Chapter Text
Honestly, the day hadn't even started that badly. The commissions Katheryne had given him were conveniently close to one another, and Aether was done with them in record time.
But then, he had remembered he had been asked, as the renowned Honorary Knight, if he could look into clearing a domain that had had abyssal monsters pouring out of it recently, and he had decided he still had time before night fell for one last excursion.
That decision probably had been asking for problems.
Still, at first, he hadn't had too much trouble; only some hilichurls and a few abyss mages, who swiftly got ran through by his sword. Yet, something was strange - it was like someone had been here recently, if Aether went by the trails of fresh monster corpses left in the dilapidated corridors and on the floating platforms, that he was adding to with his own sporadic battles. Someone very strong and very pissed, as most of the creatures looked like they had been burned to a crisp by a powerful burst of lightning.
A Vision user, then?
Maybe the knights had asked another adventurer to look into it, since their Honorary Knight had taken a few days to do anything about their request. Whoops?
Aether's curiosity spurred him on, even if he was pretty sure by now that so many of the monsters had been slain that they wouldn't threaten the city anymore. He didn't know many Electro Vision users from Mondstadt – there was Lisa, but she was always in the library and certainly wouldn't bother doing this herself, unless the circumstances were exceptional; there was Razor, but he generally stayed in the woods and didn't take commissions. And then, there was Fischl, who usually did scouting work but was still pretty strong in a fight. Maybe it was her? But there were no arrows around, and the wounds didn't look like they had been caused by Oz's attacks. Strange.
Adding to his unease was the heavy, suffocating atmosphere in this domain; of course, these places were rarely pleasant, especially when they were used as a base for the Abyss Order, but still. This was different than usual, somehow. Some strange power seemed to seep through the walls, making his movements sluggish and his throat close up, as he tightened his grip on his sword.
Finally, the Traveler stepped into the biggest room he had been in yet. There was no sign of life, but a frankly concerning number of monster corpses, including no less than three impressively charred Abyss Heralds – Aether had only encountered two in his Teyvat travels (that had been limited to Mondstadt so far), and really wasn't in any hurry to fight more. Or, at least, not until he had gotten back more of his original power. By now, he was sure this hadn't been done by any Electro Vision user he knew of; they were powerful, but not to the point of overpowering this many monsters by themselves without a drop of their own blood spilled. Except maybe Lisa, but again, Aether knew she usually couldn't be bothered.
And there really wasn't any drop of human blood anywhere that the Traveler could see; the ground had only been splattered in dark blue, almost black monster gore until now – only here, in this room, could he see little pools and dots of some kind of thick purple fluid, most noticeably around the three Abyss Herald's corpses. But the Heralds Aether had encountered before had bled dark blue fluid, like all the other abyss monsters.
The trail of bodies continued further ahead, and disappeared into yet another dark chamber. From that direction came a strange sound the Traveler at first couldn't place.
Then, it hit him.
It sounded like ragged breathing.
Aether cautiously advanced, stepping over yet another charred Herald husk as he crossed the threshold. There, in the center of the dimly lit room, a small figure lay trembling on the ground, its back turned to the Traveler. Around the person was a pool of the purple fluid Aether had seen previously, soaking through their dark clothes and their dark hair, more monsters lying in piles in a circle around the unknown figure.
If he had to guess, he had just found the mysterious Electro user; and judging by the pitiful noises they made, as strong as they were, their little expedition by themselves in an Abyss stronghold had ended up with them badly injured. Aether couldn't judge them harshly at all, however – after all, he had gone in alone as well, and at his current power level, if he'd had to fight this many opponents by himself, he definitely wouldn't have come out of it alive. In a weird way, he owed his life to this stranger.
Carefully, Aether advanced again, and once he was close enough to the person, he spoke up as softly as he could, still keeping his guard up. This could very well be a trap.
“...Hello?”
Immediately, the small figure went rigid; then, with no warning, they rolled over as much as they could, lifted a hand, and sent a blade of pure Electro energy straight at the Traveler's head, who dodged at the last second.
“Hey – just – wait, I'm not an Abyss monster!” protested Aether frantically, his heartbeat pounding in his ears with the adrenaline of coming this close to having his head lopped off. The stranger didn't listen, gathering more purple energy in their hand and hurling it at the Traveler, more clumsily than the first time. At least this had been easier to dodge.
Aether stumbled back, raising his hands in what he hoped was an appeasing gesture. “Wait, I said – I'm – I'm with the Knights of Favonius! They asked me to investigate this place!”
The person on the ground, who had been preparing to shoot a third burst of Electro, froze but still kept their attack ready. “...The Knights? What do I care about the worthless Knights? You could be lying anyway,” they spat.
The pause in the onslaught of attacks let Aether have a better look at his opponent. It seemed to be a young man, who, physically at least, looked about the same age as the Traveler; he had dark hair, and violet eyes, and was covered in wounds from which oozed the thick purple fluid that splattered the ground of the domain. The expression on his face was one of frantic rage – he almost looked feral, with wide eyes and flared nostrils, not unlike a cornered, wounded animal. He seemed to be taking deep breaths to steady himself through the pain, but the action looked to be hurting him even more, an ugly, wet, wheezing sound coming from his throat.
“Look, I... I'll step back, alright?” said Aether again, retreating to the chamber's threshold. “And I'll sheathe my sword. Just don't try to cut my head off again, please,” he added with a small smile he hoped was friendly, despite the adrenaline coursing through his limbs. Putting his weapon away was probably reckless, but something told him the young man wouldn't talk and would keep attacking while he was feeling threatened – violet eyes kept glancing at his face, then at his blade, back and forth. Next to his feet, lying abandoned on the crumbling ground, Aether noticed an ornate hat, to which was attached a translucent veil – it must have belonged to the stranger, if he went by the purple stains on it.
Taking a deep breath, encouraged by the fact the mysterious person hadn't attacked him again yet, the Traveler spoke up once more. “My name is Aether. I'm a Traveler who usually takes commissions from the Adventurer's Guild, and the Knights told me abyssal monsters had been pouring out of this place lately. I wasn't expecting someone to be there already.” He studiously avoided mentioning anything about his whole honorary position with the order; after all, the stranger didn't seem to be a fan.
The wounded young man's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.
Aether tried again. “I haven't seen you around Mondstadt before. Are you traveling as well? Can I ask for your name?”
This time, the other snorted, and the Electro energy disappeared from his hand. “You could say that. But I have no name to give you. You should scram back to Mondstadt, little adventurer - ” He said the word with such disdain that Aether felt a little offended, even if he wasn't truly an adventurer himself. “- The monsters are already dealt with. If you're smart, you could even take credit for it – now leave, unless you want me to add your corpse to these piles.”
“What? But – You're injured,” protested the Traveler. “I can't just leave you here. And there's no need to be so hostile. I really don't mean you any harm.”
The stranger scoffed. “So what if I am injured? What do you care? What is this, pity? Charity? Extortion? Leave me be. You won't get anything from me.”
Aether felt his trepidation being quickly replaced by both annoyance and bewilderment. As much as a prickly pain in the ass this person was turning out to be, his injuries still looked grievous, and his breathing really wasn't getting any better. Cautiously, the Traveler took two steps forwards again, the young man visibly tensing, his wary glare growing more furious – then, while he was still a reasonable distance away, but close enough to be able to survey the other's wounds, Aether crouched down.
The purple fluid told him the stranger very probably wasn't a normal person, which also seemed to be the sole reason he was still alive. From what the Traveler could see, as well as the innumerable gashes on the young man's body, his legs were bent at an unnatural angle, the skin blackened like something had exploded right next to them. His clothes were torn on his side, the dark cloth soaked through, and worst of all, it seemed a heavy blow had pretty much shattered his chest, leaving a visible dent where his heart should have been. No wonder his breathing made such a horrible sound. Any one of these wounds would probably have killed a regular human a long while ago, but this person breathed, and was still conscious and aware enough to have a conversation with him, not to mention attack him repeatedly, despite having agonized here for at least a few hours, if Aether went by the size of the puddle underneath him.
“You're... not human, are you?” said the Traveler quietly.
The stranger snorted, a rattling cough making him spit some fluid onto the ground. “Figured that out on your own, did you?”
“Can you still... die? If I leave you here, will you be able to walk off on your own?”
“Oh for – Again, what do you care?” hissed the young man. “These will heal in a few moments. They will heal even faster if you stop making me waste my breath and energy with your inane questions. Keep at it, and I will make sure to kill -” A gut-wrenching cough interrupted him again, making him gasp in pain, his eyes watering. Finally, it settled down, and he glared at Aether. “Leave now, or I will kill you. Last warning. I've been patient enough with your nonsense. You're lucky I am wounded, otherwise your pathetic little head would already be rolling on the ground.”
The Traveler sighed, wincing at the hate he heard in the stranger's tone, but he couldn't help himself from asking more questions. He'd been told many times he was too curious for his own good. “Are you sure these will heal by themselves? You seem to have been lying there for some time now.”
An uncertain, almost fearful expression crossed the young man's face – then, his features morphed back to rage, and another concentration of Electro energy formed in his palm. “Leave,” he croaked, louder than anything he had said until now. The effort made his face crumple in pain, but it still didn't seem to deter him from throwing another attack aimed straight at Aether's face, who scrambled to dodge.
Fine. Apparently, this person was very adamant on bleeding to death alone, surrounded by monster corpses. In a creepy domain.
The Traveler left before the stranger could successfully add him to his pile of kills.
-
Maybe he was an idiot. Scratch that, he definitely was one.
Still, even a day later, Aether couldn't quite get the stranger out of his head. He wasn't sure what kind of being the young man was, but he had very obviously been capable of feeling pain; maybe even dying from his wounds. And as confident as he had been that he would heal soon enough, it hadn't seemed he had known why, even a few hours later, his skin and bones hadn't mended themselves back together yet. Apparently, this wasn't normal for him.
And if his injuries didn't heal, especially his legs and chest, then he could never hope to get out.
-
The next evening, the Traveler had had enough. He had to check, at the very least. Just a peek; if the young man wasn't there anymore, good for him. If he was still there and had died... he could only blame himself. And if he was still alive, and still in the same state he had been in the day before, then... Well. Aether would figure something out. Maybe. His burning curiosity won, driven by his puzzlement over the level of hostility and distrust the strange being had directed at him.
-
It only took him about an hour to find himself in the same big room he had been in less than a day ago; he had met no more monsters on his path. Apparently, the few stragglers Aether had killed had been the last of this lot. But the oppressive atmosphere he had felt was still present, pressing on his skin, slowing his movements.
Standing still, he listened intently. At first, he didn't hear anything; but then, the familiar sound of a rattling breath reached him, quieter than it had been the day before.
Slowly, the Traveler advanced in the noise's direction, keeping his hand on his sword. For all that he was curious, he didn't fancy ending his quest to find his sister with an Electro blade to the neck.
The young man was lying in the exact same spot he had been the last time Aether had seen him, eyes closed, face pale. Under him, the pool of... blood? - was still humid; the gashes on his body hadn't closed at all, it seemed. His chest still had a dent in it, and his legs still looked painfully twisted and charred. His breathing had slowed, but it was still wet and labored, weaker than it had been the day before.
This time, Aether managed to crouch right next to the stranger before he got any reaction; dazed violet eyes opened, staring unseeingly at the Traveler's face for a moment before a spark of recognition entered the young man's gaze. He snarled. Shaking, he tried to raise his arm and gather Electro energy once more; but the purple light flickered weakly, and Aether simply grabbed his wrist, deviating his attack.
“You said your wounds would heal on their own. It's been a day, and they haven't budged,” he remarked evenly.
“Why – why are you here again?” the stranger rasped, his voice almost inaudible. “Come to – to extort me? Finish me off?”
Aether blinked incredulously. “What's with you and extortion? If I wanted you dead, I would just leave you alone. You seem particularly determined to rot here. As for extorting you... What am I supposed to steal? Your hat?”
The young man hissed, trying to keep his glare focused on the Traveler. “Then why did you return? What are you looking to – to gain? Who sent you?”
“I'm not looking to gain anything, except maybe satisfying my curiosity. And I told you who I was and why I was here yesterday,” sighed Aether. “I came back because I wanted to see if you were still here. It didn't sit right with me, somehow.”
“You – you definitely must be looking to get something. That, or you -” The stranger was interrupted by a new fit of coughing. “- Or you want to die. Or you're an irredeemable – fool. I tried to kill you yesterday. You can – be sure I'll finish the job.”
“And you wanted to try killing me again today,” deadpanned Aether. “I don't have any ulterior motives, but you can believe whatever you want. You're so stubborn I doubt I can convince you otherwise.” Slowly, he sat on the ground, uncaring of the fluid staining his pants. “Now. You said your wounds would heal on their own,” he said conversationally, ignoring the murderous glare the stranger was sending him. “Any idea why they haven't?”
The young man stayed silent for such a long moment, the Traveler started to think he would ignore the question altogether. But then, his eyebrows furrowed, and he sighed. “... No. Well – It has happened before. In – the Abyss. Never – never to this extent outside of it.”
“You've been to the A- Never mind. That's not important right now. Do you think it might be because of the power in this domain? It's incredibly unpleasant to walk through. Like something was pressing in all around me. And there was an impressive concentration of abyssal monsters here – I mean, until you killed most of them, of course.”
Violet eyes narrowed sharply at him. “... How can you feel that? You don't – you don't even have a Vision.”
“Neither do you, from what I'm seeing.”
The stranger made a strangled sound that was probably meant to be a snort. “Touché. Fine. Let's – let's say we're both - special cases, and leave it at that for now.”
“Agreed. Now – Do you think your healing abilities would return if you got out of this domain?”
“... Probably.”
Aether lightly clapped his hands together. “Finally, we're getting somewhere! I'll just have to carry you out, then.”
“No.”
“No?”
“Don't – don't you dare touch me,” the stranger hissed, seemingly gathering all the energy he had left to try to murder Aether with his glare. “Get your filthy hands away – away from me, human.”
The Traveler groaned exasperatedly. “And how am I supposed to get you out if I don't touch you? Would you rather I throw you out with Anemo? You're going to be really happy with all these broken bones to add to your previous injuries. Also – just saying, not a human.”
“Not a - Wait, what do you mean, Anemo? We – established you don't have a – a Vision.”
“Special case, leaving it at that, remember? Now, shut up, and save that energy of yours to insult me when you're out of there. You're right though, I'm probably a fool – I have no idea why I'm helping such a sour piece of work.”
The Traveler almost wanted to laugh at the impotent outrage on the young man's face; apparently, he wasn't used to being spoken to like this. But his exhaustion and agony seemed to have caught up with him, as he didn't say anything after that, simply glaring at a point on the opposite wall while Aether carefully tugged him in a sitting position, wincing in sympathy when he saw the other's wounds from up close.
From there, he hesitated; he could just throw one of the stranger's arms around his shoulders and drag him along, but the way his legs were twisted and burned, on top of the wounds in his side and his chest, would probably make this method both exhausting for the Traveler and excruciating for the young man.
Oh well. One more, one less death threat, he didn't think it would make much difference now. So, instead, Aether cautiously slipped one arm under the other's shattered knees, his other arm supporting the stranger's torso, and lifted him up, ignoring the stranger's hissing and renewed protesting. He stumbled a little as he stood back up – not because the young man was heavy, the Traveler having lost his powers yet kept his inhuman strength anyway; but because, on the contrary, he was way lighter than Aether had expected. It was unnerving, lifting something that had the shape of a person, but the weight of a hollow doll or a wounded bird.
What a strange being he had stumbled upon.
-
Getting out was a little tedious, but not as much as the Traveler had feared, even if having to step over corpses while having his arms full wasn't ideal. His charge stayed suspiciously silent the whole way out, at least. Soon enough, Aether reached the door, and he stumbled outside, the stranger taking a deep breath once they stepped out under the dim light of dusk.
Delicately, he put the young man down on the soft grass and sat cross-legged next to him with a relieved sigh. Hopefully now his damn brain would stop making him worry about a stranger with violet eyes and an incredibly foul attitude.
The other remained silent, having closed his eyes, and seemed to be concentrating on regulating his breathing. Luckily for him, he had been right; in front of the Traveler's fascinated eyes, the ugly gashes on his body closed up in a few minutes, his chest reforming into its proper, original state.
Finally, the stranger gingerly sat up, and employed himself to straightening his legs as much as possible – Aether winced. It was quite a gnarly sight, even if the young man seemed to be worryingly casual about it, like things like this happened every other day. The only signs this hurt him were his clenched jaw and quiet hisses when he jostled his shattered knees too much; apparently, his pride was so enormous that he refused to show any further sign of vulnerability, and he used all his remaining willpower to avoid making a sound.
It took a little longer for his legs to stitch themselves back into an acceptable state; but eventually, they did, and the only sign the stranger had even been injured were his torn clothes and remaining purple fluid staining both the fabric and the skin underneath.
Once he was satisfied, the young man turned to Aether, and raised an eyebrow. “So. Going to tell me what it is you want as payment?”
“This again? I don't want anything,” groaned the Traveler, rolling his eyes.
The other snorted derisively and crossed his arms. “Nobody ever helps anyone for free. Name your price. Even I have principles – I don't leave debts unpaid.”
“Well, if anything, I did it for curiosity's sake. So you don't owe me anything.”
“Curiosity?”
“Yes. I wanted to see if your wounds really would heal by themselves.”
The stranger's eyes narrowed, a calculating glint in his gaze. “Is that so. Well, I have a payment to offer you.”
“Huh?”
“Yes. I won't kill you right here, right now. That's my offer.”
“Great? How about a thank you with that?”
The young man snorted. “Don't push your luck. You don't seem to realize how merciful I am being.” Pushing himself upwards, he stood up, a little wobbly on his legs, and took a step towards the domain's door.
“Wait – what are you doing? You're not going back in there, are you? Are you already missing that deliciously suffocating atmosphere?” said Aether incredulously.
“I wouldn't have to if some idiotic fool hadn't forgotten my hat.”
The Traveler blinked, almost lost for words. “This might have escaped your notice, being half-dead and all, but my arms were a little occupied on the way out, so I was somewhat distracted – this isn't something I do every day, you know.”
“No? I would have thought you'd make a habit of being heroic, little itinerant adventurer.” Once again, his title was said with such disdain that it turned into an insult.
“Well, you're mistaken.”
The stranger turned to him. “And what about getting a Fatui Harbinger indebted to you? Would you make a habit of that?” he said, a predatory smile slowly spreading across his face.
Oh.
Ah.
Whoops. Aether may have been wiser to let things lie this time. Too late now.
The expression on his face must have betrayed his thoughts, as the stranger's grin widened. “Realized we made a mistake, did we, Honorary Knight? I know who you are. You were in a few of our briefings.”
“Was I? Huh.”
“Probably should have abstained from revealing information about yourself to a complete stranger. For all the rumors about your feats, I'm disappointed; you're both reckless and idiotic. A combination that won't let you live much longer. The next encounter with the Fatui will be the end of you, unless something else gets you before that.”
Aether hummed. “I don't know much about your organization yet, apart from the fact you seem to be a bunch of dangerous pains in the ass. But I know your group spans all nations on Teyvat, so you must have an extensive information system. I doubt me telling you my name and that I am a Traveler, or even that I can use Anemo, would be groundbreaking information. As for Harbingers, before you, I'd only met that woman – La Signora. If “meeting” is even the right word. Is having the worst personality possible a prerequisite to have a place of seniority in the Fatui?”
“Careful now,” said the young man, his eyes narrowing, the smile still plastered on his face getting uglier. “You're testing my patience. You're lucky I have principles, and I pay my debts, but don't push your luck. Your insolence may cost you your life one day – and it definitely will if our paths cross again. Maybe you should learn to respect your elders.”
This time, Aether actually burst out laughing. “It's true that appearances can be deceiving, so I'm sure you're much older than your face lets on, but I doubt you're my elder by any stretch of the imagination.”
The scowl he got in response was impressively murderous, and the Traveler knew this wasn't a person he should tease too much if he wanted to avoid getting Electro fried like the unfortunate abyssal creatures in that domain. Still, the unintended humor in what the other had said made him chuckle for a little while, until at last he wiped his eyes and shook his head. “My bad. I'll leave you be before your limited stock of goodwill runs out. I'd like to avoid getting cooked to death.”
The stranger looked incredulous. “Do you even have a brain? Is there a sense of danger in that empty head of yours?”
“There is, which is why I would like to leave now, as I said. Before I say something that will make you go back on your principles.”
And with that, Aether got up, and started slowly backing away, making sure the young man was still in his field of vision. He didn't trust he wouldn't get an Electro blade to the neck as soon as he turned his back to the Harbinger.
His cautiousness didn't go unnoticed, the ugly smile returning on the stranger's face, a predatory glint in his eyes. He seemed to enjoy people being wary of him. Yet, he didn't attack – he let Aether put distance between them as he casually crossed his arms and watched him go.
Finally, the Traveler was far enough away to relax a little, and he hurried back to the city with a sigh of relief. Lesson learned. Don't stubbornly decide to rescue murderous strangers out of curiosity, as you might paint a target on your back.
Behind him, violet eyes watched him leave; the smirk had disappeared from the young man's face, and he now simply looked mildly confused. Later, his features would morph into an expression of outright puzzlement when he came back out of the domain, hat in hand, and didn't see the blonde Traveler with a garrison of Knights in tow looking to take advantage of his weakened state to capture or kill him – contrary to what he had fully expected.
What a strange little encounter.