Episode 3: In the Shadow of Night

Opening Theme: SECONDWALL - 君の世界を

The day after Diluc and Keqing's short honeymoon had ended, the red-haired man woke in his familiar, comfortable master bedroom at Dawn Winery. The excitement of the wedding was finally dying down, and a return to normalcy was in order.

That was just fine with Diluc, though. It had been almost a year since he had been reunited with Keqing, and married or not, the time they spent together was all equally precious to him. In fact, the entire year had felt like a honeymoon to him; it was a time so precious that it could have been mistaken for a happy dream.

In that time, Keqing had become fully accustomed to being by his side. She had recently moved to the Winery to help Diluc take care of business there. Of course, she couldn't do that while leading Liyue, so she had stepped down from her position in the Qixing before the wedding. Liyue had been sad to see her leave, but this second chance was too precious to waste away in some dusty old office slaving over endless paperwork.

So, together, the two of them had begun to steer the reins of their lives towards the future that they desired. This laid-back, yet fulfilling life was more than they could have hoped for, and they had both vowed to savor every second of it, knowing full well that it was a miracle.

The morning sun climbed higher into the blue skies, and around 9 a.m., Keqing sleepily traipsed down the main staircase. She quickly spotted Diluc, who was embroiled in some sort of discussion with Adelinde.

"Ah, Keqing. Finally decided to crawl out of bed, huh?" Diluc smirked, noticing his wife approaching.

"Hey, you said I could sleep in," she pouted.

"I certainly did. Good morning," he smiled gently, and Keqing blushed.

"Master, you shouldn't be too soft on this woman. She'll become a slacker in no time, I can feel it," Adelinde said with a straight face.

"Wha-?!" Keqing squeaked.

"For now, I'll allow it. The wedding and honeymoon took a lot out of us, after all," Diluc said, putting his hand on Keqing's head and grinning.

Adelinde sighed, and went back to work.

"Hungry?" Diluc asked.

"Yeah, I am."

As Keqing took her seat at the grand table, Diluc instructed a maid to prepare their breakfast. And like that, another day in paradise began.

Bright morning beams shone through Jean's office window, setting her golden hair aglow. Today would be another day of tireless endeavor for her, just like always. At one time, she would have fully accepted this as her purpose without a second thought, but lately, her feelings had begun to change. Perhaps Kaeya's news from the day before had been the final push she needed - the reason behind today's meeting.

A knock came at the big wooden door to her office, and Jean answered it.

"Come in."

A blue-haired man slipped inside, closing the door behind him.

"Good morning, Jean," he said politely.

"Good morning, Kaeya. Please have a seat."

Kaeya was on his best behavior this morning, not knowing what to expect. It wasn't often that he got called into Jean's office, and he couldn't help but wonder if he had done something to piss her off.

"I take it your patrol didn't turn up anything last night?" Jean began, looking up tiredly from her mound of paperwork.

"Nothing. Everything was quiet. Maybe I was wrong to worry so much about this."

"Better safe than sorry. We'll keep it up until we're certain that they're safe," Jean said, sighing deeply at the end.

"Seems like you haven't been getting much sleep either," Kaeya continued.

"Of course not. This whole thing has me worried sick."

Kaeya nodded understandingly.

"Anyway, that's not why I called you here, Kaeya. I want to ask you something."

"Alright, shoot," Kaeya replied evenly.

"I don't know how to say this, but… have you ever considered taking over as Grand Master?" Jean looked Kaeya in the eye as she asked.

Kaeya stood there dumbfounded for a few seconds, his mouth hanging open.

"Uh, not particularly, no. Why do you ask, Jean?"

"Sigh… I'm sorry for just asking out of the blue. I've just been wondering lately if it's time for me to step down," Jean went on.

"Why though? You're a perfectly good Grand Master, and everyone knows that," Kaeya responded kindly.

"I just… don't know anymore. I've always been nothing more than "acting" Grand Master… and I just don't feel up to this lately, Kaeya…" she trailed off.

Kaeya had suspected that Jean had been struggling with the burden of her memories since the Reset, but he hadn't expected this drastic of a reaction. He furrowed his brow, considering her request.

"Jean, I'd rather not replace you if possible. I'm not sure someone like me can fill your shoes."

She was quiet for a while, pursing her lips. Then, she looked up at Kaeya intensely.

"Someone like you, huh? What about me? All the awful things I wished on her… how could I know anything about 'justice'?!" Jean raised her voice and slammed her fist into her sturdy desk, startling Kaeya.

He was silent for a while, staring sadly at the woman before him. She had changed so much from that young, starry-eyed, idealistic girl she once was, and it was all thanks to Diluc. That thought frustrated Kaeya to no end. He sighed deeply, then spoke up again.

"Jean, you're too hard on yourself. That bastard has put you through enough to drive anyone crazy. But if you're really serious, I'll give it some thought."

Jean looked down at her hands in her lap.

"Thank you, Kaeya. Please do. I think it would be for the best."

Kaeya nodded reluctantly, then left the heavy atmosphere of Jean's office. Heading back outside, he took a seat on a bench overlooking the city below.

Brother, you really have done it this time. What happened to those peaceful days when we could all smile at each other genuinely, without a care in the world? Did they ever even happen at all? Maybe it was just our imagination.

Those short-lived days that Kaeya imagined had indeed been fleeting at best, and had ended forever the moment Diluc had met Keqing on that fateful day so long ago. No matter how far time was rewound, it was impossible to reverse the flow of the human heart.

Kaeya sighed, then stood up abruptly, with purpose.

"Well then, back to patrolling."

The sun had already turned orange again, and day had given way to night, but Kaeya's beat still went on. He refused to allow himself to contemplate what might happen if he didn't keep his guard up. He turned over every rock within reach of Mond City, and even set up watch at Dawn Winery for a while, but still, nothing suspicious caught his attention.

The night went on, and some time after midnight, the weary Cavalry Captain finally set foot inside his house once again. His search had proven fruitless; Mond was as serene as ever. No trouble was to be found anywhere within its borders, with the exception of the usual rowdiness at Angel's Share and a few illicit card games between some of the Knights. Kaeya felt a small sense of relief at that fact, finally letting himself relax a bit as he went through the motions of his nightly bedtime routine.

Perhaps it was that sense of relief that led him to make a huge mistake.

For when he returned to his bedroom to call it a night, there was someone else already there.

"Shit!" Kaeya hissed under his breath, lunging for the sword he kept by his bed.

The figure seemed to read his intentions, though, and quickly blocked his route. It then made a lunge of its own: straight at him. Kaeya dodged by a hair's breadth, feeling a sharp object slice through the breast pocket of his night shirt.

A short sword? Kaeya's mind went into overdrive upon seeing how serious this adversary was.

The figure attacked again, giving him little time to think of a strategy. Kaeya leaped backwards, using the wall to propel him forwards again at an unexpected angle. This seemed to throw the attacker off, and Kaeya threw a hard right hook at their face.

Surprisingly, it connected.

A low, yet feminine grunt came from the shadows as the figure backed off for the moment.

"Who the hell are you?" Kaeya demanded furiously.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" the figure responded, with a voice more sensual than threatening.

Kaeya was taken aback by this turn of events. Why was a woman in his room attacking him?

"Yeah, I would," Kaeya continued, edging towards his sword.

"Don't move. I know what you're after."

"Great, that makes one of us," Kaeya shot back, somehow still keeping his sharp wit at a time like this.

"Shut the fuck up. Don't you realize your position right now?"

"How could I? I don't recall pissing off a woman this badly… this week, anyway," Kaeya sneered mockingly.

"You… you're a little off, aren't you?" the woman growled. "Whatever. I'm not here for this. Tell me what you know about that red-haired man, now."

The woman stepped forward into the moonlight that filtered through Kaeya's window, pointing a small black sword menacingly. When she did, he finally got a good look at her. She was a bit tall for a woman, and her shiny silver hair was cut short. Her eyes stood out the most, though. Those cold, red-crossed eyes were not those of a sane human being.

"What I know about him? That's a stupid question. He's my brother. What don't I know about him?"

"I see, so I was right. You surely must know something about his secret, then?" she replied, advancing closer.

"You mean when he kissed the neighbor girl when we were 12? Lady, you're a little creepy, huh?"

"QUIET! ENOUGH JOKES!" Arlecchino yelled at the top of her lungs, absolutely furious at this impudent man.

It was then that Kaeya finally reached his goal, coincidentally as the woman finally lost her temper. He had been steadily closing the gap between him and his trusty sword, and his left hand had finally grasped its hilt. With shocking speed, he flipped it into his dominant hand and took a swing at the woman, shredding the air with well-practiced precision.

She leaned backwards in the nick of time, just avoiding a blow to the neck that almost certainly would have separated her head from her body.

Her eyes grew wide for a split second, then she returned fire. Her fierce strike slammed into Kaeya's sword with a horrible screech, sending sparks flying like tiny fireworks in the darkened bedroom.

Jumping back again, she spoke up.

"You aren't weak. I'm surprised," she said derisively.

"So kind of you to notice. Now how about you head back to whatever hell hole you crawled out of?" Kaeya growled with an ice cold voice.

"I'd rather not do this the hard way. Just tell me anything your brother did that the Harbingers might be interested in, okay? Then everything will be just fine," she chided him almost as if she was speaking to a child.

"I'll take the hard way, thanks!" Kaeya grunted, and took another swing at the woman.

She deflected his strike with her short sword, then stabbed at his heart. The thing about a stab, though, is that it leaves the attacker open for a moment afterwards. Kaeya moved faster than ever before, and her attack missed his vitals, skimming his upper left arm. Blood flew, hitting the wall behind him, but by the time it did, he had already ensnared his prey.

Ice melded Arlecchino's feet to the wooden floor. By the time she realized it, she could no longer reasonably avoid the fearsome arc of Kaeya's approaching sword.

Kaeya was certain that death was the only possible ending for her, but as he completed his vicious swing, he didn't feel the expected resistance of meat and sinews being violently sliced apart. Instead, he heard the sound of cracking wood, then silence.

On high alert, he scanned the room, but the woman was no longer there. Two holes in his floor were all that remained.

"Fuckin' hell, didn't think she'd do that," he grumbled, stunned.

He walked over to the window, still uncertain if the woman was nearby. However, he could no longer detect any malevolent presence.

"That's it? Just gonna run away?" he muttered, irritated. "The hell was that shit?"

Kaeya reached up, feeling a rather deep cut on his shoulder. It was leaking blood, but not fast enough to alarm him.

"So the Harbingers are after him…"

A horrible feeling began to creep up Kaeya's spine. Someone was after Diluc, and seemed to know about something that he had done. When Kaeya mentally reviewed the list of things that Diluc had done that might interest the Harbingers, he could arrive at only one conclusion.

He stumbled to his sink, and began to wash out the wound, desperately hoping that her blade wasn't poisoned. Then, he hastily wrapped it with a cloth to staunch the bleeding, and threw on his pants and coat, dashing out into the night.

The moonlight bathed Dawn Winery in its pale embrace as Kaeya rushed down the dusty path to the mansion. It was already nearing 3 a.m., and he was certain that the newlyweds were sound asleep by now, or at least "in bed". He couldn't afford to care about such trivialities right now, though.

Kaeya ran to the door, and without missing a beat, began slamming his fists against it in a frenzy.

"Diluc! Maids! Someone open this damn door!"

In a shockingly short amount of time, the door cracked open, and Adelinde glared at Kaeya with more emotion than her stoic face usually showed.

"What in the devil are you doing at this hour of the night? You're lucky I noticed who you were before my instincts kicked in," she hissed in a voice that was still calmer than her dangerous words would indicate.

"No time for small talk. Get Diluc and Keqing out here ASAP. We have a situation," Kaeya muttered.

Upon catching a glance of his expression in the dim orange illumination provided by the porch lantern, Adelinde made no further protests. She rushed upstairs, and less than 5 minutes later, Diluc and Keqing were standing in the large foyer of the mansion, looking rather confused and perturbed.

"This better be important," Diluc growled, oblivious to his brother's reasoning.

"It doesn't get much more important than this," Kaeya responded, taking a seat. "The Harbingers might be after us."

"Huh? What does that mean?" Diluc said, his eyes suddenly locked on Kaeya.

"Someone attacked me in my room. I don't know who she was, but she mentioned the Harbingers. It can't be a coincidence."

Kaeya took the time to recount the details of his unexpected battle, and by the end Diluc and Keqing were both white as ghosts.

"Fuck. That woman must have told them something," Diluc spat out.

"What woman?" Keqing asked, looking very unnerved. "Just what is going on here?"

"…No. It's nothing," Diluc replied, looking away from her.

Kaeya cringed as he spotted Diluc's lacking attempt at dishonesty.

"Listen, I don't think now is the time to be keeping things from her," he addressed his brother.

"Keeping what from me? Diluc, what's going on? Please tell me. I don't like this…"

"Damn it. This wasn't supposed to happen," Diluc muttered as he held his head in one hand, then continued. "Some of the Fatui Harbingers are here in Mond. I was hoping it was just a coincidence, but it seems I was wrong."

Keqing's pale face went even whiter as she made the connection in her mind - the one that Diluc had carefully avoided mentioning outright.

"N-No, it can't be, right…?"

"Calm down," Diluc said, wrapping his arms protectively around her. "I don't think they're here to hurt you."

"But still, this feels so wrong… and why didn't you tell me about this?" Keqing's face was twisted into a pained grimace.

"I didn't want you to worry for nothing. That's all."

Kaeya inserted himself into the increasingly tense situation, trying to head off anything worse.

"In any case, this isn't the time to argue. We have to keep you two safe. She knew you by name, Diluc."

"Right," Diluc replied shortly.

He headed for the door to the basement, making sure that the other two weren't following him. Less than a minute later, he returned with a wicked-looking broadsword in his right hand.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to use this again," he muttered.

Keqing couldn't help but remember the last time she saw that sword in action. Memories of vivid red brutality rushed back with shocking detail, reminding her of things she likely would have rather forgotten.

"We'll do whatever is necessary. Jean and the Knights are on alert, and I can't go home tonight after something like this happened," Kaeya responded to his brother.

"Thanks. I won't be sleeping either, though."

Diluc replied to his brother, then headed for the front door. Upon opening it, a cool, moist nighttime breeze drifted through into the foyer. Diluc stepped outside, taking a seat at one of the wooden tables near the front of the mansion. He propped his sword against the table, and crossed his legs.

Soon, Kaeya joined him. Keqing was the last to come outside, but after nodding to Adelinde and shutting the door behind her, she too took her seat at the table.

The three were quiet for a while. The gravity of the situation was still sinking in, and every passing minute made the knot in Diluc's stomach grow tighter.

At last, Keqing spoke up, with the two brothers listening listlessly.

"Do you think we messed up?"

"Huh?" Diluc took a break from scanning the darkness surrounding the distant path, and met his wife's serious gaze.

"This wasn't supposed to happen, right? It didn't happen in… in the old world, right?"

Kaeya's face looked stern, and Diluc glanced away before replying.

"I don't know. We didn't made it this far before. So… I don't know what comes next."

"It was almost winter when that bitch came down and destroyed everything. That would mean we're several months past that already," Kaeya thought out loud.

"Yeah, and who knows if this world even follows the same rules as the last one. I never asked Paimon how that power of hers works, and I haven't seen her or the Traveler since…" Diluc trailed off.

"…Is this even the same world we grew up in…?" Keqing hesitantly asked no one in particular.

"I… just don't know," Diluc answered. "But regardless, we didn't mess up. This was my choice - no one else's."

Diluc looked up at the stars above, shining as valiantly as always amidst the endless black void beyond. The three fell silent again, until Keqing once again spoke up.

"We have to do something about this."

Diluc's eyes widened, and he raised an eyebrow as Keqing continued speaking in a determined tone.

"I won't let them ruin what you fought so hard for."

"I agree with her. And you weren't the only one that chose this. We all agreed to it, Diluc. But what can we do?" Kaeya chimed in.

Diluc lowered his head, then replied.

"We might have to fight again."

"I'd rather not, but I'm in if you need me," Kaeya responded at length.

"Doubt we can handle this alone, though," Diluc continued.

"I know a few people that might be interested," Keqing said with a small smile.

"An alliance, huh? Just like old times," Kaeya mused, leaning back in his chair.

The three of them still remembered that dark night in Liyue long ago, when they had all banded together to fight a common enemy.

"Well, it's just an idea. Let's hope things don't come to that," Diluc sighed, sitting up straight again.

"Mhm," Keqing nodded. "I hope our children can grow up in a peaceful world like we did."

Diluc turned to gaze at his wife, who had a gentle smile on her face. He felt a stirring of warmth in his chest when his mind put images to her words. The thought of a world like that put his heart at ease, and gave him the motivation to face any foe that might attempt to steal it from him. Gripping the tiny amethyst necklace he still kept in his inner coat pocket, he dared to crack a small smile.

As the first light of dawn began to creep across the blackened sky, that eccentric little family huddled close together, steeling themselves for whatever might come their way. Their tired eyes greeted the sunrise with anticipation, embraced by a cool breeze that seemed to somehow blow from the future.

Unfortunately, all this time, they had failed to notice one important detail.

And tragically, it was the most important detail of all.

From the time the three of them had set foot outside the mansion, they had never once been alone.

Ending Theme: satella feat. Sennzai - Reincarnation

Next:

Episode 4: Spiral of Events