How did everything go so wrong?
At one point, she and Aether were enjoying a picnic on the outskirts of Inazuma City, but minutes later, they find themselves fighting with monsters coming from every direction, soldiers running around like headless chickens, citizens that don't know where to evacuate, there is no trace of either Makoto, Lumine, Saiguu or Chiyo, they are on their own.
After fighting countless monsters, they had a little time to compose themselves, at least there were no more monsters in the area, instinctively, they searched for each other, their serious gazes relaxed upon seeing that the other was fine, tired and dirty, but fine anyway.
"Ei, what is going on?!" The boy asked frantically as he leaned on the girl, Ei quickly grabbed him in her arms, it was not hard to see that the boy was exhausted.
"I-I-I don't know...I don't remember anything like this since... the archon war" Ei continues to hold the boy in her arms, letting him rest, but suddenly, she hears a familiar voice in the distance.
"Ei! Aether!" It was Saiguu, she came running towards the two.
"Sagiuu! Are you okay? where is Makoto?" Ei asked the Kitusne.
"Makoto is with Lumine, I don't know where, but they are together, but we have another problem" From Saiguu's face, it seemed to be something serious.
"What is going on?"
"Its Chiyo, she has been corrupted, It does not recognize us, it is attacking soldiers and monsters without differentiating one from the other" Ei and Aether could see how Saiguu's ears were very low, practically hanging, her face did not show it, but the Kitsune contained an enormous sadness.
"What? what happened with Chiyo?" For the first time since Ei took him in her arms, Aether spoke.
"We were together defending the forest under the Shrine, she alone defeated the biggest beast, but when I went to see how she was, her eyes turned red, and she started attacking me, the soldiers who helped us tried to contain her, but they couldn't, I managed to reduce it, but she is too strong for me, I had to look for you Ei, you are the only one who can defeat her" For the first time, they both noticed how Saiguu's hand was covered in blood.
"I'm going, Saiguu, stay with Aether, both of you help save the civilians, then we'll go to the Tenshukaku to find Makoto, Lumine and Miko" Saiguu nodded, but Aether separated from Ei and looked her straight in the eye.
"I'm going with you" Exclaimed Aether
"No, It's too dangerous, you're not fit to fight"
"I won't take no for an answer, I'm coming with you and it's final"
"Aether, please, don't do this to me, you're not fit, I don't want to put you at risk"
"I'm your partner Ei, I'm going to go with you, I'm not going to leave you alone in the moment you need the most" Aether y looked at Ei, his face, full of security, he knew the risks he was taking, but he was not going to let his partner fight alone"
"...fine, but at all times you will be by my side, do not go to face her alone, we will do it together, understood?" Ei made a serious face, she knew what they were up against, Chiyo was one of the most powerful beings in all of Inazuma
"Yes, now let's go"
"Wait! Before you go" Saiguu called the both of them.
"Saiguu? Wha-" Ei's question was interrupted by the Kitsune, who hugged the archon with all her might.
"Thank you for everything Ei, I promise you that I will defend our precious Inazuma with everything I have" Ei didn't see it, but a tear escaped from Saiguu's eye.
"Thank you, Saiguu, Inazuma depends on you" The two friends separated, Saiguu then gave Aether a small hug and whispered a few words in his ear.
"I leave my friend in your hands Aether, she can be a little silly sometimes, but she loves you, promise me you'll take care of her"
"I promise you that I will protect her" Aether replied, also in a whisper to the Kitsune.
"Mhm, that's what i like to hear, goodbye my dear friends, see you soon" The three smiled at each other, quickly Ei and Aether disappearing, both teleporting into the forest.
Saiguu was left alone, watching as another wave of monsters headed towards the city, now, her face was full of tears.
"I'm sorry Ei, Makoto, but this time, it's really goodbye, it was an honor to serve you both" The kitsune took out a small pink wand with white strips, she grabbed it tightly on her hand, she was the only one who could do this now, defend Inazuma, for her goddesses, but this time, it was going to be the last, there is only one option left, the option that would cost her life, but she would die happy, knowing that she fulfilled her word.
The Kitsune started walking through the city, tears falling from her cheeks to the ground, she looked at the Shrine for the last time.
"Goodbye Miko, I leave it to you"
*At the forest*
The battle with Chiyo was hard, not only because of the oni's talent, but because of the emotional burden that Ei and Aether had, just a few days ago, the three of them along with Saiguu were enjoying a break on the beaches of Yashiori, today, their friend was trying to assassinate them.
Aether and Ei are back-to-back, protecting each other, they both have a lot of strength, but Chiyo's speed is enough to put them in danger, especially inside the forest, where their vision is not the best.
They both hear the sound of the trees in front of Aether, they already know where the attack is going to come from, a simple look between the two is enough for the two companions to know what they are going to do.
Chiyo suddenly appeared in front of Aether, but before she could reach him, the boy moved, standing behind the Oni, when she turned to look at Ei, the Archon had already run her sword through her arm and one of her horns, the oni cried out in pain as she fell to the ground a few meters ahead.
Ei and Aether slowly approached the Oni, seeing how her life slowly disappeared in front of their eyes, how tears fell from the eyes of someone who yesterday was one of their friends, Both did not say a word, they just remained silent, there was nothing to do, this Chiyo was not their Chiyo, it was an evil being, who once and for all, got her end, after a few moments, the Oni's breathing stopped, her eyes closed completely, her body, full of blood.
Neither Ei nor Aether said a word, the boy looked in the direction of his partner, who was looking lost, the bright purple of her eyes, had disappeared, replaced by a much darker one, there were no tears on her face, but after spending so much time with her, Aether knew, that she had a great pain in her chest, not only did she see one of her best friends die in front of her eyes, but she was the one who she had to, she killed her. The boy did the only thing that occurred to him at the time, he grabbed the archon's hand in his, and gave it a little squeeze, it was something they used to do when they saw that the other was lost, Hey, I look at him, seeing the boy's small smile, a small smile returned to hers, her eyes recovered a little of the brightness, but a single tear ran down her cheek.
Aether brought Ei towards her body, joining them both in a hug, Ei answered it, hugging him tightly, they both stayed together for a minute, without saying a word until Ei broke the hug and the silence.
"We should go back to the Tenshukaku" Ei said, her voice emotionless.
"Yes, let's go" Both of them teleported to the Tenshukaku, without looking back.
*At the Tenshukaku*
Ei and Aether entered the Tenshukaku, there were no more monsters in the city, but there was also no trace of Saiguu, but that is not the important thing, the important thing is to check if Lumine and Makoto are fine, they both went door to door, looking for traces of their sisters, but without success, the only thing Aether found was a terrified Yae Miko, hiding under his bed, who, after seeing the boy, ran into his arms.
"Did you find anything?" Ei quickly entered the room; her look was one of desperation.
"No, just Miko"
"Where can they be? Come, let's check the dining room" both of them, now with Miko in Aether's arms, headed towards the kitchen. Upon entering everything seemed normal, but Ei noticed, as there was a small sheet of paper on the counter, she quickly went and grabbed it.
"For Aether and Ei"
"Me and Lumine went to help the citizens on Seirei Island to evacuate, we got reports of an attack by an unknown force on the island, I know you won't like my decision, but my duty is with the people of Inazuma"
"Makoto"
"Ei what did you find? what's on that piece of paper?" Aether went to Ei's side, reading the note too, Ei was shocked for a few seconds, she couldn't believe her older sister was so...stupid, she couldn't fight and went to risk her life?
"We are going to Seirei, NOW" Ei started walking towards the entrance, without looking back.
"Yes, here Miko, see you soon" Aether gave the fox a small kiss on the head and set her down on the kitchen floor, she still had his scarf on her body like it was a little piece of clothing, before leaving, the boy set up a small barricade in front of the door, in case any monster managed to enter, little Miko would be safe.
The two of them left the palace together and teleported to the island, neither of them said a word, but they knew that the other was very worried about the two girls.
*Seirei Island*
The sky was completely dark, the only source of light on the island was a giant red square over the heart of the island, on the coast, there was no trace of Lumine or Makoto.
Ei ran to the center of the island, if Makoto and Lumine were here, they would surely be there, the archon didn't hear the cries of her partner, who ran at full speed behind her, the only thing that mattered now was protecting Makoto. But upon reaching the center of the island, she saw an image that would stay with her for the rest of her life, Makoto was on the ground, in a sea of blood, a sizeable wound on her stomach.
Ei ran at full speed towards his sister, with Aether following behind, tears were beginning to fall from the girl's cheeks, this couldn't be happening.
"MAKOTO!" Ei knelt in front of her sister and brought her head to her thighs, Aether quickly moved to the other side of her.
"Ei? Ae-Aether?" Said the elder sister weakly, the beautiful tone of her voice was gone, replaced by a hoarse voice, drained of energy.
"Yes Makoto, it's us, we're going to help you, don't worry" Ei undid Makoto's kimono, but after seeing the wound,s he realized that there was nothing they could do to help her, tears now practically covered her face.
"Ei... I'm sorry...." Makoto with the little strength she had left brought her hand to Ei's cheek, slowly wiping away her tears.
"Please Makoto, s-stay with me, I can't go on without you, I need you, Inazuma needs you, please"
" I'm so-sorry little sister, but my jo-jounry ends here, Aether?" Makoto slowly turned to look at the boy.
"Yes Makoto?" Aether looked expectantly at the archon, perhaps she knew something about his sister's whereabouts.
"Lu-Lumine...didn't make it, she sacrificed herself to try to save me..."
"..."Aether didn't answer, tears began to fall from his face, Makoto grabbed his hand and with the last of her strength, she handed him something similar to a chess piece, Aether's crying was interrupted for a couple of seconds by the electro energy that coursed through his veins.
"I'm sorry Aether....but now, I leave you in charge of my little sister, please take care of her for me" Aether nodded, tears still streaming down his face. Makoto coughed, a bit of blood trickling down the edge of her mouth, traveling down her cheek to land on her sister's Kimono, in her last moments, the Archon turned to look at her sister for the final time and spoke her last words to her.
"I love you Ei" Makoto smiled one last time, until she closed her eyes.
Makoto's chest went still, her breathing stopped, the electro archon had passed away the same way she had lived, with a smile on her face. Ei hugged her sister, her sobs could be heard throughout the island, for the first time in history, she broke into inconsolable tears, she had lost the person with whom she had lived all her life, the person with whom she had lived countless adventures, her other half, her twin.
Ei continued crying until she felt arms around her, she looked over her shoulder and could see how Aether had gone behind her, the boy had also lost his sister, but he was still trying to comfort her, she left her sister's body very delicately on the ground and turned to hug the boy, they barely joined in a hug, both cried on each other's shoulders. Ei clung to Aether with all her might, the boy was the last thing she had left in this world, they both continued to cry, clinging tightly to each other until a voice rumble across the island.
"Oh look at them, the two pieces I need to complete my plan to take complete control of Teyvat" The giant cube of the sky opened, revealing within it a figure, this one seemed to be a woman, with long white hair, red eyes, a white dress with red and black details, a small cube floated on her hand.
Ei and Aether quickly separated and drew their swords, pointing them at the unknown figure "You... you are the one who did this? You are the one who killed Makoto and Lumine?" An electro force emanated from Ei, her purple eyes shone more than ever, electro energy came out of his hands.
"I don't know who you're talking about, but you four contain the key to control teyvat, I already took the first one from the blonde, and I see that the other one gave it to you boy, better, it makes my job much easier, I only have to kill you both and I will achieve my goal" floating behind the figure, was the essence of Lumine, the insignia that was in the middle of her dress, that meant that Lumine... was no longer in this world.
"Oh I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU" Aether flew at full speed towards the goddess, launching a blow at the figure that dodged it without problem, Ei helped his partner by summoning Baleuf Omen, making both of their attacks stronger and faster, but whatever they did, it seemed in vain, attack after attack, the figure continued to dodge them, no matter how strong it was, she dodged them all, this was the case for a few minutes, until due to the fatigue, Aether and Ei retreated to the ground to regroup and form a better plan
"Oh, don't tell me you're tired, and just when I was starting to have fun, well, I'd better get this over with" The goddess launched a small square at full speed, Ei and Aether could barely dodge it, the two turned to the place where the square fell, the stone that was in the place had disappeared.
"Aether! Don't let it touch you!" The boy nodded, they both tried to attack the goddess without success, until at one point, they both attacked at the same time, Aether missed, but thanks to the distraction that it created, Ei was able to land one of his blows, which cut the figure in cheek, but no blood fell, just a small ray of light came out of it, the figure quickly responded by hitting Ei with her fist, sending her straight to the ground.
"Oh now you did it, you fought well but not hard enough"
"Ei!"
The goddess threw a cube in Ei's direction, the girl didn't have enough time to dodge it, she closed her eyes, accepting that she had lost, maybe that way she could meet up with Makoto and Lumine.
But the blow never came.
Ei opened her eyes and froze; Aether was being consumed by the cube.
"AETHER!" Ei watched as the cube consumed the boy until only his face and one of his arms remained.
"Do it for us, Ei" The boy smiled for the last time, Ei desperately threw herself towards his hand to try to grab it, but when she fell, she had not grabbed anything, the cube had disappeared and with it, Aether too.
"No...Not again... AETHER!" Finally, Ei reached her breaking point, she really just lose everything in just a couple of hours, no tears fell from her face, but her skin became paler, her eyes lost all their color, turning to a very dark purple.
But the electro energy, ran stronger than ever through her veins, she knew who was responsible for all this, it was that, that thing, she took away everything she loved.
"Oh what a stupid boy, he sacrificed himself for his dear girlfriend? Don't worry dear, you'll meet him soon" The figure proceeded to throw a giant cube in Ei's direction, but before the cube reached its destination, it was broken in half.
On the other side was Ei, with her sword that released electricity everywhere, Before the figure could react, Ei sped towards her, the figure threw cube after cube, but all were destroyed by the archon, but when the figure was about to throw a 10 cube, she felt Ei's sword go through her chest.
The figure fell to the ground, gasping for air, when she looked ahead, Ei was slowly approaching, sword in hand.
"Don't do this if you kill me no one will come back to life!" The figure tried to get up without success.
Ei look at her contemptuously "You took everything from me, don't think that I'm going to pity you" Ei raised her sword.
"Please don't do this!"
"MUSOU NO HITOTACHI!" The sword passed through the figure for the last time, in an explosion of light, the figure disappeared.
The darkness that was on the island lifted; the usual purple of the sky returned. But for Ei, that darkness had moved to another place, to her heart.
Ei waited ,sitting next to her sister's body, for who knows how many hours, waiting for a miracle, for the blonde-haired boy to return to her arms, so the both of them could return to the palace together and be able to say goodbye together to all those who lost today.... But he never came back, it was not until nightfall that Ei finally had enough strength to get up, lifted his sister's body in his arms and returned to Narukami Island.
*Tenshukaku*
Miko was terrified, from one moment to another, the natural light that entered through the windows of the palace had completely disappeared, hearing the screams of the people that echoed through Inazuma, Aether and Ei had left and had not returned, Makoto and Lumine had disappeared a few hours ago, the little kitsune was hiding under a table, curled up in Aether's scarf, which was the only connection she had to the outside world, until suddenly she heard noise of how the protection that Aether and Ei had put on the door, began to collapse, they had found her, the monsters that had separated her family had come for her, the little girl hid as best she could in the scarf, as if she were invisible when she put it on.
"MIKO! ARE YOU HERE?" It was Ei! she had come back for her!
"Kyun! Kyun!" Miko quickly ran towards the door, where after moving some chairs, Ei appeared in front of her, the Kitusne ran into her arms.
"You are alive! Thank god..." Ei scooped the Kitsune up in her arms, but when Miko looked Ei in the eye, she wasn't the Ei she knew, her eyes and her hair lost all their shine, her skin was paler, Miko couldn't imagine what had happened to her, but it seemed that Ei had seen the end of the world in front of her eyes, and at a certain point she did, she watched as her entire world disappeared in front of her eyes.
That night Ei did not sleep, she stayed on guard in front of her sister's body, which for the last time rested on her bed, Miko, still wearing the scarf, slept on the lap of the goddess, not wanting to lose the warmth of the only person she had left in this world.
The next day, the sky was dark, not a ray of sun fell on the land of eternity, behind the Tenshukaku, two figures gave their last goodbye to the person who until then, had been the Raiden Shougun of Inazuma, a small tombstone read:
"Raiden Makoto"
"Dear sister, friend and protector of Inazuma"
In front of it, there were only Ei and Miko, no words or kyuns were said during the whole process.
After saying goodbye to her sister, Ei with a heavy heart, returned alone to Seirei Island, if there was any chance that Aether was still alive, she would find clues here, but sadly, after moving every stone on the island, she found nothing., here was not a single clue to his whereabouts, not even if he was still alive, Ei came back every day for the next week, every day she did the same routine, moving every damn stone on this island, but nothing, she found nothing, on the last day, Ei of desperation, drew his sword and launched an attack towards the center of the island, which caused an electro force to spread throughout the island, Ei, fell to her knees on the ground, tears fell down her cheeks, she began to have to accept a reality in which she was completely alone.
No, Ei cant fell this way, she has to protect her people, that's what Makoto would have wanted, she wanted a peaceful life for her people and Ei is going to make her sister dream come true, but she needs to think, a way to find eternal peace, to find eternity for her people, then Ei remembered, Saiguu told her about a book, a book where they taught how to create objects, like puppets that could fulfill orders, missions, yes, that was perfect, Ei would create a perfect copy of it so that someone would be in charge of Inazuma, while she might meditate in peace for a way to find eternity for her people, but also a way... to bring him back.
Ei spent 2 weeks without leaving the palace, working day and night, but in the end... his creation had come alive, the shogun was alive, but it was time to give him the orders he had to follow, but Ei already knew them.
"Rule number one: Protect Inazuma and its people at all costs"
"
Rule number two: Allow me to meditate in peace, just interrupt me if its absolutely necessary"
"And rule number three: Keep searching for him"
With that, Ei left the Shogun in charge of Inazuma, she could meditate in peace, she controlled for a few days that the Shogun could fulfill her tasks, when she was satisfied with the results, she decided that it was time, time for her to embark on an eternal dream, one that would allow her to find eternity for her people, as Makoto would have wanted it.
But Ei knew... that there was probably a chance, a slim chance that he was still alive.
"My mind tells me that it is impossible, my heart too, but... there is a small part of me that knows that he is not going to go that easily, that he is going to come back, that he is going to look for her, we already met once, we can do it again"
So Ei, entered the plane of Euthymia, to find eternity, but also, to one day, meet her beloved.
*Five hundred years later*
Outrider Amber patrolled the coasts of Monstadt with her partner Eula Lawrence, the two knight favonius had received reports of strange noises in the area, so the acting grand master Jean sent them to explore it, they walked the beach from end to end, but when they were about to return to the city, Amber saw in the distance, a body was lying on the sand, the two quickly approached it.
"Check his pulse" Eula told her partner.
"Right" Amber grabbed the wrist of the subject, who now that she saw it closly, seemed to be a man, a man with blond hair in a braid, dressed in clothes... exotic to put it in a way "He is still alive, and his pulse is normal"
That reassured them both, but now there was another, question, how did someone get here? It was a very dangerous song full of Hilichruls and Treasure Horders.
"Okay, that is good, lets just bring him back to the city, we cant let a civilian here" but when the girls were going to get up, the boy suddenly opened his eyes, scaring them a little, Eula quickly regained her composure and took out her sword.
"Who are you?" Amber took a position next to her partner but did not draw her bow.
"Where I am? Who are you?" The stranger asked confused as he got up.
"We are Knights of Favonius, now answer, who are you?"
" I am... I am a traveler from a land far away, my name is.... Aether"