Looking over a pile of books, he scratched the back of his head and sighed. He looks at a book that he opened as it lies on the table. The family album.
A lot of pictures were shown of his children when they were young. Flipping over the pages, his children were older as his daughters had grown into fine and strong warriors.
As he flipped over the pages, a new face began to show as not only was it his family, but a boy with white hair and gray eyes. If anyone didn't know any better, then they would've assumed that the boy was his flesh and blood from the hair color that he could've inherited from both him and his wife.
To describe F/N when he was still a young teenager who was nearing adulthood, he would say that the boy kept things to himself and was quiet. The stoic expression he held made it hard to know what he was thinking or feeling. His eyes betrayed nothing and made it hard to read.
From what the Captain used to say about his son, he used to be quite lively. After the incident that took place where both his grandparents died, he became quieter and less joyful. The emotional trauma of losing his grandparents left him scarred as they were told that F/N recalls each detail of his grandparents' limp hands with blood dripping off them and falling onto the ground.
He grimaced at the thought as he recalled the news of the tragic "car" accident. That was all but a coverup of what unfolded. However, even someone like F/N doesn't know the truth. F/N can't recall what transpired but only knew that there was a "crash" and the single moment of his grandparents' deaths that he can recall.
He shook his head at the thought of the past. The Captain said that F/N wasn't the same as when he was a kid as he grew older, but he did begin to speak more and managed to express himself a bit from time to time.
All that progress that the Captain did went back to zero, huh? He thought given that the Captain described his teenage son many times to be was not what they had seen when they met him. He still recalls seeing the boy at the Captain's funeral.
F/N to an extent felt like a son to him and his wife. He also began to feel like a brother to his daughters as they grew attached to him just as he grew attached to them. It took a while until F/N began to be expressive, happy, and show interest in many things as the years went by.
Siegfried sighed as he thought about the boy. To disappear without saying anything...what the hell were you thinking? Two years have passed without signs of F/N. There are only so many people that know of the ability that F/N has. The ability to cross through other worlds.
They can only speculate that F/N left to the other world that he can freely go to any moment without saying anything. They did all that they could to search for the boy in their world, so they thought that he was not in this world.
He's heard that Theresa and the others have been trying to find the world that F/N traveled to. He has heard no news yet if they've managed to find the universe that F/N is in.
Although he's calm about this whole situation, not doubting that F/N isn't dead and that he's doing fine, he can't help but still feel a tad worried as he's a father himself and so his parental instincts flare up at the thought of F/N's situation. Two years passed and still no news...sadly it makes him wonder if F/N abandoned all of them.
A sad way to think of it, but the more you think of it, the more you can't help but lean to it. Randomly leaving one day, no signs of coming back. Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, and months turned to two years. That in itself implies that they've been abandoned or something bad happened.
Unlike his wife who just like him thought of the boy as a son, he wasn't imagining the worst or was worried every second. The first few months... Cecilia was quite in an unhealthy state because of F/N's disappearance. Although she's calmed down, she still worries and he can't fault her—
"Hey, old man."
"Old man? You sure tell your father quite some horrible stuff don't you?" Siegfried chuckled as his eldest daughter rudely spoke to him. "What is it, Sirin?" He looked at Sirin who stood by the doorway with Bianka.
"We've got good news." Sirin flashed a smile. "Ain't that right, sis?"
"You will find that we've finally managed to find a clue of where F/N can be." Bianka said as Siegfried froze at the news that was told to his face. Before he can speak, his daughter spoke first. "We've managed to locate the world that he's in. Kiana went ahead and crossed to the other world as she was being monitored by the others on her progress. Alongside her is Mei who also went ahead."
"...How are you sure F/N is even in that world?" Siegfried did his best to be hopeful, however, he was asking the question as he still tried to be logical about the situation.
"One of the locals that Kiana asked has confirmed to her that F/N is in that world." Bianka said who closed her eyes. "The only problem is that in the world that he's in, there exist many nations. F/N is far off from the nation that Kiana and Mei are currently in and it's unknown whether F/N is still in that same nation or if he's elsewhere." She told her father.
"Besides the good news of the fact that we now located the universe little bro is in. We also came here to tell you that Bianka and I are going to follow suit as well and go there to help Kiana and Mei." Sirin announced.
"..." Siegfried closed his eyes at the information as he collected his thoughts. Surely all of this has just been perfect timing...or was it a coincidence? When he was sitting here on the couch reminiscing about F/N and his disappearance, his daughters came to announce that F/N's location had been found. He looked at Bianka and Sirin as he nodded. "The two of you. Be safe...and please tell me if F/N is safe when you find him." A smile formed on his face as hope began to fill his heart at the situation. They were left in the dark for any clues...but now...—
"Why would they tell you if F/N is safe?"
"...!" A voice spoke out as Sirin, Bianka, and Siegfried froze up at the tone.
Siegfried shakily turned to look behind as from the staircase, he saw his wife walking down as the footsteps of her boots echoed with each step.
Cecilia stopped once she reached the bottom as she looked at her daughters and husband, having overheard everything. "We can ask him directly if he's been safe." She pulled out a rope she straightened and tightly clenched it. Her son is coming back home with them...whether he likes it or not. Even if it means by force.
"H-Honey please calm down."
"My patience is running thin with that boy. He left without saying anything, didn't bother contacting us, and hasn't come back home after two years..." Cecilia told Siegfried with a blank look. "My patience has its limits... D-Do you know how worried he had us!? How worried I WAS!?" She trembled slightly at the thought of how the boy she treated as a family member had been doing.
Siegfried gulped at his wife's words as he realized he couldn't do anything to stop her. It seems like there's no room to talk... Once they find F/N, it's gonna be quite the family reunion. He looks over at Bianka and Sirin who were looking away from Cecilia's gaze as they scratched their cheeks nervously. "By the way..." His voice caught his daughter's attention as they stared at him. "How did you all even manage to locate F/N in the first place?" Many worlds exist...one can even consider it infinite."
"Theresa and the others managed to find the world because a bit of F/N's energy was seeping out and they managed to find it in the process." Bianka said with a serious demeanor.
"...Seeping...out...?" Siegfried froze at the mention. Cecilia's fury died down as well and she froze up as well. Both of them knew what Bianka meant.
Sirin nodded at her father's words. In appearance, she recalls seeing the file of a monster. A draconic appearance with a jagged metal jaw and its head looking like a piece of a metal helmet. It had a long sword and it wore a long coat and a pair of wings. The footage that she saw of the demon can be recalled clearly as she recalls its metal jaw opening and hearing its loud screech making it look like a raging dragon.
"Yeah...Herrscher energy has been releasing." Sirin said with a serious expression. "The Herrscher sealed within him...it's beginning to stir again it seems." She grimaced.
-~-
*Huff* *Huff*
F/N slouches over as he breathes heavily. He pants heavily as he stumbles over a Hilichurl's body. The smell of Death lingers in the air. The Hilichurl camp that he stands in the center of as bodies of countless monsters lay dead.
These "monsters". They're not monsters at all...
Simply put, these monsters were once people...
P-People cursed with immortality... He gripped his head as he closed one of his eyes. He stumbles again after trying to walk forth as his head aches.
He released these people from their suffering. He has set them free from the curse implemented on them. Immortality is but a curse that must be diminished on these poor souls. He watched as the second wave of Hilichurls arrived.
*Huff* *Huff*
He slowly stopped slouching as he straightened himself. His gaze falls upon the Hillichurls as his mouth morphs into a frown. He raises his gun as a long sword materialized in his free hand. His eyes glowed a vibrant blue as he pulled the trigger while rushing forth with his sword.
"Huh?" F/N blinked as he looked around. Around him were Hillichurls' corpses as he was standing in the center. He blinked as he looked at the gun in his hand that he was gripping softly. "Again...? I was sleep fighting?" He scratches the back of his head with confusion as this has been happening a lot since he's stayed in Teyvat. He would wake up in random locations surrounded by enemy corpses, usually Hillichurl corpses.
"Aww man... I feel bad for these guys." He lost count of how many times he's found himself in the center of Hillichurl corpses. What did they do to deserve him killing them?
He sighed tiredly as he wasn't in bed. His gray eyes looked around as he noticed that he was not far from Sumeru City. He strapped his gun to his side and slowly walked away from the Hillichurl camp.
"Man... What is it with me sleepwalking and fighting?" F/N grumbled with a frown. "Seriously, it's probably the middle of the night right now and here I am out because of my body doing its own thing without me knowing..."
-~-
Word Count: 1,974