"I'm here. I've always been here." That ancient, weathered voice rang out across Teyvat.
In the blink of an eye, a familiar figure appeared before Morax.
Though tears blurred his vision, Morax knew perfectly well that the man before him was his big brother, Xiu Yuan.
Only he could give off such a reassuring presence.
It was as though, with him there, everything would be all right.
"Big Brother Xiu Yuan... is it really you...? Have you come back?"
Morax knew full well that it was Xiu Yuan, yet even so, he could not bring himself to believe it.
He was afraid. Afraid that this was a vision before his death, afraid that it was a sign he was about to be swallowed by the Abyss.
"It's me. I'm back." Xiu Yuan walked over slowly and gently patted his shoulder.
Those few words, that familiar, featherlight pat, finally broke through the tension holding Morax together.
"Big Brother... it's you, it's really you... you're back..."
"I broke my promise, Big Brother... I broke my promise. I couldn't protect Liyue... Liyue is gone. The Liyue we built together is gone..."
"The Adepti, Ganyu, the Yakshas, and the Thousand Rock Corps... they're all dead... all of them are dead... only Guizhong and I are left..."
"Big Brother... what should I do... what am I supposed to do..."
"I couldn't protect them..."
Guizhong stared at her husband with wide eyes.
Morax, who had lived for thousands of years and faced everything with composure, was crying like a child before that man.
To mortals, he was an absolute god, Rex Lapis, whom no difficulty could defeat.
To the gods, he was the mightiest God of War in the Archon War, Morax, the strongest fighter among the Seven Archons.
To Guizhong, he was a good husband: