All beautiful writing belongs to my friend Kiri
Teyvat was strange, in the sense that it constantly gave of a feeling of familiarity and nostalgia. Every step Kairi took in this world she and Riku had ended up in while looking for Sora, Kairi could not help but feel that strange feeling of home.
The last time this happened, she had been in Radiant Garden, visiting what her Heart told her was her childhood home.
(Before Xehanort had the Heartless chase her into his hands. Before her memories of her past became a blur as she was sent to the stars to Destiny Island.)
Kairi felt as if this world was welcoming her presence. As if a piece of her had been lost and had now been found.
They hadn't found Sora yet. And they had not been able to leave. Or rather, they worried that the world itself would bar their exit, considering what the fellow traveller of worlds they encountered had told them.
("Keybearers?" Aether had said, tilting his head in surprise. "I haven't seen your kind in this part of the myriad of realms in years. Then again, considering how long its been since I got trapped here…"
"Trapped?" Riku had asked, worry on his face.
Aether shrugged, "Trapped. Stranded. Unable to leave without completing my main objective. There was a goddess who did not take my sister and my own attempt to leave Teyvat all too kindly and I worry you both may be just as stuck here too. Unless you have other means of travel that bypasses Celestia's realm.")
Leaving was not on the agenda yet anyways. Kairi's Heart had led her to Teyvat for a reason, and she wasn't leaving just yet. Not until she discovered why.
The rock islands that the locals called Guyun Stone Forest did catch her attention though…
—
With Osial's resealing, Zhongli had expected the waters of Liyue to become tumultuous once more, as the ruler of the deep was once again quelled, leaving more sea monsters to attempt to fill the void.
But while that might have been the case when Zhongli last visited, to pay respects to Havria one last time, somehow, the reverse had happened not long after.
Beidou's grumblings of the sea monsters gingerly edging the border of the Sea of Clouds, of the waters that had been rough at Guyun suddenly becoming calm and almost far too peaceful…
And then there was the return of the creatures that once celebrated and worshiped the chaotic god of the waters. The whales and dolphins that departed Liyue's waters for so long, suddenly reappearing and playfully singing.
The sea breeze was gentle and somehow, its scent did not trigger the memories he expected.
It was as if Osial had returned. To what he had once been before erosion and the war stripped him of all reasoning.
But it could not be, for Zhongli felt Osial's power disperse upon his resealing. And it had been months since.
Some part of him had wondered if Childe was at fault. Zhongli would not have put it past the battle hungry Harbinger to take the power of a god unto himself. And yet, Childe had yet to come challenge him, and his power had yet to change or increase.
No, something else was to blame.
"Have you always been attunded to water spells Kairi?" A voice sounded from afar, breaking through his thoughts as he stepped onto the shores of Guyun.
"Not exactly," a female voice responded. There was a loud splash that accompanied her reply. "You know Merlin had me focus on healing and light."
"And yet, water obeys your every command here," Zhongli notedq the amusement in the male's voice.
As he slowly got closer, Zhongli held his breath in surprise and shock. A silver haired young man sat on the beach, his gaze turned towards the red haired maiden in the shallows.
A red haired maiden who had Hydro coalescing in her hands, the energy wild and untamed and familiar.
And when she manipulated it, used it to shape a wave to crash down on her friend, causing him to sputter, and as if instinctively, caused it to shape itself into hydra heads that wrapped around the girl protectively.
Zhongli could not help but stare.
Because it was Osial's power he sensed within the girl.