Genshin Impact fanfiction: A different kind of Paimon.

Mondstadt Part 2

The multiverse. A vast, all-encompassing, and nigh-infinite ocean of worlds just waiting to be explored. Where infinite possibilities remain and where all manner of wonders and horrors await to be unearthed and explored. To the cowardly, this infinite frontier is terror incarnate. They think themselves safe in their home universe, wishing to believe that they are safe as a lonesome island amidst a sea of ignorance, and it was said that they should not venture far beyond her shores – to the brave, the bold, and the daring, the multiverse is something more. A fruit, a temptation in which they cannot refuse. Calling them to break the veil that separates worlds and travel far beyond. Either to return home in the future or to never return at all.

An alluring prospect, and for travelers; not a hard choice to make.

Memories were fading, shattering in the mind. Then reforming themselves into vague, hardly discernable scenes, like a poorly edited movie at the cinema. Then, followed by a heavy feeling in the chest, a thunderous beating of the heart, like the rhythmic banging of war drums from worlds she had seen firsthand.

'A thousand faces and a thousand places.' Words spoken by someone; a girl from a world far beyond. Faces and interactions, bonds and friendships forged with people far beyond the stars. Tales of worlds they had visited and then left just as their time there came to an end.

More shattered memories came rushing through her head. Her mind was on fire and her emotions burning like the heart of a star.
Like a shattered bridge reforming before her very eyes, the memories came rushing in. Like a tidal wave of grief and pain.

'Outlanders, your journey ends here...'
That forsaken entity again. Golden eyes, blood-red stars that seemed to pierce reality, and a power so great, that she was able to overwhelm and seal away two of the most important things to her; one, a sibling, a brother who walked the stars with her, and has witnessed countless worlds, side by side.

And the other was something equally as precious; her powers. The golden wings that manifested themselves on her back disappeared for good. No amount of effort nor will can get them to come out anymore.
She felt weaker, more vulnerable. As if the ability to break the veil of reality, which was second nature to her, now illudes her.

As she regained a fraction of her consciousness, she woke up, jumping up from where she lay. Gasping for air and looking around her, eyes dilated.
She scanned the area around her, emotions clouding her judgment.
"Aether! Where are you?!"

A voice spoke to her, a child's voice. Speaking in a language she could not understand.
The lady felt something grab her right arm. Her neck snapped into place as she instinctively got off the table and tried to make a run for it.
"Not again, not those cubes again!" She yelled. As she ran, she stumbled upon something; a walking cane. She grabbed it and turned back around to face whoever it was.

To her surprise, it was not that entity whom she saw. Instead, she saw two individuals before her. Her eyes were fixated on the little one; that white hair, those clothes, and the star motifs. Pointing her cane at her, she shouted.
"Sustainer, what have you done to my brother? Dont you dare try to trick me with that disguise!"

Again, the little one spoke up. But for the life of her, she couldn't understand what she was saying. She continued to speak, even if she couldn't get most of it. As she listened, she could barely make out a name from the incomprehensible jargon; Paimon.

The one next to her caused her mind to do a double-take. He looks like a girl, and yet upon further evaluation, that was a mere deception.
Suspicion grew as the pair approached, taking a few steps back and pointing the cane at both of them, but especially Paimon.