Genshin Impact: Awakening in the Darkness

Three days after returning from the Wolf King, the Thousand Rock Army from Liyue finally arrived in Mondstadt.

"Keep going, everyone! We're almost at the destination the Heavenly Lord gave us!" Xiao Ganyu, who had been invited by the Emperor to escort the Thousand Rock Army and meet with Xuan Yue, encouraged them from the front.

"Miss Gan Yu, you've really gone to so much trouble for us along the way." Zhu Yujie, the captain of the Qianyan Army team, gave a slight nod to Gan Yu, who was half a head shorter than him.

“There’s no need to be so formal. You are from the Thousand Rock Army, upholding the order of Liyue and abiding by the Emperor’s contract. You are no different from us immortals. Moreover…” Gan Yu blushed slightly as she spoke, “Besides, I was just escorting you. It’s nothing important. There’s no need for you to thank me so much.”

"Miss Gan Yu..."

"Ahem, how much longer are you two going to chat?" Xuan Yue held the list in her hand, watching Qian Yanjun and Gan Yu chat. For some reason, she felt like her own cabbage was about to be eaten by a pig.

"Heavens...uh...we're here to receive the goods. I'm Gan Yu, a disciple of True Lord Liuyun Jiefeng." Gan Yu was still somewhat flustered.

"Oh, so you're a disciple of the immortals. Thank you for your appreciation, Your Majesty. I'm just an ordinary merchant. My name is Qingyue."

"Mr. Qingyue has expanded the trade routes for Liyue, making a huge contribution to Liyue's future development." Gan Yu said politely on the surface, but what she really thought was (Since the Celestial Lord doesn't want to reveal his identity, I'll play along.)

"Please all go inside and rest. I'll go organize some documents. Could Miss Gan Yu help me check them?"

"no problem."

Gan Yu followed Xuan Yue into the study, while the soldiers of the Thousand Rock Army rested in the hall on the first floor.

"Your Majesty, it's been a long time. How are you?"

"I'm fine, and Xuanqing has woken up and seems to be alright," Xuan Yue said with a smile.

"That's good. The Emperor told me to come and assist you with your next steps."

"I understand. I will inform Qianyan Army to rest here for a few days. I need you to help me arrange this." Xuan Yue handed a piece of paper to Gan Yu.

"This is!" Gan Yu exclaimed in shock.

“You don’t need to worry, little Gan Yu.” Xuan Yue gently patted Gan Yu’s head. “Also, the Lantern Festival is almost here.”

"Yes, Heavenly Lord, all the immortals miss you very much." (We are all trying to help, but I don't think I can do anything to help.) Gan Yu's expression fell for a moment.

"Gan Yu." Xuan Qing's cold voice came.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Aren't you here to help me?" Xuan Qing's voice tried to be gentle, but it was still somewhat cold, which warmed Gan Yu's heart.

"Ahem, alright, little Gan Yu, look, even this big iceberg is finally speaking up, which means you're very outstanding and he likes you a lot."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ganyu blushed instantly: "Thank you so much for your kind words, Your Majesty."

"Hahahaha..." Xuan Yue burst into laughter in the room.

—Three days later—

"It's the last day..." Xuan Qing looked up at the sky.

"Your Majesty, everything is arranged." Xiao Ganyu bowed to Xuanqing and said again, "The Thousand Rock Army is also ready to return. The Emperor also asked me to pass on a message to you."

"Oh? Is it for me or for him?" Xuan Qing's cold voice rang out.

"Entrusted by the Emperor, I am delivering a message to Lord Mingye: Liyue is always behind you. Do whatever you want; we are here for you."

"Heh, as expected of my best friend, you understand me so well." Xuan Qing paused before speaking, "But why bother?"

"..." Xuan Yue stopped speaking, and the atmosphere fell silent.

"I wish... the Heavenly Lords a safe journey. Gan Yu will take her leave now." Little Gan Yu politely bid farewell to Xuan Qing and Xuan Yue and left the room.

The surroundings became quiet again.

"Let's go, Xuan Yue," Xuan Qing said calmly.

“Xuanqing,” Xuan Yue’s tone became heavy this time, “I have always been here.”

"Ah."

After greeting Ai Rui and bidding farewell to the warriors of the Thousand Rock Army, Xuan Qing headed to Zhaixing Cliff.

The sound of the wind rustling past his ears made Xuan Qing's eyes darken. He stood on the cliff top, looking in the direction of Mondstadt: "Aren't you coming out yet, Barbatos? Or, I'll call you Wendy."

Xuan Qing's voice wasn't loud, but the wind beside him clearly paused for a few seconds.

"Oh, Grandpa Qingyue, what a coincidence!" Wendy was still smiling, appearing exceptionally peaceful.

“Hmm, if we ignore the arrow behind you…” Xuan Qing looked at the bow and arrow behind Wendy, a beautifully crafted blue bow and arrow.

"Oh, you noticed that, huh? Well then..." Wendy's expression turned serious the next second. He changed into his divine armor, and pure white wings unfurled from behind him, radiating the aura of a demon god: "State your purpose, demon god from another land."

"In human terms, you have no respect for your elders." Xuan Qing also donned his divine armor, drew his sword, and confronted Barbatos, instantly dispelling Barbatos's oppressive aura.

"Hmm, not bad. So, how about this move?" A vortex of wind swirled around Barbatos, enveloping the arrow as it shot towards Xuan Qing.

Xuan Qing casually extended a finger, directly blocking Barbatos's arrow, and even broke it in his hand. With a slight wave of his other hand, the scattered tornadoes were swept away.

"This!" Barbatos exclaimed, realizing he was completely outmatched.

"Let me introduce myself again. My name is Royavis, the Demon God of the Night, and the principal authority of order." Xuan Qing was expressionless, and Barbatos couldn't read any emotion from his eyes either.

"So, you went to all this trouble to come all the way from Liyue to Mondstadt to find me, it's not because you need me to help with advertising, is it?" Barbatos said this on the surface, but secretly gathered his strength.

"No, but it seems you need to calm down." Xuan Qing waved his hand, and countless black holes appeared behind him. Vines sprouted from the black holes and rushed towards Barbatos.

Barbatos's expression turned cold, and he immediately flew into the sky.

"I advise you not to do that." Xuan Qing's voice wasn't loud, but it reached Barbatos's ears just in time. He stopped abruptly, dodging to the side and avoiding the attack of the branches behind him. His eyes narrowed as he saw the vines collide with an unknown magic circle.

"You want to trap me!" Barbatos frowned, his eyes blazing with anger. After all, how could a demon god who yearns for freedom be willing to be bound?

Xuan Qing kept his eyes closed and did not answer, but the increasing number of black holes behind him indicated his attitude.

Barbatos's energy surged instantly, and the hurricane became fierce, directly severing the vines. Yes, severing them. The hurricane was as sharp as a blade, instantly dissolving the vines and rushing towards Xuan Qing.

The next second, Xuan Qing disappeared from the spot, and Barbatos's attack missed.

"Lesser Yin, Condensate." Xuan Qing's calm voice rang out, and countless ice shards condensed in the black holes rushed towards Barbatos.

"Do you look down on me?" Barbatos flapped his wings, and the icicles fell to the ground and melted into water.

“It’s not over yet.” Xuan Qing appeared in Barbatos’s line of sight, his purple eyes flashing. The shredded vines on the ground grew back, far more than when they were first summoned.

"Ugh!" Barbatos was caught off guard when his wings were suddenly bound and his limbs were also tied, making it impossible for him to break free.

Xuan Qing did not approach, but merely observed indifferently.

"You don't actually think you've won, do you?" Barbatos sneered.

“There’s an old saying in Liyue: Life is like a game of chess. Those who only think one step ahead are mediocre, those who plan three steps ahead are average, and those who plan ten steps ahead are wise. Which step do you think I’ve figured out?” As soon as Xuanqing finished speaking, Barbatos noticed that a black lotus suddenly bloomed beneath his feet, completely enveloping him.

"Aren't you afraid of being discovered by mortals? Then the mask you painstakingly built in Mondstadt won't be effective anymore," Barbatos mocked.

“Then this entire dream is useless.” Xuan Qing also walked into the black lotus and looked at Barbatos, who was enveloped by the energy ball, and said, “I said that taking one step determines taking ten steps, so how could I not have calculated that the aura of a demon god can easily affect the surrounding things, let alone a demon god of Mondstadt.”

"You've really gone to great lengths to trap me. Ah, I'm all in your hands now. Tell me, what do you want?" Barbatos lowered his head, seemingly having already given in.

(I'll...)

(What will you do?) Xuan Yue's voice echoed in Barbatos's mind.

(Of course, they also trapped him inside with a strong wind.) Barbatos clearly hadn't realized the problem.

(Oh, I'm actually looking forward to it, but it won't work on the guy in front of you.)

(Why... wait, who are you?) Barbatos finally realized that someone was talking to him in his head.

(Oh, I'm also Noavis.) Xuan Yue said in a friendly manner.

(Oh, Joavis, what a nice name... wait, why does that sound so familiar?)

Xuan Qing watched Barbatos's expression gradually turn strange and said helplessly, "Alright, stop... cough cough!" Xuan Qing coughed violently before he could finish what he was about to say.

Barbatos also felt the binding force weaken: "Good opportunity!" He began to prepare to gather his strength to break free.

"Boy, you'd better not do that." Barbatos stared at Xuan Qing, whose black and purple eyes had transformed into Xuan Yue, whose white and blue eyes had turned white.

"This! This! This!" Barbatos exclaimed, indicating that he had never seen a demon god suddenly switch places with people.

"You don't recognize me already? Weren't we having a great chat just now?"

"We weren't chatting?"

"Hey~, you just said you were going to trap a certain demon in the gale."

"When did I... you were the one speaking in my head!" Barbatos remembered. Wasn't the name Noavis the same as the name of the demon that had just bound him? And the demon in front of him was also named Noavis. Okay, Barbatos was already getting confused.

"Looks like you remember now. Well, now that we've caught you, it's time to go back." Xuan Yue snapped her fingers, and Barbatos heard something shatter.

“He said it himself: our battlefield is woven from dreams. From the moment you stepped into my sight, you were already within the realm of dreams. How can you catch fish without inviting them into the trap?” Xuan Yue chuckled, giving Barbatos a completely different feeling than before.

Before Barbatos could even ask, Xuan Yue interrupted, "I know you still have questions, so please bear with us and come back with us. After all, you have no right to refuse."

Without waiting for a reply, Xuan Yue snapped his fingers, and the entire Mo Lian appeared out of thin air in his bedroom.

The black lotus unfolded, and Barbatos remained trapped inside the sphere of light, his eyes filled with resentment: "So what exactly do you want?"

"Don't be nervous. I told you to calm down. After all, we're not here to compete with you for Mondstadt." Xuan Yue's words relaxed Barbatos somewhat, but only slightly.

Xuan Yue transformed back into human form: "Alright, stop acting. Are you getting the acting bug?"

"Huh?" This time Barbatos couldn't hold back anymore, and his resentful expression instantly disappeared: "How did you figure that out? I think I'm pretty good at surviving among the humans in Mondstadt for so long."

"Oh dear, I was already in your mind's eye while you were fighting that guy. Do you want me to help you recall what you were thinking at the time?" Xuan Yue conjured a fan and chuckled as she gently waved it.

"..." Barbatos's smile faltered.

—Looking back at the situation—

Xuan Qing deflected the vortex of wind that Barbatos had conjured. On the surface, his expression was solemn, but in reality, he was thinking: (Hey! I thought this move was pretty strong, but it doesn't give me any face at all. At least show some respect, otherwise it makes me look like I'm really useless. (T^T))

Taking advantage of the chaos, Xuan Yue slipped into Barbatos's sea of ​​consciousness (completely devoid of any tension -_-||). Thus, Xuan Yue, who was meant to execute the backup plan, began watching the show from within someone else's sea of ​​consciousness.

When Barbatos was surrounded by vines, his tone clearly turned angry, but in reality he was thinking: (Oh my god, thank goodness I didn't run into it, otherwise it would have hurt so much, and I would have had to take sick leave, and if I took sick leave I couldn't play the piano, and if I couldn't play the piano I couldn't sing, and if I couldn't sing, I wouldn't earn Mora, and if I didn't earn Mora, I wouldn't have money to buy alcohol! Absolutely not! (＞_＜))

Xuan Yue (So that's why you're frowning) -_-||

When Barbatos was entangled in the vines and unable to move, his inner thoughts were like this: (Finally over, I'm exhausted. I've been slacking off for the past few years, and my stamina is a bit lacking, but I still have to put on an act. After all, I am a demon god, and acting is one of my few strengths, right? *^O^*)

Xuan Yue (Unable to rate (-_-||))

Back to the present——

Barbatos's smiling expression shattered instantly, and he began drawing circles in the energy ball with utter despair: "How could you do this..." He expressed that his young heart had suffered severe trauma.

"Uh, sorry..." Xuan Yue also expressed that he hadn't expected a demon god to overthink things, or else...

Xuanqing (Don't learn this, or I'll lock you up again.)

(Absolutely not! Am I that kind of demon god?!) Xuan Yue immediately declared.

Xuanqing: ...