The Boy Loved by the Thunderbird

Onwards to Seirei Island!

"This is a Vision?" Ruu turned the glowing green stone in his hands. He apparently didn't even know he had a Vision hidden in his scarf. He explained that he thought it was just an accessory of some sort.

Aether imagine how many Visions have been lost by their bearers just because they hadn't noticed they were there or had realized what they were. His thoughts immediately went to Yoimiya who had basically used her as a flint before she even realized what it was. It was almost comical now that he thought about it.

"So how do I use it?" The little boy asked.

"How can I explain it." Kazuha pondered. "It just basically does whatever you want it to do. Ask it to control the breeze then it will. Ask it to conjure up a cyclone then it will."

"Is that really how it works?" Paimon tilted her head. She seemed to have voiced out Ruu's concerns because the little boy's face was as scrunched up as hers. Both of them not really getting Kazuha's explanation.

Their small group was cramped together in a small boat the Tenryou commission had prepared for their journey to Seirei Island. Kujou Sara sat closest to the helm. Her face a mask of seriousness as she barked orders to the driver of their small craft. Understandably, she must be worried about the Shogun and knowing her she must be dying to get to her side. Gorou had a map sprawled on a makeshift table. He and Venti have been talking about the various islands that dotted the continent. That left poor Kazuha to explain the basics of a Vision to the young bearer. Since they were both aligned with Anemo it seemed to be a good idea at the time. Hearing Kazuha helplessly explain how a Vision works just by feeling it for the past hour however proved otherwise. Props to Kazuha for trying his best but his explanation did make sense, to Aether anyway. As a swordsman, Kazuha did draw more on skill rather than technicalities. Which was the opposite of what Ruu was needing at the moment.

"Big Bro you manipulate the elements too don't you? Why don't you have a Vision?" The boy asked with genuine curiosity.

"I'm a special case." Aether smiled, scootching over to the young boy.

"How about this." He started. "Remember when you were singing back there in the city? Can you tell me what were you thinking then?"

"Well..." Ruu tilted his head in thought. "I just wanted to make their pain go away."

"Well your Vision helped you with that. Remember how they were all healed after your song?"

"Really? My Vision did that?" The boy looked at his Vision with amazement. "That's so cool."

Aether smiled. It seems his explanation of how a Vision worked was passable despite not having one. Perhaps he should take him to see Sucrose or even Albedo when all of this was finished. They're the best choice for any technical explanations.

"We're here."

Kujou Sara's voice broke through his musings. The group gatherer at the helm and watch as Seirei Island came into view. Small figures were dotting the shore of the island. The group had thought they were enemies at first but the moment they got closer they realized what they were.

"This much wounded soldiers already?" Gorou said in horror. The moment they managed to anchor themselves on the beach was the moment they grasped the extent of the damage. According to the reports from the soldiers they had been ambushed the moment they arrived on Seirei Island. Guuji Yae and the Raiden Shogun had tried to keep their number from dwindling but their efforts were all for naught. This catastrophic blow had left only a third of their original forces still able to fight while the rest were either dead or wounded.

Sara marched directly to where Yae Miko and the Raiden Shogun were. They had left Kazuha and Ruu to deal with the wounded back on the beach, leaving only Kujou Sara, Gorou, Venti, Aether, and Paimon to meet with the two.

"Ah there you are. I was beginning to worry you wouldn't show up." The fox lady teased the moment she caught sight of them.

"Your Excellency let me lead our troops to battle! I promise I will not fail you!" Sara immediately dropped to her knees.

"Now General Kujou now is not the time for heroic antics. Leading your troops in an attack in their current state is just basically suicide." Guuji Yae smirked. She obviously knew how to press the tengu general's buttons and Sara was making it all too easy.

"Besides." Miko yawned. "We've already figured out the cause of the problem."

"The cause of the problem?" Paimon repeated to which Yae Miko responded with a finger pointing up into the sky. The group followed to where she was pointing and found themselves staring into a black void directly on top of them.

"What is that?!" Paimon was the first to react. "We didn't see that on the way here!"

"It's a portal. And considering what these creatures are it is most likely connected to the Abyss." The Shogun finally spoke with her monotone voice.

Aether glanced at the Shogun then to Yae Miko who smiled at him knowingly, pressing a finger to her lips.

"Do we have a way of closing it?" Aether inquired.

"We could use the Musou no Hitotachi. That thing could probably slice through that portal like a hot knife through butter." Paimon quipped to which the Shogun shook her head.

"It is too far up for the Musou no Hitotachi to reach. I could expend more energy to reach it however I feel a strong ominous presence coming from the other side of that portal and would rather save my strength in case it decides to come out."

With her words the entire group fell silent with everyone glancing at the massive dark hole hanging above them. The air suddenly growing colder as the thought of something so sinister that even an Archon was being cautious sent chills down their spines.

"That's where I come in." Yae Miko said finally deciding to break the silence.

The group looked at her. "What is it that you need to do?" To which she replied with a grin.