"How repulsive." The Sustainer scowled as glanced around her. They were once again in the bowels of the Chasm, where the Abyss Order had foolishly thought to capture and poison them. Now that it was cleared of everyone, the duo could see just what those errant drones had done.
The Sustainer stepped forward, her heels clicking softly against the floor. Omni-elemental energy seeped from her soles into the ground which step she took. A frown formed on her lips as she felt it, and heard it.
"It…..hurts."
"That's the Chasm," Paimon whispered in the back of the Sustainer's head. There was only sadness and sorrow now that all of its rages had been quelled for the time. She could feel it penetrating their shared body. Hurt and pain flooded her own heart.
"How many have died and been trapped here? How much blood has stained you?" The Sustainer questioned as she gently touched the Chasm's inner walks. "Celestia has struck you with its nails, Liyue's humans have overexploited your minerals, Khaenriah has filled you with blood and the Abyss has poisoned your being." She listed off.
"Please…. stop…...the pain."
"Please…. release…. the voices."
"The….voices?" Paimon and the Sustainer repeated. The Sustainer kept her hand firmly against the wall and concentrated. Soon her mind and Paimon's were flooded with countless whispers and murmurs.
"These are…" Paimon realized.
"The souls of all those that perished," The Sustainer realized. For centuries, one that died, whether by abyssal powers or celestial, had been trapped in here. Left to marinate with all of their grieves, suffering, and hatred, with nothing to keep them company but the corrupting power of the Abyss.
"Each little spark clings onto life," Paimon noted. Each of those voices had been sinking, slowly losing themselves to time itself. They were no longer just individuals trapped but now a single collective amalgamated consciousness, one that weighed itself down on the Chasm. "What do we do?" Paimon asked worriedly.
This was beyond most. Despite their expertise, Paimon knew that Hu Tao or even Yae Miko would be out of their depth here. This wasn't normal corruption and restless souls. Nor was it even a normal situation to begin with.
"So now you want my help." The Sustainer answered coldly. "After keeping me locked up for so many millennia, now you wish for me to clean up your mess." She growled.
"You would have destroyed everyone," Paimon responded.
"I would have destroyed humanity and the Abyss," The Sustainer clarified. "As it stands Celestia knows when to keep themselves out of Teyvat's business at times." She elaborated. "Humanity and the Abyss, however….they don't seem to understand where their place is."
"Do you even listen to yourself?" Paimon questioned.
"Do you?" The Sustainer questioned. Celestia had kept their word and only interfere when it was absolutely necessary, as opposed to the others. The Abyss sought to corrupt this world and make its own, always offering humans the forbidden knowledge from beyond. They pollute the world, suffocating it, and yet play victims.
"Teyvat loves its people, regardless of what or who they are, where or when they come from," Paimon argued. "You can't just destroy it all."
"I can if it turns out they destroy themselves and Teyvat." The Sustainer argues. "Tell me brat, you haven't realized it, or are you just ignorant? Humans hurt and destroy themselves naturally. If they simply stayed like that then it would be fine." The Sustainer growled. "But when they do things like this." She gestured to the Chasm. "That's where I draw the line."
"Not all humans are like this," Paimon argued.
"Perhaps, but as it stands the bad out weighs the good. Rather than leave them to continuously poison us, I see it better to remove them entirely. Prevention is better than cure." The Sustainer answered.
"Grgg….You Teyvat would never approve of this." Paimon reasoned.
"It does, it knows this deep down, but it denies it, just as you do, but it agrees, many moons have witnessed it actually agree in the past, when it's under pain," The Sustainer answered. "Did you think it always forgave, when there were always certain random natural disasters under the sun? Why do you think I exist?"
"I…"
"You may think that we can co-exist but the truth is that humans lie, to you and themselves. Which is the bigger fool though, them or you is what I'm not sure?" The Sustainer told. "But enough talk, it's time to purge this area." She told Paimon as began to focus. "Now…are you going to help me…or just sit on the sidelines like you always do and be a weakling."
"Alright fine, let's just this over with." Paimon huffed.
The Sustainer walked to the middle of the chasm and clasped her hands together as she began to concentrate alongside her other half. She opened her eyes, one gold and one blue as the elemental energy began to emit from her body.
"I was here before beginnings." Paimon recited.
"I will exist after annihilation." The Sustainer chanted.
"I am above the light of Heaven." Paimon continued.
"I am below the darkness of Hell." The Sustainer added.
"I am the Guide who Protects the Good."
"I am the Warrior who Destroys the Wicked."
"We call forth you, Teyvat, the Air of Anemo, the Ground of Geo, the Energy of Electro, the Dreams of Dendro, the Healing of Hydro, the Power of Pyro, the Clarity of Cryo. Heed our call, listen/heed us, and gives your blessing, to enact your laws, to Sustain this world." The duo chanted in unison.
Multiple colorful wisps began to emit from the Sustainer's body. Particles of all sorts began to circulate into the air, dancing around and seeping into the falls. As the energy of the world began to flow back into the Chasm, the corrupting power of the Abyss that lingered appeared.
It was like black oil flowing out of the pours of the chasm. It dripped like ink down from the ceiling, landing around the Sustainer. A smell so rancid and putrid began to fill the air. Had it been any other being, the scent alone would have killed them.
As more elemental energy left her body, more Abyssal energy started to collect in the area around them. The power of the Abyss soon became more sludge, like a living viscous liquid that fought to get back out but was trapped in this room. It did not want to be here. It did not want to burn.
"Hmm…. remnants of another invader." The Sustainer noted as the Abyss power began to gather. The Abyssal energy was not deterred, when it realized it could not escape it simply change its target and began attacking the Sustainer. Now then are you going to continue throwing a tantrum or will you go gracefully." The Sustainer asked once more as the Abyss came in contact with them.
The sludge didn't answer, nor did it have one or could think of one. It simply wished to devour and consume this threat to its existence. As such all the existing sludge began to pool towards the Sustainer in an attempt to drown her in their sin and malice. They all coalesced into a spiraling blob of darkness, however where there is darkness there can also be light.
"Now…..disappear." The Sustainer whispered as her light began to burn through the Abyssal power and erupt outwards through the Chasm sending a surge of highly concentrated Elemental energy that spread throughout the Chasm and into the rest of Liyue and the surrounding area.
Aether had arrived at the Chasm's surface not long ago. His hand gripped his sword hard enough to crush the hilt, but he wasn't bothered. His main attention had been getting to the Chasm. He had warped Liyue as soon as he managed to hear a word about the Abyss Order's involvement from Beidou, and he had headed straight for the Chasm when he ran into Xiao and Yelan. The Yaksha and the Gambler had gone to notify all the other Liyue forces while Aether checked everything out.
"Lumine you better have a darn good reason for this." He cursed under his breath as he tried to make sense of what was going on. First, they take Paimon and now this, just what was his sister thinking?
He had been ready to go plunging right into the entrance when he heard it. The outlander looked up and saw something that shook him to his core. Countless Hilichurls were all scurrying out of Chasm, climbing the walls, each other, and then some as they all tried to frantically flee.
"What's going….on." Aether's thoughts were interrupted when he felt a massive disturbance beneath him. He looked down, noticing the Chasm's maw beginning to glow brighter and brighter as a light climbed to the surface. Soon a beam erupted from maw and went flying straight into space. However, following said beam was another explosion of color as a dome of elemental energy began to expand outwards, engulfing everything in its path. The traveler didn't even know what had happened as he too was engulfed in the explosion.
Aether's eyes opened to a blue sky, populated with white poofy clouds. The traveler groggily woke up feeling a soreness in his body that was completely foreign to him. He looked around and found himself on a lush green hill, populated by lots of leyline flowers and plants, rich with elemental ores with so many crystal flies of varying elements floating around.
"Is this…a dream?" Aether wondered as he stood up. He scanned himself but found no injuries on his person. "Where am I?" He mused as he noticed a large tree nearby, one made of crystal, not unlike those found in the domains. He started to walk towards the tree, feeling it tugging at him.
Finally, he arrived at the tree where he almost burst into tears. "Paimon," Aether muttered weakly as he eyed the base of the tree. A little fairy sleeping soundly on the tree's roots, seemingly protected by its branches. He scurried over to grab her and pull her into a hug. He didn't even notice how the tree's branches recede from around her to not interfere with him.
He was so caught up in his reunion with his companion, that he didn't even notice the woman with white hair and golden eyes scowling at him from the treetops.