Genshin Impact: Awakening in the Darkness

"Should I say it's our first meeting, or has it been a long time? [Heavenly Principle]" Xuan Qing said calmly, looking at the god before him.

"..." Tianli remained silent.

“Then, don’t stop me.” Xuan Qing was about to pass in front of her when Tian Li stretched out an arm and blocked his way.

"I know why you've come, but the truth is often cruel. Can you accept that?" [Tianli]'s tone held no displeasure, only a kind reminder.

“At least, I am here.” Xuan Qing didn’t linger any longer and directly tore apart the river of time.

"Have a safe journey." No one heard Tianli's words, and no one knew what they meant.

The river of time flows endlessly, and every choice is a turning point, leading to different people, different events, and different futures.

As Xuan Qing walked along a long river road, images flashed through his mind, some of which featured him, others, but none of Xuan Yue.

(Not here!) Xuan Qing turned and went to the other side.

(Not here either!)

(He's not in now!!)

(Not here.)

.........

He just kept walking forward, constantly changing routes, and time seemed to drag on here.

Xuan Qing didn't know how long he had been traveling, it seemed like several hundred years. He had changed routes millions of times. Even as a demon god, he was almost unable to withstand such soul depletion.

(Ah Yue... Ah Yue isn't here, let's change...) Xuan Qing's steps had slowed down; he was almost out of strength...

"Ding~" A crisp sound rang out, the familiar sound of jade pendants clinking together.

"There!" Xuan Qing's previously unfocused eyes lit up, and with the last bit of strength, he turned to the long river line.

(Ah Qing... I miss you so much... What a pity...)

"Ah Yue!" Xuan Qing plunged into this timeline without a second thought.

The moment he opened his eyes, he was stunned.

The sky was the color of blood, the earth reeked of calamity, and nearby lay corpses, rivers of blood flowing. He had never seen this place before. He was certain this wasn't Liyue, nor Mondstadt, nor any of the Seven Kingdoms. Where was this...?

"Find Xuan Yue." Xuan Qing didn't have time to check the situation on the battlefield; all he wanted to do now was find Xuan Yue.

However, he had wasted too much soul power in the long river of time, and now he was unable to fly. He could only run towards the place not far away that was filled with thick black mist. There were gods fighting there. He sensed Morax and Barbatos of this time, as well as other auras. He did not recognize them, but many of them had already perished. He had a premonition that Xuan Yue was there!

"Xuan Yue! A Yue!" Closer! He saw the white robe! He saw it! Lying in a pool of blood...

“Ah Yue! Ah Yue…” Xuan Qing couldn’t believe it. He looked at Xuan Yue in front of him and immediately transferred his soul power, which he shared with Xuan Yue, into Xuan Yue’s body. But all he saw was a broken, yet incredibly familiar—the Yin-Yang Heavenly Compass.

"He...is never coming back..."

In this land, a heavy rain fell, and their god wept.

Tears streamed down Xuan Qing's face as he embraced Xuan Yue's body. Cracks appeared in his soul, and in the end, he merged back into his original body. But this time, the voice no longer resided in his spiritual sea.

"..." Xuan Qing wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, picked up the Shaoyang Sword lying to the side with his left hand, and the sword, now back in his hand, let out a mournful cry, as if telling a story.

"Understood, I will wipe out everything." With that, he soared into the air and charged directly into the battlefield against the Abyss.

Monsters, endless monsters, and demonized humans. Xuan Qing was bloodthirsty, and out of the corner of his eye he saw the heavily injured Barbatos and Morax. There seemed to be a few demon gods nearby, but it didn't matter, and he didn't care.

The result was that the demons were all killed, the Abyss retreated, and the country was completely destroyed, but Xuan Yue still could not return.

(Going back in time... all it takes is one more sword strike...)

In the blur, it seemed as if he had entered the river of time once again, still as a soul, but with more cracks on his body than before.

(Slash again...)

(again……)

(One more time...)

……

He walked this path of time again and again, killing countless times and intervening countless times, but he still couldn't protect Xuan Yue...

The Abyss…a place of profound sin.

"Stop! [Order], if this continues, you'll disappear before him..." [Time] couldn't stand it any longer and stepped in front of him.

Xuan Qing didn't speak. The Shao Yang Sword was shattered, but the Shao Yin Sword remained. He held the sword and pointed it at the Time: "I can break into your scheme, I can remain silent, but I shouldn't have dragged him into it!"

"If anything happens to him, don't blame me for turning this chessboard upside down!"

"The timeline is completely messed up! [Order], spacetime is in chaos. If you continue forward, don't blame me for expelling you." [Time]'s expression was grave, energy gathering in his hands.

"Then let's give it a try. At worst, we'll both perish."

"You're crazy!"

"Do I need to remind you? The 'Order' is incomplete and cannot enter the cycle of reincarnation. In other words, if I die, how long can Teyvat sustain itself?" This time, Xuanqing walked past 'Time,' but she could not stop it, nor could she stop it.

Countless times after that… I can’t remember… Xuan Qing’s vision was extremely blurry. He only remembered using his last bit of strength to crawl into a certain time period. Xuan Yue seemed to be under siege, and then…

(Ah Qing? Wake up.)

Is that voice... another hallucination? Could it be that I'll never see you again?

(Ah Qing, Xuan Qing! Big Iceberg!)

Xuan Qing slowly opened his eyes. It wasn't a mountain of corpses or a sea of ​​blood, nor an empty sea of ​​consciousness. There was no broken compass, it wasn't... the place of that nightmare...

(Xuanqing! I miss you so much! Do you know you've been missing for a thousand years?! Where did you go?!)

Am I dreaming...? Xuan Yue is perfectly fine...

(Oh, Xuanqing, why are you crying... I'm here, I'll stay with you...) Xuanyue saw Xuanqing suddenly burst into tears and immediately hugged him.

(Um…)

--outside world--

"Ouch, Morax, be gentle!" Barbatos was being held down by Morax as he applied medicine to his wings.

Lightning is really bandaging up the movie.

Buyer and Egolia are accelerating their treatment.

Barnabas seemed to be thinking about something.

In summary, although it was a mess, I'm actually okay and not seriously injured.

"Morax, does Liyue only produce monsters? A Demon God War produced a War God and a Martial God, and you're the Martial God, fine, Xuan Yue is the War God, fine, but you didn't even tell us that Xuan Yue's other personality is even more twisted!" Agoria complained while healing.

"My old friend, you flatter me. It's just that Xuanqing's appearance was timed perfectly, which is why I didn't inform you." Morax changed out of his tattered robe, and Barbatos breathed a sigh of relief. He continued, "At least you all fought against Xuanyue, unlike me. Back then, Xuanqing fought me while severely injured. He first created a dreamscape that enveloped the entire Mondstadt, intending to lure me in and trap me like a turtle in a jar." Barbatos sighed helplessly as he recalled the past.

"According to the Wind God, this Xuan Qing is another personality of Ruoyavis, but the difference between him and Xuan Yue is too great, it feels..." Lei Dian Zhen couldn't quite put his finger on how to describe it.

“I understand, I understand, just like how the old man looked at Xuan Yue,” Barbatos added.

Morax glanced at him sideways, then uttered something to the gods: "According to Barbatos's description, it's not wrong. Compared to Xuan Yue's 1000 years of age, Xuan Qing is nearly 3 years older than Xuan Yue."

"Ugh?"

"Wait, am I hallucinating from being hit?"

“Agolia, the hallucination is affecting the brain, not the ears, although… I’m shocked too…”

"Sister, did I hear the word 'ten thousand'?"

"You heard me right, I can't believe it either."

“Sure enough, when you hear that, it’s proportional to his strength.” Buyer’s words were quite unique among the gods.

"Are you all talking about me?" a cold voice rang out.

--small theater--

"Xuanqing! I can finally be with you!" Xuanyue threw herself into Xuanqing's arms.

"Ahem, we're just filming together, Xiao Xuan Yue, don't always say things that could be misunderstood," Mu Xiang corrected.

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"Uh...yes, just be more specific."

"So, author, why was our last play so frustrating?" Barbatos felt a little resentful.

"Then, why don't you go and spar with Xuanqing again?"

Barbatos looked at Xuan Qing, who was stroking Xuan Yue's head, and shuddered at the cold gaze that swept over him.

"Never mind, I'll just go have a drink. I haven't opened the apple cider in Nadal yet." Barbatos left immediately.

"By the way, author, it seems you haven't explained many things clearly, like what's the deal with that compass?" Raiden asked.

"Well, this scene was actually supposed to be filmed in another theater, but we're in a rush here, so let's reshoot it tomorrow."

"Yay! Tomorrow's a holiday!" Xuan Yue shouted the loudest, then grabbed Xuan Qing and ran out.

"Mu Xiang, let's go buy some late-night snacks!"

"Hey! Bring me one!"

"understood!"