The Thread that Binds a Sinner and God
Summary: Zhongli awakens his soulmate bond, when he never thought he would. Of course, he didn't expect for his soulmate to be Dainsleif
Word Count: 2584
CW/TW: Mentions of Death, Spoilers for requiem of the echoing depths archon interlude quest, Angst with a happy ending
Zhongli x Dainsleif
Requests are OPEN
Zhongli makes his way along the lake that pools at the base of the Huaguang Stone forest.
In the late afternoon sun, the pillars and surrounding mountains cast long shadows across the valley.
Zhongli sighs as he raises his eyes to the cloudless sky.
Not for the first time, especially since giving up his gnosis, the weight of the past settles on his shoulder like stone. It’s like the river of time is a tangible thing, surrounding him, both leaving him behind and inexorably sweeping him along in its wake.
It feels like only yesterday that he stood next to Azhdaha, defending Liyue side by side. And yet only a few hours before they said a goodbye he never thought they’d get.
Zhongli’s gaze falls from the sky to the homes of his fellow adepti. His heart clenches. One day he’ll be saying goodbye to those age old friends too. Time and erosion slowly carrying them to an inevitable end.
The ancient adeptus shakes his head vigorously, clearing his mind with a reminder that this is the natural order of the world, that even he will fall one day.
A pinch in his pinky draws him out of his musings.
Zhongli raises his hand only to find a scarlet thread tied around it.
The tail of the string pulls taut, disappearing a few feet from him, though he’s well aware that someone else is on the other end.
He touches the thread, giving it a gentle tug, smiling when a faint presence in his mind gives a start.
After six millenia, he finally has a soulmate.
Perhaps the stars have some plan for him yet.
That night, Zhongli decides to leave the bond be. After all, there’s enough distance between the two of them that only the strongest of emotions and the worst possible pain filter down the bond created by the string.
Every now and then, Zhongli will be laying in bed at night and the faintest hint of sadness or apathy, but nothing strong.
The greatest change brought on by the soulmate bond is the teasing he receives from Hu Tao and others he interacts with.
One bright day, Zhongli sits outside the Third Round Knockout, listening to one of Iron-tongue Tian’s stories.
His right hand absentmindedly fiddles with the string hanging from his left.
Over the last few weeks its length has become far less taut, coinciding with a strengthening in the emotion that flows down it.
It’s been almost painful, the way his soulmate seems to alternate between emptiness, fierce determination, and hate. It’s been all he can do to keep projecting a sense of comfort down the bond, but so far it’s done little to ease his soulmate's pain.
Today is a bit of an exception. For once there is a sense of recognition and even fondness, though for some strange reason it’s paired with scorn.
Halfway through Iron-tongue Tian’s story, the constant flow of emotion shifts, flaring into something stronger. Desperation, grief, fear, and rage spill over in heavy waves. Before he can think about it, Zhongli stands, leaving the Third Round Knockout and racing through Liyue’s side streets.
Before he can leave Chihu Rock however, a wave of pain unlike any he’s ever felt brings him to his knees.
No. No. No. I haven’t even met them yet. Please let them be alright.
Zhongli forces himself to his feet, making sure he’s far out of the city before doing something he never thought he’d do again and shifts form.
Scales replace skin as the former archon takes on his draconic form and takes to the sky.
He keeps low to the ground, knowing that rumors of his “return” would certainly follow if he were to be seen, but urgency demands a faster mode of transportation than human feet.
Zhongli follows the string, which is somehow still visible in this form, crossing the southern regions of Liyue.
At this point the string has shifted, disappearing into the ground a few feet from him. How his soulmate ended up in the chasm underground is a question for later.
For now, Zhongli focuses on skirting the Millelith, fatui, and treasure hoarders.
By the time he slips into a back entrance to the chasm underground the pain and anger have eased, replaced by bone deep weariness and grief.
Despite knowing that his soulmate is probably safe, Zhongli continues on.
While Zhongli makes his way across the chasm underground, Dainsleif watches Aether and Paimon leave.
Paimon chatters to Aether, reassuring him that they’ll meet again. Why they’d want to after he threatened to kill Aether if he sided with his sister, he doesn’t quite know, but at the moment it doesn’t matter.
Waves of residual pain wash over him as he approaches Halfdan’s body. There’s no way he’s leaving him here, to rot where he fell.
He lifts his brother in arms and carries him out of the ruins, before placing him in a small cave and bringing the entrance down.
Dain sits by the collapsed cave entrance, letting waves of residual pain wash over him. The tears he refused to let Aether and Paimon see well up in his eyes.
Would that he had the ability to take Halfdan’s body back to their homeland, but that place is sealed off. Sealed off and far, far away.
“I’m sorry, brother. Thank you for doing what I could not.”
Dainsleif closes his eyes and falls into uneasy sleep, uncaring of the scarlet string that grows ever shorter.
Zhongli finds Dain leaving up against a pile of fallen rocks, face twisted in obvious pain.
For the first time, the scarlet thread attached to his pinky is fully visible, tied to the man in front of him.
Zhongli leaves the man be for a moment, finding a sheltered nook to set up a makeshift camp in. A wave of his hand grinds stone half a foot deep into soft sand, before starting a fire.
He returns to his soulmate, gently lifting him and moving him to the camp.
Once Dain is settled, Zhongli frowns. Running off after his soulmate without any preparation may not have been his best idea.
Then again, looking at his soulmate, he’d rather be here. That being said… there’s a way to get them out. It would be difficult, without the gnosis to aid him, but possible. Whether or not his soulmate would thank him is another issue entirely.
Dainsleif rolls over on his side, and another wave of pain overwhelms him.
No. As much as he’d rather wait for his soulmate’s permission, they're going to have to leave at some point and the blond needs a comfortable place to recover. Comfortable and safe.
With his decision made, Zhongli picks Dainsleif up again, muttering soft words of comfort when the man groans before facing the back wall.
A barked word creates a large jagged crack in the wall, through which he can see the western edge of the harbor, not far from the place where he makes his home.
He steps through and makes his way down the path to the small house.
He has to set Dain down for a moment to let them in, but within a few minutes, Zhongli has him settled in bed.
Zhongli looks over at his soulmate and sighs. All he can do now is wait.
Dainsleif wakes to complete and total darkness. Oddly enough, it’s not the confined darkness of the chasm underground, but the brighter darkness of the world above it.
Even odder, he’s tucked in a bed, covered in silk sheets. The soft scent of incense fills the room.
He groans as he sits up, pressing a gloved hand to his pounding head.
“You’re awake.”
The speaker is a tall, dark haired man.
“Where am I?” Dainsleif winces at the rough quality of his voice.
“My home. I wasn’t going to leave you to sleep in the chasm. It’s not safe.”
The response elicits a scowl. “I can take care of myself.”
“I don’t doubt that. You’ve been out for two days. We had no food or water and I was not going to leave your side long enough to find some. Speaking of food, are you hungry?”
Dainsleif is about to answer with a negative and insist on being shown the exit, but his stomach takes this opportunity to rubble at top volume.
The man chuckles. “I’ll take that as a yes. I’ll return shortly.”
As he leaves, Dainsleif finally notices the string that ties them together.
Fuck. I’m royally fucked.
Zhongli hurries back with two trays of food. He sets one on Dain’s lap before placing his own on the table he pulled over to the bedside a few days beforehand.
“Eat. You need it.”
Zhongli does his best to ignore the heavy negative emotions flowing down the bond, at least for now.
As soon as he had seen the star pupils in his soulmate’s eyes, he had known that this would need work, but the longer they are this close together, the more it seems like he’s going to be permanently rejected.
“What’s your name?” Zhongli asks, finally.
“Dainsleif.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dainsleif. I’m Zhongli.”
At least in this era I am.
Dainsleif furrows his brow. “You’re lying to me. I can feel it.”
“No I’m not. I have been known by many names. Zhongli is the one I have chosen in this era, for who I am now.”
“Will you give me your true name? I’d like to know that much about my soulmate.”
Zhongli nods. “I suppose my ‘true name’ if any really exists would be Morax. Though I would appreciate not being called by that. I keep wondering when my boss is going to connect the dots.”
“Morax is dead.”
“Most people would think so, wouldn’t they? It was simply best for all involved that I seem so.”
Dainsleif glares at Zhongli. “You….”
“I think I will take my leave. I understand that you will need time to process this. I simply ask that you spend enough time here to recover. It is safe here. On that you have my word.”
Zhongli leaves, leaving Dainsleif to his own devices.
What in the abyss is fate thinking? Partnering me with an archon? How am I supposed to be with an archon?
Dainsleif freezes. I wanted to be with my partner. That blasted traveler is really getting to me. What do I do now?
After a moment, Dainsleif registers the emotion crossing the bond. He wonders if Zhongli--Morax-- is aware that he’s sending unspoken comfort down the string tying them together, as if he cares.
He pauses. Perhaps the ancient man does care. He’s clearly tainted with abyssal energy and his eyes are clearly Khaenri’ahn.
All he knows is somewhere deep inside, something inside him is begging him to give the archon a chance.
“Khaenri’ah is gone. I am alone. Halfdan,” he speaks to his friend, unable to help the tears that spill over, “do I give our old enemy and one of the ones who cursed us all, a chance? Do either of us get a chance at redemption?”
He goes unanswered.
Several days pass and Zhongli continues to nurse Dain back to health.
When it seems like Dainsleif isn’t going to push him away, he begins speaking of everyday life. He tells stories of Hu Tao and his fellow employees, and speaks of his fellow adepti.
After Dain’s first sleepless night, Zhongli starts telling ancient bedtime stories. Somehow, the archon’s voice easily lulls him to sleep.
One night, a week after rescuing Dain, Zhongli sits outside his house, watching over Liyue harbor.
The door opens and shuts with a soft thump.
“Good evening, Dainsleif.”
“Do you do this often? Sit out here and watch?”
“Yes. My contract with my people is the most important I’ve ever made. I would do anything to protect them.”
“Even curse another nation?”
“Dainsleif… I cannot speak of it. I made a contract….”
“Even to someone who knows everything?”
“I---I don’t know. I made a contract to never speak of it, to reveal nothing.”
Dainsleif takes a moment to think. He touches the string tying them. After 500 years he’s well aware that the Lord of Geo is truly incapable of breaking a contract.
“Can you think of it? Let me feel how you felt?”
“Smart. You think well.”
Zhongli closes his eyes and the emotions being shared shift.
To Dainsleif’s surprise, there’s nothing cold or heartless about them. Instead, there’s pain, guilt, a sense of resistance, as if there was nothing he could do to stop, even though he might have wanted to.
“I…think I see. You really feel no malice towards us.”
“Only to the ones directly responsible for losing monsters on Liyue. If I could find a way to circumvent my contract, I would. In the time that we have been connected I have grown to care for you, I don’t wish for my silence to cause you any more pain.”
“The past is the past and in truth I do not blame the gods. The ones in power brought it upon themselves. My enemy is not the gods, but the Abyss Order that continues to endanger the world.”
“I understand. Thank you for understanding my limitations.”
“What do you want to do about us?”
“Us? I think it is up to you. I have lived a very, very long time. Perhaps as a young adeptus I might have hoped that I would have a soulmate. But after the Archon War, after Guizhong the God of Dust, died, it seemed too easy to lose a soulmate. Besides, I was more than 3000 years old at that point. It was easy to think I would never see the red string of fate on my own hand. Since giving up my gnosis I have resolved to live as much of a normal life as I can.”
“An archon can live a normal life?”
“We can try. I’ve heard that the Anemo archon also spends his days amongst his people.”
The emotions flowing between them hit a sour note.
“You don’t like him?”
“Barbatos is a lazy drunkard. His nation has long survived without his overt interference. For much of my time as an Archon it seemed very improper.”
“I see.”
“Will you give me a chance, Dainsleif? I am well aware that I have done much to earn your hatred and that Khaenri’ahns have never liked the gods. But fate tied us together anyway.”
“I---I am willing. I have spent a lot of time thinking. I will not give up until I’ve eliminated the abyss order, but if you want to join me, perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad to have a companion once again.”
“I would have to speak to Hu Tao, but I would not mind traveling with you. There is much I haven’t seen in this world. If you will have me, I will help you in your cause. The Abyss Order is a threat to all.”
Dainsleif takes a seat next to his soulmate, letting their knees brush together. “We don’t have to decide now, but I am willing to give you a chance. To give us a chance.”
“Thank you.”
The two men, once on either side of a line drawn in the sand, sit in silence. And when the Harbor finally sleeps, a god and a sinner walk side by side. The string between them vanishes, but the bond forever remains.
