Over one thousand years of slaying demons, slaying gods. Xiao wishes to never return to that life. Ever. It cost him the lives of people he loved and cared about. It cost him the thought of ever living without the regret of those he slain. And all he has to show for it is Karmic Debt and battle scars, both emotionally and physically.

He experiences nightmares every time he tries to fall asleep; that's the biggest reason why he's awake so late at night nowadays — he can't stand those night terrors. But, he has found ways to deal with these terrors; he visits the ocean and listens to the calming sounds of the water flowing and the fish swimming. It's the only way he can relax.

And tonight, as he finds himself at the shoreline of Liyue once again, he spots a creature in the distance, swimming beneath the surface of the water. It wasn't uncommon for him to see a large fish or a shark swimming in the ocean, but it was clear that whatever this thing was, it wasn't anything he had ever seen before.

He stood up from where he was sitting on the coastline and tried to get a better look at whatever that mysterious creature was. He had never been one to curiously go after a creature anymore, but he just couldn't help himself this time.

He saw the creature jump out of the water for a split second before falling back into the water; in that short second, he took in all of its features. It turns out that this creature didn't look too different from him; it looked human, yet it had a fish's tail. Could it be? A mermaid?

"A mermaid?" Xiao muttered under his breath, stunned at the sight of what he had just seen. They had such a majestical tail, an iridescent fishtail that shone brightly in the pale moonlight. "I never knew they existed."