Kaeya reached the house after a short walk through the quiet streets. A soft glow came from the windows—lamplight, steady and warm against the dark. Just outside, sitting neatly on a small wooden step, was a girl in bright pink. Blonde hair, a doll-like expression, and butterfly like pattern in her eyes.
Beatrice.
He recognized her instantly—the great spirit he'd met during the breakfast on his first day at the mansion. That meant Subaru was likely inside. And if he had to guess, Emilia was probably tending to him.
Of course. Just perfect.
Kaeya slowed his pace without meaning to, his steps hesitating as he neared the gate. Even if it sounded pathetic, He was hesitant to talk with her, ignoring her and going in felt worse.
It's just a kid. Or, well... something that looks like one. I can manage a few words, right?
He stopped just short of the path to the door, shifting his weight slightly.
I doubt they need me in there right now anyway. Yeah. I'll come back later. No point crowding the place.
With that excuse firmly in his head, he turned around. It didn't feel particularly convincing, but it was easier than forcing a conversation he didn't want.
Still, the whole thing left a quiet, uncomfortable thought in the back of his mind.
Can't even say hello without tripping over myself. Pathetic.
He pushed the thought aside and kept walking, telling himself he would have probably done it if the situation really asked for it.
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Kaeya made the decision to return to the mansion that same night. The situation in the village seemed handled, and there was nothing more for him to do there—at least, that's what he told himself.
The road back was quiet, lit only by the pale glow of the moon overhead. Cool night air drifted through the trees as he walked, pace unhurried. Alone with the silence, his thoughts began to loop through the evening's events.
The fight with Elsa. The mage. His first kill.
He didn't know exactly how to feel about that—not yet. The mage had clearly been an enemy, someone dangerous. But the guilt of killing wasn't always tied to whether the person deserved it.
Strangely enough, he didn't feel guilty. Not really.
Maybe I've just gotten numb to it, he thought, though the thought didn't sit quite right. It wasn't apathy. It wasn't pride. But it gave him something to turn over in his head—a distraction.
Because the truth was, his mind kept circling something else entirely. A quiet doubt that he didn't want to name.
Should I have stayed a bit longer? Maybe made sure everything really was okay before walking away?
He frowned slightly, not breaking pace. He'd told himself there was no point in crowding the place. And maybe that was true. But the excuse had come a little too easily.
The way he'd turned around, just because Beatrice was sitting outside… The way he couldn't bring himself to speak. It had all felt so small. Pathetic, if he were being honest.
It felt like, in the midst of everything—Elsa, the children, whatever else might be coming—he was fretting over something so insignificant. And maybe that's what bothered him the most. Not the hesitation itself, but the fact that it managed to weigh on him at all.
A quiet sort of embarrassment crept in. He didn't want to face the fact that this was the thing tugging at his thoughts. So, he pushed it down—shoved it aside with something that, strangely, felt more manageable.
His mind returned to the fight. To that mage. The way it ended.
Uncomfortable, yes—but at least it didn't make him feel small.
Weird as it was, thinking about his first kill was... easier. Safer, in a way.
He let out a breath, steady but shallow.
He never saw himself as a particularly good person. That label always felt like something people gave each other to simplify things. And in his case, maybe thinking less of himself was just a mental trick—his mind casting him as the "main character" of his own story by painting him in darker shades.
He had a rule, a simple one.
Help when you can—but only if it doesn't cost you more than it should.
That was the line. He didn't feel noble about it, but he was honest with himself.
And if that meant killing someone who tried to harm him or others—he could do it. He wouldn't shy away from it.
But even so, he knew this much for certain: he never wanted to enjoy it. Not now, not later. Not even if it happened again and again.
The same way he didn't want to get used to walking away too easily.
His pace slowed for a moment, the gravel crunching softer underfoot.
Should I go back? Just make sure—?
He shook the thought off before it finished forming.
In the end, he kept walking. But the silence behind him felt heavier than before.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, he found himself cursing the absence of his earbuds and phone—anything to fill the silence that had started to feel a little too loud.
.
.
As Kaeya stepped through the quiet entrance hall of the mansion, the low light from a single wall sconce flickered against the stone. The silence didn't last long.
"Kaeya-sama."
The voice, soft but direct, came from the foot of the stairs.
He glanced over and met Ram's eyes.
Crap. He hadn't really planned for this part. Leaving the village without checking in fully—suddenly felt more reckless than efficient.
He gave a brief nod. "Everything's fine. The kids are safe. Subaru's hurt, but… Emilia and Beatrice are with him. He'll be okay."
Ram's expression didn't shift much, but her eyes sharpened just a bit. "What about Rem?"
Kaeya hesitated for just a beat too long.
"I didn't see her," he said finally. "She wasn't there when I arrived."
There was a faint flicker of something in Ram's eyes—concern, maybe—but she only gave a short nod in response. "I see."
The air between them thinned into silence.
It seemed she wanted to ask more questions. Maybe something like, Why didn't you stay and make sure the situation was alright before coming then?
And honestly if she asked something like that, He would want to dig a hole right there and jump right into it.
After a moment, he shifted his stance and gave a polite incline of his head. "I'm heading to sleep."
Ram gave a small nod. "Very well. Rest well, Kaeya-sama."
He climbed the stairs without looking back.
That could've gone worse, he thought, though the tightness in his chest suggested it could've gone better, too.
Inside his room, he closed the door behind him with a quiet click. The bed looked exactly as he'd left it, undisturbed and waiting. He sat on the edge for a moment, running a hand through his hair.
He lay back slowly, staring at the ceiling for a few seconds longer.
I'll check on things tomorrow, he told himself. Properly, this time.
With that flimsy reassurance, he let his eyes drift shut.
Sleep came without much resistance—but not without weight.
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Kaeya woke later than usual. The room was quiet, the sunlight already creeping past its peak as it filtered through the window. The silence stretched across the mansion.
No one was here.
Ram must've gone to the village, he thought, though that didn't come as a surprise.
He stood by the window for a while after getting freshing up, eyes scanning the distant tree line as if expecting to see someone walking back up the road.
Now... Should i go and check if things are fine or not?
The thought came uninvited, The idea of going back—of facing Subaru and Emilia again after just walking off the way he did—wasn't appealing, But he knew it wasn't a big issue either heck he doubted they would even seriously raise the question.
But what would I even do there? Hover around awkwardly?
His eyes narrowed slightly.
No… if something had gone wrong, Ram would've stayed behind. Or come back. Or someone would've sent word.
That was enough logic to cover up the nagging tug beneath it all.
He exhaled slowly and turned from the window.
Besides, I need to train.
Even he wasn't sure if that decision was purely practical, or if it was a way to avoid the strange discomfort that had followed him since last night. But it didn't matter. He didn't need to unpack all that right now.
He stepped out into the cool air of the forest behind the mansion.
Fifty identical figures materialized in a neat row before him, forming with the soft hum of magic.
After mastering Zoltraak and developing Ul Zoltraak, Kaeya had set his sights on the next stage—the one he'd been planning from the beginning: Al Zoltraak.
The theory was ambitious. By combining fire and water magic to generate storm clouds, and merging wind and earth magic to create a natural conduit, it should be possible to channel lightning itself. Actual high-energy discharge—lightning strikes from above, electrically charged weapons, and field manipulation through magnetic influence.
If successful, it wouldn't just be powerful—it would be versatile. And dangerous.
The clones got to work immediately.
Kaeya stepped back, and sat below the shade of a tree.
Let's see how much time it takes for me to perfect Al Zoltraak.
.
.
Kaeya had been sitting under the shade of a tree for nearly an hour now. His clones were still hard at work, the spell development progressing steadily, but Al Zoltraak was complex, and progress was slow. The constant low rumble of thunder from their testing didn't help his attempts to rest either.
So much for peace and quiet.
He pushed himself up with a sigh.
Now that I think about it, I haven't been training my body at all. The realization hit as he stretched lazily.
Guess that should change, huh?
Magic was one half of it—but keeping his physical edge sharp mattered just as much. With that, he made up his mind. From now on, physical training would be part of his routine. Plus, with healing magic at his disposal, he could push his limits without worrying about long breaks. It would even help him refine his healing skills—something he'd struggled to practice without a conveniently injured subject.
He started jogging, setting a pace that felt natural for his body—but by Earth standards, he was already faster than an Olympic sprinter. The ground blurred beneath his feet as he circled the area where his clones were working. Twenty laps later—each covering nearly two kilometers—he finally slowed to a stop, only slightly winded.
That's... both good and bad.
His endurance was impressive, sure. But it meant the training wasn't doing much. He needed more strain.
One way to increase the strain was with a spell called Vita—designed to multiply gravity's pull on the body. He'd seen it in Roswaal's library, but he'd been too caught up with other spells to prioritize it at the time.
Roswall was the greatest mage in the kingdom and so his library contained a lot of spells. That was quite overwhelming for Kaeya, since he couldn't decide how to go about learning all of the spells in the library for maximum benefit of his wish. And so, he had decided to start with the most important stuff first.
Maybe I should send a clone to grab that book...
He could still create more clones but, He didn't want to strain himself too much with Al Zoltraak and thats why only fifty clones were tasked to work on it.
Nevermind i will do that some other time then.
So, Physical training's a no-go for now... then what else?
There were two things that came to mind: Akra and the Flow Method.
If learned properly Flow method could increase overall physical stats so it was a good spell to work on.
But again, he didn't need to do it himself.
He formed ten more clones with a flick of his hand and gave them instructions to train the Flow Method.
As the clones left to train in a better place, Kaeya was once again standing in the middle of nowhere and the same issue came crawling back to him.
Wait, what the fuck? I am jobless once again...He blinked, What am i supposed to do now that the clones can train flow method?!
From his past life Kaeya had learned a lesson to always think of the fastest, easiest and most efficient way of finishing a task before doing it.
Not because he was lazy, but because time was valuable.... Nevermind, He was lazy too.
Even if he sometimes forget to abide by his rule, he uses it most of the time he remeberes.
And now that the clones were working on flow method, Kaeya now had an excuse to not work on it.
Which meant… he was free.
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Thanks for reading the chapter.
What do you think of Kaeya's persnality till now? I'd love to hear your thoughts on his character. How do you feel about him as a person at this point?
Also, How do you think his relations are with the people around him and how would they build up in the future?
Looking ahead, how do you think Kaeya's role will unfold in the future conflicts, do you think Kaeya's current strength level is too much, and he will just breeze through Subaru's problems?
Now, about the decision to have Kaeya leave the village—I'm curious about what you all think. Was it an understandable choice on his part, or do you see it as a way to remove him from Rem's berserk state part? I have my reasons behind it, but I'll leave it up to you to interpret as you see fit.
Your feedback is everything to me, and it really helps drive me to write faster and keep pushing forward with the story (Yeah me saying this with no hesitation after taking like a month long break for no reason.) So, feel free to comment, even if it's bit of a ramble—anything you feel about the chapter, i would love to read it!
I'll see you in the next chapter! :)