Chapter Text
If Thoma had to describe himself with just one word, he would call himself an optimist.
Be it wrapping nearly the entirety of Ritou around his finger in just under a month or the even more impossible task of getting the young lord to rest for the night, he was sure he’d find a way. He grew up in the City of Freedom after all, where worries were rare, and laughter was bright and genuine.
If he weren’t optimistic, - and maybe a bit reckless too - he wouldn’t have made his way to Inazuma in the first place. With barely 13 years and maybe ten Mora to his name, he sailed all the way from Mondstadt just to bring his father a bottle of Dandelion Wine in a boat that was neither meant to sail on the open ocean nor weather Inazuma’s vicious storms. But he made it in the end, and even found his calling on this Island Nation.
During those early days, when Ayato had yet to claim his position as the clan head, he once told Thoma that he had brought a ray of sunshine from Mondstadt with him. And in those dark years that followed, Thoma had done everything to continue to be that light for him.
So, all in all, Thoma would say that he takes life’s odds and ends in strides.
But when the soldiers come for him that morning, when they seize him under the Vision Hunt Decree, not even he can see the light at the end of this ever-darkening tunnel. He cannot do anything when they corner him just outside Komore Teahouse and he doesn’t fight back when they tie his hands a little too tight to be necessary. He doesn't resist when they pull him through the busy streets of Inazuma City under the scrutiny of countless bystanders.
Thoma keeps his eyes firmly trained on the ground, but he can still feel the piercing gazes burning his back. He can still hear the barely hidden whispers and murmurs. Some of them lamenting his fate, while the louder one's celebrate it. Looking back, he should've probably known that he would become a target of the Decree sooner than later. Because, even though his Vision bore the Inazuman crest, he remained an outlander. Even after a decade spent there helping out and working overtime to learn all the nuances of the Island Nation, he would never truly fit in with the rest of them. His employment under the Yashiro Commission had shielded him for the longest time, but for the 100th Vision the Tenryou Commission seemed to have wanted to set an example through him. And Thoma doesn't know if he should feel flattered by that discovery, for someone to deem him this important. But then again… Kujou Takayuki probably knew of his special position inside the Kamisato Clan. And he never saw eye to eye with Waka... If this was his way of getting to his Lord…
One of the guards kicks him in the hollow of his knees before he can finish his thought and he goes down with a pained yelp. With his hands tied behind his back, he hits the wooden planks hard. It is only then that he realizes that the constant murmuring of the onlookers has ceased. And with good reason as Her Excellency, the Raiden Shogun, steps onto the podium.
Before today, Thoma had never seen her from up this close. Even with her back still turned to him, she strikes a menacing figure. Powerful in a way that makes him thankful that he is already on his knees, or he was sure they would be shaking uncontrollably by now. He thinks of the friend they had lost to his foolish bravery and wonders where he had found the courage to challenge her in the first place. There was an unsettling calmness about her that barely concealed her absolute control, like the lull before a terrible storm. And for a single moment she reminds him of his lord, but then again, not even he could compare to Her Excellency’s might.
The Raiden Shogun looks up at the statue of the Omnipresent God and he looks up with her: So many Visions are already embedded within it and too many of them are already extinguished. It is only then and there that it hits that he would join their ranks today. That there was no going back after this.
Thoma knows what happens to those who lose their Visions. He has seen the shells of human beings that the Decree leaves behind. He prays that he will at least remember the young lord and lady after this. And how funny it is that for once in his life, he is glad that Ayato’s meeting in Tenshukaku had been postponed until that eve. Just so that he didn’t have to be here right now. And Ayaka… He hopes that something caught her up along the way to the teahouse. That maybe she stopped at Yoimiya’s for a chat. That maybe she had yet to hear of his capture. That she wasn’t rushing here right now.
Her Excellency barely spares him a glance when she finally turns around. But it is enough to send another shiver down his spine when he sees the calculated coldness within. He can’t meet her gaze for long, those piercing eyes leaving him exposed and cutting into his soul even more viciously than Lady Guuji's.
Without much fanfare she raises her hand towards him, and he suddenly feels an intense electrical surge on his side. The Shogun’s power pulls at his Vision, tugging harshly at the metal clip that holds it on his belt until it breaks.
“No!”, he lunges forward more out of a reflex than anything else and is promptly blocked by the two guards at his side. Helplessly, he watches as his Vision - his loyalty and righteousness - is taken from him.
For a terrifying eternity he is frozen.
He sees memories flash before his eyes: His journey to Komore Teahouse this morning, dinner the evening before with both his Lord and Lady, he hears them laugh. He sees the traveler arriving at Ritou and he finds himself standing in his Lord’s office telling him to form connections a month before. He sees his life rewind impossibly fast. He sees a young Ayato smiling through tears in his eyes and then-
And then a second lighting engulfs his Vision and none other than Aether lands on the platform with his Vision clutched in his hand. The Traveler doesn’t waste time and throws electric blades at the soldiers charging at him before zapping to Thoma’s side. Urgently, he tugs at the bindings when another shock of electro energy strikes between them, and the Traveler lets go of the Vision with a pained grunt. With a loud clank, his Pyro Vision hits the ground and skids over the wooden planks, coming to a halt too far away for either of them to reach.
“Capable of using elemental energy without a Vision,” Her Excellency says, her voice devoid of any emotions as she steps down from the podium on pure electro energy. “You are an exception, it appears.”
Aether steps protectively between him and the Shogun. And Thoma wants to tell him to run, to get out of here before it is too late, but his words get stuck in his throat by the sheer power that the Shogun exudes with every step she takes.
“Exceptions…” she continues undeterred, “the enemy of Eternity.”
The electro energy surrounding her intensifies even further, engulfing her in a terrifying shield of thunder and lightning. And then, she draws out her sword.
“You will be inlaid upon this statue,” she announces and swings her blade. As if she cuts through the very fabric of reality, shards of darkness appear behind her and rapidly expand to trap Aether inside of the dome with her.
Thoma waits with bated breath.
If the rumours are to be believed, it takes three seconds for her to completely execute Musou no Hitotachi .
The seconds tick by.
The dome still stands.
Maybe Aether has a chance. Maybe he makes it out there alive. Hope is a dangerous gamble, but it is one Thoma dares to take. With the guards incapacitated and the crowd fleeing in a hurried panic, he uses the chaos to run to the nearest spear stuck in the planks.
“Paimon, my Vision!” he yells as he grabs hold of the sharp blade and luckily, the little flying companion listens to him. He feels the metal rip through his skin and the rope alike, as he blindly starts sawing through his bindings. He can feel his blood soak into his gauntlets, sticky and warm. Nine seconds , he counts, ignoring the searing pain.
He isn’t even halfway through his bindings when the dome pulls back, and the pungent smell of ozone hits him. But it’s not only that that catches his attention.
Aether lies unconscious on the floor. Paimon lets out a desperate scream as she lets go of his Pyro Vision and hurries to her companion’s side.
For a terrifying moment Thoma thinks he’s lost someone new today. His movements halt but then he sees his chest rise and fall. He is still breathing. He is still breathing!
With renewed fervour, he grits his teeth, pulls the rope taunt with all his strength, and continues sawing through his bindings.
The Raiden Shogun’s form is unscathed as she turns back around, the air around her still cackling with electricity. Her steps are calm and measured, when she approaches the traveler once more. Thoma’s eyes wander towards his Vision. It still lies there, just a few feet away from him where Paimon dropped it and yet too far to reach in time to grab and try and save Aether. He needed to make a choice and leave one life behind.
“Wake up, wake up!” Paimon shakes Aether to no avail. Instead, she is greeted by the blade of the Raiden Shogun. Shocked, he sees her flinch away just for the Narukami Ogosho to raise her blade for the final strike.
Thoma decides.
As the ropes finally snap, he grabs the spear, turns around and throws it towards the god. She parries it, of course, with a shockwave that sends Aether flying into his arms. He is barely able to stop them both from toppling over and uses the momentum to whip them around and run to the edge of the platform. In the corner of his eye, he sees his Vision gleaming violet in the Shogun’s wrathful might. Then he secures his hold on the traveler and jumps.