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“-Luc!”
Diluc’s eyes snapped open, but he immediately squinted them again. The sun was so bright. He sat up and looked at the voice.
‘Kaeya?”
“You’re finally awake huh? “ Kaeya grinned, “Come on! Father’s waiting for us!”
Confused, Diluc stood up, dusting the grass off him. “Father..?”
“Come on! Father said he had something to show us.” Kaeya grabbed Diluc’s hand, much to his confusion. The Kaeya he knew wouldn’t laugh like that, wouldn’t grab his hand like that. It was almost like… like the Kaeya from his childhood.
“Father...? Isn’t Father de-” Diluc was interrupted by a familiar voice, one he hadn’t heard for too long, one that he had longed to hear again.
“Boys! What’s taking you so long? The ice in this is going to melt!”
“Let’s go!” Kaeya started running, pulling a confused Diluc with him. This was...weird, Father’s here? The young master thought.
The couple arrived behind Dawn Winery, where Diluc’s Father was proudly looking at a cup.
“Ah, there you boys are. Try this, it’s a new concoction I made with flaming flowers.” Crepus handed over the amber-coloured wine, looking like liquid flames under the sun’s light. “I call this, the Wine of the Dawn. Fitting, isn’t it?”
Kaeya was the first to take a sip, his eyes lighting up. He grinned at Diluc, putting the cup away from Diluc. “It’s so nice, I’m not going to share.”
Kaeya was...teasing him? Like before? Was this a memory…? But it felt so real. He didn’t know how to react. Everything he lost...They were all here, smiling at him, laughing like it was the most natural thing in the world, like they didn’t know pain or suffering.
A tear dropped from Diluc’s eyes, then another, then another.
“Diluc! What’s with the tears? The wine was so nice that it made you cry without you having to taste it?” Kaeya joked, wiping away Diluc’s tears. There was a hand on Diluc’s shoulder as Crepus’ worried voice asked, “Son, What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, there’s nothing wrong.” Through tears, Diluc broke into a smile. A genuine smile, a smile of warmth and happiness. “Just...I’m happy.”
“Because of the wine?” Kaeya ribbed.
Diluc rolled his eyes playfully. “Because of the wine. Now let me taste it.”
“Nope! It’s mine, get your own.”
“Kaeya! Give it here, I want to taste it!”
Just like that, peaceful days passed in the Dawn Winery, with the two young masters bantering playfully over the tiniest of things, while the master of the house watched fondly over his two sons.
But...something was wrong. Diluc couldn’t quite place his finger on it. Was it always so cold in Dawn Winery? If so, why was he always sweating? It was weird, but he was happy here, so why would it matter? This was a dream come true.
He had even confessed to Kaeya, spilling out his well-hidden love for the other. The answer Kaeya gave was in the form of a kiss, pulling Diluc closer, before pulling away and smiling.
“I love you too, Diluc.”
Diluc was content here, he wouldn’t change anything for the world.
“-LUC!”
What was that?
“-KE UP, PLEASE!”
Huh?
“-TER DILUC!”
Everything turned blurry in that instant, even the usual glow of the statue of the seven disappeared in the sudden fog. He was losing everything again, he can’t lose them aga-
“DILUC!”
His eyes snapped open. In front of he was a sobbing Barbara, while Jean, Lisa, Aether and Paimon looked at him, eyes threatening to spill over with tears. Behind them, the once glorious city of Mondstadt was burnt, chaos rampant as the people of Mondstadt fled from their attacker. His body felt heavy, pain erupting from everywhere even if he didn’t move an inch. Diluc let out a helpless laugh as memories of his reality slowly came back to him.
Kaeya, the love of his life, betrayed Mondstadt. He had started working with the abyss mages, slowly destroying the knights from the inside, before launching a full out attack on the city itself. The knights couldn’t fight back, and thus, the Massacre of Mondstadt started. Diluc, along with those who still could, raised their weapons against him, but it was all for naught.
Tears fell from Diluc’s eyes as he realised his fate. He was going to die at the hands of his beloved.
Those peaceful days at the Dawn Winery was nothing more than a dream. A fleeting, temporary dream.
Diluc was so tired.
So, so tired.
Could he continue that dream?
He could build a dream that could live in, with his family, in a time where he hadn’t known loss, and this time, he would never wake up.
And just like that, Diluc Ragnvindr took his last breath, unable to hear the deafening screams of grief from his former comrades.