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The welkin moon shines brightly into their home as Zhongli busies himself with cooking dinner. It was not a phenomenon Zhongli had ever noticed before, not until Ajax began pointing it out.
“ An exceptional soul will be born to that house shortly, or so my master would say.” he says, warning Zhongli that any further questions would perhaps delve into the territory of forbidden knowledge. Ajax has never spoken of it beyond quiet mutterings of a false sky or Stella Fortuna, and the various other lessons Skirk had passed on.
“Our child is due soon, any day now.” Ajax says, leaning against him as they stare up at the sky.
“You’re so certain,” Zhongli replies, teasingly. “Most dragons are creatures of memory, meant to witness era after era. It follows then that they tend to live slowly, taking their time in all stages of life- including time spent in the egg.”
“I do so love the way you talk about your own kind in third person,” Ajax chuckles. “But I think you forget that we Abyssal monsters have a very different relationship to time. There’s no way to live slowly in the chaotic spaces that make up that realm because only the stars can tell us the difference between days and hours. Lapis Dei, Monoceros Caeli and Amores Dolor. They all play their part in helping us traverse the Abyss.”
“...You already know our child’s constellation then. Have you thought about their fate?”
“I’m no hydromancer, unfortunately. This is just basic astronavigation- a necessary skill to have in the Abyss.”
“I see. Then what about their names, love? Have you thought of any possibilities?”
Ajax suddenly turns serious, raising an eyebrow as he lowers his spoonful of soup. A forlorn sigh escapes his lips. “A long time ago, I made a promise to my own precious stars- my little siblings. As it were, I promised them that if I ever had children, they could be the ones to name the new little ones.”
Zhongli reaches out and holds Ajax’s hand. He is very well acquainted with having to break promises and contracts simply because it was no longer possible to fulfill them. Tonia, Anthon, and Teucer were long gone now, buried under the forgotten village of Morepesok. “I’m sorry,” Zhongli tells him quietly. “I did not realize this was such a heart aching matter for you.”
“Tonia… before the war against Celestia, she was such a happy girl. She knew of how wicked this world could be but she held her head high against it all. She was my confidant, you know? And she shared my fondness for children, helping many of the kids in our village to get an education. She dreamed of being a mother one day. That accursed island took her far too soon and denied us even a body to mourn over. However… Zhongli, if our little one turns out to be a girl, perhaps we could name her after my sister?”
“I would love that, Ajax. I did meet your sister briefly before the final siege and greatly admired her strength. It would be wonderful if our daughter could carry that strength with her.”
“Then I have decided.” Ajax smiles brightly. “Theophania for a girl, in memory of her beloved aunt. Eurysaces for a boy. Tonia or Yuri— hah, my family always was fond of Enkanomiyan names.”
“I am excited to welcome them.” Zhongli chuckles, reaching for the kettle. He pours each of them tea, topping off the cups. The conversation moves on to different matters, all loosely related. Nursery furniture, baby clothes and toys.
Little Tonia hatches at the end of February, just as the cold of winter gives way to spring. A tiny girl with big amber eyes and a full head of red hair. She balls her fist around one finger of her papa’s hand and nestles into her blankets, easily falling asleep.
Ajax and Zhongli follow her lead, cuddling close together as their breaths slow.
***
Theophania wakes them with a loud, heartbreaking wail. Their daughter has been sick for a few days now, sniffling into her fathers’ shoulders. It’s a mere common cold but it’s imperative that she is immediately attended to.
Zhongli rises to the call, pressing a kiss to Ajax’s forehead as his husband tries to stir. The house is dimly lit but this did not prove to be an issue for either of them when it came to navigation. Zhongli easily makes his way to Theophania’s room, picking up the feverish toddler.
“My poor girl,” Zhongli says softly into her little tuft of hair as he rocks her gently. Her cries quiet down into tiny whimpers, muffled by the fabric of Zhongli’s nightgown as she burrows in. It’s rather strange that she’s still sick, he notes. A common cold was currently doing its rounds around Liyue Harbor but even so, Adepti children rarely fell ill. When it did happen, it would often be a quick affair; a rather low fever that broke by the same afternoon.
“Perhaps a visit to Bubu Pharmacy is in order,” Zhongli murmurs to Theophania as he begins to rock her gently.
“…Bubu Pharmacy?” He hears his husband question behind him, apparently having successfully dragged himself from the comfort of their bed with all the alertness of a once-soldier. “What’s wrong? Did Tonia get worse?”
“No, love, her condition remains the same. I am only worried as it's nearly been three days. Even mortal parents might seek medical advice at this point.” Zhongli says, angling his body so that Theophania could continue cuddling him while Ajax reaches out to check her temperature.
“Tomorrow then.” Ajax replies before turning his attention to their daughter. “Hey baby,” he says softly. “Feeling any better?”
Theophania looks at him, bright eyes clouded over by the sickness and wordlessly shakes her head no.
They head to Bubu Pharmacy in the morning. Much of Liyue’s landscape has changed over the past centuries, from the stones that pave the way to the fish species that inhabit the many ponds.
Baizhu is long gone now, though no one knows for certain if it’s because he’s dead or if it’s because he finally succeeded in his pursuit of immortality and left to live peacefully elsewhere. He disappeared one day and that was all anybody could really say. Qiqi runs the pharmacy now and children her own height still cry at the bitter yet most effective medicines.
She greets them as they walk in, pulling out a series of trusty notebooks, stapled together for ease. Each one contains decades of knowledge and the family must wait patiently as she reads through. “Hello, big brother… Ajax? Mr. Zhongli, hello to you too. Who’s the little one with you?
“Our daughter, Theophania, nicknamed Tonia,” Ajax explains with a fond smile, the usual one he dons when talking to the harbor kids. “Qiqi, you know this. You attended to her birth and first check-up.”
The little zombie flips through her notebook once more. “Oh… right. Qiqi remembers again. Little Tonia looks very different now. But— still adorable. Okay, what seems to be the problem?”
“We’re seeking a prescription, young Qiqi,” Zhongli said, adjusting his grip on his daughter. “Recently, the days have been growing shorter and colder. Illnesses make their way around fast— and concerningly, our daughter has taken ill too.”
Qiqi diligently writes this down before turning around and gesturing that they should follow her. “Private office for checkups. With chairs,” she tells them, indicating their destination as she leads the way. “How… how long has Little Tonia been sick?”
“Three days. Unusual for Adepti children, no?”
“Is Little Tonia… like you, Mr. Zhongli? Or is she like Big Sisters Ganyu and Yanfei?”
“She’s a half-adeptus, Qiqi. Well, technically. It’s a bit complicated,” Ajax says in his stead. Qiqi looks up at him questioningly and the atmosphere seems to grow darker with Abyssal taint. Relatively harmless when the only people in the room are the Prime of the Adepti, a zombie and the same monster who’s emitting the taint.
“Oh… Qiqi understands now. Don’t worry, Little Tonia will be fine. Qiqi can prescribe you a remedy.” She nods to herself, confidently as she wanders away. A step stool of considerable height is set up next to what seems to be a medicine cabinet. Qiqi climbs up and begins peering through it, sorting her way through different herbs and whatnot before uttering a small aha.
“Here you go, Mr. Zhongli, Big Brother Ajax. You can dice three herbs into small pieces and mix it with Little Tonia’s food. Once a day. Please make sure she’s hydrated, and she rests a lot. Doctor Baizhu used to say…” Qiqi pauses, flipping through her notebooks. “He used to say that that’s the best way for mortals to heal.”
“Our daughter is mortal?” Zhongli asks, confused and aghast. “How can that be? Even half-adepti inherit a portion of their illuminated parent’s divinity.”
“Qiqi can run more tests. But she is very sure. Doctor Baizhu studied this topic a lot. Qiqi has his notes now. Unless… unless Qiqi is mistaken to think that Big Brother Ajax is an Abyssal being?”
“No, you’re right,” Ajax confirms. “I haven’t been mortal since I was fourteen.”
“Doctor Baizhu’s notes… there’s a lot written here about immortality… and different ways of obtaining it. Doctor Baizhu… he once taught Qiqi that… Celestial energy and Abyssal energy never get along because they always fight. Wham . They are… polar opposites so if a person is immortal by way of both Celestial and Abyssal means, the effect is then neu-” Qiqi frowns, stumbling over her words. “neu-tral-ized.” she sounds out, squinting at her thick notebook.
Zhongli is stunned, feeling as if the world has been ripped away from under his feet. In order to achieve his goals, Baizhu had apparently been looking into some very heavy and dangerous topics, even when everyone on Teyvat were still living under the thumb of Celestia. And to think that young Qiqi is studying his notes now, committing his practices enough to remember them through the haze of her memory… this could lead to great consequences in the future but for now, Zhongli can only be grateful.
”…Better that we know now, I suppose.” Ajax says, voicing out what they’re both thinking as he turns to Zhongli and reaches for their daughter. Ajax cuddles her close, cooing Qiqi’s instructions to her as Zhongli runs his fingers through her soft hair. A soothing gesture for both of them as he processes this new discovery. Every single moment with her was so precious, more so than they already had been. She wouldn’t withstand the sands of time like her Baba , nor would she be completely removed from the hourglass like her Papa .
She’d be gone one day. It was a simple and devastating realization.
Theophania grows up too fast, Zhongli thinks as the months and years blur together. She takes after Ajax in many aspects. Her features grow sharper by the day and her gaze more intense. She listens attentively when Ajax recites the tales of his father’s adventures and the fantastical past where a floating island once ruled over the sky and everything below. Their intelligent little apple , nicknamed after her first word.
Ajax had been delighted upon hearing her speak, claiming to have the perfect bedtime story for her. Zhongli indulges him, taking their daughter onto his lap and brushing out her red hair as words begin to flow from his mouth. Theophania is quickly enraptured as her Papa weaves the story for her with skillful hydro illusions.
These are stories of war and tragedy, of heroes and gods and even common folk whom Zhongli has never known and they all begin with the same opening— “Long ago, in a civilization lost beneath Inazuma’s electrified waves…” Nevertheless, Theophania is quickly enraptured as she snuggles in, watching with wide eyes as her Papa weaves the story together with skillful hydro illusions and a long practiced skill in storytelling.
None of the three sleep that night as Theophania gasps and asks questions, making connections between the characters and demanding answers for points she was confused at. Her love of history and mythology only grows after that. She fills her wishlist with books now and even uses her pocket money to buy some herself. Every new one has her smiling wide, asking her fathers to listen as she reads them out loud.
She grows into a teenager, all too quickly. Her eyes shine with intelligence, and Ajax is absolutely no help when she begins robbing Zhonglir’s studies for historical documents and artifacts for her research. The two of them make puppy-dog eyes together, pleading the ex-archon to not get mad when something goes missing (or otherwise awry, Theophania truly is Ajax’s daughter). It isn’t long before she begins reviewing for the Akademiya, setting her dreams high.
“ I’ll be going down in history, too! Just you wait, everyone will be citing my studies!” Ajax and Zhongli assure her that they have no doubt. They’re her cheerleaders, her number one supporters at every step of the way.
It’s still all too soon when Theophania leaves on a ship bound for Sumeru. Zhongli feels his heart crack with both pride and sadness as he holds his sobbing husband close to him. They’d be missing out on a lot of her life now, as she sets sail for an entirely new nation. The three of them shout and call out their ‘I love yous,’ and various other affections as the ship draws away from port.
Theophania stops waving first, long before she is completely out of her parents’ sight or hearing range. She turns to face the stern of the ship and the boat finally heads around the Chasm and out of Liyue. Quietly, now, Ajax presses a kiss to Zhongli’s forehead and reminds him that their daughter promised to visit during the major holidays: Moonchase and Lantern Rite.
“Both of those festivities are months away, my love.” Zhongli whispers. The sun is shining, the sky clear enough for international journeys. Somehow, it still feels like thunder has struck that empty cavity where his gnosis once laid.
Ajax laughs wetly as he brushes Zhongli’s tears away. “ Lyubimyy , please. You waited years for me to finish my service to the Fatui, didn’t you? Try extending the same courtesy to our daughter. Believe me, she’s going to be great.”
“I do believe you. I do believe in her. It’s just…” just what? Zhongli has no words to express the way he feels right now but Ajax seems to understand. He traces a finger down Zhongli’s arm and links their hands. A leisurely pace is set as Ajax drags him down the docks, commenting that he doesn’t recognize this face or that even as greetings, small talk and pleasantries are exchanged. The people of Liyue are used to the two of them now, just as their parents and great-grandparents were too.
It is past sunset when they finally arrive home, having taken the longest way around. Their daughter must be below decks now, having her first dinner aboard.
Their house is a quaint thing in the upper levels of Liyue Harbor. It once held all of the grandeur and luxuries of Yujing Terrace but now it pales in comparison to the surrounding homes. It feels silent, suffocating all of a sudden. Ever so slowly, the months go by and Zhongli finds himself repeatedly drawn to the marketplaces, picking up exquisite items that catch his attention. He has half a mind to send them to Theophania as gifts but the opportunity never quite arises.
Most of their communications with her are through letters, not packages. The Akademiya is rather strict with what is brought into their jurisdiction. Still, Zhongli collects and collects and collects. Ajax begins to pay him little more mind than a couple of kisses and love-making, always hunched over a desk as he pens out a new letter to their Little Tonia. Zhongli gives him a new knife and he comes home covered in blood, claiming to have let out some stress. It’s not quite like the old days, but it feels similar enough to be nostalgic.
They count down the days until the long-awaited new year, observing as the atmosphere slowly gets more festive. Oiled rice paper and gorgeous calligraphy materials begin to populate the marketplace and construction for this year’s Mingxiao lantern begins. The Lantern Rite has always brought happy memories for Ajax and Zhongli’s relationship and this year, they’ll be just as elated as ever to finally welcome their daughter back home.
The day finally arrives and with it, a familiar knock on the door. Theophania is dressed in the Akademiya’s green uniform and breathless like she’s just run a mile. Most notably, she isn’t alone. A tanned man with sharp features and dark hair stands behind her, shifting his weight around nervously.
“This is Sadi,” Theophania introduces, gratefully accepting a cup of water. “He was my first friend at the Akademiya, helping me when no one else would. There’s nowhere he can go for the new year, so I said he should come with me.”
“Nice to meet you, Sadi.” Ajax smiles. The young boy flashes a bright smile as he returns the sentiment. Gossip and stories are told over dinner, quickly turning into a lively banter.
It is of little surprise when an invitation arrives years later. To the parents of the bride: we cordially invite you to attend our wedding. A joyous affair to be celebrated in the historic Grand Bazaar where Sadi grew up in his late father’s toyshop.
Zhongli and Ajax travel to Sumeru for the first time in what must be eons now. The streets are alive with joy as they check into the hotel and mill around the marketplaces. Ajax successfully stops Zhongli from random impulsive purchases.
“Please, my love.” Ajax laughs, dragging Zhongli away from yet another stall. “Do think about how we are to take these items back home.”
“Adeptal—“
“No.” Ajax scolds him. Zhongli sighs, a bit too heavy for the circumstances. Ajax is forced to compromise. “…Later. We’ll double back here. Let’s go find this Grand Bazaar first, shall we?”
Zhongli nods, pulling out the little map of Sumeru City that came with the invitation. They are located somewhere near the Puspa Café, on one of the streets surrounding it.
“We should be near, baobei. This won’t take too long.” Zhongli says, indicating their location on the map and that of the venue. Ajax nods, pressing a kiss to Zhongli’s cheek before they set off.
The sun has long since set and Ajax has certainly teased him about this miscalculation plenty by the time a kind member of the Corps of Thirty approaches the pair.
“Excuse me, you two.” He says, having jogged to catch up with them. “I don’t mean to offend but you guys seem to be lost. Would you like any help?”
“No offense taken.” Zhongli smiles. “You are right to assume that we are lost.”
The mercenary hums, sizing the two of them up. “I’m guessing you’re relatives of Theophania? She looks just like you.”
“Yes, we’re her dads.” Ajax says, proud as ever of this title as the two of them carefully listen to the directions given. The streets of Sumeru City twirl about the Divine Tree in stacked layers and nothing about the map indicated that the Grand Bazaar was actually supposed to be under the tree.
“No wonder you two got lost then.” The Eremite says in poorly concealed amusement. He points out one of the Grand Bazaar’s entrances and sends them on their way.
They bump into Theophania and Sadi there, the two of them laughing as they feed each other street food. Zhongli chuckles as he recognizes a scene so reminiscent of his and Ajax’s own past. Sadi seems to hear them first, nudging Theophania until she turns around.
“Baba! Papa! You made it— you’re here!”
“Of course we’re here, little apple.” Ajax says, grunting as he’s hit with the full force of her tackle hug. Zhongli hides his amusement behind his hand as Ajax gives him a dirty look. It’s only natural that their daughter is strong enough to tackle an ex-Harbinger. In fact, Ajax had ensured that himself before she left home.
“How are you two liking Sumeru?” Theophania asks, beginning to chatter excitedly. In his peripheral vision, Zhongli sees Sadi toss a bag of mora to the vendor and catch up with his fiancée, placing a hand on her shoulder. It’s then that she realizes she's still holding Ajax to the ground, rolling off to lay beside him.
Sadi snorts and helps the both of them up, nodding a greeting to Zhongli as well. He’s grown the slightest bit taller since Zhongli first met him during Lantern Rite, features a lot more defined.
“Sadi looks a lot older now,” Ajax whispers to him as he dusts off his clothes, carefully inaudible to their daughter and her fiancé. A conflicted, pained expression paints his husband’s face and Zhongli knows why. Ajax’s most beloved stars had been lost during the Tsaritsa’s campaign against Celestia. Their deaths had been sudden— full of vitality one moment, freezingly cold the next.
Eons have passed since but Zhongli knows very well that Ajax has never quite gotten used to watching on the sidelines as mortals slowly age and leave them behind. It is certainly a process. He squeezes his husband’s hand, comforting as they watch Sadi struggle with their mischievous daughter.
“Have you done any touring?” Sadi asks them as he finally sets Theophania upright once more only for their daughter to giggle as she leans her whole weight onto her fiancé. Sadi sighs as he adjusts to support her. “It’d be our honor to bring you around the place.”
Zhongli shakes his head. “We just arrived today. Not much sightseeing has been done yet, though we did pass by the lower part of the city and dine at one of the restaurants there.”
“Perfect.” Sadi smiles, gesturing to the bazaar behind him. “Welcome to my hometown. Please follow us on our very impromptu tour. First stop: Zubayr Theater.”
The stage at Zubayr Theater is covered in long spoils of fabric and various types of flowers. Exquisite decorations that make the stage glitter under the lights. Zhongli begins to wonder if the theater is always like this or if these are simply wedding decorations.
The stairs creak as the four climb up the stage. Some parts of it are newly built while others are in various states of disrepair. Traditional, Zhongli thinks as Ajax wanders off, mumbling something about it reminding him of Snezhnaya’s old theaters. And clearly well loved.
“Zubayr Theatre is where we went on our first date. We were just students at the time and went to go see a production about Lesser Lord Kusanali. Sadi tricked me into it— he knew I loved watching plays but was too stressed about my studies to attend one so he said we were just going to do… what was it? Alternative research.” Theophania says as her parents take in their vantage point of the rest of the bazaar. It is quite a beautiful venue indeed.
“Hey now.” Sadi snorts, bumping Theophania’s hip. “It did help you, didn’t it? You ended up writing your freshman thesis on the First Sage of Buer.”
“Hm?” Zhongli asks, turning his attention away from the view. “Ah, is that why you wrote home asking us about our experiences with the Traveler?”
“Yup!” Theophania laughs, leaning onto Sadi once more in her amusement. “I mean, hey, it’s called seeking out primary sources , no? These events happened centuries ago and it’s not like there’s a lot of written information on them.”
Zhongli chuckles, conceding that point to his daughter as he turns his attention to the brilliant purple flora on stage. “I suppose.”
“Those flowers are Padisarahs,” Sadi tells them. “You know the story?”
“The Goddess of Flowers’ specialty.” Ajax says distractedly as he rejoins them. Zhongli is once again impressed by his husband’s knowledge. It makes sense, he supposes. Ajax did pass down his own love for history and mythos to their daughter. “Aren’t they extinct?”
“The real ones are.” Theophania confirms. “But listen! Sadi here is part of an ongoing effort to recultivate them. That’s his focus as an Amurta researcher and one of the reasons I realized my feelings for him— I mean, if my goals are lofty then I gotta have a partner that’s the same way, right? Let me tell you, he and his team do amazing work! The flowers that decorate this stage are some of their latest.”
“Recultivate true Padisarahs.” Ajax says as Sadi mutters something about how he wasn’t going to tell them. “Hasn’t that been attempted many times before? Even Lesser Lord Kusanali is said to have tried it before she lost her memories during the Cataclysm.”
“We do this with the Dendro Archon’s blessing and oversight.” Sadi tells them, gently tilting a flower to show the color of its petals. “There’s no guarantee we’ll ever succeed but at the very least, these petals are the slightest bit more vivid than the last batch.”
“Good luck.” Zhongli says, sincere in his tone. The story of their neighboring country’s Padisarahs have always reminded the once-god of certain moments in Liyue’s own painful history. “I wish you and your colleagues every success.”
Sadi shakes his head. “Thank you but this could be a project hundreds of years in the making. If anyone will complete it, it will be our students, not us.”
He glances at Theophania and she easily picks up where he left off. “We’ll be long gone by then but my Baba and Papa might just get to witness its return though. If you ever do, you have to somehow show us, alright?”
Ajax and Zhongli both agree, making a promise out of it as the four of them part ways.
The wedding is a few days later. Dances, singing, food and flowing drinks make for a lively time. The night tapers off to a close with a bashful announcement that Theophania had recently accepted the title of Sage of Vahumana. It was only the start of her academic career.
Zhongli has new targets now as he peruses through Wanwen Bookstore upon their return to Liyue Harbor. He carefully reads through and purchases each of his daughter’s publications. Ajax celebrates too, cheering when he sees Theophania listed as a researcher on Zhongli’s new scrolls.
“She takes after you!” He says with a crooked smile as he grabs a pastry out of Zhongli’s hand before settling down into a little pouf in their living room to continue reading Theophania’s new discoveries. She’s the finest mind currently alive in her Darshan and it shows in how she completely turns her field of study around.
Zhongli chuckles and leaves him to it, opening his son-in-law’s latest package stuffed to the brim with pressed petals, Sumerian sweets and pictures of two tanned little girls with Theophania’s amber eyes. His granddaughters. How strange, they seem to be growing up even faster than their mother.
The years pass by. Ajax and Zhongli begin to visit Sumeru often. Theophania greets them happily each time, ushering her family inside with her babies dozing off in her arms.
A pair of toddlers wiggling about in her hold. Excitable children who run for their grandparents first. Teenagers who greet them with a wide smile before immediately returning their focus to their textbooks.
Their granddaughters move out of Theophania and Sadi’s home as they begin to set up their own lives. Ajax and Zhongli are the first people she turns to, crying about loneliness and the stifling quiet of her home.
***
Sadi passes. In old age and peacefully surrounded by four generations of a loving family. Theophania quietly pulls her parents aside, a few days later and sheepishly asks if she could move back in with them. Sumeru cared for its elderly well, but Theophania hoped to be surrounded by family as her days drew to a close.
“My children have their own children now. Their own responsibilities, their own lives to live. I … I hope I’m not imposing on you, Baba, Papa.”
“We’d be most glad to welcome you back home,” Zhongli says firmly, shutting down her anxieties.
“I have a couple of boxes with me,” she says, scratching the back of her neck only for Ajax to fondly roll his eyes.
“Really now, a couple of boxes is nothing. Don’t tell me you forgot how out-of-control your father’s hoard is? Let me tell you, it’s only gotten worse since you’ve been gone.”
“I can only imagine,” Theophania laughs. “It has been seven decades after all.”
“So it has.” Zhongli smiles, the expression far too fragile on the face of a god who has withstood ages and ages. “How have you been, my daughter? I imagine that not all of your stories could be told in the form of letters and occasional visits.”
Theophania’s eyes light up, sadness and shame forgotten as she tells them of her life, all of the moments they missed. They pack up her home in Treasures Street together as she mulls over what stays, what goes and what her children might want for themselves. Ajax picks up his daughter, easily carrying her once-strong body as Zhongli prepares to teleport them home.
It almost feels like the past again as Ajax sets his daughter down and her chatter begins to fill the once too-quiet home.
“ Baba , listen, listen. Iraj, my eldest grandchild, Maryam’s kid, was waving his acceptance letter around the place, so naturally I just had to ask him which Darshan he was going to enter— there must be some sort of plan since he’s so excited about it. And you know what he tells me? Not Vahumana, of course. No offense, but I really don’t get you old soul freaks who cream themselves over finding a new artifact from the Guili Assembly or whatever. ”
Zhongli and Theophania burst into a peal of giggles, now sitting at that same stone table where she had been named. Their house has barely changed over time but Theophania nevertheless has difficulty making her way around the home where she grew up. It’s a matter of frustration and heartbreak for all three of them but Theophania doesn’t let that defeat her. She shouts, overjoyed as she sees Ajax approaching with snacks.
“Papa! Did you hear my story just now? Ohoho, and is this Liyuen or Snezhnayan tea?”
“It’s Liyuen, my love. Tieguanyin.” Ajax says, watching the way two sets of amber eyes light up. Like father, like daughter . Even decades of living in Sumeru had not managed to develop a fondness for coffee in Theophania. Boiled bean water , she had called it in one of her first letters home. He reaches out and pours them both a cup, making no comment about how shaky and wrinkled his daughter’s hands have grown.
Ajax pulls a chair out and sits down as the chatter flows once more. The family helps themselves to the last of the Sumerian sweets Theophania had brought from the Akademiya.
“ Ranginak, ” she introduces, eyes glittering. “ The flavor of dates helped me a lot with homesickness when I first came to Sumeru.”
“I would suppose that Sadi introduced them to you?”
“Yeah. These and a lot of other things. He brought me a lot of joy throughout our lives together. These are store bought, but we made a lot in our kitchen together too.” Theophania smiles gently, turning the little treat around in her hand. “... Hey, papa? Can you tell me what it was like when you first arrived in Liyue? The story of you and baba, please.”
“I’ve told you this story many times before, little apple.” Ajax chuckles.
“Tell it again. Please?” Theophania asks, pouting. Ajax shakes his head fondly and launches into the story of a mission from his god and the handsome, handsome man who awaited him on the docks of the northern wharf. Zhongli flushes at this description and is immediately met with raucous laughter from both of his beloveds.
The air grows colder, and Theophania tires. She loses stamina by the month, depending on her parents to carry her around the house. They’re quick as ever to assuage her insecurities with comforting words and doting on her every whim. Zhongli makes his rounds around the house, shutting out the winter air.
His daughter smiles at him appreciatively when he returns to the living room. Ajax is doing Theophania’s hair by the light of the fire that keeps them warm, pulling thin strands of snow white into the hairstyles she favored as a little girl. Zhongli watches as Ajax completes the look, pressing a kiss to the top of their daughter’s head as a final touch.
A watery mirror is conjured, allowing Theophania to check her papa’s work. She tilts her head this way and that, a tiny frown gracing her lips. “It’s perfect,” she says. “But… this means I have to go to bed now, doesn’t it?
“Yes, sweetheart. Rest is very important for your continued wellbeing.” Zhongli confirms. Theophania nods though she doesn’t move nor does she ask to be picked up.
“I…” she starts. “Baba, Papa? Could I sleep with you guys tonight? Like when I was a little girl?”
“Of course!” Ajax smiles. “You’ll always be our little girl.”
They carry her to bed then and tuck her in between them. The room falls dark as Ajax’s Hydro extinguishes the candles. Sleepily, Theophania pleads for a bedtime story and her parents easily relent. Ajax was the one to tell her last story, long before she even left Liyue so Zhongli asks to handle this night’s tale. Ajax agrees and is equally entranced as Zhongli begins to recount the original Seven, and how he remembers the way Snezhnaya came to be.
It’s an apt story. Tomorrow, Liyue will have its first snowfall in several years. It will grace their lands, freezing over the fields. Morning dew shall become tiny crystals of ice and the ponds of Liyue Harbor too will freeze over in time.
In the morning, two pairs of eyes open to that serene sight, cuddling closer to their cold daughter. Theophania’s eyes never open again. A serene smile graces her lips, happiness frozen on a still, peaceful face.
They bury her before the ground grows too difficult to dig. The current director of Wangsheng handles the traditional ceremony with grace and discipline, providing great comfort to the bereaved gathering who came from far and wide. Theophania had a great many friends who loved her enough to make the journey to Liyue on short notice.
“I was the daughter of a merchant who worked primarily in Sumeru.” A middle-aged Natlani woman says, sniffling as she recites her eulogy. “I remember Sage Theophania as a kind face during my youth who always supported my family’s business. She spoke more than the Akademiya’s minimum 20 languages and used them to not only further her studies into ancient history but also to tutor many of us to walk that path after her. I owe-” sob. “I owe so much to her.”
Zhongli squeezes Ajax’s hand as he tucks his face into the crook of Zhongli’s neck. They’ve cried their hearts out already and still tears continue to fall. Friends, family, pupils and colleagues spill their hearts out on the podium in front, telling the world of Theophania’s love. She is to be interred that afternoon, next to her husband in a stone tablet of her baba’s making.
They visit her often, even as the eons go by. She’s greeted on every important date they can remember with offerings and updates on her family’s lives. Reminders of their love for her and all the promises their family made with one another.
Ajax lays a bouquet of Padisarahs and Glaze Lilies on the graves. He leans against Zhongli, trusting him to support his weight as the two of them carefully commit the eroding epitaph to their memory once more.
Here lies Theophania
A brilliant researcher, a wonderful teacher, a beloved mother and daughter.
We’ll miss you forever.