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Aether just wanted his sister back.
The memory, his only memory of Lumine in this world, replayed relentlessly, no matter how much he tried to stop it.
They had arrived together in Teyvat, and for the most part, everything seemed normal.
What drove them to leave remained unclear to Aether. Their plan was simple: depart from Teyvat and bury their brief experience there deep in their minds as they journeyed to the next world.
When they tried to leave, an unknown god, who claimed to be the sustainer of heavenly principles, refused to let them.
They fought.
In a moment of miscalculation, Lumine found herself caught within dark cubes, their red glow engulfing her. Aether watched helplessly as the God reduced his sister to nothing but red cubes, leaving him overwhelmed by fear, guilt, and the desperate need to protect and survive.
He just had to ruin it with his incompetence, didn't he?
Aether ignored the blur of his vision, and the dampness of his cheeks.
When Aether awoke, he clung onto the tiniest bit of hope that Lumine could be out there, waiting for him to return.
He saved Mondstadt and Liyue too, Driven by his guilty conscience.
Aether met another strange blond. Though his stature was his of a truly trained swordsman, and pupils shaped like those stars; a Khanri'ahian.
With his help, he found her! He found Lumine!
She was cold, distant and not willing to be reunited until she decided that were ready.
Aether was ready, he would accept whatever his sister told about this world. The Archons are secretly spaghetti gods wishing to turn everyone slowly into meatballs? He'd smile and nod, taking in anything she said, anything to get her back.
She wanted nothing to do with him.
Aether knew this wasn't the truth. After all, ahe said that once Aether had his journey across Teyvat they'd reunite, but he couldn't help the doubts clawing at his mind. This thoughts shredded like a rift hound has released to wreak havoc on his brain, leaving only his desperate and irrational ones to comfort him.
"You're being ridiculous. Go to sleep," Aether told himself, burying his face in the drier side of his pillow.
He reassured himself with shaky word, "Lumine loves you, she's your twin."
But did she, really?
The thought was nothing more than a vile cockroach at a fine restaurant, invasive and hideous. It never wanted to leave, spreading its filth wherever it pleased.
His logic couldn't root the troublesome weed...After all, he had awaken from a 500 year coma. Perhaps Lumine had moved on and forced herself to forget about him, just like the people in the worlds they visited.
Aether hugged his pillow tighter
Despite technically being the older one by mere seconds, Lumine had always been Aether's guiding light, his older sister in his eyes. He had decided long ago that even after finding a home, Lumine would always be his home, too.
She helped him with everything, from braiding his long hair to protecting him with her life.
She was much less reckless and emotional than Aether.
Aether admired her, he wanted to be like her. To see the world as she did. To look anything in the eyes, with nothing but an emotionless glare.
But no.
He had to be the one to cry at the smallest bit of sadness. The one who wouldn't stop asking for hugs. He was the one who awoke with nightmares before the sun even rose. Maybe Lumine had seized her chance to get away from him while he was comatose.
He wouldn't blame her.
Aether wanted to rip if skin apart from its invisible seams. To allow death to claim him.
At least that way, something would want him, even if it's just vultures eating his corpse.