"You are not worthy... No. 28," the ethereal voice echoed from the Mother Root statue, crouched low before him. Its hollow gaze locked onto Aether, who was desperately trying to pull that thing buried deep under the ground.
Aether's eyes blinked in disbelief, a sharp tremor running through his spine as he realised the Root Statue was... moving. Slowly, with an eerie grace, the statue lifted itself up. The roots wrapped around its body cracked and strained, snapping like old bark torn by ti.
It stood—not like a construct, but like sothing alive—like a person had returned to that form.
Aether frowned, his jaw tightening, "Not worthy?" he muttered under his breath, fingers clenching tighter around the object he couldn't yank free. He pulled again, his muscles tensed—but it refused to move, not even an inch.
Whatever it was, it wouldn't budge.
"Told you... No. 28," the Root murmured, voice laced with amusent. It turned its head slowly toward the rotating Ebon Stone.
"There are things in this world that only a rare few can do..." It turned its blank gaze back to him. "And you are most certainly not one of them. You walk around like you've figured it all out... like you're above the rest..." Its voice dimd into sothing flat and heavy. "But really... what. do. you. even. know?"
It stared at Aether like it could see right through him, and continued speaking—slow, deliberate.
"I did wrong, is that it? I'm pathetic? I failed them... the ones who trusted ? The ones who bled for , fought for , believed in , loved ... and in the end, were thrown aside like nothing?" The tendrils of its hands lazily twirled the glowing globe resting in its palm. "Are you truly convinced it was all my fault? That I simply watched them fall without lifting a finger?"
Aether's glare darkened, "I am fucking sure," he hissed, his voice full of fury and pain. "You never cared. Not once. You only ever cared about yourself… not the people… never the people."
The Root didn't flinch. It simply stared back at him with empty sockets, hollow and unmoved, before finally responding in a low, shaking voice,
"I am a god... and I have every right to judge what I believe is right.
I never turned away from my people.
I never left those who needed .
I never ignored those who cried out in despair, or fought, or..." the voice cracked, trembling, "...especially those who died for ! I would never... ever abandon them!" The declaration thundered through the air, so powerful it seed to rattle the very foundations of the empire.
Aether's ears rang, his chest rising with breath, and for a mont, it felt like her voice had clawed into sothing deep inside him—pain, grief, loss. He could hear her sorrow… feel it vibrating in his bones.
But he didn't care.
Not now.
Not after everything.
He wouldn't fall for this... this manipulative act... Not her... Not again!
The Root's attention shifted again, its gaze locking onto the Ebon Stone spinning slowly above. Its thick roots gripped the base, turning it with a wild fury.
It muttered, voice almost lost in the storm of old mories,
"Yes, I stood still while my empire was torn apart.
Yes, I sat on this stone and watched flas devour everything I loved.
I rember every cry, every face... every scream.
Not one mont of their pain has ever left ... not even after all this ti."
"No. 25... Aether was one of them," it continued, quieter now, almost tender.
"I watched his life descend into chaos.
He gave up everything—his peace, his future—just to keep his word.
Just to protect the people he swore to shield. He did it all for a deal I made… one I never truly thought he would take so seriously.
I only offered him freedom... and asked in return that he protect them.
And he did.... Without complaint. Without hesitation.
Even when I abandoned him... even when he cried out, begging to co back... to help save my people... he still stood his ground and held his promise. He gave everything. To the very core of his soul.
I will always... always be grateful to that man. But I never betrayed hi—"
"Don't lie to , bitch!" Aether roared, teeth gritted, fury roaring in his chest. "I rember it all! I fucking rember what you did! What you didn't do!!" He yanked on the rod with renewed force, filled with rage and anguish.
The Root turned to him slowly, its voice cold and sharp now. "You speak like you've seen the truth. Like you've walked every path... But you don't even know who you are, do you? You're just another broken piece... trying to act whole. That's what's truly pathetic."
Veins throbbed on Aether's forehead. His grip loosened on the rod as he slowly stood up, rising from the dirt with a blank expression, his eyes locked onto the Root. He looked ready to tear her apart, every inch of him trembling with the urge to unleash.
Then—
"Let ask you sothing..." the Root interrupted with a strange calm. Its voice was soft, yet oddly curious. "What are you? Tell that. Are you him? Or maybe... that other one? Or... soone else entirely? Just who the hell are you, Mr. 28?"
Aether froze mid-step. He blinked slowly, confusion flickering behind his eyes. "...I am... Aether."
"Hmm... Aether..." the Root repeated, voice growing more distant. "...but which Aether?" it asked again, head tilting to the side with a slow creak, like an ancient tree bending in the wind.
Aether blankly stared at it, his breath shallow. "I am... Aether. The one and only Aether."
The Root stared back at him in silence for a mont, before suddenly bursting into laughter. "Hahah... HAHAHAHAHA!" It laughed loud and wild, like it had just heard the most absurd joke in existence.
Aether frowned, a vein twitching near his eye. "I'm not sure what's so funny here."
The Root rely shrugged, trying to contain its amusent. "No, no... it's just... aha... the previous you said the exact sa thing. 'The one and only'... how poetic it all sounds." Its voice grew quieter, more serious now, "But you can never be the one, No.28. Just like I told you before—you're trying to balance sothing that was never ant to be balanced." [A/N: Any idea when?]
"You're chasing equilibrium that can never be chased or... even thought of it! And in doing that… you'll eventually die. Just like the others. And when you're gone, another one will rise, saying the sa thing... 'I am the one and only.' Hah... funny, isn't it? Endlessly tragic, but still funny."
Aether clenched his fist so tightly his knuckles turned pale. He bit his lip, holding back the tide of anger, sorrow, and bitter acceptance.
As much as he wanted to scream back, to deny it all—he couldn't.
Deep down, he knew.
He knew how his life had played out up to now. There had never been certainties. No promises kept. No final victory. Just a cycle—he dies, he returns, he fixes what he can... then breaks again.... Again and again.
Nothing else.
And soday, maybe even soon, he might vanish entirely. Just like the countless versions before him. Not because he wanted to. But because that's how it had always been.
Aether gritted his teeth, the heat of defiance burning in his eyes. He stood tall and steady, raising his face to the Root as his voice rang with raw, stubborn resolve.
"Yeah, you might be right. I might die again.... And I might be forgotten like all the others.
But not this ti." His voice cracked, then steadied again,
"This ti, I won't disappear.... There are people who depend on ... There are won who love , who wait for .... Children who look to like I'm so kind of light in all this darkness..."
"This is who I am.... Aether.
Not a number.
Not a ghost of mories.
Not just so recycled soul walking in soone else's footsteps.
I am —born between actors, thrown aside, mocked, forgotten, forced, seduced, broken. I am just ... but I carry the mories of those who ca before so they won't be forgotten by ... That's all."
He stepped forward, slowly but without hesitation. Each step carried weight, not just of his body, but of every version of himself that had walked before, "And I know the truth... You're not free. You're chained, trapped in this place. Caged like so forgotten god. Am I wrong? Or was it you... Who called out to ?"
"..."
The Root stared at Aether, unmoving. Then it whispered, quiet but clear, "That's quite the observation skill you've got there..." It neither confird nor denied.
Aether's lips curved into a subtle, confident smirk. "I don't know your face. But I've heard your voice more than enough to never forget it. Clara."
"..." The Root's expression darkened for a mont. Its frown deepened, staring at him longer than before, as if searching his eyes for sothing. Then, the glowing globe in its tendril-like hand began to pulsate with violent light, energy surging through its core.
"The ti has co," it said in a voice heavy with fate. "The people will face the truth without their protection. This is how it was ant to be. This is how it will always be."
"At the end of every beginning... I will be there."
The globe's glow intensified until it was blinding.
Then—
BOOOOMMMMM!!!!!
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