A lost friend's journey

Chapter 20

Hello there! Long time no see!

Yes, I started uni, yes I barely have time for myself now, yes I am very much sick at the time I'm writing this note, but at least chapter 20 is out :D

Before you dive into this chapter, I just wanted to tell you that while this chapter is slightly shorter then what I usually give you, I thought it would be better to reserve it to Venti's thoughts before moving to the next big  step! So enjoy!!!

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Cold.

Everything around him was so cold.

And he felt numb.

Empty.

Betrayed.

What was the purpose of his life? Why was he created only to suffer? Why was he brought on in this world without the tiniest of hints that he was destined to such a fate?

All his life... during the entirety of it... not once had Kairos - Istaroth now, it seemed - tried to tell him that he wouldn't get the happily ever after Venti often sang about. She would tell him all about secrets he wasn't supposed to know. She would try to stir him away from Celestia and teach him to not get their attention focused on him, because that was a very, very dangerous thing.

She would tell him, on rare occasions, that she loved him, that he was very precious to her, without ever revealing the true nature of their relationship, without ever telling him of the bond they had to each other.

All this time, Venti had a mother.

And he never knew until now.

He never knew until she needed him to accomplish the duty she created him for.

The only reason Istaroth told him he was her creation, her son, was because she needed him to die in order to regain her power and rebel against Celestia.

Logically, he should do it. Right?

He should die, let Istaroth gain her power, take revenge on behalf of Dainsleif, of Kaeya, of all the other Khaenri'ahns, of all the people who suffered because of Celestia.

Venti used to think Istaroth was revealing all those secrets because she loved him so much she couldn't bear the thought of him dying, of him disappearing from her world forever.

Venti used to think all Istaroth ever did was shield him from the world, protect him until she disappeared. Then, she could no longer help him and Venti could only hope she was cheering him on from the backstage, from wherever it was she disappeared to.

What a twisted lie.

Venti used what he wanted to believe and created his belief all around it.

He created a kingdom of lies on a land he twisted so it could match his own version of things.

And now this kingdom all came crashing down around him, with nothing left but a broken heart, a numb soul and an empty shell of a person.

The true reason Istaroth protected him, told him all those secrets, wasn't because she wanted to protect him. Rather, it was because she wanted to preserve him. Help him survive this ugly world, stay alive until the time came for him to repay the debt he unknowingly had to her.

And all of that was something that was decided for him.

If he was in this situation right now wasn't because of Venti's decisions throughout his life, because no matter what he did, whether it resulted in him being dead or alive, he would inevitably meet the end that was written for him.