Omniscius [Genshin Impact]

67: A Tale of Pain and Harmony

"That was how they met for the very first time."

"Really?" Soleil looked at Xiao curiously. The Yaksha caught quick glimpse of her face before turning away.

"Hmph... She was just like you," he muttered, "She had the same look on her face as you do and had no regards for her own safety whatsoever."

"Stella looked up to him because he was a Yaksha and sought to speak with him for the test of strength. However," Ganyu smiled wryly, "Like the other adepti, he made no sense for her, a child, to undertake in the hardships of the ways of adepti."

***

"No way! He's the Guardian Yaksha, right?! The Conqueror of Demons?"

Stella gasped in amazement while looking up at the young man before her. Xiao heard Rex Lapis speak his name to beckon him, but the first thing he saw upon appearing before his Lord was nothing else but a little kid.

Needless to say, he was confused. He initially thought that the little girl herself was the Lord of Geo in another form due to the black hair and golden yellow eyes.

However, no matter how sly and shrewd his Lord was, he is not capable of mirroring a childish demeanor as great as the little girl before him.

Not to mention, his appearance is not something to get excited about since they see each other time to time over the centuries.

"Who are you?" Xiao asked the girl sternly. He isn't fond of human pranks that take his name for granted.

"I'm Stella. Dad told me a lot about you so I'm happy to see you! Hello!" the little girl giggled happily.

"Your...dad?" Xiao frowned and looked around the desolate plains, "What kind of father allows his child to roam around and throw around the name of adepti so carelessly?"

"Hehe. The fields are safe, are they not? I thought of clearing the fields before bringing her. But how thoughtful of you, Xiao."

Xiao was taken aback when Rex Lapis, in his dragon form, descended from the clouds and gracefully landed behind the curious yet unbothered child.

Then, it hit Xiao. This child must be the one that Rex Lapis had adopted.

It was a strange thing for the god to do, but he is in no place to question Rex Lapis. He, too, had been under his care until he took up his title as a Yaksha.

Xiao's frown turned into a calm look as he slightly bowed his head, "My apologies."

"Be at ease, Xiao. Although you are right. Stella shouldn't wander out of my sight. She ends up in the strangest of places when not under supervision," Rex Lapis mused.

"What does that mean?" Stella pouted. However, the Lord of Geo only chuckled before turning to Xiao.

"I will leave her under your care for a moment. There is something I must investigate and I cannot bring her with me," Rex Lapis stated. Xiao had a look of hesitation.

"Am I the right person to entrust the girl to? Surely, Madame Ping or Cloud Retainer are more..." Xiao trailed off when Rex Lapis smiled.

"You will be fine," he said. Xiao's eyebrow twitch. Rex Lapis already knew how much he dislikes being with humans and he still...

"You don't look that old. Is it true that you're more than a thousand years old?" Stella asked out of the blue.

"Two thousand," Xiao corrected. "Xiao has been...wandering the continent until I decided to bring him and let him join the adepti," Rex Lapis told Stella, whose jaw hung open.