What were his parents up to? His younger sister? Even before this, aside from phone calls, he couldn't say he saw them much. Knowing them, they were probably fine. His parents were likely arguing over whatever they happened to see on the news while his sister ran about doing whatever she pleased with all that energy she always had. By now his mother had probably sent tons of old posts she thought were funny to his phone. He'd never responded to them.
Now he couldn't.
And his friends? James was probably still busy with work and his kid. Nick was no doubt locked up in his room, watching anime, playing games, and putting off any work until the very last second.
He wouldn't be spending anymore nights talking trash over microphones and gaming what little free time they had away.
And his classes. Did anyone in them realize he was missing? Doubtful; after high school his circle of friends hadn't exactly grown. There were passing acquaintances but none he talked to outside of classrooms and lecture halls.
Whether or not he was present wouldn't make a difference for any of them.
Vincent sighed and pulled himself up, glancing around the darkened room. Despite his soreness, sleep didn't see fit to take him as it did the others, the other crew members in the room sound asleep in their beds.
Sitting around wasn't going to change that.
He stood and, after a moment of thought, grabbed the sword hung on the ship's wall by its buckling beside him. He toed his way out of the room and through the swaying halls, heading up to the ship's deck.
During the day, the endless crystal-clear waters and bright skies induced a sense of innocent wonder. Just how big was the world? What was in this or that direction? What did the odd island they passed hold? Those sort of thoughts were common.
Now, in the dead of night, that wonder, while not completely lost, was joined by something else. The sparkling stars above worked alongside the moon to decorate the dark skies and provide them a small measure of light. Still, there was a certain…fear brought about by looking out at the darkness around them.
The sea was like an abyss, consuming anything that fell beneath its surface. Even with those on the night crew going about their work across the deck, he felt alone in the darkness. It was all as foreboding as it was beautiful.
Nodding to the few who paid him any mind, the crew sparse in numbers compared to the day, he found himself a spot out of the way and near the front of the ship, then began to unsheathe his sword.
A glint ran along the silver blade's cold steel as he freed it and held it up before him. It felt…natural in his hands. Like holding it had filled a void he hadn't even realized existed all this time.
He swung.
Using it felt as natural as holding it. Hearing that faint whip as he cut through the air felt familiar. Before he knew it, he found himself performing more swings.
Swinging the blade was like slipping back in an old habit. No-lifing games after months of being too busy with work and school. Picking up an old workout he dropped out of laziness. Trying to pluck a tune on his old guitar. Or even finding himself opening one of countless apps he could doom scroll on after unlocking his phone despite doing his best not to.
There was a bit more to it than any of those though. He could tell that the sword was lighter than what he was used to. He'd never swung one before and yet he knew that a much longer sword would be far more suited to the motions he was going through.
No…not him.
Vincent sighed, slowing his swings, soreness returning in full force. He returned the blade to its sheath, holding it loosely by its buckling as he found himself leaning against the ship's edge.
This really wasn't his body.
Not his life.
Not his anything.
And it wasn't some dream; no matter how much pain he subjected himself to, no matter how much time passed, no matter what he did, this whole thing wasn't coming to an end. And it didn't look like it would anytime soon.
"What do you see?" Beidou's voice, something that'd become familiar, came from behind.
"What?" He questions as she took up a spot along the railings not far from him.
"What do you see, out there, beyond this ship?"
Darkened waters shifting about. A star lit sky. Darkness…but beyond all that? Teyvat. A world, at one point no more than a game to him, inexplicably made reality.
"Water." He answered numbly.
"I know each and every one of my men. What drove them to join me. Why they stay. Some told me outright but most I came to understand through time and effort." Beidou began. "I might be two for three when it comes to you, but I've gotten good enough at reading others to have a handle on the kind of person you are."
"Yeah?" He questioned, glancing her way. Impressive as she was, he sincerely doubted that. How could she hope to understand him?
"You're the sort to overthink, I could tell that from our first bout. When you're not putting yourself through the paces, you're living in that head of yours." Beidou said and…well, he couldn't refute that. It's what brought him up here in the dead of night. "Now look out there, really look out there, and give me a real answer."
Vincent looked back out to the dark waters.
He'd played Genshin right up until the end of his high school days. To an unhealthy degree, most content completely as soon as it dropped, other responsibilities be damned. By the time he graduated and got too busy to play games to such an extent, it'd only just got up to Inazuma.
What did the nations beyond those in the game look like? What were the archons like? Their people?
There were so many unknowns. Mysteries that could very well now be solved if this was his reality without waiting on some update.
"A whole new world." He answered, the honest answer slipping free from him.
"And its all yours to make something of it." Beidou said without missing a beat. "You lost everything in a way few could ever understand. If that isn't worth shedding a few tears over, nothing is." Tears? What was she-
Something wet hit the back of the hand he placed on the railing. Then another. HE reached up, wiping the warm liquid dripping down his cheeks. When had he-
"But that also means you've got everything to gain, kid. Try to think more on that sometime." Beidou said, pushing off the railings while he blinked away the rest of the budding tears before they got the chance to fall.
Beidou…she, she really was something else.
"W-wait." He called out as she stepped away and there paused, waiting patiently.
He should tell her his name. He couldn't tell the whole truth, but that little bit wasn't much. But…
"Thank you. For everything." He said.
"Thank me with a drink when we get to Liyue." She said, waving off the thanks as she headed off.
A single hand wrapped around his eyes, Vincent, for the first time in who knows how long, didn't fight the incoming tears.
He'd lost in the blink of an eye.
A cold truth he needed to face.