Don't leave me || Xiaoven ff

Chapter 8

Venti was searching for Ganyu at Luhua Pool. It was getting pretty late and he was tired from the long walk.
Where is this girl?
As he wanted to give up, he finally found the blue haired with the black and red horns, sleeping under a tree with orange leafs.
Finally...
"Hey! Ganyu!" he said, maybe a bit too loud. She got up and was obviously startled. "Lord Barbatos? What an honor, what are you doing here?"
Venti chuckled. "Searching for you ehe~ i wanted to go and visit the Adepti after- ehh you know. Ah and i wanted to ask you something" he mumbled the last part.
Ganyu looked down and seemed more sad than usual. "Thank you for your concern but... its alright" she said. "That's just how this world works right? Everyone has to go one day sooner or later."
Venti was glad she seemed okay.
They talked for a while but it really got late and Venti just couldn't concentrate any longer.
"Ganyu, i really appreciate talking to you but i really have to sleep, is there a place nearby where i can rest?"
Ganyu considered for a moment before replying "There is an abandoned Treasure Hoarder camp, it's often used by adventurers to stay overnight."

After she showed venti where to go he wanted to leave. Just as he turned around Ganyu asked something.
"Before you go, you said that you wanted to know something from me. What is it?"
Venti stopped, he couldn't believe he almost forgot.
"Right! It's- I met Xiao. Cloud Retainer told me about his karmic dept, she said Morax used to help him with it but- well, you know. I wanted to ask if you know anything about that because he isn't exactly doing great and, I'm kind of worried about him."
Ganyu sighed. "He was never really doing great. But I'm afraid i can't help you. I don't know much about karmic dept and Xiao never talks about it. Not like we have much contact anyways."

Venti couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. He had hoped Ganyu would be able to help him but it seemed like everyone kind of avoided the topic. Morax really picked the worst moment to go.

On his way to the camp he decided it may be best to research about the geo Archon but at the same time, he didn't really think there would be any old documents about how to remove karmic dept.

At the camp, he finally laid down and got some rest but just as he was about to pass out a single question snuck into his mind.
Why is helping Xiao so important to me?
With that, he fell asleep.

——

The next day came and Xiao left to clear out monster camps again. The karma was getting worse and worse again and now it felt even more intense than before. Now that he remembered how nice it felt to not even hear distant echos of the voices and having the pain completely gone, he never wanted it to come back.
He also caught himself thinking about Venti more and more often.
He told himself it was only because of him affecting his karmic dept but deep down he knew it wasn't just that. He just wasn't sure what it was.

While wiping out the hilichurls, he barely broke a sweat this time. He was glad about getting used to fighting again that quick. However his concentration got worse the longer he worked and he even got hit by some of the monsters, almost sliced by the axe of a Mitachurl one time.
So he decided to take a break and clear his mind.

The wind was gently blowing through the trees as Xiao walked by.
Why is it so hard to focus?
He continued wondering about his strange behavior for the past few days.
Must be the bad karma.
As he kept on walking, the landscape around him slowly changed from green trees to yellowish grasslands.

The boy came across another monster camp.
Can't take a break forever.
So he decided to clear it out. He concentrated on his movements and defeated one Hilichurl after another.
He was fighting a Mitachurl with a wooden shield as he suddenly heard a sound coming from behind him. He finished off the Monster with the shield in the exact moment and turned around to look only to see another Mitachurl swinging his axe at him.

Xiao panicked for a brief moment, he wasn't fast enough. Just as he tried to jump out of the monsters way, the Mitachurl stopped in its movement and fell to the ground, an arrow stuck in its neck.

"Sorry, that was a little late"