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There may as well have been something wrapped around Aether’s chest for he couldn’t breathe, his lungs burning more and more with each painstakingly slow second that passed. His chest throbbed due to the frantic beats of his heart, more present now than they had been before. Aether tried to swallow but was stopped by the feeling of panic rising in his throat, causing his body to still with shock.
There was no way that Lumine, or ‘Princess’ as they had called her, could be standing before him… yet her appearance was unmistakable, her blonde hair styled the same way it always was and her golden eyes shimmering even in the darkness. It felt as if Aether had been thrown underwater, unable to hear anything and barely able to see. Lumine couldn’t be with the Abyss Order after all… it wasn’t possible. She’d been taken by the unknown god that day, and he was supposed to be searching for her, right?
So then why was she looking at him with such a cold yet knowing expression?
Next to him, Dainsleif stiffened at the sight of her, causing the horrible feeling in Aether’s chest to tighten its grip. How did Dainsleif know her? If Dainsleif was hunting the Abyss, how did he recognise her? There was absolutely no way that Lumine would be part of the Abyss Order… she was kind and fierce, not to mention protective of those she held dear. The Abyss was full of cruel beings who wanted nothing more than destruction and to bring pain upon those who dared to disagree with their ways. And yet somehow, a part of his brain seemed to be resigned to the fact that Lumine, his kind and protective sister, was with the Abyss. The expression upon her face only further proved where her loyalties lay, making something in Aether’s chest shatter painfully.
“Hey, c- could that be…?” Paimon’s voice suddenly dragged him back to reality, his senses returning in full force almost making him stumble.
“Lumine!” He shouted, his head spinning.
“Aether…” She replied, her tone making his heart clench. It sounded almost… sad?
“I’ve finally found you!” Aether placed a hand over his chest, his eyes filling with tears. Hearing her voice was all the confirmation he needed – there was no way that Lumine was with the Abyss, it was all just a big mistake, right? Still, there was an aching feeling in his chest that said otherwise, though he ignored it.
“W- wait, Aether… she just blocked an attack against the Abyss Herald…” As he turned his head to face Paimon, Aether could feel his hopes plummeting. “Your sister, and the Abyss…”
“Aether, why are you with Dain?” Aether whipped his head back towards his sister, desperately trying to ignore the look on Paimon’s face that seemed to hold all the despair he was feeling.
“...What?”
It didn’t make sense… why was she asking about Dainsleif? Why did she block an attack against the Abyss Herald? Why did Paimon have a look of such despair on her face as she looked at him, her eyes brimming with tears? This wasn’t what he’d wanted upon meeting Lumine again… he’d wanted them to feel joy beyond words rather than this horrible despair that he was experiencing. He’d wanted them to head to the next world together to find a new home. He’d wanted them to be side by side once again, facing the reality of their lives together and fighting alongside one another, not against each other.
“Huh?” Paimon asked.
Lumine, why are you asking me something that doesn’t matter? Why can’t we just go home?
“Your sister… knows Dain, Aether?”
Please, Lumine, let’s just go home and pretend none of this happened…
“Lumine. We meet again.” Dainsleif finally spoke, his voice steady.
“Wh- what’s going on here? Dain knows her, too!”
Aether couldn’t speak, his throat closing more and more with each passing second. His head felt heavy and Archons, he’d like nothing more than to just fall asleep and pretend like this whole ordeal was nothing more than a terrible dream. But unfortunately for him, it was now the reality that he faced… and it hurt. It hurt so, so badly that he didn’t know what to do, he just wanted to rid himself of the pain that had taken over every inch of his body, right down to his core.
“You shouldn’t team up with this man.” Lumine said suddenly and Aether immediately turned back towards her. “He is my enemy.”
“Lumine…” Dainsleif replied.
“Stop saying things that don’t make sense, Lumine!” Aether called out, leaning towards her. For a moment, his pain seemed to convert itself into anger and he could feel it tearing through his body like a fire. Lumine sighed harshly.
“But it must be said… Don’t try to stop me. Don’t try to stop the Abyss.” A pause. “That man, Dainsleif, was the ‘Twilight Sword’, one of the royal guards of the final dynasty of Khaenri’ah. 500 years ago, he failed to prevent the destruction of Khaenri’ah.”
Khaenri’ah… what does that have to do with this?
“A curse of immortality was laid upon him, to forever wander in the wilderness… while he watched the people he was supposed to protect turn into monsters of the Abyss.” Lumine continued to explain, making Aether’s heart twist.
“You’re saying… Dain is from Khaenri’ah? The same Khaenri’ah that was destroyed 500 years ago?” Paimon sounded just as confused as Aether felt. “And you said the people turned into monsters… You’re trying to tell Paimon that the Abyss Order is not only related to Khaenri’ah but is actually the people of Khaenri’ah themselves? Uh… and the whole thing about Dain being your enemy? Oh, Paimon’s so confused…”
For once, Aether couldn’t find it in him to care about any of what they were saying. More than anything, he just wanted Lumine to come back to his side once again so they could leave this horrible place and the horrors it beheld.
“Come with me, Lumine! Let’s go home!” He called out once again, hating the sound of the raw pain in his voice. Suddenly, she looked almost sad as she closed her eyes and lowered her head slightly.
“Home…” She began before opening her eyes and directing her focus back to Aether. “Yes, of course. ‘Home’ is wherever we are together.” A spark of hope rose in Aether’s chest for a moment, because like him she knew that home was wherever the two of them were together, side by side. “But I cannot go with you to the next world to find a new home… at least, not yet.”
Unsurprisingly at this point, there was a plummeting feeling in his chest as his hopes were once again shattered.
“Until the Abyss has engulfed the thrones, my war with destiny will see no end…”
For the first time since seeing one another again, Lumine turned to face somewhere in the distance.
“Destiny…?” Aether found himself repeating.
“Listen to me, Aether.” Her tone was cold as she turned to face him once again. “I have already traveled through this world once. Once you reach the end of your journey as I did, you will see for yourself the true nature of this world.”
What?
Aether didn’t even get any time to react, for suddenly the Abyss Herald moved and was opening up what appeared to be a portal behind them. Had they not been in the situation they were, Aether could have stared for days at the beauty of it. He found himself moving forward, reaching out for his sister before she began to turn away.
“So we’ll meet again. Though we need not rush, brother. I have more than enough time to wait for you.”
Panic rose in his chest once again as he began to run forward, desperately trying to get Lumine to come back with him.
She can’t leave… not again and not like this.
“We have always… had enough time.”
Suddenly she, Dainsleif and the Abyss Herald were gone and Aether was left behind, somehow unable to go through the portal with them. The pain of it all dropped on him full force, causing his eyes to fill with tears. She was gone, and there was nothing he could do about it. Once again he had allowed his sister to slip through his fingers and he was useless to stop it.
Paimon simply floated at his side, unsure of what to do to help despite seeing the agony written all over Aether’s features.
. . . . . .
Fighting Azhdaha had been… unexpected, to say the least. Though, Aether couldn’t bring himself to be surprised at this point. After coming to Teyvat, he’d lost his sister, then somehow got involved in saving a dragon and stopping it from destroying Mondstadt alongside the Anemo Archon who was really just a drunk bard, fought a Fatui Harbinger, saved Liyue from Osial alongside the adepti and helped plan a funeral for the Geo Archon himself who, on top of not being dead, just so happened to be terrible at remembering to bring his wallet. This wasn’t even to begin to mention the whole thing with recently meeting with Lumine and also helping almost every person he met somehow (from helping Kaeya arrest some treasure hoarders in an incredibly roundabout way to helping the Adepti of all beings). So, overall, Aether really wasn’t surprised about having to fight yet another dragon alongside an archon.
Still, he found himself wondering how he had managed to get out alive from each of those situations. Venti showing himself as Barbatos for the first time was one of the only reasons he’d made it out alive from fighting Dvalin (alongside the efforts of Jean and Diluc, of course) and the aid from the adepti was the only reason that he, Ningguang and the rest of the Qixing had beaten Osial, but he still couldn’t help but wonder if things would have been any different with Lumine around.
He and Lumine had always fought in perfect sync with one another, with Aether taking the defensive and Lumine taking the offensive. The two were a force to be reckoned with, their skills unrivaled by most. Of course, they did meet others who were much stronger than them, but together they were always able to handle the situation.
Lumine… where are you now? Are you safe?
“I must thank you both,” Zhongli said, a small smile on his face.
“No worries!” Paimon responded almost proudly, her hands on her hips. Fighting Azhdaha really had been a struggle, so Aether figured that it was fair of her to sound proud.
“Hold on.” An idea sprung to his head as his mind wandered back to his thoughts about Lumine. “I want to ask you something.”
Zhongli turned his attention back to Aether.
“Oh? About what?” He asked.
“About my sister.”
“Oh yeah! Paimon nearly forgot!” Aether bit his cheek, almost afraid to hear the response after Paimon finished her explanation. What if what Lumine had told them was true? “So, not long ago we met a guy called Dain. He told us about Khaenri’ah and the punishment of the gods… that’s when we realised that those events… were connected to the person we were searching for.”
“This is crucial for me.” Aether said, his voice soft.
“Zhongli, you’re a god. You’ve lived through thousands of years of history. Surely you experienced the incident.”
There was a beat of silence as Zhongli’s expression became saddened before he closed his eyes and replied,
“I cannot say.”
His eyes were open now and Aether very nearly let out a sigh of annoyance, because of course Zhongli, perhaps the only person who could let him know about what happened, can’t tell him.
“Why?” Paimon’s voice managed to convey Aether’s annoyance just as well as he had hoped. “You can’t even give us a thread of information? This is so important to us!”
“I understand, but I must apologise. This is my contract.”
That’s the God of Contracts for you alright…
“You mean, another past grievance? Like with the incident with Azhdaha? Too painful to talk about?” If only Paimon’s thoughts on the matter were true.
“It was signed before it all began. I have always honoured the contract… and kept my silence.”
Aether couldn’t bring himself to meet Zhongli’s eyes at this point, anger seeping through every inch of his being. For what reason did they have to sign a contract to keep their silence? Was what Khaenri’ah did that bad that they weren’t allowed to talk about it? Or worse yet, were the people of Khaenri’ah innocent and killed for the actions of a few? Despite her being with the Abyss Order, Aether can’t help but believe that Lumine would have thought it was the latter.
“How can you be like that!” Paimon really was doing a great job of conveying Aether’s emotions, for the anger in her voice was the most he had heard (including all the times he had called her Emergency Food).
“You two are friends to me. I can assure you that it brings me no pleasure to disappoint you. But as the God of Contracts, I cannot go back on my word.”
Instead of saying that it wasn’t out of character for Zhongli like he had originally planned to, Aether sighed and said,
“I believe you.”
Despite everything, he couldn’t believe that Zhongli would do anything to deliberately hurt them. And, although he hated it, he did have to agree with the ex-archon’s reasoning – being the God of Contracts and then breaking a contract didn’t exactly put him in the good books in places such as Celestia. Aether shuddered at the thought.
“Would you be ready to find out?” Paimon’s question caught him off guard. Would he be ready? Finding out that Lumine was with the Abyss Order was bad enough, but would finding out the truth of why be too much?
“Perhaps.” He replied, unsure of what else to say because he really didn’t know the answer.
His thoughts drifted back to Lumine, but he felt a knot tie in his chest as he realised that every time he tried to think of his sister, he saw nothing more than the version of herself in the Abyss. From the cold look on her face to the way she stood, Aether could tell that she had changed from the person that he had once known… it frightened him to think that he might not be able to see the Lumine from the past ever again. Where there had once been a person so full of light and kindness, now all that remained was a shell of the person she had once been, enveloped in darkness. Though he hated to admit it, the idea of change terrified him to no end… and now his sister, the one constant in a life full of change, was no longer the person she had once been.
Lumine…
. . . . . .
Unlike the situation with Azhdaha, riding on Dvalin’s back to arrive at the Golden Apple Archipelago as a really backwards way of Klee’s mother wanting her to have a good summer came as a surprise to Aether. Other than with the Maguu Kenki and the odd hilichurl, there hadn’t been a whole lot of fighting which was something that he had become accustomed to within Teyvat. It was almost a given at that point that wherever he would be requested to go that there would be a fight involved, so this being the exception to that rule was unexpected. Though, to be fair, having to deal with the constant bickering between Kaeya and Diluc had brought a similar amount of exhaustion.
In fact, by the second day of being at the archipelago, Aether was beginning to realise why Albedo had tried his hardest to ditch.
“Honorary Knight, would you be so kind as to allow us to borrow your waverider? I would make my own way over, but Master Diluc insisted that he come with me. ” Aether almost rolled his eyes at the way Kaeya’s voice had taken on an irritated tone. It was likely that a rant was coming on, and he didn’t have the mental energy to deal with it… especially not after Paimon had almost gotten the two stuck in a cave earlier that day.
“I’m only coming because the knights are incompetant and hence I cannot trust Sir Kaeya to not fail miserably.”
“My, Master Diluc, do you truly hold no faith in me at all?”
“No, I don’t.”
“I’m hurt. Truly.”
Aether was prepared to follow Albedo’s lead before remembering why the two had approached him in the first place.
“The waverider is over there.”
Luckily for him, the bickering stopped for a moment as the two turned to face him.
“Ah, many thanks to you Honorary Knight,” Kaeya’s usual smirk regained its position upon his face. “I do apologise for the trouble. I would have been fine on my own, but cryo and pyro are so incompatible-”
“Kaeya.” Aether interrupted. Kaeya just held his hands up in defeat.
“My apologies. Come now, Master Diluc, we should be on our way before the sun sets.”
Diluc made a noncommittal grunt in response.
It was a few hours later that Aether finally found himself a few moments of peace, sitting at the shores of Broken Isle. From getting stuck in a cave for a couple of hours with Paimon to going fish-blasting with Klee and Jean (albeit reluctantly on Jean’s part), he was exhausted. As nice as it was to be with everybody, he wasn’t exactly getting the whole relaxation part of the trip that Alice had planned – as a matter of fact, this was the first time he had found himself alone and even that was about to be interrupted. All he could do was sigh as the footsteps got closer, not even bothering to look at who was approaching.
“I didn’t expect to find you here, Honorary Knight.”
“What do I owe the pleasure, Kaeya?”
Kaeya, who was now sitting beside him, frowned a little at the response.
“Well I was simply admiring the view of the sunset, but then I spotted you and figured it would be rude of me to not say hello.”
“Oh. Well, hello then.”
Usually he would try to put more effort into his responses, but at that point Aether simply couldn’t find the energy to do so. At that, Kaeya’s frown only deepened.
“Are you alright?”
Startled by the suddenness, Aether turned to face the sea once again.
“I’m fine,” He started, barely believing the words as he spoke them. “Just a little tired, I guess.”
“I figured as much, though there’s something more than that if I’m correct.”
Leave it to Kaeya to see right through him.
“I…” He didn’t even know where to begin. How much could he even reveal about the situation? Sighing, he continued. “Recently, as you know, I saw my sister again and found out some… things. Then after that Paimon and I helped some people in Liyue and that was fine and all, I have no issue with that, but afterwards when we spoke with the one person who had answers regarding Lumine, he couldn’t tell us anything because of a contract. Now all I can think about is if she’s okay and why she would even join the Abyss in the first place… she said something about her already completing this journey before? I don’t understand and somehow when we arrived we were there at the fall of Khaenri’ah 500 years ago and…” Aether let out a yell of annoyance.
“That was certainly… a lot.” Kaeya responded after a few moments.
“Sorry I shouldn’t have dropped all that on you. I just…” He sighed. “ I don’t know… being here with everyone is great and all, but seeing Jean and Barbara as well as Klee and Albedo – even you and Diluc for that matter – kind of hurts, I guess, because it just makes me think of how different this whole trip could have been if Lumine was here. I know it probably sounds stupid but-”
“It’s not stupid, I promise you.”
“What do you mean?”
There was a lengthy pause in that Kaeya seemed to be trying to choose his words.
“I know it isn’t the same situation as you’re in right now but well…” Kaeya sighed a little, staring far beyond where Aether was sitting. “I’ve only really spoken to Jean about this, to be perfectly honest. But on Diluc’s 18th birthday, Master Crepus unfortunately passed at the hands of Ursa the Drake… or rather got so severely injured that Diluc had to end his life so as to prevent his father from being in any further pain. That night, however, I made the decision to tell Diluc about something that I can’t really say and the two of us fought, leading me to gain my vision and Diluc making it very clear that I was no longer a Ragnvindr.”
“Kaeya…” Aether began, not able to look the other man in the eye.
“It’s fine, it was years ago. But I guess what I’m trying to say is that I can understand in a way what it feels like to lose someone as close as a sibling, so therefore all that you’re feeling right now isn’t stupid by any means… I mean, that’s unless you’re saying that what I’m feeling is stupid too which I suppose I can’t really argue with.”
“I didn’t realise-” Aether started, only to be cut off by a light laugh.
“Don’t worry, it’s not something Diluc and I exactly go announcing to the world anyways. But after getting that off your chest, how are you feeling?”
How was he feeling? There was a longing ache in his chest, but he was accustomed to feeling it… other than that, there wasn’t really much else for him to describe in the first place.
“Sort of numb, to be perfectly honest.” Aether answered, uncertainty working its way into his voice.
“Figured as much.”
“Thank you, though.”
That caught Kaeya’s attention, causing the man to stare at him with a slightly confused look on his face.
“And what could you possibly be thanking me for?”
“I don’t know… just listening, I guess. And for being able to understand what I was getting at without thinking it was stupid.”
In response, Kaeya just smiled softly, yet somehow it was the most genuine smile Aether had seen from him.
“Feel free to come at any time if you ever feel like that,” He paused for a moment whilst his usual smirk worked its way back on his face. “I mean, it’ll get me away from work for a bit and I really can’t complain about that.”
“You’re lucky Jean wasn’t close enough to hear that.”
Kaeya simply laughed.