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“Kaeya, you’re needed at Headquarters,” Lisa called as she walked into Angel’s Share.
“I’m doing inventory,” Kaeya said.
It was the truth. Elzer did a very good job of running the Winery with only a little supervision, but the tavern required more attention.
“Jean asked for you specifically,” Lisa pressed.
Kaeya glared at her. “Give me a few minutes,” he said.
“This won’t keep,” Lisa said.
Kaeya sighed. He didn’t blame the Knights for his father’s death like Diluc had, but he found most of them frustrating at best. Jean was, of course, a treasure, but his co-workers? Annoying and bad at their jobs, for the most part. Varka had taken most of the tolerable knights with him.
“Charles, can you finish up?” Kaeya asked.
Charles sighed. “Probably, Master Kaeya.”
Kaeya didn’t flinch at the unwanted title. He’d had years to train himself not to.
“Very well, Miss Lisa, I’m yours,” he said.
Lisa snorted and led him out of the tavern and towards the Knights of Favonius Headquarters.
Kaeya knew that his antipathy toward the other Knights was reciprocated. He’d heard snatches of conversation criticizing his cold expression and distant manner. He didn’t care, as long as they were still willing to work with him.
Sometimes, though, it was a bit of a pain, like when the Knight’s librarian had information he needed.
“Did Jean tell you what was going on?” he asked.
“She told me not to tell you,” Lisa said. “So I’m not going to. You’ll find out soon enough anyway.”
The stairs leading to headquarters seemed to stretch on, endless. Part of Kaeya wanted to speed himself up, just a little bit, but that would cost magic, and it hadn’t been a great week for Grief Seeds.
Whatever other emergency was going on, Kaeya turning into a witch in front of Barbatos and everyone wouldn’t improve matters.
Jean was in the front hall of headquarters, along with Albedo and Klee. It was unusual to see either of them in the building--Albedo because of his work in Dragonspine, and Klee because she was too young to find the daily work of the Knights interesting. Usually, Klee spent most of her time around adults telling them detailed stories of her latest exploits, but today she was clinging to Albedo’s leg and not speaking at all. It was odd, but not the kind of emergency Kaeya expected.
“Where’s the fire?” Kaeya asked.
Albedo flinched, and Jean grimaced.
“Was there actually a fire?” Kaeya asked. “Is everyone all right?”
Albedo’s expression only darkened, while Jean pursed her lips.
“There was an incident at Dragonspine,” she said. “I want your advice on how to deal with it.”
“I’m sorry!” Klee exclaimed. “I didn’t mean to, I promise!”
“Klee, what’s wrong?” Kaeya asked, kneeling down to be closer to her.
“I told big brother Albedo that I wouldn’t talk to the heavenly messengers,” she said. “But then one of them told me he was hurt, and I tried to help, but I think I just made everything worse.”
“Klee…” Kaeya started. Deep down, he knew what her words meant, but he tried to ignore it. If he didn’t acknowledge it, maybe it would stop being the case.
“Klee’s the youngest Vision-holder in Mondstadt since...since your brother,” Jean said.
His brother, who had to be alive since his Vision was still glowing, who’d left Mondstadt without the crystallization of his soul and had yet to return.
And then the jab of pain that always came with mentions of his brother faded, supplanted by horror.
“Klee, you--”
“I thought it was gonna kill me!” she wailed. “And t-the messenger said it would k-kill big brother too! But I broke the rules!”
She was tearing up, hiding reddened eyes behind her tiny fists.
She was so small . And now she was stuck in the same trap as Kaeya, cursed to either die in battle or become the thing she fought.
He hugged her. “Nobody’s mad, I promise. Having a vision is just a...a lot of responsibility.”
She sniffled. “I’m responsible!”
“This is the kind of responsibility that’s too big for most adults,” Kaeya said. “You’re going to have to be very brave and very smart.”
“I can do that,” she said.
No, you can’t , he thought, drawing back and getting to his feet.
“What’s the plan?” he asked. “She needs Grief Seeds, and she can’t hunt them for herself, not fast enough.”
“I will provide her--” Albedo started.
“We’ll make her a Knight,” Jean interrupted. “A special position just for her.”
“I don’t want my sister to go out on missions,” Albedo said immediately.
“She won’t have to,” Jean said. “This is just so that she can access the pool of Grief Seeds we collect for the Knights.”
“I could sign her up for the Adventurer’s Guild,” Albedo said, sounding uncertain.
“They’re always running short,” Jean said. “Especially since you hold Dragonspine as your territory.”
“Anyone who thinks they’re good enough to take it from me and then keep it clear of witches is welcome to try,” Albedo said.
His voice was even colder than usual. He was ordinarily hard to read, even for Kaeya, but he seemed neither happy nor excited. For all that it was actually bad news, most people in Mondstadt celebrated when someone they loved received a Vision. Albedo, it seemed, was not most people. Odd.
Curiosity aroused, Kaeya went back through his conversation with Klee, and recalled, suddenly, that she’d been told to stay away from heavenly messengers. Even odder.
Albedo had to know something. He stared at the man, who stared back, his expression as closed as it was possible for a human face to be.
“We should talk,” he said quietly.
“Yes, I think we should,” Albedo agreed.
::::::::::
Kaeya waited for Albedo and Klee to finish getting her things from the confinement room. It was basically her own personal room by this point so her items had slowly accumulated there, all from crayons to bomb materials.
Albedo motioned for Kaeya to follow him as the three of them left the headquarters. Klee was securely placed on Albedo’s arm, leaning into his chest. If Kaeya didn’t hear her sniffing, he would have been convinced she was sleeping.
“Where are we going?” Kaeya asked as they walked down one of the streets in lower Monstadt.
“Aunt Alice’s house.” Albedo answered. “It’s where we stay when I am in the city,” he continued after a moment’s pause.
That made sense. Alice had left around a year ago on some grand adventure and had put the knights in charge of Klee’s wellbeing, despite Albedo being a candidate for being her guardian. It might have had something to do with him already having made himself at home in his territory on Dragonspine.
Albedo was a man of mysteries. Alice had shown up one day with him a few years ago saying she was looking after him for a friend and then promptly recommended him to the vacant alchemy position at the Knights.
Kaeya hadn’t known alchemy could do much more than improve upon weapons before Albedo proved all of Mondstadt wrong.
Still, Albedo hadn’t seemed like the most approachable person. Only a few months into his tenure as a knight he’d gone to Dragonspine on his own, saying the knights didn’t have enough Grief Seeds to go around.
Well, he was right. It was hard to keep the peace between Vision Holders so the Knights and the Adventurer’s Guild had decided to divide up Mondstadt in territories, and the knights created a pool for their Grief Seeds so they could help cleanse VIsions as they needed.
Dragonspine had stood unclaimed. The mountain was a hotbed for Witches and Labyrinths, nevermind the hostile environment itself, and that made it an immensely dangerous place. The knights only went up there when they had the ability to gather a full team of VIsions holders and even then only stayed long enough to get a few Grief Seeds.
Adventurers who went in alone disappeared among the snow as often as they returned.
Yet, Albedo had managed to not only hunt Witches there, but also create a camp halfway up the mountain.
Varka had had a freakout the first time he left and hadn’t come back for a few days.
Kaeya was almost ashamed to admit that Albedo was the main provider of Grief Seeds to the Knights pool of Seeds. By a lot.
Shifting Klee on his arm, Albedo took out his keys to unlock the door to Alice’s house. The house was a two story building, quite big for a Mondstadt house. Many people, such as himself, simply rented apartments. Kaeya strictly didn’t need to rent anything, but he hadn’t been able to sleep in the Winery after Diluc left.
“Let’s get you to bed,” said Albedo with a soft voice to Klee.
Klee made a soft grunt, still hiding her face in Albedo’s chest.
Albedo locked eyes with Kaeya, “I’ll be right back,” he said, before going upstairs, leaving Kaeya alone in the living room.
Kaeya took the chance to take a glance around the room. He might have been here once or twice before, when Klee needed something from the house. After Alice left, she hadn’t needed much beyond what she had at the Favonius HQ.
The room was well furnished with elements from different nations, no doubt bought on Alice’s travels. Stacks of papers and books were on various surfaces, including the floor, as well as a scattered assortment of Dodoco-like toys and art supplies. Kaeya suspected the art supplies were left by both siblings.
“I apologize for the mess,” Kaeya heard Albedo say from behind him.
“Nah, no worries,” Kaeya said, waving a hand in the air. “Makes it more homey,”
Albedo raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue.
The alchemist walked over to the couch by the fireplace, moved a couple of books and sat down, before putting his head in his arms.
It was probably the most emotive Kaeya had ever seen the guy.
Though, considering this was about Klee, he couldn’t blame him. Kaeya was pissed. He just had spent a long time learning to hide it.
Kaeya decided to sit down in the chair across from Albedo.
“So…” Kaeya started.
Albedo looked up and looked at Kaeya, but didn’t say anything.
“What happened at the mountain?” Kaeya asked.
There were many things he wanted to ask Albedo. Oh so many things. But it was probably best to start with the obvious ones, after all neither of them really knew the other well beyond their shared connection to the Knights, Klee, (and Kaeya suspected, maybe his homeland).
“It seems the… Messenger,” Albedo started, and he said that last word with much hatred, “told Klee I was in injured and in danger, so she came looking for me and got trapped in a labyrinth,”
“Shit,” Kaeya said.
“Yeah.”
“Were you?” Kaeya continued. “In danger, I mean?”
“Technically.” Albedo said, “I was fighting a Witch on the mountain, but it was no more dangerous than usual.” He leaned back on the couch, “It might have been a bit closer to the foot of the mountain than usual, so I tried to finish it off quickly, but a few familiars escaped while I fought it,”
No more dangerous than usual.The fact that Albedo could fight witches alone on Dragonspine was crazy on its own, nevermind that he did it on a regular basis.
“And Klee got into one of the familiar’s labyrinths?”
Albedo nodded. “I luckily got to her in time, but she had already contracted.”
“Most people would celebrate her getting a Vision,” Kaeya says.
“Most people don’t know the truth of Visions,” Albedo retorts harshly. “But I think you do,”
Albedo held Kaeya’s gaze.
If Kaeya only suspected before, then he was sure now. “You know where I’m from,” Kaeya said.
“Kahnrei’ahns have very distinct eyes,” Albedo said.
Kaeya swallowed. “And you? I can’t help but notice you don’t have such a distinction, or at least not in the eye,” Kaeya let his eye drift to the suspiciously familiar pattern on Albedo’s throat.
Albedo lifted a hand, touching the mark, eyes averting away from Kaeya.
“My... master was from Kahnrei’ah.” Albedo said.
There was a story there, but Kaeya didn’t push. At least not for now.
The two sat in silence for a moment.
Kaeya hadn’t really had anyone to talk to about any of this before. He had tried telling Diluc. Bad idea. He had barely avoided a witch-out in the Winery.
If Albedo already knew what Kaeya knew, then at least that wouldn’t happen.
“I…” Albedo started, and Kaeya looked back at him, “ I wasn't aware there were more survivors of Kahnrei’ah,”
Kaeya huffed. “I have no idea if there were any beyond me either, my case is a little special,”
Albedo waited, he didn’t push, but he didn’t change the subject either.
“Let’s just say someone wished me to safety. Turns out the wish’s version of safety was Mondstadt 500 years in the future,”
“I see,” Albedo said. “My condolences. If someone was willing to make a wish for you, they must have cared deeply,”
Kaeya tried to banish the face of his mother from his mind as she made a contract with the Messenger.
“I told you how I got here, now I’d say it’s only fair you do the same,” Kaeya said.
Albedo closed his eyes. He seemed to consider what to do.
“I can’t…”
“Hey, hey, I can’t be the only one to spill my secrets here,” Kaeya accused.
“I suspect you know more than the average Vision holder about the Messenger, correct?” Albedo cut him off.
“Well… yes. I just told you where I was from,”
Albedo nodded, “And you know what happens when a Vision becomes too corrupted?” he asked, a bit more hesitant.
Kaeya nodded again, “Not easy to forget,”
“I’d prefer not that to happen to you by telling you what I know,”
Kaeya scoffed,
“No, really,” Albedo insisted.
“You’d think
I’d
witch out?” Kaeya said. “I saw what happened in Kahnrei’ah!”
“That’s only part of it,” Albedo said.
“Part of it? Part of what?”
“The Heavenly Messenger’s plan,”
“You know what that thing wants?” Kaeya asked, aghast. “How?”
That thing had never hinted at what was going on beyond killing Witches.
“Because that was my wish,” Albedo said.
“You wished… to know what the Heavenly Messenger’s plan was?”
“I wished for the truth of this world,” he replied. “And anyone I have ever told the truth to has not handled it well. Alice knows some, but I suspect she was aware of some from before.”
Kaeya stared at the alchemist. He had seen what the truth of the Witches could do to people, almost did to Diluc. He knew how wishes backfired, and he knew the bastard Messenger was up to far worse things than they let on. He even knew the truth of a Vision. That it was not only a visualization of the soul, but it was the soul manifested.
And Albedo told him that wasn’t all of it.
“Shit,” Kaeya said again.
“And you are sure I can’t handle it?” he asked one more time.
“Maybe you can, maybe you can’t. But I’d prefer not to take the risk unless absolutely necessary.” he answered.
“Fine,” Kaeya relented. “But only because I know you care for Klee. But the moment I think it’s necessary t need to know, you tell me,”
“... Fine,” Albedo relented. “But only you.”
“Only me,” Kaeya agreed.
::::::::::
Despite Kaeya, Albedo, and the rest of the knights not wanting to put Klee in any danger, they agreed she needed to get a better grasp on her new powers.
Turns out her weapon of choice was Dodoco bombs.
The ones she made by magic were far more powerful than her usual fish blasting ones and there had been several near misses of city fires in the first week before Albedo had sat Klee down with a few new rules on where and when to use her newfound pyromancy.
Albedo had neglected to tell her fish blasting was a no go, much to Jean's frustration.
Kaeya suspected he hadn’t told her on purpose.
Kaeya had somehow been put on Klee duty more often than not. Probably because he had a vision, and babysitting Klee had just become a whole lot harder.
Luckily, Klee seemed to take the whole Vision thing very seriously and listened to both him and Albedo when they told her to conserve her magic and how to recognize a labyrinth with the Vision.
He wasn’t quite sure how much Klee knew about the situation beyond her brother not having wanted her to contract.
Speaking of, Alice was a Vision holder too, so Klee might have been warned by her too.
Still, Kaeya never wanted Klee near another labyrinth. Those things were deadly enough for an experienced adult. Even if Klee's bombs were terrifyingly powerful.
A side effect of hanging out with Klee more, meant hanging out with Albedo more.
While he still spent most of his time on Dragonspine, he took more time to visit Klee whenever he could.
It turned out that the mysterious and cold investigation captain was mostly an introvert with limited social skills and not at all what he imagined.
Before long it had become a semi-regular occurance to have lunch with the two siblings at a café and an occasional dinner at their house, courtesy of Albedo.
Kaeya could almost make himself believe it would last.
He could almost imagine how this would be if none of them had a Vision.
:::::::::
"What is that?"
Kaeya turned his head to look at Albedo in the doorway. He was staring at Diluc's Vision on the table.
Kaeya was in the process of cleaning it of the corruption.
How it could accumulate such a thing with Diluc away, he didn’t know. Kaeya had kept using Grief Seeds on it even after 4 years. It had been far darker in the start, just short of witching out.
"It's my brother's," Kaeya said. "I told you about him,"
"Yes. That he disappeared, but that doesn’t explain how you can have his Vision here," Albedo said.
"Long story," Kaeya said. He didn’t particularly want to repeat it, "Diluc gave up the Vision and stormed out of Mondstadt. I've kept it safe though. He didn’t know what it was"
"That is not what I meant," Albedo said. He was still staring at the Vision. "How can it be here?"
"What do you mean?" Kaeya asked.
Albedo suddenly pursed his lips, as if he realized he said something he shouldn’t have.
"Albedo?"
Albedo shook his head.
Kaeya pocketed his Grief Seed before walking closer to Albedo.
"This is my brother’s Vision. If you know something…"
"I don't know about your brother," Albedo said.
"But you know something about the Vision. Something i don’t, "
Albedo nodded.
"Tell me,"
"I-" Albedo started to refuse.
"Listen. Knowing something is going on here is going to worry me whether or not I know the details. Why are you surprised about the Vision?"
"Did anyone see Diluc leave Mondstadt?" Albedo asked.
"I…" Kaeya started, before cutting himself off. "No… I think no one saw him after he left the Favonius headquarters. Why?"
"The Vision is your soul " Albedo continued.
"Yes, I know. That is why I keep Diluc's clean while he's away."
"Your brother shouldn’t be able to be away from it."
"W-what?" Kaeya took a step back, shocked. He looked between albedo and the red Vision.
"That, on the counter, isn't just his soul, his lifeforce. It is him. The body is simply how you move around now." Albedo said, walking closer to the Vision. "And he shouldn’t have been able to move further than 100 meters away from it."
Albedo picked up the Vision and carefully turned it in his hand before handing it to Kaeya.
Kaeya took it with a shaking hand.
"That's why it is strange you have it and no one has seen Diluc in four years. Either his body is somewhere no one has looked in that amount of time…"
"Or…?" Kaeya asked, dreading the answer.
"Or someone made off with his body before it could be found."