His origins were far from modest, yet this was lavish even for Xingqiu. Each wall held its own assortment of decor from full canvas paintings to ornamental, scented lanterns. A king sized bed rested against the wall opposite the door, and despite its size it seemed meager compared to the rest of the room. An enormous arched window overlooked the vineyard, and weighted curtains thicker than a comforter outlined the picturesque plains.

He supposed heavy curtains were necessary in a place as windy as Mondstadt, but how anyone laundered them was beyond him; Adelinde must have worked magic of her own to have prepared it all so quickly. Either that, or the room stayed vacant in the absence of guests. He presumed it was the latter given Master Diluc's affluence.

"Is there anything else you need, dear?" Adelinde had snuck up behind him, and embarrassingly she caught him feeling the curtains between his fingers.

"I'm quite alright. Thank you, Miss Adelinde."

"Okay. Well, if you need anything don't be shy." She dipped out of the room which prompted him to shut the door. Finally he was alone, and he didn't know what to do with that.

The night was young, but he couldn't go out and walk without an escort. For safety and for navigational purposes. He wasn't about to become Mond's "Little Lost Liyuen." But if he were to stay in, he didn't even have a book to occupy the silence. He hadn't exactly thought to bring one to the Pavilion. Whatever. He didn't need a book, and he wasn't about to trouble anyone.

Maybe he'd actually be productive and figure out what the hell was going on behind the scenes. Maybe he'd fall asleep first. Truly, this was the city of freedom. But if there was one thing he needed to do, it was definitely this.

He stepped into the connected bathroom. Apparently they even had showers that ran upstairs; the power required to lift that much water continuously must have been exorbitantly expensive, nevermind the logistics of how that even worked. But it didn't matter. At the end of the day he wasn't in charge of filling out the paperwork for it, so he didn't need to care. He cranked the temperature until his skin threatened to melt, and he watched as the layers of earth, sweat, soot, and blood spiraled down the drain. The bandage on his arm flaked off, and suddenly he recalled the sword wound from yesterday.

It mostly healed thanks to his vision, but it was still a grim reminder. He pressed on and carefully scrubbed on and around it, and it was then that the sound of a lyre drifted up and through the shower. He listened for a moment, oddly comfortable and even content amongst the foreign walls and towels. The tune was familiar, and he realized he often heard it around the time of the winter solstice.

Where he and Chongyun would walk side by side amongst the crowded streets, content to watch the holiday rush. The smell of Xiangling's kitchen as she frantically served half the city's population, and the feeling of relief that accompanied finally finishing her dishes. The taste of the baked goods his family only made that day, fresh and by hand. As he shut off the water, he realized it rained outside.

A fresh outfit waited for him on the bed; a simple pair of blue shorts and a frilly white top that looked suspiciously like Venti's. They provided tights and various accessories that he decided to do without in favor of actual comfort, but he certainly required cufflinks. The sleeves tapered out beginning all the way from his elbow, and they certainly weren't supposed to. People from Mondstadt, he concluded, dressed weird.

"Don't you wear gloves almost all the time too?"

"I didn't mean anything by the remark, it was simply an observation."

"No need to become so animated about the topic, Venti." Zhongli plucked a bottle from the table and filled his glass with water, and Xingqiu suddenly felt incredibly underdressed; somehow Zhongli looked even more opulent in the absence of his suit coat. The servants must have been washing that along with everyone else's soiled clothes. Unlike his, which were totaled over the past few days.

"Young Master Xingqiu," he smiled up at him as he toed down the stairs, "you appear to be in better spirits."

"Yes. I feel better now that I'm not so dirty."

"Hey! Is that my shirt?" Diluc shrugged,

"Maybe you shouldn't leave your clothes behind." Venti's cheeks were tinted red, and he spoke a bit louder than usual.

"I do not! He stole it!"

"There was a time he visited and spilled wine on himself. The servants graciously washed it and then he forgot it. Something about a 'very important meeting.'" Xingqiu took a seat on the couch beside Zhongli, who immediately handed him a teacup. It had been waiting for him.

"Don't tell me you met with Lumine after that." Diluc and Zhongli chuckled.

"I didn't! I told Xiao I was coming, and then Diluc distracted me! I had to change shirts and everything."

"Xiao? The yaksha?" Venti awkwardly pursed his lips.

"...Yes."

"How do you know Adeptus Xiao?" Now this was interesting. He couldn't imagine a more unlikely relationship. An obnoxious drunkard and a reclusive war veteran? Nevermind the fact that they both came from two completely different countries, and they had no reason to talk with one another.

"Uh…"

"I introduced them." Zhongli took another sip as if that was a satisfactory explanation.

"How do you know Adeptus Xiao?"

"Through work. I am responsible for honoring the lives of the adepti. Would it not make sense for me to consult a knowledgeable expert concerning proper burial rites?"

"Oh. I guess that makes sense…"

"Young Master," Diluc interrupted his thoughts, "have you ever tried grape juice?"


"Excellent!" There wasn't any glare to block, but Lumine held a flat hand to her forehead as she gazed upon the landslide. They were locked in, as if the cave were hungry and decided to devour them on a whim. "Isn't this fun? You, me, Xiao, Noelle, and a bunch of angry demons all trapped in Liyue's ass crack!"

"I know you're being sarcastic right now, but you seem far too positive anyway." Chongyun shoved a popsicle in his mouth by reflex. His anxiety was rising exponentially, even if his yang energy was temporarily reduced. It didn't help that Adeptus Xiao repeatedly leapt against the fallen boulders, smashing his polearm loudly against them as he attempted to break the seal.

"Do you want to give it a go?" Lumine turned to Noelle.

"If Mister Conqueror of Demons Adeptus Xiao can't break the seal, then I certainly cannot. Claymore and all."

"Maybe if we like…vaulted it into the ceiling? Heh. Sealing. Get it?" Xiao returned before any of them had to defend their silence.

"We'll have to find another way out." Chongyun dared to glance around the environment, and fortunately it wasn't as tight as he anticipated. A tunnel stretched to their right and left, as if they had dropped into the middle of a complex strip mine. At least he didn't have to worry about suffocation. Probably.

"That…was the only entrance." The adeptus shrugged,

"Anything can become an exit if you shove hard enough."

"Well clearly not!"

"Can't you teleport?"

"Oh shit, yeah. Hang on." Lumine shut her eyes tightly, and like she was constipated she gripped her fists and crouched. "Okay that would be a no." Noelle tipped her index finger against her chin,

"Oh! What about your teapot?"

"Nope." The entry talisman lay useless in the palm of her hand, as if it were just a decorative wooden bookmark and not Madame Ping's most ambitious creation. Touching the teapot directly yielded the same results.

"Xiao can I talk to you?" He incredulously glanced to the side and back,

"Obviously?"

"Alone?"

"That's okay. We'll go sit over here." Chongyun and Noelle headed down the tunnel and to the right, disappearing beyond a corner.

"What?"

"Call Venti." He raised an eyebrow,

"Why don't you do it?"

"Because he might not listen to me!" Xiao wasn't about to argue with her over something so benign, even if it didn't make sense.

"Fine. Venti," his voice was hardly above a whisper, and his tone was completely flat as if he were being forced to read a script, "we're stuck in the Chasm. Lumine thinks calling you will help for some reason." Silence.

"Did he answer?"

"No."

"Try Morax."

"You have a mouth."

"Ugh," she pulled the bangs on either side of her face, "IT SURE WOULD BE NICE IF WE KNEW A HELPFUL GOD OR TWO LIKE, I DON'T KNOW, BARBATOS OR MORAX?" With anticipation, Xiao watched the seal and it watched him back.

"Subtle."

"I've got nothing else. We're fucked. Shit. I think," Lumine suddenly leaned heavily against the wall, her breath catching in her chest, "we're stuck down here." Her legs started trembling. Xiao recognized she was close to having a panic attack having seen many himself, but he had no idea how to calm anyone down from one. Usually he was the one having them.

"Traveler-"

"I should have prepared more food like Noelle said. I only have a day or two. We're going to starve, and that's if Chongyun doesn't have a heart attack first, or- or you go crazy again, and Noelle usually seems like she's composed but I can tell she's really tired-"

"Traveler-"

"We're going to die down here, and my brother is gonna move on without me-"

"Lumine!" He wanted to comfort her. He wanted to tell her everything was okay and they were going to get her out, even if it was the last thing he ever did. Instead, he slapped her across the face. Her breath hitched, and his face burned in embarrassment.

"Sorry, I didn't know what else to do. Are you-" Rubbing her cheek, she turned back to him. The imprint from his hand glowed red. He forgot to withhold his strength.

"Thanks."

"...Really?"

"Yeah," she took a deep breath, "I needed that." With a sudden confidence he didn't anticipate, she turned on her heel and started toward the others.

They were gone.