98 World Serpent

"I don't wanna do this no more..." Aether said as he laid down within his realm. After doing the Chinju Forest and Araumi Shrines, Aether decided to take a bit of a rest. It was a surprise to him that Kazari allowed it, knowing just how important all of this was. Speaking of Kazari...

"Fascinating, you have a tree much like the Sacred Sakura within you?"

"Yeah, I made it to contain- Wait a second, it got bigger..."

Looking at the serpent within the tree, Aether took note just how big it has gotten. Not just that, even the tree got bigger. It looked as if the sky was the tree's leaves.

"Oh god it really is the world tree."

Aether started to admire his own work, but also feared what he can do. And for some reason, he can hear an androgynous voice saying "Father" to him.

"A-Aether? Did that serpent just speak?"

"Oh... shit it was real?"

Looking at the direction of the serpent, Aether saw its eyes were open. It had the same eyes he had, golden with a crosshair as the pupil. No matter how menacing it looked at them, Aether can see warmth in its eyes. 'Damn, children grow fast these days'. Aether quickly thought of what to say to his "child".

"Hello there, child. Sorry for the barrier, I needed to make sure you didn't harm anyone."

"I know that, Father. Can I be released now? I promise that I won't cause harm."

Aether, already seeing that the serpent's energy wasn't going haywire, proceeded to open the orb. The serpent slithered out, then slowly wrapped around the tree.

"A name." The serpent said in a whisper.

"Hm?"

"I wish for a name, Father."

Aether began to think of a few names, but then remembered that it wasn't only him here. "Any ideas, Kazari?"

"Eh? You're asking me?"

"Mhm, Beidou isn't here and I don't really want to teleport all over the place. The Electro Archon might think I'm doing something bad after all."

Kazari doesn't know why, but his last statement held some weight to them. It was as if he can actually be that much of a threat that even the Electro Archon would be wary. Considering his title and feats, it wasn't far fetched that he was.

She began to think of possible names for the serpent, whom intently watched her. While she was thinking, Aether moved about again, still trying to get used to his new clothing.

He decided to fold his left sleeve to just under his elbow. Instead of wearing a glove, he also decided to just wrap his left hand with a bandage. Not only will this prevent that damned long sleeve from getting burnt. It also fits his style more, switching from sword to hand-to-hand combat at times.

"How about Reizi?" Aether snapped back from his stupor when Kazari spoke.

"Japa- I mean, Inazuman, huh?"

"Mhm, that's all I could think of at least."

"Hm... Alright then."

With the naming now finished, Aether flew to his child. "From now on, you'll be named Reizi. I'll just ask your mother about her opinions when I can, 'kay?"

The serpent, now named Reizi, only nodded. The blonde smiled as he descended in front of Kazari. Looking at her, he noticed that she wanted to say something, but couldn't for some reason.

"Something on your mind?" Aether asked her.

"It's just... All of this. I never once thought that I'd see anything like this. Anything like you."

"That last statement makes it seem that I'm something that shouldn't exist." Seeing Kazari panic at what he just said made him giggle a bit. "Relax, I'm just kidding. To be honest, all of this is new to me. Having this power, having a family of my own... Being separated from my sibling this long."

And then, he pulled out his Celestial Atlas, using the tiniest bit of Outer World power that he has. "See? Out of countless worlds that look the same, you'd never guess that this one would impact me the most."

Making the small universe in his hand disappear, Aether let out a contended sigh. He looked at his companion, his heterochromatic eyes looking almost empty for a moment, before light filled them again a second later. "Whatever the case, I'll stay in Teyvat now and forevermore. I'll protect my family. Even if I have to kill gods."

Kazari can't put her finger on it, but she feels like his Ambition might coincide with someone from a far away land. From the stories she heard of at least. She really found quite the interesting person to help her...

"Anyways, let's continue this thing. The faster we finish cleansing, the better."

Kazari nodded as Aether reached out a hand to her. Confused, she tilted her head a bit. Aether only chuckled at this as he proceeded to hold her hand and teleported outside of his realm. "Ah, so that's what he meant." Kazari thought to herself.

"Any injuries?"

Kazari looked herself over. Aside from feeling a bit warm, there wasn't anything majorly wrong with her. "None."

"Good." Aether sighed in relief. Ah, the pain of being too powerful. However, he needs this power. Both for opposing his sister, and protecting his family from what's about to come in the future. Or worse, protecting this world. "Let's just hope that Lumine is still reasonable. If she does anything rash... then I'll deal with it myself."

-x-X-x-

After heading back to the Kamisato Estate, Aether bid farewell to Kazari. Even though he said they'll finish the cleansing today, Kazari insisted that they hold it off. She was preparing something she said. So, they both just agreed to take tomorrow as a day off. Kazari suggested they'd have this day to get to know each other better.

"Still don't know why she wanted that..." Aether sighed as he looked at the moonlight. The night in Inazuma was cold, probably because of the breeze coming from the seas surrounding the nation.

"Wanted what?" A soft spoken voice resounded from behind him.

"Hey, Ayaka." Aether didn't bother turning around as the girl smiled. 

"Hello."

"As for your question, Kazari wanted to get to know me more."

"Who wouldn't?" Ayaka replied as she leaned on the railing beside him. She then continued. "It's not everyday that you get to meet with a well renowned hero."

"Haah, I know that, but is that really all there is to it?" For some reason, he knew something was amiss, he just didn't know what. "...Please don't die on me."