Heart of Ice

To most people, Xue had a heart of ice. 

Whether it’s her attacks or her bearing, she was nothing but cold; even when she doesn’t do anything, the perpetual blank expression on her face would leave people shivering. Even Xue herself admitted that she was colder than most, being ready to sacrifice everything for the little that she cared about.. While she could empathize with some, not much could actually strike her heart, causing her to remain detached and seemingly apathetic. 

But in the end, a human’s heart is but a fragile heart; no matter how cold she may be, she will always have weaknesses.

And her weakness was none other than her family. 

Xue didn’t care how disheveled she looked; neither did she care about how sore her feet were, how much sleep she was lacking, nor did she care about the scratches on her arms and face as she rushed to look for the domain Kira told her about. She could care less about her physical state, with her mind only focused on three names: Kaeya, Skye, and Diluc. By the time she caught sight of the domain’s exterior, she could tell that her body was giving up. She had been facing a swarm of Abyss Mages recently, which weighed on her on top of the paperwork she had for both the Tianliu Clan and the Knights of Favonius. She also had to deal with some suspicious activities Kira reported to her, trying to fulfill her role as a protector of both Mondstadt and Liyue.

Hence, when she got news about the trio’s whereabouts, it had already been half a day. And with her mind screaming at her that everything had seemed too fishy, she could only tell Kira to apologize to Zhou Feng and Liu Xinyi before immediately heading off to look for the trio. 

So even when she tripped and tremblingly forced herself up, she didn’t stop.

She couldn’t afford to stop.

“Please look after them as you would with your sibling.”

Not when her older brothers’ lives are on the line.

She rushed through the domain with her spear in hand, dealing with all the minions and traps along the way. Not wanting to waste even a second more in these unnecessary entanglements, each of her movements went straight for the kill. Fortunately, there was no special arrangement to the domain’s interior, hence she had no need to go through a maze or any portal.

“You…” She huffed upon arriving at the scene, her breath hitching at the sight of Kaeya and Skye unconscious, whereas Diluc was on his knees, covered in wounds. Surrounding them were several Abyss Lectors and Abyss Heralds, with one Iniquitous Baptist standing at the center. “Diluc!” 

“Xue?” Diluc immediately responded, his eyes lighting up briefly, “You need to get Kaeya and Skye out– they need help.”

“I’m not leaving without you!” She shouted at him, deflecting the attacks being sent her way, “It’s either I take the three of you out, or you take them out yourself!”

“Xue, don’t be–” Diluc’s words were cut-off midway as he was struck down by a Hydro Abyss Herald.

“Foolish of you to think of even escaping,” the Iniquitous Baptist laughed.

Xue understood that all of the attacks on her this recent week had been planned alongside this. With Diluc’s own hunting of them, it was no wonder that they wanted to settle the debt with him personally. They were after Kaeya, and could only rely on overpowering Skye with the sheer power and number of these Abyss Elites, knowing that Abyss Mages won’t wear him down. The only reason why she was separated from the group was not only revenge for her mockery, but because she knew they didn’t think much of her.

When in reality, they found her especially worrisome that they had to try and stall her for time.

With gritted teeth, Xue wiped her tears away and let out a cry as she rushed to deal with them. She could easily take on several Abyss Mages without breaking a sweat, but these elites were a different story. They were a lot smarter – a lot stronger – and amidst them was an Iniquitous Baptist who held control over four elements; even without them, there would always be the threat of the Cryo Abyss Heralds.. 

No matter how decisive, fast, and explosive Xue was, she wouldn’t be able to defeat them.

At least, not alone.

“Ack!” Xue choked out as she was kicked onto the stomach, blood spurting out her mouth. Before she could even land on her feet, she was immediately grabbed by the neck and thrown several feet away, her body rolling along the ground from the momentum.

“Foolish,” the Iniquitous Baptist once again mocked, “Where’s your confidence now, Head of the Tianliu Clan?”

“Confidence…” she huffed, standing back up despite her body screaming at her to concede, “I guess you lack that too? After all…”

She looked around.

“You had to rely on outnumbering me time and time again just to have a chance.”

She clutched her stomach as she called back her spear into her hand. She then forced herself to stand up straight, her cold eyes void of any expression. She reached out of her hand, summoning several layers of ice to encase the unconscious trio, and started stepping forward. The air around them started condensing into ice, creating several snowflakes that formed a blizzard. The range and intensity of the blizzard was far bigger and stronger than she would normally do, understanding that she had to go all out if she wanted to deal with them. 

If Skye was awake, they could always pull the same trick as he once did; though it might put himself at risk again, that would’ve been more convenient.

But alas, she was the only one conscious.

So she would just have to put herself at risk in his place.

“You called my name so don’t you forget who I am,” she slammed the spear down on the ground, letting it pierce through the surface, just as the whole ground got covered in ice and ice crystals, “I am the Head of the Tianliu Clan, dealing with threats like you are what I’m meant to do.”

The blizzard intensified, leaving all the Hydro Abyss Heralds frozen whereas the Electro Abyss Lectors could no longer keep their shields up. Six huge ice pillars appeared around them, releasing a lot more chains than she used to summon. 

The Chains of Tianliu were made to apprehend bigger and stronger monsters. It was one of the arts taught by the Adepti to her family, which was passed down to each generation of heirs. Though the Abyss Elites can definitely break their way out, it would take a lot of time and effort.

And time was the one that they lacked the most at this moment.

She looked at them with glowing eyes, her hair and clothes waving wildly, and gave the trio one last glance. 

A human’s heart is but a fragile heart; no matter how cold Xue may be, she will always have weaknesses – and in Xue’s case, it’s her family.

But in the end, towards most people, Xue had a heart of ice.

And that included herself.

As she pulled her hand away from her stomach, she could only mutter an apology in her heart. If any of the trio were awake right now, they would’ve called her crazy and screamed at her to stop.

After all, who would expect that Xue, the Lieutenant of the Knights of Favonius, Head of the Tianliu Clan,  protector of both Mondstadt and Liyue, and one of the names on the Fatui’s long-standing hitlist, would wield a Pyro Delusion?

Before any of them could notice it, the orb suddenly glowed brightly as the temperature rapidly heated up. As a result, the rapid superheating of the freezing cold temperature caused a violent steam explosion to occur.

And when the steam cleared up, not only were the Abyss Elites no longer moving, but the unconscious Xue was protected by several barriers of Cryo and Hydro.

“Really a fucking idiot…” Skye tiredly laughed under his breath as he dropped his hand down to check on Diluc’s pulse, exchanging a look with the now-awake Kaeya. 

Fortunately they woke up in time or else…

Neither of them dared to continue their train of thought.