Everything was linked to Fate!
Whether a living being rose to become something far more dangerous or was reduced to nothing more than dust… whether a non-living thing, like a sword, was destined to reach the hands of a hero just to destroy the Demons… everything, without exception, was tied to Fate!
And if that link was severed… the purpose of the living being or the sword became nothing more than an empty void… just an existence without meaning, without action, and without consequence!
“So… it’s like cutting the soul, I suppose? But what about non-living things? Do they even have souls?” Aether asked, his curiosity evident. No matter how much he stared at Dora’s hand, he couldn’t see anything at all.
Dora glanced at Aether with an amused expression. Sometimes, his actions were just too adorable for his own good! Your journey continues on My Virtual Library Empire
Clearing her unnecessary thoughts, she corrected him, “No, it’s not cutting the soul.”
“Not?”
“Yes. No one can cut a soul. It’s a singular entity with no intrinsic purpose… Souls are not connected to Fate,” Dora explained with a knowing look before continuing, “They have no will, no destiny, and no meaning on their own, Aether… A soul only gains purpose when it enters a suitable vessel!”
She then gave him an example. “Take our Academy’s carriage, for instance. The carriage itself is just an empty shell without Arcane crystals, and Arcane crystals, by themselves, have no purpose other than being used as a power source. In the same way, our souls are meaningless until they find a vessel. Once the soul enters a vessel, it becomes the energy that moves it, but the vessel is what decides where to go, which path to take, and what purpose to fulfil.”
Aether absorbed her words for a moment before his eyes lit up with realization. “I see… So, if you cut Fate, you’re essentially cutting off the vessel’s purpose, which means… you’re just separating the soul from the vessel, right?”
Dora tilted her head slightly, “Well… not exactly. You could put it that way, but it’s more of a 50/50 explanation. If you really want to understand it in depth, you should ask Scarlet… That bitch is way more knowledgeable than me,” she added with a tired sigh, rubbing her forehead.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to explain—it’s just that even for her, souls were a mystery. All she truly knew was that she could cut Fate. And even if she did go to Scarlet for answers… that bitch would never explain it properly…. No, she would just let Dora suffer in confusion!!
Aether still had one more question. “What about non-living things? Like swords? How do they serve Fate? They don’t have minds, they don’t make decisions… they’re just tools—”
“What did you just say?”
“Uh… tools?”
Dora nodded as if he had just hit the key point. “Exactly. Tools can be used by anyone. That’s why, when it comes to non-living things, they don’t have just one Fate… they have multiple! Let me show you.”
She plucked a small leaf from a nearby tree and held it between her fingers. “Hold out your hand,” she instructed.
Aether did as told, watching with mild curiosity as Dora released the leaf above his palm. The tiny thing drifted slowly, swaying in the air before landing gently in the center of his hand.
“See? This leaf was destined to fall onto your hand,” Dora said with a smirk.
Aether blinked at her, “Of course, it would fall into my hand when you literally dropped it right above my palm,” he deadpanned.
Dora’s lips twitched violently. “Just you wait!”
This time, she plucked another leaf and once again held it above his hand. However, just before it could land, she yanked her fingers sharply—
Snap!
Something snapped in the air, a sound only Dora could hear. And then—
Sssshhhh!
A sudden breeze appeared out of nowhere, sweeping the leaf away from Aether’s waiting hand before it could touch him.
Aether, however, remained sceptical, “That was just a coincidence.”
“Oh? Come on, Aether,”
“What do you mean, ‘come on’? It was just the damn wind! How the hell is that Fate?!”
Dora’s lips twitched again. They both knew they had strayed from the original topic, but his stubborn refusal to believe her only made her more determined to prove her point. “Alright, then. Hand me your broken mask.”
Aether, now intrigued, nodded and handed over his cracked mask. He really wanted to see what she was going to do next.
This time, Dora simply placed the mask on the ground. “Pick it up,” she instructed.
Aether, a bit confused, bent down and picked it up. Nothing unusual happened.
Dora placed the mask down again, but this time, she flicked her fingers—
Snap!
Something snapped in the air once more.
“Now, pick it up again,” Dora said, her voice laced with amusement.
Aether frowned slightly but complied, reaching down to grab the mask
Trrr!
A small tremor suddenly ran through the ground, shifting the mask just out of his reach.
“The fuck…?” Aether muttered, narrowing his eyes. He reached for it again, but before his fingers could touch it—
Whoooosh!
A sudden gust of wind appeared out of nowhere, pushing the mask slightly away from him!
“….” Aether blinked in disbelief and turned to Dora, who was watching him with an all-too-satisfied expression. She gestured at him with a smug smirk, as if saying, ‘Go on, try again.’
Aether’s lips twitched in irritation. Fine. If the damn mask wanted to play hard to get, then he would just use his power to grab it!
But the moment he did—
“What the fuck?! Why is there a monkey here?!!” Aether shouted in horror as a monkey—where the hell had it even come from?!—suddenly appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the mask, holding it in its tiny hands as it belonged to him!
Dora laughed. “It’s not just about changing its Fate, Aether… It’s also about linking it to others.”
Aether glared at her… Dora only smirked and waved her hand again, silently saying, ‘Go on, keep trying.’
‘That’s it!’ Aether was about to get serious when—
Thud!
“What’s a monkey doing here?”
A new voice interrupted them, and before Aether could react, Emberlyn appeared out of nowhere and swiftly knocked the monkey out. She picked up the mask and, with a deep bow, said, “Apologies for the interruption, Your Majesty. I saw your mask crack during your grand sacrifice, so I came here to repair it…”
She lowered her head even further in respect and quickly added, “I am truly sorry for disturbing you. I will be on my way now!”
Then, without waiting for a response, she turned and hurried off, practically moving like a terrified rabbit!
Aether blinked, his gaze shifting to Dora, who smirked smugly and said, “Told you. I knew you’d struggle.”
Still, Aether wasn’t entirely convinced. He crossed his arms and scoffed, “It’s not like it disappeared into thin air or anything… I’ll get it eventually. Just give me some time.”
“Haha… We’ll see about that,” Dora chuckled mysteriously before waving it off. “Anyway, you get the gist of it now, right?”
Aether nodded as he exhaled. “So, you severed the Fate between Master Snape and his soul, making sure it could never return to this world, no matter what?”
Dora’s expression turned serious as she considered his words. “Hmm… Not exactly, but yeah, close enough. That’s the essence of it,” she admitted, her tone firm. She folded her arms and spoke with absolute certainty, “That’s why I believe that person has to be someone else. There is just no possible way Master Snape could be reborn… unless he had the power of the gods, those who can literally rewrite Fate itself.”
Her words carried a heavy weight, her deadly serious tone leaving no room for doubt.
‘Hmm… Then why was he so possessive over Luna? That doesn’t add up at all,’ Aether thought to himself, running through the possibility that another soul might have taken over the vessel and trying to use the memories.
Dora seemed to pick up on his hesitation and stated firmly, “That’s not possible. I didn’t just sever his soul—I cut off all connections, everything tying it to that body, ensuring that no other soul could ever enter it again. It was a complete severance, no loopholes, no second chances.” She spoke as if it were an undeniable truth.
Aether sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he processed her words. “Well, whatever… We’ll find out soon enough,” he muttered, rolling his shoulders. There was no point in overthinking it. Whoever this person was… they were his enemy, and that was all that mattered.
Dora studied his face before speaking again, this time in a softer, almost hesitant tone. “Next time you go… why don’t you call me?”
Aether could tell she wasn’t just asking—she was furious, beyond furious, at whoever was daring to use her Master’s name so shamelessly.
He chuckled awkwardly, not wanting to make any promises. “We’ll talk about that later…”
Dora hummed, clearly displeased with his response, but she let it go—for now. Just as she was about to turn away and leave—
“Be careful around Alaric.”
Aether’s voice was sharp, deadly serious, carrying a weight that made Dora pause mid-step.
She glanced at him for a long moment but didn’t nod or respond right away. Instead, she simply stared at his face, as if trying to read his thoughts. Then, just as she was about to turn back, her eyes caught something—
A small red mark on Aether’s neck.
Her lips twitched slightly. Without hesitation, she turned on her heel and walked right up to him, her sharp gaze locked onto the mark as if it had personally offended her.
“What are y—”
Chomp
Aether’s breath hitched as Dora suddenly bit the other side of his neck—not a playful nibble like Raven’s teasing bites, but a real, deliberate bite, hard enough to leave a deep, lasting mark.
She quickly pulled back, her cheeks glowing red as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and huffed, “N-Now let’s see who’s going to suffer!!”
Then, before Aether could react, she vanished, disappearing right before his eyes.
Aether blinked in stunned silence, running a hand over his freshly bitten neck before shaking his head with a quiet laugh. “Hahaha…”
With an amused smirk lingering on his lips, he started walking down the corridor, heading back—only to halt mid-step.
“You have the worst hiding technique I’ve ever seen.”
He reached out and pulled—
Thalia, right from her hiding spot in the corner.
“Haha… You got me!” Thalia laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head as if she had actually put effort into staying hidden. But then, without missing a beat, she grinned and said, “Alright, you found me! Now it’s your turn. Go hide!”
She clamped her hands over her eyes, covering her face completely as she started counting, “10… 9… 8…”
Aether stared at her, utterly amused.
‘This girl…’ he thought to himself with a sigh before leaning in–
And pressing a soft kiss.
Not on her lips—since her hands were still covering them—but right on her fingers.
It was just a brief touch, fleeting yet deliberate.
But it was enough.
Thalia’s entire body went rigid, her brain short-circuiting as if someone had just pulled the plug on her thoughts.
