As The Sun Gazes Upon The Moon [Zhongchili]

Chapter 29 - To Keep a Promise

"Zhongli! Zhongli daren!"

Zhongli is awoken by his shoulder being shaken and Xiao's voice beside him. He cracks open his eyes and is met with a blinding flash of light. As it fades, Xiao comes into focus, kneeling beside him and glancing urgently toward the centre of the room.

Zhongli clears his throat. "How long?"

"A minute. Perhaps two. Although I do not wish to immediately burden you, we are in need of your assistance. Tartaglia is"—another burst of light fills the chamber—"he is doing poorly."

Zhongli blinks, the events of the day surging back to him.

Ajax... Adeptal energy... Overburdening his body...

He has to help.

"Take me to him, please."

"As you wish." Xiao leans forward, looping his arm around Zhongli's back to help him to his feet.

He's faint and lightheaded, but with Xiao supporting him, he's able to cross the room and drag himself up the stairs toward the spot where Ping attends to Ajax, casting energy of her own to combat the sparks erupting from Ajax's body.

Although Ajax's cries have died down, his breaths are shallow and his orb has dimmed to a half glow. It flickers to life when he catches sight of Zhongli, and Ping backs off, giving the two of them their space.

"Zhongli... You're here," he croaks out, the strain of his screams leaving his voice hoarse and raw.

Zhongli pulls away from Xiao, his legs giving out as he drops to his knees next to Ajax. "I'm here, Ajax," he says, and if Ajax cares about him using his name in front of the adepti, he doesn't show it, shifting his arm to brush a claw against Zhongli's knee. As he continues to speak, Zhongli takes hold of it, his hand barely wrapping around the single claw. "You have come so far; it is time to rest. Are you able to return my power to me?"

"Yeah. But it's...it's so good. The power of the adepti, of geo, it's so—" A pulse of geo wracks through Ajax, and he lets out a cry, his back arching off of the ground. It slices sharp through Zhongli's chest to witness Ajax spasming and groaning in agony, and if Zhongli had more strength he would have gathered Ajax against him, holding him until the pain subsided. However, his own strength barely enables him to rest a hand on Ajax's head, stroking his hair through the convulsions.

Zhongli waits for Ajax to settle, the empty vessels of power within him longing to reach out and take back what is his, but taking power without permission will bring Ajax only more pain, so when Ajax is finally still, he tries again. "This power belongs not to you. If you do not release it, it will continue to ravage your body until the worst occurs." Then he adds, "And my own form, without it, shall bear its own ill fortune."

For an extended moment, Ajax fixes his orb on Zhongli with a dull stare. He finds Zhongli's other hand and takes it, engulfing him in his oversized palm, and squeezes. "Heh, strange to think of, huh? Me giving away something that could make me so much stronger. If I learned to control it, to use it in a way that wouldn't harm me..."

"That is unlikely."

"I know. And even if I could, it would hurt you, right? I promised you..." Ajax lets out a long sigh. "Take it. I don't need— I can still be the strongest...without this."

"Thank you," says Zhongli, his immediate worry draining away with Ajax's agreement. Everything will be fine. Ajax will be fine, and that is the most important of all. "Let go, allow the geo elemental flows to direct themselves into me; they know where they should be."

"Sure. There's one more thing I want to do first."

Ajax holds up his hand, geo and hydro whirling in his palm, and when the energies drop away, they leave behind a small object in their place—a narwhal, formed from geo, hydro spouting from its blowhole as it watches Zhongli with tiny, sapphire eyes. Ajax holds it out to him. "For you."