900 Years is a Long Time to Wait

Ch. 2: A Voice On the Breeze

 Meiling hung over the seatback, huffing lightly. She was feeling just the slightest bit drained from restoring Diluc's memories, but she was already recovering, as the power of an Archon was immense. She stared longingly at Childe's back, wondering if she could possibly shock some memories out onto the surface with Rai's Gentle Spark. Cecilia got her father back. I wonder if you already have something that we can work with. She still called him Mom, everyone assuming that the reason was since he was her mom friend, never knowing the truth. The bus pulled to a stop and Aether shoved Legends of the Seven into his backpack before jumping up to follow Meiling out. She was talking animatedly with her friends and Diluc, waving her hands around and saying something about reawakening the sleeping sprite. The others seemed to get it, Diluc mumbling that she was too noisy but he would do it anyway. Cecilia threw her hands up and cheered, giggling cheerfully as Diluc gently swatted her head.

They took the well-worn path to the waterfall and the wind vortex, following the tour guide as he stepped over a branch in the way. "This path is connected to the Dawn Winery, which has stood for millennia and is part of what makes Mondstadt famous." Nudging Diluc in the ribs, Kaeya grinned. Once again, they were brothers, Kaeya still adopted. Diluc rolled his eyes, reciprocating his nudge with one a little more forceful. Rai gazed down the shadowed path, hearing the sound of gentle water and the gentle gust of wind. Cecilia raised her left hand, summoning the winds and letting a cool breeze ripple through the trees.

They reached the tornado in no time. Steps led over the water to the vortex, and a form could just barely be seen inside it. Cecilia smiled quietly. She had visited the area multiple times over the years, visiting her mother and changing his clothes to match with the time period. This era, she dressed him in simple grey jeans with a white Anemo sigil tee, a teal hoodie, and white sneakers. She had left the beret on and kept his braids the same. "Alright, we're all going to line up and try to awaken the Archon. If nothing happens, we'll move on to the Geo Archon's tomb in Liyue. It will take an overnight trip, as you know already. If something does happen, we'll just find some way to work around any problems."

So, they lined up, Meiling, Rai, and Cecilia going first so they wouldn't have to do it later. Diluc stood at the back, staring longingly at his lover. It had been 900 years since he had seen Venti, and he just wanted to see him again. Some people tried to guess Venti's name, some people choosing really weird names like Dande or Andrius, which wasn't a bad name, just that it was already the name of one of Venti's chief winds. Kaeya and Albedo didn't even try to go. It was nice to see that they were still together, even after reincarnation. Idly, he wondered what had happened to Maia and Lucas. His niece and nephew were half-human-half-homunculus, so they should have had an extended lifespan, the chalk part of their bodies slowing down the process of aging until it crumbled away and left only their human side, which then aged as normal.

When Cecilia reappeared at his side, there were six people in front of him and two behind. Leaning over to her, he asked, "Celia, what happened to Maia and Lucas?" A small smile flitted across her face before she replied, "They're actually still alive. Even though their deaths should have come a thousand years ago, Meiling, Rai, and I managed to permanently freeze the chalk in them. Essentially, it means that they're immortal since the chalk will never crumble and continues to sustain them. The human part of them looks as young as they did back then. Maia's still an alchemist, Lucas teaches at the Teyvat Swordplay Academy, and they live with me in our apartment."

Diluc hummed lightly, looking ahead. There were about two people now, one of which was already taking his turn at the vortex. "Cecilia, go ahead and stay with Meiling and Rai. I can deal with it from here, alright?" "Hmm... Okay, but call any of us over if you need help. Mom will probably be a bit heavy since the winds may need some time to fully let go of him." Sighing, he ruffled her hair before gently shoving her off in the direction of her friends. Then he turned towards the tornado again. The last person in front of him had just stepped off the dais, allowing him to see Venti for the first time in nearly a thousand years. He looked peaceful, turned on his side, with the breeze gently stirring his hair and clothes around. Steeling himself with a deep breath, he reached inside the wind tunnel and gently brushed the hair off the Archon's face. Cupping Venti's cheek lightly, he spoke calmly. "Venti, liebling. Wake up." Ever so slowly, the god's eyes fluttered open for the first time in nearly a millennia.