Chapter Text
“...you could have ran.”
“To where? They would have found me in the end. Just like you did.”
“Only because you let me. You’ve hidden for years, so why–”
“You know why.”
“Kaeya.”
“Will you kill me?”
“Is that really what you want?”
“I don’t want anything.”
“You’re lying. You said you wanted to live. You said you wanted to be happy.”
“I was. And then those bastards took them from me, so I’m making them pay me back. You taught me that.”
“...I’m sorry.”
“Why? You and Master gave me a chance when most people wouldn’t have, and… once was enough for me.”
“That’s not what I–”
BANG!
The first thought Kaeya has when he wakes up is what the fuck, followed by an indignantly confused why am I alive, because the last thing he remembers is being shot in the head.
He should have died. That’s usually what happens when someone fires a gun at you yet here he is, still in one piece and unfortunately breathing. Feeling around the place does nothing to refute that; he’s in some kind of tent, and by the ache that seems to come from everywhere in his body, he’s been here for a while.
Karma, Kaeya thinks wryly, is truly an asshole.
He knew it was suspicious. Why else would that guy say–
“Oh, you’re awake!”
Kaeya freezes, barely stopping himself from stabbing the newcomer, his lack of a blade notwithstanding. His master knows his habits - they wouldn’t have allowed anyone around him for fear of their life. Not to mention…
This person spoke in a language he hadn’t heard before.
Slowly, Kaeya turns and finds himself facing a stranger.
Blond hair, fair skin - probably caucasian, going by the features. Good build but nothing that hints at extensive training; most likely used to manual labor, maybe something like construction?
Kaeya thinks he could take the man if it weren’t for one tiny detail: he’d had to look up at him.
Rookie mistake. He hadn’t noticed it earlier but despite the pain he was in, his body had felt… lighter. Smaller, too, and it’s making every alarm bell in his head ring even as he keeps himself relaxed in what might turn out to be enemy territory.
What the hell happened to him?
“You had us worrying, you know?” the man prattles on, heedless of the fact that Kaeya doesn’t understand a word that he says. He places a fruit basket at the corner of the tent, along with a pitcher of water and what looks like a change of clothes. “It’s not everyday you come across someone lying unconscious on the road, and during such a storm! The Master will be glad to know you’re alright.”
The man smiles, bright and reassuring. Kaeya blinks, unsure of what to do because on one hand, this could be a trap, but on the other…
Deliberately, he lets his eyes wander to the food and drink, then turns away just as quickly.
“Are you hungry?”
Kaeya peers at the man, plastering on the most timid expression he can muster as he observes the other’s body language. As his handler used to say - you can tell a lot about a person just by how they move.
When he nods, the other smiles; Kaeya picks out the multiple openings as he’s ushered over, the ease of movement and lack of hesitation.
Either this man is a really good actor, or he doesn’t actually know who Kaeya is.
The latter is less of a comfort as Kaeya hoped it would be.
He picks up an apple and decides not to think about it. If someone tries to kill him, he’ll just kill them first - everything’s fair game when it comes to a fight. To win is to survive, and the only mercy one is allowed is a quick and painless death.
Kaeya eats as the stranger meanders about the tent, still talking in that foreign language. There’s a certain familiarity to it now that he’s focusing on the words, and as soon as he has that thought, something in his head shifts with a near audible click .
“–few days to reach the city.”
“The city?” Kaeya asks, curious at the way the words feel on his tongue. It feels like second nature, speaking a language he’s never learned before but Kaeya pushes the questions back in favor of this new understanding. Finding out where he is comes first.
“Ah, yes!” the man grins, seemingly encouraged by his attempt to reach out. “I can tell you aren’t from around here, but you’ll love it in Mondstadt. The city of freedom welcomes all with an earnest heart.”
Mondstadt? Where was–
“Tunner? Is the child awake?”
“Master Ragnvindr?”
Kaeya’s mind screeches to a halt.
The man that enters the tent is tall - enough to be imposing if it weren’t for the gentle smile on his face. Kind eyes, warm enough to draw you in but all Kaeya can stare at is his hair, bright and red like freshly spilled blood.
Ragnvindr, the man had said.
Crepus Ragnvindr.
“Oh fuck,” Kaeya whispers, and does something he told himself he’d never do.
He runs.
Kaeya’s siblings were fans of role playing games.
Their favorite ones were usually of the hack-and-slash variation, bonus points if it was in an open-world, fantasy setting. Something about the satisfaction of discovering things, they’d said, and after being forced to help with some of their in-game tasks, even Kaeya was taken by the virtual hoarding and adventure.
That being said, he did not appreciate being tossed into this particular series.
“It had to be the gacha game,” Kaeya sighs, staring forlornly at his reflection by the lakeside. Aside from his hair, nothing much was different, as long as you ignored the fact that he was now Gaia Alberich – respected cavalry captain and quartermaster, the last prince of Khaenri’ah, and…
Careful hands unwrap the bandages around his face, revealing a golden eye beneath the protection of half a dozen seals.
Celestia’s beloved pawn.
If Genshin Impact was popular when the dendro banners were announced, it was nothing compared to when Gaia finally died.
Honestly, he was a walking death flag. Kaeya was there for every one of his quests by courtesy of his sister, and it barely took the first two chapters for him to realize that this character was going to kick the bucket. His brother had cried when that arc ended, and if he wasn’t so busy trying to calm his raging sister down, he might have been inclined to feel bad for the guy.
Because Gaia didn’t have to die - but he sacrificed himself anyway, just so he could save his family and the world he’d come to love.
“Destined for tragedy,” Kaeya mutters, but it’s not the really game he’s talking about anymore. There’s an ache in his chest when he tries to think about it, fiction overlapping with reality, and all he can remember is the hollow feeling of being left behind when everyone else is gone.
“You’re an idiot,” he tells the reflection, frowning at it and willing it to hear. “So I’m doing you a favor and keeping you alive this time around.”