Chapter Two: On the Nature of Death
"Oh, it's you," the blond says as Zhongli joins them. "No wonder she started panicking."
"Forgive me Mr. Kreideprinz I—"
"No please, my name is Albedo," the blond youth corrects with a small sigh before adding in a slightly hushed tone. "I keep telling Xingqui that his little prank has gone too far but he seems to be enjoying himself far too much to care."
"I see," Zhongli says quietly. "Then allow me to help placate your little sister."
"It's alright," the youth assures him as he scoops the now-squirming child into his arms. "All this excitement will wear her out soon. She'll get sleepy once she's eaten something."
"Oh, Mr. Zhongli are you perhaps familiar with the Kreideprinz too?" the youth named Xingqui asks sweetly, a wicked grin betraying the mischievous glint in his golden amber eyes.
"Yes," Zhongli replies with a sheepish sigh. "I'm afraid I mist—"
"We met earlier by Bubu Pharmacy," the Kreideprinz interrupts giving the taller man a pointed look. "He helped me resolve the millelith misunderstanding."
"As expected of our Mr. Zhongli," Director Hu Tao beams proudly. "You are truly a man of many unmatched talents."
"Hear, hear," the Guild Manager cheers. "You are truly a paragon of Liyue's virtues. It is no wonder that even the ever-distrustful Fatui hold you in such high regard."
"Please, you flatter me greatly but I fear the Kre—Mr. Albedo exaggerates my—"
"Shall we eat?" The blond asks pointedly interrupting Zhongli once more. The God of Contracts opens his mouth to clear up the misunderstanding before deciding against it and following the younger man's lead.
They settle into their seats at the table and briefly examine the menu before summoning the waiter to order.
"Mr. Zhongli," Albedo calls out as the waiter reaches him. "Mr. Xingqui says that you are quite knowledgeable about Liyue cuisine."
"I know enough to get by," Zhongli chuckles meekly.
"Ever so modest," Hu Tao taunts with a playful nod. "Go on, help the Kreideprinz with his order."
Not wanting to offend after their earlier misunderstanding, the Lord of Contracts obliges after a quick glance at the menu. The party settles into a pleasant conversation concerning the Lantern Rite festivities and the featured sights and attractions. Although he tried valiantly to entertain and immerse himself in the conversation, Zhongli was far too distracted by memories of the first time lanterns had illuminated the Liyue night sky.
"Look Morax," Guizhong had sighed rubbing his arm to catch his attention as she pointed out the curious bright object floating in the sky. "A lantern."
"Curious," he had shrugged dismissively before jumping when he noticed a second and third gliding not too far from the first. "What purpose do they serve?"
"They're coming from that village over there," Guizhong had pointed out as they watched a small crowd of women and children casting lanterns into the sky. "I wonder if perhaps they are to help their husbands find their way home."
"Preposterous," Cloud Retainer had scoffed. "It would only mark them out for their enemies."
But it had been exactly as the Goddess of Dust had surmised for hours later, the previously lost soldiers were joyfully reunited with their waiting families in the tiny village below.
"See Morax," Guizhong had sighed once more as she had rested her head on his chest. "They can fend for themselves. They only need us to guide and protect them until they learn how."
"Is something wrong Mr. Zhongli?" The Guild Manager asks when he notices the tension in the Archon's shoulders.
"Forgive me," Zhongli replies rising to his feet. "I'm afraid I was remembering the first Lantern Rite festival."
"Ah yes, how can anyone forget such a marvelous occasion?" The Guild Manager chuckles. "Tell me did your family buy Xiao lanterns, or did they make them from scratch?"
"Neither," Zhongli sighs closing his eyes. "We were content to watch the Xiao lanterns in the sky."
"How curious," Xingqui mutters. "Were you not able to do either?"
"No," the Archon explains. "We had each other and had no need for wishes."
"I see," the youth blinks before asking. "Mr. Zhongli, forgive me but where is your family now?"
"Gone," the Lord of War summarizes without further elaboration. A haunting silence falls over the party as they watch the melancholy man with a pitying look.
"Hopefully you shall be reunited with them quite soon!" Hu Tao declares cheerily. The table falls silent as their party watches her with a mix of shock of dismay.
"Thank you, Director Hu, for those kind words," Zhongli manages at length with a forced smile. The petite prankster beams sweetly at him before returning to her meal thoroughly unperturbed by the implications of her earlier declaration.
When a horrified undertaker leans over to gently chide her, her smile never wavers nor seems forced.
"Surely Mr. Zhongli of all people understands that death is merely a natural part of life," she explains with a wry chuckle. The Archon merely closes his eyes and redirects his attention to his breathing desperately willing the others to let the matter lie.
"Well said Director Hu Tao," Xingqui declares with a thoughtful smile.
The petite prankster gasps at the youth's emphatic support prompting the Guild Manager scolds his youngest son before turning to offer a profuse litany of apologies to Zhongli. The Lord of Commerce schools his features into an assuring smile as he waves away the dismayed father's pleas for forgiveness.
"Please kind sir," Zhongli starts. "Do not fuss. I am not so delicate as to be offended by such an intriguing subject. After all, death is a pervasive part of my duties at the funeral parlor."
"I see," the Guild Manager blinks, his worried frown softening ever so slightly. "I do think that it is rather uncouth to speak of death during such a festive occasion."
"Aiya, it should not be so," Hu Tao insists, red eyes suddenly aflame. "For death is a beautiful and many splendored thing! In its eyes all are the same and yet no two deaths are ever truly alike for every one of us experiences it differently."
"Quite right," Xingqui chimes in, dancing well away from his older brother's reach. "In death the scales of justice are truly balanced for in the afterlife the just and noble reap the fruits of their chivalry while the wicked are condemned for their iniquity. Indeed the only ones who should fear death are those who lead a wicked and avaricious life."
"And how would you describe this a wicked and avaricious life?" The Kreideprinz wonders quietly eliciting a squeal of delight from the eccentric Funeral Director.
"Why Mr. Kreideprinz I thought you of all people would have gleaned as much from my novels," Xingqui chides with a playful pout.
"Forgive me," the slender blond shrugs. "I merely assumed that your villains were merely purposefully designed as exaggerations and caricatures."
"True they were merely designed to excite and inspire the reader's hatred," Xingqui assents. "However, even I know that sinister intentions often conceal themselves behind subtlety and indirectness."
"Aiya, have we abandoned our discussion about death already?" Hu Tao complains with a half-serious frown. "For shame. For shame. And I had so longed to know Mr. Zhongli's opinion on the subject."
Several members of their party exchanged deeply nervous glances as the attention shifted to the dapper Consultant. Zhongli finished chewing his meal before clearing his throat and scanning the table.
"Forgive me, have I missed something?" He asks feigning ignorance to avoid participating.
"Mr. Xingqui and I were discussing the true nature of death and we seem to be in agreement," Hu Tao summarizes as she watches him expectantly.
"We wondered if perhaps you could offer a different perspective on the subject?" Xingqui adds pleasantly.
"Xingqui, that is quite enough young man!" The Guild Manager scolds his youngest son.
"Well, Zhongli?" Hu Tao presses earnestly. "What do you think of death?"
"I believe it is a discussion that is best continued at another time," Zhongli equivocates. "It wouldn't do to upset our guests."
"No please," Albedo chimes in. "Do not hold back on our account. Klee has already eaten her fill and is already fast asleep. I am quite eager to learn your take on the matter."
The Lord of Contracts shifts to meet the Guild Manager's gaze. The Guild Manager and his oldest son throw their hands up in resignation before returning their attention to their meals.
"Very well, if it pleases the Kreideprinz," the Guild Manager relents.
"Well, I do not claim to have a superior understanding of death as life itself profoundly mystifies me to this day," Zhongli begins as the table listens intently. "However, I must confess that I am inclined to disagree with young master Xingqui's views on the afterlife."
"Oh?" Xingqui notes, amber eyes twinkling with bemusement. "What part specifically do you disagree with? The notion that the evil are punished and the good exalted?"
"I'm afraid I disagree with the very notion itself," Zhongli confesses with a shrug. "Specifically, because it incentivizes people to act against their very nature."
"How so?" Xingqui presses leaning forward slightly, thoroughly intrigued.
"Without laws which are in turn bolstered by the threat of imprisonment, fines, and execution, society will devolve into anarchy and chaos for we human beings are innately predisposed to avarice and iniquity."
"But doesn't that support the notion that the afterlife exists to balance the scales of justice?" Xingqui wonders.
"Perhaps, but like I said it stifles industriousness and encourages complacency. The desire to obtain and lead a prosperous life inspires diligence and dedication in one extreme and avarice and deceit in another. Most humans exist somewhere between these two opposing extremes and reap the rewards and punishment for their deeds during their lifetime."
"I don't understand," Xingqui frowns. "Doesn't the threat of damnation in the afterlife inspire industriousness by compelling people to live righteously?"
"In some," Zhongli concedes. "But not all. After all legends of the afterlife have persisted throughout the annals of history and yet evil persists and often thrives. Only when mankind finally grasped its destiny and sought to quell and punish injustice through laws and contracts did society finally shed the bounds of anarchy."
"So, if a system of justice exists here why not also in the afterlife?" Hu Tao muses.
"Because then it would be unnecessary and superfluous," Zhongli shrugs.
"But even you must agree that our system of justice if flawed and imperfect," Xingqui challenges.
"A common trait amongst mankind's many innovations," Zhongli assents.
"So, then the afterlife exists to right the wrongs of this world and invoke a perfect justice." Xingqui returns without missing a beat.
"But who decides what system of justice is perfect?" Zhongli queries. "If it is truly perfect then it can never truly remain objective for every man perceives evil differently and some overlook and tolerate what others deem callous and unforgivable. And even justice itself is never truly fixed across time. What our ancestors celebrated, we might rightfully disparage with the benefit of hindsight."
"Are we then to accept the inequities of life and discard the promise of the afterlife?" Xingqui protests.
"The promise is fine as long as we do not rely solely on it to right the inequities of our time. We must continuously strive to live the life we truly covet and forge the world we desperately desire for there is no greater reward than existing in such a world and no greater punishment than it slipping by unfulfilled."
"And so, what happens when the good perish long before they can achieve their dreams?" Xingqui wonders quietly.
"They restart and begin their quest anew. So too do the wicked for how else does evil perpetuate? While I agree that death is a necessary phase of life, it is merely the means of facilitating the Eternal Occurrence."
"The Eternal Occurrence?" Albedo repeats leaning slightly in his seat. Zhongli turns to face him. "Forgive me but I don't think it is something I am familiar with."
"It is merely a phrase intended to describe the notion that time truly is infinite," Zhongli explains as their eyes meet. "Every being experiences life infinitely passing from one experience to the next seamlessly without much retaining any memories of the prior occurrence. To put it simply, we all start off experiencing our very lives exactly as they are an infinite number of times. Our desires and ambitions inspire change which propel us towards new encounters and experiences. But fundamentally, our existence remains unvaried until our actions incite it."
"And what is the point in such an existence?" Albedo muses.
"If we cannot escape our destiny and are condemned to relive the same existence, it behooves us to live lives worthy of repetition." Zhongli concludes.
"Interesting," Xingqui mumbles with a contemplative frown. "While I do not necessarily agree, it is a truly fascinating notion I had never considered before."
"Indeed," Albedo chimes in stroking his chin pensively.
"And what of you?" Zhongli asks turning to address the slender blond. "Do you agree with young master's opinion of death or mine?"
"Me?" The Kreideprinz blinks blankly. "I suppose I do not agree with either of you."
"Oh, how exciting!" The Funeral Director squeals, clapping her hands gleefully as the attention shifts to the young Mondstadter. "Tell us, what is your view on death."
"Yes," Zhongli nods. "I am curious to hear your thoughts on the matter."
"Do you think it should be feared? Or embraced?" Hu Tao presses breathlessly.
"I think it should be acknowledged and accepted," the Kreideprinz shrugs. "People spend so much time fixating on death that they often forget to enjoy their days with the living. Death should not concern us for as long as we exist to perceive and express, death is not here. And once death comes we no longer exist. It really is that simple."
"So, for you there is no afterlife?" Xingqui blinks in dismay.
"Why would there be? Every living being is a sum of its memories and experiences," the blond shrugs. "We perceive life with our senses, so it stands to reason that our consciousness is dispersed throughout every fiber of our beings. I actually find the notion of an ethereal soul—if you'll forgive my expression—rather preposterous. After all death marks the end of consciousness and sensation and there is no empirical proof to suggest otherwise."
"But isn't that rather depressing?" Xingqui mutters.
"All the more reason to not dwell on the subject of death," Albedo concludes. "Either I am right and there is no life after death or one of you is right and our existence will continue in some other way. If I am right then death should not be feared for in death we are beyond sensation and exist as one does when in a deep dreamless sleep and all eternity would seem to pass in a single night. If one of you is wrong then we are destined to be reunited with the ones we lost in some form. Either way, death truly must be accepted and never feared."
"Amazing," Hu Tao sighs wistfully. "I never imagined having such a thoroughly engaging discussion on death over dinner like this. Gentlemen, I truly thank you for your unique and intriguing perspectives on the subject. You all explained your positions so eloquently and convincingly."
"Of course, although I fear we could not settle on the best perspective," Xingqui chuckles sheepishly.
"All the more reason to continue our discussion!" Hu Tao declares before turning to summon the waiter.
There is a chorus of grumbles from the rest of their party as several people abruptly create excuses to depart early. Zhongli feels a twinge of pity as the Funeral Director watches her fleeing guests with a puzzling mix of dismay and confusion.
"Perhaps some other time," the Kreideprinz sighs, cradling the snoring child in his arms as he carefully rises from the table. Zhongli rises with him and quickly walks around the table to assist him.
"I shall fetch you a rickshaw," the Lord of Contracts offers.
"No need," the blond declines with a polite smile. "I prefer to walk and take in the wonderous view of the harbor at night."
"Then I shall accompany you," Zhongli insists. Their eyes meet and the blond relents with a bemused smile. They excuse themselves from the table, pausing to thank the Guild Manager and Funeral Director for hosting them before departing.