LIFE AND DEATH (Zhongli x Oc)

2

God of Freedom

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"I'll meet you there, guys! I'll have this famous Bard escort me after our little talk," you said as you dragged Venti out and straight to the plaza in front of the statue. You agreed to Jean's proposal, and the bunny girl Amber wanted you all to join the Adventurer's Guild for "insurance" since you were travelers.

"What seems to be the problem, Diana?" he started as you both stared at the statue.

"You're in someone else's body, right, God of Freedom?" you bluntly asked, which made the boy nervous and curious at the same time. He only shot a smile as a reply which made you even more intrigued. "I saw a spirit who looks exactly like you, wandering around," you explained.

"And how exactly were you able to see the spirit, Diana? You're suspicious as well. More suspicious than I am," he commented, which made you falter. Indeed, you were more suspicious because you were supposed to be dead. And now you just stupidly exposed your power.

"You can't be. No God has ever reincarnated," he muttered as you looked directly into your eyes. You looked away and walking the opposite direction from him. You cannot risk getting found out. Not now. Until...

"Alma?" he uttered, making you stop dead in your tracks.

"Fuck."

You slowly turned around, waiting for a negative reaction. But instead, tears and snot met your shoulders, together with a hug. Not knowing what to do, you patted his back, trying to calm him when he cried harder.

"Barbatos, not here-"

"S-so I wasn't so weak after all! I-I was able to give you enough energy to reincarnate!" he shouted, muffled on your damp shoulders. You tried your hardest to calm him down so you could have a proper conversation, but he just wouldn't let you go.

You sighed and began explaining your situation, "I never knew it was possible either. I woke up with my memories intact, and Aether and Paimon were both there. If Paimon didn't say anything about my appearance, I wouldn't even notice that I wasn't in my real form but a reincarnation."

Venti stopped crying but he still hasn't let go of you. You stood up and helped him on his feet as he clung to you.

"C'mon, oh, so powerful Barbatos. I wasn't the same Goddess I was, so carrying you is hard. I feel like carrying a drunkard," you commented as he nuzzled on your arm. You were happy for him, considering how he lost his friend and blaming it on himself.

A few minutes felt like hours as you reached the meeting place with a clinging boy who misses his mommy. After you signed at the Adventurere's Guild, you roamed around and familiarized yourself with your surroundings, with the trusted Venti as your guide.

"You told me you met his spirit. Did he say anything?" he finally spoke and looked up to you.

"Spirits can't talk, but since I'm so amazing, I can always feel what they want to relay. He had a bright smile, and he was proud of the God you've become," you said as you felt another tear trickle down on your arm.

"Oh God, not again."

"I'm not, I'm not!" he protested as he let go of your arm and swung them to his back. "Your eyes gave you away, Alma. Our bodies may change but our eyes don't."

"I know."

"Sooo..."

"Sooo...?" you repeated, confused.

"Sooo, do you plan on meeting him in this life?" he finally asked, fiddling his fingers. It was an obviously hard question on his part. And as someone who just reincarnated, you didn't want to meet anyone you've associated with in your God-life.

"Maybe. I guess when the situation calls for it. You might never know what a traveler can bump in to," you shared as you stumbled back to the Adventurer's Guild, where you reunited with Aether and Paimon.

"We've been waiting here all day! Where did that tone-deaf bard take you?"

"What a unique nickname, I shall call you that too," you joked, gaining a laugh from the two and a scratch on the nape from Venti. He protested that he was a bard and that he's supposed to know those stuff but unfortunately, nobody believed him.

After a few minutes, serious exchanges has happened.

"We saw this– wait, this was all red and impure. Why is it so blue now?" Aether said as he pulled out a tear-shaped crystal and showed it to Venti.

"Ah, it's Dvalin's tears!" he replied.

"Dvalin? Tears?" Paimon asked, confused. Of course, that humongous dragon is now known as Stormterror by the people of Mondstadt. Venti showed another impure tear and hoped for Aether to cleanse it and he did.

"Amazing! You cleanse the impurities of that poor dragon's soul in an instant! Only the great Goddess of Souls could pull that off!" you explained, enthusiastically, earning the stares of the people around and a "shut-up-Goddess-of-Souls" stare from Venti.

"Goddess of Souls? Who's that?" Paimon asked, making you turn to the bard as he stared back at you with a shrug.

"I thought you knew your stuff, Paimon. I guess not," Aether commented as you snickered, which she replied with a 'hmp'.

"The Goddess of Souls is one of the Gods on par with the Seven Archons. That is until she died. Her power source was cut off resulting in her lacking magical energy. The other God's couldn't save her because of the different energy affinity. She relies on Spirit energy while the Seven rely on Elemental Energy. Spirit Energy is much stronger than Elemental Energy which makes her almost stronger than most Gods," Venti explained.

It was funny listening to the story of how you died, so you wandered around and stumbled back to the Adventurer's Guild where Katheryn waved at you as soon as she saw you. 

"Hi, Diana! You came just in time. You see, the Liyue Branch is in need of travellers who are willing to do commissions. I'd like to recommend you. Luckily, the Rite of Descension is nearing so you could stay for a while. What do you say?" she offered as she handed you a letter. "Take this if you've thought about it."

"I'll do it. I'm dying to leave the crybaby Bard in Aether's hands anyways."

"Great! Good luck on your travel, Diana!"

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