[There's a moment of silence as Diluc drinks the blood. The answer comes immediately like a spark of flame heating the air.] It is true it would have been easier to end you. That was true back when we were both mortals.

And it is not the fondness of the past that stayed my hand. [He sets the goblet down. He can easily recall the worried glint in Kaeya's eye. The set of his jaw when he told him this would only bring pain. And continues.]

Despite who you work for, I sense no evil in you. You carry the stain of the Abyss and yet it merely saps at your life. You do not twist. One day if you face me as a true enemy on the battlefield. I will kill you and drink to your memory.

But, as it stands I want to see what you do. How the threads of the future spin while you walk the land. What will you grow into?

[His eyes flash and for a moment it is like looking into the sun. Too bright, and vicious.] Should you fall to the Abyss or become evil, I will hunt you. For if you become evil, you will become a threat to all you love. I will step in and lay your body in the snow and ice of your home, so your beloved Archon and the land itself can cleanse your soul as you pass.

[The words are like a binding contract. He relaxes, eyes closed as the pressure vanishes.] This I promise.