I believe there will be one more story in this series after this!
Whether or not they are directly linked, or the characters know each other, I think of my stories as all having happened within the same little world! In my stories. I frequently mention things that have happened in others I have written, but most of them should be able to be read stand alone without issues.
Also, while I try to keep it very close with Genshin lore, I don't know every single bit of lore, and can't remember it all. So, some things are slightly different, there are also some things that are only guessed. I'm just here to write stories for people to read, should they choose!
As always, thank you for reading, I hope everyone enjoys it!
Feel free to leave a comment :)
It Was Never Going To End
Diluc knew how much Kaeya always enjoyed listening to stories of Lumine's adventures. The bluenette would meet with her at the tavern, and talk about what she had been up to. Sometimes Paimon was with her, sometimes not. He wasn't really sure where the traveler's floating companion went when she wasn't with Lumine, but he didn't put much thought into it, either.
This time, Lumine had just come from Sumeru. Diluc had heard that something big had happened there with the Archon, but he hadn't yet heard the entire story, and it was always best when it came straight from the source. He wasn't surprised to learn that Lumine was involved, she always was. He listened to the traveler and Kaeya as he cleaned cups.
"That's right, we worked together to free their Archon. I can't believe they imprisoned her like that, and for so long."
"Certainly," Kaeya agreed, "No one should have to live like that."
Diluc zoned out after a few minutes, until one particular thing caught his attention, and he suddenly couldn't breathe. He involuntarily listened to the rest of the story, standing there, frozen. Dottore had made segments of himself; there was more than one Dottore. No, no no… how had he not heard about this? He felt like he was going to vomit and pass out all at the same time.
He could feel Kaeya's eyes on him, distantly hear him calling to him, but didn't register the glass falling out of his hand and shattering on the floor. Diluc's feet carried him through the storage room door, and to a nearby chair. He leaned forward and tried to take deep breaths. It hurt his lungs to take in the air. After a moment, there was someone in front of him. He hadn't realized his eyes had gotten so blurry, but he knew it was Kaeya.
"Luc, it's going to be okay." Kaeya didn't sound certain at all, "The dendro Archon ordered him to destroy all of his segments. I… I don't know if any of the others know about you, but I have a feeling that the Archon is keeping close watch on him, and we'll be watching closely too."
Was it going to be okay? It didn't feel like it would be, not for someone who spent months pushing themselves through panic attacks, and nightmares, learning to remember that the doctor was dead. He was supposed to be dead. It was true that none of the others had been spotted in Mondstadt, but that could just be Dottore toying with him. This could be, too. A sick joked played by that that man just to torture him.
Did the other Dottore segments know about him? Would they be interested in the same tests, or in the other things Diluc had gone through? How many of the doctor were out there? He had no way of knowing. He felt far too exposed, and he couldn't even go hide in his own room.
Right at this moment, Diluc felt trapped. It was never going to stop.