Chapter 3:
After a few hours of searching, Aether still couldn't find the entrance to the Abyss. He tried going back to the cave where he saw Lumine with all her goons, but found out that the cave had collapsed.
'She probably did that to hide their trail. I need to quickly find another entrance before she wakes up and I'll be fucked.'
Aether was panicking. Where the heck is the Abyss when you need them?
He was quite tempted to just throw her in some random abandoned domain, but decided otherwise. If he did that, the next time they meet, Lumine would kill the moment she sees his face.
'Maybe I'll bring her back to my place in Liyue.' After thinking that, Aether teleported to the Qingyun Peak. After activating the mechanism to access the floating island, he finally stepped foot on the island after a long time of travelling.
Since the place was empty, Aether had renovated the place into his own. Being the famous Traveler he is, this place is great to hide from the bustling cities and the people that are always infatuated with him. Zhongli once suggested that Aether sell figures imitating himself for Mora, but Aether declined. Even though he knew that it would earn him a ton of Mora, he didn't want to exploit the people he loved, and making the sculptures would be a big waste of time.
Swinging the door open with a kick, Aether headed straight to his bedroom, Lumine still in his hands. Placing her down the bed, he breathed a huge sigh.
Seeing that she was still out cold, Aether walked to his kitchen. Maybe he should make some food for him and Lumine.
Thanks to his high Dexterity stat, making food or crafting was no longer an impossible feat for him. Though it also contributed to him learning any type of martial arts or weapon arts quickly.
'Hmm, let's see what ingredients I have left. Mint, Jueyun chili, ham, raw meat, bamboo shoot… I guess mint salad and bamboo shoot soup should suffice for now.'
Aether immediately set out to make the dishes. He skillfully utilized his elements to help him with cooking: Hydro to wash the dirt, Dendro to make fuel, Pyro to create a fire, and Anemo to keep the fire at the right temperature.
'I still have 2 bottles of Dango Milk left, so let's use that as drinks for today. Hopefully it will suit Lumine's taste.'
'Done!'
After 30 minutes, the mint salad and bamboo shoot soup were done. Now he just needs to wake his little sister up.
Opening the door, Aether was about to speak up, but saw that Lumine was already wide awake.
"Oh, you're already awake then? Come with me, Lumine. I've made us food."
Lumine turned to Aether. Without saying anything, she just kept on staring at him.
"W-What's wrong, Lumine? Do you not want to feast together like the old days?"
She looked down on her lap, then back at Aether.
"Sorry, I just spaced out for a bit."
Aether smiled. "Let's go, then. We need to hurry or the food will get cold."
Lumine silently followed Aether to the kitchen, which is also the dining room. Looking at the food on the table, Lumine's eyes teared up for a bit.
When did they last eat with each other?
Everything seemed so distant. Drowning in her thoughts, she just stood while staring at the table.
Aether was puzzled. Is the food not up to her liking?
"Lumine, are you alright? Do you hate the food? If so, I will make some other dishes for you."
Lumine finally woke up from her trance. She waved her hands. "No, no. It's not like that. I'm just remembering the old days." She sighed. "When we used to dine with everyone."
"Right. It's been such a long time, isn't it? In the past…"
And they continued chatting over the good food.
"Thank you, Aether."
"What was that for? Why are you suddenly thanking me out of nowhere?"
"Thank you for the food, and for spending time with me. It has been really lonely for hundreds of years, when you weren't there with me. Now I feel much better."
"Is that so. Then thank you for chatting with me as well."
For a moment, they didn't say anything.
It was Aether who broke the silence.
"Can you tell me now, Lumine? About where you take Mondstadt's people to?"
It was inevitable that at some point the conversation would shift to this topic, so Lumine had already prepared her answer.
"I didn't harm them or anything. But for now, they are momentarily 'frozen'."
Aether was confused. "What do you mean? 'Frozen'?"
"What I mean is that I stopped the time for them, so they are immobile for now. I also hide them in between the cracks of Void, so no one would be able to find them except for me."
"Why did you do that? What is your purpose?".
Lumine pondered for a bit, wondering if she should reveal the secret to her brother.
Finally, she spoke again. "Did you know what happened to Khaenri'ah 500 years ago, Aether?"
"I know some information regarding that, but not much. The only things I know is that the hilichurls were people of Khaenri'ah, and that it was destroyed by the gods 500 years ago."
"Did you know why it was destroyed by the gods though?"
Aether thought for a moment. "Isn't it because they are too advanced for a human-built civilization?"
"That was never the case, Aether. The real reason behind the destruction of it… is much, much different. You see, the rulers of Khaenri'ah owned a secret artifact that all the Gods in Celestia coveted. It was said to have absolute authority on everything in the Universe. The Multiverse, even."
Aether gasped. "How did they even get their hands on that?"
"We don't really know, but that artifact, it was why the Gods waged war on the kingdom. However, it was an omnipotent artifact. It prevented the Gods from even entering Khaenri'ah."
"Then what caused its destruction? Surely they didn't just hand everything over?"
"There was a traitor. The artifact needed at least 4 people to activate. But the fuel it used was 'lifespan'. So, the longer it was activated, the more aged those 4 people became. One of the 'activators' was bribed by the Gods with 'immortality', so when everyone was least expecting it, he released his hands from the switch, and with that came the fall of the once prospering kingdom."
"Who was that traitor?"
"Dainsleif."
Aether's eyes were wide open. He couldn't process what he just heard. Dainsleif was the traitor?
'Impossible. Someone must have framed him.'
But the more Aether think about, the more everything makes sense. It explained why he was immortal, and also explained why Lumine considered him to be her enemy, thus warning him to stay away from Dainsleif.
"You know the alchemist, Albedo, correct? His master, Rhinedottir, was said to have created many monsters that invaded Teyvat right? Well, that wasn't the whole story. She created them to specifically fight the Gods. However, before she could do so, Khaenri'ah fell, and therefore, the only thing left she could do was to send them here, so that one day, if she ever came back, they will once again reunite and declare war against the Gods again. If they get the artifact back, even time could be reverted. As far as I know, that artifact might be one reason why that Unknown God was able to stop us from leaving, when we were already known as 'God Killers' in other worlds."
Aether contemplated the huge influx of information for quite some time. What was this artifact that had such a great power that even the Gods wanted it?
"What is this artifact called?"
"Yggdrasil, the World Tree. This tree is omnipotent and is impossible to destroy. It can mess with time, space, anything in the universe. Simply put, the tree is like a program that controls everything, with the owner being able to alter the codes to the program."
"Wait. If this tree is really omnipotent, then how come Khaenri'ah still fell."
At this question, Lumine sighed sadly.
"They are just humans, Aether. They couldn't draw out the true power of it. They only got access to the thinnest part of its outer layer. Even the Gods couldn't use it properly. It was just that powerful. But, from what I've learned, 'the chosen one' that was designated by the Yggdrasil could use it to its fullest extent."
Everything was simply mind-blowing to Aether. From the lies of the Gods to the omnipotent artifact – they were all incredible.
He was still deep in thought when Lumine spoke up again.
"I'm afraid the time has come for me to go. Don't worry, I have released all the people of Mondstadt. They won't remember a single thing. We will talk more when I have time."
"Wait, what were you trying to do with Mondstadt before?"
"I was trying to find a book that was said to have been burried there by a fallen god, but we couldn't find it."
'Could it be?'
"Until next time, my beloved brother."
After that, she opened the door and glided away. Aether stood, watching her fading figure being illuminated the moon-lit sky.
A/N: Hi, it's me, the author. Ok so everything was thought up when I was busy grinding for freemogems, so the plot is a big mess. Don't expect anything similar to the game's original storyline, as I might change that to suit my preference. Characters might be OOC.
