A Blue Infinity (Xiao x Aether fanfic)

3

The room was still and felt like a place existing outside of time. The glittering streaks of moonlight streaming through the window made the space feel like a sanctuary, a tranquil place to forget the harsh cruelness of Teyvat. Xiao liked it here. There was a serene calmness that accompanied the stillness. It felt as if everything in creation had paused, more so ceased to exist, and all that remained was his him, aether and his thoughts.

Next to him, the traveler had long ago succumbed to the dreams of the night. In the gentle light, his features were soft and heavily contrasted by the harsh midnight shadows. His utter expressionlessness had remained the same, and his body remained still, livened only by the gentle heaving of his chest and the soft exhales that brushed his lips whenever he breathed. He looked incredibly fragile here, as if the gentle winds outside could harm him with the slightest of breezes.

Xiao watched him for a moment longer before shifting his attention elsewhere. The decay of time since their last interaction had been painfully slow, at least it felt that way. Besides indulging in his thoughts and staring at things, there wasn't much else to occupy himself with. He had indulged in the thought of leaving this space, to go patrolling or something, but decided against it as he did not want to abandon aether.

A deep sight escaped his lips.

He wasn't one to want things, but in this moment, he wanted aether to be awake, at least then their conversations would make him forget about time altogether. but the idea of waking aether was a selfish one, for sleep was essential to the lives of mortals, so he let the thought go.

Not longer after another idea came to mind.

Perhaps I should sleep? At first, this idea came as a jest, but the idea enticed him the more he thought about it.

Xiao wasn't one to sleep. It's not that he couldn't, but more so he didn't. He didn't see the need for it. And the fact that it took time away from his responsibilities fuelled his total disinterest for it. Another reason, although he would never voice it aloud, was that he somewhat feared his dreams. His dreams were usually tainted with the vile rottenness of his past, a rottenness that often threatened to consume him, so to save himself from the torment, he avoided the subject altogether.

But as much as he didn't like sleeping, it was all that could save him from this painfully slow night. He wrestled with the idea for quite a while and finally settled on a decision. He was not going to sleep. He would just lay there and wait until aether woke up. Though he completely dreaded this idea, it was much better than suffering at the memories of his past sins.

***

As the hours ticked by, Xiao could could feel his eyelids growing heavy. His mind now treaded along the line of unconsciousness and the weight of gravity could be felt throughout his body. Xiao fought against the drowsiness, wanting to stay awake, but his mind soon succumbed, and sleep settled over him like a warm embrace.

The dream unraveled slowly bringing with it a tainted reality. Blood, mimicking rain, poured from the sky above with a wrathful vengeance, sizzling with a crisp freshness as it burned his skin. Dark figures, their faces an oval blackness, clawed at his skin with a carnivorous determination. Their long skinny fingers hooked into his flesh and tore it from him, claiming it as their own, and devoured it with a sickening enjoyment. The places where they'd remove this skin burned ardently; a crippling pain that radiated through this body, a feeling that was bound to kill him.

But he did not die. They refused to let him die. That would be too merciful a fate.

He tried to run and flee the torment, but his stamina faded, and all he could do was collapse to the ground in utter defeat. The figures circled around him, scratching at him; devouring his flesh like a horde of maggots famished from decades of hunger. His desperate laments for salvation withered into the air, dissolving ever so gently into the cackles of these beasts. This is what they must've felt. All those lives he claimed long ago. This is what they must've felt. He felt horrible. There was nothing that would ever hurt as much as this. Nothing that would ever surpass the guilt, sorrow and agony he felt for the pathetic life he'd lived. Nothing that would ever save him.

Xiao closed his eyes against the onslaught of pain and prepared himself for an eternity of this. Soon there'd be nothing left of him, and he'd wither away, only to be reborn to live it all over again. How pathetic.

As he lay there, alone under the red acid dripping from the sky, he heard something in the far off distance. He ignored it at first, believing it to be nothing more than his imagination, but when the sound persisted and edged closer, his heart faltered.

When the voice was loud enough to be made out, he recognised who it belonged to. It was the traveler and he was calling his name. A flicker of hope ignited in his heart. He strained his voice, desperately trying to call out to him but the words failed to form. But despite his, the traveler still managed to find him.

The gold haired boy knelt down beside Xiao and cupped his head into his hands.

The travelers' company felt magical; like light being poured into a dark room. And it cast the shadows far away, making xiao's pain a litter easier to bear.