A Long Awaited Death

For over 2,000 years, Xiao lived by a single purpose-honor the contract given to him by Morax and protect Liyue. But now, the Archon War is long over, the world no longer needs a guardian of shadows, and Xiao is left with nothing but fading memories and silent battles against monsters no one sees.

He is a relic of a forgotten war. An adeptus who can no longer feel anything-except pain.

Only one light remains in his dark, crumbling world: Aether. The Traveler. The hero who brings hope to others but forgets his own exhaustion. Xiao clings to that light, drawn to Aether's warmth, to the kindness in his voice, the strength in his hands. But Aether is always moving forward, chasing the ghost of his sister across nations, leaving Xiao behind again and again.

So, when even pain can't bring his emotions back, Xiao is left asking the question that terrifies him most:
What's the point of staying alive, if the one person who makes it worth it is never truly there?

Told through a powerful, heartbreaking lens, A Long Awaited Death is a story of grief, love, purpose, and the crushing weight of silence. In a world of gods and mortals, some battles are fought not with weapons-but with the will to stay.