Chapter Text
The world flew by in a blur. Diluc ran as hard as he could, having no idea where he was going. All he knew was that he had to get away.
His legs ached, his body screamed at him to stop, to slow down, but he wouldn’t. Soaked through to the skin in the pouring rain, he should have been freezing. His boots sloshed on the muddied road, every step more treacherous than the last.
There was a familiar pull, calling him back to Mondstadt. The passion that once burned so brightly in his chest was still calling out to him, trying to call him back home.
Diluc’s breath hitched as his foot hit a root, sending him tumbling down into the mud. His head hit the cold earth, and he couldn’t move, his shaky sobs making it nearly impossible to draw in a breath.
Even as he ran away, his Vision still called to him. His Vision that had been his greatest pride, a shining reminder of his ambitions.
Diluc sobbed as he tried to push himself up, only to fall face-first back into the mud. It was the strangest feeling, to have a Vision calling out to him. Every time he felt its energetic pull, he sobbed even harder.
Diluc would never touch that Vision again. The world felt as though it was spinning, the pouring rain only a distant blur in the background of his thoughts. He wanted everything to just stop. It was all too much to bear.
He let out a pained groan as he tried to push himself up again. Every breath was a battle, every movement a painful nightmare.
Diluc couldn’t understand why his Vision would still be looking for its wielder. He had failed, in every way imaginable. The gods were wrong to favour him. Maybe this was his punishment.
He could still remember the day he received his Pyro Vision. The day he swore to use it to protect Mondstadt, to protect those he loved.
Then in a fit of rage, he used that same Vision to nearly kill his brother.
Diluc stopped fighting to get up, instead resigning to just laying in the mud. He could never go back to Mondstadt. The Knights betrayed him. Kaeya betrayed him. And Diluc… Well, he’d betrayed everything he’d believed in, too.
Grasping the root that had halted him, Diluc tried to crawl forward instead. He had to get as far away from his Vision as possible.
Flashes of the events of that night replayed in his head. Father’s dying breaths, Diluc having to mercifully put an end to his suffering. The look on Kaeya’s face, terrified as Diluc prepared to deal the killing blow.
The gods saved Kaeya, granting him a Cryo Vision even though he was a Khaenr'iahn spy. Or maybe that wasn’t right. Maybe they only saved him to stop Diluc from doing something even worse.
This had to be his punishment, he thought. The ache of losing everything, versus the pull that wanted to bring him back.
“Well, what do we have here?” A voice suddenly interrupted Diluc’s thoughts, accompanied by the sound of a blade being unsheathed.
He tried to roll over into his ready stance, but every movement was clumsy and sluggish, as if he’d completely forgotten all his many years of Favonius training. Diluc ended up ungracefully staggering to his feet, reaching for his claymore that wasn’t there.
Right. He’d left it at the Winery, along with his Vision. Eyes unfocused, he tried to analyze his opponent.
It took a few moments longer than Diluc would have liked to notice that Fatui emblem on the assailant’s dark clothing. He’d had dealings with the Snezhnayan diplomats between his duties to Dawn Winery and to the Knights, but never had he actually faced one in battle.
The Fatuus had his two curved blades ready, seeming quite content to tease his disheveled opponent by stalking back and forth.
Diluc had trained to fight without a weapon, as all Knights did. But he couldn’t recall any of it through his hazy thoughts.
Brow furrowed in concentration, Diluc tried to think of something, anything that could help in this situation. He was able to recognize the Fatuus’ uniform. A debt collector, like he’d seen come along with Snezhnayan delegations. But beyond that, his mind drew a blank.
The Fatui Agent suddenly lashed out, his flaming blade grazing Diluc’s chest as he stumbled backwards. The Agent let out a few more swift blows, not close enough to actually wound the red haired boy, laughing as he toyed with his prey.
A quick kick to the stomach knocked the air out of Diluc, sending him tumbling back. The Agent leisurely sauntered forwards, clearly enjoying the ease of this battle.
With a sudden rush of clarity, Diluc reached into his pocket without even thinking. Black chains lashed out at the Fatuus, slashing him across his mask. The Agent cried out in agony, the chains leaving a smouldering cut where the mask had been split in half.
Both opponents froze, seeming to be trying to process what had just happened. Diluc had completely forgotten that his Father’s mysterious weapon was still in his pocket. And yet, it granted him the clarity of mind to fight back against his assailant.
The Agent’s one eye had clearly been wounded by the slash as he blinked rapidly. Finally he noticed the glowing gem in the red haired boy’s hand.
“A Delusion–!” The Fatuus started, stepping back as he realized he’d gotten into more than he’d bargained for.
Diluc scrambled to his feet. “You know what this is?!” he demanded.
“Foolish boy,” the Agent spat. “You think I would not recognize the weapon of Her Majesty’s Harbingers?”
Diluc paused for a moment, the rain continuing to soak his clothes. “This was my Father’s weapon,” he shouted. “It can’t be of Fatui origin!”
The debt collector seemingly finally had enough of whatever was going on. “Give it now, boy,” he insisted. “And I might let you live.”
Angry tears threatened to return. There was no way Father would knowingly have a Fatui weapon in his possession… right?
Diluc slid the gauntlet onto his right hand, feeling the strange energy immediately supplant his own.
Lashing out his hand, the chains returned once again, wrapping around the Agents neck and lifting him off the ground.
“What are you doing in Mondstadt’s borders?” Diluc demanded.
“I will tell you nothing,” the Fatuus spat.
The chains tightened around the debt collector’s neck as Diluc’s anger grew.
“Alright, alright!” The Agent gasped for air as the chains loosened slightly, leaving burn marks on his neck.
“I was– doing reconnaissance for his Lordship, collecting his devices after successfully summoning Ursa the Drake–” the wounded Fatuus managed to stammer.
“What?! The Drake’s attack was your doing?” Diluc roared, his fury growing with every passing moment.
The chains tightened once again. “We– we didn’t think the experiment would be so effective,” the Agent choked, desperately grasping at his neck.
“You murdered my Father,” Diluc cried. “What are the Fatui planning?! Tell me or–”
He was cut off by a loud snap as the Agent’s body went limp. The chains quickly retracted and the dead body fell to the ground with an unsettling thump.
Diluc had killed him.
The red haired boy sunk to his knees, realizing the gravity of what had just happened. Sure, he’d killed countless hillichurls and even a few Abyss mages, but this…
This was different.
The Agent was defenceless, even cooperating with investigation. For Diluc to murder him in cold blood went against everything the Knights’ had ever taught him.
Everything his Father had ever taught him.
His sobs returned, but this time there were no tears. Only painful gasps as it felt like Diluc was choking.
The world seemed to fade away. The pouring rain, the mud staining his clothes, the ache of his tired body all felt so distant.
Diluc was a killer.
He killed Father. He nearly killed Kaeya. Now he’d killed again.
He hated himself. How did it all come to this?
He lay there, his entire body shaking, for Barbatos knows how long. It wasn’t until the first hints of light started to peak over the horizon that Diluc realized it had stopped raining.
Slowly pushing himself up, he forced himself to look at the dead body in front of him. Wincing as he dragged himself forwards, Diluc shakily reached to remove what was left of the Agent’s mask.
Without the threatening visage of a Fatui mask, the Agent looked so… normal. Brown hair, short stubble… Like someone Diluc would pass by on the streets of Mondstadt. Although his regular appearance did nothing to mitigate the fearful expression in his lifeless eyes.
What was his name? Did he have a family?
Diluc cried into his hands. None of this should have happened. At this time, Diluc should have been preparing for his early patrol with Kaeya. Father should have been tending to the never-ending paperwork at the Winery.
What was it that this Snezhnayan man was supposed to be doing this morning? Were there people waiting for him to come back, too?
Wiping the snot and tears from his face, Diluc knew he couldn’t just leave this man’s dead body in the middle of a run-down road. He got up and tried to drag the body into the forest, trying not to focus on the unnatural bend of his neck.
Finding a suitable patch of soil, Diluc got down on his knees and started to dig with his bare hands. He let the meaningless task consume him, not wanting to think about anything else. He just dug and dug, maybe for hours, until his fingers were raw and bleeding.
Finally, the sun was up and shining through the foliage above. Diluc stopped, listening to the birds chirping and the breeze rustling through the leaves.
How ironic, for it to be such a pleasant day after such a dreadful night.
He slowly got to his feet, his clothes still soaked and stained with mud. His eyes felt so heavy, like he could collapse unconscious at any moment. Ignoring the pounding in his head, Diluc started slowly going through the Fatui Agent’s belongings.
There wasn’t much. Some mora, a set of patrol routes… Feeling ever-so guilty, Diluc pocketed these items. It wasn’t as if this Snezhayan man would have any further use for them.
After burying the body, Diluc broke a branch off of a tree and stuck it in the mound of soil. It wasn’t pretty, but it was the best he could do. He left the Agent’s mask and blades in front of the makeshift grave, watching the black jacket flow gently in the wind, hood hooked on the branch.
He stood there for a while, feeling sick to his stomach. Would everyone at the Favonius Church have started planning Father’s funeral by now?
It didn’t matter. Diluc didn’t have anything to return to in Mondstadt, anyways.
Looking at the patrol list in his bloodied hands, Diluc realized he was still wearing his Father’s gauntlet. A Delusion, the Agent called it?
He tried to pull it off his hand, wincing as it revealed his charred skin underneath. Somehow, the weapon had not only wounded his enemy, but Diluc as well. The back of his hand was raw and painful.
Sighing, Diluc looked at the list of patrol routes once again. He may have nothing worth returning home for, but at least he might be able to find some answers about his Father’s death.
At least it was something.
Diluc headed back onto the road, taking one last glance back at the grave he’d left. It was still slightly visible through the foliage, so it wouldn’t be hard for other Fatui to find.
Dried tears and mud still staining his face, Diluc set off, knowing he would never see the City of Freedom he’d loved so much ever again.