Chapter Text
"Fear..."
"...is the catalyst for human evolution..."
"...You have known fear."
"Yet now, I have bestowed you a gift of fear eternal."
"It will drown you in the nightmare of your childhood, or it shall drive you to defeat me whatever the cost."
*
In the bustling city of Liyue. Two young men sat at a table in Wanmin Restaurant.
"You said she was here!" A tall, ginger man drank his liquor empty. "Ahh! She also ordered this, you said?"
A frowned blond guy before him sighed. "How many times I told you that even I cannot always track everyone in Teyvat. Anyway, how do you know about this detail? Are you stalking me? Creepy."
Childe, the ginger man only laughed ominously. "Heh. I'm a harbinger. It is your own fault for suddenly showed up in front of me and called me 'senior'!"
Aether groaned. Yes, it was indeed his own doing. He should know better, of all people!
"I was just taking a stroll in Romaritime Harbor, then you came running to me, call me 'senior' and bragged that you also got lessons from Master Skirk, all smug! It was not hard to find out that you just departed from Liyue."
Aether sighed again. Childe has good terms with Arlecchino and House of the Hearth. Their intelligence network can be a massive help for him, let alone his own underlings. Also Childe paid him good sum for eating these majestic dishes that not even Paimon couldn't refuse... Do not let his carefree look fool you.
"Alright, alright. Man. Is that even OK to you to wander in Liyue? You're practically a criminal here, you know," Aether confronted the ginger guy that was both almost drowned a whole city yet saved a whole nation from drowning.
"That old man surely did something," Childe sighed. "Also Fatui is pretty much a diplomatic tool. I'm still free as it is."
Aether just looked at him with tired look. He saw Childe bit another crab he ordered. "Archons! It's been ages since I tasted these!"
Aether sighed. "So now, since you didn't find any trace of your master, what are you gonna do?"
"I'll take a vacation (spar) with you, comrade!" Childe let out a BIG smile. "I'll pay everything! In exchange, you need to tell me how's master doing when she trained you and what kind of training you did."
"Heh..." Aether glared at him. "Why did you assume I have that much free time?"
"Because you're traveler," Childe waved his hand. He saw Paimon who was previously wandering alone fly closer to them. "Hey, flying comrade! I got you this!" he said as he swung a crabstick.
"Also, do you even have free time? You're a harbinger!"
Childe chuckled. "Heh, I took a leave for a week." He bit another crab. "So we settle all in a week."
"Aether! How long are you gonna spend your time with this maniac?!" Paimon pulled Aether's hair when she arrived.
"Atata!! Paimon! Heh! Just eat these first?" Aether tried to get away. From the side of his eyes, he saw Childe laughed at their action.
Aether closed his eyes and sighed again. At least, Childe seemed to understand that Skirk wanted some boundaries. Deep down, Aether knew what made Skirk heavily avoided Childe.
Surtalogi.
*
The Abyss.
The darkess of Teyvat. What is this place, anyway? Why are there are so many mysteries lumped here?
A woman sat alone with her small guitar. Humming a tune that should have been extinct hundreds of years ago.
"One day, I will take the life you work so hard to rebuild to reduce it in ashes... just like the 'fire' that haunts your mind."
"!!" she gasped.
How long was that, three seconds? Or a millenia?
Skirk didn't know. Time was both a blessing and curse for her. Keeping her own sanity intact was a great feat in its own anyway.
She closed her eyes, remembered that there was actually someone in Teyvat that helped her keeping tracks of time.
"...Ajax..."
*
The Chasm
Childe and Aether set up a camp for their "vacation". In the end, Aether agreed to go with him after thinking about several possibilities, including getting juicy Fatui informations.
"I don't think this is a good place to camp," said Aether as they patrolled the area.
"To camp, no, to battle, yes," Childe built his tent. "You said it Master opened a portal to abyss around this area."
"Your master can open a portal anywhere," Aether sighed.
Childe didn't hear Aether. He seemed too high-spirited to think rationally.
"I still don't get it why you decided to humor him," Paimon looked all annoyed at her traveling best friend.
Aether stretched his hand. "Aah! This is how you did it!"
"Aether!!"
Aether understood, behind the wide smile of this carefree guy, he actually schemed something. Yes, he said he hates scheming like other Fatui Harbingers, but He IS still scheming! One thing about Childe, Aether actually respected him for being very honest about himself. Aether didn't consider, or will ever consider Childe as a good person, but he is a man of his word and kept his own jurisdiction uphold. Aether was curious what was actually drove Childe to this stage. Why would he ask him to spar randomly, this felt too orchestrated than just a "friendly match".
"Alright, buddy, are you ready?" the ginger man stood before Aether.
"As ready as ever," Aether answered him.
"Okay! Three... two... one!"
Paimon in the sideline watched the two maniac fighting (sparring). She still didn't understand what was going on between them. A showdown to impress Skirk? Who knows.
Two hours later.
"Fifth round," said Childe. "2-3, we're almost even. Again?"
"Stop it, you dummies!!" Paimon shouted. "Drink! Or eat!!"
"No, not yet. In the real battlefield at least you should be able to stay in two hours more."
"Hey, ginger, I won 3, so probably we should sit and you better start talking about whatever you need to ask me," Aether said.
Childe sighed. He seemed so against the idea of sitting down to deep talk.
"Alright, it is fair," Childe tidied up his hair and turned off his swords. "You, the new hailed hero of Natlan, definitely has improved."
"But you didn't even use Foul Legacy," Aether inspected.
"I won't randomly use delusions, duh," Childe walked to his camp. "Besides, I want to refine my hydro skills, I afraid after that Fontaine disaster it went a little janky."
Aether followed him with his stare. Why was he willingly stop and went to his camp instead? Aether saw he took up a tube. It seemed like a storage of something.
Childe glanced to his left, right, back, and more directions. It seems he avoided something.
"Okay," he sat down beside Aether. "Here's what I mean."
Childe opened the tube.
"What is that?" asked Aether.
"An artifact from four years ago," Childe pulled something from the tube. A paper. He spread it out. Aether was aghast with it, to the point he didn't say anything for a solid minute.
"WHAT?!" Aether finally screamed at that paper. It was a Lumine poster that he requested to the Liyue Qixing as a token of appreciation after Childe nearly drowned everyone, four years ago.
"WHY WOULD YOU BRING THAT?!" Aether frantically tried to take the poster from the Harbinger.
Childe whistled. "I need this for further investigations."
"WHAT INVESTIGATIONS?!" Aether was still trying, but Childe was faster... and taller!
"Throw it away, stupid! She's a bad influence!"
"Bad influence?"
Wait. Abyss Order and Fatui, which one is worse? Aether didn't even want to think about it, but one thing for sure...
"PUT OFF THAT POSTER! DON'T EVER GET CLOSE TO MY SISTER!"
"Huh, so that's your concern," Childe laughed. "Sadly no, I really need this. I heard she has ties to the abyss--"
"She is in 'different' abyss than your master!"
"What kind of abyss?"
Aether groaned. This guy was certainly baiting him for informations!
Of course Childe would hear about it! Everyone in Natlan knew that his sister is the leader of Abyss Order and the cause of a "war" not too long ago, he didn't even keep it as secret. Fatui has good terms with Natlan, so they could get any informations even easier.
"What are you gonna do with it, anyway?" asked Aether.
"Listen, buddy," Childe put Lumine poster in the tube again. "There are a lot of secrets in Fatui, but I didn't promise to keep this one as secret from you, since she's your sister."
He crossed his arms. "I believe your sister is stronger than most people in Teyvat, but I afraid she still had no chance against Pantalone or Pulcinella*. I am also has my limit, but I promise to keep those two away from her, if that's what you want, in exchange of you answer to my questions."
A sudden flash of cataclysm and Lumine appeared behind Aether's mind. He honestly didn't know what he wanted to do with her at this point, but one thing, he would not let anyone use her. She still has some explaining to do.
"Why would you go that far?" asked Aether. "You can just, you know, ask me or tell me something casually."
"Abyss... is not a light matter," Childe looked at him right in the eye. "So is the Fatui Harbinger (me). The information I want to get for you is confidential and I also need you to keep what I'm telling you as a secret."
"Huh, so you're going to tell me something anyway," said Aether. "But no worries, Lumine planned to fight the gods, so probably being chased away by Fatui Harbingers can be a good exercise for her. We can agree in exchanging secrets, though."
"Not exactly secret," Childe said. "It just something I'd rather not talking about."
"And you wish for me to say something about your master with your 'not secret'?"
"Just say the things you think are not secret," Childe looked at him in the eye. "If Master shared a secret with you, it means you've made promise with her, right? Don't break that promise, just tell me what you see fit."
"Alright then... you start first," Aether sighed. He actually a little relieved that Childe shared something regarding Fatui and his sister. His mood was in better shape than before.
"Okay, so..." Childe closed his eyes. "I once told you, but I haven't really tell you the details. It is about when I feel into the abyss. The fight with you before... it revoked my memories about those days. Master Skirk..."
*
Snezhnaya, about 12 years ago.
A ginger teenage boy sprawled on the cold surface of a dark realm. He clenched his hand against the small sword he held.
It hurts.
Every part of himself was hurt.
He heard roaring noises and grumbles.
Where am I?
Young Ajax didn't know. Is this the answer of all prayers he had, of living as an adventurer?
The dark realm was consisted of dark blue and purple. It was hard to see. Ajax didn't know where to go, there were absolutely nothing to use to see any directions. Front? Back? Left? Right? All the same. It was eerie. He could hear some sinister being breathing and roaring.
"Wh... what is that," young Ajax grabbed his sword again. This is maybe the time. This is the time to show that he is capable as an adventurer, as a warrior, as a hero!
The hissing and roaring voices were getting closer to him, whilst a moan of a bigger, and more primordial being heard from afar.
*
Time that barely ticking.
Skirk, about 12 years ago. She was always on high alert, since Surtalogi could call her or suddenly appeared before her anytime, anywhere. "One day, I will take the life you work so hard to rebuild to reduce it in ashes... just like the 'fire' that haunts your mind."
Skirk still couldn't understand what he meant. The life she had worked so hard to rebuild? What life? Just wandered alone in this unknown planet, trying to find traces of her master's legacy.
To eventually defeat him.
Skirk had learned a lot before her master took her to Teyvat, however, there were still many things she found out on her own upon her arrival. For instance, that time in Teyvat's surface moves differently than in the Abyss. That current Teyvat was quite different than the Teyvat her master once resided. That the record of her master's legacy was as hard to find as himself.
A long, haunting moan had suddenly been heard deep beneath the darkness.
Skirk gasped.
She knew what that was.
"'It'... has awaken," she took a deep breath. "Master... is he here?"
*
"So, you said, the person you fight with Master used a part of All-Devouring Narwhal?" asked Childe.
Aether nodded.
"Is this not a secret?" he asked again.
"No. I didn't break any promises, I swear," Aether sighed. Truly one of Childe's best quality, he was so keen on keeping promises.
Childe whistled. "That was fascinating. Even the non-secretive part was like that."
Aether glanced at Childe. "You won't say this to anyone, right? Skirk didn't say anything about it being a secret, but I afraid you Fatui guys would do anything Fatui... well... stupid things."
"No, I wish not to share too much about her to the Fatui," Childe closed his eyes again. "Maybe, only to High Highness Tsaritsa herself I am willing to share information about her."
Aether tried to remember his feat with Skirk. He didn't even talked about Khaenri'ah yet. Aether didn't know how much Childe knew about it, despite Fatui Harbingers literally clumped with Khaenri'ahan people.
"Childe," called Aether.
"What is it?"
"Do you know anything about lost, or forgotten nations of Teyvat?"
"That is not my expertise," Childe stretched his back. "I see, so if I find out about them, maybe I can meet Master again, right?"
"That is not 'maybe'," said Aether. "It is a certainty." Aether was a little confused about how, Childe, as the holder of "Foul Legacy" barely knew or involved with anything Khaenri'ah. If anything, he should be in the first line of finding out what his power's name really means. Or maybe did Skirk tell him anything during their training, that somehow abridged Childe's curiosity about his power's origin, Khaenri'ah? Not to mention when they fought All-Devouring Narwhal in Fontaine, Skirk only showed up when Childe was fully passed out, so Aether doubted if he heard anything about the narwhal being Surtalogi's pet. Was this also something carefully planned by Skirk? So Childe would know everything when the time is right, when he was even stronger.
Aether saw Childe was still lost in his thoughts.
"Childe," he called him. "If anything, I believe whatever you wish to know and achieve will be true, once you get even stronger. And stronger. And stronger. Far surpass anything, anyone. That was I understood from your master, especially for you."
Because it is his fate, Aether thought. I don't need to face that horrifying narwhal, but he must. Just like Skirk had to face Surtalogi someday. Like master, like student.
Childe grinned. "Yeah, that's it, then," he inhaled. "Buddy, do you want to take a stroll to Fontaine?"
Aether let a resigned sigh. There's no way he could escape from this.