Chapter Text
“Captain Kaeya, take care of that guy for us. He’s clearly seen us with the girl, as such he must die. We’ll carry on from here to the agreed place. Catch up when he’s dead, whether that be from falling or by your sword.” The Grand Master looked expectantly at his subordinate, waiting for an answer. “I want to take him without using my Vision,” Kaeya said with a nod, a little excited at the thought. The Grand Master sighed. “You know what a hurry we’re in, Captain.” “Oh, but you’ve seen him,” Kaeya insisted. “It’s the only way I’ll be satisfied. If I use my Vision- eh, it’ll be over too quickly.” Turning away to the rest of the little group, the Grand Master grumbled. “Fine, have it your way. But don’t dawdle.” With that, the rest of the group walked away, leaving Kaeya alone to wait for their pursuer to either catch up or fall down the cliff to a rocky death.
“Hello there!” Kaeya called down the cliff to the climbing man, wanting to size up his opponent a little before their duel. The only response he got was a look upward, a small grunt, and then silence as the other man carried on climbing. Looking for a bit more of a response than that, Kaeya tried again. “Slow going?” he called again. Now the other man looked up to make eye contact with Kaeya as well as he could from down there. “Look, I don’t mean to be rude, but this climbing stuff is a bit harder than it might look. I’d appreciate it if you held off on the distractions.” Right, he’s the more stoic sort, is he?. “Oh, pardon me then.” “Thank you.” With a little sigh, Kaeya then stepped back from the cliff’s edge. He swung his sword a few times, the excitement of the upcoming duel creeping in.
Stepping back to the edge, Kaeya looked down, only to see the other man still in nearly exactly the same place as when he last checked. “I don’t suppose you could.. Speed things up a little bit?” he asked. Without missing a beat, the blonde responded. “If you’re in such a hurry, why don’t you make yourself useful and throw me a rope or something? You’re not exactly helping right now.” Kaeya looked around the plateau and saw that the rope he and his companions had climbed up with was still there. “I could do that. I even have some rope up here. I’m afraid you might not accept my help though, seeing as I’m only waiting around to kill you.” It was a genuine offer to help, laced with a friendly threat. “That does put a damper on our relationship,” replied the climber, turning down the offer. He looked determined to make it up on his own, and continued climbing in silence.
"I promise I won't kill you until you reach the top," Kaeya said, trying to convey his sincerity through his voice. "However comforting that is, I’m afraid you'll just have to wait." The man on the cliffside looked to be struggling a bit to keep himself steady, but showed no sign of stopping. "Oh, I hate waiting," Kaeya muttered, and stepped back from the edge for a bit. He thought for a moment, then stepped forward again. "What if I give you my word as a Khaenri'ahn?" "No thank you, I've known too many Khaenri'ahns." Kaeya sighed, “Is there any way I can make you trust me?” The other man looked up at him for a second. “No, I can’t think of anything,” he said.
Kaeya was growing increasingly impatient, his hands itching for a chance to fight again. He had no choice but to pull out his last card. "I swear to you on the soul of my father, Crepus Ragnvindr, you will reach the top alive." At this, the blonde stopped and looked at him for a second without saying anything, then sighed. "Throw me the rope."
Hah, a little victory. Kaeya quickly hopped over to where the rope was tied, and tossed down the end to the other man. Together, they got the blonde up over the edge and safely to the top plateau.
As soon as he was standing upright, Kaeya saw him reach for his sword. He was evidently out of breath from the climb though, so Kaeya decided to be gracious. “Oh, oh, we’ll wait until you’re ready,” he said, holding up a hand. “Thank you,” the other man said with a nod. “And thank you for the help, as well.” He sat down on a rock to catch his breath while Kaeya leaned on a ruin wall across from him. There was a moment of silence as the blonde took off one of his long boots and shook a few pebbles out of it. Kaeya was also finally able to get a good look at his opponent. He was shorter than Kaeya had expected, but very well dressed, with a white coat and sturdy belt that held a few pouches. His sword was strapped around his back. His hair was an ashen blonde colour, came down to around his shoulders, and was partly tied back with two braids. The most interesting thing about him, however, were his eyes. They were clear, light blue, almost teal in colour, and almost glowed with light. Kaeya was looking at him with a curious glint in his own eye. “I don’t mean to pry, but you wouldn’t happen to be part of the Fatui?” he asked. The seated man looked at him incredulously for a moment, and in return, asked: “Do you always begin conversations this way?” “My father was killed because of a Delusion he’d gotten from them,” Kaeya explained. The other man nodded in understanding, then pulled open a pouch situated on his belt to show Kaeya the contents of it. It was filled with various little containers, all with different materials in them. “I’m simply a travelling alchemist. I don’t care much for the Fatui either way.”
An alchemist, huh. Kaeya nodded and gave a little smile. “He was a great man, my father. He was a winemaker, one of the best. He’d ship out his specialty dandelion wine right to Zapolyarny Palace in Snezhnaya for the Tsaritsa and her Harbingers. They trusted him, and once when he went himself to deliver a special shipment of the wine, they granted him a Delusion to help keep him safe. On the way home, he was ambushed and tried to use its powers, but it backfired and wounded him. When he complained to the Harbingers the next time they met, they were offended, and he was killed in cold blood.” He took out the Delusion he kept in his pocket, that very same one, and presented it to the alchemist. He turned it over in his hand, admiring it, then returned it to Kaeya. “Impressive, I thought Delusions shattered when their wielders die,” he said. “As did I, but evidently not.” Kaeya paused before continuing, “I love my father, so I sought out the Harbinger that killed him, and challenged him to a duel. I failed.” He gave a shrug. “The harbinger let me live, but left me with this,” he concluded the story as he pointed at his eyepatch. “How old were you?” asked the alchemist. “I was eleven, but I wasn’t strong enough. I dedicated my life to the study of swordsmanship, so the next time we meet, I’ll simply not fail.” Kaeya almost chuckled a little at the thought. “I will go up to the Harbinger and say: ‘Hello. My name is Kaeya Alberich. You killed my father. Prepare to die.’” He smiled mischievously just thinking about it.
“You’ve done nothing but study swordplay ever since then?” the alchemist asked. He had an unbelieving tone to his voice again. “Well, lately I’ve put more effort into trying to find that Harbinger. It’s been years, I’m starting to lose confidence a bit.” Kaeya shook his head dejectedly as he said this, but continued, “I work for the Knights of Favonius to pay the bills, mostly. There’s not a lot of money in the field of revenge.” “Well, I have hope you’ll find him some day,” the alchemist consoled him.
With a sigh, Kaeya stood up, and the alchemist followed suit. “Are you ready, then?” asked Kaeya. “Whether I’m ready or not, you’ve been more than fair,” replied the alchemist, and unsheathed his sword. As he unsheathed his own, Kaeya looked at his opponent with a mix of excitement and anticipation in his eye.
“You seem a decent fellow,” he said, “I hate to kill you.”
“You seem a decent fellow,” came an answer, “I hate to die.”
They stood facing each other, swords drawn. Kaeya, forever a tease, started with a few careful feints. His opponent parried each of them perfectly, and even made a few countering moves of his own. They circled around each other, locking eyes and trying to understand the style of the other. After a few moments of this careful banter, they got more serious. The sound of swords clashing came more and more often, almost like a quickening melody of steel meeting steel. Kaeya soon gained the upper hand, the alchemist carefully retreating up a small incline, though still perfectly matching every move Kaeya made with his blade.
“Using Vennessa’s defense against me, eh?” Kaeya smirked. “With this terrain, I thought it fitting,” responded the alchemist. “Naturally, you must expect me to attack with Lawrence then,” said Kaeya as he suddenly shifted his stance into a different sort of offense. His opponent appeared a bit surprised for a moment. “Naturally,” he then replied, shifting his own stance to match. “But I find Gunnhildr cancels out Lawrence quite nicely, don’t you?”
The alchemist stood at the back edge of his little incline, and with nowhere else to go, he hopped down behind it on the other side. Kaeya looked down at him. “Unless the enemy is well-versed in older tricks from Khaenri’ah-'' he jumped upward, disappeared, then reappeared on the ground behind his adversary. “-which I am.”
The two opponents were almost flying across the terrain. Swords gleamed and clashed, thrusts and parries were exchanged, and it was a sight to behold. These aren’t two hobbyists going at it, these are two men who know what they’re doing. One master of all styles, a man who’s practiced and studied for years. And he’s going up against a mystery. This man who appeared out of nowhere in pursuit of Kaeya and his compatriots, who’s quite matching him in skill, yet remains a complete mystery. And Kaeya sure loves a good mystery.
Gradually, the alchemist seemed to gain some new confidence, having seen what Kaeya’s capable of. His moves became even more pointed, like he hadn’t quite been serious about the match until this point. At this change of pace, Kaeya almost started to slip up a bit. He did his best to keep up, blades clashing in a storm of steel, but was gradually pushed further and further toward the edge of the cliff. Yet the smile never left his face, instead growing wider by the minute.
“You’re wonderful!” Kaeya exclaimed. “Thank you,” said the alchemist between slashes, “I’ve worked hard to become so.” The whole time, the cliff’s edge grew closer and closer. “I admit it, you’re better than I am,” Kaeya spoke up again after a few seconds of silence, all the while parrying and dodging the other man’s advances. “Then why are you smiling?” asked the alchemist as he with his sword pushed Kaeya to the ruin wall at the cliff’s edge, inches away from victory. “Because, I know something you don’t,” Kaeya said with a smirk, his eye twinkling with an indescribable smugness that hid the underlying nervousness he had about losing. “Oh?” The alchemist was surprised, but seemingly decided that victory could wait for a few seconds longer. “And what might that be?” Kaeya’s heart was beating fast, he was almost convinced the other man could hear it. He steeled his grip on his sword and pushed off the wall, towards the other man keeping him pinned in place.
“I happen to have a Vision.”
With those words, he called on the power of his Vision, coating his sword in frost and then swinging it out towards the alchemist with more power than before. As he swung, a spray of frost burst forth from his blade, making the alchemist lose his grip on him and hop back to dodge.
This revelation turned the tides of the battle, Kaeya’s Vision adding to his power. His speed increased, and now and then there was a flurry of frost as he went all in on the offense. His opponent was almost overwhelmed, but still managed to dodge and parry Kaeya’s blows quite well. Kaeya went on, there was no stopping him. The alchemist did everything he could, visibly growing more desperate with every failed attack. “You’re amazing,” he managed to say through his concentration. “Why, thank you,” Kaeya replied almost too casually. “I ought to be after all this time.” At that, he almost smashes the other man into a stone pillar, holding him pinned there with his sword. He’s smiling, the feeling of victory slowly creeping in. He’d finally found a worthy opponent, it almost felt a pity to end him like this. Catching his breath, the alchemist spoke up. “There’s something I ought to tell you.” Deciding to spare him the same courtesy as he’d been spared earlier in the fight, Kaeya had to hear what he had to say. “Ah? Pray tell, then.”
“You’re not the only one with a Vision.”
And at that, a blossom of geo energy exploded between the two men, forcing Kaeya back. His eye went wide in surprise. He hadn’t seen this twist coming. Now this was a fight for the ages, and it was happening where no one else could see them to make a record for the history books.
Kaeya soon found himself forced back down that same staircase they’d just ascended, geo blossoms surrounding him whenever his foe moved to attack. It was unlike anything he’d ever seen. It was beautiful. In a moment of distraction, Kaeya’s sword was flung out of his hand. Shit. He’s too good. Looking over to where the sword landed, he swung around and lunged for it, using a spray of frost to boost off of an old pillar to get there sooner. He picked up his sword and looked back to the other man, waiting to see what he’d do. To Kaeya’s amazement, he jumped straight for him, summoning a flower-shaped platform of geo to boost off while mid-air. From the platform, he went into a plunging attack, landing right in front of Kaeya. As he rose to his feet, he twirled his sword, and Kaeya could only stare at him in awe. “Who are you?” he asked, so impressed he barely remembered to breathe normally. “I told you, I’m an alchemist.” “No, I simply must know more.” “Get used to disappointment.” Kaeya blinked thrice, almost stunned again by the response. “Okay,” was all he could muster.
The two went on for a while, exchanging blows back and forth. Anyone who didn’t know what was going on would surely have said they were evenly matched, but the combatants both knew at this point that this wasn’t the case. It was as a dance in which both parts wanted to take the lead, without any room for compromises. Once again, Kaeya’s sword was knocked from his hand, flying up into the air. He caught it nicely as it landed, looking to the alchemist and raising an eyebrow, as if asking “Is that all you’ve got?” As brilliant as they both were, there could only be one winner. Kaeya’s moves started growing more frantic, switching up his manner of attack to best match that of his foe, but he always seemed to be half a step behind. After a few moments, that half step became a whole, and Kaeya could feel his control of the situation slipping out of his hands like sand out of a broken hourglass. It was a conflicting feeling. He hated losing, but there couldn’t be anyone more worthy to lose to.
The final moments of the fight went by in a blur. There was normally never a time in which Kaeya didn’t remember exactly which moves he’d used in which situation, but now all he could think about was the cool teal-blue eyes that held the gaze of his darker indigo one, and how they seemed to see right into his soul. The alchemist used his distraction to his own advantage, this time knocking Kaeya’s sword to the ground one final time. Kaeya stood there for a moment, stunned, then dropped down to his knees in resignation. He bowed his head to look at the ground before him. “Kill me quickly,” was all he said.
He heard a sigh, and then felt a hand on his cheek, gently forcing him to look up from the ground. He was now face to face with the alchemist who’d just beaten him at his own game. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to die if those blue eyes were the last thing he saw in his life. “I would sooner destroy a stained glass window than end an artist such as yourself,” the alchemist said, his voice softer than it’d been during their fight. He sighed. “However, I can’t have you following me either, so..” he trailed off. Then, he tapped Kaeya’s forehead softly, a bright geo blossom appearing. Kaeya’s vision was flooded with light, then it all went dark. The last thing he could think before going unconscious was:
Is this what it’s like.. To fall…?