Journey | Albedo's Descent Book 3

Chapter 29: Use As Intended

Later that evening Rosaria and Albedo were alone again. There was always a certain tension in the room when it was just the two of them... but Albedo had come up with a way to ignore Rosaria's loud feelings to a good extent.
"I hope you know how much he cares about you."
"I do..." Albedo nodded, looking through his notebooks again.
Rosaria looked around skeptically, "do you think he believes you?"
Albedo hesitated, "to some degree, yes... but not completely. He... he trusts me..."
Rosaria stared at him, "where do you think he went, anyways?"
Albedo shrugged, "everyone needs time to themselves. We've all been rather restless... He's been especially anxious since I got my gift. He hates feeling like he can't do anything... I know he hates to leave me alone, but now that you're here he's probably just off taking a walk and thinking..."
Rosaria grew a little confused, "I was always under the impression that you had no idea how other people think."
"Hm? Why?" Albedo looked over.
"I don't know... you just always look like you're so focused on whatever you're doing so it seems like you don't understand anyone else..." Rosaria felt a little bad for assuming.
Albedo smiled, "well, I'm just glad you don't think that anymore."
She rolled her eyes.
"What do I do with you?..." Albedo muttered as he gazed over at the enclosure.
"And your dream monster didn't say anything about what it's for?"
Albedo shook his head, "I asked several times. Sometimes I feel like it wants me fail..."
"Then why keep trying?"
Albedo looked up at her, "isn't it human nature to help others?"
"Some would argue that it's human nature to be selfish."
They both stared at each other for a long moment. Maybe that's why they didn't get along super well... they both had very different understandings of what made them both human...
Rosaria smiled, "huh, I never took you as the happy-go-lucky type."
Albedo chuckled, "I'm really not. I've just learned by observation. Mondstadt is full of kind hearts. Even yours."
Rosaria frowned, "don't compare me to those mushy wimps."
Albedo smiled wider, "I know you care about your sisters at the church, and Barbara looks up to you so much..."
Rosaria's cheeks got a little pink as she turned up her nose, "their feelings have nothing to do with mine."
Albedo smiled down at his book as he closed it, "you really are kind... you just have a rather harsh way of showing it."
"I'll show my feelings however I want," she folded her arms more tightly than before.
Albedo smiled deeply. He could feel nothing negative coming off of her at all. Her emotions filled the room with a warmth he hadn't felt from her before. It was comforting to know Mondstadt had such a kind protector.
Rosaria turned on her heels, feigning indifference, and moved back to her spot on the wall. She reached her hand out and peeked through the tapestries, "well, look who decided to come back."
Kaeya stepped in with a smile, "anything new?"
Albedo shrugged, "not much. Did you have a good walk?"
Rosaria's mood got even better when Kaeya entered, so Albedo couldn't help but smile as her emotions effected his.
Kaeya walked over, "I did. In fact, I know what you're supposed to do with your gift."
"You do?! What? How?" Albedo stood up quickly, almost knocking a book off the table.
Kaeya chuckled, "slow down. First, tell me what you learned."
Albedo felt his heart beating fast and had to try hard to keep his breathing even. He was just so excited! "Alright, uh, I found that the substance eats heat and life. That's about it. So, nothing new. Don't be mad at me, but I also tested that on myself so I know it's true."
Kaeya only smiled wider, "you're on the right track. You fed it, so it has to feed you."
Albedo looked up at him, "what?"
In that instant, the room fell silent. Not only physically, but Albedo could feel Rosaria's emotions dry up. And her's were the defining ones.
Kaeya reached his hand down into the enclosure and scooped up the goo, "it's really simple if you think about it."
Albedo stared at Kaeya's hand in disbelief. Then, in the silence of Rosaria's feelings, he noticed that Kaeya had almost no emotions. Just a small, grey outline.
The alchemist felt like he couldn't move. It was like an instinct. Frozen with fear.
How had he not noticed sooner?
Kaeya pressed his free hand against Albedo's face, "it's nothing as complicated as alchemy, I promise." It was cold.
Rosaria was off of the wall and was quickly approaching, frustration and confusion emanating off of her person.
Kaeya flicked his eye in her direction, but it moved in such an unnatural way, as if it could see through the back of Kaeya's head. It was enough to make anyone sick. Then, it focused back on Albedo, "this is my gift's intended use."
With a smile that stretched beyond his lips, Kaeya shoved his hand in Albedo's mouth and forced the substance into his throat.
Albedo choked and spluttered, grabbing onto Kaeya's wrists and trying to push him away with all his might. He couldn't breathe. He could feel his eyes watering and his nose burning. He could feel that mass slowly wriggling it's way down his esophagus.
Rosaria was there not a moment later. She grabbed Kaeya's shoulder to pull him away, "what are-"
The second her hand collided against him, his form flickered and became sparkling dust before reforming as Rosaria drew her hand back.
"WHAT THE-"
He was gone. Faded into nothing.
Albedo fell to the floor choking and shaking. He couldn't breathe. His tears flowed onto the floor around his hands.
That sinister look on Kaeya's face was burned into the back of his eyelids.
Rosaria, after a moment of indecision, knelt down next to him. She hadn't seen what happened, she didn't know what was going on.
Then the tapestries spread apart and Rosaria looked back, her hand against Albedo's shoulder.
Albedo felt more emotions filling the room. Confusion. Fear. Anger. Frustration. Terror. Suspicion. Anguish. It was too much.
Albedo was helplessly trying to throw up. To force that thing out of his body, but all he did was leak saliva mixed with the strange color out of his mouth.
There was frantic speaking that Albedo couldn't make out. His ears were ringing and he was wheezing too loudly. It was like trying to breathe through a wet sponge. Or, more accurately, trying to breathe when you've swallowed something that should not have been able to fit in your mouth, let alone your throat.
He felt more hands against him. Then his arms gave out and he almost smashed his nose into the stone floor.
Instead, he was lifted into Kaeya's arms. The real Kaeya's. He was warm.
Albedo was still coughing and struggling to breathe, but a slight smile tugged at his mouth. This meant that that thing hadn't gotten to the real Kaeya. Through blurry eyes he could see Kaeya's concerned expression. He looked like he was about to cry. His mouth was moving but Albedo couldn't hear anything over the sound of his own raspy breathing.
Oh... he could breathe again. But that might be worse than not. Because it meant the sludge was now inside of him.
One of Albedo's ears decided to work again, but his mind was fuzzy and jumbled from all the emotions in the room.
Kaeya was gently shushing Albedo, running his fingers through his hair in an almost panicky way. Albedo was made aware of the fact that he was sobbing.
Oh... he was in quite a bit of pain. His throat burned and he could hardly feel any of his limbs at all. As he breathed he gurgled a dense saliva-like substance that had formed in his throat. Most of all, he felt cold. He was on the verge of passing out. In fact, he wished he did. That would be much better than being awake through all of this...
"You'll be okay, just- just breathe, okay?" Kaeya was out of breath, himself, hardly holding himself together.
Rosaria was sitting next to them, staring at Albedo in concern. She really did care a lot...
Albedo realized Kaeya was talking to him. He didn't think he could speak, his mind felt like one big brain freeze.
Kaeya was holding Albedo in his arms gently, doing his best not to shiver. Rosaria stood and started carefully bringing the fire over to them.
Albedo nodded, his eyes glazed over, his lips spread into a smile. His arm twitched as he reached out to Kaeya.
"Don't-" Kaeya steadied his voice as he took Albedo's hand, "don't act like that... you aren't going to die yet. I'm not letting you."
Albedo closed his eyes, it hurt too much to laugh.
Kaeya wiped Albedo's face gently with his sleeve, not caring at all what it was or where it came from. He was just glad Albedo was still here...
"You've got a lot of explaining to do, mister." Rosaria said in a rather sisterly way.
Kaeya chuckled, his eyes finally overflowing, "you sure do."