Chapter Text
Kaeya couldn’t help but let his jaw drop in awe upon seeing the limitless view up above. It wasn't proper of him to do so, but the view he was faced with was breathtaking! It looked like the vast oceans they had back home, but this one was darker, bigger, filled with thousands of sparkling gems, and more importantly, it was up above! It was the most beautiful thing Kaeya had ever seen, especially when he was only used to seeing the dark and gloomy ruins his entire, admittedly short, life so far.
”Is that Teyvat’s ocean, father?” he asked. His father pauses from his frantic writing by the lovely campfire and looks at him in confusion, before following the direction of where Kaeya was looking at. The man lets out a rare gentle chuckle that warmed Kaeya's heart more than the fire in front of them before explaining to his son what he was seeing.
The blanket of darkness and sparkling gems was called the "sky". The “night sky” to be exact, because his father proceeded to explain to him that Teyvat had other types of sky. ‘Teyvat has that many skies?’ Kaeya thought, heart suddenly filled with jealousy. Khaenri’ah had no such variation, only the same darkness since he was born.
Why couldn’t Teyvat share some of their skies to his home? Surely they don’t need that many...
This thought was instantly pushed to the back of his mind as the dancing mushrooms he saw a while ago spotted him and his father. He was immediately commanded to hide, and he, a dutiful son, swiftly follows the order, only catching a glimpse of his father’s sword being summoned before his vision was blocked by the huge tree he chose to hide behind of.
His musings about the Teyvat sky returns after several Teyvatian cycles, or "days" as his father frequently called it. He sees a version of the sky that he doesn’t recognize from his father's impromptu lecture. This one doesn't look beautiful at all.
The heavens were dull and gray, and the winds were harsh- strong enough to topple him over had his father not caught him by the arm to keep him upright. There was an ominous rumbling that came with the clouds, making Kaeya feel a bit anxious as he warily observed them approach their location. It doesn’t seem right for the sky to make noises like that. Kaeya wonders if he still wants Teyvat to share their sky with his home now that he had seen… whatever this seemed to be.
He was about to ask his father what was happening, only to pause at the face his father was making. The man was watching the ominous clouds with a glare. Should Kaeya be worried? He is afraid to ask his father if the sky was making him mad. His father is scarier than the sky is right now when he is mad.
He doesn't ask his question and lets is father guide him to the nearby trees that overlooked a huge manor filled with fields of grape vines. It looked beautiful and cozy from a distance, a far cry better location to be at rather than outdoors at the moment, but Kaeya can’t help but feel bitter at the sight of the house where he is supposed to stay at until the mission required his aide.
Kaeya feels a tap on his shoulder, taking away his focus from the manor to his father, who then quickly reminded him of his purpose and what he was supposed to do. The rumbling from the sky grows closer. Something wet hits his cheek. Water, he realized, but he ignores it as his father spoke.
“This is where you must stay. You are our only hope...” His father trailed off, before looking at the distance, glaring at the dull skies once again. “Forgive me, Kaeya.”
The man then swiftly turns around, not even taking a glance at his son for one last time, before walking away. A dry lump clogs Kaeya’s throat as the distance between them grew, but he gathers up all his courage to give his father some parting words that he himself does not fully believe in.
“We’ll meet again someday, father! ” Kaeya shouts in their mother tongue, halting the older man in his steps. Kaeya waits and hopes for his father to respond, but there is none, only the sounds of the rumbling sky and the quickened pace of his father leaving.
The winds grew stronger, making Kaeya lean on the nearby tree he was left at, but that was not enough to convince him to remove his eye from the man… until the drops of water hitting his face increased, distracting him from his father’s leaving figure. Kaeya looks up in confusion, unsure where the water actually came from, only to be pelted with more and more until the water droplets hitting him not only rapidly increased in number, but also in its strength. He frantically looked around in a panic, but visibility seemed to have worsened...or there was just that many water droplets from the sky.
Kaeya doesn’t understand what is happening. What is this? Why are there so many water droplets falling from Teyvat’s sky? And why is it hurting him?
Fear and anxiety wrap around his mind as he came upon a thought. Did… did Celestia realize why his father left him here? Did they know of his purpose? Is this their punishment? The water droplets do not seem to poison or burn him, and yet they hurt him all the same with how strong they are hitting his body, and their innumerable amount and seemingly unending assault felt like a hundred knives were slashing at him through his cloak.
Kaeya curls himself up, protecting his face from the onslaught of what he assumes is torture from Celestia themselves. He cries out his father’s name, hoping the man would come back; to take him back to the caves they rested in, safe from the eyes of the heavens; but the horrid pelting of water seemed to serve another purpose, and that is to drown out his screams.
Suddenly, a bright light flashes in his peripheral vision, prompting him to look up, wondering if someone is out there to help him- if his father came back to save him.
C R A C K - B O O M
Kaeya screams in shock and fear at the loud sound. He curls into himself further, until a pain in his tummy told him of his limits. More flashing lights somehow enter thru his closed eyelids, warning Kaeya of what is to come, but no amount of preparation could prevent his panicked screaming as successive and terrifying loud booms sounded off around him.
His father had told him of what happened in the battlefields of their nation, and if Kaeya is right, the heavens must be bombing them. Celestia is angry, and he will be killed. Kaeya is going to die. He’s going to die right now. He’s going to fail the mission and fail his nation, his home, his father-
“Hello! Is someone out there?!” a man’s voice sounded out, prompting Kaeya to dare look up again to look for its source, only for a bright flash to appear from a distance, prompting him to close his eyes again as yet another booming sound occurred. He can't help but let another scream out.
“Ma- Cre-s! Ov- there!” Kaeya faintly hears another man, but his mind is too panicked to figure out what the other person was saying.
”Rea- the -riage! I’ll go gr- the child!” the same voice who called out a while ago exclaims as he rapidly approached Kaeya's location. Kaeya heard the man kneel down near him. “Young one, can you hear me? Are you hurt?” the man softly questioned. Kaeya found himself unable to answer, too afraid to open both his eyes and his mouth as more flashes and loud noises terrorized him. He can’t help but sob instead, struggling to make sense of everything.
Suddenly, Kaeya feels a thick coat cover him, protecting him from the painful attacks of Celestia as arms wrapped around his curled up form. ‘Warm…’ Kaeya thought through as he snuggled closer to his savior, continuing his sobbing onto the man's chest. The man’s large form muffled the noises from everything around him so well that even when Kaeya knew there were flashing lights, he barely noticed the terrifying loud sounds that followed.
The man started to lift him up, making Kaeya yelp in surprise, but the man immediately comforts him by rubbing his back. “It’s going to be okay, dear child. I’m bringing you to safety. I'm bringing you to my home.” the man explains to him as he roughly traversed the forest grounds. Kaeya found in himself some remaining courage to open his eyes while in the man’s comforting carry, only to be faced with vibrant red.
Kaeya decided that red might be his favorite color now.