Aether silently followed her from behind, his footsteps light but uncertain, as she led him through the dense, shadowy woods.
She dragged him toward an isolated place—so remote and forgotten that even the wildest animals rarely dared to appear here.
Despite the heavy silence between them, Aether’s heart pulsed with a mix of curiosity and apprehension. He had no idea where she was taking him. Yet, instead of questioning her directly, he remained quiet for the most part. Still, he couldn’t help but let a question escape him in a hesitant, softer voice, “Do you… really like the gift I gave you?”
Xara, who had been walking ahead with determined steps, suddenly paused. Her shoulders stiffened ever so slightly as she turned around to face him. Her glowing eyes met his slightly nervous gaze.
“I… said I liked it, didn’t I?” she replied, her voice carrying an awkward edge, as though the words came with effort.
Aether gave a gentle shake of his head, the corners of his mouth tugging down slightly. “I meant… really? Like, not just saying it for me… I want to know if you truly liked it… from your heart,” he murmured, his voice dropping into a more vulnerable register, as though he was trying to peek past a wall she always kept up.
For a moment, Xara just blinked, almost surprised by the sincerity in his tone. Then, without a word, she turned around and resumed walking, her pace a little faster. Aether followed her again, staying close but quiet.
He didn’t press her further. Still, he couldn’t help but glance around, his gaze brushing over the thick underbrush and towering trees, all standing eerily still. As they moved deeper, they finally reached the outer edge of the territory—a silent expanse untouched by guards or life, the earth flat and still, coated in a heavy, almost unnatural quiet.
Aether furrowed his brows and looked around, scanning the emptiness. Nothing surrounded them.
‘Where is she taking me?’ he wondered, a small flicker of unease forming in his chest.
Then Xara stopped completely. Without a word, she raised her hand and bit her finger hard enough to draw blood. Aether watched, his eyes widening a little as crimson drops welled up. She lifted her bleeding hand in front of her and let the blood drip onto the ground.
Drip…
For a second, nothing happened. Then, almost like the earth had drunk the blood, the red liquid was absorbed completely. A faint rumble followed, and a square-shaped cut appeared on the ground. Slowly, a large, block-like platform began to rise with a soft tremble.
Trrrr!
Aether blinked, startled, and instinctively glanced at her, his expression one of pure surprise.
Xara smirked faintly, pride glinting in her eyes. “This… is my house. My home,” she murmured, watching as the stone block lifted until it reached her height, revealing a descending path—stairs carved into the ground.
“Come inside,” she said quietly, already moving forward into the staircase.
Aether hesitated only a second before stepping in after her. The cool air from below hit his face as he descended, and behind him, the stone block began to slowly lower again. With a soft final thud, it sealed shut, erasing all evidence that there was ever a doorway here.
Inside the staircase, there was complete darkness. No torches, no lamps—just blackness. Aether felt the overwhelming silence press in on him.
But then, small flames sparked to life in Xara’s hand. They flickered softly, casting a warm orange glow on her face. Her steps were confident in the dark, but she let the flames guide Aether, who was unfamiliar with this secret place.
“It’s… pretty long… isn’t it?” Aether muttered under his breath, his voice slightly shaky from the eerie silence. He glanced at her sideways, captivated by how the tiny flame lit her beautiful face. The shadows flickered across her cheekbones, and her presence felt almost surreal—mysterious and otherworldly.
Xara let out a small chuckle, her lips curving faintly. A moment later, they reached the bottom. She extinguished the small flame and snapped her fingers once. The floor responded, emitting a soft, ambient glow—dim like moonlight, just enough to show what was around them.
The room that unfolded before Aether made his eyes widen.
Shelves. Racks. Tables. Everywhere, filled with strange tools, glowing liquids in test tubes, rare plants suspended in jars, and small, peculiar creatures trapped in glass. It was like stepping into a secret laboratory from another realm.
But then his gaze landed on something far more disturbing.
Body parts.
Rows and rows of sealed glass containers, each filled with organs. Some were clearly from animals—odd shapes and colours. Others… could have easily come from people.
Aether instinctively took a step back.
Xara noticed his reaction but didn’t seem surprised. She spoke gently, as if trying to prepare him. “This place needs darkness for most of my experiments… so I can’t keep it brightly lit. And… don’t touch anything. Everything here is fragile. Every piece has meaning. So… be careful, okay?”
Aether nodded slowly, his eyes still scanning the unsettling display as he stepped forward cautiously. His brow furrowed as he moved through the strange underground room, each step bringing him closer to a deeper understanding of who Xara really was.
It looked exactly like the workspace of someone who had long since chosen research over the simplicity of life—like a mind obsessed with answers the world wasn’t ready for.
He paused in front of a black lizard, frozen in place behind thick glass. “So you… you’ve been here all this time? Just… experimenting?”
Xara shook her head lightly, her gaze distant. “No… I’ve been busy with other things. In another empire,” she replied, her voice softer now, more uncertain. “These are just… old works and…. Some recent, but most are remnants of what I was trying to understand… trying to master.”
She looked at him carefully, as if searching for judgment in his eyes. Her fingers fidgeted slightly, a rare crack in her usual composure. Deep inside, she feared he would see her as a monster…. That he wouldn’t be able to understand what it meant to be her—someone who was different.
Someone who couldn’t be easily loved.
But Aether… didn’t turn away.
In fact, he was slowly becoming fascinated.
There was something breathtaking in the madness. In her dedication. Her skill. Her world.
He moved quietly from one specimen to another, observing the detail, the care, the layers of information coded into every display.
And most of all…
‘Organs… she’s been collecting so many different organ samples… right here,’ Aether thought, eyes wide with awe as he reached a shelf lined with massive jars. Inside each, a different organ floated in a thick, preserving liquid.
He saw a dragon’s heart. A Lung Dragon’s Scales. The ear of a Wood Elf…. and many more.
She had gathered a shocking variety of body parts—and not just as trophies.
No, they were organised, labelled, and studied.
She was building something… Understanding something.
It made him respect her. Even admire her.
And maybe, just maybe… begin to fall a little deeper into the mysterious abyss that was Xara.
As he grew more and more engrossed in exploring her room, Aether’s attention was pulled away when he heard Xara’s voice, hesitant and wavering.
“A-Aether…” she called softly.
“Hmm?” he turned to glance at her, noticing her unusual expression—fidgety, like she was wrestling with something inside.
“H…well, nothing…” Xara muttered, quickly shrugging her shoulders and averting her gaze. Her lips parted slightly, as though she wanted to say more but couldn’t form the words. She sighed instead, and just as she did, her eyes suddenly landed on something at the corner of the room.
A door—dark, discreet, and easily overlooked.
Her eyes widened instantly in silent panic.
‘Oh shit… I forgot about that,’ she thought.
Without wasting a second, she turned to Aether, her tone suddenly quick and urgent, “Just stay here. Don’t touch anything… I’ll be back in a minute!” she said hastily, already moving toward the door. It looked like it led to a sealed-off section of the room. She entered it without giving him a chance to respond, and the door shut behind her with a soft thud.
Aether raised an eyebrow in mild confusion, then shrugged. He turned his gaze back to the cluttered room and slowly walked past the racks again, curiosity returning to his face.
“I guess she really loves this more than anything else…” he murmured under his breath, his voice a mix of amusement and admiration as he glanced over her intricate work.
Humming to himself softly, he let his curiosity guide him deeper.
Then, something unusual caught his eye.
In the far corner of one rack, tucked beneath some glowing containers, he saw a large glass jar filled with thick, deep-red liquid—blood.
“Hmm?” Aether blinked, stepping closer with intrigue.
It wasn’t just one.
There was another next to it. Both jars were huge—about the size of a basketball—and sealed tightly with metal lids.
The sight was strange enough to make his steps slow, his gaze narrowing with focused curiosity.
“…Alfred… Timmy?” he read the names etched into the labels on each jar.
His brows furrowed deeper… Names? On jars of blood?
He leaned in, trying to peer through the thick red fluid. Inside the jar labelled ‘Alfred’, something seemed to be suspended—something dark, almost formless, floating sluggishly in the centre.
But he couldn’t quite make it out clearly through the viscous blood.
“What’s in there?” he whispered, half to himself. He reached out slowly, almost entranced by the mystery of it.
His fingers gently pressed against the cool surface of the ‘Alfred’ jar. He carefully rotated it, just a little, to see if the object inside looked different from another angle.
But then—
Crack!
Aether’s eyes widened as he heard the sharp sound. A thin crack had formed right where his fingers had touched.
He gasped, quickly pulling his hand away. Before he could even react fully—
“I told you not to touch!!” Xara’s panicked voice screamed out from behind him.
He spun around in alarm as she rushed toward him, her footsteps heavy, frantic. Her face was twisted with both fury and disbelief.
“Move!” she shouted, and without waiting, she shoved past him, clutching the jar into her arms like it was something precious—something irreplaceable.
But before he could say a word, before either of them could do anything to stop it—
BOOOMMM!!
The jar exploded violently in her arms.
Aether flinched, staggering back as thick blood splattered across her body—her face, her chest, her clothes now soaked crimson. The blast echoed through the room, ringing in his ears.
He stared at her, shocked. For a moment, she stood still, drenched in blood, her hair clinging to her skin, her breathing sharp.
And then—
“What have you done…” she whispered, her voice low, shaky.
But then came a grin….. A twisted, eerie smile spread across her lips.
“You killed Alfred…” she said, in a voice that was somehow both grief-stricken and disturbingly amused.
“…What?” Aether blinked, completely thrown off by her reaction.