"Keqing… do we really need to do this?"

"Of course! You went out of your way to get this for me, so there's no better way to show my appreciation by utilizing it to the maximum!"

One of the most unique pieces of knowledge that Aether had picked up during his travels across the land of Wisdom was the utilization of the Akasha terminal. The ability to search and absorb knowledge is a level of technology that Aether himself can refer to as genuinely impressive, considering the number of worlds that he has visited which had technology as the forefront of their civilization.

When he heard that Nahida had decided to shut the system down, he knew that it had been for the best. But, that small part of him couldn't help but to feel that it was quite a shame. Especially considering the fact that he had wanted to give his girlfriend a Knowledge Capsule that she would probably have found to be useful.

"Swordfighting Techniques IV: Yunlai and Daifen Old Liyue Art – Perfected. It's a good thing that you secured this capsule before the Sages decided to permanently embed it into the Akasha, Traveler."

Lo and behold, the surprise he felt when said Archon decided to reactivate his old terminal for Keqing to use and experience. Which immediately landed Aether in a closed-off Corps of Thirty sparring arena, his ever-sprightly partner holding his gaze as her orbs shone in an electrifying violet. An amused Nahida looked on with giddy excitement as she got to watch Teyvat's famed outlander go head-to-head with Liyue's finest swordswoman.

For someone who's supposed to be resting, Keqing looked far too excited to be having a spar of this calibre. As much as he wanted to share her level of exuberance, he knew that this was far beyond what the doctors had allowed her to push her body towards.

"Remember, you're still under doctor's orders!"

"I know… I know…" She fettered her stance into a position that he hadn't quite seen from her just yet, "It's only a few moves that I want to test out. I promise I'll stop after that!"

At this point, he knew that there was no winning against her. So, he promptly exhaled in exasperation and propped himself into his own defensive stance.

Acknowledging that he had decided to relent, Keqing grinned to herself as her Vision began to flare up. Waiting for his gaze to harden before she clicked her heels in place.

"Now,"

With a light bend of her knees, her eyes sparked with electricity.

"Eyes on me."

If it was any other scenario, Aether would have taken to the time to savour those enticing words.

But even a resting Keqing is still faster than just about the amount of time that it took for him to acknowledge the fact that she had just absolutely blitzed towards his unguarded side.

In a flash, he parried to his left. Sparks flew about as their swords clashed for a momentous millisecond before she began her usual combo.

Or at least, what Aether had thought to be her usual combo.

He had expected her to fade to his other side after her spin. Instead, she forced their swords to lock together. The sudden harsh contact was enough to unbalance him for a split second, which was enough for her to pry his defence open. Forcing his grip to stagger to the side and open him up for a finishing strain of hits.

She quickly spun into the air, though instead of her usual backflip, she chose to lunge forward to quickly close the small gap between them.

Realizing what she had wanted to do, he immediately took hold of his sword in a reverse grip. Aiming to use his handguard as a precise shield to throw her flurry train of attacks off of its rhythm.

Though the moment he shifted his sword up, he could swear that he saw a tiny bit of a smile break through her lips.

When the tip of her sword was about to make contact with his handguard, he quickly realized that this was what she had been aiming for all along.

With a swift flick of her wrist, her sword glided effortlessly past his improvised line of defence. A kick to his forearm and a flash of hits to his unbalanced hold of the sword was enough for her to tip his sword out of his hand and into the air.

The clattering sound of his sword hitting the ground accompanied her own graceful landing.

He spun around just fast enough for her place her sword under his chin.

An amused grin on his lips, and a victorious smile on her own.

"Looks like you're beaten."

Keeping his hands up in the air, his grin softened at the sight of her childlike excitement, "You got me good, Lady Yuheng."

Her features remain lit with elation, before she scrunched her nose with a click of her tongue, "But even after all that, you probably still held back; didn't you?" She crossed her arms with a huff, looking away with a feigned look of annoyance, "Seems like I still have a long way to go before I can truly be your equal in battle."

Closing the distance between them, a loose smile of admittance laid on Aether's lips while he languidly patted her head, "Of course I held back. I'm not risking you overexerting yourself just to spar me." He picked his sword on the ground with a flick of his heels. His grin widened ever so slightly, "That being said, that move would've still disarmed me even I had been more prepared."

She would always take his light-hearted assurances with a grain of salt. Especially when it pertains to their ability in combat. Even though it would prove to be reasonable for most people to admit defeat when their combat skills are compared to someone as divinely skilled as Aether, Keqing still couldn't help the nagging feeling that forces her to stand firm in her believes that she can at least match him in terms of pure swordsmanship.

But at the sight of his sheepish gaze, she could only sigh in reluctant acceptance. She's not usually the kind to dwell on such delusional outlooks.

Of course, such a distant look on her eyes would not go unnoticed by the blonde beside her.

But before he could ask her about it, Nahida had beaten him to the punch.

"You seem to place a great deal of importance on perfecting your sword art. It's incredibly impressive." The little Archon tittered her way towards the couple. "You must have started from such a young age to have achieved this level of proficiency. Albeit of Liyue origins, this is still an extremely ancient sword technique; and you immediately mastered it with barely any difficulty."

Keqing paused for the briefest of moments. Yet, it was enough for Aether to spot that longing look once more. It was a flash, but it had definitely been there.

A gaze so lonely that it pierced his heart no matter how momentary it had taken place in her orbs.

Nahida might not have noticed, but he could tell that her voice lost that little bit of pep that she had carried for the entirety of the day. Her face remained strong and passionate while she answered the Archon with levity.

"You're too kind, Lord Kusanali. It's only because I've been honing my skills from when I was only four years of age." She ran her hand upon the surface of her blade, her tone growing sombre with reminiscence, "My father… had a keen interest in the art of the sword, and once both he and my mother recognized that I had the talent, they wasted no time in making sure that I reached the pinnacle of Liyuean swordsmanship."

What came next was once again, something that Aether really couldn't blame Nahida for. The god is still trying to understand how complex human emotions could get. Which, given the fact that Keqing has had a life that one wouldn't exactly describe as 'typical', Aether knew that it was only by sheer innocence did Nahida cheerily exclaimed what she said.

"Aww, you must have had extremely supportive parents then." Nahida clasped her hand together, nothing but a fruitful look of endearment stapled upon her features, "I'm sure that they'd be proud of you, Keqing."

Yikes.

Aether casted a careful look towards the lilac, who most definitely had frozen up over such a statement.

Thankfully, Keqing was able to keep her features devoid of any distress. A thin smile all that she sported as a tight chuckle escaped her lips.

"I suppose you can put it that way." She sighed to herself, barely able to keep her voice above a whisper, "They were the ones who pushed me the hardest."

Too hard, at times.

Were the words that she had left unsaid, and Aether could see that.

He sorely wanted to hug her right then and there, but he didn't want to expose her vulnerability for Nahida to see. Not without Keqing's own discretion involved.

Thankfully, a different presence decided to jump in right when he was starting to be at a loss of what to do.

Gliding down from the open dome of the arena, was a familiar Anemo user who had that signature scowl permanently stapled on his face. His crossed arms and ignorant disposition always a vast contrast to Nahida's welcoming one.

"Lord Kusanali, it's time for you to meet up with the Matras of Haravatat."

Perking up to the sound of his voice, Nahida looked up to see the light of the sun perfectly blocked by his hat, "Oh, that's right… I almost forgot!" Setting her sights on the landing figure, she smiled at him teasingly, "Are you here to pick me up, Wanderer? How thoughtful of you."

The boy-robot scoffed harshly, "Don't be absurd. You were the one who said that you couldn't be late to the meeting." He shrugged nonchalantly, "I merely came here because I was confident that you would forget, and since I am still in your favour, I have decided to gracefully offer you, my services."

Another giggle went out of Nahida. She looked back towards the couple with a wink and a knowing gaze.

"He always acts so cold." She gave the boy a quick glance before whispering once more, "But in truth, he likes it whenever I ask him to help me with something."

Even Aether couldn't resist to take a dig at the former Harbinger, "Wow, she's really got you under her fingers, huh?"

"Shut your mouth before I shut it for you." The Wanderer shot back before grunting irksomely, "Lord Kusanali, let's get out of here before I pick a fight with him."

"Okay, okay…" Nahida relented with a wave of her hand before she turned back towards Keqing, "I would have loved to watch you both continue your spar, but unfortunately, duty calls." Climbing upon the boy's shoulder, she lets a small wave towards the Yuheng, "I look forward to our next meeting, Keqing. Do enjoy the rest of your holiday here in Sumeru!"

Keqing replied with a wave in kind. Her tone still audibly tight, "I look forward to it as well, Lord Kusanali. Have a good day!"

With a cheer of a goodbye, they simply watched on as the Wanderer quickly took to the air and off into the horizon. Leaving the two of them to their own devices.

"I didn't want to ask, seeing as they don't exactly look like they are related." Her own voice lightened with that bit of amusement, "…But is that her son by any chance?"

Chuckling, Aether shrugged at the thought of that scenario, "At this point, he might as well have been."

In reply, a light breath of understanding was all he heard from her.

Aether kept his gaze on the departing pair for a while longer, before he began to turn towards the woman who he could only assume had been hurting inside.

"Sorry about that… You know that she meant well-,"

Only to see that she had retreated to a corner of the arena, finding herself a seat on one of the venue's bleachers. Her Lion's Roar in hand as she continuously ran her hand across the surface of its blade, before she pulled out a whetstone and began performing her normal duties of care on the generational blade.

He could only sigh to himself. The thought of her family is always a topic that he can't quite figure out how to navigate just yet. A part of him had sorely wished that there was more than he can do to alleviate that bitter pain from her past. Yet, he knew better than anyone that the only way for him to help her is really to just… be there for her.

Thankfully, there's nothing here to stop him from doing just that.

Making his way to her side, he placed his sword away and settled himself right beside her. His eyes simply gazed upon the movement of her hand as she manoeuvred the whetstone across her blade with utmost care. The elegant sway of her arms somewhat mystifying from his perspective.

A sigh preamble her speech before her voice comes out. Still bearing the same tightness that it held from before.

"It's frustrating. I knew that Nahida meant well when she had said that about my parents, and I guess that she hadn't exactly been wrong." Her eyes remained firmly placed upon her blade, "Yet, it's still such a thorn in my heart. I wanted to be able to say those things about my parents. After all, I wasn't an ungrateful child – or at least, I didn't think of myself as one. I loved my parents dearly."

He simply listened. She knew that he would.

It was for her heart to decide what exactly it is that has been picking at her emotions. She made a promise with herself to cast away the expectations that her parents had unfairly placed upon her, especially when she already had someone like Aether to support her. But, that one part of her just couldn't forget about all the things that she had promised to her parents instead.

The promise to make them proud.

The promise to be the very best version of herself for their sake.

Where did all that go?

"I suppose... I can't get over the fact that it had all gone so horribly wrong between us. I would be lying if I said that child me was able to even dream of going against anything that my parents had said." She laughed dryly to herself. Her hands finding a pause atop of her sword, "Like I've told you before, there was a time where I did enjoy doing all those things for my parents. To grow the way I did for them, it was all that mattered for me." Her gaze found itself upon the ground, "I hated to lose because that meant that I've placed shame upon them. It meant that I wasn't good enough."

And that is all there ever was to it.

She didn't continue honing her talent in the sword arts just so that she could be a fitting general for the Millelith; that had been an added bonus. She didn't pour countless hours striking at the famed Unmoving Kingstone to smoothen its surface just for the sake of merely perfecting her skills. She didn't decide to master one of the oldest and most difficult Liyuean sword style for the sake of respecting the elders and ancient beings that it had descended from. Archon knows that she could barely care less when it comes to what the divine has to say for her decisions.

It was all a habit that have been derived from the constant desire to be at the top.

The desire to be inferior to none.

Because to be inferior, had meant to become a disappointment.

Not to herself, not to her people, and gods forbid not to the Archons.

But to her parents.

That's why work never seemed like something that she could ever stop doing. Neglecting her duties would only serve to drive the feeling of failure home. It was the only thing that drove her to maintain the ludicrous schedule that she had placed upon herself.

Her hand unconsciously sought his own, and he intertwined their fingers before she barely even lifted one. His touch probed her in an attempt to soothe her soul, and she could only laugh pitifully to herself.

"I'm sorry. We're supposed to be enjoying the remnants of our vacation, and here I am bogging us down with how pathetic I had-,"

"Hey-,"

In an instant, his hand made its way to her cheek and turned her head to fully face him.

His gaze was as intense as Sumeru's rising sun.

"Eyes on me." His digits began lightly caressing her hand, "I'm not letting you finish that sentence."

He wasn't about to allow such putdowns towards her undeserving heart. Even if it had come from her own mouth.

Keqing wanted to resist still, "But-,"

"No buts, I won't let you put yourself down when you've spent so long trying to change and be better for no one but yourself."

Even if he hadn't known her for all her life, he knew that the things that she has achieved, and the changes has gone through as a person would not have been possible if she hadn't tried her damnedest to be who she wanted to be. Sure, there might have been a few trying obstacles along the way, but no doubt that she was able to grow past those as well.

Putting her sword to the side, he took it as a signal for him to hold her closer. The scent of her hair and fragrance immediately filling him with peace.

He sneaked in a light peck on her cheek, "Look, I know that deep inside, you've always strived to be better – and honestly, there's nothing inherently wrong with that." His finger hovered over ghost of his kiss, "I know you've been trying to accept more compromises from others, but I think you still need to actually learn to accept when you've done your best."

She knew what he meant. As much as she has learned to accept what constitutes as other people's best attempt, she has yet to fully find such leniency for herself. Blame it on her competitiveness, but it's still a given fact that when the time comes for her to find her work to be lacklustre, then she wouldn't hold any grievances back against herself.

Another dry chuckle escaped her, "And what if it takes forever for me to truly realize that?"

It is a habit that had been built into her very core. As much as his presence had become an incredibly potent antidote in counteracting those thoughts, it still doesn't change the fact that it still haunts her thoughts from time to time.

"Then we face it together." Aether said with clarity, his hand squeezing hers, "Just like we've always done."

She wasn't convinced, and he knew that. But a step into acknowledging the need for change is a step towards change, regardless of how small that desire is.

For that, he was willing to bet the future on her finally accepting that change.

In the end, all she could do was to relent. A humorous scoff fettered out of her lips as she laid her eyes on her sword, "I suppose we're both stubborn that way, hmm?"

He tilted his head in confusion, "Your sword is stubborn?"

Picking up her sword, Keqing passed it off to his hand for him to inspect, "I used to despise this blade. It was a sword that was passed on for generations from my mother's side of the family." She chuckled while she watched him run his hand upon the scabbard of the lion of its hilt, "When we separated, I wanted nothing more to break this blade. To destroy it and to render it useless as a way to spite one of the few things that she had left me."

She knew that he'd find the irony of such a story. Considering the fact that a certain other object that had been bestowed upon her against her choice, had endured something of a similar fate.

"Sheesh, between you Vision and your sword, it looks like you didn't have much love for both at the start."

Eyeing said gem, she could only sigh at his words, "Well, I've always been incorrigible when it comes to these types of changes." Averting her gaze to her sword after, she mulled over its uses, "Maybe it's with that spite that I've been able to hang on to the sword for so long. Even when I've outgrown its capabilities – not that I've ever felt absolute comfort in using it from the start, I still can't find it in me to just… move on."

How could she? It was the one thing that had been consistently part of her tenure into the art of the sword.

"Despite everything that I put it through, it persevered." A longing sigh permeated the air, "Maybe the time I've put into my training would've meant so much more if I was able to move past the implications of using that sword."

To finally claim her swordsmanship as that of her own desire, instead of it being dictated by someone else.

How it is that she would reach that point of understanding is however, still very much beyond her.

That being said, Aether had spent the time inspecting her sword. A glint of curiosity flashing in his eyes as he wordlessly took the Akasha terminal that he had leant to her and used it on himself.

Keqing merely eyed him inquisitively, "Aether?"

His gaze remained on the light of the steel before he jolted himself back to awareness, "Oh, don't mind me." He swiftly handed the sword back to its rightful owner, "I was just wondering how it would be to see you fight with a different sword." His idle wonderings had been plain as day in his eyes, "Just thinking of a way for you to think of your fighting style with less of a burden, that's all."

"Leave it to you to immediately think of a solution." Keqing said with levity.

Aether pulled her closer, urging her to lean upon his shoulder, "When it comes to you, I'll think however much I need to make your life easier."

There was no room in the universe for her to doubt that.

Though she still felt that sombreness in her heart, it would do him wrong for her to not try and attempt to drag herself out of that wallowing pit of self-deprecation.

So, she fully let the weight of her body lean onto his support.

"Thank you."

His silent nod all that she needed to comprehend his acceptance.

The day had been filled with plenty of changes in their habit, and nighttime was by no means an exception.

In other scenarios, it would have been him patiently idling by on the bed whilst she finished up the rest of her work. Yet, for tonight, she had been fast asleep while he snuck out and pulled up the records that his Akasha terminal had took note of from their outing for the day.

When the data presented itself, his vision was filled with the sight of her sword's dimensions and the properties of its physical material. Alongside it, were all the tiny complaints that she had muttered about the blade. Both the ones that she had outright mentioned to him, and the ones that she had attempted to mutter under her breath, only for him to pick it up anyways.

Everything seemed to have been set in place. So, he transferred the data onto a printable medium and solidified his thoughts and intentions.

Gonna have to make a couple of quick trips to Liyue in the coming nights.