You've begun to feel like home. Xiao x Aether.

Back to Liyue.

'All he remembered was a splash of purple lightning, that appeared right before his eyes, then it was all black. For a moment all he felt was void – the memories that he shared with his new friends and most importantly, his sister, were now far away from his mind, scattered somewhere in the darkness that has swallowed him. There was no pain, no regrets, and no sadness, only the emptiness that has grown in all his body, which felt so cold, but at the same time so calming. Then, in a few seconds, which felt like the whole eternity for the boy, he heard voices, somewhere from behind his ear – there was screaming, crying, and praying, but he did not understand why he was now surrounded by them. Who were these people and why were they screaming? He did not know at that time, but there was a continuous whimper and begging for him to wake up. But he didn't want to, all he wanted is to rest, to leave everything behind and dissolve into the darkness to become a part of it. But the screams grew louder, they were now torturing the ears of the boy, urging him to open his eyes, and so, he did. The first thing he felt was pain, the enormously strong pain in his back, then, one by one, the blurry vision showed him the faces that were worryingly looking at his face – Paimon, Thoma, Kazuha and Gorou. They all patiently waited until he would say something, but his lips were too weak to even make a single sound. Now, the memories all flooded into his mind, which made him force his body to stand up – the battle wasn't over.'

The sudden noise awakened traveler, almost making him jump out of his bed.

- Aether, we are almost here! – the confident voice of Captain Beidou was heard from the deck of the ship.

Aether slowly sat up on the bed, trying to put his thoughts together. It has been almost a month, but he still gets nightmares about that day every night. He carefully touched the back of his neck and immediately felt a stroke of pain in his whole body.

"The scar that will never go away" – thought Aether, not knowing whether he was talking about the physical or emotional damage. Letting out a sigh, he finally got out of the bed and dressed up ready to meet the city of Liyue.

As beautiful as always, the city met him with its usual bright colors and lively atmosphere. In autumn, Liyue seemed even more friendly, but at the same time unsurprisingly busy. Smiling, Aether walked up to the edge of the ship and smiled tiredly. The first idea is the best idea, and in this case, returning to Liyue was definitely the best example of it. The blond knew that he was tired and needed some time to process all the things that has happened in the past few months. He usually goes with the flow, but this time, this trip was already planned in his head – he politely asked Paimon to stay with Amber for some time, promising to get her all the food she wants after they are together again, he sent a letter to Verr Goldet, stating that he will stay in the Inn for the unknown amount of time and he needed the room, to which she unsurprisingly agreed. The only thing that he needed right now is to rest, to think, to live after all.

- Were already missing this place, aren't ya? – he turned around quickly, surprised by the sudden voice behind him, however, his eyes have softened the moment he realized that it was Beidou. – You know, even though a sailor craves to go in the sea, he still thinks about returning back home in the end. – she gently put her hand on the head of Aether and stroked his hair while widely smiling at him.

- Thank you for bringing me here, Beidou... - The blond looked at the city once again. – I guess Liyue really feels like home to me. – the boy looked down, already lost in his thoughts, to which Beidou gently pushed him with her elbow.

- Hey, enough thinking, you said that this is a vacation for you and only you, so try not to otherthink stuff, just live in the moment. –the loud voice of the sailor called her from the side, so she immediately walked away with the apologetic look on her face.

The ship was already calmly standing in the port of the city, but Aether did not want to come out of it – he already heard the loud screams from outside, which made his heart sink. Aether did not want to interact with someone yet, he did not want to tell them the journey he has been to, which they will definitely ask about.

"I will wait for a couple of hours, maybe they will go back to their duties and not even notice me" – he tried to cheer him up with this thought, however, still was already preparing the excuse for not telling everyone about hos journey. Traveler already regretted sending Paimon to Amber, she would take the opportunity to tell everyone how Inazuma was and what they have been through, so that Aether could remain silent. but for now, looking for Paimon's help was not an option, so he decided to stick with the initial plan to wait until the late evening.

The hours have passed, and Aether finally looked outside of the ship to check whether there were still some people present. Fortunately, there was only one person left, and the boy knew that he would not ask for the details of his journey if traveler didn't want to tell them. Zhongli immediately spotted him and greeted with the small nod of the head and a soft smile, confirming that there was the only one standing near the ship. Aether made his way to the port, still carefully checking every corner he passed through in order not to meet with anyone.

- Hello, Mr. Zhongli. – Aether greeted him with a small, tired smile. – Not to be mean, but what are you doing here?

- Greetings to you as well, traveler. I just happened to pass by the ship while walking, nothing in particular. - this was a lie obviously, Zhongli has been standing at the same spot for a few hours, waiting for Aether to finally come out. – I assume you are taking a break from your journey in Liyue. I must say, I am welcoming you to stay here for as long as you want... or need. – he added quietly.

- Thank you for these words. I am just here to relax and put my mind at ease for some time. I will still complete the commissions and be there if you need me, so do not hesitate to ask for any favors or tasks. – Aether added, though not sounding to excited about his own words.

- You've helped my nation enough already, and I more than certain that if there is any issues that people of Liyue will handle them. – Aether did not realize that while holding a conversation, they were walking towards the exit from the city. When they have reached the Gate to Liyue, Zhongli suddenly stopped and turned to face traveler. – Traveler, tell me if I ask too much, or my words sound too commanding, but I advise you to really take a rest, stay out of the trouble and don't try to help every stranger you meet on your way. – he said, emphasizing every single word, which really made it sound more like an order, than some advice.

Aether just nodded in response and waving to former God of Liyue, exited the city.