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Lumine thinks she heard of those words before, that hilichurls were once people of khaenri’ah, and she did grieve for them, but in this nightmare of crimson, she did not care. They were but targets, bags of meats that bled. That inflicts pain in which she needs to massacre to survive.
Bloody masks, weapons, screams littered the ground of this dimension, dreams are nightmares, she wanted to go home, she wanted her brother and in this moment of weakness she forgot to dodge, a wound was inflicted amongst the other dozens. Lumine gritted her teeth through the pain and lodged her prototype rancour just below the mask of hilichurl, separating its head from its body.
« Lumine » A voice behind shook.
« Paimon » She responded curtly as she slashed through another horde of the never-ending army of hilichurls, she spared a moment to glance behind her to meet eyes with her friend, the blood did not bod well with the image of Paimon. The first thing she’ll do when they go home will be to wash it off Lumine decided as she turned back to face the Abyss mage, avoiding the bubbles before hurling an anemo whirling at the crowd, making them fly away.
Lumine was tired. If protecting Paimon right now was her goal then she had forgotten why she was here in the first place. Ah yes, because of her stupid brother. The surrounding hilichurls froze in place, and there he was, her brother, stepping out of the portal with whatever monstrous thing was by his bequest.
« Sister » he started « You are weak »
At this moment, Lumine was overwhelmed with pure anger, « What are you talking about !? » She screamed hoarsely « I’ve done all of this ! » A sob tore free from her lips, sudden and unrelenting.
Aether remained indifferent, coldness etched into his facade. He slowly walked just in front of his twin,
« Join me, Join me and we’ll never be separated again, Join me and let’s go back home when our journey here ends, » Aether said monotonously reaching a hand to the other.
Lumine looked on with dismay, frozen in some kind of trance.
« Don’t listen to him ! » A desperate shout came from behind, Paimon.
Lumine shook her head wildly, « Brother, these people.. you can’t do this ! »
« Are you really going to throw it away ? Centuries of just you and me, abandoned for a world you’ve known for but a year ! »
« No ! No, you’re not the brother I knew ! » Lumine spit out hotly, words so bitter on her tongue that her mouth watered.
A sign was her only response before Aether walked away, ever so slowly, each thudding of steps resounding in her memories.
« Wait ! »
« If you’re not willing to join me, then you are my enemy. » Aether bit out, and as Lumine gazed into her twin’s eyes, the cold had been burned by hot anger and if you looked closely enough, a tinge of pity hidden amongst the flame.
Aether disappeared just as he had appeared leaving only the undying horde of hilichurls and an abyss Herald in all its glory, to destroy what was already trampled.
Lumine tried to get up once more to try to get to her brother, to take a hold of him and never let him go, but the pain was too much for her to bear so she fell back down with a grunt. Teyvat’s hero could only watch as her only family was slipping away from her grasp once again, the despair seizing her heart so, so tightly.
Only then did she realized that her shoulder was pulsing, blood flowing out of the wound, making it shake. Her whole body was shaking at this point, and not just because of the pain. She started to fear for her life in this moment, fear of what would happen if she survived but had to continue to live with the feeling of failure again. She didn’t know if she would be able to do it, let alone, on her own.
So right now, death seemed like a justifiable choice. She was so tired of always fighting alone, helping everyone with no help in return. Maybe, she thought, death could set me free. It was a selfish wish, she knew that.
There was one thing still she wanted to make sure if this was her last day in this world. She wanted Paimon to be safe. Her little fairy had always been there for her during good and harsh times. When the memories and feelings were too much, it was Paimon who talked on her behalf. When she felt exhausted from the commissions, Paimon would make sure she got some rest and that nobody would bother her. She had always been there, and right now she was still there, screaming at Lumine to get up and escape but there wasn’t any escape from her fate anymore. Answering the fairy’s pleas, she slowly pushed herself on weak legs and put a protective hand in front of her her.
“Traveler ! Hurry up we gotta get out of here !!!” the voice of her companion shook as dread filled her with each step the Abyss Herald took closer to them.
“Paimon,” Just pronouncing this word was already taking so much energy : She had to make it quick. “You need to go.” She finally said, panting.
“Of course we need to go !! But we’re wasting time talking !!!” she screamed, desperate.
“No,” Lumine took a deep breath, “You have to go without me.” She spat.
“Why ??? Paimon doesn’t want to leave you !! Paimon won’t leave you !” Her shouts were getting wet with unshed tears. “Open a portal so we can both go home, now !” Home. This word provoked so many emotions in her, but which home were we talking about ? Every time she had saved a city, the respective Archons always told her that she was welcomed here. Yet, each time she went into a city to relax, so many people asked her so many things. She didn’t feel at home there, that’s for sure. The three dieties did feel like home most of the time, their presence was comforting but they had other things to do.
Is aether her home ? They say the home is where the heart rest. Aether was her only family, her only companion for years when they travelled from world to world. He used to be her home. Now she didn’t know. So going back home meant nothing to her in this moment, but she couldn’t tell Paimon that since she was the thing that was the closer to home. That’s why she had to go.
“Paimon,” she started, “Please, just go.” She too, was getting desperate. “You have to survive…”
“No !” She shouted, “No way Paimon would leave you alone !!” As much as this was endearing, Lumine knew they didn’t have time to argue. She had to convice Paimon to get out of here, fast.
“Just… just go get help, but you have to leave, I can't open a portal for two long enough. ” That wasn’t true of course, but what she wasn’t sure of, is if they would both arrive at destination safely or how she would move afterwards with no energy left in her entire body.
Luckily that seemed to do the trick since Paimon’s resolve started to fall apart at the new solution of somehow get help and save Lumine. “I… I… but if I leave you then you’ll…” She didn’t want to finish her sentence, too scared to.
“I’ll be fine.” Lumine spat out with great effort “But we have to hurry or I won’t have enough strength anymore.” She said on a tone that left no discussion.
“O-Okay.” Paimon said, hesitantly. “But you have to survive or you’ll see !” Her attempt at making menaces was endearing, really, if they weren’t in this situation, Lumine would have found it funny.
Lumine nodded and gathered her energy to open a portal that would lead the fairy out of this dimension. She didn’t know the destination, too exhausted to pay attention to it, but it was in Teyvat at least. Once it had appeared, she smiled at Paimon who floated into it, unsure. Before completely entering it, she turned back at Lumine one last time.
“Don’t you dare die !! Paimon will definitely bring back help so you better stay alive !!” She finally ordered before flying off and disappearing in a blue light.
With Paimon gone, Lumine could concentrate entirely onto the fight that was coming up. Not much of a fight when she could barely stand, but she had no choice. She doubted her companion would be able to find anybody who’d be capable of getting in this space and save her in before she lost the battle against her consciousness.
She turned her body back into fighting mode, gripped her sword so thightly her knuckles turned white and glared at the Abyss Herald who kept moving slowly, as if mocking her. She closed her eyes to concentrate and charged forward with no care as if this would be her last move or not.
-
As soon as Paimon got teleported and somehow landed in Mont Tianheng, she started flying in direction of Liyue as fast as she could. Once she arrived in Liyue Harbor in a record time, she started searching for someone, somebody that would be able to help Lumine. Perhaps Zhongli would to the trick, his godly powers should be able to teleport them to where Lumine was.
Searching everywhere, her head spinning from side to side, she finally spotted on a terrace three familiar figures of their archon friends. They were chatting while drinking. Well, Venti was drinking and the other two were sipping their tea. It was an rare sight, three gods just hanging out together, but they were immortals and being so it was actually pretty logic that they’d find friends in eachother, since they would probably spend eternity together.
Today, though, the deities were not just talking of trivial matters but actually reunited to discuss a much more serious topic : The Abyss. Lately there has been some strange activity around Mondstadt. Venti sensed some weird energy in the air, indicating an augmentation of these same activities. Adventurers had also been confronted more often to Abyss mages and monsters.
Venti may not be present officially as Barbatos in the city of freedom, but he was still worried for his people naturally. He went to Liyue to talk about it with Zhongli, who then proposed they’d discuss the matter with Baal, since it was concerning. She accepted pretty quickly and came over to Liyue, because it was closer. This is how they got here, sharing their opinions and suppositions on the subject. Nobody had mentioned it but all knew what they actually feared. A repeat of the accident that happened 500 years ago.
What they didn’t know, is that these activities were the cause Lumine was fighting for her life in this moment. Her brother had been actively searching for her and to achieve that he disposed numbers of his subordinates in Mondstadt. Worried by the sudden actions of the Abyss horders, Lumine had gone investigate and ended up in this situation. At least she had discovered what she was searching for, but at what cost ?
Going back to present, Paimon was overjoyed to not only find Zhongli but the other two archons as well. She didn’t have time to celebrate because her best friend could be dying right now. She flew in front of them and crashed into Venti. Surprised, he almost fell out of his chair but caught himself. Ei and Zhongli had tensed at the sudden arrival but relaxed when they recognized the fairy. However, it was odd seeing her without the traveler at her side.
Only did they realized something was wrong when Paimon’s face came into view after her brutal landing. She had a look of utter terror on her face.
“Tone-deaf bard, Zhongli, Ei !! Lumine is in danger you have to help or-or, she’s gonna die !!” She shouted, voice shaking and filled with tears. It was said fast but the Archons caught enough to start worrying. Who had the audacity to hurt their beloved traveler ? The one that helped all their nations and themselves ? The dieties felt a sense of protectiveness growing in them but it was only natural that they’d gotten attached after all Lumine did for them.
Meanwhile Paimon was trying to explain to them the situation the faster she could which resulted in her panicked words and gestures leaving her breathless.
“We-we were searching for the Abyss and then they appeared and captured us into another dimension and a lot of hilichurls and monster arrived and it was too much and then- and then- ”
“ Whoa, Whoa, calm down Paimon !” Venti stopped her in her rambling, it would lead them nowhere. “Breathe. Now explain to us what happened. Slowly.” Paimon did as she was told and took a deep breath. Then she spoke, more clearly and tried her best to clarify the situation, but all were already on edge at the mention of the Abyss.
As soon as the fairy finished her story, all three archons had stood and were prepared to act. If what Paimon had said was true, then Lumine was in great danger and it was their responsibility to help her. To save her. Venti, Zhongli and Ei were not anymore, Barbatos, Morax and Raiden Ei had replaced them.
With all the seriousness nobody expected from the Archon of Anemo, he said.
“Leave it to us, Paimon.”
-
It might have been hours. It might have been days. It might even have been between the space of one breath and another. Lumine could no longer tell. She could not feel her legs anymore, her arms drooped to her side, her eyes were falling shut, her mind like a leaf on the tide, doomed to fall, yet even in these last few breaths. She felt pain. Despair. The enemy still never reaching her before she fell.
Lumine could not tell if what she fell on was solid ground or corps of the massacred. The traveler slowly closed her eyes, warmth under her fingertips, comfortable in the lull of her own blood.
Her body was failing her and her mind was giving up. The finals strands of resolve she possessed were fading away in the nothingness. Like a broken doll, she could not move an inch anymore, as if all the tides that kept her going had been cut. She was going to die in a matter of a few moments if she didn’t move.
The remaining monsters she hadn’t been able to finish off were guided by an Abyss Herald and came closer with each passing seconds. ‘Give up’ a voice in the back of her mind whispered on an almost mocking tone. And for a moment she was tempted to do it. Her death was imminent and nothing she could do would help anymore. She was at her last ressources. ‘Maybe giving up is not so bad.’ She thought.
‘Wait.’
When all hope had seemed to disappear, another voice appeared. No. Not just one. Dozens. She knew those voices. She recognized them, but where did she… Oh.
The whispers grew louder and louder until she finally took notice of who they belonged to.
Her mind was replaying all the voices of the people of Teyvat she knew and cherished. All the people who she ever encountered during her travels, Paimon, the people that cared for her in return. Those she helped, that helped her too, friends, family…
Family. Aether. She could hear him too now. The aether she knew and loved. Not the one that had put her in this situation.
All the voices versed into one. One that shouted clearly.
‘Don’t stop fighting Lumine.’
She reopened her eyes suddenly and lifted her head to meet the hand of the Abyss Herald that was about to strike her.
‘If this is the end, I will face death in the eye.’ She kept her gaze locked onto the her enemy and waited for the hit to finish her.
It never came.
A bright light suddenly flashed the room.
Lumine thought it was the end for a second.
She knew it wasn’t when she felt strong, protective and very alive winds embrace her from all sides.
While a part of her was going wild questioning what had just happened, another one wanted to cry in relief.
When the light dissipated and Lumine was able to reopen her eyes, the sight left her speechless and breathless.
It only made her want to cry more.
Standing tall, covering her weakened form, were the three archons she never thought she ever would see again.
The winds were still encircling her and keeping her upright but had started to calm down.
What or who had not calmed down though, were the very angry dieties. Lumine felt a shiver running down her spine at the sight.
Not only did their posture indicated stiffness and tension, a godly aura was coming out of them.
Their eyes. Oh, their eyes. Green, gold and purple glowed like three kind of moons in the night. Their hair also glowed and it was majestic.
They all emitted enough power to have on chokehold and at their feet any mortal or nation.
Yet. Yet Lumine only felt warm and comfort surrounding her. After fighting endlessly for so long, their presence was similar to a blanket being laid out on her.
Any fear she had of dying, of her finals moments vanished and she felt safe.
Her Archons were here and they were not happy.
-
Venti was fuming . Not only did his land had gotten under the threat of multiple attacks, one of his dear friends was hurt because of it. A part of him felt guilty for being powerless and late, but he knew that it wasn’t the moment for regrets. Right now, he would kill whoever had had the nerve to hurt his traveler.
Zhongli felt irritated. It was normal for the Abyss to cause some problems here and there but there was lines they should not cross. Especially hurting a person a god held dear.
Ei was feeling… weird. From the moment she heard about the Traveler being in danger, it had awoken a urge of protectiveness inside of her she didn’t thought existed. The sudden need to eliminate every threat was omnipresent in her mind. She didn’t quite get the meaning behind those feelings but she didn’t complain.
After the initial arrival, the Archons finally took action. It all went very fast. At the moment they made their apparition, the Abyss Herald got propelled on the other side of the room into a wall.
The three did not waste time. They could feel the strong, evil power everywhere in the space, in the monsters as well as in the air itself. To any human it would have been suffocating and nothing guaranteed Lumine could bear it any longer : They had to first erase it.
Before Lumine could say a word, light started to illuminate the room again and she could only cover her eyes.
All of them had thought of the same thing, to eradicate a power, you had to use an even stronger one. Even without their gnosis, Archons stayed incredibly powerful and had access to different forms. More god-like forms.
When the room regained its normal luminosity, Lumine had lost her words once again. Her brain was taking in account the divine appearances in front of her. Green tatoos and white clothes had recovered the Anemo archon and two wings adorned his back. The arms of Zhongli had revealed their brown color and he was wearing a white attire as well. Only Ei’s appearance stayed the same since she was a present god, but the change in her energy was obvious.
To say the least, all of them were stunning. Lumine felt privileged for having the opportunity to witness such a sight. If monsters didn’t kill her, this definitely would.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t the moment to be dazed by their heavenly and beautiful appearance. Lumine didn’t even have the time to complain when the wind that had been shielding her disappeared suddenly and since it was her only support to stay upright, her legs gave out under her and she braced herself for the impact with the ground that was coming closer at an alarming rate.
Fortunately, her fall was stopped by two arms supporting her and sitting her down gently.
She wanted to protest, to say something like she could still fight. It was not true, of course and truthfully, the girl felt drained and exhausted, wanting nothing more but to rest.
Yet, Lumine felt like she didn’t have that right. Not when monsters were still around, when her brother had just been here moments ago. All the anger was gone and it left her with nothing but desperation. Desperate to do what ? Lumine wasn’t sure. The self-sacrificing part of her just needed to do something. Anything.
But the more she thought about it, the more she realized she didn’t need to. Not when such gentle hands were hovering over her, treating her like she was made of glass and could shatter at any moment. Not when three of her dear friends were presently at her side, trying to get the hurt traveler to respond to their questions. Not when Paimon -Oh Paimon is here- was flying anxiously around them.
As she made observations of what was happening, the world shifted back into focus and voices started to reach her ears. That’s when Lumine realized she had spaced out, if not passed out on the floor a long moment. Maybe it was because of her injuries, blood loss, a concussion or something else, there were plenty of reasons why.
Finally the fog in her brain cleared up completely but it was accompanied by shouting, unfortunately. Well, if she truly hadn’t responded for a long time, it was understandable.
“Traveler, can you hear us ?”
“Lumine, dear child, try to come back to us.”
“Lumine, please respond !!!” she recognized the last voice as the bard’s that was half-carrying her. The two others ones were more quiet but still present and also identifiable as the Electro and Geo Archon. The small anxious screams must belong to Paimon then. All in all, the love and care in all those voices encouraged her to open her eyes. Uh ? When did she closed them ?
A golden shield protecting them was the first thing she noticed. The second one being the green and blue anemo god sitting in front of her and finally the others in the room.
When she moved her head in confusion, four worried and hopeful eyes stared even harder. The purple-haired woman tried again.
“Lumine, are you back ? Can you hear our voices ? If you are able to, please do answer.” It was said in a sweet tone one wouldn’t normally associate with the archon, but Ei did possessed a soft side. Sadly, not a lot of people were able to see that. Even though, Lumine felt recomforted by the voice and decided she couldn’t make them worry any longer.
“Yes, I…I can hear you.” Sighs of relief echoed in the space. “Sorry, I spaced out a bit.” If even those small sentences left her panting, she must really be in a bad state. The action of speaking even brought up a coughing fit she didn’t have the strength to suppress. She felt gentle hands on her back, comforting her through it.
Reality was finally catching up with her as she started wondering how they had gotten here in the first place. Paimon must have guided them, but in such a short amount of time ? It wasn’t possible unless they all were at the same place to begin with. It still would’ve been a major coincidence.
“How… how did you get here ?” Lumine asked, ignoring the pain that came with it.
“Now is not the time to worry about that Lumine, but I promise we will explain everything.” Said the firm voice of the Geo Archon while he got up. The response didn’t satisfy Lumine at all, but she figured she didn’t have much of a choice but to wait.
The dieties, now reassured that their traveler was responsive and conscious, had refocused on the other problem at hand. While the first blow had projected the Abyss Herald far from them and knocked it out for a couple of minutes, it was getting up once again and seemed to prepare another attack. How foolish of him to ever hope doing damage to a god or a person they held dear. Surely in the next few moments, even a minion like him would understand the true power of this kind of bond.
Zhongli and Ei put themselves in a fighting and shielding position while Venti kept close to Lumine with Paimon.
“Barbatos, get Lumine out of here.” It was almost said as an order by Ei, but Venti immediately complied to it, showing he was about to do it, asked to or not. The only one who did not have a say in this was Lumine apparently, and she did not have plans to leave this place any time soon. Her brother had been there. She couldn’t let this chance escape. She tried to protest with the little will she had left in her, and stubbornly tried to get up in spite of every inch of her body screaming in agony. Standing on weak and shaky legs, she weakly grabbed Venti for support, who tried to sit her back down. 'Not yet’ a small voice inside of her supplied. 'I can still stand, I’m not done yet.’
“I can still…” Her sentence was left unfinished when her legs gave out under the pressure.
At this point, the girl didn’t know what she was still fighting for. Or against. Lumine felt Venti catch her once again but this time he didn’t let go of her, and after securing the weakened traveler against his chest, he gripped her shoulders -not too tight – and slipped a hand under her legs to lift her body bridal style. Lumine’s head rested against his chest, giving up the fight against exhaustion.
The movement must have gotten the attention of the two others Archons but they choose not to look at her. Maybe because it pained them to see her in such a state, when she was usually so strong. Plus, they trusted Venti to get her somewhere safe.
“Okay,” said the bard after considering the situation, a passed out Lumine in his arms and a worried Paimon flying around them. “I’ll get her at Windrise. You two can manage without me ?” he asked, teasingly to his fellow Archons.
“Actually, we'll probably be quicker without you in our way.” Answered the god of Geo, completely serious, which made Venti gasp in indignation. “And please do not waste any more time here.”
“You’re mean, Morax !” Was the last thing he shouted before lifting himself and Lumine up by moving his wings slowly and disappearing in a portal.
With the traveler being out of harm’s way, the dieties of Liyue and Inazuma were able to concentrate entirely onto the enemies before them. A quick glance was exchanged and the next moment, the ground shook with their attacks.
A God’s fury, something so otherworldly and terrifying, a being that acted on whims and beliefs. Zhongli or perhaps Morax held a polearm, and suddenly, his hands knew no other shape than that of the oval shape of its hilt, swinging eternally, finding its mark through the mortal and supernatural.
Now, multiply that by two, because both lightning and geo were in a fury, a fury that exceeded that of an angry god, it was that of a fury of someone that had something to lose, that had something to protect.
Anger that the Abyss Herald was confronted with, fear had no grasp on its mind, so it charged. And soon the clashes of lightning striking from above, the particles of electricity ringing in the air, earthquake where there was no earth. All appearing from seemingly nowhere yet everywhere. Blows that would have killed an army thrown and then blocked with ease.
Lightning and Earth did not work well together. It did not matter. They will destroy. The Abyss herald swinging their swords with the accuracy of a machine and the Archons incredible feet of power even without their gnosis. It was a dance to behold.
Madness cowers before the two, as Shogun slashed at its torso Morax would shower the field with projectiles made of earth, and soon, the monster fell.
-
On the other two’s side, things weren’t going as smoothly. Venti had successfully brought them to Windrise, at his statue where Lumine would be able to retrieve some energy. A trip at the Cathedral will be necessary once everything would be settled. Even if he tried not to show it, the Anemo god was extremely scared for the blond girl he had grown to affectionate so much. What if Lumine didn’t survive ? What if she had major or internal injuries they didn’t know about ?
Venti shook his head, putting an end to his trail of thoughts before they could get out of control. He should be focusing on Lumine and Lumine only, and he couldn’t do that if he let his worries get the best of him.
‘Morax and Ei are probably handling the situation easily back there, I can’t fail here. I can’t fail Lumine. I won’t.’ And with this determination, he began to summon his winds. Venti may not have his gnosis anymore, but he was still a god, he was still Barbatos, especially in this form. Therefore, he had still the control over the wind of his land. Well, control was not the good word. Winds are not to be controlled, they represent freedom, he knew that better than anyone else. Call out would be a better term, but in any case they would always respond to him.
Concentrating, the Archon asked them to protect the fallen warrior, by building another barrier of air that will prevent anyone and anything from entering and assailing Lumine. The winds were more than happy to obligate, since they too, had become fond of the traveler over time.
Once Venti was sure Lumine would be safe until their return, he bent down to place a soft kiss on her forehead, silently apologizing for not being there earlier. He cradled her head to move it into a more comfortable position before backing up a couple of meters and open another portal to the dimension. As much as he wanted to stay by Lumine’s side, he knew they had to take care of the menace once for all.
With that goal in mind, he left to help his fellow Archons. The faster they erased whatever enemy that was still standing, the faster they could assist Lumine.
“Did you miss me ?” Venti shouted out as he reappeared in the bubble dimension, quite the contrast between the gory scenery of the two Archons in a field of strewn husks and rivers of blood.
“Venti.” Zhongli said with the gravity that Venti had not heard of after the archon war “How’s Lumine ?”
Venti decided that the scene of fallen humanoids was more prudent than to look into Morax’s eyes, he took a breath and both gods met eyes, a quiet understanding between the two oldest Archons that none could understand, not even Celestia.
“ She’s in a bad state, but she’ll live, because she’s Lumine you know ?” Venti gave a solemn smile.
“Did you finish the job ? ” Venti asked, moving his head to look being the two.
“No.” Morax said as he turned back to face the hoards of hilichurls still around the battlefield, waiting to be freed from their existence.
“Then we should get to it.” Venti stated as he took out his bow and pulled the string taunt.
-
Her eyes felt heavy, eyelids refusing to open, and so Lumine did not. She breathed the minty smell of grass as the breeze meandered against her skin, it felt nice, the feeling of being protected, like nothing could ever harm her ever again. Lumine wished she could stay here forever. But there was this nagging feeling in her mind like she had forgotten something, something she had purposefully tried ignoring. This feeling of longing.
Thats when her golden eyes snapped open, the traveler sat up abruptly and immediately regretted it at the sharp pain in her ribs. Lumine opened her eyes at the view of windrise and its vast green lands, a chilling wind surrounding the valley.
Her brother, she had to find him ! Oh, how long she had traversed the world, how many people she met, how much she endured, just so that another chance could slip between her grasp. She will not allow this opportunity to escape. As long as she was breathing, she would never give up on her family.
Wincing through the pain, she marched downhill, her once pale clothing now tainted with blood, Lumine lifted her hand and made contact with the statue of Barbatos, rough texture under her fingers before she was warped back into the dimension of nightmares.
Lumine’s boots were tainted once more by the bloody rivers of this accursed place. The smell of flesh revolting and cold mist too thick to breathe properly, or it might have just been the pulsing wound shredding her stomach. Not that Lumina cared. It was only then that the Traveler realised something other than the strewn bodies.
Their glowing locks of hair and a presence beyond this realm. Barbatos, Morax, Baal.
A pregnant pause hung in the mist, swaying and present. A second passed, maybe two. Until Venti was the first to react.
“What are doing here !? Lumine you’re hurt.” In a voice that sounded not like Venti at all, he was the one that always jokes, the one that had a mischievous smile. The sharpest of tongues but the most fondest of hearts. That could alleviate a sad tune or a bad situation with just his presence. That was not the Venti she knew, his voice sounded more scratchy than usual, and there was a sort of irritation in his tone.
Maybe Lumine should have been ashamed of worrying her friends, maybe she should have stayed under that tree. But the only thing she felt was irrational anger.
She shut her teeth with a clack and before the other two could join Venti’s side Lumine tightened her fist and gritted out. “It doesn’t matter.”
“What do you mean it doesn’t matter !? You look like you’re going to fall over any second ! Lumine we’re your friends and you’re hurting us by you hurting yourself !” Venti exclaimed, he always had that effect, everything he says seemed always reasonable, too bad she wasn’t.
“Friends !?” Lumine spat out hotly as she walked past the three gods of Teyvat, daring them to approach closer. “If you were truly my friend you wouldn’t have kept what happened 500 years ago a secret !” Lumine screamed as she marched past them, not looking them in the eye like they weren’t worth her gaze. Zhongli watched warily from the side, only letting out a small sigh under his breath
“You know we can’t talk about that.” Venti said remorsefully. “It’s for the sake of those we protect.” he added.
At this Lumine turned sharply towards the god in question letting all know the roaring fury laying deep in her golden eyes. “I saved your Mondstadt !” She recht, years of searching and build up finally exploding. She then turned her angered gaze to Zhongli “I saved Liyue, TWO TIMES, while you were busy playing dead !” “And you !” She turned her accusing glare to Baal. “I had to save Inazuma from yourself !”
Her grimace of pure disdain turned upwards, a crazed smile, years of walking the line of rationality finally ended, it was about time she crossed that line. “And what did you give me in return ? Nothing.” She let out barely above a whisper. “You are not my friends.” She finished, words so bitter that her mouth watered. She continued walking, turning her back to the powerless Gods as she knelt down and weakly moved through the rubble, giving such a sharp contrast to who was once in an outrage, weak, as her unruly golden eyes narrowed her view, blood dripping down that was certainly hers, as she dug up the grave of the brother she once knew.
During a moment not a sound was uttered. The three silenced by the words that cut deeper than any weapon.
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It was so much further back. Longer than 500 years, before they had even set foot on this world, before they had even stepped foot on any other world in fact. It was their first. It was home from eons ago.
Young and small, but budgeons that had yet to open. Lumine forgot how old she was back then, she must have had a mother, a father, friends. But it had been so long, the memory erased like it did not matter, so she found herself travelling endlessly. Aimless but not lost. Hoping but not believing. Sleeping, but no longer dreaming.
Yet despite it all, there was one constant- Aether. Her stupid brother. One memory that she’ll remember above all. For better or for worse. The only memory from that time.
Aether had been locked away, deathly sick from the first ragged breath he took, he did not cry, in fact, the only time she saw him he looked quite peaceful, if her innocent eyes would ignore the pale chalky skin.
In this golden-lit room, the girl had snuck past the guards and servants, and as she made her way down the hallway, into the beautifully decorated room that was supposed to house a boy who was going to live long enough to admire all of the care and thought put in it.
Lumine watched as the sunset cast a beautiful gaze on her twin’s cheeks. His golden eyelashes mixing with the hues. He peered up at her and smiled. Lumine found herself indefinitely curious, curious of the boy cradled by his bed who she was supposed to call brother.
“Do you want to go pick some flowers ?” She had asked. “I brought you one but there are some even more beautiful in the garden !”
Lumine did not remember his answer, but it must have been a yes. Because they played in the gardens till the sun had vanished before the horizon. Made the longest lily and dandelions crown their small hands could manage. Fooled around like the foolish children they were until the cold air of the night kissed their skin. As the crickets sang, As they danced to their tune.
Aether lived.
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As she dug the remaining of the walls that had fallen through her precedent fight, searching desperately for something, anything that could lead her to her sibling, give her some hope that the Aether she knew in her memories was still alive, she didn’t even notice the wet tracks running down her face.
It wasn’t until she felt a sob escaping her throat and small drops falling onto her bruised, shaking hands that she stopped to brush away the tears that kept on falling. Following that first sob came another and another one again until she was completely breaking down, her whole body shaking.
She didn’t even care that the Archons she was so mad at a minute ago but secretly so glad they were here, had rushed over to her and had begun to cradle her in their, no, quite the contrary actually. Being secured that way by beings she knew she trusted with all her heart in spite of what she had said only made her cry more.
Because yes, Lumine knew that what had happened weren’t completely their fault in any case. They too, were under a curse : Of Celestia or of the time itself. It reminded her of Aether and her to be honest. Archons were probably the only people that truly understood what she was feeling after all. And so, since Lumine was exhausted, both physically and mentally by all the events that had happened on a single day, way too much for her with the accumulation of the past months of fighting, she let herself being carried out of the dimension by the strong arms of the infinity goddess.
Before she lost the last grip she had on reality and fell into a well-deserved sleep, Lumine buried herself even more against her chest, still sniffling and whispered with the last remainings of her strength.
“ ‘m sorry ‘bout what I said, ‘t’was harsh. I know you didn’t want what happened either...” She tried to apologize but it came out all slurred. Luckily, Ei seemed to understand since she gave a small smile to her traveler and spoke back words of comfort, that echoed in Lumine’s ears without her comprehending them, but it was enough for her to fall asleep at peace.
Behind them, Venti looked back back at the dimension as they were about to leave, to try to understand what exactly was Lumine searching so hysterically. He stared for a minute or two before spotting a white thing in a corner. He heard Morax calling him but he ignored his calls and went to the object. When he got closer, he found out that it was a flower, a pure, beautiful flower. He wondered how it could have survived in this environment especially since it was pretty much falling apart at the moment. Venti decided to pick it up, just in case before leaving the space as well.
Little did he know, this flower wasn’t from this world.
It was the flower from the their childhood.