Carried in by the Gentle Wind

CHAPTER 11

     You squinted into the distance, at scattered, towering white pillars, encrusted with golden plates. You've seen these before. Many times, in fact. Just, you've never actually seen them up so close. Because for that to be the case, you will have to have been .... up in the sky.

      "Where...?"

     You woke from your seemingly eternal hibernation, slowly sitting up in your bed. It seemed you were dreaming of something particularly interesting, but now that you try and bring it to mind, it eludes you. You shake your head as you rub your eyes, reaching for your phone.

     Oh. It's only 5? I should probably just go back to sl-?

     You quietly sat up straighter as you gripped your phone a little tighter, pretending not to be excited. After a moment's hesitation, you gathered the courage to press on the notification you had received last night. To be honest, it was only a text message. And it was only a text from your colleague. No reason for you to be so nervous. 

     Unfortunately, the moment you brought your thumb up to your screen, you were startled by a call. From your boss.

     ....? Why's he calling? Wasn't he in Mondstadt this weekend...?

     You decided to let the call ring to the end, telling yourself that 5 AM is unreasonable for talk about work. You were relieved, only to be surprised when Venti called again.  After a couple seconds, you sighed as you picked up. After all, once was fine, but twice might mean something important.

     "Hello?"

     "Y/n."

     You frowned, refusing to believe that this was Venti, as you double checked the caller ID. 

     "Ven, are you okay?"

     He sounded tired, somehow. Tired, pained, and stressed. You winced as he chuckled somewhat darkly. This was highly unlike him.

     "Shall I tell you a funny story?"

     "Ven, what's going on?"

     He ignored your worries as he continued.

     "Back before I was popular, this was this singer in Mondstadt. Have you heard of Decarabian?"

     "Yes...? But not really." 

     You were going to continue pushing him to tell you what was wrong, but decided against it. It was probably a sensitive issue, and you were ready to be patient. 

     "Oh, so you have! Funny. I was thinking you wouldn't know him at all. Anyways, Decarabian was really talented. A great star, if you will. Unfortunately, he did some messed up things at the height of his career."

     You tilted your head. Yes, you've heard of these stories, but only in passing, since you weren't exactly a grand listener of Monstadtian songs. Nor the history of Mondstadt's singers, for that matter.

     "Oh."

     "I was around when he was active."

     "You were? How old were you when you started singing?"

     "Never mind that. What's important is that I was quite small-scale, until he was brought down from the public stage due to his various scandals. After that, people started to indulge in my songs more, and I ended up being the first-ever Mondstadtian singer to go abroad. I started my own company too. Though you may not think it, I've worked for the company tirelessly. I truly treasured it and all the people within."