Diluc never imagined that he would live to see the day when him and Kaeya would fight again. He didn't wish for it, but faith decided to put yet another obstacle that he needed to overcome in his life.
He thought that he should have been used to it by now, but every time life gave him its blessings, it would take them away shortly, toying with him.
Everything was temporary.
Diluc knew this, but he often wondered: why did it have to be like that. Even if it was temporary, couldn't it at least last a little longer? A little longer, just so he can prepare himself for what is to come. To harden himself, to be able to shut all the sadness away behind a wall of ice so thick, that not even time could break it.
But Diluc knew that was impossible.
His father's life, his relationship with Kaeya. They were all gone in a second. Life was just reminding Diluc that he couldn't control anything. That he couldn't protect anything, not even himself from this fate.
That was the reason why right now he was facing Kaeya in the coldness of the night.
The eyepatch on his right eye was no more, letting both his eyes gleam with killing intent in the moonlight. Diluc never saw the eye that Kaeya was always covering with the black cloth, but he knew part of the reason why he was doing it.
The blue-haired man would always tell him that it was some sort of monster that took possesion of his body, but he had the power to fight him, not to anihilate it completely. That was why it had found shelter in his right eye.
Diluc didn't know if that was the truth, and he didn't want to annoy Kaeya if he were to ask the same question over and over again, so he kept quiet about the subject until now.
The second he laid his eyes on Kaeya with that cursed sword in his hand he realized that the monster took control of him.
It was as clear as day.
He had to lose another person that he treasured so much.
***
The thought of Kaeya's blood dripping from the surface of his weapon's blade made him sick. He couldn't kill him. They grew up together, they knew eachother for so long, how could he possibly do it?
Yet he had to do something. Diluc knew that one of them wasn't going to make it until morning. If he didn't kill Kaeya, or better said, the monster who now controlled his body, he was going to be the one who wouldn't be able to see the light of the day once more.
The painful thing was that even if he let Kaeya win, Mondstadt would have to suffer. Not because they lost him, but because the blue-haired man would kill every person in his way, be it a child or an elder.
Kaeya's blank stare wasn't moving away from Diluc as he stepped slowly towards him. The sword in his hand was glowing like it was made out of blue crystal, so beautiful yet so deadly.
Diluc's grip on his longsword grew thighter. His hands were shaking, but he tried to get his feelings out of the way. He had to do this for Mondstadt, that's what Diluc thought, yet even he knew that was a lie.
He needed to do this for himself. He needed to be able to overcome his fear of being left all alone in this cold world, in this city ruled by freedom.
Diluc always asked himself: if he was meant to be all alone, why did faith bless him with friends and a loving family, then took it all away? Why wasn't he born with nothing of these things?
They were all pointless questions.
Everything had a meaning in life, but some things were meant to stay hidden deep underground, never to be discovered, and some questions were meant to remain without an answer.
It was an unspoken rule, a thing whose purpose only the Gods knew.
But did Diluc's life hold any meaning? Or, maybe, the only reason he was alive was to suffer?
***
Snowflakes started to dance around the two men standing in front of eachother, the pure white a way too beautiful sight for the reason of their presence there. Kaeya raised his sword, its tip almost touching Diluc's chest.
The red-haired man didn't dare look up. He was staring down at his gloved hands that gripped the handle of his weapon. He looked afraid. Not because of the possibility that he might die tonight. There was something else, another feeling that he couldn't quite understand, that was slowly eating away at his soul.
"Are you going to stand there all night?" Kaeya said, his voice the only thing that could be heard in the dead silence of the night.
His right eye was a different color than his left. It made him look more dangerous. Even when his face was showing no emotion, in his eyes Diluc could read clear as day.
Bloodthirst.
That was the reason he couldn't look at Kaeya. He didn't like to see him like this, like a monster who's only purpouse is to kill.
All the memories Diluc had with Kaeya were returning to him, just like the snow that was slowly covering the ground.
He couldn't think, he couldn't speak. All those thoughts were ravaging his head. The only thing that he could do was to move.
So he put a step forward, almost getting stabbed by the sword in Kaeya's hand. Diluc finally raised his gaze to look at Kaeya, and what he saw snapped him back from his trance.
Kaeya was smirking. He enjoyed seeing Diluc like this, a weak human being that only struggled with every step he made in life, tormented by his past at every second. It was a real gift to be the one who was going to end his suffering.
Or that was what he thought.
The sword that was in Diluc's hands clashed with the cold shining metal of Kaeya's weapon, the sound ringing in their ears. The red-haired man had a frown on his face, his eyes glowing like red flames as he was looking at Kaeya.
"Kaeya!" he said, almost yelling. "Snap back to reality! "
His gaze started to soften, along with his voice, as he continued to speak:
"I don't want this battle to end like the night Father died."
He took a deep breath, pushing his sword forward against Kaeya's.
"Or is this your wish? To kill me? To destroy Mondstadt?" Diluc whispered.
Kaeya wasn't impressed by the red-haired man's words. They meant nothing to him.
***
Words could be dangerous weapons if spoken by the right person, but most of the time they were just blank statements, not worthy of his attention. That was the reason why he never took them to heart, never thought about them as a way to express his feelings.
Words were just another weapon in Kaeya's eyes.
"I don't have a wish, dear Diluc."
He paused before adding:
"I'm only here to finish what I started." Kaeya said in a calm voice.
And with that, the blue-haired man suddenly pushed his sword forward, almost shoving his opponent to the ground in the process. Diluc's eyes widened as he took a few steps back. He needed to fight, he needed to win, he needed to...
End Kaeya's life.
YOU ARE READING
The night we said goodbye || Kaeluc/Rewritten
Fanfiction"Even ice can be melted, and fire extinguished, nothing in this world can be eternal." Life always reminds Kaeya that his destiny is to ruin, not only others, but also himself. Every choice he makes leads to bitter ends, shattered dreams, and sorro...
