Chapter Text
Snezhnaya’s weather was just as cold and cruel as he remembered.
Diluc had had every intention of never returning here. It wasn’t supposed to be possible after he was declared persona no grata due to his previous… dealings with the Fatui. But a dark cloak and even darker aura went a long way. It was either that or that scum had somehow managed to revoke his status.
“I assure you that would’ve never happened under Tsaritsa’s rule.
The snow crunched under his boots as he made his way through the busy streets of Niensgorod. All this technology yet no way to keep the pavement dry of snow? Then again maybe snezhnayans didn’t think it was a problem in need of fixing… Diluc doubted there were many places in the icy nation where the snow hadn’t touched.
”Our god’s views align with yours. But you know that already, don’t you?”
The lampposts illuminated the boulevard. Somewhere must be some type of café or a stall nearby, as a lot of the townsfolk walked with steaming cups in their hands. Were it not for the fur-lined cloaks and the condensation of breaths, the scene could be straight from his hometown.
The city of pastorals, of freedom, of songs.
What a fucking joke.
He should’ve known. Hell, he had known. That’s why he had kept it a secret, that’s one of the reasons why he had left his fatherland the first time. Mondstadt wasn’t a nation bound by contracts like Liyue was. Diluc hadn’t been obligated to tell the truth when it wasn’t his to tell. And yet…
Yet it had come out.
”You must want revenge. It’s natural! Don’t fight it.”
“Izvinite!”
Diluc shook his head to get rid of the thoughts plaguing his mind and looked down. A little girl had bumped into him and was now apologising for the fact. Or at least he assumed so. He didn’t know any snezhnayan, except for the two sentences he would soon need.
He nodded politely at the child, hoping it’d be enough to reassure her. There were snowflakes sprinkled on her maroon braids, some already melted, other’s still bright white. Another call came, and the girl bowed once more. Then she turned around and ran back to, presumably, her mother, if the color of their hair was anything to go by.
Were Diluc’s cheeks as red from the cold as hers had been? He couldn’t feel the burn, hadn’t been able to feel much of anything for some time in fact. It’s like he had gone numb to the world again. Just like back then. With the only sensation the weight of the delusion in his pocket.
But this time, it was accompanied with the weight of another vision. A lightless one, gray and motionless, dead. Just like its wielder now was.
Each night, Diluc took it out of his pocket, hoping like a fool, that it would brighten up once more. That the silhouette of the snowflake would become clearer, that the vision would once again emit that cool, blue light.
Of course, it never did. The vision belonged to a man who was now dead, and masterless visions didn’t work. They died with their bearer.
His hope had died alongside this particular vision.
”We’ve been tracking you this entire time. We know. And we can offer you what you most desire.”
Diluc hadn’t made the decision to come to Snezhnaya the day he left Mondstadt. He had just wanted to leave, needed to get out of the place before he’d suffocate.
He couldn’t bear it. Everything had been the same. People had laughed on the streets, dandelion seeds had flown in the air, the scent of Good Hunter’s cooking had been as enticing as ever. It was like nothing had changed at all.
And maybe to the citizens of Mondstadt, nothing had. Another captain had been replaced, but that had happened countless times before. Sure, he had disappeared, but hadn’t Diluc also done that? Maybe he would come back after a few years? Just like Diluc! In the meantime, there was no need to worry about it.
He had thought that with Eroch gone, the Knights of Favonius wouldn’t try to hide another incident like that. Eroch had been a traitor. Just one bad egg among the Order. With him gone, nothing like that would happen again.
But it had been covered up. Just like it had been when it came to the death of his father.
Thus Diluc had found he had no respect left for the Knights of Favonius.
“Join us.”
The offer had been utterly mad. Idiotic, just like the Harbinger making it.
Why would Diluc of all people want to join the organisation he had sworn he hated more than anything? The very same organisation that had caused his father’s life. among countless of other lives?
The Fatui were everything he hated in Knights of Favonius and more.
Hell, he’d rather be crushed to death by a meteorite than join them.
Or… So he had thought.
The speech the Harbinger had given him plagued his mind weeks on end. And it didn’t make any sense! Diluc didn’t… need anything that the Fatui could offer. Money? He already had more than he could ever spend. Power? His status as a Ragnvindr, plus the vast information network he had, already granted him that. Or in the case of physical power, he had been granted a strong vision by the gods. Protecting Mondstadt as the Darknight Hero or whatever silly name it was, gave him the opportunity to use that strength. Fame? He had become the most sought-after bachelor after… Well. In any case, he didn’t need fame either.
Logically speaking, Fatui could offer him absolutely nothing. The cocky smirk on the Harbinger’s face must have been bluff because they didn’t even have anything to blackmail Diluc with either. Would it come to a fight, he was quite certain he wouldn’t be the one to lose. So why would the ginger come at him with such an atrocious offer?
It was completely useless. The only way they’d get him to join was if he himself decided to do that. And like he had said countless of times, he’d rather die.
”You’ll know where to find us.”
While he hadn’t made the decision to travel to Snezhnaya the day he had left Mondstadt nor the day he received the outrageous offer, at some point, it was clear where his journey was leading to.
Lush green fields turned into darker coniferous forests. The soft ground started to harden as he trekked forward, and the temperature got colder with every night that passed. Diluc had to use his pyro more often to keep his body warm. Green turned to different shades of brown, forests into tundra.
And then, the snow fell. And the darkness shifted into blinding light.
Diluc had visited Dragonspine on numerous occasions. He had travelled across the seven nations and even visited Snezhnaya before this. Snow and colder temperatures were nothing new to him. He had witnessed snowstorms, frozen lakes, and animals donning their winter coat.
It didn’t make sense that the first full day he had spent surrounded by frost and ice, tears had run down his face. It had been nothing new, yet he had been getting choked up. Something must have been inherently different this time.
It took him another week to realise that he had been the one who was different.
”Just say this and they will let you in.”
The Zepolyarny Palace was as grand as one could imagine. Snezhnaya, being the wealthiest nation of Teyvat, clearly had spared no coin when it came to the residence of their archon. It was there, standing at the center of Niensogord, that he could finally admit it to himself.
He hadn’t decided to come to Snezhnaya when he left Mondstadt, nor when he was offered a position in the Fatui. He hadn’t decided to come to Snezhnaya even when he was clearly making his way there, travelling through different biomes and obstacles. Diluc hadn’t decided anything. He hadn’t meant to come here.
Yet here he was.
And he realised he had made the decision long before this, right the moment he could see the sword slice through flesh and leave blood staining the overly fashionable uniform.
Diluc let the hood of his cape fall and reveal the fiery red hair the guards had most likely been ordered to look out for. In an instant, he was forced down to his knees, his hands bound behind his back. One of the guards was spewing something in snezhnayan he couldn’t understand. The sound nearing of footsteps on the snow told him more guards were on their way.
Even if Diluc tried to fight, at this point he might not win. Or at least he’d have a harder time than usually. But he wasn’t here to fight, no.
As the ice melted under his knees, spreading cold over his body, he opened his mouth to say the words he had repeated countless of times inside his mind. One more obvious sign that this had been his destination all along. Why had he bothered to remember those phrases in a language he didn’t know, if it weren’t for the fact that he was planning to use them?
”I come here at the behest of lord Tartaglia, Eleventh of the Fatui Harbingers. I am the one he chose.”
His pronunciation was most likely awful, but he got his point across. He could see it from the surprised expressions on the men’s faces as the realisation finally dawned on them.
Childe had been mad for offering him a position amongst the Harbingers.
And Diluc was just as mad for being here to accept the offer.