Sìthiche
Kaeya stared out into the void. Diluc had given him flowers yesterday, his favorites, and they had spent the day having a great time together.
Everything was going well, almost too well.
Kaeya wasn't one to question his luck, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it wouldn't last forever.
As Mona often said, everyone goes through ups and downs in life, and so far, Kaeya hadn't experienced much misfortune in his new life.
He had easily settled into Liyue, made plenty of friends, and managed to avoid any harm or threats.
Mona's words echoed in his mind.
"The brighter the light, the darker the shadow behind it."
While Mona could sometimes be dramatic, Kaeya knew better than to underestimate her or her wisdom.
He had a hunch that something bad was on the horizon, but he wasn't sure what he could do to prevent it.
To distract himself, he absentmindedly started flipping a coin.
This particular coin wasn't rigged, unlike the other one he had, which always landed on heads and never on tails.
While mona was the same in both sides coins for bets did exist, Kaeya had some of those, one used for makig decisions and a rigged one.
He had given this coin to Diluc on his twelfth birthday, but he couldn't remember what happened to it afterwards.
It wasn't a big deal to Kaeya, as the coin didn't hold much significance.
He couldn't recall who had given him the coin, perhaps a relative or maybe his mother, whose face he struggled to remember.
His mother had played a role in raising him, but he couldn't retrieve many memories of her.
Whether she was alive or not It was the same to him, she was absent when his father abandoned him.
It was unclear if she had also abandoned him or if she was no longer alive.
While Kaeya used to have nightmares about it as a child, he didn't dwell on it as much as an adult.
Although he couldn't consider Crepus his true father, Crepus had raised him as if he were a friend of his own son.
Varka had also played a significant role in his this.
While it felt odd to think of Crepus as a father figure, considering he had never officially adopted him, Kaeya couldn't deny the impact Crepus had on his life.
In a strange way, Crepus had been his father-in-law at some point.
Embarrassed, Kaeya's face turned red as he realized he had been lost in thought for too long.
Remembering the past was a difficult task.
His relationship with Diluc had lasted only a year, during which they hadn't progressed beyond a few kisses.
They had planned to reveal their feelings to Crepus once they came of age, but that moment never arrived.
When Diluc returned from his journey, they never brought it up again.
Kaeya now believed that Crepus was aware of their secret and had given them time, but unfortunately, time wasn't on their side.
Despite that, Kaeya had accepted the possibility of never seeing Diluc again and was determined to make the most of the time they had.
Deep down, he hoped that they could at least become friends again once Diluc regained his memories.
Kaeya hadn't spent all his time training rigorously.
He had traveled to various places, except Mondstadt, and made connections along the way, even with the Fatui, though unintentionally.
Whether others remembered or not, he had a way of coincidentally encountering them.
He had befriended the priest of Watatsumi, an Oni from Inazuma, and Thoma, who hailed from Mondstadt.
In Sumeru, he met a young aspiring architect who often rambled on, as well as his quiet companion.
He had even formed a friendship with a future judge.
Exploring new locations and making new friends had been a gratifying experience. While survival had initially been his primary focus, Kaeya couldn't help but feel a natural inclination to protect others.
One of his aspirations had been to save Collei, but during his visit to Sumeru, he caught a glimpse of Collei.
It seemed peculiar, but he had intervened in Sumeru before to sabotage Dottore's plans, so he initially believed it was thanks to his actions that Collei was safe.
Now he realized there might have been other forces at play.
Snezhnaya was a place Kaeya disliked due to its distance and freezing temperatures.
He didn't spend much time there, but he did meet a boy named Ajax.
Strangely enough, Ajax bore a slight resemblance to the description Diluc had given of the Eleventh Harbinger of the Fatui.
However, Kaeya wasn't one to judge a young child solely based on appearances.
After all, Ajax was only twelve years old, and Kaeya was fourteen at the time. He had no intentions of mistreating a young child just because of a potential connection to an unfamiliar member of the Fatui.
Ajax recollected his fall into the Abyss at the age of fourteen, followed by his induction into the Fatui later that same year. Becoming a Harbinger had been a challenging process, but now it felt easy and quick. At the age of fourteen, Ajax was already a Harbinger and found himself on a ship bound for Liyue. His memories had resurfaced during his time in the Abyss, but there was something peculiar that didn't quite fit.
"Did I actually play with a boy named Kaeya when I was younger?" Although memories of his life before joining the Fatui remained fragmented, as he had devoted himself entirely to his duties, memories of his interactions with a certain young lad during their time together remained surprisingly vivid. Another concern gnawed at Ajax's mind—would Morax view him as just a child when they met? This apprehension troubled him, as he found himself quite intrigued by Morax, perhaps more than he cared to admit. Looking at his own physique, Ajax couldn't deny that he still possessed the body of a child, despite the strength and training he had acquired.
Ajax remembered falling into the Abyss at 14 and becoming part of the Fatui that same year. Becoming a harbinger had been more difficult, but now it was simply easy and quick.
Ajax was 14, already a harbinger, and on a ship bound for Liyue.
Ajax had regained his memory in the abyss, yet there was something in his memories that didn't fit.
Did I also play with a boy named Kaeya when I was young?
While he didn't remember much about his life before, as he himself had decided to focus on work for some reason, he couldn't forget the face of that child he had played with during the weeks he had stayed in the area.
Another question Ajax had was whether Morax would think of him as a child when he saw him.
That made him a little scared because Ajax was quite interested in Morax.
A bit too much.
Ajax looked himself up and down, although his body was trained and stronger than when he was young thanks to many things Skirk had taught him...
There was no doubt that his body was that of a child...
A few hours into the journey, Ajax was regretting his decision.
-uni-KUNI
The puppet jumped and looked angrily at the green-haired girl in front of it.
-For fuck's sake, Collei, could you wake people up in a normal way?
Collei rolled her eyes at this.
-You don't even need to sleep, you only do it when Lord Kusanali asks you to, and we both know it.
With a sigh, he decided that arguing with someone who knew him inside out was completely useless and pretended to fall back asleep.
-Oh no, none of that. Lord Kusanali has asked us for help in finding those who remember so we can keep an eye on them, and you have to figure out how to restore their memories at the Irminsul.
The plan for now was simple, to monitor those who have their memories or are about to regain them, so that they don't attract Celestia's attention, and when Celestia least expects it, destroy their plan.
Now, the plan wasn't completely finished.
There were still many details missing.
-Collei, you're not going to stop Kaeya from saving Crepus, are you?
With a sigh, Collei looked at him in the eyes.
-If you already know the truth, why are you asking? You and I both know that the worst variable is him, but neither of us has tried to stop him.
-If we don't stop him, we might fail.
-If I didn't go with Dottore, we might fail, and yet you didn't take me to him and destroyed his laboratory.
Both knew that this argument was useless and wouldn't lead them anywhere.
-Collei, get ready to go to Mondstadt. I'm going to create an opportunity to change fate.
-You know that if you keep doing this, Celestia might try to erase you completely.
Kuni smirked.
-Let them try.
Monday arrived earlier than expected, and Kaeya, Lisa, Diluc, and Jean were already out on the streets, looking at the stalls. Festival week was always amazing, and everyone loved it.
Still, Diluc couldn't help but think that maybe not everything was alright.
He was afraid of what was happening. Diluc was only 16, and he was truly scared.
Scared that whoever had hurt Kaeya would hurt him again. He had known Kaeya for such a short time, and loving Kaeya seemed foolish and stupid.
But Diluc couldn't help it, he loved Kaeya too much. He wanted to protect him, even though he knew Kaeya was even more powerful than himself.
But at the same time, he was afraid that Kaeya would see it as mere entertainment.
Someone who had lived as long as Kaeya should be able to tell when someone had feelings for them, shouldn't they?
Was Kaeya just playing with him?
Diluc couldn't help but be afraid, very afraid.
The festival was fun. He saw Kaeya almost drowning in an apple-catching competition against Lisa.
Lisa won, obviously.
Then Kaeya showed how skilled he was with the bow because, of course, he couldn't be good at just one thing.
So, naturally, Kaeya won the archery competition. Lisa didn't participate properly, more interested in accidentally leaning against Jean.
On the other hand, Diluc really tried, only to discover how terrible he was at aiming.
"Why am I so bad at this?"
He sighed and gave up.
Everything was going absurdly well. The days were passing too quickly, and Diluc couldn't help but want to do something to convince Kaeya to stay longer.
It was already the last evening, Kaeya was leaving tomorrow, and Diluc didn't know what to do.
Only the two of them were left, resting quietly.
In the previous days, they had never been completely alone.
On the second day, Rosaria had ended up joining them and challenging them to a competition of who could drink more, in which only Kaeya and Lisa participated.
On the third day, a very kind boy named Bennett had appeared and introduced his new friend, Razor, to Kaeya, who seemed to already know both of them.
On the fourth day, someone named Albedo had arrived, looked at Kaeya, and said that he didn't expect to see him here.
They had talked privately for a while, and when Kaeya returned, he explained that they were distant relatives or something, and they had decided to spend the day together.
On the fifth day, Albedo returned, this time with his sister Klee, who hugged Kaeya and cried, saying she missed him.
Apparently, they were family, although Diluc didn't quite understand why Kaeya didn't resemble Albedo in anything other than their eyes, and didn't resemble Klee at all
Could Kaeya choose his own appearance?
Diluc really wanted to know.
On the sixth day, they all got together to celebrate and get to know each other.
Today, the seventh day, was the farewell. Kaeya was leaving tomorrow morning.
Diluc looked at Kaeya, who had a nostalgic smile on his face.
-Kaeya, I...
But when Kaeya looked at him, Diluc couldn't continue what he was about to say.
In the end, he said something completely different of what he actually wanted.
-Will I ever see you again?
Diluc observed the guilt reflected in Kaeya's eyes.
For a moment, he couldn't help but feel that he would never see him again.
-Of course, I'm sure you will.
But for some reason, Diluc felt that he wasn't sincere at all. Without knowing why, he reached out his hand towards Kaeya's eyepatch, letting his hand rest there.
He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against Kaeya's.
This act was too private for anyone else to see, as everything Diluc felt was expressed in this simple action.
"Don't go."
"Come back."
"Be happy."
"I'm here to love you."
"Let me help you."
"Let me love you."
"Let me be here for you."
"I truly love you."
Instead of saying all of this, Diluc opened his eyes and looked directly into Kaeya's, which were trembling slightly.
-It's a promise.
The next day, Kaeya was no longer at home, but on Diluc's bed, there was a bouquet of Calla Lilie's with a necklace containing a rigged coin. A note said,
"Do as you please with this, signed, the worst of all liars."
Diluc didn't know whether to cry or not.
Kaeya was a terrible liar, and he was so terrible because Diluc knew he would keep his promise.
At least that was what his heart was telling him.