Chapter Text
Crepus didn’t know how long he had been there, floating aimlessly in the inky black abyss. The only thing he could see was his own limbs. He didn’t need to breathe here, didn’t need to hear, didn’t need to smell. All he had known for so long was this strange place that seemed to defy all laws that Teyvat had.
The last thing he remembered was using his Delusion against Ursa to protect his son. He felt the Delusion’s power course through his body, driving Ursa away. Then…. Nothing, like he had passed out or worse from using it.
There had always been a possibility of this happening. Hell, he was informed of it when he received the delusion. Using it made him dizzy sure, but never made him… faint. Crepus didn’t even know that much, whether he was dead or stuck in a coma that is, nothing made sense.
“There you are! You are quite the difficult soul to track down!” The cheery voice echoed from all around Crepus.
Crepus jumped at the sudden noise. It had been so long since he heard something besides himself. He wasn’t even sure he could talk anymore, though he still had to try.
“Whose there?” Crepus managed to call out, his voice rough from disuse.
Suddenly a small blue and white spirit appeared in front of him. It was blinding for Crepus, having only seen the inky black of this place for Archons know how long. Its white eyes were curled up in a smile as it looked at him, floating around him with surprising ease.
The wisp hummed a tune in lue of answering, “None the worse for wear either! Surprising, given your… liberal use of that Delusion,”
Crepus frowned at the creature. It knew too much about him to be a coincidence. Not even his closest advisors knew about it. Though after what happened with Ursa, Crepus doubted that it was a secret any longer.
“Just what are you?” Crepus tried again, trying and failing to keep up with the wisp.
“Not what am I, but who,” The black that was under its little hood was darker than the rest of this place, it sounded like it was enjoying this, “Go on, Guess,”
Crepus thought for only a moment, “Are you… Lord Barbatos?”
The whisp’s wings fluttered happily, “Ding ding ding! Correct and on the first try! It's no wonder you helped found Teyvat’s most renowned Winery!”
“Erm-” Crepus coughed, this was the infamous Anemo Archon? “Is there something I can help you with?”
“ Actually there is!” The god got closer to Crepus’s face, “How would you like another chance at life?”
“I’m dead?” Unsurprisingly this was the part that Crepus focused on, yet it was oddly cathartic hearing it.
It was a relief to finally know if he was dead. What was a surprise was how Lord Barbatos mentioned it so casually. Just how long had he been dead for?
“Corrrect!” The Anemo Archon floated away from his face, “Though you already knew that didn’t you? Been four years and some change since your encounter with Ursa The Drake,”
If Crepus could have gone pale he would have, “Four years?! What- What has happened?! Are my sons okay?!”
“Relax,” Barbatos sighed in mock disappointment, “So high strung. Your sons are alive and healthy, even if they fly in different directions and flocks now,”
The Archon’s words did not ease Crepus’s worry, “What do you mean?”
“What else could I mean? Feathers flew, fire roared, and ice grew,” Barbatos seemed to shrug, “Now what do you say? Want another chance?”
All Crepus wanted to do was say yes, to get out of this place, to see his sons again. Barbatos’s words only made worry more, the two were practically inseparable last Crepus knew. It would’ve taken something far more drastic than his death to split them up so irreparably. Yet this was all too convenient for Crepus.
“...What’s the catch?” Crepus asked after a moment, his red eyes narrowing at the small form.
The god giggled, floating upside down, “You wound me! But yes I suppose there is a slight catch to all of this. That being you won’t be recognized, at least not at first,”
“How? Why are you even doing this?” Crepus felt even more lost than before, was life and death for this god such a trivial thing?
“You’ve been dead for some time, connections that tether one’s soul to the leylines slowly disappear after one's death. That and the use of that Delusion made your soul stay in Limbo rather than traveling with my wind into the afterlife, you have to reestablish that connection once more. As for why I am doing this?” The god tilted his head, going back to upright, “It’s my job to help children of Mondstat! And this is like hitting two birds with one stone!”
“So I need to reestablish my relationships? And what do you mean by a ‘two for one special’?” Crepus asked, quickly adding, “Not that I am ungrateful or anything, it is just odd that now of all times you show up,”
“So suspicious, just like your son, but yes that’s what you would need to do,” An apple formed in front of the Archon, “So? What do you say? Want another chance?”
Crepus silently watched as the apple floated forward and into his hands. There had to be some catch that Barbatos wasn’t saying, it was too good to be true. Yet all of the questions died as soon as he thought them.
This was his only chance to see his sons again. To see what they look like fully grown and see their accomplishments first hand. That by itself was worth any hidden catch that could be thrown at him. So he slowly raised the apple to his mouth, surprised that he could actually smell it.
Finally he took a hesitant bite, and the world went white. The last thing he could see was Lord Barbatos’s form fading out with him. Laughter ringing in the air.