Secret Nemesis | Aether x Reader

XVII

Terrified for Aether’s life, you threw your sword with all the power that you had left in you. Nearly hitting Lumine, the sword got stuck on the ground near where Aether weakly tried to stand up. That attack from Lumine must have drained out a large amount of energy from him. After all, that attack was one of her specialities.

You had fought against her multiple times and that attack of hers scared you even until now. It was an attack that had the weight of a meteor and the strength of a volcano. It took everything out of a person to defend against it, you knew that full well. She had relentless attacked you with that attack of hers one time she had trained you and you were left nearly dead after that experience.

“You’ve grown weaker brother,” Lumine coldly murmured to her brother as she lifted her golden sword.

“No!” You shouted as you lifted your hands to summon a magic circle underneath your partner.

“Aether!” Paimon shouted as she flew to her partner. 

The circle growing brighter, Paimon and Aether suddenly disappeared into glittering particles. Sighing, you released the breath that you had been holding from fear. Your heart dropped as soon as you saw the Lumine’s cold and deadly eyes staring at you.

You would definitely face punishment if she didn’t immediately kill you.

~~~~~

“Aether,” Paimon shook her groggy companion. “Aether wake up!”

“Paimon?” Aether muttered in confusion still trying to regain his senses.

“Y/n! What’s going to happen to y/n?” 

“What happened?” Aether immediately sat up the moment he heard Paimon say your name. 

A spark of pain running through his body, Aether recalled what had happened in the throne room. Lumine had hit him with a powerful attack that had nearly knocked him out and y/n had saved him. Throwing her sword to teleport you away, she had saved his life.

“We have to save y/n!” Aether shot up before just as instanteously falling down from the built up exhaustion. 

That attack had taken a lot more out of him that he had first expected. Not only that, it had completely destroyed his sword that was now demolished in the throne room. The young traveler could feel his heart beating with fear and worry for you. He should have listened to you when you had said to not rush it. This was the consequences of his impatience and impulsiveness and you were facing it rather than him.

“Aether…” Paimon pitied his heartbroken form. 

Hands clenching his hair in quiet frustration, the young boy didn’t know what to do about the situation. What was he to do? After all that you did to help him, this was what you get repaid with. Suffering at his expense. What was happening to you now? What could they be doing to you as of this moment? What punishment would you have to face because he was too weak?

All of a sudden, he felt a burning sensation that seemed to cover him from head to toe. Screaming from the pain, he curled up in a ball in hopes to stop the heat from completely overwhelming him in pain.

Memories continued to flash through his mind as he recalled times with his sister. Each world that he had traveled through with her, each time that they had each others back, each time they had fought side by side to survive in different and unknown worlds. Golden sword in hand, he remembered the powers that he had. The strong powers that allowed him to traverse different worlds with Lumine.

Each single strike that he had made, he could remember it. The muscle memory of all the battles he had taken apart of returned to him. He could feel the familiar sword that he had, the sword that had matched his twins sword. He could feel his power returning to him as if he was an empty hole that was now been filled with water. 

In the spur of the moment, he saw a familiar face. A face that he had been seeing for the past days. A face that he admired with passion. A face that filled him with warmth and love.

Eyes opening after the painful experience, Aether looked towards his worried flying companion with a smile. Hands outstretched to the sky, he looked at the clouds that were slowing swimming in the blue background. Winds blowing his long blonde braided hair, he could feel the power flowing throughout Teyvat. He could hear the calls of the elements asking for him to wield them. He could hold the energy that surrounded him as a summon to his cry.

He was ready. Ready to save you, the one that he had loved for an eternity and will always love forevermore.

~~~~~

Hands chained, you stared at the bars in front of you. You were tired, deadly tired. You had been in that prison for quite a while and without anything to nurish you, you felt like you would drop dead the moment you did something. 

Laying there lifeless, the only thing that you felt good about was that you were able to get Paimon and Aether out of castle in time. You had protected him just as you had planned to. It didn’t matter if you were to die or to suffer for hte rest of your life. As long as you knew that he was safe, that was all that mattered to you.

Feeling a profuse aura that you had felt once before, you started to shake uncontrollably in fear. As of right now, you didn’t have anyway to defend yourself. What would happen to you now?

“It seems that you have returned,” the Abyss Herald called King crackled. “Now I can have my revenge. You have no idea how long I have been waiting for this moment. It was painful waiting for you to return to my clutches so that I could punish you.”

“No-” you shivered, your fear of the herald overtaking you. 

You could feel his deadly bloodlust towards you and for once, you truly felt fear. A visage of terror making it’s way to your face, you backed away until you reached the end of the prison. A wall blocking your escape, the wrathful face of the herald was all you could see.

Right before he could do anything, a large golden light lit the sky. A beam of power that rivaled the heralds blasted and filled the area. When the light had hit you, you could feel a familiar warmth that you would never forget.

The warmth of the one person who had introduced you to the beauty of the world. The warmth of the person who opened your heart and gave you genuine happiness. 

Closing your eyes, you smiled knowing that he was alright. The presence of the herald seemed to die down as you focused on the warmth that covered you. So this was the true power of the traveler that you had befriended.