"Kaeya, wake up," Noelle says gently, shaking the adult awake.
"Noelle?" Kaeya says, pushing himself up into a sitting position in the bed he rests in. "What are you doing here? Where am I? What happened!?"
"Calm down," Noelle says, draping her hands on the young man's shoulders. Her pace is slow as she answers all of his questions, "I'm here to wake you up. You're in the cathedral, Barbara is taking care of Diluc. Last night, I don't know how but Diluc broke the curse. You're not a kid anymore!" She exclaims, a lighthearted chuckle escaping her lips. "Now, you must rest. Albedo said something about sleep and it helps you out of the side effects or something like that."
Noelle exits through the door which leads into the main room of the cathedral. He didn't want to sleep, but instead wanted his many more questions answered. What curse? What do you mean kid? What are the side effects? But the one thing that he wanted answered was: Was the dream real?
Deciding he has nothing better to do, Kaeya serves his surroundings. He has never been to the infirmary before. Being that because he 'slacks off' or because he is just that great at killing and fighting monsters that they have no chance to harm him enough to be sent into the cathedral's infirmary.
The hospital room was nothing fancy. The walls were pastel blue, and there were curtains between the beds or at least that's what he assumed. There would be multiple beds in this biggish room. The beds were simple and wooden. This room was more for resting and sleeping than healing. Since some injuries need more than one healing for the wound to completely heal and also the healers or Barbara needed time to recharge her healing powers.
Kaeya snaps his head downwards to his arms; Nothing.
His legs; nothing.
Chest; nope.
A look of confusion forms on his face. His eyes brows foreseed. To signal his defeat he shrugs his shoulders. A ping of pain hits him. "Ow," he mumbles, not expecting any pain. Kaeya looks at his shoulder. A burn mark clearly displayed on his shoulder. Having no recollection of The burn and his confusion only grows.
The only door of the room opens to the right of him which makes Kaeya's Rye dart towards the moving object. Barbara rushes in wearing her deaconess outfits, complete with her little hat which looks a little like a nurse's hat.
The deaconess speed walks past Kaeya and to the bed to the left of him. A sweet melody is sung as water condenses from the air around the woman's patient. The floating puddles pop like a bubble and burst into music notes. The music has bursts of healing, healing them in stages. "I'll be back for your last healing. Sleep well, Master Diluc."
Diluc.
The hazy dream of his older brother returns to Kaeya's brain. The blood and the sad look, but also the soothing words. The words of appearance. "We all love you."
Kaeya grabs at the thin curtain de masking the two silhouettes. The sound startles Barabra and turns around to the sound. "Oh, Kaeya, you're up."
The bluenette's eyes ignore the deaconess and focus on the red haired man wearing his normal clothes minus his coat which lays upon Kaeya's shoulders . His brother, Diluc, was mostly healed. His wrists only had mear stretches from cats unlike their bloodletting deep wounds. His face was almost back to normal as well. He would have a scar just like Kaeya unexplainable scar on his shoulder. But instead of his shoulder, Diluc would have one on his skull. It started in his hair and wrapped itself around to his face where it barely poked out at his left temple. The man could probably hide it away with his long, red hair if he wanted to.
"Kaeya?" Barabra says, waving her hand in front of the young man. "Oh, uh...yes?"
"I've been calling your name for a little while. I'm a little worried," Barabra explains. "I think you should go back to sleep; Albedo suggested it."
The word 'sleep' causes Kaeya to snap. "I don't want to sleep. I want answers. Noelle told me to sleep. Now you tell me to sleep. Well, I don't want to! I want answers."
Barabra takes a step back from the angry patient. "Kaeya, what do you want to know?" She says, trying to calm him down.
"I want to know if..." Kaeya looks at his sleeping brother. He knew that that part of his dazed dream like memories was true. Diluc was bleeding and now he was being healed. Diluc's mouth not in a sulking frown and his eyes not glaring daggers at him. His brother sleeps calmly, his mouth in a slight smile, brightening his entire face. Kaeya understood why girls would always swoon over him. Especially that girl who stands above Flora's flower shop. Diona was it? Kaeya looks up at their nurse. "I want to talk to Albedo. Apparently he knows more about what happened to me than anyone else."
"Okay," Barabra says after she can see that Kaeya has calmed down. "I'll go get him for you. He can explain the spell you were under." Kaeya almost puts his hand out to ask her about the spell but she makes her exit quickly leaving them alone. Kaeya shrugs only to regret it as a little bit of pain hurts him. "Well, I guess I can ask him when he gets here."
Kaeya lays down in his bed, tiredness falling heavy on him now that he knows that he will get his answers soon. His brother sleeping close to him, is the last image he sees before his eyes close and he is overwhelmed by sleep.
"KAEYA!" The scream of depredation echoes throughout the open plains with no explanation. Kaeya covers his ears and slams his eyelids close to block the noise, but it still amgades to cramp itself through his hands.
Kaeya uncovers his ears and opens his eyes when all he can hear is silence. It's night time, the full moon shines a spotlight on a small group. Diluc, three Abyss mages, one of each type the hydro Abyss mage holding something. No, it's not something, but someone. A boy... Kaeya?
Kaeya stares at his younger self, his eyes deadpanned on him. A memory he doesn't remember.
"Diluc!" the little boy calls out for his brother, reaching a hand out in hopes of escaping the enemy's grasp. The mage promptly hits the boy in the shoulder, which is already bleeding.
Kaeya falls to the ground, pitting his teeth as he watches the boy go limp in pain.
"I'm willing to make a trade with you... this boy's life for your imprisonment." the Abyss mage says.
Silence blows through the air as Diluc says nothing. Kaeya removes his vase from his younger self to Diluc. The man wears a score, and has his eyebrows inch closer in just a bit. 'What is Diluc thinking?" Kaeya wonders, seeing the tiny signs that indicate that he is doing such.
"Now, now, don't take too long. I might just take him home," the hydro mage taunts. It grabs the boy's upper arm and squeezes. Both he and Kaeya cry out in pain.
Kaeya takes a step forward, his boot stomping into the grass. "Stop-" His body and sentence are cut short as he walks into an invisible barrier. "...that...'' His angry flares to fire at the new realization. "Why is there always a barrier!"
"What if I don't accept?" The calm tone of Diluc cuts through the boy like a knife. It cuts Kaeya like a sword.
"Diluc?" Kaeya whispers, getting up from the floor. He places his hand on the barrier, putting it as close as he can from his brother. "You wouldn't do that. You wouldn't do that... right?"
Kaeya doesn't hear the abyss mage yell at Diluc. He just stares at his brother.
"Is that all?"
"Do you even care about your brother? You would let him DIE!?" In his flurry, the abyss crushes the boy's left arm. Coughs come out of him and Kaeya and with it blood; they land on Diluc's face and on the barrier making it viable in some parts.
"Is that all?" the man repeats. The two talk for a little while until the hydro Abyss mage says, "Fine."
Diluc watches as his brother walks away, tears well up in Kaeya's eyes. The boy is also silently crying. Their sorrow is everlasting and even makes the nearby mages frown in unpleasantness.
The minutes tick by in silence, only the wind which is now chilly is heard. The moon is no more thanks to the clouds gathering clouds. Their darkening presence may bring a storm in soon.
"Diluc..." they both say as if they were one being. "Please don't leave me..."
With the line being spoken the beating the boy has experienced and the unrelenting sorrow finally brings heavy eyes to rest. The boy falls asleep in the mage's arms. Kaeya himself cannot fight the sleeping spell for too long either as a tear runs down his face, he repeats the line once more reaching out for the only family he has left. "Don't leave me. Please Diluc..."
— - 0 - —
Hello Seedlings! This chapters question is: Have you ever had a nightmare? Is so what was it like?
I cannot remember if I ever had a nightmare, but I'm afraid of the dark and sometimes I see things in the dark that aren't there. It's scary, but it doesn't happen a lot.