“So… let me get this straight,” Xara leaned forward, her eyes narrowing slightly as she tried to piece together everything he had told her so far.
“First, when you were just a child, someone kidnapped you and raised you as if you were their own flesh and blood, pretending to be your real family.
Then, some old man shows up and steals your powers, which ends up breaking your soul completely.
And for some unknown reason, something—something immensely powerful—took an interest in you and snatched a part of your soul away to… another world, probably something far beyond our understanding.
Then, to make it worse, your real parents treated you like absolute shit. Your mother didn’t like you, your father abandoned you without a second thought, and your stepfather was such a messed-up bastard he treated you like garbage—like you were nothing but a burden.
After that, the only girl you loved left you—right when you needed her the most. She just walked away.”
Xara took a deep breath, clearly trying to stay composed before continuing.
“Then you actually died in that place, wherever it was, and somehow you returned here, back to this world—but with all those memories and a bunch of weird powers that let you grow stronger, faster than anyone else around you.
And after all that, you still worked your ass off to become so powerful that now… now you can go toe-to-toe with a freaking Sovereign. And on top of that, you’re currently ruling an entire empire like it’s nothing—it’s right there, sitting under your fingertips like a pet.”
She finally stopped, her mouth slightly open as she blinked slowly.
“Am I… getting all of this right?”
Aether nodded quietly. There was a subtle tension in his expression, a sharpness in his gaze, as though he was waiting—half-anxiously, half-curiously—for her reaction.
“Okay.” Xara… just nodded her head?
Aether blinked in surprise. “That’s it? You believe me? Just like that?” Her reaction wasn’t even close to what he had expected.
‘At least show some surprise!’ he screamed internally.
Xara simply hummed, tilting her head as she kept her eyes on him. Then, without warning, she stood up from the old, creaky chair that nearly gave out under her weight and walked toward him. Her movements were soft, silent—then she suddenly hugged him.
Aether froze, blinking as Xara gently patted his back and murmured softly near his ear, “Good boy… You held on for so long, even at such a young age. I’m so proud of you… really.”
His eyes widened. For a brief second, both of his eyes turned pitch black—just for a heartbeat—then returned to normal. He didn’t understand why… but something about her words, her touch, her warmth—it made him feel… happy.
Strangely, deeply happy.
Like he had missed this kind of warmth. Like a hole inside him was suddenly being filled.
Aether wasn’t sure why he felt that way, but he smiled gently, letting the warmth settle inside his chest before mumbling,
“Just to be clear… I’m a man, you know.” He raised an eyebrow slightly, half teasing.
Xara, still hugging him, blinked at his words, then gave a small, soft smile. She didn’t reply—just held him a little longer. They stood like that for almost a full minute, breathing in silence, before—
“Wait a second!” she exclaimed, suddenly stepping back and staring at him as if something just clicked in her mind.
“What?” Aether looked puzzled, raising his brows.
Xara’s eyes sparkled with a teasing edge as she smiled, “So… now I get it. Now I finally understand why you love me… as a woman.”
She nodded to herself, as if everything made sense now.
She knew exactly how she had treated Aether all this time—how she fed him, cared for him, disciplined him. She had done everything a mother would do, and when he first told her he loved her, even proposed to her, she thought he was just a stubborn little boy clinging to his first affection.
But now, hearing everything—the pain, the loss, the loneliness—she understood. He didn’t love her like a child loves a mother.
He loved her… as a woman.
Xara looked down at herself, her eyes roaming over her body like she was trying to find something appealing. ‘I’m not seeing anything great though,’ she muttered in her head, clearly not impressed by her own reflection.
Aether watched her closely, saw the flicker of confusion and doubt in her expression, and smiled warmly.
“There’s no need to overthink it,” he said calmly, “It just happened. Yes… I do love you. Not as a mother figure… but as a woman. Fully. Truly.”
Xara hummed again, softer this time, before slowly standing up and taking a step back from him.
“So that’s it? That’s all of your deep, dark secrets?” she asked.
Aether’s face turned slightly thoughtful. He wasn’t sure if he should tell her everything yet… especially the part about the seduction. There were some things he knew he could keep for now—things that weren’t immediately necessary to reveal.
But still… she deserved something.
“Well,” he began slowly, his voice quiet but steady, “I’m actually still hiding a few things from you. One of them is… there’s a way to undo this Eternal Slave Contract. And I’ve already made it halfway through.”
Xara raised her eyebrows, ‘Even the Eternal Slave Contract?’ She was mildly surprised by this part. Then, turning toward him with a teasing smirk, she asked, “Don’t tell me… you’re the one who made Kai run away?” Her voice dripped with amusement as she connected the dots in her head.
Aether coughed awkwardly, trying to appear innocent. “Well… it’s not like I meant to do it on purpose. At the time, you were dead set on not accepting my love, so I couldn’t afford any slip-ups…”
Xara narrowed her eyes, squinting at him like she was running a full-body scan. Aether just gave her a sweet, innocent smile—as if that would save him.
Xara let out a long sigh and shook her head. “It’s not an Eternal Slave Contract…”
“Hmm?” Aether tilted his head in mild confusion.
Xara took a deep breath, her expression turning a little more serious. “You know… when I left the house, I wasn’t just lying around doing nothing. Even though you decided not to be my son anymore,” she said, dragging those last words deliberately, each syllable heavy with pain.
Aether’s lips twitched. ‘She’s still hanging on to that?’ he thought, mentally groaning.
Xara continued, her tone oddly proud, “I searched for a way to free you from the contract. Like any good mother would, of course.” Again, she emphasised the last few words with a slow, dramatic flair.
Aether’s lips twitched violently this time, ‘She’s gonna pay for this…’ he thought darkly, ‘I’m definitely making her beg when the tables turn’
Xara, clearly satisfied by his twitchy reaction, kept going. “I kind of… with the help of a friend… found something related to the contract.”
“Which is?” Aether asked, genuinely curious now.
Xara’s teasing smile faded as her face turned serious. “It’s not an Eternal Slave Contract at all, Aether.”
“…What?” Aether blinked, caught off guard.
Xara nodded solemnly. “It’s… a Contract between the Gods.”
“…Come again?” Aether asked, his expression going from confused to mildly alarmed.
Xara gave a soft chuckle, amused by how shaken he looked. “That was exactly how I reacted when I first read it”
She took another breath before explaining further. “Well, it’s not exactly between the gods. More like… one end of the contract has to be a god. If not, it just wouldn’t work—it would collapse instantly.”
“Wait—wait!” Aether waved his hand, trying to process her words. “What do you mean by gods? That doesn’t make sense—”
But then his words faded, trailing off as a memory surged within him. Aether remembered something strange—something that had happened during the contract’s formation. He recalled a white and black feminine figure… holding the chains. And Kai… Kai was holding something, but it looked fake.
“…Looks like you’ve figured it out,” Xara said, a small smile curving on her lips.
Aether blinked again, his mouth slightly open. “So… I’m a slave to the gods?” he muttered, his face twisting with a hint of disgust.
“Haha…” Xara chuckled, clearly enjoying the look on his face. ‘He’s so cute when he’s caught off guard. I just wanna pinch his—wait!’ Her thoughts screeched to a halt as she realised something off about herself too.
She coughed lightly, a faint blush colouring her cheeks, before quickly correcting herself, “No, no. I don’t think so. You’re not a slave at all, Aether.”
