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•| ⊱ CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX ⊰ |•
❛❛ a morning supposed to be peaceful ❜❜
He reaches his gloved fist towards the metal doorknob slowly as he gulped the lump in his throat that never seemed to halt.
His heart palpitates in which its each pulse becomes louder and faster that rang like a shunning chant to his ears. Reminding him of his mistake, which was keeping you around even though it was dangerous because of his duties as a Yaksha who is sworn to protect the Liyue from the plague of remnants of evil souls within.
Cold shivers run up and down his entirety of the body. He was quivering, but from what? But of what? Perhaps it was fear that washes over his fragile heart. He could not bear the sight of you- consumed by the Karma he himself caused in the first place.
And so he comes up to a conclusion. Ending the pain without any further suffering will be the way as he continually conjured his brain for the wisest choice to make.
Going back to the times when he used to devour dreams, he senses the same nostalgic feeling one more time deep down inside him. He deemed of the dreams he cram down as something sweet and silky- just like the texture and the taste of his favorite dish, Almond Tofu in which he reminisces about those dark times whenever he takes a bite.
But for sure, the dream he's about to consume will be a very pungent, acrid one.
A flashback reflects on the back of his mind, wherein you told him your dream is to grow old with him. That even though you were just a mere mortal unparalleled to the lifespan of the adepti, just being by his side is already enough.
He looks back to the balcony just outside the Inn, and the hour of cockrow is slowly approaching. The first light of the day arises, the sunlight kissed his skin with a gleam of golden.
Xiao blinks momentarily from how bright it was suddenly and covers his eyes with his hand. All of a sudden, he feels a bit at ease and the tension in his body relaxes, each and every muscle as he sighed in relief.
Ending your life will never be the way out of the tangles from the Karmic binds. He thought.
With a blink of an eye, the door creaks against the wooden floorboard as he shots up to look at the direction.
There you appeared before him with groggy, barely lively orbs, befuddled at the unexpected appearance. A waft of exhale slips out from your mouth, yawning and a vague expression appears on your face.
It was all a one huge softened blur from your vision at first. But as you rubbed your eyes from who stands from your doorstep, it was easy to trace or make out who it was. From the infamous ebony and teal streaked locks, the emblematic embellishments, the mask he usually dons whenever he's on his duty, to the Jade Spear he summons out of the oblivion.
"Xiao? How have you been?" An involuntary smile tugs your lips upwards, immediately pulling him close to your embrace.
He gladly accepts the embrace despite how tottering the gesture it still is for him due to the lack of interaction he had from the past thousands of years. From a short span of time you two cozied with each other's bodies, Xiao pulls you away from him right after, and spoke, "[F/N]. I need to tell you something."
Still nuzzling close to his clothed chest, you inhale his scent of cinnamon with a whisk of vanilla aroma that surprisingly puts you to a calming mood. You dart your eyes to him, locking a gaze with his piercing, amber orbs that reflects of the golden hours outside.
His irises dilates, distress dancing within as you can perfectly see your reflection from his eyes.
The adeptus thought it would all be okay once he tells himself that ending one's life would be the way when it really isn't. He thought that once he's aware of the truth just infront of his naked eyes, his mind will not come across the thought of ending your life anymore.
But those were all just thoughts, and not the truths.
A shrilling voice spoke from the back of his head, the words were incoherent but Xiao feels a pang of stinging sensation on his heart. He jolts and looks at his arms, widening his eyes at the ill-favored of a view. The skin of his flesh slowly cracks as dark embers and ashes slowly gush out, not just from his arms but notices the same thing happening to hus other body parts.
His agita eyes flicker from the sight, niggling over the aching in his heart and a sorrowful scowl.
Meanwhile you only watched Xiao's form slowly dismantle, each parts of him cracked like a frail eggshell against a slightest hint of pressure. You bit your lips and tried to touch his arms, but as you did so, the adeptus screeches because of the pricking of pain on his skin.
Tears start to fall from his horror-stricken golden eyes and takes a step back away from you little by little.
However, the pain does not stop. As each second ticked, the more painful it was to endure fot him. He throws his head back as his skin prickle with fright and terror. He forcefully clenches on the left parts of his face in an attempt to keep his skin intact with his body.
"Kill that person."
The frightful voice that spoke from the back of his mind before returns, his words becoming distinct and coherent enough for the Yaksha.
With the blink of an eye, he looks back at you, his humane yet authorative golden yellow orbs no longer resides in his new form.
If he was deemed of a handsome adeptus from before, then he's nothing but a mass of dark forces from Archons know where, as you can no longer see light from his new appearance.
It was Xiao's mistake again, assuming you will be the one dragged down to drought from the Karmic binds but not him. And now, the total opposite happens, the turn of events unraveling before you.
༺ ˖࣪∗ਏਓ∗ ˖࣪༻
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