Genshin Impact: Awakening in the Darkness

"Xuan Yue, you..." Gui Zhong didn't know where to begin.

"When did this happen? Why have I never heard of it before?" Liu Yun exclaimed in shock.

"Old friend, your territory is the predecessor of Liyue, isn't it?" Morax asked.

"!" Gui Zhong and Liu Yun's pupils constricted.

"According to the current terminology, you should be the guardian demon god of Gu Liyue."

"As you say, that's correct. Wuroyavis was once the ruler of this territory, but he fell into a deep slumber due to a great calamity." Xuan Yue crossed her arms and looked at Morax: "You should have already realized this, shouldn't you?"

"Hmm, the terrain of Liyue was much lower than Mondstadt when I first arrived, which clearly indicated that it had once been prosperous. But its sudden disappearance made me wary. Even with my profound understanding of rocks, I couldn't detect the dangers underground. So I took a gamble..."

"There's no force underground that can overturn things, and Liyue is strong enough to be unafraid of that unknown existence underground..." Morax's words left everything unsaid.

“As expected of you,” Xuan Yue chuckled lightly, “There is indeed a part of the underground that is suspended in mid-air. That is my former homeland. I slept in the ancient city-state, sleeping alongside them. I was waiting, waiting for them all to be reborn and enter the cycle of reincarnation. I came up to check on you because I was worried, and yet you are still so inverted, with the boundary between life and death blurred…”

"Hehe, it seems my old friend has a plan." Morax smiled as he looked at him.

“We don’t even need to lift a finger, Morax.” Xuanqing and Xuanyue’s voices overlapped, as if an ancient demon god was awakening: “This is your territory now, and you should be in charge. But if you repeat my mistakes, I don’t mind sinking Liyue back into the ground.”

“Of course.” Morax did not refuse: “This can also be considered a different kind of contract.”

"Alright, let's talk about other things now..." Xuan Qing stopped replying, and Xuan Yue took the lead in livening up the atmosphere.

"You sank the entire Liyue underground, Xuan Yue, oh no, Ruyavis, just how strong are you?" Liu Yun asked, utterly shocked.

"Haha, I already said it was in the past. We don't have the peak power we had back then, but we still have the strength to fight those demon gods." Xuan Yue answered Liu Yun's question very politely.

"Could we arrange the challenge for Naroda?" Morax asked.

"You'd have to ask Xuanqing. I'm not a key player," Xuan Yue said, unfolding her fan and gently waving it.

"He'll go, I agree." Xuan Qing's voice rang out, causing Xuan Yue to freeze.

"Xuanqing! Iceberg! Big ice block!" Xuan Yue cried out instantly, and the three people in front of her laughed at her reaction.

"I am still recovering from serious injuries, it is only right that you go," Xuan Qing said again.

"You can't betray your brothers like this!"

“We’re one entity. Your involvement is equivalent to mine, so it’s not a scam,” Xuan Qing said confidently, leaving Xuan Yue speechless.

"The contract is in effect; those who break their word will be punished." Morax spoke up at the opportune moment, leaving Xuan Yue on the verge of tears: "You're all ganging up on me!"

Gui Zhong and Liu Yun were suppressing their laughter, Morax was drinking tea with a slight smile on his lips, and Xuan Qing was silent in his sea of ​​consciousness, but the swirling ice mist around him proved that his master was in a good mood.

The atmosphere became much more cheerful.

—The sun was high in the afternoon

A ripple suddenly flashed in Xuan Yue's eyes, and she froze for a moment.

"What's wrong?" Morax asked, stopping his teacup a fist's distance away.

"Nothing, I just remembered some things I need to take care of." Xuan Yue closed her fan, stood up, and flew away from Mount Aozang under the puzzled gazes of the crowd, heading into the distance.

"Your Majesty, will the Heavenly Lord be in any danger leaving like this?" Liu Yun asked, frowning. He noticed that Gui Zhong and Morax also looked worried.

"I'll go myself. I'll leave Guizhong and Liyue to you for now." Morax finished speaking and transformed into a golden streak, disappearing into the distance.

——Wuwangpo——

"Run! Run!" A group of young people were frantically fleeing. "A vengeful ghost is coming to claim our lives!"

"Children! Run!" A group of women, carrying children, frantically ran down the mountain, followed by glowing spirits rushing towards them.

This was the scene that greeted Xuan Yue upon his arrival. A wave of sorrow washed over him, but he uttered no words. He simply erected a barrier before the souls, preventing them from approaching the crowd. The souls struggled frantically, but to no avail. Soon, the crowd dispersed, and there were no casualties…

"Ali! Xiaoshun! It's me!"

"Mu Xia! I'm your dad! I'm your dad!"

"Ayako, Yuko, it's Mommy! Mommy's here!"...

The soul cried out, but could not take another step forward.

Xuan Yue flew down from mid-air and appeared in front of them, calmly saying, "You are all dead."

These words struck them heavily. Yes, they were all dead. Some died on the battlefield, some in accidents, some from illness, some due to the limitations of life. But they were all unwilling to accept their fate, all held onto their convictions…

"Excuse me, who are you...?" a soul began to speak. He understood that the person before him must be an immortal, otherwise why would he have flown down from the sky?

“I am the Night Demon God, Ruoyavis.” Xuan Yue did not smile; his expression was solemn, much like Xuan Qing’s. “You are all dead, and you carry heavy Yin energy. People who come into contact with you may be in mortal danger. I apologize.”

This apology was for stopping them, but since life and death are different, he would take responsibility once he decided to protect Liyue.

"It's actually Lord Heavenly Lord! I knew of you when I was alive. Thanks to you for saving so many warriors' lives in that battle, otherwise, I imagine many more would have perished like me," a young man in armor said, a smile spreading across his face.

"You are a demon god, so could you please help me, sir..." a woman said cautiously.

"I'm sorry, as I've said before, life and death are different. I know you care about the children's condition, but they've all been traumatized to varying degrees, and I need to be responsible for them..." Xuan Yue said with some guilt.

“I know it’s difficult for you, but I just want to see them, just one look. I just want to know if those two children are doing well. My husband left a long time ago, and now I’m like this, leaving only those two brothers…” The woman began to cry as she spoke, and the other spirits also looked somber.

Xuan Yue sighed. He had been trying to communicate with Xuan Qing, asking if there was any way to help. After all, if things continued like this, these souls might not be able to reincarnate and would eventually become vengeful ghosts.

(There is a way. The reason the boundary between life and death is blurred is because there is no gatekeeper. Our powers are more or less related to life and death. Creating a boundary between life and death, and then finding a human willing to guard it should be enough.) Xuanqing transmitted his voice.

(Well then... let's get ready.)

Xuan Yue paused to gather her thoughts and said as calmly as possible, "It's not that there's no way to let you stay in the mortal realm longer, but I need to sign a contract with you all."

"A contract?" the souls asked in confusion.

“Yes, I can designate a secret realm for you souls with obsessions. You can wait for the person you want to wait for inside. Once your obsessions are resolved, you must reincarnate and cannot linger any longer. What do you say?” Xuan Yue’s voice changed as she called out to the distant mountain peak, “What do you think, Morax?”

"The Emperor... the Emperor is here too!" The souls were shocked upon hearing Xuan Yue's words.

At this moment, Morax flew down and came to Xuan Yue.

"If I hadn't sensed it in advance, there would have been unnecessary casualties."

"Yes, thank you, old friend. However, there are some omissions in this contract, such as evil spirits harming people and vengeful ghosts taking lives."

"Then let's add something: ghosts that harm people will receive the punishment they deserve, and the gatekeeper will be in charge of managing this matter."

"The gatekeeper?" Morax asked.

"Yes, the task is to find someone in Liyue who can communicate with spirits to manage this boundary between life and death. I'll leave this to you, Morax," Xuan Yue said with a slight smile.

"Ready, stand inside the circle and don't move." Xuan Yue transformed the previous magic array into a protective circle to prevent the spirits from dissipating.

Morax crossed his arms and watched quietly.

In his sea of ​​consciousness, Xuan Qing opened his eyes and reached out to Xuan Yue. The instant their hands met, his physical body underwent a noticeable change. On one side, a black robe embroidered with gold thread depicted a dragon, and on the other, a white robe embroidered with silver thread depicted a phoenix. Mysterious lines appeared on his forehead, his hair was half-loose and half-tied down his back, and he wore a golden hair crown. His entire aura instantly became filled with an oppressive force.

(Is this... the original Joavis?) Morax murmured to himself.

Xuan Yue—no, Ruo Yavis—opened his eyes. The once calm blue had transformed into heterochromatic pupils, one a radiant gold, the other a lifeless gray. The surrounding mist had also turned blackish-gold.

The spirits were silently observing everything, and because of the protection of the formation, they felt no discomfort.

As Yavis gently brushed the jade pendant at his waist, it was also tinged with a black and gold mist, the overall color scheme shifting between white and black, with faint flashes of iridescent light.

"In the chaos of heaven and earth, life and death were boundless. Now, in the name of order, we protect the cycle of all life." A dazzling white light emanated from the openwork of the jade pendant, growing brighter and brighter until it was blinding.

"Life and death are predestined, and fate is unpredictable. The order of imbalance is disrupted, and the yardstick of balance is restored. With my command, the mighty majesty of the monarch is unleashed!" As soon as he finished speaking, the jade pendant split apart, transforming into a gate that stood on the cliff. Then it opened outwards, revealing the passage to the secret realm, before transforming back into the jade pendant and hanging on Noyavis's waist once more.

Everything happened in an instant, yet it felt like an eternity.

“Alright.” Joavis’s ethereal voice rang out, bringing the spirits back to their senses: “Go in.”

"Yes, Your Majesty," the spirits replied respectfully, then entered the unknown secret realm in an orderly fashion.

"You..." Morax walked up to Joavis, about to say something, but was stopped by Joavis.

Once all the spirits had entered the secret realm, the injuries that Ruyavis had been suppressing finally flared up, causing him to cough up blood and revert back to Xuan Yue, but his face instantly turned deathly pale. Morax was startled and immediately made him rest against a nearby rock, transferring energy to him.

"Phew! Cough cough! Morax, what's with that expression?" Xuan Yue joked with a laugh, "Anyone who didn't know better would think I was about to die from that look, hahahaha."

“I should have stopped you then.” Morax’s expression remained serious. “It’s wartime now. If you add new wounds to your old ones before they’ve healed, it will leave hidden injuries that will be difficult to heal for a long time, which will be very disadvantageous in fighting the enemy.”

"Cough cough, Morax, it's all because you've been so slow in repairing the boundary between life and death. It's on the verge of exploding. Any later and it would have been..." Xuan Yue said speechlessly.

"That was my mistake. I didn't notice it during the process, but how did you realize it? Could you tell me?"

"Heaven and earth, yin and yang, the two polarities. All exist within the order of the world. If we were to discuss who in this world is most sensitive to the imbalance of order, it would only be Noahs, the Demon God of the Night." Xuan Yue laughed smugly, "Even the one in the heavens is not as good as me."

"Order? What are your particular feelings about the current order of this world?"

“A feeling of imbalance.” Xuan Qing’s voice came out as he said this, “The spiritual energy of heaven and earth is shrinking to varying degrees. In addition to the imbalance of yin and yang, there are also some external forces invading. This feeling makes me dizzy from time to time, and my cultivation has slowed down a lot.”

"I feel the same way, but it's not very serious. Cough cough, I can feel this imbalance slowly being repaired recently, but not much."

"Go back first. Your condition is dangerous. Go to Liuyun's place first."

"Ah, back to square one."

"Then you should at least leave yourself some way out," Morax said, shaking his head.

“But…they were also the most beloved people of those mortals. The Lantern Festival allows heroes to return home, so their families should also be reunited.” Xuan Yue gazed at the secret realm, when a ray of light shone on his face.

"Look, the light is coming through."

……