[There comes a time when you're as old as Zhongli that the line blurs. The line between present and past, between the human he was long ago and the god he was for a long, long time before that. He's unable to recall huge periods of time despite knowing his own memory is of unfailing, crystalline quality. Perhaps if he had a storyteller to jog his memory... but all he has are history books written hundreds of years after he marched across the battlefields. He doesn't flinch when he's addressed, nor does he respond immediately. Like in all things, his words and actions are measured and deliberate.]

Do you know what these flowers are? They're known as Glaze Lilies, and they're native to a land far from here.

[He rises to his feet.]

Glaze Lilies were once widespread. They covered the plains nearly without end, until a war between many gods flooded the land, destroying the Assembly... and with it, the habitat the flowers depended on. They thrived in other places for a time, but in the thousands of years since the Archon War, they dwindled to nearly nothing. The ones you see cultivated by humans are not nearly as fragrant or beautiful as the ones that grow in the wild, since they reflect the world around them.

... You won't find another flower as sensitive to the world around it. They bloom brightest when someone sings to them or plays music, even midday, though they prefer moonlight to open their petals. Noise and strife tends to kill them faster than overpicking. Such tender blooms are rare among people, too.

[He finally looks over at Jusis. Rather than stony and unreadable, there's a trace of sadness.]

... My apologies for keeping you waiting. I'm ready.