...
"Did you know? There used to be a really good bard who performed here." Sister Rosaria downed a glass of wine.
"Really?"
"Apparently one day, he just...stopped performing. He came to drink wine, and drank until he died right on the spot."
"...What a shame."
...Today's Wolfhook Juice tastes better than before.
"I wonder why Kaeya didn't come today. He usually doesn't like doing Knight work." I rested my head in my palm.
"It must be something more important than usual." Rosaria nonchalantly replied.
"..."
Everything is so painfully boring.
Something interesting needs to happen, or I might just die from boredom right then and there.
"..."
And the sad part is that...
I don't have the ability to make things interesting.
I sighed, gulping down another sip of my beverage.
...
"Goodbye, Sister Rosaria." I walked out of the tavern door.
She only waved in return.
Once I stepped foot on the outside of the warm building, I'm immediately greeted by the chilling breeze of the evening.
"Ow-"
A sudden pain shot through my head.
"...Hah...Huh...?"
I blinked.
The sky wasn't dark anymore.
It was a pure crimson red, as as the wind swept dust into the air.
...Mondstadt looked like a ghost town.
"What...?"
Dead bodies were littered on the ground, all of people I knew before, and greeted every day.
The pavement was stained with velvet blood, as if it was a red carpet.
And yet despite this gruesome scene before me...
"..."
I couldn't feel a single thing, no matter how hard I tried.
No disgust, no fear...
Nothing.
"Gh...!"
Pain shot through my head again.
I blinked my eyes open again.
"(Y/N)? Are you okay?"
Everything was back to normal. The sky was as dark as the void, with tiny sparks of light decorating it.
People walked around, all of which as definitely not undead zombies.
It was a hallucination?
"(Y/N)?"
"Oh...I'm fine, Patton. I'll be on my way." I waved to the man to sat near the door.
"Be careful, you know. Recently there has been unsolved disappearances in Mondstadt. You never know when you're next, so be on guard." He warned.
"...I'll keep that in mind, Patton. Thank you."
...
I walked back home, once again hoping for a surprise visit from Albedo.
Though once again, the chances of that happening are...exactly 0.005%.
"...!"
A sudden pain shot through my head again.
"Why...?"
I held my head as I slowly opened my eyes.
There it is again.
The gruesome scene of red skies and bodies on the ground like flowers in a field.
I slowly walked towards a body...
And kicked it.
"Huh?"
Yet, it was like my foot was a hologram, phasing through the body.
Of course it will...
Illusions are only projections of the eyes.
"Come on, shoot me in the head again. I just want to go home."
And as if on cue, I felt the pain go through my brain once more.
And the scene went back to normal.
"...Much better."
...
The door creaked as I pushed it open slowly.
"..."
My head stung from pain again...
I got used to it. It's like a sledgehammer pounding against your skull...
Actually, no one can get used to that so fast.
The scene changed again, obviously.
"...Eh?"
Once I opened the door, however, I saw someone...
Someone that I have been longing for all this time.
"Al...bedo...?"
The boredom washed away, as a smile graced my lips.
I haven't smiled like this for a while now.
Though, Albedo didn't show any response, and stood in the middle of the room, with his back turned to me.
"Hey...Albedo..."
I slowly walked towards him.
He didn't move.
"Can you hear me?"
I ran towards him...
"Albed-"
A pain shot through my head for the last time, as I tried to touch his shoulder.
"No..."
I fell to the ground.
Everything turned back to normal.
And Albedo wasn't there anymore.
"A-Albedo..." I sniffed.
He was the one thing that I didn't want to be an illusion.
...
"Sometimes, you trick yourself into seeing things you want to see. Sometimes, you trick yourself into seeing things you don't want to see."
...
Chapter 5: Flames and Frost
To Be Continued...
...