Leaving Sal Terrae—a murky sky.
Gloomy dusk blanketed the desolate plains; it felt like rain. A chill haze carried late-summer lifelessness.
Soon a downpour crashed, smashing the dull evening clouds into shards.
[Remaining life: Ten days]
[You are going to die]
"I am going to die," Bosacius echoed. "But this body is still strong."
The one who dies is you; the survivor is karma. Your shell belongs to karma.
"Then—ten days from now, what becomes of me?"
I don't know, said the Human Principles System.
The only certainty: for Liyue it will be an unprecedented catastrophe.
"I see." Bosacius laughed softly. "So someone must kill me… honestly."
He had arranged it with Morax already; contract was sacred—he trusted Rex Lapis to settle his aftermath.
The rain grew heavier.
Bosacius felt cold—strange, when his body had never been better. Rain seeped through his thin coat; he uncorked the gourd at his belt—almost empty. Time to leave.
He drank the last mouthful, wiped the drops, breathed out steam, and flung the empty gourd aside.
It splashed in a puddle, shattering the leaden sky reflected there; rings of distorted ripples mirrored Bosacius' sinister, shadowed face.
Only now did he notice: the storm existed because of him. Overflowing karma had polluted the clouds; bitter rain fell, soaking soil, scorching earth.
At this moment Bosacius understood with piercing clarity:
To Liyue—to the world—he was calamity, a twisted being that should not exist.
This look could no longer be hidden from Xiao and the others.
He could no longer suppress it. Such uproar… sneaking home to swallow karma unseen was impossible.
He could neither confess Nuo Fu nor conduct the ritual secretly—peacefully devouring karma was out of reach.
Fine then.
He would go home openly, upright.
"Betrayal" had always been one step of the plan.
He saw his reflection—the eyes wholly blood-red.
"So ugly," he said.
Bosacius
Bosacius
Bosacius
Countless hushed voices called his name; twisted, filthy words brimmed with malice. Hands burst from the dark puddle as if to embrace him.
This is your final Nuo Fu.
"My last Nuo Fu," Bosacius repeated. He kicked the gourd, shattered the puddle, crushed those warped hands—crushed his own shadowed, mad visage.
"You're the ugly one—not me. I'm handsome."
Torrents drenched the muddy path; white sheets blurred the view. Ahead lay countless puddles, each reflecting crazed, shadowy faces.
Bosacius walked on, boots splashing through each one, trampling karma along the road. In the vast world he alone strode the muddy, jagged way.
"I'm going home."
The madman set out for home. Though the road was mire, the wanderer must return. Through the hazy deluge he would offer his final blessing to the world he loved—that was the madman's life.
Past Guili Plains lay Dihua Marsh; later ages would raise Wangshu Inn at its heart. Dihua was Liyue's gateway—since the Archon War a battlefield of adepti and gods.
Conqueror of Demons guarded the marsh; to watch Dihua was to watch Liyue.
Today Xiao's brow creased.
A godly aura—mighty, yet… twisted.
He looked up: black clouds roiled, dense rain wove a pale curtain. Xiao tightened his spear, focused on the horizon.
The malice's master appeared.
Xiao's golden pupils widened—
Bosacius.
Big Brother Bosacius.
He had not seen Bosacius again; didn't know where he'd gone.
The man had said he was secluding, but now only an empty estate remained. Adepti grew distant; Xiao knew something precious was quietly fading, but not what.
So, seeing Bosacius now, should he smile?
He did not wish to smile.
"Hello," Bosacius said calmly. "Long time no see."
"Bosacius…" Xiao eyed the ominous aura. "You—you are…?"
"May I come in first?"
Bosacius smiled his familiar broad smile. "It's raining; I'm soaked."
So familiar a smile—it seemed to lighten the dread.
Xiao hesitated only a heartbeat, released the spear: "Very well."
He trusted Bosacius—instinctively, without guard. He let him pass the ward.
That was his first wrong decision.
It happened faster than reaction, faster than resistance.
In a flash of thunder the world flipped. He was falling backward; blood seeped where fingers bored his neck. Mind dimmed; breath seized; lids heavy. Losing consciousness he saw Bosacius' grin tearing wide.
Power—terrible, grotesque—he'd never beheld.
Bosacius gripped his throat; Xiao could scarcely fight.
"Bosacius…" he rasped. "…Why?"
"Sorry," Bosacius tilted his head, grin deranged. "Xiao, I'm pressed for time; this is fastest."
Chaotic malice flooded the sky; Bosacius stood beneath, smiling.
Consciousness faded—pressed for time… time for what… why?
Xiao didn't understand, yet one thing clear: he must not let Bosacius enter Dihua Marsh.
He was family, but first the marsh's guardian.
Through the fog of blackness a jade spear coalesced in his grasp—azure light ran its shaft. Whether Bosacius' carelessness or other cause, Xiao wrung a sliver of freedom and thrust at Bosacius' shoulder.
"Xiao."
The wind-forged spear pierced, blood spattering. Yet Bosacius still wore that near-insane smile.
"You should have stabbed my throat—were you unwilling?
"Or afraid?"
Single-handed, he slammed Xiao into the earth; the ground quaked, cracks webbed outward.
World whirled; Xiao's mind went dark. In the final blink he stared at Bosacius' smile—chaotic, mad, cold, eyes gleaming blood-red.
No one could read that smile—was it a laugh or a cry?
Xiao blacked out.
Bosacius bowed his head; torrents drenched him. Rain pierced skin, washed the gaping wound; murky blood flowed, washed away.
Pain.
Xiao, second only to Bosacius among Yaksha, had struck with all his might. Unprepared, even Bosacius could not shrug it off.
"Sorry," Bosacius still smiled, still crazed, yet head lowered as if apologizing. "I didn't want to hurt you.
"If one stab can settle us, then let you have it."
Rain howled; forests bowed, leaves sobbed. Bosacius kept his head low.
At length—
"I'm useless," he said. "Useless—I just want this method."
"Sorry—I'm so useless."
He straightened; white lightning split behind him, tracing his silhouette in pale fire. Bosacius reached toward Xiao, fingers spreading.
In Xiao's unconscious body another Yaksha opened his eyes—
Breath weak as a child's, yet gaze sinister, brimming with hatred for the world. Lonely, curled tight.
He was also Xiao—the darkest side, born of karma, rooted in the soul since the ancient wars.
Despised by all.
"Come," Bosacius said. "Kid."
Little karma-Xiao looked up.
"Hold big brother's hand.
"This world may shun you, but I will accept you.
"I'm a monster; you're a monster; monsters fear no monsters. Monsters are brothers.
"I will bear your malice and pain."
Bosacius extended his hand, smiling again—bright, hearty. Blood seeped down his shoulder, pain throbbing, yet softly he said:
"Let's go together."
So familiar a phrase.
Xiao hesitated, then cautiously reached out—fingertips testing the rough hand, retreating…
Just like centuries ago—same rainy night, corpses strewn, Bosacius killed the great demon, offered that hand to the lost Xiao.
"From now on, I'm your big brother.
"No one else deserves your kneel."
"Let's go together."
At last karma clasped Bosacius' hand.
The moment their palms met, Bosacius' eyes flared wilder. Clenching his teeth, he hauled up the tatters of reason and forced a smile.
[Remaining life: Seven days]
He stood, holding Xiao's hand, lit a paper cigarette, exhaled thin smoke, crushed it.
They walked into the blurred deluge, dusk-rain swallowing the tall and small shadows.
"Where are we going?" little karma-Xiao asked.
"We're…" Bosacius whispered, "going to gather the other brothers and sisters."
In the hour when white rain merged with bleak earth, Bosacius spoke his final words:
—"We're going home."
Home. A place with money, roof, good food—and family.
"Xiao, hello.
"What a coincidence."
Seino Yaku smiled; meeting a familiar face abroad always cheered him. He waved.
"Didn't expect you came to The Chasm too."
…This youth again.
Xiao watched calmly—the pale-haired, blue-eyed boy who had waited a whole rainy day at a grave. Oddly, Xiao found it hard to dislike him.
"Walk together?" Seino Yaku tilted his head. "The Chasm runs deep underground—safer with company." (And another reason… he and Lumine were both baka; they might get lost.)
The Chasm was vast, complex; even the Teyvat Travel Guide gave no clear route.
"Do not hinder me," Xiao answered coolly—yet counted as assent.
After a pause he added, "I will accompany you only a short distance.
"If danger comes—seek your own fortune; I will not help."