You've begun to feel like home. Xiao x Aether.

His duty.

The blood flowed down the dirty clothes as if it was pure clear water. Its metallic smell was already filling the tired lungs of the Yaksha, messing with his mind.

"Another one." – Xiao was looking down at the ground, where a huge pile of hilichurls was lying not showing any sign of life in them. The spear he held was almost fully covered with blood, his hair got all messed up, the combs in it were willed with dry blood and dirt, his face not looking any better – the scratches, cuts and bruised were all over it. The spear disappeared within the second the last hilichurl was defeated, and the dark-haired boy finally decided to take a rest. He sat on the stone, resting his head on the huge oak tree behind him. – "The sun is rising already, huh?" – he thought looking at the sky above him. Xiao did not even notice that he had been fighting all night, trying to clear all the new formed camps around Liyue.

Xiao's whole body was in huge pain, his muscles tired and his head aching, but this didn't bother him at all – after all, this is what his life was, is and will be in the future. He got used to walking on edge between life and death to the point, where the only thing that bothered him was how many he had killed and how many he yet must kill. Of course, there Liyue was changing and now it's' people didn't need much help to deal with their problems, however, this case was different, and Xiao knew that he may be the only one to be able to deal with all of the monsters. There wasn't much time to think of the reason for their actions, so he decided not to waste time and focus on killing them before they could hurt anyone else.

When Zhongli asked to meet with him, Xiao was already expecting such request from him – he already saw many monsters wonder around during his patrol, so the feeling that something was off grew only stronger after the request of Rex Lapis to meet him.

""

Xiao landed on their usual place at Mt. Hula, where Zhongli was already waiting for him sitting at the table while calmly sipping the cup of tea. To Yaksha's surprise, there was only him, no other Adepti joined them, so the dark-haired understood that the conversation they are about to have will stay private.

- Greetings, Xiao. – the old man put the cup aside and looked straight at the golden eyes before him. It was late evening, yet the sun hasn't not fully disappeared from the sky, creating a soft pink and orange trace of clouds around itself. Soft wind was carefully touching Zhongli's hair, letting his ponytail flow in the air behind his back.

- Rex Lapis, I'm here just as you requested. – said Xiao. After so many years of staying side by side with his master, the boy still did not know how to talk with him properly – as old friends or as colleagues. That is why Xiao used the trick he learned long time ago – saying less is better than saying something wrong.

- I asked you not to call me like that anymore. Now my name is Zhongli. – Rex Lapis said with a soft smile, gesturing the boy to sit down next to him, which Xiao immediately did.

- What do you wish to discuss with me? – there was a long silence after this question, which only brought a new wave of anxiety to Xiao. So much time has passed after their last meeting in such situation – without anyone else, so the topic to be discuss must be extremely important for both the Yaksha and the God.

- As you might have noticed already, there are more monsters walking around the lands of Liyue. – the serious eyes of the dark-haired were enough to confirm Zhongli's statement. – The rumors say that they are leaving their domains and corrupting the areas near them. I am worried that people would fear to travel around after such events. The Qixing already suggested a group of people to investigate the issue, however, I am most certain, that taking any actions from their side would only confirm that there is a great danger for the citizens, therefore, I decided to investigate the case myself.

- Any explanations of why they are leaving their domains? – Xiao gripped to the table, carefully listening to every word the former Geo Archon was saying. This was rather unusual for them to leave their habitats at the same time, especially knowing how far the domains are located from each other.

- Yet, I have no clues of the reason behind it, it is an unusual phenomenon. It seems that something or someone makes them leave their usual habitats, but this is nothing but a pure guess. – Zhongli looked around him, admiring the calm nature of the land. – Xiao, I know that this is a big request, but I require your help solving this problem. I want you to take care of the monsters before they will harm any more innocent people. – Xiao nodded in response to the order of his master, already standing up to leave and start his mission, but Zhongli stopped him by grabbing his shoulder. –I strongly advise you not to overwork yourself and take a rest from time to time. Do not be afraid of asking for help from me or any other Adepti. However, I also ask you not to tell anyone else about my request apart from them. They already know all the details I shared with you and agreed to provide any help needed.

- I understood your assignment, Rex.. Zhongli. – with that said Xiao disappeared in the thin air.

""

"I mustn't rest, protecting Liyue is my duty, the meaning of my life. If I cannot complete such easy task, then why I even exist in this world? Tsk." – Xiao was ready to stand up and summon his spare once again, preparing for yet another battle, but the small bird flew past him, catching his attention. The bird noticed the boy sitting on the rock and flew very close to his face, as if it was staring right into his eyes. The Yaksha lifted his hand to scare it away but stopped the second it landed on his knee. The small bird settled down, folding its' wings and closed its little black eyes, which looked like two black spots surrounded by the fluffy feathers.

For a couple of moments, Xiao was lost, not knowing what to do or how to react on the small creature suddenly flying up to him. It wasn't common for the animals to tolerate the dark-haired, which was understandable – animals sensed the karmic debt that corrupted his mind, which caused them to feel danger whether he was near them. But this one was different. Xiao reached his hand slowly to not scare it away, and carefully touched the head of the bird.

"Aren't you scared?" – he thought while gently caressing yellow wings. He couldn't help but associate this little bird with Aether – so precious, so fragile, yet brave enough to not be scared off by all the danger around itself. – "how naïve it is of you to stay by my side, I will only harm you". – Xiao thought with the sudden feeling of sadness forming in his heart.

The boy knew that he must continue searching for monster, defeat them, then move to another place and do the same thing over again – this is what was expected from him. The rest was long enough to recover from the pain he faced after putting on his mask, but still, he couldn't move, couldn't let the bird fly away knowing that it won't come back if he did so. So, he decided to stay like this for a little bit longer, in the deep woods, where there was only him and his new little friend.