Chapter Text
Diluc didn’t know snow would look so terrifyingly morbid when covered with thick stains of crimson blood.
“Son,” a hoarse voice cracked and sprouted drops of blood, “hah, it’s.. It’s going to be fine..”
Diluc didn’t buy that poor attempted reassurement. He was dying in his arms, how could that be fine?
“Father, father, look at me..! Whoever killed you, I am going to find it and avenge you.”
Diluc meant these words. He would burn the whole world if he has to.
His father seemed to want to say something, perhaps to soothe his sick-grieving son.
But it’s too late, cumbersome deathly tiredness overtook his body and soul.
Diluc has never liked snow ever since.
The weather is chilling and hostile, even the trees can barely withstand the harsh blowing winter winds. Diluc tries to, though. The thick snow doesn’t help with his footing, it slows him down, it tries to trap him in the middle of a frightening blizzard. The red-haired human musters with all strength he can find to walk along the forest path. The weapons on his back, his trustworthy axe and claymore, weight him even more, even though Diluc uses them everyday as a vampire hunter. However, he feels as if the whole world is bone-crushingly heavy on his shoulders and at this rate, his poor body will give up.
Until he spots a huge house, a manor. It’s far away, but it’s there. This gives him a newfound strength and will to go through the harsh weather.
After a gruelling moment that felt like an eternity, Diluc finds himself in front of the manor’s door. The building gives off a grotesque aura - the wood is old and dark, the windows are dirty, the stairs are old with cracks. But overall it’s in good condition as it didn’t look abandoned. Someone must live here, so Diluc prays it’s a human being. He has dealt far enough with monsters and other unworldly beings on the path, leaving him terribly exhausted and at disadvantage.
Here goes nothing, Diluc thinks as he knocks on the door and waits.
“Who’s there? I can’t come out as I am afraid there's a snowstorm outside.” A deep voice calls out.
“Kind sir, may I stay over your place? There’s no other place for me. Just for the night, I will leave tomorrow morning.”
It wasn’t long until the heavy door opened up. A tall figure shows up and gestures his hand to invite in the tired guest.
Diluc sighs in gratefulness since nowadays everyone is vile and cautious. Especially when there are a lot of inhumane monsters swarming outside both at day and night. And to add up, hunters’ reputation has worsened over the time, now common folks view them as cursed from Celestia for they always bring misfortune.
“Thank you.” He mutters quietly. “I apologize, I am wet from the snow-”
“No problem. Take off your coat as I will prepare soup for you. Oh, and the wrapped up weapons on your back… Could you leave them too?” The homeowner asks humbly.
Diluc raises his head to nod at the kind man. It’s when he first sees his facial features. He looks of noble origin and the single earring on his left elf-shaped ear further proves his class status. His hair is neatly tied and as for his bangs, they are... Messy. But what draws his attention is his unusual eyes, they are crystal clear and of warm amber colour. The pupils were slightly split, resembling a cat's eyes. The uncanny eyes and the elf-shaped ears show that the man is not a mere human being and Diluc scorns at this dangerous thought. He makes a mental note to leave immediately this place the next morning, even if the blizzard hasn’t stopped then.
The homeowner leaves, maybe to prepare the soup. So Diluc takes off his coat and the weapons. Just to be safe, he keeps the small knives and the gun on his belt. He cautiously goes to the room the homeowner went to, carefully observing the interior. It’s dark and messy, there are a lot of thrown up books and papers, even a few old artifacts are scattered on the floor. This doesn’t calm Diluc’s mind at all. Since vampires live for a very long time, they collect and archive a lot of stuff, including dangerous forgotten ones. And let’s say Diluc specialises in hunting vampires and bears a lot of hatred towards them.
“Ah, I am sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Zhongli and I live here alone on this mountain.” Alone? Then where does he get the food from? Or maybe every guest who visits this wretched manor is his- “The soup will be ready in some time. I assume you are exhausted from the taxing journey, so please feel free to make yourself comfortable and warm here. You can read the books if they are of interest.”
Diluc wonders if he should answer the kindness. So far he sounds humane enough, offering him a place to stay, he’s even preparing a soup for him right now. Ignoring him would be rude. “I go by Diluc. I hope I won’t bother you too much.” He says as he observes the living room and spots a comfy sofa. The homeowner did say to make himself comfortable, so he takes this opportunity since his legs are painfully aching.
“Oh, no! I am more than happy! It’s been quite the time since I’ve had company…” The voice trails off as the sound of metals clank. “Even if it’s for a few hours.” Zhongli comes back with a bowl and places it on a table near Diluc. Then he sits on the sofa opposite Diluc's.
“It’s vegetable soup. It’s nothing much but that’s all I can offer.” Zhongli shoots at the guest a soft smile, his amber eyes crinkling up. He’s awfully too kind, far the kindest “human” Diluc has ever met. This makes him awfully suspicious too. But he is offering food to him here right now, it would be a shame to let it go to waste.
He must know what kind of being he is dealing with and not to mention, he’s getting slightly paranoid of the situation he has put himself in. “Excuse my sudden crudeness, but may I ask a question that might seem a bit… offensive to you?” Diluc carefully asks as he takes the warm bowl.
“Of course, I would be delighted to answer any kind of questions!” Zhongli’s face lit up strangely enough.
Here goes nothing
, Diluc steels himself. “You are.. Not a mortal, I assume?”
“Yes, I am not. In fact I am a vampire but I am surprised you figured it out… Hm, Hu Tao was right then…” homeowner furrows his brows, placing a hand on his chin.
Surprisement hits Diluc, just seconds ago he was bracing himself for a possible attack, only to be dumbfounded at the vampire’s pacific response. “Ah, ahem, right about what?”
“Hu Tao, an acquaintance of mine, told me my features are too obvious, even a mortal would accuse me at instant. I denied that statement of hers, but I guess she’s right in the end...”
Diluc closes his eyes. He has never met such a unique and oblivious vampire in his entire life as a hunter. He has met either sarcastic, bashful, ignorant, cruel, blood thirsty or greedy, the ones that make Diluc’s blood boil with pure anger. But never one such as Zhongli.
“Oh, and you carry weapons. That must mean you are a hunter, right?” It’s obvious, Diluc thinks, but he doesn’t sense ill intent in that question.
“Yes.” So he simply confirms. He won’t mention that he’s a hunter of Zhongli’s kind. He still doesn’t trust him because after all vampires are high-intellectual creatures and they are good liars and manipulators. Either way, Diluc already has made his mind up to stay alert during the entire stay, be distant and give only simple answers, and get out of here as soon as possible. Usually he would’ve killed Zhongli because ultimately one less vampire is better for the world, but he holds off that thought for now.
The vegetable soup is delicious and it took the hunter a moment to realize that. As he’s slowly savouring the warm taste, he glances back at Zhongli to observe. He notices the wrinkles near his eyes, the shallow bags under them, long lines near his mouth from smiling too much. His hands aren’t smooth, either. The man looks averagely old, which means he hasn’t drunk human blood for quite a long time.
“Do I look interesting?” The sudden question from Zhongli cuts Diluc’s train of thought and he accidentally spits the soup. “Oh, I am sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt your eating-”
“No, I should be the one apologizing.” Diluc sighs of embarrassment. He’s a vampire hunter, yet he is saying he should be apologizing to a vampire for his poor manners (since when did he have manners for monsters in general?). He quickly eats what’s little left of the soup and places the bowl on the table with
thud
. “Thank you for the food. May I know where I will sleep?”
“A-ah, yes, of course. Follow me.”
They both get up, Diluc grabs the discarded weapons and clothing, and both of them go to the second floor. The manor is too huge for a single being to live alone, so Diluc wonders if someone besides Zhongli lives here too. But at the same time, he hopes that he’s alone with him. If any kind of combat happens, it will be one versus one. And by judging Zhongli’s weak physique, Diluc has an advantage.
The corridors seem endless with countless doors and give off an eerie aura with the dim-lit candlelights. And again, thrown up ancient books and worn up papers are carelessly scattered everywhere on the floor. (“I deeply apologize for the mess you are seeing right now. Please be careful not to step on them, you might slip off.” Zhongli says sheepishly. DIlic simply respects his request, even though it’s strange of Zhongli to be concerned with his well-being.)
As they traverse, Diluc notices hung up drawings, even though they are dusty and the colour has worn off. They are not the typical western drawings of portraits and landscapes, but instead they depict mythological creatures and letters. The corridor is too dark for Diluc’s liking, so he tries as much as he can using the candles’ faint warm light to see the paintings better. Eventually he stops following Zhongli to stand in front of a much bigger canvas. It portrayed a huge black dragon, flying above the mountains. Diluc notices two sky islands floating in the air, one that looks like a crown and much smaller in the background and the other one is bigger, with a castle built on it. On the canvas’ right there are written letters that Diluc couldn’t decipher.
“Admiring the paintings?” Zhongli’s deep voice interrupts Diluc’s distraction. “This one is very old, but it shows a rich history of my homeland. Would you like to hear about it?”
“I-, I guess I am curious about it.” Diluc admits, indeed some kind of dangerous curiosity about the vampire’s belongings sparked inside him. Diluc promised to himself to stay strictly on guard, but something about this uncanny place seems too
welcoming,
and being with
him
Diluc doesn’t feel threatened despite telling himself he must feel so.
Zhongli chuckles, but Diluc takes it as a mockery to his sudden interest. “Nevermind me, let’s continue. I am tired.” Yes, his tiredness must be the cause for his distraction, so he quickly abandons the painting and gestures to Zhongli to lead him.
“Eh? Oh, I am sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you-”
“I said nevermind me. Besides, is the room that faraway? Surely there must be other bedrooms that are close.” There’s a slight sense of annoyance in Diluc’s voice and Zhongli doesn’t miss it, causing him to look down to avoid the hunter’s gaze.
“Ah, well you see, I have a lot of stuff and I ran out of storage to place them on the first floor. Now I am using the second floor as…. Additional storage.”
His explanation leaves Diluc baffled. Just how old is he? And exactly how much stuff does he have? And is he really living alone?
Instead of asking the questions, Diluc simply hums.
Soon enough they arrive at the room. Zhongli invites the hunter in and surprisingly, the room is clean unlike the whole messy manor. It’s simple, there’s a bed, a wardrobe and a bookshelf.
“This is the room, I hope it will be enough for your needs. The bathroom is at the end of the corridor, which is not far. If you have any complaints or worries, feel free to tell me.” Diluc just nods, although he will never get used to his welcoming kindness especially coming from a vampire. It is truly a strange and awkward situation, so Diluc hopes the snowstorm will pass away tomorrow. However, a traitorous voice slips inside his mind and mocks his weakness towards the hospitable enemy. After all, one less vampire is better for this cruel world!
After all, vampires used his father to their advantage and killed him.
Diluc must have shown too much disdain on his face that Zhongli’s about to apologize to him. But the hunter abruptly interrupts him with a single ‘Thank you’ and shuts the room’s door.
He sighs heavily as he drops the heavy weapons on the floor. He wishes he could’ve used the remaining time to sharpen them if he has to survive at this place, but he can’t fight his even heavier eyelids. Diluc takes off his excessive clothing and belts until is left with a white blouse and pants. And with that, he decides to go to bed armoured with a gun and hopes he wakes up alive tomorrow.