Chapter Text
wuwang hill is basked in moonlight when he reaches it. the locals of qingce village have informed diluc that the inhabitants of wuwang hill prefer to roam at night. he doesn’t believe that he would find kaeya there. no, of course not. but the dead may offer him information that the living cannot.
as he walks past trees and abandoned houses, he hears voices that are too low for him to recognise. slowly, he makes his way towards the people he heard talking and when he finally reaches them, the uncrowned king of mondstadt could only stop in shock, his red gaze falling to two translucent figures: a girl with blossom eyes and long hair that he doesn’t recognise and…
…and his baby brother.
diluc’s breath hitches and the two figures stop talking to look at the newcomer. kaeya’s one eye widens at the sight of him before whispering to the girl next to him. the girl only nods before standing up. before she walks away, however, she gives diluc a look and in a soft whisper, tells him “please don’t make it harder for him to move on.”
hu tao walks away, leaving the two brothers alone in silence. when it’s obvious that diluc isn’t going to make the first move, kaeya stands up and dusts his trousers.
“this is a pleasant surprise. i didn’t think i’d see you here, master diluc. what brings you to this part of teyvat?” kaeya asks with his usual swagger. the hands on his sides automatically clench into fists as his jaw tries to give a respond to this… spectre.
no. this isn’t kaeya. this is just a hallucination. because if it is kaeya… if it is his baby brother… then doesn’t that mean…?
he shakes his head and summons wolf’s gravestone, white-hot anger surging through his body at this impostor who dares try to take on the likeness of his brother. the figure in front of him could only smile and raise his arms in surrender.
“it seems not even death can stop you from hating me, master diluc. alas, you are too late. if you wish to kill me, then i’m afraid the abyss had already beaten you to it.” the tint of bitterness from the spectre’s voice makes the redhead stop.
“what are you talking about?” he demands. “kaeya” tilts his head to the side.
“why, isn’t it obvious? i’m already dead. i believe i’ve been dead for ten months now.”
diluc shakes his head adamantly, his grip on the weapon tightening. “liar. now show me what you really look like.”
“whatever do you mean, master diluc? this is what i look like.” the spectre pauses, then lets out a chuckle. “i see. then i’m afraid i’m going to have to disappoint you one last time. you see, i never became a monster like you thought i would. i died a human. it was the one thing i was allowed to have at the end.”
“kaeya” laughs that self-deprecating laugh he last heard when they fought and he almost took his life. diluc’s arms feel weak. wolf’s gravestone disappears in a flash as his hands fall to his side and horror takes its place, the reality finally sinking in all too late.
the reality that he didn’t want to accept.
kaeya is dead.
his baby brother is gone.
his knees tremble as he closes the distance between them, an arm reaching out but touching nothing but cold air. kaeya, his brother, watches him with a mildly confused expression.
finally, diluc lets out a sob.
“i looked everywhere for you.”
kaeya’s eye widens. he looks to the side, suddenly finding it difficult to look at diluc. “did you, really?”
diluc nods. “you were just… just gone and nobody knew… where you went… we all thought…” the darknight hero takes hu tao’s spot as he sits down, his legs no longer having the power to carry his weight. gently, his brother sits beside him.
“i didn’t think you’d care, to be very honest,” kaeya tells him, his voice soft, softer than diluc has ever heard in his entire life. “i thought this would be for the best. you told me that i was no longer your brother. don’t you remember?”
diluc looks up at kaeya with tear-stained cheeks. the corporeal figure, on the other hand, focused on the hands resting on his thighs. even translucent, diluc could see the tears staining the captain’s glove.
“i wanted to apologise before i left but i was afraid of your reaction. in the end, i am nothing but a coward. i thought i would have to stay here, in limbo, forever, with nothing but regrets gnawing at me because i failed to tell my brother how sorry i am for ruining his life.” kaeya clenches his fists. diluc shakes his head, his arms wishing he could wrap them around his brother.
“i don’t deserve your apology. i ruined both of our lives that night.” he doesn’t say anything more, feeling that whatever else he adds would only sound like an excuse. he did what he did and they both suffered for it. instead, he wanted to look forward into the future.
“i thought we had more time. i was too optimistic. i apologise, kae. if i hadn’t been too stubborn… then we wouldn’t have ended like this.”
his brother shakes his head and gives him a genuine smile (when was the last time he has seen such a smile on his brother’s face? it has been too long. he will always regret taking that away).
“it’s alright. this is more than enough.” kaeya reaches out to pat diluc on the head. where there should be warmth, diluc could only feel the cold. “i’m khaenri’ahn. sooner or later my heritage will come back to haunt me.”
kaeya stands up and turns towards his direction.
“but thank you, luc, for accepting me into your family. thank you for making me your little brother, even if only for a little while. i treasure all of the times we were happy together. and thank you for forgiving me and making me feel like i have a family again,” he pauses, and then that familiar little smirk makes its way back to his face. “at least for a little while anyway.”
diluc stands up abruptly. he takes a step towards kaeya. why does it sound like his brother is saying good-bye? no, surely not yet? they haven’t even spoken much. does kaeya wish to part from him as soon as possible? has he hurt his little brother that much?
“kaeya, i-”
light shimmers around kaeya, hugging his figure. diluc is blinded for a second but he doesn’t want to close his eyes.
“i love you, luc. when i see father, i’ll have lots of stories to tell him. but don’t try to follow us too soon, do you hear? you don’t want to leave addie and elzer and the rest, do you?”
even through the bright light diluc could make out the tears that stain the cavalry captain’s cheeks. “and thank you… for looking for me. your journey is over. you can rest now. i’m sorry it wasn’t the conclusion you wanted though.”
the light envelopes kaeya’s entire figure and diluc knows he has no more time left to speak, to apologise, to tell his brother everything he wanted to tell him ever since that fateful night. so instead, he summarises everything into five words that he hopes reaches his little brother.
“i love you too, kaeya.”
the light begins to glow too bright that diluc has no choice but to close his eyes. when he opens them again, kaeya is gone.
the girl comes back and takes his brother’s place, a small smile on her lips.
“thank you. if you hadn’t come, i wouldn’t know what to do. he was… one difficult customer.”
despite the sadness and pain, the darknight hero couldn’t help barking out a short laugh at the girl’s remark.
“kaeya would always make things harder to those around him.”
the girl nods.
“don’t worry. your final words have been conveyed to him. he is at peace now.”
diluc can only give the girl a small nod in thanks and the girl vanishes, leaving him in the dark night of wuwang hill. but while his heart is still heavy, his soul now feels lighter. he was able to tell his baby brother that he loves him. he should be content with that.
the master of dawn winery sighs. now his journey has reached its end. it's time to go back home. to mondstadt.