A blackout—
“Archpriest Aether?”
A small, trembling voice echoed around the vast emptiness as the vision slowly cleared, revealing Archpriest Aether standing alone before the broken remains of the main temple. The sky, once shrouded in endless darkness, now brightened as the nightmare finally came to an end… He turned back, his heavy eyes scanning the scene behind him, and saw… people—the few remnants of once-gentle Empire—alive, yet visibly shattered.
Archpriest Aether didn’t say a word at first. He just stood there, silently staring at the gathered survivors for a few long, agonising seconds, and then, his voice broke through the stillness, “… I am sorry,” he whispered as he bowed his head, the deepest regret soaking his tone like a heavy rain.
Everyone who heard that trembling apology felt their hearts twist painfully. Smiling weakly through their tears, they shook their heads slowly, almost as if trying to comfort him.
“No, Archpriest…”
“It is us…. We are the ones who should be sorry.”
“Even though you saved us… we feared you…. We… are sorry.”
As the entire gathering bowed their heads in regret, an overwhelming sorrow filled the air.
Even though it was him who had saved them—the few who had survived—he had also been the one who cut down those who had turned into monsters. It was a storm of conflicted emotions that tore at the people’s hearts during that cursed yesterday night… their beloved ones had died… and at that time, they simply couldn’t accept it. But now… after surviving the nightmare they had endured, their hearts had begun to understand.
Archpriest Aether smiled weakly, a fragile thing on his weary face, before saying in a softer, gentler tone, “Shall we say goodbye to our beloveds?”
Upon hearing those words, everyone’s faces trembled with emotion, and slowly, one by one, they nodded their heads in agreement, their expressions heavy with grief.
A blackout—
And the vision cleared once again, showing Archpriest Aether standing solemnly before thousands of dead bodies that lay sprawled across the vast, brazen land.
Some were the monstrous forms of those who had been twisted beyond recognition, while others were the pitiful remains of what had been left after being devoured by those monsters.
All were carefully wrapped in pure white cloths and laid side by side upon the brazen ground, as if to grant them a final dignity.
Archpriest Aether’s gaze was fixed upon the lifeless body of the Archpriestess. His hands trembled uncontrollably as he bit down hard on his lower lip, struggling to suppress the flood of sorrow crashing through him. Beside her lay the Saintess, her form equally still and cold. They had died fighting to protect their sacred land.
“Archpriest?”
The fragile voice pulled him back. He turned to his side and saw a broken man, his face streaked with tears, raising his hand toward him. Aether inhaled deeply, forcing strength into his body, and took the man’s hand in his own.
Turning to his other side, he saw a broken woman, equally shattered, reaching out. He grasped her hand as well.
These were the loved ones of the dead, and according to ancient tradition, in order to say goodbye to their families, they would join their hands with others who shared the same pain, forming an unbroken circle around the departed.
It became a massive, ring-like formation surrounding the countless dead bodies, the mourners themselves clad in white robes, symbolising purity and grief.
Archpriest Aether, his heart weighed down by sorrow, nodded gravely. His face turned serious as he raised his hand high, a silent signal, and all others mirrored him, raising their hands too, their white sleeves fluttering in the sombre breeze.
Then, with a soft but firm voice that somehow carried across the entire Empire, Archpriest Aether began to chant:
“We gather, clad in sorrow, robed in silence… We who remain, we who still breathe, bear the burden of memory.”
The circle of mourners, hand-in-hand and heart-to-heart, responded in one mournful voice:
“We bear the burden of memory.”
Archpriest Aether’s voice grew stronger, carrying with it the weight of countless losses, echoing far across the barren, broken field:
“O departed souls, brave and beloved,
We call your names to the heavens above,
We send your spirits on the sacred river of light.
May your suffering be undone,
May your hearts find peace beyond the eternal veil.
In sorrow, art thou returned unto the Mother.”
The mourners bowed their heads deeply, their voices soft yet unified as they chanted:
“In sorrow art thou returned unto the Mother.”
Archpriest Aether lowered his eyes to the dead lying before him. His voice dropped to a heavy whisper, laden with grief and stone-like finality:
“Forgive us… who could not save you all.
Forgive us… who must live on.”
The mourners, though weeping openly, replied without hesitation, their voices shaking but steadfast:
“Forgive us, who live on.”
Archpriest Aether, tears silently tracing paths down his cheeks, continued:
“Rest, O kin of the stars.
Rest, and rise anew when the world is made whole once more.”
And for the final time, the entire circle answered, their voices raw and filled with both hope and sorrow:
“Rest… and rise anew.”
As the final echoes of their voices faded into the weeping winds, a pure white flame sparked to life atop the dead bodies. Slowly, reverently, the flame grew, engulfing them in its gentle, cleansing light.
Archpriest Aether slowly lowered his hand, his head bowed in silent prayer.
The mourners began to move together in slow, deliberate steps, circling the burning bodies. Their white robes fluttered like fallen feathers in the sombre breeze, the flames crackling steadily at the centre.
Their voices rose once more, low and haunting, a song of farewell carried upon the wind:
“Ash~ to~ ash….~ weee~ dance, weee~ weep, Dust to dust, in dreams…..”
A blackout—
And… No, this time vision didn’t come, only endless darkness remained, except—
“Mother…. Why didn’t you protect us? Protect the people who believed in you?.. Why?” A disappointed voice echoed into the vast nothingness. It was unmistakably Archpriest Aether’s voice, yet the vision showed nothing but suffocating darkness.
Still… there was no answer, only the heavy, smothering stillness.
“Mother?”
“Mother…?”
“MOTHER?!!”
“…. Fine, if this is what you wished for… then so be it,” Archpriest Aether’s voice shook with a rising fury, thick with grief. “But I… I will take care of these people who have lost everything… I will always honour my Deal.”
“I will… keep my promises!” His voice rang out, firm, unyielding.
Suddenly, the darkness swallowed all sound into complete silence.
And then—
Ting!
A white spark flared in the darkness.
Tang!
Another white spark burst into existence, clearer this time… as if something was taking shape, forging itself out of the void.
Tingggg!!
Another spark lit up, vibrating violently, the sound sharper, stronger—something was being forged, something alive.
Tanggggggg!!
Yet another spark flashed, this time so bright it split the darkness like a blade. For a fleeting moment, a vision appeared—a root, faint and wavering, as if it was being born, formed under tremendous force.
The vision was blurred, but unmistakable… it was the sacred root that the Mother Goddess had once given to Archpriest Aether.
TING!!!!
The darkness exploded into blinding white light, fierce and sudden—
Aether’s eyes snapped open wide. His pupils contracted sharply, overwhelmed by the flood of brightness. He blinked rapidly, struggling to calm his overloaded senses.
“Aether?”
A soft, worried voice called out to him.
Slowly, Aether turned his head, finding Celestia lying against his chest, her curious expression full of concern. Her eyes searched his face carefully. “Are you alright?” she asked, voice trembling slightly.
Aether blinked again, his senses slowly adjusting to the reality around him. After a moment, a small, lazy smile curved his lips. “I’m fine….” he murmured, his voice low and rough, “Feels like I slept like a log~” He yawned deeply, stretching his arms slightly, feeling the dull soreness of his body finally return to him.
With a playful smirk, he slid his hand down to her curvy, soft ass, squeezing it gently. “Hmm… still the perfect squeeze ball~” he teased in a sly, warm tone. “Shall we con–” he began, clearly about to suggest another round of pleasure.
But before he could finish, Celestia cut him off, her face twisting into an annoyed glare. “You idiot… You slept for five days! Five fucking days, Aether!” she snapped, her voice cracking with pent-up fear and relief. “I almost thought you were dead or something… just lying there, stiff as a corpse, not moving an inch…”
She pinched his cheeks roughly, her anger and worry bleeding through. “Shit… you scared the hell out of me, you big dumbass!”
“… What?” Aether blinked in pure shock, his face frozen in disbelief.