The rebirth skill… A great and unique skill he had acquired from seducing Thalia Crimsonclaw.
This skill possessed an incredible ability far better than any skills he had…. To bring back those who had died!
Good wasn’t it?
But it came with stringent conditions:
The Rebirth Skill could only be used once in a lifetime and never on the user themselves.
The target had to be deceased, and their soul had to willingly agree to return.
If the soul had already moved beyond the cycle of Samsara, been completely annihilated, or become bonded to another being, the skill would fail and could not be activated.
These were the conditions that needed to be fulfilled… to use the skill on anyone.
Sandra might have fit the requirements, but there was still one glaring truth—he could only use it once.
‘What about Dora?’ Aether thought anxiously…. She had died as well!
And the skill could only be used one fucking time!
Log was just playing it’s card perfectly!!
‘S-So this is what she meant? She warned me that I’d be forced to choose? I… I really have to choose?’ Aether’s heart felt like it was being squeezed in pain…. He had to make an impossible decision—one that would save one life while letting another slip away forever.
This was… too much for his heart to bear!
“W-Why? Why is this happening… to me?” Aether’s voice cracked as he mumbled to himself, his expression twisted with pain while his gaze remained fixed on Sandra’s face…. Her eyes were slowly losing their vibrant essence of life.
Sandra, despite her nearing end, turned her fading gaze toward Aether. ‘M-Maybe this isn’t so bad…’ she thought weakly, her mind oddly calm amidst the storm of pain. Dying in his arms didn’t seem as terrible as she had once imagined.
Gathering every ounce of energy left in her, she whispered, “C-Can you… kiss me? I’ve never… felt it before.”
Hearing her fragile request, Aether forced a faint, sorrowful smile. Her words, spoken with such vulnerability, pierced through his chest. Watching her frail form, struggling to even speak… He couldn’t bear to see her like this. Every healing potion he tried had failed, her body continued to weaken, and it was painfully clear—she didn’t have much time left.
And yet… he couldn’t let her go.
What had she promised the gods?
Why had she been so determined to die from the very beginning? It made no sense to him.
“J-Just what did you promise?” Aether asked, his voice trembling as he reached out to wipe the blood from her eyes, his hand unsteady.
Sandra didn’t reply…. Instead, she struggled to purse her lips as if pleading silently, asking for one final kiss… one last tender moment before the end.
“Heh…” Aether let out a shaky, bitter laugh… Slowly, he lowered his head, closing the distance between them, and softly pressed his lips against her blood-stained ones.
“Hmm…” Sandra murmured, her voice barely audible. “That felt… weird… Hah…”
Aether’s lips trembled as he pulled back, his hands shaking. He nodded softly, his eyes locked on her as the torment in his heart reached its peak.
Choose!
The word echoed mercilessly in his mind. He had to let one of them go… He had to save one and abandon the other!
A choice he never imagined he would have to make so soon…. Logically, the decision was clear—he should save Isadora.
She was the strongest, the most valuable ally, someone who could help both Aether and the Empires that about face dangerous.
Yet,
His heart echoed against the cold logic in his mind.
Now everything made sense… the warnings from his log, the constant reminders to stay away from Sandra, to avoid becoming close to her or her affection…. The log had foreseen this moment.
It had known that when the time came, Aether would be forced to choose.
The Time when he would have to decide between Isadora and Marisandra.
If only he had heeded the warnings if only he had ignored Sandra from the start… He wouldn’t be tormented by this unbearable choice.
He would have known exactly who to save without hesitation.
And yet…
They had both become irreplaceably important to him….. Now he was paying the price for his actions, for the bonds he had forged.
The warnings had been clear, and still, he had fallen for her.
He had desired her…. Wanted her in his life!
Call it whatever anyone wanted—love at first sight, lust, infatuation—it didn’t matter. Deep down, Aether knew… he had liked her from the very beginning, before anyone else!
For the Misty Purple Eyes that looked at him directly!
Sandra, clinging to her final breath, spoke softly, “S-She is… wonderful… kind… lonely… P-Please… don’t hurt her.”
Aether nodded silently, understanding who she meant without needing to ask.
“You are truly a wonderful mother…” Aether murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.
Sandra’s lips curled into a faint smile as she added,
“P-Promise me…
Promise me, Aether, you will… protect… my… mother—“
Her voice faltered, and before she could finish, Aether’s eyes widened in pure shock… he couldn’t believe what she just said…
Meanwhile,
“You are not going to take him,” Aria said firmly, her gaze piercing as she glared at the first hooded figure.
“Oh, dear~ Did you really think you could stop me?” The hooded figure replied with a haughty tone, her sword glimmering dangerously.
“I did once, so…” Liora grinned, her lips curling into a confident smirk before she transformed into a wolf…. With a burst of speed, she lunged forward, aiming to tear into the hooded figure… once again! She moved so fast that even Aria couldn’t keep up; however—
Chuck!
Like a snap, the hooded figure severed Liora’s jaws with a single, precise stroke, as though she were faster than anyone could comprehend.
But it didn’t end there.
As Aria’s eyebrows rose in pure shock, the figure had already moved. In a flash, she was standing right before Aria and—
Chucccckkk!
Aria’s hand was sliced clean off, falling to the ground like butter under a hot blade.
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“YOU!!” Kaelen roared furiously, stepping forward to attack the hooded figure. But before he could even swing, she had already passed him.
Kaelen blinked in confusion, his movements halting as he looked down. A gaping wound had appeared in his chest!!
Thud!
He collapsed to the ground, blood gushing from his mouth as his lifeless eyes stared into nothingness.
Maelona, who stood behind Aether, froze, her face a mask of horror when she saw the figure defeat them in mere seconds!
“Fu~Fu~ Look at that expression, darling~ I just love the fear in your eyes,” the hooded figure purred, her tone dripping with amusement, “You didn’t really think I’d finish you all off so quickly, did you? Oh no, that would be far too boring! I prefer giving you hope… and then snatching it away. Watching you drown in despair… now that’s exciting!” She laughed maniacally, her voice echoing as if mocking their hopelessness.
“A-Aether…” Maelona called out weakly, her voice trembling, but Aether didn’t respond…. His eyes were locked onto the lifeless body on the ground.
Sandra’s Motionless Body!
“Oh my~ She’s dead? And here I thought she was tough enough to kill a Chosen One…” the hooded figure said in a tone laced with mockery. Her gaze flickered to Aether, her smile widening. “Maybe you’re even more dangerous than I first thought~”
In an instant, she appeared behind Aether, her twin swords poised to pierce straight through his back and into his heart.
“NOOOO!!” Maelona screamed, moving faster than she thought possible. She hugged Aether from behind, shielding him with her body.
A sharp, searing pain shot through her as she felt the sword penetrating her back. But then… it suddenly stopped.
Maelona’s brow furrowed in confusion…. She turned her head slightly to look back, her heart pounding as she realized the hooded figure’s sword had halted mid-strike, as though frozen in time.
However, it wasn’t time.
Drip….
[Survival rate: 82.4↓%]
Maelona flinched hearing a dripping sound, turning her face back toward… Aether. Her eyes widened in pure horror when she saw a water knife stabbed deep in his neck!!
“A-Aether…” she mumbled, her voice shaking as her mind struggled to comprehend what had just happened.
The knife… it was held by him! By Aether himself!!
“NOOOOOOOO!!” Aria screamed, her voice filled with rage and disbelief ignoring her own pain!
Liora howled in agony, her cry distorted by her broken jaw, “WWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRR!”
The hooded figure, unfazed, pulled the half-penetrated sword from Maelona’s back and sneered. “What a pity,” she said with mock disappointment. “I couldn’t kill him… but no matter.” She shrugged casually, as if the chaos she had caused was no more than a game.
No one had given him the choice he wanted.
So Aether made the only choice he could…. To bring back both of them!
His eyes rolled back as his body went limp, collapsing to the ground.
But then—
/Oh! Shit, Shit, Fucking Shit! What the heck!…. Aether, you need to see this! The Principal is fucking alive? OH MY GOD!!! A-Am I imagin—/
Aqualina’s frantic voice echoed in his mind, cutting through the haze as Aether’s last thought surfaced:
‘Fu..ck–‘
Thud!
His body hit the ground, motionless yet, he felt he was sinking… as if his consciousness were sinking on the ground like water drop, falling from on the ground…. falling deeper and deeper, like plunging into a vast ocean.
[Survival rate: 83.5↑%]
!~Ding~!
[Activating… The One and Only Ether]