Xiao felt his eyes lift slowly , he was asleep a rarity for him , fatigued would of better explained his situation but never the less he took no time to get himself up on his knees, his tired eyes breaking open to reveal 2 beautiful yellow orbs . This fatigued yet hasty behavior of his was unusual but it was understandable given the situation.
The world was up in flames, The heavenly principals against Teyvat. A brutal tale that had started with the massacre of the abyss order by both Celestia and the traveler from another world, for different reasons they united to destroy every single trace of the abyss from this world in doing so they had also killed the travelers sister who uncovered the truth to this world to him.
Words that showed the true reason for the teaching of the heavenly principals and the truth of Celestia. The traveler in grief showed the truth to the archons who in tern asked their country for supporting them in overthrowing the heavens.
Its been months since the war started, Liyue was on the brink of disaster if not for Xiao eating the Karma from the Celestial soldiers and gods revived by Celestia since apart from Xiao no one not even the adepti could take on this burden those who tried in the past, his fellow yaksha were all corrupted by this accursed power.
'I must keep my contract to rex lapis' he said before steadying himself completely before vanishing into the night only to appear in the now barren land of guili plains next to a tired eyed blue haired adepti "Xiao!" she says in fatigue "Ganyu let me protect this part of the land now take some rest your already low on sleep you cant keep this forever", "Bu-" "No buts if we falter in our judgement for even a second it could mean disaster in Liyue, all we need is to hold the citizens safe until Aether regains his powers".
Ganyu sighed but nodded "Just keep youreself safe we cant lose you too, and if you see the resurrected god please dont fight it alone", "Ill be fine, now ill take things from here" With that he took his spear and ran on into the celestial army a gust of wind pushed him off into the battlefield
while it may be a battlefield there were not armies of people quite the opposite, it was groups of adepti or strong vision holders against the divine resurrections and creations of Celestia, and thus there were no huge armies but rather small fights with strong opponents.
Xiao went through the vast plains and helped out with those that seemed to struggle, until he finds the newly resurrected god. spinning through the battlefield Xiao weapons took no second to hold all his movements weaved with no sign of lost momentum or stoppage a fluid fighting style ,weaving his spear through the enemies he hadn't put on his mask as the destructive power could possibly taint those around him and he had no need of it as of now
as it got darker the celestial army of resurrections and creations held familiar faces, adepti he killed during the archon war as the most prominent, digging his spear into another enemy Xiao had slowly started to falter and thus he took the power of the mask and dawned it over his face, karma surging through his veins the familiar pain of the burning sensation brought along with it the conqueror of demons roared under the watchful eye of the moon bringing destruction to all that faced it.
under the same moon a god had recently been reformed the seals on his body destroyed and his consciousness awakened with a plight, a commandment that overtook his mind and that was to bring ruin to the city of ruin, the god of corrosion laughed, while this commandment took over mind he still had the same personality, twisted and cruel wishing only for the demise of others he took it within himself to kill all he saw with time giving not a brief death but a slow painfull death.
He soon noticed that his figure was in a better shape then compared when he was sealed, all four of his arms were complete and not missing a finger or two, his red hair had not been burnt or cut at places , his clothes were restored back the only scar that remained was the scar on his head gained from rex lapis, a scar forged in the depths of his soul. Surely he shall gain his revenge for this not only for the commandment but for himself.
'lets start with an appetizer before the main dish' a crooked smile flashed as his eyes dawned upon a group of adepti and vision bearing humans.using his powers he released a a scent which when inhaled made certain cells which destroyed the body from the inside, clawing at their soul. as he saw the group of 4 an adepti and 3 humans fall he roared with laughter before using his divine spear to pierce the skulls of those who lay infront of him.
As the old god relished in the hearts of adepti and poisoning those oh so weak humans he witnessed something far away, an adepti short and lean in stature but with powerful swings as if he was dancing his way through his enemies, green haired and with the use of the element of wind it reminded him an awful lot of his 'pet' his 'bloodhound' Alatus.
A grin spread across his face as he realized that Alatus was still alive and decided he would once again use his power to control and take back whats rightfully his. weaving his 4 arms palms together he recited 'delude the one who forgot its true master' as it shot out a dark red beam of energy as it surrounded Alatus who wore the mask of Rex Lapis his green features turned into a scarlet red the gemstone on his cracked and his eyes turned a dark purple but the more alarming it had lost its light, the mask on his head had cracked leaving a slither of his eyes visible and a horn misplaced.
A roar shook throughout the earth, "Now, Now Alatus dont get too impatient you'll get your feast in due time" he said as he spotted more adepti "After all the night is still young" a cruel smile plastered along his face as the bloodhound wiped the faces of 3 adepti in a second.
...
Rex Lapis roared through the skies, his jagged scales of earth and crystals crested upon his dragon form moving from the shockwave, In similar fashion another dragon shook its body formed of waves rupturing into itself, held together by the gravitational pull of the vortex, Osial had been unsealed for the third time to wreck havoc upon all he saw.
the amber eyed dragon threw large spears of Earth into the the mass of swirling water known as a dragon. "YOURE OVER REX LAPIS" Roared the mass of water, "If it was me against you, youre might of won but you seem to forget it you are not fighting rex lapis alone, you are fighting against liyue" he spoke with wisdom as e close his eye, the adepti and vision holders that remained surrounded the monster.
The battlefield errupted the cryo vision holders freezing the god, the geo hydro and dendro vision holders providing support, the pyro vision holders burning the god, the anemo and electro on the offense. One by one the heads fell, one frozen, one burnt, one electrified,one broken through a spear of earth. Osial realized he was losing and tried to charge up one final attack.
The next thing that flashed before Osials eyes where Rex Lapis using the power of the vision holders to chain Osial, Roars of water raged within the barrier created through the geo archon and his people as Rex Lapis prepared one last attack to pierce the god of vortex.
"Let this be known" Rex Lapis began, "I hold no grudge for what you have done" The sky darkened to a shade of amber "May the sins of your past not be for the reincarnation of the future" The spear flew into the last head of the Vortex dragon.
Ganyus eyes travelled through the plains, Xiao had gotten lost in the heat of the battle and many of the adepti and vision holders hadnt gone back, the sun had just risen as she and Keqing where informed by Ninnuang who was controlling Liyue as of now to check the situation, Rex Lapis had reappeared and was helping with the subjugation of Osial on the south of Liyue.They only had to rescue and buy time for Rex Lapis to come and Vanquish the go.
"This place, its horrid" the purple haired individual looked disgusted as she scanned the sight infront of her, it was an adepti his heart ripped from his chest and his broken through but that wasnt the worst part, there were red bulges of skin that seemed alive, and it seemed to be sustaining them, they were alive without their heart and brain only to feel the eternal and endless pain.
"Theres no saving them" Ganyu said with downcasted eyes as she froze the body to atleast save it from its suffering, Ganyu hadnt lived through the archon war but had heard stories of it, of the massacre and tragedy and there was a story about a god of poison or corrosion she couldn't really remember it was probobly them.
"I dont know who this god is but i can say without a doubt that they are strong" the horned adeptus admitted much to her chagrin, "lets get going" feeling as theyve lost enough time already she said as she kept traversing the area surveying everything that her eyes landed on.
soon they spotted a millileth gaurd on the ground his face swollen with the similair red substance but he seemed to be barely alive. running to him Keqing and Ganyu started to check his body for signs of physical injury. "Dont worry yo-" before Keqing could continue her sentence the man rasped out a word "run, he, corrosion is here, he has *cough* taken the conqu-" before he could continue he exploded into a pile of blood and organs in Keqings arms "Wha-" the purple haired lady said her eyes widining before Ganyu pushed her.
"Huh?" Keqing looked behind her only to see Ganyu infront of her and just where she had been a spear of anemo thrusted into the ground along with its owner a red haired adeptus with a mas- 'Wait isnt that Xiaos mask?' "XIAO!" Ganyu screamed out loud before their eyes locked and he ran at her at blitzing speeds, before Ganyu was struck Keqing composed herself and used her lightning stella to teleport there and parry Xiaos spear.
This gave her a split second to see that Xiaos body seemed to be deteriorated and full of that red substance that was on the millileth. Flying from behind her Ganyu tried freezing Xiaos feet with her arrows before he broke free and jumped back next to a figure, wait a person? 'how did I not notice them before' Ganyus eyes widened in suprise.
4 arms, long robes, red hair , a large stature. his red eyes held great years within them and most importantly a large scar running through his face. "thats-" "The god of corrosion Moharus, pleasure to meet the two of you on this wonderful day, you two will make a great feast for my bloodhound Alatus"
Keqings eyes dialated in fear with the mention of them becoming food for what seemed to be Xiao the last guardian yaksha. "Alatus?" Ganyu whispered remembering stories she heard from the archon war, the bloodhound of the god of corrosion, eating adepti and human hearts without a will, the perfect soldier who wouldnt die.
It was always a blur to her why Xiao was distant from the other adepti but this must have been the reason. Ganyu stoned her resolve before drawing her bow "Keqing all we need to do is buy time till Rex lapis comes to aid us"
The god smiled as the bloodhound shook, a frozen shot reverberating through Liyue marking the beginning of the battle.
.....
.
Everything was dark, an endless abyss with nothing around him.
forever endlessly the darkness enveloped him.
he tried opening his eyes but to see no response.
rather then being unable to open his eyes it was like he didnt have any.
he was split into 3 selves.
one a burning pain that causes nothing but destruction to everything it touches, it is karma the weight of actions, the weight of decisions that one took something that will never leave him etched into his soul.
one a poisonous corrosion, sparking actions not his own, "healing" scars that didnt exist, something not birth from his own blood.
and the last one a spirit, a child caged inside years and years of killing, through karma through corrosion a soldier that has killed and killed for that is all it knew a lost child which only saw murder as a way it could help.
he could feel the corrosion and karma fighting for control burning and healing poisoning and judging repaying for sins that were not of this body an imperfect balance which would surely fall in time.
he couldnt remember the last time he hadnt been in pain? was it when he was born and given his name? a name would stake blood of thousands in history books, surely if he wasnt born thousand could be saved including himself.
but no he must pay for his sins eternally protecting the land of liyue and repaying his eternal depth to his master rex lapis, how could one even think of saving something so lost as this? truly he was too kind as he had killed thousand of his people too.
but now it doesnt matter, hes failed and fallen long enough there is no redemption for him his end is surely coming.
his eyes wouldnt open his body wouldnt move his skin wouldnt feel, except something? what could it be something was there he couldnt see it or feel it but it was there a mass of energy which could be stronger then rex lapis himself? what could this even be?
it sat there next to him, was it watching him? he couldnt tell. not like it mattered anyway after all he was going to die soon. but he wishes he could complete something, he wishes he could destroy the cause of his suffering to remove it from the world if only that had happened if only he could of killed the god of corrosion if only he wasnt inslaved if only he died on the battlefield surely it would of been better if that god died.
'██ ███ ████ ███ ███████'
Ganyu heaved, Xiao- no this bloodhound was extremely skilled and almost got her hand making her next to useless, no matter how many hits he took it kept regenerating with those red blood vessels something that not even the master healers like the adepti could be able to do.
Keqing couldnt keep up with the power that Xiao had in each swing, albiet she was marginly faster it didnt make much difference when every blow of his had enough force to split a mountain and Ganyu tried providing what minimal support that she could freezing his feet shooting his hands but it wasnt enough to stop them and it looked like they were losing.
Xiao quickly stabbed Ganyus arm making her unable to use her bow, then used his anemo powers to boost himself towards keqing and landing from above her piercing her legs and leaving her bleeding.
the god of corrosion smiled at this before he heard something a whisper in the air coming from Alatus "D█ ███ ████ ███ ███████"
"Playtimes over" the god of corrosion said "its time blood hound finish them off ive had enough entertainment with these two" he said clapping his hand and expected him to move and kill them but he stood there still "Alatus" he said "dont play with me Alatus" he said as he watched as Alatus turned behind crookedly only for his mask to disappear and his body to revert back to its original state.
His eyes had a different gleam as if it was another Xiao, breathlessely and in an instant his boy threw the jade winged spear aiming for the heart of the god of corrosion. the jade wing spear proppeled into starlight as the ogd of corrosions eyes widened in fear, a rainbow light emanated from the spear as it flew through the air.
his heart pierced the god screamed in agony, the land echoing the sound of the god "YOU, BLOO- BLOODHOUND YOUWHAtYOU HOWDIDOUHOW HOWDIEWHYYOU THISCANTBEHAPPENING-YOUREWEAK HOW DID YOU" the god bled out as Alatus watched him, "IF IM GOING DOWN YOURE GOING DOWN WITH ME" the gods eyes cried with tears of blood as he raised his arm to try taking down Ganyu and Keqing only for that same arm to be pierced a split second later by Xiao who was now standing infront of him
Moharus stared into the empty eyes of Alatus no whatever this monster was "What are you?" he asked realizing that this had no way of being Xiao, It simply stared at him before reciting.
"In the first 10,000 years, the hunters struggle for survival,
In the second 10,000 years, the hunters fight out of anger,
In the third 10,000 years, the hunt becomes a purpose in of itself"
As Moharus lay there on deaths door a smile doned upon Xiao a certain freedom in his eyes different from the empty cold hatred filled eyes from before 'after thousands of thousands of years', he thought to himself 'the hunt is over' a premature statement.
Taking his spear one more time from the arm of Moharus "Ive finally been able to kill you, the hatred deep rooted in you viyed for me to get my revenge with my own hands and ive finally gained the chance"
Ganyu and Keqing where long gone to see the death of Moharus.
"Rex Lapis is a great Master and im glad he took care of you but this is something that is too deep rooted into me for even if he asked me not to kill you it would of been met with a resounding defiance" the spear pierced through the skull of the god of corrosion, a smile donned upon Xiaos face.
Suddenly a flash of light enveloped his face, vines of blood and poison seeped into him leaving him stunted on the floor ravaging in pain. "XIAO!" a deep voice could be heard out, 'ah that must be master'
'When gods are killed the energy they hold inside are released' Zhongli said 'thats why I Rex Lapis made sure to seal all those gods rather then showing them deaths door' he explained to the people around him 'that is why gods like Osial are sealed rather then killed'
He could barely see Ganyu running over to him and crying over his blood enveloped body as other adeptus and humans started running his field of vision as his eyes close not having enough strength to open, healing being force fed to him but not resulting in any good.He heard something loud "Xiao" ah it seemed he bought enough time for his lord to come or maybe he was being disillusioned into a dream "Rest well Xiao we will never forget you" he could hear his booming voice for the last time as he fell? into a dark void.
He cant feel his body or whats around him he can feel the sins slowly washing off his back,he can feel his Karma dissipating too sins washing off his back its peaceful quite and doesnt hurt anymore, is his soul being cleaned for reincarnation thinks as he lies or stands he wasn't sure in this empty black void he doesnt feel his body so he wasn't sure, he hopes that Rex Lapis and his brother and sister Yaksha would be proud of him.
He feels like time is nothing but stagnation he can finally join his brothers and sisters in an eternal rest or so he thought, as when he opened his eyes? wait he had eyes again? he felt a bright light falling upon him as he felt his body was small his nerves connecting again as he opens his light he see's the face of a woman smiling at him in a white room.
"welcome to the world Alatus" she said
What...
Authors note:
hehe this took wayy too long and im just sorry for how long this rewrite took.
i actually finished this chapter in the first week after announcing the rewrite but then disaster struck I forgot that wattpad doenst auto save youre work and i just closed my laptop and when i opened it again everything was gone. for the next following weeks i just procrastinated doing this until i finially mustered up the energy to write it all over again albiet more rushed
I hope this has a higher quality of writing and i hope to deliver chapters more quickly in the future(no promises)
IF you enjoyed and only IF you enjoyed it would be appreciated if you voted and added a comment.
well anyways thanks for reading peace out