'ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜ ᴍᴇ ᴅɪᴇ' ; a xiao x reader
synopsis ; alatus was a strong adeptus, having been one of the two yakshas to have survived karmic debt, along with the endless wars that came with time. however, even the one next to the strongest is not invincible.
summary ; basically y/n is the dendro yaksha and xiao has only opened up to them because they've gone through the same thing, losing all their comrades. y/n was his stone, but even a stone is not invincible.
word count: 1.5k
"alatus! come and celebrate the lantern rite with us!"
"no."
"come on, you do this every year!"
"still no."
"i'll bring almond tofu..?"
xiao begrudgingly sat at the table at mount hulao, eating his own plate of almond tofu whilst all his other fellow yakshas talked about nothing in particular, bosacius would sometimes brag about the monsters he had wrangled, indarias would help hand out food, bonanus chugged osmanthus wine (a benevolent gift from none other than rex lapis himself), menogias still refused to stop sewing. he was working on a suit familiar to his, the rest of them were in awe when he admitted it was for rex lapis himself.
"it certainly looks regal enough!"
then there was y/n, the dendro yaksha, general (name). while bosacius was official leader of the yakshas, appointed by rex lapis himself, y/n was the de-facto leader. they were basically the deputy, and loved for their motherly nature towards the other adepti. xiao often turned his nose up at them, why would anyone trust and treat others so nicely if they didn't even know each other?
"alatus, are you doing okay?"
the bustling atmosphere vanished in front of xiao's eyes, instead replaced by the tranquility of the wangshu inn, he stared into the starry night before turning to whoever had spoken.
"y/n."
he paused.
"thinking about bosacius and the others again?"
y/n asked, a sad smile on their face. it was always a pleasure to temporarily escape the reality of loneliness just to think of their fellow comrades.
however, every trip down memory lane wasn't always going to be a good one.
"y/n, alatus, i-i don't want to fight."
"indarias, stay strong, i don't want to either but-"
indarias screamed, letting out a bloodcurdling scream as hot tears ran down her face, her expression of pure agony and fear visible. she ran, far away from where alatus and y/n stood, they attempted to pursue her, but even more chaos would catch their attention before they could. alatus watched as y/n launched themselves up towards bonanus and menogias. he knew that the karmic debt had possessed them, and though his heart tightened, he knew that it was hopeless.
he never wanted to admit it though, and let y/n try.
"your worthless existence will be forgotten."
"as if a drunken insect like you wouldn't suffer the same fate as me."
their voices were now nothing but animalistic, they weren't yakshas anymore, but only monsters that plagued the battlefield. at the geo monster's comment, the hydro one let out a shrill screech of anger, launching herself forward and impaling the other. the geo monster wouldn't go down without a fight, and crystallized the other former yaksha, shattering her to pieces as he himself succumbed to his wounds and karmic debt.
a tear rolled down y/n's cheek, xiao standing atop bloodied corpses of monsters, his face holding a sombre expression. both of them prayed that bosacius would be alright.
and that prayer would go unanswered. years after that battle, bosacius had disappeared without a trace.
they had only discovered the truth recently, their now former deity filling y/n in after xiao's near-death experience.
in front of the traveler, the strange oni, yanfei, the ninja(?) and paimon, y/n put on a calm, composed face. they thanked the group for their assistance and providing closure for both them and xiao. however, the anemo user knew the truth, the tears that they shed, the vase that was broken as y/n yelled at xiao, who could do nothing but avert their gaze.
"what- you were just going to leave me here? without anyone? without you?"
y/n had started to pull on their hair, threatening to rip it out. xiao watched, he stumbled forward. he was never good with feelings, that was y/n's department. they were there when he had his karmic debt episodes, they were there to make almond tofu and help to soothe his pain.
xiao wrapped his arms around the other, it was awkward for him, but as y/n sank to the floor, he did so with them. they sobbed while rare tears came from his eyes, as he whispered apologies.
they spent their days at dihua marsh, walking together and reminiscing. they fought side-by-side, always having each others' back. they collected what they could of their late yaksha friends. indarias' mask, that y/n found after the bloody war. the both of them weren't there to watch her life cease, but the mask was indication enough.
menogias' mask was intact, albeit chipped. bosacius' was retrieved in the chasm by xiao, though it threatened to crumble as time wore it down. bonanus' mask was.. shattered. it was almost impossible to piece it back together, but xiao remembered the nights that him and y/n stayed up, using the strongest glue they could find, provided by cloud retainer. guizhong had usually been the one they went to for contraptions, but alas, the archon war not only stole friends like the yaksha, but also gods alike. the goddess of dust was among one of the casualties.
the traveler was also a prominent figure in their lives, who helped convince xiao to go to the lantern rite. they had led him to a clearing in the forest, feigning a story about a danger they had uncovered. as the vine curtain was thrown aside, instead of a huge monster, there was a stone table, just like the one back then in that lantern rite, there were 6 seats, but only one yaksha was there. y/n sat patiently, smiling at xiao.
xiao glared back at the traveler and paimon, who whistled innocently and scampered away.
in front of the seats were items.
a pot of soup, wine, a token from the primordial geovishap, and a needle and a piece of golden cloth. xiao didn't even have to look twice to know who they belonged to. he assumed the seat with almond tofu in front of it was his seat.
he sat down awkwardly, the both of them sitting in silence for a bit before y/n spoke up.
"let's just pretend, for now."
pretending was hard, though. the silence that engulfed the table was palpable. never will the cheerful banter ever fill the sky again. never will bosacius boast, the wine will remain untouched, the food never distributed, none of menogias' creations ever be made from his skillful hands.
y/n doubled over, a sudden pain piercing through their senses. they clutched the table as xiao bent down next to them, helpless to try and aid his companion.
their vision went black.
xiao looked over to liyue harbour, at bubu pharmacy. he didn't believe in human medicine, but what option did he have at the moment? he hoped that that.. baizhong.. or baili person could help them.
xiao hoped that this was just a passing sickness, a lack of sleep, anything. it can't be.. karmic debt. it can't be. for his sake, y/n had to live, at least long enough to watch him die.
alatus clutched y/n's hand, staying by their side the whole night. zhongli had come to visit, and the grim silence was there. silence, damn it. damn the silence. though he insisted on being better working on his own, in the silence the night provided, y/n always provided just enough banter.
"alatus."
xiao didn't reply.
"spend your time well with them."
and with that, zhongli left. xiao couldn't handle being so weak in his presence anyways.
your end was coming.
and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
then it happened.
an awful scream rang out throughout dihua marsh, as a band of hilichurls fell at xiao and y/n's feet.
y/n clutched their head, collapsing to their knees. xiao stood opposite them, turning away. he knew what was happening. he naively wished it would never happen, but he was just refusing to acknowledge reality.
y/n morphed into a monster, their gentle hands becoming large claws, their eyes with a crazed rage in it, and their face. oh, their face. it was nowhere to be seen. xiao was strong, it would be no issue to execute his former companion.
but his arms trembled, a warm liquid making its presence known as it streamed down his cheeks.
with a skilled slash by his hands, the monster fell to the ground. xiao ran over, desperate. the karmic debt that morphed their body receded into the night. xiao slowly reached out, touching their cheek.
another legend was added into liyue's books for years to come, they say that once every two years, on a random night, you can hear the despairing melody of a bird as it mourned its beloved, as well as the cries of a man that accompanies the song.
139 notes
·
View notes