new face

i don't often walk these streets of my town

alone, but when the cat's tail closed for the

night, i chose to go to the statue of Barbatos

to make a final prayer, so that i could go

to sleep under his protection and his divine grace,

or so i thought. i saw a man on the hands,

looking at me, but, where was his face!?

then i realized who he was.

ayato. that was his name.

but where was his sister?

and why was he here?

he descended down gracefully before slowly walking

past me with those deep purple eyes on a complexion

of pitch black. i found you, he said. come here.

i need you. i...i...you...

i said, no, don't touch me! please, don't!

and i ran. with as much energy as i could

but he was too quick, so agile, so effortless.

i tripped, and fell, backed in a corner,

crying, i fell to my knees, in tears,

and i said, please, don't do this to me,

i...i...i'll never get to say goodbye to klee

or anyone, or even you, so please...don't...

but he rushed at me so quick

and i let out a very loud scream

with all the energy i had left

before I felt a wave of light

shatter into a million pieces

and everything became silent

for nothing.

diona.

Diona.

DIONA!

time passed.

someone called my name

as I felt a barrier of black

shatter into a billion pieces

as I heard my name

called out by a gentleman

who felt the whole world

was cutting him down

and i could not stand to see that

so my eyes opened...

Diona. are you okay? my eyes opened. it was him.

a..ya...to...i whispered. but, i thought you...

i gasped as I felt a warm embrace and a grown man

crying like he lost his child in a calamitous

accident, a young daughter worth saving.

thank the shogun you are still with us, with me,

he said, sobbing, gasping for air as the tears

came out. Diona. oh Diona. our Diona...

Ayato, it's okay, you don't have to be so dramatic,

i am fine. i am here. i am here. he said, Diona,

please forgive me for everything i did to you,

scaring you like that, but, i need to explain why

i did this, and why i regret it. i have to own up

to these circumstances. will you? i nodded and 

whispered, yes. and i have all of teyvat as my 

witness, he said. and the door opened,

and one by one, all of the Travelers companions

from mondstadt, liyue, inazuma and sumeru came in.

diona! cried Klee, hugging me, crying. what happened?

I was worried about you, when I heard you screaming!

i thought something happened. klee, i'm sorry i scared

you like that, i am here and i am fine. klee said,

okay, but don't do that again, you hear me? i nodded.

then ayato rose up and said, everyone, please, i

must explain what happened. he took a deep breath,

collected his thoughts, and he said, i had been

battling an inner demon that was burning me up

inside. it caused me to tear at my face and my sanity.

and i roared, looking high and low to find someone to give

me a cure to save me.

he turned to me and said, diona. you heal people,

correct? i said, yes. then i needed your healing touch

but you thought i was going to do unspeakable things

to you that would be an unwashable slight on

my honor,

my dignity,

my existence as a man

of principles.

but when you cried to the heavens, the darkness in

my face shattered and i could feel all feeling and

emotion and normalcy return before i could even

come close to laying a sliver of my blade upon you.

diona, you saved me, but i wanted to make sure

that you were not sacrificed in helping me win

this fight with myself. i want to thank you,

and also tell you i am sorry for everything.

i said, ayato, thank you for bringing me back, thank

you, everyone, for being with me. ayato said,

i love you,

my sister loves you,

all my brothers and sisters

fighting the good fight

love you,

all of teyvat loves you,

klee loves you,

and most importantly,

the traveler who is with me

loves you. so don't ever leave us.

your face is too cute to ever be lost.

my ears perked and my tail wagged.

and he said, how will i make it up to

you to forgive me for doing all this?

i said,

bubble tea.

i want to drink it.

he gave me a big cup with a straw

i gave it a good sip

hey, this is delicious!

you must give me the recipe!

he gave me a book.

this book has every bubble tea recipe

made by the Kamisato clan

for 69 generations, said Ayato.

Nice! I exclaimed.

It is yours. Use it to make business

booming at the Cat's Tail, make it taste

as good as we all remember, for tonight

and this point forward, we will share in the memory

under a new face!

everyone cheered, i got out of bed 

jumped into Ayato's arms and said,

what are we waiting for? let's make

some boba! and the drinks flowed,

and Venti sang his songs and there was 

plenty of dancing and stories told.

and Ayato and I went outside.

the heavens parted and the moonlight

shined on both of us. he said,

Diona Katzlein, do you feel better now?

and I said to Ayato,

when you have a new face like that,

i feel invincible...

and i love it.

yes.

i want some new face.