"𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝘆𝗼„ | 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 x 𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲!𝗼𝗰

『 delusions 』

—

they've arrived. before going inside, aether made sure yuki had the cough medicine that they gave her. he told her to not drop it for the sake of the three. 

once inside, fatui were all over the place. with the two of them together, aether and yuki were able to defeat them without much of an issue. aether would use his elemental abilities along with close-combat while yuki saved her cursed energy for more challenging situations.

once again, she thank maki so much for the trainings they did.

"don't be intimidated! lord harbinger will be here soon!"

"a harbinger, huh?" aether muttered as he take in a few breaths. he wasted no more time to finally end the last fatui maiden.

"you actually managed to find this place. congratulations." a new voice spoke. they looked around the room to find the source of the voice. though it sounds unfamiliar to aether, it certainly rings a bell in yuki's head.

right. how could she forget the person that almost had her head. just because she was passing through.

once they finally appear, it confirmed yuki's suspicions.

"takana."

"so, you're another fatui harbinger? like signora and childe.." paimon fearfully float behind her two friends as she ask.

"signora and childe? huh, didn't know you and my two least reliable colleagues were acquainted. i'm the balladeer, number sixth of the fatui harbingers. delighted to meet you, o' mighty traveler." his eyes landed on the girl next to him, blinking once in amusement.

"it's you. i haven't forgotten you. i still remember how insulted i felt when you didn't go all out during our little quarrel."

aether look between yuki and scaramouche, wondering what went down while she was away from him.

"from the outside, inazuma looks pretty impenetrable, but on the inside; it's a land of opportunity. with a little effort, we were able to break them down from within.
eternity stretches things out over a long time. but each moment within in becomes all the more fragile.

take your friend from the resistance, for example. there's nothing you can do now. he's a lost cause." yuki sees aether's grip on his weapon tightening as he let out a grunt.

"just like a bubble on the water. beautiful for a moment, then total destruction." scaramouche continues. "the more it takes from them, the more tightly they hold onto it. and the more incompetent they are, the more determined they are to fight it! it's such a farce, you have to see the funny side."

by now, aether was beyond angry. he felt disgusted at how the balladeer was viewing this topic. "don't you dare mock teppei." aether started walking so suddenly. yuki tries to grab him but missed his shoulder by a second.

aether then staggered, purple stuff surrounding him as he slowly fails to stand properly. his head was hurting. he couldn't breath. everything was slowly turning blurry.

yuki went to his side, trying her best to keep him standing. "takana!" she calls out to him in worry, but aether could do nothing except trying to keep his eyes open.

laughters ring from afar as scaramouche walks down from where he was standing. "that's it, just like that. embrace the anger.. embrace it! the wrath of the gods fills this factory, and it feeds on your anger!"

yuki finally realize only aether got affected because he was blinded by rage. she tries her best to keep calm to avoid getting affected and also to keep her cursed energy to a minimum.