CHAPTER FIFTEEN: TRUTHS
Three knocks awoke Ganyu from the comfort of her slumber, still locked in Keqing's embrace and feeling her partner's soft breaths against her chest. She assumed the knocks as nothing but a fragment of a dream she couldn't recollect, up until another three knocks came. Upon the sound meeting her ears again, she immediately panicked in embarrassment, having no clothes on under the sheets and not wanting to wake Keqing if she didn't need to.
However, upon her beloved flickering her eyes open and muttering sleepy moans, she realized she wouldn't even need to try. They were both up now and wondering who in the world would be knocking at their door so early.
"Who's at the door?" Keqing whispered to Ganyu.
"I'm not sure, but we'd best say something before we potentially risk getting walked in on in our birthday suits," Ganyu replied, addressing the issue with a solution of simply calling out. "Who is it? My colleage and I aren't dressed at the moment."
A brief silence followed, up until a much familiar voice broke through.
"It's me," Yelan's voice came from behind the door. "The professor and I have accomplished the task, and I feel you two should be part of revealing whatever lies within the brain of the very monster who caused all of this."
Ganyu calmed along with Keqing, but nonetheless, the awkwardness of the situation didn't falter. They both had adorned light blushes, but knew that the risk of some random stranger walking in on both of them as nude as a newborn baby had dissipated.
"Alright. Give Keqing and I about an hour to get ready," Ganyu requested.
"Very well. Meet me outside the Akademia to proceed further with the initial plan," Yelan agreed, and upon hearing her leave the perimeter of the outside of the door, Ganyu let out a long breath of relief.
"That was a close call," she stated. "Looks like we've avoided being discovered in our most "natural" forms for now."
Keqing giggled, pecking Ganyu on her left cheek as an additional gesture.
"Definitely not the wake up call we were expecting, that's for sure."
At the end of that statement, Keqing found her way out of the bed and towards the bathroom.
"You bathing before we go?" Keqing asked, turning to eye her beloved, still cloaked by the bedsheets.
Ganyu nodded with a smile, lifting the sheets from her body and walking to Keqing's current position.
"After last night, I think it's best I clean up," Ganyu answered, to which her partner smiled lustfully.
"Then let's clean up our dirty work."
A long hour passed before Ganyu and Keqing finally met up with Yelan, clearly on the edge of impatience after the long wait. Upon their approach, Yelan was the first to say something, folding her arms and giving an unreadable expression.
"And here I thought I was going to have to just move along and see the show for myself," Yelan stated in her usual tone of voice. "By the way, congratulations."
Ganyu and Keqing wore looks of confusion instantly, unsure what Yelan was congratulating them for.
"For what?" Keqing replied, an eyebrow raised.
"You know? For finally getting together," Yelan answered, to which Ganyu and Keqing both jumped and wore blushes instantly.
"H-how did you know?!" Keqing questioned in absolute embarrassment.
Yelan just followed with a light chuckle.
"Hehe. Honey, there's only one reason why someone isn't dressed upon waking up," Yelan explained. "I could tell from the tone of Ganyu's voice that I'd clearly awoken her from a deep sleep, so it's pretty clear what you two were doing during my absense. However, don't worry, it's nothing to be embarrassed about, nor am I even surprised that you two ended up "breaking the ice."
You two have obviously been crushing on each other for so long, so it was only a matter of time before you two finally threw all doubt out the window. Looks like all it took was some of the romantic magic that Sumeru naturally influences on lovers in denial, and for me to be out of the picture."
Ganyu and Keqing's faces were as red as tomatoes, feeling as if they were going to vomit at the amount of embarrassment Yelan had just caused them. Beads of sweat ran down their faces, and their faces were as hot as a freshly picked Jueyun Chilli as they tried to compose themselves.
"Y-you don't have to be so d-descriptive about it," Ganyu trembled out, having not been this embarrassed since Cloud Retainer had told Aether that she used to roll down mountains due to her being plump as a child.
"Perhaps that'll motivate you to not keep me waiting for over an hour," Yelan countered with a slight chuckle. "But in all seriousness, I am happy for you two. It's a shame such a joyful event must be foiled by the cruel truth of our current predicament."
"W-we appreciate the kindness," Keqing said with a heavy tone of embarrassment. "H-however, next time, could you k-kindly not blurt it out in a public space?"
Yelan chuckled again.
"Lady Keqing, these students aren't focused on us, but on their studies and the stress of aceing their next big exam. I doubt they even heard a word I said."
Keqing put her hands on her hips as an exclamation that she was serious. While she no longer was the Yuheng of Liyue Harbor, she still wasn't afraid to stand her ground.
Yelan caught the exclamation and didn't piss her off any further.
"Alright alright, I'll be sure to just walk in on you two barenaked next time," she played. "Is that better?"
Another blush adorned Keqing's face instantly at the words, not catching the humor of the comment.
"Ms. Yelan!" Keqing scorned.
"I'm kidding," Yelan followed. "I'll be sure to respect your privacy from now on. I just figured we needed some humor before we figure out the source of all of this chaos."
Keqing didn't follow in the same way, sighing heavily and rubbing her head.
"I'm going to need at least two more coffees after this stunt…
Yelan sighed as an answer, following up with a simple comment.
"Fine. I'll get you two after this. Fair?"
Keqing nodded, and once Yelan was assured that her stunt was forgiven, she proceeded.
"Let's go meet up with our professor friend, shall we?"
Ganyu and Keqing nodded then followed Yelan into the building and into Oswalch's office where he was sitting in wait for their arrival. He looked no different from their first meeting, but was clearly excited for whatever was to come. Upon their arrival, he had jumped up from his chair to greet them and began to explain the next course of action.
"Welcome back to my office, ladies," he greeted. "I'll be honest, I hadn't expected to be back here so soon, but it turns out that the circuitry wasn't as difficult as I'd originally assumed to disassemble. While it was very much neatly and cleverly set up, with a little bit of analyzation and careful work, Ms. Yelan and I were able to extract the microchip rather quickly."
"That's great to hear, sir," Ganyu stated.
"Very," Keqing added.
The professor nodded his head, continuing his summary of the process.
"However, upon extraction, something struck me as odd. The chip was a type that I hadn't seen in decades, and that's because it's an older type that's designed to store mainly recorded data. Nobody uses these types of microchips anymore, due to their fragile nature and being notorious for failure."
Ganyu and Keqing both eyed each other in deep thought. Why would someone like the Tsaritsa settle for such faulty-ware in a machine that is critical to her plan?
"That's definitely odd, seeing if the truth is what we assume and Reshav wasn't lying, it wouldn't make sense for such outdated and unreliable equipment to be what our enemy is settling for," Keqing analyzed.
"Even the Khaenri'an machines that we know as Ruin Guards and Ruin Hunters are designed with better technological components, so why would such a bad source of data that is critical to the main goal be in a machine capable of murder and mass genocide?" Ganyu added.
Oswalch shrugged his shoulders in response.
"The only answer that I can give, is that maybe you'll find your answers in its stored memory."
Yelan gave a nod, reaching one of her pockets and gently slipping out the microchip. It was larger than Ganyu or Keqing assumed it would be, being rectangular, about the size of one of Ganyu's arrowheads, a dark blue color, and wearing a protective transparent shell.
Yelan handed the chip to Oswalch, to which he slipped the aged piece of technology into the proper cartridge of his computer. On the screen, a rectangular box with a single vertical line appeared, the words ACCESS CODE being just above. Already, they had run into an obstacle, which wasn't a good sign.
Then came Yelan's response to the problem.
"Don't worry, I know the code," she stated confidently, moving to the keyboard just below the monitor and typing some obscure grouping of numbers.
22029090220231030
A robotic feminine voice came over the speakers of the device upon submitting the numbers, and upon it stating "ACCESS GRANTED" all eyes met Yelan in amazement.
"What? You think during my years at the Ministry of Civil Affairs I didn't learn anything about common passcodes?" Yelan stated. "In this case, the easiest way for access to this thing's data would be by making its passcode its serial number. That way the person can identify them by that number and know for sure which android they are accessing."
"That's absolutely brilliant!" Oswalch complimented. "Well done!"
"Save the pleasantries, professor," Yelan replied. "We've only managed to get past one wall of security; the most critical files will either be behind a code that has been memorized by one person and only one person, or it'll be corrupted."
Oswalch just nodded, proceeding further with the task.
Upon breaking the code, a screen composed of a lineup of separate files met them. The numbers were clearly dates of documented information, the first dating over a whole century ago!
The entire room was bewildered, now fully invested on just how far back Reshav's existence went.
"First one," Yelan commanded. "We need to figure out where this all started."
Oswalch obeyed, and opened the first file. Its format was video and was very poor in quality, but Ganyu, Keqing, and Yelan saw past that, and just watched further. The visuals were of what seemed like a lab, a young man dressed in a white lab coat being the only thing of interest within the camera's depth of field .
"Haha! Success!"
The voice of the man came through, clearly overjoyed at something.
"I-I must record something! Something to commemorate the day that I, Dr. Salvich created a successful device able to record and document anything it catches!"
The young and happy scientist left the view of the camera for about two minutes, up until he returned with a small notebook and pencil.
"As an additional precaution, shall my invention suddenly fail, I am writing this in my work notebook. *Ahem* Today, I, Dr. Walter Salvich II of the Snezhnayan Academy of Technology and Cybernetic Arts have successfully managed to create and power on a functioning video recording device.
This is my twenty-seventh attempt to do so after applying several modifications to the machine's circuit board and cycling parts that were non-functioning upon attempting to start up the invention. No name has been given thus far in my progress, nor any purpose, shall I manage to fully complete the machine.
This is merely a test for testing purposes only, and I shall continue to progress my research and work on what I hope to eventually be a functioning assistant that can do a variety of tasks. *Laughs* That's the future though; today is just one of the hopefully many successful advances in this creation's growth. Let this be known as a day to be celebrated, and I hope to make another successful message like this in the near future."
The video cut to black, leading them back to the screen with all of the other hundreds of video messages. It wasn't what any of them had been suspecting, and judging by the following dates on the screen, Dr. Salvich had definitely found many other successes.
"Definitely not the start I was expecting," Yelan commented.
"No kidding," Keqing added. "To think this all started with a struggling student looking for success. Where did it all go wrong?"
"That's what I want to know next, so let's find where the dates took a drastic turn for the worst," Yelan directed.
Oswalch followed, scrolling along the files, until he found a date that had a massive gap inbetween the previous transmission. That was intriguing enough to catch Yelan's attention, so she directed Oswalch to play it, another screen opening and beginning to play.
The setting was the same, but this time, something was different;a woman. She was tall, dressed in a thick fur coat, had long curly snow-white hair that extended down to her buttocks, and her eyes were dressed with a masquerade mask.
The reason for the long gap was becoming clear now. However, upon hearing the audio, they were met with a surprise.
"Your highness!? I-I…
Dr. Salvich was in the company of the Tsaritsa, and from the looks of it, things weren't going to end well.
"My subject, calm yourself. I am merely here out of curiosity."
"Curiosity?"
"Yes. You see, I've been hearing about your creation, and feel that I have a place for something as such, given what's on the horizon for Snezhnaya."
"Your highness! Are you serious?! My creation, funded and produced by you?!"
"Allow me to explain, child. You see, I've had a vision for several centuries now, but my fellow brothers and sisters have just never seen it the way I do. They'd have my head if I tried to pursue what I believe in without proper action, and you wouldn't want to see that, would you?"
"Of course not, your majesty."
"That's good to hear, my child. Therefore, I feel you'll have no trouble in hearing me out, seeing I am only doing this for the good of our home and Teyvat altogether. You see, I want to use your creation to create what will be the foundation and starting point for a proper world without gods or inequality.
This world has been in an imbalance ever since the conclusion of the Archon War, and to cleanse the world of that problem, all gods, including me, must be eradicated, along with anything that ever signified the seven archons existences amongst human society throughout history."
Dr. Salvich's face had fallen to nothing but a look of unsureness and horror. The Tsaritsa had literally asked him for the key to her and the other archon's deaths, as much as mass genocide to all life in the world.
"You…want me to provide you with… machines of war?"
"Not war, my child, but balance. You would be the person who helped to make this world a much better place without turmoil, judgement, or war. You'd be the cleanser of all of the evil in today's society."
Salvich clearly wasn't following her, conflicted on his goddess's beliefs and whether or not he should sign the dotted line.
"But…my creation wasn't ever meant for the purpose of such. I just wanted to create something to help me with simple things. What you're asking is…something I just can't see as anything good for the world. Forgive me, your highness, but while we do live in a world of gods where not everyone is an equal, I just don't see the good of killing gods to balance a world that the majority of us have grown accustomed to.
I'm sorry, but I can't accept your offer. While I do want to be known as a genius and great inventor, this isn't the way, and I won't be swayed."
The Tsaritsa just stood motionless, but eventually she did say something, and everyone in the room knew nothing good was to come.
"Dear child, you needn't apologize. I understand."
Salvich stood baffled at his archon's calm response.
"You do?"
"Absolutely. Who am I to put you into such a position? I respect your decision, and will honor it with a simple gesture."
"And what is that?"
A short pause followed
"By giving you all my love."
In a sudden turn of her body, the Tsaritsa landed a gash across Salvich's throat with a dagger she had managed to keep hidden, causing a splat of blood to obscure the lens of the camera. However, the picture remained clear enough for all of them to make out what was happening.
The sudden turn of events had caused Ganyu to utter a gasp and cover her mouth in absolute horror at what she was witnessing, to which Keqing comforted her beloved at, remembering what Yelan had told her about her partner's PTSD.
The scene continued to play out like a horror show, up until the Tsaritsa pinned Salvich on the ground, but didn't treat it as if she were attempting to kill him.
"It's alright, my child. I'd never kill one of my own subjects. I just need an opening so I can give you my gift."
She was calm and treating him as if he were actually her child, and upon her gripping his neck, a bright light radiated from her hand. Salvich attempted to scream but had been silenced by whatever the witch had done to him, and the fact that he was clearly in excruciating pain and she was treating it as if she were giving him a "gift" was haunting to watch.
The blinding light disappeared and Salvich was barely even moving, nothing a faint dead rasp coming from his mouth.
"Hush now, my child. It's okay, go to sleep."
His rasp went silent at the end of those words, and his limbs went limp. The last piece of disturbing imagery the video had to show was the Tsaritsa leaning down to lightly kiss his forehead.
"Don't worry, you are among greatness now, my child. However, your legacy will live on as my ascension to the divine ender of this world."
She rose up from the ground and walked over to the recording device, unmasking and revealing her piercing light blue eyes that appeared to be glowing and staring straight into their souls.
"And that rise starts with this."
The screen went to black, and upon the screen returning to the default list of documented video files, Ganyu was in Keqing's arms crying at the grim imagery she had just witnessed.
Keqing just held her close, knowing what was in that video was only a fragment of the horrors her beloved had witnessed all those centuries ago. This discovery had affected all of them deeply, now aware that whatever else was stored in that microchip was nothing short of a truly vivid horror show.
"Let's take a break and come back to this after we've had a minute to erase that from our minds," Yelan stated, clearly shaken at the Tsaritsa's grotesque act.
"Agreed," Keqing accepted, still holding Ganyu tightly. "I need some fresh air after that."
"I think we all do," Yelan stated. "However, I'll need directions to the nearest tavern as well, seeing I'll need at least one drink before we go any further with this."
After a good serving of a light drink, Yelan had managed to calm herself down. Keqing had just taken a long walk with her beloved around Sumeru to clear her mind and rest Ganyu's trauma. The two had needed a good amount of fresh air and nature after witnessing the coldest and most demented murder in their lives.
Keqing had considered having one shot with Yelan, but was swayed by Ganyu upon the very mention of the thought. She needed to be fully aware of what was going on, not potentially buzzed out of an absolutely disgusting horror show that she'd likely never forget. She'd seen Yelan do ten glasses of rum with Ningguang and Beidou before, and remain completely unphased, so a light drink wouldn't hurt her at all.
The only person she was worried about was Ganyu, given the impact the horrid truth had caused her. No doubt her emotional reaction was due to her PTSD of losing Yunhe to a bunch of bandits, along with just the sheer coldness of the Tsaritsa's actions all that time ago.
Keqing had seen a lot of disturbing things in her time as the Yuheng, but what she had just witnessed took the top spot, and was easily the worst thing she'd ever experienced, next to Liyue Harbor's end.
After a long hour, the trio finally returned to Professor Oswalch's office, ready to endure whatever other horrors were documented in the brain of Reshav Starchovski.
"Are you sure you girls are okay to continue?" Oswalch asked with concern.
"We'll be fine," Keqing replied confidently. "Shall things become too uncomfortable for any of us, we'll stop and leave it for today."
"Very well, which file do you want me to access next?" he asked Yelan.
"Next one. I want to see what happened to Dr. Salvich after she coldly murdered him."
Oswalch followed, accessing the next available file.
Upon the video window popping up, it started to play, opening to a whole new area. The room in this video was similar to an examination one, the walls painted a dull gray and one single eerie light illuminating the surrounding area.
Nobody was visible, but the familiar voice of the Tsaritsa could be heard within the vicinity, speaking some very haunting words.
"How is he? Is everything going as I had hoped Number 2?"
"Patience, milady. An experiment cannot succeed without proper time and care. I have done as you requested, but I fear the prototype design may not be fitting for his body. If this is going to succeed, I'll need more resources that can work more steadily and balanced than what this subject was using to power his version."
"I'm willing to give you whatever works best for you, Number 2, but in return, I expect you to get things done within a reasonable amount of time."
"Have I failed you yet, your highness?"
"Not yet, but even the most clever minds eventually dwindle like a fall leaf clinging to a branch in the middle of a raging blizzard. I have no doubt you can accomplish my goal, but I can't have your other experiments get in the way. While my brothers and sisters haven't caught on yet, they won't stay unaware forever."
A pause followed, lasting around ten seconds, up until the one known as, "Number 2" spoke again.
"Very well, if you can get me the parts I need by the end of tomorrow, I may be able to at least get to a point where this subject can at least have a proper design and be somewhat functional. It won't be the final design, but a simple test of what I plan to do with this experiment. Is that a fair deal?"
A brief pause followed before there was a response.
"Very well, list the parts you request, and I'll relay it to one of my inquirerers. I'll have them take a trip to one of Snezhnaya's main factories and request for them."
"And in the time you're getting my needed resources, I'll continue working on modifying his structure. Be patient, your highness. I promise that you won't be disappointed with the end result."
With that, the video cut to black and yet another horrifying truth was realized.
"Reshav Starchovski was a converted Dr. Salvich all along," Keqing analyzed. "How sick do you have to be to do something so foul?!"
"Apparently sick enough to not only mutilate a dead body, but also clean it down to nothing but a giant slab of flesh," Yelan added. "All of the things that made Salvich human were just discarded for the sole purpose of selfishness. The fact that this "Number 2" complied to this as if it were some kind of world-changing experiment is some other kind of evil."
The room went silent for a minute, up until Oswalch finally spoke up and addressed the clear unease and atmosphere of dread that suffocated the entire room.
"Do you want me to continue?"
Yelan instantly shook her head.
"No. I think we've all had enough for one day. If it gets any worse from here, it might end up causing some of us mental issues. It's best we stop for now, get a good rest, and come back to it tomorrow."
"I agree," Ganyu added. "Too much of this could be bad in the long run, especially if we end up facing her. Take it from me, a veteran of the Archon War, that the best thing to do right now, is walk away for now and come back to this tomorrow with a fresh mind."
Keqing nodded in agreement, having had enough real life horror plague her mind for one day.
"It's settled then. Let's call it for today, and we'll come back tomorrow to resume," Yelan finished, to which Oswalch ejected the microchip and handed it back to her.
Having come to an agreement, the three took their leave back to the outside of the Akademia and huddled to decide the next best course of action.
"I'm glad that's over for one day," Ganyu said with a heavy sigh.
"Likewise," Yelan replied. "While I came across some seriously messed up cases during my years in the Ministry of Civil Affairs, nothing involving horrors like this ever crossed my path. I knew the Fatui were bad, but the queen bee is just something else entirely; something more than evil, but demonic."
Keqing shook her head in response.
"No. Human modification and experimentation of that caliber is more than demonic, but just straight-up inhumane, as if she has no care for human life in general," Keqing added. "I'd always heard that the Tsaritsa was a different kind of god, but as of today, I cannot even believe she is one. Gods at least have some form of care for their subjects, but she only cared about what she wanted."
"Which is exactly why if we manage to get to where we can end her life, we mustn't even hesitate or bat an eye," Yelan stated. "You saw how fast she can end a human life, and she won't hesitate to do the same thing to any of us."
Keqing and Ganyu nodded.
"Good. Now, if you girls don't mind, I'm going to the tavern to have an actual drink. Don't worry, I'm not going to get "hungover drunk." I'm still aware I have a mission to accomplish, so I'll be sure to keep the shot count low."
While Keqing and Ganyu weren't necessarily big on the idea of Yelan's plans, they knew they couldn't stop her.
"I suppose Ganyu and I will go out for dinner then. While what we witnessed was sick and disturbing on all levels, we still need to eat," Keqing stated.
"Sure. It just needs to fit my diet," Ganyu agreed.
"I know that, silly," Keqing assured, a smile gracing her lips.
Ganyu smiled back, grabbing her beloved's hand and gripping it in hers.
"Hehe, look at you two," Yelan started. "You're going have a nice dinner, while I go and drink alone. Sad but poetic."
"You're more than welcome to join us," Ganyu offered. "You don't have to drink to escape what happened today. A good night with your friends is all you need to be happy."
"I know, but I think it's best I have this one," Yelan insisted. "You two need as much quality time as you can get as a couple, and I haven't had a good drink in awhile."
Ganyu just accepted Yelan's wishes, Keqing following up with a final request.
"In that case, perhaps it's best we hold onto the microchip for now. Last thing we need is to lose our most valuable piece of information right now."
"Good point," Yelan agreed, pulling the chip from her pocket and handing it to Keqing for safe keeping.
Once the package was secured on Keqing's person, the three took their separate ways for the remainder of the day. Yelan waved goodbye, moving towards the tavern below, while Ganyu and Keqing were left to decide where they wanted to dine for the night.
While it didn't seem it, the two were in for a long night. Little did they know just how much the Tsaritsa's act had affected then mentally, and if they planned to get through what remained of Reshav's memories, they would need each other now more than ever.
Ganyu's screams and heavy breathing awoke Keqing from her sleep, immediately jumping to her beloved's aid and comforting her.
"Ganyu! What's wrong!" she assured, putting her hand on her partner's back and rubbing it.
Upon the touch, her hand was soaked by the sweat that had seeped through Ganyu's nightgown, causing her to quickly grasp the severity of the situation. Despite the mass amount of sweat, Keqing continued to rub Ganyu's back in assurance that she was there by her side.
"Gods above, you're soaked," Keqing said in a concerned tone. "Ganyu, calm down and breathe!"
Ganyu somehow heard her, slowly breaking from her state of fear and primal terror. However, upon reality coming back to Ganyu's senses, she suddenly started to break down and cry hard. That broke Keqing's heart, and immediately made her catch onto what had caused her current state.
"You saw her, didn't you?" Keqing guessed.
Ganyu answered with a nod of her head, still crying, shaking, and struggling to calm down.
Keqing knew words wouldn't do anything, so she resorted to pulling her beloved to her chest in a comforting embrace. Ganyu clasped onto her like a scared child and just allowed her tears to flow down her face, to which Keqing gently wiped away with the cloth of her own attire.
Never had she seen Ganyu this scared or desperate for support. Whatever she had witnessed in her dream state had been enough to strike the fear of the Heavenly Principles into her soul, and all she wanted then and there was to feel safe.
After about ten minutes of comforting and consoling her beloved, Keqing was finally able to calm Ganyu down to where she could address the situation.
"I'm sorry…
Ganyu spoke first, her arms still wrapped tightly around Keqing, but her emotional state calmed to a somewhat-stable one.
"Don't apologize, Ganyu," Keqing addressed. "I'm here for you. Always."
Ganyu didn't say anything, just remained quiet and still while Keqing continued to rub and embrace her with love and support.
It was only after a few minutes passed that Ganyu finally said something, her voice being shallow and frightened.
"She was there…in my homeland…killing everything in sight…
"Your homeland? As in, where you originally were born?" Keqing asked.
Ganyu nodded her head slowly.
"Some hidden field in the mountains…my parents…Cloud Retainer…you…you were all there…murdered and mutilated…
Emotion crept into Ganyu's voice, so Keqing pulled her closer to her chest and started to gently rock.
"Shh. It's okay, Ganyu. I'm here and am not going anywhere," she comforted. "I'll always be here, no matter what."
More silence followed, up until Keqing spoke again in the still silence of the room.
"You know, I saw her in my dreams too," she confessed, causing Ganyu's nerves to jump, turning to meet her beloved's gaze. "I was already awake and haven't been able to sleep the majority of the night. It seems she got both of us."
"What did you see?" Ganyu asked silently.
"What I've seen in the majority of my dreams lately; fire, severely wounded people, and you. But the reason I'm not as stricken by that witch apppearing in my dreams, is because I know nightmares are just that; nightmares. Fictional creations of your psyche based off of things that you've experienced in real life. Nothing that's real or can hurt you."
Ganyu loosened her hold just a little, still shaken from the visceral imagery her mind had conjured out of the previous day's events. She understood what Keqing was saying, but her case was more than just a simpersonal.
It was personal.
"I understand, but…
Ganyu sat up from her beloved's chest, continuing to staring at Keqing with a serious and emotional expression.
"What I saw…it's something that I…
Ganyu paused, the topic something more severe and sensitive than Keqing had assumed. Keqing lightened her beloved's struggle, putting a hand on her shoulder, and assuring her that it was okay.
"What? What is it, Ganyu?"
Ganyu took a deep breath and let it out before she said anything, doing her best to hold the tears attempting to break from her tearducts.
"Please know that I love you more than anything, but there's just some things I don't like to speak of from my past. They're just too painful to talk about, and were forgotten for a reason."
Keqing was slowly beginning to understand, and completely resonated with Ganyu's reasoning.
Some memories are just meant to be forgotten.
Then she spoke again.
"But I love you and trust you more than anybody in this world, and as your partner, I feel that you should know this. That way, on night's like these, you'll know the true reason why I awake screaming and crying like a child lost in the dark. I know very well that this won't be the last time, so rather than make you worry, I'd rather you know."
Keqing nodded and accepted the proposal.
"Then please tell me, but only if you feel like you can. The last thing I want is to see you in any kind of pain, so take your time. I'm all ears." Keqing assured.
Ganyu nodded, taking another deep breath and allowing herself a moment before recollecting one of her most painful memories.
"There's… a reason Cloud Retainer found me… in a wedge of a rock, and I… remember exactly how I got there…It's because I hid there after my fellow Qilin were… killed by… a bunch of bad people that resemble the treasure hoarders of today's world."
Keqing felt her heart skip a beat, realizing exactly why Ganyu had relented on even saying anything about this.
This was one of the most traumatic memories of her entire existence.
The deaths of her first-ever family.
"Strangely, I…don't remember anything before it all started…just from when my mother started yelling for me to…run and… my father guarding both of us from attacks. I was so scared, confused, and stuck in place…even though my… mother was telling me to move and… get out of there before it… was too late."
She clenched her fists in a mix of sadness and anger, remembering every detail of the visceral memory.
"I just remember my…father's blood being everywhere after… he… lost to the blows… and once his body fell…I was met with the sight of… blazing fires, my family being mutilated for profit, and… in a desperate attempt of escaping the same gruesome fate…I finally ran as fast and… far as I could…
Those monsters chased me for miles..up until I ended up… within Mt. Aocang's range and… crawled into that crack in hopes… of my pursuers… losing track of me…I-I got lucky, and passed out.. up until the day… Cloud Retainer found me and…took me in as one of her own."
Keqing felt anguish pierce her heart, now fully aware of the clear reason her beloved had kept this memory buried away. No human or divine beast would want to relive the day that they lost everything that they held dear. It's a pain that is indescribable to even experience, and for Ganyu to be willing to tell her this was something that was truly important to Ganyu.
"I-I'm so sorry, Ganyu," Keqing sympathized. "You must've been so scared when Cloud Retainer found you that day."
"It's why I was so afraid to attempt living amongst the very kind that slaughtered my family for so long…but Yunhe was the one who showed me that not all humans are monsters. So, when another bunch of bandits took the only thing besides Cloud Retainer that I considered family away… Now you understand truly why it was more than just grief and anger that nearly drove me to the point of no return…
Rex Lapis was the one to show me that I couldn't be scared of all humans, and that I just had to try. It took over a century, but at the closing of the Archon War, I gave human society one last chance. The rest is history, up to the night our home was destroyed."
Keqing just continued to eye her beloved in absolute sorrow. She was beginning to understand why Ganyu was truly leery of humans and society. That amount of trauma had left her scarred, because humankind had taken everything from her. There was no doubt why she was so distant from humans and society, and Keqing felt every bit of Ganyu's sorrow and pain.
"I get it now," Keqing explained. "Humans are like a bad omen in your eyes, and that's why you're so against being social with them."
Ganyu nodded, confirming Keqing had managed to catch why that specific memory was so impactful to her psyche.
It was where her pain all started, and to relive the day that had changed her for eternity in her dreams was nothing short of a true traumatic horror movie. The Tsaritsa was just a bonus factor that had worsened the pain.
"This is something I'm sharing for the first time, which means that you are someone I trust and love as much as those who raised me," Ganyu explained. "I wouldn't tell you this unless I knew that I truly loved and cared for you, and knew that I was confident that we both felt the same way about each other. Not even Cloud Retainer knows the truth."
Keqing blushed at the sentiment, feeling her heart race at Ganyu's confession and dedication to their relationship.
"I'm flattered, and I love you too, Ganyu," Keqing returned. "I understand everything now, but I just want you to know that you're not the same girl Cloud Retainer found in that rock wedge."
She put a hand on Ganyu's left cheek and curved her lips into a reassuring smile.
"You've grown and matured so much, and I've seen it from the first day we met. Signing up for the position of Yuheng was the best thing that I ever did, because it led me to you. From that first day, I looked at you as the most bravest, intelligent, and beautiful woman in the world, and I will always look at you as that.
While things are the way they are right now, you've remained strong and have shown that you are far from the scared little girl you were back then. Your family would be so proud of you, and I'm sure they're looking down at you right now with absolute support and love. As long as we're together, there's nothing to fear, and somehow we will stop the Tsaritsa and save Teyvat from destruction!"
Ganyu adorned her own blush, her heart pounding at her beloved's words. She smiled and embraced Keqing in a warm hug, her tears dissipating at the happiness fluttering in her heart.
"I feel better now. Thank you, my love," Ganyu stated, releasing Keqing from her hold.
"You're welcome, my beloved," Keqing replied, moving back down onto her pillow and motioning Ganyu to join her back into slumber. "Come. Lay your head on my chest. My heart will put you into a peaceful dream."
Ganyu accepted and cuddled up against Keqing's side, laying her head along her partner's upper chest and allowing the drum in Keqing's chest to carry her back to sleep. Keqing comforted her love by stroking the tops of her horns gently; a privilege that she'd never seen anybody receive, except her.
Ganyu smiled and muttered light moans of comfort at the motion of Keqing's soft hands brushing the most sensitive parts of her body, remembering how her mother used to do the same to send her to sleep. It was a sweet memory that turned into a happy dream that allowed her peace for the remainder of the night.
