Hello and here's the new chapter, after a long time, and I warn you, there's a lot of violence, because now Aether will meet Tartaglia.

I'd like to point out that Tartaglia is one of the characters I hate the most in Genshin, so sorry Tarta fans, but he's going to have a bad time.

The arrival to Fontaine is coming soon, so get ready.

Happy reading everyone.

At dawn on the day after Aether's departure, before the sun had even risen, a young woman with silver hair walked through the alleys of Mondstadt with a determined step, no one could stop her from leaving.

Noelle was making her way towards the exit out of Mondstadt, an effortless task as the knights and citizens were too busy dealing with Mondstadt's near destruction to pay Noelle any mind.

Her eyes were almost lifeless, the emerald green that shined replaced by a sullen dark green. Noelle's mind was still playing back everything that had happened yesterday, and her broken heart from Aether's harsh rejections.

Nevertheless, she found herself wanting to see him again, and at the same time cut all ties with Mondstadt. During the night, she began to think about many things; in particular about Aether's treatment in the City of Freedom. Being used as a tool for everyone's sake, no thanks to Venti being the useless coward that he is.

Noelle now loathed the Knights of Favonius and Venti, who had taken advantage of Aether's kindness when he had done so much for Mondstadt and got so little in return. Granted the Knights of Favonius manpower was sorely lacking because of Varka taking most of them for his expedition, but it still didn't change the fact that everyone relied on Aether too much. Barbatos was the worst of them all since all of Mondstadt thought of him as a wise and hardworking god, but in truth was a pathetic, unreliable hedonist who cared more about wine than his own followers. Justifying it under the guise of freedom which Noelle now saw as a petty excuse to avoid any responsibilities: a petulant child refusing to grow up.

What's more, the silver-haired woman also had a personal grudge against Jean, given the way she treated her. After spending most of her life studying and training, she still hadn't been promoted as a true knight. All of her hard work and dedication for some unfathomable reason was never enough in Jean's eyes. Even though Aether noted some of the questionable people serving as Mondstadt's protectors. Promoting unfit people who lacked the dedication she had and a Vision or children like Klee made her realize that it was rigged against her.

Of course, she was also angry with herself for being too blind to see it. Realizing that there was no point in trying to achieve a dream that was never going to come true. Noelle made a new life goal for herself: to find Aether and aid him on his journey throughout Teyvat.

She wanted to use her skills both as a former knight and maid to support Aether. Even though her fighting abilities were completely inferior to Aether making her dead weight as he outright stated in his battle against Shenhe, Noelle still had her skills as a maid. Even so, it was doubtful that Aether needed someone to tend to his basic needs like cooking or washing his clothes. Noelle had to show him how devoted and faithful she was, and that her love was truly sincere.

As she continued to walk, lips sealed and a serious look on her face in the new armor she had lying in her home, which was a mixture of black, white and burgundy pink with roses print over her black leotard, with no coat of arms or crest of affiliation to Mondstadt, as she no longer wished to be associated with them. Although she had never officially been a Knight of Favonius to begin with, and without her usual headband. She saw another woman pass by her, all dressed in white, Noelle would have ignored her until she finally recognized her.

"Barbara?"

The blonde-haired woman turned round, only to see a familiar face.

"Noelle?"

"I didn't recognize you..." began Noelle, who could see that Barbara looked terrible: dark circles under her eyes, her hair loose, without its usual twintails, dull blue eyes and a dejected expression that showed how much she had been crying all evening.

Barbara was about to set off, after telling Rosaria that she resigned as Deaconess and idol. Packing all the things she needed for the road ahead of her. She knew that searching for Aether would be difficult, and he would have no reason to accept her forgiveness a second time, but she wanted to give it a try. She had nothing to lose, given that there was nothing to keep her in Mondstadt.

She could no longer trust the gods, her faith gone for good, wanting nothing more than to curse at Barbatos for not being the benevolent god that he was portrayed as. Moreover, she regretted not having Aether open up more about his sister, or helping him more properly. Knowing that she could understand him, given that she too has a sister, and could have understood the suffering he was going through losing a loved one.

But what pissed her off more than anything was that she could no longer trust her own sister, Jean. Aether spoke the truth about her despicable action as a manipulator who had taken advantage of his kindness. There were so many reasons why Aether had lost his mind, but Jean and Venti were the start of it all. Venti being a useless drunkard and Jean feeling no guilt manipulating Aether into risking his life against a rampaging dragon. Barbara couldn't even look her in the face anymore, wanting to cut all ties with her sister.

With nothing else holding her back, Barbara was determined to find Aether to show him how much he meant to her—leaving her home behind to assist him on his journey the best way she could.

Barbara already had an idea in mind about her contribution to Aether; she could use her elemental energy to heal him or dress his wounds if he needed it. Give him all the love and support he desperately needs now. Her combat skills were much to be desired since her abilities were tailored to healing and support, but she'll get stronger for both their sakes.

All she wanted right now was to get as close to Aether as possible, and when she saw Noelle going in the same direction as her and calling out to her. The former idol knew they both shared the same goal: finding Aether.

"Yes, I suppose so. I didn't recognize you either, you look like a completely different person." Barbara remarked on the white-haired woman's new clothes.

"Yes, I had to. I needed to change...I couldn't look at myself in the mirror anymore..."

"I see, so you've been thinking the same thing too..." Barbara asked, even though she already knew Noelle's answer.

"Yes, there's nothing left for me here...I've lost everything, the only thing I want is to be with Aether, that's all that matters to me. Maybe I'm heartbroken, but I'll always love him and I don't want him to think that my love for him wasn't sincere. I want to be there for him, to at least try to do something to make him feel better, unlike everyone else who did nothing but hurt him." Noelle replied, her heart on her sleeve, as her other hand clenched into a tight fist, and Barbara could see just how desperate she was, just like her.

"You're right. I don't want anything to do with this place either...I've lost faith in Barbatos, who's nothing but good-for-nothing trash. Our praise and devotion for him was for nothing to someone who cared about himself more than his own followers. Aether has done so much more for us than praying to Venti ever did. Maybe he was right to leave everyone, after all he's been through." Barbara added, her fists as tightly clenched as Noelle's, looking down, trying not to cry or get angry at the main instigators of Aether's current mental state.

"I was thinking the same thing...The Archons have done nothing but manipulate him and use him for their own stupid and selfish ends, they deserve worse than lying in a hospital bed." Noelle said with surprising anger in her voice.

"I agree after everything the Archons have done and haven't done…they don't deserve anything they have. All of their power came from us worshiping them and sacrificing everything in their name, and what do we get in return? Ungrateful monsters who callously throw away our lives without a single thank you. So many lives were destroyed because the gods thought they knew better than everyone else, but that's a lie. They just did whatever they wanted because no one could stop them. Aether is done more than all the Archons put together by saving four countries and eliminating the Fatui threat each time, and now that he's so much stronger than them all put combined, he has the presence of a god more than those incompetents." Barbara stated bitterly that the deities they looked up to were worse than the Fatui and Abyss Order somehow.

"At least the Fatui and the Abyss Order didn't bother putting up a facade that they were anything but good. They were the villains plain and simple, embodying that role perfectly. While the Archons pretended to be heroes believing everything they did was just, they were too deluded to see how wrong they were regardless of how the people suffered from it."

"Barbara, given that we have the same objective, it would be better if we made our way to Aether together, it'll be easier for both of us. What do you think?" asked Noelle, sensing that Barbara had the same convictions as she did.

"Yes, I'm in. I look forward to working with you."

Barbara and Noelle exchanged serious looks, signaling that they had come to a firm decision. They both nodded in agreement to confirm their resolve to leave the city for Aether.

"We should go now, otherwise the sun will be up soon," Noelle added, looking up at the slightly brighter sky.

"You're right, let's leave right away. We won't be coming back here again," finished Barbara, determined not to see anyone affiliated with Mondstadt again.

The two young women set off underneath the night sky which was gradually beginning to fade away, in the direction of the last time they had seen Aether, hoping to catch up to him. They wanted only one thing, to be with Aether now, putting their old lives behind them for good, hoping that their broken hearts would get better.

"PLEASE! SAVE ME!"

"M-MEDIC!"

"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!"

The secret Fatui cave base in Chenyu Vale was engulfed in chaos, with the guards stationed there quickly being decimated. The once serious atmosphere had given way to a sense of helplessness as they saw their forces being destroyed by a monstrous yet familiar figure. The Traveler of Teyvat had somehow found out the location of their secret base and wasted no time slaughtering them like cattle. He just started killing everyone without warning. The rock walls of the base were literally painted bloody red from the carnage.

No matter what anyone did, nothing could stop the unstoppable monster before them. Blades, hammers, gauntlets, and bullets of various elemental powers meant nothing to the Traveler with his insane speed that made it look like he was teleporting to the guards before a metallic flash ended their lives.

Normally, Aether wouldn't have bothered taking a detour as his patience on reaching Fontaine was quickly running dry. However, it was only by chance when Aether and Paimon spotted two Fatui Skirmishers entering a cave that was revealed to be a secret base. While Aether wanted to get to Fontaine, he despised the Fatui with a passion, the urge to rid the world of their cancerous existence was too strong for him to ignore.

Fontaine could wait a little while longer.

Besides, he had an important question to ask the man in charge of the base.

"DIE!" An Anemoboxer Vanguard roared, throwing his huge metallic fist at Aether's head. Aether, without ever blinking, raised his left hand as a goldenrod-yellow kite shield made of Geo energy blocked the punch. The boxer howled in pain, stumbling back and clutching his broken hand before a quick swing of Aether's sword separated his head from the rest of his body. Blood gushing from the stump, adding more bloody paint to the walls and floor.

"FIRE!" A dozen Pyroslinger Bracers wasted no time firing countless Pyro bullets at the Traveler. Their trigger fingers couldn't be itchier as the entire hallway was set ablaze, and smoke filled the room. After what seemed like an eternity the gunmen finally stopped shooting. Everyone's apprehension grew as the smoke began to clear, wanting to believe that the Traveler was finally slain.

Instead of finding Aether's bullet-ridden corpse, they saw…nothing.

The Skirmishers were terrified and confused, where did the Traveler disappear to?

"Is that it?" Aether called out above them making everyone see that he latched onto the ceiling via glowing green plant vines coming out of his left arm.

"A-Above!"

Aether dropped down and crushed the skull of a Skirmisher underneath his shoe. The other Skirmishers didn't even have time to raise their weapons before Aether's body glowed purple. Leaving a trail of purple lightning, he disappeared in a burst of speed and reappeared behind the Skirmishers, swiftly ending the lives of the Fatui in the hallway.

One after another, every member of the Fatui stationed at the base met a grisly end within minutes.

After Aether reached the command room of the base, he wasted no time killing anyone who tried to stop him.

The only sole survivor of the massacre was the Fatui commander in charge of the secret base. His movements were restrained via the Geo blade constructs impaling his hands and feet against the wall. He could only watch lifeless corpses of his comrades, ruthlessly massacred, were strewn across the ground. The look of fear was evident on their faces as they met their end.

The Fatui commander shook in pure terror as the Traveler slowly approached him as blood and gore covered his being. The bloodlust that Aether was emitting was suffocating.

"You.." Aether hissed. "I have one question for you. Answer me, and I'll leave right now."

The Fatui commander amidst all of the pain and terror said nothing, refusing to give out any secrets.

"Which Fatui Harbinger is stationed in Fontaine right now?"

"..."

Aether grabbed the Fatui commander by his cheeks, squeezing them, knocking loose some teeth in the process.

"Okay, let's do this. Capitano?"

"..."

"Dottore?"

"..."

"Columbina?

"..."

"Arlecchino?"

The Fatui commander's eyes twitched hearing the Knave's name that told Aether everything.

"Thank you." Aether said sarcastically before bringing out his sword and cutting off the commander's tongue. The commander gasped in agony as blood poured out of his mouth. He couldn't even scream as his tongue fell to the floor.

Aether nonchalantly walked away, leaving the commander alone. Apathetic that the Fatui commander could die from blood loss from his wounds. He promised to leave, not save him after all.

After leaving the cave, Aether went to the nearby stream stripping down to his underwear to wash away the blood and gore covering his body and sword. The soothing water helped calm Aether's mood a little.

"You can come out now, Paimon," Aether called out while washing his hair from all of the blood covering it.

Paimon reappeared from existence still rattled from Aether's newfound brutality. Although she promised him that she would endure it the best she could, it didn't make it easier. Seeing all the blood and dead bodies that Aether was leaving in his wake. It was getting harder and harder not to vomit.

"Aether…what was the whole point of destroying that Fatui Base? You said you wanted to get to Fontaine now, but all you did was ask the guy in charge a single question?"

"It's simple, I despise the Fatui after everything they've done so they don't deserve to live any longer. The other reason is that I know who to expect when we get to Fontaine." Aether answered simply while Paimon blinked.

"So the Fatui Harbinger in Fontaine right now is Arlecchino? Didn't Childe and Wanderer describe her as a crazy backstabber?" Paimon recounted their description of her and it wasn't in a positive light at all.

"The same. I now know who to expect in Fontaine now. No doubt setting up her scheme to get her hands on Focalors Gnosis. While I could care less about Focalors and her Gnosis, I know I'll be pulled into it and have to fight Arlecchino in the process. Since it always ends with me fighting a Fatui Harbinger." Aether said, slightly irritated that his plan of lying low would be impossible to do under the eyes of a Harbinger.

"Do you think that you'll be able to beat the Knave?" Paimon asked only to immediately flinch right after asking such a dumb question.

Of course, Aether would win as his power was beyond anyone could measure against.

Aether took no offense at that and simply shrugged. "We'll have to fight each other first to find out."

After Aether finished washing himself and his clothes before drying himself with a quick application of Anemo to speed up the process immensely. Aether and Paimon continued to move covering half of Chenyu Vale, arriving at Teatree Slope, hoping to reach the Qiaoyin village in the evening.

"Paimon, how are you holding up?" Aether asked simply.

"Yes, you don't need to worry about Paimon, it's nothing compared to what you've been through," she said, smiling slightly. Even though she was getting tired, compared to Aether battling the Archons, this was nothing.

"If there's something wrong just say so, I won't get mad."

"Paimon knows, but if Paimon is doing this, it's as much for Paimon as for you."

"What do you mean?"

"Since the start of this journey, Paimon has been too weak to do anything. Paimon knows she can't do anything in a fight, so the least Paimon can do is not hold you back," she said, clenching her tiny fists, a determined look on her face that surprised Aether slightly, seeing that she wasn't joking when she said she was going to make an effort to help him from the start.

Aether stroked her hair before answering her kindly.

"Well, if you agree with that, I won't stop you. From what I can see, you've matured, that's good."

"Thank you, Aether."

Paimon was reassured to be able to continue her efforts, and Aether no doubt appreciated the gesture.

As they continued along the road for another few hundred meters, seeing that at the end of the hill, they could make out the Qiaoyin village fairly closely, which was probably only two or three kilometers away if the Traveler had to guess.

"Paimon?!"

A voice coming from behind them, a voice they knew, shouting aloud, disturbed them, and just hearing his voice made Aether grit his teeth.

The man who had spoken these words was none other than Tartaglia, the 11th of the Fatui Harbingers, who, judging by his facial expression, was happy to see one of his friends again. However, the feeling wasn't mutual for Aether as he began to clench his fists.

When Paimon, like himself, turned around, Tartaglia was rather surprised to recognise the man dressed in dark tones. He recognised the blond hair and the characteristic braid he had, but sensed that there was something different about him, and it wasn't just his attire.

"Childe!" exclaimed the fairy, but also started to shake in fear. Not because she was afraid of the Harbinger, but for him as she knew things were going to escalate from here.

"Aether? Is that you? I hardly recognized you!" Childe laughed, acting cheerful without a care in the world.

Aether stood there like a statue, not moving a muscle, and his bangs covered his eyes. Childe stopped smiling as he looked at the Traveler concerned. It wasn't like Aether not to greet his friends even if Paimon did most of the talking.

"Aether? Are you alright? You don't look well-"

WHAM!

Before the Fatui Harbinger could react, Aether slammed his fist against Childe's face sending him flying several meters away until his body crashed against a nearby boulder stopping his momentum. The boulder was nearly destroyed, and he began spitting out the blood in his mouth. Childe looked dazed and confused as he struggled to stand up. He saw Aether slowly walking towards him with rage in his eyes that shook him to his core.

"Aether?"

"What the hell are you doing here? How dare you show your face here."

"What do you mean?" Childe said, genuinely confused on why Aether was acting so hostile towards him?

"You heinous, immoral bastard. After all the shit you've pulled in Liyue, you dare act you've done nothing wrong?" Aether seething in rage while Childe was wondering why he was bringing that up now since it was all in the past now.

"Wait! I don't know what's going on with you, but I'm not here to fight right now. I'm here to investigate the various Fatui murders in the region. According to our sources, something or someone has struck down a good number of Fatui, killing them all mercilessly. Her Majesty the Tsaritsa wanted me to find out what was going on," Ajax explained while Aether listened.

The fact that Childe was investigating the death of the Fatui cannon fodders, and was unaware that Mondstadt was in ruins because of him gave Aether a few ideas of what was going on. Either the Knights of Favonius for some reason refused to reveal that he was the one behind it or Childe was just that ignorant of the current events regarding Teyvat.

"You want to know who's responsible? I did it, I'm the one who killed them all," Aether replied coldly, to the surprise of Paimon, who hadn't expected him to tell the truth so clearly, but especially to Tartaglia, who tried to process what he'd just heard as he took a step back.

"You? Are you kidding me?" he asked again, almost stunned by the news wanting to believe that Aether was messing with him, and just making a morbid joke. However, Aether's eyes grew even colder showing how serious he was.

"Why are you so surprised? I loathe your disgusting organization like the cancer that it is. And the only way to stop the cancer cells is to cut it out entirely before it spreads any further."

"I know you and the Fatui aren't on the best of terms, but you've never done this...it makes no sense..."

Tartaglia couldn't understand how Aether could have done this. He knew that Aether was strong and held his own against an entire squad, yes. However, practically an entire army of Fatui were slaughtered, monsters included. He would never have imagined that Aether was capable of taking on an entire army on his own. The Fatui Harbinger found it hard to believe him.

"Listen to me, Harbinger. My patience with you is reaching its limit. So do kindly fuck off or else I'll send you to the depths of Hell like the rest of your cannon fodder. Can you do that? Or are you incapable of following such a basic command like the stupid dog that you are?"

Pissed off, Tartaglia decided that no more words needed to be wasted just actions. The Fatui Harbinger made the first move by summoning his dual hydro blade constructs in his hands while Aether drew his own sword. Paimon watched from a safe distance away as Tartaglia and Aether engaged in an intense sword fight as sparks flew through the air.

However to Tartaglia's dismay, no matter what he did none of his blows were landing onto Aether. Even with him mixing thing's up by switching his hydro blades for his double-bladed glaive to catch Aether off guard didn't seem to deter him at all. Every single attack was either parried or dodged with ease.

Tartaglia brought out his dual hydro blades again for a powerful X-shaped slash while Aether's sword collided in the center of it in a blade lock. The Fatui Harbinger grunted trying to overpower Aether. Nevertheless, despite exerting all his strength and the deep tracks left by his feet in the soil, he was unable to make the Traveler budge. Aether somehow remained perfectly still. Which made no sense to Tartaglia as they evenly matched the last time they fought.

"Is that it, Childe?" Aether asked as he reared his left fist back before it collided into Childe's gut…

BOOM!

The sound of a huge explosion emanated from Childe's back. The Fatui Harbinger expelled copious amounts of blood from his mouth after being struck by the powerful punch. It felt like a Ruin Guard missile had hit just now!

"Rough, yet smooth. It's nothing special really, it's all just innate strength."

Aether raised his left arm, fist clenched before bringing it downwards for a brutal hammer blow. Tartaglia jumped back in the nick of time as the impact of Aether's fist created a large crater. He barely dodged a powerful right hook that fell the nearby tree.

Getting some distance away from himself and Aether, Childe thought of a new plan. If strength wasn't going to cut it then he'll just overwhelm the Traveler with his speed and ranged attacks!

Childe brought out his bow, Rust and Polar Star, and aimed it at Aether. He pulled the bowstring and fired dozens of Hydro arrows. The Fatui Harbinger didn't even wait as he dashed towards Aether while swapping out his bow for his glaive again. Confident, it gave him the opening he needed. Knowing full well that blocking or dodging would leave Aether at a disadvantage.

However, Aether took the third option.

Aether had disappeared entirely with the arrows puncturing the ground and Childe's glaive hitting nothing but the air. The Fatui Harbinger was stunned, wondering where Aether was until he realized that he was right behind him. The Traveler sent a lighting-fast punch toward Childe's face that sent him reeling back, and a new bruise was forming on his cheek. It wasn't as powerful as Aether's previous punch, but it made up for it by how fast it was that he couldn't see it.

Tartaglia quickly regained his composure before swinging his glaive. Numerous boulders and trees were cut clean through, however Aether had avoided each hit. Aether decided to make his counterattack by sending a lightning-fast kick to Tartaglia's jaw, dazing him. It was followed by a swift kick to his gut making him hunch over before an axe-kick to his head knocked the Fatui Harbinger to the ground. Aether used his right foot to lift Tartaglia's entire body by his neck before using the same foot to smash it against Childe's face once more.

Helpless, Childe cried out in agony as numerous lightning-fast kicks overwhelmed him and drew blood. Aether's attacks were not only fast, but he just couldn't see where they were coming from to defend himself.

"Pathetic." Aether said as he gazed down at Childe lying on the ground, bloodied and defeated.

Aether began walking away from Childe. Aether's complete disregard for him, as if he were an insignificant bug, was infuriating. He didn't even see the Fatui Harbinger as a threat.

"N-Not yet!" Childe wheezed as he began to stand up, his legs shaking.

"Aether, I don't know why you did this, but I can't let you go on killing my comrades, the Tsaritsa won't forgive you for your transgressions...And neither will I!"

As dark energy filled the air making it difficult to believe, Tartaglia transformed directly into his most powerful form, the Foul Legacy. As the Fatui Harbinger donned the monstrous armor, Aether remained unimpressed. Childe's greatest display of strength failed to phase the Traveler, intensifying the fury within him. To be underestimated, especially considering his many accomplishments, felt like a direct insult. He, a Fatui Harbinger chosen by the Tsaritsa herself to execute her will.

"Hey Childe, you do realize by that logic I have a score I need to settle with you too. Just as you condemn me for killing your cannon fodder. You and the rest of the Fatui have destroyed lives too. I judge you for the many crimes against Teyvat!"

Before Tartaglia could move, he froze up when he saw it. Aether stood still, not moving a muscle. A flame-like aura surrounded his body with the colors of light mint green, goldenrod yellow, vivid purple, and chartreuse. His own eyes, more specifically Aether's iris, changed to the same colors that stared into the Fatui Harbinger's soul. This was the result of all the power, experience, and intense emotions that were building up inside of Aether that led to him gaining a new power he achieved all by himself. All of his breathing, movements, senses, and elemental power have been optimized to their fullest.

Paimon watched from the sidelines, shaking in fear. Was this the power that Aether claimed to have been holding back this entire time? He didn't use it against the Archons since he never needed to begin with. Aether was making an exception for Childe since he despised the man extremely much.

A power called Supernova.

Tartaglia wasted no time exchanging any witty banter, instead immediately thrust his Electro glaive right into Aether's heart. His body moved on its own because of his instincts. The instinct telling him it's kill or be killed. Tartaglia realized that he missed entirely as the glaive hit nothing but the air as Aether seemingly disappeared. It took a moment for him to realize that Aether was doing a one-arm handstand on top of his head before smashing his foot atop his skull and slamming him into the ground.

There wasn't a moment to spare.

Tartaglia channeled Electro energy into his glaive and sent a barrage of quick stabs and swings toward Aether…

There's no time to think.

…Only for the Traveler to wrap his right forearm with glowing green plant vines to parry every blow. The plant vines feasted on the Electro energy before Aether moved his arm in a wide arc staggering Childe. He then proceeded to have more plant vines wrapped around his right leg and sent an explosive Hyperbloom roundhouse kick to Childe's midsection that sent him soaring through the air until he crashed into another boulder.

How can I win? How can I survive?

The Fatui Harbinger groaned as he rolled to the side, struggling to rise to his feet. His eyes widened when he saw a wave of rock spears flying at Childe. With a mighty swing of his dual blades, the Geo weapons were destroyed. However, Childe felt an ominous presence behind him, he instinctively swung in an overarching motion, hitting nothing.

There's no time to feel anything.

Realizing how exposed he was now, Childe fell for Aether's feint—allowing the Traveler the chance to use his plant vines to wrap around the Fatui Harbinger's body before pulling him towards him. First, it was an Anemo-powered right cross to his face, followed by an elbow to the face, and then a back kick that sent Childe crashing toward the ground.

The urge of wanting to fight is gone.

As Tartaglia lay on the ground, Aether's fist was engulfed in various elemental energy before bringing it towards his former friend's skull…

It's all just fear.

In a burst of surprising speed, Tartaglia tackled Aether until his back crashed towards the nearby mountainside. Desperation was now fueling the Fatui Harbinger's movements in a desperate attempt for survival.

"I have to kill him! Otherwise he'll kill me! But can I really kill him?! Even if I give it everything I've got?!"

Even with Childe's determination and desperation to kill Aether, he knew that it wasn't possible. Simply because the Fatui Harbinger lacked the power needed to do just that.

Aether placed his right hand against Tartaglia's torso and channeled a burst of elemental energy that sent him skidding back. Tartaglia cried out in agony as the energy heavily cracked his armor.

Aether sneered in disgust. "You claim you wanted to avenge your subordinates, but in truth, you just came here for a good fight. Your so-called comrades are nothing more than sacrificial lambs for your fellow Fatui Harbingers and Archon. The only reason they bothered to care now is that they're just annoyed that your resource died before putting them to use for their schemes."

"Shut up! That's not true, they're our comrades, and the Tsaritsa has the utmost confidence in us! And in the name of her majesty, I'm going to stop you!"

"Spare me the patriotism and recruitment pitch, Childe." Aether scoffed while rolling his eyes

Tartaglia paused for a brief moment before summoning a massive whale entirely made of Hydro. He then channeled Electro to the water construct for more damage thinking that Aether wouldn't be able to stop it.

Before taking on the gigantic whale, the Traveler channeled Geo energy into his fists, raising his arms upwards.

"THE WALL!"

Both Childe and Paimon's eyes widened as they watched as a massive ornate wall of solid earth at least twelve meters high sprung up from the ground. The whale crashed towards the stone wall with devastating force. It was an unstoppable force versus an immovable object. Eventually, the immovable object won as the whale lost its form and was reduced to nothing more than a simple body of water.

When Tartaglia's attack was completely wiped out, the Harbinger was more than shocked, his mind processing what just happened. Aether turned to face him, his hair a little wet from the whale.

"Have you finished?" Aether asked sarcastically.

"How!?"

"Oh, nothing at all...But now that you've had your fun..."

Aether's multi-colored eyes stared into Childe's soul again. Elemental energy began to flare up showing he was done messing around.

"... It's my turn..."

Childe didn't even have time to defend himself when Aether ran towards him fast enough to land another punch in his stomach, infusing his fist with Anemo for more damage. Cracks and lacerations began to form around Tartaglia's armored abdomen before blood began to leak out, sending him tumbling several meters into the air.

Aether from where he was standing, threw a giant Geo pillar, much bigger than the pillars he used to make, aiming precisely at Tartaglia's back. The stone pillar slammed into the Fatui Harbinger's body causing him to crash hard against the ground and a dust cloud forming.

When the dust had cleared slightly, Tartaglia's mask was gone and parts of his armor were heavily cracked. Incidentally, the pillar had also exploded into debris from the impact allowing Tartaglia to stand on shaky legs without the stone construct pinning him to the ground. He felt lucky that his transformation was sturdy enough to take most of the damage, even though it didn't change the massive gap between himself and Aether.

No sooner had the Harbinger struggled to his feet than Aether appeared, infusing his right leg with Anemo energy, and then delivering a powerful kick to his left arm. The pressure of the blow mixed with the elemental energy, Tartaglia felt a crack in the humerus bone of his arm, as he was thrown against a tree, his face smashing against the trunk, and even his armor could do nothing.

Aether ran towards him while Tartaglia cried out in pain again, no longer feeling his broken left arm before the Traveler threw him into the air. Striking his armored chest with his feet until more pieces began to fall off, his legs were infused with Anemo energy, moving faster and faster…

"BREAKTHROUGH!"

Each blow that Tartaglia received on his body was enough to almost stop him breathing, he couldn't stop coughing up blood and saliva, his eyes wide as his cries of pain grew louder and more numerous. He could feel his ribs about to break, the power of his blows were too strong, and he knew that if he didn't get out of there, he could die.

As Tartaglia fell to the ground once again, Aether watched him like a hawk until he saw Tartaglia get up somehow. The Fatui Harbinger looked awful as blood and cuts formed around his face, his left eye completely swollen. Foul Legacy was barely functioning as the mask and armored abdomen were destroyed, leaving only heavily cracked gauntlets and grieves. The aura of Foul Legacy was flicking like a candle while his left arm was limp from being broken.

Childe knew he was going to die here at the hands of someone he once could call his friend. If that was the case, he would go down fighting. Despite all the fear and pain he was experiencing, Childe refused to run away or beg for his life. He was a proud Fatui Harbinger, executor of the Cryo Archon's will. He refused to dishonor himself, and the Tsaritsa to the bitter end.

Childe used his functioning right arm to form a single Hydro blade and pointed it at Aether.

"I'm not running away! I am Tartaglia, Eleventh of the Fatui Harbingers! In the name of the Tsaritsa, I will stop you!"

More elemental energy flared up around Aether as Childe's act of defiance served to piss him even more. Aether disappeared in a flash until he grabbed his broken left arm electrocuting it, making his cry out in agony as lifted him over his head slamming him to the ground a total of five times, cratering the ground.

Aether had finally let go of Childe as he lay on his back defeated. Not yet satisfied, Aether raised his left foot before stomping on his right arm, completely shattering every bone. Childe wailed in agony before Aether kicked him across the jaw knocking out most of his teeth.

Childe was now completely defeated, Foul Legacy was no longer functioning with the wielder reaching its limit. His face was bloody and bruised from the beating almost unrecognizable. His clothes were reduced to rags, various lacerations, and major bruising appeared around most of his body. His left arm was severely damaged from the broken bones and severely charred skin while every bone in his right arm was shattered.

Aether kneeled down observing Childe's pitiful state while Paimon finally came out of hiding feeling some remorse for Childe. Even though she couldn't condone him for all of his crimes, it didn't mean Paimon relished in his brutal beatdown.

"W-Why?" Childe wheezed as he could barely form any words right now.

"It's simple, Childe. I'm cutting ties with all the friends I made in this journey simply because I hate all of you. So much, I want nothing to do with any of you anymore because I'm sick of solving your problems when all of you are too cowardly and incompetent to do it yourselves. This beating I just gave you so much needed catharsis, you and your disgusting organization have done. Lastly, I needed some combat experience."

"Huh?" Paimon and Childe looked at Aether in confusion.

"I recently found out that your fellow Fatui Harbinger, Arlecchino, is in Fontaine right now. While I would prefer to avoid fighting her, I just know that I will have to fight her in the end. So the best thing to do is to prepare myself, you know what that means, Childe?"

"Y-You!" Childe's visible eye looked at Aether in anger as he knew what he meant while Aether smirked.

"That's right, me beating you to a bloody pulp was all for the sake of me gaining combat experience for the real Fatui threat I'll face in Fontaine. Thank you, Childe. Thank you for being such a wonderful sparring dummy against Arlecchino. I have a strong feeling that she'll be more of a challenge than you'll ever be." Aether mocked him while Childe was filled with fury at the mockery.

Aether stomped on Childe's deformed face making him wail in agony as he pressed hard on his skull. Tartaglia could feel the pressure building on his head, and the gravel beneath him dug deeper into his skin.

"You know, Childe your demise would be truly pitiful. I mean I could kill you right now, and the only people who mourn for you would be your family. All of Liyue would happily cheer that you're dead, and your fellow Fatui Harbingers and Archon would just mock you over your grave, forget you ever existed, and then replace you faster than the snowflakes could hit the ground." Aether sneered digging his shoe further while Childe could only groan, not dignifying his words knowing he was completely right.

Surprisingly, Aether lifted his foot from Childe's face before gesturing to Paimon to come to his side.

"Come on, let's go..."

"You're not going to kill him?" Paimon asked, surprised by this.

"He's not worth the effort. I wasted enough time fighting him."

"I understand..."

"Right, let's go..."

Aether brushed the dust off his clothes before leaving for good, continuing his journey, before the last thing Childe saw was Aether and Paimon walking towards the village of Qiaoying, without looking back.

He couldn't move and was too injured to do anything else. It looked like Death was coming to claim his soul now. Everything felt uncomfortably cold, but it somewhat eased his pain. Childe knew if help didn't come for him soon then he would surely die from his wounds.

"Why?...What happened...To make you so...strong and different?..."

After the weak words he uttered out, although he was really struggling with his broken jaw, knowing full well that Aether was already too far away to hear him, his eyes closed again and darkness consumed him, lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, having suffered the wrath of the Traveler.

Hiding behind the trees was a lone Fatui Pyro Agent, the sole survivor of the secret base that Aether just recently destroyed.

Who knew that oversleeping and missing his scheduled reports could have saved his life?

The Fatui Pyro Agent had witnessed the whole battle. The Traveler had overwhelmed Lord Tartaglia in a one-sided battle. The Pyro Agent wanted to aid Lord Tartaglia, but the sheer power and brutality that Aether had used filled him with intense terror that made moving impossible. It was only then when Aether and Paimon were far enough away that the Pyro Agent approached the badly wounded Harbinger.

"I must get Lord Tartaglia medical attention and inform Lady Knave about the Traveler." thought the Pyro Agent as he picked up Childe to get him to the closest doctor available before making plans to head to Fontaine and inform the Knave about the Traveler.

Thank you all for reading!
The Wall and Breakthrough are hissatsus from Inazuma Eleven, and belong to Level-5.