Disclaimer : I do not own Genshin Impact
Author's Notes : I just wanted to say that I think Zhongli and Venti's story quests are by far some of the most interesting and deep quests in the entire game . On Venti's side , we get to see the hidden depth to his character and how depressing his life as a god actually is in retrospect . Top that with the fact that he's probably had to watch countless of his friends die over the years , probably through age or something . Venti has got to have one of the most depressing story quests .
But on Zhongli's side of the field , we get some in depth lore about the Archon War and how truly brutal it could be . Zhongli even explains that during such a long war , things like 'good' and 'evil' become extremely hard to define , which is pretty interesting and thought provoking . Zhongli's show the true horrors of the Archon War and how terrible it really was , we get shown this through Havria's tale . Where despite being a god kind , she refused to fight and therefore became lamb to the slaughter for any other would be stronger god .
Where was I going with this ? Oh yeah right the story .
Anyway this focuses on Wanyan , that Goddess of Salt devotee that went along with Zhongli during the quest .
Also be warned that I wrote this in the span of like ... a day ? So don't expect anything too good . Also this is not beta read .
With that said , let's get this story started !
It was a day like any other at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor , Zhongli was in his office sorting out some documents that Director Hu Tao asked him to look over . While many others would find such a mundane task to be boring , it was actually a better day than most for Zhongli who had worked at the Parlor for as long as he could remember , considering that Hu Tao hadn't pulled any sort of pranks as of late . Though perhaps he should not 'jinx' himself as his old friend Barbatos would say .
Taking a sip of his tea , he looked out the window to see some of the petals from a nearby tree fall . Seeing time move before his very eyes brought a sense of peace and serenity to his heart , knowing that his people were living in an age of prosperity and peace .
Setting his cup down on a coaster , he was just about to get back to sorting out the documents when suddenly the door to his office and opened , and walked in one of the receptionists of the Parlor . Mei , he had recalled her name .
" Yes , Mei what is it ? " Zhongli asked as she stepped inside the room .
" So sorry to intrude on your work but there is a woman in the lobby that is requesting your presence " Mei apologizes with a bow , before explaining .
" A woman ? Did she say what she wanted ?" Zhongli asked , eyebrow raised .
" No , she just said that she wanted to speak to you personally " Mei explains again .
Now this piqued Zhongli's curiosity , setting his quill to the side of his desk . He hadn't been expecting any sort of visitors today , could this potentially be a new client ? He will have to see for himself .
" Thank you Mei , I will see to this visitor immediately " Zhongli got up from his desk , grabbing his coat along the way .
Mei bowed before leaving the room .
Putting his coat on , Zhongli dusted himself off , looking at himself in a nearby mirror to make sure he looked professional . Unlike a certain bard he knows , he always preferred to look as professional as possible when handling matters that concerned . No matter how trivial they may seem to others .
After ensuring that he looked fine , he exited his office to head to the lobby . The main headquarters as Hu Tao liked to call it was much bigger on the inside than it looked from the outside and despite it being built dozens of centuries ago , the building itself has been kept up to date , thanks to the guidance of the Director . It was one of the few things that Zhongli did admire about Hu Tao , while she was a trickster at heart , she also had a great deal of care for her family legacy and was responsible when the need arise .
Heading into the lobby of the Parlor , Zhongli finds it practically empty , not counting the receptionists that were stationed behind the desk . But there was one other woman in the lobby seated on the bench they had set up in there , no older than early 20's by his estimation , wearing glasses but had a face that Zhongli hadn't seen a while .
Calmly walking up to her with the utmost professionalism , Zhongli spoke " You requested for my presence ... Wanyan ? "
" ! I-" Wanyan clearly taken off guard by his sudden appearance looked up at him and almost jumped , he didn't blame her . She had a thoughtful look on her face just then . After recomposing herself , she stood with a bit more calmness " It is ... good to see you again , Mr . Zhongli "
" It is ... good to see you as well , Wanyan " Zhongli was a bit hesitant to say that he was happy to see her again . He had met Wanyan some time ago , when the latter posed as a fake archaeologist to gain his help in uncovering the truth about what had happened to the Goddess of Salt , Havria .
That particular expedition to Havria's domain brought back unpleasant memories for Zhongli from the Archon War , he had known for a long time that the war was cruel and brutal in the extreme and those who refused to fight ... fell just as quickly .
Seeing the salinized bodies of Havria's body ... it left a bad taste in his mouth . And it got even worse when he was forced to punish Wanyan for breaking the contract , by telling her the truth about what had really happened to her Goddess . Perhaps he should have just taken a form of corporal punishment , maybe that would have been less worse .
But nonetheless , she broke the contract and had to suffer the Wrath of the Rock .
She didn't respond well to it of course , denying everything he said . Even after coming upon the very spot of Havria's death , she still refused to believe it to the very end . He did not blame her , it would be difficult for anyone to accept that their goddess , someone who they had believed in for so long ... was not who they thought she was .
But now that she's standing in front of him , she looks nervous almost shy even .
" What business do you have with me ? " Zhongli asks , finally breaking the ice .
" Ah yes ... I ..." Wanyan seemed to grow even more nervous , before leaning in to whisper " Listen , can we talk somewhere a bit more ... private ? I really don't want to talk to you while standing inside of a Funeral Parlor "
Zhongli nodded , that was a fair thing to be unnerved about .
" Very well . Come with me then " With those words , Zhongli led them out of the Parlor with Wanyan following by his side .
They didn't walk very far from the Parlor , just down the street they sat down on a bench under a tree . It was out of the way of any foot traffic so they didn't have to worry about being seen or interrupted by anyone .
Sitting down next to Wanyan , Zhongli spoke again " So what business do you have with me ? "
" Listen I ... gods I don't if I can ..." Wanyan had a conflicted look on her face , before it was changed to a determined " No , I need to do this properly "
" Do what exactly ? " Zhongli asked .
" I ... would like to apologize " Wanyan finally spoke and it honestly surprised Zhongli , he hadn't expected to receive an apology from Havria's devotees . Nonetheless he stayed silent as she continued " For how I acted during that expedition ... to the Goddess of Salt's domain , I hired you to help me discover the truth and when I finally found it ... I spat on it and your help extension "
" I see ..." Zhongli crossed his arms , turning to her slightly " So you finally accept the truth ? "
Wanyan was silent for a moment before answering " ... Yes , I have . It wasn't easy I'll tell you , but after coming to terms with everything I saw ... I just can't ignore or lie to myself any more about what I had seen in there "
Wanyan looked downcast " I'm so sorry for dragging you and your friends into that expedition and wasting your time-"
" It is of no consequence " Zhongli interrupts , surprising Wanyan " I can understand why you would want to search for the truth of what happened to your Goddess ... and I do not blame you for not so easily accepting her true history " Zhongli did not fault mortals for falling or being mislead by false or distorted history , time has a sick way of distorting events from what really happened . And not everybody had such a long life span as he has had .
" Still , I can't help but feel like such a fool for how I acted back then " Wanyan still looked saddened " You know , I used to look down on followers of Morax for being blind in their devotion towards him for not seeing the truth , yet when I myself was confronted with the truth ... I acted no different than the very same people I looked down upon " Wanyan let out a humorless laugh " God , I really was a pathetic fool back then , was I not ? "
" You were not being a fool Wanyan , you simply wanted to hold true to your beliefs of the Goddess of Salt " Zhongli argued " There is no need to blame yourself "
" Thank you for your kind words , even though I don't think I deserve it ..." Wanyan gave a small smile " Though there's one thing that's still bugging me about what happened back in the domain ..."
" And what might that be ? "
Wanyan shrugged " Nothing much , I was just curious as to how you know so much about the Goddess of Salt , if you're a follower of Rex Lapis "
Zhongli considered what he should say and do , before coming upon a decision " Do you really want to know ? "
Wanyan was silent for a moment " Yes ... I think I do " She gave a courageous smile " Don't worry I'm not gonna run away like last time "
" Very well ..." Zhongli nodded , before suddenly taking her hands into his own , surprising Wanyan .
" Hey , what are you-" She was cut off when Zhongli's eyes started glowing as did hers .
Zhongli used his powers of an Archon to show her his memories ...
The Archon War ...
The Rise of Liyue ...
The Partnership between him and Barbatos ..
And most importantly ... the death of her Goddess , Havria .
...
...
...
This lasted no more than a few minutes , Zhongli was glad that there was nobody nearby to witness them and more importantly what he was showing to her . He found this method to be much more accurate and quick than merely recanting it through a story .
When he pulled his hands away , Wanyan was frozen as a statue from what she had seen before her hands flew to cover her mouth in shock . Realization clear on her face .
" By ... By the Archons ... you are-"
" Yes ... I am Morax " Zhongli calmly said .
" Oh ... Oh my god ..." Wanyan's face went through realization , regret and shock all in the span of a few seconds " My lord , I am so-"
" There is no need to apologize " Zhongli cut her off before she could apologize again " You were not aware of my identity like so many others and I do not hold what you said about me back at the domain against you so there is no need to apologize anymore "
" I ... I ..." Wanyan seems to calm down after about a minute , but looks at the ground " I'm sorry this is just so overwhelming ..."
" It is of no consequence "
Silence washed over them once more , until Wanyan spoke again " Hey ... did you ... know her ? " Zhongli raises his eyebrow at her question when she continues " My goddess I mean , did you know her back during the war ? "
Zhongli paused for a minute before answering " Yes . I did ... she was ... a friend " Zhongli looks up at the sky as he recalls memories of his few moments with Havria back before the war and during it " She was one of the governing gods of Liyue before the war , alongside me , Guizhong and many others . But when the war broke out , her gentle nature refused to fight , not even in self defense ... she could not bring herself to harm another "
" In her last days she had not a single blade to defend her people with ..." Wanyan said sadly " That's what you told me back at the domain ..."
Zhongli nods as he continues " For what it is worth , I respected her kind and gentle nature up until the very end . There are not many gods who can hold on to their goodness during such a long and brutal war " Zhongli thinks back to Venti and how he was during the war , he was a lot more angry and ruthless back then too " But sadly , that nature of hers ended up being her undoing during that time of Teyvat ..."
" Was that why you took what's left of my people in ? After her death ? " Wanyan questioned .
Zhongli did not speak , merely nod in response .
" I wonder ..." Wanyan began " Would it have been less cruel if she had merely been killed by another god ? Instead of being betrayed and murdered by her own people ? The ones she had tried so hard to protect , but never fought for ? I honestly don't know which would be a worse fate ..."
Zhongli was quiet for a time before speaking " I was there the day she died you know ..."
Wanyan looked at the god in disguise in surprise .
" I was visiting from Liyue and I wanted to check in and see how she was doing ... that was the same day she was murdered by the king " Zhongli explained with a somber expression " I could still remember calling out her name as the power erupted from her body and spread across the domain , turning her people to salt , but do you know what else I remembered ? "
Zhongli did not wait for Wanyan to ask " I remember feeling her emotions through the eruption as it spread to the domain , there was a sense of sadness in her heart , yes ... but there was no anger , hatred or feelings or bitterness in her heart at the time " Zhongli explained which made Wanyan's eyes widen " She was ... truly a one of a kind goddess , stubborn , weak ... kind and gentle up until the very end "
...
...
...
Wanyan was quiet for a moment , before she finally stood up from the bench and turned to Zhongli with a smile " Well thank you so much for all the help you've given me , it has given me a chance to respect the true history of my goddess , instead of some overly glorified watered down version of it "
Zhongli smirked a little " It is my pleasure ... Havria would be proud of what has become of her people "
" Thank you for saying so ... Rex Lapis ..." Wanyan puts a hand to her heart " And thank you ... for not turning your back on my people in their time of need "
Zhongli only smiled in response .
" Well , I'd better head back . Thank you again for your time ... " Wanyan bowed before she walked off , disappearing into the crowds of people .
Zhongli watched her for a time as she disappeared , he finds himself feeling a sense of ... peace and happiness , that he was able to help out one of his old friends followers .
After a few minutes of watching the crowds of Liyue move about and around their daily lives and business , Zhongli gets up and begins walking back to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor . Sincerely hoping that Hu Tao hasn't gotten into too much trouble in the few minutes that he was gone .
Rest easy now , Havria . With the knowledge that your people are safe and happy .
And that your story will now be told in truth , rather than lies .
That was his thoughts of the Salt Goddess and his old friend , Havria . Hoping that she has found peace in heaven .
And that is the end of the story ! Sorry if this is a little rough around the edges , but this story was very much rushed and not very thought through at all .
But I hope you all enjoyed it nonetheless and thank you so much for reading !
Hope to see you all in the next one !
Angel Out .