Note: This is a work of fiction. Although this is based on Genshin Impact lore, not all details may be canon.
Discord User: Soulcin#0001
A Fleeting Peace
The aura of hatred. The stench of evil.
It was quickly spreading, and Xiao felt its presence. Once again, Liyue's safety was threatened, and Xiao felt his calling to go and defend the land that Rex Lapis treasured so dearly.
The fight that would take place was still several centuries before the story of the Traveler would begin. One of countless more battles before destiny would bring Xiao and Aether together. But for now, Xiao had to clash with the waking gods that sought to wreak havoc on Liyue, this time at the land that would later be known as Dihua Marsh.
It was afternoon when he arrived. What little was left of the sun shone brightly still, illuminating Xiao's primordial jade winged-spear. Soon, it would be nightfall, and the people of Liyue would be asleep in their homes, safely secure and away from the fight that would soon begin.
But demons do not wait for the night, and so neither could Xiao. The people's safety would only be secured when Xiao made the move before the demons did.
Several monsters had gathered around the marsh, their numbers growing by the minute. The aura of darkness seeped from their bodies. They were ugly, brutish creatures, and the longer one would dawdle, the larger they would seem to grow. And although they were only a shadow of the old gods' true power, a fractional embodiment of the grudge they held, they were still a force to be reckoned with.
Xiao took a deep breath and prepared himself. The battle began.
It was always the same. Xiao against the countless demons, the unending spite and calls for vengeance, the thundering cries of power-hungry bygone gods. He would single handedly face their wicked desires and put an end to them day after day. Alone, into the flames, his yaksha allies long gone. Spear against claws, anemo against darkness. When one fell, three more seemed to take its place. Such were the powerful feelings of the defeated gods, as immortal and enduring as time itself. Xiao could not afford to let down his guard or catch his breath for even a moment, lest he risk being dealt a fatal blow. The fighting continued well into the night, and he lost track of time. The enemies were endless. From possessed hilichurls to phantoms that no one had ever seen before, they kept rising and charging at him. If only Xiao had one other ally at his side, a fellow adeptus or even Rex Lapis himself, the battle would have turned in his favor much more easily. But there was no room for meaningless wishes. The fighting went on, and the screams of agony and pain began to blend together until Xiao could no longer tell whether they were his or the enemies'.
Just when he was ready to finally admit defeat and draw his last breath, the fighting ceased, and all was silent. Slowly, the night began to give way to dawn, and slowly, Xiao rose from the ground. The marsh's landscape had been completely altered by the battle. Every single reed had been cut into ribbons, every blade of grass torn to shreds. The water and rivers themselves had even altered course from the damage dealt to the earth. Once more, he was victorious, but at the heavy price of adding yet more karmic chains to his soul.
Suddenly, he felt the heavy tug of divine hatred in his body. The karma inside his body began to boil and cry out. For once in all his centuries of life, Xiao was too exhausted and weak to stop it. Hate, pain, and despair flooded his senses, ringing through his mind. Memories of past duels, emotions of clinging grudges, even his own frustrations with the endless battles he had to constantly endure, all of them swirled inside his body like a storm, consuming him, driving him to act on the resentment built up inside. Xiao felt himself lose consciousness, too powerless to stop the limitless hatred from possessing his body.
But just as suddenly, the pain vanished, and he heard the melody of a flute. The gentle wind that came with the dawn carried the harmonious sound through the valleys, rivers and mountains, until it seemed to completely envelop the marsh in a gentle embrace, with Xiao in the very center. It was a song that spoke of hard-earned victories, of untold wishes and wistful dreams. Most of all, it sang a message of freedom, the same freedom that the wind carried, a freedom that would break the chains binding Xiao's soul. As the sun rose and the birds fluttered away, the melody rang pleasantly in his ears, soothing his suffering and giving him a fleeting peace.
Xiao immediately wanted to seek out the musician. What bard could play such a tune? Who could possibly be able to help him find salvation? But he quickly brushed away the thought. Deep down, he already knew the answer. He understood that all he had wanted for the past millennia was to finally have refuge from his torment. Even so, he would not allow that time to come yet. There were many more battles to be fought, more wars to be dealt with. At least for now, however, the sound of the flute could give him a brief moment of serenity.