As the chapter had been prepared for a long time, I decided to send it very quickly, in any case happy reading.
"Xiao? I didn't expect you to be here."
"Me neither, Barbatos. Especially since he has the Raiden Shogun and the Lesser Lord Kusanali with you. It must be important for four Archons to bother to see it."
"It's been a long time, Conqueror of Demons."
"No need to greet me, even if I appreciate the gesture. If I'm here, it's to talk to you about the same subject as you: Aether."
"So you know too."
"Indeed, Morax, I mean Mr. Zhongli."
"We're not in town, you can call me whatever you want..."
"Thank you... As I said before the problem comes from his demons, more precisely from his internal suffering."
"How are you so sure?"
"I know Paimon, because I had the same problem as him before, but we don't need to talk about my situation. Just before coming here, I was busy with work, and after traveling through the area north of Liyue, I could sense an unstable energy coming from not far from where I was. When I arrived, I saw that it was Aether, which surprised me."
"Did you speak with him?" asked Nahida.
"I decided that it was not necessary to speak to him at the moment, it is too dangerous at the moment. At this power level, he could beat me even with my mask on in less than a minute. Maybe the next day, but I think he needs to recharge with himself, after all, his expression showed intense pain."
"But..."
"Paimon, I understand your sadness, and it's true that it doesn't make me happy either, but it's obvious that he's trying to decompress to release the frustration he has."
"Xiao..."
"I think he is right. But that doesn't explain what you mean by "internal suffering"?" questioned Nahida.
"Well Lord Kusanali, that means that Aether was suffering all this time without showing it to anyone, and Paimon probably told you, but he had been in this state for some time. It's true that both the Fatui and the Abyss have a role to play, but this is only the tip of the iceberg."
"What do you mean ?"
"In my opinion, Aether has had a lot more adventures than that. As you say, if it were only that, everyone would be in the same state, me first."
"I see... Paimon, was there anything that you think had an impact on him?"
"Hmm... How could Paimon had forgotten that? Nahida, do you remember what happened with Dunyarzad?"
"Yes, you're right... Why didn't I think of that?"
"Who is Dunyarzad?", said the Conqueror of Demons.
"A friend we met in Sumeru" exclaimed Paimon before recounting everything that had happened during that period, and the fact that she had been saved from her illness.
The other people listened intently, and saw logic that he might have been sad about nearly losing a friend, but thought that argument wasn't strong enough, until Paimon explained the Traveler's aggressive behavior after several samsaras, where he had rather directively asked Dehya to go away with her while he took advantage of the opportunity to take revenge even if only a little on the Eremites, freely venting on them and beating them up for the sole purpose of venting his frustration at having reduced Dunyarzad's chances of survival.
After listening to this part, Xiao spoke again, concluding with a hypothesis.
"This kind of thing seems rather inconceivable coming from him. This should be one of the triggers for one of the angry phases he had. Paimon, have there been more phenomena like this during your travels?"
Paimon connected the dots in her head, and even though she knew she wasn't very smart, she blamed herself for not having thought of this sort of thing more quickly. But she understood why she hadn't thought of it sooner when new tears began to fall, fewer than before, but her heart was quite sensitive.
"Paimon?" declared Nahida.
"Are you doing well ?" asked a worried Ei.
"Sorry friends, but Paimon doesn't have the strength to talk about this kind of thing yet."
"Paimon..."
Zhongli had refrained from speaking in order to determine where Xiao's reasoning was leading, and given the result, it turned out to be more or less correct. He knew that feeling, and you didn't have to be as smart as Albedo to know that she had experienced grief. He was familiar with this feeling, his soulmate had left a long time ago, and when he looked at the other Archons and Xiao, they all understood what he meant.
Everyone on this table had experienced the death of someone close to them, Ei still had a little difficulty grieving the loss of her sister Makoto, Venti had succeeded, but still remembered his friend with emotion, Xiao looked down remembering his friends Yakshas while Nahida, even though she thought she hadn't lost anyone, still felt a void in her heart, as if a part of her was missing, and unfortunately for her, only one person in Teyvat still remembered Molrani Rukkadevata.
Zhongli caressed Paimon's hair, then spoke to her, trying as best he could not to further hurt her emotional stability.
"Paimon, I know it's hard for you right now. And remembering painful things isn't something that comes easily, but you know it's for your own good and that of Aether."
"Paimon knows, but... it hurts to think about it..."
"I understand your suffering, as I say, it's true that the people with whom we share memories are important to us, but to honor them, you must not show them that. I'm sure these people would like you to smile like you usually do."
"Do you really believe it, Zhongli?"
"Yes, you know I don't lie when it comes to that. Death is something inevitable for each of us, regardless of our life expectancy, so it is better to take advantage of what we have in order to make happy those who are no longer with us. And no matter where they are, they will always be in your heart."
"Morax is right, and it was you and Aether who taught me, if I hadn't managed to do that, I would still be in the Plane of Euthymia right now."
"Ei..."
"I understand your suffering Paimon, but I don't think Aether would want to see you in this state, you are the one who knows him best in Teyvat. You have to face the past if you want to face the future, and I think you are quite experienced in this area if you had helped so many people in Teyvat."
"Xiao..."
Paimon looked at her hand, before closing it, ready to make an effort to find the one she saw as her big brother. She never thought Xiao would cheer her up, but if that were possible, then she didn't see why she wouldn't make an extra effort for the Traveler, it's the least she could do.
"You're right... Paimon shouldn't let this get her down... Very well, I'll tell you what happened... Paimon just hopes that she will have the strength to say everything."
Inside the Jade Chamber, a person arrived with a facial expression very different from what one would expect to see coming from them, although she was more or less trying to hide it, out of professionalism, because even this late , there were still people working because this place hardly ever slept.
She was walking quite quickly towards the office of probably the richest person in Teyvat, Ningguang, and wanted to get in as quickly as possible so she could then see what state he was in. So she knocked on the door quite quickly, and as soon as Ningguang gave permission, she opened it without further delay, under the curious eye of the white-haired woman.
"Yelan? It's not like you to show up unexpectedly in my office."
"Sorry, but I finally found the reason why Ganyu and Keqing were in a bad state, and why they were doing less work than usual."
"And so, what is the reason?"
"I observed Keqing during her escapade at Wanmin Restaurant, and when she was chatting with Chef Xiangling, she said something quite disturbing."
"I'm listening to you."
"Aether is no longer himself, he is currently north of Liyue according to her information, fighting."
"Against who ?"
"I don't know, but apparently Keqing mentioned that Ganyu went to see him to see if he was continuing this. And this has been going on for a few days as I speak to you."
"I see, though, what do you mean by "Aether is no longer himself"?"
"I don't know more, but the way he was behaving lately wasn't normal. But I would like to know the end of this story and maybe reason it out if it ever gets too intense, so I'm asking permission to go check it out."
"Sure no problem. I mean, it seems inconceivable to me to see Aether on edge, he who usually has a fairly serene face. But in case what Keqing is true, be careful, you know as well as I that Aether is very strong."
"Understood. Good evening."
"You too, Yelan. Take care of yourself."
Yelan walked out, closing the door, while Ningguang now thought about the situation, putting her hands on her forehead as she looked at the fold of papers in front of her, feeling a sudden tiredness that had nothing to do with her work.
"Aether, just that? I can understand a break from Keqing, from Ganyu from work. But Aether, he was used to working, what could have happened to make him get there. Isn't it a good thing that I sent Yelan to check this?..."
She looked at the clock in front of her, then sighed softly, wondering again and again how to get out of what she judged to be a major crisis for Liyue, but for all the nations he had visited. Plus, on a personal level, she really worried about him, and she had developed a deep respect for him, even though he had given everything to save a country he was a stranger to, while he just wanted to find his sister , and all he asked in return was to put up wanted posters. She had appreciated this maturity and humility in him, and after knowing him, she was happy to have a friend like him, and she wanted to ensure that his trust was not in vain.
She hesitated a little, before sending a letter to her peers coming from Mondstadt, Inazuma and Sumeru, countries that the Traveler had visited and saved, to warn them in case Aether passed through these regions and to gather common ideas in which concerns the current crisis management, because if the Fatui learned that Aether was in this state, they would surely take advantage of it.
In the Aozang Mountains, Aether always fought fiercely against every form of living being he could: Slimes, Hilichurls, Fungus, Treasures Hoarders, Fatui, and more... Nothing escaped him, and he was very bloody in his punches, his muscles being very tense, but he felt almost no fatigue, because he had enough adrenaline in his body, coupled with the fact that his endurance is already quite high.
His Dull Blade was stained with blood and elemental energy, but it was the least of his problems. Same with his clothes, all he wanted was to let off steam as much as he could. He killed primitive life forms without scruple, but, and this was new, he had no qualms about killing human beings like the Fatui, and the latter were not aware, because Aether always left them alone. that they can no longer fight, but still alive.
Right now, he was grabbing a Fatui Pyro Agent by the neck, and at that moment, he felt true terror. The Traveler's freezing cold eyes, the pressure on his enemy's neck, and the face full of anger and hatred was more than enough to make the agent piss on him and run away at full speed. But he couldn't, Aether was far too strong, and he desperately begged for mercy.
"Please, Great Traveler, have the mercy to let me live. I beg you, if you let me, I promise to stop being a Fatui and do only good. I don't want to end up like my team !"
Those kinds of phrases were everything Aether hated right now, and he let him know.
" "Really ?"
"Yes, I beg you!"
"You are all the same..."
"What ?"
"I've crossed four fucking countries, and every time it's the same thing, just lies. You've all exhausted my patience... I'm fed up, they repent for two seconds then they continue their bullshit, asking me for help again and again. Do you want my pity? Another person who wants something from me, but when I want something, just little clues about my sister, THERE'S NO ONE ANYMORE!"
"Please wait... "
But it was already too late, Aether had already planted his blade in the heart of the individual, before throwing him to the ground like an old rag. Agent Fatui succumbed to the blow and died, before the icy eyes of the Traveler, who looked at him one last time before releasing a final sentence:
"All bastards, can't wait for me to find Lumine and get out of here... I understand what you meant little sister, by "disappointment", fortunately there are still people in whom I have confidence like Paimon or Nahida, otherwise I don't know what I would have done..."
Aether didn't bother to respect anything in his path, crushing the Fatui's head with his foot, his boot now stained with blood, before continuing on his way until he grew tired of fighting. It was his only way to relieve himself for a while, ever since that day when he had mentally broken down, leaving a trail of blood and corpses behind him.
He thought about it as if it had happened a few minutes ago, and even though he blamed himself for leaving Paimon, he was relieved that he hadn't brought her back with him, because she wouldn't have tolerated the massacre he made in his path.
"Sorry Paimon for leaving you there, but for now, it's better to continue like this..."
Two weeks ago
Aether and Paimon were in Sumeru City, and after some grueling desert quests, they were both mentally exhausted and tiring, wanting only one thing, to take the reward so they could rest for good.
The last few weeks were busy for the two companions, and Aether felt his patience reaching its limits. His nerves had been put to the test in his escort and protection missions, not to mention the explorations in the coffins of the desert which no longer had any meaning for him, mixed with the torrid heat and the disastrous environmental conditions.
He knew he needed to hold on because he knew that being courteous and polite was always beneficial in order to have even snippets of information regarding Kharenia'ah or his sister. He knew he wasn't going to count on Dainsleif for anything, he already found the guy quite annoying and the fact that he mysteriously disappeared before reappearing was enough to understand that he wasn't going to expect anything from him.
After Katheryne wished him good night and gave him the reward, he looked for a place to eat with Paimon, when he saw the tavern not far from the reception. When he entered, he was greeted by the customers like a hero with exclamations and impressed faces because he was still the hero of Sumeru and the First Sage of Buer.
However, these faces were nothing but hypocrisy in the Traveler's eyes, his bright golden eyes no longer had any glow and were replaced by a bland yellow. All he wanted was to eat and then return to his teapot to sleep and have a good night's sleep.
He sat down then ordered some dishes for himself and the little fairy who, despite being exhausted, was quickly refreshed by the sight of all these dishes. Sometimes, Aether envied Paimon, seeing her eat without worrying about problems, as if feeding would make all the evils escape.
Aether tried to concentrate on his plate, but he still had difficulty and it got worse after a few minutes, when a customer wanted to take advantage of the fact that the Traveler was in the restaurant to ask him for help.
When he approached him, the footsteps echoing on the ground, the person in no way expected what was going to happen, not even Paimon or anyone for that matter. He began to speak:
"Good evening, Mr. Traveler... I'm sorry to interrupt your meal but I would like to ask you a question..."
Aether stared at him with a dark look and said nothing, while Paimon saw him with a face she had seen before on very rare occasions, and was apprehensive about the situation while trusting her best friend to know how to manage his calm. The person, who was apparently a merchant, continued speaking, with some apprehension when he saw the blond man's calm and unsettling face, not knowing what to expect.
"I am the owner of a clothing store in Sumeru City and I am looking for someone qualified enough to send several boxes containing luxury clothes for a wedding which is on the other side of the wall of Samiel, in the desert. However, rumors are circulating that the Eremites could carry out an ambush and take advantage of the cargo to steal it and resell it at a higher price in other countries."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"Well... I was wondering if you could get this back to its destination safely. Of course I would give you a substantial monetary remuneration for your work..."
"No."
"What ? I assure you that you will be well paid and..."
"I SAID NO !"
It was the straw that broke the camel's back. When the Traveler shouted right in the restaurant while overturning the table on which the dishes he had ordered were placed, everyone turned their heads towards him, whether it was the customers, the cooks, Paimon or the waiters. Aether stood up suddenly, his fists clenched, his muscles tense and with a look that clearly showed that you shouldn't mess with him because he could send you to the hospital like ten feet under if he was really angry.
"It's the same thing all the time... Why do I keep doing this? You are all the same..."
"Aether, please calm down..."
"Paimon, sorry but I'm tired of it! It's the same story every time! You !"
"Me ?"
"Yes, it's you I'm talking to! Do you think that because you pay me well that I will accept? Since I arrived in Sumeru, no since Mondstadt, every time I pass by someone, they ask me for help. At first it was okay, but because I saved four countries, does that give you the right to say that I'm tireless and can make everything you want come true? !"
"I..."
"Shut up ! Listen to me carefully, and this goes for everyone in this room! I'm exhausted, I've just completed around thirty annoying and tedious quests in a row, so leave me alone!"
Aether looked around, then continued his monologue again, careful to make sure everyone listened intently to what he said.
"Everyone says: Hey Traveler! You can help me!, Hello Traveler, only you can achieve this, you will be paid properly! You can do this, you can do that... But no one says to themselves: How are you Traveler? Not too tired ? Rest for a moment, you look exhausted! There's no one left there, you bastards! I'm fed up, go to hell once and for all, you hypocrites, you were cheering for me not even a few minutes ago for the sole purpose of being at your service. Keep your pathetic money to yourself, and think about your actions, you idiots!"
Aether strode determinedly out of the restaurant, hitting the door so hard that he broke it, in front of everyone, including Paimon who was so shocked by what had just happened that she didn't bother to tell herself that she had to find him.
"Aether is seriously angry, Paimon doesn't see this as a good omen..."
As for the merchant, he remained standing there, still stunned, in the same way that the whole audience, who would never have thought that their hero could have been in this state, is generally so calm, and everyone started to feel guilt for having participated in the mental disorder of the First Sage of Buer.
A few minutes later, Paimon grew more and more worried when she saw that he did not return, and when she asked the passers-by in the town, the answer was the same, that he had not seen him . She was in extreme panic, finding herself once again without her big brother, reminding her of the scenarios of samsara, and she under no circumstances wanted to relive the same thing a second time.
All night long, she had searched non-stop, without having slept a single second, and had even checked to see if he had gone into the teapot to go to bed, but in vain, he was nowhere to be found. Helpless to the situation, she understood that the Traveler had reached a point of no return, and in a sense, she understood that, but she had never asked too many questions. Now what happened happened, and only one thought was in her mind at that moment: contact Nahida, since she was either in the Surasthana Sanctuary or the Academy at that time, it was easier to navigate. She really hoped that Aether was okay and that she would find him as soon as possible...