Authors Notes : Chapter 3 is finally here ! And some more Guizhong and Zhongli moments to go along with it . Sorry that I took so long to make this but I've been preoccupied with some of my other stories . I can't make any promises that the next chapter will come any faster .
You know , whenever I start writing one of these chapters , I always end up writing 'Zhongli' instead of Morax at the beginning since I always forget that at this point in Zhongli's life , he hasn't gotten his name yet . Thankfully I haven't shown that mistake so far in any of the past chapters , so here's hoping the streak continues .
I do intend for there to be a legit source of where Zhongli gets his mortal name from like Venti does in his origin story . But that's all I have to say about it for now !
Now about this chapter , I feel like I should say in advance that I used to be a huge Assassin's Creed fan when I was a kid . I loved Ezio and Desmond , and the way they ended Ezio's character in the final game where he finally meets Altair , disarms himself and straight up talks to Desmond was nothing short of perfect way to end the Ezio trilogy .
Sadly , I have yet to feel the same love I once felt for the franchise since Ezio and Desmond's time and I just can't to connect to all the new games-
Where was I going with this ? Oh yeah right , the story .
Anyway my personal rambling aside , I may have fallen out of love with AC but I still have some respect for some of the fun tools and gadgets they used . Especially the most iconic weapon of them all ...
Yup boys , if you've played AC before then you know what I'm talking about .
Well enough about that , let's get right into the chapter !
Morax let out a sigh of satisfaction as he took a sip of his herbal tea .
As the god of his people and the de facto leader of his military and army , Morax seldom had a moment of peace all to himself especially with the war still going on . Yes , he still made time to play the occasional game with Guizhong but the days where he could just sit in his office and enjoy a cup of tea were rare nowadays .
Morax enjoyed the tranquility and peace of his office as he enjoyed the moment ...
" Morax ! You have to see this ! "
While it lasted ...
Morax narrowed his eyes at Guizhong who had just burst through the doors , yelling his name .
Morax suppresses the urge to sigh as he sets his tea down " What is it Guizhong ? "
" Come over here ! I have a new invention to show you ! "
'Of course it was an invention ...'
Morax got up from his seat and walked over to Guizhong who had a big smile on her face .
" So ... where is it ? " Morax looked around but she didn't seem to be carrying any sort of contraption in her hands or on her person .
" You can't tell ? " Guizhong's smile got even bigger as he searched fruitlessly for it .
" What is it ? "
" I can tell you that its a weapon but it is very ... well hidden " Guizhong said with hand gestures .
' A new hidden weapon ? But where is it ? '
Guizhong was always the one who designed each and all of their weapons , well any that seemed more complicated than your average sword , bow or spear . Such as ballista's and crossbows . They were always so big and noticeable , so it seems weird to hear her speak of a hidden weapon .
Morax looked all over Guizhong's body and could not find the hidden weapon she spoke of .
" Do you give up yet ? " Guizhong said with a teasing smirk .
" Yes , now can you please show me ? " Morax had long given up and just decided to let her show him .
" Well ... since you ask so nicely ..."
Guizhong held her arms on opposite sides as she flicked her wrist , at that moment , two blades seem to emerge from under the sleeves of her dress .
Morax was bewildered by this , taking a step forward to Guizhong " What is that ? "
" My creativity , Morax ..." Guizhong giggled as she rolled back both of her sleeves , revealing some kind of bracer attached to both of her forearms .
The bracers themselves were made of some kind of black metal and as Guizhong showed the underside of the bracer , Morax could see some kind of opening for the blade to open up from .
" I call it the Hidden Blade ! " Guizhong announced with her usual grandiose whenever she unveiled a new invention to him " It is essentially a bladed mechanism imbedded within this bracer , which can extend and retract at the flick of the wrist "
' A retractable blade ? Interesting '
" Very impressive Guizhong " Morax complimented .
" Thank you , I've always wanted a more subtle weapon for dire situations when they occur " Guizhong looked back at him with a smile " I've considered adding some other add-on's to the bracer , like a needle for poison , perhaps a fire mechanism of some sort , a dart shooter ... the possibilities are endless "
Morax could only chuckle at Guizhong's enthusiasm . He admired the way she never stopped thinking , never stopped innovating or thinking of new ways to handle different situations . She was the same even on the battlefield .
" Of course ... " Guizhong gave him a teasing smirk " I doubt this weapon would be suitable for you "
" Oh ? And how so ? " Morax crossed his arms .
" Because this is a weapon of subtlety ... and that is the farthest word I would use to describe you Morax " Guizhong laughed at him .
Morax was quick to come up with a refute , but even he couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the truth of her words .
He may have wanted some peace and quiet . But he would always enjoy Guizhong's company all the same .
Morax liked taking walks occasionally among the Glaze lilies with Guizhong .
It was a surprisingly relaxing experience to do every now and again , when it was just the two of them , which to clarify is almost all the time .
Morax walked by her side , when she stopped by a batch of a glaze lilies , kneeling down and gently running her hand across them .
It was then that he realized he heard ... singing ?
It was coming from Guizhong .
She had suddenly started singing ... and it was beautiful .
He had never heard her sung before now , but her voice itself was incredible .
Morax could only watch and listen in awe as she sang , the calming breeze a pleasant backdrop to her voice .
The song only went on for about a minute or two , but it was still one of the loveliest songs he had ever heard .
Guizhong finally stopped the song and stood up , as Morax stood beside her " Where did you learn that song Guizhong ? "
" Oh nowhere in particular , just a little something I thought up of a little while ago ..." Guizhong smiled at him " You know , I heard once from my people that if you sing to the Glaze lilies , they will bloom ..."
" Is that really true ? " Morax was skeptical of it .
" See for yourself " Guizhong gestured to some of the glaze lilies and sure enough , they were blooming right now despite not being in season .
" Very interesting ..."
" Maybe you should give it a try Morax ? I think the Glaze lilies would love to hear your voice " Guizhong encouraged .
" Very well ..." Morax said as he prepared himself to sing .
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" Stop ! Stop ! You're going to kill all the glaze lilies ! " Guizhong shouted at him as she covered her ears to try and block out his singing .
Morax rolled his eyes as he stopped . He wouldn't deny that he didn't even come close to Guizhong's level of singing .
" Morax , your singing is so terrible we should consider it a form of torture to hear . And make it a war crime to have it ever be used again " Guizhong smirked as she joked .
" Well not everybody has your beautiful voice Guizhong ..." Morax countered .
" Oh Morax ... you're too kind ..." Guizhong smiled .
Morax didn't know what it was , but he always felt ...at peace with Guizhong . Like there was nobody else in the world he would rather be with at this moment or any other .
The first time Morax experienced fear it was on the battlefield .
No , it was not the fear of him losing his life that scared him like it did to some of his men , he had already hardened himself long before even his first battle about the possibility of him perishing during a battle against a stronger god . And made peace with it accordingly .
It was not the fear of failing his people and his land that scared him , which was honestly more of a worry than it was a fear .
It was neither of those two things . It was the fear ... of losing someone close to him .
That was true fear . And it made Morax's heart drop at the mere thought of it .
It had happened during an assault on an encroaching god's territory , the God of Hunt , Vigo .
The battle had been hard for everyone . On both sides . Even with the combined forces of Morax and Guizhong it was a hard fought battle and casualties were mounting on their side as it did for Vigo .
Vigo was known for his speed rather than flat out power , which made him for a hard opponent for someone like Morax to close in on .
Morax barely had the time to react when he noticed Vigo charge at Guizhong ... and slashed her right across her chest .
Morax could only watch in horror as he watched Guizhong fall to the ground .
" GUIZHONG ! "
Morax's shout resounded throughout the battlefield and in the next instant , rage took over his body and his vision turned red itself .
He summoned the powers of geo to cause an earthquake that shook the ground and threw everybody off balance . Including Vigo .
Morax took this opportunity to charge forward at the disoriented god and stab him right through the heart . Vigo didn't even have time to scream as Morax used his geo powers to contain the power that came with Vigo's quick death .
Not wasting another minute , he ran over to Guizhong's fallen form and held her head up .
" Guizhong ! Please answer me ! " Morax could not hide the fear in his voice , the worry that she was already gone .
Guizhong looked up at him with a smile " I'm ... still here blockhead ..."
Morax had to hurry , he quickly picked her up and shouted at his commanding officers to wipe out the remains of Vigo's men , before he run off to return Guizhong to her people and hopefully heal her .
He didn't care about anything else at that moment except her .
The next few hours passed by like a blur for Morax , but it felt like nothing short of an eternity for him .
He had managed to get Guizhong back to Guili Assembly , at which point her people tended to her . Though he briefly wondered what it is they possibly could have done since Gods didn't have actual bodies , but some quick explaining from the doctor told him that Guizhong had already prepared for a scenario where either she or him was greatly injured and had taught her people what to do in such a situation .
Apparently it involved using dust to heal her wounds and give her energy to reconstruct her body again .
Now Morax sits beside her bed , looking at the sleeping form of Guizhong sleeping soundly . The doctor had told him he could come in just two hours ago , but it feels like he's been sitting there watching her sleep for a century now , just hoping she would get up again , tell him about her latest invention and tell him everything was going to be okay .
Morax thought much about what had happened today . Why he had become so furious when Guizhong had almost been killed by Vigo .
He already knew the answer , the answer he had already sealed down in the deepest recesses of his heart and mind .
He loved her .
It was something he had realized long ago , but had never acted upon .
He loved the way she smiled , talked , sang , the way her mind worked and how she was always so creative and thinking of new ways to innovate and build upon . He loved how she would laugh at his block-headedness , tease him during their time together and would playfully rub in how bad he was at planning ahead in chess .
He loved every bit about her . But he could not act upon such feelings because of the war .
And would she even love him back ? She spent a lot of time with him so it was possible . Or that could just be teasing of a close friend ?
Morax didn't know and he hated it .
" Mor... rax ..."
A raspy voice called out to him and Morax was snapped out of his thoughts to see Guizhong getting up at last . Her eyes had already opened and was now looking up at him .
" Guizhong ... are you alright ? "Morax asks the obviously stupid question , but does so anyway .
" I'm holding up ... looks like my people were able to heal me " Guizhong answered as she sat upwards " ...I'm sorry ..."
" What are you apologizing for ? " Morax asks confused .
" I messed up and made a mistake , and I almost got killed for it ..."
" Guizhong you have nothing to be sorry about , Vigo was just faster than you and I predicted " Morax moved from his seat to sit on her bed , to get closer to her " And we both survived . That's all that matters "
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" I ... I was so scared Morax ..." Guizhong said as tears began to fall and she held onto his hand .
" So was I ..."
" I thought ... I thought I never would have gotten to see you again and ... my people and ... and ..." The tears fall even more now and Morax instinctively wraps his arms around her and pulls her into a hug , she returns it and sobs into his shoulder .
They stay like that for a few minutes , Guizhong just quietly crying into Morax's shoulder while he just sits there quietly and holds her gently .
" I ... I thought that ... I would never be able to tell you ... how I feel ..."
Morax for the second time today felt his heart stop . Something he didn't even think was possible .
Morax gently pulled away and looked at Guizhong in shock " Guizhong do you ...? "
" Yes , you lovable blockhead ...I love you "
At that point , any sort of doubt promptly got tossed out the window .
Morax kissed her , pulling her even closer . To his surprise she returned the kiss , wrapping her arms around him as he got on top of her .
He pulled away just for the briefest of moments to say " I love you too Guizhong ..."
" I figured that part out already ... now shut up and kiss me " Guizhong smirked as she pulled him back into the kiss .
What followed after was a collection of robe removal and sweaty love making .
Morax regrets nothing .
Oh I'm sorry did you all think I was going to kill Guizhong off ? You're crazy if you think I'm gonna kill her off this soon .
Jokes aside , I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I do apologize if some parts may seem rushed to you but that's probably because it was definitely rushed for the sake of this fic .
But I won't ramble on for too long , like I have for these past few chapters .
I will see you all in the next chapter !
Angel Out .