Far Apart || Kaeluc/ Genshin Impact fanfic

5. 𝕱𝖎𝖛𝖊

"Why did he come find me, after so long?" He heard Kaeya mutter to Diluc, "he must be up to no good, even the Abyss Order has been acting different lately..."

"Up... to no good... eh?" A golden haired man stood behind closed doors, hidden from sight in shadows, listening to the two in the room talk. "I suppose... you could say I am up to no good..." A small sigh, and he looks up to the ceiling, studying the ornate patterns absentmindedly.

There is none of the slyness or humour from the day before in his eyes. What was left there is a faint sadness and heartache. The eyes of a King who had been through war and survived, who had watched kingdoms fall, including his own, who had looked on helplessly as his people were slaughtered.

"Kae... I am truly sorry, you know?" He whispers to no one. "But She... She can turn the tides, She is the reason the Abyss Order has been restless. The Princess of the Abyss, surely you have heard."

He slumps onto the walls, tired and weary, "but I will not bother you today. Enjoy your time while you can, Kae..."

And the man walks away, back straight and eyes sharp, his moment of weakness gone as if it had never been there.

- - - - -

Kaeya's story kept Diluc on a gloomy mood the whole day. All that crap about Khaenri'ah and Dainsleif and the King of Khaenri'ah and whatever... Diluc didn't know Kaeya had had so much stuff in his brain all the time, and he felt himself frowning every time he remembered that he had left Kaeya to burden all that alone.

So heavy and deep... how does he know that, and keep a smile on his face all the time? But every time he looks at Kaeya, all he sees now is the trembling, shivering kid standing outside the door of his Manor, drenched in the rain, blue eyes sad and terrified.

But this man... Diluc thought.

This man is nothing like the Kaeya he used to know . He is... he is someone who'd stolen his body, his shell, his smile and laugh and voice and character. Kaeya was different from when he was young— a fake smile or smirk always plastered on his face, his smile never really reaching his charming blue eyes. There were these moments when he thought nobody was looking, and Kaeya's blue eyes would wash over with sadness, dull and fogged (is this even a word?)

But it wasn't this that made Diluc frown everytime he thought about it. It was the fact that... that he had been the one to make Kaeya like this.

He had played a part in Kaeya's suffering, his layers of masks and secrets.

Because of him, Kaeya would forever live to feel the guilt of betraying a brother who used to love him so much.

And Diluc had... Diluc had never bothered to understand him. He'd known of Kaeya's role as a spy for Khaenri'ah, but he had never thought that Kaeya had lost so much. His only friend, his father, his mother, his home. And he had lost a brother too, had not said a word about it, had acted like he didn't care, had acted like he was fine.

No, how could Diluc have thought him fine? How... How could Diluc have ignored his feelings so completely?

The thought digs into Diluc's heart, leaving a mark, as Diluc balled up the piece of paper in his hands. He threw it at the wall, and the paper ball hit the wall and dropped to the floor. Diluc went and picked it up, smoothing it out again, not at all ashamed for ruining such an important document.

He calmed the thought in his brains, and stared blankly at the words.

He had stared at the same piece of said paper for an hour, and the small, black words were blurring in his eyes, and he read every single line again and again, none of them really going into his mind.

He signed his name on the paper and reached to his right for the next paper. A thick, thick stack of paper met his eyes.

"Ughhhh." Diluc had never been more frustrated with his work.

- - - - -

"In the perpetual meantime of a sheltered eternity, most are content to live, and not to dream."

There was once a tale spoken about a lost kingdom.

People whispered about its advanced technology. The strange power the people possessed. A nation where no God rules, and humans were their own masters. They say it is at a hidden corner of the world- where the God's gaze does not fall.

What a strange place. A nation without a God... strange indeed.

"But in the hidden corners where the Gods' gaze does not fall, there are those who dream, of dreaming."

But along with this is another tale people do not know. A tale, hidden from the people of Teyvat by the Gods of Celestia.

They say there is a curse. A curse that eats away humanity to anyone who has it. A curse that gives power, but eats away one's soul. It is a curse from Khaenri'ah, its contents only known by the nation's people. Many adventurers journey far and wide for this Kingdom, but most never return.

"Some say a few are chosen and the rest are dregs, but I say we humans have our humanity."

A legend... yes, to the people of Teyvat, Khaenri'ah is merely a legend, a fantasy, a kingdom that does not exist at all.

"We will defy this world with a power from beyond."

- - - - -

GOSH FINALLY AN UPDATE.

BE PREPARED FOR ANOTHER MONTH OF SILENCE BECAUSE ME HAF TEST.

SOWY

OKUE BAI

SCARLETTT

(Dang all the spelling mistakes— I—)