Chapter 353: Danger of Beauty
...
’What?’ Aether stood frozen, staring as Kade’s frequencies disappeared into the air. had the boy sacrificed himself... for him?
’That... bastard.’ He ran his hands through his hair. And he had fallen for his trick, without thinking that he had been planning in his hand...
Kade’s story, he knew, not the part about him being adopted, since he never asked, not because he didn’t care, but he saw no reason in asking someone that kind of qeuestion, in rest, he knew he wished to protect his siblings a lot, and after that, he already took a big part in his life, so the memory was about him.
He knew Kade had wanted to protect him, and he hated it... But it seems like in the end he had succeeded...
’If you’re going to sacrifice yourself, at least only do it if you really don’t want to live anymore, and when you’ve got everything sorted out, you idiot...’ Aether stood still for a long while, just thinking. All the memories had brought something out of him, but none had yet to make him stop, ironic that the one he knew most about was the one that hurt the most.
It made him think, could he have just done something different? Was there a reality where Kade and Lucien, alongside everyone else, survived? Even if it meant him having to sacrifice himself. And not even they, was there a case, along all his Reader life, where he could have saved those he had lost.
There were many he had lost, and few he managed to protect... actually, he hadn’t managed to protect... anyone, everyone he had cared about, he was unable to keep alive...
"There’s no point in dreading." Aether quickly turned his head around to see one of the many white figures from before, the one he had spoken to when he had entered, and probably the leader.
"Death is normal. It’s something that comes; you can’t do anything about it, whether you die now or later, it’s the same time, it’s what makes your species what it is. What makes a human a human? After all, to be human, you have to have a beginning and an end. If you never died, are you still a human?"
Aether turned his head back to the place where Kade’s dead body used to be, now completely gone. "Death may be the same, no matter where it happens, but that doesn’t mean dying early is good. Everyone wishes to live a long life, to enjoy it; dying early just means you don’t get to enjoy what life is. When you die of old age, you have already done everything you wanted; this wasn’t the case for them."
The humanoid walked to him, standing by his side, with a small unlit lantern in his hand. "True, but what can you do now?"
...
"Nothing, but maybe I could have done something... I just... I accepted that they died, and I’m not mad about it, anyone... It’s just that I feel... so hollow. I keep losing everyone, I’m tired. How am I supposed to get attached to someone if they just die every time?"
The white human nodded. "I suggest hanging on a little longer, after all, no one grieves forever, for some, it just lasts longer. And after that, you become someone new, you just have to hold... this is your last name, right?
Aether sighed. "It is... pretty annoying thought that all the memories I chose were of the people I spent the most time with... or knew, since I really was not close with Ramius..."
The humanoid chuckled. "Irnoic, though it was pure luck that they were the ones that appeared." Aether’s eyes widened as the humanoid walked in front of him and turned to face him. "The forest chooses to show the people you met, but it was just by pure chance they were the ones you chose."
As he said that, he shook his lanters, making the frequencies move and form into bodies he could actually see. Looking around, Aether saw almost everyone he had met, and apparently, they had died. The owner of the Inn, and everyone he had talked to inside the Inn, the people who had told him Denial’s secret. The family he and Kade had escorted. But also, the people from Lucien’s hometown, and every Beast Human that had died in the war.
...
’... Have they also died? When?’ Aether stared, dumbfounded; he didn’t understand... just how so many people had died.
"Surprised, ironic, just how many people die without you even knowing, and yet even if they die, we don’t grieve it, because we just don’t know that it happened. So many people can die in your lifetime that you don’t know how or when, are you going to grieve for them too?"
Aether stopped to look for a second before looking back. "No, not because I don’t want to... I’m just tired, I just want to get out of here and get home... Do I just choose another person for my last memory, or is there something special about it, and that’s why you are here?
The humanoid didn’t respond; instead, it nodded and pointed to a frequency that had not manifested into a body like the others. "Everything that comes into the second layer is said to die, that’s why..." He pointed to the body. "Even you have one of your own... even if you are alive, and can get back to the real world... though for you, even if you get through it, your soul will not rest, since you’re still here. But it does count towards the ritual... and may help you... want to try it."
Aether walked over to the body. "What will I see?" He asked calmly.
The humanoid shook its head. "No idea, maybe your whole life, maybe sad moments of your life, there no way to tell... just know it won’t be easy... and worse of all, it is going to be different, your going to live the memory, not just see it, your going to move and look... your going to be conscious and decide what you do in the memory, so be carefull.
Aether sighed, looking at the frequencies, not sure if he should do it, hesitent, but... in the end he did it.
...
...
...
Whenever he awakend again he found himself on a street, a big street... or rather, he was smaller. Looking down, he found himself to be a young child. He also felt a warmnes around his hand.
...Though he had not expected to see what he saw when he glaced at his hand.
A women, a beautifull women, one whose beauty didn’t even seem real. Her beautiful blue eyes had the whole sun reflecting its eyes onto them, as if they were the most beautiful, and they might have been, he had not seen a blue as pure as her eyes. And her golden hair, seemed almost stolen from a fairtytail, it captured her soft features perfectly. Her warm smile, could break your heart, just from once glance.
...
This was his mother.
Aether starred, frightnened, something his mother noticed. So she let go of his hand, and knelled in front of him.
"Something wrong honey?" She said, grabing his checks. But Aether didn’t responde, he was in to much of a shook... he just couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
His mother sighed, seeing he didn’t wish to talk, but looking behind them, where some kids a bit older than him were playing with their powers, she took a guess on why he was so sad, even if it wasn’t the truth.
"Oh sweetie... don’t feel bad, you haven’t got your powers yet, I’m sure they will come, and you will be big and strong, plus, the fact that you don’t have powers, makes you unique." She smiled at him, ruffling his hair, as she got up. "Come on, I know a shortcut towards the town center." She winked at him, heading towards an alleyway.
And when Aether realized, his whole face fell, he knew what came next, yet when he tried to speak, nothing would come out... why? Why couldn’t he speak? He was old enough at the time to talk, so why did nothing come out of his mouth?
He ran after his mother, trying his best to catch up to stop her, but when he entered the alleyway, it was already happening. His mother backed up into a corner, as a man with a knife approached her, a man who had been obsessed with her for the past months, but his father had seen no danger in him for the time being, since he had always kept his distance, just sometimes sending letters that his wife would throw away. But this time was different. He wanted to scream for help, and he tried, but nothing would come out of his mouth... and looking around, there wasn’t anyone either way.
’Damn it.’ He tried to run, to help his mother, but his short legs were too slow; he even fell to the ground... He stared in horror... as he relieved the day his mother died.
...
His first loss.
The one that started it all.
