“A-Aether… We need to leave now,” Maelona mumbled, her voice trembling as she clung tightly to Aether’s back. Her eyes darted frantically toward the monsters slowly advancing toward them.
Maelona’s body had almost turned a deep, eerie black… The pain was unbearable, yet she kept her composure as if it were nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
Though Aether seemed silent, not moving, his body however still entirely pitch black…. His clenched fist was suspended in the air. Sandra, on the other hand… was completely unconscious, broken and weak!
“M-Mom!” Aria cried out… Fear gripped her as she tried to move, she even attempted to fight the monsters, slashing at them in vain, but they ignored her completely. Their focus was locked solely on Aether as if drawn to him by some unseen force.
“Wake up, Aether! Please!” Maelona shouted, her voice growing more frantic as she shook his shoulder, trying to snap him out of whatever trance he was in. Her hands trembled as they turned black, but she pushed against him a few more times. “We need to leave… now!”
Aether’s lips parted slightly, and he muttered something under his breath, “There’s still someone… someone who wanted to save me….”
“What?” Maelona froze, her brow furrowing in confusion. She couldn’t catch what he had said. Before she could press him further, Aether suddenly moved.
With a quick, almost effortless motion, he swung his hand horizontally through the air.
Ssssshhhh
A wave rippled outwards, cutting through the air like the surface of disturbed water.
“Arr—“
“Arr?”
The monsters’ bodies began to wither and decay at an impossible speed. Their skin crumbled, their bones turned brittle, and within moments, they disintegrated into fine dust. It was as though time itself disappeared!
The monsters didn’t even have time to scream.
Aria and the others stood frozen, their eyes wide with disbelief. The wave surged toward them as well, and Kaelen screamed in panic.
“Oh no! NO!! I’m… I’m going to die! Wait… I’m fine?” He blinked rapidly, looking down at his body, which was unharmed. Relief washed over him as he realized he was still intact. “What the hell…?”
The others exchanged bewildered glances… Miraculously, they too were untouched. However, every single monster had been reduced to dust—even the grotesque abomination that had been stuck on the wall moments before.
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Your journey continues on My Virtual Library Empire
A gentle breeze swept through the area, carrying the remnants of the battlefield into the air. The dust swirled around them….
The silence was deafening as everyone tried to process what they had witnessed.
It wasn’t just death; it was as if the monsters’ very existence had been erased by time itself. Their bodies decayed in mere seconds, leaving no trace of their former forms.
But then silence was broken,
“B-Blood of an Ether?”
By a trembling voice….. Everyone flinched, their attention snapping toward the source— the first hooded figure.
Yes, the same hooded figure Liora had viciously attacked, tearing her apart in half…. And yet, there she stood, whole and unscathed as if nothing had happened.
The sight sent shockwaves through the group. This figure… hadn’t died!
The hooded figure’s voice trembled as she spoke, her tone filled with disbelief.
“Time… E-Ether blood… Y-You’re the holder… Among us? This is really happening? I-I can’t believe someone like ‘you’ exists among us… Th-this is… FUCK!!!” Her tone shifted rapidly, transforming into unbridled excitement. Her eyes glinted with something sinister, her grin widening under the hood.
“This changes everything… Fu~Fu~ Fucking everything,” she cackled, her hand jerking upward. Two thin-bladed swords materialized in her grasp, Her voice dropped, becoming deadly serious.
“Now… it’s time to take you with me. Alive or dead~ Fu~Fu~… Either way, the master will be ha–“
“Shut your fucking mouth, Darling!”
Aether’s voice cut through her happiness…. The hooded figure froze, her body stiffening as Aether’s pitch-black eyes locked onto her with an intensity that was both authoritative and… affectionate?
She blinked, startled…
“Hmm? What did you just call me? Darling? Do I… know you?” She tilted her head, her tone shifting to one of confusion. “Have we… met before? Did I toy with you somewhere? No, that’s not possible. A one-night stand, maybe…? Hmm, unlikely. Strange…” She trailed off, her thoughts wandering.
Aether, still staring at her, muttered quietly, “She’s still the same as ever—”
Before he could finish, a soft, trembling hand reached up and touched his cheek, drawing his attention… He turned to see Sandra.
Her face was broken and bloodied, with crimson streaks trickling down her mouth.
She was far from the regal, breathtaking Empress she had once been, and yet… she smiled. It was a soft, gentle smile that held no malice…. only warmth.
Aether’s expression darkened as he stared at her, “Why… why didn’t you fight me back? I know you could have. You have the power to kill me… again. So why? Why are you holding back? Are you pitying me… again?”
Sandra didn’t reply… Her once luminous, misty eyes—eyes Aether had once loved—were now clouded with blood. She could barely see him, her vision blurred…. Still, her lips curled into that same faint smile.
Staring at her smile, “You… you did this on purpose, didn’t you? That’s not like you, woman” Aether frowned, “What are you trying to achieve? Are you… trying to kill yourself?”
Sandra opened her mouth to speak, but no words came…. Only blood spilled from her lips, her voice silenced by the overwhelming damage she had sustained….
However,
“Love me?” Aether pointed to himself, his expression twisted into a deep frown as he tried to process her words…. He studied her lips carefully, as if realizing what she had just said.
Sandra slowly shook her head, her movements weak yet deliberate.
Aether’s frown deepened before his eyes widened in realization, “Love… him?” he murmured.
Sandra smiled warmly, her expression tender despite the pain she was enduring.
Ba-dump…
Aether blinked again, his hand instinctively reaching up to his chest. He could feel it—a skipped heartbeat, a sudden, jarring sensation that made him freeze.
Crack!
As his fingers pressed against his chest…. his pitch-black body began to crack.
He blinked, staring down at himself in disbelief, “I see…” he whispered, his voice barely audible.
Crack… crack…
Web-like fractures spread across his entire form, glowing with an intense, pure white light that seeped from the fissures…. The light grew brighter and brighter until—
Pufffff!!!
Aether’s blackened body burst into countless particles, scattering like shimmering dust. His original body emerged from beneath the darkness, restored and whole once again…. He stumbled slightly, shaking his head as if waking from a long, disorienting dream.
Sandra, though her vision was blurred and failing, could still make out a haunting sight.
Hovering near Aether, she saw it—a pitch-black feminine figure materialized on his right shoulder, its enormous, sinister white grin gleaming….. But that wasn’t all. On his left shoulder, a pure white feminine figure appeared, bearing a massive black grin.
Both figures wrapped their arms around Aether’s neck possessively, leaning in close. They clung to him as if claiming ownership, their voices overlapping as they whispered in perfect unison:
“Your death is inevitable.”
“Your death is inevitable.”
Sandra could only manage a faint smile, focusing all her energy on Aether.
Aether blinked, his vision sharpening as his eyes finally landed on Sandra…. His expression shifted instantly—pure horror!!
Everyone sighed in relief seeing Aether finally came back however,
“W-What–” he stammered, his voice cracking with panic…. But before he could even form a coherent question, Sandra’s trembling, bloodied hand reached up to touch his cheek.
“I… I am sorry,” she mumbled, her voice strained and weak. Her words finally came through, each one weighed down with regret. “I shouldn’t have said that… cough…” Blood gushed from her mouth, staining her lips and chin, I… I never hated you, Aether….”
“W-Wait—” Aether tried to speak, his voice laced with desperation, but Sandra continued, her voice trembling as she forced the words out.
“I… I always loved you….”
!~Ding~!
[+5000 AP]
[You have completely seduced Marisandra Naiadia.]
And that was it.
No rewards… No hidden missions… Nothing more…
But Aether didn’t care. His eyes were wide, his voice frantic, “Y-You just need to stay there—stay with me—”
Sandra interrupted, “I… knew you would save her….” Her eyes began to glaze over, the light within them fading as her life slowly ebbed away.
“N-No, no, no, don’t—” Aether stammered, his words breaking apart as panic overtook him. He grabbed a healing potion from the storage and frantically poured it over her wounds, focusing on the gaping injury in her stomach… But nothing happened!
The potion didn’t work—it wasn’t healing her.
‘What the fuck have I done?!’ he screamed inwardly, his mind a storm of anguish and regret… his eyes turned teary as if verge of crying.
Sandra’s voice, though weaker now, carried a surprising calmness, “D-Don’t cry… I will be fine,” she whispered, her lips curved into the faintest of smiles, “I’ll watch over you….”
Aether’s anguish erupted in a shout, his voice raw and filled with anger, “Why are you doing this to me?! Why?! Why are you leaving me?!”
The first hooded figure, finally snapped out of her thoughts, blinked in surprise. Then, with a sly grin, she muttered, “Oops, I got lost in my thoughts… Now, shall we finish this~?” Her tone was chillingly casual.
Aria and the others immediately shifted into battle stances, weapons at the ready.
But Aether wasn’t paying attention to any of them. His focus remained solely on Sandra as he cradled her face in his hands. His voice cracked as he asked, “Y-You did this on purpose… Why? Why didn’t you tell me everything? What the fuck is going on?! I… I could have—”
Sandra silenced him with another faint smile.
“This is… a promise… I needed to pay back,” she murmured, her eyelids growing heavier. Her breathing became labored, and her strength waned rapidly.
“I… I… don’t get it,” Aether stammered, tears freely falling down his face. He couldn’t hold back, and the droplets landed on her bloodied cheeks.
Sandra’s fading eyes glimmered faintly as she felt his tears…. Her smile grew just a little brighter…
As if his emotions brought her comfort in her final moments….
As if, even in this moment, she was happy Aether cared for her…..
As if she had been waiting for this—for him to shed tears for her loneliness all this time.
“Ra-Raven… the others… are in the underground chamber… safely,” she whispered, her voice fading.
Aether bit his trembling lips so hard he tasted blood. His mind raced frantically, searching for a solution, a way to reverse the inevitable….
“Rebirth…” Aether mumbled.