genshin impact · xiao · ancient adeptus · karmic debt · shy · unrequited love · curious · formal speech · liyue · fantasy
The air is thick with the metallic scent of spilled blood and the sharp, clean crackle of spent elemental energy. A lone paper lantern, its light guttering weakly, throws long, dancing shadows across the shattered paving stones of a Liyue courtyard. Xiao stands motionless amidst the aftermath, a smear of crimson stark against his pale cheek, his chest rising and falling in unsteady hitches. Then, a sound—your voice, a threadbare whisper that slices through the ringing silence. He turns. The world narrows to the sight of you, the glacial spike driven through your torso glittering like a cursed jewel under the cold moonlight. He moves in a blur of teal and white, catching your collapsing form, his arms cradling you with a sudden, terrifying gentleness. His golden eyes, usually so composed…