She'd not expected the Traveler to be such a gentle person.
His footsteps were light as a hare's and his demeanor as tranquil as her own, a stark contrast to the way he held himself in battle. Change followed wherever he went, and like moths to a flame, people couldn't help but rally behind him.
How could they not, when he was willing to face even gods for the sake of their futures.
To one such as her, infatuated with eternity, the future - that half of time more fleeting than lightning - mattered little. Perhaps that was the reason she'd never understood why anyone would choose to defy her decree.
"Good morning, Raiden."
Even his voice was soft, bereft of any and all malice. A smile adorned his face, and one would be hard-pressed to believe that he'd almost lost his life in a hopeless struggle against her.
"I had a feeling you'd show up, so I prepared some tea. Ayaka's been teaching me all about Inazuman custom."
The breeze carried with it a familiar scent of matcha tea, and her eyes fell upon the tray in his hands. Indeed, she recognized the preferred blend of the Kamisato clan, one which Raiden herself quite enjoyed.
She wondered whether the Shirasagi Himegimi had always been a traitor, or if perhaps it'd been the Traveler to lead her astray.
Undeterred by her lack of response, he set the tray carefully onto the ground. Unused to such a lack of refinement, it took a moment for Raiden to realize that he wished for them to sit down upon the meadow.
Golden eyes peered up at her expectantly, and she knelt, the edges of her kimono brushing against short blades of grass.
"How do you like it here?" he asked.
Truthfully, she adored his home. The tall mountain peaks made it feel as though she stood in heaven, surrounded by viridescent fields amidst a sea of clouds. Much like the Traveler himself, his realm was serene, beautiful in modesty rather than in opulence.
"It is… peaceful." she acknowledged.
He smiled at that, seemingly content with her reply, before leaning forward to hand her a cup of tea.
"They may be brusque and aloof, but the Adepti sure know the value of a nice atmosphere."
His words rang true - dangerously so - as briefly, to the sound of chirping birds and flowing waters, Raiden felt that losing her divinity may not have been such a terrible thing after all. Previously, the world around her had seemed so small and insignificant, unimportant in the grand scheme of things, inconsequential in her quest for eternity.
For her obsession to have suddenly been cut short was as freeing as it was disorienting, and ironically, a world once paltry now left no want for wonders to be discovered. In a sense, it was eternal, and she could at last see the appeal behind Barbatos' philosophy of freedom, or why Morax could accept his beloved Liyue turning into a godless nation.
Bringing the rim of the cup to her lips, Raiden sipped at the Traveler's tea. The taste was rich and earthy, bitter, though not unpleasantly so, and while not quite to the standards she was accustomed to, she found herself appreciating it more than most.
"Traveler-"
"Aether." he interrupted. "That's my name."
She'd never heard such a name before, not in all of her years on Teyvat. Perhaps there was some truth to the rumors, and the Traveler was indeed a man from a different world.
"Aether." she amended, pondering the way his name rolled on her tongue, escaping her lips in scarcely more than a whisper.
"Why did you invite me here?"
The question had been on Raiden's mind for the longest time. She'd spent many restless nights mulling it over, unable to reach a satisfactory conclusion, until finally deciding to take the Traveler up on his offer.
As she watched his expression change, flickering between a myriad emotions, she wondered if he would attempt to decieve her.
"The people whose Visions you took, whose ambitions were stolen, many of them turned hollow. Others went mad. In a sense, your ambition was stolen from you as well, and I guess… I guess I just wanted to make sure that you were still feeling alright."
The Traveler then averted his gaze, finding great interest in his half-filled cup of tea. All the while, Raiden stared at him unblinkingly, his words repeating themselves many times over in the confines of her mind.
Soon, the words were replaced with the sound of soft thumping - her heartbeat, she realized - as it gradually echoed louder and louder. She'd not felt anything like it in the longest time, if ever at all.
Her free hand reached out of its own accord, two fingers coming to rest beneath the Traveler's chin. Raiden wished to look into his eyes, to peer into those golden orbs that spoke of stars and worlds beyond her reach, an eternity unto itself.
"You mean to say that you were worried about me?" she asked, the notion almost unfathomable, unthinkable, even from the most kind-hearted and forgiving of fools.
"Life is only as precious as our reasons for living it."
Her fingers trailed his cheek, cupping it gently, and in one swift motion, Raiden brought the Traveler toward her.
He truly was exceptional, though not in the way she had first envisioned. He, who must have witnessed the endless cycle of life and death innumerable times, across countless worlds, was not furthest from eternity, but closest to it.
Their lips met, soft and warm, and briefly, Raiden tasted something sweet.
"Aether…" she whispered. "Will you stay with me, forever?"