Rising Flame || Diluc X Reader

Chapter 18

Ah.

The Sanctuary of Surasthana. 

You paused outside the door. Aether stepped in front of you and opened it. 

I'm so stupid.

I thought it was like the door in Snezhnaya so I had to mentally prepare myself to open it.

You chuckled to yourself. 

"Come on Y/N." You stepped inside to see a child dressed in white and green talking to a person with indigo eyes. 

They seem... Familiar.

When you reached them, the indigo eyes met yours. He stepped backward in surprise. 

"Helia? Why is she here?" 

"Do I know you?" You turned to Aether "Whose this?" 

"Oh. Right, you lost your memory." 

"What do you mean lost my memory? Can someone explain what's going on?" 

"Here, let me." The child, who you assumed to be the Dendro archon, approached you. A moment later, you remembered. 

You immediately turned to Scaramouche. 

"Scara! It's you! Why are you dressed so weirdly? I can see you kept your hat..."

As you appraised his new outfit, you heard Aether and the Archon chatting in the background. 

"Y/N, was it?" You turned to her. 

"Yes. It's nice to meet you Lesser Lord Kusnali." 

"Call me Nahida." 

"Alright then. Hmm. Look at the time. I should get going."

"You could stay in the city." 

"Where? I'm perfectly fine." 

"You're living in a cave Y/N." Aether sighed 

"Living in a cave? Imagine... a fatui Harbinger-" 

"You can stay in Wanderer's house." 

"What?! NO WAY THAT I'M ROOMING WITH HIM/HER" (You, Scara) 

"You can, and you will." (Nahida) 

"Y/N. Please." (Aether) 

"Fine. If you manage to get him to-" You were cut off as you heard Scara giving his agreement, grudgingly of course. 

"Ok! Let's go to the Former Fatui Haringer Rehabilitation house!"

"We are not calling it that." (You & Scara) 

Nahida laughed, and Scara left, with you running to catch up. 

"This is the place?" 

"Mhm. Here's the spare key." 

"You've gotten nicer." 

"No." 

"Heh. Do you still cry in your sleep? I remember all those rumors-" 

"Shut up! She shouldn't have given you your memories back." 

"Why do you still wear that ugly a## hat?" 

"Ugh." 

"Pfft. I miss how the four of us used to argue like this." 

"Four of us?" 

"You, me, Rosalyne, and Childe." 

"Funny how you call her Rosalyne." 

"She would've killed me, but after The Knave called her that at her funeral, I started calling her that too. It's not like Arlecchino was closer to her than me." 

"Hm." 

"Don't you miss her?" 

"I never considered you my friends. Especially with what she told me before she went to go die." 

"Hm. Keeping up the loner act?" 

"Shut up." 

The laughing and teasing continued until midnight. 

Aether POV

"Are you sure it's alright to leave them together?" Paimon voiced the question I had been asking myself. 

"Are you concerned for her?" (Nahida) 

"I am. She's been weighing on my mind for a while." (Aether) 

"I may be able to help her. Though, if she doesn't want help... I may do more harm than good." 

"What do you mean?" (Paimon) 

"If she refuses... I cannot help her be happy." 

"I want to talk to her. In private." (Aether) 

"I can connect you in your dreams. So fall asleep quickly." 

"I'll go home then." 

End Aether POV

When I fell asleep after the long talk I had with Scara, a voice sounded. 

"You're finally asleep." 

"Aether?" 

"Let's talk." 

"About what? We already had a conversation." 

"Tell me what happened after I left. I need to hear it from your perspective. Not one that makes you the villain." 

"Oh, you want one that makes me the hero?"

"Tell me the truth Y/N." 

"Why do you need to know? I already told you about my past, didn't I? So why do you need to know more? I'm sure your friends already told you all there is to know." 

"They told me you were dead." 

"I know they think so. I know they think I'm a monster. But I told you. I had to choose between two horrible choices. Sometimes, there isn't a good choice. There's a bad choice and a slightly better choice." 

"That's it?" 

"Oh. Were you wondering why I'm not hiding my scars?" 

"No. The other scar."

"That was an abyss mage." 

"Oh. So that's the end of the story? Venti says that you said something he didn't understand." 

"That. It was an impulsive choice. Just a little push in the right direction." 

"Why?" 

"I thought I was going to die anyway. I wanted to die having done something good even though no one would see it like that." 

"How come you didn't end it after?" 

"I'm a coward Aether. I'm constantly hoping that things will get better. Even though I know that it's pathetic. I'm hoping for it without the strength or willingness to make it happen. I gave up on achieving it myself, but somehow, I'm still hoping." 

"You're waiting for him to find you?" 

"If he does... I'll probably run away from him. But I still want him to find me. So that he knows that I'm not dead. But I don't want him to find out at the same time. These conflicting feelings..." 

"I can contact him for you if-" 

"Don't. If he does find out, let it be not because I asked someone to, but because he wanted to find me. Though, why would he want to find a corpse?" You chucked. "It's pathetic. Really hopeless." 

"Y/N-"

"Don't try and comfort me Aether. I have already accepted that I'll probably die without ever seeing him again. So... don't pity or feel sorry for me. I'm fine. Or as fine as I can be." 

"You really love him don't you?" 

"I don't know."

"I should go now. Goodnight Y/N." 

"Goodnight Aether." 

A/N: Idk what to say...