As Kaeya falls unconscious for the second time that day he stays asleep.

Kaeya opens his eyes to a black void.

"Hello?" Kaeya asks. His voice bounces off the black walls and it ripples from under his feet. Kaeya takes a step forward, each step a ripple to the everlasting darkness.

"Hel-" A light turns on. As the light brightens the black water transforms into a dark room. The walls, flooring, and ceiling are all stone blocks. The curling has holes in the ceiling where light bluish light comes through.

Following the moonlight to the ground he sees a familiar red hair laid into a low ponytail.

"Diluc!" Kaeya says running towards his brother. He reaches out but a wall stops him. After touching the water wall he falls backward, his mouth agape. "Diluc?"

Diluc looks up, his face is beaten and bruised. A Scar decorates an eye while bruises on his jaw. His nose drips blood.

Kaeya walks on his shins up to the wall. He puts a hand on it the closest he can to his brother. "Diluc, can you hear me?"

The door swings open.

Where did that come from?

Two pyro mages from flowering in one after another. Diluc flings himself at that, but his hands are covered by metal and those hand covers are connected to the stone wall by chains.

"You'll never harm him ever again!" Diluc yells.

"Shut up. Pet," an Abyss mage says, pushing Diluc's head down into the cold, stone floor.

Diluc mumbles something.

"What was that?"

Diluc jumps up to the dumb mage and manages to hit it with his own head.

"I'll kill you; I'll kill you all!"

The abyss mage which got hurt whispers something in their home language. The door closes as the mage leaves to complete their order. The injured Abyss mage doesn't let their injury show any weakness. Instead it holds out its hand and three heads of fire spawn.

Kaeya's eyes go wide. "No...no, no, no, no, no please Barbatos no!" Kaeya's hands bang on the water wall as the heads open their mouths.

Flames shoot out of their mouth like a never ending storm of arrows.

Kaeya covers his ears and eyes to block out Hos brother screams. The loud sound brings Kaeya in the fetal position. His head falls to the ground.

"Stop! Stop it!" Kaeya shouts. He writhes around in silk.

"Kaeya, stop you're okay," a female voice says. Kaeya opens his eyes to the lavender haired maid. Her arms are wrapped tightly around his chest. His breathing is thick and rapid. Like he was drowning.

"I don't want to be alone," Kaeya says.

With a motherly smile Noelle pulls a wooden chair over to the bedside. "I'll stay here and watch over you as you sleep. It's going to be okay."

Kaeya nods and lays his head back down. He doesn't feel dizzy or anything, just tired. "Okay," Kaeya says, laying his head down on the pillow. "Good night."

Kaeya's eyes close and open to the black bios but this time the moonlight is shining. Kaeya walks to the light. It illuminates his brother. He lays unconscious. His head lays on the stone, blood leaking from his mouth and nose.

An has mage enters. It's looks down at the red- haired man. It scoffs. "What a weakling." Floating to the chains behind his body the mage sets Diluc free.

He doesn't move.

The Abyss mage grabs Diluc and picks him up. His body is limp and as red as his hair.

"Diluc..." Kaeya says. He falls to his knees. "I'm sorry..." Tears fall into the never ending water that makes up the nightmare. "I'm so sorry!"

Maybe all of the water was his own tears.

"Shh... It's going to be okay," Kaeya hears someone say. The woman smithed down his hair.

"He's...d-dead." His breath shutters and tears rush down his checks. "It's my fault."

"Who dead?" Noelle asks.

"D-Diluc." Around round of sobs come out of the child.

"Oh Kaeya. It's not your fault-"

"Yes it is!" Kaeya interjects. "It's all my fault. I was weak. I'm a fraud." I'm not a Mondstadter.

"Why would you think that? You beat everyone at the Dawn Winery. You are so strong."

Kaeya sighs looking at the maidly knight. "I don't want to go back to sleep...I don't want to be alone. Can you take me outside?"

Noelle looks into his eyes. The child inside him steps through and she forgets that he was ever an adult. "Of course."

Noelle exits the room leaving Kaeya all by himself.

'Diluc's going to die because of you' a voice in his head says. 'He hates you. You're a liar, a traitor, a Khaenri'ahan.'

Noelle enters the room. "Okay, I asked Adelinde and she said y- Why are you crying?" Kaeya reaches for his checks; wet streaks stain them. The maid rushes to Kaeya's side.

"I don't want to be alone..."

"Aww, Honey, I know it can be boring being in bed all day but it's great that you can go outside now. Everyone will be there. You won't be alone anymore," Noelle says in an upbeat tone.

Kaeya smiles.

***

Noelle helps Kaeya up and leads him down the stairs and outside where as She had said was eating for him. Barbara, Albedo, and the maids. Even the hilichurl called Celi Boya was there too. He had not left them once.

"Good evening, Kaeya," Barbara says while jogging to Kaeya who was sitting in a rocking chair. It was evening, the sun had moved down and it helped that clouds made up most of the sky. "I'm sorry to say that Jean- er, Acting Grandmaster had to leave. She wanted to say that you did well when sparring with her earlier today."

"That's fine."

"You must be hungry. You Spelt straight through lunch," Noelle says. As if on cue Kaeya's stomach made a loud rumbling noise like an earthquake or before a volcano erupts. A few of the women chuckle, those being Hillie, Moco, and Barbara.

Noelle holds out a bowl of soup for Kaeya. "Here you go."

Kaeya takes the bowl and puts the item on his navy blue shorts. Moving the spoon to his mouth, he eats his dinner.

As Kaeya continues to eat his soup he hears footsteps. With the spoon midair he pauses. Inspecting the scene in front of him he only sees humans. Kaeya puts the spoon in his mouth.

Digging the spoon back into the delicious liquid he hears footsteps again. Kaeya leaves the spoon in the bowl. There is nothing out of the ordinary. Hillie and Moco were gossiping as per usual. Barbara was eating in between the four maids. Noelle and Adelinde were talking to each other.

They were close enough that Kaeya could hear a few words from their conversation. "...Kaeya...as children...good days..."

Albedo was all alone and close to the trees. He didn't have a bowl.

'Maybe he had finished it earlier?' Kaeya thinks. He was acting weird but the man was unusual himself so Kaeya didn't think it was a big deal. He would keep an eye on him; he was a Khaenri'ahan.

Anyway, no one else looked, they moved or made those footsteps.

Kaeya returns to his soup when something is wrong. It was gone. "What the?"

A drop of water drips on his head. Kaeya turns his head up to see a hilichurls standing over him, a bowl in between his hands.

Kaeya almost helps in surprise but he doesn't want to make people worry about him.

Celi Boya seems to notice Kaeya after he pulls the bowl from his mouth. He hands it to Kaeya; it's empty.

"Thanks?"

The hilichurl nods his head.

Kaeya raises his eyebrow. "Can you understand me?"

Celi Boya tilts his head to the side.

"I'll take that as a no," Kaeya says. "But...what if I could understand you?"