The Spark [Xiao x Aether]

Estrange

(TW: violence)

Blood immediately gushed out of the boy's mouth. He coughed a couple of times before turning around and seeing what was behind him.

With a strong blow, he threw the creature against one of the walls of the cave, leaving a trail of blood as the entity slid down to the ground. It was a horrifying sight. The entire cave was full of blood lying around everywhere.

"Ae..."

"...?"

"...S-stop this." The creature spoke with barely any life left in it.

It was then that the traveler noticed just who that creature was. He immediately ran over and started healing it but the creature stopped him.

"Aether get a hold of yourself! Paimon has been looking for you ever since this all started and now that Paimon finally found you, you have gone insane! You should have been staying with Xiao and you still decided to come out. Where is Xiao anyway? Don't tell Paimon you did something to him!" The Pixie yelled while holding a white polearm in her hands.

Before saying anything, Aether noticed how his dear best friend looked a little different than before. Her hair was way longer and she wasn't flying. She was standing on her two feet and seemed to have gotten way taller than before. The polearm in her hands also didn't seem usual.

Paimon wasn't that smart. How could she have sneaked in and stabbed the boy without him noticing, especially with his great senses?

The blonde touched his chest with his hand and healed the hole that pierced through him in no time. The second he did that, his friend's eyes widened.

"First of all, did you know that I was originally planning to stay with Xiao? Second, why are you trying to stop me?" The traveler spoke with a robotic tone to his voice.

"Paimon will explain everything when you explain yourself."

"There's nothing to explain, Paimon. The world will end either way. I can't die so standing around doing nothing is a dumb move. I have to stop them from destroying Teyvat. If it's me they want they should come ahead and fight!"

"You...can't...die?"

Aether smiled softly with a clear hint of sadness in his eyes. He grabbed his white blade and began aggressively stabbing himself all over his body leaving the cave completely covered in blood after he was done.

The pixie just stared in shock. She didn't know what to do or how to react. All she could do for now was watch her best friend do this to himself without saying anything.

He didn't stop until he could barely move. He collapsed onto the ground and chuckled before snapping his fingers and healing. He didn't try getting up, instead, he just laid there for a while. As indescribable as it looked, it still seemed as if he was resting and not actually laying there to show off his powers and that nothing happened to him while getting stabbed. He closed his eyes and smiled, feeling oddly at peace.

"Aether...? You're Aether right...?"

"Of course. That's the name I go by in Teyvat."

"Then Aether, get a hold of yourself! Stop this and go back to Xiao! Everything else will get sorted out!"

"If I have the power to stop all of this without killing myself then why not use this power? I'm confident I can control it."

A very faint smile appeared on the boy's face. It wasn't his usual warm one. This one felt creepy and disturbing to the point of making Paimon feel uncomfortable. More blood came out of his mouth but he didn't seem to be bothered.

The girl with the white hair used some of her last strength and took the blade away from the traveler. She still hasn't completely recovered from getting thrown against the walls of the cave.

"And Xiao just let you go?"

"What does he have to do with this!? This entire situation has nothing to do with him! Leave him out of it."

"Don't tell Paimon you did something to him!"

"..."

"Aether!"

Her eyes widened, not understanding why her friend was staying silent.

"Aether answer Paimon!"

"I haven't. He's at a safe place."

A sigh of relief escaped Paimon's lips. This meant there was still some sanity left in the blonde, and the fact that he still hadn't done anything to Paimon meant he was still there somewhere.

"Go back to him. Paimon will handle things here. Maybe he'll be able to knock some sense into you. You haven't yet realized how dangerous your abilities may be." The girl spoke with a lot of maturity in her voice. Something had definitely changed about her but Aether couldn't waste time thinking about it at a moment like this.

It was then that something inside the boy's eyes changed. There seemed to be a faint hint of sorrow in his eyes that only lasted for a few seconds before disappearing.

Everything seemed to be getting chaotic outside the cave. Murata and Focalors, the two archons who were present earlier were trying to protect the cave after they saw the traveler walk in. Multiple beasts were attempting to break in.

After noticing this, Aether did the only thing that came to mind.

He healed Paimon successfully and knocked her out in the most painless way possible. He couldn't have her interfering with what was about to happen.

After managing to hide her in a safe place inside the cave he started walking toward the exit. With each step he took he couldn't help but think if this was the right thing to do.

His mind was filled with different ways to end it all.

How many days would it take to get rid of all the gods?

Did he really need to save Teyvat? He saved it numerous times before. He did everything in his power to help this random world he came across one day. But what did they all do for him?

After being self-aware of what kind of thoughts Aether was having, he grabbed his head in agony and hurriedly exited the cave.

He wasn't a villain in this story. He couldn't possibly become one.

Right?