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Another lantern right has arrived. Madam Ping stared at the glaze lilies growing in front of her.
Once years ago, she would have been accompanied by another young woman, one who would sing the most beautiful melodies to make the flowers bloom.
Perhaps these flowers had developed a dependence on that beautiful voice so much so that no matter how melodious the songs of the present are, the flowers refuse to bloom completely.
She still remembers the day she lost her beloved. Back when rex lapis had been late to a cry for help as they had watched her lifeless body be buried underneath the rubble falling from the sky.
After these years, madam ping could still feel the arms holding her back as she screamed and thrashed, trying to save whatever was left of her dear.
Guizhong had always been rather soft-hearted, she was the one whom they all treasured the most, and she was the one who held their friendship together.
On the day of Guizhong's demise, the streetward rambler had died alongside her.
She kept the bell close to her heart, the final creation of the beautiful lady.
Now, Madam Ping had grown old, she couldn't go as headstrong as she used to but the love in her heart burns just as bright.
……………………………..,
"Gather round! Gather round! On this lantern rite, let me tell you a new story! It is the story of the tragic end of a friendship. . ."
Zhongli had heard that there was a new storyteller in town for the lantern rite, so he had decided to visit the storyteller.
He listened as the storyteller went on to recount a tale of the distant past. Of a time that Zhongli could never really leave behind.
He couldn't help but drift along his sea of memories as the storyteller progressed his story.
This is a story of a time gone by. Though calling it a story would not do it any justice as this is simply a retelling of what happened all those years ago.
It starts with the birth of an Adeptus. A young dragon called Rex Lapis.
Back when he was still an Adeptus and not the Rex Lapis we now know him to be, he was taken in by two of the oldest adepti – the Mountain Shaper and the Moon Carver.
Rex Lapis was the youngest of all adepti, he was adored by them all. It is said that during his childhood, when Rex Lapis was still learning how to take a human form, the other adepti used to fight a lot over who gets to carry the tiny dragon on their shoulders.
Though Rex Lapis enjoyed the attention, he did not like the constant brawl between his companions; he had tried to solve the conflict many times but it seemed that his tiny form was not too convincing.
So, Rex Lapis secluded himself and tried his hardest to attain a human form.
After years and years of hard work, Rex Lapis finally emerged from the seclusion as a beautiful young man.
But his timing had been horrendous yet again as he had arrived right at the time when Cloud Retainer and Guizhong were in the midst of a heavy argument regarding some strange designs that he had not much idea about.
Before Rex Lapis could save himself from his demise and run away, he had been grabbed by both the women and forced to pass judgement.
Looking at the usually calm Guizhong being so fired up in this conversation, Rex Lapis couldn't believe his eyes. His perception of reality almost shattered after looking at two of the most intelligent people he knew, fighting with each other over a bet of who was better.
But being magnanimous, Rex Lapis passed his true judgement.
He had naïvely thought that this was only a one-time occurrence as another conflict soon arose again.
This time it was between the streetward rambler and Guizhong, they were fighting over something related to a bell, the purpose of which Rex Lapis couldn't understand. So, he decided to simply seize the bell for ceremonial purposes.
"And this folks is how the lantern rite came to be!" Said the storyteller as he paused for a drink of tea.
"Hey! Where's the 'tragic end of a friendship' that you talked so passionately about? This was just another iteration of a story we have been hearing since times gone by!" A person from the crowd shouted.
"Oh little lady, please calm down. The story hasn't ended yet. Let me take a breather first."
"So, now that all of you know the general gist of how lantern rite came to be celebrated, let us continue –"
After her conflict with the streetward rambler had been resolved, Guizhong and The streetward rambler became the best of friends. If one was present somewhere, the other was surely nearby.
They had become practically inseparable. It had been quite surprising as those two were known to always argue passionately about their common areas of interest.
Then, the cataclysm struck. The world was shrouded in the dark clouds of death and tragedy that engulfed all living beings.
Celestia had started a contest and everyone wanted to win. Some wanted to protect while others sought to destroy.
The adepti had to split up to protect their nation. The Streetward rambler got the Sea of Cloud, The mountain shaper got the Qiongji Estuary, The Moon Carver had been given Lisha, The Cloud Retainer was told to protect Bishui plains while Rex Lapis along with the Yakshas went to save Minlin.
Guizhong had been tasked with providing artillery assistance wherever required.
It was on her way to assist the mountain shaper that Guizhong was ambushed.
Although an architect by nature, Guizhong was still a gallant warrior and she fought to her last breath as she waited for someone to come to her aid.
At long last, when her body could no longer hold and her adeptal energy had been depleted, she perished along with the artillery she had prepared.
Though she couldn't be of proper assistance, she would never let the weapons fall in the wrong hands.
"The other adepti arrived a moment late, had they been a bit faster Guizhong could have been saved. The guilt of this shall live on forever in their hearts."
There was a solemn atmosphere after the storyteller was done.
"I don't think you have the complete recount young man," Zhongli spoke calmly though his emotions were anything but.
Guizhong's death was still a sore spot for him, his first and last failure as an Adeptus. He had once promised Madam Ping that he would try his hardest to keep their relationship safe, but the very promise had been broken the next day.
Zhongli knew that somewhere in her heart, Madam Ping still hadn't forgiven him fully. Though she has become mature with her age, her youthful fierceness has long since fallen off her personality.
The Streetward rambler had once promised Guizhong that they would travel the world together to find a safe place to settle down and then they would adopt a child. Although they could never travel the world anymore, Zhongli had once heard Madam Ping tell the bell in her hand, "Guizhong, our girl Yanfei is growing up well. Please keep her safe as I can't do it anymore."
To have such a beautiful love be boiled down to "really good friendship" didn't sit well with Zhongli and though he couldn't keep their relationship safe, he would do his best to at least keep the title safe.
"What do you mean? I have told the story as it has been passed down for generations." The storyteller spoke a bit rudely.
"The main thing that you were wrong about is…"
"Zhongli! What are you doing here? I thought we were supposed to have tea together" a voice that was still youthful in his mind overlapped with the broken intonations that come with old age, Madam Ping had interrupted him.
"Come on young man, I will not wait any longer." She said with hands on her hips.
"But…" before he could protest, the old lady had already dragged Zhongli away.
"Zhongli, let it go. It's been years since that day. I have forgiven you. Forgive yourself too."
"But… how can I allow your story to be sidelined like that?"
"That's the novelty of our story, very few people know and those who do will cherish it forever." For a moment, Zhongli thought he saw the Streetward rambler again. Though it could have been a trick of the light.
"Now come on young man, This old lady doesn't have many teas left in her life."
A lantern floated in the air with the message:
"Guizhong, one day we will reunite and I will fulfil my promise to you then. Wait for me dear, wherever you are."