Chapter Text
His men had long disappeared. He had sent them to wait. To spread the news of his inevitable betrayal. Wait for the dissenters in the Tsaritsa's armies to hear about what she had done to him. To drive the wedge of rebellion deep into the heart of her plans.
But for now, none of that mattered. All that mattered was looking on the bruised and battered forms of his former allies, and his sister. His sister Lumine, clutching her bloody arm, and the three Archons next to her, each one holding a rather debilitating injury. Zhongli had long since created a stone reinforcement for his leg, Venti had to resort to forcibly floating, and Ei couldn't even hold the Musou no Hitotachi properly anymore, instead opting to hold it in reverse grip for ease.
His eyes trailed over Yae, the lover he failed. His crimson eyes closed, memories of their times flashing through his mind, and when they opened, they simply saw a look of disappointment. Her bruised, heavily injured form readying whatever she had left.
A grueling battle. Even if they were outnumbered, his Blades did their duty. They proved the Teyvat soldiers should face him. His eyes glanced over Razor, limping on his blade, but stubbornly staring ahead. Razor had grown stronger, his wolf's spirit much tougher.
But he was fresh. They were injured. This would be a battle, an immense struggle for them. Even Barbara's last second healing took time. Time he did not wish to give them.
He glanced at the grey helmet at his hips, the one that denoted him as the Wendigo General. His hand trailed down, grasping it. Here now, they no longer fought Aether, the God of Death and War, Aether, their friend.
Here instead, in the ruined city of Fontaine, amongst rubble and torn skyscrapers, they fought the General. The last bastion of defense for the Tsaritsa's armies.
He pushed it over his head. He did not deserve to fight them with his bare face. He must put on this mask to hide himself.
"...Show me your will."
Even if they were injured, recovering, he too was not at his peak strength, as he wished he was. His body was mauled from those who did trust him, the Fatui Harbingers who think they could fight him on equal terms. They were foolish, and they were now 12 feet underground. But the damage was done.
He had not recovered in time. His body was in tatters still from the encounter, but he had his role to play.
So he put up his shield, raised his halberd, and marched forth. Even as their faces began to tear up, as they begged him to reconsider, shattering his heart, he walked forward, unflinchingly.
And so, spears of light, capable of ripping skyscrapers apart smashed against his shield, Stone Seeles strong enough to crack open the very crust of the planet splitting against his shield. Even the spirit of Razor's wolf, strong enough to tear apart the Crux Fleet, beating against his shield wasn't enough to halt him. With a brutal swing of his halberd, he brought it down on Razor's wolf, sending it cratering into the rubble.
His march resumed, but just as quickly, the spirit forced itself back up, grasping his shield without relent and attempting to shove its body through it. With a glare through the black holes of his mask, his crimson eyes blazed through. He threw the shield to the side, and with a thrust of his mighty arm, he brought down his hand on the beast's head, smashing it back into the ground.
But he had not forgotten everyone else.
Three powerful blasts of electricity found themselves against his body, but he did not flinch or waver. He merely turnedh is body towards them, even as Ei brought herself to slash with the Hitotachi. He blocked it with his halberd, striking her with the pole and sending her flying away. But she did her job.
For he looked up, and recognized the familiar Stone Seeles and Radiant Spears tearing through half of the largest building above, reaching the clouds and piercing them.
It crashed down over his head.
Hesitancy erupted from the mass of warriors assembled to take down the General. Venti questioned the collapse.
"Is he dead?" Lumine didn't know. The only thing she could see from under the rubble were black holes under his cracked helmet. As the dust settled, they could only look at his unmoving body.
She wasn't afraid to admit that she was 90% sure that wasn't enough to stop him. Slowly, tentatively, they moved forward, avoiding the large pile of rubble that remained, where his body pushed up a little debris.
All they could see was cracked armor, empty eye sockets, battered helmet. He lay there, unmoving. Even as they walked past him, they did not see him move at all. He did not make any movement, any noise. He just lay there.
But Yae could hear his heartbeat. He was still alive. She froze, feeling his heartbeat intensify, the low sounds of growling coming to her ears. She turned, and everyone turned with her.
And with a mighty roar, he punched a hole through the debris as his eyes glowed through the helmet once more. He exploded in a crimson aura, sending the debris flying behind him, shield and halberd in hand. But as the debris came crashing down, the only thing they saw other than the murky darkness of his armor was the unbridled red stare of those eyes looking right at them, piercing their souls.
Even as his helmet cracked and began to fall apart, as his sister sent her most powerful blasts of light to shatter his shield to pieces, he refused to stop, even as it tore through the armor on his arms. He slammed his boot down defiantly, rising up to his full height. Razor's spirit found itself against him again, but he fended it off with a couple of parries from his halberd. But as the full brunt of everyone power struck him, he found himself resorting to just punching the spirit away.
He glared, half his helmet falling off. He brought his halberd up, and took on his familiar stance.
Lumine panicked, Zhongli brought up his Seeles in front of him, 12 of them, to defend against whatever he had. Lumine brought her spears back to reinforce the powerful defense. Razor's spirit clung off his back, Ei charging Razor with whatever energy she had left.
Venti had readied the winds to go against whatever the General was preparing. What they were not ready for was when he howled, a nightmarish sound that sounded like a screech from a demon from hell.
He took a step forward, his right arm ready to send his halberd hurtling at them. With a crackling noise of the red lightning engulfing his spear, he thrust it forward, shattering buildings near him into nothingness, tearing the ground apart into fissures as he launched it forward.
The spear sundered everything it went through, any reinforcement, any blockade they threw up, even the hurricane-force winds Venti put up was nothing. The halberd tore through everything, and smashed into their final defense. Slowly, steadily, it pierced through, cracking the barrier, before tearing through. The resulting explosion sent everyone flying in various directions, amplifying their already terrible wounds.
The pain he experienced from launching his halberd at such strength did not bother him, even as his helmet came flying off. He pushed forward through the pain, hunting down one person.
Yae Miko.
He brought himself forward towards her body, glancing at her bleeding body, drifting in and out of consciousness. She gave him one defiant glare, trying to force herself to her feet. He did not have any intentions of letting her. He brought his fist high, ready to smash it into her body, breaking her into a pulp.
He did not expect a highly Overloaded wolf spirit to come strike at him, rage and fury in its last desperate attempt to protect its friends.
Razor screamed, his veins crackling with lightning as he begged the spirit to stay strong. Ei had long fallen unconscious, his sister was trapped under rubble. Zhongli's leg was stuck under the same debris, preventing him from moving.
Venti had managed to bring some fire to infuse into the spirit, falling down unceremoniously with a splatter of blood escaping his unconscious body. The creature howled, smashing its fists and raking its claws against his armored body. It hurt.
IT HURT.
But he did not let any scream of pain escape him. No. He could not.
He grappled the creatures claws, watching in awe as it overpowered him. Through the corner of his good eye, he saw Yae stand, ready to use one last bolt of Electro against him. He growled in frustration, and with one push, he tore off the arms of the empowered Spirit.
Desperate to do damage, it lunged with its fangs, but he too grasped the jaws, and with an annoyed glance, tore the beast into pieces, his former friends watching in horror as the beast disappeared in a flurry of Electro crystals and embers.
Razor screamed, his body no longer able to take the strain, and he collapsed. Aether paused for one moment, watching as Yae blasted him with all the strength she had left.
She stared as the blast bounced off him, his exposed arm moving in tandem with his armored arm as he walked forward calmly. Blood crept from his mouth, from his armor, his body reduced to a shattered mess. She stood there, grasping her arm, glaring up at him defiantly in what was her last moments.
"I hope it was worth it." She spat out venomously. She would face her death with dignity.
His armored arm reached forward, claws extended, even as his sister exploded from under the rubble. He vaguely heard her scream in denial, watching as his hand pushed forward onto Yae's head...
The ringing in his ears was too loud. Far too loud for his liking. His head spun, and he felt horrible.
He couldn't bring himself to do it. He was too emotionally unstable, he realized.
No. He still was himself. His tired eyes drooped close once, reopening half-lidded. Even as Yae's eyes slowly opened, feeling no pressure crushing her head, she could only feel him gently rub her head a little.
His heart had already stopped.
The miko looked up, and the mighty, towering figure of her love stood there, defiant. His eyes stared emptily at her, his hand forever remaining petrified in the position he had taken, resting on her head. She ducked, moving aside, closer to his frame. His eyes did not follow. His heart had not pounded for a while.
She could only look up at him in sorrow. In the end, he could not dare bring himself to harm her. In the end, for him, he died standing there, as a proud soldier, but also as someone who knew love. Who let that love consume him instead.
He betrayed the Tsaritsa there. Not by raising his fist against her, but by dying against them.
Lumine felt it resonate in her soul. She would begin fading soon. And so, she resigned herself to stealing her brother's powers, to only extend her life a little longer, so this would be over. She limped over, her body broken and bleeding. She hugged her friend, the Guuji, gently. But Yae could only stare forward. She had reached a state, a state where she did not know if she was alive or in a nightmare.
But Lumine merely touched her brother's corpse. It drained his remaining power. The latent power he locked away was unleashed inside her body.
It hurt. It burned. It made her scream, but she felt her life forcibly extend for a short amount of time. Long enough to slaughter the Tsaritsa. But first, she had to wait.
She waited for her friends to awaken. For them to witness the unmoving, standing corpse in front of them.
Even as they walked forward, Yae stood behind. To at least stay with Aether, until everything was over.
She glanced back, sorrow in her eyes as Yae fell apart, sobbing against him.