Episode 10: On an Early Summer's Eve

I knew.

I knew all along that it wouldn't be that simple.

Yet still, some part of me had hoped to escape… to work a miracle. I hoped to live by her side forever, in a world without spot or blemish.

But that was never the nature of this world, was it?

I'm not even sure what this world is.

No, there was probably a time when I did know. Maybe I've just forgotten. I'm not sure of anything anymore.

In the space between dreams and waking, those thoughts swirled around in Diluc's mind, before the first light of dawn greeted his eyelids.

It was the beginning of another beautiful summer day in Mondstadt.

Opening Theme: SECONDWALL - 君の世界を

When Diluc first joined the Harbingers, he had no clue what to expect of them. Nothing had been clear, and his snap decision had left him playing catch-up with his own feelings. His frustration and guilt had tormented him, as he had to come to terms with joining an enemy he had once bitterly fought.

Strangely enough, though, things had been mostly peaceful since he joined. Since Il Dottore still hadn't finished his "job", the Harbingers had been mostly keeping to themselves. Apart from a few meetings and one solo mission to retrieve someone's lost luggage (one certain annoying winged woman), nothing had really happened. Diluc wasn't against being the resident pack mule, though. As long as he was able to ensure Keqing's safety and spend time with her, it was a price he was willing to pay.

One thing he couldn't look past was the reappearance of a certain item from his past. The cursed item he had once destroyed had returned to its old owner. It had been a part of his daily carry since he retrieved it, and he had even used it on a few occasions. Not knowing what kind of situations he might find himself in, he swallowed the bad taste and resolved to use it to his advantage. That wasn't an easy decision, but again, his motives overrode any sacrifices he might have to make.

And so, like that, the young gentleman from Dawn Winery began to walk a new path. After honing his skills to their former sharpness and accompanied by a dangerously-powerful Delusion, Diluc had become someone that was almost worthy of the title he now bore.

Gianduja.

That had been the name chosen for him. Each of the Eleven had a name related to an old piece of literature from their homeland. Diluc had no such name, so it was bestowed upon him by Damselette at a meeting one night. After she explained what that tasteless name meant, he wanted to turn her down, but his luck was already stretched thin enough.

Diluc was forced to accept two new names: Gianduja - codename: The Drunkard.

Diluc made a nasty face as he recalled those ironic new titles of his.

"What's wrong Diluc, is the punch bad?" a soothing voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Ah, no. Just thinking."

"That's enough of that. Today is about relaxing! Okay?" Keqing smiled and cocked her head as she leaned over Diluc, showing off her incredibly obvious cleavage.

He nodded, then stretched his limbs. Below him was a beach chair, above him was an umbrella, and beside him was a small table with the aforementioned fruit punch and an assortment of snacks.

That's right, I promised them I would try to enjoy today.

The bright yellow, early-summer sun shone down on a group of close friends on a remote stretch of shining sand. The lapping of waves soothed his troubled mind as the azure waters calmly marked the boundary of their country.

Yes, this was the trip that he had been forced to participate in: a day at the beach to celebrate the beginning of summer.

Keqing, Kaeya, and Jean had conspired to create this incredibly out-of-character moment, and it was a resounding success. Diluc withered underneath his umbrella, clad only in a pair of black trunks.

The other three were joined by Lisa, Amber, and even Mond's resident problem child Klee, who was under Lisa's watchful eye.

"Lisa, Lisa! Look! A crab!" Klee yelled, running around in her cute one-piece bathing suit as if she didn't have a care in the world.

Her energy was infectious, so even the adults were feeling more jovial than normal.

"Ah, it's a blue one. If you catch it, we might cook it later," Lisa replied, kindly humoring the little girl.

"Yaaayyyy! Klee's on it!"

As Diluc watched that heartwarming scene, someone approached his umbrella.

"So? What do you think? Having fun yet?" a blue-haired man smirked at him.

"As much as possible when this annoying gnat won't leave me alone," he spat back.

"Wow, gnat? That kinda stings," Kaeya laughed, then knelt down beside Diluc's beach chair. "Keqing arranged this for you, you know?"

"I know," Diluc sighed. "But the beach isn't really my scene."

"Yeah, I still remember you getting burned to a crisp when we were younger. You even got sand in your-"

"Shut it," Diluc growled as Keqing approached again.

Now that he wasn't lost in thought, Diluc took the time to fully appreciate her figure. She was wearing a lovely blue bikini with several ribbons adorning it. It accentuated her body perfectly, and every step she took caused her breasts to jiggle just a bit. Diluc wouldn't dare tell her such a thing, though.

"You two… what's with that guilty look?"

"Guilty? Nonsense. I was born with this look," Kaeya said, gesturing like an actor.

"Seems fitting for you," Diluc quipped, then stood up. "What's up, Keqing?"

"Ignoring whatever you two were up to… we're about to swim. Want to join us?"

"Sure," Diluc smiled gently in great contrast to his previous expression.

Kaeya raised an eyebrow at this obvious discrimination, then followed the happy couple to the edge of the water.

The sea was as blue as always, glimmering like millions of sapphires all jumbled together. Diluc stood at the water's edge as a foamy wave washed ashore, and felt the cool liquid wrap around his feet.

Well, maybe this isn't so bad.

Just then, Keqing splashed by him, giggling like a little kid. Klee was in hot pursuit, desperately trying to catch up to her purple-haired playmate.

Diluc quickly joined the train, chasing after the both of them with gusto. He passed Klee before she could get to the deeper waters, and closed in on Keqing, splashing like a madman. Just as she stopped to turn around, he caught her, wrapping his arm around her and lifting her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Ehhhh?!" she yelped.

But Diluc wasn't done. He made towards the deeper waters as Keqing kicked and squealed, not knowing what he was up to. Once he reached a safe distance from shore, he fell in, bringing Keqing down with him. With a mighty splash, they went under.

Kaeya stood on the shore, shaking his head with a smile.

"So he does know how to let loose."

After a few seconds, the two of them resurfaced. Diluc laughed heartily as he pushed his wet bangs back, and Keqing was lightly punching his arm, looking something like a soaked small animal.

Soon, though, her mock anger disappeared and she hugged him, chest-deep in the azure bay.

"I'm so glad we're here," she grinned, showing her teeth.

"Me too," Diluc returned her hug.

The two of them stayed in that embrace for a while, forgetting that anyone else was even around until a raucous voice shook them out of their reverie.

"Jeannnnn! What are they doing out there?"

The married couple quickly separated, and Keqing's face went red as a beet.

Diluc could barely hear Jean answering from shore "Don't worry about it, Klee. That's what married people do," above the sound of the waves.

"I'm getting out," he told Keqing flatly.

But after a few steps towards shore, Keqing replied.

"Oh no you don't!"

She bum-rushed her unsuspecting husband, tackling him from behind. Both of them splashed around for a while, pretending to fight, until a certain incident ended their fun.

"AH! Keqing's swimsuit is gone!"

"Nnnooooooooo!"

After Keqing hastily covered her breasts and retrieved her top again, she got out of the water. Diluc followed her back to the beach, where Kaeya was unsuccessfully trying to start a fire survival-style.

"Why don't you just use some gas?" Diluc muttered, watching his brother struggle.

"That's no fun. Times like these are when we show our manliness."

The blue-haired man continued to spin his stick with a cord wrapped around it, but not even a puff of smoke appeared. Just then, Klee returned from the sea.

"Ooo, a campfire! Can we roast food on it?"

"Sorry, Klee, the campfire isn't ready yet," Kaeya said with a strained smile.

"I wanna cook fish on it!"

"Maybe when we get it going. For now, maybe you can catch us some?" Kaeya attempted to divert her attention, not realizing he had made a fatal mistake.

"Okay! Klee is good at fishing!"

Running off with her arms spread like the wings of an airplane, she headed down the coast a ways. Kaeya resumed his fire-starting attempts, but within a minute, the silence was shattered by a tremendous, ground-shaking explosion.

"What the fuck?!" Diluc growled.

Further down the beach, a column of water was falling back to the earth. As the group glanced around at each other, Lisa and Jean held their heads in their hands despondently. Several more explosions followed, and then a little girl came running back, grinning, with her arms full of slightly-charred fish.

"See! See! I caught a ton of fish already!"

"How tragic," Amber whispered to herself.

"G-Good job, Klee," Kaeya stuttered as Lisa glared daggers at him.

Just then, a tiny spark finally caught the gas that Kaeya had secretly spread over the tinder, and the fire roared to life unnaturally fast.

"'Showing our manliness', huh?" Diluc smirked at Kaeya's expense, to the blue-haired man's dismay.

After that, the group continued to play around for a while longer before returning to the beach towel where their dinner had been prepared. The sun was already getting fairly low now, dying the sand a soft amber color.

Everyone gathered around the basket, which contained a large amount of delicious-looking food.

"This looks incredible. Thanks, you two," Diluc said, nodding towards Jean and Lisa, who had been in charge of the meal.

"M-Mm," Jean replied hesitantly, looking away.

Though Kaeya and Diluc had already discussed the controversial events of weeks past, Jean hadn't yet had such a privilege. Diluc had steered clear of her for a while now, yet she already knew what had happened. Neither of them knew how to act now that Diluc was technically an enemy of the state, and even this fun afternoon was questionable at best in her eyes.

She kept her mouth shut, though. This unstable peace certainly couldn't last, and she knew it. There was no need to interrupt it too soon.

The impromptu group fully enjoyed their meal together, laughing and smiling as the heat of the early-summer rays slowly lost its strength. Diluc couldn't help but remember another similar day that once happened - albeit in a world that no longer existed.

Guess history repeats itself after all.

Diluc was lost in his thoughts as he stuffed his face with a delicious Chicken-Mushroom skewer. Even in a world that had been reset, they still found themselves doing the same old things in the same old places. That thought brought up questions in his mind about the validity of free will, but before he could get too deep into that, a high-pitched squealing sound brought him back to the moment.

In the darkening twilight, a small firework lit up the sandy beach in purple and pink hues. Klee had been given a less-destructive toy to play with, it seemed.

Diluc looked over at Keqing, who was watching Klee with gentle eyes as the little girl danced around a fountain firework tube. Keqing noticed his gaze, and turned her smile to him.

"Nostalgic, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it sure is."

As the others put away the remnants of their meal, Kaeya made his way back to his fire, giving it more fuel (wood, not gas).

The sun had truly set by now, and the stars were starting to poke out of the dark blue canvas that had been rolled out above their heads. Diluc stood to his feet, brushing the sand off his rear. He set off strolling down the beach, putting some distance between himself and the others.

He gazed at the countless constellations above, all laid out as if someone had deliberately put them there. Perhaps someone did. From what Mona had told him, those constellations held the fates of every soul who had a name written there. Something like that could only make sense if free will was only a mere fantasy.

"Maybe even this moment was determined long ago," Diluc muttered to himself aloud.

Perhaps you are right. But if so, what of it? What would you do?

A small, feminine voice spoke inside his head. Thought it was the last voice he had hoped to hear today, he somehow wasn't that surprised by her intrusion. He didn't get a chance to answer, though, since a firm hand gripped his shoulder, and a low voice behind him spoke his name.

"Diluc, we need to talk."

The red-haired man turned to find his brother and Jean standing there.

"Kaeya, Jean…"

"Sorry to interrupt your alone time, but… we can't just leave things like this," Jean spoke up, stringing together a proper sentence aimed at him for the first time in weeks.

"What do you mean?" Diluc said, maintaining his composure.

"I'll be frank, brother… she doesn't know if she can trust you. I'm… not sure either, I'm afraid."

Diluc's eyebrows rose in surprise, and his brow furrowed.

"I don't mean to accuse you, but… you're with them now. We're… technically enemies…" Jean trailed off.

Diluc was silent for a while. He gazed back at the group of friends huddled jovially around the fire's glow, and suddenly, he felt strangely distant from them.

"You might be right," he finally said in a low voice.

"No, she's not right. You wouldn't turn your back on us. I know that," Kaeya declared, but his voice lacked conviction.

Diluc didn't respond.

"Diluc… I want to believe in you. Please… give us a reason to trust you," Jean pushed firmly.

He was quiet again, then with clenched fists, his bangs fell across his face, mercifully hiding his expression from them.

"That might be impossible. I made a promise. A vow. I'll protect her, no matter what it costs. I don't want to be at odds with you all, either. I… love all of you. But I can't say what the future holds for me."

"Diluc!" Jean desperately raised her voice.

"There's a lot of things I've never told you two. A lot of places I've been… and a lot of people I've killed. I'm not the person you think I am."

"Diluc, don't do this, please…"

"Listen! I already told Kaeya this, but I did what I had to do! If I lose her again, this whole thing would be a fucking farce! I won't allow it!" Diluc barked out those hurtful words, raising his voice louder than he normally would.

When he raised his head again, his eyes met Jean's immediately. How could he not notice them? Her sky-blue eyes were full of tears, sparkling as they reflected the countless stars above. Small streams of shiny liquid decorated her cheeks, and the shape of her mouth made her crumbling composure pitifully obvious. Even after all this time, no one else could hurt her quite like he could.

Diluc immediately regretted his harsh words, but there was no taking them back. He knew that anything he said now would just feel patronizing and fake. The chips were down; the cruel truth had already been laid bare.

Kaeya's one good eye was glaring, revealing equal amounts of anger and sadness.

But before the blue-haired man could formulate anything resembling a level-headed response, a fourth voice unexpectedly interrupted the three.

"I'm sorry if this is a bad time," it began, causing all three to jerk their heads towards its source.

None of them had detected any presence or heard anyone approaching at all.

"Who's there?" Kaeya growled menacingly, his voice like gravel.

"I don't believe we've met. I'm Columbina. Third-ranked of the Eleven Harbingers."

The beautiful woman looked ethereal underneath the starlight. With the manners of royalty, she took a small bow, holding the corners of her white skirt. Then, she turned her attention towards Diluc.

"There's a mission for you, Gianduja."

"Wha- …who?" Kaeya stuttered out, his visage transforming from anger to confusion.

"Oh dear. It seems I've said something I shouldn't have," she smiled still, holding a hand over her mouth.

"H-How dare you…" Jean hissed through clenched teeth.

"Pardon?" Columbina raised an eyebrow.

"How dare you do this! How dare you take him away from us! I won't forgive you, you Snezhnayan piece of shit!"

Jean screamed in rage, finally finding a reasonable outlet for all of her built up resentment and frustration. All professionalism was forgotten as she tore into Columbina. However, she didn't get the fight she was looking for.

"I'm sorry you feel that way. But you must understand that he has his own circumstances. This choice was made of his own free will," Damselette answered gracefully.

Diluc glared at her for bringing up the very same subject that had been on his mind that evening - it certainly wasn't a coincidence. She wasn't afraid to invade others' private thoughts. In fact, she was probably still doing it right that moment - to all of them.

"Now, I'm sorry, but we don't have any more time to chat. Do you have your equipment with you?" Columbina continued, addressing Diluc again as Jean's face turned red with fury.

"Does it look like I brought that shit here?"

"Oho~ feeling defiant, are we? Don't forget that the human heart can be removed quite easily. It only takes a few careful cuts, you see… would anyone like me to demonstrate? Perhaps the little girl over there would make a good specimen," Columbina said, reaching into her coat with a devious grin.

"Don't fuck with any of them, or you'll regret it. My gear is at the mansion. I'll go get it."

"In that case, there's a quicker way."

The mysterious woman suddenly began to defy gravity, to Kaeya and Jean's astonishment. With a light flapping sound, a pair of wings appeared from her shoulders. The rustling of pure-white feathers under the moonlight made for a surreal scene straight out of a dream.

She looked just like an angel.

She offered a hand to Diluc, who reluctantly reached out. Without looking behind him, and without even saying goodbye to his wife, he took the angel's tiny, cold hand in his. In the twinkling of an eye, the two of them were gone.

As they soared away through the sparkling night sky, Diluc watched Kaeya's campfire grow smaller and smaller, until it was just a tiny orange dot in a sea of dark blues and blacks. The figures of his friends were no longer visible. The wind buffeted his face as the two of them moved at speeds he never knew were possible, barreling towards the valley where his home was.

And every second of that journey tore him further away from that ideal future he had dreamed of back then.

Ending Theme: satella feat. Sennzai - Reincarnation

In a land so peaceful and so nostalgic it would almost bring a tear to the eye, I once lived a quiet, unassuming life. It was a life that never should have been possible, and I knew that well. In light of that, I gave it my all, living in the moment every single day. I offered everything I had to the ones I loved, and I was loved in return. If you would have told me that heaven was something like this, I might have believed you.

However, a bargain with the devil must come at a price, and I have finally arrived at that inescapable point of no return.

It seems that even in such a miraculous world as this, peace is not eternal. But that is fine. I had determined in my heart long ago that I would fight for this world until the end, and if it means she gets to live on happily, I will gladly take on any burden, no matter how heavy.

I'm sorry, my dearest wife. It seems like I won't be able to keep our promise after all.

I hope you can come to forgive me one more time.

Arc 1: A World That Forgot

End

Next:

Episode 11: Breaking Point