𝕴𝖓 𝕳𝖎𝖘 𝕯𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖒𝖘 | Xiao x Reader Sequel

3

As soon as you and Madame Ping arrived at the funeral parlor, you led her to the back room where Xiao and Zhongli were, glad most of the staff weren't inside anymore. You silently thanked Hu Tao for clearing the building, as it made things much easier not to have to worry about nearby mortals. They always tended to overhear what they weren't meant to.

Your spirits had even begun to lift, hoping that, whatever was happening to your lover, the Adeptus next to you would be able to help. That was, up until you entered the room. You could tell instantly that Xiao was doing even worse than when you had first brought him here.

He wasn't even conscious anymore, and beads of sweat ran down his face. His breathing was heavy, and he even seemed to be burning up, much like one would with a fever. Stepping out of the way, you held in your tears as Madame Ping passed to check on him.

Unlike your Yaksha counterpart, you had never been the best at hiding your emotions, at least not when it came to people you cared for. Knowing you would break down if you allowed yourself to speak, you opted for silence and staying back instead.

Watching as Ping and Zhongli conversed quietly, trying to determine what was going on, you kept telling yourself everything would be alright. You needed to calm down, take a deep breath. Surely, there was something they could do to help Xiao, right?

"Y/n, could you get him an ice pack?" Zhongli suddenly spoke, and you nodded, digging through your bag. All you had that would be even remotely helpful was a small water bottle, but it would have to do. Luckily, you had barely gotten a chance to drink any of it since this morning, given everything that had happened, so there was enough water inside for you to work with it.

Holding it in your hands, you managed to calm yourself enough to use your vision, freezing it over almost instantly and for once, silently thanking whichever god or Archon had decided to gift you the power of cryo. Wrapping the bottle with a small cloth so it wouldn't be too cold for Xiao's skin, you handed it to Zhongli, who carefully held it to the Yaksha's head.

You bit your lip. Was an ice pack really all you had to offer in this situation? You took a deep breath, coming closer to the bed so he would know you were still here. Moral support might be the only other thing you could give him now. He still wasn't conscious, but maybe that was for the best. He would be in less pain that way.

You could see swirls of green and black emanating off his skin, flickering like a burning flame. Like when you fought with him, the karma was suffocating to be near and felt so heavy. You couldn't imagine how he felt living with it every day.

Suddenly, Zhongli and Madame Ping faded from your vision, and you could see the dark figures again. By now, it had become a little less surprising, but just as horrifying. They were surrounding Xiao like usual, only this time they seemed to be laughing, no, cackling in delight. Were they...Happy to see him like this? Your blood boiled at the thought.

They had grown even taller since the last time, their heads practically grazing the ceiling. Black strings attached to him at his wrists, extending down into the floor as if they were trying to pull him through it.

They seemed to cut into his skin, blood running down and dripping onto the blankets. It looked agonizing and you wished you could do something to help, but you knew you couldn't. After all, how could you, a random Adeptus that had been asleep for thousands of years, get rid of Karmic Debt, a force that even the gods could not vanquish?

Like last time, the scene quickly disappeared, as if it were nothing more than an illusion. Then it reappeared again, staying for longer. You blinked a few times, surprised it was remaining for so long. It disappeared and reappeared another time before it became stagnant, allowing the image to engrave itself in your mind.