"This should be far enough."
Aether approached a statue of the seven, feeling reinvigorated as he did so.
They'd trekked past Springvale and the winery, following the river until nearing the border to Liyue. In the distance, one could still discern the majestic cathedral of Mondstadt, its ivory towers standing tall and proud.
At some point Paimon had given up on flying, making herself comfortable upon his shoulders and falling asleep shortly thereafter. For such a tiny being she was suprisingly heavy, no doubt a result of her eating habits.
"I didn't say anything before, but…" he began, smiling as he faced a bewildered Raiden. "Thank you - for being so patient with me and my friends."
"Of course. It was of no concern."
Sitting down at the foot of the statue, he voiced a question he'd had on his mind for a while.
"What did you think of them?"
Raiden paused for a moment, resting her chin between her thumb and index finger. She hummed softly, a low, calming sound, reminiscent of a purr. He could listen to it forever, realized Aether, entranced by nearly everything that she did.
"They appear to be reliable comrades all." she said eventually. "Though, admittedly, part of me favors the young maid who made us such a delicious treat."
"However," she continued, interrupting his snicker of mirth at her words. "I did make another observation. Why is it that all of your friends are female? I believed the human population to be split almost evenly between genders."
The weight of her stare grew heavier, the next few moments passing in silence, and Aether suddenly became intimately aware of Barbatos' statue pressing up against his back.
What kind of question was that?
"I- I have several m-male friends!" he stammered, mostly in denial. "Like, um, Diluc! Yes, and Kaeya, and Bennett too! They just weren't around is all!"
"I see." said Raiden, her eyes like sharp, piercing daggers. "I suppose the same is true of your acquaintances in Liyue, then? They just… weren't around?"
He paled, feeling a cold sweat breaking out.
"H-Hey now… It's not my fault all the higher-ups in Teyvat are w-women!"
Large beads of sweat ran down his neck, his heaving chest and nearly every part of his body. He should've known it was too good to be true, that Raiden was just a little too calm and content for everything to be sunshine and daisies.
She snorted, an odd, strangled sound he wouldn't ever have associated with her.
"I should do this more often." she said. "It is… fun to watch you squirm."
Aether gaped; he couldn't believe it, she was having him on the entire time. Worse still, it seemed she'd developed a sadistic streak.
Laughing nervously, he reached into his pouch, finding the Serenitea pot and setting it carefully onto the ground. He'd felt it shaking earlier, emitting a soft glow. With any luck that marked the end of the maintenance, and they wouldn't be homeless anymore.
"Ah, well- That's… never mind. Let's see if Tubby will finally let us back inside."
They did indeed find the teapot working, and marvelously at that.
The first thing Raiden saw was an entirely new landscape, though not an unfamiliar one. The sun touched the horizon, coating the shore and the mountains in a warm, rich shade of red - all of it reminding her of home, even more than their improvised little rock garden had.
She recognized every color, every sound and every scent, an indiscernible emotion welling up inside of her.
"Is everything all right?" asked the Traveler, concern in his eyes. Paimon had awoken too, rubbing her sleepy face against the back of his head.
Raiden didn't know, she realized. She felt both happy and sad, at ease and somehow still distressed. There was a sudden longing in her heart, one that tugged at her heartstrings, and she'd no idea how to overcome it.
"Oh…" he murmured, taking a look around him. Understanding dawned, his face tender as he spoke. "You're homesick, aren't you?"
Could that be it? She'd never experienced homesickness before, the last time she left Inazuma being centuries ago. She wasn't entirely convinced, however, the answer to her feelings growing clearer as her eyes roamed the empty realm.
A deep sense of despair overtook her, and Raiden realized she'd left her people, abandoning her role as a leader and an archon. She'd been selfish, only now deigning to wonder what those in the know would think.
Miko appeared unbothered, but she knew the fox better than to take her at face value. She'd missed her enough to find a way inside a different realm entirely, all for the sake of trading a word or two.
She thought of Sara, her devoted general and retainer, one of the most loyal figures she'd ever known. What would she think of her god running away like some foolish, lovelorn girl?
"Ah-" she gasped, feeling a sting in her eyes.
She'd failed her people so miserably, and when finally presented with a chance to right her wrongs she instead chose to flee like a coward.
Slowly and meekly, she voiced her thoughts, the Traveler and Paimon listening intently, their expressions shifting with every sentence. Paimon even clenched her fists, floating into the air to properly shake her head.
"I'm so proud of you, Raiden Ei."
"W-What?" she stuttered, expecting anything but those words out of her lover's lips.
"Yeah…" sniffled Paimon, her eyes wet and glistening. "Even Paimon can tell how much you've matured."
"Don't worry." said the Traveler. "Your people will be fine."
Her heart raced at his loving gaze, filled with so much of that care and compassion which she craved.
"Truly?" she asked. "Even without an archon to lead them?"
"I know it. Just look at Mondstadt, at Liyue Harbor, even - the nations are thriving."
Raiden clung to his words, all but begging they would hold true. He'd never been wrong before, unlike her, and she'd take his word a million times over her own.
"It's okay to be selfish sometimes, to follow your heart and your… ambitions."
Was that what she was doing - the very thing she once sought to prevent at all costs? Yet, despite it all, she couldn't dream of abandoning her chosen path, not anymore.
"Perhaps you are right." she conceded, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I was a failure, either way. Inazuma will be better off without me."
The Traveler frowned deeply, taking her hands in his and squeezing them tightly.
"Don't you ever think that, Raiden! Your people love you. By the stars, even your enemies respect you! Not once during my travels did I hear anyone speak ill of you. Not everyone may have agreed with your decisions but there wasn't a single soul on those isles that hated you."
"I-"
"That's why I agreed to fight for the resistance at all! I'm only a traveler, an observer, it's never been my place to change the course of history. But they were so passionate, so adamant that there was a way to reach you, to change your mind, and all they needed was a little push in the right direction. I never defeated you in that battle of wills, you know - your people did. The same people you've watched over and led throughout the centuries."
His expression softened, and in that moment Raiden loved him more than she'd ever thought possible.
"They'll be fine." he repeated. "Now it's your turn to live."
She fell into his embrace, her limbs feeling as though they'd suddenly turned to mush.
"I don't deserve you." she whispered, resting her cheek in the crook of his neck.
"Nor I you. Yet here we are… together."
Early next day, Aether sat alone on a stone bench outside the manor. On the table before him he'd unfolded a large map, all of Teyvat drawn out down to the last detail. He clicked his tongue, pondering which route would be the quickest and easiest one to Sumeru.
Tubby, bless her soul, had mostly succeeded in reconstructing the manor and its adjacent courtyard. He had a suspicion that she'd felt slightly guilty about kicking them out, since she even went to the trouble of adding a third realm layout in Inazuma's likeness.
He hadn't expected Raiden to react in the way that she did, however, but was ultimately glad for it. She'd come so far, he realized, and it must've been a relief to get those dreary thoughts off her chest.
Hearing the sound of soft, delicate footsteps and crunching leaves, he looked up from the map to find Raiden watching him keenly. Her eyes were sharp like a hawk's, betraying little of her inner thoughts, and Aether knew it was the Shogun standing before him with no influence of Ei at all.
"Good morning, Aether. Do you perchance have a moment to spare?"
Intrigued, he nodded, asking what it was that she had on her mind.
"I… I-"
It was strange to see her hesitate, usually so unflappable and precise in her mannerisms. Then again, she too had changed, perhaps even more than Ei. Still, the way the words kept getting caught up in her throat was beginning to unnerve him.
"Come with me." she said, the words spoken sharply as though it'd taken considerable effort on her part.
Raiden led him up the realm's many mountains, all the way to its highest peak. The sun shone so brightly from up here that he needed to squint his eyes in order to see anything at all.
"I have deliberated this matter for a long time and I believe you deserve to know the truth."
"What do you mean, Raiden? What's this about?"
"You have been good to me, Aether. You never cared about my… state of being. However, while this form may appear human enough, it is merely an illusion."
Thunder roared, his whole body jerking in shock. In the blink of an eye, dark, murky clouds gathered overhead, obscuring the once brilliant sun and casting the realm in a gray, eerie and almost depressing light.
His eyes fell on Raiden and widened, and Aether took an involuntary step back in disbelief.
She had changed, growing taller and more ferocious, with plates of armor covering her body from head to toe. Metallic joints held her limbs together, and from her head protruded a pair of curved, golden horns.
"Witness me." she spoke, her voice bearing an echo of divine authority, and six ethereal arms shimmered into view, each one spread wide as if to proclaim her majesty.
"This is who I am. The thing that lurks beneath a cold, unfeeling shell."
Aether didn't know how long he remained still, reveling in the sight that was the Raiden Shogun's heart, her life, so radiant and pure, the miracle he'd always known existed laid bare at last.
"You're beautiful…" he breathed.
He watched her chest rise and fall, processing his words. Her lips curled, twisting her face into an ugly fascimile of the Raiden he knew.
"You lie!" she snarled.
"Never."
"How?! I am a freak of nature, a monster!" she cried. "How could you possibly love this?"
"That doesn't sound like something a monster would ask."
She dropped to her knees, still tall enough to look him straightly in the eyes. Suddenly she appeared so weak and vulnerable, and all he wished to do was hold her as tightly as he had Ei.
"No, I-"
"You're no monster, Raiden. You're a living being with thoughts and desires, with emotions that are all your own and… it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
Eyes were the window to the soul, and Raiden's eyes burned in such a way that not even the hottest, brightest flame could compare. She inched toward him, leaning forward until her lips pressed against the ridge of his ear.
"Aether…" she whispered, the hotness of her breath on his neck. "Please, could you… give me a name?"
Aether ran his fingers through her long, thick hair, unwittingly discovering a part of her that remained unchanged.
"You've always been Raiden to me. I made a promise to myself never to treat you any differently from Ei, and-"
"Please."
She radiated warmth, her body the furthest thing from a cold and unfeeling shell. All it took was a glimpse of her hopeful, pleading gaze and he crumbled, feeling like a monster himself for not relenting sooner.
Gently, he cupped her cheek, planting a chaste kiss on her lips.
It tingled.
"When you look at me that way, how could I possibly refuse? I love you far too much for that, Raiden… Mei."