"To find my half soul,"
That’s what she said.
But what did it truly an?
Did it an she was only a half of a soul—just like her body, caught sowhere between life and death, walking a line that was neither fully living nor completely gone?
Aether stared at her, his mind tangled in confusion. He couldn’t figure out what the hell she was trying to say, but one thing was clear from the way her eyes burned—she was about to do sothing reckless.
A sacrifice?
His heart jumped.
"Hell no!"
Aether shook his head violently, taking a step forward. "Are you out of your damn mind? Are you trying to throw your life away or sothing?" he snapped, his voice tight with panic as his fingers dug into her arms, trying to pull her back to sense.
Nyx smiled faintly, nodding as if she’d already made peace with the outco. She tried to shake off his grip, whispering softly, "I think this is what I was ant for... the reason I was born, Aether." Her gaze drifted toward the crack glowing with an eerie purple light, her lips curling into a strange, almost gleeful grin—like she was thrilled to be claid by it.
She turned her head slightly, eyes glinting, voice low and sharp.
"Let go, Aether. Let fulfill my purpose,"
She said, her tone dark, trembling with madness.
His grip didn’t loosen. He held onto her wrist firmly, eyes hard.
"No," he said flatly. "I’m not letting you throw yourself into whatever the hell this ’duty’ is supposed to be. Screw that."
Nyx’s smile cracked. Her skeletal side twitched, bones pulsing with that sickening energy. Her eyes narrowed into sothing fierce and furious.
"Aether..." she growled, her voice heavy with warning. "I won’t ask you again. Let. . Go."
He stood his ground, jaw clenched, eyes eting hers without a single flinch.
"And I’ll keep saying it again and again. Don’t do this, Nyx."
"...."
Her face twitched with annoyance, then—
Whoosh!
A pulse of purplish-blue fire exploded from her chest and surged toward Aether like a whip. It slamd into him with brutal force and sent him flying.
Thud!
He crashed to the soaked, muddy ground, rolling before he managed to stabilise himself on one knee, gasping for breath. His vision swam as he looked up.
A towering, muscled ghost woman now stood protectively in front of Nyx. Her presence was solid yet ethereal, a hulking figure holding a massive sword across her broad shoulder. Her expression was cold, lifeless.
"Do not let him co any closer," Nyx ordered coldly, her voice echoing with sothing inhuman.
Then, without another glance toward Aether, she turned to face the crack. Her skeletal hand lifted slowly, trembling slightly as she extended it toward the glowing rupture. Her expression twisted into sothing wild, lost—like she was standing at the edge of a truth she could never co back from.
She was about to touch it.
To know everything.
To die.
To finally end whatever she was.
Sparkle~
The crack shimred in response to her outstretched hand. Nyx staggered slightly as a pulling force began to tug at her—not violent, but constant. The purple-blue flas crawled up her skeletal arm like living veins, moving toward the crack.
Like a fla torch that was used to weld the two materials.
She using her soul to weld the crack!
Aether gritted his teeth, pushing himself up. "Nyx, what the hell are you doing?! Stop it!" he shouted, stepping forward.
But the ghost woman turned her head slowly and glared at him with eyes that had seen centuries. Her voice dropped to a monotone, empty and chilling.
"One more step... and I will not hesitate to cut you down."
Aether’s muscles tensed. He clenched his fist and launched it toward her gut in a desperate punch—
Sshhh~
But his hand passed through her as if she were made of smoke. Cold mist followed his motion, and imdiately, pain flooded his skull.
His vision blurred as mories he didn’t ask for surged into his brain. Images, voices, sensations—too many, too fast. They were all hers. The warrior. The woman. The ghost from the past.
Aether stumbled back, teeth grinding. ’S-Shouldn’t I be immune by now? I’ve already seen her mories... I should be resistant!’
[The more you touch the sa soul, the deeper the imrsion. The more it will affect you.]
His log chid in with a serious tone.
The muscled woman smirked, her sharp eyes locking onto his stunned expression.
"You should be focusing on !" she snapped, raising her sword high before bringing it down in a sweeping arc aid at his head.
Aether reacted in a flash, sliding backwards just in ti—but not unscathed. The sheer length of her blade grazed him, slicing through his shirt and leaving a thin, burning cut across his chest.
He skidded across the muddy ground before halting, panting. One hand clutched his chest, and when he pulled it away, his palm was slick with blood.
"The hell... this wound is real," he muttered, staring at the crimson streak on his fingers.
"Why do their attacks affect ... but mine go right through them?"
He clenched his jaw, eyes darting toward Nyx.
She was trembling now—her fingers twitching slightly—but her expression told a different story. She was grinning, her eyes wide and glowing with sothing like joy.
"Hehe~"
She chuckled softly, almost childlike, her voice echoing with eerie delight.
’Fuck, man...’
Aether gritted his teeth again and turned his focus back to the muscled woman, who now stood silently in front of Nyx. She wasn’t attacking. She wasn’t chasing him down. She was just... guarding.
Like a loyal knight.
’She’s not trying to kill ,’ Aether realised, nodding faintly to himself. ’She’s just protecting her Queen.’
And then... an idea struck him like lightning.
His expression suddenly shifted, the fire in his eyes softening into sothing mournful, almost nostalgic.
"...It’s been a long ti, hasn’t it... Starla?"
The woman froze.
Her body stiffened as her eyes widened—like a crack had just split through her soul.
How did he know that na? That was her true na, the na known only to her Queen.
Did that an...?
Her Queen had told him?
Aether stepped forward slowly, his voice low and trembling with mory.
"You don’t recognise yet... but I know you. I am... your King. Lith."
He raised his hand, palm open, as if approaching a wild animal, not with threat—but with aching familiarity.
Starla’s sword dipped slightly. Her fingers trembled as her grip weakened, her mind spinning.
"K-King Lith...?"
Her voice cracked like a whisper from another life.
Aether nodded, his eyes glistening with a strange, painful warmth.
"Yes... it’s . The one you once swore to protect until your final breath."
His voice grew gentler as he took another step forward.
"You stood by in every war, every darkness... and now, once again, I find you guarding the woman I love. Just like always."
He slowly raised his hand again, hovering it inches from her cheek—not touching, but close enough that she could feel the familiarity.
Starla’s breath hitched. Her shoulders trembled, her eyes shaking violently. Her lips parted, struggling to believe what stood in front of her.
"M-My King... is that really y-you...?"
"Yes," Aether whispered. "I know... life must’ve been hard on y—"
Before he could finish, his pupils dilated in pure shock.
The blade ca out of nowhere.
Starla’s sword scread through the air, aid straight for his skull.
Aether’s instincts kicked in instantly—he twisted his body and rolled backward, mud splashing beneath him as he narrowly escaped the lethal blow. He landed on one knee and glared up at her, breathing hard.
"The hell was that for?!"
Starla stood tall, eyes blazing—not with confusion, but fury.
"Because of you... because of your fucking decision..." she snarled, voice shaking. "I lost my Queen! YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!"
With a roar, she stomped the ground, her body launching forward in a blur, her sword raised for a brutal overhead strike.
"..."
Aether blinked, sweat sliding down his temple.
[And that’s why you should never ss around with half-assed mories only.]
BOOM!!!
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