𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝖨𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 - 𝖹𝗁𝗈𝗇𝗀𝗅𝗂 𝗑 𝖡𝖭𝖧𝖠

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝖮𝗡𝗘: 𝚁𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚎

"This is it...," Aether's smile did not reach his eyes as he looked sadly at Zhongli, "It's time for me to go."

A girl with the same blonde hair and gold eyes stood right behind  Aether, offering a sincere smile. She was Lumine, the missing sister that the Traveler worked hard to find. Their journey in Teyvat finally ended, hence the gold wings and powerful weapons they carry. The twins' reunion was rushed, with the war against the Tsaritsa and Celestia hanging on their backs. At first, it was difficult for Aether to convince Lumine to come back home. She was too caught up in revenge against the gods and Celestia.

"Farewell, old friend." Zhongli placed a firm hand on Aether's back,  "May you have a safe journey."

Unlike what everyone had thought, the Abyss Order, the Fatui and the Tsaritsa were not their enemies but their allies. It always made Zhongli wonder how the sweet and caring goddess turned into the cold-hearted ruthless ruler she is now. Her intentions managed to elude the Geo Archon but he had an inkling as to what had happened. Perhaps the Cataclysm that happened 500 years ago shook the naivety away from the Cryo Archon's heart. Zhongli could still remember the massacre that befell the beautiful nation of Khaenri'ah. It was the treasure of humanity. Built solely upon mortal efforts and will. An underground realm without much fauna and natural life but filled with wondrous creations made by human hands

He was but a young mountain dragon when such a tragedy happened. Celestia called upon him and other powerful beings to end the nation after humanity's greed became too much. Following the order, several gods laid waste to the godless land and cursed its inhabitants to forever walk the lands in a monstrous form. Those lucky enough to escape with their lives were not any better. Zhongli didn't doubt anything about the destruction of Khaenri'ah. He knew nothing about Teyvat and didn't care about it. He only knew of the walls inside the golden realm of Celestia.

As he grew older and wiser, Zhongli started to doubt the things we has told. The Archon War taught him many things. His original thoughts didn't fully change until he learned of what truly happened. The Gnosis, the strongest connection of an Archon to Celestia, was the answer to his questions.

The gods in Celestia found the creation of Khaenri'ah as disrespectful. They found it absurd that humans could build such a beautiful nation without the help of a supernatural power or a godly being. Of course, they didn't take the nation seriously until the alchemist, "Gold", discovered the Art of Khemia. It was an advanced alchemy technique that allowed the creation of life. Once Khaenri'ah made plans to conquer the rest of Teyvat, Celestia took it as a threat to their power. They were called gods because they could create life out of nothing. If humans could do the same, it would make them equal. It enraged the gods and put so much fear in their hearts that they crushed the nation into rubble in one day.

As a young god, Zhongli found that the shape of the Gnosis were strange. Its appearances were similar to chess pieces. It only made sense after he knew what happened. They were pawns in a game that they didn't even know they were playing. Soon after, the rest of the Archons discovered the truth. Most of them were furious and cut connections with Celestia by refusing to use their Gnosis. After their descent from Celestia, the Archon War took many of their comrades. Their meaningless deaths could've been avoided if Celestia didn't order for Khaenri'ah's destruction.

The Tsaritsa was one of the braver ones who rebelled. Taking the each of Archons' Gnosis, she leveled the playing field to her advantage. She was going to play one last game against Celestia for the fate of them all. She allied with the Abyss Order and the Seven Nations to declare war against Celestia.

It was a tough battle, with many of them losing their lives. Along the way, the twins defeated the Unknown God which gave them back the ability to travel within worlds. Zhongli knew that the siblings wanted a new start, somewhere aside from Teyvat.