Something Sweet

Chapter 15.1

Chapter 15.1

"Aether—hey, deep breath..." The nearby voice sounded like a distant echo, "Focus. Don't lose sight of me." The blonde's struggling breaths came out as short pants. Painfully having a hard time processing Kaeya's instructions.

"It... hurts--" The jolting pain from his left shoulder kept the traveler lying on his back. "Why am I—?"

"You fell a good twenty or so feet." Kaeya knelt next to him, pointing at a higher platform within the chamber. "You took an arrow to the shoulder—knocked you right off the platform. It's really in there but luckily, not much bleeding."

The mention of an arrow had the traveler glancing in its direction, quickly noticing the embedded weapon protruding from his left shoulder. "D—do I just leave it in there?"

Kaeya glanced around cautiously to reassure their surroundings, "I checked behind your arm, and fortunately, it didn't go through, but..."

Aether swallowed hard at the upcoming solution. "W—what about Diluc? Where is he?"

The blue-haired captain tipped his head towards a further hallway, "He's gone ahead."

A hazy blur remained within the traveler's eyes, but not enough to cloud the sight of red flames flashing within the directed corridor. "He- he moves like them." Aether struggled to sit up with Kaeya's help, "How does he know how to move like that?"

The question hung in the air.

It's been a few hours since they entered and started the fatui hideout infiltration. They had advanced slowly but at a smooth pace. Diluc and Kaeya were diligent in moving in a stealth-like protocol, silently striking down lone roaming fatui members on patrol.

The tactic successfully granted them access to fatui masks and hooded trenchcoats, a strategy for better stealth navigation and confusion among their targets.

From the start, Aether wasn't comfortable with the idea of fatally wounding every fatui member they encountered. The act without a purpose drew his hesitation, gradually causing a point of weakness in their line of offense. It was either Kaeya or Diluc who were fast to intercept or deliver the finishing blow.

Their advancement progressed slower as they proceeded to higher grounds.

With hours passing, the hideout was proving to be more challenging.

Darkness to their advantage.

Higher ground attacks kept them hidden or stalled for openings. Timing was key. It allowed for easier ambushes and long-ranged attacks, leaving Diluc and Kaeya to pick up any rifle or bow within reach.

Diluc's commands continued to grow more demanding with time.

From the start, the operation had proven to be mentally exhausting for the traveler. So soon to understand why Diluc had arranged for Paimon to stay behind.

This wasn't safe. Nothing about this plan was safe.

They should have brought reinforcements. There should have been a plan for a retreat. But now, they've gone too far.

Diluc had gone too far.

"We need to hurry... after him." The choice to leave the arrow or pull the damn thing out remained unanswered while Aether prioritized Diluc's position.

"Easy, try not to move it." Kaeya helped the traveler to his feet. "Judging from his impatience, we'd only be getting in his way."

More flashes of crimson fire burst through the hallway ahead of them. The waves of heat were smothering. Harsh enough to nearly suffocate their breaths.