what does freedom really mean, when demanded of you by a god?

a, sort of resolution.

that morning... venti was shook away. he was met by the kind eyes of captain kaeya.

"hey? buddy? what are you doing here? did you get kicked out?" kaeya chuckled a little, hoisting venti up. kaeya noticed the bags around venti's eyes, and the redness from his tears. "woah?? were you crying?? thats unlike you. come on. you can talk to me about it."

venti was too touched to even form words, though he wanted to thank kaeya endlessly.

"how did the tinder go?" kaeya asked him, over drinks.

venti sighed, sniffing. "i.. found out the truth."

"truth? what do you mean buddy?" kaeya raised an eyebrow.

"my friend logged into my account and cockblocked me..."

"owch buddy! thats tough, you looked pretty masculine with that fish. i'm sorry that happened to you." kaeya said, he sounded so sincere. it warmed venti's broken heart a little to hear the kind words of his trustworthy friend. his buddy. his pal.

"i think i will give up on tinder." venti said quietly. "maybe i'll just.. travel around for a bit."

"sure buddy. take your time, okay? look after yourself." kaeya smiled a nice friendly warm smile.

"thank you." venti smiled a little too.

it was nice to have someone tell you words like that. venti didn't have too many friends, especially not ones he could rant to. zhongli? well, he was usually pretty good, but after the incident, venti didn't feel like seeing his stupid mortal face ever again. plus, zhongli's answers were always... cold, in some way. zhongli was much more into being a god during his prime, so he didn't always have the best skills when it came to human emotions. though venti, too, was far from human... this body, still possessed the heart of his long gone friend. a heart full of empathy, of warmth, of emotion. and though he was gone now, venti vowed to him and also to himself... he'll experience every emotion, new and old, that his friend never got to experience.

maybe a broken heart was just one of these emotions. maybe it opened venti's eyes a little.

maybe, just maybe.. he could learn from this. he could learn not to trust people like zhongli.

.

....

......

that night, venti dreamt of his friend.

who reassured him.

'live on for me..
and use my voice
to sing the songs I never could'