Chapter Text
Aether didn’t know what was happening or where he was— only that he had to find Lumine. Fast.
The sky above him- a dark, crimson dome- was collapsing, whilst shrieks of agony rang in his ears. He stood up, unable to tell whether it was him or the ground below that was shaking. A blonde man pushed past him, causing Aether to collide with an already unstable stone wall.
Aether pushed himself off the structure, stumbling forward. “Lumine!” He called out, voice hoarse from disuse, “Lumine!” He grew more desperate by the second, golden eyes darting frantically around his surroundings as he tried to catch a glimpse of his twin’s flaxen hair. But, there was nothing of Lumine, only the sight of children— or, at least, what used to be children— morphing into thin, hideous creatures with disgusting faces. Their shrieks of agony pierced into his very being and he fell to the ground, digging his fingers into the earth as he retched. He shut his eyes tight in a vain attempt to block out the chaos descending around him. His breaths were shaky and shallow, and his lungs refused to take in air.
He opened his eyes and dared to glance up, vision clouded by tears he hadn’t known he’d been shedding, only to be met with the sight of those… children writhing on the ground. A strangled cry escaped his throat. He’d seen this countless times before, it seemed that suffering was indiscriminate in every world. He pushed himself off the ground, summoning his sword, the shiny gold weapon looked painfully out of place among the masses of blood and gore surrounding him. He would put them out of their misery. He held up his sword, assuming a fighting stance— or rather, a pitiful mimicry of one. His hands were too shaky, his feet placed too far apart, and he could barely keep his sword off the ground,
In his peripheral vision, he caught sight of a bright figure running towards him. He swung his sword, pressing the tip to the figure's neck. He met the would-be-attacker's gaze only to find his own eyes staring back at him.
“Lumine?” He staggered backwards, dropping his sword. He didn’t even notice the golden weapon disappearing back into its pocket dimension in his haste to apologize. Lumine didn’t react to his scrambled apology, with languages from different worlds blurring together in an incoherent mixture— her expression remained steadfast, unreadable. Aether had never seen her like this. When he finished, Lumine grabbed his wrist and began dragging him with her.
“There’s no time to explain,” she said, as if already sensing the questions from Aether. “This world… it’s not safe for us, we have to leave.” Her tone was final, gaze fixed firmly on the horizon. What had happened to his sister?
So, they left. Taking off into the heavens— flying far, far away from the carnage. Aether watched the strange world pass by in a blur, the cities and towns were disturbingly peaceful in contrast to the collapsing civilization he’d witnessed moments ago. They flew past a tall, stone statue of a creature not too different from Aether as far as he could tell. The hooded figure depicted had two braided sections of hair, its arms outstretched and hands cupped. Aether felt a sharp pang of… longing at the sight. It was lonely travelling the stars. Centuries would go by without sight of another civilization. Worlds devoid of life, or with beings he couldn’t understand, his only company being Lumine. Of course, he loved his sister dearly, but he always longed for something more. For connection. For friendship. Not forged in steel or blood, but of something… simpler. To pull him out of the depths of the universe and bring him to the surface.
They landed on a cobblestone platform in the sky, surrounded by white pillars with golden accents and varying degrees of damage. Some were perfect, save for a few cracks on the surface, while others were broken in half. It was quiet up here. Calm, even. Aether took this as an opportunity to get answers about this world. Billions of questions swirled in his mind, most about the chaos he had awoken in. He'd taken a step towards Lumine, the words ready to leave his mouth, when the sky opened up.
He stared at the opening: Three, black diamonds, connected at the sides, a bright red staining the edges. A tall, pale figure walked out, blue ripples left in the air by her steps- steps taken by feet wrapped in tight bandages. A crimson train that faded to black flowed behind her, along with her mass of silvery hair. Her eyes were the same colors as his, but her gaze was piercing and cold.
"Outlanders," She addressed them, her tone harsh. She raised her left arm, which Aether now noticed was blackened from the elbow down, "Your journey ends here," She moved her hand down in a diagonal motion, slashing through the air. The diamonds behind her morphed, hollowing out the middles of each dark void.
"Who are you?" Lumine yelled, taking a step forward to shield him.
"I am the sustainer of Heavenly Principles," She replied, lifting her greyed right hand, summoning a glowing cube to it, "The arrogation of mankind ends now." The cube turned black, then launched itself at the twins.
The cube rose quickly out of the platform, now much larger than it was originally. Aether was flung into the sky. He quickly deployed his wings and summoned his sword, ready for a fight. He glanced at his sister and saw that she'd done the same. He shot forward, weaving in-between the pillars in the sky, avoiding The Sustainer's attacks as best as he could. A pillar exploded nearby, hurling debris at Aether. He plunged, narrowly avoiding a chunk headed straight at him.
Across from him, he saw Lumine dodge an attack before whirling around and going for The Sustainer. Aether followed launching himself at the deity as well. They reached The Sustainer at the same time, Aether was ready to plunge his sword into her heart-
BOOM.
A bright light flashed and Aether felt himself stop. He blinked the spots out of his eyes and saw The Sustainer with both arms outstretched, the air rippling around her hand. Aether's sword was still pointed at The Sustainer, so close, yet so far.
The Sustainer turned her gaze towards him, in a split second, a mass of black cubes had engulfed his sword. He dropped his weapon, lurching backwards. However, Lumine wasn't so lucky.
The Sustainer flicked her gaze towards him, cold and assessing. The next second, a mass of black cubes had engulfed his sword. He dropped his weapon, lurching backwards. In his haste, he had forgotten all about—
"Lumine!"
His sister met his gaze, eyes widened. She opened her mouth, but before words could leave her lips, the cubes fully encased her. Aether barely had time to process this when The Sustainer flicked her wrist and the large, black mass that had once been his sister, morphed itself into a small, glowing cube.
Aether shot back down to the deity, winding his fist to deal a critical blow-
The deity easily stopped him, her expression calm. The same black cubes began to surround Aether, latching onto his body. "Wait, please-" The cubes encased his chest, making his breathing difficult, "-don't go!" The deity stared at him, ethereal and deadly, without a hint of pity nor sympathy. "Give my sister back!"
Then, Aether's world went dark.