"Mr. Isak... Are you alright?"
"Hm? Yeah, of course. Why do you ask?"
"Erm... Well..."
In Nasha Town, a Fatui soldier under The Captain accompanied Isaac, when the two of them suddenly stopped to sit down and drink.
Looking at the young man in front of him, the Fatui soldier cleared his throat. "It's just that... the one you're drinking... That's a firewater straight from Snezhnaya."
"It is quite strong, and isn't typically recommended for people with... simpler gustation."
Indeed, on Isaac's hand was a glass of clear liquid, one that he specifically asked for when they sat down at the bar.
Naturally, Isaac already knew this. It was a drink that he already knew beforehand, due to its cultural relevance.
It was vodka.
He then smiled ever so slightly before replying with his usual cheeky manner, "That's true, but it's also the reason why I picked it."
"Come, comrade, drink one with me."
"...I'll always gladly have a go, but it's still early in the morning..." The soldier mumbled.
Isaac smirked. "And? Come on, it's fine. Just one glass cup, eh?"
The soldier hesitated briefly, looking back and forth between the glass cup and Isaac for a while, before sighing. He then sat down and took the glass.
The two of them, wordlessly, clicked their glasses together before drinking them at the same time in one go.
- Thud!
Both of them placed their cups down the counter with a thud and remained still for a few moments. But soon, a mellowed chuckle escaped from Isaac's lips.
"Aha... I love it. It hits just the spot."
Instead of looking tipsy for immediately downing a whole shot of glass in one go, Isaac instead looked more alive. It was as if that shot had cleared away his usual nonchalance and replaced it with his more unrestrained side, albeit still on the cautionary side.
The Fatui soldier beside him, meanwhile, swayed to the sides for a bit before supporting his head on the counter.
"Cyk... That was a bad decision..."
Hearing this, Isaac pat him on the shoulders. "Haha, look alive, comrade. Surely you aren't done with just one shot?"
The soldier then turned to look at him, and with a somewhat slurry voice, asked with curiosity. "Why... did you even want to drink... in the morning?"
Isaac hummed for a moment, taking his moment to enjoy the aftertaste of the shot, before gazing somewhere else.
Then, with a somewhat adrift voice, he responded.
"Why not? It feels great in this cold weather, and its effects let me loosen up my head."
"I... I didn't take you for a drunkard, Mr. Isak."
"Me? No, no. I'm just a connoisseur. I don't get lost in alcohol that easily, you know? I just do this occasionally just for the love of the game, that's all."
"That's what all drunkards say..." The soldier grumbled.
Isaac laughed. "To each their own, my friend."
With that said, Isaak took another sip, letting the liquid go down his throat in a single sip.
And seeing how he was still drinking, the Fatui soldier didn't miss out and also took another shot.
They both drank a few more shots, before the soldier finally reached his limits and felt dizzy, his head falling on to the counter.
Isaac, meanwhile, remained smiling as he drank, widening with each sip and taste of the liquid that felt like it was burning his throat as it went down.
Noticing his drinking buddy about to pass out, he laughed once more. "Oh? Passing out already? We're only at our fourth shot! Surely you could take more than this, yeah?"
No answer.
"Wait... Did you already pass out?"
Judging by how there was still no answer, Isaac figured that that might have been the case.
Realizing this, he sighed. "Bummer."
As he continued to sit there, now alone without his drinking buddy, Isaac didn't know how to pass the time and drink more. He still wasn't drunk, but he was for sure tipsy.
As he held his glass in silence, he couldn't help but go back to his drinking buddy's question, about why he was drinking so early in the morning.
Isaac was never like this, of course.
Sure, he might have dabbled in alcohol in the past, but those were just wines with low alcohol content. In contrast to the one he was currently drinking, the difference was night and day.
But it didn't change the fact that his tolerance for them was surprisingly high, making it a fun little trick for him to use.
As such, to really feel the effects of alcohol, he needed something like firewater from Snezhnaya to quickly get there.
Isaac knew that when you immediately down a shot of alcohol in one go, on an empty stomach, without any ice, the effects set in much faster than ever. With this knowledge, he used it to his advantage.
As for why? Well...
"This is one weird training..." He mumbled under his breath as he held another shot up his mouth. "What exactly am I supposed to learn by getting drunk?"
Indeed, this was another trial given to him by The Captain, one where he needed to loosen up his mind.
By the end of it, he was supposed to get something, according to The Captain. However...
"I wonder what I'd get first, though? Alcoholism or liver failure?" He mused. He then cradled his cup before raising it. "Well, let's find out then."
And with that, he continued to down more shots.
Normally, four to six shots of this liquor was enough to knock anyone out. A bit more if you're a seasoned drinker.
And so, to not get fully drunk, Isaac was limiting himself to five, where he was in the boundary of tipsiness.
Sure enough, that fifth shot immediately hit him like a truck.
Amidst his muddled sensations, Isaac's memories started going back to Fontaine, to his café, to his friends, and to his lover.
He wondered what they were doing right now, and if they were facing any kind of trouble at all. He wondered if they missed the café as much as he did, and wondered if they were worried about him.
He wondered if Furina was getting her sufficiently balanced diet, if the House of the Hearth siblings were practicing well, if Navia was doing well with her commissions, if Wriothesley has enough tea packs until his return, and many other things.
He cared too much for these people, and wanted to help them in any way. But with his current circumstances, he could only remember them by memory.
"...this is hard." Isaac muttered under his breath. "But it's still much better than being chained for days."
With that said, his smile slowly faded as his mind continued to drift, thinking about the connections he made so far.
It was only then did he realize what the whole point of this trail was, set up by The Captain.
"This... This is about clarity... isn't it?"
"That even in times when you can't focus, in times when your mind itself is slowed down, the only thing in your mind is your goal."
It took him fairly a while to figure it out, bu in the end, he was left with a throbbing headache as he resisted the dizziness.
"Seems a bit... ostentatious, though."
With that said, he picked up another shot and downed it one go.
---
A few hours later.
Isaac, looking much grimmer than he did this morning, walked towards the figure of The Captain standing and gazing at Hisii Island.
"Are you done with testing your clarity?" He asked without looking at Isaac. "How was it?"
"I won't say that what I did was a pleasant experience..." Isaac grimaced. "But it certainly was a fast way to recognize the trial."
He then placed his hand on his stomach. "I'm never drinking again in the near future..."
The Captain nodded, ignoring his later remark. Then, turning to look at Hisii Island once more, he spoke without looking at Isaac.
"In your first trial, I've tested your tenacity, and in the second, your clarity." He said with his usual even and stoic tone. "These two are essential components that make up an unshakeable resolve, one that can challenge the heavens itself when honed to mastery."
At last, The Captain turned. Although his face was still obscured behind his helmet, Isaac was sure that he was peering not at his body but into the very marrow of his soul.
"But remember this, Isak. Mere words cannot carry you there. To speak of resolve is simple, but to live it is another matter entirely."
"A true resolve is not proven in ease, nor in fleeting moments of strength. It is forged in moments where sight is stripped away, when exhaustion weighs heavier than iron, when despair gnaws at the will until nothing seems left. It is there, in blindness, in weariness, in hopelessness, in the face of death itself, that resolve either crumbles… or becomes something unyielding."
His voice hardened, carrying with them the weight of long scars and bitter acceptance. "To have a resolve unmatched is to be willing, no, to desire to defy all that would strip it from you. Heaven, fate, the cruelty of life itself. Such a resolve is no boast. It is the flame that remains when everything else has been taken."
For a moment, silence hung between them, broken only by the hiss of the sea wind brushing against the rocks. Then The Captain's voice lowered, grim yet steady.
"And you, Isak… even with your will blazing bright, your mind alone is not enough. Resolve cannot exist in thought alone. It must live through action, through blood, through the body that acts upon it."
The Captain then raised his arm, palm outstretched. Cryo particles gathered in the air around him, particles of ice dancing in a sudden chill before coalescing, stretching, and hardening into the form of a long frozen blade, its surface gleaming with a sharp sheen, mist curling from its edge.
'No way...' Isaac's heart skipped a beat as he saw what The Captain was doing. 'Hes not gonna...'
He feared what was about to happen.
With a quick motion, The Captain then drove the frost-forged blade into the ground between them, the sound sharp and final against the stone. He then gestured at Isaac.
"Come at me."
And with that, Isaac was now facing the First of the Fatui Harbingers.
Thrain, the Sentinel Knight.
* * *
A/N:
> Insert boss battle health bar