Corrupted Love| XIAOVEN

Chapter 7: bittersweet Karma

The day had passed slowly. Xiao had not seen Zhongli and he did not know where he was. The Archon had made it clear to his two Adepti that he wanted to be alone for now. 

Xiao, too, wanted to be alone and had lain down under the huge tree near the city. The lush green grass beneath him was warm and soft.

 Inwardly he had hoped that Barbatos might come here again. But no one was there. Only the yaksha. 

No wind was felt, though the sky was gray. Not even a slight breeze. Xiao bit his lip. His golden eyes looked blankly across the meadows and his mood clouded even more. 

A wide variety of emotions kept flooding through him. Guilt, anger, fear, and self-hatred just mixed in his heart.

 Angrily, he pounded his fist on the ground, but nothing changed. Not his mood, not his feelings, nor the weather. 

 He looked at the statue of the Seven standing in front of him. His hand clenched into a fist. He wanted to look for the Archon. 

This had no personal motives. He only wanted to free himself from this nagging feeling of guilt, which spread like the cold throughout his body. He felt one thing above all when he thought of the Archon: self-hatred.

 As strong as a drug. However, he did not realize that this was mainly pushed by his karma, which now enveloped him in black fog. 

 This bittersweet drug permeated his entire body. But Xiao was so used to this particular pain that he didn't even notice any difference at first.

 His mind was racing until hard raindrops hit his body, bringing him back to reality. He cursed himself and put back his green mask that he had unconsciously grabbed.

 Drop after drop flowed down from the stone statue, making it almost appear as if the figure was crying. 

Xiao wandered around the area for hours. They had only come here to check on the Anemo Archon and now that he was gone, he had nothing to do. It didn't matter where he was or what he was doing. 

But the young Yaksha had only one wish: to get rid of this burning feeling of guilt. In the pouring rain, he walked across empty fields, meadows, and past streams. 

Not even many Hilichurls were to be seen in the lands. The few who dared to come out in this weather were quickly killed by Xiao. 

This is how he spent his day off. 

With killing and wandering. 

After a few hours, his wet clothes stuck heavily to his body and his hair hung in his face. Though in this pouring rain, he could not find any answers. His body was shivering from the cold by now, but Xiao did not return.

 He would not leave until he damn well found this Archon. He didn't care about anything else.

 The rain had stopped by now and night had fallen. Xiao had walked down from Windrise to the beach. The Falcon Coast lay still and peaceful as there was still hardly any wind. 

The sky was once again a black blanket covered by many stars. Clear and pretty. So vast and gigantic. It was a beautiful picture. The white star lights danced on the surface of the sea. 

The salty smell of the water permeated the air and the constant sound of the waves made Xiao take a short breath. The sand beneath his feet was soft and with each step, he sank a little. 

The coastal beach was surrounded by high stone walls and between the sand were huge rocks. Exhausted from the day, Xiao settled down on one of these big stones and leaned his spear against it.