Faded Harmony

The Darknight Hero

Lyra could still feel everything around her, but she couldn't move. There was nothing covering her mouth, but she couldn't speak; she had forgotten her own voice. Only the presence that she sensed beside her, the presence of Night kept her sane. She was alone, with no way to voice her thoughts, no way to talk to anyone. She was left alone to relive her life, her dreams, her nightmares, alone with her thoughts. Panic and dread chased each other in her heart, over and over for millennia.

Lyra woke up gasping, her heart in her throat, before she realized that sunlight was entering her room, which meant she was not sealed away, she was not locked in the darkness. She looked around to see a concerned Diluc sitting at the foot of the bed, a book in his hand. She realized this was her house, and threw the blanket over her head, just before the first tears fell.

"Alright?" asked Diluc. Lyra heard the book being set down.

"Alright," she responded.

"Are you crying?"

"No."

She felt him tug the blanket, but held onto it. Diluc sighed. "A nightmare?"

"Mhm."

Lyra felt the weight from the end of the bed shift, and she pulled the blanket off her head to see Diluc walking away. He came back around two minutes later, a glass in his hand. Handing it to her, he took a seat on the bed.

"Apple Cider," said Lyra, recognizing the scent.

"Apparently, you've acquired a fondness for it."

Lyra drank, as Diluc told her Jean wanted to see her at the headquarters, and had requested Diluc to bring her there after she had woken up. He paused in the middle of his dialogue to wipe her lower eyelid with his thumb. Setting down the empty glass, Lyra followed Diluc out of her house as they walked up the stairs in silence.

Diluc entered Jean's office first and Lyra followed, looking around to see Jean leaning against her desk, Lisa by her side. Kaeya and Klee stood together, having a whispered conversation, which Jean was watching with suspicion.

"If it isn't Master Diluc and the Villain of Mondstadt," said Kaeya, announcing their presence as they walked in.

"Villain of Mondstadt?" asked Lyra nonchalantly. "I could've sworn I was a Knight of Favonius."

"There are people who blame you for the Cathedral incident. The sleeping city incident a few days ago did damage your reputation after all," explained Diluc.

"Not like she had one in the first place," said Kaeya, who had apparently decided to stop sweet-talking for the time being.

Lyra put a hand over her heart and pretended to fall against the wall. "You wound me." Straightening, she added, "And rather than bombing the Cathedral, would not poisoning the water supply be far more efficient?"

Diluc coughed, as Jean put her face in her hands. Lyra laughed nervously, as Kaeya looked at her with a calculating gaze.

"Good thing cutie isn't evil, right?" asked Lisa, with a smile. Lyra, remembering her threat from the library, nodded. Lisa looked thoughtful. "You said it was an Abyss Mage, didn't you?"

Lyra nodded, wondering what she was getting at.

"Would you show me where you saw him? It would prove useful to track him down."

"Is such a thing even possible?" asked Lyra with amusement, already halfway to the door. Lisa smiled, and Diluc followed as well. Taking the stairs two at a time, she led them back to the Cathedral, whistling softly as people had already begun its repair. She pointed to the sky near the Cathedral. "Over there."