Chapter Text
Is this what the Cataclysm felt like?
The thought crossed Diluc's mind as his ears ring louder and louder to a deafening sound, his own body begging him to give up and surrender. He had been limping his way out of Mondstadt City, right hand pressed firmly against the injury on his side, dragging his bloodied self to make it to Venessa's tree right outside the city. He didn't think he would even make it past the bridge -- or what had remained of it -- but he did.
No, this has got to be much worse.
This Mondstadt, this Teyvat..is no longer the home he knew. He could barely recognize his world wherever he turn his eyes. The sky is a bright red. Buildings have been slowly crumbling down, the ground swallowing itself. Briefly, he wonders why the earth below him has not eaten him alive yet. He scoffs.
What a pity. I honestly do not know what else is keeping me from my impending death.
He doubts that his survival signals that there is still at least one god looking out for him. For one, he witnessed Venti on his last breath, unable to fight any longer the Harbingers and the Tsaritsa who have possessed all the gnoses of the seven nations' archons.
As the pain on his side becomes entirely too much for him to bear, he falls on his knees and takes a much-needed pause. It isn't long before the blood escaping from his body starts creating a puddle of its own beneath him. He slows his own breath and tears another section of his Knights of Favonius uniform in an attempt to secure the gaping wound. He unpins and discards all of the accolades displayed on his coat, becoming aware of how heavy they make him feel now, literally and figuratively. The world is ending. Why would merits matter?
With him still conscious of his breathing, his hearing start to regain some clarity. He looks up to find Venessa's tree already in sight, and then a familiar golden glow of a ley line concentration much nearer to him. He focuses on it, realizing that the humming sound that he looked up for comes from there.
And then, the unexpected happened.
The ley line outflow slowly starts to show two figures -- one of a taller man, and one of a slightly shorter one. As the ley line makes the images clearer, he realizes that the taller man was, in fact, a version of himself; and the other is Albedo. The projections begin to move, starting with Albedo, who appears to take something out of his pocket to show the projected Diluc. His likeness accepts the small device, nodding as the projected Albedo speaks.
There was no sound coming from the interaction, but he knows the figures before him were events from the past that the ley line had stored, and he can still remember the conversation he and Albedo had, that which the ley line has recalled:
"...It is a combination of alchemy and hydromancy. I thought it best to give it to you, should you need it. Or, rather, should the world need it."
"The world? Why me?"
"Apologies, Master Diluc, that I cannot disclose to you. But please know this: I cannot trust myself with it."
"And you trust me?"
Albedo does not answer the question. Instead, he replies, "When this world is near its end, when all hope is lost, I implore you to use it. It shall take you back until a certain point in time. Look for the one key change in your world after the rift, and let it -- let them -- lead you."
The images in front of Diluc in the present start fading, with the glow of the projected gadget being the last thing he sees from it.
On his right pocket, he notices the same glow and takes it out. A spacetime rift, Albedo called it. It is the same size and shape as a vision, but encased in white and glowing purple from the center, which functions as a button. He did not forget, of course, but what authority does he have to change the course of spacetime as he knows it? Would he be able to keep his memories? Would the gods of Celestia and the archons be aware of what he would have done? And how was he to find the 'one key change' in that past, but somehow new, time?
He pushes these thoughts aside for now as he reminds himself of why he set out in the first place: to find her. He knows, if she is alive, Jean would be seeking refuge under Venessa's tree, as she always does. Gods, he does hope to still find her alive.
A few steps later, however, what he finds shatters his heart completely.
From what he can see, Jean had been killed using her very own weapon, the Aquila Favonia, stabbed through her chest. He runs as best as he could to her, unable to stop the tears that easily flow out of his eyes. He cries, and cries, while cradling her stone cold and lifeless body.
Now all of Mondstadt's hope is truly lost. Now all whom I have ever loved is lost.
He brings out the spacetime rift once more, now determined to utilize it. He figures he can answer all his questions as he gets to them. His thumb feels magnetized to the center, as if the device is anticipating him to push it.
For the last time, he turns his attention to Jean.
"I will find you. From the moment I awaken again, to the best of my abilities, I will find you."
Then, with one push of the button, he gets sucked into a vacuum and vanishes from what remains of his old world.