"Oh Viatrix, how brilliant and radiant you shine, a holy light in the dark so sublime. But what can I do, when the shadows want to consume you, oh goddess so divine?"
With the arrival of summer, newly weds, Xiao and Lumine finally take the journey to seek out the Dendro Archon. But in this land that once was the cradle to his tribe, once nurtured by the God of Woods, trouble is stirring. Sumeru, the Nation of Knowledge screams for folly but amongst its pages is something sinister and maybe darker truths. With the Fatui and now Celestia becoming a threat, Xiao has suddenly grown increasingly protective and worried as something seems to be wrong with Lumine after the events of the Chasm and the Abyss Order. What they discover may very well change both their lives for better or for worse. As only more dangers bare their fangs with once again both from the unknown and as the Fatui slither into Sumeru. But can Xiao protect her in this land of jungle and sand?
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-WARNING-
Contains mature subject matter and topics such as violence, injury, bloodshed, dark themes, mature romance themes, ect.
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[Archon Interlude, Sumeru Archon Quest with some AU aspects. Heavy Xiaolumi shipping and implied for other shippings.]
[Some OST song inspirations: "Nobody Else" - Ailee, various anime OSTs, Middle Eastern OSTs, "Demons" - Imagine Dragons, "A Reason To Fight" - Disturbed, "God Is A Girl" - Groove Coverage, ect.]
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Wanna read the entire XiaoLumi Fated Encounter Series I've done? Check them out Titles below...
And more in the Xiaolumi Fated Encounter Library on my page!!!
Xiao had never known freedom. He has always had someone behind him, controlling his every move. Even when under contract from Morax, he was not free. He struggled his way through decades alone and in pain, hating himself more every day he awoke to his accursed state. Too afraid to inform his Lord about his worsened state, he deals with dangers to Liyue alone until a blonde traveler appears in his life and refuses to leave. After bad things happen relating to his Karmic Debt, his Lord frees him, and he is left to a choice. Continue his path to destruction, or search for freedom with an ex-Archon and the blonde traveler.
Word Count: 67,658
AN: This is a polyam ship of Venti Xiao and Aether, so don't like, don't read Ig. While this is polyam, VenXiao is more love at first sight, whilst AeVen and Xiaother are more slowburn.
The first three chapters are simply for context, and completely skippable if you've played through Liyue's archon and Xiao's story quests. Also, I'm using Aether instead of Lumine because he's the traveler I picked.