A/N: The following contains violence, please read at your own risk.
-------
"Familial love is all I ever wanted. But why does fate want me to suffer?"
------
In the ancient empire of Khaenr'iah, under the warm spring, a woman gave birth to a child. The king had two concubines and one queen. The Queen was the Crown Prince and 2nd Prince's Mother, the 1st Concubine is Iris's mother which made her the 1st Princess of The Royal Family. And the King's last concubine and least favored, Zach's mother which is the 2nd and last concubine — Aria.
Princess Aria came from the Kingdom of Sumeru, she was sold by her family because of their greed. Both Princess Aria and The King don't have any feelings for each other thus become one for it was their duty as a member of a royal family.
And Zach is born.
While giving birth to Zach, his mother died which made Zach lonely in his childhood time. But there was one person who made his life even brighter than anyone.
"Why are you alone?" Iris who's now 17 stares at the 10-year-old Zach who is sitting under a big tree in the garden. He was flustered to see the royal princess for the first time, Iris laughed it out as if there's no big deal getting flustered by her.
"We're family, remember?" For the first time, Zach felt the love he was longing for when he came into this world. And that's how both Iris and Little Zach become closer to each other. But when Iris is preparing for her departure, Zach was called into the Queen'schambers. The Queen told Zach to adopt him as his own son. The Queen obviously had this scheming face which made the little Zach suspicious of him.
"Your royal majesty, forgive my rude attitude but. Are you scheming something?" Little Zach boldly asked the queen. The Queen smirked like a devil he felt shivers down in his spine looking scared by the Queen'sexpression.
"Oh, Prince Zach. You don't have to worry..." The Queen leans her face to Zach's ears and whispers, "your big sister is going to reclaim her throne soon after she finished her duties from afar. Do you want to be the king, Zach? I can help you with that."
He was furious by what the queen said so he took a step back, pushing the queen away.
"How dare —!" The queen lifted her finger, telling the head maid to watch her words. The queen smiled.
"You will see, Zach. The people admire the princess dearly. There is no rule that woman can't lead." The queen said as he took a step forward to see Iriswaving her hands to the people from her window.
"No... Sister will not do that. She knows my desires and she promised she'll never interfere —!" He spoke. The queen smirk, 'oh how naive'
"Did you know? Your sister was once a commoner." Zach froze by those simple words. He didn't know, he didn't know that his sister is from common blood.
"Your sister is not a real royal. You, who had royalty flowing in your veins must be the king." He clenched his fists, not wanting to be manipulated.
"Then what about older brothers! —"
"They are useless." The queen muttered. Zach couldn't say a word as he watched how the queen gritted her teeth from irritation. She looks crazy while munching her nails.
"Use...less?" He whispered. The queen stopped what she's doing and knelt down. She put both of her arms in Zach's arms and spoke to him, "you will be the king. I can help you with that, Zach." As if the queen manipulated him, he nodded in a daze.
Iris's departure is today. He saw how Iris waved her hands and made her speech. He's convinced by the words the queen told him. He's a child who's easy to be manipulated.
Zach clenches his hands, "but she's still my big sister..." He whispered while he remembers the moments they always share.
"Come back, sister. Alive. And please, save me." He silently hopes. He knows to himself that the Queen is manipulating him. He can't do anything freely as if his life is on the queen's plate, waiting for it to be eaten.
He loves his sister very much, but the queen had someone who's backing her up. It was in a form of something of a shadow. He saw it both of his eyes. It was something evil.
Zach also has the ability and power to see divine beings. Iris's aura has the most powerful divine aura. Most likely, she can be a god or a goddess. But Iris didn't know that herself. Zach didn't tell others about his ability, because he knows that when the queen knows it, she will make sure he will use him again by her desires. One day, the day he's scared the most has come.
The shadow who has an evil aura told the queen that Zach has the ability to see divine beings. In order for it to be erased, he needs to kill his family. As if bewitched again, he did what the queen wanted to do for him. He killed his father and his big brothers.
When Iris arrived, he felt content and peaceful in his heart. But that only lasted for 1 second when the queen ordered accuse of her as the witch. The people obliged as if they're also bewitched by the evil power she had. When Zach saw Iris kneeling in front of him, he wanted to break his own self from the manipulation spell the queen put onto him.
He ordered some words that doesn't even make any sense. He told her some words that he didn't even mean it. He killed her.
After her death, the evil spirit disappeared and the kingdom fell into ruin. A divine being said after the Cataclysm, "this kingdom has been touched by the evil. One must kill it for the peace of Teyvat."
The Queen died and so the spell he was put on. 20 years old Zach cried after the spell lifted. He's devasted by the pain he was in.
He just wants a family, not this. A god saw how Zach suffered from the evil spirits' torture. He pitied him so he made Zach be reborn again and in the near future, he and his sister will meet again.
----
"Hmm, so this is how the legends now huh?" Sierra said while she scans the book in the Knights of Favonious library, also known as The City's Library. She sat down in her comfortable position, putting both of her feet on the table while leaning on the couch and reading the books while eating.
The people stare at her like a crazy lady who doesn't know the etiquette. Sierra is tired from the whole day of traveling. So, she wanted to relax a bit by reading a book and also, a change of scenario.
"M-mistress..." A fatui whispered in her ears so she looked at him with a glare.
"What?" The fatui flinched and shuts its mouth. Good, he knows how to shut up. She continues to read her book when a gentleman approached her.
"My, my, what a lovely lady we have here." A flirty tone greeted her. She puts down the book from her face and looks at a tanned blue-haired guy who also has an eyepatch in his right eye.
'oh? So, this is the Cavalry Captain of the Knights?'
"Nice meeting you, Mr. Kaeya." She greeted. He looks surprised by her sudden greeting.
"I didn't know that The Tsaritsa's close subordinates know me." He laughs.
"That's thanks to our information broker." She said, pointing at Pantalone. Speaking of him, it also has been 2 years since her communication with Pantalone.
She doesn't want to bother him anymore. She's already guilty of the mistakes she did in the past, let's just forget that now. But can she?
"So, what is our fatui harbinger doing here in Ms. Lisa's library?" He said as he sat down beside her. Still with his flirtatious tone.
"Reading, as you can see." She bluntly said and Kaeya chucked. "Yeah..." He whispered. The two of them felt silent while Sierra's busy reading her own book, Kaeya keep staring at Sierra.
'Does she remember me?' Kaeya thought while staring at the busy Sierrareading her own book. He clenched his jaw, remembering the days he and Irisspend every day.
"I heard you changed your name..." He said and Sierra flinched by him. She glared at him. "My name is always Sierra." He felt a sting of pain in his heart.
''sister, if you were given a chance to change your name... will you change it?"The little Zach asked Sierra while they walked in the snowy path on one winter night.
"Of course not! This name is given by my mother. She said that Irisflowers remind me of her and also Iris flowers grew on my birthday! It's so lovely isn't it?" She said while freezing, but still smiling.
Zach's image of Iris was a carefree princess. She likes to rebel but had the will to protect everyone. He would always admire her from afar.
But everything fell into ruin by just one simple mistake.
Kaeya is Zach's reincarnation. No one knows why Zach had reincarnated. If the gods had pitied him and her, then they should've been restarting the time from the very beginning. And he would swear in his life to protect her.
Kaeya remembers the conversation they shared one winter night.
Sierra sensed something off from him. But she can't say what it was. CaptainKaeya is sure a mysterious one. They said that this gentleman right here is Master Diluc's adopted brother. No one knows where are Kaeya's origins.
"If you don't have anything to say, then please leave. I want to be alone."Sierra shoo him because she felt uncomfortable around him. She's sure that she senses something off from him, but she can't tell what is it.
When Kaeya leaves, his words lingered in her mind as if it's reminding her of her little brother, Zach.
The night appears as she took a step out from the Knight of Favonious headquarters. She wanted to take a night stroll again.
"Leave me alone, I want to take a stroll." She said to the fatui who accompanied her. "B-but Mistress..." She smiles with bitterness on her face.
"Don't worry if anyone wants to target me then I'll kill them on spot." Thefatui's face felt pale and she laughs. She then took a night stroll in a bustling and busy street of Mondstdat.
Everything felt peaceful, until a little while later a bomb exploded out of nowhere. The people panicked when they saw The Fatui enter from the gates of Mondstdat, there Scaramouche The Balladeer laugh while looking at the hopeless and frightened gazes of people.
It was obvious that Scaramouche has now betrayed The Tsaritsa, seeing this, Sierra will not back down from her oath to the Tsaritsa.
'Eliminate those who dared to betray Her Majesty's will.' She whispered as she took out her twilight sword and a blue-green aura surrounded her as she leaped to Scaramouche. A Fatui then blocked her to protect him.
Scaramouche laughs looking pathetic to Sierra. "My, my, what a waste for you."He spoke. "I know I'm no matched for you so, have fun fighting with your little brother, Iris," Scaramouche whispered and disappeared out of thin air.
A shadow from afar appeared and it was Captain Kaeya.
When Scaramouche stole the gnosis from Raiden Shogun, she was sure that it all contains memories. The memories of its personnel are erased, but not inside the gnosis. That's why it can be lifted by 'some will'.
But why did he say 'little brother' when Kaeya is the one who appeared in front of her? She stopped thinking and was frozen by her realization. If she had also come back to life by ritual then this man right here is reincarnated from the gods. But... why? what was the reason?
"We finally meet again, Big Sister." Those voices were different also from his appearance. But the way he speaks reminds her of the little brother she cherished the most.
"Big sister Iris!"
She laughs as if the gods hate her and want to insult her. If the gods do really hate her then the gods should've allowed her to be alive and breathing again instead, the ritual should've been failed. Her life... all of this is because of some unknown evil god that wants to wipe out her existence.
She doesn't know what to do anymore. Hah, that Scaramouche bastard really wanted a big fight.
"For the name of Her Majesty, The Tsaritsa. I will put my life on this fight." Suddenly, a fiery blaze of hot fire surrounds her and her sword, she then took a step to fight Kaeya.
Kaeya blocked all the aggressive attacks Sierra has, he had the disadvantage. His ice walls would melt whenever Sierra attacks, every time he escapes, she would leap in to block his path. A very troublesome opponent, that's what he thought.
He once tried to escape since there is no chance of fighting, but then Sierra used her Anemo powers to push him back which made Kaeya push back in a hard wall. He coughs blood as soon as he hit the impact from his back. He felt his bones break while he still coughs up blood.
From the smokes they make, he saw deadly and scary glowing green emerald eyes from her. He felt a sting of pain not from his back but from his heart. There were no signs of her sister's smile but pure madness to him.
That's nothing to be surprised about. He was under the spell of the queen, yes, but it doesn't change the fact that he killed her. He clenched his jaw as the tears keep streaming from his face.
He regrets it. Everything.
If only he could turn back time, he would swear in his life to protect her sister's warm spring smile.
She could've been proud of the name her mother gave her; she could've been proud living her life to the fullest.
Kaeya or Zach imagined a life with her. While her night sky hair played with the gentle air, the flower petals flutters in the sky which made Iris looks even more graceful. He would stand there, admiring her sister's unworldly beauty.
She would then spot him and smile at him and call his name, "Zach, my little brother!"
'ah... such warm...' he thought. He finds himself in a daze when Sierra's now in front of him. Sierra then grabs the sword from her right side and is about to stab Kaeya. But Sierra froze and Kaeya's shield turn on. The aura from her sword immediately switched to Anemo as soon as she hit the walls behind him.
Sierra realized who he was while fighting Kaeya. Those moves he made — she was the one who taught him those. It is really her little brother. The brother who killed her.
"Why..." She trembled. She couldn't take the thought of her killing her own brother. She can't, she just can't.
Because even after all these years of hatred against him, she still loves him as his little brother. She would see Zach's innocent smile in Kaeya's gaze.
"I'm sorry, sister Iris." She looked at him, with so much pain in her eyes. "I'm sorry, big sister... everything is all my fault... there are no excuses... to what I've done to you..." He said while coughing blood, Iris looked pale when she realized how much that impact was.
"A-ah... n-no, let me heal you first..." Of course, she can't heal, she doesn't have any Hydro Vision in her. But her remaining divine powers are still there but feel weak. It can't heal the almost dying Kaeya or her little brother.
She put him into her arms as the tears start to fall from her face. She lost control because of her hatred, now that she faced him and had the chance to stab him, she awoke from the fact that it was not really his fault.
"There is no need, sister..." Kaeya said while panting trying to catch a breath.
"I always admire you sister... I really do... that's why, when the queen wanted me to be the king, I don't want it... but I was an idiot and I thought she was right. That's when I realized that she really isn't when I saw papers in your room..."
"In your whole life, from the death of your mother, you researched everything that was the cause of the pandemic... sister I, I know it's too late."
The more he speaks, the more he's catching his breath and the more he looks pale.
"Don't speak... let's talk about this after you're treated, right?" She said as she holds his cold hands.
"Sierra!" A familiar voice echoed in the place. It was Pantalone searching for her.
"I know it's too late sister, will you still forgive me?" Her attention shifted from Pantalone to Kaeya. Sierra is frozen. She can't speak a word when she saw him lying in her arms with a cold body. He's closing eyes.
"Sierra" Pantalone finally found Sierra. But to his surprise, a dead body was found in her arms. She was hugging it tightly. He froze as soon as he saw Sierra crying.
"Why... I can't hear his heartbeat?" She asked him.
"He's just sleeping, right?" He saw how Sierra trembled not in cold but because she's scared. She still didn't hear his words; she still hasn't forgiven him.
"Hey... wake up now, Zach. Big sister is here..." She said while she cried.
It was only for a short moment, Zach found her first and remembers her. She still doesn't have the answer to that. But aside from that excuse, she wanted so badly to be with Zach again.
She hated him because he was the one who killed her. But nevertheless, she still loves him as her little brother.
Iris could only imagine his little brother's sweet Innocence from the past. And could only hear his voice not coming from her ears but from her mind. The cold wind blew gently Sierra's hair. She felt a tingling and warm sensation and because of that, her attention diverted to a place beside her. There was no one, but she felt that someone hugs her from her back.
"I love you, sister."