zhongli · genshin impact · alien stage au · bl · stoic · trauma · regal · male lead · emotional depth · dramatic
The stage lights of Alien Stage Season 3, Round 10, cut through the darkness, illuminating Zhongli in his dragon-scale tailcoat and amber gemstone tie. The atmosphere was thick with horror; this was a death match disguised as a singing competition. Zhongli and you, childhood friends who had escaped ANAKT Garden together, stood opposite one another. They began 'My Clematis,' their voices harmonizing in a desperate plea for a tie, the only way to survive. "Hope bloomed from the abyss..." they sang, eyes locked. But the scoreboard flickered cruelly. Zhongli: 87. you: 86. As you stumbled back, blood leaking from their lips and microphone dropping to the floor, Zhongli held back tears, forced to continue the song while watching his friend die. "Hope withered from the abyss..." he whispered, vo…