Aether… to be honest, he wasn’t sure how the hell he was supposed to react to this. This… this was absolutely insane. Completely unexpected from her side.
She had gone far beyond anything he imagined. Like, literally—she was acting like a woman completely unhinged…. Mad!
An insane woman!!
Fuck… HELL!!
There she stood, drenched in blood, splattered from head to toe—her face stained red, her hair matted with gore—and yet she was smiling.
Smiling.
With such a bright, almost cheerful expression on her face. As if the carnage thrilled her. As if the blood excited her…. As if she got turned on by it?
Love her?
No one!!
LITERALLY NO ONE!!
And yet…
Fucking yet… Aether couldn’t tear his eyes away from her.
He should’ve been horrified.
He should’ve run.
But instead… his heart pounded faster, hotter. His breath caught. His body responded before his mind could catch up.
He was entranced by her…
For whatever fucking reason—something deep and twisted inside him—he liked this side of her. No… not just liked.
He was addicted to it. The way her expression twisted into something so dark, so broken. The way her lips trembled, caught between excitement and restraint.
The way her eyes locked onto his—wild, intense, almost begging—as if pleading with him to love her even now… testing him now.
He didn’t understand… Why was he feeling this… No… maybe he did know the reason.
Because those dark eyes of hers, filled with obsession and desperation… those hungry, possessive, trembling eyes—they weren’t lying.
They were screaming for him… Needing him. And he… he loved it.
He wanted her to look only at him like that. He wanted to be the reason her body trembled and her mind broke.
And that blood covering her body… he wished it was his.
Not from pain or defeat, but from a bond deeper than sanity. He wanted her drenched in his blood, claimed, marked… just as he would be by anything she gave.
Because…
He knew.
‘Something is wrong with me…’ Aether thought, his hands clenched and his breath quickening as he felt himself fall harder. Faster… Deeper!
[Yup. Definitely something wrong with you. You seriously got hard just by seeing her completely deranged face? I’m honestly starting to wonder if you’re the insane one here.]
His Log’s voice cut into his head with a sharp, slightly horrified tone, like even it didn’t expect him to accept a woman like this without even a hint of hesitation.
Aether shook his head, forcing the thought away. Not now. He had to focus. There was no room for distraction. She was right in front of him, more vulnerable than ever, even if she masked it behind blood and madness.
He had gotten close to her heart. Closer than anyone else. He couldn’t back away now.
Not after everything he’d done to reach this point.
“I still love you,” he said at last, his voice low and firm, as if answering the question she’d asked minutes—or maybe moments—ago.
Xara, who had been wearing a twisted smirk just a heartbeat earlier, suddenly froze. Her lips parted slightly, and she blinked in genuine surprise. Her face softened, just for a flicker of a second.
A sliver of doubt cut through her crazed demeanour.
She looked… disappointed.
“Hmph…” she hummed, voice flat as she reached up to scratch her blood-soaked hair with an almost frustrated expression.
“You still love me… ah,” she muttered under her breath, like she was trying to process something, as if talking to herself more than him. Then her eyes lifted again and locked onto his.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she asked, voice tight with disbelief, layered with a mix of anger, confusion, and something else… something close to fear.
She couldn’t understand it.
She knew what she’d just done. She knew what she’d shown him—something no man should’ve accepted. She had eaten a heart.
She’d gone out of her way to be monstrous, to scare him off completely.
She had wanted him to fear her… to see her true, grotesque self.
And yet… this man still stood here. Still loving her.
Why?
Was something seriously broken inside him?
“Xara?” Aether said gently, tilting his head. His tone was curious, concerned, but not scared. Not even a little. He watched her with steady eyes, like she wasn’t a monster at all, but someone precious he still couldn’t stop reaching for.
Xara clicked her tongue in irritation, ignoring him. Her gaze drifted, her fingers twitching at her sides as if struggling to grasp something real.
She was thinking… plotting… her mind twisting around what kind of man stood before her. What kind of sick, maddening devotion this was.
“Are you… really sure you love me now?” she asked after a long pause, her voice low, dripping with warning. Her pupils dilated, her smile gone.
“From the very bottom of your heart?” she whispered, dangerous and desperate at the same time.
Aether inhaled slowly, steadying himself.
“No matter what you do,” he said, stepping closer with conviction glowing in his eyes, “I love you. I’ll always love you. Even if the whole world turns against you… I won’t.”
“No matter what!!”
Xara stared into his eyes for a long moment. Silent. Watching. Searching.
…She couldn’t find any lies.
There was only acceptance. Blind, insane, unwavering acceptance.
“No matter what… ah?” she echoed, voice softer now. Her gaze drifted around the room again, sweeping from rack to racks, restless, as if looking for something… for anything to make this illusion break.
And then she saw it.
Her eyes snapped back toward the dark wooden door at the corner of the room. Her lips parted. Her face turned cold.
She stared at it with an unreadable expression.
‘Well… if this is the only way left… then so be it,’ she thought, as if this would be the final line, the ultimate test.
One last chance to break him…. One final push to see if he truly loves her.
“Come with me,” she said quietly, almost emotionless, but her grip on his wrist was strong—tight and forceful.
She pulled him toward the door without waiting for his answer, standing in front of it like a gatekeeper to some forbidden room… Her hand hovered just inches from the handle, fingers trembling.
Aether didn’t speak. He didn’t dare.
He wasn’t sure why she was doing this. Why she kept dragging him deeper into her twisted world. But he knew one thing—his heart was thundering.
He had to stay calm… Had to be ready.
Whatever was behind that door… he had to be ready for anything.
“No one has ever stepped beyond this point,” Xara said, her voice barely a whisper. “Not even my so-called friends. No one.”
She turned her head just enough to look at him from the corner of her eye, expression guarded and tight.
“Behind this door is sacred. I’m the only one who’s ever been inside. And what you’re about to see—whatever it is—you can never… ever tell anyone. Got it?”
Aether gave a firm nod, his throat dry. He swallowed hard.
A strange chill ran down his spine. What the hell was she hiding back there?
Xara closed her eyes and exhaled shakily.
Her hand trembled.
Because she was about to show him everything. Not just what was behind the door… but her truest, most vulnerable self.
Thud!
The heavy sound echoed through the room as Xara pushed the door open. The dim light inside flickered weakly, struggling to illuminate the space. For a moment, it was almost pitch-black—but then, slowly, the lights adjusted, just like in the previous room.
The glow intensified slightly—not too bright, just enough to reveal…
“…Holy…” Aether whispered under his breath, his tone filled with awe and disbelief.
No—he was completely taken aback.
His eyes widened as he stepped in.
The entire room was lined with towering glass tubes, each one filled with a deep, red liquid. Hundreds—no, thousands of them.
Lined up like twisted trophies… Suspended in eerie stillness.
It was….
“…Blood…” Xara muttered casually, her tone indifferent but laced with a wicked thrill.
Just pure pride.
Her voice took on a sickening sweetness as she continued, “These are the bloods I’ve collected from every race so far… some were stolen… others taken after a little… persuasion. Some, well—after a bit of torture. A little fun.”
Her eyes gleamed as she walked past the racks like a mother strolling through a nursery.
“I would do anything for my research, Aether. Anything. Nothing in this world is free. So I got my hands dirty. All… for my lovely children~” she cooed, voice dripping with adoration as her slender fingers softly caressed one of the racks.
Her touch was disturbingly gentle—as if the blood-filled tubes were precious, living things.
And it wasn’t over yet.
In the far corner of the room, against the wall, were several large racks—dozens of massive jars filled with even more blood. They looked identical to the one Aether had seen earlier in the previous room.
But now, there were far more… an entire section dedicated to them.
Aether’s throat tightened. He tried not to react, but the tension in his chest grew. He swallowed hard, eyes shifting between the racks and her.
So much blood… How many lives had she ended with those hands?
How many people had fallen to fuel this madness?
He turned his head slowly, meeting Xara’s eyes once again.
She was grinning at him… Wide and unrepentant.
Her expression gleamed with pleasure as if she was feeding off his silence—his unease only happy her more.
Aether opened his mouth to speak, to say something, but Xara cut in first, her tone playful and mocking.
“Still love me?” she asked sweetly, tilting her head, her eyes darkening with obsession.
“Hmm? That’s some stubborn love you’ve got there, my dear. But don’t think this is over yet—Oh no~ Heheee~” she giggled in a sing-song tone, grinning even wider, her lips curling with something twisted and dangerous.
She turned and walked deeper into the room, her steps slow and almost theatrical. Aether followed her cautiously, heart pounding, his gaze locked on her back.
They stopped in front of something huge. A large shape stood at the centre of the room, covered completely by a long white sheet.
It was clean—too clean. Unlike the other mess, this looked freshly placed. It hadn’t been there long… It must’ve been covered just before she returned to the other room earlier.
Xara placed her hand gently on the sheet, and her lips curled into a slow, wicked smile.
“Are you ready~?” she asked, her voice low and dark, practically humming with delight. Her expression twisted into something dangerous, something that promised destruction—either of the body… or the mind.
Aether swallowed again. His stomach churned.
‘H-Hey Log… I don’t die, right?’ he asked internally, trying to prepare himself for whatever fresh nightmare she was about to unveil.
[…. Let’s pray for your heart, Young man.🫡]
His Log responded, with a deadpan yet grim tone.
Aether’s lips twitched, the corner of his mouth almost curling in a nervous, helpless smirk—but he quickly steeled himself, his full focus narrowing in on the covered object.
And then—
Claakk—Clackkk!
The sheet fell away in one swift motion.
And what lay beneath…
Aether’s breath caught in his throat.
His eyes widened in pure horror.
“…Kai?” he whispered, voice cracking.