Genshin Impact: Following the Winds

They'd always been running.

From that very first moment when their home was destroyed, left to rot as that Propagator consumed it. To all the different worlds they visited. All those places where they played Hero. To find a place they could call home, was what Aether had said back then.

And maybe that was true for him, but it felt like an elaborate lie. In the end she was just a coward, playing pretend. She'd always gone on adventures with him, because following him was easier than confronting what it was that'd taken their parents and their home away from them.

But now he was gone. And she was left to wander this hostile world on her own, bereft of what little strength she'd gathered on her journey.

Or at least that was probably how Celestia ordained her Destiny to be.

But Venti had found her. He looked up and saw a falling star, and he'd risen to the skies to catch her with his bare arms. He looked into her eyes, and though he didn't quite know who or what she'd gone through, he understood. There was an understanding in his eyes that she'd only seen with her own brother.

From that moment on, Venti became her new light. Or maybe it was more accurate to say that he was her new anchor. She followed where he went, and since he was kind and heroic, then so too would she embody those traits.

…But why?

Why did those she held close always have to suffer? 

Her heart had stopped when she thought Venti was about to be swallowed up by the flames of that Celestial Nail. And now there he was, limp and unconscious as Ronove screamed profanities at him, choking what little remained of his life. But they were too high up for her to simply jump, and so she could only scream as she tried to call for the wings that bitch had stolen from her.

Nothing happened. The most she could call was a flickering feather before they fizzled away.

She grit her teeth as she clenched her hands with enough force to draw blood. It was always the same, wasn't it? She was always the weaker one—the one that needed help. The one who knew little else, the one who always got into trouble. The one who had to run.

It was always the same. Always running. Always hiding.

Always a Traveler. Never a Hero.

"VENTI!" She screamed in vain hope that her friend would wake. That he would magically gain enough strength to blast apart the arm that was threatening to shatter his spine. 

He didn't move.

Ronove's grip tightened. She could see Venti's charred flesh tearing as Ronove squeezed.

She screamed.

SNAP!

…

For a moment, her mind went blank. 

It could not be. It could not be. It couldn't end like this! There was so much more they could've done. So many things Venti promised to show her. So many different Adventures they'd planned to go on together! This couldn't be the end-!

Then the rest of her mind caught up, and she heard the loud roar as she saw hundreds of giant scales fly through the air. Ronove's gaze turned to them, and he glared as he used his other hand to bat them away, shattering them and sending their fragments crashing into the ocean.

Her chest loosened, and she gasped as she realized what she'd heard wasn't what she'd been fearing. She quickly turned and saw Orobashi's snake-like form burst from the ground, parts of his scales missing. That snap had been Orobashi breaking off his own scales and firing them at the Agent of Celestia.

The scales did little against Ronove. Mere interruptions more than anything, ones he easily bat away using the back of his hand. But in his anger and growing annoyance, he didn't notice that one of those projectiles wasn't like the others.

And he realized it far too late when a strange, green staff came inches from him. His eyes turned to it, just in time to see the [Windsail Beacon] glow, detecting that great harm was about to befall its creator. A barrier of wind expanded from it, and when it felt great resistance from Ronove it shattered instead, causing an explosion of Anemo strong enough to knock Venti from his grasp.

Orobashi snaked upwards, and as his head came close to the falling Venti, his form shimmered as he morphed into his human form. He caught Venti and gently descended back towards her and Ei, his robes fluttering as he slowly came back to the ground.

"Venti…!" Lumine quickly ran up to them, and she could only grit her teeth as she finally saw how injured her friend was. It'd been difficult to gauge when he was so high up, but it was clear that holding back the Celestial Nail hurt him greatly. Parts of his skin were charred black, and some of his flesh was burnt so thoroughly that they revealed his bones. And she could barely look at the already-developing bruise around Venti's neck.

"He is alive." Orobashi softly assured, sounding none-too-pleased himself. 

"Thank you." She whispered, her arms shaking as she ran a hand through Venti's hair. "If you weren't here…"

Orobashi nodded solemnly, before he gazed at the sky. "I will retrieve him. Bring him to Saiguu to better heal him."

She took a shaky breath, and then nodded. "Yeah, you do that." She turned back to Ei, and the goddess returned a nod as she approached. "And we'll keep that bastard in check." She gulped as she saw Ronove descend towards them, his eyes glaring at them. "Somehow."

He hummed, and she had to blink as he brought out a…chess piece? Whatever it was though, it caused Ei's eyes to go wide as she stared at it. "Your sister believed you would be more befitting of it." He said as he handed the chess piece over to Ei, and Ei stared silently as the chess piece floated in her palms.

It took Lumine a moment to realize what it was. "Oh, that's the Gnosis thing you were talking about." 

He nodded. "Indeed, but explanations can wait." He stomped his foot down, and the soil beneath him began to warp as he prepared to dive into the island. "Good luck, both of you." And saying so, the earth swallowed him up before it returned to being flat ground.

Lumine took a long breath as she turned to Ei. "So, you gonna ingest the thing or what?"

Ei blinked at her words, almost as if she was genuinely considering eating a chess piece. But she then shook her head as she pressed the Gnosis into her chest instead, causing it to turn into strands of light before they were fully absorbed into her body. And the moment it did, a great surge of Electro exploded from the War Goddess, causing the nearby vegetation to burn to a crisp due to the heat.

Ei grunted. "This, unused-!"

But before she could say anymore, Lumine glowed as strands of golden light extended from her. They reached out to the haphazard burst of Electro and began consuming it. "Don't worry." She smiled with teeth. "Go as wild as you want. I'll be there to eat the stuff you leave behind."

Ei blinked, and then nodded silently.

And together they turned just in time for Ronove to slam into the ground, causing cracks to spread across the earth. "Damned Aberrations, you all!" He screamed, his curved blade gleaming with Energies foreign to most of Teyvat. "To dare strike back against the Heavens-!"

"Heaven?" Lumine scoffed. "What Heaven? You bastards are nothing more than parasites, coming into Teyvat and burrowing into it like worms." She grit her teeth, hating the familiar feelings her words brought. "And it's a good homeowner's job to purge their home from any parasites, isn't it?"

"YOU-!" He screamed in rage as light exploded from him, causing strange auroras to spread across the whole island.

Lumine cautiously attempted to consume some of the energy, and very nearly gagged as she pulled back. Ugh, yeah, that wasn't happening. Her power to consume was similar to whatever Energy Ronove was emitting. It'd just end in a useless mental tug of war.

The fact that her powers were even remotely similar to him made her want to puke.

But that was enough talking.

Her eyes glowed gold as her own powers surged forth, shrouding her and her sword in a protective coat. Ei matched her, quickly adapting to her increase in strength to gather most of her Electro into her sword, causing it to gleam a bright purple.

She took a deep breath.

Aether, I'm tired of running.

She and Ei leapt forward, and both their swords slammed into Ronove's in an explosion of energy. The earth below was immediately turned to dust, and the nearby trees were uprooted and sent flying to the air. Ronove easily held back both their swords, before he swept it forward.

Ei leapt back, while Lumine grabbed onto the blade's flat edge and hopped over it. Her legs glowed gold before she slammed it down. Ronove blocked it with the hilt of his sword, and then blocked another kick heading towards his neck. 

Lightning flashed, and Ei appeared behind her, her stab moving in tandem with the explosion of thunder. Just like before, her sword was blocked by the cloak Ronove wore, but this time, her sword carried more than enough Elemental Energy to bypass its passive absorption and burnt a hole through it.

Ronove growled as his legs blurred, kicking Ei right in her stomach. She gasped as she was sent flying back, but she quickly retaliated by sending a slash of Electro. Ronove easily evaded it, but his head turned when he heard that flying slash hit Lumine's sword. The Energy it carried was absorbed, and Lumine's light grew brighter as she slashed forward.

He blocked it all the same, but he grunted as he felt the impact. Her strength had undoubtedly grown, and he soon realized that her powers mirrored the Subsuming Vortex wielded by Celestia. "Damned imposter!" He screamed as he knocked her sword and quickly followed it with a slash to Lumine's chest.

Lumine quickly blocked, but the force was still more than enough to send her crashing into the melting dirt. She coughed as she stood up, her arms trembling as she gripped her Dull Blade. Even after absorbing the ambient Electro Ei was leaving behind, her strength was still far from enough.

Lightning flashed, and Ei appeared next to her, gasping as sweat rolled down her brow. Lumine frowned. "You alright?" She asked, and frowned in worry when the most Ei could do was make a shallow nod. It was clear that adapting to the Gnosis she'd absorbed wasn't working so well. She supposed there was a reason why Makoto hid for so long once she received it.

"I'll-" Ei breathed heavily. "Strongest attack. Prepare." She bit out. 

Lumine stared at her. At the determined stare Ei returned. Lumine nodded, realizing what it was Ei was trying to do. "Got it." She took a slow breath. "I'll give you time."

Lumine leapt forward, and Ronove was there to meet her. Their swords clashed in a shower of sparks, and though her strength was still far below his, she didn't relent. She fought his sword with hers, burning through every ounce of Energy she had to buy Ei enough time to prepare her attack.

Lumine kept speeding up, and Ronove sped up with her. And soon they moved so quickly that no normal person could ever catch up. The earth below shattered with every step they took, and the air was filled with a dizzying mix of colors as their Energies collided.

But it was clear that she wasn't fast enough. It wasn't long before she began getting overwhelmed. Some of Ronove's strikes began making it through her defense, and cuts began appearing all across her body. They started small, but soon they grew larger and larger, eventually becoming wounds that stretched across her entire chest.

She could only grit her teeth as she fought through the searing pain. She was falling behind. Without being able to absorb Ronove's Energy, her strength and speed was now eclipsed, while Ronove only continued to escalate.

But she held on. She had to.

So she screamed as she squeezed out whatever she had left. She fought on with all her might, their swords tearing the surrounding apart as they clashed. Blood soaked through her ruined white dress as she fought on. 

At that point, she could feel little else but pain. She was too overwhelmed by agony to feel anything else. Her vision was blurring as her mind grew faint, but she refused to fall unconscious.

So it was inevitable that she'd slip up eventually.

Slash!

"Ah!?" Lumine gasped, eyes shaking as she felt his blade sever her hand, causing her Dull Sword to be flung away. 

She grit her teeth to try to leap back. But Ronove was faster. He made use of her lack of defense and swung, first severing her right arm, and then her entire right shoulder. She took a shaky step back, and then collapsed to the ground, her sole hand cradling her severed shoulder.

She coughed wetly as Ronove stomped his foot into her severed shoulder, and he scoffed as he then kicked her away. She shivered in pain as she curled in on herself, barely capable of staying awake due to the pain.

Ronove raised his sword to sever her head, but before he could he felt a massive explosion of Electro from behind him. He turned slowly and saw Raiden Ei crouched low, her hand hovering inches from her sheathed blade. Electro burnt from her in massive bursts, as if she was a battery on the verge of exploding.

She took a breath, and her eyes snapped open in a flash of purple light. Her eyes widened as she saw Lumine lying on the ground, her arm missing. And for the first time, Ei's rage colored her usually dull expression. To lose their sword-arm was a shame for all samurai, and she was certain Ronove had done it deliberately.

But she didn't let it distract her. Her utmost focus remained on her enemy, so much so that the rest of the world had essentially faded into white noise in her mind.

She grit her teeth. Gripped onto her blade's hilt.

"Hijutsu: Musou Shinsetsu."

Her blade was drawn at impossible speeds, and her cut caused a tear in space-time itself. What little remained of the surroundings were turned to nothing as her Electro shot through the air, burning through every molecule. Within the tear, an eye of Electro grew, spinning like a windwheel before it all shattered, causing a massive explosion that rendered all life null.

Ronove's eyes widened behind his cloak, bringing up his sword to defend. This was a level of strength Raiden Ei was never supposed to achieve this early. No, in the first place, Raiden Ei was never supposed to hold the Gnosis this early on. He grit his teeth in rage at the clear disobedience towards her Destiny.

But alas,

A rumbling laugh left his lips as he brought down his sword. "All that, just to miss." He whispered, a menacing smile behind his mask as he approached. Ei watched dispassionately as her legs lost what strength they had, causing her to fall onto the ground. 

He brought his sword up. It glowed unnaturally, and the air warped around it, threatening to swallow everything in its path. "Let this be a lesson to this accursed world." He said, taking no small pleasure from finally ending her. "All divergence from Destiny must be-!"

"Oi, fucktard." A familiar voice sounded behind him. "Ever heard of shutting up?"

He froze, and rage quickly filled him as he turned. "You still stand, you worm-!"

The rest of his words froze as he saw her. Lumine was standing, her eyes shadowed by her hair. Blood still poured from her many wounds, and her right arm was severed. 

But in her other hand was the Electro Gnosis. The power stolen from the Sovereign of Lightning, contained in a prison made from Celestial Energy. Faint bursts of Electro could still be seen from the Gnosis, having absorbed every drop of Electro Ei had unleashed using her final attack.

His eyes widened.

No, it wasn't that Raiden Ei's attack had missed-

Her target had been Lumine all along!

A wide smile stretched across her face as she felt his surprise, manic and euphoric. "That's right. There it is." A tittering laugh left her lips, tinged with insanity born from the intense pain she felt. "You said Destiny was broken by us?" The winds blew, revealing her eyes, glowing bright gold. 

"YOU DARE-!"

Her fingers glowed gold as they pressed onto the Gnosis. The Celestial Energy, capable of absorbing Teyvat's Elemental Energy, could do little against Lumine's sun-like Energy. A massive crack spread all across the chess piece, and Lumine's smile grew even wider as she saw Ronove leap towards her, his sword poised to plunge into her heart.

She grinned. "Wanna see me do it again?"

"NO-!"

Lumine squeezed. The Gnosis finally shattered.

And the world screamed as giant towering bursts of Electro rose into the sky.