Aether laid his head on the table and fiddled with the cup in his hand. It had been a little over a week since Albedo had left. Sucrose said that it wasn't unlike Albedo to take month-long trips, so while Aether wasn't exactly worried, he still found himself bored out of his mind.
"Hey! How come you're still like this?" Paimon huffed.
Aether lazily lifted his head to look at her. He placed his head on one of his hands and sighed, "Paimon, you may not get this but–"
"No, Paimon gets it! You just want to replace Paimon with Albedo as your new traveling partner!"
Aether put both of his hands up defensively in front of him, "Hey, hey! Who gave you that idea!"
Paimon stomped her foot in midair, "Paimon isn't stupid! Just what were you thinking about every time you told Paimon to wait here?"
What was I thinking about? Aether's mind slightly wandered to the image of Albedo sketching the scenery at the top of Mount Tianheng. The wind blowing through the other's blond hair as he sat there in deep concentration, how– Aether waved a hand in front of his face as if to shake off his train of thought. "Look," he pushed another plate of food toward Paimon, who had her hands on her hips, "I promised you a feast in exchange for all those times, didn't I?"
"Paimon guesses you did…" she pouted. She slowly floated back down to continue eating, but even with food in front of her, she still looked a bit sad.
Aether reached out to pat the top of her head. "Don't worry you'll always be my first travel buddy."
"Hah! Paimon thought so," she laughed before digging back into the plates in front of her.
Aether retracted his hand and went back to his daydreams. In his eye though, he happens to spot a shadow dart into the shadows of the forests right behind Paimon.
He hummed and stood up, "Hey, Paimon, wait here for me, I'm going to get another order from Brook." The floating girl blinked at him curiously for a second, but it only took her a few more seconds to become reoccupied in devouring her lunch.
Aether briskly walked toward the treeline, making sure to appear as casual as possible before darting into the alleyway. A small creature in robes stood there and looked up at him with small, beady white eyes. He placed his hands in his pockets and addressed the Cyro Abyss mage in front of him. "What does my sister want to tell me now?"
"T-The princess wishes to inform you that as we feared, Gold has gone too far! We have a–"
Aether felt his expression harden and he approached the Abyss mage slowly. "Where is he?" he snarled.
The Abyss mage held out a shaky hand, containing what appeared to be a crystal. "In the ruins of Khaenri'ah's capital, s-sir! Break this crystal to–" Aether didn't even wait for the Abyss mage to finish speaking to snatch the crystal out of the creature's hands. He crushed the crystal into fine dust and felt himself become weightless as his vision shifted around him.
…
Aether landed in the rubble of what appeared to once be a well-furnished castle. Now, nothing remained inside the building aside from various debris and soot from the surrounding lava. In a hurry, Aether rushed outside of the castle and scanned the area. A few portals were remaining in the area that his sister would occasionally use to frequent the area. While he wasn't familiar with Khaenri'ah, he was aware of their general locations.
Luckily, the capital rested on a piece of land above its surrounding areas, so it didn't take Aether too long until he had spotted a cloaked figure making its way toward one of the portals. Without a care for the drop below him, Aether launched himself off the cliff he was standing on to the landmass below.
Directing his hands under him, Aether unleashed his Windblade to help slow his fall. He landed with a tumble and hopped to his feet. "Gold! This wasn't part of the deal!" He cried out.
The hooded figure whirled its head in surprise. Gold removed her hood and shouted, "You twins don't understand! Just imagine the possibilities–"
Aether had already drawn his sword and started running toward her. As he jumped to strike her, his blade intercepted something else entirely. "Al-Albedo?" he stuttered as he beheld the monstrosity in front of him. What had intercepted his blade wasn't another sword, instead, it was a giant black claw from none other than the young alchemist that had been standing next to Gold. Aether quickly jumped out of reach to survey what was in front of him. Plum horns had sprouted from Albedo's forehead and the glimpse that Aether was able to momentarily get of Albedo's arms, he could tell that Albedo's body was covered in cracks.
Without even giving him a chance to take a breath, Albedo quickly launched himself back at Aether. Aether barely managed to parry the blow, but one of Albedo's claws still caught part of Aether's arm, leaving a deep gash behind. Aether hissed at the pain, yet continued to block Albedo's swipes through the pain. He was hesitant to try and fight back, lest he hurt Albedo, but with the advancements that Albedo was managing to make toward him, Aether might not have any choice but to.
Gold wasn't making any movements toward Aether, probably believing that her creation could outpace him. Good, that arrogance was what made her so useful in the first place. Aether gave a final look toward the person he was fighting and for a split second, he could have sworn that he saw a hint of fear in Albedo's eyes. "Sorry," he muttered as he continued to step back from Albedo's ruthless blows. When Aether figured that they were far enough away from Gold, he lured Albedo into diving after him and dove away at the last second. Using the end of his sword, he struck the back of Albedo's neck, instantly sending the alchemist to the floor unconscious.
Gold finally moved to attack Aether, but it was too late. Monsters from the Abyss had already begun to trickle in through the portals around them. Seeing that she was outnumbered, she gave Aether one last glare before diving into the portal.
While the monsters surrounded the portal that Gold had escaped from, Aether gently picked up Albedo's body and gazed down at the boy that lay motionless in his arms. What was once delicate skin that he had admired from afar for its beauty was now broken apart in several different places by purple cracks. Like branches on a tree, they originated from the claws that were once his hands and spread outward.
Yet the thing that Aether couldn't seem to take his eyes off of was what laid in the center of Albedo's neck. In place of the golden star that used to shine brilliantly in the sun was now a star filled with a venomous purple.
As tears threatened to spill over, a seething hatred like no other suddenly boiled over within him. He raised his sword and launched it toward the portal in front of them. "GOLD!" He yelled. Right before the sword could make contact with whatever lay beyond it, Aether watched helplessly as the portal closed right in front of him. The sword loudly clattered against the stone wall and fell to the floor, leaving Aether surrounded by the suffocating silence.