In The Midst of Snow

Eventually, the Yakshas, including Xiao, left Aether and Lumine alone to catch up. Even then, Aether found it hard to talk to Lumine. Not when he was told by Xiao about what an alternate version of him had done.

The other him was really...Aether didn't even know how to put it. Surely there must have been a better way to achieve what he had wanted? But then again, who was Aether to decide? He had just stepped into this world, knowing close to nothing about their history and culture.

Although, it was evident from the way Xiao spoke that the consequences of Adeptus Aether's actions had left a large scar on many people. The Yakshas had been greatly devastated to hear the truth. Lumine, despite being silly most of the time, was near tears by the end of it.

As another version of Adeptus Aether, Aether didn't know how to react to this.

He truly felt sorry for those Adeptus Aether's sudden passing had hurt, but was he in any position to do anything? Will apologising ease them or only serve as mockery? Will staying in this world constantly fresh as a fresh reminder as what was lost?

The ones that had been affected the most were without a doubt Xiao and Lumine. While Xiao had excused himself, leaving Aether no chance to do anything, Lumine was by his side for the rest of the day. Thankfully, she understood that he needed time to process all this and only chipped in once in a while to lighten the mood.

Now here he was, lying down on a bed. A usable one of course. The one that had been reduced to smithereens was, regretfully, a lost cause.

With the room pitch dark and silent save for Lumine's light snores, Aether buried himself deeper into the depths of the fluffy blanket, trying to shield himself from the cool, ticklish brushes of wind.

Try as he might, sleep would not come to him. He was exhausted from pondering so much during the day he felt mentally drained - yet it was those same thoughts that were keeping him up at the moment.

Another annoyance was the feeling that something was off. Curling up on his side, he squeezed his eyes shut. Someone...was supposed to be here.

When attempting to sleep proved futile for the next two hours, Aether's eyes snapped open, glaring at the wooden ceiling.

"I hate it here," he murmured.

Kicking the blanket away, he quietly hopped off the bed and steathily exited the room. Perhaps a change of air would soothe him and lure him to sleep. He followed the curving hallway towards the reception where the lady receptionist was arranging books on the bookshelf. Upon noticing him, she straightened up.

"I'm just here to look around," Aether said placatingly. "If you don't mind."

Nodding, the receptionist returned back to her work. Now that he had the time, Aether decided to observe the tapestry hung on the walls.

One depicted, without a doubt, the famed Conqueror of Demons. Xiao, with his beautifully curved back and a grotesque demon mask on his face as he stood in a crimson pool of blood. Although, that was not the eye-catcher. The uniqueness of the art was a translucent, pure white flower caressed gently in his hand. His arm was slightly extended, as if offering the flower to someone out of the picture.

Ba-dump.

Aether clutched his head. W-why was his vision blurring?

However, just as quickly as the nausea came in, it faded. When he looked up, though, it was through a tint of brownish yellow. Confused, he tried to rub at his eyes, but found that he couldn't lift his arm.

It was then he started panicking. What was going on?

"How do you like it?"

Those words had come out of his own mouth. At his side, Xiao, calmer and who still had a gleam to his eyes, had his mouth open agape, staring at the tapestry.