Sneak Peek: Shattered Euphonies
Genshin Impact
Morax | Zhongli x Azhdaha | Retuo Longwang
One day, when Morax traveled north to visit the god Barbatos, Azhdaha sought out Guizhong’s wisdom.
“Is it too much for me to think that you’re visiting me just to chat?” She asked with a knowing look in her eye.
The dragon cast a sheepish look to the ground.
Guizhong placed herself by his feet, sitting down comfortably beside his foreleg. “It is of no consequence. When you’re ready, tell me dear one, what’s on your mind.”
For once the dragon found he could not find the words. Just a song writhing in him that he could still not sing. After a deep inhale, he acquiesced his wish. “Is there a way to gain form like you and Morax? To walk among the people with two legs…two feet. To accompany you where you go and not be left behind?”
Snapping open her fan, the god of dust sat quietly.
The dragon supposed that enough was her answer.
Surprising him however, she spoke up softly. “Morax spent much time and passion creating the form you now wear. Is it not enough?”
“There is something I still need, something this body cannot grant me.” Azhdaha felt the swell of song grow stronger in his chest. “I’ve battled this greed for a long time now and yet it grows ever fervent within me. He granted eyes for me to see the world, and yet I cannot accompany him to see all that these lands have to offer.”
“A wanderlust, I see,” Guizhong huffed with amusment, her fan swaying back and forth. “So odd. For something rooted in the earth desiring to leave its spot.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“It’s not.”
Their company quieted and settled into something amiable and thoughtful. Azhdaha still could not converse with Guizhong the way he could with Morax, but he was grateful for her listening ear. Even after all, she’d just confirmed that he wanted for something he should not.
Until again she surprised him. “To walk alongside Morax, that is something you desire?”
“Yes,” there was no hesitation to his answer, no objection.
“To gain a form like ours is not hard, Azhdaha,” Guizhong said, pulling dirt and sifting it through her fingers. “Everything originates from dust and to dust it will one day transpire to again.”
He watched with growing curiosity.
“In seven days, I will have a form for you to live and breathe on this earth as a man,” she gave him a kind look. “Morax has never been one to create anything that wasn’t designed for strength. So I will give you something a bit more delicate.”
His heart jumped in his chest and the world resonated with its beat. “And what contract would we need to form, in order for me to take your gift?”
Guizhong slapped his leg lightly, her laughter once again ringing out. “Consider it a gift between friends.”
