Chapter Text
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Albedo can see Rhinedottir's breath in the cold domain. She always reminded him of winter; cold, eerie, unforgiving. As if the air thickens and the temperature drops. A small slip up is a big mistake. There is no room for mistakes around her. Especially during times like these. A mission in a domain.
They set up a camp , he cooks a simple meal as Rhinedottir makes use of the time writing her findings. Writing about the initial observations in the domain. He watches her work her alchemy, deft hands and a blank expression, almost tired or bored. She pulls flowers from within her notebook and places it on the table. For his cooking, albedo realises.
" Inside this domain there's a few ingredients we need, our camp here as a base of our operations, then we move on to the next rooms after an hour or two" she draws a map out for them, Albedo nods, taking the edible flowers
" Yes master "
" Bring your bag later. This place has an unusual atmosphere in that it mimics Khaenri'ah's environment, giving us ingredients that scarcely grow anywhere else. We can't simply dismiss it into a subspace like our weapons and food, it might have an adverse reaction. After a month or two of observation we can move on to the next domains of interest. "
" Master, which plants that grow in Khaenri'ah will we be taking ? "
" You'll know them when you see them. For now, focus on perfecting dinner. "
Khaenri'ah was an underground realm, with precious few natural resources . So even rarer it is, that there would be naturally growing plants here. Especially so long after the cataclysm.
He recalls when she taught him of her Khaenri'ahn origins, her alchemy, it links him to the homeland he does not remember. He came into being after it was destroyed after all. But being one of Rhine's children, it was her will for him to be proud of this. Like rainwater flowing outwards into creeks, like autumn clematis growing upwards spreading its vines, her children spreading beauty of Khaenri'ahn origin.
Albedo follows behind Rhine, covering their backs. Rifthounds on a lower level play , he can see them play-fight from the top of the ledge. Things brought forth from her other creations. These dogs are technically his family, yet she can cut them down without a thought. They don't seem to like him either; perhaps it's what humans call sibling rivalry?
They finish a very tedious puzzle mechanism. It's not difficult, it just takes far too long to do . She has Albedo note down some things on the map of the domain she's making, he sketches their surroundings. Perhaps to analyse later.
The opened door gives an inviting glow,
They continue regardless,
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What a view.
The top of this cliff leads to a hundred metre drop. It's beautiful, the perfect way to see the rest of the strange abyssal domain.
There’s another door, another stairway.
And a pleasant scent
Though something . . .
Something is wrong
" Master, something feels off "
" Right. I can feel it too "
" What is it ? "
" It's divinity. We're sensing divinity in this domain "
" Master, is it...? "
" I don't know. But we'll find out "
She has been looking for something, Albedo dares not ask what it is. But it's tied to divinity as far as he knows. Whatever her new project is; it seems dangerous, after all, defying the gods is what got them there in the first place wasn't it? Why he was never able to witness his home land of Khaenri'ah, why he never experienced that culture outside of what his mother tells him.
They continue walking down some steps
" Here " she points to flowers and vines growing upon the walls and floors , growing alongside luminescent flowers though distinct in species.
Albedo inspects the ones near the walls but Rhinedottir shakes her head and continues walking, following the vines.
Beyond the staircase, a field of these flowers grow alongside others, akin to how wildflowers grow on fields. It just barely illuminates the darkness of the abyssal domain
He follows her down and she crouches to pick up the flowers. Her movements; her expression
Almost nostalgia, almost fondness.
" Look Albedo " she cradles the flower with her gloved hands. She is gentle with it, far gentler than she ever is with him " Isn't it pretty "
" It is " the colours, the petal shapes, the leaves. Albedo takes his sketchpad and notes down the name of the flower then sketching it in detail, Rhine nods, perfect identification as she expected.
" You know how to gather samples " she motions to the flowers " There are plenty, gather the flowers that grow beside them too "
And he does, he does it perfectly, all according to her expectations. From samples to ingredients, he places the soil inside the container with the flower. Then he carefully digs up the roots of another to place in a different container, soon enough they go into his bag.
Some time passes observing the flowers , till they hear steps. The scent of divinity. Immediately, the temperature seems to drop with how serious his master looks. He fights to be less tense, instinctively he retreats behind Rhine, fixing their samples in her bag on the floor.
" Who's there ! " she speaks, stern and clear
" Um... hello? " a boy's voice calls out from afar beyond the field of flowers
" What are you doing so far in this domain" Rhinedottir turns , stepping a step forward into the patches of flowers . Crushing them beneath her heels.
" I-i'm lost... who are you two? "
" We are . . . Adventurers " she lies , Albedo stays behind her, hides their materials in her bag with practised swiftness. Not the first time someone has found them in a domain, still always a surprise. But they plan for these situations.
" Adventurers!" As if a spark of hope lit up within him " Um . . . could you help me? " the man steps into the light of the flowers, a very beautiful Inazuman man with a large intricate noble lady's hat stands there, steps light, soft, slightly limping . His unique clothes are quite beautiful. An expression of fear on his pretty face. And those eyes, bright indigo-violet— where has Rhine seen it before " I'm a vagrant from Inazuma, I got lost , fell and found myself . . . here. D-do you know where we are ? "
He sounds slightly awkward, confused, shy. It's perfect. Too perfect. Even for a perfectionist like Rhinedottir , she knows that something is wrong. Both of them do. Albedo and Rhine have spent far too long living in The Abyss, enough to sense this. Nothing that falls in The Abyss ends up this perfect, this fine.
" I don't know , " she lies. " We're quite lost too " no one ends up this deep and ends up being a normal human being. She takes caution.
" Then perhaps we could help each other ? " a smile, the practised pretend social awkwardness. " Honestly I'm a little relieved to see other people here"
" Yes, we can " Rhinedottir waves her hand , beckoning him closer " Come with us, we'll be safer in numbers "
The Inazuman nods and steps closer , the veil flowing behind him as he catches up
"Take care of him, Albedo. " Rhinedottir walks ahead , opening the doors.
" Of course , " Albedo smiles towards the stranger, remembering to breathe " Don't worry, we can work together to find our way out "
He knows what it truly means though. Take care of him; Kill him, stab him with the sword made from your brother's broken bones. Kill him, The Abyss is merciless to the lost. Kill him.
He smiles , polite and cordial, posture perfect. Cinnabar Spindle at his side. He holds out his hand, and the stranger takes it, matching him in grace and elegance. As if a prince and princess in a fairytale.
" We set up camp not far from here " Rhinedottir opens another door " we can treat your leg there. It would be much safer too. " Albedo notes that Rhine most likely didn't think he was actually injured.
But nonetheless albedo helps him, holding his soft cold hand as they stay not too far behind Rhinedottir . Soft, perhaps he's never worked a day in his life.
" You must have really been hurt falling down here. How about we take a few quick breaks "
" N-no i can manage, i think . Maybe when we get to your camp where it's safe "
" If you say so. " Albedo thinks, what information can we gather from him before we kill him. If we can, " your hat is quite nice , intricate. I read in a book that children of important Liyuen and Inazumans often have specially made travelling hats to cover their beauty with a veil " Albedo tries to get information, if this man is important, then he would have people looking for him
" That is true . . . "
" Then are you a nobleman perhaps? "
" . . My . . . mother , um,, my mother , is quite important in Inazuma. " the slight shift then back to the facade , the hesitation, albedo can assume quite a few things with that hesitation. But then again, he could be lying, acting. But he can't deny those clothes look expensive.
Rhinedottir walks ahead; stepping out of the way. She turns to albedo with a neutral expression, coughs into her hand. And looks to the door pretending to figure out the puzzle to open it.
This is the signal;
Well, it doesn't matter whether or not he's important. He's going to kill him.
Kill him.
He drops an adventurers' handbook " ah , my apologies " and lets go of the Inazuman stranger's hand, who limps ahead as he crouches down to pick up his things. The black and gold veil behind the man and the bachi attached to the bells, the colours . Who dresses this extravagantly in a domain anyway.
Albedo , with quick efficiency neatly packs his bag so things within it in it so it may not fall out
The cinnabar spindle in his hands
Albedo does not hesitate
Neither does the man
He tried to stab at his back, swift and precise
But the man turns and electro cackles and cracks within his arm , in his eyes. It sends a shock into his shoulder where the man pushes him away;
This changes things a little
" You DARE ?! Was this your plan all along ?!"
Albedo doesn't even dignify that with an answer; instead he defends with his geo, gripping his sword tight as the electro still buzzes, as if he was struck by lightning. If he were human, he might've been dead of cardiac arrest right then and there.
His stance and demeanour completely changed, this man was uninjured as they guessed, and surprisingly; he wields electro, it practically spills out of his eyes, his fingertips dyed purple with the sheer amount of power. — a catalyst user then, albedo concludes. If he were a close range catalyst, he ought to keep his distance. But the slash of pure electro he throws tells him he's longer ranged.
Rhine continues to solve the door as if they weren't there. It isn’t hard, just tedious he recalls, he should kill this man before she opens it, it is what she would expect.
The man glances to Rhinegold for safety's sake, he's outnumbered but correctly senses her to be a greater threat.
And Albedo uses this moment to strike. Petals of his geo construct crystallise the electro, explode into energy , throwing the man back.
But quickly he recovers
Albedo stays close, striking downwards with his sword. To his surprise the man grabs the blade, electro in his hands insulated by the dense bone of the cinnabar spindle. Honestly, this is the only time he's glad it's made from his brother's remains . He tries to push him a little closer to the cliff's edge
He's all the more aware of the cold wind of the domain with the electro energy that spills from the Inazuman. He's so close in proximity to his skin. It would hurt to be hit by his attacks, fuck , his skin tingles just being near him, But he can take it. He simply hopes there won't be lichtenberg figures burnt upon his skin in the aftermath.
The man pushes him backwards and tries to flip him over to pin him down. Albedo uses the momentum and kicks him upwards on his chin, twisting his body to fall right . With that kick, the man is thrown back and lays next to the cliff, unmoving
He picks up the cinnabar spindle and dusts the dirt off his clothes
" You know what to do, he has seen us, " Rhinedottir commands, opening the domain's door, not even looking in his direction. " kill him "
Albedo approaches the cliffside, sword in hand ready to plunge it into the man's chest where it should be lethal. but before he could stab him, the Inazuman grabs him, albedo pushes but this man grips onto his shirt with such inhuman strength and pulls as he loses his footing
They fall below
The view is breathtaking as he feels the wind in his hair, on his face. What a view. The entirety of the domain splayed before their eyes, the dark dim stones lit by lamps, the vines of flowers crawling everywhere it can touch.
His sword is dismissed and fades
" Albedo!" He hears Rhine's voice carry over , stern , scolding and seemingly disappointed .
The last thing he sees is the man falling on his head with an enraged look on his beautiful face directed towards him. Ready to kill , gritted teeth, eyes wide - like polished indigo glass glowing, boyishly beautiful , flawless soft looking skin , fists curled up with electro energy nearly striking
Albedo protects his bag and braces
A sickening crack
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Albedo breathes in, feeling his body ache. He was not human, he would survive this undoubtedly. He sets his shoulder back and sits up . He breaths again, just to check, and he feels his ribs hurt. Nothing alchemy can't fix. Thankfully none of his belongings nor the collection items seem to be broken
The cold unmoving body of an Inazuman man lay beside him. Arm twisted a little too far back His eyes closed, beautiful face at rest. The gentleness betrays his demeanour.
Miraculously the hat survived
Albedo had just dropped him off a cliff but this man had the mind to drag him down with him. Now he's dead. He really thought he could take him down with him. How sad.
Albedo doesn't hear a heartbeat, he doesn't hear him breathe nor see the rise and fall of his chest.
Gently, he holds the man's arm and presses on where the basilic vein would be, doing as his mother—master taught him after they've killed a man, she has told him there's no need to check if the person is beheaded, but if they are intact there's a chance they might be alive. He's never seen anyone fall to their death, but he thinks it's lethal. Should he stab him just in case? No that would be disrespecting this wanderer's body
He presses the other arm, just in case.
He feels,
Nothing.
From his ingredients, creates a flower, an alchemical mimic of an Inazuman flower he saw in a picture book before and placing it on the man. " I'm sorry. " he whispers as he properly positions the man, his joints cracking back in place. Fixing the dislocated condyloid joint of his elbow back before laying the arm and hand atop the flower's stem.
He doesn't look dead at all . This Inazuman almost looks like a character from a Snezhnayan fairytale that was read to him once, back when he couldn't read. He was like the poisoned princess or the beauty in the woods. The kind of beauty men would seek to wake with a kiss, but he turns away. This is not a fairytale nor a children's storybook. He may be inhuman yet, he has respect for the deceased.
He gets up and assesses the situation.
The Abyss was nothing. It was his master's home and therefore his; He had been separated from Rhinedottir before, and would have to find his way back. Simple as that.
The first time, she helped him. The second, just barely. The third, he had to do it alone. As well as the fourth and fifth times. She will leave with or without him. He knows this.
He looks upwards from where they fell. Approximately a hundred fifty metres , or four hundred eighty feet
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Scaramouche wakes with a gasp
Last thing he remembers was dragging that stupidly pretty adventurer down the cliff with him. It was strange seeing two adventurers down there, he found himself mirroring that boy's stupid cordiality. He was the whitest white boy he's ever seen with the audacity to act princely in his presence, it pissed him off. He should hunt down the woman, she seems like the better collected leader between the two.
Now then, His pretty face should be broken from the fall off his cliff . . . Where . . .
But to his left , steps stop , the man pale blond hair and blue eyes stare with an unreadable expression. Albedo was this white boy's name? Perhaps a code name?? The woman he was with called him that—
Why the hell is there the fucked up white dendrobium laying on his chest.
" Why are you alive " he throws the flower aside as he sits up
" . . . Fascinating . . . " he puts his hand on his chin and looks downwards where Scaramouche sits " Your body is cold, you did not breathe and your heart did not beat. Yet you move and speak, and you seem lucid enough to ask questions"
" You fell off the cliff and smashed your head , I saw. " he points, pushing himself backwards away from the man to stand up
" So did you "
" You're not human "
" Neither are you, it seems "
" Fuck. off. what are you " the crackle of divine electro dance around him, ready to attack.
" I suppose . . . A monster of The Abyss? " sly, he readies his sword , one made from materials not of Teyvat. " What do you think ? "
" Aren't you one pretty monster. " Scaramouche lunges at him with force and power of electro
And once more, Albedo takes a defensive stance.