After walking in the darkness for who knows how long,
"I can’t believe it, they aren’t actually attacking us, are they?"
Aether said with a surprised expression as he slowly walked while his hand tightly glided on the big chain that flowed into the darkness.
Grace, who was sitting on his shoulder, nodded her head.
"Is it possible that those chains are scaring them... that is what it seems like," she said, tilting her head.
With a nod of his head and a squint of his eyes, Aether also inquired, "Why don’t you try lighting up again?"
"You are not going to use like your personal light bulb, you asshole!"
Grace said with an annoyed expression. She started to think that this asshole was using her as his bulb to light up his darkness. Her wings twitched as she puffed her cheeks, heat rising on her face from irritation.
How dare he!!
She was the one who governed death, you know!!
Aether awkwardly smiled. ’Let’s not fight her,’ he thought as he focused on walking while his hand clenched on the chain.
"I find it hard to believe that Delphine was present throughout this period," Aether muttered softly with a worried tone.
He couldn’t believe it... Honestly, he was starting to rember he had heard Delphine’s voice before.
"To think I forgot it."
Aether clenched his fists furiously... no matter what, he shouldn’t have forgotten her presence, and even more... what she might be going through now.
"Don’t be hard on yourself... this place is ant to break you," Grace said softly as if she was comforting him.
Aether raised his eyebrows, noticing her soft, comforting tone... maybe Grace had started to like him enough not to kill him?
The thought almost made him laugh.
But he frowned... he didn’t hear those sounds again after Grace appeared.
"By the way... did you happen to know Delphine, or soone else here?" he asked curiously.
Grace, however, shook her head, saying, "I only ca out in ethereal form after storing enough energy... but no, I didn’t see or hear anyone other than us or you ever ntioning them."
Aether sighed as he kept walking. "This chain is very longggg—"
Tuck!
Suddenly, sothing stuck on his foot, causing him to nearly trip forward as his hand’s grip on the chain almost loosened, falling—
"I got you!"
Grace caught Aether before he could fall down... her tiny hands glowing with sudden urgency as she steadied him.
Aether sweated a bit before slowly pulling back and standing up as he sighed in relief before saying, "See? If you had lightened up, I wouldn’t have almost fallen down!" His voice held frustration, but beneath it, relief and a shaky laugh he didn’t fully release.
Grace looked at him with a deadpan expression... so it was her fault that he fell down now?
What the fuck?
The disbelief on her face sharpened as her wings twitched.
"Wait... I feel sothing on the ground," Aether muttered as he felt sothing under his foot.
"Fine," Grace said with an annoyed and dejected expression as her wings fluttered furiously before... a purplish light slowly started pulsing from her body, enough to lighten up the space around him.
As the darkness slowly revealed... both Aether and Grace had surprised expressions when they saw the ground filled with clothes and... bones?
"What the..." Aether muttered before crouching down.
"Careful. Do not let go of the chain," Grace warned him seriously. Aether nodded; he only crouched down while holding the chain tightly in his hand.
As he got closer... he frowned, seeing greenish golden embroidered clothes and... charred bones inside those clothes.
"It looks like a woman?" Aether frowned, noticing a few strands of long hair under those clothes. "This cloth... why didn’t it age and fade away?" he muttered as he stared at the clothes, seeing... they were still fresh, as if preserved by sothing unnatural.
Also, there was this white ribbon that wrapped around the skull... like a blindfold? And that seed even fresher than the others.
"Was she... imprisoned here too?" Aether mumbled with a curious tone.
"I... don’t think so," Grace muttered with a shocked tone. Her gaze stayed fixed, as though she recognised sothing she didn’t want to speak aloud.
Aether noticed her face and tone. "What do you an?"
Grace shook her head. "There is no use to know..."
Aether frowned. He wanted to ask more, but... he knew now was not the ti to ask these things... his first goal was to find Delphine!
That’s all!
He stood up and started to walk... however, he halted his steps as he saw... another set of greenish golden embroidered clothes... and charred bones... and white ribbon.
The pattern repeated like a quiet graveyard deliberately arranged.
"Keep going!"
Grace said with an indifferent tone.
Aether shrugged and continued to walk... as he kept walking, he saw many more of those clothes and charred bodies.
Aether’s frown deepened. "Hmm... one particular group doing sothing that angers those laws, it seems," he muttered.
After all... even if it was bones... the clothes being the sa ant a particular organisation was doing sothing against the law.
Sothing that ended the sa way for all of them.
"Do you know anything about this?" Aether asked curiously.
"I don’t know," Grace said with a cold expression.
Aether humd softly as he didn’t push her. He kept walking and carefully stepped away from those dead while Grace blankly stared at those clothes... especially that golden embroidery... the three-circled embroidery that intertwined together.
Her fingers clutched. ’What are they doing here?’ she thought.
"Aether?!"
Both Grace and Aether flinched when they heard a voice coming from ahead.
Aether’s eyes trembled as he said happily, "Del? Is that you?" as he walked faster.
"..."
"Del?" Aether shouted, but there was no answer...
Grace clutched his shoulder, as if she was asking him to stay put.
"...Del? Is that you?" Aether frowned as he muttered softly.
For a second, no answer, but then,
"Oh, please... not again. Aether... no..."
Aether flinched when he heard Delphine’s crying tone. He was ready to move, but Grace held his shoulder tightly, wings shaking.
"Just ask." Her whisper was low...
Aether noticed Grace’s worry, but hearing Delphine’s cry—how could he control himself?
"Del? Is that you? Answer !" His voice cracked with longing.
"A-Aether? Can you hear ?"
Aether’s expression turned soft, lting under the relief flooding his chest.
"Yes, I can... You can hear , right? Can you see the purple light?"
"I-Is that really my Aether? REALLY?"
Aether blinked, noticing her breaking voice. His eyes trembled... she must have gone through horror to fear even his voice.
He gulped his wet throat as he said,
"Yes, I am... your Aether," as he ran forward while still keeping his hand sliding on the big chain.
"D-Don’t co any closer!!"
Aether halted his steps with a sudden frown.
"Del? I am Aether... It’s really !" His voice softened, pleading, desperate to reach her without hurting her.
"How do I know it’s you? You have been tricking with his voice... what makes you stop answering my questions now?"
Aether’s shoulders trembled just hearing her ask that question.
He smiled weakly, forcing himself to breathe, trying to steady the emotion overflowing in his chest.
"Sa could be said to you, right?" he muttered weakly. He knew this voice belonged to his beloved, but... considering what he went through, and this place being impossible to escape... who knew what kind of tricks hid inside the darkness?
"...Well... how about this? We tell each other things only we knew about each other, okay?" Her voice softened, but the fear beneath it trembled violently.
She sounded like soone clinging to the last thread of hope.
Aether raised his eyebrows. He knew many things that others didn’t know...But what should he tell her?
"... Aether?"
Aether agreed, "Alright... We’ll say at the sa ti," he said sternly, his legs already in motion.
"My Del is a sweet pervert who has inverted nipples and loves to take my cock every inch of her body!"
"My Aether is a naughty pervert who loves to tease my asshole while drinking my love juice."
Their voices grew closer as if both of them started to run the mont they began speaking, unable to hold themselves back, unable to risk losing even one more second apart.
"My Del is very good at cooking, so good she made pass out."
"My Aether is very good at teasing, so good he made my heart flutter every ti."
The voices grew closer and closer. Their steps synced unintentionally, two souls running toward each other through a hell that tried to break them.
"Haha..."
"Haha..."
Their small laughs didn’t carry humour. They carried survival... relief... disbelief... the kind of laughter people make when they finally see sothing they thought they lost forever.
Tears started to roll down Aether’s cheek as he got closer and closer.
"My Del is an idiot who would do a-anything for ."
"My... Aether is a jerk who would hurt anyone for ."
"My D-Del is my miracle!"
"M-My Aether is mine miracle!"
Step!
"S-She broke up with ... left for the pain I gave h-her."
Aether halted his steps, panting, staring at the person before him.
Broken glasses.
ssy hair.
Old and tattered clothes clinging to a body starved for food.
Dry skin, trembling arms, tears like tiny cracks on a fragile mask...Yet a happy expression.
A smile fighting through suffering... A light refusing to die!
Step!
"...I... I... M-My love is terrified of leaving him with his baby... instead of just telling the truth."
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