NOCTURN BRIDE • genshin Impact | ✓

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

her birth was a sacred and forbidden cause. it was a night where broken glass were mended — a night where lost souls would pray to live another day.

her existence, was when the skies cried.

"ganyu..." the apostle called out, fingers lacing the silky thread linen hair texture of the timid adepti's. "it would be memorable, if you could do me a favour."

the cryo maiden fell silent, eyes looking upon the ground as timid hues of crimson spread across her cheeks. she swore he oath, her lifelong loyalty to rex lapis. she couldn't just, throw it away.

but what more does she have to lose?

her eyelids fluttered, as her once vividly lifelike orb was tainted and filled with lust and craving of affection. for acknowledgement, to be seen as her rather than an adepti that served under rex lapis.

the apostle grinned, a hefty sigh relieved her soul. thank goodness; indeed, ganyu had made the right choice — for a moment, she was doubting whether the maiden would falter.

"find alatus." taking the hybrids silence as a form of obedience, the apostle held her hand out before an anemo swirl of geo rocks took form in a shape of a dragon. "and i'll tell you a story."

now, what sort of story would she foretell?

"whatever could the story be about?"

"once upon a time," a pause. as if time stopped ticking, the movement of the conceptual element seemed to cease between the living and the dead. an indefinite indicator of wavering uncertainty. "a girl misunderstood life."

ganyu's ears perked up. her head naturally tilted towards the side, soft blossom-like lips parting, displaying a sense of interest.

"she was lost and alone in a vast... unsophisticated place." the apostle looked bored — drooping eyes that stared into the abyss of emptiness as her eyes slowly darted left and right. "in her homeland, she was pathetic. though, she didn't know what her purpose and existence was for."

her hands formed a sculpture carved with a wistful glare made from the finest geo particles. the king of the sky with detailed scales that felt raw.

"a descendant of the sustainer of heavenly principles, they'd worship her, they'd curse her." hands clasped together, crushing the mini sculpted dragon, she knelt to the sacred ground as if pleading for mercy. "she was a religion, then again, she didn't bring hope nor did she bring despair."

"then why was she a deity?" ganyu asked, curiosity piqued as the apostle narrated the tale. supposedly — there was only good and evil deities — neutral ones ceased to exist. "why was she chosen by god to carry the title...?"

apostle looked up into the blaring night sky. celestia, oh dearest celestia. ruled up above the grounds of mortal soil, yet ought to escape the illusions of stars.

"she was just there to exist." alas, could god hear her? no, did god acknowledge her? the way her eyes reflected shattered mirrors of reflection; a broken fragment of oneself that only did the job of pleasing the other party. to god, she was nothing. "a sort of ornamental decoration. her purpose was to only further benefit the flow of belief."

she existed as a median between good and evil. to enhance the belief subjugated of good and evil — even though hell was empty as the devils resided by heaven hiding behind facades regardless night and day.

"but one day, she was tired. tired of god and the rules she had to abide by. living under others control, she didn't enjoy it at all." the apostle head slumped down, intentionally making it dramatic. she tore her hands apart with the intention of crumbling the ground into debris and shambles. however, she paused. "she accepted her king's final task, before submitting herself to her selfish desires.

and so, she became someone above god. she had thought to herself countless of times — why follow the orders like a marionette. thus, she became the evil within good and the good in evil. just like gravity, a little push is all it takes, and it just keeps falling.

falling endlessly into the abyss of freedom.

"but selfish desires are cruel. you know that don't you, ganyu?" a silent whisper was called out. almost like a plea — a rhetorical question that every ethical person would know the answer and outcome. "a valiant taste of death. seemingly, yet not quite."

"like a fool... to be a fool, you must encounter death." ganyu was entranced. captivated by the unique story of the particular girl. vulnerable, weak — a person that was a carbon embodiment of her. but then, what differed was their motives. "and to fool death, would be to be god."

a grin was tucked onto the apostle's lips. it seemed that ganyu was able to catch on. the escapism from the cynical cycle of death was inevitable, that is unless one stood in a position equivalent or higher than it.

"that girl..." a mermaid's tear. the apostle was dumbfounded as the salty spring water that was spent confined within her started uncontrollably spewing out. a weakness, nothing more but a pathetic god she was. then again, this was the only path she could take; to set free from what the king, her ruler, decided her fate. she was going to carve herself within the countless of lifelines through the stories told. "is me."

because without her, heaven and hell were empty as it was. 

"and i swore an oath to kill my shackles."

and dwelling in the beauty of life seemed impossible for her.

━━━━━

( CHAPTER XIII )