Stardust

A E T H E R

Present day, the Abyss, old Khanri'ah

Aether felt like he was in a long dream. It reminded him of a different one, from long ago, where he wandered through a similar darkness.

Just a moment ago he was falling, now he was here.

"Wake up," someone shook him, and Aether cracked his eyes open. Even in the darkness, those dull blue eyes stood out. Small and huge, it was just a boy. Aether felt him squeeze his hand tightly, as if he would rather die than let it go.

This boy's hand was small, and Aether could feel cuts and the callosues of weapons on them. Despite the cold, the boy's hand was sweaty.

"Come."

Not knowing where he was, and having experienced far wilder things, Aether stumbled along in the darkness. Time was non-existent. It could have been a month or a minute, he couldn't say. Aether knew he should do something to get them out of there, but somehow, this felt right. A piece of the dream he could barely remember, filled with familiar voices telling him to hold onto this lifeline. So Aether held on.

"That's right, listen to your big sister." That almost sounded like- but impossible. He hadn't seen Lumine in so long, of course he would imagine her here. She always was bossy.

Every now and then, flickers of light would rise allowing Aether to study the boy's face. 'I know him,' Aether realized. He had ruddy red hair and freckles across his cheeks. Aether was sure he had met a boy that looked just like this, but not exactly the same. It was on the tip of his tongue.

"Who are you?" Aether asked. "You...you have a brother don't you?" The boy didn't say anything. He just gripped his hand tighter, tugging him along. There was something blue clutched in his other hand. Here in the darkness it glowed slightly, and Aether's eyes must have been playing tricks on him. 'Is that a vision?'

"Where is your brother?" Aether asked. "Are you lost?"

"Your sister is looking for you," the boy said. Yes, yes he did have a sister. A sister as mischievous as she was kind. A sister that was waiting on him.

"Though we need not rush, brother. We have always had enough time."

Aether stared at the blue orb more, the only light he could focus on besides his swirling thoughts. He recognized the casing as Snezhnayan. A Snezhnayan hydro vision and a boy with dead, blue eyes. Like the depths of the ocean when that thing attacked the harbor.

Aether held his head, it was pounding, but so much felt like it was on the tip of his tongue.

"Stop thinking," the boy demanded. "The corruption is thick and I can't stay here very long. But I can feel them looking for you."

"Who's coming for you?" Aether asked. "Where's Paimon?" The boy held a finger to his lips.

"It knows names. Don't let it look into you," the boy said. "She will be there when you leave, with your sister. The Khanri'ahn gnosis will guide you back."

"What? Khanri'ah didn't have a god." Aether frowned.

The boy ignored him, muttering to himself, "my Foul Legacy won't last much longer." Aether knew what that was, he recognized the term.

"You... shouldn't be down here," Aether said. "You escaped."

"I did," the boy said, jerking him along faster. "But I sent you this way. I felt you fall where I did."

"You can't be here," Aether said, anxiety budding in his chest.

"Don't worry, comrade." The boy squeezed Aether's hand tightly. "I'm only a memory, like all things that fall in. Still, we have to hurry. Possessing a memory of yourself is hard, even for me."

"Just picture him. The bond never truly died, not like we thought." A voice echoed.

"Are you sure it will work?" A girl asked, filling Aether with warmth. Those voices were familiar. One was a friend, one he knew well. The other was one he had not heard in a very long time.

Lumine.

"They're close now," the boy said, relief flooding through his tone. It wasn't until then that Aether noticed just how faint the glow of the vision was. "Just in time, you shouldn't be down here alone. Not with all this archon residue."

Lumine was close. The knowledge had Aether tripping over himself, but Childe held his hand tightly jerking him back. Only now did Aether recognize the Fatui Harbinger. So similar to Teucer, yet so different. He looked ancient even though he could barely be called a teenager.

"This is the Abyss, isn't it?" Aether asked. "Why is-"

"Don't say her name," Childe hissed. "She will pull you out. Just wait."

"Why is she here?" Aether asked, stumbling. "Why are you here?"

"Like I said, I fell in a long time ago," Childe shrugged. "Even if you crawl up, a piece of you stays. Just a bit more stayed of me–this" the boy waved his hand to the darkness, "is where my soul broke. I can find it, when I need to."

"Kaeya is channeling the Abyss. Connect with Aether–if soulmate bonds can be reforged through will alone, you two can do it."

"Then what were they doing in Khanri'ah?"

"As I hypothesize and have witnessed time and time again, soul mates bonds are very much alive. Yet all that I've witnessed since cannot be described like the ones we were given. Much is to be discussed." Albedo.

"Theories later. He's here," Kaeya called. He sounded like it was in pain. "He can hear us now."

"Who is going to call for you if I go?" Aether frowned, feeling the tug in his chest at the piece of his soul that belonged to his sister. 'How had he forgotten about it?'

Childe laughed, clutching his vision tighter.

"No need. Once you fall into her clutches you never leave, not really," Childe smiled. "I've always been about fighting on my own strength. Besides, not all broken things are lost forever. That old dragon will pull me out."

"I'm not leaving without you," Aether said, ignoring the tugging sensation in his heart. He could see her now on Dragonspine standing next to Albedo and Kaeya.

"Aether, your journey cannot end here. There is more for you to uncover."

"Stop worrying about others for once," Childe laughed as he gave Aether's hand one more squeeze before letting go. "A favor for a favor. You might not remember it, but you guided me once upon a time. I'll see you topside." That sly grin could not be mistaken. It really was Childe.

"Promise me!" Aether said, thrusting out a pinky. Childe laughed, looping his in it before letting his hand go for good this time. He could hear Paimon's voice too now, frantic. She had not sounded like that since the endless samsara in Sumeru.

"Enjoy Scheznaya," Childe waved cheerily as he faded. There was a pull in Aether's chest, and he could feel the coldness biting into his fingers as his knees hit the snow. There was a hand there, white shoes he recognized, but Aether couldn't keep his eyes open. A song played in his head as the cold snow settled on his shoulders and his vision left him.

You make a pinkie promise, you keep it all your life. You break a pinkie promise, I throw you on the ice. The cold will kill the pinkie that once betrayed your friend, the frost will freeze your tongue off so you never lie again.