"NYX!!"
He scread, his voice breaking. He had done everything... tried everything... so why? Why was she still not coming back?!
His plan had worked. The rope, the miracle... everything was in place.
He couldn’t just lose now. He couldn’t!
"My Lord... please... let us try."
Aether’s rage froze for a mont. He turned his head, startled, and saw them... several ghosts standing just before the barrier, their pale eyes steady, their forms shimring with faint determination.
"Our Queen always helped us," one of them spoke, voice heavy with mory, "she treated us as her family... when our own blood discarded us and threw us away like nothing."
Without hesitation, the ghost stepped forward, entering the mountain. The instant his feet touched the stairs, his body flickered and changed... his ghostly armour and weapons vanished, his form thinning until he beca nothing more than a fragile silhouette.
He struggled, moving forward with all his might, but was stopped, stuck on the very first step.
But it was not over.
Another ghost stepped up, her voice trembling with raw devotion.
"We may be selfish... sinners, every one of us. But our Queen showed us what it ans to live. She gave us the reason to move forward when we had none."
She crossed the barrier, her body too turning into a pale silhouette. Yet unlike the first, she walked steadily, her feet carrying her higher... almost reaching Nyx’s fading soul... until, suddenly, she faltered, unable to move further.
"It’s her who showed us the aning of life!"
Another cried, stepping in without hesitation.
"It’s her who gave us back our happiness!"
Another followed, their voice echoing with fierce pride.
"For our Queen... we are ready for anything!"
Another shouted as they entered, their silhouettes flickering but unyielding.
And then... one voice louder, sharper than the rest.
"So... please protect this girl, our Queen’s husband!"
The ghosts turned as one, bowing their shadowy heads deeply before Aether.
Then their gazes fell on Starla.
"She needs her Knight. Please... be there for her."
Starla’s eyes trembled. She clenched her fists tight before finally giving a sharp nod. "I will," she whispered.
Aether watched in silence as one by one the ghosts moved forward. They entered the mountain and ford a chain, their souls linking together like links of burning resolve.
Step by step, their silhouettes grabbed hold of Nyx’s flickering soul, dragging her down from the stairs.
His heart leapt when he saw it... those long-lost souls pulling her back, closer and closer, until she reached the base once more. And before she could turn away again, their hands pressed against hers, wrapping her arm tightly with the rope, binding her back to the living world.
"Thank you..." Aether whispered, his voice breaking, unsure if they could even hear him. But as their silhouettes wavered, he swore he saw them smiling at him... one last smile.
Aether gripped the rope tight and yanked, his body tense with hope... But the mountain resisted.
The barrier held firm. Nyx’s soul was trapped, unable to cross, as if the mountain itself would not allow the living to pull the dead away. The barrier blocked not only the living from entering, but also the souls from leaving.
And just then—
"Aether!" Nightfire shouted as Nyx’s real body suddenly trembled. Even though the soul was not fully connected, her physical form quivered as if caught in invisible agony.
Nightfire imdiately rushed forward, dropping to her knees beside Nyx. She pressed her fingers against her neck with shaking hands. Her eyes widened.
"I can feel her pulse?" she muttered.... then smiled faintly through her relief.
"I can feel her pulse!" The words made everyone’s faces lift with a fragile hope.
"The rope... it must be forming so kind of connection between the soul and the body..." Starla muttered, her eyes softening with a hopeful expression.
Aether’s lips curved into a smile as well, faint but real, hope glimring in his gaze.
"But it’s getting faint... slowing down..."
Nightfire’s relief shattered into panic.
Aether clicked his tongue sharply, his frustration boiling over. "Then we need to pull her soul out of the mountain first!" His hand gripped the rope tighter, veins bulging as he wrapped it around his fist. He yanked hard, trying to drag the soul out with sheer force.
"....!!!"
A scream tore through the mountain. Nyx’s soul shrieked in raw pain as her arm jerked violently... but no one could hear that!
"S-Stop it! You’re hurting her!!" Starla shouted furiously, her eyes burning as she saw her Queen’s soul writhe in tornt.
But Aether didn’t stop. His jaw clenched, his muscles strained.
He pulled even harder!!
Thud!
A hand clamped down on his shoulder. Starla’s touch made his entire body jolt. Her voice was sharp and trembling with anger. "My Lord... you are hurting her!"
Aether froze, flinching as if stabbed. Unwanted mories surged in his mind, his breath shaking. He glanced down at his hands gripping the rope... then at Nyx’s soul, her face twisted in pain.
"...I... I’m sorry. I just—" His voice broke as he clenched his fist harder. He had beco desperate, too desperate, blinded by his own need to bring her back.
Starla’s expression softened. Her lips curved into a gentle, bittersweet smile. "My Lord... I understand. You love her. You don’t want to let her go. But... it seems she herself isn’t interested in coming back."
Aether’s eyes widened, his heart dropping. "What do you an?" His voice cracked.
Starla nodded toward the wavering silhouette. "Look at her soul. If she wanted, she could have co back already. But she hasn’t. Look—she’s rejecting it. She’s looking back toward the top of the mountain... like her will is there, not here."
Aether blinked in shock. Slowly, his gaze dropped to Nyx’s pale soul. She wasn’t reaching toward him at all. Her trembling shadow kept turning back, staring upward, as though yearning for the peak rather than the rope binding her to the body below.
His heart twisted painfully. He turned to look at her physical body, twitching, trembling on the ground. Nightfire’s eyes t his, pained and wet, her expression showing she felt it too—that unbearable ache of watching Nyx torn between two fates.
Aether bit his lip so hard it bled. "So... I’m the one forcing this. I’m the one who wants her back... not her. Not anyone else. Just !" His teeth ground together until his jaw ached.
Starla lowered her head slightly, her voice soft but steady.
"Love is sothing I can never truly understand. But if I’ve learned anything from serving her... It’s this. My Queen sacrificed her chance to live so that you could be free, so that you could move forward. Wouldn’t you want to honour that, My Lord? Let her go... if that is what she truly wants."
Nightfire’s expression faltered. Slowly, she nodded, her voice caught in her throat. Her gaze returned to Nyx’s trembling body, her lips pressed shut as if she, too, knew Starla’s words were true.
Aether’s hands trembled violently, gripping the rope so hard his knuckles turned white. His mind spun.
Was he pushing his own thoughts onto her? Was this really about her... or only about him?
Was he doing this because of the mission?
Or... was it just because he couldn’t let go of his love?
Sure, she was indifferent and all but... lately she was smiling at him and... jealous!!
He stared down at his hands, at the rope, at the flickering glow where their connection pulsed.
His reality shook... His hand almost disappeared. He didn’t have much ti left here. He had to pass the ownership soon, before it was too late. But—
Aether closed his eyes, his breathing deep and ragged. "...No. I’ll ask her directly."
He let his consciousness flow through the rope, reaching out for the fragile thread between Nyx’s body and Nyx’s soul.
!~Ding~!
[⚠️Warning: Echoes of Souls Activated!]
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