The Spark [Xiao x Aether]

Continuing point ||

"Aether? You told me nothing of dying..."

He looked at his partner puzzled.

"I thought you figured it out by now. Every action in this world has consequences. Death is one of them, the chances of me dying are slim, so no need to worry. I'll leave as soon as I'm done." The traveler smiled with an upset look in his eyes. He was acting very strange today, but the Yaksha couldn't figure out what it was. Perhaps he was too nervous?

It was then that the Adeptus realized how much hatred his lover had against his sister. He was willing to get rid of her even if it meant dying. The boy was crazy.

"If you die then what's the point of doing all this?"

"There's a chance to end it. I'm not going to waste it. Don't worry about me."

Scaramouche suddenly dropped the device he was working on, it seemed to finally be done. He wiped the sweat off his face and walked up to the three talking.

"How can I not worry!? You might go into that portal and never get out. It's basically suicide." Xiao snapped for a second there. The fear of losing his lover was slowly coming back. Those memories of when the blonde wanted to give up on life also started to come back.

The dendro archon walked away from the two together with the Wanderer, she wanted to let them talk before proceeding. The girl saw that fear in the Yaksha's eyes. It made her regret agreeing to fulfill Aether's wish. Making people upset was something she hated.

Kunikuzushi on the other hand also decided to not mess with them like he originally planned to. He wasn't sure what their relationship was, but they seemed close. It reminded him of a friend he once had.

The traveler grabbed his boyfriend's shoulders and looked him dead in the eyes.

"You're doing so much for her. I know this was my suggestion but I wasn't aware it was going to harm you." Xiao started. He felt guilty for suggesting this. "I don't want you dead."

"I'm still going to-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the shorter boy hugged him. It was the first time he did something like this in a public place. There was a huge chance that the boy with the hat and lesser lord Kusanali saw this, but he didn't care.

"Xiao?"

"I'm not going to stop you. But please, I'm begging you to be careful. And in the future, do tell me the details about the stuff you're planning to do. If Buer didn't mention anything about dying I would've blamed myself for your death."

He wasn't mad. The Adeptus was scared. He just wanted to protect his partner as much as he could, he cared deeply for him.

Aether was slowly starting to feel less nervous about this entire thing. Seeing how much somebody cared about him made his heart melt. Being in Xiao's arms made him feel safe. Ever since this morning he had been unable to get rid of the nervousness. He knew that if he made one bad move in Irminsul. It would all be over.

Originally he wasn't gonna tell the Yaksha anything about the death part. He wanted to keep it a secret so he doesn't worry. But during this entire hug, he felt guilty. That feeling was slowly taking over the nervousness.

He was the one who told Xiao they should tell each other everything. Yet he's the one who broke that agreement.

"I'm sorry...I don't want you to worry about me. You've got enough stuff to worry about, adding me to that will only make you tired. I don't want to bother you." The blonde started as he wrapped his arms around his lover eventually.

"Aether, I love you. Don't hide anything from me. Whatever is your problem means it's mine as well. I've noticed how much your hand has been shaking since this morning, you're nervous about dying so quit acting as if you don't care if Irminsul takes your life away. You're scared, are you not?"

It was usually the other way around, the traveler was always the one comforting the Yaksha. But now Xiao realized how much support his lover actually needed. He definitely wasn't ready for this. The entire decision was so rushed. Yet the blonde still wanted to go through with it before thinking if he was ready or not.

"I am. It's pathetic to admit it but I am scared. I'm scared I will mess everything up and Teyvat could end up falling apart just because of me!"

"I've known you for a long time, and I've noticed a couple of things. You rarely mess up, and even when you do, you come back up in no time. Believe in yourself. You can do this. You possess great wisdom similar to the one Buer owns. Make good use of it and you'll manage to get rid of your sister once and for all."

The boy sighed as the hug finally ended. He had eyes full of tears of frustration but he wasn't going to let them take over. With the comfort of his boyfriend, he started feeling confident enough to do this. It was rare when the Adeptus comforted him but he cherished those rare moments.

"Thank you, Xiao...I don't know what I'd do without you." The blonde smiled, this time it was a genuine smile. The Yaksha was relieved to see he wasn't forcing a smile.

"Come on now. You wish to erase your sister as soon as possible, do you not?"

They headed to where the archon of sumeru and the former balladeer were standing. A huge portal was next to them, it had a strong aura surrounding it. It really did seem like a powerful spell, just like Nahida explained.

"Ah, you're back! That was quick. The wanderer has finished making the final touches, you should be able to visit Irminsul the moment you walk through this portal." The little girl started. She decided not to ask anything about what happened since it was self-explanatory even if she only saw it from a wide distance. "I will be unable to communicate with you there so if you have any questions ask ahead."

"Also, just a small piece of advice, don't waste too much time looking around. Do what you came to do and immediately leave." Added Scaramouche. He did this before, so he was very familiar with it. Despite having strong hatred towards the traveler, he still wished to help.

The boy nodded and then gave lesser lord kusanali a very serious look.

"The only question I have is if I'll have access to everyone's memories of Teyvat?"

"You will. But only from those who are actually from this world. Since your sister messed with the tree long ago, her memories should still be hidden somewhere."

Aether nodded once again and thanked her for answering the question. It was going to be difficult finding Lumine's memories but once he finds them it will all be over.

"Well then, I'm ready to go."

"Alright. Once you step inside this machine, you'll be at the core. Farewell then, Traveler. Do tell me all the details when you come back." The dendro archon activated the portal and waited for the boy to enter.

Before going inside he took one good look at his partner and smiled. Xiao had a worried look on his face but still managed to smile back at him.

"Wanderer, make sure my friend here doesn't run off somewhere while I'm gone." He spoke teasingly, before finally entering the portal.

The machine disappeared and the three had to wait until he was back, until then, the of Daena had to be strictly shut down.

The Adeptus wasn't sure how many days or months or even possibly years would take the blonde to come back. But he was willing to wait. No matter how long it took.