Smoke. Ashes. The light of dying embers danced across Aether's skin like the wind. His arms were bruised and bloodied, his braid matted and dirty. Soot clung to his body, graying his scarf and smearing across his face as it mingled with the sweat beading on his brow. He clutched his sword like a lifeline. He doubted he could let go of it, anyway.

The ruins of Khaenri'ah surrounded him — or at least, what remained of the ruins. A fine misting of ash and dust hung in the air, singeing his eyes and filling them with tears. Rubble was scattered across the battlefield, remnants of towering statues and graceful underground spires. Fitting, that the very place where everything had begun was where their final, decisive battle was fought.

Celestia's false angels sang in the distance, their siren's song pierced only by the blood-curdling cries of those unfortunate enough to witness their form. Murata's flames and Ei's lightning had managed to keep Celestia's wrath at bay, but would they hold long enough for them to recoup and reorganize their forces?

Aether pressed his sword tip into the ground in an attempt to steady himself. His breath was labored and slow, and his heart raced like thunder. How long had he been down here?

Kaeya and Diluc appeared at his side. When had they arrived? Aether didn't know.

"They've taken the Eastern front," Kaeya said grimly. His usual sleek attire was swapped in favor of his cavalryman's armor. He clutched the reins of his warhorse tightly. Behind him rode Albedo, battered and tired atop his mount. A masterless horse's reins were tied to his saddlehorn. Further still rode what remained of the Favonius Cavalry. Their numbers grew dangerously small. "Grandmaster Varka has fallen, and Jean has ordered a retreat towards the Millileth Camps," Kaeya continued. "The Vishaps and Sumeru's mages still hold the Cathedral. We happened upon Albedo on the way here."

"Fortune has smiled upon you just this once, my friend," Diluc muttered as he hoisted Aether's arm over his shoulder. "It's a good thing we found you."

"Maybe so," Aether rasped. Archons, his lungs burned. "The Fatui are protecting the Eclipse Throne on their own. They need backup—"

"As much as it pains me to admit, we are in no position to offer them aid," Albedo said. Despite the smoke in the air and his own injuries, his voice remained calm and smooth, albeit with a hint of an edge to his words. The cavalry behind him muttered amongst themselves, some still nursing their wounds from the battle. "We are to rendezvous with Fontaine's forces at Durinsfel…" Albedo continued.

His voice trailed off as his eyes caught something before them. Or, to be more accurate, someone.

The soldiers and their mounts stilled to silence as Lumine approached. Her dress was spotlessly white, her hair still silky smooth despite the ashes and dust. The Inteyvat blossoms she had once worn had withered away, yet her poise remained untouched. The picture of elegance, as she always had been. Yet her eyes carried a heavy burden, one so uncharacteristic of the Lumine in Aether's memory.

"Look at you," she said, her voice heavy with pity. "Aether, you're hurt. Why don't you take a rest?"

"You know as well as I do," he said. There was a hidden venom in his words, one that surprised even him. "Don't test me like this, Lumine."

"I am merely looking out for you," she said simply. If he had agitated her in any way, she did not show it.

Her eyes glanced over the scene before her — the heirs of Ragnvindr and Alberich, the one born of the Primordial Human Project, and her battle-worn brother. "You all came to this place," she mused. "Surely it wasn't out of duty alone, no?"

Aether felt Diluc tense as she spoke.

"How amusing," Lumine continued. "Is it answers you all seek? Or did the prospect of battle entice your minds as it did for your ancestors?"

"We came out of no obligation to this land and her former glory," Kaeya said coldly. "To us, it is nothing more than a battleground now."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then why come?"

"To save you," Aether rasped quietly. His sister stared at him blankly.

" Save me?" she said. "From what?"

From yourself, Aether thought grimly. From being devoured by the Abyss.

"This is ridiculous," Lumine sighed. "All this battle and bloodshed, the culmination of several millenia's worth of divine lies — all to save poor little me?"

"You walk a dangerous path," Albedo said. Signs of fatigue were beginning to show on him, but he kept his composure. "You'll inevitably be consumed, just as this city once was."

Lumine scoffed and crossed her arms. "You mean like your master, yes? I'm hardly concerned," she said. "Rhine participated in my little experiment willingly, you know. And I daresay the results were satisfactory, despite all the chaos. In the end, she simply wasn't strong enough. The Abyss fed on her fear and it consumed her."

Aether dared not look to Albedo as he fell silent. Lumine watched the alchemist closely, a small frown gracing her lips.

"But I'm sure you're all wondering why I am here," she said after a moment. Albedo shifted uncomfortably in his saddle as her gaze left him.

"Aether, my dearest brother," she said.

He watched Lumine closely as she approached, her steps slow and purposeful. Even from the distance between them, he could feel the pressure exerted from the abyssal energy she carried. Its scent was sickly sweet and weighed heavily on his mind, viscous and impossibly tempting.

"Don't come any closer," he rasped. Lumine did not react. She took another step.

"You really are worse for wear, aren't you? A shame, really," she said.

His sword flashed to her throat like lightning, and she stopped in her tracks immediately. Aether slid off Diluc's shoulder, his lungs gasping for air as he attempted to steady himself. The ground seemed to sway beneath his feet. Lumine glared down his blade in burning annoyance.

"Why do you resist this?" she asked, her voice dripping with frustration. "Look at you. You're pitiful. Weak. You know you're destined for far more. Why waste all your potential in a land that might as well not exist?"

"Shut up," Aether murmured. Lumine continued.

"Don't you see?" she said as she pushed the tip of his blade to the side. His arm fell, having lost all his meager strength. "I am trying to go home, Aether. Don't you want to see our family again? Have you already forgotten what we've left behind?"

"Shut up," he repeated.

"We don't belong here. We never will. You know as well as I do that all this is a test of our loyalties, and you are failing —"

" Shut up!" Aether shouted, his voice hoarse and dry. Water dripped from his chin as his blade found her throat yet again, the tip barely catching skin as he stared down at her. Was he sweating again?

No, he thought. Those were tears staining his cheeks.

A single pinprick of blood dripped down Lumine's neck and onto her perfectly white dress.

"You have no right," he seethed, "to force me to leave against my will."

"I don't care about your opinion anymore, Aether," she spat. "Look where your kind heart has led you."

In the back of Aether's mind was a worried brother, who wanted nothing more than to embrace his lost sister and return to their happy life together. Once upon a time, that Aether had traveled through Teyvat, hell bent on finding his only kin. Once upon a time, that Aether would have been horrified to see that blood on her neck, drawn by his own hand. Once upon a time, that Aether would have seen the look of pure rage upon his sister's face and wept.

That Aether was long dead.

"My kind heart has preserved what little humanity I have left," he croaked. "This world is fundamentally flawed, and I cannot stand idly by and watch so many people I love suffer because of it."

"'Love'?" Lumine cried. " 'Love'?! Are you out of your mind?! They are nothing, Aether, nothing more than sparks that live and die in an instant, than fleeting thoughts and hopeless memories. They are flawed children of an apostate god, Aether! How could you be foolish enough to love them?!"

"In what world," Aether growled, "has my dear sister lost her sense of compassion? When have you become so blind to the very life you claim to protect?"

"This world was never meant to exist," she spat. "You said it yourself — it is fundamentally flawed."

"And yet there is life!" Aether cried. "Since when has life become nothing more than a bargaining chip to you, to be cast and thrown away when no longer necessary!?"

Her golden eyes were burning with rage, now. She summoned her blade and swept his aside in a single motion.

"I see you have made your choice, then," she said. "I only hope you do not regret it."

The two siblings stood motionless for a time, their swords drawn. Aether watched his sister silently as she fought to speak her next words. She closed her eyes and in an instant, the flaming rage from moments before had dissipated. Now, small tears pricked at the corners of her eyes.

"Goodbye, Aether," she said simply.

Aether watched as she turned heel and walked away, her perfect dress lit by the dying embers surrounding them, soiled only by a single drop of blood.