A Yokai, Yaksha, Oni, and a Reincarnated Dragon Lord walk into a shrine.

8

"Why would I mistake my god?" Ajax rested his forehead against the head of the dragon statue in the shrine. "It's happened a few times now. Have I forgotten your face already? I'm confused. I feel no attachment to this human but I still have the strong desire to protect him. Is it the familiar contract? But, from the moment we first met...I felt as if he was someone I had already known. He was interesting. I was drawn to him. And, how would he have stumbled upon this shrine?" 

Ajax looked up into the eyes of the dragon statue. "Will you tell me?" He felt a pang in his chest and looked behind him. Something felt wrong. He could feel the hairs rise on his neck and his tail become staticky. 

"This feeling..." Ajax ran outside the temple and straight behind it. He went down the hidden path back there and looked over the edge, staring down into the deep crevice of Mt. Yougou. "It's very similar..." 

"Ajax?" Zhongli stood next to him, looking over the edge. He'd followed him once he'd seen him walk out of the shrine. 

"Get back!" Ajax placed his hand firmly in the center of Zhongli's chest and pushed him away from the ledge. 

"What's wrong?" Zhongli grabbed Ajax's hand over his chest. 

"She should've been able to cleanse it," Ajax bit his lip and stared further over the ledge. "Why didn't she cleanse it?" 

"Aja-" Zhongli gritted his teeth and clutched the mountain's wall tightly. His grasp sent a crack through it as he tried to support himself. His eyes glowed golden, he could feel them emitting light, so he closed them, resting his head against the mountainside. He felt something but couldn't figure out what it was. 

"Zhongli?" Ajax placed his hand on his shoulder. 

"I apologize for worrying you," Zhongli moved his hand to his forehead and rubbed it. "Don't worry about me." 

"I'm already worried about you!" Ajax snapped. 

"Something is wrong," Zhongli stood up straight and opened his eyes. Ajax blinked, covering his own since the light coming off of him was too bright. 

"What-?" 

Zhongli ran forward and leaped off of the ledge. He dove into the pit of Mt. Yougou. "Zhongli!" Ajax jumped in after him, propelling himself forward with foxfire to try and catch up. Xiao, feeling the distance shorten between himself and Zhongli, teleported to the gap and fell after Ajax. Of course, Itto, knowing something was happening but not wanting to be left out, slammed his hand down on the barrier. 

"Guys?" Itto yelled. "Hey, guys? What about me? Aw, archons," he complained, kicking a rock. "Are you really going to make me take the stairs?" 

... 

"This is not good," Yae Miko placed her hand on the giant tree, staring up at the eternal blossoms. "It's getting worse." 

"Ma'am?" a shrine maiden knelt down. "What should we do?" 

"Continue watering it with the special batch. I have some business to attend to," she turned on her heel and jumped off of the ledge of the mountain for a bit. Seeing the oni, she hovered over foxfire and covered her mouth with her sleeve. 

"Oh? You're not in your usual spot," Yae Miko snickered. 

"Hey," Itto heaved, "give me a ride, would you?" 

"Hm, I suppose just this once. She created steps with her foxfire and jumped down onto the path in the final stretch. "Here we go," she smiled, picking up Itto in one swoop. 

"Eh?" Itto suppressed his embarrassment. 

"Oh, come now, this can't be the first time you've been swept off your feet," she smiled, ear twitching as she suppressed the urge to chuckle. 

"I...uh...well," Itto cleared his throat. "Obviously no-"

Yae Miko didn't give him the chance to reply. She jumped off the ledge again after moving down the path toward the center of the mountain. Itto screamed, clinging to her neck. He was too stunned by the leap that he didn't realize he could've just found another path to the center instead of walking all the way down the mountain to the base...poor oni, lost all his brain cells while fighting people. 

...

Ajax had caught up to Zhongli and caught him just before he made an impact with the ground. This embrace didn't last long as Zhongli was placed on his feet. Ajax watched as he walked toward the heart of the mountain. A golden barrier surrounded the interwoven roots radiating electricity. 

"This must be what happened to his corpse in the earth after he saved us..." Ajax stepped closer but Zhongli pushed him back. He fell on his ass, staring up at Zhongli. 

"It's dangerous." 

"You're a mortal!" Ajax snapped. "It's more dangerous-" 

Zhongli's hair unraveled from its tie but the light from his eyes only got brighter. It reminded Ajax of the first time he'd met his god. 

"Morax?" Xiao knelt down and bowed his head. "If you've shown what little of your soul remains, the situation must be dire. How may I assist?" 

"Place your hand on my shoulder, I will require support to remedy this situation my corpse has caused," Morax, possessing Zhongli's body, held out his arm toward the heart of Mt. Yougou. Xiao grabbed his shoulder and channeled his energy into Zhongli's body. 

Ajax's brain scrambled to connect all of the dots. He stared at the back of Morax and felt a mixture of relief and rage. If he was in that human's body this entire time, why hadn't he said anything? What was going on? 

"Ahck," Morax staggered. 

"No," Ajax stood up and pushed Xiao away. He placed some of his foxfire into Morax's mouth to keep him from using the familiar contract against him and then tethered him to the ground. "No," he repeated, creating several barriers between himself, Morax, and Xiao. 

"I will not allow you to sacrifice yourself again."