#↱ guizhong ↲ For those that live too long – the friends of days gone by and scenes from their adventures live on in their memories / 𝐃𝐘𝐍

[archoniic]

doing a whole incomplete tag dump. more will come as i add them but this is all i got for now.

[korijime]

athazagoraphobia

(n.) the fear of being forgetting, of being forgotten or ignored, of being replaced.

zhongli, genshin impact

angst, mentions of zhongli x guizhong, mentions of blood and injury, character death

wc ; nine hundred and seventeen words

riyuu speaks ; not much to say here except that this is a major sabotage for @xiaophobic and anyone else in the ebg that had zhongli as their og bias. i got impulsive and wrote whatever came to mind lmao

i used one of his voice lines which miki expressed that she really liked, and i agree bc it has so much angst potential :)

tysm my beloved @tartagliaxx for proof reading!!

i love hurting ppl LMAO bye

“someday, somewhere, we will meet again. i assure you.”

“we will.”

“i will live. i will live for as long as it takes for you to return into my arms. i will live for your sake.”

“you..you are just as sentimental as you used to be with—god,—her.”

the wound was far too deep, far too painful. it stung like poison in your veins, you knew he could feel your life draining away with each second.

he looks down into your eyes, guilt and frustration pouring out of his eyes, his beautiful eyes that you had fallen for under the moonlight, shining like pure gold. illuminated in the glow of the sunset, far more precious than any gem you’d ever encountered.

“i’m sorry, i’m sorry. my love, i’m so sorry.” his hands tightened around your body, clenching and holding onto you as though you would dissipate the moment he let go. in a way, you would.

“ahh, it’s quite alright, morax. after all we—” the taste of metal in your mouth was highly unpleasant, causing you to choke as you were speaking. morax only held you closer, bringing you impossible close to his own body, seemingly to try and hold off the inevitable that had dug its claws into you.

“please, please don’t go.”

“i apologise, morax. we weren’t fated, weren’t meant to be. at least, not in this life.”

he only shook his head in response, burying his head in your chest as his body shook.

“hah, are you crying for me, morax?” a pathetic chuckle left your lips, the show of amusement in your voice made him look up, look straight into your eyes, his trembling lips and bloodshot eyes, the lower half of his face was dirty, stained with your blood.

“you..how can i not? you’re...you’re the only one i’ve ever truly loved. more than anything, anyone, i loved you the most.”

“more than you loved guizhong?”

“...you are leaving me, leaving this mortal realm, and yet you still speak of her. why do you intend to hurt both yourself and me to such a degree?”

“you loved her more, yet you mourn me the most. i am a mortal, morax. gods and humans aren’t meant to be together, they aren’t meant to be what we were.”

“i care not for that! you were the only one who made me feel alive, made me feel more than a god. you are the only one i’ll truly cherish, the only one who made me feel human.”

a ghost of a smile etched itself upon your face. he was crying over you, more than he did for her. it was strange, puzzling almost, to see the god of war so vulnerable over a mere mortal, over you.

“remember me.”

his eyes bore into yours, desperation radiated off every move of his, urging you to continue, to speak until your body gave out, until you left him forevermore.

“remember me as liyue prospers, as it celebrates and mourns. remember me in the streets and in the mountains. you truly love me so, morax, carry my memory, so that one day we may meet again.”

“i will remember you. for as long as i live.”

“i will remember you as well, morax. i will remember you well, remember you just enough to know that i must return into your embrace, into your arms, when we do meet again.”

“for those that live too long, the friends of days gone by and scenes from their adventures live on in their memories.”

he had made a promise, a promise more valuable than any contract he had ever made. a promise he had kept to this day, and yet you’re gone.

you’re gone and you will never return, just like the companions he had lost over time. you were gone, having no way of fulfilling your part of the promise.

“as such i have no regrets in meeting you, friend.”

every word felt like acid, felt like ash heavy on his tongue. his words to the traveler were ones he once spoke to you, it was a promise, between both you and him.

a promise that you broke.

“should the day ever come that we are not together,”

so close yet so far, you did come back, you returned to the mortal realm, just as magnificent as you had been in the days he first met you. just as striking, under the moonlight as your eyes lit up like the stars adorning the sky, the way your body swayed as you sang and danced with the children on the harbour. you were just as beautiful as you had been when morax first met you, when he walked alongside you as the two of you created history that would be forever solidified in liyue.

history that had been forgotten by you and you alone, as you walked alongside the captain his people spoke of so fondly, looking at her with the adoration you once did at him, hands intertwined and smiles never ceasing.

“no matter the years or the events,”

my love, you have forgotten me, forgotten the love and the care and the promises we made, forgotten the way i had made you feel and the way you had changed my world.

you have forgotten me, replaced me for another. but it is no matter for as long as i live, i will remember you.

my love,

“you will continue to shine like gold in my memories.”

tagged ; @t-amajiki @tokyoghoose @lcaita @tartagliaxx @xiaophobic @shxnosuke

[livingalifeofasimp]

Hello! If it isn't too much, may I ask for a yan Zhongli x Reader, in which the Reader is the reincarnation, with bits of memories and personality, of Guizhong.. essentially Guizhong reborn.

Warning : This content contains Yandere themes, if you are sensitive please refrain yourself from reading it, arts belong to it's respective owner only the content is mine.

I am still alive (~‾▿‾)~

Tagging : @blueskywater-happiness

 🎕 Yandere Zhongli X Reader 🎕

✥Zhongli holded Memory of dust in his hands, the stone dumbbell which contained her wisdom, and was  challenged by her to unlock it. He still remember her, years passed away but the pain and memories of her still resided in his heart. Till this day he was not able to open it no matter how hard he tries, calm, kind hearted, the person he is today was made by her.

"Guizhong look at all the people here living their life the way you wanted them to be, I hope you are happy wherever you are".

Guizhong is the late Goddness of Dust, she was Morax's ally and best friend, she lost her life during Archon war with Zhongli by her side, death of a best friend, the only one close to him caused him misery even tho he is deprived of understanding emotions better, through life goes on and you learn to live without them.

✥Zhongli slipped tea through a decorated cup while waiting for a foreigner, Childe who was going to make him meet a stranger who wanted to set up a business dinner as per Liyue custom. 

A sudden knock made Zhongli look up towards the sound "Yahooo Zhongli",  just after Childe you walked in, you looked like someone he knew, your hair, your smile, your eyes glittering and the aura you had was quite familiar to him.

"I am Y/N thank you for giving us your time" 

"Our Zhongli is such a nice sir - " Childe saw Zhongli staring at your face causing him to smirk "I know this lady is quite really pretty, I hope -" Embarrassed Zhongli intruped Childe "Let's get down with business". 

✥Even you didn't knew anything about Zhongli, you still felt like you knew him from somewhere maybe you both must have crossed your paths, at the end you said what you wanted too. 

 "I feel like I have seen you from somewhere",

Zhongli was surprised, his eyes widen it couldn't be true right? People who go away didn't come back right? His mind must be playing game, it sure has to be it. He has seen people go and new ones coming all the people he had are replaced by new ones, not replaced exactly but it do not make any difference, no one can take their places, he don't want to be caughted in such misery but the cycle repeats itself.

"Certainly I hope so",

His calm and welcoming response made you smile, you hoped too it felt warm, it made you smile.

✥Undefined force made Zhongli meet you again and again, was it all just a coincidence or a fate leading, you would always invited him for lunch, dinner or even just for a walk, no matter how much Zhongli wanted to run away from the warmth you gave off, because one day you will be gone too just like others so there was no meaning to get close to you. You looked just like her, not the same but it still felt like you were traces of her, from which he desperately wanted to run away.

✥"Sir Zhongli, are you going somewhere?", You have seen him after such a long time maybe after one or two weeks, at some point you made Zhongli want to look out and search for you, no matter how much he pushes you away, he still find himself surrounded by your presence which make him loose control and hug you, urge you to hug him back comfort him, saying you won't go. Zhongli stopped his mind which was racing from such thoughts and invited you for star gazing.

"Miss L/N if you are free let's go to star gazing I am sure you must have seen such things but-" 

"I don't mind let's go, I have been so tired of my work", you were so happy to finally make him open up to you besides its good to take breaks every now and then.

✥"Miss please take care of yourself, it would be bad if you got hurt, I hope you are taking 3 meals a day, please drink enough water and if you ever feel troubled by something don't give it any second thought just come to me I will be more than happy to help you", Zhongli looked at your shocked face, he must have lectured you enough, just when he was going to apologize for it, you burst out giggling, it felt good to have someone to worry for you, your smile made Zhongli's cheek turned red, it was so peaceful, your laughs were like her just a bit more melodic and sweet. 

✥"Yes I will take care of myself, you too take care of yourself", Zhongli fake coughed and went ahead of you so that you couldn't see his face smiling like a child that hided with his one hand. "I appreciate your concern, let's meet tonight", he walked away leaving a confused you behind.

Just like a true gentleman Zhongli waited for you, only to see you looking all very pretty and perfect, infamous smile decorated his face, you grin in response before giving your hands in his. 

✥"It's pretty isn't it", you looked towards the sky, stars hanging in them, small or big it looked like sparking dust, which was a very pleasing sight.

"It is", there is nothing new, Zhongli is almost tried of the same view yet it felt good to have someone by his side, for those moments he did not feel lonely. 

"We humans are so fragile like a dust in this universe which is so big, when I look up, it feels like things can disappear just another second",

Zhongli flinched, as he slowly turned to look at your face, a delicate face that was looking at the stars curiously, your form shining under moonlight, you, are you really Guizhong, his hands extended to touch you, or are you just a illusion, your eyes founded it's way back to Zhongli beautiful face who flinched again at your sudden movement.

"Did I say something weird don't mind me", you laughed to lighten the atmosphere.

✥After that Zhongli's attention and focus wholeheartedly shifted towards you, he couldn't help but compare Guizhong and her reincarnation, you are a bit more carefree, cheerful and not as knowledgeable as her, he didn't blame you for it, you are just as cute as a child. No matter how hard he tried to push you away, everytime you would comeback, since you so persistent, he lost. Your liveliness made him fall for you, deep and hard to the point of no return, since you embraced him, he will hold you back just as tight to know that you are there and not disappearing at least for now.

✥Zhongli looks forward to meeting you more than he did before, fusses over a small wound more than your grandmother would. You get confused when Zhongli stares at your face quite long before apologizing, you certainly notice how attentive he has became. He smiles ever so brightly when you comes in his view, but you always fail to notice how he deadly glares at all the people and things that do not even breathe when you give them more attention than you give to him. 

✥Zhongli grows to be more possessive and strict yet very loving towards you. His yandere tendency triggers when he saw you injured after coming back from the given mission, Zhongli dropped whatever he was doing and ran towards you, you got hurt his heart dropped, he didn't wanted you to disappear or get a single scratch, not when you give him such a warm and fussy feeling, he felt like a teenager in love but instead he was a obsessive God in love with you.

✥This whole incident will lead Zhongli to appeal for you to stay with him till you get well again or so you thought, he took care of everything you needed even when you don't needed them, he would feed you and do your hair, buy you everything that you desired but going out was prohibited, was it a price to pay for luxury?. 

✥His paranoia will take over his mind if you said you would like to go to your own house, he does understand how homesick you must be feeling but he would feel the same if you left and it will be terrible because if you tried to escape from him or state that you hate him, his heart will break into millions pieces and might go back to how he was like before and it will be destructive to both you and all the other people, and you might be able to accept his yandere side since you have some memories and most importantly you pity him, so after throwing traumas for a week, in his eyes he thought you were afraid of being trapped in a room, slowly you realized how lonely he has been all these years without you.

✥Zhongli immediately melts when you willing touch him and comfortable him, won't it be better to heal his heart which leaks of sadness and fear of losing you, the person who is dearly valuable to him, he would clingy to you like his life depends on it or maybe it really does.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

[ricerice]

Ｆｏｒ　ａ　Ｔｈｏｕｓａｎｄ　Ｙｅａｒｓ　憶媛・ラ

NOTE: WRITTEN BY MY FRIEND JESSICA.

Was it slightly awkward to write this so soon after ‘When Rock Crumbles’? Yes. Did I do it anyway because I’m a ✨SIMP✨ for John Lee? Yes.

By the way, this is Jessica, the author of ‘When Rock Crumbles’ and ‘It Was Meant To Be’. Thank you to the lovely Lauren for making this Tumblr account because I’m lazy lols. And thank you to those who liked and followed!

Please look forward to another oneshot series, written by Lauren this time!

zhongli x reader

Credit to my crazy good fanfic writer friend "Jessica"

Warnings: slight angst, ambiguous ending.

word count: 892

◤ ──┅┅┄┄*ೃ:.✧✲ﾟ*。⋆─── ⋆✩⋆

After over two thousand years, Rex Lapis’ one and only love finally returns.

Or, Zhongli’s memory is a little too good, and everything reminds him of [Name].

“Many tales have been told of the great Rex Lapis, whose power was unrivalled by any of the Seven. His land was rich and abundant, stretching far into Teyvat, and those who lived in it felt the thrum of power beneath its ancient surface.”

“One of such tales was of gentler nature, telling the story of a young girl from a village long gone. It was said that Rex Lapis had met the girl during the Archon war, falling in love with her. However, the village was destroyed by an enemy of Rex Lapis, and the girl disappeared, taking Rex Lapis’ heart with her. “

“Such a tale was one of beauty, but also unparalleled sorrow. Even to this day, when storytellers told this tale, it would leave listeners wondering, and hoping, for Rex Lapis to reunite with his star-crossed lover in Celestia.”

Zhongli listened as the storyteller finished his tale. He was mildly surprised, as her story was not one often remembered by the people of Liyue. He wondered if Guizhong would appreciate this. She had always adored [Name] after all. She thought that [Name] was the cutest, and would tease Zhongli every time he spoke of her.

“Morax, in love?” Guizhong laughed. “Who’s the lucky person to be able to charm even you?”

“Her name is [Name], a mortal from the village west of Jueyun Karst.” Zhongli said.

“You will have to introduce me to her later,” Guizhong nudged Zhongli. “I would love to have a younger sibling.”

“You must be [Name]!” Guizhong said excitedly. “I’ve heard much about you.”

[Name] looked slightly lost to see another divine being before her. “...That’s me, my lady.”

“Please, drop the formalities! We’re going to be family, after all!” Guizhong said.

[Name] and Zhongli both choked simultaneously, twin flushes on their faces. “Guizhong!” Zhongli admonished.

“Oh, come on, Morax! You know it’s true.” Guizhong said dismissively. Smiling mischievously, she guided [Name] away. “Would you like me to tell you all the embarrassing things Morax has done?”

Zhongli walked past a couple of children playing, feeling a part of his people in a way he never had in his Archon times.

“Yuenae, catch!” one boy shouted.

“I got it!” a girl called back. She missed the ball, and it tumbled toward Zhongli, knocking gently on his feet.

“Here.” Zhongli smiled kindly, tossing it back to the kids.

“Thank you, mister!” they laughed, running back to their game, a couple of other children soon joining them.

Zhongli considered children to be one of life's most beautiful aspects. Wonder and joy abound, as do dreams and hopes. They lived in a land high above the clouds, beyond the reach of even gods.

“Zhongli, would you like to have children one day?” [Name] asked him, her voice light with curiosity.

“Hmm. I suppose one day, I would have the luxury of being a father. Until then, I do not believe that I’ve met the right person anyway.” he answered. “And you, do you wish to have children?”

“I do. Children are incredible, aren’t they? Something fragile and to be cherished, to be nurtured and to care for until they grow.”

“Personally, I think you would be a wonderful father!” she beamed.

Oh, the joy he felt being the recipient of such a beautiful smile.

“Are you enjoying the tea, sir?” a waiter asked Zhongli, who was currently sitting outside a restaurant.

“Thank you, it is delicious,” he responded.

He took in the scenery around him, noticing details he had never noticed before. The sky was blue, with only a few clouds dotting the horizon. The aroma of freshly cooked food and the warmth of the cup in his hands.

[Name] always made sure to pay attention to even the smallest things. No matter what it was, [Name] noticed and was grateful to it. She had a heart of gold, and even in the darkest of clouds, looked for the silver lining.

“Look at how clear the sea is, Zhongli!”

Zhongli looked out to the sea in front of him. As his domain was the land and the earth, he never really paid much attention to the sea. He couldn’t see much. It was Osial’s domain, after all. “...I suppose.”

[Name] gave him a flat look. “I know you well enough by now to know what you’re thinking, Zhongli. Do you not like the sea?”

“I confess… seeing the sea only reminds me of Osial.” he admitted. “I have never really looked to it specifically for beauty.”

“Oh.” [Name] said dejectedly. Then she brightened up. “That’s alright! If you don’t like the sea because of bad memories, we can just make good ones together!”

As long as his memory was, as many things that Zhongli remembered, it was these that he tried his best to hold on. These flashes of an age past, these fragments of a being long gone.

“Excuse me?” a voice sounded behind him, startling him from his thoughts.

Zhongli turned around, his breath catching in his throat as he did so. Rarely was Zhongli speechless, both as Rex Lapis and not. But, standing before him was the very reason his heart kept beating, thousands of years ago.

“[Name]...?”

[letterstomilen]

the death of rex lapis (hopefully)

Zhongli, Vampire Alternative Universe (warning: this is mainly expositional bc ive had fun playing around w the idea of how zhongli would be if he was a vampire so idk where this’ll go! there is some childe/zhongli but not much!! anyways happy birthday zhongli i love you :) Zhongli does not make a good vampire. 

Immortality is meant to make you smart.

But what people forget is that you don’t live that long because of wits. Immortality does not mean you are capable; it means that you were foolish enough to get bitten and didn’t think much of it later.

He wasn’t clever when he was held by Guizhong, who smiled sweetly at him as she looked at him, her hair brushing against his skin and cold hands curling the ends of his hair. And certainly not sharp when he failed to notice that her heart wasn’t beating and she seemed to look more at his neck— ”You have a very fine neck,” she informed him when he asked, and he nodded, assuming that it was one of those things sculptors just happened to notice—than his eyes for the majority of the night.

Whether it was out of guilt or disinterest, he doesn’t know. Zhongli would like to think that it was out of guilt, because prior to the night, they were friends. And after she bit his neck, she held him in her arms, whispering story after story as he stuck by fever.

The pain was unimaginable. First—there was shock. And then minutes later, while he wondered why the room smelled more like sweat and blood than incense, he realized that he was still held down.

This must be what quarry feels like, he thought then. But now he knows otherwise; prey would never be held so gently and lay there limply if they could help it. He, while being drained every bit of life, was a willing, sitting duck.

That was before the pain, of course. When she finally let go of him to wash her face—he recalls this clearly: her wiping her face, then licking the blood off her hands with the relish of a child on her birthday, before leaving to the bathroom—he laid there paralyzed. It was, he’s discovered, a bit like being drunk.

Only that the alcohol left his insides in unimaginable pain for days on end. He stumbled when he tried to stand; babbled as he struggled to speak. Even now he only remembers brief flashes of it, when he tore the skin on his arm with his newly grown canines, or hours of rejecting food that he could not quite stomach.

In reality, he was a child—a baby, really, if you were being blunt about it. The weeks that followed were horrendous and perhaps it’s a blessing that he spent the majority of them inhibited, the metamorphosis shedding every part of him that he was comfortable with. But as the days went on, the pain gave way to numbness and numbness gave away to strength.

And when he finally regained enough consciousness to form a coherent sentence, he asked Guizhong why she did it. She, with the certainty of somebody that’s lived for longer than he had, answered, “Well, you’ve always been interested in how the world would change after you were gone. Isn’t this now your chance to witness it?”

Fanaticism with history and predictions could only get you so far. To witness it—wasn’t that just a dream? And because he assumed that rocks were eternal and could not erode back then, he nodded in agreement.

It was a mistake.

Six hundred years ago, Zhongli underestimated the length of his lifetime. One day he’d be talking to somebody about their newborn and it would only be a blink later where their newborn was six feet under, hailed for having a long and blessed life. (What made a blessed life? It couldn’t have been the years –he concluded that every year he was more cursed than before.) Relationships were scarce because he forgot that not everybody experienced time the same way he did.

Days, contrary to his belief, were not fleeting seconds but rather twenty-four hours long. They composed of both the night and day, waking and sleeping hours instead of mindless walks that ended with him apologizing profusely before his fangs were embedded deep into somebody’s throat.

Somebody suggested for him to just do it in an alley and leave them there to be found at morning. But that was too disrespectful—uncouth even. He preferred to invite them into his home, graciously taking their coat and ushering them inside to a table filled with food. Venti always commented on how polite he was to the very end, taking extra care to cook food that he knew they liked—“Last meal before execution, huh?” he’d comment. “Very romantic.”—and making them comfortable until the very end.

That’s not how it started of course.

He tried starving himself at first—much to Osial’s amusement. On a night out, where Zhongli was more attuned to the heat and beating hearts of the people around him than the delicacies laid out, Osial took it a step further by passing him a cup with a thick, maroon liquid that sloshed around in it.

It smelled finer than the silk flowers that littered the gardens, and when he took the cup, he felt one step closer to the damnation Guizhong always spoke of. The worst part was that it didn’t churn his stomach—instinctually, he felt more delighted than he ever felt, a smile cracking his worn face as he inspected the goblet. Only when did he take note of Osial’s smug expression, the glint in his eyes that reminded him of an elusive professor, and the way he watched him carefully the way a parent would watch a child take its first steps, did he hesitate.

It wasn’t benign; it was as if he expected him to trip and fall over after attempting to take his first steps, taking pleasure in both the failure and success. Because both would end with Zhongli crossing the line one way or another, wouldn’t it? And there was nothing more enjoyable than sadism to somebody that’s seen it all already.

Right now he is fighting a losing battle. But he would rather starve than lose it here, so he hands the cup back to him, feeling a little more of his willpower crack.

Animal blood, by all accounts, is disgusting. It’s oily and sometimes he’d get sick, ending the night more ravenous than ever as if his skin were tightening around itself. You couldn’t just drink it—especially if you didn’t know where the animal has been. First you had to kill it neatly—a quick breaking of the neck would suffice, as strangulations were often drawn out—and then you had to clean it.

There was something almost humane in the process. Countless butchers have done it before, so he felt comfortable doing it himself.

It was only when he sunk his teeth into the carcass that he felt more like a vulture than anything else. The blood only staved off his hunger for short periods, so it was more of a painkiller than a sufficient meal.

And Osial found the whole thing to be hilarious.

“How unfortunate. If only Guizhong didn’t choose somebody that insisted on drinking animal blood, then it’d be more enjoyable. You know—if you open your mouth a little wider, you’ll look a bit more like the starving beast you are.” Then he dipped a finger in the cup and licked it as if it were chocolate, sweet and rich.

“Yes… Perhaps I should move onto better things. Do you think vampire blood is like wine? Or would age spoil its taste? I imagine that to a starving beast, there would be no difference—no matter how rotten your blood is, it’s still blood after all.”

Osial laughed and spit the blood out. “Well, you’re not wrong. This animal blood may be disgusting, but to you, what’s the difference?”

He wore his cruelty like a well-fitting suit, the creases shaped like ill-natured grins. Zhongli wondered if that will be him hundreds of years from now, but maybe Osial was always this unpleasant. Guizhong spoke of him the way somebody would talk about their ill-tempered cousin—sure, he’s awful to be around but he’s been a part of the family for so long already.

At the very least, he can provide a good meal. The question will always be for who, and his appetite is insatiable concerning all matters. Some vampires preferred a more barbaric approach of finding somebody, killing them, and then throwing the body away. Others—like Osial—treated it more like a game, drawing it out.

Sometimes he’d target entire families and call it a “feast” inviting others to join him. They were gruesome affairs that ended with many drunk on blood for weeks at a time, and even though he never went to them, he always heard about them.

Directly from Osial of course. Who seems intent on highlighting every small detail, every bloody death or desperate guest that was less than willing in the end but, Osial would say with delight, weren’t they all? As a matter of fact—and here was when he’d bring Guizhong into it, dragging her out of her room with her blueprints and models—Zhongli was very willing, wasn’t he?

“Up until he realized that he had to drink blood,” he’d say, as if he finally reached the punchline for a joke—then Osial would throw his head back with laughter.

And it’s not as if he hadn’t before. Sometimes, if he hurt himself, he would’ve licked the blood. But that tasted metallic—it was nothing like the delicacies that other vampires would set out, naming the meals by age, defining trait (sexual activity, lifestyle, etc.), and gender.

It took him fifty years for his willpower to break down. And he did it in front of Barbatos, who simply watched as he drank, not speaking of the way Zhongli drunkenly rambled for hours on end nor the way blood trickled down his neck and stained his clothing.

The deaths after that were easier. It was almost disappointing how he managed to replicate what Guizhong did with such ease. When he set the serviette over their chest before sinking his teeth into their jugular, he felt just like her.

Only when did he clean them up before burying them did he truly feel at rest. At the time it felt like appropriate compensation—a substitute for the promise he failed to keep for himself. The whole ordeal of washing the blood out of their matted hair and drying it out as he laid them down alleviated the sense of unease.

Guizhong would often watch him while he did it, pointing out certain anatomical features as she did. Her hands would trace over their veins, pressing down on the blue as she spoke. Osial joined them once, but he was so perturbed by the attention Zhongli dedicated to the process that he left immediately.

That was centuries ago.

He, sometime down the line, traded in these rituals for slaughter and abandoned that for mimicking the human lifestyle.

Barbatos would say that it’s been badly done, of course. 

“You make the worst human,” he once said, as he watched Zhongli struggle to stomach garlic bread that he offered him.

 Which could be why he’s now cornered by a vampire hunter.

The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor is often frequented by vampires all around Teyvat—there are rumors of blood dealings with underground groups but the Milileth has never investigated it—and Zhongli, with no danger signals, happens to be one of them.

It doesn’t help that he works there too. The irony that all these years later he never quite rid himself of dealing with dead bodies isn’t lost on him.

And he did hear about the Fatui, because word about people hunting vampires travels fast in a country as busy as Liyue.

“Sir,” the vampire hunter informs him kindly, “you do know that this is a hub for vampires, right?”

The voice isn’t what shocks Zhongli. Neither is the maroon mask that’s hanging by the side of his head—one told to be notorious among only the most vicious of hunters—or the thin outlines of weapons in his clothes.

It’s his eyes. They’re a bright blue, usually associated with the sea on bright days, but they’re more akin to the vampires that Zhongli has seen before with the wild glint in his eyes. It’s jarring with the smile that he adopts as he asks, and he imagines opening his mouth to a pair of fangs.

He knows that he won’t find them though. If the rumors he hears are any indications, the Fatui are above recruiting any vampires that’ll threaten their operation.

“Ah. Yes. I do. I’m the consultant here, you see,” he explains politely.

And shouldn’t that be an indication that he’s a vampire? Hu Tao is notorious for her strange tastes. And he must know of the deals she makes with underground groups, the money and blood that’s traded between them.  

“Oh!” the hunter’s expression brightens as he clasps his hands together. “I heard about you! I got to say—when they told me that the consultant was knowledgeable on all things Rex Lapis, I was expecting an old man.”

He doesn’t wait to explain who Rex Lapis is. This, of course, is a given seeing that Rex Lapis has become a household name, infamous for his butchery of both vampires and humans alike. But a hundred years later, Zhongli hoped, people would forget about him—or maybe get rid of the fanaticism in their voices when they spoke about him.

It’s quite discomforting, really.

“Well, I am old.”

He laughs, “Yeah, yeah. You hardly look older than me. Call me Childe—I was hoping that you could, ah, answer a few questions I have on Rex Lapis. The 77th Master said that you’d be available and more than willing. She.. actually, here you go!”

Zhongli takes the paper he offers him, which says If you ask him anything, he’d be more than willing to spend the rest of the day answering it! in her rough cursive that he’s grown to dislike. Of course—the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor is not beneath fraternizing with vampires or the Fatui.

But he prefers this much more than the vampires that stare at him as they struggle to place him in their ancient hierarchy. And this does work in his favor, he thinks. A vampire hunter wants to know more about him, Rex Lapis—wouldn’t this aid him in finally meeting his end?

So he politely smiles and gives him back the note, not missing how warm Childe’s skin is in comparison to his own. It’s been years since he’s touched a human without the intention of killing them, hasn’t it?

More than suitable then.

“Of course. What would you like to know?”