TW: Contains character death and suicide
Bonanus was born in the rivers that brought life to the land of Liyue during the season of monsoon, when rain blessed the fertile land. She lived her life going with the flow and she was known to always be willing to lend a listening ear to anyone. She loved to sing as she swam leisurely in her river and animals would sometimes be drawn to her singing voice.
What many did not know was that Bonanus had a prankster side to her.
She loved to prank people by hiding in the water and scaring them when they approached the riverbanks. She also enjoyed watching people's surprised faces when she splashed water at them from behind.
For someone who was not the kind of person anyone could take seriously, no one had expected her to take up arms at Morax's call for yakshas to protect Liyue.
Bonanus had known what she signed up for. She expected to face strong adversaries, demons that prowl the land in search of innocent blood to sate their everlasting hunger. She expected to see her comrades fall, friends who talked to her of their troubles only to perish the next day. She expected anger, sadness, grief, and suffering.
She did not expect to find love on the battlefield.
Bonanus watched as a yaksha danced on the battlefield, fire bidding her commands, and Bonanus knew that she had hopelessly fallen head over heels for her.
Even when she knew she was in love, she had never once approached the other yaksha. It was only when they ascended the ranks and became part of the 'Five Yakshas' that the two finally met face-to-face.
The first time they met, Bonanus had stuttered her entire speech and bit her tongue, making her yelp in pain. Indarias snorted an ugly laugh before covering her mouth in surprise, as if she had not expected the sound to come out of her.
It was a match made in heaven.
The first time Bonanus sang for Indarias, Indarias danced to the tune of Bonanus' song. The flames danced over the river, never once burning Bonanus as they moved all around her. Bonanus sang, never once missing a note as she watched Indarias dance for her. It was a private moment between the two and no one knew of their songs and dances, not even the other yakshas.
Being part of the 'Five Yakshas' did not change what Bonanus was. She still kept up with her pranks, still offering a listening ear to anyone who needed someone to hear them. Bonanus was still Bonanus, yaksha or not.
The first time the others of the 'Five Yakshas' found out about Bonanus' relationship with Indarias, they had been very supportive. They managed to convince the two to marry, even managing to convince Morax to bless their marriage. It was by Luhua Pool, the origin of water that flowed down Bonanus' river, during the turn of summer, Indarias' favourite season, that the two tied the knot, their bonds sealed with a kiss, under the gaze of the others of the 'Five Yakshas' and by Morax's watchful eyes.
People would say that love had the power to conquer all evil, that love had the power to overcome anything. But in this day and age? In a time when the lands are filled with darkness, where evil demons prey upon weakness, where corruption seeps into the bones of those who walk the night to banish those who sought to devour those who walk the day? Love was dangerous.
Bonanus knew the dangers of being in love but as she lay in the arms of her beloved, she would not ask for anything more.
(But good things were not meant to last forever.)
Bonanus knew, when her moments of lucidity began to lapse, that she was starting to succumb to the corruption buried deep within her. All of the yakshas suffered from them, the 'Five Yakshas' were no different. But where the other yakshas fell to the darkness that devoured them, the 'Five Yakshas' stood resilient against it.
They knew it was inevitable but they wanted to keep dreaming, to keep hoping that one day they would be freed from the shackles of their own making.
The 'Five Yakshas' built their bonds together to starve off the corruption whispering in their minds. Where Indarias was the sister who could send a smile to even the coldest of adepti with her beautiful dances, Bonanus could make anyone laugh with a prank that would take even Morax by surprise. Where Menogias was the caring brother who told stories that would entrance anyone who heard them, Bonanus could calm a person with the tales from her songs. Where Bosacius was the brother who could fill the cold ruthless air with warmth with his hugs, Bonanus could cleanse the body of filth with her command over water. Where Alatus was the brother who carried far too much weight on his shoulder but was always the most reliable one, Bonanus would carry the burdens of others where they would fall instead.
They had been prepared for the inevitable but when time finally went against them, there was nothing they could have done to be prepared.
Indarias may have been the first of the 'Five Yakshas' to fall but she was not the last.
When the fires in the adeptal realm went out, Bonanus had a bad feeling. When Bonanus searched for Indarias in the adeptal realm and was unable to find her, the bad feeling grew stronger. When the other adepti told Bonanus that they had not seen Indarias, hours later when Bonanus asked hours later when Indarias should have returned from her patrol, the bad feeling never left. When the others of the 'Five Yakshas' scattered to search for Indarias, Bonanus prayed to Morax in fervour for Indarias to be safe.
When Bonanus finally found Indarias' burnt corpse, she screamed.
The others of the 'Five Yakshas' found Bonanus crying as she cradled the blackened corpse of her loved one in her arms. She refused to let any of the yakshas take away Indarias from her, hissing angrily when any of them tried to get close. It was only when Morax arrived at the scene and intervened that Bonanus was finally pulled away from Indarias.
Morax buried Indarias beneath the land of Liyue. He had to seal her body as the residue corruption began to leak out and forbade anyone from going near her, lest they become corrupted as well.
Bonanus became listless, no longer able to return to her previous self without Indarias by her side. The yakshas tried to cheer her up but nothing worked.
She forced herself to return to her duties as a yaksha, even when Morax told her to rest. She threw herself into battle after battle, ignoring the pleas of her family, the 'Five Yakshas'. She thought that as long as she fought, she could forget about Indarias.
But no matter what she did, she could not forget.
The countless battles began to take a toll on her as the whispers of insanity in her began to get louder. She started to think of what-ifs. What if she had stopped Indarias that day? What if she had gone with Indarias instead of letting her go alone? What if she had never fallen in love with Indarias? What if the other yakshas did not tell Indarias to go on her own?
Her heart twisted as she fell deeper into despair.
Bonanus distanced herself from the yakshas, sometimes not even returning to the adeptal realm. She managed to avoid the other yakshas, always hiding her presence as soon as she felt an adepti nearby. Not even Morax was able to locate her accurately.
She was on a constant hunt for demons, constantly killing them until she began to thirst for their blood. It was one night, when Menogias found her as she ate the flesh of the demons she had just killed. He begged and pleaded for her to return but Bonanus refused. She would not return to a world without Indarias by her side.
The voices in her head screamed at her to kill Menogias, blaming him for Indarias' death. They screamed at her to bring justice for Indarias. And Bonanus listened.
The two fought, dancing a deadly dance between Geo and Hydro. Menogias was holding back, not wanting to kill his sister even if it was to spare her from her suffering, but Bonanus was not. His stones met sharpened claws and every time Bonanus left a window of opportunity open, Menogias always hesitated. Bonanus knew that Menogias would not be able to keep up with this exchange for long.
A few hours into this deadly exchange, Bonanus pierced her claws through Menogias.
She watched as Menogias blinked in surprise before his face shifted to one of acceptance. He tried to speak, only to cough as blood flowed freely from his lips.
Like a spell that had been broken, Bonanus' mind became her own again.
She stared in horror as Menogias died by her own hands, she stared as the voices in her mind laughed maniacally at her actions, she stared as the pool of blood expanded beneath her feet.
She tore out her claws from Menogias body, letting her brother's body fall to the ground with a thud. She screamed into the sky, her heart torn asunder as she wept for her dead sibling.
And in her grief, she turned her claws unto herself.
The Yaksha of Water drowned in her sorrows, her screams always remembered by the earth where she bled. Where the river of hope had once given her life, it was by the sea of despair that she cast herself away.