He found nothing—no one. Xiao leaped to the single rock in the middle of shallow waters where he suspected his savior, looking for any sign of them. There was not a hint of their presence around.
Was it indeed reality?
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Xiao had dreams—yes, he was sure they were dreams this time—when he slept. Normal for mortals, but to those such as him, sleep did not work the same way. They did not have vivid scenes that played to them as they drifted out of consciousness, in fact they did not even fully stay unconscious. Yet after being saved that night in Guyun, he began having them, or at least, a blur of dreams.
His body relaxed more when he rested, no longer so tense and on guard (whether it was a bad or good thing, he couldn't tell.) His dreams varied from a set number of them. On some nights, it was him and the other yakshas bonding. On others, it was him and Rex Lapis having a nice chat. There were more, of course, though basically all of them were memories; nothing purely manifested from imagination.
But there was exactly one outlier.
The course of events went much the same as that night, but when he arrived at the lone rock, he saw a single cecilia resting on it. Xiao picked it up, feeling the smoothness of its delicate petals. In all the years he'd lived, he realized he had never gotten the chance to smell one. How could he, if he had dedicated himself to bloodshed for Liyue's protection?
He lifted it up... but he could not pick up any scents. Right... It was just a dream.
Xiao woke with a startle, his hand slightly clenched as if he had been holding the flower from his dreams. He clicked his tongue. "Mortal dreams are not meant to be had by the adepti..." But something—curiosity—caused him to stare out towards the vast landscape of Liyue. Without another thought, he teleported to Guyun Stone Forest, hoping for... well, just hoping.
When he arrived, he was no longer so sure what he had been thinking. It was pathetic, stupid even, to think that—
His eyes widened as he saw water droplets on a white flower glistening under the moonlight. It looked exactly as it had in his dream. Beautiful, delicate... but most importantly, it was real.
YOU ARE READING
Untouchable (By All Except Me)
Short StoryThe definition of reality can vary from person to person, but to Xiao, it means the melody of a gentle tune, the scent of cecilias, the warmth in his hand as he held another's... And the face of one that is untouchable to all except him.
