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His vision was blurry, Diluc noted as he rubbed his hand over his eyes letting out a short gasp just as he did so. A red liquid stained his eyelids.
Drip. Drip.
It dripped down from his eyes to his face, slowly making its way down like a waterfall. Why was there so much blood? Where was Father? Kaeya? Why was he alone, and why were his perfectly clean gloves covered in hues of red? Diluc had endless questions, but no answers to any of them.
He blinked. Once. Twice. The blurry spots of sight in his vision gave way to reveal a halo of blue, a night sky colored blue. That color had always only belonged to one person, and only one. His brother.
His brother's beautiful hair was stained with red. It was everywhere, covering the entirety of Kaeya's coat, his undershirt, and the ground. He was seated against the bark of a tree head slumped forward oddly, as if he had fallen asleep in the worst position ever.
"Kaeya?" Diluc whispered, looking at his brother up and down. "Kae?" He called again, no response. Was Kaeya ignoring him? Was he just asleep? Why was there so much red on him?
And that sound, Diluc realized, looking towards Kaeya's chest. It had stopped moving, at least for now. Diluc reached over, feeling his neck for a pulse, and gasped upon finding none.
"Kae? Hey, don't play with me here!" He begged, tugging at his brother's coat, tugging and pulling at it. A button popped off from it, rolling down his brother's limp form, coating itself in layers of blood as it rolled and rolled before hitting the ground.
Diluc looked back at Kaeya, his brother's head was downwards and he was unable to make out anything behind the blue bangs covering Kaeya's face. "Hey, look at me Kae." He asked, begging, pleading that Kaeya would do as he said, he'd respond. But nothing happened. Diluc knew he had to do something.
He leaned closer to him, trying to shake Kaeya awake, hoping that his shaking voice would snap Kaeya out of whatever trance he was in. Nothing happened. Tears stung Diluc's eyes as he shook his brother more vigorously now. "Kae! Wake up!!!"
Kaeya didn't wake up. He moved his brother into a more comfortable position, holding onto him as he titled the other's head upward. There was a sound, and then a scream echoed through the canopy of Dawn Winery. It was Diluc.
He screamed till his throat felt raw, till he felt bile forming in the pit of his throat. He continued screaming, he kept screaming, he continued screaming, he kept screaming until the sounds of birds and insects began to filter through the forest and drown out Diluc's cries.
Kaeya's eyes watched him. Or well, eye rather. The place where there was supposed to be a right eye was instead a hollow void of red blood and muscle tissues, no eye to be seen. The skin surrounding it was all but skin, just crips of burned flesh trying to shield what was already gone. Kaeya's other eye was dull, there was nothing in it. No light, no shine, just a blank pupil staring back at him.
There was blood spilled across his brother's face, who it belonged to? Diluc didn't know. Kaeya's mouth was open, droplets of dried blood seeping from it. Diluc kept staring, sobs wracking his entire frame. So much blood and all Diluc could think about was his brother.
So much blood and it wasn’t coming from his body. It was pouring out of Kaeya's mouth, from under his tongue, from his nostrils, from where Kaeya's eyes were once set, empty shells of his eyes.
He moved in the direction of his brother-'s corpse. Making baby steps towards it, pressing a gloved hand to his face. He was crying again, tears falling from his eyes in a slow trickle, his breathing heavy and ragged.
He stopped next to the body, looking at the mangled mess that used to be his brother's eyes.
"You're...you're all I have now," he whispered brokenly, leaning in, wrapping his arms around Kaeya's body, moving his brother's head onto his shoulder.
"Please Kae." He begged, unable to think at all. Whoever did this, Diluc would never forgive them, he'd peel their skin off one by one, and he'd cut off each of their body parts slowly and painfully. Making it as brutal as he could. How dare they hurt his baby brother? How dare they touch him?
How dare they kill his only living relative?
They will burn.
The blood from his brother's clothing began to seep into his, but Diluc could care less. All he wanted was to hold his baby brother close and never let him go again. He looked around himself, his brother secured in his arms. He eyed every single corner of the area for a possible threat.
His eyes came to what appeared to be remnants of flames littered across the tree where Kaeya had once been lying, flames everywhere. Pyro.
A pyro vision was behind this.
Who had pyro visions in Mondstat?
He thought for a while, before a sharp exhale left his mouth. Him. He is the only pyro wielder in the entirety of Mondstat as of now.
There was no way! Diluc would never, in a million years ever lay a finger on his brother if it meant to harm. He wouldn't do it! Never! He had pledged to protect his baby brother till he drew his last breath, then he couldn't possibly do this.
Diluc forced himself to remember all that had taken place before this, he forced himself to recall all that happened, pushing his brain to flash back the memories.
--
"Father?" Diluc asked, starting at his father, as he stared back at him, those eyes that once shined just as bright as the first light shone at the start of dawn, now stared back at him, dark and hollow, lifeless.
Diluc looked down at his arms, at the blood coating his gloves, he clenched his hands into fists, trying to keep it all inside of him. Trying so hard to not cry.
"Diluc I was late I'm sorry-" The voice broke off somewhere midway as Diluc did not register it. He simply turned to Kaeya, tears pooling below his eyes like an endless river. His brother walked towards him, pulling him into his chest as the older cried, sobs wracking his body as Kaeya rocked them back and forth, comforting him.
"Father's dead...because of me. I killed him-" He didn't get to continue, crying loudly again. Kaeya didn't say anything, he just help him close.
Moments pass by and Kaeya abruptly let go, his eyes downcast. "K...kae?" Diluc whispered, wiping at his eyes, "What's wrong?"
Kaeya didn't lift his head to match his gaze, "Diluc. I must tell you something." Diluc paused, resting a hand on his brother's shoulder, it didn't last long as it was shoved off just as fast. "Kaeya- There is no need for that right now, let's just head home-"
"I am a spy." There was a pause. "What...." Diluc uttered, his body shuddering.
"What did you say?" Kaeya's head snapped up, finally meeting his brother's gaze again, and Diluc couldn't tear away from the intensity of that periwinkle eye.
"I am a spy. From Khaenri'ah." He started again, his eyes unmoving as he watched Diluc. Diluc took a step back, turning his head down. He took another step back, staring.
"What." He asked again. Inside his mind, he begged and pleased for all of this to be false. For this to just be one horrible nightmare that he'll soon wake up from.
"All this time...You've been using us?" He couldn't help but question, his eyes unwavering from his brother's own. Kaeya sucked in a sharp breath, "No- You're thinking wrong-"
"All this time, you've been acting to love us. When in the end you've used us!" Dilu screamed, getting up from his kneeled position on the ground. He called for his claymore, the loyal weapon emerging in his hand the next second.
"Diluc, that's not what it is. Please, hear me out." Kaeya begged. Diluc stood tall, pointing the claymore in his direction. He was so angry, so confused. Why would his brother want to use him? After everything they had done to protect him? To help him grow? And yet here was his brother asking him to believe that he had no ulterior motive or reason for why he was left here in Mondstat.
"Traitor!" Diluc screamed all of a sudden, lunging at Kaeya with his claymore who moved out of the way, falling to the ground below. The tree took the brunt of his hit, but Diluc was nowhere near calm. "Luc- please just listen to me-"
"Don't you dare call me that!" He yelled yet again, his whole body was on fire. His heart burned with hate for this, man in front of him who had only betrayed him.
"Take out your weapon!" He screamed instead, "Traitor or not I will not fight with an unarmed man." Kaeya hesitated. "Diluc- Please I'm your brother, just hear me out-" He couldn't hear anything at all.
"Don't you fucking dare call me that." He spoke, venom coating each word that spilled out of his tongue. "Take.Out.Your.Sword."
He demanded. Slowly, reluctantly, Kaeya did as he was told.
Diluc rushed forward, attacking him viciously and violently. Kaeya was quick though, ducking away. Diluc let out one attack after another, leaving the other on defense as he delivered blow after blow.
"Fight back." He commanded, yet Kaeya didn't listen.
He was being pushed away.
"Fight me back, you worthless coward!" Diluc roared, landing more blows that Kaeya managed to dodge, his face stony and cold.
Another blow and Kaeya's sword went flying out of his hand, landing on the ground with a loud "CLANK!". Diluc didn't care, he kept moving, blow after blow aimed at his brother, with no mercy in his attacks.
"Luc, please. I'm sorry!" He heard the other beg yet it left his thoughts just as quick as it came.
He attacked Kaeya again and again, until he saw red, and felt hot tears rolling down his cheeks, burning his flesh and leaving a trail in their wake, dripping down the length of his cheeks, onto his shirt.
He called upon Dawn. She followed his command like always, it didn't matter who was on the receiving end.
There was a plop sound. And Kaeya fell, his body crumpled against the bark of the tree Diluc had burnt earlier, his body motionless.
"Get up you backstabber!" He screamed at no one in particular. Kaeya was still on the ground, chest unmoving, blood coating the ground beneath him.
--
Oh.
Diluc let go of his brother, letting his body fall back towards the tree bark. He lay there, seated on the ground in contemplation.
"I...killed you." He murmured, to himself or Kaeya, he had no idea. He was sure the wind carried his words over to wherever the hell it may have gone.
And suddenly he became aware of everything he'd done. He had just slaughtered the person who had loved him, who had been with him his entire childhood, and who was always there for him.
Diluc would never forgive himself, that he knew.
For he had not taken one life, but two.