Journey | Albedo's Descent Book 3

Chapter 15: Accomplishments

Albedo sat up with a gasp.
Kaeya looked over abruptly from where he was flipping through a book.
"My plants!" He said with fear stricken across his face.
Kaeya blinked, "what?"
"Ah! No! I forgot to ask Sucrose to- Ohhhhhh!" He fell back down harshly, "they're all going to die now!"
Kaeya walked over, the book still in his hands, "you keep houseplants?"
Albedo nodded, "yes, but a lot of them are rather fragile..." he rubbed his eyes with a sigh, "there goes that..."
Kaeya sat down beside him, "you know how Sucrose is, she'll probably be overthinking in the middle of the night and realize no one is watering your plants. She'll do something about it."
Albedo nodded tiredly, "probably... How long was I asleep?"
"Not even an hour yet," Kaeya looked down at the book in his hands.
Albedo sat up again, "time to get up."
"Not so fast," Kaeya placed his hand on Albedo's chest, keeping him from sitting up all the way. "That was not anywhere near long enough."
Albedo groaned, "Kaeya, I need to-"
"Let me help you, Albedo." Kaeya sheepishly held up the book.
Albedo's eyes widened as he realized that was his most recent notebook. He reached for it, panicking. He didn't know what he had written in that! What if he had said something about-
Kaeya held it away, "I know this looks bad. But- but I wasn't snooping or trying to invade your privacy. I know I don't know anything about alchemy or science, so I though maybe reading what you had already observed would help. You know, uh, maybe I would see from another perspective?"
Albedo slowly lowered his arm. "You... want to help?..." At this point, based on Kaeya's reaction, it seemed safe to assume Kaeya didn't suspect anything.
Kaeya nodded, "yes. Of course. I- I want to be involved in- in everything you do, Albedo." The Cavalry Captain's face went red as he realized what he had just said.
Albedo smiled a little bit as he pushed Kaeya's arm away and stood up. "So? Did you see anything I might have missed?" He plucked the book from Kaeya's unsuspecting grasp.
Kaeya blinked, "uh- well, I..."
Albedo walked over and cleared off one of his larger tables. He set out a few things, grabbing a few samples and other materials. He looked back over at Kaeya, "anything at all?" Albedo spoke with a certain sparkle in his eye and an intrigued tone.
Kaeya swallowed hard as he grew more red than before. Was that what Albedo looked like when he was excited? He didn't get to work with anyone but Sucrose, right? Was he... happy that Kaeya wanted to help?
Kaeya quickly got to his feet, "there were a few things..." his voice came out quieter than he intended.
Albedo chuckled as he closed his eyes for a moment. He opened a few books he had set out, "nervous, are we?"
"No..." Kaeya muttered quietly before continuing, "have you tried freezing it without snow? I mean, after you've already heated it up? You noted that it was already crystallized."
Albedo looked over to him with wide eyes, "no... I really must be tired. I didn't even think of that."
Kaeya felt very accomplished.

Albedo had gotten more information, yes, but... it wasn't much help. It was good to know more but it didn't answer any of his questions. It seemed entirely impossible to figure out what this was made of. It was like it was something entirely different than anything else in this world...
Albedo looked over at Kaeya for the thousandth time.
He was looking through the microscope, "I don't know if you noticed, but the little ice-looking thingies look like they're moving."
Albedo nodded, "everything is in constant movement. That, and it's warmer in here than it would like, I'm sure." Albedo kind of wanted that thing to all be a figment of his imagination but the fact that Kaeya could see it as well proved that theory wrong. What if it became dangerous? How could it be stopped if no one knew what it was made of?
Kaeya placed his hand firmly against Albedo's back, "hey, don't worry about it. You'll figure it out."
"Yes, but... Nothing has ever taken so long... I cannot compare it to anything else I have ever seen. And I've gotten my hands on things from all over Teyvat." Albedo pressed his hands harshly against the table in frustration. "There has to be something I'm missing."
Normally Kaeya really liked watching Albedo work. Normally Albedo had this cute little focused face as he studied whatever had piqued his interest. But Kaeya really did not like seeing Albedo frown so much.
"It's so stuffy in here, why don't you go get some air and I'll make us some hot chocolate, okay?" Kaeya gently ushered him away from the table.
Albedo nodded, letting Kaeya lead him towards the entrance. He had so much running through his mind already, and on top of that he felt bad for not being a very good host. Then again, Kaeya hadn't exactly complained about anything other than Albedo's "unhealthy sleeping habits".
Albedo took a deep breath once he was outside. The cold was refreshing. The wind felt nice, too. He had forgotten how much he loved being in Dragonspine... He didn't even know why. The place just felt so magical.
Albedo wondered, "maybe that thing was created by magic... is that why I can't find anything out? Ah, but even magic is traceable... It doesn't feel like any magic I've encountered before..."
Albedo's feet started wandering, taking him wherever they pleased. Albedo's mind wandered even farther than his feet had, taking him down numerous rabbit holes that all stopped at dead ends. There really seemed to be nothing he could do.
"'Half of me'..." Albedo raised his hand to his chin as he stared at the snow surrounding his boots, "what does that mean?...
"Half of itself? Would it be a duplicate or just a piece? Half makes me think it wouldn't be something small... And what if I do find it? What if it turns out to be evil?... Though, it doesn't seem so... If it were evil it would probably not be so sad... It would be out for revenge, trying to get back its stolen half. So, did it really just loose a part of it self? Surely it couldn't be by just misplacing it?... No matter. It seems to be here in Dragonspine, right?"
Albedo looked up to find the stars had come out. Mapping the skies could wait a few more days...
With the stars came the soft glowing of the diamond on Albedo's neck. Albedo decided the most likely place to find whatever he was looking for was in Starglow Cavern. It just fit the sad and mysterious vibe. But, Albedo admitted to himself with a sigh that he did not like the idea of combing that whole cavern for something he knew nothing about.
"If you would just tell me what it looks like..." Albedo started making his way towards the caverns, completely forgetting about the scenario of Kaeya and a lovely mug of hot chocolate waiting for him.
The moment Albedo stepped into the cavern he was met by a warming Seelie. Albedo was sure he had led them all back home...
Albedo felt his throat grow tight as his neck glowed brighter. It shined directly onto the warming Seelie.
The creature apparently took that as a sign to get going.
Albedo choked for a moment, hurrying after it. But he didn't need to hurry... this Seelie moved slowly and kept glancing back at him to make sure he was following.
Albedo grew more and more worried and disturbed as they moved deeper into the caverns. This Seelie was abnormal, for sure... And the symbol on Albedo's throat shined exclusively on the Seelie.
Where was it taking him? And why was he glowing like this? He remembered the light pointing to Southeast, this had to be related. Why did he need to follow this Seelie?...
And why did his body think so? Had Rhinedottir planned for this? How did she know this would happen? Was this Seelie one of her creations, too? An itch in the back of his mind kept wondering, "are this Seelie, Rhinedottir, and that thing all connected?..."
Albedo followed the Seelie all the way to one of the fathest corners of the cavern. Then, it disappeared into a wall. The alchemist used his vision to tear down the stone and discovered a large alcove lined with the courts of other, unfound Seelie.
On both sides of the cave was a row of six empty courts.
The one Seelie in the room stared at Albedo with its white, flickering eyes. It floated just above a court at the end of the room, the only one not in either of the rows. It was centered perfectly against the back wall. Almost too perfectly...
Albedo slowly walked through the alcove until he stood in front of the stone. The Warming Seelie's seemed to nod, then it dipped down and became a part of the stone.
Albedo took another look around the room. He was astonished to find piles and piles of books littered around.
The alchemist rolled up his sleeves with a smile, "looks like I'll be here for a while."