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“Traveller! Aether! Yoo-hoo!” Venti greeted, running over and waving. “I knew you wouldn’t miss this year’s Windrace!”
Aether smiled at his friend. A new match was just about to start. It was going to be an intense game with Amber as the hunter. She entered the Windrace event every year without fail. After the whole debacle in Sumeru, Aether was really looking forward to spending some fun times with his old friends in Mondstadt. He wanted to relax, play some Genius Invocation, win a few rounds of Windrace and eat some sticky honey roast.
“Not for the world. Windrace is one of the best events in all of Teyvat!” he announced.
He meant it too.
“I should hope so!” Venti said before trailing off for a moment. “…Though, truthfully, that is not the reason I have sought you out.”
“What is it, Venti?” Aether asked curiously.
Please, he begged internally, please don’t let there be anything seriously wrong. No city in peril, evil Stormterror, no giant mechanical god determined to kill him that suddenly decided to erase everybody’s memories of its existence. Almost as if sensing his thoughts, Venti’s face adopted a more anxious edge to it.
“Well… I’ve not been completely honest with you.”
“What’s happened?” he sighed.
There goes all of his plans for a nice, peaceful, break. A break with no Scaramouche-that’s-no longer-Scaramouche, no know-it-all mind-reader god of knowledge Nahida, no arrogant I’m-better-than-you Alhaitham, no strange jokes from Cyno, no fussing from Tighnari and Collei- and no weird fluffy beasts to attack him.
Yes, he was taking a break from Sumeru. As much as he loved it there, and loved his new friends, it was stressful, okay? He had thought that Mondstadt would’ve been calmer for his break before Fontaine.
“You see, when Durin attacked Mondstadt… both it’s Archon and East Wind were injured. The Archon considerably more so than his companion. Thus why he still slumbers, and Dvalin does not,” Venti explained tensely.
“But aren’t you the Anemo Archon?” exclaimed Aether.
“Yes… but also no,” the other admitted quietly. “I’m only part of him, the part that remained untouched by the abyss.”
“What!”
“Worrying about Mond before he fell into a deep slumber, he created ‘Venti’ – me. Inside me he placed the Gnosis to keep me stable and to provide me with a power boost should Mondstadt ever face danger while he was gone. Then he split his conscience, everything he wished to preserve from the corruption of the abyss he placed into Venti: his kindness, his love for Mondstadt, his humanity. Barbatos is Venti, and Venti is Barbatos. We are the same person, and yet, as of now, we are two different beings.”
“Wait… so you, Barbatos you, is being corrupted by the abyss?!”
Venti looked to the floor, almost as if in shame. “Yes. That is also why I can’t tell you much about Kheanri’ah. I simply don’t have access to those memories. Judging by Celestia’s… extreme reaction he- I- thought it was safer better not mentioned.”
“What’s the immediate danger of this situation, Venti?” he asked, worried.
“With the loss of the Gnosis, I have lost much power I may have held before. I, as Venti, am very much the weakest of the seven… but Barbatos is not weak by any means. The problem is… I can feel what power remains leaving me.”
“What does that mean?”
“Creating this body was just a temporary measure while the true form purged itself of corruption. I retain a link to the true form, to check it’s progress. That is where I direct the remainders of my power,” Venti stopped to sigh.
He looked exhausted.
“The problem is… the problem is that Barbatos me is waking up. His sleep grows lighter, yet he remains further ensnared in the Abyss than he’d ever been before. It worries me, and you know I don’t just admit that over no reason ehe-”
“When are we going to purify hi- you- then?”
“Just refer to us as separate people for now, it’s easier. And I’d like to help him as soon as possible- I don’t want to gain the Heaven’s unwanted attention.”
“You preserved a healthy dose of fear regarding Celestia then,” Aether joked, but immediately regretted it at Venti’s harsh wince.
He placed a hand over where his heart would be, where his gnosis once was, and grimaced.
“Better to be aware than unknowingly incurring their wrath,” he said darkly. “Celestia is not a kind place.”
Aether nodded. “Lets go then.”
Venti took his hand, and Mondstadt vanished around them in a blink. They were on a tiny floating island, the place reminded him of the adepti’s domains. Under a large tree was a glass coffin. Inside laid a young man, a teen perhaps, perfectly preserved. His face was round with boyish youth. He had dark hair that framed his face. His eyes were closed, and his arms were on his chest, holding a singular cecilia flower.
“Don’t go over there,” Venti warned, taking Aether’s hand and leading him elsewhere.
“Who-” Aether began, but he stopped himself from saying anything further.
It didn’t take a stretch of the imagination to guess who the person once was.
They stopped before a small stone building with large, heavy, wooden doors. Stained glass windows depicted a forgotten era. The winds pushed the doors open. Great archways framed the room. It was longer than it was wide, and at the end, behind a barrier of storm, Aether could just make out the ruffle of soft feathers.
Venti quickly dispersed the storm wall, and they neared the altar. On top of white fluffy blankets, dressed in ornate silk robes, and with pristine feathered wings, slept Venti’s double. Lord Barbatos. The duo inspected the figure, and right away Aether could feel something screaming wrong.
His hair, Aether quickly realised. Where what would usually be the teal of anemo, was a soft shade of pink. He looked to Venti opposite him, who merely made a grim expression and slowly, carefully, removed several of the blankets covering him. Venti had revealed a gruesome tapestry of wounds splattered across the Archon’s body. Aether stepped back. His stomach reeled at the sight. He wanted to be sick.
“Venti,” he said slowly, quietly, “are you alright?”
Venti shook his head; there were tears in his wide eyes.
“I only remember brief flashes of the fight,” he whispered, haunted, “the pain, the monsters, the screams… Durin.”
He took a deep breath, seeming far away for a moment before grounding himself to the present.
“Traveller,” he said, almost desperate, “lets get this over with.”
Aether nodded. Venti guided his hands, holding them above the wounds without quite touching them. He just had to help like he did with Dvalin. It was going to be alright. He reached into the well of his power, preparing to withdraw it when a third hand clasped at his wrist, pulling it away.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” came the threat disguised by a cheerful chirp.
His grip turned painfully tight when Aether didn’t reply right away. His face twisted at the pain. Venti pushed Aether away, breaking the god’s hold on him.
“Don’t hurt him!” Venti shouted. “He’s here to help!”
Barbatos sat up, immediately turning to Venti without questioning his appearance at the temple.
“A Descender? Help?” he scoffed, wings ruffling with irritation. “You cannot be serious. They only cause trouble.”
“No,” Venti said, shuffling closer to Barbatos and subtly nodding at Aether to follow his lead. “Aether is a friend. He’s helped me protect Mondstadt and he’s helped cure Dvalin of his corruption. He can help us too!”
Venti was now sat mere inches away from Barbatos, who was stock still. His eyes were a bright pink-ish purple. Barbatos was a far cry from the Venti Aether knew. But to be alone for five hundred years with abyssal corruption and nothing but the darkest of his own thoughts... was it really so surprising?
“You can trust me,” he attempted to reassure the volatile god. “I can help. I want to help. You may not see yet, but I am your friend.”
“You’ll see when we become whole once more,” said Venti. “My memories. What’s happened while you’ve been gone. Everything.”
Barbatos pulled Venti close, into what seemed to be an embrace.
“Of course,” Barbatos smiled. “How foolish of me to forget.”
Aether allowed himself to relax momentarily. They could do this. It would be okay. He moved towards the two.
Venti screamed as Barbatos ruthlessly plunged a hand into his back. Blue light illuminated the room. Barbatos growled in frustration as he withdrew it, allowing Venti to ungracefully drop to the floor. Venti whimpered.
“That’s most peculiar,” Barbatos hummed, getting to his feet. “Now, where did you hide your only source of power, Venti?”
“He didn’t,” Aether chocked out, willing himself to speak despite the shock that had dug its claws into him. “It was taken from him.”
The wind god sent him an incredulous look.
“Taken?” he laughed, before sobering dangerously. “Taken by whom?”
Aether hesitated. Wondering whether or not to air his suspicions regarding Venti willingly giving it up.
“Never mind,” Barbatos said lightly, dismissing Aether as if he were little more than a fly. “I’ll simply find out myself.”
He returned his attention to Venti, who had only just, shakily, stood up. Amber eyes met green. Venti looked from Barbatos to Aether and back again. Aether understood the message. Now or never. He ran forward, but just as he did so Barbatos slammed Venti into a wall. A sharp blast of anemo simultaneously pushed Aether back. He summoned a wall of geo to protect himself before retracting it back into the earth once more.
Barbatos’s hand was placed on Venti’s head while the other desperately squirmed trying to push him away. Barbatos was seemingly unfazed, despite the corrupted wounds on his torso from the battle with Durin.
“Barbatos!” Aether yelled out, racing towards them. “Just let us heal you first!”
He couldn’t loose his friend. Not Venti, one of his first, true, friends in this strange new world. He willed his legs to move faster. A bright light enveloped everything, blinding Aether. Halting in his tracks once more. He cussed. Damn it. By the time he got over his initial disorientation, there was only one figure crouching on the ground.
Where… where was Venti?
Aether’s heart sank. Only Barbatos remained. But he had to act quick. Even if he never saw the part of Barbatos that named himself Venti again, Aether couldn’t allow his sacrifice be for nothing. He jumped on Barbatos, attempting to pin the god down. Barbatos pushed him away, sending Aether rolling across cool stone floor.
“Aether, stop it!” cried Venti, however it was Barbatos who said the words.
But it was enough. Aether paused, pulse thundering with adrenaline. Venti- no, Barbatos’s eyes were green.
“I see now my friend,” he said, smiling strangely. “I remember.”
“Then you understand what we have to do,” Aether said, determinedly.
“I understand what I have to do,” Barbatos said, wind swirling manically around him “to keep the ones I love safe.”
“What do you mean?” Aether was beginning to feel like he was repeating that question a lot.
“Mondstadt will never truly be free with Teyvat in such a state,” the crazed god explained. “The Abyss, the Tsaritsa, Celestia – none of it can be trusted… not even the sky.”
He placed his hands on Aether’s shoulders in the mimicry of a comforting gesture. Aether’s concern only grew. Not even the sky? Whatever did he mean?
“This world is disgusting,” he ranted, his eyes flickering from green to pink, “wretched,” his voice softened, “I just want my children to be safe. For Mondstadt to be safe…”
And with that, Barbatos extended his wings and flew towards the door. Shaking himself out of his stupor, Aether raced after him.
“Not like this,” he grit out, calling fourth great vines from the earth with the power from the dendro statue.
They coiled around the Anemo Archon, binding him and dragging him down from the skies. Powerful blades of wind exploded from the god, instantly slicing apart his dendro prison. A deadly wave of anemo was sent in his direction. With haste, Aether quickly formed an amber shield to surround him. The attack was lessened to a breeze at impact. The traveller pushed aside the flash of pride he felt in favour of focusing on the battle. But it seemed Zhongli’s lessons had not gone to waste after all.
He glanced above him, where clouds were violently swirling. In a matter of seconds a powerful tornado had touched ground, and, mere moments later, Aether’s feet were no longer touching the earth. He deployed his wind glider, attempting to stabilize the turbulent air around the apparatus with his own power over anemo.
Amongst the howling of the winds, a distinct shattering of glass could be heard. Large and small glass shards of both stained and normal glass were projected into the air. Aether covered his eyes as well as he could, unable to focus enough to generate another shield composed of geo energy. He hissed in pain as several pieces embedded themselves in his skin. Ruby blood seeped from his aching arms.
“Don’t worry,” Barbatos called. “I wont kill you, but I can’t allow you to stop me, Aether!”
He, too, blood dripping down his skin and staining his white clothes. Unlike Aether’s it held an unnatural, discoloured, purple hint to it.
“This isn’t you Venti!” he hollered.
It was the corruption of the Abyss using him as a speaking piece in their games. Yes, he wanted to uncover the truth of what happened five hundred years ago. Yes, he felt bad for the innocents of Khaenri’ah, disgusted at what happened to them, but he did not appreciate his friends being hurt by the cruel plots of the abyss.
Soon parts of the intricate stone temple were also joining them in the sky as the tornado swirled madly. Barbatos dodged them with ease, giggling like a young school girl. Aether weaved through them with practised skill, cautious as to not break his wind glider.
Creating several geo projectiles, he aimed them towards the god’s wings. Just one good hit would be enough to ground him. And sure enough, Barbatos was sent plummeting from the air. The tornado came to an abrupt stop, causing all the shattered glass and debris from the stone building around him to also come clattering to the floor.
Aether expertly plunged to the ground, withdrawing his sword immediately. Barbatos glared. His right wing had clearly been injured, it dragged behind him, limp, dirty white feathers coated in blood.
“Why must you make things so difficult, Traveller,” he whined, summoning the Skyward Harp.
Several anemo infused arrows appeared around him, simply floating in the air, taking aim. Venti had deadly accuracy with the bow, Aether recalled, alarmed. One after another, a barrage of arrows hailed upon him. Aether jumped and dodged out of the way to the best of his ability. Unfortunately, one scraped his arm, causing a deep cut. Blood gushed from the wound, splashing onto the green grass below him. Another skimmed his leg, tearing his trousers, but was far less severe.
Once more, Aether raced forward in the face of grave danger. He raised his sword as he neared his opponent. A jet stream of wind pushed him into the air, making him loose balance. Just in time he blocked the swipe of a sword. Barbatos’s previous bow had been replaced.
Infusing his sword with electro, and backing up his blow with anemo, he pushed the god away to the other side of the small island.
“Look at what you’ve done!” screamed Aether, gesturing at the chaos surrounding them. “Is this really what you want? Is this what you want to happen to Mondstadt?! To any other innocent that lives in Teyvat?”
“Of course not! I’m protect-” he cut himself off, eyes surveying the remains of the island.
He paled to a ghostly shade of white, and pushed his way past Aether.
“Carmen!” he screamed brokenly, tears streaming down his cheeks.
The god collapsed by his dead friend’s side. The boy’s body half-buried by rubble. Barbatos made quick work of it, clutching Carmen close once he was free. All was silent save for the sounds of Venti’s grief riddled sobs.
Aether felt faint. Slowly, he walked over to the god, both were exhausted. Barbatos watched him with tired, teary, eyes.
“I will help you,” Aether promised, beginning the purification process.
He practically collapsed to the ground beside his friend, allowing pure relief to wash over him as pink faded back to teal.
Venti burst into tears once more.
“I’m sorry,” he cried, repeating it over and over again. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t think-”
“Its alright,” said Aether, smiling wearily. He closed his eyes, resting his head on Venti’s shoulder. “We’re okay now… see?” he murmured.
“Aether?” called Venti, panicked. “Aether!”
“Hmm?”
“I think we need to go pay a visit to the beloved Deaconess,” he urged, shaking Aether’s shoulder.
“Barbara?” Aether asked, struggling to get to his feet. “Yeah, probably.”
Everything ached awfully. Venti manoeuvred Aether’s arm so it was resting on his shoulder for support. As quick as a blink, the Anemo Archon’s domain bled away around them.
They were greeted with screams from the nuns in the church.
“We need,” Venti announced, clearly trying to sound as formal and Archon-like as possible despite warring against exhaustion, “the beloved Barbara’s healing skill. I am Lord Barbatos, as you can see.”
Venti lifted his wings up in the air for show, making several more of the nuns scream in horror at the sight. He winced in pain, nearly dropping Aether to the floor in the process, and allowed the limbs to droop.
“Please,” Aether added on, once he was certain he was stable on his feet.
They were both seated as one of the nuns went to locate Barbara, when Aether finally remembered something.
“Venti,” he said, unable to contain his laughter.
“Yeah?”
“I forgot about Paimon.”
Back at the Windrace round.
“Traveller? Traveller! Paimon knew you were good but Paimon didn’t think you were this good at hiding!” a small fairy yelled angrily. “Come out now already!”