↻ introduction!

———— TW: Mentions of death (both character and animal).

"We're not gonna make it!"

It was the last thing Xiao remembered hearing from a now distorted voice. Amidst the heavy and rampant waves crashing against their little boat are waves of panic. What was supposed to be a simple and relaxing fishing trip with the Traveler had turned to a sudden, violent storm. Traveler was working with Beidou, trying desperately to navigate them back to shore but with all the rain, thunder, lightning, and chaotic waves, he couldn't even begin to tell where that was.

Holding on to the railing for dear life, Xiao tried not to lose his footing and stay as balanced as one could given the situation, but the next thing he knew, their boat was turning over on its side. Next thing he knew they were in the water being thrown side to side by waves. Next thing he knew, Traveler was gone... and so was he.

Drip.

He just remembers floating, drifting in a stilling sea with nothing and no one around him. It was dark. Cold and wet as you can imagine. So he closes his eyes... And he just lies there.

Drip.

Small blips of memories come washing in with a gentle tide that bounces his body. Faces that feel familiar, voices and situations he knows he's seen, sensations that come along with this deja vu.

Drip.

He couldn't really hear it at first, but coming in was a strong torrent, a flood of everything he once knew. In came violent waves that crashed into each other and threw his body to and fro wherever I was situated. He was completely engulfed in these images, his memories, and completely surrounded by water. Taken by the presence of life.

Drip.

.
.
.

Xiao reawoke in a dark and cold void, screaming out until his screams and the echoes blended together. He didn’t know how to face it yet, but he was dead, and he was miserable, the memories of his and his companions' deaths still very vivid. For years, he searched what was then a void for the members of his party, hoping he could just see someone, anyone, once again… For years, he was in denial of his own death, thinking he was just in a dream, a never-ending nightmare. And for years he remained alone, just him and the absolute silence, absolute emptiness. It was him and his last memories, playing over and over and over again. It was him and his loneliness, him lying curled up and numb to everything at this point… Then he met a small bird.

Tiny lights in the distance caught his eye and brought Xiao to his feet. As soon as he laid eyes on the bird, it spoke to him, commenting on his suffering while approaching him with its lit footsteps. The bird tells him now that he’s finally coming to terms with his own death, letting go of the anger, he would no longer be alone. After all these years alone, Xiao found that hard to believe, the bird knew this, so it told him to follow. Xiao does so, letting the bird's tiny footprint lights lead the way until he finds himself in a blue room of people frozen still. He asks the bird why they aren’t moving like he was, and the bird explains that they need to be woken up. ‘How the am I supposed to do that,’ Xiao asks himself, the bird able to hear his thoughts and saying it’s simple. It hops over and pecks at the man’s feet then commands to be destroyed. Xiao took the candle and laughed in disbelief: he wasn’t about to kill a bird, especially one that was helping him. How could he? This was the closest thing he’s had to a person in a long, long time. He wasn’t just going to ruin that and kill the bird. It then explains that it represents his memories and his anguish, his pent-up rage, and he needed to let it go. Of course, Xiao struggles with this, preferring not to take the life of something that didn’t deserve to die, but then the bird says one last thing that ignites a flame in him: “Either end me or spend the rest of your days alone and angry, never to see another soul cross your path for the rest of eternity.”

With a sigh and no further thought, Xiao carefully lifts the bird to his face, apologizing to it before bringing it to its end, and a light flashes from its eyes the second it dies. Suddenly, light pours out and spills into his surroundings, filling it. And just as he's about to look back at the fading weight in his hands, he wakes up. This time, to a new life.