Ether knelt beside the lifeless body of the Elder, his grandma to be precise… his red eyes glistening with unshed tears. Her once robust form now lay still, her skin pale and shrivelled, drained of all vitality.
He gently touched her frail hand, his lips trembling.
‘Yes, that old bitch is finally dead,’ I thought to myself, a twisted satisfaction curling in my chest. The cunning old hag had met her end, though Ether had no idea what kind of monster she really was.
He wept for her, shedding tears for a life that was far from worth it.
‘Let him mourn,’ I mused. ‘Better he keeps his good heart, even if it’s for someone so undeserving.’
The old man had tried to save her, offering Ether some healing potion… I didn’t hear any details about it anyhow but it didn’t work.
‘Probably because she was already at her limit,’ I thought, my face turning serious as I considered the strange circumstances.
The following day, the village was busy burying the dead. The wails of grief echoed through the air as they laid the bodies to rest. But as I watched, all I could think was, ‘Really? After murdering millions of children, now you’re crying over a few losses? Hypocrites.’
I wanted to scream at them, shake them, and show them their disgusting hypocrisy.
One of the villagers, with a sombre tone, placed a hand on Ether’s shoulder. “Look at her face one last time, Ether. Remember her well. She may have passed, but as long as those who loved her don’t forget, she will live on in our hearts.” The man spoke with pride as if that statement could cleanse her soul.
Ether nodded furiously, trying to keep his tears in check. He was preparing to bury her when his eyes fell on the black ring that hung from his neck.
He grasped it tightly in his hands, staring at it for a moment before speaking softly, “I don’t know who my birth parents were, and I-I never cared to know… because G-Grandma was always there for me.” His voice cracked as he gently placed the black ring around her neck.
‘Tsk, come on, Ether, she’s really not worth it,’ I thought, rolling my eyes.
But just as he was about to cover her with the burial cloth, something caught his attention. Frowning, he tugged at the white fabric and revealed a golden ring, glowing faintly despite its age. It was nestled against her chest, tied to a thin thread around her neck.
The ring itself was intricately designed, with a dull purple stone at its centre, encircled by delicate purple lines.
Ether blinked in surprise. He had never seen this ring before, and he knew that anything his grandmother kept so close had to hold some meaning. He smiled faintly through his tears. “I’ll remember you, Grandma, and I-I’ll cherish what you treasured,” he whispered, taking the golden ring from her neck and placing it around his own.
In return, he placed his black ring around hers, like some silent exchange of memories.
As the burial concluded, Ether stood quietly, surrounded by the villagers, who hugged him as though he were their saviour, the one who had saved their lives by sacrificing his own future.
‘Tsk, hypocrites,’ I thought with disgust. ‘If I were alive, I’d burn this entire place to the ground.’
After the burial, Ether stood beside the old man, ready to leave. The villagers, with tears in their eyes, bowed deeply before him.
“P-Please take care of him!” they begged the old man, their voices trembling with respect.
The old man merely nodded before disappearing with Ether in tow.
I followed closely, and soon, everything around me shifted.
We were no longer in the village but inside…. a dark room?
I frowned, scanning the surroundings, trying to understand where we were. The old man stood before Ether, his expression hardening.
Ether, too, was confused. His eyes darted around before finally settling on the old man, a question lingering on his lips.
The old man’s voice cut through the silence like ice. “Stand there.”
Ether flinched, startled by the sudden change in the old man’s tone. Gone was the gentle, kind voice from before. Now, there was only a cold command.
Hesitating for a moment, Ether obeyed and stepped into the centre of the room, where strange symbols had been drawn on the floor.
I stared at the markings, squinting as I tried to make sense of them. ‘It looks like… a magic circle?’
I tilted my head, confused, ‘Magic circle? What’s that?’ I wondered.
The old man’s hands moved swiftly, placing the ancient old materials in a precise formation around Ether, who stood still, obediently following his command to keep his eyes closed.
As I watched, he pulled out a bottle filled with a dark red liquid.
‘Blood… but whose?’ I mumbled to myself, watching intently as he poured it into the grooves of the magic circle. The blood moved unnaturally, tracing the lines with eerie precision until the entire circle began to glow with a menacing light.
The old man sat cross-legged just outside the circle, his eyes closed, murmuring something I couldn’t quite make out.
The air grew heavier, thick with something…. malevolent.
Slowly, the materials he had placed around Ether began to melt or more like… dissolved into the blood as though devoured by it.
The circle brightened even more, pulsing with a strange energy.
After what felt like an eternity, the old man finally opened his eyes, his voice cold and hollow as he muttered,
“Tithe of Fate End!”
Suddenly, the blood surged toward Ether’s feet. His body jerked violently as he screamed in agony, “ARRRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” His cry pierced the air, and I felt a jolt of panic shoot through me.
!~Ding~!
[Achieved Compatibility is 92.5%↑]
“That old bastard!!” I shouted, rushing forward. I swung my fists at the old man, trying to hit him, to stop him, but my attacks went right through him, as if I wasn’t even there. “Stop it, you motherfucker!”
Ether’s body twisted unnaturally, spasming under the force of whatever was happening to him….. I could feel it too!!
Something wrong, something pulling at me!!
My form…. my once misty, half-visible figure—was starting to dissolve.
I glanced down in confusion, watching as my arms faded into nothing, reduced to mere particles swirling around me.
‘What… What the fuck is happening?’ I thought, panic gripping me as I tried to comprehend the situation.
After what felt like an eternity, Ether’s screaming finally stopped.
He stood still, eyes closed, before snapping them open again.
My jaws dropped when I saw them…. His eyes were completely empty…..
No pupils!
No whites!
Just an endless, dark void!!
And then, a grin twisted his lips. The sight of it sent a shiver down my spine.
Something was terribly wrong….. Ether wasn’t Ether anymore!
COUGH, COUGH… ARRH COUGH, COUGH
The old man, now pale and trembling, coughed violently, blood splattering from his mouth. His face contorted in horror, his eyes wide with disbelief.
He hadn’t expected this…. Whatever he’d planned, this was beyond him!!
A cold, mechanical voice echoed from Ether’s mouth, but it wasn’t his.
“Stealing something that did not belong to you… Are you playing with fate?”
The old man coughed again, his body trembling, “O-Of course… I sought the truth… I saw it—”
“You will regret this,” the voice interrupted, the grin on Ether’s face growing more menacing… “Mark my words. Everyone will regret changing fate itself”
Thud!
And with that, Ether collapsed, his body falling limp to the ground.
The old man, still coughing, doubled over. His once strong, authoritative presence had crumbled. He now looked frail and near death, his body shrinking, his skin paling. Blood continued to drip from his mouth as he muttered weakly, “Sh… Cough, cough… I’ve been cursed…”
I stood there, unable to process what had just happened. Ether, the old man, the voice… Everything had spiralled out of control…. My form, now nothing but scattered particles, swirled around the room aimlessly.
I shook my head, trying to make sense of the madness!
‘What the hell is going on? Why did Ether act so strangely? And who was that voice?’ Nothing made sense.
But then, something caught my eye…. Ether’s unconscious body began to glow, his chest softly illuminated by a light that shimmered with the colours of a rainbow.
I frowned as I remembered seeing this before.
Slowly, a small, radiant sphere emerged from his chest, its iridescent glow pulsating with otherworldly energy. The sight of it… it was mesmerizing, calming, and even peaceful. It radiated a kind of warmth that made everything else fade away, an ethereal beauty that seemed too good to belong in this twisted place.
I watched, captivated, as the rainbow sphere drifted through the air, almost floating.
It moved toward the old man, who, despite his weakened state, smirked in satisfaction. His eyes gleamed with greed and anticipation as he stretched out his hand, gently catching the sphere in a glass jar he had ready.
“My grandson is going to love this,” he muttered, his voice filled with triumph, a satisfied grin spreading across his face.
I stared at him, the weight of his words sinking in. Whatever that sphere was… it wasn’t just some random magical object. It had to be something far more significant… something valuable, powerful….. And that old bastard had planned all of this.
‘It messed up…’ I thought looking at Ether.