Khaenri'ah may oppose Celestia, but the enemy of the enemy is not a friend. Unlike a country rejecting divinity in favour of humanism, science and progress, Aether realised the true face of Khaenri'ah is nothing more than a militaristic oligarchy, eschewing the Divine not because the established hierarchy is unjust, but because they wish to be the ones everyone else bows down to.

Aether has been brought somewhere underground, chained spread-eagle in the middle of a large array, too complicated compared to the small arrays Albedo had him set up. He and the array are on a circular elevated altar, surrounded by life-sized, terracotta statues of broad-shouldered faceless soldiers. They're all adorned with heavy armour and real weaponry, facing the elevated altar like a pack of piranhas circling its prey.

Aether pulls at the chains, ignoring his chafing wrists. The rest of his wounds, mostly scrapes and bruises from being captured, are equally irritated, a result of alcohol being poured onto them in an attempt to clean him up and make sure he doesn't succumb to his injuries or something.

The only exits are a narrow corridor at the bottom and a walking platform overlooking the barely lit chamber. On the latter stands a masked man surrounded by his retainers; the fallen king of Khaenri'ah, a monster both in form and spirit. Kaeya, the traitor, stands a step right behind him, dressed in a similarly ornate uniform as his father, his hair covering the area where his eyepatch used to be.

Aether wants to yell at Kaeya, for betraying him, betraying Albedo, but he's been gagged after cursing out the fallen king one too many times. But even if he yelled, he doubts Kaeya would bother to look at him. His whole demeanour has changed, his usual devious smirk and relaxed poise replaced with tense shoulders and a serious expression.

The king sighs and holds up a hand, as if addressing an audience of loyal subjects. "Finally, the pieces for the revival of our lost nation have all come together." His other hand rises with, and something gleams in the faint light from his fingers. "Celestia's creation, reformed by a homunculus' heart for the sake of humanity…"

He's holding Albedo's Vision, Aether realises, the cracked gem glowing a faint orange. Aether pulls at the chains, but they are barely heard over the king's booming address.

"... The life-force of our lost compatriots, once slayed in cold blood by the fake self-appointed monarchs, now purified by the Primordial Human who, just like Phanes, will give up their mind and body to seed a new humanity."

He looks down at the terracotta army, a few of his attendants following his example. "Starting with an army greater than any God's, a new age of humanity where we will fairly preside as their new creators…" He pauses and gestures towards Aether, his tone adopting a mocking tone. "And a battery to power it all up. Certainly more useful to us like this, instead of whatever trouble that rebel factions of ours tries to stir up with that pretender of theirs."

Aether struggles against his bindings again. Rebel Abyssal Faction? Could it be the Abyssal Order? Lumine? She's his only hope at this point, too many of Aether's allies having lost their lives or stabbing him in the back.

Unlike his father who is staring down at Aether like a ravenous dog, Kaeya keeps stealing glances at a robed figure in the back of their little group; another traitor, though one Aether should have expected, for her cold demeanour and betrayal have made it clear she holds no love in her heart.

The king catches Kaeya's glance and turns back to smile at its recipient. "And of course, credit where credit is due; your help has been indispensable. Your poison weakened their elemental output to something more manageable, more controllable… And that is not to mention this chain reaction you've set up, spanning decades in the making…" He turns back to Aether, who goes even paler at the revelation of how much he has been manipulated. "You've exceeded yourself, alchemist."

Gold, the traitorous, heartless bastard, bows. "It is a pleasure to serve you, my king. Nowhere else would I have the opportunity to pursue the Great Work."

"I'm sure it is. Now let us not delay any longer," the king says with a snap of his fingers and hands the Vision, Albedo, back to Gold, who retreats further back than Aether can see.

Aether vainly pulls at his restraints again and bites into the gag, trying to yell, to lay curses, to do anything at all. He tries to call on his power, on any of his power, but he can only conjure weak flickers of the elements he once wielded with ease. Even his restored powers have been reduced to a pale imitation of what they used to be, his once brilliant wings used to confront the Sustainer manifesting as little else than phantom shapes, his blinding all-encompassing glow now contained in his eyes only.

A steady tap-tap of her cane signifies Gold's arrival as she slowly walks through the cleared path, then up the stairs to the altar. On her hand is Albedo's Vision, and Aether renews his struggle at the sight of it.

"You're wasting your energy," Gold says as she uses her cane to kneel by him, then places the gem right on the centre of the array and under Aether's back. Her calloused hand scrapes by his exposed back, and is then replaced by a familiar rocky texture – Albedo's Vision. It's colder than Aether remembers, and his anger is replaced by dread. It was always warm when he held it, but he also made sure to always hold it close to his person…

Gold then undoes Aether's gag, and though its removal takes him by surprise, he wastes no time voicing his disgust.

"You're despicable. He trusted you and," 'and he admired you, he called you mother,' he wants to say, but even if Albedo is not with him, Aether doesn't want to hear the mocking denial that will come soon after. "He deserved better than you."

Gold's expression remains unreadable as she stands up. "You want him to live. Good. That will speed things along."

Aether doesn't let her cryptic answer confuse him. "You better pray this kills me!" he yells at her turned back. "Because if it doesn't the first head I'll claim is yours!"

Gold pauses in her exit. "I won't stop you," she says, her voice above a whisper before she limps towards the exit, appearing at the elevated platform a few minutes later.

Aether grunts in equal parts furious and desperate as he pulls at his chains again. "Kaeya!" he calls out, but Kaeya does not even bother to look at him.

As the central array glows around him, Aether grits his teeth and scrunches his eyes shut. On his back, Albedo's vision grows warm, then hot, then scorching, feeling like it's trying to melt its way through him. Each circle of the array activates one after the other, until they reach the outermost circle, where geometric lines trail out under each statue's legs.

However, the statues Aether can see start melting, the clay dripping off them like tar. Their metal armour and weaponry degrade as well, and though the molten metal forms inert silvery puddles, the little traces of gold from the adornments collect within the array lines and travel up to the altar.

Gold and clay gather around the arrays. The clay stays at the outer rim, rising as if building a wall, whereas the gold pools around Aether's form like water.

Increasingly confused, since the ritual is supposed to imbue the statues with life, Aether looks up at the elevated platform only to see the king looking aghast.

"Princeling, as we agreed–!" comes Gold's yell.

"Don't have to tell me twice, old hag!" comes Kaeya's voice, some of his old humour back, and the next thing Aether sees is someone from the procession falling over the railing and landing on hard on already ruined statues.

"What is the meaning of–?!"

"Late teenage rebellion," Kaeya says and Aether is too confused to do anything but stare as more and more people fall over the railing.

A second later, Gold grunts as her forms slams at the railing, though she doesn't end up toppling over it. "Ignore me, protect the egg!" Gold barks at someone before she slams her staff into the ground, causing vines to encircle and choke any advancing guards. The walls around Aether stop rising but then turn inwards, both at the top and at the base, creating a sphere.

"Did you think I wouldn't figure out what you two were up to?!" Gold yells down at Aether with a manic grin as her face disappears over a wall of hardening clay. "Who do you think taught him all he knows, boy–?!"

The rest of her words are drowned out as the clay unites into a uniform surface, blocking out everything. The gold rises over Aether as he floats over it, his chains dissolving and the resulting contaminant metal washed away.

The rising gold pushes him to the top of the sphere, until it fills up completely. Aether closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, but seconds later he realises that not only can he somehow see through what should be scorching hot liquid metal, he also has no need to breathe.

Albedo's Vision, glowing a brilliant yellow, rises as well, though it floats closer to the bottom of the sphere, unlike the top where Aether is. Aether reaches out to it, but his freed limbs grow weaker by the second.

Clay accumulates at the base of the sphere, forming a thick layer that blackens at the top, where loose white particles – chalk? – rise even further, accumulating around Albedo's glowing Vision.

… Something forms around Albedo's vision, a primitive fleshy shape. It starts nothing more than a pink mass, before it segments into two parts, the bottom growing larger and rounder while the top elongates. Though there are gaps, cracks across its form, it still segments further, two nubs forming at the top and bottom of the elongated segment, as two little dots appear at the front of the other segment–

An upside fetus, Albedo realises. His previous rage has shimmered down to awe, and through he feels strangely sluggish, he braces his legs against the top of the cocoon and pushes himself further down, reaching out to hold on to – the Vision? The fetus? Albedo?

But once the tip of his finger touches the strange growing mass, two things happen; Aether loses all strength in his body, and the mass's growth rapidly accelerates, first as a formless malignant tumour which then takes shape into arms, legs, soft, gentle features, cracks in-filled with gold, a lean androgynous figure–

Into Albedo.

The tips of Albedo's finger twitch and Aether uses the last of his strength to embrace him, even as he feels more of his power siphoned away, until he can barely keep his eyes open. That's fine. He has more than enough to spare… More than enough…

The hand hanging limply around Aether's back twitches again, and Aether feels Albedo's head move. Aether doesn't have the strength to lean and have a look, but Albedo does and through his darkening vision Aether sees that two glimmering eyes stare back, first half-lidded, then widening at realisation–

But Aether is too tired to stay awake, so he closes his eyes, just for a little while–

A squelching crack and the return of gravity jolts Aether from his temporary reprieve, as he falls down on something hard, something even heavier on top of him. Gold liquid washes away from him until he's spitting it out to inhale lungfuls of air.

The outside world has become no less chaotic in his temporary absence. Aether flinches at yells and the clang of metal – reinforcements?

Someone – Albedo, Aether realises, gently pushes him into a sitting position, even though his own movements are more awkward and uncoordinated than Aether remembers. He takes a few more breaths and though his very bones feel heavy, he does not feel like going back to sleep again.

Not that he should, as the fights seems to have spread to the bottom of the chamber as well. Khaenri'ahn Husk Knights are fighting their… fellows?

Aether blinks but indeed not only are Khaenri'ahn forces fighting each other, but they are joined with other familiar enemies, including Abyss mages and Lectors.

Unfortunately, one of the hostile Husks breaks through to the altar, sword raised. Aether grunts as he summons his own and barely parries the sttack, being thrown aside from sheer force and his persisting weakness.

Aether rolls to his side to see the Husk rear up for the final blow until Albedo, still wild-eyed and uncoordinated, throws himself at it, only managing to grab its legs. The Husk barely pays him any attention, raising its sword again.

Until the metal armour bends and creaks from the inside out as vines pour between the cracks, joined by fungal growths that cripple the Husk and force it still, making it resemble a macabre planting pot.

Albedo stumbles on his hands and knees after that. He opens his mouth, but only liquid gold spills out, the same gold that drips from him and has filled in what once were signs of his inhuman demise, like a carefully-restored treasure.

Through his weakened delirium, Aether drags himself back up as well, unable to get up fully but enough to drag himself close to Albedo, to embrace him, to hold his hand with his.

A gold vein runs over Albedo's eye before it breaks into smaller barely perceptible veins disappearing into his hairline and it must be him – it has to…

"Albedo?" Aether he asks, not because he doubts who's standing before him, but because it feels unreal, too good to be true.

Albedo smiles and rests his forehead against Aether's and that's all the conformation he needs, as well as a reminder of an important promise.

Aether lifts a trembling arm to guide the rest of Albedo's face against his, finally kissing him. Not breaking away from the kiss, Aether can't help but laugh, almost choking at the amniotic gold that still pours through Albedo's mouth.

But a subsequent curse and cry from Kaeya and Gold reminds them the battle is not over yet. Albedo especially perks up in alarm at Gold's voice, his hand clutching Aether as she scans the crowds for a sign of her–

And then a chuck of the wall directly opposite to the exit blows up.

"The Cavalry has arrived!" comes a cheery voice, accompanied by a warmth as if the sun suddenly decided to visit this forgotten underground realm. A woman emerges from the smoke, her face as bright as her tone, alongside a small familiar red shape on her shoulder.

The woman gestures at Aether and Albedo with a squeal. "Aw, there you are you two, we've been worried sick!" She looks up at the small figure on her shoulder, with whom she shares an uncanny resemblance. "Now, Klee, how about you and I blast all those bad guys away?"