(Y/N) was an Adeptus. Now that there was peace, she spent her time tending to requests sent from the people of Liyue. Her life was simple now: no more wars, no more fighting, no losses.
And things could almost be considered boring, until one day she...
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(Y/N) woke up extra early that morning, the nerves and the anticipation of what she knew was going to happen keeping her away from a good night's sleep. She fed her cat, Mimi, before leaving the house. The moment she entered through Liyue's gates, the decorations and the liveliness of the occasion was like a burst of paint sprayed onto her. The streets were crowded with stalls and people from all across Liyue and Tevyat, here to witness and celebrate the Rite of descension. Banners hung from roofs, all of different colours. She held her breath as she maneuvered around the people, occasionally having to push past people to get through.
She wondered how everyone would react. Would Ningguang feel happy on the inside? Would it cause havoc, like she expected it to?
She climbed up the stairs, towards Yujing terrace. That's where everything was going to occur. At noon, Ningguang would invite down Mor-- Zhongli's exuvia down to the table of food, set up and prepared by different cooks and chefs from different families in town. (Y/N) had never attended a Rite of Descension before, so she didn't know the details or what the witnesses did after seeing their Geo Archon.
This time it would go differently, she supposed.
The terrace was relatively empty when she came. It was still getting set up, since there was a bit of time until noon hit. People were lining up to pray and wish at a statue. She peered to the side, examining it. It was a statue of a square hut with a Chinese hip roof, painted a dull brown grey. She watched as the man in the front placed a hand on his chest and closed his eyes, his lips moving slightly as he whispered his prayer.
She thought about what she would wish about. It's not like she couldn't just go to Zhongli and make her wishes known to him instead, but she had time to kill and people often found it fulfilling to pray on the Rite of Descension. Maybe he'd listen to hers, too, before he officially stepped down from the title of Geo Archon and Liyue's God.
She waited patiently in line before it was her turn. The man standing next to the statue offered her an opportunity to ask a few questions if she was curious, but she shook her head and smiled softly at the old man, telling him that she had none.
She then closed her eyes.
What did she want to pray for?
For the Rite of Descension to go swimmingly? But it was meant to not go swimmingly. It was meant to cause panic. To make people feel scared, so the Liyue Qixing could reassure everyone and begin to guide and lean them, and Zhongli's own wishes would be complete.
She thought back to how she was initially concerned how his death would affect Xiao.
I'll pray for him, she thought to herself. She placed a hand on her chest, exhaling once.
May Xiao take this peacefully. Or, for him to at least find peace within it in the end.
She opened her eyes when her prayer was over. The statue didn't do anything. She stepped out of the line, offering a smile to one of the kids that were admiring her from behind her.
