Too Many Regrets (Aether/Diluc) [COMPLETED]

Act 1: The Dead March

The edge of the world. Two siblings stand before one another. They were twins once, that seems so long ago now.

"Is this what you really want, Aether?"

The boy wipes the blood from his right eye. He knows it's open yet it sees nothing.

The girl continues to question him. She is as shocked by his actions as he is by hers.

"Does this world mean so much to you now? More than i do?"

Their swords clashed as the ground around them shattered to pieces. Two immortals, wielding the powers of the gods, facing eachother in a battle they can only lose.

"I hoped you would understand! I thought after all this, you'd still be the brother i lost all those years ago!"

I thought the same about you.

He doesn't get a chance to tell her how much he wants to go home with her, how much he's missed her. He doesn't get a chance to say sorry for disappointing her. His final moment with his sister, the one he spent his entire life with, is one of violence and suffering. The relief of finding her was short-lived. She had plans, plans he couldn't stop. Not really, not in a way that would feel right. The price he had to pay to get what he wanted was unthinkable. No one person should ever have to suffer like this.

His sister's sword sliced open his thigh and he fell to the floor.

"Please brother, don't make me do this."

Please sister, don't make me do this.

---

Passing the stone gate was a weight off his shoulders. Finally he had reached it, the Mondstadt border.

For these last weeks he had walked here by himself. The soles of his boots  were nothing but old leather now, eroded away by the heavy pilgrimage. His legs felt like they'd crumble if he stopped moving. The cut on his thigh was a distant memory compared to the exhaustion that dragged on his body, begging him to rest. His right eye had been shut all this time, dried blood caking his lashes. He didn't know if it could still see and he didn't want to find out.

Nobody had spoken to him. When he limped through towns they fell quiet. When he slumped through cities the streets emptied. Even the people that knew him kept their distance. All they saw was a wounded soldier, a ghost perhaps, marching on. Somehow they knew there was no point in trying to stop him. Deep down they feared what might happen if they spoke to him. Was he still the kind traveler they had met before?

The wetness of dawn winery lake didn't phase him. Nature had already given him its all. What was calm water to he who tamed mountains and storms?

The vineyard seemed so peaceful. The war was over so it thrived. People were celebrating victory and peace all over Teyvat, the demand for wine had never been greater.

How lucky of them, to party after a battle. How small the price they had paid compared to him.

Someone was tending to the vineyard as Aether passed it. He didn't bother to check who it was. They had already left by the time he arrived, terrified by the haunting sight that paced towards them. There were guards here to deal with monsters, no need for a grape farmer to risk his life.

His boots hit the stone terrace around the winery with a wet clump. There were two maids outside the front door, chatting. They fell dead silent when they saw him. Their eyes revealed their fear, like they'd seen a corpse rise from the grave. Perhaps that was how he looked now, he hadn't bothered to check.

"Diluc...?"

They took a step back when he spoke. His voice was dry and crusty. He didn't remember when he last had something to drink.

The first girl seemed to stay strong despite her trembling legs. The second girl Was about to burst into tears. She was the one who spoke:
"H-he's in the city!"

The husk in front of them looked down as if to gather its thoughts. Was it even human? It must have been, once.

It looked at the front door and moved towards it.
"I'll wait for him."

As she watched it enter the winery, the maid finally remembered what she recognized that armor from. The golden decorations were almost as black as the rest of its armor and the glowing parts were covered by a thick layer of dirt, but it had to be him. It had to be the honorary knight.

The door closed behind him. The girls took a deep breath to free themselves of the panic and fear.

"We have to tell Diluc, we have to send for him immediately!"

"He said he had a lot to do today!"

"You saw what i saw, didn't you!? He has to come here as fast as possible!"

Aether didn't notice his boots covering the lovely carpet in mud, he didn't care for the workers inside the building petrified in shock when they saw him. There was a corner with a table and chair.

He should be safe here. It should be okay to rest now. He dropped into the wooden chair like a sack of potatoes falling off a cart. He crossed his arms in front of him on the table and rested his head. Everything felt so pointless now, even he didn't know why he came here.

He didn't want to sleep, he didn't lile his nightmares. He had had them every day since the final confrontation, there was no peace for him. Still, his aching body demanded it. His eye closed as he prepared himself for the upcoming reminder of what he had done.

---

"Please brother, don't make me do this!"

She said those words as if she was forced to. As if she was the one making him choose, making him do something he knew he wouldn't be able to live with.

Please sister, don't make me do this.

A tear ran down his cheek as he ripped his hopes and dreams in half.