A/N: Bit of a shorter chapter today~

Hope you'll enjoy it all the same~

Struck Down

Chapter 4: Moirai

''He WHAT?!''

Mona winced at Fischl's sharp shriek, hands thumping forth on the table and lurching the Prinzessin to her feet, her sole visible eye wide with both disbelief and terror. The phantasmal crow by her side, Oz, fluttered about and said something to soothe the blonde but it failed – unsurprising, given the news that had just been delivered.

Aether had been badly wounded. Severely so, in fact.

Granted the news of Aether being injured wasn't in and of itself harrowing. During both his stay in Mondstadt and beyond he'd gotten himself hurt more times than most could count, be it against Hilichurls or Ruin Guards or who knows what else – but he always came back sooner or later, and often stronger than before. Thus, the news that he had been wounded wasn't terribly shocking, even if it did make some residents of Mondstadt distressed.

No, it was the severity of his injuries that had people riled up. It would be one thing for him to be pulled back wounded and bleeding, but to be so badly hurt that he needed Barbara herself to attend to his wounds, alongside having a Knight Captain and a squad of Knights escort him – that was newsworthy. It was perhaps only thanks to the Traveler's good standing in the city that the newspapers hadn't flooded their articles with the news of his injuries, lest they stir up a mob against the Knights that would in turn crack down on the newspapers stirring the pot.

Mona drew in a slow breath. ''He was badly hurt, that's all I know. I got my news from Diona, and she got it from her nose – she isn't exactly tall enough to see, after all.''

Fischl looked distressed by the news, biting her fingernails. ''H-He's alright now though, right?''

I don't know, she wanted to say but held her tongue. Doing so would just upset Fischl more. ''I'm guessing so, considering the Knights haven't said anything yet. Amber was also seen outside of the city back on patrol and looked better than when she came into the city, so she probably knows what his condition is – and that he's healthy. Or at least, stable enough for her to not stick by his side.''

The news made her friend sigh in relief. ''I... I see. My apologies for overreacting there.''

''It's fine. You don't have to keep the act up around me, Amy.'' Mona said the last part quietly.

Fischl's gaze softened and she looked away first, seeming to hesitate before sitting down once more. ''What should I do then? Do you think it'd be wrong of me to go visit? S-Should I take a get-well gift?''

The idea made Mona snort. ''Don't bother; Aether will just want to repay you for it. Besides, I doubt the Knights will let you in – they've turned away everyone else who came to ask and isn't a member of the Knights. If you wanna confirm whatever his condition is you can probably ask Noelle or Eula if you can find them. Kaeya and Albedo are both pretty busy from what I heard at Good Hunter earlier, so I doubt they're hanging around the city.''

''I see.'' Fischl looked disappointed for only a moment. ''I suppose I'll just wait for Amber to come back, then. She usually goes to Good Hunter after her shifts.''

Mona hummed and leaned back in her chair, listening absentmindedly as Oz inquired about how Fischl would 'approach the situation' – the two having a back-and-forth between themselves, as was commonplace. Mona's own mind turned inwards, however.

Not least because of her divinations a couple days ago. The gradual, inexorable drawing of fates along a single linear path. Outsiders might not understand the significance of such a thing, but she most certainly did. The fates of others were all following Aether's – and more than that, intertwining. Such a thing usually only happened between lovers or, in some circumstances, siblings or parents and children. It was emblematic of a close relationship where individuals walked along the same path in life or, in others, were connected by one reason or another.

A wife and husband would be intertwined. A parent and child, too.

Lovers, likewise.

And in her divinations she saw many, many fates intertwined.

There was several possibilities behind this, of course. Fate wasn't so kind as to give her a single, simple answer for what her Hydromancy let her see. Considering what a massive impact the Aether had made on Teyvat in their travels thus far it wasn't shocking that many fates would be intertwined with his – hell, she wouldn't be shocked if he asked the Knights for aid, and the entirety of Mondstadt's Knights rallied to his side. If anything considering his good repute, he could perhaps even rally most of Teyvat against whatever threatened him.

But it was when you looked closer at the fates that you saw a pattern. Pretty much all of them were women. Again, not an immediate give away, especially when you took note of some others like the Venti the bard or Zhongli the funeral parlour worker intertwined – but it was impossible to ignore that the vast majority were women. More than that, however, was the identity of the women.

Amber. Barbara. Noelle. Fischl.

All women who Mona knew – and knew well – that had crushes on Aether.

Some of the other intertwined women she knew, and they too held feelings of some sort for Aether – and if the others were the same, then she was looking at quite a few women who were crushing on Aether. Considering how tightly their futures were following his own it wasn't unfair to assume that a romance might blossom – and didn't that evoke an odd feeling in her heart?

Oh she wasn't blind to it like some. She liked Aether more than a friend and knew many others did too. When she first met him she found him a bit of a fool but with time she came to be grateful for his kindness, whether it be his purchasing of meals for her or sharing the proceeds of a quest or hell just spending some time with her when she felt lonely. It was nice to have someone she could rely on, someone who seemed to have a knack for doing the unexpected and always being there when she needed him most.

Which led to another conundrum – romance. She'd never dated before and as far as she could remember not even crushed on a guy outside of some childhood fancies that never went anywhere. At the same time easily a dozen or more women were all pining for him too... including Fischl. If her divinations were true then, contrary to what her better judgement would suggest, his future would be one where he would remain close with those that pined for him. Meaning either he'd find some way to gently let down all but a few... or he'd have a harem.

Had Fischl not been sat across from her, she would've snorted. The one guy who seemed to have no interest in romance would get a harem. It would make for a fantastical story, she was sure.

But where did that leave her? She had tried to divine her own future but had limited success – one of the downsides about divining the future was that your own was obscured somewhat, in part due to causality and all that. If she dared brute force it against her mentor's warnings, then the results would be presumably quite treacherous indeed. As such it left her with the odd question of whether she would be comfortable being in a harem, sharing Aether with other women.

'I mean... it wouldn't be the worst thing, I suppose?' She mused to herself, eyes drawn to the ceiling. 'He's always travelling about and I can't always follow him around, so at least if he's dating other women I know they'll keep him in check and stop him from being a dumbass...'

It was an argument, but one that didn't quite settle the feelings in her heart. She didn't think of herself as a possessive girl and in truth the idea of sharing him wasn't out of the question – but it did still stir something in her, a slight wanting. She'd always imagined their time together by themselves – watching the stars, talking about his adventures, sleeping together and waking up together; none of that had involved him running off to go do the same thing with other girls.

Yet, she couldn't stand in the way of things. His fate made it clear that this was the path things would take, one way or another – and if she dared stand in the way of that the end result would likely just be things continuing on without her, or worse she alienated herself from him due to her odd behaviour. Self-fulfilling prophecies and all that. No, rebelling against fate was silly – but that also didn't mean she'd just hang off of his arm like those old paintings of past kings with harems of women from lands near and far. Nor did she think Aether would be fond of that, amusingly enough.

The more she thought about it, she wondered if dating Aether would... just be like they are now, with a bit of extra intimacy.

If so... she could roll with that.

Assuming the idiot didn't get himself killed before she could tell him her feelings.

She felt the urge to knock on wood, all of a sudden...

X-x-X

The Hilichurl camp wasn't located too far away from Mondstadt.

It was a recent addition, that much was clear by the absent houses and crude barricades made from stakes of wood and basic firepits; lacking the more elaborate cooking pots and buildings that larger Hilichurl camps had. Despite that only a fool would underestimate it. Hilichurls might not be as fearsome as Lectors or their ilk, but all it took to kill a person was one good whack to the head – and Hilichurls were more than capable of doing that.

Exhaling a slow breath Aether ducked lower into the shrub he hid behind, not daring to touch the branches lest he rustle the leaves upon them. Noelle stood just behind him, her claymore already summoned but kept low so it went unnoticed – silent as a stone guardian and waiting for his order. He was flattered by the trust and did his best to scout the camp because of it; noting only a single Mitachurl resting under a tree whilst seven Hilichurls remained around the camp.

A small, easy target then.

''I'll take down the two individuals closest. You go for the group of five at the other end of the camp.'' Aether whispered, earning a nod.

''The Mitachurl?'' Noelle prodded.

''I'll handle it.'' He flashed her a smile. ''I need to shake this rust off somehow, after all.''

Noelle looked a bit worried but nodded all the same, and so with a smile Aether rose to a low crouch, tensed-

And then in a burst of natural speed he broke out into a sprint. Even without Anemo to accelerate him he raced towards the camp perimeter before any of the Hilichurls noticed – and by the time one did, its unintelligible yell squawking out, he was already leaping over the wooden stakes and coming down like an angel of death.

The Hilichurl raised its club but wasn't fast enough – Cold Steel cutting down its front and sending it to the ground, its gurgle a perish song. Aether didn't stop to watch it die and lunged to the next, parrying aside its club swing before deftly slashing across its chest. He missed its throat but the Hilichurl was off-balanced – startled by his ferocity and left paralysed for a microsecond. It was enough; a duck and slash carving a deep gash across its stomach, followed up by an upwards slash that sent it falling back, deceased.

Noelle blew past him then, greatsword in motion and slamming into a Hilichurl that dared try and catch him off-guard, sending it flying back into its fellows. Rather than assume a defensive posture though Noelle gave chase; shock-and-awe her style in that moment as she didn't give the five Hilichurls the chance to get over their surprise. Though they tried to muster a defence against someone of Noelle's calibre they could only scramble about; their wooden shields barely saving them from each blow but sending them stumbling each time.

Aether took his eyes off of the maid though; refocusing on the one Hilichurl still looking at him – the Mitachurl. It arose from its spot under the tree with a gruff huff, like this was a hassle it couldn't be bothered with, but the narrowing of its eyes told of its growing bloodlust. He didn't quail under such a gaze and instead raised his free hand – and flipped it the bird.

Whether it understood the gesture or not the Mitachurl roared all the same, yanking its axe out of the dirt with its left and pulling a shield out with its right; wielding both weapons with an effortlessness that came with such large muscles.

A stomp preluded the shield charge that came his way, the imposing wall of wood fast approaching – when he dodged to the left.

Cold Steel flashed in the same motion, cutting into the beast's side in that brief moment of vulnerability, but alas it wasn't enough to sever anything important. It did anger the Mitachurl though; its roar nearly deafening as it whirled around and brought its great-axe down where he had been previously standing. Dirt and grass flew and brushed against his side, his side-step a simple but meagre one – and one followed up with a a dash, closing the distance and letting him score another slash across the beast's underarm, blood flowing freely.

A sweep forced him back though, his boots skidding across the grass – when he brought his foot down and stomped.

Nothing happened.

'Huh?' Aether looked at his foot. Where was the wave of Geo?

Alas he had taken his eyes off of his opponent. A fatal act for many, but his finely-honed instincts saved him from the shield charge – a roll throwing him to one side, though the edge of the shield clipped his arm and made it a rough landing. Scowling Aether tightened his grip on his sword and dashed after the Mitachurl, arriving just as it began to turn and prompting him to leap, a single slash scraping a gash across its masked face.

The ensuing roar was deafening from so close but he ignored the pain; feet landing on its rising shield and kicking off of it. He flew in an arc, hand extending out... but no Electro surged forth.

As such he landed without paralysing his enemy, and with a growing pit in his stomach. Something was wrong. He swallowed but didn't get the chance to question further before the Mitachurl came for him, angrier than even as it slammed its large axe down over and over again – cutting up the grass as Aether nimbly side-stepped each one. His space soon ran thin though as he backed up against the wooden stakes, their slanted nature making him stumble – and allow the Mitachurl's axe to come swinging in.

His hand opened, palm out, willing Anemo to repulse it back... but no Anemo came.

Aether barely got his sword up in time to tank the blow – but even then it sent him flying in a graceless tumble, gasping as he hit the grass and rolled halfway across the camp. His right arm hurt and his wrist pulsated with pain. He gritted his teeth though and stumbled to his feet-

When it came again. That deep, gasping tightness in his chest, depriving him of the ability to even breathe. It paralysed him in place, fingers clawing at his own chest as he tried to get his lungs to work – but the Mitachurl had arrived, roaring furiously as it leapt with both hands on its axe, primed to bisect him with a single furious blow.

It never connected as a familiar figure got between them – a transparent Geo shield summoning around him and absorbing the blow. The dull thunk it made was followed by the strong yell of Noelle as she swung her greatsword with both hands, her blade glowing and extending mid-swing – and just as her shield dissipated her blade smashed against the Hilichurl's axe, shattering it in a single powerful blow and carving a gash across its chest.

Not finished she twisted her grip and followed up with a chain of slashes – across, diagonally, horizontally, and then finally vertically. The final blow split the Mitachurl's mask and sent it to its knees, its dying groan preluded by the earth-shaking thud as it collapsed, deceased.

'Damn.' He'd forgotten how strong Noelle was. Had she been training when he was off adventuring?

Such questions would have to wait for later, however, as Noelle turned to him. Her greatsword returned to its normal length and she all but tossed it aside just so she could kneel before him, worry abundantly clear in her eyes.

''Are you-''

''I'm... fine, yeah.'' Aether cut her off, though a wince only made her worry grow. ''Really I am, just caught me off-guard, haha...''

''Aether...'' Her soft, fretful tone fed the guilt in his heart.

Still he smiled for her sake and stumbled to his feet, rolling his sore wrist and checking it for breaks but finding none – at worst it was a sprain, though experience told him he'd just strained the muscle, nothing more. It'd heal with some ice and a day of rest, nothing serious.

However his mind was oh so quick to return to what just happened. His elements didn't work. The stomp that would summon a wave of Geo failed to manifest. His Electro bolts didn't emerge. His Anemo repulsion failed to manifest. One of them alone would be troubling but the fact none of his elements heeded his call... it ate at him. The tightness in his chest only grew and it felt like the forest around them was too small; claustrophobia tightening his throat and making him inhale a deep breath, but his lungs refused to accept it, worsening the breathlessness hurting his chest.

When suddenly his battle instincts screamed and he turned, spying the bolts soaring his way, glinting tips aimed for his neck-!

Until a blast of Anemo blew them into the grass by his feet.

Not a second later four green arrows soared over his head and impaled the two crossbow-wielding Hilichurls a dozen feet away, their deaths nigh-silent aside from the thump of their bodies against the forest floor. The attack had come so suddenly he was left standing there baffled, eyes flitting between the bolts by his feet and the corpses of his would-be killers.

''You look pretty out of it today, Traveler~''

Aether turned, somewhat surprised if relieved to see Venti strolling up with a merry grin lighting up features; bow in one hand and apple in the other. An apple the Archon-in-disguise tossed his way – caught between shaking fingers. He wasn't terribly hungry but it'd be rude to throw it aside so he took a bite, the crisp apple taste as welcome as ever.

''Yeah just...'' He paused to swallow before answering. ''Just... feel weird is all.''

''Perhaps you really should rest for a bit longer.'' Noelle noted from his side, fidgeting.

He almost wanted to refuse, but considering what just happened, maybe she had a point. Still he didn't feel comfortable with the idea – he still remembered what he felt like when he woke up. That tightness in his chest, that breathlessness, that desperate need for air that made it hard to do anything but not panic. He'd never felt such panic in his life, not even when being sealed away by Asmoday, but he supposed there was nothing more terrifying than being unable to breathe. Probably a survival instinct thing.

He could feel Venti looking at him though – his smile not hiding the inquisitiveness, kept restrained due to their present company. Though Venti was fairly lax about his secret identity, he wasn't so foolish as to run around telling everyone who he actually was, and some like Noelle might well take him at face value, especially if Aether vouched for him.

''Hey Noelle, can you head back to Mondstadt ahead of me?''

''H-Huh?'' The maid frowned worriedly. ''But...''

''Just to tell the guild the quest is completed. I just need to take a breather for a minute, that's all.'' He smiled at her. ''Venti can stick around and cover me until then. Right?''

''Heh, you betcha!'' The archer proudly put his hands on his hips, grin silly but charming.

Noelle pursed her lips and looked between them, and it was only after a long few moments that she sighed. ''Very well... please stay safe until I return.''

Aether smiled and whispered his thanks, earning a light blush from the maid before she bowed and hurriedly left – barely remembering to retrieve her weapon in the process. He watched her run off, the forest giving way to lakeside greenery and letting him track her progress.

It was only when she was long out of earshot that Venti's smile shrank; expression becoming more serious. ''Are you alright?''

He opened his mouth, the reflexive urge to brush off the query present, but he consciously held his tongue. ''...no. Something feels wrong.''

''I can feel it too.'' The bard's words surprised him. ''You can't use Anemo anymore can you?''

''No. I tried but it just... didn't work. Same with Geo and Electro.'' Experimentally Aether tried to call upon Dendro or Hydro, but they didn't come either. ''It's not like something is blocking me, just like they're... not there?''

Venti nodded and stepped closer, fingers brushing over the centre of his chest but stopping just shy of touching it. ''May I?''

Aether murmured an agreement without hesitation, bracing. Venti smiled wryly at that and closed his eyes, fingers finally making contact with his chest. Seconds ticked by but Aether remained tense, expecting a flash of agony at any moment... but mercifully there was none, as Venti simply removed his hand with a deep frown.

''Hn... I think I see the problem.'' The Archon murmured under his breath. ''It's not that something is blocking the elements, it's like you said – the elements aren't there anymore.''

He hissed in annoyance. ''So I'll have to revisit the shrines in each nation then?''

''No, I mean they aren't there at all.'' Venti shook his head. ''Think of it like this; in every person you have seven cups. These cups hold each elemental liquid – usually most people can only have one, but since you're special you get all seven. When you first arrived in Mondstadt your Anemo cup was filled up, then when you went to Liyue the Geo cup was filled up – you following?''

He nodded and Venti continued, expression grim. ''The problem now isn't that your cups are empty – it's that the cups are gone. You can't refill them and reclaim the element because the way to store that element simply isn't in you any more.''

''Because of that, you can't use the elements any longer.''

The claim struck like a sack of bricks, the alarm that he felt instantly weighed down by disbelief, then despair. He... he had lost the elements completely? It sounded almost impossible, but if anyone would know it would be an Archon of their given element. One of the main reasons he'd even been travelling to the various nations was to help reclaim his original power, attainable – presumably – if he reclaimed all seven elements.

But if he couldn't reclaim the elements, then he couldn't reclaim his power – permanently.

His chest hurt again, seizing, and he clutched at it. Venti looked at him with concern and stepped closer – but there was a knowingness in his eyes, one joined by pain. Distress.

''Venti... what's happening...?'' Aether managed to rasp out.

The Archon closed his eyes for a moment, seeming to fortify himself before he spoke. ''Aether, whatever happened to you didn't just remove your connection to the elements. It left a hole in your soul. A hole that's still there.''

Blue eyes opened – and in them, an emotion he never expected to see from Venti.

Sorrow.

''You're dying, Aether.''

[END]

A/N: Hehe~