"Oh, I… I thought you were dead," Lumine said.
"My death was… greatly exaggerated." Aether smirked. Lumine stepped back, while Aether stepped forward.
"My, is the Abyssal Princess scared of a simple traveller?" Aether asked teasingly. Lumine made a growling sound in her throat.
"I'm not afraid of you," Lumine growled. Aether raised his eyebrows.
"Oh, but you are. If you weren't, you'd have attacked me by now. You are scared. Perhaps a distant memory, gnawing at your conscience… A memory of someone who might have been… at some point… a friend?" Aether asked. "Or something closer than a friend?"
"Stop it!" Lumine roared.
"No," Aether's voice had a magical intensity to it now. "I will not. Leave your host, or I will crush your soul. You will cease to exist. Your choice."
Lumine growled, and held her hand out. Silver light flickered, and her sword flashed into her hand. Aether mirrored the action, but instead of silver light, it was golden and fiery. The two held out their swords in front of them in a fighting stance. Aether and Lumine treaded a perfect circle from each other, the identical golden eyes staring into each other.
Lumine broke it, and moved in to strike. Her sword descended in a blur of silver, and Aether disappeared. He reappeared behind Lumine, and pulled his hand back. A golden flash, and three throwing knives shot towards Lumine's back. Lumine turned, and shielded herself with a screen of silver light. The three knives hit the screen, and fell to the ground. Aether ran towards Lumine, who disappeared in a silver flash. She reappeared to the side of Aether, and swung her sword. Aether brought his sword up to meet hers, and the two blades clashed in a shower of sparks. The two of them slashed and parried faster than the eye could tell. The two swords and the two fighters were no more than golden and silver blurs, with only the sound of clashing blades, the roar of fire, and the glass-like ring of Lumine's power.
Lumine swept her hand in front of her, and her image multiplied. There was a circle of Lumines surrounding Aether, and Aether tensed. He closed his eyes, and concentrated. All of the copies of Lumine readied their swords, and went in for a group attack. Before their swords made contact with Aether, his eyes snapped open. A shockwave exploded around him, and the ground rumbled, throwing chunks of rocks into the air. The Lumines disappeared, and the real Lumine was thrown into the air. Aether jumped into the air after her, and the two activated their wings. Lumine's sword then infused itself with golden power, as Aether's did the same. Both formed a large drill-like shape, and stabbed at each other.
The resulting explosion blew the entire cavern to smithereens. When Keqing opened her eyes, Zhongli was holding his hands up, with a thick layer of Geo energy surrounding everyone. She realised that Zhongli had only seconds to act, and had probably saved all of their lives. Zhongli looked up in concern at the two warring siblings.
"They're much stronger than I feared," Zhongli said. With a shock, Keqing realised that Zhongli sounded different. His voice was deeper, and when he looked back, his eyes were glowing bright amber. The same went with that bard. Venti's eyes were bright green, the color of Anemo, and was much more confident.
"We must get them out of here," Zhongli said to Venti. Venti nodded, and threw his hands up to summon the winds. They were distracted, however, when Lumine slammed into their shield and shattered it.
"You're not going anywhere," she hissed. Aether took advantage of the distraction and landed a kick to Lumine's back, pinning her to the ground.
"Listen to me, Lumine!" Aether yelled, his voice filled with panic. "You must do all you can to fight it! You must-" he was cut short when Lumine blasted Aether off her back with more silver light. The two resumed their fighting, and Zhongli turned in panic.
"We must shield ourselves the best we can. I have forgotten that there are those that have fallen in our midst. We cannot transport them."
"Just leave them behind!" Diluc said angrily. "The Fatui deserve next to nothing! The only thing that they deserve is their death! I am thankful for this!"
"Woah there, Master Diluc. Calm down," Venti said soothingly. Diluc turned to him in anger.
"Don't tell me to calm down, you freeloader," Diluc said. "They deserve nothing! Do you not remember what they did to Mondstadt?! The Ragnvindr clan?!"
"Woah, hey, brother," Kaeya said weakly. "Where'd all this hate come from all of a sudden?"
Diluc turned to Kaeya venomously. "Do you not remember? That one of the Harbingers caused Father's death?"
With a loud shout, Lumine was thrown into the ground once again. Aether tossed a ball of light, bright as a sun. It exploded, and a golden shockwave spread across all of them. Keqing was filled with a feeling of contentment, and the walls of the cavern glowed Aether's signature shade of gold. The landscape changed rapidly, and they appeared to have landed in a field of grass outside.
"Where are we?" Kaeya asked. "And what happened to me? What happened to the three shards of ice in my stomach?" He was examining the surroundings, as was everyone else. Everyone appeared to be on their feet, and no injuries appeared whatsoever.
"It's only temporary. That's known as Temporary Restoration. It'll restore the landscape and all people in it to their original form. However, your injuries will come back. But once the spell wears off, I'm sure Prince Aether will heal you," a voice explained. Keqing cocked her head, and sure enough, John was standing there, seemingly taking in the bright sunlight.
"It's daytime. Prince Aether's home ground. His fighting style… Ahhh. Now that's something I haven't seen in a while." he said, looking into the sky. With a jolt, Keqing realised that the twins were nowhere to be seen.
"Where are they?" Keqing asked. John raised his eyebrows.
"You can't see them? They're quite fast, so I wouldn't blame you. But there they are, clashing repeatedly in the skies."
"Why am I here?" Diluc asked. John turned to him, and stared intensely.
"What are you doing?" Diluc asked irritably. John nodded as if in a silent understanding.
"Of course this place is filled with spirits. I'd be foolish not to think that it was." Quicker than anyone could blink, a thin line of silver flashed into his hands, and he jabbed it through Diluc's chest.
"Oi! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Kaeya asked. He leaped towards John, who simply made a pushing movement with his free hand. Kaeya was thrown away, and landed with a grunt.
"Be calm, my dear soldier," John said. The silver beam pierced straight through Diluc's chest, and yet the Master of the Dawn Winery didn't make any note of it.
As a matter of fact, he was completely frozen.
John walked to the other side of the silver beam, and there were two orbs of light pierced on the end. One was glowing a bright red, the other emitting a dark, black glow. John plucked the dark orb off of the beam, and waved his hand. The beam retracted through Diluc's chest again, and Diluc fell to his knees, coughing.
"What was that?" he gasped. "The last thing I remember was talking to you, then…" his voice trailed off.
"Then I felt like I was being examined, and broken into pieces." he finished. John nodded.
"That's the most common way of describing it." He was still holding the dark orb, which was pulsing angrily.
"Do you know what this is?" he asked, holding it up. Everyone shook their heads.
"This is a soul. Everything, save for inanimate objects, has one. For instance, this is a hate spirit's soul. It's quite common across all the worlds. Nothing can exist without a soul. So, if I crush this…" He squeezed his hands, and silver cracks lined the surface of the soul. A loud screaming sound was heard, and the spirit filtered into view. It was completely black, and seemed to be screaming in agony.
"It will be erased from the surface of the universe." He clenched his hand into a fist, and the soul shattered into black dust, which disappeared. Similarly, the spirit did the same, until it disappeared.
Kaeya took a step back, and John chuckled.
"I don't mean any harm. As a matter of fact, I'm actually unable to crush a human's soul. That power is reserved for our Judges, for extreme punishments."
"That's… scary," Diluc said. "I do feel better, though. Thank you."
"Don't sweat it," John said. He was interrupted with Lumine smashing into the ground yet again.
"Stand back," John warned.
Lumine paid no heed to John's words, and was focused on a figure in the sky. Aether descended in a rush of gold, and Lumine gathered a silver barrier around herself. Aether slammed into it, but the barrier held. The barrier disappeared, and Lumine shot out in a streak of silver. Aether met Lumine's strike, and the impact caused the ground to rumble. Lumine dashed backwards, and her sword morphed into a silver longbow. She loosed multiple arrows at high speeds, but Aether deflected them with a barrier of golden light. Lumine grunted, and sank to one knee.
Aether smirked. "What's wrong, sister? Tired already?" Lumine glared at him, and threw her hands up. The sky darkened, and the image of a full moon appeared in the sky. It shone as bright as the sun, and Aether's smirk faded a little.
"You'd really kill yourself just to kill everyone here?" he asked. Lumine was panting and glaring at her brother.
"I'd do anything," she hissed. "You've gotten in the way of the Abyss for too long. I'll still survive, and I'll find another host. This one has great power, but if she can remove you, then the Abyss would be free to claim the world."
John stepped back in panic. "That's… no. She's forbidden to use that. Prince Aether, will you…?"
"I will John, don't worry about it," Aether said casually. "You know that's what the Solar Kingdom specialises in. Force, counter, and control, John. The Lunars are all planning and supporting. And, as the Solar Kingdom's prince, those are my specialties."
He turned back to his sister, who threw her hands down. The moon shot a beam of light straight towards the ground, and even from a great distance, Keqing could feel the force of the attack. NO one in Teyvat, not even the Archons, could survive such a thing. But him…
"You've used all my friends' and friend's friends' Bursts against them," Aether addressed Lumine. "Karma favors none. Now, I suppose I will use your 'Burst,' so to speak, against you. How about it?"
His hands glowed bright with golden fire. Flames swirled around his body, and his figure shone bright gold in the middle. A large barrier of flames appeared in the sky, and stalled the incoming beam of destruction. Lumine's eyes widened in fear, and she fell backwards. The barrier of fire held for fifteen minutes, then dissipated. The sky was once again bright with the sun, and a small image of the moon, shining in the color of the sun, was in Aether's hand.
"So, what do you say, Lumine? Do you accept my offer?" Aether smiled. Then, quicker than anyone could react, Aether sank his fist into Lumine's chest. Lumine was thrown into the air, and Aether leaped up and kicked downward, sending Lumine flying towards the ground. A spike grew from the ground, and Lumine landed on it. It stuck straight through her chest, just as John's did through Diluc's. A shining silver orb appeared, but it appeared to be marred by tendrils of purple energy. Aether landed nearby, and when he saw the soul, he grunted.
"Crude. Very crude." He muttered. He snapped his fingers, and the field disappeared. They all reappeared within the chamber, and Kaeya was once again cursing loudly. Diluc stumbled back to him and held Kaeya's hand. The others, as far as she could tell, were stunned speechless.
The silver orb flew off the edge of the spike and into his hands. Golden strings manifested at the tips of his fingers, and wrapped themselves around the soul. He pulled both ways, and the soul split into two different orbs of light. One was pure and silver, while the other was a swirling, sickening purple. Aether nodded contently, and put the silver soul back on the pike. It retracted, and Lumine shuddered. She then started the snore lightly.
Aether returned his gaze to the purple soul in his hand. He tightened his fist, and golden light shone out of cracks in the soul. He tightened his fist further, and the soul visibly cracked, small pieces flaking off here and there. The spirit itself came into view, and was viewing Aether with angry eyes.
"You may have killed me here, but be warned… There are many more of me… She will create more of me…" it cackled, and Aether finally crushed the soul into glittering purple fragments. The spirit faded out of view, its cackle fading with it. Aether looked troubled, but when he looked out across the chamber, his face returned to an impassive expression.
"Report?" Aether asked.
"Princess Lumine pretty much killed everyone," John said. Aether nodded gravely.
"Great. I hate it when she does that," which drew a couple of chuckles from the two men. He strolled over Childe first.
"Damn, my sister really wasn't holding back, was she?" Aether asked. He tapped the weapon, and it disappeared. He waved his hand over the wound a couple of times, and then Childe sat straight up and grabbed at Aether's arms.
"Dying! No, not dying. What?" he asked. Aether shrugged nonchalantly, and walked over to Dainsleif. Again, he tapped the weapon, and it disappeared. Dainsleif rubbed his arm and thanked Aether.
"Hey, Honorary Knight, a little help over here?" Kaeya asked. Aether bobbed his head.
"Right away, Captain Kaeya," He bounded over, and his hands covered themselves in flames. The ice piercing Kaeya in the stomach disappeared, and the wounds closed.
"Oh, that's better. Thanks a million," Kaeya said. Aether glanced at Diluc holding Kaeya's hand, and nodded appreciatively.
"Nice. You two have made up, have you?" Aether asked. Diluc opened his mouth to respond, and Aether shook his head. "It's alright. I won't pry. I just wish you two the best." He walked over to La Signora, and his face then twisted itself into an expression of disgust.
"Do I have to heal this bitch?" he asked. Childe reached out tentatively.
"Please…? I mean, she's my colleague, and," Childe trailed off. Aether locked his gaze with Childe.
"So you're also Fatui?" he asked. Childe nodded.
"Ugh. Fine. She better hope against hope that she doesn't get sent on another mission against me. I won't be so merciful the second time." He vaporized the chunk of ice with a stream of fire, and La Signora got up, groaning.
"What…?" she asked. Childe bent down to talk to her, and Aether walked back to his sister.
"Lu, wake up," he said, tapping her on her forehead. Lumine groaned slightly, and weakly swatted at Aether's hand. Aether sighed, and sat down. His eyes scanned the room, and he found Keqing. He smiled, and beckoned to Keqing. She walked over to him, feeling like she might explode.
"Are… Are you real?" She asked tentatively. Aether reached out, and pulled Keqing into a kiss. Keqing melted into Aether's arms, and she sighed contently.
"I've missed you so much," she whispered. Aether nodded and hummed in agreement.
"So have I," he said. He pulled Keqing into another kiss, and Keqing responded with fiery passion. Their lips met again and again. Soft and warm, just as Keqing had remembered. Then Aether heard a tiny click.
"C'mon Lumine, really?" he complained. Keqing looked over, and saw Lumine staring at the both of them, holding a small device that looked like… a sideways Kamera?
Lumine gave Aether an evil grin. "I warned you, didn't I?" she cackled with glee. "You're never gonna hear the end of this! Oh, my brother finally found a girlfriend! This is the start of a wonderful new journey~"
"Oh, shut up," Aether groaned. Lumine chuckled. "Anyway. Keqing, this is Lumine, my sister. Lumine, Keqing."
Lumine bobbed her head. "I know. We met in that area, remember?" Keqing nodded.
"Some of the people here I don't even know," Aether said. Everyone came walking over, excluding the two Fatui members.
"It's an honor to meet you in person, sister of the Traveller," Zhongli said. "I certainly hope you won't be destroying any more of Liyue?"
"Wouldn't dream of it," Lumine said. "It's great to meet you all! Sorry about, like, killing you guys earlier. I wasn't myself."
"It's all right, girlie. You mind if I spar with you some time later?" Childe asked.
"No problem, Solnishko. You're always welcome to fight me," Lumine said. Childe became flustered.
"Hey there girlie, we aren't there yet, ok?" Childe said. Aether laughed.
"Aaand she's back. She never stops, does she? However, one thing," he said, fixing his sister with a stern gaze. "You'll have to come home first."
"Wait, Aether, you're… leaving?" Keqing asked. Aether chuckled.
"In all the time we have spent together, have I ever shown insane behaviour?" he asked. Keqing shook her head.
"No."
"Well, there's your answer," Aether said. "Princess Lumine owes the Lunar Kingdom a bit of an explanation as to why chaos has been breaking out. The kingdoms reflect their royals' moods, so with Lumine being cursed, it's evidently going to have quite the negative effect."
"Can… we come along?" Keqing asked. "I'd absolutely love to see your homeworld," Keqing said. Diluc and Kaeya nodded eagerly.
"I'm sure Acting Grand Master Jean and the other Knights would love to come along," Kaeya said.
"So would Ningguang and Ganyu. They'd love to see another world," Keqing said. Zhongli nodded along.
"As would I. I believe taking Alatus would also do good for him," Zhongli said. Aether shrugged and looked at his sister.
"Dunno. You calculate the amount of power we need to make the jump." Aether said. Lumine sighed.
"C'mon, you know I can't do that right now. I'll need a clear view of the stars. And quite a lot of time to do the calculation. And these Visions also add some variables in."
"Alright, fine," Aether said. "We'll rest for a couple days."
"Then, you guys will see what being a Traveller is really like!"
WOOOOOO Chapter 24 is out! I'll be introducing Aether and Lumine's homeworld in the next chapter. I do hope you'll like the idea I have. Kazuha please come home
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