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And amongst all the fighting and blood shed, there was his sister, covered in dirt and blood, laying graciously on the ground.
Aether just stood there, staring at the motionless body with utmost terror in his amber eyes. He just stood there, refusing to believe that the person he considered his second half, who he cherished and loved for hundreds if not thousands of years, who he devoted himself to find since the moment they fell apart, was the one tainted bright red, surrounded by enemies.
He called out her name. Even if he couldn't hear his own voice, drowned by the unbearable ringing in his ears.
He called for her, over and over again, slowing walking over to her unmoving body. His vision was blurred, his entire body was shaking, yet he ignored all of the signs that his body was about to break. Right now, all that mattered was his sister.
As soon as he approched her, his knees suddenly gave out. He fell to the ground, completely helpless.
He kept calling out her name in weak mutters as he checked for the slightest sign that she might be alive, that everything would turn out just fine and that they would safely return home together. But none showed up. Tears filled his eyes as he gazed into her's, who showed no sign of life.
A piercing scream ripped through the night. One that couldn't even express the overwhelming grief he felt.
He prayed to whatever gods that were looking over him, but to no avail. It finally hit him. His sister was dead. And as the ruin guard lifted it's gigantic arms to crush him, he sat there, not moving a muscle. What was the point, anyway?
All he ever wanted was to find Lumine. And when he finally did, she was already gone. So why would he want to remain in this cruel world who took the only thing that mattered to him? He looked up at the ruin guard, eyes void of emotion. His mind was blank. And as he was about to be crushed to his death, he only saw a flash of green and black before strong arms grabbed him and pulled him away at the last second.
The mysterious figure leapt from platform to another, tightly holding him. He looked up to be met with golden, beautiful eyes. Ones he recognized very well. The mighty Adeptus, Xiao, came to his rescue once again.
As they stopped, the Yaksha helped Aether up. They gazed at each other in silence for a while.
"Please don't do that again." Xiao pleaded.
The traveller was surprised at how much emotion his saviour's eyes were filled with. Worry, sadness, anger...But it still reassured him to know there was still someone out there he could care for.
"I won't." He said, trying to muster a smile. Xiao wrapped him in a tight, warm hug. They stayed like that for awhile, and they both wished for it to last forever.