Genshin Impact: Following the Winds

Power. Pure, unfiltered power. 

At that moment when she shattered the Gnosis in her hands, it felt as if she held the core of a star in her very hand. She could feel the abundant Electro buzzing, piercing through the skin of her alien physiology. Electricity arced through her muscles and veins and nerves, burning with the intent to turn everything to null.

No sane man would dare to hold a star in their hands. Even her own people, blessed as they were with bodies akin to gods, warned their children that the cosmos was an existence that far outweighed even them. That no being outside of Aeons and their Emanators should ever dare with holding a power that arose from the Universe's Genesis.

Perhaps.

But excruciating pain had since loosened her mind, and mania tinged every thought she held. 

And so when she first felt this immense burning in her sole remaining hand, the first thing Lumine did was smile. Smile so wide that it hurt her cheeks. There was an impossible feeling of happiness as she held something that could easily destroy her, an almost taboo sense of euphoria at the conflicting prospect of immense strength and immediate death.

An understanding was reached as she stood at the edge of that cliff.

A sort of…Elation, if she dared.

She giggled, finding it both ironic and fitting. Of course, she knew full well she wouldn't ever walk the Path of Elation. She just wasn't that kind of person, you see? Ah, but it was fitting still, since Elation had always been close to the Path of Trailblazing. Aha was the first Nameless, after all!

Enough of that! She had a star in her hand, and she was so dearly hungry.

So she spread her arms wide, and what little dregs of Energy she had left surged out from her as giant golden tendrils. They stabbed into the rising pillars of Electro, and she began absorbing them, leaching away its life like a starving parasite.

The massive pillars of Electro, containing the Energies of both Ei and the Electro Sovereign, quickly began shrinking as her golden light grew and grew. The apocalyptic sight of hundreds of pillars of Electro was soon replaced with an overwhelming golden glow, as if a second sun had suddenly appeared on Teyvat.

And once most of the Electro had been converted into pure Energy, Lumine pulled it all back into herself. Her dull eyes went wide, and with a wide smile tinged with mania, she let it all surge back into her body. Pull all that Energy back into her body faster than anyone ever should.

It was a foolish act. Taking in so much power in so little time was destined to break her. And indeed she could feel her inner channels being strained as they did all they could to contain the massive tide of Energy, like pumps on the verge of cracking as they took in too much water.

But she could care less right now. Not when it felt so damn good. 

Soon enough, she'd absorbed all that Energy that she converted, and the glow faded. The cracked sky returned to its orange-tinged twilight, and the world grew eerily quiet. It felt as if Teyvat had itself was holding its breath, still too stunned after the near-cataclysm it had experienced.

Impossibly, she didn't die from the act. Her body protested heavily from it, and though she couldn't see, intense golden cracks had spread all across her skin. But she was still alive and partially conscious, and that was far more lucky than what else could've happened.

Lumine rasped a breath. Then two. Then three.

Then a slight wind brushed past her cheeks, and she began giggling. And then she began laughing. Laughing rapturously.

"You…" Ronove whispered, finally able to stand now that most of the Energy had been reabsorbed. He stared at the Aberration with no small caution in his eyes, having understood what it was he witnessed. Somehow, the Aberration had absorbed the unfiltered Energies of an Archon and a Sovereign, and she'd survived. It was something he had never seen in his existence. "Who are you!?"

Lumine's laugh stopped abruptly, and Ronove felt a chill up his spine as her head suddenly jerked towards him, dull yellow eyes staring. He unconsciously brought forth his sword, his instincts screaming in danger. His opponent seemed barely conscious, and yet he couldn't help but feel like she could tear him apart even if she was asleep.

Lumine stared and stared, and then she giggled. "I'mma Lumine." She said, her voice almost childlike. "Just another Traveler from the Stars." She swayed for a moment, before she stomped her foot to steady herself. The ground shattered beneath her. "Why're you askin'?"

He grit his teeth. "Speak clearly, you damned Aberration!" He shouted, his blade leveled towards her. "No mortal can ever dare to absorb so much-"

Whatever bravado he built up shattered when Lumine giggled. Not because of her giggle itself, but because of the cacophony of giggles that then followed hers, as if thousands of ghosts were laughing along with her. Laughing at him.

"Y'er funny." She mumbled as she slowly made her way to her fallen Dull Blade. First she tried reaching it with her right arm, and then remembered that she no longer had a right arm. She stared at her missing limb for a good moment, before she simply kicked her Dull Blade up and caught it with her other hand. 

Then her atmosphere changed. The amusement vanished, and her eyes sharpened as all her focus fell onto him.

She smiled, eyes bright and predatory.

His instincts screamed, and he turned just in time to see Lumine behind him, her sword poised to swing. He quickly leapt back, but he wasn't fast enough to completely evade her. Her sword slashed and left behind a thin cut across his neck, bypassing the passive protection his cloak provided with little resistance.

Lumine was quick to follow. Light exploded from beneath her, propelling her forward so quickly that she lit the air aflame. Power flooded her Dull Blade, and she laughed as she swung it down. Ronove quickly brought his sword to defend, and grunted as he bore the entire force of the attack. The ground beneath him sunk a good meter through sheer force, and the surrounding dirt and stone began to melt.

He grit his teeth. That single attack was enough for him to realize the truth. As she was now, her strength far eclipsed his, and he'd already spent far too much of his internal reserves to defend himself when she shattered the Electro Gnosis. He had to run!

He kicked her back and quickly took the air, flying towards the Portal he had come through. 

But his hopes sank to terror when he heard something following him, and he turned to see Lumine flying at him, cracked wings of light extending from her back. She closed their distance in moments, and he met her sword with his. His arms trembled as he endured her-

Suddenly, her grip weakened, and he stumbled forward. Lumine blurred behind him, and he heard her giggle as she gripped his calf. Ice filled his internals, and he could only scream as she spun him before throwing him back towards the ground with such force that he turned into a meteor.

Boom!

He gasped as he smashed into the ground. He grit his teeth as he dispelled the dust cloud his impact caused, and he growled as he stood up. Or at least tried, because he stumbled the moment he tried. Confusion came, and then horror followed as he looked at the leg she had grabbed.

It was maimed terribly. She'd squeezed his calf with so much strength that she turned his flesh into pulp and shattered his bones.

But before he could examine himself fully, he screamed in pain as Lumine slammed her foot down into his back. She dug her foot in, and he felt his internals scream as his spine and ribs were shattered. Then, mimicking what he did to her, she rolled him up with her leg before kicking him back, sending him rolling across the ruined earth.

He grunted as he forced himself up. He could no longer stand on his feet, but he could at least utilize his Floatation Module to keep himself upright. Most of his cloak had been destroyed by this point, revealing his pale skin, white hair, and eyes of deep amber.

Lumine paused when she saw his features, before a wide smile stretched across her cheeks. "Hello there~" She giggled as she idly twirled her blade. "So all of you look like that bitch, huh?" She giggled again, joined by another whispering cacophony of laughter. "Man, you're all sooo boring."

Rage filled him when she heard her derogatory term for one of their leaders, but he restrained himself. He understood that she was far beyond him now, and as he was, his hopes of escaping were close to null.

Which only left one option.

"I CALL FORTH THE STRENGTH OF HEAVEN!" He screamed, and prismatic light burnt from him as he raised his blade. Agony filled him as he burnt through whatever reserves he had left, but it mattered not. At this moment, the most he could do was hopefully injure this Aberration enough to stall her! "FALL AGAINST THE CELES-!"

"Shut up, hobo."

His concentration faltered as he heard her speak from behind him, but before he could even turn his head, his vision turned white as an explosive burst of Energy shot forth. 

The next thing he knew, he was lying close to the ground, staring at his decapitated body. His ruined body crumbled to the ground, and he trembled as he saw the hate-filled smile that came onto Lumine's face. Her leg glowed bright gold, and she laughed as she stomped down.

The rest of his body was turned to pulp in a single stomp, splattering blood all across the still-melting dirt. 

"You-, you…!" He whispered, vainly trying to escape as she approached. "GET AWAY FROM ME-!"

His words were silenced when she crushed his head in her hand. She dropped his shattered skull, staring dully as blood fell through her fingers.

…it was done. The Agent of Celestia was dead. The one who'd hurt Venti was dead.

She trembled slightly as she looked at her bloodied hand. This-, gods, what would Aether think if he saw this? What would her parents think? They were meant to be Lightbringers that illuminated the unknown, and yet here she was, having become no better than a mindless berserker.

Or maybe they'd be proud? Family was always something her people cared deeply about. Maybe they'd let it slight if they learnt she did it all for Venti.

She smiled thinly. She supposed it didn't really matter, did it?

She let out one last laugh, and then her head hit the earth as she fell unconscious.

.

.

.

"Heroes and Villains. Slaves and their Keepers. A story as old as time itself!"

"Aha never expected such a wonderful showing!"

"A shame that He remains shackled; his past kept away. Aha, how stubborn you must be, oh System?"

[...The System must accommodate the User's Wish]

"Yes, yes, yes. Aha, what a tiresome existence you are. How cliche, even. But alas, Aha supposes this is not the time, is it? Aha shall watch this new Fool with wide eyes!"

…

"Ah, but it really is heartwarming, isn't it, Akivili?"

"Your prodigal daughter has finally decided to stop running. Aren't you glad?"