Journey | Albedo's Descent Book 3

Chapter 23: Creepy Not-So-Crawlies

"Only three more?" Kaeya looked around the alcove.
Albedo nodded, stacking the remaining books. He flipped through a few of them to double check if he had read them or not. It couldn't hurt to be thorough.
"Huh, I thought there were more left," Kaeya tilted his head.
Albedo smiled, "we're so close, now."
Kaeya smiled weakly, not that Albedo saw it anyways. "Yeah..." He was glad that Albedo seemed happy... but this was all so unsettling and dangerous. He couldn't take his eyes off the carving...
Was this imaginary being connected to Albedo or himself because of Khaenri'ah? Was this being some sort of old god that some people were super invested in?... He knew this couldn't be real. He had never heard of anything like it. Not even in fairytales or far-fetched stories.
Albedo stood up, "have any ideas where the Seelie might be?"
Kaeya shook his head, pulled from his thoughts, "no... I think we can't find them, though... Considering Seelie don't wander too far from their courts, they should be nearby, but we have checked the whole cavern, haven't we?"
Albedo nodded, "I guess we'll just have to look more carefully..."
Kaeya sighed, "and how long will that take?"
"I don't know, but I... we have to find them." Albedo moved passed Kaeya, exiting the small alcove.
Kaeya rubbed his hands together nervously, following him quickly. He never liked the inside of Dragonspine... "so... do you have any ideas?"
Albedo shrugged, "not really. I figure we start around here and work our way around the cavern..."
Kaeya nodded, pursing his lips anxiously. Everything felt so wrong around here... he couldn't shake off this uneasy feeling...
Albedo looked back and took Kaeya's hand, "we're close."
Kaeya could tell Albedo thought this was an encouraging statement... but it didn't feel like one. From Kaeya's perspective, it felt like getting "closer" wasn't a good thing.
Albedo squeezed his hand with as much of a smile as he could muster, "the sooner we get this done the better, right?"
Kaeya nodded, "yeah, but I don't want you to suffer because of it."
"I'm not," Albedo tried to reassure him, "I got a good amount of sleep yesterday."
Kaeya held onto him tightly, refusing to let him take another step, "how many hours?"
Albedo stopped to think, "somewhere between five and seven?"
Kaeya sighed, "Albedo..."
"That's a lot more than normal... besides, I was being productive while I wasn't resting." He turned and started walking with Kaeya, "I'm sure we'll be able to find the final three just as fast as before."
Kaeya shook his head discreetly. He wasn't so sure he wanted Albedo to find them... What if they provided more evidence of that being's existence? In all honesty, Kaeya didn't want it to be real. Even if it meant Albedo wasn't crazy... They would all be better off if it wasn't real, right?
It really wasn't long until Albedo and Kaeya ran into the first of three Seelie.
Albedo and the mini specter made eye contact. It's eyes were intense and terrifying.
Kaeya squeezed Albedo's hand tighter, "you don't have to..."
"No," Albedo shook his head as he exhaled, "I do."
Kaeya was troubled, to say the least.
Albedo stepped forward and the Seelie turned to the side and stated floating off. They both let out a silent sigh of relief as the uncomfortable eye contact was broken.
But not for long. Every time the Seelie stopped to wait for them, it stared into Albedo's eyes intently. And every time Albedo would get a little tense and Kaeya would hold his hand tighter.
They both shivered as they entered the alcove and felt the warmth of the occupied courts.
The Seelie sat itself into its court. Again, Albedo noticed, the Seelie they collected were filling the courts from front to back in order. It couldn't just be coincidence now. There was no way.
The Seelie were being revealed to him in order... but who was doing the revealing? Was it that thing? Did this have to be done in a certain order? Was that thing guiding him? Did this mean he was doing it right?
Albedo felt a smile creep over his lips, "let's go find the other ones."
Kaeya stopped him, "at least warm up first..."
Albedo looked around for a long moment, "..."
"Please?" Kaeya took his other hand as well. Then he faltered, "does it not hurt anymore?"
Albedo tilted his head, "no, not at all."
Kaeya flipped over Albedo's hand, pulling off his glove and examining it closely. He muttered to himself, "that's crazy..."
Albedo stepped closer, nervously looking around, "I'm fine, can-"
"This is amazing," Kaeya smiled up at him, "I'm so glad you're okay."
"Yeah," Albedo smiled, feeling a little bashful, "I'm grateful."
Kaeya put Albedo's glove back on.
"Uh, are you warm enough? Can we-"
Kaeya sighed, "alright, let's go."
Kaeya grew progressively more concerned as they followed the second Seelie back towards the alcove. It stopped very often, staring back with those white, flowing eyes.
Albedo seemed to have gotten over this. He seemed unfazed, which baffled Kaeya. This was creepy, right? Definitely not something normal!
Albedo smiled tiredly as he watched the Seelie become a part of its court. "Do you ever wonder what they are? Why can they never find their courts when they're so close by? And why does returning them home yield rewards? Are the Seelie thanking us or are they just a part of a sort of puzzle mechanism?"
Kaeya rolled his eyes, all his worries dissolving. Same old Albedo. He ruffled the Alchemist's hair, "Albedo, I don't think anyone wonders as much as you do."
Albedo sighed happily, "probably not... Anyways, let's-"
Albedo froze as he turned on his heels. Kaeya held his breath as his eye focused on what had stopped Albedo.
It were as if a cold gust of wind had blown into the room. It was silent as they stared.
Right in the entrance was the last Seelie. It stared at Albedo blankly, as they all did. ...but there seemed to be something more behind its unreadable eyes...
The Seelie began to move without either of them coming any closer. It moved straight to its court, its eyes focused on Albedo the whole time. It hovered over the small stone pillar, unmoving.
Albedo hesitantly walked over. Kaeya reached out to take his sleeve, but barely missed. He couldn't will himself to move.
The alchemist stopped before the court, unsure what to do. The Seelie stared up at him. He took a shaky breath as he reached out his hand. He felt the warmth of the Seelie through his glove, he could tell it was hot to the touch rather than just warm.
The moment Albedo's gloved hand was a few centimeters away from the Seelie, it sank down into its court.
Albedo recoiled his hand on reflex. He felt his stomach twist as he stepped back and held his hands to his chest.
Kaeya saw the panic in Albedo's posture and rushed over, "what's-"
"We need to find something to hold onto!" Albedo blurted, frantically looking around.
"What? What are-"
Before Kaeya got his sentence out, the mountain began to quake. But it was much worse than the previous tremors.
Kaeya stumbled backwards and grabbed onto Albedo. He reached out to the wall and used his vision to freeze his hand and wrist to it. Then he pulled Albedo in and held him tight.
It was a full half a minute until the quaking stopped. The stone was grinding with deafening volume.
After it was over, both Kaeya's and Albedo's eyes were drawn to the wall opposite the previous carving. There, another picture had appeared, but it was far more specific...
Kaeya broke his hand free and rubbed his wrist, "I just keep hating this place more and more..."
Albedo marveled at it. "I know what to do..." he spoke in an awestruck whisper.
On the wall was the depiction of a large, curved canine shape carved out of the stone. It was emanating some sort of fiery aura. Below the tooth was an image of an alchemy crafting table. Though it was crude, Albedo instantly recognized it. On both sides of the picture was a half of a vague silhouette, cleanly separated down the middle.
Albedo turned towards the exit, "I have to-"
Kaeya caught his arm going out with him quickly, "are we done with this place now?"
"For the moment," Albedo nodded.
Kaeya shook his head, "please. I have the worst feeling about all of this..."