Return

"Haah!"

Lumine swung her blade at me, only for it to be deflected by my Geo shield. She clicked her tongue and jumped backwards, dodging a slash that I sent. Lumine then stretched her hand towards me, and after a bit of gathering, one Anemo arrow shot out.

I smirked and when the arrow was within my range, I performed the third form and sent the arrow back right at her. Her eyes widened and she dodged the arrow just in time. She looked at me, her eyes still wide and started yelling.

"WHAT THE FUCK AETHER!? DID YOU JUST FUCKING FULL COUNTER MY ARROW!?"

"Ehe."

"EHE TE NANDAYO!"

Ah, that line again… I wonder how many times I've heard that now. Not that lot I'm sure, but it feels like it. Anyways, since this was our last day in this world, I decided to teach Lumine how to make other things using Anemo and Geo. It was quite hard for her, and she hurt herself more than once. That's why we brought both Barbara's along. Although, my Barbara only came to watch and teach her other self some of her techniques.

"Well, do you want to stop here?" I asked. Lumine shook her head furiously.

"I'll show you what I can do!"

It was then that I saw Lumine was gathering Anemo around her katana, which she named Chunchunmaru as per my suggestion(Nice). Due to the sword having a bit of Gluttony, the flames came out of the blade and followed the swirl of Anemo. Hoh? This is going to be interesting.

For the first time ever, my sword glowed bright gold as golden flames erupted from it. I already know I could do this, it was just the same principle as Gluttony's dark purple glow after all.

"Let's do this then."

We both dashed at blinding speeds and when our blade clashed, a crater was made below us. It seems like she's using every ounce of strength she has. I smiled and began to put in more strength when my eyes widened when I heard something.

'A breathing technique?'

"How do you know about breathing techniques?" I asked as I backed off a little.

"When we first sparred, I heard how your breathing suddenly changed and you did a move. Ever since then, I've been training in secret. And with a foundation…"

"You were able to get it in a short amount of time… Heh, you really are my sister that's for sure. Show me what you came up with then." As soon as I finished that, Lumine was gone.

"Light Style First Form: Rays of Beginning!" Oh come the fuck on! Why can she name her moves properly!?

I dodged the incoming strike. It was just like my first form, but instead of black flames, it was just light. Kinda weird since her sword is emitting black flames. It also doesn't surprise me where exactly the lights come from. With my style, the flames came from Gluttony. With Lumine's, it was from a fraction of our original powers. Kinda impressive since I haven't even tapped into it yet. I heard gasps of awe from both Barbara's and couldn't help but smile. With this, even with the vast differences in our worlds, she should be able to face stronger enemies with less problems.

'First Form: Slash - Sixfold.'

I swung my sword and performed six slashes in an instant that converged into one. Lumine's eyes widened and she dodged knowing that she can't afford to block it with the flimsy shield that she just learned to make. She was a quick learner, but before she can use any of her moves properly, she needs practice.

"What the… was that a new one…?"

"Nah, I just modified my first form a bit."

"The hell… Wait, what's your style even called?"

"Corruption Style."

"I-"

"Shut up. I suck at naming."

I would have looked away out of embarrassment, but we're in the middle of a match. Lumine realized that she should stop talking as well and should just keep attacking. And she did just that.

"Light Style Second Form: Radiant Thrust."

It was a thrust move that traveled at incredible speeds. Luckily, with my eyes still being the same as it was when I was in that hate filled state, I was able to block it using the flat side of my sword. However, I forgot one thing. My sword doesn't have a completely flat side.

Lumine's blade slipped and, out of pure instinct, I turned into flames and teleported behind her. Shit, that was a close call. Note to self, never use your sword to block thrust attacks. I should just finish this. In one swift motion, I knocked Lumine out by chopping her to the side of her neck.

"Phew, that's enough for today…" I sighed as I catched Lumine as she fell.

Barbara* ran over to us while my Barbara just slowly walked over as she donned a smile on her face. Barbara* checked Lumine for wounds and when she found none, she sighed in relief. Barbara just asked if I was fine and I just smiled. She has full confidence over my healing abilities.

—

"Oh right, before I forget. Since everyone that I know in my world is here, why don't we take a picture?" I said as I took out my phone. It was already around four in the afternoon when I finished sparring with Lumine. She also woke up around 10 minutes after I knocked her out.

"Oh, sure! Everyone huddle up!"

When everyone was within view, I took the photo. It was a groupfie. I can't wait to see Ganyu's reaction to the outfit of her other reality counterpart. Haah… After this, the only sight of Lumine that I'll have is this picture…

"Well, let's get going." I motioned to the girls and they nodded. I snapped my fingers and, just like before, they got teleported to my Realm. Instead of flying there at my top speed, I decided that I'll just fly with half of that. Before I took off, Lumine called out to me. I turned and looked at her, she was grinning.

"When you come back here, I swear I'll be stronger than you!" I smirked.

"Bring it on!" We both laughed and just a few moments later, I flew off.

While I was flying, I saw a young woman with white hair walking around. What caught my attention the most was her aura.

'Such malice…'

If I didn't know better, I would have attacked her. However, it seems her malice isn't really directed to anyone. It was just… there. She just kept walking. I should probably leave her be. Although, those clothes look kinda familiar. I just can't put my finger on where I saw it before…

I'm really glad that I decided to just fly to the Domain instead of teleporting. It's just a weird feeling, everything is the same yet different at the same time. It's actually quite refreshing. Seeing different worlds for countless years is kinda tiring…

After a few minutes of flying and enjoying my surroundings, I finally arrived at my destination. I went into my Realm and called the girls out. They all went out and we all entered the Domain together. I'm gonna miss this world… I might visit again soon. Maybe after Havria has given birth so that Lumine can see her niece or nephew…

"Oh shit…"

"Hm? What is it, hun?"

"I still haven't thought of names for the baby…"

"Oh, it's okay. I can help you!"

I nodded. I'm glad she's gonna help me. I really suck at naming after all. I sighed and looked at the tear in reality before us. Me and Havria were the first to step in to see if there was any Abyssal Corruption around.

"Hm… it's clear." Havria said. I nodded.

The other girls came out of the tear just moments after us. The tear closed after. I guess there's no reason to return here anymore… I'm gonna miss this place. We were near Mondstadt and we could have just walked, but I decided not to. I don't want my wife to get tired. And so, I just teleported us to my dorm room. Since there's a lot more room in my teapot, it wouldn't really be a problem for Eula, Jean, and Barbara to stay the night. Haah, I wish they'd just move in already.

We all entered the Serenitea Pot one by one with me being the first to enter. When Tubby saw me, she was about to call out to the girls until I put my finger in front of my mouth, motioning for her to stay quiet. She nodded and continued drinking her tea. Beside her, I saw Bob sleeping peacefully.

Bob now looked different. Not just that, he wasn't exactly pure Hydro anymore. He had bits of Gluttony in him now. Did he become part of the sword after fusing with it a handful of times? Anyways, he was now a lighter shade of blue. I just made Rimuru in this world, didn't I? Meh, I'm just glad he's on my side.

I opened the door slowly and went inside. The girls were already behind me so I gestured for them to quiet down as well. They nodded and we went to the living room. It was empty. The girls went towards the couch and sat down, giving a relaxed sigh. Guess they missed this feeling. I smiled and went towards the kitchen and peeked inside. I saw Noelle preparing some tea and snacks. I quietly entered and stood behind her, being sure to mask my presence.

"Hm, I wonder when darling will come back…"

"Today~" I said close to her ear.

"Gyah!" she quickly turned back and I stepped back a bit so as to not get hit in the face by her head. "Dar- Mmph!?"

I couldn't really allow her to scream and alert Ganyu and the other girls, if they were here, so I kissed her. She quickly melted into the kiss, but I was quite shocked when she suddenly pushed me away. She put a hand on the left side of my face and had a worried look on her face.

"What happened? Why are your eyes like this?" she said, her voice full of worry.

Ah, so that's what it was… I held her hand that was on the left side of my face and lowered it to my cheek. I then proceeded to nuzzle up against her hand.

"It's okay, it's just an effect when I snapped. I think it'll disappear soon."

"Hm… okay, I trust. You'd do your best to explain it to Ganyu and the others upstairs though."

"Hm? Who else is with her?"

"Ningguang, Lisa, and Keqing. Mona's still sleeping I think."

Oh? This might be troublesome, especially with Lisa and Ningguang here… I think I won't be able to keep those two from clinging to me. I could still clearly remember how Ningguang hugged my arm back when we were about to go back to Mondstadt. Haah…

"Fufu, I can already see the worry in your face. Don't worry, darling, I'm sure Ganyu will handle it."

"I hope so. Anyways, can you give tea and snacks to Havria and the other three girls? I'll handle this one."

Noelle nodded and handed me the tray. I gave her one last kiss on the cheek before I headed upstairs to our bedroom. It was quite spacious, so we were able to put whatever Ganyu needed for her secretarial work on the other side of the room. I arrived at the front door and slowly opened it with a small gust of Anemo.

"Guess who's back~"

I heard four gasps and steps as everyone stood up and ran to me. I smirked and made the tray teleport while Geo made sure everything was firmly in place.

"Aether!/ Dear!/ Cutie~!/ Sweetie~!"

Wait, sweetie!? I was quite taken aback and that would've made me fall if they continued their pursuit, but luckily they stopped in their tracks. They saw my eyes, didn't-

"What happened to your eyes!?"

Yep, they did see it. Their eyes were full of worry, it was quite surprising that Ningguang had that look too to be completely honest. Just like Noelle said, the same explanation I did with her didn't work here. I needed to be more in depth.

"Aw, that's just cute~ You care about them that much~?"

"Of course I do. If it were any of you, I'd still do the same. Just thinking about it…" it was then that I heard the same cracking sounds I heard that day.

"Dear, calm down…" Ganyu held my hand and I realized now that my heart started to beat rapidly again. I slowly took breaths to calm myself down. I should be more careful from now on. It seems like what happened that day unlocked something within me that can be activated within just a moment's notice. I need to have more control with my emotions now then. Well, at least it won't mean I'll turn emotionless… I hope so.

"Anyways, look at how you all look in that world." I took out my phone and showed them the picture. Almost immediately, Ganyu's face turned beet red.

"Ahh! Nooooo! Why did you have to see me in that!?" She covered her face with her hands.

"What's so embarrassing about it? I mean, I've already seen-"

"Dear? Do you want another child?"

'Ah shit, she's threatening to suck me dry, isn't she?' I looked at her eyes for a second and saw that it was all seriousness. 'Yep. Fuck.'

I looked to the side, feeling sweat drip down from my face. I really brought this one to me…

"Oho? We're already starting it off?" asked Ningguang. Wait, starting what off? "I hope sweetie here can last the upcoming days~"

"E-eh… What d-do you mean?"

"I think you already know what it is, cutie~" Lisa chimed in, whispering close to my ear.

I gulped and began to back away a bit. Shit, it's not just Ganyu then, the other three girls in the room will suck me dry too!? They all giggled and gave me a kiss on the cheek before leaving, taking the tea with them as well. All of them except Ganyu that is.

"Since you came home rather late, we can't do the date now… Just take care of me for the night, will you?"

"Mhm…"