Genshin Oneshot Collection ☆

Agony. (Xiao x Reader)

[ partially inspired by: "conquering demons with xiao | a playlist" @ Ventiffin on YT ]

[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXmBrizRtzw ]

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It's that familiar scent again.

The lingering, sharp scent of bloodshed and misery piercing through the thick mist. Despite the cloudiness and dampness of the dew in the still trees of Wuwang Hill, you could sense his pain from miles away in the woods.

"Xiao.. what have you done this time..?"

Your anxious voice echoed through the mysterious shadows of the night, with nothing in your peripheral view but the haunting, cold mist absorbing the warmth from your skin. You had rushed out of the Wangshu Inn in a hurry, leaving no time to put on more clothing to protect yourself. Not even a flashlight to navigate through the darkness of the forest which made your skin crawl as you took a step closer to the radius of his position.

All you wanted was to make sure he was safe.

To embrace him in your arms. To put his head on your shoulder. To give him the comfort that he had never been able to experience in his trauma.

The scent. It's gotten stronger, and there were now small splatters of blood visibly scattered across the short grass and the bark of the pine trees. Pieces of colorful authentic fabric, stained with dark red and likely from innocent passing residents of Qingce Village or Liyue Harbor, hung on the towering branches and laid on the cold dirt.

You lowered to the ground to pick up a red piece of fabric, decorated with golden satin patterns, and examined the piece. You could detect another familiar smell which lingered.

The merciless, twisting scent of Xiao's karmic debt.

Without hesitation, you threw the piece of clothing away, and rushed forward into the night to quickly locate his position.

He was clearly in danger.

As you ran closer and closer to the scene, the scents of bloodshed and karma continued to accumulate and mix together, the combination creating such a scent so foul and unbearable, you almost felt your throat close in and tears form around your eyes. Along with your legs running at such a speed your body couldn't handle, you swore you were going to collapse out of dizziness and your muscles giving in to the fatigue. Despite the feeling being similar to extreme suffocation taking a toll on your body, you disregarded your troubles and focused on the matter that was most important to you.

By the time you had arrived at the horrifying scene, you almost fainted by the overwhelming exhaustion waving over your thighs and chest, falling onto your knees and hands into a crawling position.

There wasn't any spot that didn't have indications of murder, and the once moist and crisp air of the mist from miles away was overthrown by the overflowing aroma of agony and iron. A few bodies of innocent bystanders were scattered across the ground, covered in nothing but disaster, and of course, the fuming, black waves of his merciless aroma. His once shining, beautiful jade spear was impaled deep into the ground, now covered with his sinful deeds.

And only a few feet from his weapon, sat the owner himself on his knees and his head tilted down to the ground, not a word escaping his guilty mouth. The searing flames of karma encased his body, the darkness almost making him camouflaged with the blackness of the night.

You wanted to scream his name, to let him know that you were here. But the disastrous mix of emotions that filled the atmosphere were holding you back by the mouth, preventing you from making a clear sound.

You reached your hand out to his still body, still on your knees and hands, and crawled across the cold dirt to approach the yaksha, until you were then a slim finger away from his shoulder.

"Xi..ao.." you muttered, the foul air making you choke up once again in between, "..I'm h..ere."

You quickly dragged his small body into your comforting arms, enclosing him tightly as if the two of you were permanently bound together. You laid his head on your shoulder, ruffling the back of his soft hair with your palm. His karmic debt overflowing between the both of you, forcing you to close both your mouth and eyes to prevent yourself from collapsing and tearing up to the point of blindness.

You felt wetness across your shoulder, and realized that Xiao had begun tearing up. Taking his injured arms to wrap around your backside, he hugged you tightly and continued to let out all of the suffering he had kept in.

"I.." the once cold, now vulnerable yaksha mouthed finally in between pauses, "I didn't mean.. to.."

"Shhh.." you hushed to the weak man, "It's not.. [cough] your fault, Xiao.." You wanted him to forget all about what he had done, to not feel the same guilt he had to endure the last thousands of years.

"I couldn't control them.." he continued, now on the verge of uncontrollably sobbing, "they.. they broke free-"

"It's okay." You immediately stopped, "I understand. You were powerless, and couldn't.. do anything to prevent it from unraveling." You laid your head into his neck, your warm breaths traveling down his skin and giving him goosebumps.

"I'm here, Xiao."

"You do not have [cough] to suffer alone.. anymore.."

The yaksha closed his eyes shut, falling completely into your comforting embrace and relaxing his tense muscles to go limp in your arms, salty tears still streaming down onto your skin.

The anguishing scents which had overtaken your senses now dispersed, the flames of darkness having been relieved and put out.

All the Conqueror of Demons wanted to do, in this moment..

was to just feel the same warmth and freedom he had felt on the day he was saved by the Geo Archon himself.

. . .

How he wished he could've just simply been freed from all of his lifelong misery and karma.

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