Your Symphony (Genshin Impact: Xiao x Fem! OC)

Chap. Six: Treasure of Teyvat

A fight against a god is not one that should be taken lightly. Even without needing to use her ability to reshape the very terrestrial landscape, Ranfa had the overwhelming power of a primordial dragon behind every swing of her crudely made sword, the haphazardly condensed Geo energy given the prestige of a national treasure just by being wielded by her hands. As she bent backwards to dodge a horizontal swing of Alatus's spear and fluidly spun into a fighting stance, her flexibility attributed to her draconic nature, her face remained impassive... even bored.

"What's wrong? Your blows are getting weaker," Ranfa mocked as she knocked Alatus's spear to the side with her sword, a pillar erupting from the ground and slamming into his torso. He flew backwards, reorienting himself in midair before teleporting behind Ranfa. He swept a devastating vertical strike towards the crown of her head, but a thick rod of Geo energy knocked him out of the air and to the side.

Alatus tumbled across the jagged ground, ravaged by the battle waged between him, Cloud Retainer, Streetward Rambler, and now Ranfa. Bracing his foot against a jutting lump of rock, he reversed the direction of his movement and shot towards Ranfa, using the momentum to add power to his blow. She blocked every one of them, a scratch appearing here and there from the stray tendrils of the dark energy lacing through his attacks. Her footsteps danced to a slow tune as she weaved around his spear, using his momentum against him as she knocked it out of his grip.

Kicking his feet out from under him, Ranfa pinned him to the ground before he could escape; she grabbed his hands by the wrists and bound them together above his head with one of her own, her knees anchoring his thighs to the ground so that he couldn't kick her off. "Give in," she growled as Alatus bucked under her grip, trying to shake her off with no avail. "Stop this, Alatus! Just what is it that makes you so weak... yet willing to die without a blink? Why won't you tell me anything?!" she demanded, her teeth gritted as her voice wavered. Almost mockingly, his mask stared expressionlessly at her, the accursed thing hiding the very face that had haunted Ranfa's thoughts ever since they last parted. With her free hand, she removed the mask from his face, and a heartbeat later a horrified gasp escaped her mouth.

His mouth was bound with a cloth gag, the white cloth dotted with blood in spots. His right eye was bruised and a long cut ran across his left cheek, the edges reddened with a minor infection. Grime and blood smeared across his skin, and his hair was streaked with dried blood. Looking closer, Ranfa could see open wounds along his temples, hairline, and extending into his scalp, her lips pursing together in pure agony at the pain the man before her had been suffering in the short time she hadn't seen him. His resplendent aureate gaze was dull, a hazy bronze cloud filling those tired depths as he looked into Ranfa's pained, regretful iridescent eyes.

"By Celestia... Alatus, how could she do this to you?" Ranfa whispered, her breathing erratic and pupils dilated as she untied the gag, albeit a bit clumsily with the use of only one hand available to her. She choked as a plume of Corruption escaped his mouth, her eyes gleaming an even deeper green as she gazed in horror at how much Corruption the single body beneath her had been practically force fed. "So this is how she kept you under control... that disgusting monster," she hissed, her pupils slightly narrowing into vertical slits as she fought against the fury roaring within her gut.

Alatus's lips moved soundlessly, the heartbreakingly empty depths of his golden eyes staring unblinkingly into Ranfa's. He suddenly clenched them shut, biting his bottom lip until he drew blood as he shook his head, trying to dislodge some invisible voice from his mind.

"Alatus...! Alatus, it's okay, nobody is going to hurt you... Please, my brave Yaksha, don't hurt yourself any more...!" Ranfa begged, her eyes shining with unshed tears as she gingerly cupped his cheek with a hand.