Chapter Text
For Diluc, the day was normal. He had just finished kicking drunkards out of the tavern, for closing. He began collecting the empty wine bottles and cleaning any spills. Slowly falling into the routine of one of the few consistently calm times in his life. The silence clearly contrasted the rambunctious conversation that occurred only an hour earlier.
However, said silence was soon interrupted by loud chatter outside the tavern. This happened ever so often as some of the longer knight expeditions had inconvenient return times. Jolly calls and proud greetings normally fill the air, carrying their victory party to wherever they could get their hands on some alcohol.
This time, it was different. This time, the happy cheers and jests were replaced by chaotic, frantic screaming. A peculiar night, far from normal for sure. The unusual occurrence prompted Diluc to leave the tavern. Pushing the door open, a gust of air blew through. The winds, of which Mondstadt was known for, smelled of smoke.
He began moving faster toward the city’s center. What happened? How can he help?
Once he arrived, he saw several knights, severely injured, getting carried to the cathedral. Blood stained stones accompanied by rushed screams. What had been creating the smell of smoke turned out to be burning clothes and torches. To say it sounded tumultuous was an understatement. What happened here?
To say this was concerning was an grievous understatement. Even worse was the fact that this was the squadron led by Kaeya; Kaeya wouldn't go out there without a plan and four back-ups to bat. What was even more unusual, was that another group looked to be carrying what looked like a statue with them. In the end he decided to follow distantly behind the knights, to the cathedral.
Diluc didn’t make it that far, Jean pulling him aside at about halfway. “Master Diluc, I need to talk with you, but not here, come to my office.” Her voice was stern and serious. However, her voice didn’t match her face. She looked tired and frantic. She was clearly overworked and whatever had just occurred clearly didn’t help.
Approaching the ordo for the first time since his resignation, he kept quiet, listening to the conversations in the hall, grasping at every possibly helpful whisper. Jean led him to her office, which had a slightly concerning desk in the center. There were piles of paperwork that came a foot or two up from her desk.
“Please sit.” Jean gestured to one a chair in front of the desk. Diluc complied and Jean went to sit on the opposite side of her desk.
“Acting Grand Master, what has happened that I am to be spoken too?” Diluc spoke first.
To this Jean replied, “There has been an incident regarding Cavalry Captain Kaeya.” That sentence alone was enough to make his feel uneasy, his attention now focused solely on Jean. Diluc nodded.
“Two days ago, I sent the Cavalry Captain on an expedition. It was meant to be a simple mission, in and out. That there was an ambush. From what I was told, there were unknown abyss creatures accompanied by fatui agents.” This caught Diluc's attention. How had something like that slip through his network without getting caught?
“As I was told the Cavalry Captain ordered a retreat but was cut off by a hooded figure. This hooded character, apparently, spoke a few sentences and the Cavalry Captain was turned to stone. While this sounds rather unbelievable, there are multiple witnesses.” Her voice was no longer steady, rather it cracked and her eyes watered. The absurdity of the situation caused skepticism from Diluc, but it was quickly swept away by Jean's disheveled figure. She wouldn't lie, especially about this.
“Am I permitted to see him or moreover his statue?” Diluc questioned, his jaw clenched. Jean simply nodded in response and gestured for him to follow her. Once she opened the door, Diluc could recognize the statue immediately. It was like a direct replica. The detail seemed impossible for a sculptor, and it likely was.
“Do you know who did this, Acting Grand Master? Did you catch the hooded man? Is there anyway this could be reversable?” The questions seemed to pour out of his mouth, as liquid gathered on his eyes.
“We were unable to catch the culprit and in turn we were unable to question them. As of right now we have two leads. The fact that the attack was coordinated with the fatui and a list of unsolved cases of that area.” As Jean concludes her statement, Diluc realizes that this situation sounded all to familiar. One of his family members lives in danger, the fatui connection, and Diluc's own inadequacy along with a hunger for revenge.
“I I’d like to investigate the area.” Diluc said, voice even, sharp.
"I must warn you to act with caution, Master Diluc. Perhaps I could send a group of knights with you?” Jean had already known the answer, based on his thoughts of the knights in general, she asked anyway.
“That won’t be necessary, Acting Grand Master. I believe I can conduct this operation alone.” To this Jean responds “Master Diluc, with all due respect, perhaps you are too caught up in what you can do in comparison to what you should do.”
“Thank you for your offer but, I will have to decline. However, I would like the location.” Jean pointed to a spot on the map hanging on her wall. Diluc nodded, thanked her, and left.
Diluc had gone to the winery to gather materials and contact his network. Once he sent a letter via his bird to his normal information porter, Diluc made his way to the site of the original situation. There was no longer any fatui themselves nor a hooded figure. The cuts on the surrounding flora lay heavy on the land, the twisted and burnt grass lay limp over their home. A fallen blade or two caught the light of the midday sun, and smell of blood clung strongly on the winds.
One thing, most peculiar, stuck out in the former battleground, a card with marked with a crest. The crest of three Flowers: on the left showed a flaming flower shrouded in flames, opposite to that, on the right, appeared a mist flower encased in frost, a mix of the two laying in the center. A red center, fading to blue on the ends of the petals, welcoming both the flame and frost.
This crest was unfamiliar and clearly not of the fatui. There was hardly a chance of the card originating from the unknown abyss creatures, for not once had they shown thought in communication, especially not in this way. The hooded figure was the last possible option.
The back of what seemed to be a calling card displayed a co-ordinate, a date, and a time. This was dated for two days from then. Diluc took in the information and knew that his bird must have returned by now, so he headed home. He put the calling card in his pocket and walked back, his mind still in that place, in the wreckage, in the wicked magic of it. He wouldn't say it, but he was afraid. Afraid of the things that could have happened to the man he once called his brother, for the others that returned from the battle, and of the possibility that something like this could happen again.
Returning home, he took note of his bird on the windowsill, the letter sitting atop his desk, and the flair of hope in the possibility of it disclosing the much-needed information. The letter ended up containing a the prior dead cases, related to the area.
The majority of which consisted of missing persons cases. There was no mention of people tuning to stone nor the random materialization of a scarily accurate statue.
Diluc spent the night cross-examining the information he'd acquired from his brief trip with past incidents in different areas, down to the smallest details.
By the morning, his room smelled of tea, and his desk was littered with now-empty mugs. Alas, the night was fruitless. Nothing held notable relation and the calling card was still a mystery in itself. It had not alined with anything he'd seen, not of the fatui, the millelith, not the ackademia, nor the treasure horders. It seemed that the calling card was not that of an organization, but rather a personal or individual signal.
While he doesn’t enjoy working with the knights as a whole, he felt that he should still compare evidence with The Acting Grand Master. She'd known both Ragnvindrs too long to be kept out of the loop.
So, he headed to the Ordo HQ for the second time that week, arriving with his forth cup of tea in hand. That's not to say that he was reliant on caffeine, much the opposite actually, he could hardly fall asleep on a normal night. But the warmth of the tea was somewhat comforting and he'd be damned if he were to miss something.
Jean had already been there in her office, had she even left for the night was outside of Diluc's knowledge. Once she had granted him entry, and actually looked up from her work, her eyes were tired and heavy. Diluc guessed neither of them had gotten sleep the night prior.
“I have some information that could be of use, regarding Sir Kaeya's current condition.”
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
"Retreat!" Kaeya called out; there wasn’t meant to be fatui agents there nor abyss creatures had been there. It seemed as if none of his squadron were uninjured as they hurridly fell back from the confrontation. After the last of his soldiers were behind him, he turned, only to be met with person cutting him off. Their head was covered by a shroud, a makeshift hood. Where he had come from? Kaeya didn't know. He raised his blade again, keeping note of the still forces in his peripherals, but still focusing on the hooded figure.
“You have a rather… large sum of power and influence. Yes, you would make a fine skinsuit.” The figure says. Kaeya took a step back, this was already a compromising situation, with so many injured. He went to take another step, but he couldn't. His feet seemed rooted to the ground, as the hooded figure grabbed his shoulder, and something felt entirely off. The hooded figures eyes had gone cloudy, irises no longer present. It had only been a second before they reverted back to their previous state.
“I stand corrected. You’re not entirely human, no this wont do. You hold a curse, an ancient one. Goodbye.” The figure said and Kaeya realized that he could no longer feel the tips of his hands, the lack of feeling creeping quickly around his body, until he no longer felt anything. He heard nothing, felt nothing, smelled nothing. It was as if he wasn't really there. His consciousness seemed to float around for a while, before inevitably fading.
The familiar trees of wolvendom filled his vision as he returned to the land of consciousness. As he'd been nowhere near here in the battle, this was concerning to say the least. First his intel was wrong, then someone put some sort of spell on him, and next he was teleported. Not to mention that the figure knew that he wasn't entirely human.
The only other person who knew was Diluc. Had he told someone? Did he send someone to kill him? While this wouldn’t surprise him, it didn’t make sense to do it now. Not to mention that he would never work with the fatui, right?
Once he stood however, he realized this was not his normal outfit. It was much too plain, a white T shirt and white pants. It resembled sleepwear. Great, he was robbed. Still, he found it best to return to the city, to inform Jean of the situation. As he started off, he heard footsteps. It seems like whoever had been walking heard his as well as the footsteps abruptly stopped as he neared.
“Who’s there!?” A voice all to familiar to Kaeya yelled.
“Master Diluc?” he responded. A few seconds after, the footsteps came closer. From behind the foliage popped out Diluc, only in much brighter colors than usual. His hair was in a braid? That may be the most surprising thing that he’s seen all day.
“Kaeya?” Diluc's voice cracked and his eyes glossed over. Before Kaeya could respond he was pulled into a hug. Now THIS was most definitely the most surprising thing that happened today. He wasn't sure what to do, his former brother held tightly onto him.
“Kaeya," a pause, "how? How are you here? You were gone for so long. You've been dead for four years.” Diluc continued.
Diluc was crying? Since when does that happen? Kaeya was immediately back on high alert, the possibility of an imposter taking a hold on his mind. His thoughts were once again cut off by Diluc pulling away from the hug and beginning to speak again.
“Father is gonna be so happy when we get back.” Wait--
“Master Crepus is alive?”
“Of course, father is alive, he’s not that old. Also, when did you start calling us ‘Master’ again?” This isn’t his Diluc. This Diluc was open with emotions, this Diluc wasn’t mad at him, and this Diluc had a living father.
“Apologies ‘Luc, could you take me to father?” Kaeya knew that he needed to gather information. Plus if this was some imposter he would still be headed to the city. Other? Diluc led him back to Mondstadt. Walking through the town was interesting to say the least. There were stares. Which made sense since he was supposedly dead. Other Diluc led him to Angels share.
Other Diluc opened the door to a empty tavern. This made sense as the tavern wasn’t open yet. Walking in, Kaeya was stunned to see the very much alive older red head behind the bar. Once he turned around, Crepus seemed to be just as stunned. At this point they were both misty eyed. For the second time today Kaeya was pulled into a hug by a Rangnvindr.
Crepus is alive. This is most definitely not his world.