Gluttony

After a while, I found a small Hilichurl camp with two Abyss Mages. At first they didn't notice me, but when they saw my shadow as I floated above them, they got ready to attack quickly. The Abyss Mage's were quite unfortunate as they were Cryo Abyss Mages, meaning that their shields will be quickly dealt with by Gluttony.

"Die!" shouted one of the Abyss Mages.

I dodged the ice spikes that the mages were throwing at me and as soon as they stopped, I quickly flew forward at high speeds and slashed at their shields. Their shields shattered as they slowly fell to the ground, struggling to gather their bearings. However, I didn't give them that chance as I dashed at them. I slashed at one of them horizontally and continued on a flowing motion that left a trail of black flames, not losing my sword's momentum. When I reached the other one, I swung my sword vertically as I passed it, killing it in the process.

I took a look behind me, and much like what I saw with the Pyro Regisvine, both the Abyss Mages were consumed by the flames of Gluttony. It was kind of unsettling. Knowing that the power I wield now came from devouring the Life Force of so many living beings. Luckily, none of them was innocent.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I looked in front of me and saw that the Hilichurls were slowly backing away from me. I was quite relieved that I wouldn't have to do more. Well, that was until something huge came out from a nearby cave. I narrowed my eyes as I looked at it closely. A large creature that towers even a Mitachurl. This was the Hilichurl Chieftain, the Lawachurl. A Stonehide Lawachurl to be exact.

"Graaaaa!"

It roared as golden rays of light engulfed its body, covering it with pure Geo energy. This was going to be problematic. I summoned my Geo shield that was just a small flower that hovered around me and readied myself.

The Lawachurl smashed the ground, picking up a huge rock and then throwing it straight at me. I quickly dodged the rock and performed the 'Corruption Breathing, First form: Slash' which sent a slash made of Gluttony to the Lawachurl. It made a dumb move though. It tried blocking the slash, thinking it was something that its Geo shield could take. When the slash hit its left arm, due to it being in the front, it got caught cleanly off. I was considerably holding back since I didn't know just how powerful Gluttony is now, but to think it could still cut off a shielded Stonehide Lawachurl's arm cleanly. I was in awe while the Lawachurl was in shock and fear.

However, that shock and fear changed to pure rage. It smashed its remaining right hand to the ground and applied so much force to its legs that the ground beneath it cracked. It dashed straight for me with incredible speed. It was fast, but not too fast that my eyes couldn't follow it. I jumped right above it and flipped so that I would be just behind it. It shifted and faced toward me, going for a punch. I grinned as it got knocked back when my shield blocked its attack.

"Thank you for letting me test the power of my Gluttony." I said as I performed the first form once more, cutting the Lawachurl in half. As the Lawachurl became consumed by flames, I felt my power grow more.

I tried releasing some of it, around my current 15%, and the ground beneath me already shattered. This was a lot of power, but it was nothing in comparison to my old powers. 15% should be enough for me to use on my adventures. I might need to lower it a bit once I get more powerful though. I stopped releasing my power and sighed. This should be enough for today.

I teleported back to the hotel and saw that Ganyu was sitting up, waiting for me. When she saw me, her face brightened up as she opened her arms and invited me in for a hug. I smiled and walked to her, embracing her.

"Where did you head off to?" she asked in a soft tone.

"I just went out to test the power of Gluttony."

"Gluttony?"

"Ah, right. That's the name Keqing came up with for my own element."

"Those purple flames?" I shook my head and moved away from her. I summoned a small ember at the tip of my pointer finger. Ganyu looked at it in awe. I made it disappear and embraced her once more. Since the bed wouldn't be able to fit all five of us, I took out a small mattress that I bought that can fit two people and laid it down. Luckily, the floor was large enough for it to fit. I laid down on the mattress, whilst embracing Ganyu.

"Ehehe, this feels nice~" said Ganyu as she snuggled her head on my chest.

"I can do this anytime you want." I said as I stroked the back of her head. Having moments like this with her always warms my heart. Not just her of course. I feel the same with the other girls as well. They're all so precious to me. After a bit, we both drifted off to sleep. Enjoying each other's embrace.

---

When morning came, I woke up earlier than the other girls. Ganyu was still hugging me tightly while she rested her head on my chest. When I tried to stand up, she hugged me tightly and spoke in her sleep.

"No…"

I smiled and just embraced her, making her hold on me even more tighter. The other girls started to wake up and the first one to stand up was Keqing. She looked down at us and poked my cheeks.

"Goodmorning, Aether~"

"Goodmorning, Keqing~"

She lowered herself from the bed and gave me a kiss on the cheek. She then proceeded to go to the bathroom to freshen up. After a small bit, Noelle and Havria decided to stand up and both gave me a kiss on the cheek as well. They stretched and sat on the foot of the bed as they waited for Keqing to finish freshening up.

"Hon?" Havria questioned.

"Yes?"

"What are you going to do today? We will just stay here and maybe help Ganyu with some of her work."

I completely forgot that Ganyu brought her work from school all the way here. Hell, I even forgot that this was a school trip. Well, I can't really be blamed for that since I haven't seen or heard of anything school related during this whole trip.

"Hm… I guess I'll just do my commissions for today. It's been quite a while after all."

"Oh, okay! Just be careful, alright?"

"Mhm." I nodded and looked back at my cute sleeping wife. I was thinking of waking her up, but decided not to. I was enjoying this after all.