good boy

Chapter 1

The Abyss is dark and cold and unfeeling. Not at all like Snezhnaya’s winter, where it is biting cold, yet to Childe a warm feeling settles in his heart when he thinks of it. But not here. Not in the Abyss. It has not changed since the last time Childe was here, six years ago; he is twenty now: a man, a soldier, a Harbinger. Time passes faster here, and so—Childe counts on his fingers and settles on an estimate of at least a hundred years that had passed since his… “visit”.

And yet, everything looks the same. Childe had never—could never—forgotten it. It torments him in his sleep, and now, he is here again, in the name of Her Majesty Tsaritsa and Her cause. His first “big boy” mission, as She had called it. Before this, Her Majesty had only tasked him to collect debts and find persons of interests. Incredibly mundane work, but work he did, hoping Her Majesty Tsaritsa would see his potential.

Well, She certainly did.

And now, here he is, back in the depths of the Abyss. It is still the same task, finding a person, but this time he is to find the leader of the Abyss Order. To make a deal with her for information. It is still a diplomatic mission at its core, but Her Majesty Tsaritsa had advised him to complete the mission at all costs. Any means to an end. After all, it’s the Abyss. It knows nothing but chaos. It is what gave Childe his powers, his strength.

The Abyssal blood in him rushes in delight of where he is. As if it is finally returning home, where it belongs. Where he belongs.

Childe stares at the horizon obstructed by the ruins of an old castle. After Archons-know how many years, it still looks the same. Master Skirk had used it as their North Star in the sky-less, star-less Abyss. It is the dark star that guided them to their makeshift home, when he was still but a child. He knows not if Master Skirk still lives and if she had stayed in the Abyss all this time. For her sake, Childe hopes not. He hopes she had escaped and lived the peaceful life she deserved. He knows it is not likely.

As he nears the ruins, the Abyssal blood in his veins starts to hum, getting heavier as he gets closer to it. Master Skirk always told him to avoid the ruined castle, but never revealed why. He wonders if she knew what lays in there. If she had known of the notorious Abyss Princess, whom Childe had only ever read about in the depths of the Fatui’s libraries. What would Master Skirk think of him now?

Childe traverses the Abyss, the muscles in his feet moving by rote towards his destination. As if his legs had been there before. On the way to the castle, monsters attack him, and Childe quickly disposes of them with a slash of his Hydro blades. Using his full power for such measly creatures would be a waste of his strength and energy. The Abyss Order will not give up their Princess that easily, and for that, Childe expects he will need his full strength by then.

“Halt! Who goes there?” The castle guards cross their spears together to block the entrance.

“I am the Eleventh Fatui Harbinger Tartaglia, and I have come to speak with the leader of the Abyss Order,” Childe says, steeling his voice.

“Fatui? You have no business here,” one guard says. “Turn back immediately.”

“And if I don’t?” Childe taunts.

“You don’t want to know what we can do, kid.”

Childe finds himself smiling. Ah, yes. The moment he has been waiting for. An excuse to go all out. He brandishes his Hydro blades out of thin air and points the sharp end at the guard. “How about we find out what you can really do?”

The guard pauses for a moment, then drops his spear. In a bright violet flash, he mutates into what Childe recognises as an Abyss Lector: a tall, hovering creature draped in the colours of the night sky, wielding powerful Abyssal energy.

Childe braces himself and sizes up his foe. He has never fought one of them before; he had only read about it in the knowledge database of the Fatui. Needless to say, the Fatui’s version of an Abyss Lector was nothing compared to what Childe is facing now.

That only excites him more.

He lunges at him while the Abyss Lector summons lightning strikes all around him. But Childe is faster. He knows all about Electro, knows how to wield it well, how to mesh with his Hydro Vision. To be water is to be shapeless, and to be electric is to be volatile. Mix them together, with a dash of his Foul Legacy Transformation, and well, you get a monstrous but strong amalgamation of elemental powers.

Childe opts for his Hydro Vision, first. No need to exhaust himself when he knows there will be more battles ahead of him. Most likely, he will need to fight through the castle to reach the Princess. He laughs at the idea, despite himself and despite literally clashing elemental powers with the opponent. The very idea reminds Childe of the many, many heroic stories his father used to regale him; one of them included a hero whose princess was at the wrong castle!

Enough distractions. Childe focuses on the fight, alternating between his bow shots and Hydro blades to preserve his strength and stamina. It seems to work, too, as the Abyss Lector bends over with hands on his knees. Just as Childe goes for the killing blow, the Abyss Lector unleashes a wave of electric energy, enveloping himself with an elemental shield.

Good thing he has a Hydro Vision, then.

Childe switches to his Hydro blades full-time, hacking at the Abyss Lector with his Riptide while evading his lightning attacks. He merges his dual blades into a spear and, with a decisive slice, pops the Riptide effect, and in turn, his shield.

The Abyss Lector is no more.

However, there is one more guard. Childe is surprised he didn’t join in their fight. It would have made for a more interesting and exciting battle, fighting two great Abyssal monsters at once. But hey, Childe won’t complain.

The other guard drops his spear as well, and this time, Childe knows to block the elemental energy with a quickly conjured Hydro shield. He is not one to use his powers for defensive purposes, but there is a first time for everything.

This time, the other guard unleashes a wave of Hydro energy. He transforms into something similar to the Abyss Lector, but different. This must be an Abyss Herald. Another first for Childe. And by the looks of it, this one wields Hydro. Which means Childe will have to resort to his Delusion, and if they’re lucky, he might have to use his Foul Legacy, too. How exciting!

Childe flips the Hydro Vision from his belt to expose the violet-coloured Electro Delusion. It has been a while, and his heart hammers in his chest with elation at the thought of using it again.

The Abyss Herald lunges at him with… Huh. Those Hydro dual blades look quite familiar. The blades are attached to his hands but it, along with his move set, is quite literally the same as Childe’s.

Is this Herald’s power have a mirror-element to it, somehow? Is he observing other people’s fights and integrating it into his own, perhaps? Childe had read nothing like that in the Fatui Library. Abyss Heralds have Hydro powers, yes, and that was the extent of the information about them.

They clash their blades together, Electro on Hydro. The elemental reactions are on Childe’s side, electro-charging the opponent’s blades and dealing damage to him. Until which, the Abyss Herald also decides to envelop himself with a Hydro elemental shield.

Normally, this would not be a problem for Childe. He has an Electro Delusion, after all. But the Abyss Herald had seemed to power up. He is faster, spinning his blades and himself whilst dashing back and forth and it is too fast, even for Childe as he gets thrown back and forth along with the Herald’s rapid movements.

His own Abyssal blood thrums stronger in his pulses. Childe can take the Herald without the Foul Legacy, he knows, but there’s a certain twinge of desperation drumming in his chest. As if it craves to burst out of his ribcage and unleash all hell.

Let it out, a woman’s voice says. It is a sweet, soothing voice, and Childe can’t help but feel inclined to follow her advice.

Let it out. Show me what you’re made of.

He does.

Just in time, too, as the Abyss Herald was about to leap at him with a fatal attack. Childe listens to the voice, to his corrupted blood, and initiates the transformation, pulling his mask over his face. Bones snap in two and mend back together, lengthening his limbs. Muscles and sinew stretch and pull until he is as tall—no, taller—than the Abyss Herald. Raw Abyss power surges through his veins like electricity. Even with the mask on his face, Childe can still see, and even more so—perceiving the world in too great a detail. His heart rate increases to an abnormal amount, for a human, that is. To Childe, this is merely excitement.

Childe attacks and counter-attacks the Herald and his hits, dodging just as swift as the enemy lunges at him. It is almost like peering into a mirror, Childe thinks absently, letting his Abyssal impulses take over. It is a dance of swords and spears, a rhythm formed out of instinct.

However, unlike this Abyss Herald, Childe cannot maintain this form for too long. He needs to finish this fight, and quick. He imbues his blade with the elemental power of the Abyss, turning it into the colour of the night sky. With two hands, Childe brandishes the sword and swings it at the Herald. His opponent pauses, as if to assess the damage. Not even a second later, the Abyss Herald explodes, spewing dark Abyssal blood everywhere.

Childe falls to his knees, exhaustion consuming him. A woman stands near where the Herald was. She looks up at him, a blank expression on her face.

Is this who Childe thinks it is?

Good work, a voice whispers in his head.

Childe makes a move to seize her with his claws, but finds his muscles frozen in place. He tries again, concentrating hard to move his arm, but to no avail. He cannot move. The woman looks up at him still, this time a small smile forming on her otherwise vacant face.

Childe does not know what is happening or what this woman is doing to him, but fear starts to creep up underneath his skin. Even in his seemingly frozen state, his Foul Legacy goes on to siphon the energy out of him at a rapid rate. He wills himself to transform back, but even then, he cannot.

The woman looks up at him still, not uttering a word. He stares back at her beneath his mask, observing all of her. It matches the report the Fatui had of the Abyss Princess: short blonde hair, white dress that of an Outlander. But with his enhanced sight, Childe sees more. He sees himself reflected in her wide, golden eyes. Her unblinking eyes.

Childe lowers his head to level with hers, studying closely. She makes no move to back away, not even a flinch. He blinks, and in between blinking, he sees two more pairs of eyes beneath hers open, looking at him. When Childe looks again, the woman has only one pair of eyes again.

Sleep, the voice says.

He does.

Childe finds himself transforming back to his human form, crashing to the ground in extreme exhaustion. Before he hits the ground, the woman catches him in her arms. An embrace.

The last thing he sees is her face, her small smile, her six eyes blinking back at him.

If you liked this work, consider leaving kudos or a comment on AO3↗.