Pretty Last Words

The End.

...

Kaeya couldn't speak. He couldn't hear, couldn't see, couldn't feel... His whole body went numb and yet it still somehow shook violently. His face was pressed into the dirt, rain drops pelted his body like shards of ice. He gasped, and yet air seemed so far out of reach. It was all around him, wasn't it? So why couldn't he grasp it? He let out a small chuckle. Funny. He'd never thought about breathing before. It had always come naturally, after all, it was a basic survival instinct. However, in this particular moment, he realized he'd never learned how to breathe. If you did something subconsciously, could you really say you knew how to do it? He didn't think so. Or at least, he couldn't. Which was turning out to be quite a problem as the air inside his body was quickly draining. Seeping out into the dirt as he didn't take his dying breath. If he had taken one, perhaps he wouldn't be dying.

The burning fire of the Abyss Mage's spell crisped the ends of his hair, sending shivers down his spine. Pyro and cryo... always polar opposites. He thought with a faint smile. It was only fighting his end was brought by one who opposed his existence. Hot and cold. Fire and ice. Warmth and freezing. They didn't belong in the same world. That was something Kaeya had realized long ago. In his ideal world, cold didn't exist. Nothing that had anything to do with cryo was allowed to live. It sounded blissful to him.

Why was he fighting the swarm of pyro Abyss Mages alone? Especially when he knew it was a fight he could not emerge victorious from. He didn't really know, perhaps that was a question for his heart and not his mind. Or maybe he'd already accepted his fate. Well, whatever the reason was, he knew he'd done the right thing. Diluc would be safe. The Abyss Mages had been hovering over a fire right beside the path Diluc took home every night. Whether or not they'd been waiting for the young Master, Kaeya didn't know. What he did know was that four Abyss Mages would be too much for his brother, and that if they saw someone walking near their concoctions they would not hesitate to kill. He didn't know how he'd been aware of his brother's danger. Perhaps it was instinct. Whether or not they shared blood, they did share a life. They'd grown up together, he'd seen Diluc at his best, and Diluc had witnessed him at his worst.

He knew going into the battle he was going to die. It hadn't been a question, he'd had no shred of hope. And this wasn't just him talking, he had proof.

...

Two nights ago his vision went out. Kaeya had found this rather particular as when he looked around he found that he was still very much alive. He'd told one person. Just one. The Alchemist. Albedo...

He hadn't been direct, he hadn't said it was his vision, but he'd asked about what would happen if someone's ambition went out.

The answer was simple.

They would soon follow.

And so, he'd prepared a failsafe.

As he lay, drowning in his own blood and burning alive, he clutched a letter. Just one of many, but he knew who would find his body, and he knew who would enact his last wishes.

If he was being honest...

Kaeya had felt relieved when his death was foreseen. At least he didn't have to choose... He could die innocent. That was a better fate than he'd ever hoped for.

"I'm afraid..."

Kaeya chuckled softly with the few remaining droplets of strength he possessed.

"I will not miss you cruel world."

—------

The air.

It wasn't right.

Something didn't feel right.

Diluc was on his way home, but he could sense something was off. When he'd been at the Angel's Share, there had suddenly been a dropping in his stomach. He'd left abruptly, he wasn't needed there anyway.

Then why was I there?... The forbidden part of his heart whispered.

Everything seemed fine. At least, on the surface.

But he was so sure... so sure something was wrong.

. . .

He couldn't speak.

As he rounded the corner he was faced with a scene he'd convinced himself he'd never see again.

The death of a loved one.

He didn't say anything, instead, he crumpled forward sobbing silent tears as he threw himself over Kaeyas body. The fires were still burning, but in that moment he couldn't feel pain. Or perhaps it was just outweighed by the crushing feeling that cursed his heart. The bodies of the Abyss Mages were scattered around them.

Wait.

Why wasn't Kaeya wearing his vision?

Had it been stolen? Or had he fought these monsters without it?

Huh?

Was that a letter in his hands?

Somehow it had escaped the hungry flames of death. Untouched and beautiful, it lay protected by Kaeya's cold hand. Diluc carefully peeled his brothers lifeless fingers off the crumpled paper. Slowly but surely he lifted it to his face.

It was addressed to him.

But how.... How could Kaeya of known he was going to die? How could he have known Diluc would find him?

Questions swirled his mind as he gently opened the letter and began to read.

...