In The Midst of Snow

Who's The Sussy Baka Now?

All hell broke loose.

Xiao didn't even have time to even register what had happened. At first, Aether was falling and he was dashing like his life hung on this moment, trying to catch Aether.

But the next thing he knew, the air was squeezed out of his lungs and he was going further and further away from Aether-

He didn't even have the breath to call out his beloved's name. Furiously, he looked down at what was holding him back, only to pale at the sight of magenta cubes surrounding his entire body. Apparently, his face was the only thing spared from the despicable cubes. It was then he realised that there was no escape for him.

Rather than drain the fight out of him, it simply made Xiao even more enraged. Aether needed help at this moment and someone was trying to stop him - how dare they-

"SCARAMOUCHE!"

The shrill voice that was brimming with so much anger - almost as strongly as he was feeling - made him turn his head back to find the source. Lumine, trapped in magenta cubes as he was, was practically gnashing at empty air as she screamed, "You backstabbing, dirty spawn of Celestia- how dare you kill him?!"

In front of Lumine, having seemingly been tackled onto the ground, Scaramouche was frozen. His purple eyes quivered with fear, staring but not seeing Lumine who was endlessly yelling insults into his face.

But when the words processed themselves in Xiao's head, another surge of overwhelming fury ran through his veins. How could he not have figured it out sooner? It made sense. Other than Aether, the only person within their presence that could control Electro energy was Scaramouche. He was the only one that could have shot Aether down.

Still, he did not accept that Aether was dead. Until he saw it with his own eyes, Aether was still somewhere down there. Waiting. In need of their help.

Scaramouche, though...

"Why?" Xiao growled lowly with barely suppressed anger. "Why did you attack him?"

Fearfully, Scaramouche turned his traumatised gaze to Xiao, his mouth forming words but nothing came out. If it weren't for these binds, Scaramouche would have been dead this instant. So for now, all Xiao could do was glare.

Gulping, Scaramouche muttered in the quietest of voice, "He...he told me he wouldn't..."

Before he could complete his sentence, he was interrupted by an oppressing presence behind him. Quickly, he shut up, scrambling back from The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles that settled freely on the roof on her toes.

"We will talk about this later," The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles said coolly, barely batting an eye at Scaramouche. "And you two-"

A sharp clang reverberated through the air. Rex Lapis was pushing his spear against a star-shaped cross, his attack supposedly aimed at The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles. He gritted his teeth, challenelling power into his spear even as the The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles turned her lazy but intimidating gaze on him.

"Morax!" Barbatos warned.

By then, it was too late. Magenta cubes had snatched Barbatos from the air and entrapped both him and Rex Lapis in their unrelenting hold, smashing them onto the ground.

"My Lord!" Xiao yelled.

"So they have infatuated you with their evil schemes too," The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles said pitifully.

Turning to Lumine, she raised an arm, yellow cubes bubbling on her palm. Xiao paled. He kicked and struggled but it was no use. His body can't move at all. He- he can't-

He can't do anything.

"Outlanders...do not belong in this world."

At first, Lumine's eyes were blown wide with fear. Although just as quickly, she closed them resignedly. It was only Xiao who caught the single drop of tear that fell from her gold lashes.

Was this really the end for them?

Yet suddenly, The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles extinguished her cubes.

...huh?

However, The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles seemed as equally baffled as all of them were.

"What is this-"

Without warning, the world was robbed of its colours, turning black and white. Xiao blinked multiple times, trying to rid the world of this annoying, uncalled for filter. But turns out, it wasn't just him.

From the floor, Barbatos laughed. "Morax, I think I've lost my vision."

"...as do I."

Barbatos and Rex Lapis got onto their feet. Xiao, too, was surprised when he felt the cubes around him crumbling until they totally disappeared, not a trace of them left. Those surrounding Lumine too withered away, setting her free. When she opened her eyes, perhaps from the relief of it all, she weakly collapsed onto her knees.

Xiao hurriedly took this opportunity to snatch Lumine away from The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles. Weirdly, though, his Anemo powers weren't working. Right now, he was running just as fast as any ordinary human can, which was to say, nearly ten times slower than his usual speed.

Luckily, The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles was too stunned to do anything to her in the meantime. While she was busy observing her hand, Xiao had grabbed Lumine and got them safely to the Archon's side despite his debuff.

"My Lord, I-" Xiao began urgently.

"You want to find Aether, yes?" Rex Lapis said gently. Taking a shocked Lumine from his arms, he ushered him off. "Go. We'll take care of things here."

"Thank you, my Lord." With a quick bow, Xiao set off in the direction Aether had fallen. But not before sending Scaramouche a scornful glare.

"...did you intend to do this from the start?" The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles questioned no one in particular, staring up into the artificial clouds that had turned black from the unusual phenomenon.

"I had no idea whether Aether had intended to do this from the start," Rex Lapis said. Since now they were both drained of their powers, neither party could land a meaningful blow on another. Rex Lapis decided that for now, he would not attack. "Although the effects of his death energy is extremely odd. As if...it had been tailored to do exactly as he desired."

Because deep down, Rex Lapis too knew, Aether had not only wanted to defend Khaenri'ah - he had also wanted to stop a war.

***

Tucked away from the war, the palace grounds were more or less untouched. The garden leading to the main entrance of the palace was as lush and pretty as ever with their blooming flowers, trimmed hedges, elegantly grown trees and a gushing fountain in the centre of it all.

The sounds of war had stopped in the distance, but Xiao did not notice because he was too busy searching every single inch of the garden for a sign of Aether. Through bushes he scoured, through trees he foraged, alas, he still couldn't find Aether.

Running out of places to investigate, he climbed onto the palace walls to get a better view. That was when a flash of light caught his attention.

Hopping down, he sprinted rapidly towards the fountain. Inside its rippling water, there was unmistakably something shiny. Dipping his hands into its cool depths, Xiao fished the object out.

Upon seeing what it was, Xiao's breath stopped for the longest time.

Cupped in his hands, dripping wet, was Aether's earring that glowed no more.

A/N: TheSustainerofHeavenlyPrinciples.exe has stopped working