Chapter Text
The people of Mondstadt have agreed for some time that the Harbinger in their town has overstayed his welcome. It’s the undercurrent of the town proper, the settlements outside the walls largely unaffected by the schemes of the Fatui directly.
Rumors had a hard time staying afloat, however, since the Fatui Harbinger was staying with the Cavalry Captain, and the snarky criticism of the Fatui devolved into praise of the town’s beloved Kaeya Alberich. None of the denizens of Mondstadt could fathom the actual ends that both were working toward at that moment, though.
After Jean had caught wind of Kaeya’s taking in of the Harbinger, she had exasperatedly asked him to explain himself, but since there had been no disasters as a result, she left them to their own devices, telling Kaeya that minding Childe would serve as his duties for the time being. Ordinarily, Kaeya would have been insulted to simply stay around in a position akin to babysitting, but this was a perfect handoff of time. Time which could be spent planning.
The unlikely pair decided on leaving for the Abyss in the night, Kaeya leading the way to the entrance to the Abyss in Mondstadt. It was a ways from the town, but it was able to be reached in a night.
“A portal?” Childe’s confusion had an edge of indignance.
“What, is that so much harder to believe than an entrance to the Abyss?”
“No, but—”
“Right here.” Kaeya points to a place on the map, in the higher hills of Cape Oath. “That’s our ticket there.”
As they headed out, they noticed a warm light emanating from somewhere in the city. Childe tugged on Kaeya’s sleeve, a soundless question of danger in his eyes. Rather than answer, Kaeya shook his head and locked the door, the click of the key almost too jarring in the post-midnight silence.
Through the side alleys they go, walking quietly as they can on the paved ground. They pass through the outdoor stairwell, avoiding the route to the cargo storage that passes by Dawn Winery, and find a sleeping Knight of Favonius near the wall’s exit arch to the docks.
Lucky for us, I guess, Kaeya thinks to himself, somewhat annoyed at the Knight slacking off.
Childe begins tugging on his sleeve again as they reach the bottom of the steps, ignoring Kaeya’s visual signals to get him to stop. Still, Childe pulls on his sleeve until Kaeya finally turns to him, irritated.
“What?” he whispers sharply.
Childe only points to a tuft of red hiding behind the shipping crates near the arch. Ah.
Of course it would be Diluc.
Kaeya hadn’t thought that he would have had the energy to continue watching the city of Mondstadt after working double-time at the winery, but he’d forgotten his brother’s one-track mind. If there was a threat, that gave him all the more reason to watch out for Mondstadt. One of these days the man would pass out from all that. Unfortunately, that day was not today.
“What do we do?” Childe asks, in a mediocre attempt at a whisper.
“Make a run for it,” Kaeya determines then and there. “There’s two of us and our visions outweigh his. Plus we’re probably faster. Probably.”
“Alright. Say when.”
Kaeya waited a few beats, until there was complete silence. Their cover had been blown already, since they were in full view, but if they were quick, they could make Diluc think that he hadn’t seen them. Well, at least until their eventual mad dash to the docks, at least.
“Now!”
The duo ran toward the arch, only to be stopped by a huge flaming bird blocking their way and soaring right towards them. Kaeya, unsure of what to do about the flames, tried to dodge, losing ground between him and the exit. Childe instead dove towards the phoenix, water blades in hand. Kaeya soon found himself unable to see through the steam.
He heard the voices of Childe and Diluc, engaged in a battle of some sort. Diluc’s voice was annoyed, insulted even, while Childe was nothing if not provocative in response.
“—you Fatui scumbag.”
“Wow, what a way with words you’ve got, Diluc. I’d never imagine seeing you out here like this.”
Kaeya felt a small jolt of worry. Even though he might be able to trust Childe since their secrets were for better or for worse intertwined, Diluc, who was more or less a target of the Fatui, could be in danger.
“I can’t believe you dragged Kaeya into this.”
What?
“Oh, I see.” Kaeya heard Childe’s voice lilt in a most annoying fashion. “You think this is a hostage situation.”
“I think it’s a bad one. One that you most likely caused.”
“I wouldn’t say that. And I’m not sure I caused it either.”
Time to start talking before Childe runs his mouth and makes us both enemies of the state.
“Diluc,” Kaeya begins, eye still trying to get bearings as the steam billows away. Diluc doesn’t respond verbally to his name, only turning to look at Kaeya.
“I’m not in trouble.”
“Then what exactly are you doing?”
“It’s hard to explain—”
“ Explain it. ” Diluc’s grip on his greatsword tightened, muscle showing through glove.
“We’re going to the Abyss. To look for someone.”
“Why?” Diluc’s eyes narrow even more than they were before, his scowl settling deeper on his face. “To defect?”
“No—I told you—it’s hard to explain—”
“How tough?” Flames begin to spark at the claymore’s tip.
“ It would be a really great time to explain, y’know ,” Childe emphasizes with a horrendous stage whisper.
Between the hectic mix of Childe’s incapability of managing a situation, the unspoken threat from Diluc, and the fact that absolutely nothing was going to plan , Kaeya’s seemingly unbothered exterior almost fully cracked with his next words, the lilt in his voice seeming more panicked than sarcastic.
“It would be easier to explain if there wasn’t a threat of becoming burnt to a crisp right in front of me.”
Diluc looks at the claymore in his hand, making the decision to put it away. The memory that stands between him and Kaeya is something that he’d rather not repeat.
“Explain it, then,” Diluc begins with a sigh. “I just want to know the truth.”
“We are going to the Abyss,” said Childe. “And—”
“I said the truth , Fatui boy. And I doubt I’ll get it from you.”
“The truth is,” Kaeya begins, “We’re going to the Abyss to find someone.”
“Why?”
“Do you remember those dreams I had? When we—when I was still in knight training?”
Diluc only nods after some hesitation.
“I was in the Abyss, and I met Childe there. And apparently those dreams turned out to be true, because he’s right here in front of us, and—”
Kaeya suddenly sideyes Childe, who nods as if giving some sort of permission.
“He fell in, and he got out. He had mentioned a swordswoman who helped him learn the ways to get out of there.”
“Is there a reason to need these skills? Or…” Diluc’s face reveals little as he comes to the realization. “Khaenri’ah.”
Kaeya nods. “I still have a little bit of obligation to them.”
“More than a little bit.”
“Hm.” Diluc closes his eyes and rubs the side of his head, and Kaeya isn’t sure whether he is thinking or trying to curb his anger. So what he says next comes as a complete surprise.
“I’m coming with you.”
Both Kaeya and Childe react in surprise.
“What?”
“Really?”
Diluc puts his hand up to halt further reaction. “I don’t trust either of you, but…I guess I owe it to you, since it does have to do with a citizen of Mondstadt in possible danger.”
“Not passing up on being a big brother when you can, are you?” Kaeya quips, good-humoredness returning in full now that he sensed he wasn’t in immediate danger.
“It’s not about that,” Diluc responds quickly.
“I don’t know,” Childe responds. “That answer seemed a little too quick. Someone’s in denial.”
“I agree.” Kaeya nods. “Suspicious.”
Diluc walks through the entrance, sighing. “Don’t make me regret this.”
“No promises!” Childe follows, right on his heels.
Kaeya tails the both of them, looking back at Mondstadt as they leave. Knowing little of what lied ahead and knowing that it wasn’t a dream were things that he was finally realizing as he took his first steps outside of the walls of his home, yet akin to his dreams, that gave him some fear and some hope.
—
The trip to Cape Oath was uneventful, each party seemingly lost in thought or unwilling to talk to the other. Kaeya had expected as much from Diluc, but to see Childe quiet, even as they headed into danger, was worrying.
They reached the portal just before daybreak, the edge of the sun casting an orange glow on the sky behind the murky cool hues of the gateway in front of them.
“Is this it?” Childe asked hesitantly as the two with him began to pull out and adjust their wind gliders, the wind current near them making their hair billow as they worked.
“Yeah. What’s wrong?” Kaeya’s tone became a teasing one. “Forgot your wind glider?”
“No, I—never mind.” He unfurled the wings of his wind glider, the rich fabric a nice red, personalized just for him. Kaeya looked at him as he adjusted it, single eye unreadable, until Childe noticed.
“What, you jealous?”
“You wish. Come on.”
One after the other, with a jump, they each rose into the wind current as high as they needed to enter the portal. Neither of them had been through a portal before, so to see the world around them twist into something unfamiliar, edged with nebulous color that billowed in and out in a pattern like tides was nothing short of odd, if not disturbing. Colors and light swam before their eyes, leaving afterimages as they shifted at a speed that was both impressively quickly and torturously slow. The world and its memory faded in their minds, and the morning scents and feeling of the sun soon faded into a buzzing numbness until they found themselves on an island.
It was as though they had just broken through the surface of the sea, senses returning all at once alongside recent memories and sight. Upon regaining their bearings, they felt something akin to fear of what they had just done.
“I am never doing that again.”
Neither Kaeya nor Diluc responded to Childe’s assertion. Kaeya, still a little dazed, flexed his fingers and tried to summon his sword, the feeling of the cool steel on his fingers snapping him back to reality.
Looking up, he saw Diluc heading toward a spiral gate and followed, perching on the top of the small stairwell in wait for Childe. The ginger, not wanting to be left behind, jogged up to them, blue eyes wide in observation of the gate.
“You ready?”
Childe’s eyes moved to look at Kaeya as the words left his mouth. Nodding, he begins to ascend the steps before Kaeya stops him.
“I’ll go first. To scout out the area. You two come after me.”
“Kaeya—” the other two begin.
“Don’t worry about me. Just follow.”
Turning to the gate and its transparent essence, he walks forward and through, and the world changes around him. He feels as though he is both falling endlessly and that he hasn’t moved at all, but when he takes another step, he is on solid ground, the deep hue of a backdrop to stars.
As he begins to walk down a familiar corridor, he hears the sounds of the other two coming through, first Diluc, then Childe. They seem to have gotten in some sort of argument in the short time between his leaving and now. After a few more bitter words in hushed tones pass between them, Childe’s voice echoes in the hall.
“What now?”
Kaeya doesn’t answer, something catching his eye. A shadow, probably.
“I hate to agree with the Harbinger,” Diluc adds. “But where would we start looking?”
Kaeya hums. “I’m not sure.”
Something flits by, but Kaeya’s left eye is too slow to get a full view of it. Annoyed, he takes off his eyepatch. Just like in his dream, his vision sharpens, almost too much. He can see the remains of the passing shadow, an element unknown to him.
“Kaeya?” Childe asks.
Kaeya turns to look at them, Diluc covering up his slight surprise at his brother’s exposed eye instantaneously. Childe is undeterred. “You think you can find her?”
“Honestly? I’ve only got a hunch.”
“Good enough for me. Where do we start?” Childe walks up to Kaeya and he points to where he saw the shadow pass by and disappear.
“We’ll probably have to go inside the chambers again, since that seems to be where the shadow went. You ready for this?”
“Of course.”
“Alright.” Kaeya projects his voice a little further as he talks to Diluc. “Diluc! You can just…wait here. These places are more trouble than they’re worth.”
“No. I’m coming with you.”
“Suit yourself.”
The chamber is filled with slimes, easily quelled by the three well-trained fighters. It’s a testament to either their power or the weakness of the slimes, as they could not work together at all, Diluc’s heavy-handed hits contrasting Kaeya and Childe’s light and quick ones. They got in each other’s way more often than not, and the floor was soon littered with shattered, melting ice and steam.
When they had defeated all of the slimes, the shadow that had led to the chamber began to seep through, pooling toward the middle as the three backed away. The shadow began to form a shape that resembled a person, the dark sky like hues becoming dotted with stars as the shadows’ patterns swirled and tightened.
After a couple of seconds, the silhouette transformed into a person cloaked in white and silver, who lightly descended onto the floor of the chamber. Kaeya looked on in a mix of surprise and horror, unsure of how to proceed. He turned to look at his companions—and found them looking on in surprised recognition.
“And who might you be?” The figure asked, amused.
Kaeya turned to her. “Kaeya,” he offered. “I’m Kaeya.”
“I see.”
A beat.
“I suppose I should probably explain myself.”
“That would be nice, yes.”
“Before that, may I ask a question?”
“You already have, so another’s fine.”
“Who are these people you’ve brought? Who are they to you?”
Kaeya looks back at Childe and Diluc. Gesturing to Childe, he begins.
“That’s Childe. My—ah, friend, I guess.” He points to Diluc. “That is…my brother. Diluc.”
The figure smiles. “Ah, I see. Maybe you should ask them before I explain everything. It will be less shocking if you hear it from someone you know.”
“I doubt either would be particularly willing, Miss Skirk.”
“Please. I haven’t been called that since I met Diluc those years ago. Just Skirk is fine.”
Kaeya hadn’t been quite sure before, despite the evidence pointing in that direction, but now it had been confirmed. He’d found who he’d been looking for, which means that he could find answers.
“Still,” she begins again. “It’s better to ask them. I am not as proficient as others in reading the fate between the stars, but your fates are nothing if not intertwined. Ask them and I will fill in the space between them. It can’t hurt.”
Oh, if that were true , Kaeya thought wryly.
“I met Skirk some time before I met you,” Childe starts. “You already know that, and you probably figured out that she trained me to get out of the Abyss.”
Kaeya nods. “That’s why I wanted to look for her in the first place.”
“She also taught me…other things that I needed to survive. How to transform, how to become a different person, a different thing , to change shape like water.”
Kaeya’s head tilts, eyes curious.
“That was the me that fought the traveler,” Childe continues, guilt in his voice.
“Ajax,” Skirk interrupts. “I did not teach you this skill for you to feel guilt over its use.”
“With all due respect, Skirk, I hurt a friend of mine. There’s plenty to feel guilt about—and,” Childe held up a hand, seeing that Skirk was set to interrupt him. “He was an otherworlder—he wielded the elements with no vision. Even if he wasn’t my friend, he’d be useful to your cause.”
“So you’ve gained a sharp tongue in the time you’ve been gone.”
“That I have.”
She turned to Diluc. “It hasn’t been as long a time since I’ve seen you. Last I recall, you had a message from Dainsleif. Have you anything to say to your brother?”
“He’s—”
“I’m aware that you are not brothers by blood. I know someone of Khaenri’ah when I see one. Have you anything to say to your brother?”
“Kaeya, do you remember when I left?”
The rain had gone on for many days then, and each day before getting his hands tended by Jean, Kaeya had walked to the Angel’s Share and then to the Dawn Winery to look for Diluc. For a month, before giving up, each day in the pouring rain of Mondstadt’s rainy season, he trudged through soft mud and made his way on slick stone to the places where he’d always known his brother to be. Little did he know that his brother would not return until he no longer knew him as a brother, except by inheritance and their shared father.
“I do, yes.”
“I went to hunt the enemies of Mondstadt, and found myself in significant danger. Somebody saved me during that time, and they tipped me off to an organization that passed through here. I journeyed here before I returned, and met Skirk, who took me on as an informant. Skirk is a fighter against the Abyss Order, as am I.”
Kaeya turned back to Skirk, eyes glazed over as he processed the information. Taking a deep breath before he began, he looked back at her.
“I get that you’re helping fight the Abyss and all that’s in it. But what about the people of Khaenri’ah? I came here to ask for your aid in getting the remainder of them above the realm of the Abyss.”
“You’ve come to the right place, then.”
“That’s nice to hear, but I was hoping that we’d come up with a plan.”
“Do not underestimate your fellow countryman, Kaeya. Especially not one of the cursed.”
“The cursed?”
“Though I am strong enough to survive and make my way out of the Abyss and what remains of my land, I cannot. I am doomed to last an eternity in this wasteland, devoid of all. There is nothing that I have left to care for but that which concerns saving my people.”
“I see.”
“Are our goals aligned, then?”
“They are, it seems.”
“Good, then. Grab your sword. And maybe your friends. We’ve got work to do.”