The Test

Aether's tall boots trudged through the ankle-deep snow as he kept on trekking up the great mountain of Dragonspine. A snowstorm just the night before had covered the familiar path in white and ice, but by now only a howling wind remained of it, sweeping down the ridges.

A letter reached him yesterday, that Albedo wanted his assistance with a new experiment and to find him on Dragonspine, but the alchemist as always remained sparse with details, so as Aether reached a small plateau where the campsite was, he could only speculate what this new task could be.

Small patches of grass poked through the snow on the plain in front of the cavern where the alchemist set himself up, their growth stimulated by the small, stone beacon, which blazed with pyro energy that could resist even the sheer cold of this place. Albedo sat on a small boulder next to it, dressed in his usual white coat and reading a book. His calm eyes shifted to the Traveler as soon as he appeared from behind the corner.

"Thank you for coming so quickly," he put the book down and stood up. "I take it that you are ready to participate?"

His tone carried a hint of emotionless indifference. No real cheerfulness, despite his words indicating gratefulness. But no malice either. Those were just learned social phrases that he didn't entirely understand, and instead tried to apply them to social interactions like he did alchemical formulas in his experiments.

"Yeah, anytime," Aether put his hands on his hips. Going up this mountain was a good warm up, and since it was still early in the morning, his body still brimmed with energy.

"So, like I wrote, I wanted you to help me test something. Bring out your weapon, please," Albedo asked him calmly.

Aether nodded, then summoned his trusty silver sword, the blade glowing brightly as the light of the snow reflected off its polished surface. There were many other weapons he would find in Teyvat, but this one was his, and he wouldn't trade it for any other.

"I want you to have a duel with me. And I want us to use live steel,"

The alchemist then likewise outstretched his hand. With a golden flash, a long, thin sword came into being in his grip. Ornamental and with golden guard, but dangerous nonetheless- its nocturnal blue blade was sharp enough to loop off a limb if it hit one.

"Huh? Is this a test, or…?" Aether was surprised. He was always willing to help Albedo with his research, but a request like this was the most unusual he ever had. But even the physical trials that he put him through when they first met weren't as dangerous as a live steel swordsmanship.

"Yes, it's a simple test. I want to see if you have what it takes to stop me when it's needed," Albedo then explained to him, and the blonde youth had at once understood.

Not very long ago the Alchemist had confessed to him that he, the genius of Mondstadt, was afraid. Afraid that his near infinite potential and relentless pursuit of knowledge and perfection would one day become this city's, and maybe whole of Teyvat's doom.

"Albedo, we talked about this already," Aether said firmly, trying to reassure him of the words he said back then, that nothing was inevitable and his worry was already him winning half of the battle.

"I know," Albedo nodded, as if acknowledging all his previous points once more. "And I said that I want to trust you to stop me when that happens," he then stated with his flat tone, already resolved to continue down this path.

Aether exhaled, his breath creating a white misty vapor as it left his lips and nose, contrary to Albedo's chalk form. Fighting in this situation just felt wrong. All he did since he came to this world was fight, and he fought for a long time before that point too. He wouldn't mind one or thousand more, had they been against people hostile to him- but he didn't want to fight against a friend.

"I said I will do everything to help you," he kept his blade pointed downwards and his guard open, as he outstretched his hand defensively, trying to defuse the situation. "But hacking ourselves to pieces-"

"No buts traveler. You fight for your life now," Albedo interrupted him with his impassionate expression, his tone completely flat and uncaring about whatever the blonde was about to say.

Then came a stab to the heart. With the grace and technique of an academic fencer, Albedo lunged forward, trying to pierce him through. Sound of clashing steel rang across the mountain as Aether countered, deflecting the hit just in the nick of time. A horizontal swing followed from Albedo, his thin arm showing a great feat of speed as he tried to take Aether's wrist off, but this plan was also foiled by a swift sidestep out of the blade's way.

Those were two completely serious strikes to kill and maim, and neither looked like Albedo was holding anything back, only Aether's honed reflexes preventing a grave injury. The alchemists calm and pretty, porcelain-like face didn't at all go together with his ruthless style, and this sight disturbed the blonde traveler no less than the alchemist's remark just now.

But the duel didn't cease there. As Aether tried to reassess the situation, Albedo renewed his attack almost instantly, hounding the youth each time he would try to gain distance or respite from his pressure. He swung, lunged and thrusted, occasionally whirling around to come up on Aether's other side and try to bypass his guard, but so unexpectedly each time that punishing it felt impossible. He kept aiming for his throat, chest and hips, clearly intending to kill.

The more Aether tried parrying those killing strikes, Albedo would just focus on striking his steel with force, the shocks of the clashes traveling down his arm and devastating his grip until it would be ground to nothing, until either his wrist or his sword shattered. So backstep it was, trying to get out of the way, still on the defensive.

But it wasn't long until his back hit the rocky wall, leaving him with nowhere to run. Albedo's face remained calm and emotionless, but there was no doubt he knew just how trapped in this unenviable situation he had him now.

Lightning fast strikes began to rain down on the now very confined area of the rock the blonde youth was pinned against, all aiming at his head and neck. Aether ducked and weaved to prevent a grisly finish, but was running out of options. There were only so many angles at which he could bend his body to avoid the sword, and Albedo was no fool. His unbreakable Cinnabar Spindle kept cleaving the black rock with enough force behind the strikes to leave deep marks and cause fragments of stone to erupt in all directions like a shrapnel.

As a stray one hit the Traveler in the side of the face, for a second he thought he was cut - His adrenaline spiked, heart beginning to thump inside his ears and skull. His perspective suddenly shifted, as a realization finally sunk in that it was indeed his life hanging in the balance. Merely defending was not going to see him through this unscathed. Striking back would.

"Windblade!"

Aether shouted through the frozen air as his off hand shot forward and blasted his attacker with anemo energy, breaking up his momentum and sending him stumbling back several steps, just enough to get his back off the wall and bright the fight back to square one.

Seeing that he had finally struck back, Albedo seemed to smile faintly. This sent a small shiver down Aether's spine. It was as if he finally noticed - It wasn't Albedo he was facing now, not the calm and melancholic scholar he befriended. It was now the Chalk Prince, a magnum opus of Rhinedottir, born of flames and ancient arts. A tabula rasa who could serve this world, but could as well become its death, a bringer of destruction and misery.

This world, full of so many wonderful things - places, stories, people to live and fight for. Something that won't be there if he fails.

This gave him the push he needed to go further, getting over his initial hesitancy and pressing through the mounting exhaustion.

Aether was now the first to move, closing the distance in quick yet measured steps towards the alchemist who raised his weapon in anticipation. But the blow didn't come high, as Aether had instead brought his body lower, dropping to his knees. His Silver Blade switched to an unusual reverse grip, as he slashed at Albedo's knees with it. Alchemist's eyes flashed with surprise - even shock - for a second. He withdrew his leg at the last fraction of a second, saving it from a sweeping blade. Albedo tried to regain his balance, but just as he previously left Aether no space to breathe, the same was now happening to him, the blonde Traveler lunging up from his crouching stance and giving chase.

Aether slashed at his opponent's chest, and Albedo bent backwards like a reed, but not in time to lean out of the way completely - the silver blade swiped across his clothes with its tip, ripping up the fabric of white and blue. Even without damaging his pristine skin, the hit still handed the initiative to Aether, letting him start raining powerful strikes against his fencer guard, trapping him in a cycle of snap parrying and deflecting, each strike landing with a resounding clang that would shatter every unordinary weapon.

As he found himself decidedly on the backfoot, Albedo finally understood. It dawned on him what power he would never be able to possess - the power of human emotions. Anger, tenacity, desire for survival and reasons to live, all of it seemed to distill within the Traveler and give him the push to make it through. This was what Albedo wanted to see for himself, having always struggled with understanding what he never felt before.

The Alchemist wasn't trying to kill him at any point - he knew the Traveler was more than able to defend each of those strikes, but without feeling any threat it would never make him act like it was real combat.

Having seen what he sought, Albedo felt content, even in the middle of the onslaught, gracefully defending for as long as he could, until with a vicious overhead strike, the Traveler struck his raised blade, the shock of the blow passing through his unbraced knees and ringing across his whole body, knocking him down into the snow. Another strike pushed his weapon aside, opening him up for a finishing blow.

But instead of that, Albedo felt a blade touch his neck and stay there threateningly.

"Perfect," Alchemist said in an oddly calm voice, releasing his hold on the sword and letting it fall onto the white snow.