[Hello, Gentleman Aether~ Welcome to my one and only game!]
The glowing white letters floated ominously in the pitch-black void, casting an eerie light on the emptiness around.
As the words lingered, two massive white doors materialized on opposite sides of the void.
“…”
[It’s truly a simple game, you know! All you need to do is choose between two paths before you….]
[Whichever path you decide on… you’ll have to face it alone!]
“….”
[Fu~Fu~ Don’t worry, Gentleman Aether… there’s no need to fear the game. It’s nothing more than a simple, easy challenge]
[Hmm… Is something the matter? You don’t seem to be reacting like the others. Aren’t you the least bit curious?]
“…” Aether remained silent, his eyes locked onto the glowing words, his expression unreadable. He didn’t flinch, didn’t respond. He simply watched.
[…. Well then, shall we proceed? Let’s not waste any more time. Let’s begin the game.]
Suddenly, a vertical level bar flickered into existence at the edge of Aether’s vision.
[You see the two symbols, right? The top one represent–]
“Start already,”
The words hung in the air for a moment, as if stunned by his abrupt interruption, then shifted.
[Oh my… Aren’t we a little too eager? Don’t you want to understand the rules or learn how the game works?]
“I said… start the fucking game,” Aether growled, his voice dropping an even lower, laced with a deadly finality.
[…]
[Very well, then. So be it.]
The glowing words vanished, leaving Aether alone in the void, standing between the two white doors.
Without hesitation, Aether moved forward, his footsteps echoing in the emptiness. Without so much as a glance back, he entered the nearest door before it could even fully open to receive him.
!~Ding~!
[(Paused)Remaining Time: 180 days 00 hours 01 minutes 02 seconds ]
Aether stood still for a moment, surveying his surroundings. The narrow corridor ahead was lined with smooth black walls, each pulsating faintly with an eerie, ghostly light that barely illuminated the space.
He stretched his limbs slightly, the tension in his muscles easing as he prepared himself. Then, with a sharp stomp on the ground, Aether launched forward. Like a bolt of lightning, he sped through the darkness, leaving behind a shimmering trail of indigo-coloured sparks!
Nothing could stand in his way.
Whether hulking ogres or molten monsters, he tore through them all with brutal efficiency, each door he passed through pushing him further. Time seemed to distort as he ran, his body aging, his hair getting longer as though the fabric of reality itself was unravelling.
But Aether didn’t stop. He couldn’t. He just kept running, killing, and moving forward.
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Eventually, he reached it.
Thud!
[Welcome to the Peace, Gentleman~!]
The words appeared before him, glowing faintly against a massive wall that was etched with a large, intricate peace symbol.
The symbol slowly split apart, revealing a shadowy path that stretched deeper inside the void.
Aether exhaled deeply, his chest rising and falling as he readied himself. “Alright, let’s see what you’ve got, motherfuckers,” he muttered under his breath, stepping into the pitch-black darkness beyond.
Suddenly, the void flickered and shuddered around him, and without warning, light flooded the room, washing away the shadows.
“Look, what we have here? You’ve given birth to a healthy boy, darling~” A handsome man in his thirties said with a happy smile as he held an infant in his arms.
Aether stood still, rooted to the spot, his expression completely blank as he watched the scene unfold before him, the vision both familiar and alien at the same time.
[Don’t fear the test—fear what you’ll discover about yourself~ Aether]
Aether stood motionless, his eyes fixed blankly on the visions playing out in front of him. The past he was being forced to relive…. didn’t evoke the response one might expect.
[Fu~Fu~ What’s this? Are you feeling scare—-Hmm? Something wrong?]
The words hovered ominously, seemingly confused by Aether’s lack of reaction, noting how he simply watched at the scene as if he were a detached observer—just a third person watching someone else’s life.
[Hahaha… Have you frozen in place, reliving your filthy past?]
Aether raised an eyebrow and gave a casual shrug. “No, not at all. In fact, I just realized something… I was really damn cute as a kid~” he said, a sly smile curving at the edges of his lips.
[…]
[Indeed, you were cute when you were born… but being cute doesn’t hide the miserable life that’s about to unfold, does it? A defective product like you has nothing but a worthless existence ahead of him… Don’t you think?]
Aether sighed dramatically, shaking his head, “Bro, it’s really not working. You need to work on your insults. It feels like you’re just teasing me at this point.” He let out a hearty laugh that echoed through the void,
“Come on, look at me…. a child full of hope and dreams, just like every other kid… Not bad, right?” He smirked, watching the vision without a hint of fear.
Somehow, despite the grim attempt to provoke him, Aether couldn’t bring himself to care. His past? It was just that—something that had happened.
It didn’t hold power over him now.
Last time that was mistake, he let his past take control of his emotions!!
Whatever this “test” was, it felt meaningless.
The past was the past, nothing more!
[….]
“Ewww… Why are you always laughing? That’s creepy and disgusting!” the boy who had punched him muttered, his voice laced with both amusement and disgust.
Aether watched the scene play out and couldn’t resist commenting, “You know, that guy right there? This bitch was actually engaged to Penelope. What he did was pure jealousy, nothing more than a desperate fiancé afraid of losing his bride. Not bad, don’t you think?” he remarked, glancing toward the floating words.
[… Indeed, a normal reaction from a jealous fiancé. But still, wasn’t he the one who set your miserable life in motion?]
The words tried to twisted the knife, probing deeper into Aether’s past…. but he only smirked in response. “Do you want to know what I did to him?”
[…]
Aether’s smirk deepened, almost sinister now,
“The way you’re showing me my past… it’s so calculated, like you want me to relive every little… sad thing. And sure, the visions are accurate, but here’s where you’re wrong.” His eyes darkened, and a dangerous edge crept into his voice. “My life wasn’t always miserable. That little shit you’re showing me, right there,” he pointed at the boy in the vision, “you know what I did to him?”
Aether’s grin grew wider, more menacing, “That motherfucker pissed himself in front of the entire school when I just smiled at him…. For a fucking smile? Hehehe… Lost his reputation, his dignity—everything. He became a walking joke, nothing more than a pathetic worm afraid of me.
That’s when I realized… I loved it.” Aether took a deep breath as he revealed something that he had been hiding in his heart!!
Aether’s eyes became crazy as he continued,
“The fear in people’s eyes.
Those fearful, trembling gazes… That’s why I became a delinquent, to be honest, that’s the real truth, not something like getting my parents’ affection… Maybe a little but still, Those Fearful eyes, those feelings of looking down at him… at whoever the deep shits that trying to piss me off only to see them bleed and tremble before me… Hehe it’s exciting!!” His eyes gleamed darkly, and his grin turned into something unsettling,
“I wonder… do you have fearful eyes now?” he asked with a grin that was nothing short of twisted.
[….]
Aether blinked, his amusement only growing as silence stretched out. “Hmm? Why so quiet all of a sudden? Did you piss yourself, Mr. Whatever-You-Are?”
[…]
[Ha… It seems like you never felt guilt for the mess you caused in other people’s lives. You truly are a sadist—]
Aether shook his head almost immediately, cutting the words off, “No, no, no… That’s where you’re wrong again. I’m no sadist. It’s you who seems to get off on watching other people’s misery…. Yuck! What, did you have an orgasm just now? Creepy~”
[….]
The black void trembled slightly, an unseen force shifting the atmosphere, as if the very darkness itself had been angered by Aether’s taunts. Aether chuckled to himself, sensing the shift in the air, ‘Looks like I hit a nerve… This deep shit must be tied to this entire summit,’ he thought, before turning his attention back to the vision that continued to play out before him.