"Arrhh"

A groaning sound echoed in the darkness before Aether's eyes slowly fluttered and opened… to see nothing but a heavy, suffocating void pressing against him from every side.

But this time,

"Grace? Are you there?" He whispered with a painful expression as his hand reached for his neck… the phantom sensation of it being torn open again and again burned through his nerves.

The pain in his neck felt real… yet here he was alive and breathing in this cold, lightless place.

Was his skill working?

Reversed to the time when he died?

But he couldn't sense his ability, though?

What the heck was going on here?

"I am on top of you…" Grace whispered quietly. The sound came from somewhere near his chest, too close, too soft. Aether looked down… on his chest, he felt a small trembling weight, but he couldn't see her at all… her purple fluttering particles had vanished.

"Why did you turn off? I couldn't see you now," Aether said as his hand slowly moved toward his chest to touch her, needing to know she existed, that he wasn't losing his mind again.

But,

"Ouch!"

"Where are you touching, asshole!" Grace whispered with a furious tone.

Aether blinked… he slowly drew back his hand, swallowing the knot in his throat, and asked again, "Can you pump those lights? It's too dark to move. I can't even tell if something's crawling around us."

Grace mumbled softly, "If you want to draw those things… sure, I don't mind." Her figure began to brighten, faint sparks flickering like dying fireflies. Aether immediately stopped her, gripping the air in panic as he warily asked, "Those things? You mean you can see them?"

Grace went silent.

Aether clicked his tongue, "Come on now, it's not the time to worry about those things… You know we need to get out of this place, right? Before something decides we shouldn't."

Grace sighed, "And you do remember that I said impossible, right?"

Aether sighed as he slowly sat up.

Grace's wings fluttered as she lifted off for a moment, but he still couldn't see her since she had turned off her bulb mode.

"Don't be so negative… I mean, you said you can use energy, right? That means you could do something to get us out?" Aether said with a hopeful tone.

Grace shook her head as she slowly fluttered to his shoulder, sitting down with a small, shaky breath. Aether flinched, instinct screaming at him to move, ready to run, ready to fight—until her soft voice reached him and eased the spike of panic.

"It's just me"

He almost thought it was 'Thing' again… the creature whose breath he once heard behind him in a place like this.

"I said I got back my energy… because the energy here was familiar to me, so I managed to a little bit… like a single drop from a freaking fucking ocean! You got that?" she said with a soft and almost defeated tone, wings trembling as if even speaking drained her.

Aether bit his lips, "So there is no way out?"

"No way."

Her tone held finality.

Aether clenched his fist… What the fuck had he done to get stuck in this fucking place?

He couldn't even reach his beloveds… they were surely worried and panicking right now. He could almost hear their voices calling out for him. He needed to get home, whether he had options or not.

He looked down… even though he couldn't see in the darkness, or feeling their weights... he knew his hands and legs were wrapped in chains.

"Chains of Eternal Slave, right? But these chains looked different… like silver metallic?" he mumbled.

Grace muttered, "Because they are not what you think… the ones that held you… Those were meant to protect the Law of Nature.

Did you do something to anger the Laws of Nature?"

Aether blinked… what was he supposed to say?

He did everything to anger those shitty laws. Honestly… he couldn't even pinpoint which action triggered this.

There were too many.

Noticing his dead silence, she muttered with an annoyed tone, "You asshole… You really pissed that off, too? Seriously? Do you know how insane that sounds?"

Her voice cracked—fear hidden under irritation—because to think this man not only angered her but also the Law of Nature itself… something even she feared to whisper about.

Grace sighed loudly, "Fuck! Now I am stuck here with you… forever!!" She clenched her face in her hands, tiny fingers digging into her cheeks. "What have I done to receive such a punishment… stuck with a lunatic who angers Laws…"

Aether ignored her cry, but her words lingered… the Laws of Nature?

What had he actually done to anger them enough to capture him?

He had done many things, but they never personally intervened. They only pushed back in sly ways, subtle punishments… never direct.

And she mentioned these were not Chains of Eternal Slave, right?

But he had seen them before, though… these grey chains with a subtle hint of silver… almost like stainless steel… something similar that appeared in the—

"Cracked reality? Maelona?" Aether's eyes widened in surprised shock.

His heartbeat thudded loudly.

Grace tilted her head, confused. "What are you talking about?"

Aether explained, breath shaky, "These chains… I saw them before, once when Maelona reached Demi-God Level for a few minutes. They appeared through the cracked reality and tried to take her somewhere… You mean this is the place she would be if she had been caught?"

Grace stayed silent again.

"Grace? Say something."

"You… you said Demi-God Level?" Grace muttered with a slightly shocked tone. "Maelona, this person actually reached that? That's… that's impossible."

Aether shrugged, "But I witnessed personally though... I guess, the impossible is out of the stock when comes to me~"

Grace parted her lips, eyes widening in the dark even though he couldn't see. Her wings twitched violently. Then she screamed—

"Fuck! FUCK!!—!"

Flapp~

Chuckkk!

Crack!

*****

"Arrh…" Aether woke up again, breath shaky, "Grace, are you there?" he whispered.

"Yeah…"

Grace shrugged.

"So… do you know anything about this place?" Aether said as he stood up and started to walk, cracking his painful neck.

Grace looked at him with a deadpan expression. Even though she couldn't see his face, and he couldn't see hers… he still felt her stare stabbing through the dark.

Aether inwardly sighed, "I know you might be showing me a weird expression as I have to read it, but believe me… I ain't seeing any shit!"

Grace blinked before shaking her head, "Well, the ones who know are the ones who entered here… so technically I've never been here before, so… yeah, I don't know about this place… except—"

"Except what?" Aether turned curious, pausing mid-step.

Grace hummed, "Nothing."

"Oh? Come on now! We cannot keep going on like this. I mean… do you want to live in this fucking place forever?" Aether muttered with an annoyed tone, frustration echoing in the dark.

Grace bit her lips, wings twitching, "But even so… I don't think there is a way to get out from here… believe me! I really want to escape from this shitty place but—" She clenched her fist tightly, shaking her head again and again as if trying to deny the fear gripping her.

Aether frowned, his voice dropping, "Grace… please. We cannot stay here. Especially, I cannot… I cannot leave my wives… please."

Grace's lips twitched, "So you want to meet your beloved Mary and others that much? Huh?"

Aether nodded, "Yup."

Inside, he muttered to himself, 'Even if she were my enemy, I want to see anyone. Anyone. I don't mind right now!!'

Grace sighed again, wings drooping, "But it's not going to work, Aether… as I said before, there is nothing you could do to escape from this place!"

Aether stayed silent for a few seconds…

Grace finally exhaled sharply before speaking with an emotionless tone, as if saying it drained the last bit of warmth from her voice,

"… There is one person imprisoned here I know."

Aether's eyes widened in surprise.

****

Meanwhile,

"P-Please… no… no more…" Delphine muttered with a painful, dry throat, each word trembling like something fragile about to break.

Whatever that thing was… it kept following her every single time.

Every moment she tried to breathe, it was there. It waited for her. It hunted her. It tore her apart in ways she didn't even know a body could break.

And she knew she had died… many, many times.

Her neck twisted until it snapped like a thin branch.

Her head was ripped apart while she still felt the warmth of her own blood.

Just remembering it made her chest tighten until she could barely breathe.

How could one person handle this?

How could a mind stay whole after reliving death after death?

Was she already dead?

Was she trapped in hell?

Was this eternity for her?

Was she… truly separated from Aether forever?

"Aether… Aether, where are you?" Her voice cracked, shaking, each syllable strained. "Please… come to me… please… I beg you… I am not letting you go!" she screamed, throat burning.

Not because she feared death... Death had lost meaning here!!

But because the darkness was eating her mind, scraping her sanity away piece by piece.

And even more terrifying… she worried what Aether might be suffering right now.

That poor soul…That hopeless, clueless man.

Even though he was a scammer and a fool… he did not deserve this.

Not this kind of endless torment.

As someone older, someone who had seen the world's brutality, miracles, and cruelty… even she was breaking.

So what about him?

What about the pitiful man who hid behind jokes and lies?

He must be crying somewhere, right?

Somewhere deep in this abyss… trembling… waiting for someone to save him.

Waiting for her!

"I need to find Aether!" she shouted, pushing herself forward though her legs felt numb, trembling, refusing to obey.

Tears stuck to her face, drying into her skin. They itched with horror, burned with exhaustion, and each blink only smeared more hopelessness across her cheeks.

Then—

"Del?... Is that you?"

Her entire body froze.

She turned toward the voice, face stretching into pure overwhelming relief.

"Aether! It's me—"

Flapp~

Chuckkk!

Crack!

Something ripped through the darkness.

….

...

.

"Arrh!" Delphine groaned as she sat up with a painful expression, clutching her neck. Her fingers trembled violently.

"Arrh… it feels painful… arrh… I am going insane…" Her voice shook, her breath uneven, her mind slipping.

"Why… why does it keep happening…" she whispered as she clenched her hand in pain.

She wanted to hide!

She wanted to disappear!

This pain... she couldn't handle it anymore!

"Oh god please-"

"Del?... Is that you?"

Delphine flinched so hard she nearly collapsed again.

She turned to her right, her lips trembled as she shouted, "A-Aether—"

Just then—

"Child? What are you doing here?"

Suddenly, a bright light flickered behind Delphine, erupting like an explosion and illuminating the entire space around them—

"H!!!!!"

.h….

..h…

….h.

.....

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