Ice Cold Heart | A 'Honkai: Star Rail' Fanfiction

Chapter 8 - Heir to the Sins

(Image Credit: "Ichor of Two Dragons" by miHoYo)

An unhealthy amount of alcohol bottles accompanied by their combined stench would make any outside visitor's stomachs turn. The sight alone is disheartening, so one could only imagine how rancid the smell was. Unfortunately, this is the setting of the house of the High Elder of the Vidyadhara. Dan Feng by all means is of royalty, and yet his current state doesn't reflect this. "Why...? Why her...?" He asked himself again while mindlessly swirling his glass around. "I'm immortal, I'm Vidyadharan, I can be born again, so why her!"

Crash!

The broken glass shattered once Dan Feng had thrown it against the wall. The alcohol left undrunk flowed down along the wall and stained his carpeted floor. Suffering another breakdown over the loss of his friend, he began to tear up and cry once more.

"*sniff* Why!? I had a way out! She didn't need to...!"

Dan Feng's body felt weak after constant breakdowns and constant alcohol consumption. For once, since he was freed from Shuhu's captivity and learned of the news, he begrudgingly resigned to his bed. It wasn't a pleasant experience, his sweat was thick and repulsive, his eyes were red from constant crying, and his nose always ran as a consequence, too. His phone was left unattended somewhere near the front door, but he didn't care for it, nor did he want to seek solace in his family, the Quintet.

The situation elsewhere was better, but still grieving over the most beloved member of the Cloud Knights, let alone the High Cloud. Everyone had sadness in their hearts, but everyone was also concerned over Dan Feng's disappearance.

"Someone really should check up on him..." Jing Yuan's voice was gentle, hoping to lessen the feeling of sadness amongst the group. Of course, his voice was still laced with concern. Jingliu pulled her phone out again to call Dan Feng's phone. "Twenty-seventh call. Still not responding." Upon hearing Jingliu's words, Y/N and Jing Yuan began to worry further. With a sigh, Y/N stood up from his seat and walked towards the front door while putting his coat on. "We have to check up on him. Come on." Jingliu declined with a small shake of her head. "I...I have to prepare for her Starskiff Funeral Ceremony. Maybe after you get Dan Feng back, we could all show up and pay our respects?" Jing Yuan nodded to Jingliu's request, of course he'd do anything to help grieve over the death of his friend, but then he looked over to Y/N with a saddened gaze. "You go check up on Dan Feng. I'm going to help out our injured from the battle, unless you want me to...?" Y/N understood where Jing Yuan was coming from and shook his head. "No, no, you're right. Take care of the others. It's okay, I'll go check up on him."

The long walk to Dan Feng's house gave Y/N an ample amount of time to think about the events that had just passed. With a heavy sigh, he began to speak to himself to at least vent out his thoughts, even if nobody was there to listen. "Dan Feng was kidnapped by an emanator of the abundance, a new organization separate from Shuhu spreading the curse of the abundance rose, and we lost a good friend." It seemed like fate wasn't on the Luofu's side, with the abundance and their denizens seemingly on an offensive. Casting aside any thoughts of the Luofu as a whole for now, he looked back on Baiheng with a smile. "Hey there, hope you can hear me. You know, I never got to properly thank you for what you've done for me. You're like the sister I never had, I can't even begin to think of how much good you've done for me, and everyone around you..." Staring at the sky with a smile, he continued to look back on how Baiheng got him to where he is now. "Fly high, Baiheng. Just like the wind, I know you're always by my side."

Not too soon afterwards, Dan Feng's sleep was interrupted by a knock on the door. He gripped his pillow tight out of frustration and rubbed his face against it to wipe what tears he had off. The knocking continued, and so Dan Feng, irritated, grunted into his pillow. "Dan Feng? It's me, Y/N. You're not returning any of our calls. Please, we just want to make sure you're okay..." The voice from the front door was faint, but still audible to Dan Feng. Realizing that he'd been shutting his friends out this entire time, he groggily walked to the front door to answer Y/N.