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It hits Kaeya that there’s nothing that would mark today as special.
It’s a simple day, like any other. The weather is nice, a slightly cloudy spring evening; the people greet him like everyday, the Knights respect his orders, the workload is the same. He slept well and nobody got under his skin. No unpleasant anniversary is approaching.
The day is so painfully ordinary it almost causes him to laugh.
He doesn’t know what it is that makes him decide the time has come for him to act.
He’s standing on the stairs up to the Cathedral, leaning against a wall in the shadows, simply watching the Statue of Barbatos in front of him. Said god is standing under it, lyre in hand, giving a performance to some Sister who just left the church.
A spiteful feeling is gnawing at Kaeya’s stomach, looking at Venti.
He’s given the god way too much time.
He waits until the plaza clears, leaving only him and the bard behind. Kaeya made sure, before, that no Knights would come across this area at this time of the evening. He watches as Venti approaches him, a smile on his face, fingers plucking at the lyre.
“What’s gotten the beloved Cavalry Captain in such a foul mood?” he sing-songs, elbowing the Knight gently. When he only shakes his head, expression closed off, Venti raises an eyebrow. “Surely nothing that can’t be fixed with a drink and some food?”
Kaeya scoffs lightheartedly. Let the god have his fun.
It’s easier to strike unsuspecting enemies.
“Are you paying?” he raises an eyebrow at Venti, who simply laughs in response.
“If the bartender accepts payment in rhymes~ Can’t I rely on this Knight’s generosity, though?”
That earns him an exasperated shake of Kaeya’s head. He gets up from leaning against the wall and starts walking ahead, slowly heading his steps to the bar he is never planning to reach.
“I’m not guaranteeing anything for you today.” he tells Barbatos.
Venti whines playfully. “Won’t you make an exception, sir good Knight? Are we not the best drinking buddies?”
It takes all of Kaeya’s effort not to still at the words.
Like he hasn’t only drank with him to try to pry more about his role in Mond, his reasons for return. Like he’d ever become anything of a close acquaintance of a god. Like he’d ever share any sentiment of friendship for him.
“I’d say I’ve made too many exceptions already.” he says, eventually.
They walk at a slow pace next to each other, until they reach the feet of the god’s grand statue. Kaeya stops, then, seemingly in thought.
Venti turns to him, head tilted, mouth open to ask what’s wrong.
Now.
He catches only a glance of the god’s eyes turning from questioning to horrified as Kaeya lunges at him, an icy sword materializing in his hand a second before it impales itself in Venti’s stomach.
Barbatos gasps. Kaeya feels his hands subconsciously reach to the wound where blood already began seeping out, still not fully aware of what just happened. The Knight leans in to whisper into the god’s ear while he’s still in shock.
"Did you really think I wouldn't get back at you filthy gods after what you've done to us?"
That’s when Barbatos finally seems to realize what’s happening, suddenly pushing Kaeya away and gripping at his now open wound. His eyes are wide.
“Kaeya, you–”
Kaeya doesn’t let him get away, jumping after him again with the bloodied sword. Venti steps out of his way, pushing him away with a gust of wind.
“What are you doing?!” he asks, something between a plea and demand.
He levels the god with a cold stare.
“What I should’ve done ages ago.”
He keeps chasing after the Archon, dodging the swirling Anemo aiming to blow him away or support the god’s escape.
“Kaeya, you can’t–!”
“Who are you to tell me what I should do?” he hisses, “I’m not one of your nation’s children.”
Venti’s expression is pained, and not only from the continuously bleeding wound in his stomach. “Of course you are, but–”
Kaeya laughs. “All the better for me, then. It means I should have the freedom to decide what I want, no?”
“You don’t understand!” Venti pauses in his step suddenly, panting for breath, seemingly too tired and weakened to call upon any more of his powers. “I don’t care if you want to take things out with me, but not here– If we do–”
“Oh, I understand this all too well!”
Venti doesn’t have enough time to react as Kaeya teleports right in front of him, punching him right where the fresh wound is. He whines and gasps in pain, falling to the ground.
Kaeya stands over his body, uncaring.
"Did you really think–" he looks down at the sky-blue eyes filled with hurt, holding the god down with his foot on the wound as Venti tries getting up, "–that I wouldn't spy the most efficient way to wipe out Mond all at once?"
Barbatos’s eyes widen, understanding, even in the pain he’s in.
“You can’t–!” he wheezes. A gale blows up at Kaeya in Venti’s desperate attempt to throw the Knight off himself.
It doesn’t make any difference. Cryo manifests around his foot and attaches him to the ground securely. Venti tries melting it, but it simply regrows back, resulting in him spending all his energy.
“You’re hastening your doom,” Kaeya comments. Venti glares up at him, his earlier desperation now mixing with anger.
“You know this spells the end for you, too. If Mondstadt dies, so will you.”
“I’m aware,” Kaeya shrugs. “It was always how this was supposed to end.”
“It won’t if you stop– gah!”
Kaeya’s heel dug deeper into his stomach and Venti couldn’t hold back a scream anymore.
A sound of quick footsteps reached Kaeya’s ears at his right, from the direction of the stairs leading to the lower part of the city. These pause suddenly, accompanied by a sharp intake of breath.
Kaeya ignores the newcomer, at first. Unless they try to interrupt his execution, they’re of no threat to him and he can deal with them later.
Then the person speaks up.
“Kaeya…?” he recognizes Diluc’s voice in the call, full of disbelief. “What–”
Right. It’s Sunday. And as much Diluc may want to hide it, Kaeya knows he attends the church every week, in the early mornings or late evenings to avoid the gazes of as many other people as possible.
It seems even knowing how much of a useless alcoholic his Archon is wasn't enough to make him stop the pious habits and ideals engraved in him as a child.
Kaeya spares his once-brother a single, hateful glance, before ice erupts around Diluc, trapping all his limbs in a frozen prison.
“Wha– Kaeya?! What are you–?!”
Immediately ignoring him and his calls, Kaeya turns to the god below him. Barbatos's arm weakly raises up, trying to reach out to him.
“Kaeya, please–” he calls weakly, “do whatever you want… to me, but not to Mond… Not to yourself.”
“I’m doing what has to be done.” Kaeya seethes. “There’s no turning back from what you’ve done and what I will do.”
“There’s still hope for you–”
Kaeya's expression twists in disgust. He raises his sword once again.
“I am the Hope. I don’t need it for myself.”
Diluc’s terrified scream echoes louder than Barbatos's gasp as the weapon impales his chest, straight through his heart. Kaeya can feel the burning, terrified gaze on him, but he pays it no mind. He’s completely focused on the way Venti’s face twists in pain as he struggles to breathe.
"Who'd have thought it's so easy to doom a nation?" Kaeya talks slowly, savoring the god's last moments. "We never needed an army, nor a war."
Venti's raised hand falls limply to the ground. The light fades from the Archon’s eyes.
“I only ever needed to get rid of you.”
For a moment, even the wind dies down, together with its god.
Kaeya scoffs and steps back, the ice sword disintegrating to dust in his hands, before finally turning his attention to the hero of Mondstadt he used to call a brother. He smiles at him.
He can feel the moment Diluc's shock turns to disbelief, then betrayal.
“Kaeya– Kaeya, what have you done?!”
There is steam coming off from where his arms are suspended in ice as he struggles to get out of the thick layer of it trapping him. The lack of reaction from the Knight only makes Diluc call out his name again, more desperately this time.
The winds pick up again.
“What I came here to do,” Kaeya answers, like it’s obvious.
Because it is. Ever since he stepped his foot on this land, he was meant to destroy.
“What you– Kaeya, you can’t be serious.” Diluc’s eyes are hopelessly searching him for any signs of a lie. “You’re not– You’re not like that. You wouldn’t have actually–”
“You yourself told me you don’t even know me anymore.”
Kaeya’s eyes are fixed on Diluc with a sort of calm that surprises even himself. He always thought he’d feel… fear, when having to face Diluc’s judgment again when he finally completed his duty.
Instead, he’s filled with fulfillment.
He killed Barbatos.
He doomed Mondstadt and completed the mission he was sent with years ago, like he always knew he would.
Like he knew Mondstadt deserved.
“And you were right.” Kaeya continues, letting a smile crawl onto his lips, “You don’t know me. You never have. What makes you think you know what I feel and am capable of?”
“I watched you.” Diluc calls, voice breaking. “I saw– I thought you loved Mond. That you changed your sides. I had hope for you.”
"So did Khaenri'ah." Kaeya raises an eyebrow. "You're not special in that regard, brother."
It’s that last word, filled with mocking sarcasm, that seems to change something in Diluc’s demeanor. Kaeya sees clearly when the betrayal morphs into anger and easily steps out of the way of the flaming claymore flying straight at him, its owner free of the melted icy prison.
"You–" Diluc shouts, swinging at him again even as tears leak from his eyes. “Don't call me that, you– you liar!”
His moves are sloppy; he’s clearly not convinced of his actions. Kaeya smirks.
He continues dodging Diluc's strikes, swiftly dancing around a dead god's body. The winds around them continue to grow stronger. Diluc's fire flickers with their gusts, spreading in all directions.
“Doesn’t this remind you of something?” Kaeya taunts.
Diluc’s eyes widen and he falters, startling a laugh out of the Knight.
“You’re hesitating again! Such a dedicated protector of Mondstadt you are!”
Diluc recovers quickly, seething. His rage visibly grows, smoke coming out of his nostrils as the Pyro Vision pulsates at his side.
"You traitor. I can’t believe– All this time you– you were on their side!"
“A shame it took you so long to realize, no?”
The claymore swings at Kaeya's head again. Diluc’s hair is completely ruined by the wind’s force, flying into his eyes. His face is twisted in disgust.
“I’ll kill you,” he growls, slowly, growing stronger and more determined with each word, "I’ll kill you like I should've done years ago!"
Kaeya doesn't reply as he lands in front of Venti's limp form, suddenly forming an ice pillar in front of himself which stops the sword centimeters from where it’s pointed at his throat.
Diluc roars, furious eyes full of tears, ready to burn the ice down, but Kaeya is quicker with his words.
"Have you ever heard about the God of Salt?"
The redhead pauses in surprise, before his blade starts heating up again.
"Keep your anecdotes to yourself–"
"The Traveler once graced me with this story they learnt in Liyue." Kaeya continues, unfettered, taking a step back over Barbatos’s body. "She was apparently a weak, gentle god, who created an asylum for her people to hide from the Archon war."
Kaeya eyes him, a small smile working its way up on his face again.
"Yet, she ended up killed by her own people's hand when their safe haven fell and it turned out her weakness couldn't save them from the brutality of the gods' wrath."
"What does this have to do anything?" Diluc hisses. Kaeya tilts his head.
"Such a weak god she was, she couldn't ever hope to fight for her people alive... Who'd have known her death would be so powerful as to completely destroy their city and turn her entire populace to salt?"
Diluc's face falters as realization dawns on him. The ice blocking his claymore melts completely, but he makes no move to attack Kaeya again.
"You mean–"
He can't finish the sentence, glancing down at Barbatos. With a sudden gust, he sways on his legs, only now realizing that the wind is already strong enough to throw him off balance.
Kaeya's smile grows wider, a maniacal glint making its way to his eye.
"What do you think will happen when the Archon of Wind dies in the middle of his city?"
Diluc takes a step back. Their gazes hold for a second, one of eerie calmness and one of sheer fear and rage. Then the red eyes break contact as Diluc turns to run away, further into the city.
“It's too late to evacuate, now!" Kaeya calls out behind him, sneering. The winds are so strong now his voice gets slowly lost in its blowing as he half-whispers, viciously: "The winds crave revenge for their master."
"Then you should be the one who pays the price!" Diluc turns back to him and hits him in the face, then shakes him by the collar. "You're the monster who angered them!"
"Ah," Kaeya snickers, shaking his head, "but am I not one of Barbatos's children, too? Isn't that what he said himself?”
He looks straight into his once-brother's eyes. “If so, then all his people should pay the price for one's sins, no?" he grabs Diluc's hand and pulls him closer to his ear so that he'd hear him clearly over the wind storm starting around them, "Isn't that what they did to Khaenri'ah?"
Diluc pushes him away, raising his claymore over his head. His tears fall on Kaeya's face, burning, searing hot like the flames forming above him.
"I'll make you pay for it myself, then."
Kaeya breaks into a hysterical laugh, mixing with the loud whistling around them. The sky is dark, the wind uncontrollably swirling around. It won't be long before everything around them is blown away.
"There's no use killing me now, brother."
He closes his eyes, his last words lost to the roar of the skies over them.
"We're all dying here, now."