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ofoceansandtombsanew · 2 years

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zhongli x reincarnated gn!reader imagine on my mind today ー

as the oldest of the seven and someone who has had been a deity even before his time as an archon

zhongli has had many titles over the centuries: warrior god, lord of geo, groundbreaker, god of contracts. as the oldest of the seven, it was no surprise. he existed long before the seven even came to be and he remembered much of it. he remembered the battles and the adepti who fought by his side

he remembered the many gods that once roamed the land too. he remembered gentle havria who couldn’t bring herself to harm a fly let alone another individual. he remembers intellectual guizhong who bestowed her followers with knowledge and technical contraptions

and he remembers them.

amur, god of festivals and mirth and soother of the dead. while many historians in liyue debated over amur and which nation presently housed what would have been their domain had they been alive, all could agree that amur was a kind god respected by their people. a wielder of the power of dendro, knowing all too well the cycle of life and death and desired their people to live their lives to the full extent of their brief lives

“all things return to the earth. mortals, animals, plants and even we the divine. in that, we are all very much equal” was transcribed on their domain. some historians found it disrespectful for even a god to say. what sort of archon would such a lackadaisical god be had they managed to take a seat at the seven? some argued, however, that amur’s words held truth to it, especially after the death of rex lapis

“i would have liked to see what sort of archon amur would have been.” the 77th director of the wangsheng funeral parlor exclaimed one particular day, her red eyes full of intrigue. “they’d have understood my desire to promote my business.”

“from what is known of them,” the corner of zhongli’s lips turned into a small but fond smile. “i believe the two of you would have gotten along. one lesser known story of amur...” he then trailed off, recounting a few tales most anyone could find should they happen to find an old book

but zhongli remembered the god that inspired those tales; playful yet knowing amur. they weren’t the most powerful god, but they were content.

they crafted instruments and taught their followers how use them, created grove after grove of fruit, and when a celebration arose in response to a bountiful harvest, it was no surprise to zhongli that amur would be in disguise dancing with their followers

amur who would call him a “blockhead” like barbatos and welcome him to eat the fruits of their domain in the same breath

amur who would look at their dying blooms with the same proud eyes they created them with because even they fell, their death would lead to new life

“we’re compatible.” amur whispered softly one particular evening zhongli - morax - crafted, cupping morax’s own earth filled ones. the bright green of dendro colored their hands and just like that, the dirt he held filled with sprouts. amur’s warm gaze traveled from their sprout and dirt covered hands to zhongli’s eyes. “geo and dendro need each other for life to thrive. that makes us quite compatible.”

“you confuse yourself for a mortal” he replied after a moment of silence, pulling his hands away gently. “you tell them that we’re equal

“we look quite human to me.” amur replied airly

“we’re not human, we’re better”

“stronger we might be, you old blockhead, but when it comes down to it, we can be as imperfect and as flawed as mortals” amur’s words were gentle, a small smile still on their face.

soon after that conversation, battles to be one of the seven erupted across the continent and many of those familiar faces were lost one by one.

“don’t worry about me, morax.” when was it he approached amur in warning? when the battle was coming toward a bloody close? no, it was after he’d caught word of what happened to havria after her constant retreating from the battle. slain by her own people, a tragic end.

“why morax,” amur had smirked, eyes twinkling. “are you worried about me? i don’t think even that carefree sylph from mondstadt would do something like that.” amur continued wryly and with the temperament of his younger years, zhongli snapped.

“this isn’t a game, amur. not fighting isn’t an option. the fight will come to you whether you want it to or not.” amur knew this, they had to have known this. amur was many things, stupid wasn’t one of them. “contrary to how you act, i know you’re aware you can’t run forever.” zhongli remembered telling amur bluntly. “you can’t shelter your people forever.

for the first time since he had known them, amur’s smile had faded. their eyes were dull and they looked tired, weary. “of course i know, i’m no fool, morax.” they’d whispered. it was like the centuries they’d been alive had caught up to them in one moment. “try as i might, it’ll do no good. i’d end up like havria.”

“let me-” zhongli, morax, had began before stopping promptly. let me what? let me protect you? why would i-

“don’t you worry about me, morax.” amur smiled when he didn’t continue. “i’ll be fine. i’ll move my people somewhere they can be safe and i’ll join the battle. i swear on my people, however, i’ll not make an enemy out of you.”

“... i wasn’t worried you would.”

they looked pleased when he said that. “good. i look forward to being seated at the seven with you.” their smile was strained as the words left their lips, as if even they themselves didn’t believe in their abilities. “many look down on dendro. that rat osial being one of them. i bet he’d be rolling in despair and rage if there was a dendro archon rather than him and his silly pools.”

zhongli couldn’t find it in himself to laugh at your jokes

“i’ll see you again on the other side of this war, i promise.” and against everything in his body screaming to not let you go, he left to continue fighting his own battle

six others rose to celestia to claim the thrones they’d been promised if they came out victorious. amur was not one of them. none other than osial had laid them, and their people, to waste until all that remained was what were few traces of their civilization.

i made a wrong choice. maybe if he had a better understanding of mortal emotions, he might have been able to better label the affection he felt for them. perhaps he would have stopped you, would have urged you to join your people with liyue

a week after his newly established position as the irrefutable lord of geo, he visited your favorite grove. “you’ll be pleased to know,” he poured a cup of wine amur would never drink. “a dendro archon came to be after all.”

then zhongli meets you and it felt like the world stopped. you were a traveler from fontaine trying your luck with liyue’s branch of the adventurer’s guild. you met ms tao on the way back from a procession and the two of you struck it off before hu tao brought you to see the parlor as a guest.

“i’m (y/n) from petrichor.” you introduced yourself as but zhongli only saw amur. there was nothing but amur in your skin color and and hair to the proudly brandished dendro vision you sported on your hip. “and you must be mr zhongli, i’ve finally seen you. met you!” you then corrected yourself in embarrassment. “i’m sorry, i don’t know why i worded things like that”

it’s wonderful to finally see you too. he thought.

to her you laugh that familiar laugh and to see you smile that familiar smile. even your grimace was familiar as he watched you speak of osial with an unnatural amount of unkempt for a non-native of liyue. “it just rubs me the wrong way. who decides to attack an innocent city just because they’re still angry at the god who sealed them away?” you asked zhongli over dinner. “it’s childish. people can say what they want but this just proves that gods and humans have a lot more in common than they think- oh but don’t tell those historian friends of yours i said that, they’d kill me”

“your secret is safe with me” zhongli vowed seamlessly much to your immediate relief

“you know, we’re pretty compatible mr. zhongli!” you grinned widely after a successful commission you asked him to accompany you on.

“yes, we planned a thorough strategy to dealing with those treasure hoarders.”

you snorted though you looked more amused than exasperated. “not just that.” you gestured back and forth between the gold and bright green visions between you both. “people can say what they want about geo and dendro; rocks and flowers kick ass”

you nudged the man playfully, prepared to ask him nonchalantly if agreed with you only to be taken aback by the warmth in zhongli’s eyes. “one could argue that geo and dendro are the most compatible of elements. with plants, earth can’t host life and without earth, the seeds of those same plants can’t take root to grow. they need each other to thrive.”

“yeah i guess... that’s true.” you stared at zhongli with wide eyes, heart beating a million beats per second. suddenly the distant sight of a hydro slime was more compelling to look at. odd, it’s a bit blurry. you wiped at your eyes with the back of your hand, confused by the tears.

“(y/n)? are you alright?”

“i guess it’s just a bit bright out, that’s all.” you weren’t sure if you were trying to convince him more or yourself. “seriously, i’m alright. it’s just...” you appreciated how zhongli waited for you to find the right words. “i’ve never heard someone talk about... it just feels like i’ve been waiting for those words for a long time.”

i’m just being weird, don’t mind me you wanted to joke.

honestly, i’m kind of the town weirdo back home you wanted nonchalantly sing

large gloved but warm hands held one of your own tightly as golden brown gazed at you intently before you could do either of those things. “i’ll gladly say it to you many more times.”

#look she's writing #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin #zhongli x reader #reincarnation au.... or is it??#that's the real question #decided god reader's name amur by combining amdusias and murmur #both of whom are dukes in the ars goetia #had to keep it on theme #a wild hu tao is also spotted #osial slander i guess lmao #reader is not the dendro archon #they didn't even get a chance smh #god!reader au

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