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week 2

WEEK TWO MATCH CEREMONY

ᯓ⭐ WEEK TWO MATCH CEREMONY

Welcome, kiddos and kiddettes! To Week Two of this bullshit!

Once again, everyone is led up to the roof with the same seating set-up as before. Riri is cheerfully bobbing in front of the fire and as people arrive and get settled, it waves its little wand to offer Greeting Sparkles.

"I guess we'll see if you're taking it a little more seriously this week. Probably surprising no one, our overachieving Marty is gonna be up first this time, but who knows how it's gonna go next week?

Anyway, sit down, shut up, and unfortunately let the guy speak."

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[He inhales deeply.]

Good evening, Mister Mithra. [He glances at the approaching individual for a moment before returning his gaze to the sky.] I suppose I could have guessed that you are also not one for rambunctious parties.

[Mithra tracks Zhongli's gaze to the sky in the distance.]

Alcohol's all right, but I'd rather not drown myself in it.

[He's not Manuela . . . or Tiletta. Also, even the rowdiest of parties start to get boring after a while.]

[He hums a soft approval.]

I find those who indulge in the drink overmuch somewhat unpleasant to be around. And I'm much too old for such mindless indulgences myself.

[A glass of wine now and then? How could he refuse? But only a glass and only now and then.]

[Drunkards are ironically some of his favorite people, so he can't relate to that.]

Hmm . . . It's not so bad when you can talk over a drink, whether it's alcohol or tea. But I don't see the point in drinking more than that.

Nor do I.

[He takes a sip of the tea he brought up here with him.]

If I am in your usual star gazing spot I can move elsewhere.

I didn't come here to stargaze . . .

[Even so, his gaze lingers on the sky. A sigh wells in his throat, not yet at its point of release.]

. . . Do you like them?

[Then that begs the question why he's out here.]

The stars or the people inside?

[He takes another small sip.]

I enjoy most of the contestants that we are meant to be playing a game with. And I do like the stars. Their patterns are different here in this world but nice all the same to behold.

[A game, huh. Well, good for Zhongli. He seems to be well-off, all things considered.]

What's so nice about them? The stars.

[Mithra's tone is curious. If his night with Yukong was any indication, the reasons seem to differ.]

They're stagnant. After thousands of years they've remained in the same place. Everything on the land itself will change, erode, wither away and turn to dust. But the stars remain in place.

It's a comforting thought.

Well, I suppose that's true . . . though we'll be gone from this place long before that.

It is true. [He sets the cup and saucer beside him, folding his hands in his lap.] And while that may be true for most I find it comforting that there are things in this world that will be unchanging.

[Mithra is quiet for a moment as he continues to peer up at the sky.

It's what happens when one is long-lived: everything and everyone else die so soon, if they aren't already dead. There's only so much that remains in the aftermath.]

The stars of your world must be bright.

They are rather bright, yes. Are they not in your world?

No, they are. In fact, I know of a place that has the most beautiful view of them.

I know a similar place in Liyue. The stars are dimmer in the city but there are plenty of places in the country where they shine brighter.

What is your home like?

[He fixes his gaze back on Zhongli, vaguely recalling the mention of a harbor or some other.]

I don't have such a place; however, I used to lived near the Lake of Death. It's a cold, vast, and silent place where the lake's surface reflects the stars at night.

[A lake still enough that it can reflect the stars. Lake of Death indeed if it acts like a mirror. Silent and unmoving. No life to be found to cause even the slightest ripple... or that is how he pictures it.]

What has the lake done to obtain such an inauspicious name?

Nothing. The climate is simply too harsh for any village to withstand.

There is, however, the land of the dead that the villagers at the lakeside once believed to be the resting place of the dead. That was where I lived as the ferryman.

A guide for those that had passed then?

[He tilts his head up and returns his gaze to Mithra.]

Though it's different from what I know I am also familiar with someone who guides the dead to the other side.

Well, that was what the villagers believed. I don't know how true it is, though I saw the occasional wandering soul here and there.

[He cants his head, curious.]

Is that person also a ferryman?

A spiritual guide more than anything. She finds souls and leads them across the border of life and death.

There's no boat or ferrying exactly but the idea is the same, I imagine.

Is it? All I did was ferry the bodies.

If not on a boat, how does she lead them?

I can only assume so with your vague explanation of things. I can only draw conclusions with the information provided.

[He takes a sip of his tea, blowing on it gently before he does.]

She walks with them and talks to them and leads them to where all souls cross over. That is all I can say. The other side is not a realm for me and I should stay away from it while still living.

[Hmm . . . Was it vague?]

That's how most people feel. Even the villagers who fervently believed in the land of the dead refused to cross the lake while they looked upon the job of the one who did with disdain. [Though he wouldn't be able to explain why.]

That woman probably does her work alone as well.

I assume she does. But there is no need to fret over her. She makes up for any potential lonliness by being one of the... loudest merchants I have ever experienced.

[And that is saying something. And loudest is a generous word for her but she may end up watching this back home so he'll be nice in regards to his words for her. Few test his near limitless patience like Hu Tao does.]

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