Chapter 2

Location: Liyue - Teyvat

It was a typical night in Liyue Harbor. As expected, business was circulating. Liyue was known as the nation of commerce after all.

That vibe was soon disturbed when a green, fireball like meteor, suddenly came falling from the sky.

The meteor that streaked across the peaceful clear sky of Liyue was something that set everyone, from human to adepti, on high alert, though for very different reasons. It was the humans who saw that it was some sort of natural disaster, a meteor from the heavens that was destined to hit and cause untold destruction, and they all fled in the opposite direction they could see the meteor heading in, hoping they could either outrun the disaster that was about to unfold or take shelter from it. The adepti, however, ran straight to the meteor, following its trail as best as they could manage. They, with their powers and wisdom, sensed something different entirely about the meteor.

It was no mere heavenly body that was descending to the ground, as they sometimes did. This felt entirely different, and they knew that whatever the meteor was, it was the result of some sort of intelligence, some design that had purpose. And so they raced to investigate, to see if the designs of whoever sent this meteor had ill intentions towards the land they were sworn to protect.

However, someone else managed to find it first.

Zhongli, possessing greater wisdom and power than most, took one look at the meteor and understood precisely where it was going to land. And he headed directly for Jueyen Karst, hurtling over hill and forest, unerringly pointing his direction to where he knew precisely where the meteor would land, outrunning and outpacing the adepti by far who would still be trailing in the meteor's shadow, marking their path not only by where they had seen the meteor heading and by following the vague sensation that the meteor was leading them in. Or rather, who was in it.

When the meteor impacted, it was without the vast explosion of destruction that usually came with such things, but that was because its inhabitant was not there for destruction. Death did not wish to cause havoc upon the lands he stepped in, he was there for an entirely different reason. And when he rose from the cloud of dust that surrounded his form and stepped out of the small crater he had left in his wake, he surveyed the lands around him while Dust settled on his shoulder.

"Pleasant..." he murmured to the bird, who tilted his head in response and looked at him with one beady eye. Death did not mind that Dust was not very talkative. He never was.

The Nephilim instead surveyed his surroundings more clearly, trying to spot if there was anything he should be cautious of. He did not lie when he said that the place was quite pleasant-a privilege he did not always get the pleasure of experiencing. This place was not torn by war or famine, or any of the other circumstances that usually facilitated, even necessitated, his arrival. He could, for once, actually enjoy the scenery of this idyllic land. It reminded him of the Forge Lands in a way, the greenery a color that was more rare to him than all the others. After a few more moments he began to walk forward, certain that he was not about to be attacked and that there were no foes nearby.

That soon changed, however, after almost a minute of walking. He had almost gotten used to the idea that perhaps no one was about to investigate him-if nothing else it did look a little as if he had landed in the middle of nowhere, so perhaps if there was anyone here they would take more time to reach him. But the presence he felt swiftly approaching told him that his hypothesis was incorrect, and he tensed himself to ready for a confrontation. He did not touch his weapons yet, that would hardly be polite, but from the way the presence was rapidly approaching and heading unerringly towards him, he knew that they had to be coming for him.

When Zhongli appeared, Death almost blinked in surprise. He was not sure what he expected, but it certainly had not been...this. While he looked like an ordinary man, in fact all too ordinary, Death could immediately feel the divine presence that burned underneath his skin like a hidden flame. This was something else entirely masquerading in the form of a human, and there was little doubt how this being had moved so quickly and managed to trace down Death with such certainty. No doubt he could look at Death and feel the same thing as well, though Death's own immortal presence was quite different.

In fact, he was not entirely certain what this man was. His essence felt similar to that of an angel, but Death had been around enough of them to know with utter certainty that this man was not one of those. Still wary, he was very curious, and the man himself was not apparently inclined to ask the first question, merely watching Death.

"Might I ask who you are?" Death spoke up at last, trying not to be rude. He felt that it would not do him any favors to make a bad first impression, even though this man was simply standing there and staring at him. "And where am I?"

The second question seemed to puzzle the man, confusion flashing across his face for the briefest of moments before it vanished. "You are in the land of Liyue," he explained after a moment, a small quirk of his eyebrow rising as if he expected some sort of recognition to pass over Death. "In Jueyen Karst, to be more exact."

Death nodded a little, more out of the fact to acknowledge what the other said rather than let him know he understood anything. None of these names meant anything to him, but one thing that seemed to be a blessing was that this realm obviously had the race of Men. There was no other reason why this divine being would take the shape of a human, and if he had done that it was obviously to blend in with them, meaning that humans were abundant enough to do so. "I see," he said, and then looked at the man again. "And my first question?"

Zhongli smiled a little mysteriously. But he gave a polite bow. "You may call me Zhongli," he replied, polite as ever. His eyes roamed across Death's figure, taking him in. A frightening specter if anyone would ever see one, though he was not intimidated by such things. He had the feeling, a deep instinct, that this being was not dangerous. He could be very dangerous if he wanted to be, and was incredibly powerful, but there was neither evil nor maliciousness in him, and Zhongli felt like he did not have to keep his guard up around him. "May I hear your name?"

It was an understandable question, though not one Death liked to hear. He knew what this man would likely react with once he heard Death's name, and he was not looking forward to it, though he also knew that it was inevitable. "My name is what I am," he said, trying to keep it simple. "Death."

He had expected horror, or Zhongli's pleasant, polite mood to evaporate like a drop of water upon a forge. Neither of those happened, much to his surprise, though there was a brief expression that crossed Zhongli's face that he could not entirely identify. "Ah," was all Zhongli said for a moment. almost as if he had somehow suspected that, and was only having his suspicions confirmed. Except that was ridiculous, there was hardy any way he could guess that. At best he would know that Death was a Nephilim, but he would not be able to sense which one he was. "Then let me be the first one to welcome you to Liyue...Death." He gave another polite bow, a dip at the waist, a bow of equals rather than an inferior to a superior.

This was getting more and more interesting by the moment, but also more and more confusing. "Thank you," Death said, so puzzled by Zhongli's nonplussed attitude that he simply decided to keep going along with it. Already he could tell that Zhongli was much more wise than most other angels he had met, and he was certain that he was not an angel because of this. He was very, very old, though. That much was obvious, so perhaps that had a little something to do with it.

"May I ask why you are here, Death?" Zhongli asked, his voice tonged with little more than intense curiosity. "While I hope your presence does not herald misfortune to come for Liyue, as a protector of this land I am of course anxious to know why such a being as yourself would come here."

Another understandable question, one that did not have an uncomfortable answer so much as it did a long one. Zhongli of course would stay and listen to the whole thing, with those golden eyes of his watching Death the whole time, he was certain. There was a certain openness about the being that was a little unsettling, Death had to admit, but at the same time there was obviously something that he guarded very deep beneath that exterior. Death recalled what he had just last said. That he was the protector of this land. Of course he was being polite and helpful now, because he did not see Death as a threat, but that all could change the moment his perception of him did. Death already knew that he would be a very formidable foe.

But even aside from that, the fact that he had heard Death's name and had still had not seen Death as a threat, was only a testament to how powerful this being was and how much he felt threatened by Death. Which was clearly very little at all, given how calmly he was treating this whole situation.

"That is a fair question," Death admitted, stalling for time while mulling over the answer. The inner politics of the Council and the complicated, currently tangled history of his brother was a knot that would take some time to unravel to Zhongli. At the same time it would be difficult to lie to him, and a bad idea. He could omit some things for the sake of brevity, but he did not feel like the other would like that either. Instead he decided to be broad. "It is about my brother. You see. my brother War, is being punished for a crime that I do not believe he committed."

Zhongli tilted his head a little, and Death took that as a sign to go on. "The world I just departed from, the Apocalypse occurred. Untold destruction, with humanity destroyed. My brother, War, was blamed for starting it, though I do not believe he did. I am here not only to find evidence for his innocence, but to return help return humanity to the Third Kingdom and restore the balance that they held in that world."

To his surprise, Zhongli nodded, though he could not possibly have had any inner knowledge about the workings of the Charred Council or what was happening in the realm Death had just left. "It is interesting. Your presence feels familiar and yet it is different at the same time."

That was a hell of a thing to say, and Death immediately felt his interest piqued. Did that mean that one of his brothers had been here as well, or simply some other Nephilim?

"And what makes you believe that?" Death asked, deciding not to be too hopeful.

An elegant shrug from Zhongli. "It is neither holy, nor demonic, but something in between. It reminds me of another. One who has been here before."

Upon hearing that, Death knew without a doubt that it was one of his brethren. he knew it could not have been the Nephilem as a whole. If it were, this realm would more than likely be in ruins by now, and as he could clearly see, its anything but that. For eons, the Nephilem rampaged across creation in their wake in search of a home to call their own, grinding many worlds and races into the dust in the process. If allowed to continue, the crusade would have destroyed the universal balance. In other words, all of creation.

"It must have been one of the other Riders.", Death thought. Only Death, alongside his siblings Strife, Fury, and War, broke apart from their people because of such unnecessary savagery being spread throughout the cosmos. That being said, any of the 4 Horsemen were capable of laying untold destruction in their wake, but not without reason or justification. They were enforcers of the balance after all.

Additionally, when the Riders weren't busy doing the will of the Charred Council, they were allowed rest and freedom to do other activities that they may take interest in. As long as those activities did not harm the balance of course. Death himself being a prime example. Shortly after he joined the Charred Council and slayed the Nephilem in Eden. he asked for a leave of absence that lasted half a millennium.

"And who would that be?" Death asked, trying not to sound too interested. He honestly wanted to know which one of his siblings came upon this realm.

Before Zhongli he could say anything else, a sensation washed over Death like a wave. He immediately felt a swarm of different presences in the periphery of his senses, that of several other powerful, immortal beings, heading right for them. Right for him, more specifically, drawn to him like a beacon. They were like Zhongli, but also unlike him in a way that he could not explain at the moment.

The other noticed it too, from the way he spun around as if to see the approaching presences, though they could not possibly have been near enough to see yet. But they raced over the ground, so fast that it could only be divine in speed, before they burst forth into the clearing and paused, getting their bearings. Most of them looked to be some sort of great animals surrounded with a divine aura, like an enormous heron or some sort of horned wolf that he had no name for, several others that were too many to name and Death could not pause to examine because they all had a very clear hostile intent towards him.

"There it is!" said another man, with a long-bladed polearm and short dark hair, pointing at Death. "The source of the dark presence!"

One of the beasts snarled and loped forward, crouching down with the clear intent to spring, while the others fanned out to begin surrounding him from all sides. This prompted Dust to fly away from the Horseman. An action that the bird had done most often during his time with the Reaper. Death immediately readied his blades and flared up his purple necromantic aura, causing the adepti to hiss louder, their faces growing more and more hostile. Of course drawing weapons was not the most friendly of things to do, but Death was not about to wait around for these creatures to maul him while they clearly barged in with the thought of violence on their minds. He had been in far too many battles in his time to take that chance.

Before any of the fight that were preparing for could break out, though, Death saw Zhongli quick step between the both of them, putting his hands out as if he could somehow physically stop all of them. "Wait," he said, or rather commanded. It was a soft word, but Death felt the undertone of authority that ran through that gentle voice. "Do not stoop to bloodshed so swiftly, please."

To Death surprise, not only did the group of glowing immortals pause, they all stopped at once the moment they laid eyes upon Zhongli, and then they bowed to him. He blinked, and looked at Zhongli, then remembered what he said again. That he was the protector of the realm...if these beings were some sort of protectors as well, then they just might actually be his subordinates.

What confirmed it was the heron raising her head and ruffling her feathers a little, as if to ward off the unease of Zhongli in front of them all, telling them to back down.

"Forgive this one's impertinence," a clear, feminine voice spoke from the bird's long beak, "but what is the meaning of this?" Her eyes glanced to Death, over Zhongli's shoulder, almost in a wary way. As if she felt that he would do something to Zhongli while his back was turned.

"Restrain yourselves," Zhongli repeated, his voice never rising, but there was his calm, solid tone of command all the same. a gentle command, more like a suggestion than anything else, but it was still spoken with the certainty of a person who knew that his words would not be disobeyed. "There is no need for hostilities."

The man with the bladed polearm reluctantly straightened his stance, though there was a confusion and wariness plaguing his expression. Still he looked to Zhongli for clear guidance, and held his weapon close at hand, readying to use it at a moment's notice. "I am afraid I don't follow your reasoning," he said, an open entreaty for a more detailed explanation.

Though Death could not see Zhongli's expression, with the man's back turned to him, he heard the smile that was in his voice. "I have conversed with him. He is not quite as cold as his presence implies."

At that, he could not help but give a small snort. "Well, keep that to yourself, old one," he murmured.

Apparently not quietly enough, given the look of flat outrage that passed the adepti in a ripple. That might have caused them to try to attack again, but the small chuckle from Zhongli's mouth rolled over the clearing and made them all pause again. He looked more amused than anything, which did irk Death a little, but he knew when to back off when he saw it. If nothing else, Zhongli was helping him avoid a fight that he did not want, and though he was clearly able to see right through Death in ways that made the Nephilim exceedingly uncomfortable, he was not about to try and get too wound up over it. Such things were pointless anyway.

When he finally had decided that the other adepti were not going to attack, and he had sufficiently calmed them down enough to the point where they were more willing to listen to what their new guest to the realm would have to say, Zhongli turned to Death. He still had that little smile on his face, as well as a spark of amusement in his golden eyes. Nonetheless, he gestured to Death with his hand. "Would you mind telling the adepti what you told me, Death?" he asked, ignoring the murmurs that the name brought among those he had blessed. "They are also the protectors of this realm, so they must hear this as well as I."

Death tried not to openly frown. He did not particularly want to explain himself all over again, to a more hostile crowd nonetheless, but he also knew that this was a more necessary explanation. So he sighed and sheathed his swords, being rather open and slow with the movement for the benefit of the adepti watching, and made himself unarmed. Not that he could not whip out those swords within the blink of an eye again, but at least he felt like it was the gesture that would count.

Sensing that it was safe for the moment, Dust flew back onto Death's shoulder, which caught the attention of all those, save Death and Zhongli, present.

"Only because you asked politely," he said, and started from the beginning again. This time, however, in more detail.

To Be Continued

Authors Note:

Shoutout to ChibiStarr on Deviantart for helping me create this chapter :)

As I said before, I am always open to input, constructive criticism, and people sharing ideas with me. If you have any ideas to discuss with me for this story, feel free to leave them in reviews or PM me and I will get to them when I can