Chapter Text
"You came by later than usual. Is there a particular reason?" Diluc stood behind the bar, wiping one of the cups with a towel and putting it back on the shelf. After that, he threw it over his shoulder and leaned on the counter. "Maybe, or maybe not! Only Barbatos knows." Venti sat down on one of the stools with a cheeky grin. He shrugged and waited for his favorite drink, dandelion wine. Once he received his glass, he stated loudly: "Let's make this night special! To the Heavenly Principles!” Venti raised his glass but Diluc was quick to grab it and put it down with a concerned yet annoyed look on his face. "You're acting odd. Stop fooling around."
"Dear Master Diluc, the winds are changing, and so are times. Maybe not even Barbatos is aware of what's to come." Venti raised the drink to his lips and took a sip. "You're not making this sound like a positive change." Diluc sighed heavily as he stood up straight again. He crossed his arms and looked down in thought. "Master Diluc, indeed, I wasn't trying to convey this as a positive change." Venti chuckled and shook his head with a sad smile on his face. That made the owner of the winery just more concerned about the upcoming change.
"If so, then I'll inform Acting Grandmaster Jean of the upcoming events. She might be able to get The Knights of Favonius ready for battle in case of an Abyss Order attack." Diluc swiftly decided as he grabbed his black fur coat and prepared to head to the headquarters. “Charles, could you be so kind, and please take over for me tonight? I promise I’ll make it up to you as soon as I have the opportunity to do so.” He turned his head to the other bartender. Charles was about to agree, before he was interrupted “There’s no use. The Abyss Order has no involvement in this. Whether you tell Acting Grandmaster Jean or not, it will make no difference. We can only pray to The Heavenly Principles themselves. Not even I can do anything about it, so please, just rest easy before the storm.” Venti shook his head and stopped Diluc. “Let’s just enjoy what we still have before everything we love falls to ruin.”
“What do you mean…?” Diluc furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. What was the bard going on about?! Why did he sound so hopeless? Something was clearly out of the ordinary and Diluc needed to know what he wanted to somehow stop whatever storm was coming their way. His duty is to protect Mondstadt, protect his home, and protect his honor. That’s what his father would want, and as much as he knew Master Crepus wasn’t a good person, he couldn’t help but look up to him anyway. “You’ll find out soon enough, farewell, old friend.” Venti smiled and put away his cup.
Just as the man blinked, the bard was gone. As if it was only a vision made up by his mind. Maybe he’ll never understand what happened that night. Maybe he really did hallucinate. All he knew was that he would never see the bard again, and thank Celestia for that.