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Genshin Impact: One Shot, Dystopia

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Written for Genshin Impact Official Discord Confirmation it's me - StickSwinger#2397 All characters and the world belongs to Mihoyo. Cover art belongs to the person who made it.

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Chapter 1Dystopia

Crushed with the disaster brought about by their own selves, the residents of Teyvat were on the brink of extinction.

The grief filled up the crimson sky. This was where horror reigned.

Since the earth was smudged with death, only the black sun still sobbed.

Humans were greedy, heading towards the firmament, power and riches lied beyond, but it was indefinite.

The break of dawn burned and droplets of water, mud, and blood were scattered as foam, all across the soiled lands.

Had all hope already folded its wings? Was it truly over?

After the last drop of the river had dried up, was all that was left just renunciation with what was lost, never to return?

His heart was nowhere near steel, and yet to survive, he was forced to abandon most of his emotions.

"Spread your wings of determination! Turn your heart cold! You shall raise the sword of revenge! Destroy Celestia with me, Traveler from another world, and I, Tsaritsa, shall promise you to revive your dear sister. By the fangs of vengeance and the claws of hatred, please assist me in bringing judgment upon the Gods!"

Humans were highly intelligent creatures, yet why was it that whenever it came to the loss of love or family, they would head towards the empty sky, wandering cluelessly and lost, and drenched with grief like a frozen flower?

"The Gods have planted their claws into this world. We were all just pawns, but all of this shall change with the upcoming war!"

Was crawling around, desperately looking for hope of survival, a part of human's desire?

Was it in their nature? Or was it something completely different altogether?

Without a protective will, was even the foreseen future already hopeless?

Was fate a thing you couldn't avoid no matter how hard you tried?

"Save our world! Save the nations! Save your sister!"

And just like that, he took a hold of her hand, grasping the only chance he had left to get his sister back.

However,

Nothing ever went as planned.

Soon, all of his hopes were crushed and the only lingering feeling was helplessness and rage.

***

The hot air of the fire burned through his lungs. He couldn't help but cough, cough, and violently cough.

"Ugh..."

His lungs burned in scorching agony, groans leaking through his cracked, blood addled lips as he searched for fresh air in order to keep breathing, shaking his head back and forth.

However, the little air available was being steadily consumed by the flames. Covering his mouth with his sleeves, trying to prevent his lungs from filling with the toxic smoke, he moved forward.

He wandered through the corpses, harboring suffering, sadness, and the feeling of anger, being fueled by rage and vengeance itself.. he moved forward.

The city in front of him laid beyond recognition.

The once vibrant streets, which had once been filled by people going about their daily lives, were now devoid of even their shadows, a symbol of the destruction that now painted their lives.

Scorched roads, trees engulfed in violent flames, and collapsed buildings all wailed of the resounding sorrows of the people.

His sword became like a glorified walking stick, his friends would have definitely laughed if they saw him like this.

"Tch..."

Gritting his teeth, opening his eyes against the smoke that infiltrated them, he moved forward, staggering towards the battlefield.

Indeed, a battlefield.

This place was a battlefield. He shouldn't be forgetting that. There was no place for old memories or feelings.

Once again, he found himself in the familiar hell of war, a hell utterly submerged in blood, smoke, and death.

Scalding heat submerged him, followed by the memory of his first battlefield as he closed his eyes in reminiscence.

On that day, he had also been submerged in heat, as his lonesome, bloodied figure strode across the battlefield.

Unaware of the rhythm of the war, lacking in a means of survival, they were merely pawns in a struggle of death, a struggle so brutal that it was unbearable to watch, were these helpless amateurs.

To survive one's first battle came neither from an awakening of some hidden skill, nor the triggering of human instincts of survival, nor the descent of any savior.

Luck was all that mattered in this hell. Having better luck than the ones who perished on that battlefield.

His home world was destroyed by a war they lost against celestial monsters. That happened because he was too weak.

And so he traveled across galaxies with his sister and ended up here, spending time and once again, in a war.

Once again, losing everyone precious to him.

Then, what about this time? Would it be the same way? Could luck bring forth a guaranteed survival?

"..."

No. Absolutely not...

Just like a sown seed sprouted, so did their purpose forever change.

This time, it was different from his first battle.

This was not a battlefield where warriors could survive with luck, where enemies were beginner monsters.

Weak Hilichurls, Slimes, or Flowers were no more.

Furthermore, the tune his heart followed had entirely changed.

Back then, he had a reason to fight, however his lack of power forced him to flee, merely conformity masked a shallow show of heroism.

There was a reason to fight. However, there was also a desire to live, and a desire to not die.

If his present self hadn't changed at all, his feet would have directed him far away from all this.

If he wanted to survive so badly, he should have run. Maybe he would have found some other way to revive his sister.

His primary goal was to save his sister, but everything failed. He lost his only family.

He was supposed to be recovering from such loss, for a long time to come.

Luckily he had friends, great allies, and lovers who somewhat patched his broken heart back together.

They were supposed to live out their life together, grow old together and die together, but that path was closed for him.

It was all too soon for them to perish just like that, in a war.

His legs took him to the center of the city, the front line of this battlefield.

"...hk."

A sky, torn asunder by shades of red and of destruction, a resounding roar, engulfing the city.

Eclipsing the sorrowful howls of the people, burying the demolition of collapsing architecture, and dissatisfied even still, a sound which forced itself upon the world, that was the thundering cry of one of the Elder Gods that were currently invading the world of Teyvat, named Primordus.

Primordus, the Primordial Elder Dragon God of Fire and Conflagration, was violently turning everything in its path to ashes, far away in the distance.

Trembled by the mighty roar of Primordus, countless soldiers and blades fell.

All that was left was pressing onward.

Ceaselessly onward.

Without pause.

Ever onward.

As Tsaritsa wanted.

In the end, she brought forth destruction and war, and now she had to pay and so did countless innocent people.

It was all over.

Because, in that godforsaken place where Primordus' fangs gnashed and claws slashed, his comrades lifelessly laid, unmoving.

"Hu Tao…Fischl..."

Those new wounds ached. The names of beloved comrades, of cherished friends, neither could escape the parched, broken throats caused by the onslaught of furious gods.

They have taken away everything from him.

Ripped up the things that he loved to shred.

Nothing else had remained.

Disaster, malice, and despair.

And as such, these resolute, warped thoughts, echoed in his mind,

'Rip and tear.'

If he had exterminated all of the Gods, then would everything return back to normal?

Even still, despite having such thoughts, he cried on.

Endlessly searching. Someone. There must have been someone. Someone who was still alive... Someone who he could choose to live for, devote his life for, after all of this ended.

Or will it truly be the end of the world?

His power simply wasn't enough and getting any external help was out of the question.

It was unknown where the Archons had disappeared. For better or for worse, none of them had joined the war against humanity itself, albeit they didn't help humanity either.

Venti the bard, Barbatos, also known as the Anemo Archon, disappeared without a trace the moment Mondstadt needed his support the most to face the upcoming threat, never to return.

As a result, Mondstadt had fallen, just like most other nations.

So much for a city of freedom. Was it really freedom, when demanded of you by a god?

Rex Lapis, also known as Morax, or the Geo Archon, had retired, hoping Liyue was strong enough, and no longer needed him.

He was satisfied that the people of Liyue were powerful enough to protect their nation themselves.

But when it came to it, Liyue was the first one to fall.

And so laid the remains of the richest city, abandoned by yet another Archon.

Baal, also known as God of Eternity, Raiden Shogun, or the Electro Archon, was defeated by Aether.

Her injuries were so severe, she could no longer amplify any of her powers and her Gnosis was dysfunctional. It was later taken by Fatui and repaired. She took off somewhere, both of her personalities clashing.

The God of Wisdom, also known as the Dendro Archon, let himself be assassinated by the Fatui, for unknown reasons.

Perhaps he didn't see it coming.

Perhaps his knowledge wasn't that great.

Perhaps, he was too tired of everything as he possessed endless knowledge and knew about the truth of this fake world, figuring out a quick death would be much better than what's yet to come.

The God of Justice, also known as the Hydro Archon, had abstained from the war.

Seemingly, deciding that humanity was in the wrong and that the Divine Gods had the right to take away everything from them.

Justice was a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, equity, and fairness, as well as the administration of the law, taking into account the inalienable and inborn rights of all human beings and citizens, the right of all people and individuals to equal protection before the law.

However,

Was justice always fair? Was justice always right?

In some instances, it was nigh on impossible to decide who was in the right and who was in the wrong...

Murata, the Pyro archon, revealed the truth of the world to Aether, yet refused to help.

Watching the surrounding nations burst in flames with a prideful smirk on her face.

Natlan and Fontaine were currently the only nations that were yet to be turned into ruins and dust, or judged by the Gods.

Tsaritsa, the God of Love. Also known as the Cryo Archon, has led humanity to a war with Celestia.

A war they could never win.

A war that cost him everything.

If only that decision could be reversed…

As he wandered across the wasteland, he spotted a body of a way too familiar woman, lying lifelessly near what appeared to be the remnants of a battlefield.

"Bei...dou? Beidou!" Aether exclaimed, shock filled him as he ran towards his fallen lover.

His heart stopped as he had witnessed the fall of yet another person he loved. Her normally pristine white skin was now dyed in blood red.

Aether fell down and pathetically crawled over the debris. The immeasurable pain in his body was ignored. And blood slowly bled out of his outfit staining the floor in it's crimson hue. Reaching out to her, Aether finally grabbed Beidou's shoulder.

"Beidou..."

He thought that his overflowing tears would stop, but there was no apparent limit.

"Uh, fughh..."

If he didn't tell her to come to Mondstadt. To fight for him, and help him in a war, she might have led a peaceful life somewhere, where the God's gaze did not fall.

Yet he selfishly ordered her to go with him and this was the result.

She didn't move, didn't breathe, and despite the open eyes, she didn't perceive the world around her.

Tears filled his vision and he pressed his forehead against Beidou's.

"W-Why..."

He started reminiscing about her, tears filling his eyes once more.

'If you ever need a powerful ally, you can count on me!'

'Still, now you are part of my fleet, and I am happy for it! Be sure to visit us...me...whenever you like!'

'Don't ya just stare at me like that...I invited you out for dinner...isn't that how dating goes? Ningguang recommended this to me...I have no clue…Stop laughing! What do you mean the roles should be reversed? Ah! That sly fox, Ningguang!'

'My brothers, my crew all have their own families, lovers, and fiancees. Sometimes I truly feel left out...out of the circle you know. But now that I found out how it feels...to have someone like you, for the first time...is it bad that I refuse to let you go? Stay with me aboard the Crux, and let's live here together~'

Countless memories of the past flashed in his mind.

Smiling during battle, that smile that enchanted him dozens of times, that very smile now laid on her lips, as she died doing what she loved.

Fighting.

Yet he had no time to grieve...At least not yet.

As he caressed her cheek for the last time, he stood up while swearing he would give everyone a proper burial ceremony after all of this ended.

He would have to dig up a lot of graves...But right now, he had to finish what he started.

His legs carried him across the destroyed floor, through a beam of moonlight, and towards two figures, crumpled near the entrance of what resembled Knight's of Favonius Headquarters.

"...Barbara...Jean...Not you too..."

Blood.

Pools of blood around them, they laid on their sides, one hand intertwined with the other as they most likely anticipated their end together.

Aether thought back to the prayers of Barbara, yet again praying to her god, Barbatos for help.

To save the city of Mondstadt, to save her sister.

But her prayers were cruelly, mercilessly trampled on, and then their lives were taken from them as well.

Her God had betrayed her expectations yet again, as she spent her last minutes, grasping the hand of her dear older sister and contemplating her pathetic life.

Maybe if she wasn't such a disappointment to her family, and could utilize the way of the sword, she would have been able to protect her sister. Save her.

Yet she ran away from the difficult path, and spent her whole life praying, but what was the point?

Barbatos had never helped them in any way that she knew of, and just like that, she closed her eyes with regrets, her life spilling away while clenching her sister's hand.

"Shit!"

Aether frowned and reluctantly moved his gaze away.

Looking at their bodies any further would only make him cry more, but during war, you have no time to grieve, only to fight, or else the next one on the list would be you.

The threat was still out there. There was no time to waste. He could still save someone, anyone.

Walking up further, Aether heard sounds of battle.

"Someone! Someone is still alive!"

He found his spirit rejuvenated. There, another one of his comrades stood.

There, the almighty astrologist battled as she desperately used her Hydro Vision to avoid the incoming attacks from some unknown entity by cloaking herself within the water's flow.

His eyes were clouded as he desperately ran with his injured body. He had to have saved someone...At least someone.

"Mona!"

However, the powerful voice of yet another deity from Celestia brought him back to reality like a thunderclap.

"In this great illusionary world, humans are strong. Killing each other, plotting, violating, unending until death brings your existence to a halt. How repulsive. An organism such as this doesn't deserve the glory of being born. You were blessed, and you wasted it. Humans are ephemerally small, and much weaker compared to us, Gods, so accept it and perish."

With a wave of her hand, a single flick destroyed all debris, evaporated all water, eradicated everything.

Just like that, Mona, the greatest astrologist, was no more.

All that was left behind was her torn hat, which somehow narrowly managed to escape the destruction.

"...M-Mona…"

His voice was as frail as a whisper.

"Aa...Ah."

His feeble voice seemed to die off in the wind as he caught her falling hat in his arms and hugged it tight.

"Hm? And who might you be?" The Goddess didn't notice his arrival at all, so she knew he couldn't have been simple.

She squinted her eyes and exclaimed in realization, "Ah! I know you! Aren't you that hero of Teyvat I've been hearing so much about lately? Handsome face, blonde hair, shortie, just my type...shame you no longer have your godly powers, I can only regard you as a simple mortal now."

The name of the Goddess in front of him was The Goddess of Particles, Livel, who was the one responsible for turning Liyue to dust.

He knew her very well. She was also the one responsible for killing Keqing, Yanfei and Ningguang.

As reported to him hundreds of times, every single one of her attacks was lethal, and she wasn't even taking this seriously, so who knew how many trump cards she had left.

"Not going to reply?

"..."

"Hmph, alright then."

Aether readied the sword he was using as a walking stick all this time and prepared for probably the hardest opponent he had yet to face.

***

Twenty minutes into the battle.

Aether knew that the Goddess was toying with him, therefore he had to settle this while she was still in the mood to play around, as The Goddess of Particles was one of the Primordial Gods, which meant she was one of the oldest and strongest existences in Celestia.

He won't be able to defeat her if she went all out, so preventing that from happening was the key.

He had to organize a surprise attack in some way, but he had no time to think how, as he was desperately dodging each and every one of her attacks.

So far the tactic had worked, but this won't work for a long time, he won't be able to get anywhere near her just by dodging and hopping around.

The Goddess might lose patience soon enough, wiping him out of existence.

He had to grasp each second he could, or else he would meet the same fate as his friends and lovers.

Explosively launching off of his legs, Aether barreled towards the woman with a speed he hadn't revealed yet.

He boosted his legs with the power of the Electro Archon Statue, seemingly blinking from his spot.

He was saving this ace in the hole for desperate times, and this was one of such times. If he sprinted seriously, Aether could outpace the wind itself.

Approaching the Goddess at a breakneck speed, he pointed his sword at her vitals.

Humanoid Gods had the same body structure and organs as normal mortals, meaning slicing her head off or crushing her heart was enough to get rid of her if he could just—

"—I believe that charging straight in is a little simple from someone like you."

"Wha...?"

The instant he thought he had severed her head cleanly off, the woman vanished into thin air.

Slamming down hard enough to shred the pavement, Aether then looked up at one of the buildings and gaped.

Having disappeared, the Goddess blinked away, reappearing on one of the rooftops of the ruined buildings of Mondstadt.

She placed her palm on her mouth, seemingly yawning out of boredom.

"Are you really the so-called hero of Teyvat I've heard so much about? If so, then I am truly disappointed."

"You damn monster!"

"I was called that in Liyue, too. I thought it rather rude at the time...and yet after I've taken care of the Liyue defenders, every worm in the vicinity started praying to me, hoping I would spare their lives. Ironic, isn't it? Humans are so pathetic."

Raising a voice of mock dismay, the woman floated down from the rooftop and stopped a few meters in front of Aether.

"Your strength is almost at the same level as some Archons with Gnosis implanted within them, but it's not enough. Most beings in Celestia could defeat you without trying too hard. You are already tired from previous battles, so this fight is really boring for me. I had hoped to have squeezed wisdom out of you, but you lack that too. Charging at me without a plan, hoping that your so-called surprise attack would work on a Deity is pathetic. Your face is the only good redeeming feature about you. If you beg nicely, I might take you home for myself, what do you say?"

"As if! I will avenge my sister and comrades!"

"Hmmm...Sister? Who was it again? I kind of forgot..." She put a finger on her chin, contemplating.

"Damn you!"

Aether crushed the floor underneath him, and created a smoke screen.

"Oh well, it's not like it matters."

Livel shrugged and effortlessly dodged the incoming onslaught of his attacks.

Waving his sword around, Aether repeatedly slashed through the opening created by the smoke.

The Goddess swung her body up and down, left and right, leisurely evading the flurry of attacks with the elegance of a leaf swaying in the wind.

When she floated back to evade the black blade that had appeared, a hidden blade flew by her cheek, almost grazing her.

"Close, close, but just close."

'Shit...that didn't even touch her...I had hoped it would do something...I am way too tired and injured from fighting with other Gods this past month...I can't use any elements anymore, I am way too drained...I need to rest...' He bit his lip as he tried to think of a solution to beat her.

Taking a deep breath, he slowly closed his eyes. He had to calm down. And released all of it.

"Hm? What's that supposed to be? Are you finally giving up?" Livel mocked him as she floated down to the ground.

As Aether wiped the dust from his sleeve, every motion of his seemed trained and deliberate. It was as if all of his pain, fatigue and thoughts had disappeared and now, there stood only a swordsman, with intent to defeat his opponent.

The way he carried himself was different from when Livel first encountered him and fought him so far, and as she gazed at him, she narrowed her eyes, catching the glimpse of his true self.

Without letting his guard down for a moment, Aether looked ahead, and turned his eyes towards the Goddess, who was now on guard, ready to intercept any hidden attacks.

"Entertain me more," Livel licked her thin red lips erotically with a look of excitement and ecstasy in her case as she stared at Aether.

Keeping his eyes shut, he walked forward without any sign that he was preparing himself for a battle.

After a sharp inhale of breath, a blueish particle flew forward from Livel's hand, in a flash, towards his neck.

Unlike before when she was playing around, there was no sign of her holding back now. 

The air itself seemed to be evaporating as the bluish particles of light raced towards Aether's slender neck.

Yet Aether was completely defenseless. Not only did he not make any move to defend himself, he didn't even make a move to dodge the attack itself.

She could clearly picture his head exploding. However…

Just as he was about to perish, he planted one foot down, the pressure behind it fracturing the ground beneath him, and with the other leg launched a kick so strong it created a shock wave as it collided with Livel and sent her body flying. 

Her attack was nullified and the aftershock was strong enough to make the nearby remains of a building fly away into the distance.

All it was, was an ordinary forward kick, but the air pressure it caused was enough to create a wind that no one was able to resist.

The wind pressure felt like it came from the Anemo Archon, Barbatos itself.

Livel, who took the direct hit head on, was blown away like a leaf. This was the first actual damage she had taken during the entirety of this pathetic "war".

However, she was able to reduce damage taken by stabilizing herself in the air with her godly powers. Still, when she looked up, you could see the look of shock on her face.

"...Interesting."

Aether held it in, but the feeling of pain was getting to him. He didn't have much time. He overclocked his powers to the max, risking potential lasting damage; he didn't want to become crippled, but he had to try everything to take her down.

To achieve revenge at least to some point. To avenge everyone.

As Aether gripped his blade, he made his first move, darting to the side. As he made his slicing attack he leaped to increase its speed. 

His strike was sublime, it was magical, it was perfectly trained. In his hands, even a throwaway sword at its end of life, sleeping away in some random cellar, shone like some treasure passed down by the generations as a legendary weapon inherited.

Such was the perfect swordsmanship of Aether, the man who spent over five hundred years perfecting the way of the sword. This was his peak form. The only thing that could help him defeat the threat in front of him.

His sword technique captured every ounce of performance that could be extracted by the black sword and he utilized it at will.

And as such, a sound was born, that pierced the sky with a single swing of the sword.

***

Not long after the smoke had cleared out.

He thought that he could get rid of her in one strike but it appeared that she had some kind of divine artifact that cracked when his ability touched her.

Livel was on her knees, but Aether couldn't see her face. Aether had hoped that he had managed to take her ability to fight, for a quick death. With his sword in front of him, he approached her cautiously.

Just then, Livel stood up with a mana blade in her hands, drawn from her palm, taking a bit of his bangs and scratching his forehead, as he leaned back.

With her surprise attack evaded, she took a huge leap backwards and glanced at her broken artifact, laying on the ground.

'If I didn't have that equipment, I would be done...' She glanced at his swaying figure that could barely stand straight and concluded, 'He is weak, one more swing and he is done. He had obviously gone beyond his limits at this point. It's just a matter of time before he falls.'

Worthy of the title of the Goddess, she seemed to fly about the empty battlefield, using all space in the air available to her.

They engaged in a violent sword fight, and as blade met blade and steel met with mana, none of them were backing off from the fight.

"You are almost falling over, I can see your pained expression. Sweat, deep breaths, Exhausted and drained body. All of those are the signs that I will be the winner."

"..."

"Tch...Say something! You are no fun!"  She replied without dignity and leaped at him, intending to finish him.

Feeling her approach, Aether closed his eyes, and immediately after, Livel felt all of the space in the area warp.

'Huh!?'

She saw the air in her line of sight twist, something wasn't right. Something huge was coming. A technique she hadn't seen before.

In the center of the battlefield, right in front of the Goddess that was charging at him, Aether held his sword ready with both of his hands in a low stance. The presence of Aether shook the ground and twisted the air itself and the animosity between Aether and Livel shook the air.

In this fallen place, that turned mostly to ruins. In this city, the city of Mondstadt, the strongest hero fought with one of the strongest Deities from Celestia.

A beautiful Goddess, and a blonde haired hero that was injured all over, faced each other, and what would clash would be the old rusted blade against the blade made of pure mana and magical power.

Both of them were trying to end the battle at once.

A brilliant light blew off the nearby ruins, and ripped through them, cutting the entire space into two halves.

The entire world shifted as an immense light filled the air and whited out everything in an instant. As the light cleared, the world was subjected to another sudden shift, as the displaced space tried to return to where it had been before.

Air that was distorted as residual waves from the attack swept over the place and caused strong gusts to rush, spiraling back into the center of the location. 

And just like that, all of it seemed to have ended.

***

Aether fell face first to the ground, exhausted, injured, but his goal was accomplished. Everything was fine. He managed to defeat her before his body fell apart from him, overexerting himself.

"Fin...ally…" He muttered with some comfort.

In that path of his attack, which seemed to rip through the very fabric of this world. There was absolutely nothing left. The resulting gust of wind had wrecked the remaining debris near him.

The space where Livel was standing, was of course within the range of his attack, and so he had no doubts he reduced her figure to mere atoms and nothing was left of her. Much less a corpse, not even a strand of hair was left.

Stretching his stiff body on the ground, he breathed out a big sigh of relief.

Letting his guard down, however, was a fatal flaw, he was bound to regret later.

"Interesting."

Immediately, with that one word, Aether knew he wasn't out of danger yet, but he couldn't move his body even a single inch.

'Shit!'

A portal of some sort opened up next to him, revealing a completely unharmed figure of the Goddess.

"I am glad I escaped into another dimension or else I would have gotten obliterated." 

She looked around and nodded her head at the destruction left behind his strike.

"Tele...portation?"

She affirmed and replied, "Of course. You've seen me use it before, right? I am not so sure why you are so surprised. The moment my artifact cracked, there was no point in playing around any longer, my life was indeed in danger, I admit."

She put her hand into another dimension, pulling out something that Aether couldn't see with his naked eye.

Unable to move, she freely put it around his limbs and soon enough, Aether could feel something restraining his power, and his limbs too. 

"Chains?"

He wasn't sure why she would want something like this. Why not just kill him while she had the chance?

"Argh!"

Aether let out a painful grunt as he felt her fingers, invading deeply into his wounds. Sharp pain attacked his mind, but he somehow withstood it.

She enjoyed seeing the feeling of pain on his face. She wanted to punish him more and hurt him more, her sadistic nature was visible for anyone to see. Gaining a pet like this would surely make other Goddesses envious.

However, her heightened senses had picked up something rapidly approaching from the west, swishing through the air.

"Hoh? Who might this be?" Livel caught a wooden arrow in between two of her fingers, and stared towards the direction where the arrow came from. 

A woman with long, dark brown hair, gold eyes, and fair skin appeared from within bushes, with a frown on her face. She was sure her shot was perfect, and yet it was caught so easily.

Not losing the sight of her enemy, Amber glanced at the boy on the ground and relaxed her shoulders as she spoke the boy's name with relief.

"Aether...I am so glad you are okay..."

"Am...ber. W...hy..." 

Aether was in disbelief. The main question was, why was she here? From what he remembered, she said she hated wars, and wouldn't participate in anything like that, and ran away to the city of Fontaine, yet she was here...why? She was safe...and now, her life was endangered!

Amber's gaze wavered when he called out her name with his hoarse and pained voice, but she didn't have time to focus on that. The enemy was right in front of her, and a powerful one at that, an enemy capable enough to defeat someone like Aether. 

There was not a single sliver of doubt that she would lose this fight, yet she couldn't abandon him.

"Let him go!"

Without any other words, she aimed her bow at the Goddess in front of her.

With a pull of the bow string, her roaring wooden arrow lit up on fire with the power of her Vision, spinning rapidly through the air, yet her hopes were extinguished the moment the Goddess flicked the arrow, as if swatting away a fly.

"—No way!" 

She pulled out yet another arrow from her quiver, refusing to back down.

"Amber! Run! Don't stay here! She is too strong!"

Not paying heed to his words, she once again, aimed with her bow, but the Goddess was nowhere to be seen.

"Huh?"

She looked all around her, but couldn't see her. 

It was then that she felt a powerful blow upon her head, sending her body flying, falling to the ground of a rocky surface. 

"Amber!"

Aether shouted out loud and wanted to desperately remove those invisible bindings on him, but they wouldn't budge.

"I...am...alr...ight…"

Much to the surprise of Livel, Amber stood back up on her feet. Livel's blow was strong and pretty much everyone that was hit, died. It was quite surprising to see her stand back up without having an internal brain injury and while still being conscious.

Aether grit his teeth and shouted, "Amber! Leave! Now! While you still can! Hurry!"

"Ahh...How marvelous!"

Livel raised her voice in acclaim.

"Is this what you call the power of love? To think that she would survive a direct hit of mine and could keep going! The mortals of this world truly are strong!"

Amber's effort seemed to have stirred something within her, for her to shower her with an excited voice bursting with praise.

"A girl! A single girl! Bearing all of these wounds yet moving forward! And for what? For this, cutie? You have gone to such lengths to rescue this boy! Despite knowing that both of you will die! How fascinating!"

Amber's appearance was ghastly, with the cuts all over her body and her head bleeding heavily, opposed to her clean and heroic arrival, she was now dirty, and injured from head to toe.

There was not a single part of her body not drenched in blood. From one blow of the Goddess, she could barely move and her consciousness dwindled.

With her entire body covered in the perfume of blood and death, Amber ignored Livel and smiled at Aether reassuringly.

"I'll...sa...ve…you…"

"Alas. I am getting bored again." Livel moved from her spot and slowly walked towards Amber, confidently, as if taking a stroll in a park.

Indeed, the relaxed way her open hands swung before her held not a single smidgeon of visible hostility.

Amber struggled to grasp her bow.

She somehow managed to aim it and shot, unfortunately, the arrow's trajectory was way off the target as it hit a tree instead of the Goddess.

"Look at you, dear. Your vision is so hazy you can't even see where I am...Where is the challenge in that? Where is the excitement? Didn't you want to save him? Then do so! I am your only obstacle!" She rambled on as she walked towards her.

*Swish*

Yet another arrow was released, and with it, Amber fell on the ground, exhausted, slowly losing consciousness.

That arrow, too, missed its mark and fell in a nearby dried up pond.

"Livel! Let her go!" Aether pleaded.

Livel laughed, and turned around to gaze at his pitiful crawling frame.

"No can do. Our goal is to exterminate all threats to Celestia. Just the fact that she has a Vision, means she was marked to be eliminated to prevent further growth. I believe there is no longe—"

*—Swish*

A sound of an arrow, flying through the air and hitting its mark, made both Aether's and Livel's mouth gape. An arrow pierced through Livel's shoulder, making her stagger in place.

"Heh...I guess...I am out of it…" Amber muttered as she rose from the ground, "I couldn't...pierce the heart…" Her vision was too blurry to concentrate on shooting, but at least she had managed to land a direct hit. An injury like that, something even Aether couldn't do.

The arrow was embedded in her body, but it was way too high up to be considered a deadly blow. Such injury could be easily healed, but sneak attacks like this made Livel only frown.

"So, you still had some fight in you, is that it? Be that as it may. You are not getting out of here alive."

She aimed her hand towards Amber, the familiar bluish particle of light appeared on her palm.

"Amber! Run!"

"Die."

With that, the particle shot off at an unimaginable speed towards Amber's location.

*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!*

The area was completely obliterated, lifting up a screen of smoke.

"Amber!" shouted Aether.

As the smoke had subdued, Amber could be seen standing not far away from the source of the explosion.

Luckily it seemed like she managed to dodge that quick and deadly attack, running away from harm's way, with almost godlike 'luck'.

"Don't worry! I will save you!" She smiled at him, but soon she felt her consciousness gradually fade away, "Leave... it to...me.."

"A-Amber…Y-You..." Aether muttered weakly.

Unfortunately, as mentioned previously. To win this war. Luck wasn't enough.

Amber stopped for a bit, wondering what he wanted to say at a time like this, and suddenly felt pain in her chest. She coughed out blood and then looked down.

Only to find out that her chest was carved out by the attack.

She wasn't able to dodge the last attack after all.

Half of her heart was disintegrated failing to pump out blood, her organs were spilling out gallons of blood, and her ribs stuck out in the wrong direction. It was all over for her. The injury was way too severe.

With one final look at Aether, she fell on the ground, her bow and arrows following her.

Dying with her eyes wide open in shock, questioning whether this was a dream or reality. Unable to accomplish what she wanted.

"No, Amber...no...there is no...way..."

"Guileless child, drown in your despair and rue the world for its machinations. For it would not be so merciful. Your naive rule has and always will be destined for ruin. Rejoice! For I showed yet another one of your precious subjects the true meaning of absolute rule."

"No...!!"

As he tried to flee from reality, Livel stopped him, roughly grabbing hold of his long blonde bangs and using them to lift his head.

"You are not permitted to run from this,"

She dug her finger deeply into his guts.

The shock of the pain made Aether grimace as he thrashed around, trying to shove Livel off of him.

Livel did not allow him to do any such thing, though she was surprised the boy managed to resist her restraining spell to such great heights.

The invisible bonds tore at Aether's flesh to the point of drawing blood, but Aether's eyes were forced to face forward.

"Look, go ahead, look. Look, please. The girl is dead. She died for love. She fought while injured, struggled to save her beloved and faced her fears as she stepped forward, knowing full well she would not be able to win against a Deity such as me. How beautiful. This is partially the potential we wanted to see in mortals. Unfortunately, it's all wasted on you."

"Aa..uaa.."

"Look. This is the result of your actions. Foolishly starting a war, despite lacking strength to do anything."

She raised her finger up.

"Aah...:?"

With it, Amber's body floated as Aether's head was thrusted forward as far as the invisible chains tying him down would permit. Even so, Aether writhed and thrashed on the ground as a pair of slender fingers held him in place.

"Now, now. Don't be sad! It's the result of your actions. You were weak and did nothing. And because of that, she is dead! You killed her!" The woman laughed, fueling his anger even further.

"...You...!"

Just like that, the Goddess flung Amber's body hundreds of meters into the air, and let her drop down.

'Hey there! Want to go on a jog?'

'If only the wind was a little stronger...We could go and fly together!'

'-Want to...grab lunch or something...I-It's not like that!'

'I love the wind, and I love y-you, A-A-Aether... Gosh, that was so embarrassing to say! Here, I made you a Baron Bunny! Come on! Don't look at me like that! It won't explode! I promise!'

Just like that, without any resistance, Amber's body dropped to the ground like a rag doll, and if the previous attack wasn't fatal enough, there was no way to get out of this one alive.

A fall from hundreds of meters would kill pretty much anyone.

And then, came the sound of something tearing apart. 

It was his heart.

"Aa..gh..aa."

Aether was afraid of seeing reality, not just his sister, but all of his friends, acquaintances, and lovers were killed. He didn't want to believe it. He was far too weak to do anything.

But the rotting stench hovering around him and the bodies of everyone he loved had been enough to break him.

He was helpless. His arms and legs were tied. He was like a pig, waiting to be slaughtered.

He had no strength left in his limbs.

Slowly, he stretched his neck, trying to bite at the windpipe of the woman who partially took everything from him, but the invisible godly manacles had interfered with him, and his canines fell just a little short.

He stumbled forward, tumbling hard onto his face.

His nose was bleeding and the injury on his forehead had reopened, squeezing out fresh blood that flew down, dying his left eye with crimson red.

"Liveeeeeel!!"

Livel laughed in delight as she stared down at the struggling body of Aether.

"I'll kill you, I'll kill you...kill...kill...I'll fucking kill you. Kill...die! I'll have you killed!! Dieeeeee!!!"

"Ah yes, another amazing trait of humans. Those kinds of emotions, hate, disgust and loathing, is something we are incapable of. We can get annoyed, sure, but hate? Not at all. So no matter how many times I witness it first hand, it's simply amazing."

"Die!! Die you bitch! Damn you, aah! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!! Kill, kill! Die!"

Aether spewed saliva as he spat out curses and raised a howl full of resentment.

This Goddess needed to die right here and now. If he was going to die anyway, he will make sure that's the last thing he will do!

He didn't care if his arms tore off. He didn't care if his legs tore off. If only he could get rid of those invisible manacles and be free, even if his limbs were broken, he still had his teeth.

One bite in the neck would be enough. Once he sank his teeth in, he would not let go under any circumstances. Crunching her windpipe, breaking her neck, anything. He just had to murder her.

He hated, hated, hated the woman and all of the Gods to no end.

He had to make sure the woman died then, that moment, that very instant.

Aether thrashed his entire body around in rage as Livel sat down on top of him. Abruptly, the latter's mocking laughter faded away, and she murmured, "This has been a rather boring and untidy affair, but it's finally time to finish this. The other Deities have managed to remove all other obstacles in our way, and we shall spare both Natlan and Fontaine for being good pets. Only you are the last offensive the world of Teyvat has, and you too, are about to die."

"Die! Die, damn you! Die, die, dieee!"

Livel stood up from him and bore her foot into his head, cracking the ground underneath him.

"Ugh..!"

"You are finished...or maybe..." She gazed down at him while deep in thought.

As Aether grunted on the ground and glared at her, the latter stared and nodded at the former, and crossed both of her hands over her own chest.

"In spite of everything you've said to me, I shall excuse you. In spite of this, I would have you make a decision here and now."

She slightly tilted her head. A dark smile appeared.

"I can kill you here. Torture you, break your limbs and tear out your guts. All that awaits you is death. And yet...if you were to take up this little offer of mine, all will be forgiven and you would still be saved!"

"Go to hell bitch! Die here, right now! I'll tear you apart! Blow you away! Blast you to pieces and tear out your heart!!"

"Now, now, I knew you wouldn't cooperate immediately, but I shall give you an offer. We will revive your dear sister for you, and both of you shall leave this world, as if nothing had happened here? Kay? You can be saved if you become one of us. A God! Everyone wants to become the Divine, right? You will reclaim a part of your divine power back! Of course you will be a lower ranked god to avoid any hostile behaviour, but you will still be able to revive your sister, but your sister only. In return, I want you to be my personal pet for a few months."

Livel, stating what seemed to her like the most wise plan, proceeded to lift her foot from Aether's head and turned her back on him, thinking about everything she could make him do.

She treated the foul curses flowing out of the handsome boy's mouth like nothing more than a breeze, with her bare feet regarding the pool of blood of his dear beloved like a puddle of water left by an early afternoon shower, her casual demeanor unaffected.

She enjoyed this sensation. The sensation of being loathed and hated, and she wanted more. His eyes pierced into her soul, wanting to tear her apart.

She had to make him hers and train him.

Having a human pet in Celestia was not against the rules and she was obviously glad for that.

"Aaah..." Aether quieted down. He knew she was just toying with him.

He wanted to see his sister alive more than anything.

But he wouldn't trust anything coming from a piece of trash like her.

Seeing that he stopped resisting, Livel let out yet another laugh. Humans were so easy to tempt.

She will be enjoying this feeling a lot more in the future.

It was no exaggeration to say that this, too, was treating him like a toy.

She glanced at the corpse of the red dressed girl she killed not too long ago and approached her.

Her head was split open and her limbs were bent in the wrong direction after the crude fall, coupled with the huge gaping hole in her chest, the scene was a little bit crude to her taste.

"Ah. You. You died for love, defying the destiny of this man, and your own. Defying it with all your might. However, now you lie here, ruined and unfulfilled, having lost both your life and the battle...Showing that destiny and fate are simply things you can never overturn."

"Simply because...you are far too weak and useless!"

She let out a laugh, while kicking the corpse away.

There was no greater way to belittle the existence of the fallen girl that did her best to save her lover. To belittle a corpse.

"—!!"

Howls and shouts fiercely echoed throughout the remains of the city. Aether raised an inhuman cry, his anger great enough to fill his entire throat, his rage enough that he could no longer form human words or think like a human being, his regret enough to produce tears of blood.

Hearing this, Livel sighed, "I guess there is no way of pleasing you. How unfortunate, and here I thought I would be able to experience something other than boredom for a while..."

Amid the darkness, dead to the world, he spewed enough bloodlust and hatred to burn a whole world.

He murmured and spat over and over, forgetting how many times it had been, yet his scorching hatred did not subside. His throat became hoarse but he didn't care.

He had never hated anyone. Not a person, not an animal, not any living being as much as he did just now.

Since he was searching for his sister, he had experienced hatred of the formless thing called fate several times over. Was the whole journey for naught?

Those were his thoughts as he saw Livel lift her arm, pointing her index finger towards him.

"...Livel...Goddess of Particles…!"

Voicing the name on his lips. His eardrums wallowed in his own shout. When his brain thought about that woman, a fire raged inside him that made every drop of his blood boil.

"Kill, kill, I will...kill you with my own hands…"

Aether embraced the bloodlust pouring from his own mouth and earnestly twisted his own body, still restrained by his shackles.

He had tried everything, but nothing was able to break them. He was bound to die here, alone, without accomplishing anything.

He bore his gaze at Livel.

"I'll kill you...remember that. I'll kill every last one of you!"

"Hah...Such a shame. What a handsome guy…" With the last exchange of words spoken, Livel released a beam of bluish light from her fingertip…

And at that moment, he died. Aether lost his life and joined everyone else in the afterlife. Just like that.

..

.

And so, he realized that his mind was in deep, deep darkness.

Has he died? 

Most likely.

Abruptly, there was a change in the vast world of nothing but darkness.

A shadow warped and flattened out, and a crack emerged in the nothingness. Without a sound, the rip in space tore apart the world of eternal darkness, connecting the interior of that void to another void.

Just after the momentary anomaly, a lone, small humanoid silhouette emerged from the widening crack.

"..."

He thought that the figure was a woman, his sister, appearing before him in the afterlife.

The instant he recognized who it was, however, emotions he could not put into words nearly took over his mind

"..."

"...ke."

"...ake!"

"..."

"Oi! Paimon is hungry! Wake up!"

As he opened his eyes, and got used to the bright sun, he witnessed one of his fallen friends come back to life right in front of him. 

He must have gone crazy .

Paimon had died, ten years ago to be precise.

After losing her, he was never the same. Shortly after, he found his sister again, only to lose her too…

Then war came, and he lost everyone else. So why was it that he could see her lovable little figure floating across his shoulder, and kicking the air with her small boots out of anger.

He slowly stood up and looked around.

The smell of the salty waters, the splashing of the blue coast reflected by the bright sun above.

It was currently day time.

It would not be strange, if it wasn't for the fact that the sun was destroyed five years ago.

So why was it that he saw it now? Why were the plains green, animals running around, birds chirping, Paimon...being Paimon…no signs of destruction or anything indicating the extinction of the human race?

Was this an illusion? A plot played by Livel to make fun of him and to torture him?

"...Paimon…"

"Yes! Paimon is Paimon's name!"

"When did we...meet?"

"What? You are being silly today! Are you so hungry that you can't remember? Well obviously, you fishe—Ehm...'Saved' Paimon from drowning a few months ago, so Paimon decided to follow you and help you on your travels! Now, Paimon and you are the best of bestest friends!!"

"Haha…Hahaha.."

"Hey! What's so funny? Paimon considers you her best friend! You better do the same!" She regarded his pained laugh as a laugh of ridicule and yet, it was nowhere even close.

"To think it was like this…There is no way she would have enough power to make an illusion like this...Then for sure...I've somehow...returned twenty five years back to the past…"

Shaking his head, Aether pushed himself from the ground, and now with renewed vigor, he embarked with a goal in mind.

"Ah! Where are we going now?" Paimon asked, while flying around.

Oh how he missed these questions and her cute, squeaky voice. This commentary of hers was truly nostalgic.

"To the Abyss Order…"

"Eek! A-Abyss Order!!? Paimon thinks that they are scary! They are way too dangerous!" She released a squeak and squirmed in the air.

"Indeed they are." Aether affirmed her words.

This time, he would do what he couldn't do before. This time, he will finish what he had started.

Stories? Friendships? Adventures?

For his part, Aether had no room left in his heart to notice such things. That moment, the insides of his chest were governed by one emotion alone.

'Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill! Kill!! Kill!!!'

Even though he went back in time, that hatred was the one thing other than his memories that had not been erased.

While his goal would be to eventually exterminate all gods. This time, Aether had a mortal enemy. And that enemy had a name.

'Goddess of Particles, Livel.'

He will tear her apart and step over her corpse to reach the summit.

No one might remember him, no one might know of his tale, but that's alright.

"Let's go...Paimon..."

"Alright! Adventures, here we go!"

With a pleasant smile, she nodded, flying neither before Aether nor behind him, but right at his side.

From there, the two journeyed together.

As Aether walked with the adorable fairy floating next to him, smiling softly, Aether's gaze slowly turned from a small smile he kept on to not worry his dear friend, into a frown that continued to seethe with bloodlust and hatred.

Even though they were going together, their hearts were at opposite poles.

Aether's heart was tempted far into that deep, deep, dark abyss, where his sister currently laid.

As in the end, that might be the one and only way to beat fate, and to bring all of this to an end. To get stronger than ever before, and kill all of the gods without the help from anyone. No one else needed to suffer, or be put on the spot to die. 

And so, a cycle, everlasting and unchanging, repeated itself. Until the day, it changed and he would finally succeed—

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Genshin Impact: Reborn as the Daughter of the Raiden Shogun

Yue Zaiying, a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, died during a battle with Upper Rank Two. When she opened her eyes again, she saw a purple-haired woman sitting upright with twisted braids. "I'm willing to accept defeat in a bet. Nice to meet you," the woman placed her hands on her knees and said earnestly, "From now on, you're my daughter... Oh, right, what's your name?" Yue Zaiying: "?" It was obvious that she had been reincarnated as a fluffy creature. And because she lost a bet against that purple-haired elegant lady with braided hair, she ended up with an unrelated cheap mom. Her cheap mom was obsessed with swords and had no time for her. Just when Yue Zaiying thought she had become a happily reclusive and beautiful waste under her real aunt and the elegant lady, an unexpected event occurred. She used the Water Breathing technique to slay an incredible individual, amidst a chorus of praise for her "martial arts genius." Before Zaiying could modestly respond, her cheap mom whisked her away. "You're supposed to be my daughter, yet you're using water element? No, from now on, I'll teach you the Divine Eye." One misstep leads to eternal regret. Zaiying couldn't express her tears; she could only embark on refining her martial arts in a carefree new world. Of course, if her uncles and aunts didn't cheer on her mom to learn cooking, resulting in her becoming the designated taste tester every day, she believed she would still be happy. In her luckiest life thus far, she encountered that blank slate-like young boy. "We'll be companions from now on." She extended her hand to the bewildered boy and narrowed her eyes, saying, "Please take care of me, little puppet."

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