The Stories Of Teyvat | Oneshots

(angst) The Resonance

(I listened to this song while writing this, feel free to do the same!)

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"Certainly, you won't come to forget me right? After all that we've been through, I... will surely have a special place in your heart right?"

Despite the blood spurting as he choked in between his words, his tangles of desperation shown on his bloodied face. The boy with braided hair, the bard, the wind-blessed; he has many names, and for sure his name would forever be carved in everyone's mind as the protector of Monstadt even until his final breath.

Despite his wavering strength, his hand gripped tight the person's arm, pulling him close as if he didn't want him to run away. The person supported his head, as his other hand pushed firmly at his wound in a useless attempt to stop his bleeding. The person is none other than the Vigilant Yaksha himself, the honourable adepti, the Liyue's Protector.

He had always seen death as something inevitable that shouldn't be given much thought about, a mere cycle of repetition for every mortal in the world.

He too knows that he and those around him would someday be guided by Death to leave the living realm after some time. However, this was his first time feeling a deep pain of absolute regret at the back of his mind, despite being under karmic debt for thousands of years.

The boiling sensation that he felt all over his body seems to wrap around him like melting chains, prickling his skin now and then. He had seen tears from other people's eyes, and the tears that rolled down his cheeks felt so foreign to him.

He held the fragile body of his dear saviour, silently praying to any gods in and out of this world to keep Venti longer in his arms. He thought of Zhongli, then Celestia, but whoever that came to his mind could never have the power to mess with the fate of the living and the dead.

Venti loosened his grip, reaching for Xiao's face, and wiped his tears gently as if this powerful and terrifying yaksha could break apart within a single touch of his fingers. He smiled, and then Xiao realised that he had been bursting into tears for a while now, that even his attempt to speak resulted in a shaky sob that he had thought of to be so shameful. Xiao moved his hand and hopelessly rested it onto Venti's cheek, carefully pushing his bangs back, touching his lashes and gently stroking his cheek in silent admiration,

"Yes... of course."

This is the face that had always been the sun in his life, and now his sun had finally loosen its light, slowly dimmed and buried in darkness. He tried to smile, but God knows how painful his muscles were to have stretched and smiled in front of his dying friend.

"Please, take care of everyone, our friends, the Traveler... They need you."

Even in his last breath, Venti could still utter the Traveler's name rather than using his power to gain strength. But he knows, without the gnosis, he was just like a normal mortal who had been granted a vision.

Soft wind gathered around them, portraying faint white feathers and Cecilias as if they were mourning for their Anemo Archon whose time to leave had finally come.

As he held him tight, the wind changed course and shapes from time to time, and sometimes Xiao could make out a familiar scenery as the wind moved around. They were even a time Xiao caught a glimpse of the incident of the fight with the Decarabian, and the Aristocracy in Monstadt, the destruction of Khaen'riah, the arrival of the Traveler, the Windblume Festival,...

Are these... the bard's memories??

Xiao could only think to himself, but his question was answered as the wind glistened into faint sparkles of yellow hues amidst a sea of dark blue; the Lantern Rite festival. That was the time Venti came unplanned, and together they celebrated their first Lantern Rite together.

That was also the moment he knows that Venti was the tune he had heard in the forest, the tune that had saved him from the insanity of the dark power surrounding him. He had yearned for the melody again, and since that day he had subconsciously gone back to the same place he heard the flute, but the previous fateful day was the first and last chance for him to hear the melody. Except for that day during the Lantern Rite, if he had refused to hear the tune that Venti offered to play, he wouldn't have known that the green bard was the saviour he had long to meet again.

But once again, he had lost that tune again, and even if he search for the source of the melody again, this time, he would never find it. He had lost the song. He had lost him permanently. Even thousands of visions combined, even the Gnoses of the Archons merged, even the blessings from the Celestia itself, wouldn't be able to alter this horrible fate he was destined to live through.

They wouldn't be able to send another light to his dead friend's core.

Venti's hand slowly fell to his side, even though he told himself he wanted to touch Xiao more. His eyes had become blurry, even though he still wanted to see Xiao before he left this world. He told himself to sing for the last time, but his tongue wouldn't move- in fact, none of his limbs was functioning that the only sense he was capable of at the moment was his hearing.

His ears caught every little sob from his dear friend, he listened to every broken hiccup he made when he tried to gather his breath, and he heard the familiar gush of the soft breeze that had always accompanied him. The sounds around him were both comforting and traumatising.

He could finally rest in peace in the hand of his loved one, but to know that he was the cause of the sorrow Xiao felt right now was a bit too much for him to handle. He was still surprised, at how this independent Yaksha could break apart because of him, a mere bard. He felt guilty and appreciated both at the same time.

He wanted to see him once again, but his eyelids would not open any wider than they already had, and all he could figure out were his gorgeous golden irises that could never be compared with any core lapis in its entire existence.

For the last time, though he wasn't sure if Xiao could hear him,-he wasn't even sure if his mouth was moving, but with the energy he regained within his soul, he uttered the most meaningful phrase he could think of,

"Thank you, Xiao... May the wind be with you..."

With that last sentence, Venti lay motionlessly. Whatever was left of his soul had left his body for eternity, becoming one of the stars watching over amidst the darkened sky. He held that body once more, feeling the warmth seeping away, and before he could think of a response, Venti's body slowly dissolve into tiny glittering particles that luminescent alluring glow- as mesmerising as the person itself. They were hovering and swirling around the Yaksha in a gleeful manner as if they have a mind of their own.

Xiao wished this sacred moment would never end as those tiny stars glimmered, flying higher to the sky... and as Xiao watched him go, his eyes widened in surprise as his ears caught each of that familiar tune he had always loved since forever.

With the heavenly melody that guided him away, Xiao let him go with a wistful smile, a tired smile filled with remorse and acceptance. He couldn't wear a genuine smile at that time. He had always wanted to share those emotions with Venti, but he had been holding himself back.

If only did he savour those moments properly back then, he wouldn't have felt as painful as right now, as those fluttering sparkles seeped through his fingers. Gripping his heart, he spoke his final goodbye towards his companion, his friend, his partner, his saviour, and Xiao dearly wished to the universe for another life in a peaceful world; a world with no karmic debt, a world with no war, in which he and Venti could live their life together, in absolute harmony.

And when that time comes, he would tell him how much he means to him, how much he loves his tune, and how painful it is to let him go before he could tell him that he loves him -before he could even show him how much he loves him.

But all of that was to keep until next time, although reincarnation is impossible for a cursed soul like him, he would like to wish and hope, and he's sure Venti would have told him to do so. For now, he would learn from his mistakes, and appreciate all those around him until he, himself, became tiny dust particles that are lost in the sky...