Work Text:
It had been awhile since the Crux had left Port Ormos in search of a mystical treasure and they were still so far away from their destination. Of course, if this treasure does truly exist and lives up to their expectations, the members of the Crux Fleet would have more than enough to build at least three Jade Chambers twice as big as the original, so it would be worth the troube. On the other hand, if this treasure were to be hoax, the enormous amount of time, effort and resources they spent would have been for nothing. Therefore, they could only pray to the Archons that the travelling merchant from Sumeru, Dori, hadn't scammed them when she gave Beidou and Kazuha this old map with the location of the treasure.
It had been over a week since the pirates had gotten their hands on this map, over a week since this seemingly pointless journey had begun. The X that marked the treasure on the map was very far away from any coast and corner of Teyvat, technically it was a part of the infamous Dark Sea. None of the members of the fleet had ever ventured that far and, while they would never admit to it, a lot of them were slightly scared of this trip and had it not been for such an unimaginable sum of Mora, they would never even consider attempting it.
At all times, there were at least a handful of pirates on the deck equipped with binoculars assigned with the task of looking out for any land mass. Strangely enough, the map places the treasure in the middle of the ocean, as if it isn't on any island, which is of course impossible. A treasure chest would simply be too heavy to float (the pirates knew that one from experience) and even if it could, marking its location would be utterly useless, since the waves would carry it elsewhere very soon.
Early in that morning, Kazuha had been one of the few that had to keep watch for the treasure and in order to entertain his mind, he began thinking of a haiku. While the samurai was rather satisfied with its first two lines, he just couldn't come up with a way to end it. To be more precise, he thought of many ways to end it, it's just that none of them seemed good enough. As if the words were stuck in the back of his mind, he knew what he wanted to say and found himself unable to articulate it.
A few hours passed and he was still stuck in the same line, at that point he was barely even paying attention to his surroundings. The treasure could show up right in front of him and Kazuha would most likely fail to notice it, he was just that engrossed in his poetry at that moment. Realising just how distracted he had become, he made the wise choice of leaving the haiku for another time and focusing on the task at hand. Soon enough, another pirate would take over anyways and he could go back to thinking on how to end his haiku. Maybe the change of setting would do him some good, who knows?
As he was staring at the endless ocean ahead of him, his sharp ears picked up a very faint noise. It was barely audible and he couldn't tell what was producing it. It sounded almost like singing, but none of the pirates could even hope to sing this well (Kazuha was certain of this, as he had had the 'honour' of hearing them sing on some occasions) and there was nobody else around. Kazuha soon figured out that the sound was definitely not coming from the ship, but from ahead of him. With the binoculars pressed on his face, he leaned forward to try and see what was producing it. There was just water and more water, all around him; nothing else, nothing that could sing so heavely was in sight. That puzzled the samurai quite a lot, it didn't seem to be making any sense at all.
He took off his binoculars to clean them, hoping that they were the reason why he failed to spot the source of the ethereal song that he was hearing. While he was rubbing the lens on the cloth, Kazuha noticed someone walking towards him, the captain, to be specific.
"Hey there, kid. Did ya see anything?" The intimidating (to most) captain asked right after greeting him.
"Hello, captain Beidou. I can't see anything, but I'm pretty sure I heard a noise so I was trying to see what was causing it." Kazuha responed honestly.
"A sound, you say? What did it sound like?"
"Almost like a voice. I think it sounded like a person singing."
"Singing? In the middle of the ocean?" By the tone of her voice he could tell that Beidou didn't seem to believe him. But how could he blame her? He would find it hard to believe too, had he not been the one to hear it.
"I thought it was strange too, that's why I looked for it." Kazuha tried to explain to the captain.
"Do you still hear it, kid?"
"Yes, a little."
After that, neither of them said a word as Beidou tried focusing on her senses to hear this singing. Her ears, however, didn't manage to pick it up at all, unfortunately. What a shame it was, really, for her to not get the opportunity of listening to such a majestic song.
"I can't hear anything." She admitted shortly after and called another member of the Crux Fleet over to try and hear it. Yinxing, the doctor of the crew, responded immediately to Beidou's call, as she was also on the deck at that time, trying to spot the treasure, of course.
"What's the matter, captain? Do you feel unwell?" She asked as soon as she approached the two of them.
"No, it's nothing like that. Do you hear anything?" Said Beidou, getting straight to the point.
For a few moments, Yinxing tried to hear the song, but, just like the captain, failed to do so. "What am I supposed to be hearing?"
"A voice singing." Just as Kazuha opened his mouth to answer, Beidou beat him to it, replying in his stead.
The doctor shook her head and then spoke, "I'm sorry, captain. I can't hear anything past the waves. Is there anything else I can help with?"
"No, go back to your post, Yinxing."
"Yes, captain Beidou." And with that, she stepped away from the two to head back to her post at the other side of the deck.
Beidou, at first, thought that the voice may have just been too quiet for her. But when Yinxing, who had a much better hearing than herself, couldn't hear it either, the captain began to worry about Kazuha. Due to the fact that a few of their fellow sailors had gotten sick, Kazuha had gotten the short end of the stick and had to do some more work. Perhaps he was just a little tired and thought he heard someone singing, who could tell?
"Are you sure you can hear singing, kid?" She asked, having no idea what was going on.
At that point, Kazuha, who had been rather confident in his hearing, was on the verge of doubting himself, "I'm pretty sure, captain."
Beidou, then, removed her eyepatch and placed her binoculars in front of her eyes as she was facing the endless ocean. There was nothing to be seen ahead of her other than the water, except for some mist very far in the horizon. But the voice couldn't possibly be coming from there, the distance was simply too large for that to be feasible.
"I can't see anything either..." After she uttered those words, another possibility dawned on her. "Maybe it's a sea creature. That explains why we can't see it. But it doesn't explain how the rest of us can't hear it..."
"With all due respect, captain Beidou, but I don't think it's a sea creature. It sounds way too much like a human voice. Besides, we've heard whales many times, I would recognise the sound if that was the case."
Huffing in confusion, Beidou couldn't think of another possibility, other than the fact that Kazuha had been overworking himself and should rest for a little. "Listen, kid, I'm sorry but I think you should rest for a bit. You've been working hard these past few days and maybe that's why you hear this." She tried to say that in the nicest way possible; she really didn't wish to upset the samurai, but there was no other logical explanation.
While Kazuha could swear that that voice was no product of his imagination, he figured that, if he was imagining it, he wouldn't be able to tell that it was fake, so he listened to Beidou's advice. "Aye, captain." He replied, trying not to look saddened by her lack of faith in him, and made his way to his little cabin in the Alcor to get some sleep.
No matter how hard he tried, however, he couldn't fall asleep at all. The samurai just kept on twisting and turning in his bed, but he couldn't find a comfortable position to sleep in. Not only that, but the singing just wouldn't stop either. Despite the fact that he was now indoors, he could still hear it clearly, which shouldn't be possible, considering it wasn't coming from inside the pirate ship. At that point, he, too, started believing that it was merely a trick of his imagination.
After what felt like an eternity, Kazuha, finally drifted off to dreamland, with the ethereal voice lulling him to sleep. He actually managed to get a very good rest, until he was woken up, in the middle of the night, by a couple of members of the Crux Fleet that were yelling at each other. As he listened in on their conversation unintentionally, he realised there was some sort of damage on the ship and the two of them couldn't agree on how to fix it. Shortly after, both of them left to ask the captain regarding that matter, leaving Kazuha to his own thoughts and the still audible singing.
Now, however, it wasn't as quiet as it was before. Earlier, he could barely hear it, let alone understand the lyrics. Ever since he woke up, though, it had become much clearer, it sounded as if the one singing was calling him, trying to get him to go to a specific place. "Could they be the one responsible for the Alcor getting damaged too?" he wondered. If that was the case, he had to find that person, there was no postponing it. If he didn't, who knows what they would do next...
With those thoughts in mind, Kazuha got out of his bed and fixed his hair a little as he got out of his cabin. He was all alone in the corridor as he climbed the stairs to reach the deck. It was, apparently, late at night, as the only thing illuminating the pirate ship was the moon. Thankfully, the sky was clear that night, allowing him to see a little. Taking a quick look around, the samurai noticed that he was the only one on the deck, the rest of the crew must have been too busy repairing the damage.
He, then, focused a little on the voice and managed to pinpoint the direction it was coming from, the direction it was asking him to go to. Unfortunately, he had forgotten his binoculars in his cabin and he couldn't waste any time to go and get them. So, the samurai squinted his red eyes to see if there was anything in that direction. In spite of the lack of light, his sharp eyesight allowed him to see the mist. It seemed like it was much closer than it was earlier that day, too. So, did this person want him to go to the mist? There was only one way to find out.
Kazuha was well aware that he probably should get the captain's permission before leaving the ship or at least inform someone, but he couldn't wait to see what would be waiting for him in the mysterious mist. He found himself unable to resist the singer's calls and practically ran to the back of the Alcor, where a few smaller boats were located. As quietly and stealthily as one could, he lowered the boat slowly until it finally hit the cold water. In the process, he kept looking around and on the deck, the fear of getting caught written all over his face. Who knew what consequences he would have to face if he were to be seen by one of his crewmates? Luckily for him, there was nobody on that part of the deck to notice.
Getting ahold of the paddle, he was off to find the alluring voice. It didn't take long for the samurai to reach the area covered in a thick fog. The song had gotten much louder too, a clear indication that he was indeed getting closer to the source of it. The enigmatic voice was calling him to come closer, promising him all sort of things from the treasure his crewmates were looking for to a muse for his haikus. How that person even knew he wrote haikus, he had no idea.
As he navigated through the mist, Kazuha saw ahead of him some rocks getting hit by the waves. What surprised him, however, wasn't the rocks themselves, but the fact that there was someone sitting on them. He couldn't see them very clearly still, due to the thick fog and the distance between them, but they definitely seemed human to Kazuha. Right as he managed to finally see them, they stopped singing. Kazuha didn't know if he should feel relieved that the song he had been hearing non-stop was over or disappointed that he could no longer hear that alluring voice.
"Hello?" He finally spoke.
"Hello there." The voice greeted him. "What brings you here?" The mysterious and unseen person asked, despite already knowing very well the answer. As if there are many things that would bring anybody to that abandoned corner of the Dark Sea.
"I heard singing and couldn't help but follow it." He responded a little shyly. As Kazuha kept getting closer and closer to that person, he managed to notice more their features. They seemed like a guy, and a pretty short one at that, dressed in white from head to toe, with a purple veil draped over his head.
"I'm flattered." They said and Kazuha finally got close enough to actually see them. And that was when Kazuha spotted a pair of broken wings on their back and could be certain that he was not, in fact, talking to another human. The next thing that caught his attention was his short blue hair; it was cut horribly, but it surprisingly suit him.
"But I didn't mean what brought you here specifically. Humans usually don't venture into the Dark Sea, so why did you?"
"I'm with a group of pirates and we are looking for a treasure. A map we found pointed to this area and we followed it." Kazuha replied slightly intimidated by the way the person before him was staring at him.
"You won't find any treasure here. Whoever made that map probably scammed you." The inhuman being informed him. The samurai already suspected as much, but how would he break the news to his crewmates?
"I see. I'll be going then. It was nice meeting you." He said, realising he was probably bothering the sole inhabitant of that corner of the Dark Sea as he adjusted his grip on the paddle of the boat.
"Now, now, why the rush? Sit here for a bit before you leave, I don't bite after all." Said the mystical creature, fixing the veil on his head to see his visitor better.
"My crewmates will probably start worrying about me soon, they don't know I left and I don't want to worry them." He explained.
"You see this mist all around us?"
"Yes, of course." Kazuha answered, visibly confused by the random question.
"Well, it doesn't exist for no reason. Time within it slows down quite significantly, which means that you have plenty of time before your crewmates even notice you aren't there. So take a seat, rest for a bit." Now the creature with the broken wings was smiling innocently at Kazuha, which actually made him even more nervous. He wasn't exactly afraid, but being alone with this person certainly didn't calm him down. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to turn him down, so he obliged and sat down on a dry part of a rock, close to him.
"If you insist." Kazuha said as he was trying to find a less uncomfortable position to sit.
"The name is Scaramouche, by the way."
"I'm Kaedehara Kazuha." He introduced himself too and Scaramouche extended his hand out to Kazuha for a handshake. After they shook each other's hand, the mysterious being started asking various questions, regarding the current state of Teyvat mostly as well as some details about the crew of pirates Kazuha was a part of and the treasure they were seeking.
"What nation are you from?", "Where did your crew find that map?", "Say, Kazuha, how many pirates are on that ship?"
Those are merely some of the many questions Scaramouche inquired and the young samurai answered honestly all of them, however he didn't get the opportunity to ask anything himself.
"You said you're from Inazuma, right?" He asked, just to make sure he wasn't misremembering and when Kazuha nodded affirmatively, he continued. "What's it like over there these days?"
"I haven't been there in a while, so I can't be too sure."
"Well, Kazuha, I haven't visited Inazuma in many more years than you, so whatever you tell me, no matter how outdated, will be news to me." He stated, playing with the necklace hanging from his neck, drawing Kazuha's attention to it momentarily.
"There were some issues, but I think it's getting better. How long has it been since you visited Inazuma, Scaramouche?" He replied, asking a question of his own.
"Hm, around seven thousand years maybe." Scaramouche responded, after thinking about it for a moment while scratching the back of his head. That confirmed Kazuha's suspicions that he was, in fact, talking to an immortal, but at the same time the large amount of time made his eyes widen from the surprise.
"You weren't expecting that, were you?" He spoke after he laughed a little at the face the samurai was making.
"Not really, if I'm being honest."
"I wasn't expecting it either. I'm not supposed to live for this long."
"What do you mean?"
"For starters, I'm a siren and sirens would usually live for a few centuries at best. Then, some God up in Celestia decided they didn't want us near Teyvat and cursed all sirens to live forever in the Dark Sea." Scaramouche answered his question, albeit not completely honestly.
"Why are you the only one here, then?"
"The others wanted to defy the curse and go back to Teyvat, so they died from the curse."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know." The samurai said, feeling bad for reminding him of that.
The siren shrugged his shoulders before speaking. "It isn't your fault so don't be sorry. I've gotten over it anyways." Another lie. "So, what other nations have you been to, Kazuha?" He asked, changing the topic of the conversation.
So, the siren and the samurai talked about various things for hours, eventually losing track of time, not that it mattered anyway, they had plenty of time ahead of them until Kazuha's crewmates noticed his absence, so why not make the most of it? Due to the slowing of time, Kazuha could spend up to a whole week there without anyone realising anything, if he so desired.
At some point, Kazuha got tired, but instead of returning to the Alcor, he didn't want to leave Scaramouche alone, since he knew the latter had been alone for a very long time and could use some company (Kazuha totally didn't want to spend more time with him too). So, after a yawn, Scaramouche asked him if he wanted to sleep. Nodding as a response, the pirate reclined on his back with his right arm under his head serving as a pillow. Most would have found sleeping on a rock to be quite uncomfortable, but as a wandering samurai he had gotten used to that. Scaramouche only watched him, before copying him, looking up at the starry sky.
It was a beautiful view, to say the least, as luckily there were no clouds above them and they could see the sky through the mist. Since they were so far away from any and all civilisation, the stars that were littering the night sky, keeping company to the lonely moon, were easily visible to the two of them.
"I've never seen such a clear sky before, there are so many stars." Kazuha admitted.
Scaramouche was considering revealing to him the ugly truth of the world and how the stars above them were nothing more than a carefully constructed lie, but he couldn't bring himself to it. Something about the way the samurai admired the scenery made him think otherwise; he didn't want to see him upset. "You should have seen it back in the good old days, there were more stars and moons back then."
"There were more moons?" He asked, clearly unaware of the time when three moons danced in the sky, illuminating the land below.
"Yes, there were three moon sisters." The blue haired man replied. Kazuha then prompted him to tell him more about those three deities of the moon and Scaramouche complied. He began telling him all he knew about the Goddesses, but before he finished the story, he heard Kazuha snore next to him and stopped talking, luckily the samurai wouldn't get to hear about the tragic fate that met the three deities. Then, Scaramouche turned to face him only to find the samurai sound asleep. Smiling slightly at the scene, the siren brought his attention back to the fake stars and after gazing at them for a while in silence, he, too, fell asleep.
For the first time in a very long time, Scaramouche didn't dream of anything while he was sleeping. No nightmares haunted him like usual and he woke up with no tear stains on his cheeks from crying in his sleep. He couldn't see much because the sun hadn't risen yet due to the slowing of time. It would take a couple of months at least for the sun to peak over the horizon, he thought, having forgotten about the young man that was still sleeping next to him.
The said young man stirred in his sleep while enjoying his dream, attracting the siren's attention, who panicked understandably before he recalled meeting the samurai the day before. He decided to let Kazuha sleep for a little longer and continued admiring the gorgeous night sky, while reminiscing.
Kazuha ended up sleeping for much longer than what Scaramouche had originally anticipated, or maybe it seemed like a lot longer because there was nothing for him to do, who could tell? It's not like he had any watches around to be able to tell the time.
Eventually, the samurai did wake up thankfully, visibly confused by his surroundings, until his red eyes landed on the siren, who was now sitting close by, staring at the water before him, his veil being off his head for the first time since the two of them met. Kazuha could only see his back from that angle and he used that opportunity to get a good look at his wings. They were quite the disturbing sight. Broken and with most feathers plucked out they were more akin to chains he had to drag wherever he went. Kazuha couldn't fathom how they may have looked back when they could still carry him in the skies.
"Done gawking?" Scaramouche, who sensed Kazuha staring at him, said.
"Sorry." He apologised, feeling bad as he thought he made Scaramouche uncomfortable. In reality, the siren was quite complimented by Kazuha not being able to take his eyes off of him.
"It's not a big deal. Are you hungry?" The siren asked, effectively stirring the conversation elsewhere.
"Yes, I am."
"There's a fishing net somewhere over there." He informed Kazuha, pointing to some rocks a few meters away. "Do you know how to use it?"
"I do." The samurai replied while nodding.
"Good luck then." With that, he resumed his attention to the water before his feet.
"Thank you." Kazuha responded as he got up and dusted off his clothes. After stretching for a moment, he headed towards the rocks Scaramouche told him about, where he spotted said fishing net. It clearly was very old and hadn't been used in a long time, but he could still make it work. Seeing it in that state, dirty and neglected, got him thinking about how long it could have been since it's owner left it there and what their story could have been.
With the fishing tool in hand, he sat down near his new friend, keeping him company. Thankfully, Kazuha was quite the experienced fisher and managed to catch a couple of small fish after a bit. And that was when he realised something. He had no way of lighting a fire to cook the fish, which made his efforts to catch the fish fruitless. He could only hope Scaramouche had a solution to this predicament.
"Um... There's a problem." He started talking, turning to face the man beside him.
"What is it?" Scaramouche inquired, in a surprisingly calm tone.
"I can't cook the fish."
"Right. Give them to me." He said, extending his hand out to Kazuha, who obliged, handing his catch over to Scaramouche, briefly touching his hand by accident. What he saw next was something he certainly wasn't expecting. Fire came out of Scaramouche's hand as he held the fish on the other hand, something that should be impossible considering the fact that he didn't possess a Pyro Vision.
After recovering from the initial shock, Kazuha asked him about it. "How can you do that without a Vision?"
"Just a perk of not being human." He stated with a smirk, amused by Kazuha's reaction. The samurai just looked so cute in his eyes as he stared at him in awe, he would never admit that though.
It didn't take long for Scaramouche to cook the fish to perfection. Then he handed it to his starving companion, who enjoyed it a lot, and complimented him to no end for his cooking expertise. The siren knew he was rather skilled at cooking, but he didn't expect to be showered in praise like that, not that he was complaining.
The days and nights that followed passed by pleasantly and quickly, despite the slowing of time, too quickly, perhaps. Scaramouche tried not to get attached to him, as Kazuha was nothing more than a random guy, but that proved to be impossible. He knew nothing good would come out of his feelings for the platinum-haired man, yet he couldn't stop it. So, he found himself enjoying his time with the samurai and opening up to him, despite knowing what a fatal mistake that would be.
The same couldn't be said for Kazuha; he wasn't plagued by those worries, mostly due to ignorance. He was just upset he could neither stay there forever, nor bring Scaramouche back with him. The only thing that really troubled him was how often he would be able to visit his new friend again.
However, neither of them expressed their troubles to the other. They pretended as if nothing was wrong and had as much fun as they could for that short amount of time, doing everything together, talking for endless hours and about countless topics.
All things, good or bad, however, must come to an end. Kazuha couldn't stay there forever, as they both knew. It wasn't possible for Kazuha to stay there for longer than a week, that week was nearing its end, so his stay there would have to come to an end too.
"I should get going soon. It won't take long for them to notice I'm gone." Kazuha said begrudgingly, looking at the siren beside him.
"Right." Scaramouche's reply was frank.
Kazuha stood up from the rock they had been sitting on for the past couple of hours, the other following suit right after.
"I'm very glad I got to meet you." The samurai admitted.
"Same goes for you."
"Goodbye, then."
"Bye." After Scaramouche bid him goodbye, Kazuha turned around to face the boat that brought him there, taking a step towards it.
"Wait." Scaramouche told him, reaching out for Kazuha's hand to stop him from leaving, turning him around so that they were facing each other. Then, the siren pulled him in for a hug, placing his hands on Kazuha's back. Despite not expecting the sudden affection by Scaramouche, Kazuha hugged him back tightly.
"I'll miss you."
"I'll come back to visit. I promise." Kazuha said, hoping that would make the other feel better. He only achieved the opposite, though, for some reason. Scaramouche looked even sadder and hugged him tighter, burying his face in the crook of Kazuha's neck. After a moment, he brought his face back to face the other.
Scaramouche moved his hand from the other's back to his face, caressing Kazuha's slightly red cheek softly. Almost instinctively, he leaned forward, until his nose almost touched the samurai's. Without really realising it until afterwards, Kazuha did the same and as a result their lips almost touched. They looked at each other, despite the embarrassment they were feeling and Scaramouche closed the gap between their lips, stealing a kiss from the other.
Kazuha was caught of guard slightly, but in the best way possible. The siren's lips felt soft against his own as he kissed him gently, moving his lips, tempting Kazuha to do the same. He barely remembered how to kiss, it had been too many years since last time and he was barely able to recall who it was with, but as their lips touched, Scaramouche's body knew what to do.
After a bit, Kazuha ended the kiss, only because he needed to breathe, something that Scaramouche didn't seem to need, most likely since he wasn't human. Right after catching his breath, he kissed him back. This kiss was deeper than the last, as Kazuha explored Scaramouche's mouth with his tongue, while moving his hands on the latter's back. Scaramouche's hand found the samurai's hair, caressing and slightly messing it up.
After what felt like forever, they broke off the kiss, still in each other's arms. Purely out of embarrassment, Kazuha took a step back, looking down to hide his beet red face from Scaramouche. As he was about to turn away to leave, Scaramouche held his hand once again to stop him from leaving. With his other hand, the siren reached for the back of his neck.
"Take this." Said Scaramouche, as he unclipped his necklace and handed it to Kazuha. "It's from Celestia, so it should cost more than any treasure. Sell it or something, you'll make a fortune out of it."
"I couldn't possibly accept this." He replied, eyes wide at just the thought of taking such an invaluable item.
"I don't want it anyways, all it does is remind me of those Gods. If you don't take it I'll probably throw it in the ocean." As the siren spoke those words, he was dangling the piece of jewellery before Kazuha, tempting him to take it.
The samurai reached out his palm and took the necklace into his hand, inspecting it more closely. Now that he got a better look at it, he realised just how magnificent it was, despite it being rather simple in design. It was merely a golden feather with no distinctive features, yet there was something magical and captivating about it. "Thank you." He finally said.
"You should go now, you've been here long enough for your crewmates to notice your absence." Scaramouche instructed and Kazuha nodded in agreement.
"You're right." He agreed, the disappointment he was feeling was evident in his tone. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Will you wait for me?"
"What else is there for me to do?" Scaramouche asked rhetorically, the obvious answer being nothing; was that the correct answer, though?
"See you." Said Kazuha as he jumped on the small boat that hadn't been used in the last week.
"Goodbye." Said Scaramouche as he waved at his favourite samurai, who had gotten the paddle in his hands and had began distancing himself from the rocks Scaramouche was standing on.
As he was sailing, he turned his head around quite a few times to see Scaramouche again, just to make sure he wouldn't forget about him. He was planning to come back at least once, he would find an excuse to return one day. Turning around once more, he caught a glimpse of Scaramouche waving at him, so he waved back, as a last goodbye, or was it a farewell? The samurai wanted to bring him to the Alcor, but they both knew that wouldn't be possible. Neither the Gods on Celestia, nor the citizens of Teyvat would want a creature of the Dark Sea in any nation. Kazuha cursed that deity who dictated that Scaramouche wasn't welcome in Teyvat.
Turning around again, he could barely see him at all and the siren didn't seem to be looking his way either. Kazuha was almost out of the fog, he could slightly make out the shape of the Alcor ahead of him.
Turning around one last time, the rock formation itself was barely visible to the naked eye and Kazuha found himself unable to discern Scaramouche's form at all.
After that, he forced himself to not look back again. He had to go back to the ship, or else they would start getting worried about him. All the pirates, especially the captain, had helped him a lot, it would be very rude of him to vanish so suddenly. And even if they had already noticed his absence, he would present them the magnificent gift the siren offered to him; hopefully that would satisfy them.
Then, he would only have to worry about how he would return to the Dark Sea, how he would visit Scaramouche again. It was a long trip afterall, one that only ships like the Alcor could even fathom making.
What Kazuha did not know was that there was a second aspect to that curse that tormented the sirens. A shame, really, that he was kept in the dark about it, but there was no way he would leave otherwise. Many thousands of years ago, seelies were known for guiding humanity during it's early days and sirens did the exact same thing. Then, Heaven cursed both seelies and sirens alike. Seelies lost their form and wisdom, while sirens lost their wings and were forced to live in the Dark Sea. There, they would have to kill any human that dared to leave Teyvat and if they didn't, the curse dictated that the siren would have to die instead.
Scaramouche had seen it happen one too many times. When that cruel curse fell upon the races of seelies and sirens, there was a plethora of sirens all around him. One after the other, all of them at some point would love a human and spare them. One after the other, all the other sirens perished until he was the only one left.
He hadn't seen or spoken to anybody in many years, the only company he had was the sound of the waves paired up with the memories of the past. But those, too, were starting to fade, he knew he didn't remember his old friends as vividly as he used to. He couldn't stand being alone on that rock anymore; he realised that during one of his conversations with the samurai. At first, he was planning to kill him after some days; he would learn a lot about the current state of Teyvat and humanity while also easying his loneliness for a bit. But, he couldn't bring himself to kill Kazuha, so despite the consequences, he let him go.
Scaramouche watched the little boat move further and further away until it was no longer visible to him. When he couldn't see Kazuha anymore, he felt the effects of the curse kick in, causing him to lose control of his body and fall in the cold water. At least he died with the taste of Kazuha still on his lips, he thought. Soon after, he lost consciousness and his lifeless body sank to the bottom of the ocean, until it touched the soft sand.
And with that, the last survivor of the sirens perished, the only thing left of him being the necklace he handed over to Kazuha and the memories of him that the samurai would carry with him for the rest of his life. Maybe, just maybe, Scaramouche would even live forever through the haikus Kazuha would go on to write about him.
And this is where the story ends, thank you so much for reading, I hope you liked this short story! Have a great day/night <3<3