Stay Forever

Chapter 9

The large envelope had only three pieces of paper in it, each was folded separately. Xiao looked them over before unfolding the largest one and setting the others aside.

"Hello, Xiao." The first line said. He imagined her face and smiled a little. "I know you must have been shocked to find yourself in a place so different from the world we knew. As you have probably guessed, I have survived up to this point only to watch over our great lord. It's been a bit lonely without the other old fossils, but with Changsheng and Dr. Baizhu around it has at least been tolerable. I pray that you will reach out to them as soon as you awaken here. If you are reading this you must have found your way to them and I'm hoping that you get along well with them. Do you remember Qiqi? She too is still alive and she seems to be truly happy. She loves the little animals. And her young friend who also works in the clinic reminds me so much of Madam Ping's Yao Yao that sometimes I wonder if that child shares her spirit as well as her name."

Xiao snorted. He had never paid much attention to the young pupils of the various elder adepti that he knew. She should know that he was a constant danger to their young human students and he made certain that he stayed well away from them because of it.

"I suppose you just rolled your eyes at my musings. But I can't help wanting to greet you as a dear friend rather than as my replacement. By now you have probably guessed that I have brought you here to watch over our lord, Rex Lapis because I no longer can. I fear that something in the world around us is changing and I do not want that storm to harm our great lord, Rex Lapis.

"For centuries, Changsheng, Dr. Baizhu and I have been the only beings I have seen who are capable of using magic. And yet a few weeks ago I saw a person infected by the power of an ancient demon."

Xiao stared at the letter and then reread that sentence again worriedly.

"I was very lucky that the body it was infecting was fragile and weak. I was also lucky that when it tried to leave its host, I caught the evil creature and sealed it."

But this means that I'm burdening you with another lifetime of slaying even more evil. I'm sorry for that but you are the only person I could think of who would be able to accept such a task. Dr. Baizhu is no warrior. And we both know that while Qiqi is still surprisingly strong, the paper tags that she wears are all that is keeping her human enough to live among the mortals undetected. Were even one of those tags to be damaged she would lose control of her body and mind again and slaughter everything she sees."

Xiao sighed internally and nodded reluctantly. He had been the last yaksha in the mortal realm for a very long time after the others died. It should not be surprising that the other adepti would think of him first.

"Again, I am sorry I was not able to tell you any of this in person. But after your passing I kept your heart stone in my abode already knowing even then that your unique strength of will and your power would someday be needed again. It will take all of my power to awaken you here, that is why I must leave you this letter. To apologize again for not being able to greet you or even explain my actions in person."

Xiao snorted. He had known her long enough to know that she would not drag him here on a whim. She was trustworthy and quite powerful. She must have been even more worried than she was willing to say even in the letter.

"So, I mentioned the demon. I'm sure you already understand the urgency of the situation. But please be careful. I have not discussed the presence of that demon with Dr. Baizhu or Changsheng. The Qixing and the police are trying to keep the murders quiet- especially the supernatural element. All that most people in Liyue know is that there have been four cases of people being horribly murdered around the docks. But so far all of the victims were homeless and drunk.

"Honestly, I wouldn't know anything was amiss either except that I was picking up some large parts I had ordered for one of my latest inventions from a Fontainian ship's captain one evening when said demon attacked us. I managed to kill the creature but not before its evil power burned out the homeless man who had been the creature's host. The poor man was just too weak to handle that much power and at my age, that is the only reason that the ship's captain and I survived its sudden attack."

Xiao wondered again how much time had passed since his passing. It must have been a very long time. Cloud Retainer usually loved to downplay the ravages of time.

"I am still injured from that encounter, sadly I don't know where the demon might have come from. So I don't believe that the danger is gone. That is why I chose to bring you back. I knew that you would be able to find the source of the demons attacking people and put a stop to it."

Xiao sighed and nodded quietly again. He would definitely have done the same for their lord if he had been the last surviving member of Zhongli's court of adepti. He was sure that of all the adepti it was probably Cloud Retainer that Xiao would have chosen if he had been in her position. For all of the blustery personality she once displayed toward humans, the old bird was surprisingly fond of them, having taken a few young ones under her wing after Ganyu.

Xiao sighed and continued reading.

"Our lord wanted to retire and live quietly as a human. I do not want anything to disrupt his happiness. And I don't know why but sometimes there is a strange scent on the wind that reminds me of the battlefields where we fought back in the days of the Archon War. Every now and then, I look out at the rest of Liyue Harbor and I feel traces of strange magic but I don't see anything or even anyone who seems out of place. If all of this sounds like the ramblings of an old woman we should not be surprised. After all, I am very, very old now.

"My old abode on the mountain is open to you, if you ever need a quiet place to think or to hide out alone. I performed the ritual to raise you there. But I awakened you near our lord though so that you would have no trouble sensing him if you did not seek out Changsheng and Dr. Baizhu right away."

"I know you would prefer not to spend time with humans if the dark karma came back with you. But Changsheng is an adeptus herself and the bond she has with the Dr easily protected him from energy like yours in the ancient world.

Everyone knows that your true nature that you try very hard to hide is gentle and curious. I hope that you reach out to our lord with your feelings while you are here. Because back then our Lord never gave up hope that you would come to him and tell him how you feel.

We both know that when Rex Lapis killed your former master you were his by Right of Conquest even if you hadn't pledged yourself to him. You had already given him your sword arm. And he could see how gentle and trusting you are. He couldn't speak of his love for you because he saw it as cruel to simply take you into his bed knowing everything you had been through at the hands of your former master."

Xiao blushed unhappily. He hated it when anyone brought up that stuff. He had listened to Cloudretainer say that their lord was in love with him more times than he could count. But he still didn't believe it. How could he? He knew very well that their lord had no shortage of lovers. There was even one resembling his current lover uncomfortably closely. Perhaps he should say mate- after all the two were actively considering marriage.

He sighed and continued reading.

"Anyway, I am a lifelong friend of Zhongli's grandfather. But unlike that old miser I have always supported and watched out for Zhongli. Our lord even called me grandma when he was a child. But of course he is all grown up now and I don't see him as often as I would like. As a human he has little in common with me in this lifetime. I am on the board of directors at the museum just so that I can keep a closer eye on him. While it isn't terribly exciting to me, his work makes him happy and that is all that matters.

As for his lovelife, Zhongli has been dating someone who seems oddly familiar to me. Anyway, this young man is a year younger than our lord, and he is a professional troublemaker to put it very nicely. But I have seen enough of him to be reasonably confident that he's actually got a good heart and he truly hates his job. The kid has a lot of secrets but I believe he does love our lord very much. And for now I trust him even though I would much rather see our lord with you."

"For now I really don't know what else to say except that I leave our Lord in your hands. If I think of anything else to say I will try to add my thoughts to this envelope and see that it is given to Dr. Baizhu before I perform the ritual."

Goodbye, old friend.

Love, Cloudretainer"

Xiao sighed and picked up the next piece of paper. He was surprised as he unfolded it, that a small key fell out. What was this for? The key didn't look familiar to him… but maybe she would explain it in the letter?

"Dear Xiao,

"As with the letter before, I hope that this note finds you well. But I realized I had not explained anything about the world and how it has changed since your passing. Sorry about that. Truly, my age must be catching up to me.

"It was exactly a thousand years ago. One day, my disciple and I were outside gardening when there was a massive wave of what felt like all the elements at once just swept across Teyvat. Luckily, the normal mortals were largely unaffected. They felt the wave of energy that manifested as thunder as little more than a strong, hot wind with the rumblings of a minor earthquake that left behind a minor chill.

But as I turned toward the source of this odd disturbance, I could clearly see that the Skyfrost Nail was utterly gone. It had completely disappeared from the sky above Dragonspine. I hurried there to see if I could find out what happened and I was not alone. The Aneomo Archon and many other mythical creatures had also sensed that the snowy mountain was different and wanted to know what had happened.

On Dragonspine itself, this strange energy wave had flattened trees and bulldozed a few crumbling ruins and rock formations. But fortunately, the human encampment just beyond the snowline was unharmed.

But unfortunately within minutes it became obvious to me that the biggest change was yet to come. I could feel that magic itself was dying. Or more accurately it was going dormant- almost as if it were a caged animal grumbling as it sunk into a drugged state of tranquility.

Everything felt chaotic at that time, but even though the remaining adepti, many vision wielders, a homunculus and even a trio of Archons searched the whole mountain in groups, we couldn't find a single trace of the Nail- or the person or group who destroyed it. The storm of magic that had always engulfed the mountain's peak had already dissipated as well. It was strange- almost as if the Nail had never been there at all.

Of course the other nations also sent formal teams of investigators to look at what had happened. But like us, they hardly found anything amiss.

At first, the human vision wielders were aware that the mountain's menacing chill had gone and they were as puzzled as we were. But sadly, over the next six months, the fiery lights of their visions slowly began to flicker when used for a few months only to finally disappear forever within the first year. As their glow disappeared, these once powerful visions turned to dust and were slowly forgotten by their wielders as if they had never existed in the first place.

It was quite sad. All who lost their visions became quiet, withdrawn and sad- always looking for something but unable to identify what or why. They knew that they had lost something very important. But many of them were unable to believe that they'd ever possessed visions in the first place.

The few vision holders who were magical creatures also lost their visions. But they kept their memories of having them. They were just unable to draw upon the elements in the same way that they used to. Most could still use magic, but how they focused it was different.

And that isn't all that happened. The remains of the dead gods on the surface across Teyvat turned to dust and were likewise forgotten by the humans as if they had never existed as well. Many rare magical creatures, even plants and animals suddenly died out and disappeared, only to be forgotten as well.

Slowly, over decades and then centuries, books once known to be factual were relegated by Sumeru Sages to mere fairy tales. And yet otherwise life had changed very little for most humans.

The hilichurls and nearly all other monsters disappeared almost overnight too. The only exception I can think of is the Vishaps. They have only gone into hiding.

"And even the abandoned ruins dotting Teyvat have lost their elemental monuments and many other types of traps and puzzles now rest dormant as well. It is almost like magic was never real. The few hilichurls that didn't die when they lost their magic were easily wiped out by the humans across Teyvat. In a few decades they were simply gone.

"I don't know why Changsheng, Qiqi and I can still do magic so easily. There are a few pockets of other ancient magical creatures who share this ability, but like us, they tend to keep to themselves in this day and age.

"We, the supernatural beings of Teyvat, tried to think of ways to bring magic back for many years. But eventually we all drifted apart. Each of us settled back into our home territories and waited to see what would happen next.

"The humans and their technologies are developing much faster than at any other point in their history. Even though I too have a cell phone, I mainly carry it around to play Candy Crush. Although I suppose I must admit it can also be very useful for getting in touch with our Lord. He's quite busy and rarely has the time to meet in person.

"He has no inkling of the power that sleeps within him. And I would like to keep it that way. But I know that something in the world around us is stirring again and to me it feels like the magic that was lost so long ago."

"Anyway, Xiao, I hope that you are fitting in well and that you are not too lonely. I hope that it is not too naive of me to hope that you will reach out to Changsheng and Dr. Baizhu. They have been very dear friends of mine for ages now. They are trustworthy and kind, and they will be happy to help you protect our lord in any way that they can. Goodbye and please be safe for now, Xiao."

Xiao sighed. All of this sounded very strange to him. Although he had to agree that the world's magic seemed to be sleeping- but that tranquility was strange. Magic was a volatile force that had always been difficult- even dangerous to capture or control.

He wondered what to do now. He was tempted to go and discuss what he had read so far with the Dr. And Changsheng. But it was getting late in the afternoon. He worried that Ajax or Teucer would arrive soon and would be worried if they found him missing…

Well, there was a small piece of paper and a pencil on the counter. He scribbled a note to the Dr. and Changsheng.

"Thank you for giving me the letter. I must return home now. I don't want to be missing when the humans will begin arriving home soon. They already consider me a very strange cat. I don't want to rouse their suspicions any further. If it is alright with you I would like to return tomorrow and we can talk about the information Cloud Retainer left. There is another piece of her letter that I have not been able to read yet. So I will take them with me and finish reading everything tonight. I am sorry I can't stay any later. But I will return tomorrow morning. Thank you again, and goodnight, Xiao.

Xiao scooped up the papers, stuffed them and the key into the envelope and teleported back to the most secluded spot on the massive balcony. He quickly stuffed the envelope into a small cupboard in the small pool house and hoped that no one suddenly decided to go out there and clean today.

But he didn't have time to find somewhere else to try and hide it. The elevator announced its return to the penthouse and Xiao was quite certain that he looked very anxious as Ajax came inside.

"Hey, Xiao," The redhead said warmly. "Were you bored today?"

Xiao was about to climb onto the sofa beside him when Ajax's phone rang.

"Unknown number?" Ajax sighed as he picked up the call. "Hello?"

"Hello. May I please speak to Ajax?"

"That's me, who is this?"

"Hello, I'm Mrs. Wittmore. I'm the Administrator of Wittmore Academy. And I need to speak with you in person about your little brother Teucer's behavior at school today."

Ajax sat up worriedly- "What- why?"

But the woman had already hung up and another call came through before he could hit redial! But this time the caller id read "Mrs. Smith."

Xiao could feel that made Ajax nervous. Ajax put his jacket back on as he scrambled out the door with the phone to his ear.

Xiao had heard over the last few days that Mrs. Smith was Teucer's Social Worker's name.

Xiao still didn't know what that was except that it was kind of like needing a lawyer. It was usually a bad thing if you had to speak to a social worker too…

Fuck. Xiao thought. He wanted to go with Ajax and see what had happened, but he flopped over onto the sofa instead and stared at the ceiling. What the hell could have happened at school?