“Hmm? What is this?” Aether questioned, furrowing his brow as he observed a gang of people bullying someone in the distance.
“Hey! What are you doing?” Aether frowned as he approached them…. only to widen his eyes in surprise.
“E-Ether?” Aether was taken aback to see a white-haired guy being assaulted by…. Timmy and his gang.
Aether attempted to intervene, but to his shock, his hands passed through their bodies. “Memories?” Aether wondered and looked around the surroundings which were the same as when he arrived in the world…. realizing he was witnessing a past event.
“How dare you!” Timmy’s voice boomed as he delivered a kick to Ether’s head.
“Arrhhh!” Ether groaned in pain, clutching his head, yet he made no attempt to resist or fight back.
“Tsk,” Timmy clicked his tongue in disdain as he grabbed Ether’s hair and yanked his head back.
“You fucking maggot! Just because Selene treats you better, do you think you can cling to her?!” Timmy’s voice dripped with contempt as he delivered another punch to Ether’s defenceless face.
“arrhh!”
“Listen, fucker! Once Kai, Young Master, becomes the Head of the household, he promises me that he will marry his sister to me! Do you understand what I am saying?!” Timmy’s anger boiled over, yet Ether remained unresponsive.
“Tsk, I hate this broken toy,” Timmy muttered before landing another brutal blow to Ether’s face. He then turned to his three boot-licking lackeys and commanded, “Throw him into the lake…”
“””Yes, Boss!””” The lackeys echoed in unison as they dragged the unconscious Ether towards the lake. Ether offered no resistance, his demeanour disturbingly…. lifeless.
“H-hey, Sto–!” Aether shouted, attempting to reach out to Ether. However, when Aether caught a glimpse of Ether’s… emotionless, lifeless eyes robotic eyes, Aether halted.
Then, the vision abruptly shifted…
Inside a dimly lit room, nightfall had settled,
“Ether, have you fallen asleep?”
Aether heard a voice, turning to see Selene in a black nightgown, gazing tenderly at Ether, who lay motionless on the bed.
‘She looks younger… Maybe 12 or 13…’ Aether observed Selene’s youthful appearance and then glanced at Ether, who also seemed younger, ‘It seems I am going backwards in time?’
Selene smiled softly and affectionately patted Ether’s head, her voice tinged with sorrow, “I am sorry, Ether, but it seems that Timmy bastard told my father that I sneaked you into my bed, so this will be the last time you sleep here.”
“…” Ether remained silent, his gaze fixed on the ceiling with the same blank emotionless and lifeless eyes.
“But don’t worry,” Selene continued with determination, “Once we enter the academy, I will try my best to convince my brother to change your ownership. Once we have done that then, I will take you somewhere where it’s just you and me…” muttered gently with a small smile.
Selene’s cheeks suddenly flushed slightly as she continued, her words stuttering in her emotions, “A-After that, w-we can have our own f-f-family…” She blushed and shook nervously.
However, her expression turned sorrowful again. “But until then, I must act indifferent towards you… I’m sorry, Ether, but I can’t show any affection like before, o-otherwise my father will punish you…” Tears welled in her eyes.
“E-Even though my brother isn’t a bad person, he always obeys my father, and my father would never allow a slave near his daughter… I fear he might even harm you…” Selene’s voice trembled with worry and sadness.
With a tender kiss on Ether’s forehead and teary eyes, Selene whispered, “I might have to hurt you sometimes until they believe I hate you…. Please hang on and Please don’t h-hate me….’Drip’ ‘Drip’…. I-I will protect you, Please give me some time until then… I’m sorry,” as she held Ether close like a cherished toy and drifted into slumber.
[Author’s Note: They are just sleeping together just like any 12 or 13-year-old children. Don’t think anything unnecessary]
Aether watched the scene unfold, feeling an unknown emotion when he stared at Selene’s teary eyes…. then he observed Ether’s robotic, emotionless eyes.
‘I suppose this is what Ether looks like… A person devoid of ego,’ Aether reflected with pity in his eyes.
He wondered how Ether was like that, Did he like this from birth?…. Aether really wondered.
As Aether turned to leave, a sudden movement caught his attention,
“!!!” Aether’s eyebrows raised in surprise as he witnessed Ether’s emotionless eyes show…. A sadness!!
In a fraction of a second, a glimmer of sadness appeared in Ether’s eyes before turning robotic, emotionless eyes.
Ether’s hand, moving mechanically, reached out and gently patted Selene’s head.
“Heh…” Selene giggled in her sleep.
‘Ba-dump, Ba-dump’
“Ha-ha…ah…ha” Aether suddenly started to breathe heavily, his heart racing faster than ever before. Unknown emotions swirled inside him… His eyes flickered.
No, These emotions….. He knew… He knew more than anyone…. Loneliness and Powerlessness!!
Throughout his two existence, those emotions had been his constant companions.
“Ha…ha…ha…” Aether gasped for air, his blue eyes now transformed into bottomless pools of blackness. With a surge of raw emotion, he lashed out, punching the nearby wall. The surrounding structure cracked like brittle snacks before crumbling down, revealing the true space in which he now found himself.
Aether’s gaze fell upon a small, transparent object suspended in the same white-black space he had entered before…. However, unlike previous times, he didn’t find himself trapped between those contrasting realms.
In the centre of the black-and-white expanse hovered the transparent Acrane card diagonally, its surface marred by…
‘Drip’
‘Drip’
‘Drip’
‘Drip’
‘Drip’
‘Drip’
Six drops of dark black liquid oozed onto the Transparent Arcane card, staining its pristine surface (On the white side realm) like ink seeping onto parchment.
[Author’s Note: I apologize if my previous statement was unclear. Please read the following for clarification: The Transparent Arcane Card hovered diagonally in the middle of the white-black realm. When dark black liquid oozed out of nowhere and dropped on the Arcane card, the white side of the transparent Arcane Card began to show black drops, marring its once pristine, transparent surface.]
Aether’s eyes were completely shrouded in black as if something were tainting not just his body but also his…. very soul.
!~Ding~!
[Compatibility: 90%?↑]
[Survival rate: 7.6% ↑]
…..
..
Outside, the tension was palpable as the scene unfolded.
“F-Father, stop him!!!” Selene’s voice cut through the air, pleading with her father to intervene in the brutal beating.
Velc, though worried about his son’s safety initially, remained silent. He had witnessed Aether’s full power and knew that someone needed to put the rebellious slave in his place, or it could lead to unforeseen consequences. As long as Aether didn’t meet his end, Velc would consider the situation manageable.
Even Kai didn’t say anything as he clearly didn’t like the way Aether touched his future wife.
Alfred, on the other hand, had been anxious about Aether’s newfound strength. However, seeing his son handle the situation with ease, he let out a sigh of relief. He attempted to calm Selene, saying,
“Young Miss, this is just a tournament. My son wants to face this slave, so we shouldn’t interfere. Especially after that slave humiliated the princ—!!!” Alfred’s words abruptly halted as he caught Selene’s deathly glare…
“The Nerve…” She muttered.
“Forgive me,” Alfred murmured, lowering his head, ‘She’s just like her mother,’ he thought, wiping the sweat from his forehead nervously.
“I-I think this is enough. The young man seems to have passed out…” The Archpriestess injected a calm tone, though her clenched fingers betrayed her attempt to control her rising anger, blood trickling from her tightly gripped hand.
Empress especially frowned when she saw something wrong with Energy around the battle arena….
Before anyone could react or step in,
“BOOM!!”
“pscckkkk!!”
The sound of a brutal impact echoed, followed by a splatter of blood.
“ARRRHHHHHH!!!”
A cry of pain and anguish erupted, breaking the tense silence of the scene.