Ren
It was the last day of the week, and Ningguang had arrived to personally see if Ren had actually done his part of the contract.
He stood at attention and did his best not to visibly sweat as she moved through the rows of remaining supplies that had arrived.
Just behind him were his employees. Each one wore nervous looks—except Shenhe—as the Tianquan moved without making a noise, nor any expressions.
She reached the end of the last row and turned to him.
"Well done, Mr. Roman."
'THANK YOU REX LAPIS.'
"The operation has run cleanly from start to finish, and I've verified everything from the reports myself." She crossed her arms and gave him a small smile. "You've exceeded expectations."
"Hell yeah!" Meifen shouted, punching Shenhe in the shoulder before wincing in pain.
"We did it!" Xiaosi pulled Daquan and Hengyi into a tight hug, much to the latter's surprise.
Even his new hires cheered as they were also going to get a bonus for helping for the last few days.
'Oh my goodness, I still haven't asked for their names…'
All his employees continued to erupt in cheering that he was fairly sure violated at least two standards of professional decorum in front of the Tianquan.
But Ningguang didn't seem to mind.
Hopefully.
"Thank you, Lady Ningguang." He said, trying not to show the excitement on his face.
He was getting paid!
"I have other matters to attend to before the Rite," she said, already turning to go. "Enjoy the rest of your evening, you've certainly earned it."
Once she was far enough, Ren turned to face his employees with a wide grin.
Even Shenhe had a smile on her face, surrounded by the positive energy of her colleagues.
"Alright, you all get a week of paid leave! You've earned it!"
Everyone cheered louder, and they wasted no time enjoying their time off.
They—or specifically, Meifen—decided to bring everyone to dinner at Third-Round Knockout to relax and get to know the new hires better.
He bid them farewell, and Hengyi bowed formally before following the group.
"We actually did it…" Ren sighed after a few seconds of silence.
The Shadow Courier's first big operation was a success. Not only that, he got a sponsor from the Northland Bank that got him more connections than he could ever ask for. This was practically every business owner's wet dream.
Aside from the obvious economic benefits, this massive growth and additional employees would allow him to hire a manager in his place and explore areas outside of Liyue.
He hadn't forgotten Alice's words from back then. He needed to get stronger, and he couldn't do that cooped up in Liyue.
He didn't know what he was going to look for exactly, but he'd figure it out.
'Maybe I could hire Hengyi as my manager? Or would Meifen be a better fit?' An amusing thought filled his head. 'Heh, what if I hired Shenhe as the manager? No way, the business wouldn't last a week.'
"Congratulations," A voice brought him out of his thoughts.
The one approaching him was none other than Ganyu. "Truth be told, this went far better than anything I expected."
"Is that an insult?"
"N-No! I was just—"
Ren laughed, "I'm just messing with ya."
"You…"
They took a seat on the stone railings of the pavilion. Looking about at the people now setting up the Rite of Descension.
"You're right though. If you weren't here to help me, I doubt it would go as smoothly as it did."
"Oh, I don't know about that. You could have. Just slower… much slower." She teased. "Come by early on the day of the Rite; I'll get you a good spot to see Rex Lapis up close."
'The way she's talking about him makes Rex Lapis sound like a zoo animal.'
"I don't think that's necessary," Ren deflected. "I'm not really a local. So I'd rather stay a bit further back. Don't really want to offend an Archon, haha…"
That was a lie.
The real reason had everything to do with the fact that an Archon was going to descend in front of thousands, maybe millions of people.
Ren was confident that even with his new suppression—that was still far from perfect—a god would have no trouble sensing his malevolent energy.
And they would no doubt act in the face of such 'evil'.
'Absolutely not standing in the front row for that.'
Ganyu frowned. "You've been in Liyue for a year now. Longer, actually." She crossed her arms. "You just helped prepare the most important event of the nation's calendar. Legally you may not have full citizenship yet, but as far as I'm concerned, you're as local as anyone."
"—I must agree with Miss Ganyu's words." Someone said to the side.
Ren turned to see two unexpected faces.
'Zhongli and Hu Tao?'
The Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and her secretary walked side by side towards them, seemingly taking an interest in Ren's conversation.
"Zhongli's right, Renny." Hu Tao slipped between him and Ganyu without any apparent concept of personal space and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "You're basically part of the harbor at this point. Although your weird energy does—huh?"
She froze in place before leaning in an uncomfortable distance to his face.
"Uhhh, Hu Tao?"
Her flower-shaped pupils bore into him like she was able to see his soul. A mix of confusion and intrigue crossed her face as she tried to understand what was happening in front of her.
"Huh? It's so small now, and a little fractured?"
"Personal space," Ren said, gently pushing her back by the shoulder. "I learned to control my energy a little. That's all."
"Mm." Hu Tao made a thoughtful humming sound and drifted back toward Zhongli, apparently satisfied with whatever conclusion she'd reached.
'How is she always so hyper— why is it suddenly cold?'
He glanced over at Ganyu.
Her expression had gone faintly, almost imperceptibly sour, arms crossed a little tighter than before.
But before he could ask what was wrong, Zhongli spoke up.
"In any case," Zhongli said, his eyes lingering on Ren in a way the courier had never seen before. "We should get going, Ms. Hu."
"Are you two part of the Rite preparations too?" Ren asked.
"For an establishment as old as the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, it would be unusual if we weren't involved." Zhongli inclined his head slightly.
"Well, hope it goes smoothly for you."
Zhongli had already turned to leave, but he stopped and glanced back at Ren one more time.
"One more thing." His voice carried the same measured tone it always did, but it felt like it carried more weight at this moment. "Throughout Liyue's history, countless foreigners have made this harbor their home, and Rex Lapis has always considered them his own. So please, enjoy your first Rite of Descension… The future is uncertain, after all."
"...Thank you?"
'What an odd way to end a sentence. Or maybe I'm just not smart enough to get it… Probably the second one.'
Zhongli and Hu Tao walked off together, leaving Ren and Ganyu alone again.
He noticed Ganyu watching Hu Tao's retreating figure a bit longer than the moment really called for.
"You're still helping with preparations, I'm guessing?" he asked.
That seemed to pull her attention back. "Oh—yes. As secretary, my work's far from finished." She sighed lightly. "Logistics is always the hardest part of the Rite. But this year it went easier than I expected."
Then she looked at him and sent him a smile so bright that he forgot to breathe for a second.
"We made a pretty good team."
"Yeah." He smiled back. "I think we did."
"Ganyu!" A Qixing worker waved from across the pavilion.
"They really can't function without you for five minutes, huh?" Ren said.
She laughed, already turning to go. "I'll see you later. Let's get food after things settle down."
"Sounds good."
She waved once more and disappeared into the pavilion, leaving Ren standing alone in the last of the evening light.
/ — /
"̷͉̰̰̼̫͚̰͑̄͒̋̽̋̇͒͐́̋̇͜͠H̸̞̘̹̙͔͎͑͆̃̌̉́͑̋̈́̅̓́ȍ̸̦̰̏̀w̸̡̬̱̥͍̼̖͔̝̍̆ ̴̨̝̬͙̘̬̜͒̍̒̈́̓͗̒̿̒̔͑͒͝ͅ[̷̨̠̗͈͓͎̫̙͌̑̈̌͛̊̀̌̀ͅ ̷̢̨̢̞̣̙̙̾̋̍̉̈́̾ͅ]̷̨̠͓̙͒̒̈́̈̉̓̀͒̑͂̚͝[̵̥̰͑̏͋ ̶̖̮͖̯̪̈̎͆̃̏̋̔̓̊̎̌̓̌̉̈́]̸̨͚̯̜̰̲̽̊̇̾̔̏͌̎͑̽͊̚͠͝[̶͔͓͎̺͂̑̆̌͑̅̊͝͝ ̵̪̙̓̽̔͌͊̅̌͛̓̀̈́͘͝͠]̸̨͖͈̝̹̜̰͕̫͚͎̂̒̀̒͌ͅ[̶̥̙̤̃ ̸͔̄̂̓̏͂̈́̍̌]̶̢̟̬͉͎͉̤̥̳͙͈̣̯̖̿͒̓͋̃̀̎̽̎̃͠͝͝[̶̭̯͉̼̠͇͉̑͒̿̃̒͝ ̶̨̗̮̰͚̹̀̈̓̒̉́͐͜͜͝]̶͓͇̇ ̸̧͕̮̤͖̟̪̿̀͌y̷̢̬̹̯̮̜̱̺̼̪͙͈̯͎̫̚ȯ̷͍̺͍̣͉̈́͋̆͒̔̂̈́̈́̕͝ũ̸̢͔̻̳̻̆͑̾͐̅̚̕͜ͅ?̴̨̳̙͖̱̭̠̼͓͇͖̲̦̔̈́͋͋̀̆̀̊͜ͅ"̸̝̏͋̀͋̽
"Ghh—!" Ren gasped, clutching his chest. "What's happening to me?!"
He was just on his bed a moment ago, but he wasn't sure anymore. A ringing noise filled his ears as his eyes went in and out of focus.
After he left Yuehai Pavilion, he went straight home to get some rest. He didn't know what happened, but a simple headache escalated into whatever he was feeling now.
Sweat soaked through his shirt as his heart pounded in his ears. The feeling echoed through his entire body, making it throb painfully.
'Calm down! Breathe!'
He tried to sit up, and his vision swam.
It was as if something pressed in on his body, as if it were being squeezed from all sides. His heart hurt, and his lungs could barely get enough oxygen to his brain.
"̵̙͈̲̝̭̙̥́́̒͆̇̾W̵͔̽̀͐̿͒̆̅͋̿̿͐̽͐͝ḩ̴̛̖̘̳͓̼͋́̂͊̑͛́̈̎̄̽ͅý̶̨̢̦̥̥̭͈̳̙̝̹̺̖͊͋̐͂͌͝ ̴̢͙̠̥̺͙͖̺͉͔͂̅͜͜â̷̢̢̢͕͖͉̘̬̫̮̫̣̬̑̔̄̈́̐͊ͅr̷̨̧̡̭̻͉͒ḙ̶̛̥̗͈͍̭͈̪͌̊̈̎͗̍̎̄̚͘͠͝ͅ ̶̨̳͚̦̥͇̱̥͈͇̂̉͂̐̋̏̄̌̌̏͘̕͠͝ỵ̷̢̛̼͒͒̂̆́̈́ǒ̵͔̯̍̊̔́̆̾̏̀̈ữ̵͔͈̼̭͗͛̐̅̕͜͝͠ ̴̜̤̰̂͠á̷̧͇̱͓̹̠̠͖̙̭̣̼̓̅͗͠ͅl̶͉̫͍̏̒͑͑̈́̈́͘̚ȋ̸̧̺͔̹̟͖̱̥̘̈́͜v̶̧̧̛̳̤̲͓̎̆͗̈́͗̀̊͊̓̄̇e̴͖̜̣̲̯͓̋̃̓̈͋̕?̵̛̱̗͔̞̘͊̓̏͐͗̿̈̅͆̕̕͠͠"̷̧̧̱͎̥̳̣͉̞̥͕̜̖̈͋̈́̕̕͝
"ARGH!" Ren's hands clenched his head.
The voice arrived from nowhere and everywhere, threading directly through his thoughts rather than his ears.
"̶̧̢̬͍̹̂̄̃̍͜͝͠W̵͖͍̬̫͓̾̐̓̓̀̚h̷̬̩͖̞͔̠͌͆̏̐̎̈́̕̕͜y̷̯̱̑̏ͅ ̷̨̛͓̼̜̣̭͙̄̑̇̽̍͐̈͝ẉ̷̩̱̒͛̽̈́͗̊̃e̴͓͚̼͈̍̀̈́̑̉̅̂r̴̦̺̲̓͊̎́͋͐̚ȇ̷̟͎̲̠͙͈̝̋͊͌͋͌͂̊̕ ̸͚̈́̾̐́̇͌ÿ̴͈̣͖̙̙̤̘͖́͗͌̽͜͝͠ö̷̫̳̫̭̫͉̥̑̈́͆̄̓͜͠ͅū̵̬̝͐͌̒̐̔̿͘ ̴̡̭̖̘̞͗̽͂̾̐͝͝͝͝a̷̢͍͔̩̝̽́l̷̫̝̻̼̈́̿̇̉̆l̶͔̼̹̞̂ǫ̶̠͚̟̠̼͌̔̚͜w̵̛̼̋̓̆̍́͛̽́ͅë̷̛̗̱̽͒̆̓d̴̟̱͌̍̆͛̈́̅̿̚͜ͅ ̸̤̣͉̻̰̥̹͚̎͆̆̄̅ͅẗ̴̛̝̼͚̖̪̠͔̘̦́̕͘͝o̸̤̹̘͉̅̀ ̴͓̣̎͊̿̈́̌͛̋͘[̵̘͕̬͉̼̣͇̘͆͜͝ ̵̡͙̠̙̜̭̩̤̀͗̊̔̂̇͗̈́͘]̶̛͈̟͚̹̆̄̍́[̷͍̥͖͍̗̰̮͎̋̍ ̸̘̳̼͍̙͙͕̐̓̽͐͑]̶̨̡͍͕͚̣͈͖̌͋̓̏̒̃[̶̨̡̛͎͔̲͎̥̀̏͊̄̂̾̚͝ ̷̨̺͙̩͎̳̗̰͂̆̈̐̒͜]̶̹̻̬̞̏̑ͅ[̶̟̻̹̽̾͛̏ ̷̡̻͉͇̹̠̜̌̏͜͠͠]̵̛̩̱̪̟̦̩͐̀͜͝͠ͅ[̵̰̳̺̝̠́̍̽̈͝ͅ ̶̢͔̹̳͉̮̲̣͕͂͝]̴͕̬̖͓̬̟̦̗̺͆?̵̝͙͕̙̩̑͊͐"̵̢̬̼͇́͊̎̄̆ ̸̧̞̰̝̯͎̘̒́̈́̏̚
More voices overlapped one another. Some were questions, some were accusations, and others he couldn't make out at all.
"Haaah! Haaah! Haaah!" His breathing became more shallow.
'I need… I need to get to Baizhu. A doctor.'
He tried to leave his bed, but he only made it a step off before the world tilted violently and he fell to the floor.
"Shut up!"
"̵̭͑̈͗C̷͇͊̌͗͑ù̸̬͙r̸̨̞̿s̸̨̡̓̒e̸̙̅̉͋̿d̸̘͙̰́̆́͛ ̵͎̄͌̃[̸͔̪̰͗̃ͅ ̸̲̩̈́̈́̑͜ͅ]̵̯̊͂[̷͈͙́ ̵̧̘̹̗͝͝]̸̬͔̌͊[̴̖̖̘͗͜ ̶̡̚]̷͚͑͊̈́̚[̴̫̿ ̸̢͎̃̍]̶̲͚̱͛̃͒͋[̵̨̟̂̀̔̚ ̸̭̘̒̈̉]̷̦͋̃͂̚ ̷̨̠̂̄̅ṍ̵̗̝f̶̳̄ ̸̜̖̞͛̒͑[̷̦̦̱́̆͗̏ ̸͎͔̄͜]̸̯͖̞̼̀[̷̢͈͍͆͂ ̵̬̭̦͆͊]̸̢̡͍̱͌̎̄͘[̸̜̪̖̲̅̑́͝ ̵̹̂]̷̧̔͐͗̍ ̷̡̭̝͛̈́̓̚[̶̰͕̕ ̸̛̹͈̠̜]̷̻̗̈́̃[̷̛͈̳̲͐̕ͅ ̴̠̠̙̰̍̚͠]̷̺͖̦͗̋͊͜͠[̸̪̫̺̉̈́͊ ̷̨̑̿]̷̡̘̱̗͌̓̅̕[̸̰̪̳̊̇͊͋ ̵̬̈́͘]̸͚̣̜̀́̍͒[̴̣̓͐̈̀ ̴̨̙͇̈́͌̀́]̷͈̪̂̅͘[̶̰̥͛͜ͅ ̷̙̗͔̈́̑͜]̷̟͑̕!"̸̭̰̟̙̈́̑͆ ̶̤̱̝̗̆̆̒̅
The pressure around his chest tightened further, and breathing became something he had to actively fight for, each inhale shorter than the last.
"̵̤̊̈́̒L̶̻̘͙͌E̸͉̦̲̟̊͛̑̒Ţ̷̯̌̅̓ ̸͉̞̝̏͌̊̑[̸̳̘͕̱̓̈̋ ̴̢̟̯̊̄͜]̴͚̀̍͋͐[̴̭̣̞̹̆ ̷̪̔͠]̷̬͔͖̔͌͝ ̷̨̧̙̭́̋I̵͖̙̾́͌͋Ņ̷̺̽̆̍̾!̷̨̏͐͠"̴̪̙̽̋͝
'I can't—'
The words kept coming, just a wall of voices pressing in from every direction at once, and his vision was narrowing, going dark at the edges—
Ren's body went slack, and he fell to the floor.
Until a hand caught him just in time, and guided him gently back onto the bed.
Golden eyes illuminated the dark room in its color.
It was none other than Rex Lapis.
"If only I had understood it earlier. I could have assisted you…" He paused, standing over Ren's restless, unconscious form. "To think that witch would be the one to tell me."
He knelt beside the bed and studied Ren's face. The sweat, the shallow, uneven breathing.
"No wonder Hu Tao was able to see through you so easily earlier." His voice carried something that wasn't quite surprise, more like a piece finally settling into place. "Your soul itself has fractured."
…
…
"If nothing else, I could ease your pain."
He raised his hand and held it over Ren's chest.
Golden light bloomed from his palm, spreading outward and sinking into Ren's skin.
Almost instantly, his breathing settled, and the tension in his shoulders slowly went away. Whatever had been tormenting him seemed to loosen its grip and recede, leaving the courier a momentary reprieve.
Rex Lapis watched the young mortal sleep with a blank expression. But in his eyes, something akin to old grief could be seen.
"Truly the purest form of love."
With that, he disappeared. No trace was left behind except the faint, fading warmth of gold still settling into Ren's body.
/ — /
[No matter where you are, we will always be with you]
/ — /
Ren opened his eyes to a bedroom that wasn't his Liyue apartment.
For a few moments, he barely registered anything. But as his eyes wandered the room, recognition bloomed in his mind as to where he actually was.
The glow in the dark that he never bothered to remove from his childhood, the desk where he spent countless nights gaming. This was—
'My room… I'm home?'
After a year of not seeing the place, he thought he would feel something more. Relief, joy, maybe? But at this current moment, it was hard to feel anything at all.
Even his thoughts seemed so far away, as if he wasn't in his body at all.
He looked down at his hands.
'What the?' His hands were nearly transparent, a fact that should have scared him had he more time to think about his predicament.
A pained groan sounded from somewhere behind him, on his own bed.
It was… smaller than he remembered. No, it was still his bed. Just one he had when he was much, much younger.
Ren walked closer, and it was only then he noticed the walls covered in seals, lines of ink and symbols he didn't understand, but he could feel what they were.
Jujutsu sorcery.
One that was impossibly skilled and of such high level that he couldn't understand the workings at all. He doubted he could understand it even in his normal state.
'When did this happen? I don't remember this.'
He looked at the small boy on the bed more closely. It was him at around five years of age, something completely unexpected, as he didn't even awaken his cursed technique until 'that' event when he was 13.
Suddenly, he heard rapid footsteps approaching and his room door open.
Ren stopped breathing the moment he saw the figure.
'Mom.'
His body moved without thinking, running towards his mom with arms reaching out—
Only for him to pass straight through her.
He stumbled, catching himself against nothing. Before he could process the shock and grief of not being able to hold his mother, she had already rushed past him.
She knelt beside the bed, her entire focus on the small boy curled up in pain.
Ren could do nothing but watch everything unfold in front of him.
Mom pressed a gentle hand to young Ren's forehead, smoothing back his hair. It seemed to calm him down, though the pain was still visible on his small face.
"I know, I know," She said softly. "Just a little longer, and Mommy can make the pain go away."
Her voice wavered at the end, but she still kept her face steady.
The words seemed to reach him. His teary eyes opened, but they were unfocused, too exhausted to form any words at all. He lifted his hand weakly off the blanket, reaching out to her.
She held his hand immediately, pressing firmly on it to make him know she was there.
More footsteps echoed from behind, and Ray appeared in the doorway. "Elena, you're already here." He walked to her and knelt to her side.
"To think my curse would do something like this," he said quietly, tracing his hand over Ren's young face.
"Ray, It's not your fault." Elena's voice was firm despite looking so tired. "So stop beating yourself up. We'll get through this. Together."
Her words seemed to ground the man, and he leaned into her. "I'll look into who's responsible for the drop in cursed energy worldwide. There has to be a cause. This isn't natural."
"Ray."
"...I'm sorry. To both of you." He moved his head to face Elena directly. "You always wanted to be a parent. And because of me, it's now like this."
"Ray." Her voice softened, "Stop."
Ray went quiet.
"My technique should let me make a temporary barrier," she said, turning back to the practical matter at hand, one hand still holding young Ren's. "With your skill behind it, it should hold much longer than I could manage alone. But it's still temporary. We need real help if we want something permanent."
"I know."
"I'm sure Ren is strong enough to make it through this." She looked down at the small boy between them, a fond expression crossing her face despite everything. "He's a Roman, after all… And as much as I hate to admit it—he takes a lot after you."
Ray let out a huff that sounded like a laugh. "I cannot believe I allowed you to choose that ridiculous last name for our family."
"Hey!" She playfully slapped his shoulder. "It's a good name, and it's certainly better than what you were suggesting. What kind of last name is Carver?"
Ren watched his parents playfully banter silently. Then, he felt something pull at him that made him walk closer.
The moment he was right in front of the bed, he sank into his younger self, and the room changed.
Now he saw through the teary eyes of his younger self, barely able to even see his parents through the tears. But he could feel their warm presence, and their hands tightened around his.
Finally, his mom bent over to plant a kiss on his forehead.
At once, all the pain that was left in his body disappeared, and his mind was quiet.
The room began to blur at the edges. The whole scene dissolved the way dreams always did, no matter how much he wanted to hold onto it.
When Ren woke up, he wouldn't remember any of this.
But something remained.
That feeling of safety, of peace, that he didn't know he needed would sit gently in his chest for months to come, even if no memory of this 'dream' remained.