The Abyss Mages were easier to find than Diluc thought they'd be. There were about five of them, and they were gathered in a circle in a small clearing amidst the trees. They were far enough from the village that he could fight them without alerting the villagers, but still close enough that it proved hazardous if things went south.
From the looks of it, there was one cryo Abyss Mage, one pyro, one hydro, and two electro. They seemed to be chanting something simultaneously, but it was in an ancient language that Diluc couldn't make out.
He knew this was supposed to be a trap, but it didn't seem like a particularly good one. He'd killed more Abyss Mages than he could count, yet the Abyss Order only sent these five to destroy him? Either the Order made a grave miscalculation, or something was amiss here…
Whatever the case, they needed to be stopped. Trap or no trap, the Diluc had a mission to accomplish. He gripped his claymore tightly and prepared himself to fight. Before he could move in closer though, he heard the sound of a teleporting mage come from behind him. He quickly swirled around and came face to face with one of the electro mages.
"The Darknight Hero," the Abyss Mage cackled. "How kind of you to join us!"
Over the past few days, Kaeya heard rumors that the Darknight Hero would be making another appearance soon. At first, he thought the rumors were nothing but the wishes and hopes of those who wanted to see the fabled vigilante for themselves, but he decided to dig deeper into the rumors after a recent encounter he had with a pyro abyss mage.
Two days ago, Kaeya had been patrolling along the path leading to Springvale when he saw the lone mage darting behind a cluster of trees. For someone like him, dealing with a single Abyss Mage wasn't any problem at all, so he quickly defeated it and questioned what it was doing so close to the village.
"I'd never tell our secrets to Favonius scum like you!" the mage screeched, squirming against its bonds. "What I'm here for is my own business."
"Oh really?" Kaeya said, his gaze darkening. In one swift motion, he unsheathed his sword and pointed it at his captive. "Are you sure about that? This blade is very sharp, you know."
The pyro mage wailed and shook its head frantically. "Okay, okay, fine! I'll tell you! Just keep that thing away from me."
Kaeya was glad this particular mage happened to be a coward. It usually took a lot more to get information out of one. Or perhaps it had memories of facing the wrong end of a blade before and didn't care to again. Whatever the reason, this was going much easier than he expected.
"So?" The cavalry captain demanded. "Care to explain what brings you here this fine evening? And alone, might I add?"
The mage was silent for a few seconds before hesitantly giving in. "I was…Scouting out the place for…for…"
"For what?" Kaeya was growing a little impatient. Maybe he should have gone harder with his threat to ensure a more thorough interrogation. His grip tightened on his sword.
"A ritual! In two days, a ritual will be held that will get rid of the Darknight Hero once and for all." The mage, though still bound and at the mercy of Kaeya's sword, cackled like it was the one who had the edge. "And once he's taken care of, it's only a matter of time until the city falls to the Abyss Order."
The Darknight Hero, huh? So the rumors were true, he probably heard about the Abyss Mage's plan and was going to try and foil it. But if they wanted to lure them here…The vigilante could very well be led into a trap.
"How many of you will be at the ritual? How exactly are you planning to 'get rid' of the Darknight Hero? And what exact time will it take place?"
The Abyss Mage was hesitant to answer more questions, and in the end, Kaeya didn't get as much information as he wanted. The mage told him the ritual would take place around midnight, but it wouldn't disclose how many would be there or what their exact plan was.
That being said, he would just have to work with what little he knew. At first, Kaeya wanted to tell Jean about what he learned, but something in him hesitated to do that. It wasn't because he didn't want the other knights to get involved or anything-if they knew that Springvale could potentially be in danger because of this, they would send backup over there right away. But Kaeya also knew that if the Knights of Favonius heard about this, they might try to capture the Darknight Hero after this was over.
Kaeya wasn't particularly a huge fan of the Darknight Hero, but from what little was known about the vigilante, he had his own theories about their identity. If his theory was right, then he didn't want to be the one to get in the hero's way. More than that, he wanted to make sure that the Darknight Hero came out of this unscathed.
That was why, only a few minutes after Diluc left the Angel's Share, Kaeya left too.
Here Kaeya was, currently running to Springvale as fast as his legs would take him, worried that he might've left too late and wouldn't get to the ritual site in time. He wished he would've left earlier, but if he left right after Diluc did, there was the chance that Diluc would have noticed him and stopped him from following.
That is-if Diluc even really was the Darknight Hero. It was only a theory, and one Kaeya couldn't prove yet, but if there was even the smallest chance that Diluc was, then he wanted to be certain that nothing happened to him. Even after four years of discord between them, all Kaeya wanted was for his brother to be safe.
The Darknight Hero wasted no time in swinging his claymore towards the electro Abyss Mage, but it teleported away again before his blade could hit.
"What's your plan this time?" Diluc growled at the mage. "Trying to destroy me yet again? You're bound to fail."
"Oh, we plan to destroy you," it replied. "In due time. But now is not that time…We have something far worse planned for you."
Far worse than being destroyed? Diluc wondered what the Abyss Mage meant by that.
"And what could that be?" Diluc questioned, glowering at the mage beneath his mask.
The electro Abyss Mage only laughed. Suddenly, the other mages appeared by it. The Darknight Hero was surrounded.
"Tell me!" Diluc demanded, but his insistence only fell upon deaf ears. The chanting he heard earlier suddenly started up again, and glowing emitted from each Abyss Mages' hands.
"What's going on? What is this?" Diluc turned around, only to face the hydro mage. "What are you doing?"
A light so bright it blinded him came forth as the mages continued to chant.
"Stop…stop it…" Diluc muttered as he felt himself growing weaker. Then the pain hit.
It felt like lightning struck his head and thunder was chorusing inside it. Everything suddenly felt far too overwhelming, and as incredibly intense pain spread throughout his body, his muscles feeling as though they were on fire and melting into nothing, he fell to the ground in a heap. He was barely even aware of the Abyss Mages fleeing the scene. He was alone now. Completely, utterly alone.
What did they do to him?!
"N-no…" Diluc mumbled as his vision faded, his eyes growing heavier with each pound of his head. His last thought before unconsciousness took over was how badly he just failed.
Kaeya was expecting to see a masked red-head fighting with their claymore, flames blazing abright, but instead, the Darknight Hero was on the ground as several Abyss Mages fled the scene. He watched as the vigilante slowly pushed himself into an upright sitting position and held his head.
But wait-was that the Darknight Hero? He was far too small, and there was no way that could be him-but…it had to be…
Oh. Oh.
Kaeya knelt beside the fallen vigilante. As soon as he looked at his face, he felt a chill run down his spine, and he felt like he couldn't breathe.
There, staring back at him, was the face of Diluc-not the grouchy recluse of the grownup he'd come to know, but the round cheeks of a younger Diluc. A much younger Diluc. He was supposed to be 22, but now…Now he looked no older than thirteen. Kaeya was looking back at a face straight from the past. He couldn't explain it-he could hardly believe it-but he was.
"Diluc?" Kaeya whispered, the name barely able to leave his mouth. He was crazy, right? He was totally going crazy, there was no way his brother was a kid again. His brother, who was supposed to be older than him, not years younger. He was hallucinating, the fleeing abyss mages cast a spell that was boggling his mind, or this was some kind of weird fever dream, or-or something-
"Who…" The now-younger Diluc stared back at Kaeya, a very terrified and very confused expression on his face. "What am I doing here? Who are you?"