.
.
.
"So you followed me." Y/N whispered.
"Yes."
This was weird. This whole ordeal was just, weird. Why was Y/N leaving elemental trails when she herself had no experience with such? Her, and elemental being? It was quite hard to believe.
Come to think of it, why was she brought into this world anyway?
"When I saw you with that harbinger, I thought all my suspicions were confirmed.", Diluc interrupted Y/N's thoughts.
"So I took the chance to strike, who knew if an opportunity like such would ever come again?"
The vigilant hung his head down, his voice quiet and meek.
"It's no excuse, however. I'd understand if you don't-"
"I forgive you."
Diluc raised his head in shock, turning towards Y/N as if he had misheard her words. The girl was smiling knowingly, staring back at him in pity.
"You were just trying to protect your city.", she said as she slumped onto the ground, lying down to watch the sky above her.
"Anyone with your passion would've done the same."
Diluc's lips quivered and he sharply turning away from Y/N. He didn't want her pity, he didn't want understanding. She should've screamed at him, kicked him, shoved him on the floor. Perhaps, that would've made Diluc feel better.
"Why do you have to understand...why can't you be angry? I can't face you, so please don't make me..."
"But I need you to tell me why, Diluc." Y/N's voice was stern as she spoke.
"That night, when you said all those hateful thing towards me, I couldn't understand why. Why were you so enraged? You were completely different, you were almost vulnerable..."
Diluc flinched. Vulnerable was a word that had never been used to describe him, and yet, it felt threateningly truthful.
"There's more too it than you're letting me in on, huh?", Y/N tilted her head to get a better look at the male.
The redhead gulped. What was this...emotion crashing onto him all of a sudden? His chest felt heavy, he fiddled nervously with his hands, tears fogged his vision as he desperately tried to stop them from escaping.
Was this what it meant to be vulnerable?
"I don't like talking about the past." he croaked.
Y/N nodded.
"So it's about the past, huh?"
Diluc sighed in defeat, flopping down on the floor to lay beside Y/N. For a while, the two simply stayed silent, enjoying the view of clouds floating around a light blue canvas.
(skip this part if you don't want cannon story spoilers)
"Shine true." Diluc suddenly spoke.
"Evil cannot go unpunished. Never settle for mediocracy. Never forget that the dawn will one day come."
He allowed a few tears to flow down his face. This was it, he was letting himself succumb to vulnerability.
"That's what my father always said to me, even on the day we were attacked."
(the following text in italics is not my work. it is an excerpt of diluc's in-game story, written by game developers at mihoyo. you can find his full backstory at https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/Diluc/Story)
...
"Sometimes, life can change in an instant."
The day that Crepus spoke these words to Diluc would turn out to be the latter's last as a Knight of Favonius.
For on that day, a attacked the transport fleet he and his father were traveling with.
There was no time for Diluc to send for help. The monster was stronger than any foe the young Cavalry Captain had ever encountered and overpowered him.
Diluc could never have anticipated the way this battle would end: His Father, who had denied admittance into the Knights and who was shunned by the gods, defeated the monster with an unknown evil power—before that same power backfired, mortally wounding Crepus himself. Crepus died shortly after in his son's arms. With a heavy heart, Diluc returned to the Knights' headquarters, only to receive an unthinkable order from Inspector : "Conceal the truth."
Eroch insisted that the incident must be portrayed as an unfortunate accident in order to maintain the reputation of the Knights of Favonius in the eyes of the public.
Such was the sheer outrageousness of this request that Diluc did not think it was even worth trying to argue. Diluc's father had once said to him that the world would never turn its back on the faithful. But now, the Knights of Favonius trampled on his faith like it was nothing. He couldn't help but wonder: What was his father's view on faith in his final moments?
...
"I left Mondstat a few days later, searching for the sorcery that killed my father. I learned that they were counterfeit Vision created by the Fatui, but that was the only information I could obtain."
Y/N had already forgiven Diluc, but he could never forgive himself. He admitted, he had only agreed to Kaeya's orders to follow the new traveler around for his own selfish desires. He wanted revenge and closure, such that he had been blinded in fury, disregarding his own ideals that no innocent person should be harmed in his pursuit of enlightenment.
"My father...he was my home. I did everything I could to save him, to make him proud.", Diluc's voice was shaky and unstable, he could no longer hide his longing for justice.
"Now that I've made Mondstat my new home, I would do anything to protect it from harm."