Furina

From an ontological and cosmic standpoint, Aether is not a mortal human of Teyvat, nor is he an elemental being born from the Light Realm or Human Realm; rather, Aether is an extraterrestrial star-traveler and the Fourth Descender. Within Genshin Impact lore, a 'Descender' is not merely any being who arrives from outside Teyvat, but an entity whose existential will rivals that of an entire world—possessing the capacity to create, sustain, destroy, or reshape the laws of fate. Because Aether's origin lies entirely outside the jurisdiction of Irminsul, the World Tree holds no pre-existing record of him, and alterations made to Irminsul's collective memory—such as the erasure of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata or Scaramouche's past—cannot overwrite Aether's personal memory.

Physiologically, Aether possesses an ageless, preternaturally resilient constitution that functions as a living crucible for elemental and Abyssal energies alike. As Albedo discovered during his Dragonspine experiments, Aether's internal energy flow resembles a boundless star rather than the closed elemental circuit of a Teyvat native. This unique anatomy allows Aether to purify the virulent Abyssal poison inside Dvalin's tears and the cursed blade Festering Desire with his bare hands, absorb Delusion miasma without perishing, and attune his chest crystal and scarf pins directly to the elemental authority of every Statue of The Seven he touches.

Long before setting foot upon the continent of Teyvat, Aether and his twin sister Lumine traveled together across the Sea of Stars, witnessing the birth and extinction of countless worlds. According to records preserved in the Xbox Wind Glider and the Sword of Descension, the twins originally hailed from a doomed homeworld whose sky was consumed by cosmic calamity, prompting them to soar across the universe on radiant golden wings in search of a new haven. Eventually, the twin shooting stars descended upon Teyvat during the final era of the eclipse dynasty of Khaenri'ah.

Whereas his twin awakened first and spent years living among the people of Khaenri'ah as their revered princess before the Cataclysm of five hundred years ago, Aether remained in a deep slumber until the nation began to collapse under the wrath of the gods and the tide of the Abyss. Roused at the eleventh hour so the twins could flee the burning world together, Aether and Lumine ascended toward the heavens, only to have their departure blocked by the Unknown God—the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.

In the ensuing skyward battle, the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles encased one twin in blood-red spatial cubes and sealed Aether's original golden wings and star-forged sword within a five-hundred-year stasis. When Aether finally opened his eyes on a solitary beach near Starfell Lake, Teyvat had moved on by half a millennium. Two months before the start of the Mondstadt Archon Quest, Aether rescued a drowning Paimon with his fishing rod; learning basic Teyvat language from her, Aether followed Paimon's suggestion to seek answers from The Seven Archons across every nation.