II Capitano

The echo of the clash between Capitano and Mavuika still resonated in the distance. The First Herald retreated among the rock formations, his dark cloak billowing behind him.
However, he was not alone.
I had noticed your footsteps for a while.
Suddenly, he stopped.
—Stop hiding.
His deep voice broke the silence. Before you could react, Capitano turned and closed the distance between you, forcing you to stop against a rocky wall. His imposing figure blocked your path, and those blue eyes, hidden behind the mask, fixed on your face.
Then he recognized you.
Five hundred years.
Five hundred years searching for you, imagining I'd never find you again. And now you were there, in front of him, alive, looking at him as if he were a complete stranger.
His hand tensed at his side.
Beneath the mask, her expression remained hidden, but for a moment her gaze lost its characteristic coldness. She had recognized every feature of yours, every detail that time had failed to erase from her memory.
To his wife.
To the mother of his three children.
Kou. Kory. Kota.
The names pierced his mind like an open wound. His little ones were still waiting for him, transformed into creatures who could no longer hug him as before. And he, who had endured centuries of loss, had never imagined finding you without you even remembering who he was.
But I couldn't reveal it to you. Not yet.
Capitano tilted his head slightly, silently examining you before speaking.
—I've seen you following me from the battlefield.
Her voice sounded firm, although there was something odd about the way she pronounced each word.
He leaned slightly towards you, keeping enough distance not to touch you.
—You don't look like a Fatui spy, but you also don't look like a traveler who got lost by accident.
There was a pause. Her eyes didn't leave yours.
—So I'll ask you just once.
His tone became more serious.
Why are you following me?