Work Text:
No Longer You
Aether
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Aether had been walking through the snow-ridden lands of Northern Snezhnaya for so long he didn’t know how many days had passed. The small flakes had turned into a full-blown blizzard. Aether could barely see three steps in front of him. Paimon had long since disappeared into her little pocket dimension due to the cold. He lifted his hand above his eyes, trying to shield them from the snow. A faint light was visible in the distance, flickering from the harsh wind.
One step at a time, he slowly trudged towards the light, hoping to find shelter. A church comes into view, its flickering light perched atop a set of sturdy wooden doors. Aether grabs one of the iron handles on the doors, leaning back to get the leverage to pull it open. The church provided shelter from the violent winds; however, it remained as frigid as the outside within the building. Aether tried to take in his surroundings as he walked deeper into the church. It appeared to be abandoned, with the table and chairs long since dusted over, and candles burned to stumps. At the end of the room, where an altar was typically placed, there was a large set of stone stairs.
He stopped for a moment in confusion. From the outside, the building didn't look nearly tall enough for a second floor. Aether reached out to the railing but jerked his hand back quickly; it felt like it was made of ice. He continued up the stairs, and to his surprise, the air started to warm. As he stepped off the stairs onto the wooden flooring, he noticed that the new room looked nothing like the one down the stairs.
Stained glass window panes towered to the ceiling, reflecting colors on the ground, a full chandelier was lit with candles, and a thin carpet led to the center of the room. A small table stood at the end of the carpeting, upon which was a small glass sphere. It looked as though it had swirling fog inside, the colors shifted from greys to blues to purples. Aether reached out to touch it, feeling the chill radiating off the orb before he even made contact. His fingers barely grazed the surface before light came out in a blinding illuminated flash.
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Stumbling back, Aether tries to blink out the spots that the flash had left and regain his awareness when he hears a booming voice echo around the room.
“I am the prophet, with the answers you seek.”
Aether whips his head around quickly, trying to find the person who spoke. In a corner that was empty just seconds before, now stood a chair. It was well built, with carvings winding around the sturdy mahogany arms and legs. It was a deep and rich brown that had a slight lustrous sheen to it. However, the most curious thing was not the chair itself, but the figure sitting in it. Aether started towards the figure, they were cloaked in deep burgundy robes, and there were no distinguishable features that he could see. As he continued to the chair, the ground started to shake.
“There is a world where I help you get home, but that’s not a world I know.”
Aether started running faster toward the mysterious presence when a strong gust of wind blew behind him, pushing him forward, blowing out the candles behind him, almost like the darkness was chasing him. He was only a few feet away from the chair when the gust of wind swept through the room one last time, engulfing him in darkness.
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The voice that he now knew belonged to the mysterious person began to bellow again, while they were nowhere to be seen.
“I see a song of past romance.”
Aether looked around confused; he was no longer in the strange abandoned building. He was on a balcony that appeared to be in Liyue, in front of him, down below the building, was the yearly Lantern Rite. He stood there in shock, but not because of the change of scenery; it was because in front of him stood a very familiar figure. He was staring at himself, and his thoughts were racing.
What was going on? How was this happening?
He continued to watch the scene unfold before him. It seemed like he was seeing the previous year's Lantern Rite; it must be some sort of vision. The other Aether had a glowing lantern in his hand and held the other one out as if he were waiting for someone. A moment later, another hand reached out to take it. Xiao smiled as the other Aether squeezed his hand and moved the lantern towards him. Aether watched as they lifted the lantern into the sky, as colorful fireworks burst above them. The ground starts to rumble, causing the scene before him to fade away like the static on a TV. The voice was back, deep and raspy, it boomed,
“I see that sacrifice of man.”
Lights started to flicker and spin around Aether, causing a new scene to appear before him. It took him a moment to get his bearings because of the darkness that had surrounded him just a moment before. But as his eyes adjusted, he saw that he was in a cave, no, he was in the chasm. A ghostly figure walked straight through him, Xiao?
He recognized this place and knew what was about to happen. Aether saw Xiao, Yelan, and a version of himself before him. They were on a floating platform with a beam of light in the middle. It looked like they were arguing and yelling at each other, but all he could hear was static. The three apparitions reached out to touch the light, but at the last moment, Xiao pulled back his hand as Yelan and the other Aether disappeared. The platform started to crumble. Aether leapt forward, trying to reach out to Xiao, but it was hopeless; his hands passed right through him as Xiao began to fall.
He watched as he slowly sank deeper and deeper into the pit of darkness. Soon it was just him, alone, surrounded by endless black. The ground was still solid beneath his feet, but he didn't know where he was or where to go. Aether started running; he didn't care where he was running; he just wanted to get away from the place, to stop having to see his memories replayed before him. He closed his eyes and pushed further until he felt the light on the other side of his eyelids.
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Aether opens his eyes, and he’s in an underground temple, and straight ahead of him is a defiled and upside-down statue of the seven. He steps towards it but stops dead in his tracks. He feels something cold hit the side of his neck. The chilled steel of a blade rests just above his shoulders, ready to dig in at any second.
“I see portrayals of betrayal.”
The sword hummed against his neck with every word spoken by a very familiar voice.
“Lumine?”
Aether says barely above a whisper, he carefully slides the blade away from his neck and turns around. He’s been searching for Lumine his entire time in Teyvat; however, there’s something different about her. Her eyes looked furious, but also exhausted.
“Are you finally ready to give up on the people of Teyvat, to join the Abyss and find a way home, to travel the galaxy like we’re meant to?”
She didn’t break eye contact with him even for a second. His mind went numb.
This was what he wanted, right?
It tempted him; he had been trying to reunite with her, trying to find a way to regain his powers and leave Teyvat. It was all laid out in front of him, and he could easily take the offer. But it was wrong, joining the Abyss would mean helping them destroy, and he is not going to do that. While he doesn't always want to go on long, deadly quests to save people, the residents of Teyvat worked hard to protect and preserve their world. Betraying them felt wrong, very wrong. Lumin’s eyes were still trained on him, unblinking, waiting for an answer. He took in a sharp breath,
“I can’t. It’s not fair to destroy all of Teyvat just because we want to leave. What would happen to the people, they don’t deserve that.”
Lumine’s face remained unreadable. She tilts her head to the side and frowns slightly. She looks disappointed.
“If that’s your choice, then so be it.”
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She took a step back and suddenly swung her sword out, barely missing Aether as he ducked. He summoned his sword and used it to block where he expected the next strike to land, but when he looked up, she was nowhere to be seen. Instead of Lumine, two Abyss Heralds were closing in on him. Aether did his best to parry the blows, but they were pushing him back. On the other side of the room, near the exits, he saw Lumine, standing there, staring right back at him. Her voice echoed through the room in almost a playful way.
“And a brother's final stand.”
He went to reach out to her, trying to push past the Abyss Heralds, when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looks down to see the point of a blade sticking out of his abdomen. Blood was seeping and staining his shirt. The blade twists and pulls out, causing him to fall. Behind him, he sees a third Herald wiping blood off its blade. It must have snuck up behind him when he was distracted by Lumine. He hears footsteps approaching him, and he goes to get up but stumbles backward with his hand pressed on his stomach, trying to stop the bleeding. Lumine stood above him for a moment before crouching down.\
“Was this worth it?”
She asked, but all Aether could give her in response was a half-hearted grunt. She stands back up, wiping the dirt off the bottom of her dress.
“I see you on the brink of death.”
She says, staring down at him with a cold and detached expression Aether had never seen her make before. He tried to reach for his sword, but he was not sure what he’d do with it; he couldn't hurt his sister. But he couldn't just lie there defenseless; his attempt was futile. When his hand was just a few inches from his sword, Lumine dug her heel into his hand. Aether's bones snapped, and they felt them crack.
He tried to cry out when he saw her grab the hilt of her sword. With one swift movement, Lumine lifted her sword out of the sheath above him and plunged it into his heart. Her cold stare broke for a moment, and Aether could’ve sworn he’d seen a single tear roll down her cheek as she said barely above a whisper.
“I see you draw your final breath.”
The last thing he saw was her pulling the blade out of his chest and wiping it off with a cloth from her pocket.
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Aether stands up, he pulls his hand away from his abdomen, confused because his hand was clean. There’s no blood on his shirt either. When he looks down, he sees his lifeless body slumped on the floor. The Abyss Heralds and Lumine had disappeared; instead, they were replaced by the mysterious cloaked figure looming ahead of him.
“Why are you doing this? Has my effort been for nothing!”
His fists were tight against his sides, waiting for an answer. The figure steps closer to him, chuckling slightly, it reaches out its hand and puts it on Aether's shoulder.
“I see a man who gets to make it home alive.”
The figure lifts its hand off his shoulder and turns to walk away.
“What does all this mean?”
Aether shouts, tears starting to form in his eyes, fists clenched so tight his nails were stabbing his palms. He heard the heels of its shoes clicking against the ground under its cloak as it walked away. The voice that had been guiding him through this hellish nightmare of memories and futures rang out one last time.
“But it’s no longer you.”
Aether stood there, frozen, as the room around him started to spin.
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When his surroundings were still enough to focus on, he saw that he was back in the freezing abandoned church. The majestic stairs that led up to the room he was in before had disappeared. Shivers ran up his spine not only from the cold, but from the feeling that someone was watching him. Aether had enough of the mirages and disturbing feelings that the church held.
He grabbed the iron handles on the doors and pulled them just enough for him to slip by. His feet caused the snow to crunch beneath him, the doors slammed close behind him, but he didn’t look back. Too busy thinking, thinking of a way to escape the horrid events that had unfolded before him, to find a way to save the people he cared about. And he would if it were the last thing he did.