XLVIII

“I don’t know what that thing was! I’ve told you seven times now!” You hissed at Ariel. After going through your story several times already, you were starting to get annoyed. The only upside was Aether patiently sitting in front of you as you practically manhandled his hair into a braid before pulling it apart and putting it in a new one.

“I’m just trying to help you.” Ariel said calmly.

“Well, right now, when I’m tired and my head hurts, all I’m feeling is annoyed!” You took a deep breath. “Thank you for trying to help, but can we please just talk about this in the morning?”

“We can go in the teapot. It’s much quieter than the barracks.”

You look down at Aether with concern. “Were you having trouble sleeping?”

He nodded. “Turns out a ton of people who snore sleeping in the same small place will really get on your nerves.”

You let out a breathy chuckle, running your fingers through Aether’s once again, loose hair. “Yeah it sounds good to sleep in a bedroom right now.”

The three of you left the boat deck, all filled with exhaustion and concern. Finding your way back to the bed given to you all in the barracks, you lifted a sleepy Paimon into your arms as Aether activated the teapot. Her head lolled onto your shoulder a little sigh was the last thing you heard before reality twisted around you.

-

Stepping out of the shower, you dried your hair and body. Before slipping into your sleep clothes, you caught sight of your body in the foggy mirror.

Though your injuries from the fall from the Jade Chamber were mostly bruises and broken bones, there was still a significant amount of stark white scars that ran across your torso and legs. Deep cuts from debris or poking out bones, no doubt, but it was still strange to see such a change to yourself. There were even smaller scars around your wrists from when Lumine dangled you in a dungeon.

You stood in almost a daze, staring at yourself. You looked… jagged. Not so much as a grizzled warrior from films but like broken ceramic someone had hastily pasted back together. Combined with the dark circles under your eyes, the disproportionate look of your body from going to years of muscle, to malnutrition, back to muscle, and the stance of someone ready to fight at the drop of a hat… it was a strange vision.

You shook your head and pulled on your sleep clothes, falling into bed in record time. It was hard, trying to fall asleep. Not because the bed was uncomfortable, or that you weren’t tired, but because a deep seed of fear had been planted into your stomach.

When you had first brought up the idea of mediation and dreamsharing to Jinfeng, it had been enthusiastically, interested in doing something so out of your comfort zone (and admittedly because it sound cool as hell), but now, with that creature prowling inside your head, you felt stark waves of discomfort. When you were asleep was when you were most vulnerable, it was when all the other visions had appeared to you.

What if that creature came back during your dreams and succeeded in hurting you because you were unable to defend yourself? What if you got so hurt you wouldn’t wake up? The thoughts had you tossing and turning.

Finally sighing when you were unable to even close your eyes you threw the covers off and climbed out of bed. You ambled your way down the hallways to the little library you and Aether had set up only yesterday.

Alongside all the books and pillows, you had asked Aether if you could put some of your painting stuff in there. You weren’t able to carry much with you, so most of it was left at the Mond apartment, but you did bring a few sketchbooks, pencils, a glass pen, paints, and brushes.

After trying to learn how to paint so Ariel could actually be visible in the house in some way, instead of hanging up a blank picture on the wall, you had found that painting did a substantial amount to help you relax. You had never enjoyed painting, or art in general, much in your first life, only really experiencing it through tedious art classes that had you focus on the most boring, ridiculous projects, so when you picked it up again, you surprised yourself. Now, whenever you had down time, or were particularly stressed you liked to, at the very least, sketch whatever came to mind.

Sitting in the little nook you made, you leaned back against the pillows, situating yourself comfortably and began to draw in your worn, well-loved sketchbook. Your hands were jerky across the page, creating a chicken scratch outline that most would find horrendous, but you understood perfectly. Once that was finished, you followed the habits of the people you knew were talented in art and lightly erased the lines, giving you a faint outline.

You went over the soft outline with your glass pen, the glide against the roughened paper was soothing to hear and the lines of ink were satisfyingly made.

Slowly the picture forms in front of you, the lines take shape, curling into ragged claws and sharp eyes. Before you, on the page, was the creature from your dreams. It was a snarling beast, with fangs like a sabertooth tiger and fur like that of a shadow, wilting and fluctuating in the light. It was leaping, as if it would jump off the page, its claws outstretched and lips pulled back in a snarl.

It glared at you, mockingly, this horrible monster that teared through your mind without a care- no, doing it purposefully, knowing the agonizing pain it would cause. It churned something in your stomach to see the image that wouldn’t let you sleep so clearly.

But now, with it down on paper, you felt your mind clear somewhat. Just what was this thing? The best thing you could think of was that it was a creature of Celestial that was sent to invade your mind and kill you. Or, maybe it was the carrier for the visions, presumably, Celestial had been sending you and you had interrupted a vision.

Or had Lumine instead found a way for the people of the abyss to invade your mind? Was it a personal demon you had blocked out that carried unknown memories? Such a strange situation had you puzzled, but you took a deep breath, gently shut your notebook, and put it out of your mind in an attempt to actually go to sleep.

Hobbling back down the hallway, your eyes now feeling sufficiently grainy and droopy, you made your way back into bed, flopping down under the covers. You snuggled your face in your pillow and promptly drifted off to sleep.

-

The morning after you had drawn the beast from your nightmares, you had spoken to Ariel and Aether around the little dining table in the mansion of the teapot. The smell of sweet tea wafted through the air and plates of toast, eggs, and strips of meat littered the table.

You presented your theories, everything you could possibly think that thing could’ve been and why it would want to harm you. Of course, Ariel and Aether had no idea, with Aether having even less lore knowledge than you and Ariel only experiencing the game through you (though he had confessed at one point that he had hardly paid attention to what was happening, only absentmindedly clapping when you yelled out in victory).

They had agreed that the most likely options were Celestial or Lumine sending ‘mind assassins’, Ariel called them, to try and kill or seriously harm you.

From then on, the next few weeks were spent simply hanging around the Alcor as you all sailed to Inazuma. Days were spent speaking to the crew members, bantering with Kazuha and creating more awful haikus (on your part at least), and sparring with Aether at the times the deck was relatively free.

Now was one such time. Your sword was clutched in your hand, its soft blue glow gently illuminating your arms as you held it in a ready position. Aether was the same way, his stance different, but no less prepared than yours.

The first strike was from him.

Since you learned swordplay from Kaeya, you had picked up on a few of his habits when it came to friendly spars such as these. Due to his manner being more sly and calculating than many gave him credit for, he tended to let his opponent strike first as a way of falsely giving them the upper hand when really he was taking the extra time to judge weight distribution and stance.

For Aether, you did the same thing. Thanks to Kaeya’s teachings, you could see from Aether’s first strike alone how he favored his right side, how his attacks are more swift strikes that favor speed and quantity over overall power. You could see how his footwork was steady but how his back was slightly curled, he must be having a bit more pain than usual today.

Your swords clashing, metal slashing, making a sharp sound that rang uncomfortably in your ears. You traded blows.

A strike, a block, a strike, a parry.

Back and forth it went till sweat was dripping down your forehead, your muscles straining all over your body, and your chest was heaving with breath. It was exhilarating, you realized. The adrenaline pumping through your veins as you and Aether stepped through this intricate dance, weaving between the other, trying to out smart, out maneuver the other.

Eventually he got behind you, smashing the pommel of his sword into your back, knocking you to the ground with a pained grunt. You fell on your front, your nose nearly hitting the worn wood of the deck. His foot pressed into the small of your back and you felt the edge of his blade graze your neck so softly there was no cut.

“I win.” You rolled your eyes and the smug tilt to his voice. His foot let up and you rolled on your back to seem him looking down at you, no sheen of sweat or sign of exhaustion. He looked as if he just woke up.

“Were you going easy on me, all powerful being?” Your sarcasm didn’t pass him by and he huffed a laugh.

“I wouldn’t even say easy, more like waving off a particularly persistent gnat.”

“Oh fuck off.” But you took the offered hand and let him pull you up to your feet.

Ariel was clapping enthusiastically on the side and you shot him a playful glare, one he sent back. Your focus was drawn away when you heard a voice call out to your little group.

“Hey travelers!” Beidou was leaning on the railing of the upper part of the ship. “We’re docking at Inazuma soon! Make sure you got everything cus we ain’t turning around if you forgot your shoes!” She let out a deep laugh and turned back to the helm.

You and Aether scrambled to get everything together. You took a quick shower and changed while Aether packed up all the bags you needed and soon enough, you were ready for when the Alcor docked at Inazuma.

-

The land was more beautiful than could be shown through a simple screen. The cliffs were littered with trees of bright auburn, the rocky cliffs contrasting nicely against the golden, evening sky.

The ship swayed upon arrival, coming to a slow stop near the docking area. The crew members bustled around the deck, bringing along a large slab of thick wood, connecting the boat to the pier. You followed Beidou off the ship, waving Kazuha goodbye for now as he perched atop the crow’s nest.

She walked along the pier, a swagger to her hips and a smirk on her lips, an air of nonchalance. It was then you noticed the young man rushing up to her.

Dressed in casual blue pants, tall, brown boots, and a well-loved red jacket, Thoma bound down the pier. His hair was yellow as straw, held back by a black headband with what looked like horns poking through his bangs. His smile was wide and cheerful, but his green eyes were somehow dimmed.

He wasn’t moving easily. His posture was tense though his face was friendly. He seemed off balance, as if every step was made with thought instead of casual perks and hops.

It was then you noticed the lack of a brightly burning Pyro vision hanging from the young man’s hip.