Chapter Text
"Did you know? Stars are crazy! Apparently they generate so much energy that it actually kills them when they burn out!"
"Where did you get that book from Lumine? Lemme see."
"No! I found it first. You can have it after I'm done."
That was a fond memory Aether had. One of many recollections of the times he spent with his sister, traveling worlds that are more peaceful, where they had each other.
Aether blinks awake, gripping the right side of his bed by habit, only to turn up empty.
There it is again, that unsettling pain in his chest. Aether sits up with much effort and staggers to the bathroom as quietly as he can, careful not to wake Paimon.
He doesn't even bother turning on the lights because he wants to keep denying it, he doesn't want to see…. doesn't want to know what he throws up every night.
Aether is aware that he doesn't have much time left. As efficient as he is, he has only gotten to Sumeru after 2 years, and he doesn't think he can live for another year more.
Aether hacks as quietly as he can, tears dripping from his tightly shut eyes as cold sweat soaks the back of his nightwear. The lump in his throat isn't going away no matter how much he coughs and scrapes at it to go away.
In the end, Aether doesn't feel any better. But at least his chest isn't aching anymore. So he flushes and makes his way back to bed, tucking himself under his soft blankets and pretending that Lumine is right beside him.
—-
Aether has a vague idea about what's happening to his body. Just as Lumine had mused several millennia ago in another world. They are children of the stars, and much like their parents, they are beings that generate monstrous amounts of energy. Hence, the twins never found much difficulty in any world they have been, human weapons and technology can never even leave as much as a scratch on them. The excess energy the created was never a problem for their celestial bodies to hear.
Yet, Teyvat was different. All it took was a light lift of a finger from a god, and Aether lost everything. Including his celestial form.
Perhaps Lumine doesn't know, or maybe it didn't cross her mind since they were always so used to taking their bodies for granted. But her brother is dying. Excess energy slowly chipping away at his mortal body and soul with nowhere to go, all while she is away, ruling over a fallen kingdom.
Aether doesn't crack, as much as he is rotting byon the inside, he does not crack on the surface. The honorary knight still keeps his composure, the hero of Liyue and Inazuma still smiles the gentlest of smiles. The first sage of Buer still shines like the rising star. Yet nobody knows that the star is slowly burning from the inside out, slowly dying.
"Hey Paimon, let's take a break." Aether suggested one day as he stared off into the distance, looking at the shapes formed in the clouds.
"Huh? Finally! Paimon has been nagging you to do that since we left Liyue! Finally you've got some sense to rest!" Paimon stomps in excitement. "So what are we gonna do? Paimon wants to do nothing all day!"
Aether laughs softly at her antics. "I was thinking something more, longer."
"Huh? Like a whole week?"
"Let's not go to Fontaine yet, I want to go back." A strange longing for home filled Aether's heart. Perhaps he was being sentimental, but is this what people feel like on their final days?
"Back? Where?"
"I don't know."
—---
Aether is good at acting, but even so, there are some who realize. The first is an eccentric friend.
"Welcome dear traveler! You're in great luck today! We've got a 50% discount on all caskets! Would you like to-"
Aether smiles back, and Hutao let's a long silence linger, which is quite uncharacteristic of her. She stares at Aether, scanning him from head to toe with narrowed eyes.
"Sure, I'd like to see what you have." Aether interrupted, and Hutao immediately understands. She does show him their catalog, even letting him look at some of the models on display, yet Aether doesn't seem to be impressed with any of them, not even the fanciest casket makes him wow. But Aether stops at one of the plainest caskets there is. No fancy carvings or gold ornaments, it's just a plain wooden box made of birch wood.
"This is nice. How much is it with the discount?"
"Huh? You're actually buying one? What for?" Paimon makes a fuss.
"I never said who it's for." He joked with a mock evil grin, making Paimon screech.
Hutao watches them as she drafts the invoice. Aether is such a liar. It's obvious who the casket is for, especially with such a thick aura of death surrounding him. The little companion must be unaware.
She flicks the invoice towards Aether, the price and purchase details written on it. "Haiyah~ Such a plain coffin. Whoever you're burying is going to have such a boring farewell." Hutao sighed as Aether takes the paper from her hand.
"That is my intention." He smiles, but his expression is so fleeting.
'You're so selfish, Aether.'
—---
The second to notice is an all seeing archon.
"You already know don't you?" Nahida puts the akasha terminal away. She never intended to pry into Aether's data, but to find out about his sister, she had to. "Aether, you don't have much time left."
"I know." Aether smiles, he lets himself be vulnerable before the dendro archon. Since he knew there was nothing he could hide from her. He foresaw that this information would be revealed. "And I've accepted it."
Nahida frowns and clenches her fists tightly to her chest. His smile… it's so fake… like a distorted painting. Nahida could see through his facade, Aether wasn't fine, he never accepted his fate, he never will. He has so many regrets, so many more he wants to do. Yet he puts on a smile and lies to everyone.
"You're scared." Nahida walks towards where Aether is sitting, staring down at his feet. She holds his trembling hand tightly until they've stopped shaking.
"Thanks Nahida." Aether meets her eyes with a warm smile. But Nahida hates it, Aether did not shed even a single tear, he has locked himself back behind that facade again. And Nahida is unable to get him out.
It's frustrating. Aether was the one who broke her out of her prison, and yet, she is powerless to do the same for him. Nahida pulls Aether into a small hug, he feels so stiff, like an empty puppet. "Stay strong traveler. May the rest of your journey be meaningful."
—---
The third is an astrologist, who noticed the dimming constellation too late. It's stars have mostly died out, only one of them flickers weakly, still holding onto life, unwilling to let go.
The windblume festival was a great success this year, all thanks to the honorary knight. So after the event has come to a close, the knights have decided to hold an after party, both to celebrate the festivities and also to welcome their beloved honorary knight.
It's wonderful, yet painfully ironic. Aether is glad that on his final day, he is able to see all of Mondstadt in one place, all of his friends drinking and laughing the night away. It's a beautiful sight, and it only hurts more that he has to say goodbye to this happiness.
He hears someone knocking over a chair and almost bumping into Amber, causing a commotion in the dining hall. He turns to see a familiar face rushing towards him.
"Aether! You- your- it- it's d-" he catches Mona as she practically lunges at him, panic on her face and her eyes wide with tears. Her odd behavior is pulling in a lot of concerned looks from everyone else
"Mona." He calls her name, bringing her back to reality. "Let's talk somewhere else."
Mona doesn't protest as they move outside, away from the curious gazes of the knights. When Aether doesn't speak for a long time, Mona starts again, but this time with more composure. "Aether… you're-... going to die- it's today..I- I should have checked…I could have…" She almost breaks into a sob. Aether places a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.
"I know… please just forget about it. Forget about me. Today is the final day of Windblume, you shouldn't be crying like this." He smiles again, but it's clear that he can no longer keep that facade up anymore. His lips are dry and his eyes are empty, the shine in them no longer present.
"How long have you known…" Mona asks, her shoulders shaking.
"Mona, I'm fine with it. I've accepted it."
Mona glares at him with a look of disbelief. How can he be like that, he must have been suffering for months, and he's fine with it? He hasn't even told anyone. All alone, he's been dying. All alone.
"Aether please." Mona begs, but she knows it's futile to beg for a fate long sealed. Something glossed over Aether's eyes for a second and he staggers, leaning against a wall. Mona rushes over to support him, but finds that Aether has already caught himself and corrected his posture. Even now, Aether is still trying to hide his suffering.
"I'm sorry Mona, I have to go. Please just forget about this." Aether turns around, already touching a waypoint with his arm.
"Wait!" Mona chases, but Aether is gone. She stands there, clenching her fists until her nails drew blood in her palms. She knows Aether has put in all this effort to keep everyone in the dark, she knows how much Aether wants to be forgotten. But to hell with that! What kind of idiot is he? Mona storms back to the building with determination. So what if she is going to dishonor a dying man's wish? She's not letting Aether die all alone, he doesn't deserve that. How blind of him to not notice how he is loved by so many. To decide himself to die alone is such a cowardly thing to do.
Mona flips her scryglass swiftly as she stomps back to the doors. Good, she still has some time left. Now to ruin the party.
—-----
Aether falls to his knees the moment he appears at the peak of starsnatch cliff. The night sky is clear and the breeze beckons him closer to the cliff. Aether smiles at the beautiful scenery. What a perfect night to go.
He moves sluggishly to sit on the edge, dangling his legs down. He had wanted to jump, but now that he's there, he finds that he lacks the courage to do so.
Aether looks up at the moon and he feels something wet run down his face. Aah, he's breaking.
Aether brings his palms up to wipe his tears, but even after his gloves are drenched, his tears wouldn't stop. Now that he's truly all alone, he can't seem to keep his smile up anymore. It's breaking, cracking, flaking away.
Aether cries, pulling his knees up, away from the cliff and hugging them to his body.
"I don't want to die…" Aether sobs between his hiccups. "Lumine…. I miss you."
"I just want to go home."
"I don't want to die."
"I'm scared."
"It hurts."
"Lumine…"
A pair of hands embrace him gently from behind, a warm breeze engulfing him in its gentle hold. "Aether." A hurt voice comforts him. Aether doesn't even care anymore. He doesn't scramble for the pieces of his already broken smile to place them back on his face anymore. Now, Aether is only Aether, and he feels awfully small.
"I'm sorry…I'm sorry for lying....I… I'm not ready… I don't want to go yet." Aether sobs and the embrace around him tightens. Venti pulls Aether away from the cliff and holds him tight, his eyes stinging with tears as well.
"How cruel of you to make an archon weep." Venti spoke in a shaky voice. "To make the whole of Mondstadt weep."
Aether looks up and his eyes widen when he sees everyone circling him, sharing the same pained expression as their archon. There goes all of his efforts, now he has to make everyone suffer for his loss. "Please… don't look…" Aether hiccups, he feels so small, like a child who lost everything.
"Stop it." Diluc's voice is stern, but with a low tremble to it. "Why didn't you tell us?"
Aether replies with silence.
"Aether…" it's Paimon this time, her voice shaky and her eyes red. She must have been crying. "It's a lie right? You didn't even tell Paimon anything! This is just a prank right? Ah you got Paimon so good! So let's go back?" She floats over and tugs at Aether 's scarf, but he doesn't budge, and he refuses to meet her eyes.
"Aether why-" Amber yells. But a strong wind blows everyone back an inch. "Enough." Barbatos announces, his wings outstretched to shield Aether from everyone else. His eyes glowing teal with sorrow and anger.
His people fall into silence and reflect on their actions. There was no point forcing an answer out of Aether, they already know why he keeps it to himself. He doesn't want others to share his pain, even in his final moments.
Aether doesn't sob anymore, too weak to do much of anything else. He only leans into Barbatos' embrace. It soothes him and makes him forget about all his regrets for a moment. The wind is so nice, he could just fall asleep. His eyelids grow heavier, he knows that once he closes them, he won't be able to open them anymore. But it's so heavy.
Aether looks at Barbatos one last time, and hopes that he never has to make that face anymore, not for the third time.
"He's already gone." Barbatos retracts his wings, and Venti kneels there, still holding tightly onto Aether's limp body. The winds cease, and for an entire year, the winds in Mondstadt would not return.