Ch. 5 – The Sinner's Promise (I)

Two weeks pass by and May quickly turns into June. Kaeya stares out at the grapevines as early summer sun beats down on them and lets out a long sigh that comes from deep within him and leans heavily against the short stone wall. He still isn't used to being a boy again, and while it has its advantages, he misses the freedom he had as an adult. He slumps over the wall so much that his feet are barely touching the ground.

Kaeya is bored.

Sometimes he misses the chaotic life of a cavalry captain and quartermaster, going out and doing commissions with the Traveler, the occasional training sessions with unlucky Bennett, and he especially misses Albedo and Klee. He wonders if he is able to go back and if he somehow manages it, would he simply be dead?

A tiny, minuscule part of him even misses adult Diluc and their bickering whenever he goes to Angel's Share. He knows Venti and Rosaria would have a field day if they find out he is a child again.

Now Kaeya's grieving the loss of his precious Death Afternoon. He misses being able to drink his worries away with all the other regulars.

He shakes his head to shake off the depressing thoughts. Nope, he doesn't want any of those thoughts today; it's a special day for the winery.

He looks up toward the road in front of the manor. While it's a good day, it is also a chaotic day for them. This morning, there were ten very large open carriages that awaited workers to load them with full barrels of wine and crates filled with various ingredients to be shipped off to Sumeru, and it is the first major shipment of a good business venture. Now there are only two carriages left empty and workers are already loading them both.

He smiles. Last time he was this age, he had snuck on one of the carriages when no one paid any attention. He made it onto the ship and disembarked at Port Ormos although no one had been happy to find him so far from home. He is still surprised his ear remained attached to his head with how hard Master Crepus dragged him home.

He lifts his hand to rub his forehead as he feels a dim pain behind his eyes. It has been there since he woke up, but he hopes that it doesn't get worse. He doesn't want to be stuck inside all day when it's such a nice day out because of a migraine.

Eventually, he slides off the wall and walks over to the carriages curiously. He watches the workers secure the barrels and then moves out of the way as someone comes to the carriage. "'Scuse me, little master," the man says as he takes the rope that is tossed from the other side by another worker to tie it to the ring attached to the carriage's side.

"Kaeya, let them do their work," Master Crepus calls. He's standing not too far away with another carriage driver, holding a stack of papers in his hand that he's signing.

Kaeya turns to face him. "What if I went with them to Sumeru?" he asks and grins.

Master Crepus' eyes narrow but he doesn't look up from whatever he's signing. "I would not be a happy man. I would probably drag you all the way home by the ear."

He snickers. He already knows this. "I hear Sumeru is nice this time of year."

"We can go to Sumeru when you're older. Come over here and out of their way."

He is quickly by his side, not wanting to stress the man out even more. He gets on his toes to try and peek at the papers he's holding. It's more than likely they're just documents confirming the delivery of the winery's products, but he's still curious.

Master Crepus finishes signing them off and hands both the document and pen over to the carriage driver. "Kaeya, head inside. I need to make sure everything is accounted for and then we can eat, all right?"

Kaeya turns around and steps inside the manor. As soon as the door clicks shut, the noises from outside become muffled and he goes towards the desk Elzer is sitting in. A plan begins to formulate in his mind… he simply needs to make sure the butler is really busy and not just pretending he is. He leans against the desk to make sure Elzer sees him. "Elzer, I'm bored," he complains.

"I can have Adeline give you something to do," he answers. Just like his adoptive father, he's checking off paperwork and doesn't look up even as he flips over the page he's on. "I'm sure she'd appreciate some help around here, what with you and Master Diluc dragging mud into the house all the time."

He grimaces. "I don't want to do chores."

"Then I'm afraid we can't help you, young master."

Kaeya lets out a dramatic groan that Elzer ignores. When he doesn't get any other reaction from the butler, he makes his way upstairs. Once he reaches the landing, he spares a quick glance behind him to make sure no one else is coming up and then quickly jogs to Master Crepus' office.

Now is his chance. He'd confirmed that even Elzer is distracted with the massive shipments, and he knows Adeline is downstairs cleaning the sitting room and training the new maids Master Crepus hired not too long ago. No one is paying attention to his actions.

He can finally sneak into Master Crepus' office without worrying about getting caught. As quietly as he can, he opens the door just enough for him to squeeze through and closes it. The sunlight illuminates the office well enough, and he looks up at the bookcase that sits behind the large mahogany desk.

He knows he's on a time limit and instead of marveling at how many hardbound books there are, he needs to get to work. He doesn't know if the wine master will come back to his office prematurely.

The documents that sit on the desktop give him nothing of note, they are just unsigned papers Master Crepus has yet to get to. He goes through the desk, feeling for a false bottom on every drawer he pulls out, and then he moves to a cabinet tucked away in the corner. He finds the winery's financial information, inventory paperwork, payrolls, and even predicted harvest for the fall. He even finds a sketchbook hidden in the bottom drawer of the cabinet and sees a kamera picture of a very young Diluc, but there is nothing that mentions anything about the Fatui or delusions.

He's relieved to see this. He still has some time before any harbinger approaches Master Crepus. He closes the last drawer and groans as his headache begins to worsen. Maybe he needs to take a nap or eat something. He can't be going through alcohol withdrawal, right? He technically hasn't had a drop of alcohol ever since he got here.

His right eye is beginning to throb with every heartbeat. It worries him, as it's never happened before. "Ow," he mumbles. He'll go downstairs and ask Adeline for some of her special medicine, maybe that will help ease the pain.

He sneaks out of the office. Thankfully, no one has come up the stairs at all and he is able to go back downstairs with no issues. He quickly finds Adeline overseeing a much younger Hillie and Moco as they clean the sitting room and he pulls at her hand once he approaches. "Addie?" he says.

She glances down and turns around. "Yes, Master Kaeya?" she asks.

"I have a headache."

She smiles sympathetically. "Well, then let's get you something to help with that, shall we? Hillie, Moco, I'll return shortly. Don't forget to dust the bookshelf there."

"Yes, Adeline," they answer in unison. Hillie and Moco also glance at each other and Kaeya's sure they'll begin gossiping the moment Adeline leaves them alone. He'd heard Adeline and even Diluc complain about it more than a few times when he was an adult.

The head maid takes his hand and leads him to the kitchen. The kitchen isn't busy at this hour, and the smell from breakfast still lingers as they enter. She lets go of his hand so she can grab a small stool to reach a cupboard near the ceiling. As she rummages through the cupboard, she asks him, "How bad does it hurt?"

He frowns. "It's not bad, but it hurts behind my eyes."

She hums. "That sounds like a migraine, young master. Have you ever had one before?"

Yes, but technically no. He doesn't think he's ever had one as a child. "No."

Adeline steps back down and pushes the stool back. She sets a cup down onto the counter and takes the little vial of thick syrup and turns to face him. "Here, drink this. It's mostly for fevers and colds, but it helps headaches, too. If it doesn't work in an hour, we'll find something else that will hopefully do the trick, all right?"

Kaeya gratefully takes the medicine and winces in disgust before instantly taking the cup of water and downing the entire thing. "Eugh," he mumbles.

She chuckles. "I know it doesn't taste the best."

"It's really bitter."

"I apologize, young master. It is my mother's recipe and it has always worked wonders whenever we were sick as children, too. If there is a doctor somewhere out there that can make it taste better, I think we'd all be happy about it."

Kaeya looks up at her. "What about medicine from Babu Pharmacy?"

She blinks. "From where? I've never heard them before."

Kaeya really hopes it's in business now. He isn't sure when the pharmacy was established, but considering Liyue's rich history, it must be open even now. "It's in Liyue Harbor. I've never been there, but my parents used to get medicine from them," he easily lies. He'd always get his own medicine from them instead of the cathedral. They may have charged more mora, but he knows they make the best cures for awful hangovers.

"Oh my. I'll have a look into it." She looks over as the kitchen door opens again and she nods politely. "Hello, Master Crepus."

Kaeya looks up as Master Crepus walks up to them. "Moco and Hillie told me you were in here. Are you feeling all right, Kaeya?" he asks.

"Just a headache," he answers.

"I believe he has a migraine, so I gave him some medicine in hopes it'll help." Adeline smiles. "He'll probably fall asleep soon, however. You know how that medicine is."

"That I do." Master Crepus opens the door and gently guides Kaeya out of the kitchen with a hand on his upper back. "Adeline, can you make him some food? Preferably something light. I'll put him to bed once he's eaten."

"Of course, Master Crepus."

By the time they sit at the dining table, his headache has lessened, but Kaeya can already feel weariness creep up. He knows that as soon as he eats, he'll be too tired to do much of anything else. He's suddenly glad he snooped through the office before all of this started.

Adeline comes out a few short minutes later with a bowl of hot calla lily soup and some bread. After she sets it down and leaves them alone, he eats slowly as the pressure in his head builds. He rubs his forehead with his free hand. Is it just allergies? He has never had allergies before, not even as an adult. Maybe now he finally understands why Diluc had always complained during spring and summer.

Elzer briefly comes over to give some paperwork to Master Crepus to go over and Kaeya winces as their brief conversation makes it feel like his head is being stabbed with needles. He makes a soft noise of discomfort and moves his hand from his forehead to his covered eye. "…be fine," he hears.

He glances at Master Crepus. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. What did you say?" he asks.

Master Crepus looks up from the paperwork. He frowns, noticing his discomfort. "I didn't say anything."

Kaeya blinks. He swore he heard him say something but he simply nods and finishes the soup. He pushes whatever is left in the bowl away, wanting nothing more than to just curl up in bed and sleep this migraine off.

Master Crepus sets the paperwork down and gets out of the chair. "Would you like to head to bed, Kaeya? You don't look so good."

He nods and lets him take his hand to lead him upstairs. He doesn't know if he would have been able to do it by himself with the way he nearly trips on the first step. Once they're in his room, he sits on his bed while Master Crepus closes the curtains and Kaeya immediately feels better as soon as the lights from the outside disappear.

"Migraines suck," he tells Master Crepus as he lies down.

The man hums in agreement. "If it gets worse or you can't get to sleep, come get me or Addie, all right?" He pulls the covers up to his shoulders. "Elzer probably won't know what to do."

Kaeya smiles. "Elzer isn't really good with kids, is he?"

"And how would you know that?"

"Because Diluc and I annoy him all the time."

"Ah, that's because you and Diluc always drag him into your 'adventures' and purposefully get him into trouble."

"It's super easy to annoy him and he's boring. He needs to learn how to have a little bit of fun." He smiles. "Besides, me and Diluc go on the best adventures with him. We wanted to go to the lake but he didn't want to come with us."

Master Crepus laughs quietly. "I can't imagine why he wouldn't." He heads to the door and gives him one last look. "Get some rest, Kaeya."

Kaeya watches the door close, softly clicking after Master Crepus. Once he's alone, he rolls onto his side away from the window to keep what little light is coming through it away from his direct view. He closes his eyes to rest, finding solace in the quietness of his room and pulls the blankets up to his chin.

He's asleep in seconds.

-x-

Kaeya doesn't dream often. When he does dream, it's normally little everyday life things he's been through—mostly work. Lisa always did tell him to take a break and go home. Jean, too. He thinks they were colluding with each other whenever that happened since he'd always been given some tea and not an hour later, the Acting Grand Master would send him home.

This time feels different. He's standing in some wet grass as light rain falls from the dark gray clouds above. He's not alone. A hilichurl stands in front of him on the edge of a cliff. He doesn't recognize their surroundings, so he assumes this is just a place he's made up in his head.

The hilichurl in his dream doesn't move or make a noise, it simply stands there staring out to the sky. Kaeya looks up at the clouds with it and then turns his eye back on the creature with a sad look.

He knows it used to be human, just like him. It, too, had aspirations and family. He frowns when he remembers his father's parting words to him.

"You are our only hope."

The high-pitched voice comes from in front of him. It isn't his father's voice and definitely no other voice he has ever heard. He jumps, not expecting the words to come from the hilichurl. He stares wide-eyed at the monster. "What?" he asks.

The hilichurl says nothing for a long time and he begins to think that maybe he is just hearing things. Finally, it curls in on itself and he sees it reach for its mask. "I can't take it."

Kaeya frowns. What can't it take? He takes a step near it. "What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry, Kaeya."

The hilichurl is suddenly engulfed in a purple blaze, and he covers his face as he stumbles away from the heat that rises. He knows it's a dream, but it feels too real to be a normal dream. Kaeya looks up when the heat disappears.

The hilichurl is gone, leaving behind the dark power he knows to be Abyssal. It swirls menacingly, in hues of purples and blacks with splotches of pink. He swears it turns around as if it's alive. He doesn't move fast enough when it shoots toward him and he gasps as it encases itself around his body.

Its hold constricts him but he can move his limbs. He can't breathe, he can't see, he can't—

He sees Diluc again, crying above him and hears him screaming his name, begging for Barbatos to save him. Why would an archon save a sinner like him? Kaeya holds his head with both hands and sees a flash of purple before his eyes, and then it fades to black.

When he blinks, he wakes up in bed. There isn't a hilichurl in sight. He isn't at Windrise. There is no Diluc, no Abyss herald. Instead of a cliff wall, there is a wardrobe that stands across the bedroom with a desk tucked into the corner. The curtains are still closed but it's pitch black both outside and in his room.

He knows this isn't a dream. The intense pain in his eye throbs violently as if someone is stabbing it over and over again reminds him it's real.

He rips off his eyepatch and presses his hand against his eye, struggling to get out of bed. When he manages to get to his feet, he stumbles forward and catches himself against the doorframe with a loud curse as he stubs his toe. He steps out of his room and the manor is dark but he doesn't care that no one woke him for dinner, or that Diluc hadn't visited him after he got home. He just wants the pain to stop.

He makes his way into the bathroom and shuts the door. As soon as he's able, he lights the candle so he can see what he's doing. He removes his hand from his eye and stares at his reflection in the mirror in horror.

He knows his eye is gold. His birth father had often let him know how much he detested it, calling it a curse and had even told Kaeya he was glad it wasn't him that had inherited such a vile thing. He knows this.

So why is it purple?

He shakily runs his fingers underneath it. Thick, dark veins are spreading from his eye and pulse with his heartbeat. It is staining his sclera black, the whites of it slowly changing before his eyes. "What…?" he says under his breath.

Is this the curse his father spoke of? But it doesn't make sense, why would it activate now? Why not in his other life?

He hisses in pain as it throbs again and he puts his hand back on it. The pain gets worse with every second that passes and he shakes as he falls to his knees, gripping the counter with his free hand so hard his knuckles turn white. The fingernails on his other hand are digging into his skin and he bites his tongue to keep himself from screaming—he doesn't want to wake the entire manor.

"There is no need to be frightened."

The voice startles him and he flinches. He loses his grip on the counter and falls back against the wall behind him. He leans forward and pulls his legs up close to him, using both hands to hold his eye as he makes himself as small as possible. "W-who are you?" he stammers through clenched teeth.

"I will protect you. Our fates are intertwined." It sounds familiar. Where has he heard it before?

He frowns. "What do you mean? Are you the one doing this to me?" he demands. When silence meets him, he grits his teeth. "Answer me!"

The candlelight flickers.

Suddenly his shaking stops. The pain is gone and he stays sitting on the cold bathroom floor for what feels to be an eternity. He pants for air and slowly removes his hands from his face. He feels warm, but not so much as it's a fever.

He stares at his palms and touches underneath his usually covered eye.

What is he doing on the bathroom floor?

Slowly, he stands, using the counter to help pick himself back up, and looks at his reflection.

A young face stares back at him, one lilac eye and a gold one.

He goes back to his room and puts his eyepatch on. Kaeya goes back to sleep and doesn't dream for the rest of the night.