Hello everyone, Here's the new chapter, with Aether who's not kidding around any more, and is going to set the record straight with his so-called friends. And as planned, some hearts are going to break, but that's not all, of course.

Also, when I'm writing, I sometimes forget the names of certain things and characters in English in the Genshin universe, which is quite annoying. For example, Cloud Retainer in French is called Souffle Nuages, which means "Cloud Breath", which is more or less the same thing, so it's a bit awkward when I'm writing, but those are details. If you see anything like this, let me know.

On that note, happy reading.

"What am I doing here? Isn't it obvious? I'm here for you," Rosaria explained simply while Aether growled.

"Well you found me, if that's all I'm leaving," Aether said harshly trying to walk past the nun, but Rosaria continued to block his way.

"You're not going anywhere. If you haven't noticed, the Knights of Favonius and your Sumeru friends have been hellbent on trying to find you all night. Imagine my surprise that you have been in Mondstadt this entire time without saying hello to any of your friends and sleeping in an inn under an alias instead of your fancy magic teapot." Rosaria recounts everything that has transpired all because of Aether.

"I didn't ask anyone to do that, and my reasons are none of your business." Aether spat out, ready to draw his new sword for the inevitable.

Rosaria raised her hands showing no intention of clashing blades with the Traveler.

"We're not here to fight. We came to apologize."

"We?"

Rosaria snapped her fingers, as if on cue, causing everyone who actively participated in the search for the Traveler to appear in front of him, hidden behind the surrounding bushes, trees, and boulders that surrounded Mondstadt's Gate. Every single person that Aether had befriended looked at him with concern and sadness, but to Aether, it was just pity that pissed him off.

A few hours ago, the entire search party was resting in Angel Share after hours of non-stop searching and arrests. Everyone was exhausted physically and mentally with no one able to find Aether, it just seemed hopeless. Thankfully, a miracle appeared before them in the form of Rosaria bearing info about Aether's whereabouts. The nun, like everyone else, wanted to redeem herself just like the others, and thank him for everything he had done for Teyvat, even if she wasn't the expressive person to do just that.

Indeed, before the meeting, Rosaria had identified the whereabouts of a hooded man she suspected to be Aether, and had seen him retrieve a rather expensive sword while not suspicious by itself, Rosaria's experience and instincts told her he was definitely hiding something. Later in the evening, she had informed Jean, the Acting Grand Master had in turn alerted the others of this potential lead, taking the gamble of him leaving first thing in the morning, which was the last chance to speak with him.

Jean slowly approached Aether, with all the other concerned members of the Knights of Favonius behind her, along with the three people from Sumeru and Diluc who had come all the way to make a sincere apology to the blond man.

"Aether... You don't need to keep your hood on... We know it's you."

"Tsk!"

Aether was surprised at the number of people in front of him, and started to seethe, but did as he usually did, keeping calm, but it was really difficult with his blood boiling at the sight of them.

"Aether... It's really you... So that man, that night, was it you, with the cape?" Amber asked with tears in her eyes.

Aether clenched his fists, and since they knew it was him, he had no reason to hide his face, raising his hood. While he physically looked the same, it was his gaze being more piercing and brutal than before, no longer gazing at his so-called friends with friendliness and warmth as he usually did. It was simply a look of hostility and disdain reflecting his contempt for everyone here.

Everyone was stunned by Aether's harsh gaze, but the fact that he was in front of them looking at them like the enemy instead of friends amplified their guilt even more, several people began to cry a mix of relief at having found Aether, and sadness to see him like that, some putting their hands on their mouths, others trying to hide their tears.

"Yes, Amber... It was me... but so what? I don't owe you or anyone here anything. I swear by the stars if all of you are here to give me another mission to save your nations because none of you can't be bothered to do so or something incredibly petty like fetching some bread. I don't want to hear it." Aether spat out, the disdain in his voice was very clear.

Everyone was truly hurt by Aether's words as they couldn't believe that he thought so little of them. Did he truly believe that they were so slothful in their responsibilities they would happily dump their problems onto him without a second thought like leeches? All of the Mondstadt and Sumeru denizens for a moment thought they were looking at an entirely different person, but in truth, it was just how Aether had always felt that he kept bottled up inside.

"Aether... it's nice to see you again... I know you're angry right now, but I want to say it... I missed you; we all missed you, and as soon as we heard the news…" Jean slowly approached Aether, to put her hand on his shoulder. "We all wanted to help, to tell you how sorry we are, and we wanted..."

Aether recoiled from Jean's touch in sheer disgust, as if he was being touched by a diseased-filled rat.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" He shouted startling everyone.

Sorry? What was everyone sorry for? He saved all of their nation's from being destroyed and got rewarded for it. Fancy titles and being the hero that parents tell their children bedtime stories about. Despite being drawn at the center of every nation's problems. Drawn into their struggles. Going through so much pain, manipulation and being used for everyone's convenience, they suddenly had the urge to apologize after a couple years being trapped in Teyvat? Finally aware of the trauma he has gone through?

"You're sorry? Sorry?! Do you expect me to believe that?! I have been nothing more than a tool to solve everyone's problems ever since I came to Teyvat! Not a single person here had ever asked how I was doing. But here you are because someone had to spell it out for you? If you truly cared about me, you wouldn't need to hunt me down like a criminal! All of you are here to give me some condescending lecture for being selfish for once. Something I'm actually entitled to after everything I have done for Teyvat! Would anyone who wanted to apologize hunt me down like a fugitive, take me by surprise and ask all her subordinates to leave no escape like a warlord...Listen well Jean, you may be the authority in this country, but I don't come from here, so don't you dare order me around or order me what to do, as if you hadn't already not used enough.." Aether ranted pouring out years of anger and frustration that he kept bottled up inside.

"Aether…that's not true at all…"

"It's nothing but the truth! I know exactly what I am in the eyes of every knight, merchant, samurai, scholar, and gods here! Nothing more than a disposable tool for everyone's sake but my own!" Aether accuses everyone of being truly selfish.

Jean felt tears building up in her eyes from Aether's accusations, truly hurt that he viewed himself so low in everyone's eyes and his self-worth.

Aether looked at the people in front of him now, and since they had started the conversation, he was going to make sure that they understood definitively that he was in no forgiving mood. He just couldn't after everything.

"If you're actually here to apologize, I don't want to hear it because in my eyes it's hollow and meaningless."

"That's exactly why we're here, to talk about that." replied Diluc, who surprised the Traveler.

"Why are you here, Diluc? You're as passive as a stone, and you want to play the psychologist?! Who are you to judge me, do you think you are in Fontaine?"

"You are wrong, I am not coming to judge you, just to tell you that you are not thinking straight. I understand that you are angry, after all, we were not very understanding with you, we should have paid more attention to you, and that is undeniable." Diluc said, trying his best to get to the core of the problem.

"So, if you knew, why didn't you do it?"

"I... I don't know...and that's why I blame myself...You're a valuable ally and a great friend, and I don't want it to end this way, nor any other person here." Diluc looked ashamed of himself while Aether looked unimpressed.

"Really? You said it yourself; you don't know... Well, I'll tell you, now... This is your modus operandi from the beginning, this is how you operate, once you find someone remotely useful, you just use them for all of their worth. Better to be a tool for Mondstadt's sake than someone else like the Fatui." Aether said bitterly.

"No, they would never do that, and nor would I…"

"SHUT UP! The least any of you can do is be honest! Mondstadt was in danger from Stormterror, and you needed help that's completely understandable. It was my choice, and I gained the title of "Honorary Knight" the end, right? No! The Knights of Favonius kept on piling more and more responsibilities onto me without giving me much of a choice! Everyone calls Mondstadt the City of Freedom, but where was my freedom, you hypocrites!" Aether swore with venom in his eyes. "It's not just Mondstadt either! The cycle just repeats in every other nation I have gone to. For every crisis I solve, I gain titles I was never interested in. 'Hero of Liyue, Captain of the Swordfish II Squadron, First Sage of Buer.' Acting like it's fair compensation for risking my life countless times. I don't care about any of that! I just want my sister back!"

Aether turned his head, pointing to Tighnari, Cyno, and Collei.

"You think that because you traveled from Sumeru to apologize to me makes you good Samaritans, but you are just as bad as them, whether it is you or the people who stayed in Sumeru."

"But we never once disrespected you!" Cyno said in protest to Aether's accusations.

"You don't understand, Cyno… It's not just a question of respect if that's all it was."

"Aether, we are sorry for everything that happened in Sumeru, but there were just some things out of our control. Do you think we wanted the Sages and the Fatui to steal the dreams from the people and replace Lesser Lord Kusanali?!" Tighnari shot back while feeling guilty and getting sick of Aether accusing them of shifting their responsibilities off to him.

"I'm not saying you wanted all of that to happen, Tighnari. What I hate is that even in dire situations, everyone did nothing but wait around hoping that someone would save the day. How typical of bastards like you. Never thinking about how to solve the problem yourself, but sit back and wait for help instead. Absolutely pathetic. Those fake smiles on your faces, pretending everything is alright, but it's not. It's no wonder that Teyvat needed an outlander like me to save everyone because all of you would have failed. Nothing but utter trash." Aether spoke out harshly with his words making everyone feel like the sharpest of blades were stabbing into their hearts.

The fact that the very person they all loved, respected, and trusted flat-out called them lazy, incompetent, carefree, failures, and trash just hurts.

"I don't know what to say...except sorry." Collei sobbed, while Amber tried to comfort her as she too cried, while the Mahmatra general clenched his fist in helplessness, staring at the ground, just like Tighnari, who had not realized the consequence of all his actions were only on them, not just Sumeru, but Teyvat as a whole.

"Cutie, I…" Lisa approached a mixture of sadness and guilt on her beautiful face, not believing every word that Aether said towards them, even if deep down she knew that he was right. However, she still tried to reason with him.

"Shut up! Don't you ever dare call me that again!" Aether shouted at the witch.

The Electro witch was surprised, a pang in her heart as she listened to his words, mixed with the dark look that Aether made while looking at her, he gritted his teeth in rage.

"Do you take me for some child? An amusing toy to get a rise out of?! This is what I have been talking about this whole time. None of you truly respect me despite everything I have done. To you and everyone else here, I'm just an ignorant outsider, a child that you are free to use whenever and whatever you want regardless of my feelings."

"I...am sincerely sorry...I didn't know you saw it that way...I... I just wanted to be closer to you, I didn't know a cute nickname would hurt you." Lisa said, ashamed of herself.

"Oh, you didn't know that, and when you rub your depraved body on my back, I think we both know what you're thinking, ...And don't act innocent, every time, it's the same thing, you kiss me, try to seduce me so that I help you with something, and you do it almost every time we see each other, and I know this trick, you are not the only one bitch, there's at least one per region like you, and I'm starting to have more than enough!" Aether shouted, sick of it all.

"Aether, I blame myself...If I had known..."

"If you had known...If I could...You had all these words on your lips, but it's too late. I thought you were all responsible adults but every time it's the same thing, and it sickens me that children learn from you, I hope Klee never learns your bullshit." Aether said in disgust.

Lisa brought her hand close to her heart, as if trying to contain the surge of emotions coming at her, each word coming straight to her, and hurting her, like everyone else in the group, as she saw Aether becoming more and more wrathful.

The rain was beginning to fall on everyone, Aether looked at the sky, telling himself that he had to act quickly, and as he wasted too much time talking with everyone. The Mondstadt and Sumeru groups were in tears from Aether's harsh words. What was worse was that it wasn't done out of intentional cruelty and malice, but what Aether perceived as the truth.

"We're done here...I have nothing else to say to all of you." Aether said simply as he began to walk away from the people he once called his friends.

"Please wait, I wanted to tell you something." Noelle asked suddenly, with Aether making a sharp turn towards her.

"What?"

"Aether…I'm sorry…I knows that you probably won't forgive us...but I want to say something that's close to my heart...I know you're hurt, the past hasn't spared you...I see it in your eyes, you don't trust us, and you have every right to be. You're accusing us of being lazy and waiting for a miracle to just come, but you're wrong. We all came to help you as soon as we heard what you are going through right now. Let us be the miracle you need. If you need someone to listen, I can be there for you."

"…" Aether said nothing, remaining stone-faced as Noelle continued to talk.

"I know you won't believe me, but I want to say it, every moment spent with you was an incredible experience and I loved every moment spent with you. I just want to show you my gratitude for everything that you did for me. Maybe words no longer mean anything to you since you can no longer believe us and it's true that we never considered your feelings. But I was sincere with everything I said before. I want to help you, so if you need anything, I will do it. Please, don't take this dark path...You don't have to do this alone." Noelle pleaded, both hands intertwined together, begging him to come back among them.

Many people seemed surprised by Noelle's speech, but agreed with her, hoping that the Traveler would understand, and the unlucky adventurer known as Bennett added a few more words to agree with what the maid knight was saying.

"Yeah, Noelle is right. I know I might not be the best person for this with my bad luck as I always need help, but I want to say that you are an exceptional friend, you are my role model and still are. When I see everything you've been through, I tell myself that I have no right to complain, but I want to help you and everyone else wants to do the same... You don't have to do this." Bennett also begs Aether to just stop in his self-destructive path.

Both Bennett and Noelle had tears falling down their faces, eagerly hoping that they would be able to convince him, and with the momentum that the two of them had launched. Barbara ran to show her modest contribution, not being able to bear to do anything, approaching even though she was trembling with nervousness.

"Aether...Please listen to us...Look at you, you have scars everywhere, we can't leave you like this...I promise to heal you both physically and mentally and from now on, I will give you all my moral support."

Aether looked into Barbara's, Bennett's, and Noelle's eyes, their expressions tearful and pleading, making his anger skyrocket, seeing only hypocrites trying to abuse him once again.

"Enough! Look at you, you want to help me...heal me...but too late! You tell me I shouldn't do this, but take a look in the mirror, you hypocrites! Your arrogance knows no bounds, lecturing me on how I should live my life while you have no ounce of respect for me… You…" Aether said, pointing at Barbara.

"You think that removing my wounds will make me forget all the horrible things you all did to me, but even if they are not there, they will remain engraved in my mind... You..." he said, shaking his head while pointing to Bennett.

"You try to relieve yourself of guilt by telling yourself that it's the fault of your bad luck, but that's not true, it's your damn fault! You want me to believe that you are my friend when it's just a lie. If it wasn't for my reputation, you wouldn't have noticed that I existed. Like I said before, you all just want to use me for your convenience. And you, Noelle…"

He approached her, as she timidly took a small step back, as she saw his eyes darkened with sadness and anger, as well as fatigue from having seen so much tragedy in Teyvat. Noelle was both disturbed and worried, as he began to exclaim again.

"You want to be there for me…I have a question. For you, where were you when I needed you? Oh, I forgot, you were busy with your training...That's what you said at the time, "the Honorary Knight is so strong!" "He doesn't need anyone's help, he can solve everything in one go because he is so powerful!" That's what you all said." Aether said bitterly. "Whether in Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, or Sumeru, you all thought that way, as if I was an invincible hero...But I'll tell you one thing, Noelle, when I asked for help, you thought I was joking, when I decide to do things my way from now on, you decide that you will supposedly "save" me, that you will be there for me like a lovely wife who would support her husband to the end of the world… And to top it all off, you try to make me feel guilty, by telling me that you appreciated every moment with me."

"But it's true…"

"Shut up, I'm sick of all of the lies!" Aether shouted at Noelle as she saw Aether's eyes showing pure hatred towards her, towards them all, while her cheeks became red, her eyes watery and heartbroken. Noelle understood that Aether not only did not accept her apology but that he thought they were false while she had put all her sincerity and love in that speech. She felt like something was broken inside her.

"Stop! You don't have to torture her like this!" exclaimed Mona, a subtle mix of worry and anger in her voice, annoying Aether even more, who was now looking into her eyes as he turned his attention away from Noelle. The Geo user now watched the man she loved admit he loathed her, but she still loved him and hoped that there was another way for him to see the truth.

"I'm just telling her the truth that she needs to hear, but that you still don't understand..."

"What are you talking about? You're the one who keeps refusing our help and believing we don't care about you!" Mona shot back.

"You see, that's exactly what annoys me about you... You want to force me to accept things, you consider me as a tool once again! You have no regard for other people's feelings, and the funny thing is that you want to try to manage my actions, when you can't even manage your money problems!... You deserve a good correction,…" Aether replied, approaching her.

"That… That's not what I mean… I just… want to tell you that we're here for you now… It's not Noelle's fault…" Mona lost her usual self-confidence, stuttering in her sentences like a child who had been scolded by her parents.

"You're right, it's not Noelle's fault... it's all your fault, in case you didn't understand her. You speak as if you had supported me, whereas the first time we met, you made me believe in a sign of destiny when you just took advantage of me like the opportunist that you are. I only became your "disciple" because you deluded yourself into thinking your non-existent reputation was equal to my own. If it wasn't for my reputation, you wouldn't have spared me a moment of your time. Think about your actions before criticizing people, especially when you are no better than them." Aether criticizes the astrologist.

Mona felt Aether's cold gaze piercing to her heart. She heard his hurtful words, but deep down she knew she had taken advantage of him. Mona didn't have the courage to speak anymore, too lost in her grief to do anything else.

"Well... I see that you understand too... Let this serve as a lesson to you, life is not a long, quiet river, even if can't predict what will happen, everything is unpredictable. On that note... Stop saying try to convince me that you care when it's all hollow and condescending. Now, and I'll say it one last time, let me go, I've wasted enough time with you..."

Aether walked away from Mona, but before he was allowed to continue, Kaeya, who saw everyone losing hope and suffering mentally with each cruel but true sentence that the Traveler said to them, took the initiative to ask a serious question, supported by Eula. Both were Knights of Favonius as they would feel dishonored and guilty if they could not protect friends in front of them.

" You say that we don't pay attention to people...But Paimon is not with you, am I wrong?" Kaeya asked, not without taking a risk, because it could be a sensitive subject.

"He's right, you left her alone, and she could be lost without you. She never left you, and yet you abandon her."

"SHUT UP! YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME OR PAIMON TO TALK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT!"

Both Eula and Kaya looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes, feeling that they had hit a nerve, and that maybe they shouldn't have done that. Aether approached them and held them by the collar of their respective clothes, bringing them closer to him, while they were surprised at the strength he held them. Both Cryo knights couldn't look him in the face, which had irritated the blond man even more.

"LOOK AT ME WHEN I TALK TO YOU!"

Kaeya and Eula tried, not without fear, to make eye contact with him. Everyone around them, everyone was afraid of what was going to happen, but no one dared to try to make him release the two. Quite simply to avoid making the situation worse, and that the more they listened to him, talking about Paimon had sent him into a rage, the dark gaze piercing the souls of the Khareni'ah's and Lawerence descendants.

" PAIMON IS THE ONLY PERSON WHO LOOKS LIKE FAMILY TO ME! SHE IS THE ONLY PERSON WHO HAD CARED ABOUT ME FROM THE VERY START!" He shouted in front of them before looking at the crowd in front of him, while both Kaeya and Eula looked startled.

Aether calmed down briefly, gritting his teeth, taking the time to stare at them, while trying to contain his anger, which became increasingly difficult.

"I never abandoned her... If I left without her, it was to prevent her from further suffering, because unlike you, I care about people. I don't leave them lying around. It's true that perhaps I should have warned her before leaving, but that doesn't mean I made the wrong choice. On the contrary, Paimon would understand why I want to do this alone...and if I ever meet her again, and if she wants to continue the journey she started with me, I will simply accept her again. because I care about her, and I don't want anything to happen to her…It's not selfish…"

He approached Kaeya and Eula again, their faces a few centimeters from Aether, his teeth clenched, who was about to shout at them again.

"…AND THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ME AND YOU!"

Right after that, he threw Kaeya and Eula onto the ground, one falling on top of the other, and when they tried to get up, the atmosphere became unbearable, not only on them, but also on the others, and no longer knew what to do. They understood that he was clear about his decision, and were ready to give up, the guilt as well as the truths spoken by the Traveler were powerful enough to make them understand that they do not deserve the old Aether.

"Now that you have understood your sins, I hope that this guilt will not leave you soon, you deserve it. Consider yourself lucky I gave you the opportunity to waste so much of my time for all of you. Unless your selfishness has no limits and pushes you to continue being in denial." Aether clapped his hands to remove the dust and gave his final words to the entire group.

While everyone bowed their heads, and no one had the courage to dare speak again, every apology they tried to give was met with denial and negativity. Aether was satisfied by this lack of response, but an expensive horse carriage stopped in front of the crowd and the Traveler. The carriage door flung open with Ayaka being the first person to leap out of it.

"AETHER!" Ayaka cried out in relief and joy seeing the Traveler again. Tears of joy began to flow down her face seeing the man she loved.

"Wait, Lady Ayaka!" Kazuha shouted following after her, aware that Ayaka was eager to see Traveler, but something was wrong.

Yae Miko, Beidou and Ningguang were quick to follow the youngest members of their group out of the carriage. Thanking the Archons for giving them luck, to look at Aether, the crowd saw that these newcomers recognized some of them, especially Ningguang.

Indeed, they couldn't believe their eyes, Ningguang barely dared to look at Aether, because the shame she had was extremely strong, while Yae and Beidou were aware of this. They too felt just as guilty, seeing what their indifference caused. Kazuha sensed a large elemental disturbance around Aether, a sign from the wind that it might have been too late to do anything, but he wasn't the type to give up right away, so he kept a serious face while feeling sorry for everything that happened to what he considers a brother in arms.

As for Ayaka, she was the most upset, and just like the others, the empty and soulless eyes of the one she loved with all her heart made her realize the seriousness of the situation. She knew it would be difficult, but she expected it to be this bad. Ayaka had always put Aether on a pedestal, believing that Aether couldn't fall that low and that even if he had hard times, he would bounce back after a while.

However, this is not what happened, and this not only saddened her, but when she saw the inhabitants of Mondstadt and Sumeru not only have anger and disgust towards themselves but also despair regarding Aether, she hoped she wasn't too late.

Stuttering very softly, and even though Ayaka had recognized him, her hand on her heart, and the emotions being felt in her voice, she asked once again, "Aether…Is that you?!"

Aether now looked at the newcomers, surprised that they had made it this especially Ayaka and Yae Miko, given that Inazuma is quite far from Mondstadt, before glaring at Ayaka with contempt as well as at Beidou, Kazuha, Ningguang, and Yae Miko. The tension once again reared its head ugly head once again between the Traveler and the people who wanted to help him.

The rain continued to fall on his yellow hair, but it didn't matter to him, and like a bad omen, the clouds had darkened even more in the sky, before he responded with an icy and cold tone.

" Yes… It's me, Ayaka."