbinger’s mind was the golden eyes of the archon in front of him.

xxxxxdear archons, what hole had he dug himself?

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[‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‎‏‏‎ yanyan `]

──────── ( 𝙆𝙐𝙉 𝙍𝙊𝙉𝙂𝙓𝙄𝘼 ! )

xxxxxxxxwhat kind of archon would wait so long for a — mere — mortal ? what kind of archon had rongxia allowed himself to become ?

xxxxxxxxif this were the case a hundred years ago, he wouldn’t have allowed himself to be played like a fiddle. he wouldn’t have allowed himself to be stood up like this. if rongxia were to ever return to celestia and face the others ? he would’ve been told that he had gotten soft.

xxxxxxxxoh, how the geo archon would do anything to go back to his old ways, as the relentless archon that ran rampant during the war. the merciless archon that cut down anyone that stood in the way of his ultimate goal. he had fought for empires and nations and villages — for all kinds of noblemen, both corrupt and desperate — he was their instrument of destruction.

xxxxxxxxhis gnosis had given them the ability to do anything they’d wanted, so they had seen it as theirs to take advantage of.

xxxxxxxxperhaps, this harbinger had wanted to do the very same thing. perhaps, life was eager to repeat itself, as it had done many times in the past. the geo archon would be a fool to believe the silver-tongued words of a man at the tsaritsa’s every beck and call. but, there was something about alexei that drew rongxia towards him. there was something about alexei that rongxia saw in himself.

xxxxxxxxhe was one of the few people that he had heard of with a reputation that had matched his own.

xxxxxxxxhe had heard of the harbinger through stories shared over wine and ale in dimly lit taverns. “ i heard he’s the cryo archon’s lapdog. he never leaves her side, “ one man would say to another downing a shot of wine. “ i heard he fell into the abyss and came out an entirely different person. “

xxxxxxxxendless back and forths of he said and she said.

xxxxxxxxeventually, rongxia found himself wondering if the stories were true — picturing a man that shared the same interest in bloodshed and wicked ideals.

xxxxxxxx━━━━━━━━━━

xxxxxxxxthe two had met, purely, by coincidence. in the land of snezhnaya, and the icy court of zapolyarny palace. rongxia was due for an audience with the cryo archon, kira, but he was practically talking her ear off the entire time.

xxxxxxxx“ remind me, why do i go through the trouble of inviting you out here ? “ she sighed, her hands rubbing her temples in exhaustion towards the geo archon sat across the table. “ oh don’t be like that, you love having me over. “ rongxia cooed, downing cup after cup of the tsaritsa’s alcohol.

xxxxxxxxkira paused, taking a moment to rethink her response. “ oh ? “ she mused, “ is that so ? “

xxxxxxxx“ allow me to enlighten you— hup ! “ rongxia helped himself onto the table, making it crystal clear that he's lost control over his body. " guh— this vessel is so weak ... “ he mumbled to himself, now standing in the middle of the room.

xxxxxxxx“ behold ! “ the geo archon exclaimed, hands finding themselves on his hips; his voice ringing clear through the halls of her palace.

xxxxxxxx“ i can’t believe this. “ kira’s face cowered away, only to be overcome with nothing but a sense of embarrassment in response to rongxia’s drunken antics. motioning a gloved hand in the air, snickering behind the other, a flurry of her guards whisked her dear friend away and to his quarters.

xxxxxxxxalexei, being apart of kira’s treasured harbingers, were one of the men entrusted with the task of ensuring that rongxia was brought to his bed unharmed. they dragged his limp body across the hallway — to any innocent bystander, it would look like a mob hauling a corpse to be disposed of — and to the tsaritsa’s harbingers, you could say that was exactly how they saw him. alexei thought the exact same thing.

xxxxxxxx“ my my, aren’t you the strong one ? “ rongxia exclaimed, throwing himself into alexei’s arms. he moved so suddenly. the harbinger could do nothing except stand there and stare down at him, his face bearing an expression of disgust and grimace. even back then, rongxia adored how he reacted. the idea alone that he could get something out of the tsaritsa’s — stoic and unmoving — harbingers was enough to make his day.

xxxxxxxx━━━━━━━━━━

xxxxxxxxif you were to ask about it, he wouldn’t be able to recall any more details about that night. however, the smitten expression on his face would be enough to tell you that he was satisfied with the outcome.

xxxxxxxxperhaps, this was the reason he had allowed the harbinger to tag along with him. rongxia could call him his personal plaything, someone to tease and get countless reactions out of, alexei was to blame to make it so easy for him. he’d become flushed, and his stomach would grow uneasy, at the thought of him.

xxxxxxxxa voice rang out to rongxia and his head turned around aimlessly to find the source, his eyes falling on the reason behind all of his restless nights. he would never say it to his face, but he had a certain soft spot for alexei; it had growing rampant ever since their first meeting. all worries had vanished from his mind, and his facial expression softened at seeing who stood before him.

xxxxxxxx“ good evening, “ he replied, eyes forming into crescent moons with a smile. rongxia’s voice was relaxed and overwhelmingly sweet, almost hard to believe. “ no worries ! “ a half-truth. if there was anything the geo archon had despised the most, it would be being kept waiting. “ how was your journey from snezhnaya ? i hope kira didn’t keep you behind, or anything of the sort. “ he chuckled, a wholehearted attempt in trying to lighten the mood.

xxxxxxxxthe air had always been dense whenever he was with the harbinger, you could say the reason behind the geo archon’s attitude was an attempt of thawing alexei’s icy demeanor.

xxxxxxxxwanting to make the first move, rongxia saw to it that he’d close the distance between them as he made his way over and stood by his side. from behind his mask, his golden eyes would glow ever so slightly, a hint of mischief behind them. “ now then. how about i show you around ? “ slinking a hand around alexei’s arm, he tugged him along and away from the market stalls. even if the moments they shared were fleeting, the geo archon wanted to make the most out of them all and worth treasuring.

xxxxxxxx

[miko `]

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██ 𝑨𝑳𝑬𝑿𝑬𝑰 𝑪𝑯𝑬𝑹𝑵𝒀𝑺𝑯𝑬𝑽𝑺𝑲𝒀 ！

xxxxx
xxxxxbeing face to face with the geo archon was nothing short of mesmerizing, alexei had concluded several months ago. his opinion hadn’t changed this time around, yet again faced with the man that towered over him in height, something that a subconscious part of him had found attractive. but what was he thinking? there was little to no time to let such trivial thoughts cloud his mind when there were important matters to be discussed, but alexei couldn’t tear his gaze away from those golden eyes that had set their attention unto him.

xxxxxalexei had barely caught onto rongxia’s words, it wasn’t until he felt the warmth of a hand around his arm that he was brought back to his senses. he blinked, once, twice, before he realised what was happening, and the glint of mischief in rongxia’s eyes told him that this is exactly what the geo archon had wanted, to get a reaction out of him.

xxxxxstoic expression be damned. alexei had to turn his head away momentarily and cough out of awkwardness, the tips of his ears tinged pink as he was led away from the market stalls, “ah, yes, of course,” his words came out clumsy as he accepted the lord of geo’s offer, uncharacteristically, but was he ever able to keep up his well crafted, cold and unmoving front, without a flaw in sight, when in proximity with rongxia? not necessarily.

xxxxxeven just the slight physical contact from him had alexei’s stomach churning uncomfortably, what was wrong with him?

xxxxx“the voyage from snezhnaya went smoothly, the waters were calmer than usual and we didn’t encounter any delays,” alexei started, there was a hint of breathlessness to his voice, but it was as composed as it could be nonetheless, “as for her excellency, well…” he trailed off, choosing his next words with utmost care. he couldn’t hint at the paranoid state that kira was in currently, not even to rongxia. he daren’t make his archon seem weak, “she’s fairing well. we merely exchanged a few words before my departure, she didn’t hold me back for long,” alexei kept his eyes fixated onto the path in front of him as the geo archon led him along, refusing to look in the direction of the other man in case he’d become distracted, but letting his sight wander around the scenery before his eyes.

xxxxxliyue at night was a sight to behold. alexei was no stranger to it, often visiting the foreign country. unlike snezhnaya’s harsh and cruel nights, liyue’s felt much more mellow and relaxing, not to mention the warmer temperatures, especially now as they approached spring. it would be a lie if alexei said that these nights didn’t remind him of a certain someone.

xxxxx“shall we get to business, my lord?” alexei cleared his mind of irrelevant thoughts at that moment, risking a glance at rongxia as he asked the question. that’s what they were here for, at the end of the day, and he had to stop letting his personal feelings, no matter how confusing they were and how much alexei had the urge to understand them and himself a little better, get in the way of the matters that kira herself had asked the harbinger to discuss with the geo archon.

xxxxx───────────

xxxxxa pile of documents was dropped into his arms.

xxxxxalexei raised a brow cautiously, gently paging through the documents with his thumb, eyes going back and forth between the papers and kira who stood in front of him with an expectant look, aemilia standing next to her, expectancy not as readable on her face, but definitely present in her eyes.

xxxxx“this is confidential information,” he frowned slightly, voice uncertain as he continued to look through the papers, “are you sure you want me to tell him about all of this?”

xxxxx“yes,” kira replied, full of authority and finality, she left no room to argue with her, “i need him to talk, alexei, the only way to do that is to offer him the current plans we have, and have them specifically delivered by you,” alexei knew what she was insinuating when she said this, “he’s smart enough to know not to betray me.” there it was again, that glint in her eyes that was becoming more and more present as of recent. he exchanged a worried glance with aemilia.

xxxxxever since the recent meeting with the harbingers (which kira had seemingly ordered out of nowhere, and all the harbingers were to return to snezhnaya asap without completing whatever missions they were on), kira’s behaviour had seemed more erratic and impulsive, paranoid to say the least. though alexei couldn’t blame her, what they were facing now wasn’t just a threat towards snezhnaya, it was very likely that all of teyvat was at risk. he had only hoped that aemilia might knock some sense into her sometime soon.

xxxxx“all right,” he sighed, placing the thick wad of papers into the sachet hanging by his hip, he’d look over them in more detail once he and the ship left the snezhnayan dock, “i’ll make sure not to disappoint you, your excellency.”

xxxxx───────────

xxxxxthe details laid out in the documents hadn’t left alexei’s memory despite how busy his mind constantly was with the amount of work he had done that day, “i’m sure you’re already aware of this, but there has been a heavenly principle sent down upon sumeru,” he began with the most pressing matter, alexei wasn’t one to beat around the bush, “her excellency has already sent three of the harbingers there under the guise of a delegation, using the excuse that sumeru’s festivities surrounding the spring equinox are beginning,” he explained, voice hushed in the fear that there might be someone on their tail, eavesdropping. he trusted his spatial awareness and could confidently say that there was no one near them, but he wanted to stay on the safe side.

xxxxx“we’re unsure of how the dendro archon plans to deal with it, so we want to keep an eye on it ourselves,” he continued, though his mind yet again wandered to the hand around his arm, and alexei spared a quick glance in its direction. did rongxia always have such nice hands? of course he did, everything about rongxia was nice. just the idea of rongxia was nice.

xxxxxhe could barely focus, and there was still so much to tell rongxia, but that small, yearning part of alexei didn’t want to merely talk about business right now. perhaps he simply wanted to relax in the warm atmosphere not only provided by the liyuen night, but also by the man beside him, and aimlessly stroll like this in comfortable silence.

xxxxxhis body tensed up unintentionally, inner turmoil taking a physical effect on him, but he shook it off without so much as a further thought, “our officers in natlan have gathered intel suggesting that the infamous necromancer that fell during the archon war has awakened, fresh traces of his magic have been discovered,” he moved on, ignoring the little voice in his head that had told him that business could wait.

xxxxx‘it can’t wait, her excellency’s will waits for no one, it is to be enacted without distraction,’ he repeated this in his head like a mantra, doing this fairly often in the past few months whenever his mind found itself fixated on the geo archon. the mantra had a 95% success rate, and no, he will not elaborate on this.

xxxxx“what say you? you knew the necromancer, did you not? or at the very least, you were aware of him,” alexei didn’t know much about the archon war to begin with, and sometimes he needed to remind himself that certain people he decided to spend his time with were thousands of years older than him and could vividly recall the details of the war that had happened two thousand years ago. details that his twenty-year-old self could barely comprehend at times.

xxxxxalexei’s inquiry was raised in a more curious and conversive manner, that tiny voice getting the best of him and straying from the relevant business the two had to discuss. it wouldn’t hurt to engage in casual conversation about the past, while they strolled through that warm, liyuen night, would it?

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[‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‎‏‏‎ yanyan `]

xxxxxxxx
.......................................𝐊𝐔𝐍 𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐗𝐈𝐀.

xxxxxxxx"heavenly principle?" ronxgia echoed, voice laced with genuine curiosity. "it's been a long time since i've had heard of that phrase." his free hand had wandered to his chin, his fingers delicately holding onto it. "and you're absolutely sure that it's been sent down to sumeru?" rongxia had repeated some of the things alexei had said, but only out of habit. if anything, it was evidence of the geo archon trying to understand the dire situation at hand. "it's a relief to see that kira has taken action. it's best to stay wary, there's no telling what ideas that old hag could be getting with a heavenly principle in her hands." upon finishing his sentence, rongxia shuddered at the thought.

xxxxxxxx"please, keep me informed on priya and her new plaything. if anything, i'll be more than happy to intervene myself. i can't remember the last time i paid her a visit." a low chuckle sounded from his throat as he entertained himself with the thought of going head-to-head with that dendro archon again.

xxxxxxxxrongxia's body settled with an inaudible sigh. if it weren't for the mask he were wearing right now, perhaps alexei would've caught a glimpse of the disappointment on his face. he never denied that he enjoyed listening to alexei speak about business, but there something in him that wanted to throw a fit and tell the man next to him to cherish the little time they had together.

xxxxxxxxby some miracle, his heart was put to ease and rongxia managed to collect himself. thanks to the hand he had wrapped around the harbinger's arm, the geo lord caught onto the idea that alexei was having difficulty fighting against some inner conflict. when he had felt alexei's muscles tense up, rongxia instinctively raised an eyebrow in curiosity and mused to himself, "looks like he can get nervous, the poor thing." rongxia decided to forgive him internally, and give the man a chance to relieve everything off of his chest.

xxxxxxxx"an infamous necromancer you say," there was something that had seethed from deep inside of him. an indescribable anger that had been reawakened, and boy, was it desperate to be calmed down.

xxxxxxxxit was painfully clear that rongxia wasn't acting like himself. his grip on alexei's arm had tightened unintentionally, as he allowed a grief from years-already-gone-by to swallow him whole. he held onto his mask more stubbornly than ever before. the geo lord couldn't afford to let it slip as he didn't know what alexei would think of him in his current state.

xxxxxxxx"knowing him is one way of putting it," his eyebrows knitted together before his body deflated at the thought of reliving that moment, "what do you say we discuss this over a cup of tea, hmm? i reckon it'd put you ease, especially since we wouldn't have to worry about any unknowing ears tuning in." rongxia had thought it a reasonable offer, how could alexei refuse?

xxxxxxxx"allow me to lead the way." without giving the harbinger the chance to respond, he had already turned on his heels and marched through the crowd, like parting waves in the sea. suddenly, rongxia found himself standing at the stairs of the teahouse where they'd first met, as if possessed by something.

xxxxxxxxrongxia felt a sense of relief as he undid the strings on his mask and let it disappear into the shower of geo crystals. the two of them could finally revel in a moment together— and most importantly— in peace. taking initiative, the geo lord walked ahead of the harbinger and held the door open for him. using his free hand, he gestured theatrically into its interior as he stood to the side, "please, come in. i figured this would be the best place to tell you how i came to know him."

...................................................................━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

xxxxxxxxfrom dust they emerged like the living-dead, their worn-out armour glistening just barely in the sunlight. watching them from a distance, rongxia saw the millelith moving through barren fields with no intention of stopping, the guards unmistakable in their tight-knit formation. leading them through it all, a young man riding upon a cavalry bearing liyue's flag into the skies.

xxxxxxxxthe sight of him made rongxia's face soften with relief all of a sudden, indescribable joy. "ah-dong!" he yelled out, no matter who else heard him, it didn't matter as long as his words reached him.

xxxxxxxx"must you make it so obvious, my liege?" his qixing chuckled, as rongxia turned to face him with a frown. "what's the harm? i love him, no? the whole battlefield deserves to know who they're going up against," and on that last comment he turned around again, only, to repeat, "ah-doooo-ong!" with a frantic wave of his hands.

xxxxxxxx"rongxi-aaa-aa!" he earned in response, as the soldier echoed back and in the same enthusiasm. full of inspiration, xiadong rode valiantly towards the opposing enemies wielding a halberd tucked under his arm.

xxxxxxxxqinghe motioned his head towards the battlefield, "what do you say we join him down there then?" rongxia took the time to observe the orchestrated fight below him before responding, "i think it's best if i stay out of harm's way for now," he jested, his qixing knowing fully well that it was his master's way of saying that he'd 'rather wait up here and play it safe'.

xxxxxxxx"as you wish, my liege," and with a pulling of the reins, qinghe had descended the hill to join dongxia and his men at their side. standing atop of the hill had actually gave rongxia more of an advantage than his general had credited him for, it provided him what the soldiers on foot couldn't have possibly had.

xxxxxxxxtaking an arrow from his quiver, he nocked it into his bow and called upon the archons' help in this time of need, "celestia, lend me your strength," rongxia chanted before pulling it back and aiming it towards the heavens.

xxxxxxxxthis was what they had prepared for. a self-proclaimed-necromancer had been using his innate abilities to raise the dead and aid him in his time of need, the title of "god-slayer" he'd already earned through the liyuen papers, albeit more commonly known as "zeref". the one thing that's certain is that he weaponised them against their friends and families to his advantage, no matter how many deities and men he'd slain. on the horizon, newly resurrected soldiers gathered into position and began clambering their way across the barren fields.

xxxxxxxxamidst the yelling and resounding of blades, the general called out, "release!" before a flurry of arrows rained down upon the field like meteorites descending onto the land. the undead, mindless and barely intellectual, continued to charge forward before being put to a stop in their tracks— one by one— their limbs severed, before turning to dust.

xxxxxxxxzeref, unwilling to admit defeat, resorted to his usual and ever-so-despicable tactics. though he was never seen at the front, personally leading his fleet of undead soldiers, the necromancer was always hidden amongst them: utilising them as his disposable meat shields. "coward," rongxia seethed scornfully under his breath, before drawing another arrow from his quiver there was something inside of him that had convinced him to stop in his tracks.

xxxxxxxxwhat rongxia had failed to recognise were the levels that zeref was willing to steep down to. from where he was standing, it'd look as if the necromancer was just summoning another fleet of undead to fight for him, and in the end sacrifice themselves, zeref living to see another day. however, upon further inspection, rongxia could've sworn they were bearing the same liyuen emblem on their chests.

xxxxxxxxjust as dongxia had come to the same conclusion, his way of going about it was not what rongxia had thought would happen, "hold!" the command had echoed throughout the as the general reinforced it towards their men trailing behind them. fleet by fleet, the cavalry had pulled on their reins, horses coming to a halt. the rest of what had happened was barely audible, after all, rongxia was only so far up on the hills, and all that he could do was watch the events unfold before his eyes.

xxxxxxxxwithout a second thought, dongxia dropped his weapon from under his arm and ordered his men to do the same. soldiers followed suit, wood and metal clanged against the floor. "they're one of ours," rongxia could've sworn he'd heard, before he saw his allies leave themselves wide open for an attack.

xxxxxxxxwhen zeref knew he wouldn't be the centre of attraction, he rose from his sea of dead and resurfaced to spare rongxia one glance before making his move. his lover stepped down from his horse to welcome— what he had thought to be— his friends, an almost-hysterical laughter ringing throughout the field. "kunlun! jiang!" dongxia called out to each, and every, one of his comrades that he could've sworn he'd lost.

xxxxxxxxnot a moment too soon, there it was. that dreadful sound. before rongxia could get to his allies on the field and warn them of what was to come, they'd picked up one of their halberds from the ground and scored it through dongxia's chest. his body dropped lifelessly to the ground, and before that, rongxia unleashed a scream so loud, greater than anything else that had happened that day.

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xxxxxxxxbringing the tea cup to his lips, and allowing its warmth to provide him with a fleeting sense of calm, he set it down on the table before looking up into alexei's eyes. "i hope that answer was to your satisfaction," an expression— never seen before— was painted onto the geo lord's face.

xxxxxxxx"this necromancer you talk about, also went by the name of zeref, and was a force to be reckoned with. he was the only mortal at the time who was brave enough to challenge the gods one-on-one, and succeed."

xxxxxxxx]not wanting to repeat the same mistakes that'd happened in the past, rongxia's expression saddened into a pitiful smile, "please relay my concerns to you and your men. if you feel that this— this bastard has anything to do with the heavenly principle, then know that kira can call on me for help." he'd be given a chance to put things right.

xxxxxxxx