His Eyes Never Change (Gold like Cor Lapis, Blue as Noctilucous Jade)

Into the Overcast Sky

"Rex Lapis invites you to speak with him over tea."

That was what the dark robed attendant at Childe's door had said. He stood silently as the message processed.

"Now?" was all his brain managed to come up with in response.

"My Lord has instructed me to let you know that you may accept his invitation at your convenience, and that he will be waiting for you in the Jade Fields."

Childe knew that when a god said "at your convenience" they generally meant "right now" or "five minutes ago, where have you been". He fought to keep his expression friendly. What if I just didn't show up? What would you do then, Morax?

He toyed with the idea of letting the god wait a few hours. But, as much satisfaction as the thought initially brought him, Childe knew that he'd just be hurting himself in the end. He was far too antsy to stay away, especially now that Morax was asking for him.

"Well, it certainly wouldn't do to keep a god waiting," he smiled, "I'll visit him shortly."

The dark robed attendant nodded, satisfied with the answer. Before they left, they handed Childe a package. He received it and raised an eyebrow in question.

"What's this?"

"Clothes. Lord Guizhong had them made for you," the attendant responded. "We were instructed to deliver them as soon as they were finished. If there is nothing else, I'll be going."

The attendant bowed and left Childe with his thoughts.

He returned back inside and unwrapped the package. Deep blue cloth greeted him. He unfolded the contents. The style was a bit different from the clothes he had been wearing, but he managed to figure it out easily enough.

The outer robe was primarily a deep blue, save for the dark red and gold accents. He used a gold rope to hang his vision at his right hip and, after a moment of deliberation, Childe opted to leave the white undershirt slightly unbuttoned. He always felt better with some skin exposed to the air.

He used a red tie to pull his hair back and began walking towards the central building.

It had been a week! A whole week without so much as a glimpse of the god. Sure, there had been moments where Childe swore he could sense him, but each time he did the god was nowhere to be found. Now Morax was inviting him in? It was giving him whiplash.

During the time that Morax refused to show, Childe busied himself with training. Training alone, teaching Haolan, sparring with Xiao Ping. He had been meditating as well. He would find himself a quiet spot to his liking and sit, falling inside himself in search of that energy. It was a slow process, and he knew better than to expect to see results immediately. Still, it seemed like nothing had changed. The days seemed so stationary. Childe didn't do stationary.

Before he knew it, Childe was standing inside the central building, the beautifully sculpted Exuvia statue staring at him with its cor lapis eyes. But his destination was not the Archives. Not today. He turned down a hallway searching for the door to the domain. Childe approached the door, briefly recalling that last time he had to use Guizhong's glaze lily key to enter. This time it seemed the door was unlocked, considering how it slid open without any resistance. He only hesitated for a fleeting moment before stepping through.

Once again, he was greeted by the soft scent of grass and a gentle breeze. The jade green field was as endless as ever, but this time a stonework path had been laid out before him, leading to a raised pavilion.

Sitting there, stony faced as ever, was Morax.

Childe looked away briefly to close the door behind him, unsurprised to find that it had  already disappeared. This time, however, he could still feel the presence of the doorway. If he looked closely enough, he could almost see the faint energy it gave off. Perhaps he'd had more success in his qi training than he thought.