Step… Step….
A tall man with striking white hair emerged from the mansion… Behind him, the shadowy figure followed silently, their movements fluid and unhurried.
The man’s sharp eyes surveyed the chaos around the mansion, his expression tinged with faint amusement as though he found the destruction vaguely entertaining. However, his gaze soon fixed on Helena, unconscious and lying vulnerably on the ground.
“@!$#@!@#$!@?” the man asked in a language that rang incomprehensibly in the air, his tone calm yet laced with authority.
The shadowy figure knelt beside him, bowing their head. “@#$@!!@$!!@@,” they responded, their words equally indecipherable yet reverent.
The man gave a curt nod before his piercing gaze shifted to Nightfire, who was still trembling, frozen in the aftermath of her near-death experience.
His expression darkened further as his eyes narrowed on Aether, suspended unnaturally mid-air.
With a simple wave of his hand, the invisible force binding Aether dissipated. Aether plummeted to the ground, landing hard but immediately rushing to Nightfire and Helena. Cradling Helena protectively, he pulled Nightfire close, steadying her as she whimpered softly before fainting from the sheer weight of her fear and exhaustion.
Aether’s own breath hitched as he looked up at the man.
He knew…
He knew this man!
Memories from his childhood surfaced in flashes—this was the same man who had appeared to save him from a grim sacrificial ritual and….. unleashed a monstrous rampage upon the village in the process.
The man’s visage hadn’t aged a day since then.
‘Just how many Ethers are there?’ Aether thought, his mind spinning. ‘And what was he even talking about?’
Suddenly—
!~Ding~!
[Log Activated!]
!~Ding~!
[Survival Rate: 81.8% (Returned to Previous State!)]
!~Ding~!
[Comprehension of the Forbidden Language Initiating!]
[0.7% Comprehension]
[2% Comprehension]
….
…
As the log began activating, Aether noticed the mutilated remains of the monsters scattered around the battlefield starting to shimmer. Their grotesque forms flickered with rainbow-coloured light before melting into pools of the same vivid liquid. The puddles began to coalesce, their movements unnervingly organic.
Before Aether could process, the liquid formed into a small, fluffy creature—a puppy.
“WOOF!”
The puppy barked furiously at the white-haired man, its tiny body quivering with anger as if its grand plans had been spoiled.
The man’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he addressed the creature, “@#$$!!@@#! taking too much fun, aren’t!@#$”
[10% Comprehension]
Aether flinched as fragments of the language started making sense in his mind.
The puppy growled, “WOOFFFRRRRR!!”
Its defiance was short-lived, though, as the man’s expression grew stern.
“!@#$@@#! your mother !@#@$ know!@$ about this? Would she be ang@#$!# if she learned @### were trying to kill Luna’s daughter?” the man scolded, his tone cold and unyielding.
[25% Comprehension]
The puppy visibly flinched before letting out an indignant “WOOF!” and darting back toward the mansion, its fury diminished into reluctant obedience.
The man chuckled softly, a faint smile playing on his lips before his gaze returned to Aether and the others, “@#$!@#$ apologize, !@#$ you trespassed @#$#$ my territory,” he began, but his words faltered as the shadowy figure interrupted.
“!@#@@, they cannot @$%## your language.”
[35% Comprehension]
The man raised an eyebrow, a flicker of realization crossing his face, “Oh? @#$@ using Lycorian or Someth#!@#, Lunavess?”
[40% Comprehension]
The shadowy figure nodded. “Yes, Master. They still use the Lycorian language.”
“Hmm,” the man mused, stroking his chin, “So ‘The Beginning’ hasn’t occurred yet… Time truly drags @! days, doesn’t !@@?” With a shift in tone, he addressed the group in a language they could finally understand. “Whatever you witnessed here today, I suggest you forget it. Do not speak of this to anyone, children. Do you understand?”
Aether’s face remained blank, his thoughts a turbulent storm.
The man’s sharp gaze lingered on Aether, narrowing slightly. “You…” He tilted his head. “Have we met before?” A moment of consideration passed before he shrugged dismissively. “No matter…. The only reason I am letting you leave is because of her…. This place is very Sacred!” His eyes flickered toward Helena. His voice dropped, laced with quiet menace, “But don’t think for a second you’ll be spared again. Trespassing here is dangerous. If it happens a second time… I’ll kill you myself.”
With a snap of his fingers, the trio’s forms began to flicker, their bodies breaking apart into glowing particles.
Aether’s gaze remained fixed on the man as their surroundings started to dissolve. Just as his vision blurred, he caught sight of something flickering in one of the mansion’s windows.
Flickkk…
Four flames…danced in unison, their glow casting an eerie light through the empty window before,
“La~La~LaLa—“
…
…..
Back to Aerionis Zephyra Empire,
Thud!
The trio landed unceremoniously on the ground, back before the same wall they had disappeared through earlier.
“A-Aether?”
“Aether…”
Both Helena and Nightfire clutched their heads, grimacing in pain as they stirred back to consciousness. The moment their gazes found Aether, they both lunged at him, wrapping him in a tight embrace.
“It’s fine. It’s all over now… everything is over,” Aether murmured soothingly, his tone gentle yet firm as he held them close. His eyes flicked to the brightening sky, the first rays of dawn breaking the darkness.
After a few moments of silence, Helena blinked up at him, her voice trembling. “W-What happened? How did we escape?”
Meanwhile Nightfire… more like Ashara, who had quickly regained her composure, blushed faintly, coughing as she stepped away from Aether.
Aether sighed, the memories of the mansion weighing heavily on him, and recounted everything that had transpired.
Drip… Drip…
Tears spilled from Helena’s eyes as she listened, her shoulders trembling with guilt. “I-I’m so sorry… If it wasn’t for me, you both wouldn’t have had to suffer.”
Aether placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, his expression kind. Before he could speak, Ashara broke the moment with a confident smile. “Don’t worry about it. That’s what friends are for, right?”
But internally, Ashara whispered nervously to herself, ‘Right, Nightfire?’
Nightfire’s voice echoed in her mind, sharp and laced with lingering fear, ‘If you’d seen that shit directly and felt how close we came to dying, I doubt you’d be smiling like this!’
Helena, oblivious to their inner exchange, wiped her tears and gave a trembling smile. “Yeah… that’s what friends are for. But…” Her voice trailed off, her expression hardening with resolve, “My mother…. is still out there somewhere.”
Her trembling lips curled into a determined frown.
‘Stop her!’ Nightfire’s voice screamed in Ashara’s head, ‘If this bitch gets any crazy ideas, we’ll end up as corpses for sure!’
But Helena’s serious expression was abruptly replaced with one of pure horror, “Wait… our exams!”
Ashara froze before her face mirrored Helena’s dread. “Shit! I’m not spending my vacation in this damned place because we missed them!” Without another word, she bolted toward the academy, Helena following close behind.
Aether shook his head as he stood, brushing off his clothes. His hand rested lightly on the wall, his thoughts racing, ‘That monster… that mansion… that man… Who are they?’
Suddenly,
!~Ding~!
[Remaining Time: 161 days 12 hours 43 minutes 52 seconds↓]
[Remaining Time: 160 days 12 hours 43 minutes 52 seconds↓]
[Remaining Time: 152 days 12 hours 43 minutes 51 seconds↓]
[Remaining Time: 140 days 12 hours 43 minutes 50 seconds↓]
[Remaining Time: 131 days 12 hours 43 minutes 49 seconds↓]
“What the fuck? What is this, Log? Why?” Aether screamed seeing this notification.
!~Ding~!
[Due to Time and Space collapse in that Personal realm, there is a change in this reality!]
Had their actions triggered something irreversible?
“Well, whatever,” he muttered, pushing the thought aside.
Meanwhile, while running back to the academy,
Helena suddenly asked, “You know You said something about sucking before I fainted, right?” her expression turned dark as her eyes lost those colours.
Ashara flinched, “W-Well… ” Ashara felt something dangerous creeping, Nightfire took over the body partially saying, “I said that I really suck at fighting”
“Oh? Oh…. I see..” Helena’s face turned to a lovely naive girl before smiling and patting her shoulder saying, “Don’t worry you really helped Aether when I was out…” as she started to run.
Nightfire sighed, “T-That girl… I think she is a very possessive woman… maybe I should just cut her friendship!” she mumbled before running.
…..
…
Back at the Academy,
“You two…” The examiner’s stern voice greeted Helena and Ashara as they stumbled into the room, panting. “Just because you’re elite students doesn’t mean you can show up whenever you like for an exam.”
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Helena immediately bowed, her voice pleading. “Please forgive us, Madam!” Ashara followed suit, though her attention wandered to Victor, who was seated calmly at a desk, scribbling answers with unnerving focus.
Nightfire grumbled in Ashara’s mind, ‘That bastard used teleportation while we ran our asses off to get here! I swear, I’ll fuck him!!’
The examiner sighed, clearly exhausted, and gestured for them to take their seats.
Helena sat quickly, flashing a surprised smile when she saw the question paper as she began writing with confidence. Victor noticed, smirking slightly before glancing at Ashara.
Her expression, however, morphed from mild relief to one of utter confusion as she stared blankly at her paper like her expression: ‘What the fuck? Is that in the syllabus?’
Victor’s lips twitched, barely holding back a laugh.
“Yaayyy!” He yawned loudly as his hand moved under his desk, and with a casual stretch, he placed a small folded sheet beneath Ashara’s table.
“Victor, this is not the place for stretching. Please refrain from touching others’ desks,” the examiner scolded, her tone sharp.
Victor nodded, offering a sheepish smile. “Sorry, Madam.” He returned to his work as if nothing had happened… not before he shot Ashara a meaningful glance.
Ashara cautiously retrieved the hidden paper. Her eyes widened when she saw the answers to the questions she didn’t know.
Her face paled if anyone found she would be kicked out of the academy. Though she appreciated the way Victor helped her, now it was definitely dangerous.
However,
Her eyes flickered before mumbling, ‘Screw it. I’m not wasting two more months in this hellhole for some moral high ground and to maintain a goody-goody image. Let’s get this over with!’
Her consciousness partially shifted, Nightfire taking control, and Ashara’s hands began filling out the answers with speed and precision.
Victor noticed and smirked approvingly, ‘Not bad, Ashara. Not bad…’
Actually, this was wrong…. he promised to help her before but he played with Helena and forgot to help her so… A promise was a promise, right?
He kept it!!
Victor noticed and smiled, ‘Well not bad feeling… writing an exam after a long time’ he sighed
Just as he prepared to slip her another note, when,
“What are you doing?”
Victor and Ashara froze, their heads snapping up to see Delphine standing over them, her eyes narrowed on them… or rather… fixed on Victor!
“Mind coming to my office?” she asked, her smile too sweet to be genuine.
“Now? But I’m in the middle of my—”
“Someone knocked Finnian unconscious, stripped him naked, and hung him on the wall in his room,” Delphine interrupted with a sweet smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
The entire room fell silent, the students staring in stunned disbelief.
Helena’s mouth dropped open. “What…?”
Meanwhile, Ashara or rather, Nightfire burst into laughter, “Hahaha! I knew I fucking knew it!!”