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

Traces of the past.

- What's the hurry to call me here? – Xiao stood annoyed with his hands wrapped around his chest, his eyes piercingly looking at the figure of a snowy bird.

- Your tongue is sharp, yet your mind is lost, Conqueror of Demons. – Cloud Retainer simply acknowledge his sudden appearance in front of her dark eyes. Standing on the peak of Mt. Aocang, her feathers were constantly fighting with the wind, which the Yaksha found a bit amusing. The long silence accompanied the noise of the wind, and, after a few more moments of waiting for another Adeptus to answer, the dark-haired lost his patience.

- Is there something that you wanted to tell me, Cloud Retainer? – the boy tried to sound the politest way possible, however, his question still sounded more like a demand. Cloud Retainer spread her wings open, meeting the gust, but folded them again after a couple of seconds.

- Lantern Rite is coming faster than one thought. The long years spent in this world begin to vanish inside one's mind, however, leaving the most prominent memories untouched by the cruel arms of the time. One tends to be more sentimental on such occasions. – the bird didn't give a straight answer, covering the reason of suddenly calling for Yaksha by her usual chatty personality. – Tell, Alatus, does your heart share the ache of the burden of such long life like one's does?

- The past stays in the past. Now there's nothing but the trail of the thoughts and feelings from the events of it. – Xiao simply stated, seeming uninterested of yet another long conversation with his old friend.

- Your words are strong, they reveal the truth about your own state of mind. Yet, one can't help but sense the doubts and uncertainness buried deep inside your head. – the bird turned around and made small steps towards the edge of the mountain. – Enlighten one of your real thoughts. After all, there are too many memories we share to not trust one another. – Xiao felt nervous after hearing these thoughts. It was true, no matter how he didn't want to admit it, there was something haunting his head, something that the dark-haired couldn't resolve himself, nor could he understand the nature of it. After staying silent for some time, he sighed and unfolded his arms in defeat.

- Your eyes are still sharp as ever. The debt I carry, recently it got more severe. I feel like I am losing control of my own consciousness. It concerns me. – the sudden embarrassment of admitting his weakness to the other living being appeared inside Xiao's head, causing him to turn his head away and avoid the eye contact with the bird.

- Indeed, your troubles are stronger than before. Perhaps, the sensation of evil presence wandering on Liyue's land is what had caused one to invite you here. – Cloud Retainer clearly cheered up, satisfied with her own watchfulness. – Tell one, how come you noticed the burden getting heavier inside of you?

- I don't know. – Xiao stared at the sky, trying to remember the last time he felt his mind got filled with the corrupting voices. – The feelings, they are overwhelming me... - he said this thoughtfully, however, immediately regretting the guess he just shared. – Forget it, that is not possible me as an Adepti to experience the silly pointless emotions of mortals.

- Why so? – Cloud Retainer lowered her voice, clearly getting lost in her memories. – We, Adepti, are far beyond similarity to humans, our power, our knowledge, our lives – it does not concede with mortal ones. Different blood rushes through our body, yet same heart is granted to both us and them. – the bird glanced at the other Adepti, who simply nodded in response, waiting for her to continue. – The sorrow, the burden of loss, the happiness of reunion, the heat from the battle, these are the feelings we share with mortals. From ones' perspective, our souls do not differ from the humans as severely as you may think.