"They're here."
"Congratulations, you have an eye." Asmodeus sighed from behind, idly playing with a branch she picked up from the ground.
Eyes. Aether wanted to correct, but the hassle of explaining why one had to be covered up was not what he desired at the moment, and likely never will. Even if they did have to hide for a while so that suspicions on their speed in traversing the nation wouldn't be plentiful.
In the distance, far enough that an ordinary person wouldn't spot Aether and Asmodeus, Diluc and Jean had reunited with Eula and Venti, regrettably not finding any Anemo crystals.
The Prince sighed in relief, as they'd already found some and brought them to Albedo if it was ever needed. While the Homunculus pointed out that it was not alchemy that purged the poison, the process still repeated once the Traveller gave it to him, so why not go with what worked?
Aether did have an idea as to what actually got rid of Durin's taint, but testing wouldn't be very well appreciated by it.
The winds played with his hair, he'd long given up on braiding the blonde monster perfectly each time, and Venti was making good use of Aether's laziness.
Still, that was just the Archon's way of telling them to stop stalling, since the renegades of the Abyss Order would really like that.
"Let's go." I grabbed the Sustainer's hand and teleported, catching her off guard so much she laid down on the stone bricks of Decarabian's tower for a good while. To the Traveller, who does this on a daily basis, the process is done in an instant, to the Goddess, it probably felt like a few seconds, he'd have to think of that next time.
Asmodeus had a fixed scowl on her face and glared at me as I walked my fastest towards the others, not blinking at all during the entire minute they'd spent moving, impressive.
"There you are, find anything?" Venti greeted them, the Traveller would have to thank them later for covering for him.
I nodded and gave the Anemo crystals that we "found", the Teleport Waypoints, despite their questionable locations, definitely made things easier.
Barbatos pressed it to the old wood of the Holy Lyre de Himmel, humming softly as the mighty instrument was born anew.
The winds were still as Venti was as unmoving as a statue, then he began
to play. Soothing, uplifting, free, Aether could almost see the musical notes flying in the air.
Already, huh.
Since they were in the ruined city itself, and Dvalin had made no attempts at blocking their path towards him, the Prince figured, why not?
Heavy, uneven sounds of flapping wings could be heard faintly, slowly growing louder until the so called Stormterror showed themselves.
The Dragon of the East was in an even more depleted state than their last confrontation, his eyes slightly sunken, scales darker than ever, and the poisonous thorn had grown even larger to the point of small purple veins being visible.
"Long time no see, Old Friend." Barbatos greeted, taking slow, tentative steps forward, his hand outstretched to Dvalin.
Those simple actions already had an effect on the dragon, their head drooped ever slightly, tense muscles relaxed a little, a clear liquid had started to pool at the edge of wide eyes.
It was easy, too easy.
No way in Celestia was the Abyss Order about to let their trump card be lost so quickly, they planned ahead enough to force Aether back in their previous confrontation, so what were they doing now?
Elemental Sight activated as the Traveller rapidly darted his eyes back and forth across the disheveled city, thinking on how to act.
Should Aether fight them? He could still do so even without Starlight, and using only one element would draw some suspicions, as they had never seen him with one, but could still be managed.
There! There was the distinct royal blue glow of Hydro, in the convenient shape of Abyss Lectors and Mages, around a dozen.
Looking at the others near the Prince, he quickly realized they wouldn't notice in time, it was now or never.
There was still a decent distance between the Abyss and Dvalin, if Aether closed the distance with Anemo, it wouldn't disturb the dragon's tiny bubble of peace.
Without hesitation, the Wind Glider's cord was pulled, unfurling the wings as Anemo carried him to the enemy, the surprised protests of his companions left in the dust.
Aether's sword appeared, but instead of the golden blade of Starlight, it was kept at its depleted state, dull and grey, but nothing more was needed against the Abyss Order, especially the limited numbers of the defectors.
Even as the Prince approached them with a weapon drawn and the winds close behind, the Lectors and Mages didn't make a move to counter him, merely removing the thin veil of water that obscured them from the human eye.
This disregard for their own lives was inhuman, even for them, so Aether swerved at the last second, hoping to dodge whatever trap they had in store.
Instead, they just disappeared into Abyssal Portals.
A diversion...
Then their real target was...
Venti! A rift appeared behind the Archon, catching him off guard as he drew his bow, waiting for whoever came out.
But nothing did. Instead, familiar voices of alien origins began to seep through the portal, invisible hands grasping for the panicking Dvalin, the thorn on his nape shining brightly.
With an ear-splitting roar, the dragon forced everyone in Mondstadt to protect their ear drums from rupturing and flew off, the rift vanishing as he flew to the Tyrant's Tower.
Without hesitation, Venti formed an updraft of his own, a light blue wind glider spread its wings as the winds carried the Archon to the tower, while Eula, Diluc, and Jean followed suit.
Noticing their urgency, Aether pushed his wing glider to the limits with a burst of Anemo, making it to the base of the pillar of air, where Asmodeus gazed at the fleeting forms of their companions.
"I'm guessing you don't have a wind glider?" In hindsight, it was unbelievably stupid of him to not prepare for this sort of situation.
"I do." The Sustainer muttered, her expression monotone, though the God's words did surprise the Prince, Did Celestia think that far ahead?
In truth, Asmodeus would rather not say that she grabbed one from his small stash back at the coffin the Abyss Order used.
"...But you don't know how to use it." Aether didn't know if the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles had even touched the ground of Teyvat before he brought her here, it made sense that a license for their wind glider would be unlikely.
"...Hm."
The Traveller took that answer as a yes, so he took a deep breath, grabbed Asmodeus' hand, and pulled on the cord of the wind glider, releasing the wings and eliciting a surprised yelp from her as the blonde stepped into the gust of wind, the current taking them to their destination faster thanks to his Anemo affinity.
Once Aether's unwilling gliding partner calmed down, he let go, which thankfully didn't put Asmodeus in even more panic, instead focusing and finding a balance surprisingly quickly, like a fish to water.
Watching her adapt to the new experience so quickly made him a little jealous, if he was being honest. Those first few wind glider license exams, which the man had taken under the guise of an adventurer weren't good memories.
The pair were only a few seconds behind thanks to the winds Aether commanded, and they were met with the sight of the four who went ahead looking down, straight down.
After doing the same, the Abyssal Prince wished he didn't.
The seal of Decarabian's dungeon, built over a Ley Line to harness the powers of the world, finally came undone, there wasn't much to be seen at this height, but the unmistakable smell of rotting flesh gushed out in droves, somehow preserved by the Domain even hundreds of years later.
Aether could clearly see the three mortals among them trying their best to fight back against the horrid stench, eyes narrowed down to slits, while shaky hands tried to fan away the air they inhaled.
Venti had made no move to jump down yet, which was confusing given their urgent situation, but something was off
about the Domain. Elemental Sight cleared it up right away, the Anemo Energy within was scarce, going in effectively put them in a huge disadvantage.
Still, someone had to take the first step.
Elemental Sight also allowed Aether to see a ruined ring of stone, miraculously intact even after both time and wind did their best to bring it down, even after Decarabian's prisons had long fallen into the endless bottom of the Domain.
"There's ground below." I relayed, looking straight down to avoid the stares.
"How deep?" Barbatos asked, since even he couldn't know, not with so little wind in the Domain.
"Hard to say, but the wind gliders won't be enough." Not without any wind to glide on.
"Then..." Aether heard some shuffling as Venti rummaged through an imaginary pouch, then the familiar sound of fingers sliding over wood.
"Let's use this." The Holy Lyre de Himmel was brought out, glow just a little bit fainter than before, thanks to already being used once.
"Wouldn't that break the Lyre? It wasn't meant for such things..." Jean brought up, while Diluc and Eula followed with words of agreement.
"Better than losing a friend, let's go." Barbatos didn't leave any more room for arguments, letting loose a tune so loud you'd think he was playing a guitar from Fontaine, that in turn summoned dozens of rings filled with the Anemo energy the Holy Lyre still had, dandelions dancing along the edges.
Wordlessly, they each started their descent into the former prison, Aether waited until he and Asmodeus were the last two to go, just in case, but she just shrugged before following the others, her ability to learn was scary.
As for the Traveller, he'd already done such maneuvers before, sometimes at faster velocities than the one they currently held, so it wasn't any problem, though the lack of any reward waiting for him once the challenge was over disturbed his thoughts.
Soon enough, there were more things to occupy Aether's thoughts, as Dvalin had finally noticed them, this time accompanied by an entire armada of the Abyss Order, talking them out wasn't possible anymore. And the dragon had made that clear right away, unleashing a burst of Anemo Energies without hesitation, without mistake, almost like when he'd fought at the skies above the city.
Using whatever Anemo energy they had at hand, the Archon kept them afloat on their wind gliders as the stone circle crumbled into dust as fast as they had landed on it.
Attacking as is was an impossible task, since Aether would have to use Anemo energy to do so, all but ensuring the others wouldn't plummet into the infinite bowels of the Ley Lines.
At the rate they were going, catching up to Dvalin would only happen once he becomes nothing more than a monster, dragged down to the level of the creatures of the Dark Sea.
Fine, then.
"Venti." I called out to the Anemo Archon at the back, who was trying his best to keep them all from falling into the endless void of the domain.
"Give it to me." Aether's hand reached towards the God, golden eyes unwavering, unfeeling. Venti only hesitated a moment before handing over the fragments to him, the energy within shaking with ecstasy, seeking the corrupted winds ahead.
For a moment, all he could do was look down, into the endless void of the domain that Decarabian used during his tyranny, was Aether any different?
Those thoughts manifested below him in the form of the familiar sorrow of the standard portals anyone with enough experience with the corruption of the Abyss could use.
Before anyone could react, the Starseekers had already burned away his wing glider, propelling Aether through the space irregularity and to the other side, at the tip of Dvalin's tail.
Another flash of gold, and the familiar weight of his sword could be felt, the tip aimed directly at the grouped up defectors of the Order, they finally noticed him, but it was already too late.
Their barriers were too slow to deploy, and it took several at once to stop the blade of stardust last time, there wasn't any problems with not having absorbed enough Starlight this time, he'll end this quickly.
The sensation of piercing through otherworldy flesh was gone, the strike was too fast, the Prince was thankful for this, near the end of the slaughter two hundred years ago, he'd begun to enjoy the violence, that thrill took decades to wear off, now was not the time to relive those years.
The shockwave made Dvalin pause in his trajectory, instead hovering in place, staring at Aether intently, pain, longing, sadness, and malicious intent mixed all at once.
On the back of the dragon, the deceivers collected themselves quickly,
the Lectors gathering and forming a large barrier around themselves, their elemental assault at the ready, while everyone else was situated outside of protection, were the others expendable?
Best to play it safe, another burst of gilded energy, and the stragglers turned to ash, their hastily conjured elemental attacks soaring in different directions, harmless.
At first, things were looking up, most of the traitors were nothing more than ash at this point, but something still bothered Aether, in the center amidst all the cowering Abyss Lectors, was that same individual, with their armor and blades shining an ominous glint of white.
Then one of those harmless blasts exploded, scattering even more of the elements everywhere, triggering another blast, which in turn did the same, the battlefield shifted immediately in the favor of his foes.
Elemental Sight activated, unveiling the curtain once and for all, barely visible amongst the hail of elements, heavily condensed quantities of Anemo could be seen, enough to match actual Crystallized forms of the element, and inheriting the explosive nature as well.
He looked at the poisonous thorn sprouting from Dvalin's neck, the protrusion was unharmed, protected by another barrier. These cascades of power, as impressive as they were, wouldn't come close to killing him, no matter the element. The Lectors were just stalling for time, waiting for me to waste precious time on the shields and choose to kill them or save Barbatos' companion, whom they knew I'd taken an interest in.
There was no time for regrets, something had to be done.
The light that came from a strike which essentially had the power of a sun disoriented both the Abyss Order and Knights of Favonius, the sight brought surprise and hope respectively, but above all else was the fear it instilled within everyone there.
"He's..." Affiliated with the Abyss Order? Diluc couldn't get the words out, was Aether an ally or an enemy, did Venti know of the Traveller's origins?
"Venti, did you..." Eula trailed off, the question clear enough.
The bard nodded hesitantly, "The Leader of the Abyss Order, their Prince, Aether." He grimly watched as the Abyssal creatures scrambled to reorganize themselves, another wave of gilded brilliance erasing several mages.
"Sorry," Venti began, "I wasn't sure how to tell you, he's quite enigmatic himself, I'm not even certain if I can trust him."
The currents that carried them wavered a bit, reflecting their Archon's inner conflict.
Jean was just shocked, the Barbatos in the stories they'd read as a child was an entirely different entity from the one before them, even going so far as to request assistance from someone who hurt Mondstadt, hurt...
Diluc, who was on the verge of grabbing at the bard in a rage, and crumbling in anguish again, the memories of that final breath of his father flooding back as fast as the Prince sliced through the Abyss Order.
Eula exhaled a dejected sigh, "So you lied to us..." Hearing their tone destroyed him, the hope he brought to her was gone.
"...Was everything you said a lie?"
"...No, only this, and..." He looked at the barefooted woman at the back of their disheveled formation. Would they believe him? Archon or not, this was quite the revelation to process, even for him when Aether first revealed himself in the skies above Mondstadt.
"Then let's hurry." The Lawrence commanded, "He's still just one person." Her eyes never left Dvalin, or namely, the utter chaos occurring on his back, the Abyssal Prince caught in the center of it.
Thank you.
"Asmodeus." Barbatos looked at the Goddess who tried to be unnoticed, "Take us there." The limited air in the Domain meant travel was slow, which was why the Abyss Order would never expect what was coming their way.
Asmodeus just looked at him, unimpressed, "And just what would I gain from helping?" She scoffed, "There's nothing I need from you-"
"He'd owe you." Venti just pointed at the
battlefield, his deadpan expression saying everything else that had to be said.
Those words got her attention, prompting the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles to look back and forth between the battle and at the Anemo Archon, before raising a hand.
"Drop us."
He did just that, the wind Gliders slacking once the winds left and gravity took hold of them as Asmodeus casually snapped her fingers, a faint whir was all that could be heard before the dark came.
Was it dark? Not, there was light, perhaps the other way around, there was all sorts for things here, memories of a child, dreams of a friend, but those faded into nothing soon after, was this wat it was like?
They were in a land of wonder and progress, incomplete structures of polished wood and thatch, then there was the cold, indifferent marble of Celestia, what exactly was going on?
It felt like minutes, but to someone without senses as sensitive as a God's, it literally occurred in the blink of an eye.
There was no sound once they reached the other side, nothing to warn their enemies of impending doom, even light couldn't escape the power that was truly nothing and everything.
To the Abyss Order hiding behind a protective bubble, this was the impossible come to life, and it was, in a way, but the people of Mondstadt and its God would do the impossible every day for their freedom.
An avian of flame crashed straight into their silver leader, knocking it back one step and alerting everyone of the newcomers, but they were too slow.
The scent of dandelions swept across the ground, lulling even the corrupt creatures of the Abyss into weakness, right as they were sucked into a relentless vortex of Anemo. Finally, a tiny ice construct of ivory was all the Lectors saw before it blew up, destroying the weak insides of the barrier and sending the few survivors packing.
When the dust cleared, not a single monster of the Abyss was in the vicinity, so Barbatos knelt down and concentrated, tuning out the outside world and focusing on the elemental energy that was everywhere, his energy.
Be it Mondstadt's freedom, Liyue's contracts, Inazuma's eternity, Sumeru's wisdom, Fontaine's justice, Natlan's war, and Snezhnaya's frozen love, the winds spread all of these through Teyvat and beyond, do other worlds have wind too? He'd have to ask Aether afterwards, for now, Venti's gust will carry Dvalin's agony to the sea from whence it came from.
Let the wind lead.
The world responded in kind to his wishes, the chaos that the Abyss Order had caused to halt Aether froze, unable to move forward without the swirls of Anemo to carry them.
The Holy Lyre de Himmel had returned to his hands, even in it's irreparable state, he unconsciously chose to bring it out one last time, and Venti's conscious thoughts weren't about to let their other half down. So, gripping the charred wood tightly, he breathed in, and strummed on the fragile strings as the chaotic energies finally dissipated, the treasured instrument had played its last divine chord, and snapped in two.
"The Lyre..." Jean murmured, looking at one of Mondstadt's divine artifacts, an object so revered by the Church of Favonius, to be stolen, damaged, and meet its end in the hands of its creator, all in two days.
"It's fine." Venti reassured Jean, peering over her shoulder, "You should probably help him, though." He pointed at Diluc, locked in fierce combat with the white demon of the Abyss.
"When did he..." The Gunnhildr muttered to herself as she immediately broke into a sprint towards the duel with only a single goal, to kill the past.
Eula took that as her cue to begin running too, headed straight to Aether, who was currently turning another Abyss Lector into a fine dust as he made his way towards the poisonous thorn.
Venti wanted to fight, too, even as the weakest of the Seven Archons, he was still a God, but the whispers of the winds was spread thin, Dvalin was struggling to stay afloat, and so as the dragon's only true friend, the bard wouldn't leave them alone anymore.
"Took your time." Aether said, glancing at the Lawrence as he wiped black blood of his sword, the pure Anemo still in hand.
"Your friend took her time." Eula shot back at the Prince of the Abyss, receiving an unimpressed grunt in return. "Can you still fight?"
"I can fight, but I'll have to leave the barrier to you." The Traveller nonchalantly said, tossing the chunk of Anemo her way, just a sliver of time for the Spindrift to react and catch it.
To me?
"Good luck." Not even giving Eula time to think it through, Aether ran at the Abyss Order, a hellish rainbow snaking towards him with murderous intent as a last ditch effort by the monsters.
Compared to the storm of elements they'd made around the Starfarer a while ago, it didn't look impressive at all, yet its intensity was not to be downplayed, for this was an attack actually meant to kill.
Aether internally cursed himself, having expended too much Starlight early on and burned away his wing glider, mobility was an issue, one that he'd have to find a solution for in a manner that didn't harm Dvalin.
Wait.
The answer was obvious, Aether was surprised he hadn't thought of it earlier, was his mind subconsciously avoiding the Abyss? The Traveller didn't dwell on the topic any longer, conjuring a portal of the Dark Sea that ate the Lectors' attack whole.
"Checkmate." I whispered, my blade already finished with cutting the demoralized traitors, the ebony blood that ran through them felt cold, comforting, and it smelled nostalgic, too.
That was bad, Aether had already begun to fall into the past, the streaks of Elemental energy, almost like shooting stars that granted the wishes of their owner, the death of another. He could feel the chaos, the blood, the sensation of cleaving flesh.
The Prince was sinking, quite quickly at that, he needed something to grip onto, there always was a memory that served that exact purpose, someone to ground him.
Aether had to go beyond two hundred years, to his first memory of this world, of the person who was just as kind as Lumine, a feat he'd once thought impossible. Words weren't needed, just an image in his head of the first year the Traveller had been in Teyvat, the cherry blossoms, that table, the workshop.
It proved enough, and the memories, both good and bad receded into the back of Aether's mind, there was still a dragon to save and a schemer to kill.
Embers splashed and liquids cut through the air surrounding Diluc, forming a bloody picture of Pyro and Hydro as he resumed the dance of death with his opponent, the horror behind Ursa's attack, Crepus' death, alongside so many others, the Ragnvindr that stood here today would avenge them, that was all the man needed to know.
I'll...
The Darknight Hero struck their opponent back and closed in, relentless and fiery fury that threatened to swallow both target and wielder whole.
I'll kill you!
Just a little closer, and Diluc would slice them in two, then burn their corpse until not even ashes remained, or he could disarm and cripple the Abyssal creature instead, ensuring a slow and painful death.
I'll-
"Diluc, focus!"
Those words broke through his blind rage just in time for him to narrowly roll away from a paper thin blade of Hydro energy, there were dozens of them scattered around the battlefield, hovering just above Dvalin's scales and circling them like sharks.
Diluc pressed his back against Jean, mumbling a weak thanks as the duo watched the other's back, swords gripped tightly and feet firmly planted on the ground as sweat ran down their bodies, ready to respond to any attack.
The flames of his Pyro vision danced along the Favonius Greatsword he held, the light it emanated leaving a hungry glint in each of the Hydro razors, almost like eyes, staring at them in an eerie silence.
Diluc could sense that something was off about their entire predicament, their foe held back as it prepared this elaborate trap to ensnare both Ragnvindr and Gunnhildr, but abstained from acting, almost as if...
"Jean, do you see it?" He hurriedly asked, praying to the Archon with them that the scenario in his head was false.
"I do not, do you?" She replied just as fast, as to be expected.
"No, then..." It was just stalling for time, like all the others. Which meant the monster was headed straight for...
"Eula." The two simultaneously whispered, glancing over to where the Spindrift Knight was currently at, the source of the Abyss Order's corruption.
There were flashes of cyan light and the unmistakable sound of metal meeting metal, they had to hurry.
"Ready?" Jean and Diluc asked eachother, smiling faintly at the other in embarrassment after their minor slip up, before the Visions of wind and fire began to glow brightly.
"For Mondstadt, as always." Has always been the Gunnhildr's family motto, one that Jean has followed since she first heard those words, quickly rising up the ranks of the Knights of Favonius with those words by her side. The Acting Grand Master still believed in that phrase, but it can't be the only driving force within anymore, not after so much has happened, after their promise...
I swear by my sword!
The field of dandelions swarmed hem both, healing minor wounds they accumulated, and soothing their minds, one that Diluc really needed.
For dawn to come, there had to be those to pierce the darkness. To the world, it was the sun, and to Mondstadt, it was the Knights of Favonius, on the surface, at least. Diluc saw it with his own eyes, the monsters came in all forms, a mage, a drake, even a fellow human being. The Ragnvindr resolved himself to pierce that darkness alone after that, but it takes more than a blade tear it asunder.
More than one person, so for now...
Burn.
The large Phoenix his greatest attack usually summoned was absorbed by the winds, swirling and pulsating inside the Dandelion field, but never hurting them. Instead, the dandelions were transformed by the Pyro energy, emerging from the ashes as hundreds of tiny birds, each one fixated on the blades of Hydro that swarmed around them.
What came next was essentially an Inazuman firework show, the ones that Liyue imported from the land of Eternity were a miracle to witness for the first time, dozens of traces of light soaring through the night sky, the Lantern Rite was a calming experience
that helped ward off the hatred for a time as Diluc wandered the world.
The monster of the Abyss saw this, clicking whatever it had for a tongue, which only made it easier for Eula to build momentum for her next strike, catching it off guard and snapping one of their arm blades off.
"Look at me." The Lawrence's Cryo Vision hadn't stored enough kinetic energy to break the shields yet, but doing so through repeatedly slamming her greatsword against the barrier was impossible with an enemy, especially one that usually chose to evade rather than lock blades.
The passing time was taking a heavy toll on Dvalin, shining purple veins reached back as far as where the two combatants now stood, alongside the dragon losing balance, forcing both of them to take a pause as their footing grew unstable whenever the East Wind of Mondstadt shook from the pain.
"Why fight for a land that despises you?" Oh, of course it knew about that. After seeing Aether and his accuracy in tracing Dvalin's flight patterns, it wasn't a surprise that the rest of the Abyss Order studied possible opponents either.
"Because..." Despise was a powerful word, and while their words had some truth, the fact that there were people who could look past the Lawrence and see Eula was enough for her. Jean, Amber, even Barbatos himself has done so, what's to say even one more person couldn't do the same?
That day. One where Eula could walk the streets without glares from every direction, where her fellow Knights saw a comrade instead of a tyrant, a time that the Spindrift Knight might never even see herself.
Even so...
"I'd rather die trying."
Her delayed answer intrigued the silver Abyssal Herald long enough for the missing duo to come charging in, Pyro and Anemo already barreling towards it as Jean and Diluc silently and quickly apologized for their tardiness.
The Acting Grand Master struck first, stabbing at the monster's legs with the power of the winds of Mondstadt, disorienting it greatly.
A Phoenix hit the Herald square in the chest, thrusting the creature away from Diluc with its searing heat, enough to turn the white iron it had to a dangerous molten red.
Seeing this, Eula immediately knew of their plan, and thus prepared herself for
the Abyss monster flying to her attack range.
Flood of Frost!
The Burst of Cryo energy found its mark, sending the Abyssal Herald back to Diluc and Jean, and the recoil knocked Eula far back enough that she could reach the barrier in time, this time with the capability of destroying it.
Yelling at the top of her lungs, the Cryo construct Eula summoned crashed against the annoying shield, obliterating it with so much excess force even the thorn it protected had cracked, disgusting black ooze pouring out, the putrid smell making her eyes tear up.
Quickly grabbing the Anemo crystals Aether gave to her, the Spindrift Knight shoved as many as she could through the hole, praying to Barbatos that this would be enough.
The cure disappeared into the inky pus as Dvalin began to shake, the violent tendrils of blood beneath Eula only glowed brighter, almost as if empowered rather than purged.
Did he lie...?
The Lawrence trusted that the Prince had clear intentions, at minimum, why go so far to help them, only to turn at the last stretch? Maybe it was because she could somewhat sympathize with him, another outcast because of what they are.
The dark blue scales Eula stood on trembled, and a weak cry echoed from the dragon's mouth, she couldn't tell if that was a good sign or not.
Come on, Venti...
The Spindrift Knight almost fell off into the endless Domain of Decarabian when the Dragon of the East Wind swerved all of a sudden, accelerating enough that the wind cooly blew past her face, calming the woman.
The poisonous thorn of the Abyss, the source of all their troubles, began to disintegrate before Eula's very eyes, fading into a golden dust that shone so bright, like little fireflies in the night.
The pulsating veins underneath her began to fade too, right as Dvalin gave his all to crash land on top of the remaining stone platform that he hadn't destroyed.
It's over? A quick inspection of the massive, teal body of the beast, no, nothing. Her eyes spotted something interesting on the stone bricks they landed on, though, specifically, four silhouettes, with a familiar white one lying on the ground.
Eula ran over right away, she wanted to see this unfold. Venti gave a nod of gratitude to her as the Lawrence arrived, something about it made her smile, but there was something of greater importance occurring at the moment.
The creature let out a garbled laugh, taunting Diluc, "Is this not what you want?" Their melted silver weapons had now cooled down and melded to the stone below, the monster was stuck.
It is what he wanted, to slay this abomination and break free of the nightmare it put him in, to avenge his father, Crepus Ragnvindr, and the dozens more that Ursa mercilessly tore apart and disintegrated, no bodies for their families to bury.
The flames that wreathed the Favonius Greatsword Diluc used to slaughter anything related to the Abyss had intensified, so hot the flame was pure white, ready to end it all.
The grip felt smaller as his arms shook violently, their decision was made, so he painstakingly began to lift the massive weapon with an exhausted body, the two seconds it took to take the blade off the ground was one of the longest moments in Diluc's life, and he was ready to keep going.
Then came a push from his left, taking away whatever strength the Darknight Hero had left as the flames died out and their legs collapsed underneath him.
Diluc was ready to meet the end, in a blind rage, he didn't notice another enemy coming from the side, but why hadn't Eula stopped them, why did Venti do nothing?
It was only when there was panting coming from the source of the attack did the full picture form. Lying down next to him was Jean, just as exhausted as he was, but her eyes didn't look away from his, the will inside fierce as a storm.
The defeated Abyssal monster started to chuckle, the echoes of corruption from their sounds reminiscent of the screams of countless innocents. Those sounds were weak whispers when Diluc saw the Gunnhildr's soul, tested by the winds of time again and again, finally finding another foothold.
The one who orchestrated those very winds looked at the defeated beast with indifference, "...The one to deal with you..." The Archon looked at the approaching light, bright and inspiring to mortals, but to a God, the light was dull and hollow.
"...Will be him."
Once the radiance faded away, there was only a man that was best described as the farthest from what was just there, their blonde hair stained with the black blood of creatures from the Abyss, something Diluc himself rarely came across thanks to his Pyro vision leaving nothing behind.
That same ebony blood splattered the Traveller from their neck to the feet, adding a disgusting black to the pristine white and gold of the clothes he wore. His sword, golden and radiant at the beginning, now resembled a more traditional blade, the edges dulled and gray.
Worst of all were the eyes that looked at them all, cold and calculating, full of life and light, yet in truth, they were about as dead as the weapon their owner used. It was jarring, seeing Jean's soul in a new light, steadfast as stone, shining with a new flame, she'd found a reason to fight, on the other hand, the ones Diluc peered into now housed a downtrodden, uncaring heart, missing a will, the flames nothing more than a speck of ash, and had reasons beyond his current understanding.
This was Aether, Prince of the Abyss Order.
The Prince took a step forward, the silence that came with his arrival an effective accomplice alongside that singular motion, freezing even Kaslana, who kept their distance from the man she constantly followed around, was it done out of free will?
Whatever spell the sound casted on them, the effects were tenfold on the monster of the Abyss, someone who went against Aether, and they were about to pay the price.
"Do you remember it clearly?" Aether spoke, his face dead serious, but the tone he used was relaxed, even apathetic, this terrified the soon-to-be executed Herald even more, now frantically heaving against the stone bricks that their white iron armor had stuck to.
"I can't recall it well, but you do, right?" The executioner stopped in front of the monster, "Two hundred years ago..." The creature let out an audible cry, but it only sounded like laughter.
"...Perhaps you need to remember." The time came, Aether brandished his sword, a swirl of colors snaked around the blade, and in one clean motion, he swung.
The metal armor it wore could do nothing to protect against one element, much less multiple at once, it didn't come to anyone's surprise that the white iron was as good as butter against the attack, the rest of the body meeting a similar end, the downward swing splitting them into two halves before turning into dust, carried by the winds it tried to kill.
Aether swung with much more force than intended, and he felt a slight rip in the bandage that covered his eye, that covered it. The Prince composed themselves before making a move, using their Cryo affinity to seal the tear and prevent it from escaping.
So it's done...
The Traveller looked up to the Domain's entrance, a good ten second flight to reach it, even with the Starseekers, even if he could use them. A look around confirmed that everyone else's Wing Gliders didn't make it unscathed either, he could always use the Abyss or his Waypoints to leave, but the others were a different story.
There was also the giant dragon on the platform, the only option left was to wait.
Aether's eye met Asmodeus', another smile plastered on her face, eyes shining with that annoying look, I looked to Dvalin before returning back to the Goddess, and their smugness only grew. Of course she could do that.
"Do whatever you want." They were too exhausted to argue at this point.
With a flick of the Sustainer's finger, they were at the surface, whatever spacial distortion she used already gone before the light could reach Aether's eyes.
The Traveller took a deep breath, gulping up as much as clean air as he could, while they had lost the need for air since starting their Starfaring journey, it still felt nice to do.
Of course, the Prince could feel the stares boring into his back, particularly a fiery one that no doubt belonged to the Ragnvindr, with the Gunnhildr close behind in intensity.
"...Ask away." Aether knew this was inevitable ever since he fell through the Abyssal portal, might as well get it out of the way.
"Was Ursa your doing?" No teetering around the edges, even when it came to topics like this, the Traveller respected that part of Diluc.
"No."
"Did you investigate who unleashed it?"
Now they were just throwing shade at his ability to lead the Abyss Order, granted, it wasn't the best.
"I could only trace it back to the Fatui."
"The Fatui claim we owed them because they slew Ursa, was that a lie?" The Gunnhildr asked.
"I killed it."
"...I see." With a weak mutter, Diluc limped his way to a conveniently placed log, Jean not far behind.
Eula had buried her greatsword into the ground and leaned into it, playing a strange flute made from bone, while Venti tended to Dvalin with the Prince's portable Statue of the Seven device. Wait, when did he get that?
"So, can we go now?" Asmodeus complained from behind, her bare feet suffering the most out of all of them on the terrain.
"Wait." The golden Traveller really couldn't get a break, but dealing with an angry Sustainer of Heavenly Principles while she still retained her power would have varying results, so he made his way to Barbatos.
"Here." Venti casually tossed something at Aether, who barely caught it In time. In his hands were actually two things, his miniature Statue, and...
"Your Gnosis?"
"That's what you're after, right?"
"I would've just asked you to throw it away, maybe destroy it, but this works too." It was the real thing, his left eye squirming at the energy the source of power emanated.
"Oh..." The bard nervously scratched his head.
"But it seems our work in Mondstadt is done, I'll have the Abyss Order pull back from this nation." I declared, somewhat taken aback at how easily the words came out, a full retreat?
"That's a relief."
A leaf blew into his palm, and Aether could've sworn that it was pink for a second.
A step forward, at last.
.
...Heart.
.
AN:
Rereading everything before I publish this makes me realize I might have pushed the edgy button a little too far, how was it?