Zhongli X Aether Novels & Stories

He appeared at the center of the Golden Plains, sitting on a throne made of woven wheat and rusted iron. Aethelred was the most human-looking of the brothers. He wore robes of burnt-sienna and a crown of dry, jagged brambles. His eyes were the color of a setting sun—a weary, satisfied orange. He held a scythe made of "Aether-Glass," its blade shimmering with the souls of the shifters he had already "reaped" from the distant archipelagoes.

His gaze swept over the room, lingering briefly on Zoe with an unreadable look before he continued. “To understand your own abilities, you must first understand the legacies from which they were born,” he said. “This is the history of the Aetherians, the ancient beings chosen by the gods to guard and channel the four elemental powers.” At the mention of “Aetherians,” Zoe’s hand subconsciously moved to the book Elara had given her earlier, now tucked safely in her bag. It had mentioned this word several times, describing the Aetherians as individuals chosen by divine entities to wield unique elemental powers that influenced the very balance of nature.

"This sector is under the control of the Iron-Vultures now! No one gets in!" ​Elena didn't wait for an order. She blurred. ​She was a streak of silver in the orange firelight. She didn't use the edge of her blades; she used the flat, slamming the pommel into the mercenary’s temple before he could even register her movement. She spun, a low sweep taking out the legs of two more guards, her movements a symphony of kinetic violence. ​"Leo, the door!" she shouted. ​Leo stepped forward. He didn't have the strength for another gravity-well, but he had something else. He had the Aether-Link. He placed his palms against the heavy metal of the sub-station door.