|| The Harbinger's Guest ||

Prologue

The Traveler's eyes opened, the wooden planks below him digging into knees. It was cold. Too cold for him to still be in Sumeru. He felt as if his body weight was a hundred times heavier than normal, but he managed to turn his head to observe his surroundings. The room around him was rocking. He was in a ship.

There were no windows, but that was expected. The room was dimly lit, yet he couldn't see where the light came from. He could see bars in front of him. He was in a cell. The rest of the room had crates and storage packed outside. Around him, there was nothing to take. Nothing to help him escape. He lightly tugged on the chains binding him to the floor, icy cold as they shifted across Aether's wrists. He couldn't manage much more movement than that and shivering.

He stared at the ground, holding his arms to his side for any warmth he could muster. As he gained more and more consciousness, he remembered more and more. Nahida hadn't woken up. He had gone on, his only weapon his sword. The Balladeer...

"Awake?" a familiar, cold voice called from the darkness. "I thought you'd sleep for longer."

Aether looked up, watching as the figure rose from a crate nearby, outside— outside of his cell. He hadn't even noticed him. He approached the bars, crossing his arms with a small smirk on his face. He had returned to his normal attire.

"I don't expect you to say anything. The Doctor made sure of that," Scaramouche explained. "Don't worry. I can't hurt you here."

Aether could only watch him, his body slumped over. He tugged on the chains again, a pointless attempt of resistance. Scaramouche tutted.

"You put up a good fight. You even embarrassed me a little," Scaramouche chuckled, opening the cell door and stepping inside. "You may not even remember."

He tried. He remembered the Gnosis. Aether had taken it, yet the Balladeer still triumphed, somehow. The Doctor had appeared. He promised...

"You made a deal with the Doctor. If you don't remember, you gave that flying pest my Gnosis, and promised him you'd return it to him when you were taken back," Scaramouche continued. "And now you're here."

My Gnosis. He thought it belonged to him now.

"The Doctor concluded my experiment as successful, but..." he sighed. "I was so close to defeat. Perhaps if your attempts at awakening the Dendro Archon were successful, things would have ended differently."

"Nahida..." Aether murmured. "Is she..."

"Oh? You can talk after all," Scaramouche frowned. "The Archon's freedom was exchanged for her Gnosis, and the Fatui departed. She wanted to rescue you, but she was too weak."

"The Fatui... left?" Aether asked, his words breathless as he fought to stay upright.

"There wasn't much point staying. The Doctor had what he needed, and the city had taken over the Akedemiya. Besides..." Scaramouche whispered. "You were quite the prize."

Had what he needed. He needed Aether for something.

The Balladeer approached Aether as he fought harder against the chains. It was too cold here. The memories were coming back— he could tell his words were true. He stared down at the ground, shaking his head out of his daze. Scaramouche grabbed his chin, forcing him to look him in the eyes. Aether glared at him, trying to jerk his head away.

"You're all mine now," Scaramouche laughed lightly. The tone wasn't mocking, and his words weren't out of a desire for Aether to be 'his'— it was purely to spite him.

"Where are we?" Aether demanded.

Scaramouche rolled his eyes, dropping Aether from his grip. "We're almost in Snezhnaya."

Aether's head fell, quickly looking back up to watch Scaramouche walk out of the cell. He looked around frantically, for any way to escape. This could be his only chance.

"Don't bother," Scaramouche drawled, shutting the door behind him as he walked out. "Just accept it. You're not getting out of this one."

Aether's body was slumped over as he watched him leave. It was true. There was nothing he could do, especially in this state. He could feel himself slipping from his consciousness, down, down, down...