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Aether is not unfamiliar with the demons (or collapsals as the new term the Columbian researchers use nowadays, aether rarely catches up to the newest information). He has a fair share of experience traveling through the woods of Sami, to the Infy Icefields of the north and the Foehn hotlands of the south. Most of the time, he chose the safest and surest way to reach the north and that is of course through the woods of Sami. But something came over him this time, just because he’s traveling through Yan he thought it would be a good idea to go sightseeing the Infy Icefields through the Yan borders. After traveling through the scorching hot desert of Yan he now understood why no one was a fan of using the Yanese route.
The contrast between the desert and the forest he has to traverse slowed him down considerably. Aether himself doesn’t need that much gear due to his natural body condition, but imagining an expedition team doing the same thing with more loaded bags is a nightmare. Not to mention the amount of travel permit they would need and that haven't counted if they accidentally met an Ursus on their way. Aether shudders at his own imagination, thankfully he travels alone. Traveling illegaly can be done much easier like he does now. Besides, if anything happen he can just pull a Rhodes Island member card and all the problem would be taken care off, hopefully.
The moment he finally made it to the forest, Aether already felt utterly exhausted. The endless yellow sands reminds him of his time traveling through the Sargon desert. At least in Sargon he would find settlements here and there, while there’s literally nothing to see in the Yanese desert. Aether took his time entering the forest to find a spot to rest. The blonde cautus sat down under a tree to rest.
A dark stain under his hand shudders and a red flower bloomed in a blink of an eye near his feet. A hollowed face fowlbeast perch not far from his position unmoving. The fowlbeast stirs its head so slow no one would notice, and then it flies away, gone just in a blink of an eye. The forest life was silent for just a few minutes and the sound of the wind was the only thing that could be heard in the air. A shadow appear, clearly human slowly approach the sleeping blonde.
How to identify Collapsals?
- No face, just hollow void!
- Uncoordinated movements! They move rapidly one second and slowly the next.
- Black mist, snow or rain!
- And lastly, take pictures! Collapsals doesn’t appear in pictures.
-Maylander Exploration Society Excerpts
-
Aether was woken up by the sudden chills around him. The surrounding temperatures dropped drastically and aether could feel how the forest suddenly went silent. He quickly stood around and checked his surroundings. A red flower blooms near his leg and as Aether plucks it easily showing how the flower has no roots while the soil around it visibly darkens. Rootless plants are anchor points for collapsals. Aether groans, it seems he accidentally enters a corrupted territory without realizing or the corruption happened while he was asleep. Just by standing for a few seconds Aether could feel how his stomach churns and the stare from the back of his neck. The dark looming shadows in the edges of his sight slowly creeping up upon him.
Aether is a traveler.
He traveled through countries, sailed across oceans, walked across continents and even traveled between worlds. All the years he spent in Terra, he has faced the collapsals multiple times and it is always the same. It is a corruption, like an abyss, and he is immune to the abyss. Aether is immune to the effect of the collapsals but the creatures it creates have always been hostile, only moving to kill, to destroy while spreading fear and despair. Aether is immune but he too also could feel the psychological effect to a degree.
Strange.
Aether has felt the terror for a few minutes now but he did not see anything more than rootless plants in his surroundings. The trees haven’t withered and the strangest of all is that he could not sense any corrupted creature around him. As if they have vanished.
This could only mean one thing. The image of a towering figure cloaked in black tainted military clothes, the sight of a frozen army with hollowed face, the scream of the creatures constantly flash in Aether’s mind.
Aether quickly pulls out his sword.
He slowly walks through the dark mist. A faint sound of a growl was heard not far in front of him. As aether rapidly closes their distance he spots a human shadowy figure standing silently. A spear was stabbed through the ground littered by corpses. The figure was one of the sources of corruption and turned its head to Aether. The blonde immediately stood his ground and secretly summoned his powers to finish the creature off quickly.
Aether lounges himself forward as the creature roars at him.
At that moment, aether saw something. The figure is wearing a mask, and behind the mask aether saw a pair of muddled eyes looking straight at him as if it was begging for him to run away. Aether clearly surprised took a few step back and stare at the collapsal in front of him. His hand quickly reaches out to his phone and immediately snaps a picture just to confirm. Surely, aether got his answer. The corpses littered around them nor the rootless plants did not show in the picture. But it was clear that the shadowy figure in front of aether appears fully intact. Aether eyes widen as he stares at his phone and the shadow alternately. It’s not a corrupted creature, it’s a person.
-
The first thing Xiao saw when he woke up was a warm golden light. The lights filled his body with energy and vitality that Xiao thought was just another illusion created by the curroption. Perhaps this time he manages to wake up in the summer? He doesn’t know how long it has been since he could see or feel the sun. But when he felt a hand combing through his feathers and the soft cushion under his head he immediately opened his eyes and panicked. That moment Xiao thought he was dead and saw an angel above him but surely angels don’t appear to corrupt beings like him.
“Hi” The angel-like person above him smiles, his cautus ears looms down and touches Xiao’s face.
Xiao's first instinct was to run away quickly before he corrupts the person but his body doesn’t listen as it has no energy at all. Strangely, Xiao also didn't feel the heavy burden of the demons on his body and their surroundings were safe, clear from any trace of black mist.
This isn’t right
“Don’t move so suddenly! Your body is still weak, just lay down and relax” The cautus coerced Xiao with his smooth voice and his hand still combing through Xiao’s feathers.
Xiao unexpectedly listens and the tension in his body gradually weakens. Xiao, for the first time in years.. Maybe decades, take a deep breath of fresh air without the hint of any corruption. His eyes wander around and stare at the sun shining through the leaves of the trees and the hand in his feathers gleaming with warm light, purifying him.
“It’s a miracle that you survive that. The corruption on your body was so severe that if I didn’t saw your eyes I would’ve thought you’re already gone for good.” The cautus speaks in a gentle voice “You’re good now though. Just need rest for a few more days”
“I’m Aether, can you tell me your name when you have the strength to talk?”
Xiao stares at Aether. His mouth slowly opens to form a single word.
“X-Xiao..”
Xiao.. so he’s Yanese…
Aether mumbles while still combing through the liberi’s feather to soothe him. The liberi named Xiao looks at Aether full of confusion and astonishment. Aether stares back at Xiao, this time he can finally see those eyes behind the mask. It was previously muddled due to corruption and clearly on the brink of death. But the fact that his face still intacs and Aether could take his picture shows that Xiao is undeniably human. And after purifying the collapsal with his powers Aether can see it even clearer than before. Those sharp golden eyes finally show some light as Xiao stares at him.
“You.. how..” Xiao could only utter a few words before his strength was spent.
Aether sighs wondering how he should answer this time? Should he say it’s an ancient type of arts? Introduce himself as a feranmut? Or perhaps an undying? After a few moments Aether decided to just answer honestly.
“I just have otherworldly powers” yes, that’s the simplest way to explain everything.
Xiao looks at Aether in confusion. His answer sounds so absurd that Xiao thought maybe this was really an illusion created by the demon to lower his ground and finally claim the last bit of his sanity. But the gentle hand combing through his feathers and the warm light from the sun is surely real. It may have been years since he felt light but he still remembers how the sunlight feels on his skin.
“Thank you..” Xiao manages to utter.
Aether replied with a smile “Rest now..”
-
“I already cleanse away the collapsals around the area and move to a safer place to treat your corruption. So there’s no need to be so vigil. I assure you my powers can cleanse the collapsals very thoroughly, I also applied some of the tricks I learned from the snowpriests of Sami. I assure you there’s nothing to worry” Aether explains to the very vigilant Xiao.
They’re now in the middle of the forest. Aether sets up a makeshift camp for them both and starts to cook some simple dishes for them to eat. Xiao on the edge of the camp constantly looked around anxiously, especially in the darkness of the night. Even though Aether had reassured him, it’s already a habit of his to be always vigilant in the face of the demons. It seems that the collapsals Aether was talking about are the demons that corrupt Xiao.
“Coll-ap sals?.. You mean the demons?”
“Right, that’s what normal folk call them. Uh.. Collapsals are the words used by the Columbians researchers to describe the demons”
“Columbia..?” Xiao feels like the word was familiar and unfamiliar to him.
“Yes.. do you not know..? It’s alright, not everyone is good at geography!!” Aether tries to lighten up the mood.
“No.. it’s just I don’t remember any country with that name. Perhaps I’ve been corrupted for too long. I remember fighting in the military, the emperor won the war and after that I was assigned to protect the border from the demons and after that is as what you see”
Aether stares at Xiao for a few seconds. He has a very vague guess on how long Xiao was corrupted. From his unfamiliar attire, and his weird Yanese accent, if his theories were right then xiao would be even more amazing, maintaining the last thread of his sanity for that long. Truly the people of Terra are still full of surprises.
“Was it the war with Ursus..? It really has been a long time since” Aether pats Xiao’s back to comfort him.
Xiao in return looked at Aether in confusion once more.
“No.. why would Yan go to war with ursus people? The hippogryphic empire wouldn’t tolerate that.”
Aether breath hitched as he heard Xiao’s answer. The Hippogryphic Empire.. The ursus people… The golden haired cautus looked at Xiao with eyes full of astonishment, surprise but also pity. The events Xiao was talking about was such a long time ago Aether hasn’t arrived in Terra yet.
“Xiao.. the war Yan participated.. The war you’re mentioning. Can I ask what you were fighting against?”
A silence fills the air. Aether question made Xiao stunned, dread fill his stomach but nonetheless Xiao answers in a low shaky voice”
“The war against the gods.. The emperor managed to gain help from Sui and won the war..” Xiao’s voice trailed softly as he only stared at the flame in the middle of the camp.
Aether could only hold Xiao’s arm as a reassurance gesture. Xiao glanced at Aether who gave him a pitiful look. The land of Yan was ruled by godlike beings until the emperor, known as the true Lung rebels, established Yan. That history has been turned into a fairytale as more than a thousand years have passed since.
Xiao doesn’t know what kind of face he is making when hearing the fact that he had been corrupted by the demons for a thousand years and survived. But Aether turns sad and tried to hug his side for comfort. Xiao was a weapon of war, needed so that humanity could survive the fight against gods. Even after the war he was assigned to fight another unending war with the demons of the north. But everything is bearable because Xiao has people he needs to protect and came back to. He remembers his commander Zhongli issuing the command for him to fight the demons, he remembers his fellow soldiers who were also sent to fight the demons with him too.. Bosacius, Bonanus, Indarias, Menogias and many more. They’re his family, the thing that manages to keep him alive all this time amidst the corruption of the demons. Xiao just wants to see them again one last time.
It took a long time for Xiao to snap out from his thoughts. When he does, he finds aether wiping the tears that fall on his cheek with a handkerchief while his other hand hugs Xiao from his side. Xiao tries to take the handkerchief to clean his own tears but Aether refuses to let him do it.
“Let it all out..”
“You worked hard Xiao.. I’m sure the people you love would be happy to find you alive”
“Thank you for surviving”
That night, the liberi weeps in the arm of the cautus.
-
It was a few days later when they found out the consequences of Xiao’s long life. Aether was sleeping in when he felt something amiss. He couldn’t find Xiao lying down anywhere near him and so, aether traverse the forest. He walks further in following a few green feather he found on the road, and outside the barrier he made for the collapsals Xiao was leaning against a tree unconscious. Corpses of corrupted creatures surround him and Aether could feel Xiao’s life was slowly wilting away.
Xiao being stubborn as he is, wants to pay back Aether by the only method he knows that is killing. So he decided to clear out the collapsals around the area so aether wouldn't have to work so much to create a barrier for them both. But the further xiao walks from aether, the weaker he becomes and the collapsals sense his weakening state. Once again, Aether saves Xiao from death’s door.
When Xiao woke up once again he found himself sleeping on Aether’s lap with the blonde cautus combing trough his feathers but this time the angel did not welcome him with a smile and instead a cry.
“I’m sorry.. I didn’t realize purifying you would make you tied to my powers. I should’ve known, both the collapsal and my powers are foreign entity of this planet. They’re fundamentally the same thing and I tied you to another torturous fate with me..” Aether explained to Xiao while crying.
Aether tears drop down to the side of Xiao’s cheek. His bunny ears flops down to his side as he sobs and constantly apologizes to Xiao. Xiao doesn’t fully understand what it means to be a foreign entity. But Xiao does know that Aether and the demons are different. Xiao reaches up his hand to caress Aether’s cheek and wipes his tears away. Even when he cries Xiao still thinks aether looks like an angel.
“It’s fine.. I don't mind being tied to you Aeter”
“But you’ve suffered so much.. Xiao you’re just a human. How can a human bear such things..” Aether sniffles “Even if you live, you would have to be near me all the time. I can’t do that to you.. I can’t tie you to me like how the collapsals corrupted you.. I’m just doing the same thing.”
“Aether!” Xiao sat up and pulled Aether into his embrace. “You’re not tying me into anything.I’m really thankful that you saved me. Thank you for giving me a chance to be myself for the last time”
“I’ve decided.. That I want to follow you Aether. At first, I thought I could pay you back by guarding you but..” Xiao wipes Aether tears gently with his sleeve. “I never had the chance to see Yan even after the war.. I.. I wanted to travel and see the country me and my comrades fight for. Even if it was a thousand years late.I wanted to ask you if I’m allowed to follow you, at least in Yan.”
Xiao could feel Aether’s tears have lessened and how his cautus ears flinched showing his interest in Xiao’s words. Xiao looked at the ears that accidentally touched his face with amusement. His hand reaches out to his nape and pulls a feather from his hair and hands it over to Aether’s hand. Aether noticed the gesture and was stunned. Xiao is giving his feather to me.
Liberi gives their feathers to the people the care about most. It has been a tradition for a long time and Xiao was glad that the practice at least seems to be still intact by Aether’s reaction. Xiao wrapped the feather in aether's hand and nudged them towards aether. Aether looked at Xiao with his still teary stained eyes.
“There’s only a minor change. Instead of only Yan, I’ll follow your travels through Terra. Is that okay with you..?”
Aether gently nods and buries his face to Xiao’s chest. His tall ears tickle Xiao’s face earning a huff from the Liberi. They stay at the position for a long while until Aether was ready to stand up and think straight again.
“Okay.. but you need to be prepared. Traveling with me isn’t easy” Aether smiles softly and tries to cheer up the mood between them. The blonde took a deep breath before assessing the situation. Xiao looked at Aether, his eyes determined to follow him meaning a laugh from the blonde.
“Okay.. Now, the first thing first.. going to Rhodes Island. We need to forge you an easy identity to travel with”