When the white light descended from the sky over the Zephyra Empire, it wasn't sothing that could go unnoticed. Of course, The Principal noticed it imdiately—and a few others picked up on the strange phenonon as well, sensing the shift in energy that pierced through the very fabric of their sky.
After scanning the skies and locking onto the destination, The Principal—Dora—finally arrived at the location.
"This again?" Dora muttered under her breath, her voice laced with both seriousness and a hint of irritation. Her sharp eyes locked onto the Ebon Stone.
She turned to glance at Sera, narrowing her eyes slightly. "What are you doing here, Archpriestess? Don't tell you're the one stirring up this ss again"
Sera shook her head gently, her long hair swaying behind her as she let out a soft sigh. "No. It's not ," she said calmly. "The Ebon Stone in our Empire suddenly activated. It responded to sothing... and caused that light to shoot up into the sky. That's what led it here. It also... sort of revealed the final requirent for its complete activation."
"I... see..." Dora responded slowly, her tone still slightly unsure. Her words dragged for a second as her gaze drifted, before her eyes settled on a man standing nearby—his body covered in torn and scorched clothes, as if he had just been blown back by so explosive force.
Her eyes narrowed as she stepped in a little closer, studying him. "You... look familiar," she muttered, her voice quieter now, uncertain yet intrigued. She leaned toward him slightly, examining his face more closely.
Seeing this, Sera let out a dry chuckle. "Haha... looks like I'm not the only one who felt sothing was off," she said with a faint smirk and a shrug. Her voice dropped as she added, "It's him. That's Aether."
"..." Dora blinked, surprised by the na, and leaned in even further until she was nearly face to face with him. Aether gave a small, awkward smile and said, "Hello."
The mont she heard his voice, Dora flinched backward slightly, her eyes widening. "What the... Are you kidding right now?" she blurted out in shock. "It's really you, Aether? What the actual fuck happened to you this ti?" Her tone shifted—part worried, part annoyed—as her fingers moved instinctively to touch his chest, testing the reality of his presence.
Aether let out a slow, tired sigh. "Well... a lot has happened. Like, a lot of things. Complicated, ssy things. I'll explain everything, I promise. But not right now..." He pointed towards the massive black stone covered in glowing, blood-red forbidden letters. "...That's more urgent."
Dora followed his hand and moved closer to the letters. Her brows furrowed as she tried to read them, but she quickly realised the markings were illegible to her—just like always. She turned to Aether, slightly frustrated. "What does it say? I can't read this cursed language."
Aether bit down on his lower lip, clearly hesitant. Before he could answer, Sera sighed and answered for him, "It says... 'A Wisher's life.' That's the final requirent."
Dora blinked, her eyes narrowing as she processed that. Then she turned to Aether again, searching his expression for truth. "...Is that true?"
Aether gave a weak nod.
Dora let out a long breath as her gaze drifted to the stone again. "...I see," she muttered, then turned back to face him directly. "So... what have you decided, then?"
"Huh?" Aether looked confused for a second.
"I an... if the requirent is the life of a Wisher, then it'll either be ... or Sandra," Dora said bluntly, her tone unreadable. She crossed her arms as she thought, 'After all, I was the first person to see Sandra after she made her wish and received that curse. She told a few things—vaguely, yes—but enough to know that both of us fall under that label'
Aether blinked again and frowned, clearly uneasy. "What do you an, 'what have I decided'? It's not like I get to decide sothing like that! I an... I'm not the one who should—"
"Call Sandra," Dora cut in coldly, her voice flat and decisive as she stared him down. She had already sensed the hesitation, the resistance in his expression, and she didn't like it.
Aether groaned quietly and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "I think we should all just take a mont to—"
"Aether," Dora said sharply, her eyes piercing into his, "if you haven't made a decision, then call Sandra here. Right now. Because this is between us—no one else. And if you won't bring her, then I will."
Aether let out a deep sigh and, with a small nod, summoned Sandra through his telepathy. Within seconds, the air shimred and she materialised before them.
"Aether called ..." Sandra said softly as she appeared, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the area and took in the faces around her. One face in particular drew her attention. A man. Unfamiliar... yet oddly familiar. Her brows furrowed deeper. She stared for a mont before her lips parted slightly. "...Aether?"
Aether hesitated for just a mont, then gave a slow nod.
Sandra blinked in disbelief, her body freezing for a second as her face turned pale. She opened her mouth to speak, but—
"Let's put that aside for now," Dora stepped forward, her voice cutting through the tension like a blade. She pointed directly at the stone. "The final requirent to activate the Ebon Stone... is the life of a Wisher."
Sandra's face twisted slightly in confusion. "The life... of a Wisher?"
Dora gave a short, wordless nod.
Sandra's eyes drifted to the stone, staring into its ominous surface. "...I see," she whispered. And then—
TING!!!
Dora's body shifted as she deflected a water knife that was hurled at her with blinding speed. She'd summoned her invisible weapon in a split-second and countered the deadly projectile effortlessly.
Sandra's face changed. Her eyes turned sharp, serious. Water danced between her fingertips as her entire posture shifted into combat. With a twist of her body, she threw another two more water knives, this ti aid directly at Dora's throat.
Dora lowered her head at the last mont, letting the attack pass just above her. In the sa instant, her fingers flicked, and a pulse of invisible energy shot toward Sandra—deadly, silent, and precise.
Just as the two attacks were about to collide—
"Stop!!" Aether yelled as he teleported between them in a burst of wind. His right hand caught the water knife with his fingers, and his left hand unleashed a violent gust of air that scattered the invisible strike Dora had launched.
"What the hell are you doing, Aether?!"
"Yeah, why the hell are you interfering now?!"
Both Dora and Sandra shouted at the sa ti, frustration written across their faces.
Aether blinked in disbelief, exasperated. "Are you two being serious right now?! You're actually trying to kill each other?! What the fuck is wrong with both of you?!"
Dora snapped her fingers as she responded coldly, "Then tell , Aether... what exactly are we supposed to do now?" Her voice was calm, but the tension behind it was razor-sharp.
Sandra slowly lowered her hand as the water knife vanished into mist. Her voice was low, tired. "From the way things are going... it seems like you couldn't choose between us. So we made the choice ourselves." She didn't look up, as if she'd already expected this mont.
Aether bit his lip hard, his fists clenched, eyes burning with disbelief and fury. "You... really expect to choose? You want to stand here and decide... whose life should be taken away?!"
Both Dora and Sandra looked at him silently, their gazes steady and empty.
As if saying... Yeah.
Aether turned toward Dora, his brows slightly furrowed, his expression conflicted. He knew she was hiding sothing—sothing critical. There was a secret buried behind those unreadable eyes of hers, and it wasn't just a feeling. He knew. But he couldn't bring it up outright, not without risking too much.
If he said anything directly, she might demand how he knew... and that would lead to questions he couldn't afford to answer... Not now... Not yet.
He bit his lower lip, forcing down his unease. "Just... I want to know," he said carefully, his voice softer than before. "Do you guys have any other options?" His tone was light, but his gaze was searching—hoping his indirect words might coax Dora to reveal sothing on her own.
But instead—
"Fight until one of us dies," Dora said flatly, her tone devoid of hesitation. Her eyes were steady, her face serious, as if she had already accepted that truth deep in her bones.
Sandra gave a small nod, her expression equally calm. "Indeed... that's the only choice left, it seems."
As the cold declaration of violence hung in the air, Sera, who had been listening to this absurd back-and-forth with increasing irritation, finally stepped forward. Her steps were slow, deliberate, and her smile... just a little too sweet.
"Okay, you two need to calm the fuck down," she said with her eyes closed and a casual, almost gentle smile on her lips.
"I'm sure Aether has another option. He always does, doesn't he? So why are you trying to make this so damn dramatic all of a sudden?" Her voice sharpened slightly as she added,
"If you two really hate each other that much, then how about dying together? At least that way, Aether wouldn't have to decide which bitch survives." She gave a mock sigh, still smiling.
She was clearly not the Holy One that people thought her to be.
All three turned to look at her in stunned silence, their gazes flat and unamused. It was obvious to all of them—Sera was shalessly trying to reduce her competition. And she wasn't even hiding it.
Choosing to ignore her antics, Aether stepped forward again, his tone turning serious. "Just so you know... I have a skill that can bring back people who've died recently," he said, his voice low, but clear enough to reach them all.
The trio nodded in response. Of course, they were already aware of that.
"Even so..." Sandra spoke up, her face hardening as she crossed her arms, "this is the Ebon Stone we're talking about. We don't know if your skill would actually work. It's not the kind of artifact that plays fair. It'll do whatever it takes to get what it wants."
"But..." Sera added quickly, her voice brimming with confidence, "I believe in Aether. His skill might be strong enough to bypass that. He's not just anyone. He's irregular, rember? I think he can handle it."
However...
Aether didn't share the sa blind confidence.
Sure, he was an irregular—but that didn't an he was invincible. If he truly was so powerful, then why had he already died... twice? Why had he failed? Why was he still struggling?
Sera didn't know the full extent of his failures. She believed in him without understanding the weight of what he carried.
Sandra and Dora, though—they had seen it. They'd seen him at his lowest. They'd watched him bleed and falter and get up again. It wasn't that they didn't believe in him. No—it was just that they knew better. They knew anything was possible, including failure.
Dora had asked him earlier—directly—who he had chosen. And the reason she had done so was simple.
She believed that he had already made up his mind. Sowhere inside, she thought Aether had returned from another loop, another tiline. She thought he already knew the outco. She didn't know how many tis he'd died or how many tis he'd co back, but she assud he must've had the answer by now.
But... he didn't.
And when she saw that uncertainty in his eyes—when she realised he hadn't chosen—she called Sandra.
Sandra, cunning as always, caught on instantly. The mont her eyes t Dora's, she understood it all. Aether hadn't made his choice. Which could only an this was their first ti facing this situation.
So they made a plan—an unspoken one. They would fight each other to the death. One of them would die, and Aether could rewind ti and use that experience to decide.
Like a trial-and-error thod.
Sacrifice and repeat until the right choice was made.
That's what they'd both thought.
But the way Aether was acting now—nervous, dodging questions, glancing at Dora with hesitation—sothing wasn't right.
Especially for Dora. She noticed it. His eyes kept drifting toward her, just for a second too long, again and again.
'Don't tell ... I... I used that?' she wondered, her breath catching in her throat. Her thoughts raced. 'I see... so that happened, huh? Did he co back here after seeing my secret? But he couldn't bring it up or else it would raise suspicion...?'
Her shoulders tensed slightly.
Then she sighed. A bitter, disappointed sound escaped her lips as she shook her head slowly.
"I'm disappointed in you, Aether..." she murmured, her tone colder now, but with an undercurrent of pain. "If you hesitate this much... then you're not worthy of . I'll ask you just one more ti."
Her eyes locked onto his.
"What have you decided?"
Aether's fists clenched tightly, the air around him trembling slightly.
Then Dora took a step forward, her expression unreadable. Her voice softened—not weak, but full of solemn weight.
"You gave everything to save .... I'll give my life for my love," she whispered. "But.... Can you take it?"
Aether's breath hitched sharply.
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