Souls in Teyvat

"So, in an exhausting 3-hour-long negotiation, I secured ourselves a spot in this marvellous crew" declared Keith, standing up from his seat with a raised glass of wine.

"You will travel with us then?!" asked the excited March.

"Yup" nodded Keith with a bright smile.

"What would you have done had Himeko not agreed?" asked Welt calmly, sipping his tea.

"I would have tried to convince her to accept Stelle, and leave for another place" shrugged Keith, knowing that there were a few things to iron with Himeko.

Because the red-haired woman didn't like at all the Stellaron Hunters.

Like...at ALL.

"No"

And yet, a simple refusal shocked both Welt and Keith.

"What do you mean no?" asked Keith, looking at the grey-haired girl. "Do you have any idea of how much-"

"I don't care" repeated Stelle with firmness. "If you leave, I will too."

And now Keith realized that something was going horribly wrong.

"What? You would?" asked a shocked March. "Didn't you just meet him?"

"So what?" asked Stelle with confusion. "I just met you too."

"...that's true" March had to admit it hadn't been her most ingenious comment.

"And he was the one who stood by my side in that fight" said Stelle, pointing at the panicking Keith. "It's only normal that I would stay by his side. If he chose to stand with me in that dangerous situation, it's only normal to trust him more."

'What...is happening?' thought Keith, knowing that this wasn't what was supposed to happen.

Stelle should have been mingling with March, who he thought was a good conversational partner based on Himeko's letters, not being ready to leave the Astral Express with him.

Stelle leaving this crew meant that Elio's plan would have failed, and if Elio's plan failed.... disaster would probably ensue.

Keith was here only to support Stelle from behind, but being prioritized by the grey-haired woman who forgot the please of picking up trash was quite dangerous.

And based on Himeko's pointed look, she also realized it.

"Hey!" complained March. "We were also fighting too!"

"But he was the one to stand by my side" pointed out Stelle.

"But-"

"March" intervened Dan Heng. "No one is disregarding your help. You saved a lot of lives with your shields, I picked up the wounded, Himeko stood ready to attack and Welt was key in the last moment."

"Hmm" March calmed down a bit hearing Dan Heng.

"But in the end, only 2 people fought head-on against that strange thing" continued Dan Heng. "I have no clue how they did it, but they lasted for a long time against that thing even while they were alone. Even if they weren't the only ones fighting, they were indeed the only ones next to each other."

"Oh, I see" mused March, looking at Stelle and Keith. "By the way, how did you do it?"

"With a lot of pain" replied Keith with a grimace.

"Oh, yeah" said an awkward March, a cold shiver passing through her spine. "I heard your bones snapping a few times."

"Urg" Stelle grimaced, remembering how horrible Keith's state was when she rushed to help him.

"Are you immortal?" asked March with shining eyes.

"No idea" replied Keith with a frown. "But I don't want to find out. Also, being immortal isn't that cool, probably. And lastly, just so you don't get any 'fun' ideas, I normally can't regenerate, it was a special thing that put me in danger."

"Oh" said a disappointed March.

"Also, even if I can regenerate, the pain I feel is the same you do" added Keith, making March look at him with a bit of horror. "But enough about me, or my ego will skyrocket. Mind telling us why your name is a date?"

"Hehe, Himeko gave me that name" said the happy March 7th. "She found a block of ice outside her window, so she gave me the name of the date she found me."

Stelle and Keith deadpanned at Himeko, who only sipped her coffee calmly.

"Really?" asked Stelle, looking dryly at the red-haired woman. "The date?"

"You chose Keith for me, why couldn't you give her a normal one?" asked Keith with more curiosity than wryness. "You even offered me what I later understood was a girl's name, Kiana, wasn't it?"

Welt choked a bit on his drink, but everyone ignored him.

'I didn't expect to hear that name even here' he mused, wondering what had happened to the brave girl in his original world.

"I like my name a lot!" said March showing a big smile at Himeko.

"And yet, your name is a date" argued Keith with a pointed look. "Look, if you get offended by my words, it means you also don't like it."

"Leave March alone, Keith, she likes it," scolded Himeko, even though Keith noticed her trying to change topics.

"I think someone is trying to change topics" commented Stelle, keen as always, looking at Himeko. "Still, you look like the character from a book I read this morning."

"I do?" asked an equally surprised and intrigued March.

"You know, a mysterious girl, with strange powers" started Stelle with a hand in her chin. "Floating in space where nothing should survive, without memories, and an unknown past."

"That's a protagonist's recipe" commented Keith. "One that will pass through the eras known as the one whose name was a date."

"Hmpf, let it go already" pouted March 7th, once again, MARCH 7th, making Keith raise his hand in defeat, and looked at Dan Heng.

"Dan Heng" was all the quiet black-haired boy said.

March sighed, feeling quite exhausted by the whole conversation.

"He is Dan Heng, likes to train and read, so he doesn't leave his room often" said March, making Dan Heng nod.

"I am Himeko, the owner of the Astral Express" said the red-haired woman with a nod and a small smile. "It's a pleasure to have you 2 on board."

"She likes coffee above all things" said Keith looking at Stelle. "And has a chronic wanderlust nothing can ever cure."

Himeko only smiled in response, tacitly admitting it.

"I am Welt Yang" said the brown-haired man with glasses and an unchanging serene expression. "I worked as an animator until Himeko found me and extended an offer to board the Astral Express."

"Keith" the purple-haired man introduced himself. "Once a mere soul, Himeko picked me up and helped me a bit until I got kidnapped by a group of bad people."

"...." both Himeko and Welt looked dryly at Keith, who had categorically refused to refer to said people as 'bad', but March looked with astonishment at Keith.

"You were kidnapped?!" she asked, while Stelle also looked at Keith with surprise.

"Yup" nodded Keith. "But later we turned into good friends, so it was alright. Your turn, Galactic Batter."

"Hm, I like how that sounds" mused Stelle with a pondering expression. "I'm Stelle, that's all I can say for now, I lost my memories, but I hope to someday regain them."

And Keith grimaced a bit hearing that, as he was relatively sure it wouldn't be possible.

At least for a long while.

Who could affirm something in this world where the impossible didn't exist?

--------------------------------------------------------------

"We got a signal from Hesta's Space Station" said Himeko after a few hours in which they had been talking non-stop. "We can visit to refuel, and think about our next destination."

"Perfect" said Keith standing up. "I always had a few words to say to Herta."

"Keith, don't cause trouble" warned Himeko with a solemn voice.

"Do you really think anything I will say will matter to Herta?" asked Keith, making Himeko think about it. "She will just ignore me, as she does with everything else that isn't her Simulated whatever and her crystal."

"You had to say it that way..." sighed Dan Heng, realizing that the newest addition to the crew was a bit... unhinged.

"And how do you know about her Simulated Universe?" asked Himeko curiously. "It's still a guarded secret, and I only know because I was tasked with collecting a few materials for it."

"In the group of not-so-bad kidnappers, one crazy scientist particip-" but suddenly, Keith paled and stopped talking.

Because a dreadful thought had appeared in his head.

"Oh shit" he whispered, making the rest look at him with curiosity. "I didn't tell her I would stay here."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Can someone help me?" asked the deadpanning Blade, blocking a door being banged from the other side with such strength that even he struggled to keep shut.

ROAAAAR!

Silverwolf looked blankly at the scene of Blade struggling to keep a colossal door closed, and promptly turned around to leave.

BANG!!

Blade got thrown backwards, but he immediately stood up and blocked the door with his body before it could be blasted off its hinges.

And yet, a small gap appeared, from where a ferocious maw drooling acidic saliva that melted the floor was barely seen, along with 4 pairs of red eyes shining with pure malice.

With another strong impact, Blade was thrown away again, but the door didn't open.

Only because a tall white armour, with streams of fire coming from its boots crashed into the door, keeping it shut.

Between SAM and Blade, they were able to keep the door shut.

At least for now.

"I didn't see this coming" muttered a discombobulated voice, revealing that Elio was also present.

But then, after being notified by Silverworlf, a purple-haired woman arrived, her pink eyes taking over the scene in front of her.

"So she went mad in the end" commented Kafka with a raised eyebrow, looking at the 2 people struggling to keep the ravenous beast on the other side of the door.

"Can't you help?" asked Blade, with an unchanging dead expression on his face.

"Can't you kill that?" asked back Kafka with a cold smile. "In a straight fight, nothing can outlast you."

"Unfortuna- BANG, unfortunately for me, I can't beat that" replied Blade blankly, struggling to hold the beast from breaking through.

"Ruan Mei used Keith's blood to erode the rules of an Emanator of the Propagation" explained Elio, making Kafka's eyebrows slightly rise. "It didn't disappear as soon as it was expected to, and Ruan Mei is forcing it to open a path for her to go to the Astral Express."

"No matter how much I slash that" explained Blade, still with a deadpan expression, pushing the door as strongly as he could. "More and more bugs appear."

ROAAAAAR!

With another mighty roar, and another collision, the door simply broke down, and the Swarm invaded the Stellaron Hunter's base, in the form of a myriad of bugs that didn't stop endlessly multiplying themselves.

Even if Keith was in the centre of the storm, the Stellaron Hunters also had it hard.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well" Keith shrugged. "A problem for future Keith."

"So that also hasn't changed a bit" sighed Himeko.

"Future Keith?" asked curiously March, leaning forward, sensing a treasure that might make her life a bit brighter being mentioned in front of her.

"You see-"

"Keith, we don't need a future March appearing" said Himeko with a stern voice.

"A pity for you then" replied Keith, looking pityingly at March, who would miss one of the best life cheats.

Welt only looked from the side, realizing that their adventures would get a lot rowdier.