This tale of ours… it wasn't supposed to go like this.
-o-
"Outlanders, your journey ends here," the lady in white said – no, declared it so. It was as if she was daring the world to go against her words, as if the ending of their story was already foretold.
Aether disliked her on principle.
"Who are you?" she-he asked. When Aether looked to his side, he could see his sister-no one standing beside him like always.
"The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles." She didn't bother with asking for his name. Hatred, perhaps, or maybe apathy. With just how much loathing there was burning in her golden eyes, Aether assumed it was the former. "Perhaps it did not occur to you, Travelers, but Teyvat has its own laws. They will be kept, one way or another."
"Sorry, I don't follow," he snarked, manifesting his sword. They were far above the clouds right now, which meant that Dawn burned as brightly as its namesake. He lowered his center of balance, his wings pulsing once before glimmering with power. "The only laws I follow are my own. Surely, if I leave like I intend to, your little issue would be solved?"
Oh, he just loved worlds where pre-battle banter was established as the norm. It was far more entertaining than fighting in solemn silence.
He had managed to cross the skies and reached the floating kingdom of the gods of this world. His wings born of starlight were more than capable of overwhelming the winds – no, it felt like they were urging him along, laughing beside him.
And once he had landed upon the gates to Celestia, he had been entirely alone. Looking at the countless number of pillars and hallways, pure white marble trimmed with gold that was well maintained to the point of being vainglorious, he would have assumed that their entrance would have been noted, the divine to be on full alert, and for the red carpet to be rolled for him through a spectacular gathering of battle-ready gods.
What? He always enjoyed a good fight. Unlike his… his…
Unlike who?
Then the sky bled red. From the center of the four-pointed stars, the Sustainer had appeared. Her white hair bellowed like a candle from the weight of her own authority. What caught his attention the most was how her left hand seemed to be permanently shifting around, an empty blackness that was just as dark as a starless night. In comparison, he had difficulty even looking at her right hand – it shone just as brightly as a star's last breath, if not more.
No, Aether didn't stop to consider that maybe, just maybe, the Sustainer's right hand was brighter than Dawn. And no, he wasn't jealous about that at all.
The being opened her darkened palm. It was time to fight, it seemed.
"The arrogation of mankind ends now."
And with a dismissive flick of her fingers, the realm above the idyllic clouds broke into chaos.
The black cubes she wielded lashed out like snakes, burning orange at the speed they writhed about. He was taking it easy for now as he weaved through them – of course, he wouldn't reveal his true speed from the very beginning – but he had no doubt that his opponent was doing the same. The tendrils offered no resistance to his sword, but they simply broke apart into smaller cubes that joined up and lashed at him once more. While he flew around, he kept one eye trained on the so-called Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
She was idly staring into a pale outline of a golden cube floating above her cupped palms that were growing brighter by the second.
Well, that didn't bode well. Aether met the eyes of his sister-no one. It was time to go on the offensive.
He sliced through one more tendril, but this time, he leaned into his swing and spun with Dawn. The world around him blurred as he spun once, twice, thrice in the span of a second, accelerating all the while. Before his fourth rotation could end, he blinked, shooting forwards like a comet, his blade already curving towards the Unknown God's unprotected stomach, the distance between them suddenly having shrunk to a mere arm's length.
Time froze. Clarity returned.
Shit-!
They were dealing with mental interference. One strong enough to go against their natural cleansing ability – he inwardly shuddered, imagining what would have happened if he had fought on unaware, never once accumulating enough starlight to burn off the corruption. Of course, the Sustainer would have been happy lazily swatting at them as they poked and prodded her offenses, giving her more time to work her magic-
Whatever she was doing, she was targeting the memories of his sister.
The anger within him burned.
A countless number of worlds, an eternity they had spent together traveling. And this being wanted him to forget about his family, his sister, his twin? Someone playing god, born from a planet younger than him?
Right, he was cutting down this woman, right here, right now. Luckily, he was already in position.
He trusted, no, knew that Lumine would do the same even if she had been under a similar influence. And with that thought, she blinked into view as well, Dusk angled towards the neck for a painless, clean cut from the back.
She always had a bleeding heart like that.
Still, she had been half a thought slower than him in gathering enough momentum. He would have laughed if the situation wasn't still unresolved. He was soo going to hold this over her head for the next decade or two.
A swing from the front. A swing from the back. Dawn and Dusk moving at almost a thousandth of the speed of light. The mental corruption has been shaken off if for just a moment, both of their minds crystal clear. There was simply no way for a being in the young world of Teyvat to have the ability to block them.
Time unfroze. Black enveloped over everything.
It didn't make any sense. It didn't grow, it didn't leap down from the sky or jump from below their feet like before – it simply appeared as if it was already there. For a terrible, terrible moment, he couldn't move, he couldn't see, he couldn't even breathe-
Until it spat him back out into the marbled hallways. His body twisted automatically, landing steadily despite his dry heaving, the phantom feeling of something inside him lingering all the while.
He rose his head just in time to see another mass of black cubes swallow his sister, and melt away into separate cubes.
"LUMINE!" he screamed. Another wave of vertigo overtook him.
His vision swam. Something was terribly wrong.
The Sustainer was looking at a golden cube in her hands, murmuring something to herself. Unlike before, the pale outline was now solid, shining as brightly as the sun. She looked satisfied and turned to meet his gaze.
She had done something terrible to him. No – she had taken something from him that should never have been stolen.
Aether narrowed his eyes. It would be the last thing she did.
It took only a sliver of a moment. He lunged, the world blurring as he pushed himself beyond what was safe, as all of his six wings shattered as he put everything into this one strike-
And yet.
Instead of his blade cutting through flesh and heart, it struck the small, golden cube.
She-he-they both wailed. It hurt, it hurt so much, something between them broke-
-o-
A golden cube, far dimmer than before, fell from the heavens and into the abyss. A Traveler writhing silently on the hallowed halls of Celestia, unused to the pain and emptiness.
That is what the Sustainer of the Heavenly Principles witnessed. That is what she had foreseen.
Truly, she thought, Fate was the cruelest principle of all.
-o-
He didn't know how long he had been there just writhing on the ground, praying for the pain to end.
There was nothing but his ragged breathing when a voice rang out. Her voice. "…if it is any comfort, your sister will soon find companionship."
A pause, as if she was struggling with the correct words.
"In time, she shall serve her purpose."
Another pause.
"Do not worry, you will meet her again. The Heavenly Principles guarantee it." The overwhelming presence was gone. Rather than sharp, biting words that rang out with authority and pride, she spoke quietly.
He looked up if only to see if it was the same being speaking. The dulled numbness in his head exploded as he met her gaze.
Golden eyes, golden eyes – there had been someone precious to him with eyes so similar to that tone of gold. Golden like the sun, glimmering like the stars, and warm like a summer's playful breeze. Who was it, who was it, who was it-
Warm hands brought his face upwards again. They brushed away the tears from his face.
"As for you, Aether? You shall be the opening act."
The darkness edged forwards, slowly enough so that he could see her gentle smile.
-o-
Surely, someday, brother, we'll meet again. So until then, let's keep on smiling, alright?
Alright, let's get this fic started! Just the usual warnings: it's my first time writing a fanfic, there's a lot of changes I'm making to the lore, and I'm writing in my free time which varies from day to day. And with such a colorful cast, it's inevitable that some of them will be overlooked while my favorites are in the spotlight. And lastly, I'm writing to improve my skills as a writer! Any reviews would be greatly appreciated!