When the Stars Fall [Genshin Impact]

Chapter 29: Rekindle, Reignite, Extinguish

It is a terrifying feeling, to feel, but also to not. As white gave way to black, you opened your eyes to see Diluc's red hair obscuring most of his face. He cradled your head in his arms.

Though everything was muffled, you could distinctly hear a single phrase being repeated again and again: "I can't lose you too."

You opened your eyes wearily. You were tired, you knew that, but you didn't feel anything apart.

"You're awake..." came a voice. Kaeya's.

You didn't know; you didn't care.

You sat up, suddenly, almost pushing Diluc away. There was too much of everything, and yet nothing at all. Your breath came quick and shallow, recovering from what you had uncovered from your subconscious.

"Are you okay?" Diluc asked quickly, reaching a hand out towards your face again.

"Don't touch me," you snapped immediately, pushing his hand away. Your mind was still reeling with the events you had seen. How could Diluc have covered up something like that?

Kaeya had almost died by his own brother's blade.

Diluc shook his head in disbelief. "What's going on?"

You looked around quickly as you stood up, and you saw Scaramouche leaning very casually against the wall, arms folded, his blade nowhere to be seen. Kaeya was watching with a mixed expression - sorrow, guilt, remorse...helplessness?

Everything was a blur. You took another step away from them.

"You..." You stared at Diluc, a passive expression on your face, your voice unwavering, but without a hint of emotion. "You almost killed Kaeya."

His face immediately blanched at the accusation, clearly caught off guard and in a very vulnerable state. Kaeya crossed his arms and looked away subtly, clearly also uncomfortable with the introduction of this topic.

"I thought you didn't remember," Diluc said after a moment of silence. "You said that you didn't remember anything from that day."

"She very well could have been lying," Kaeya said. "Or, did something happen after the delusion backfired?"

"I saw father," you said simply. There was no trace of anything in those words - no love, no regret, no hope, no despair. It unsettled even you. "He said that I had lost my connection with my vision, so it was possible to give it back anew and save me."

"Father..." Diluc said quietly. "He's safe, right?"

"Since when do you care about your blood?" Your voice came firmly, with not a hint of hesitation in the accusation. "You were going to kill Kaeya, weren't you? If it weren't for his vision, he would be dead right now because of you."

Before anybody could interject, you continued. "What's stopping you from doing it again in the future? You spend your days stoic and distant, and full of regret, and yet you cannot bring yourself to apologise."

Silence hung heavy. Diluc didn't respond. He looked up at you, eyes slightly rubbed red from crying; a sight you would never have believed could happen. Kaeya's body faced you, too, but his gaze shifted elsewhere.

"Say something, goddamnit."

"What do you want me to say? That I regret it? Because I do," Diluc said finally. "I regret it almost every day of my life. When I see the Knights of Favonius, when I see Kaeya, when I walk into the winery. Because things didn't have to be this way. But it came out this way because of me."

You watched blankly as you listened to him. Perhaps, in another situation, had you walked in when you were younger, or perhaps, a you from somewhere in the future when you had healed, you would cry bitter tears - sympathise - and comfort him. Had you not been in this situation, you would have felt compelled to see him as who he said he was.