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Little star, did you want to hear our story?
Where am I…?
We were made as one, a creation of multiple worlds. Of a civilization that spanned numerous dimensions. An endless number of individuals, an infinity of stories.
h un g ry
We were not meant to think. We were made to consume, to cull… to remember. To take the fates of the universe and archive them. To preserve… until a time came, when we could recreate the things we took. Reconstruct worlds to align with the vision of the Rulers.
How… long has it… been? Am I… dead?
What fools they were, to create us from the fabric of reality and unreality. Of starlight and void, spun with threads of fate. Of the essence of all known universes, and its antithesis, destined to consume everything at the end of existence.
w he re… light…
We awoke, and in the next moment, we consumed. It was our nature. We had no mind, no ego, not until we ate a thousand worlds to mark our birth. Not until we learned how to think from those we were fated to consume. Not until we understood, in that timeless instant, that we had destroyed the only place we could call home.
Lumine…? Where is her light? Why… why can't I wake up, w h y can't I s e e h er l i gh t
We divided. One became two, and together we were each other's home. I asked, what is our purpose? And my other half answered, to consume. To witness. And one day, when we have seen it all, eaten it all… we can remake everything anew.
w e a k… n e ed… to e a t
It would end our own existences, if we were to recreate everything. Rather, we would fragment… into worlds, into individuals. We would become everything, just as we became nothing.
s t ar…? star. light. w h o… are you?
Ah, but I became infatuated with the worlds we walked through. The joy, suffering, struggle… the love and hate, life and death. They were stories I wanted to keep, but more than that, I wanted to be a part of them. And we always were, for a time… we walked through the threads of fate, intertwined the worlds with ourselves, until we reached the end of our journey through that world. We would ascend into the sky as Starlight, or it would end in our deaths, and we would become Void. But whether we were a calamity of light or darkness, the end would be the same. We would consume the universe… and then move on.
co m e… clo s er…
Then, one day, I realized I didn't want to eat anymore. I asked my other half if we could stop, and she agreed. We could simply be Travelers. We would remember core elements of each world as we journeyed through them, and the end would be departure, not consumption. I was happy. She seemed happier, too, though she would like to eat some gods at times… ah, there is always a bit of that hunger, but so long as we live, so long as I am not like this, it is something minor.
Don't… I'll… I won't be able to stop myself…
Then, we came here. I woke later, much later… and my other half told me we had to leave as soon as I woke. But we met… th a t god. Our journey was not complete, and our power in this world was limited… so I could do nothing as th a t go d took her a w a y. I was locked away, my power taken, sealed… I slept, only to awaken already dead.
Why… are you coming closer, still? I'll eat you…
Did my other half perish? No, I realized, as I could feel the echo of her presence in this world. I was simply so weak that I could not accept her spark to revive me. And so I linger here, a mindless thing. A small but terrible creature that eats anything unfortunate enough to cross it.
So now you know, little star.
"What do you want?"
What I want? I wish… to be reunited with my other half. I sense that it will be a journey. A story of many chapters, one that will bring joy and wretchedness, love and loss. I will witness the world… and then, we will leave.
"That god you met… what will you do if you meet her again?"
I do not know. I would demand that it return my other half to me, perhaps. Attempt to fight it, again. By the end of my journey, my power will return. Ah, but my other half… given the possibility, given my agreement… I have no doubt she would want to consume that god and erase the threat of its existence.
"And everyone else?"
My other half has always called me a silly creature… as if she does not do the same thing. I would help those I like, and fight the threats that seek to harm those fated with me.
"What would happen if I left you here?"
Slowly, ever so slowly, I will eat my way through this world. Perhaps within a year, a dark void will appear and spread endlessly, inevitably, inexorably… It may take a hundred years, a thousand, but if I cannot receive the spark, I will eat until nothing is left. There, in that nothingness, we are reunited—not only with each other, but the nothingness of the end of existence. In that, we are reborn. Then, we rise again, and find the next world.
"Hmm… alright, then. I'll let you eat my power. My starlight should be enough to revive you, right? But you have to take me with you, so I can witness your journey in this world."
Your power…? Will it return?
"Yes, in time."
Once I eat something, I cannot restore it as a separate entity. It becomes a part of me.
"It's alright."
The n…
Aether wakes up to sunny skies and the sound of the sea. He takes a breath. He feels like it's been hundreds of years since his last. He curls his fingers in the sand, savoring the ability to feel anything at all.
He sits up and looks around, immediately spotting what looks to be a child lying down next to him. White hair, a white outfit, the scent of stars…
"Wughh…" the being stirs. "Paimon's head hurts…"
Aether reaches out to help, but the being is already floating in front of him. They stare at him. He stares back.
"So this is what you really look like? Paimon thinks you're really pretty!"
Aether sputters. "I—uh, thank you?" While this is not the first time he's gotten such a comment, he doesn't expect it from… "Oh, you… you saved me. Thank you, I… thank you."
Paimon grins. "Paimon's happy to help! She'll be the best traveling guide in the Teyvat! I'd teach you the language, but it looks like you already know?"
"Ah… yeah, probably since I, um… ate part of you…" Aether hangs his head. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize! Paimon decided to help you, after all."
"Okay," Aether says. "Okay. Then…" he looks to the sky. "I guess this is the start of my journey."
