Whispering Woods
Let's rewind time to a few minutes before Stormterror's sudden appearance.
Aether and Paimon had just left Starfell Lake, after Aether regained Anemo power by resonating with the Statue of The Seven. On the way here, he confirmed what he'd suspected.
He really was back in time.
Paimon's knowledge of recent events was limited, but it was enough. The gaps, the missing memories, the "first meeting" happening all over again… the timeline lined up too cleanly to ignore.
So Aether did what Aether always did.
He told her the truth.
Not half of it. Not the convenient part. Everything.
He told her about his sister. About the Unknown God who separated them—whose identity he now unveiled. About their journey across Teyvat, the alliances they'd formed, the enemies they'd made… and the end: being assassinated from behind on the way to Celestia.
Paimon... stared at him like he'd grown another head.
She doubted him. She complained. She called it ridiculous.
But when Aether casually mentioned a few details—small things only someone close to her could know—her disbelief cracked. Not fully, but enough for her to follow him.
As they reached the outer edge of Whispering Woods, Aether slowed, gaze scanning the trees.
'If I remember correctly… I should've met Venti around now.'
'Did I come too early? Should I wait here… or go straight to the city?'
Before he could decide—
A roar rolled across the sky.
Aether stiffened and snapped his head toward the sound.
'Dvalin?'
'Is he attacking the city already?'
'I haven't even met Amber yet… what is happening?!'
He turned sharply.
"Paimon, we're moving. I don't know why, but it looks like Dvalin already started the assault I told you about. We have to hurry and stop it."
Paimon's eyes went wide.
"E-eh?! You want to stop that thing?!" She floated backward instinctively. "How are you even going to reach it? Just so you know—Paimon can't fly that high, and Paimon definitely can't carry you!"
She looked like she was already preparing her funeral.
Despite his story—and despite how calm he'd been—Paimon still couldn't fully accept the idea that she'd once traveled all of Teyvat with him. But she wasn't ungrateful either. He'd saved her life, and she'd at least repay that grace.
Aether replied like he'd heard this exact panic a thousand times.
"Relax. In the city, there's someone who can keep us afloat long enough to repel the dragon. You just need to keep up with me so you don't get lost."
Paimon flared up instantly.
"Who would get lost?! I'm Teyvat's best guide! I could get to the city with my eyes closed! I'm more worried about you, you're the one who just woke up!"
Aether opened his mouth to argue—
—and stopped.
Because something impossible happened in the distance.
High above, Dvalin's massive body suddenly dropped like a falling mountain.
Then—
BOOM.
The dragon slammed into the ground so hard the impact trembled through the earth.
From Aether's perspective, it looked like an ant had thrown a god out of the sky.
"What?!" Aether breathed.
'Who did that?'
'Venti?'
He immediately rejected the thought.
'No… Venti wouldn't do it like that.'
'He'd talk first. He'd hesitate. He'd borrow someone else's hands before hurting Dvalin directly.'
'So who—?'
Aether tightened his grip.
"Paimon. We're going. Stay behind me."
Paimon looked like she was about to faint mid-air.
"A-are you seriously going to fight that dragon?! You only just got Anemo back—shouldn't we let the Knights handle it? Someone already slammed it into the ground, so it must be—"
"No," Aether cut in, voice low. "No Knight in Mondstadt should have that kind of strength right now. Varka isn't here. Alice shouldn't be present either."
His expression sharpened.
"This isn't matching what I lived through."
Paimon swallowed hard.
"O-okay… I'll follow you, but if it gets dangerous, I'm running. Just saying!"
"…Fine."
Aether started forward, pace quickening. As they drew nearer, another strange detail hit him.
There was no noise of battle.
No roaring dragon.
No screams. No chaos.
The storm clouds were there—yet the world beneath them felt… quiet.
'Where's the fighting?'
'Why isn't Dvalin roaring anymore?'
'Did… it end already?'
Aether's gut tightened.
"Paimon. I'll go ahead first."
He surged forward, Anemo lifting his speed, feet barely touching the ground.
A darker thought crept in as he ran.
'What if this isn't actually the past?'
'What if it's a false world—like the ones Dottore showed me?'
He forced his breathing steady.
'No. The sensations are too real.'
'But I can't rule anything out yet.'
Then he reached the impact site—and froze.
The ground was scarred, yes. A couple of broken crates nearby suggested something had happened… but there was no battlefield.
No struggle.
No ongoing conflict.
Instead—
A red-haired man stood near Dvalin's massive head, one hand resting calmly against the dragon as if consoling him.
And Dvalin—Stormterror, the proud Wind Dragon—was… meek.
He wasn't thrashing. He wasn't snarling.
He was accepting it.
Aether's eyes narrowed as he approached, cautious.
'Is that an Abyss Herald in disguise controlling Dvalin?'
Then something on Dvalin's back made Aether's breath catch.
The corruption.
The Abyssal spikes.
They were gone.
'…What?'
'How is the corruption gone?!'
'Only Lumine and I could—'
Aether stepped closer, voice carefully controlled.
"Excuse me—"
The man finished speaking softly to the dragon, then turned toward Aether. There was a flicker of surprise in his eyes, but nothing more. No hostility. Nothing.
Yet the longer Aether looked at him, the heavier his instincts flared.
A quiet dread crawled up his spine.
The man spoke first.
"I knew you'd be awake," he said calmly. "I just didn't expect to meet you here already… Abyss Princess' sibling."
Aether's entire body snapped into alert.
His hand moved toward his weapon.
"Who are you?" he demanded. "And how do you know about Lumine?"
The man raised a brow, as if Aether's reaction wasn't what he expected.
"Hm. I thought you'd be more curious about why I called your sister the Abyss Princess," he said. "But it seems you're already aware."
His gaze sharpened for a moment, thoughtful.
"Weird. The information I had suggested you were asleep during the Cataclysm and only woke up recently."
He waved it off like it was a minor inconvenience.
"Never mind that. We should go to the city first. We have a lot to discuss… Descender."
Aether's eyes narrowed.
"Aren't you going to introduce yourself first?" he said coldly. "I'm not following someone with no manners."
For a heartbeat, the man looked mildly amused—then nodded as if conceding the point.
"You're right. My apologies." He inclined his head slightly. "Elios. Elios Luxveritas."
His voice remained calm, but the name carried weight.
"You might not know me personally," he continued, "but you'll likely hear my adventurer name often later. Solinvictus. You can just call me Elios"
He gestured toward Aether's drawn tension.
"Now—withdraw that sword and come talk properly."
Aether stayed tense for another second… then judged the situation. Open hostility here, alone, near an unknown powerhouse and a dragon that should've been hostile? It would be stupid.
He sheathed his sword.
He usually wasn't this aggressive to someone he meets for the first time but this unknown man in front of him knows too much about him, in contrast to him who has no knowledge about the other party.
"…Fine. But don't call me Descender." His voice was firm. "My name is Aether."
He hesitated, then added, cautious but honest.
"And I still don't know how you—"
A faint rustle.
Aether turned sharply.
"Who's there?!"
Aether snapped his head toward the trees, instincts flaring. The rustle had been faint—too faint—but it was there.
Elios, however, didn't even turn his head.
Instead, he looked… mildly surprised.
Not at the presence.
But at Aether's late reaction.
'His senses are duller than what I'd expect from a descender' Elios noted silently, eyes flicking toward the treeline for a fraction of a second.
Because he'd known from the beginning.
An Abyss Mage had been lurking there—hidden, watching. It had been present even before Aether arrived. Elios had simply allowed it to remain, as if it were a leaf caught in the wind.
He wanted it to see.
He wanted it to report.
Even the interaction with Aether and the talk about Lumine had been intentional.
He wanted that Abyss Mage to sense the urgency of the information he got and –hopefully– report it directly to her. That'd make things easier for him.
Aether moved anyway, stepping forward with controlled aggression, hand on his weapon as he jumped toward the brush where the sound came from.
But when he landed and swept his gaze across the trees—
—he found nothing.
Aether turned back, frowning.
"Did you sense someone here just now?"
Elios answered smoothly.
"You don't need to worry about that. It won't cause any more trouble." He turned slightly toward the city's direction. "Let's go. You've probably exhausted yourself already."
"Wait." Aether lifted a hand. "I have a companion. She should be on the way. Let's first wait for her."
He barely finished the sentence when a loud shout rang out.
"Heeey!! How dare you run ahead and leave Paimon all alone!"
Paimon flew into view, furious, stomping the air like it owed her money.
"I thought you said you'd protect me! What if some monster showed up and tried to eat Paimon?!"
Aether's shoulders relaxed a fraction.
"Sorry, sorry. The situation felt urgent. I moved without thinking."
"Hmph!"
As Aether and Paimon bickered in their familiar rhythm, Elios' gaze shifted fully onto Paimon.
His brow furrowed.
'Something's wrong with this one…'