Immortal Love Is Everlasting

Death Only Separates Temporarily

Zhongli had done everything on his to-do list. He gave up his gnosis, made arrangements with that harbinger Childe, did some grocery shopping, and oh yes, met with the traveler. Turns out, Lumine was very trustworthy indeed, and would also lay down her life for Teyvat. She would protect Liyue. He was sure of it.

But Venti was right. She brought back bad memories. Whenever her fierce golden eyes would fix their gaze on something, he felt himself shivering in deja vu. She just looked too much like the leader of Khaenri'ah. But since she was looking for a god that used blocks, and hated mortals? He didn't think she was one of the seven.

He actually thought... Was it Her? No. It was most likely Sustainer that separated her and her twin. Not to mention that fairy thing following her around... Paimon. Whatever Paimon was, she looked way too much like Her for it to be a coincidence. But maybe it was his old age catching up with him.

Heh. As if. His senses were still perfectly sharp after his gnosis was taken, thank you. He smiled. He wondered if he could still do that thing where he could listen in to his Statues of the Seven. So he opened his ears and his senses, and quietly listened.

Hmm, he could hear the wind whistling, bird's chirping, and... crying? He teleported close by the statue to investigate. There, he noticed Xiao, kneeling beside his statue. Crap. How did he forget to talk to Xiao after he faked his death? But there was a person beside him. Venti was standing beside him, face dry, yet he was holding back tears.

"That old idiot." Venti said. "He must've gone and done something stupid, thinking he was invincible, just like the old days. But he's not invincible, not anymore." Zhongli paused. Well now he had to see how this ended. Xiao sobbed.

"He didn't t-tell me about where he was going! He would if he was gonna do something d-dangerous. W-wouldn't he?" Venti's eyes glowed a dangerous shade of violet. "Or he killed himself." Xiao sobbed harder. "W-what? N-no!"

Venti leaned against the statue and closed his eyes. "It makes sense. When I met the Traveler, it reawakened some horrid memories. He must've met her recently, too, and his memories are loads sharper than mine. It probably opened a wave of grief so bad he killed himself."

Xiao looked up at Venti like a crestfallen child. Zhongli frowned. The worst part was, Venti wasn't half wrong. But instead of killing himself, he just signed a dangerous contract with the Tsaritsa instead. That Cryo archon was certainly interesting.

He would reveal himself to them eventually. "L-Lumine is really nice though! She would never cause someone to..." Venti sighed. "You wouldn't understand, Xiao. I trust Lumine with my life, but she just looks like someone all archons want to forget. Zhongli probably just didn't properly take my word for it."

Xiao cried silently. "Hey, Xiao, it's okay. He- Zhongli might not be here anymore, but he'll always be in our hearts." He knelt down next to Xiao and wrapped his arms around his waist. "Shh, you'll be fine, Ciao. You'll be fine." Seconds later, Xiao was peacefully snoozing away.

Venti stood up after he made sure Xiao was asleep. He screamed in anger and punched the statue. Xiao shot up. "Woah, Venti? H-hey, what's wrong?" Then he mumbled, just barely able to be heard by Zhongli,

"Y-you were supposed to be the last one. N-not me..." Zhongli's mind wandered to what Venti just said. He was supposed to be the "last one"?

There wasn't supposed to be a "last one." They were immortal, for Celestias sake. Unless... Venti planned to kill himself. He did, didn't he. That's what he meant. And now he felt obligated to stay on Teyvat because he was the last one of the original seven.

Electro, dead. Dendro, hadn't been seen for thousands of years. Hydro, most likely dead, Pyro, missing and probably dead. Cryo, dead. And now geo. Dead. Or at least that's what everyone thought. He was gonna have to intervene soon.