Alatus Nemeseos

Much to his shame, the smell of blood and smoke invading his nostrils was nothing new to him.

He hated it, he hated how weak he was. He detested the fact that no matter how strong he became physically, strong enough to slaughter an entire nation, it still wasn't enough to shield himself from the demon's calls. Even now he could feel it, the demon's omnipresence like a blanket over his consciousness.

His body suddenly spasmed as a howl of pain was torn from his lips. Blood, blood, blood! This word, much to his shame and anger, took over his mind as he prowled towards the next village, his claw-like limbs flew over the ground and not long later, a village arrived within his sights. With a bloodthirsty snarl, he descended upon them, like a rabid wolf pouncing on its hapless prey. Eyes wild with madness from the pain he constantly suffered from, his hands, nails sharpened into claws, torn apart houses and was shoved into the chests of more than one person, pulling lungs and hearts. The villagers' pained cries and dying prayers deaf to his ears.

He continued to carve his path of blood and bones until he saw a tiny body, standing not twenty metres in front of him. A demonic grin spread across his face as he rushed towards the girl. Five metres, three metres, his claws a millimetre away from the now hysteric girl-

Boom!

He bounced off a golden barrier, shimmering into existence. The girl disappeared in a golden flash before he could pounce upon her again.

"What…are you?"

Those three words, spoken with such venom and hatred, shook him out of his bloodlust. He turned, only to find two golden eyes, piercing his soul. In response, he merely snarled before charging towards the unknown man. The fight was over in seconds as a spear was roughly shoved through his shoulder and he was thrown violently, with the spear as a fulcrum, into the walls of a collapsing house. Before he could get up, a foot stomped him further into the ground.

"What," the man growled with far more animosity than before, "are you?"

Through the haze of pain, he rasped, "A…Alatus"

"And why are you here, in the middle of the night, massacring the village of Qingce?"

"Because h…he," Alatus' body wracked with coughs, "ordered me to… And I-I can not disobey his will."

The ground below Alatus cracked as he let out a pained moan, "Who is he?"

"Osial!" he cried, "It is Osial who commands me with his will!"

The pressure on his chest was finally released and Alatus greedily sucked air back into his lungs. When he finally gained some resemblance of basic functionality, he stared back up into those rock-hard golden eyes, now filled with hatred of an everlasting Winter.

"Of course," the man muttered, "of course it would be he who commands you." Returning his gaze back to the downed monstrosity, he said, "It may not have been your will, but the crimes you have committed must still be punished."

Alatus' eyes widened and a cry was torn from his lips, "I was forced to slaughter my people, and countless others of my kind. My family and my wife were killed by my own hands because of his will. Now, I do not even remember the faces and names of my wife nor my children. Is this not punishment enough for me?"

But from the unrelenting gaze of the gold-eyed man told Alatus that he will not be spared, "You might've suffered enough punishment, but this may be viewed as your redemption. You may never wash off the blood on your hands, but by accepting my contract, you can prevent more blood from being shed."

Realisation dawned on him, "Y-You are…"

"Yes," The golden-eyed god nodded, "I am Morax, the Lord of Geo and the Lord of Contracts."

"Then there's nothing I can do, even if I wish to deny your punishment," Alatus' head bowed, eyes closing, "I accept your contract, whatever that may be."

"You shall take on a new name, a new identity. You shall become my Yaksha, slayer of the remnants of the destroyed gods, the Conqueror of Demons. To forever cleanse the lands and protect our safe harbour."

With these words, Alatus felt as if his blood, black as it is, has been changed for lava and that his body was being melted and rebuilt again. He screamed ferally and spasmed in the ruins of Qingce, fire still burning the destroyed houses. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew away all the blood and ceased the fires. An anemoculus could be seen forming and then disappeared into the still twitching body of Alatus, a vision condensed in his right palm.

Before losing consciousness, he could hear the Lord of Geo's voice ring out once more,

"Rise, Golden Winged Alatus, the fifth guardian Yaksha of Liyue. Sacred Name: Xiao."

With the lullaby played by the wind, Xiao's eyelids slowly shut.