During the Archon War

Qiu Xue could not help chuckling at little Paimon's bewildered expression.

"I won't be going, little Paimon. I still have a few things to ask Zhongli."

"Then I'll head back."

Qiu Xue stroked little Paimon's head as she spoke gently.

"Okay, Traveler, let's get going!"

Paimon turned to the Traveler, whose hair looked like a bird's nest.

Lumine nodded.

"That hairstyle really doesn't suit either of you."

Qiu Xue looked at Lumine and Paimon with a smile.

Then she stepped over to Lumine and Paimon on her fair, slender legs and helped tidy their hair.

Afterward, Paimon and Lumine headed toward Yujing Terrace together.

As though sharing an unspoken understanding, Qiu Xue and Zhongli walked to a relatively quiet spot together.

They sat down beside the storyteller's table, though the storyteller, Tian Tie Zui, had yet to arrive.

They also ordered a pot of hot tea.

With a casual gesture, Qiu Xue soundproofed the area around them.

"Old friend, this appearance of yours..."

Zhongli spoke first, looking at Qiu Xue beside him in surprise.

"Morax, do you remember when I purified Azhdaha a thousand years ago?"

Qiu Xue held her fair, slender legs together, resting both hands over her abdomen as her black-and-white dress draped naturally downward.

Though her face seemed somewhat aloof, a faint smile always lingered at her lips, lending her a quiet elegance.

"Of course I remember."

Zhongli picked up his teacup and blew on it, looking at the lovely woman beside him as he spoke softly.

"A thousand years ago, I left all of my essence in that place."

"Just yesterday, I sensed a familiar aura on the outskirts of Liyue Harbor."

"But I couldn't pinpoint its exact location."

Qiu Xue lifted her teacup in her delicate hand, blew on it, and took a sip before speaking softly.

Zhongli simply watched the lovely woman before him in silence, waiting for her to continue.

"Then I used the authority of the Yin-and-Yang Archon to turn into a woman."

"After that, I located the aura and hurried over there."

At this point, Zhongli finally understood what had happened and took a sip of hot tea.

So his old friend had taken this form to search for that strange aura.

"A white ball of light emerged from the ground where I purified Azhdaha."

"I caught it and briefly examined it."

"To my surprise, a Demon God just like me was being nurtured inside."

"Fortunately, it hadn't developed sentience yet, so I absorbed it."

"And I keep having this strange feeling. Ever since I absorbed that ball of light, I feel as though I'm no longer myself."

Qiu Xue drained her cup in one go, toying with it between her slender fingers as she smiled playfully at Zhongli beside her.

"Also, in my current state, the longer I remain a different sex, the more I become like that sex."

Hearing his old friend's explanation, Zhongli turned his gaze to the gentle, lovely woman beside him.

"'I'm no longer myself.' What do you mean by that?"

Zhongli asked in puzzlement.

"I'm not sure yet. It feels as though my consciousness is about to split in two."

Ever since she had taken a female form and absorbed that ball of light, she had been experiencing a strange sensation.

"But can you still change back? The director would certainly be startled if she saw you like this."

Zhongli chuckled, looking at Qiu Xue as he spoke.

After all, walking down the street in this form would surely bring her some unnecessary trouble.

"Hehe, do you want me to change back that badly?"

Qiu Xue smiled sweetly, giving Zhongli a playful look. She wanted to tease him a little more.

Zhongli froze briefly at his old friend's smile.

"All right, all right. I'll stop teasing you."

Qiu Xue pointed with her delicate hand, strengthening the barrier around them so that no one outside could see what was happening within.

Then she cast an illusion, creating an avatar of Qiu Xue that walked out of Liyue Harbor.

She also created an avatar of Qiu Bai that walked into Liyue Harbor from outside.

Forcing down her discomfort and enduring the headache, she struggled to transform into a young man of eighteen or nineteen, his ink-black hair falling over his spotless black-and-white clothes.

His face was gentle and refined, his pale blue eyes as elegant and mild as a clear midnight sky glittering with stars. He stood about 1.85 meters tall.

A Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram about the size of a Vision hung at his waist, radiating brilliant light.

This was the appearance of the Adeptus of Yin-Yang and the Two Principles, his original form. Then his figure flickered once more.

His face also changed into that of the Qiu Bai whom the Traveler and Paimon knew.

Having returned to this state, Qiu Bai no longer felt that strange sensation, though he still suffered intermittent headaches.

"That should count as changing back."

Qiu Bai murmured, then pointed a finger and removed the barrier.

He sat down and looked at Zhongli.

Watching Qiu Bai's elaborate antics, Zhongli could not help the twitch at the corner of his mouth.

He calmly took a sip of tea.

"Come on, Morax. Tell me, back at the Statue of the Seven..."

"Why did cracks appear in your repaired Erosion?"

Qiu Bai looked at Zhongli curiously.

Qiu Bai still had a bit of a headache.

Is it because of that essence?

Qiu Bai wondered in surprise.

"It's all ancient history."

Zhongli recalled the past and spoke slowly to Qiu Bai.

"Today, at the Statue of the Seven..."

"When I saw your female form, Qiu Xue, it reminded me of a Demon God."

"Guizhong was a Demon God who passed away before Liyue was founded. She was the Dust Archon."

"During the middle and later stages of the Archon War, I learned from my mistakes. To prevent slain Demon Gods from leaving behind resentment, I more often chose to seal or suppress them."

"Only after the other Demon Gods in the Liyue region had been defeated and Liyue Harbor had begun to settle did I go to the Qingce Village region to subdue the Evil Chi."

"I fought a great battle against him. The Guili Plains were destroyed in that battle, and Guizhong, the Dust Archon, also fell."

"My friend's death filled me with anger."

"I divided the Evil Chi's body into five pieces while he was still alive."

"I bound his spirit directly north of the Guili Plains, pinned his bones to the southeast, locked his body in the northwest, bound his soul in the northeast, and finally suppressed his physical form in the southwest."

"He would never be reborn."

Zhongli recounted these events with an impassive expression, speaking the most terrifying words in the calmest tone.

Osial, out in the sea: "Nice."

The unsuspecting people of Liyue thought Zhongli was merely chatting with Qiu Bai about everyday matters.

"Heh, it's all in the past."

Zhongli chuckled, took a sip of tea, and looked at Qiu Bai.

"So that's what happened. No wonder..."

Qiu Bai murmured under his breath.

The Archon War had been extraordinarily brutal. During that war, there had been no standard by which to judge good and evil.

And that brutal war had lasted a full thousand years.

He had not been born in that era three thousand years ago, but rather a thousand years ago.

He had lived through the war between adepti and demons five hundred years ago, when standards for judging good and evil already existed. Otherwise, Qiqi might not have survived.

The Archon War had been a struggle among the Demon Gods of the mortal world for control of Teyvat.

The difference between the war of adepti and demons and the Archon War hardly needed further explanation.

Still, with his current strength, Qiu Bai was confident that even if he returned to that era three thousand years ago, he could become a dominant power in his own right.

"Morax, do you want to bring Guizhong back to life?"

Suppressing his discomfort, Qiu Bai took a sip of tea and looked at Zhongli as he asked in puzzlement.

After all, just as with Azhdaha, Zhongli seemed to feel nothing more than longing for an old friend.

(Dear readers, the author combined some online speculation and put together this story set during the Archon War.)

(I'll post two more chapters first. I can't keep the readers waiting too long! I'll keep writing and get those next few chapters finished as soon as possible.)