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.
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