The young man's voice was like a knife being driven through the Wanderer's mind. He barely stifled a gasp as he grabbed his head, wincing violently.
"Hey, comrade," said the man. "Didn't think you'd manage to escape from the Sanctuary of Surasthana. Any reason why you haven't reported back to the Palace?"
"I...wha...? I don't underst-"
"It was bad enough when you went A.W.O.L. after Inazuma last time, but hiding out here now? My, my, it's almost like you're trying to get into trouble with the Jester."
At first, hearing that term just confused the Wanderer - but then a vivid image, along with a sharp pain, coursed through his mind. A wizened face was looking down at him with a caring smile, as he felt reeds blowing around him in an Inazuman field, and he was...crying?
"Ugh..."
"Wait," he heard Yoimiya's voice, as though through a dense fog. "Don't tell me you guys know each other?"
"Are you kidding? We go way back! Isn't that right, comrade?"
The Wanderer was dragged sideways as an ironlike arm wrapped around his neck and shoulders, with tightness like a serpent's coils. The breath that ran down his neck felt equally cold-blooded and venomous, and he felt his blood turn to ice, as if he was reacting in dread to some dormant memory.
"Unff..." he struggled to breathe. "Sir, please - I - I don't know you..."
He heard a dry laugh. One that he had heard before. Now the Wanderer felt a roiling mixture of rage, spite, hatred, annoyance...
"Argh!" He slammed his palms against his tightly shut eyes.
"Look, Scaramouche. You may have gotten humbled in Sumeru-"
"Please...stop...!"
"-but we still might have use for you. Dottore in particular-"
Several more images flashed through the Wanderer's head - but these were far from clear and vivid, instead overlapping and tearing into each other like they were each fighting to occupy a single space in his mind.
A dozen identical faces leered down at him as he lay immobile on a hard steel surface...drills and knives carved into his back as he knelt thrashing from chains on his wrists...he let out a soundless scream as a pair of gloved hands invaded his throat with massive needles...
"Shut up..."
"What? You still mad at him? C'mon-"
"SHUT UP!"
He threw himself from the man's grasp. Suddenly he was doubled over, clutching his head and screaming, fingers nearly drawing blood from his scalp. He was drawing rasping breaths as he shuddered uncontrollably. He could feel everyone's eyes on him; he heard a nervous chuckle from Yoimiya as she stepped back, while a set of frantic footsteps came closer.
"Wanderer?!" he heard Mona shout. "What happened?!"
"Uh...I think he's sick," the young man uttered.
Through the corner of his hazy vision, the Wanderer saw Mona stare at the man for a second, squinting - then her eyes went wide with shock.
"Get away from him!"
Mona slammed her hands into the man's chest, making him take a step back - then she flung her hand out for the Wanderer's trembling shoulder, grasped him tightly, then enveloped the two of them in a dome of water before disappearing.
They emerged from the dome onto a hardwood floor. As soon as Mona let go of the Wanderer, he collapsed onto all fours, gasping for air like she had just saved him from drowning. She quickly got onto one knee and placed her hand on his back as she waited for him to recover.
He remained in his gasping, shuddering state for over a minute. Twice he made a retching noise like he wanted to throw up, but his stomach was empty. Only when he finally became still did Mona take her hand away.
"Th-thank you," he breathed. "Where...where are-"
He answered his own question as he got to his feet and peered blearily at the gold and purple walls behind him and the Shogunate banners flying in the courtyard below.
"I'm sorry, I know you said you weren't ready to come back here yet," said Mona. "But this was the first place I could think of."
"I...I understand."
"Are you feeling alright?"
The Wanderer shook his head.
"That...that man...the words he said reminded me of...painful things. Things etched so deep into my memory that they might be the one thing I haven't forgotten. I...Mona, please, can you tell me something?"
"Of course."
The Wanderer drew himself up to his full height and looked her in the eye.
"Just what kind of life did I live...?"
Mona suddenly found it hard to meet his gaze. It was an odd feeling - she simultaneously wanted to tell him the truth about his deeds that he had every right to know, and wanted to protect him from the knowledge of the monster he once was. She felt hundreds of words rising to the brim of her mouth, yet at the same time didn't have a single thing to say.
The Wanderer appeared to have assumed the worst from her silence.
"I see. That bad, was it?"
"I - I'm sorry. You wouldn't understand your own actions as you are now-"
"I don't think you're the one who gets to decide that," the Wanderer shot back. For the first time since losing his Vision, he looked angry - and that made Mona fall silent.
The Wanderer threw himself from the wooden platform and began to pace from one side of the stone stairs to the other.
"Who am I?" he asked no one in particular. "These snippets of my past, the only things I remember...why do I seem to be joyful in none of them? Are these the most important parts of my existence? What kind of...ungodly existence is that...?"
Mona could hear the desperation in his voice; every moment he did not have an answer was a moment he was hurting. She couldn't imagine how he was feeling.
"Perhaps if...I could change it..."
At that moment, the heavy doors burst open behind them.
"Who's there?"
Yae Miko stepped out into the open, her eyes falling upon the duo.
"Oh. This is a surprise. Well, since you're here - do you want the good news or the bad news first?"
The Wanderer quickly stepped back onto the platform, his eyes wide as he stared at Yae.
"What do you mean?" he demanded, a little roughly. It was clear to Mona he still wasn't over their last encounter.
"I'll just tell you the good news first," said Yae. "We've managed to take back your Vision-"
"What?!" The Wanderer's eyes were suddenly ablaze.
"-but the Shogun is in no state to face you now. If you are able to wait-"
"No! I'm tired of not knowing! I'm tired of getting struck from behind by my past! Lady Yae, I need to know who I am!"
His chest heaved as he stared at Yae, whose calm eyes darted back and forth across his face.
"Very well," she said after a moment. "Allow me to make some preparations first."
She turned around and headed back inside Tenshukaku. As the doors swung shut behind her, Mona and the Wanderer could hear her utter, "You two, hide yourselves."
For about a minute, the Wanderer stood at vigil outside Tenshukaku, staring at the doors that were the last barrier between him and...him. Although he had reacted so intensely earlier, a part of him was nervous. He remembered what Mona had said about how it was better to be ignorant of what lay ahead of him in life - but could the same be said about the past of someone who knew nothing of it?
Eventually, he heard Yae's voice again.
"Come inside."
He took a deep breath, still unable to calm the storm raging in the space where his heart would be - and then he felt a hand clutching his.
Looking aside, he looked into Mona's eyes. She squeezed his hand encouragingly. He nodded, let go of her hand, and threw the doors aside.
Stepping into the temple for the second time, the Wanderer walked across the wide space - there were no lavish decorations lining the floor this time, which the Wanderer was grateful for. The last time he was here, he was thankful for the accommodations, but thinking back now they felt so pretentious and insulting. Did he feel this way about his creator in the past he had forgotten?
And the Shogun - no, Ei herself was kneeling upon a pile of white rags at the end of the temple, her head bowed over as Yae knelt on one knee behind her, pink lightning sparking from her hands as she ran them over her master's back at her instruction.
"Seal the last few gaps...then restart the red component with Electro. Don't overload it - make it incremental."
"Shogun?"
Ei looked up abruptly, and the Wanderer stopped in his tracks at the sight of her mangled face.
"Hello," she said. "I am glad to see you again. Please overlook my current appearance - I have sustained much damage in my endeavours to resolve your plight."
"I - n-no, it's okay," said the Wanderer, trying not to look at her bulging, exposed eye. He suddenly felt a twinge of guilt; just what lengths had she gone to for him?
"Miko says you are impatient - in that case, I shall not waste any more of your time."
Ei raised a badly cracked and damaged hand towards the Wanderer. A ball of lightning crackled within her palm - and then the violet light gave way to a turquoise glow, the Wanderer's Vision revolving serenely as it hovered there.
"Here - this stone contains all that you are - all that you were. All you need to do is touch it."
"I..."
The Wanderer could not speak. It was beautiful, more so than any gemstone. He never expected he would have an affinity with Anemo - he was now all the more curious to find out who he was.
"My lord?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
Ei looked at him in surprise for a moment - then smiled.
"You're welcome."
The Wanderer returned her smile. "Do you know what will happen? As in, what will I experience once I touch this?"
"I have seen my own citizens regain their Visions before. Essentially, they will relive all of their past experiences in a few short seconds - but for you, it may take minutes. It is not a painful process, so fret not. Are you ready?"
The Wanderer nodded. "I am."
He stepped forward, reaching out for his Vision, his fingers stretched wide as he walked like a moth drawn to a flame.
"So much pain, so much agony...perhaps this is my chance to purge it all."
Yae raised an eyebrow at his statement, and glanced at Ei. She did not seem to understand either.
But it mattered not to the Wanderer.
With a trembling hand, he touched the Vision.
As Mona sat waiting on the stone steps outside the temple, she felt an inexplicable unease tugging at her, like there was something she had forgotten to say. She rapped her fingers against the edge of the stairs, thinking, wondering.
Giving up, she threw her head back, and with nothing better to do, she drew up her scryglass and began to read the Wanderer's constellation. Six stars arranged themselves across the water, and she peered into them, scouring them for secrets...
Her eyes suddenly widened in shock.
What a fool she was - of course he would try to do that. How could she have forgotten to warn him?
Scrambling, she dived into a puddle of water and slid under the doors, bursting out and landing on her feet inside the temple. Dreading the worst, she looked towards the end of the long hall-
"AAAAAAAARRGHHH!"
The Wanderer was thrashing around on the floor, convulsing madly as though being branded with a hot iron by invisible attackers. He screamed, gasped, pressed his palms over his eyes, all the while as Ei and Yae looked at him in horror.
"Ei-"
"I don't know. I've never seen this happen to any of the humans who-"
"He's resisting."
Mona knelt down next to the thrashing Wanderer, and seized his right wrist. Gripped tightly between his fingers was his Vision, but its turquoise light was flickering erratically.
"Explain yourself," said Yae.
"He doesn't want to accept his past," said Mona, her eyes not leaving the Wanderer's pained face. "I read his fate earlier - through some way or another, he was destined to try and change history, to try and erase the tragedies of the past five hundred years."
She looked up at Yae as though asking her what to do.
"I...I think that's what he's doing now."
The Kabukimono sat in the corner of a wooden hut, clutching a weathered book. Outside the window, rain howled and lightning crackled.
"Niwa? How do you...read this word?"
A young man knelt down before him, putting aside a steaming pot of stew. Gently taking the book from him, he smiled at him and said:
"This word is 'cage'."
"Cage...what is a cage?"
"It's a metal box that some people keep birds in, if they don't want them to fly away. Some people think it's cruel, but others might say it keeps the bird safe from the outside world."
"Then could you keep me here in a cage?"
The young man blinked. "Sorry?"
The Kabukimono stood up and walked closer to the young man, eyes wide in pleading.
"Don't send me to the mainland. I don't want to look for the Shogun. I know what happens next after I do."
The young man chuckled softly. "What are you talking-"
"The next time I see you...you'll have betrayed me. It'll be in the furnace. You'll all betray me. I don't want that. Please, let me spend more time with you like this. Just a little more-"
"Silly puppet, I would never-"
The walls of the house crumbled away. Now raging waves crashed around the Kabukimono as he struggled to maintain his balance on a little boat, lightning crackling in the distance as he heard screams from the shore...
"NIWA!"
A massive wave engulfed him as he shouted out, and he spluttered and choked. A violet spark appeared in the water.
My lord...?
He reached out - but then the waves disappeared, and he was standing in the heart of the Mikage Furnace, his hand mere inches away from the pulsating violet core.
No. No, no, no, no, no, no-!
The Kabukimono turned and dashed for his life, but the violet light exploded outwards, rapidly closing the distance.
"NO! I'M NOT GOING BACK-"
The violet light of the furnace engulfed him, melting his flesh, rendering him a screeching mess - and then the heat vanished. He fell onto a wooden floor, and through his hazy vision he saw a young boy coughing.
"Zen...?"
The boy looked down at him with a smile, his eyes sunken and his skin pale, but alive with unmistakable happiness.
"Zen! Zenzaemon!"
He scrambled to his feet and flung himself at the young boy. But when he took his first step, the boy was thrown from him by an invisible force. He collapsed, blood leaking from his mouth. The house burst into flame, heat licking Kunikuzushi's artificial skin.
"No! Just a little further...! You were only a little further...! I can still reach you...!"
A flaming piece of debris struck him on the head, and he collapsed.
All of the energy, all the resistance that burned within him flickered out like a used candle. He merely lay there as the house burned down around him, his lungs burning from both breathing in the hot air and the pain that suffocated him. He didn't even want to go on to the next memory. What was the point? To feel more pain?
All of a sudden, a cool blue light filled the room. He went still. If he focused, he could almost hear flowing water, like a stream. Was he dreaming?
But as he thought this, starry waters flowed in from some unseen place, filling the blackened room, dousing the flames. Kunikuzushi's eyes widened - and then he heard a voice.
"Can you hear me?"
He gave a weary sigh.
"Hello, astrologist. How are you doing this?"
"Just a simple spell. But I need you to worry about yourself now. I know you're in a lot of pain. But you're making it worse by refusing to accept these things. You aren't even finished yet-"
"I know."
"Hm?"
"I know what lies ahead. I'm starting to remember. The pain that was inflicted on me - the pain I inflicted on others. I hate it all. It makes me want to throw up. Can you blame me for wanting to change that?"
"No. I think anyone with a heart would have tried the same thing. But...the past is as unshakeable as your future. We cannot change it as much as we cannot change fate."
"Then take away my Vision again."
"I...I'm sorry?"
"These past few days when I had no idea who I was - maybe they were a blessing. All these memories I'm seeing - who could live with them? I don't want to be the Kabukimono, I don't want to be Kunikuzushi, I don't want to be Scaramouche-"
"Calm down. Please."
He shook his head.
"I've just gone through two centuries of pain in thirty seconds. Whatever happiness I've had that comes after - how could it be worth it? Wouldn't it be better to wipe the slate clean?"
"Even if you forget them, these tragedies did happen to you. Why not keep the pain so that you'll have learned from it, to ensure you won't repeat the same mistakes?"
"It might be cowardly, but I have the right to run away from who I am...who I used to be. And you - would you be here trying to convince me otherwise if I didn't have a life with you? If I weren't someone you cared about, you wouldn't be trying so hard to bring back who I used to be."
There was a short pause.
"You're right. Maybe I'm being selfish. If you truly want to forget your past - if you truly think everything you've been through isn't worth it - I can't stop you. And since I can't read your mind, it might be pretentious of me to make this statement. However..."
There was a brief pause. Kunikuzushi merely sat and waited.
"...I truly believe that after the worst years of your life, you were truly happy with me. I don't think you would have forgotten me for the world."
He heard Mona sigh.
"Please - whatever name it is you go by at this time - believe that your story has a happy ending."
The blue glow faded away, leaving Kunikuzushi kneeling in a charred, blackened room. The only undamaged thing was the door on the far side.
He bowed his head, trying not to think of the anguish that was spilling over in his mind - and then he stood up, feeling a raw heat in his limbs as he braced for more pain.
He stepped through the door.
A field of reeds now surrounded him, a warm Inazuman sunset glowing on the horizon as the veil he wore whipped around him. The face of the first Fatui Harbinger, half-hidden behind his iron mask, looked upon him with a smile. At the time of his forming this memory, Kunikuzushi trusted that smile - but now that he knew the true intentions of that smile...how ugly it truly looked.
"I'll come with you," he heard his own voice speak.
"Good. I'll take good care of you," said the Jester, his crooked smile widening.
"On one condition - don't call me by the name I have just introduced myself with. I wish to leave everything behind here in Inazuma."
"That will not be a problem."
The field of reeds vanished around Scaramouche, who felt his knees slam into hard, cold concrete. With his face barely inches from the ground, he could only see several pairs of identical boots before him, each accompanied by the hem of a white coat.
"Continuing durability experiment D-012-"
"Be quiet. I want to measure his pain tolerance already. Commence experiment E-001."
Scaramouche felt a mild tingling on his face from four wires attached to his skin - and then all of his nerves were on fire, stinging, blazing, flaring, throbbing.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHH!"
Six or eight gloved hands seized him by the arms and pinned him down, all the while as sadistic chittering surrounded him like the calls of a swarm of cicadas.
"DOTTORE!"
On instinct, he tried to resist, to throw Dottore off of him and flee - but he knew what came next in this memory, and he knew it was pointless.
"Increase the intensity by a factor of one-point-two every three minutes," said one of the Doctor's segments. "And tell me once you're done. Omega wants us to begin modification work to increase his combat prowess."
The scene changed rapidly as more painful memories rushed into his mind - dozens of unspeakable experiments done at the Doctor's whim - but Scaramouche resisted the urge to scream, letting the pain wash over him like waves of acid and fire as he forced himself to endure. Then he remembered his countless battles as a member of the Fatui Harbingers, striking, screaming, murdering - the laughs of Childe as water and electricity crashed over him, the scathing remarks of the Fair Lady as she screamed with fire and venom...and then he felt himself in a deep sleep, a terrible truth pervading his mind...now he was laughing at an outlander in a factory in Inazuma...righteous rage and vindication soared through his mind as he occupied a new, stronger body, but it was soon replaced by despair, as he felt himself falling...
Wait...what's this?
A new memory began to take over, one with hues of bright, pleasant green, springing up around him like fresh vegetation.
This...isn't so bad.
Was the worst finally over? Could he finally rest easy? After experiencing the past four hundred years, he did not want to get his hopes up, but...
In this memory, he sat in the corner of a spacious cell, green energy flickering around the walls and bars. He heard light, almost weightless footsteps as a tiny figure approached him.
"Why are you here?!" he snarled, throwing himself forward and grabbing the bars of his cell - but they crackled with Dendro energy, flinging him back to the floor. "Rrrgh...come to finish me off, have you, Buer?"
"You misunderstand. I want to offer you a second chance, Balladeer. I require someone of your durability to investigate-"
"That's all everyone cares about, isn't it?! This body of mine?!" Scaramouche screamed. "You'll throw me at any problem just because I won't break, just because I was made like this - I'll watch you burn, I'll make you kiss the dirt I walk on-"
"I am not like your old colleague. Your hatred for me is poisoning your mind. Please, calm down and weigh your options. I only want to help you."
Scaramouche glared at her, his lips a thin line.
"I've heard those words before. You expect me to believe them now?"
"Yes. Because you are hurting and misguided. I can help you remedy that, if you only let me."
"Save your pity for those who deserve it. Everything I've done was a conscious choice of my own. I've trampled on this world to get what I want, and I'll do it again."
"Even so, you were guided to make these choices by your experiences. If asked to die for the sake of their land, a schoolchild and a soldier cannot be expected to make the same choice."
Scaramouche gazed into those bright and childlike green eyes, filled with that inexplicable compassion...
He rested his head back against his cell.
"What do you need?"
The pain and rage that had plagued him for centuries seemed to ebb away in the next memories; the pain that wracked his mind and body further quelled with each day he spent with the Dendro Archon. And then...
He was standing high up on a tower in Mondstadt, a windmill turning idly over his head. His arms crossed, he gazed over the city impatiently as a golden-haired figure appeared by his side.
"Why did you bring me here?"
But even as the words left his mouth, he remembered the ridiculous invitation the Traveler had extended to him - their proposal to have him attend a formal ball hosted by the Knights of Favonius, meant to 'clear his mind' before they discussed his next course of action the following day. Had the Dendro Archon herself not insisted that he follow along with whatever the Traveler said, he would never be caught dead at such an event...
...and yet, that night he found himself standing in the corner of an extravagant ballroom, white lights turning and shimmering over the high-panelled walls as if the place were made of diamond. Dressed in formal local wear that he thought would suffocate him at any moment, only he was motionless as he watched the dancers twirl and step across the floor, separate from him, as though he was standing behind panelled glass. At his side stood the Traveler and their floating companion, urging him for what felt like the hundredth time that night to join someone in dance.
But the Wanderer felt no desire to interact with other humans. That was all he was - a Wanderer. After discarding so many names and titles, this was all he was reduced to, and he was content with that. He needed no one - if he could merely watch the dancers before him and pretend he was living in that ancient fairytale told to him by a boy long dead, he could endure his heart's agony in silence.
With a dejected sigh, the Traveler finally gave up on convincing him - turning tail, they beckoned Paimon to come with him and the duo left him to his own devices.
Barely seconds later, the Wanderer walked off in the opposite direction - the strong scent of wine was starting to irritate his nostrils. He would much rather be breathing in the air of the cold dark night outside.
So he walked towards one of the many balconies that lined the sides of the ballroom, slipping past the graceful, intricately dressed dancers like a ghost.
His foot brushed against something.
The Wanderer glanced downwards, his eyebrows raised.
A lone slipper lay upon the light-strewn floor, with a slender golden heel and a surface of premium dark blue fabric, embroidered with tiny golden sequins and studs.
He knelt down and picked it up, turning it over in his hand. The golden accessories twinkled and glimmered as he did so, as though he was holding a piece of the night sky. Inexplicably, he found the design so very familiar...but he could not recall why.
Despite this, he held on to the slipper as he walked on, inspecting each of the balconies he passed by.
In the first one he tried, stood a lone man with dark blue hair gazing out at the sky as he swivelled wine musingly in his hand. The Wanderer chose to leave him alone. Next, he saw a face he had encountered in combat before in the past, his flaming hair whipping across his face as he addressed a golden-haired woman. The third balcony was empty. In the fourth, a silver-haired maid was handing a drink to an icy-looking female knight, whilst a young blond boy gazed at the maid from behind the knight. The maid turned and spotted the Wanderer, who left hastily before she could address him.
And then, approaching the fifth balcony, he saw the figures of three people - one woman sat upon a low-backed chair, hunched over in apparent frustration as she grabbed her foot, whilst the other two figures bent over her with concern.
"Ugh - how could this happen? I had it tailor-made, for the love of-"
"Perhaps I damaged it while collecting it for you yesterday. I apologise."
"Impossible, you're far more careful than that, Albedo. At any rate, I'm not losing it - this pair cost me a month's worth of groceries." The woman tried to get up, but flinched and fell back on her seat. "Ow..."
"It'll hurt more if you move. We'll go look for it. Sucrose?"
Someone nodded, and the two figures walked back inside the hall.
The Wanderer took that as his cue. Looking sideways to hide his face, he slipped past the two strangers and stepped into the balcony where the lone woman sat.
"Miss? I believe you dropped this."
Mona turned to the source of the voice, her hopeful smile illuminated by the ethereal blue moonlight. However, as she cast her gaze upon the newcomer, her smile gave way to a look of unsettled surprise.
"Oh."
The Wanderer frowned at her reaction, not understanding her ingratitude - and then he recalled the day he had last seen that face, on that island with the abominable gateway...
"Ah. I thought your stench was familiar," he drawled. "Still preaching the lies of the false sky?"
"Still so full of yourself? You should really prove you're so great before you start acting like it. How many times have you failed others already?"
The Wanderer stared at her with cold fury, but she didn't appear fazed. He could not remember the last time a human remained so steadfast, so arrogant under his glare.
"You have a unique constellation. I have read your stars many times since we last met," she explained. "My, fate can truly be cruel, can't it?"
The Wanderer slowly walked towards her.
"If you know so much about me, then you should know I'll rip your tongue out for what you've said."
"Strange. The stars tell me you've made a promise to subdue your own rage. A promise to someone as old as you, but infinitely wiser."
The Wanderer did not slow down or stop.
But he instead walked past Mona, crossing his arms and leaning forward on the masterfully carved railings. He gazed over the landscape and the far-out waters shimmering under the night, forcing himself to forget her scathing words.
"Know that I still despise you," he spat.
"Sure. Are you going to give that back?"
It was then that he realised he was still grasping the intricate slipper in his hand. He gripped it tightly.
"Answer me this first."
"What?"
The Wanderer turned his gaze upwards to the hundreds of stars above.
"If you know how terrible fate can be, how can you stand dabbling in it every day?"
There was a heavy silence. He could feel Mona's eyes on the back of his head.
"Not one day has gone by when I haven't cursed fate," he continued. "The desire to tear the quill that writes one's story from the hand of this world - you humans spend your entire lives trying to do just that, and so many of you fail that it's laughable. So why? Why acknowledge the existence of something as disgusting and insulting as fate? Why...why hold it up on a pedestal like you do?"
Mona let out a long sigh.
"To be able to accept whatever lies ahead of you - be it terrific or terrible - is there not peace of mind to be had in such an existence? Many might not agree, but I truly believe that fate can be beautiful."
The Wanderer scoffed.
"It would be nice if I still believed that."
"What's stopping you?"
The Wanderer didn't bother answering. What could such a young human understand of his pain? Of centuries of placing his trust in both gods and humans, then having his soul crushed, and re-learning to trust again, only to be lulled back into the cycle like a fish to a bait?
He was centuries too old to believe that his life was some fairytale with a happy ending.
And yet...as he stared at the dark blue sky above him, the immense sea of twinkling stars, he could not help but be reminded of the beautiful paintings he used to admire, crafted by long-dead Inazuman artists. A painting too was a farce, an imitation - but did that really detract from its beauty?
Perhaps...gods, hadn't he learned by now? But perhaps, just one last time...
...he could let himself believe in the fairytale again.
A particularly shrill laugh from one of the dancers pulled him back to reality. Turning away from the dark horizon, he glanced back to look at Mona - actually look at her - for the first time that night. At her eyeshadow and dark blue lipstick, and the shimmering hairpins in the shape of stars in her hair, and the low-collared, bluish-purple dress that flowed down around her. She blinked, a morose look on her face as she brushed back her long dark hair.
"You don't seem to be having fun here. Kind of stupid of you - the entrance fee was pretty high."
"Not much to do at a ball if you don't come with a partner. I'm just third-wheeling tonight."
"So what? I don't have a partner, either."
A sudden breeze swept across the balcony, causing the hair on the back of the Wanderer's neck to stand up. The silence between him and Mona was suddenly stifling; he felt an inexplicable urge to pierce it. And underneath his tingling hands, the angles of the intricately carved railing were suddenly too hot, too stimulating for his touch.
"Oi, astrologist."
"What?"
"You really think the stars' mockery of fate is so beautiful?"
He raised his hand before her, the night wind like electricity against his now overly tense fingertips.
"I'll give you one night to show me."
Mona stared at him for a moment, a surprised look on her face. Then her eyes narrowed with a daring shine, a small smirk creeping across her features, which he knew to mean she accepted his 'challenge'.
"Can't dance with only one slipper, can I?"
The Wanderer glanced at the slipper in his hand again. It was truly immaculately crafted.
"Want me to put it on for you, princess?" he mocked.
"Will you?"
The Wanderer smirked before tossing the slipper to her. "Hurry up, astrologist."
She caught the slipper, bent down, and pulled it on gently, giving her leg a few small swings for good measure.
"Still fits," she said. "That's a relief. Thought it might be damaged."
She stood up and approached the Wanderer. As he looked into her eyes and gazed at that grin, he saw both fiery pride and a calmness like water.
She placed her hand on his, a tingling sensation running up his arm.
"May I?"
"Do your worst."
Her fingers curled around his hand, tracing along the back of it a few times before locking in place. Her skin was incredibly smooth.
The Wanderer felt a light tug as Mona turned on the spot, pulling him towards the hall. He walked next to her, gazing at her form, which grew more and more clear as the diamond-like lights were cast upon them as though they were making some grand entrance. How fitting for him.
As the raucous sound of festivities surrounded the Wanderer once more, he tried his best to drown it out as he turned to focus on the deep blue eyes now gazing at his face, as their hands slipped around each other.
Slowly, they began to dance to the rhythm of the music. Before even a minute had passed, the Wanderer was taken by surprise by just how well he and this odd human complemented each other in their movements. The distance of their strides were nearly the same, there was no lagging behind in either of their movements...how strange - it was as if they were fated to dance together.
But the Wanderer was reluctant to believe that was any more than a delusion. Fate may have brought the two of them together for this one night, but that was all it was - just one night. He was certain that this would be but a fleeting moment of happiness in the company of another, just like all the others.
Even so, he wanted to see how long this night would last.
The Wanderer's body, which had previously been still, suddenly spasmed briefly under Mona's hands. She drew back with a shout of alarm. She watched warily as he choked and spluttered, as though he had been resuscitated after being dragged out from a river. His eyes flew open, clearly unfocused as they blinked several times, staring at the ceiling of the shrine.
Then, with a deep breath, the Wanderer closed his eyes and went still again.
Mona stared down at his form. He seemed to be...sleeping?
"Wanderer?"
No response.
"Wanderer, this isn't funny. Is that you?"
She grasped his shoulders in worry as she said this. At her disturbance, the Wanderer's eyebrows creased - and then his mouth curled into a familiar scowl.
"Oh, quit your screeching. Can't you let me rest for one lousy second?"
Mona felt a surge of relief and joy coursing through her, coursing through every fibre of her being like a river, as if this reunion had broken a dam in her heart. Her body seemed unable to contain her sheer elation, for she was compelled to move on her own. Swiftly moving her hands to the back of the Wanderer's head, she dived forth and lifted him up at the same time - and kissed him on the lips.
She felt his body tense up like stone, clearly surprised - but his tension soon vanished as he adjusted his head to deepen the kiss, wrapping his own arms around her back in a show of what she knew to be gratitude.
Their kiss lasted for seconds, but it felt like several blissful minutes. When they finally parted, Mona looked down at the Wanderer's face, at that strange coupling of an intense glare with a satisfied grin. Smiling at the familiar sight, she gently brushed a strand of her hair from his face.
"You're right," said the Wanderer. "That was worth the last five hundred years."
Mona laughed. "I'm just glad you're back. Now we can finally go home."
"Yes...home. After what I've just been through...it's almost surreal to think that I have one now."
"Well then, let's go. We might still be able to catch a night ferry today."
The Wanderer made an effort to get up - but after a brief struggle, he fell back down, exhaling hard.
"Ah...it appears I'm still too tired to move. Fret not, you can simply carry me-"
"Don't push it."
The Wanderer smirked again, closing his eyes. "Then I'll just rest here for a while."
"Take your time," said Mona, stroking his face with one hand. "Take as much time as you want."
She smiled as she felt her eyes grow watery.
"I'm not letting you go again."
A short distance away, Ei watched the couple silently as she sat upon the edge of her platform, Yae's hands running over her broken body as they sparked loudly. Despite her injuries, she felt no pain as she looked upon the tender scene with a strange feeling in her chest.
"Miko?"
"Yes, Ei?"
"What would a human mother typically feel if her child had finally found someone to share their burdens with?"
"It...varies, but it is generally a cause for celebration. Curious - you do not usually care for matters of the mortal heart. Why do you ask?"
Ei did not look at her, but merely smiled lightly.
"Because I feel incredibly happy right now."
God damn it...I'm so tired...finishing off a Noelle/Mika one-shot and going straight off for military training took everything out of me. I was barely able to get this up before going back to camp.
This chapter could have been a lot more polished, but I kind of had to make it a rush job. Sorry for that and the long wait.
The finale will be short and sweet - I'll try to get it up by next weekend. Stay tuned!