"See... thatâs not supposed to happen, Aether," the Mother Goddess said, her voice laced with sadness, though a glimmer of anger simmered beneath. She paused, her gaze fixed on the thick, solitary line, "And it only happened because of your existence, Aether. Your presence alone altered the very fabric of Time!" Her tone hardened, a deep resentment creeping in, "Your singular existence has altered the entire fate of the worlds!!"
Aetherâs frown deepened, irritation flickering in his eye, "How am
I
responsible for that? Itâs not like I asked for this, right? I never wanted any of this."
The Mother Goddess took a slow, measured breath, her gaze softening momentarily as if pitying him, "Youâre right, in a way. You werenât directly responsible for this mess... You didnât ask for this. No one does. You were just another being trying to survive in a world of chaos, to live"
Aetherâs frustration turned to confusion, "Then whoâs responsible? Whoâs behind all this?"
She paused before her voice dropped to a whisper, "You are."
"...?" Aetherâs expression froze in disbelief. Inwardly, he screamed, âWhat the fuck is this bitch talking about?!â
She continued, unbothered by his reaction,
"Even though youâre not directly at fault, your very willâyour relentless determination, your refusal to give inâis what made this all possibleâis what makes you responsible!" her tone darkening with every word.
"My will?" Aether narrowed his eyes, "What the heck do you mean by that?"
"Your will, Aether. Your soulâs unyielding nature.
The essence of your soul... Itâs unlike any other. Itâs not just resilientâitâs
aware
. It acts as if it has its own consciousness, a force that fights, survives, and refuses to yield... that is not supposed to happen to a soul!!
In your terms, Itâs like a bug in the system, something no one accounted for.
That caught the attention eye of the ######"
Aetherâs heart raced slightly.
"When Mortimer took your future, your soul shouldâve been trapped in the cycle of Samsara.
But it didnât happen, did it? No... because of that will inside you.
It resisted.
It defied fate itself."
Aether felt a strange pressure inside him, "I still donât get it," he muttered, unease flickering in his eyes.
"Hahaha...." For the first time, she laughedâa soft, knowing laugh, "Thatâs the mystery, isnât it?
Even weâeven the ######âcouldnât figure it out.
Thatâs why they intervened.
They saw your soul... so unique, so unpredictable, and decided to run their little experiment on you." Her gaze sharpened, "They fractured your soul, sent it off to be reincarnated... but even then, something miraculous happened.
The fragments of your soul are pulled back together, reforged by the Laws of the Eternal Slave Contract.
It was supposed to be impossible.
Yet here you are!!
Youâre beyond miraculous now, Aether!"
!~Ding~!
"Get away, Aether!"
"Get away, Aether!"
Suddenly, voices boomed inside Aetherâs mind, his body flickering like a fading illusion. His vision blurred as his form began to shimmer, his existence slipping between realms.
But thenâ
"This is my domain!" the Mother Goddess thundered, stomping her foot. The entire space quaked violently, and Aetherâs shimmering stopped.
His form solidified once more.
She smirked, satisfied with her control, "See? They donât want you to know the truth, Aether. They canât let their prized test subject gain full awareness. Youâre too important to their grand scheme.
You need to understand.... everything happening to you, everything youâve ever done, has been meticulously calculated by them.
You think youâre free, but youâre not.
Youâre a puppet, dancing to their every whim."
Aether stared at the thick, solitary line of timeline, his gaze darkening as her words sank in, "I see... so Iâm just a puppet to them?" he whispered, his voice heavy with a strange mix of sorrow and bitterness.
The Mother Goddessâs tone softened as she saw his resolve begin to falter., "Thatâs why Iâm here. Iâm offering you something different. You donât have to remain their plaything, Aether. Come to me. you can finally resâ"
"If everythingâs so carefully calculated, then they mustâve known youâd contact me like this, right?" Aether cut in, "If theyâre as powerful as you say, they wouldâve foreseen this too, right?"
Suddenly a deep silence descended!
Aetherâs eyes narrowed, a grin tugging at the corner of his lips, "I see... So they either predicted this... or youâre lying to me. Nice try, though Shitty Goddess~" His voice was laced with sarcasm.
"Watch your tone, Aether," she hissed, barely containing her fury, "You can mock me all you want, but the truth remains: your existence is unravelling the fabric of reality itself. The worlds are falling into chaos because of you! I promise in the name of my name!!"
The entire atmosphere trembled with her words.
Aether crossed his arms, his expression unreadable, "So what now? You want me dead?"
She shook her head, her expression intense, yet strangely calm, "No. I donât want you dead. I want you to accept your fate. The fate that was always meant for you."
Aether let out a slow, deliberate sigh, as if he were finally surrendering, "If Iâm fated to die, then I guess it wonât hurt to know what Iâm really capable of.
What is this Ether bloodline? What powers do I actually have?"
"A dead man doesnât need to know such things," she replied coldly.
"Well, thatâs too bad. Guess youâll just have to suck it up, bitch~" Aetherâs grin returned, sharper than ever.
The Mother Goddess stood abruptly, fury flooding off her like waves. Her eyes glowed with divine rage, her voice shaking the very air.
"AETHEERRRRRR!!!"
Aetherâs body began to dissolve once more, his form breaking apart into shimmering particles as he vanished, but not before casting her one final mocking smile, "Itâs me, bitch~" And with that, he was gone.
As soon as Aether disappeared, the Mother Goddessâs expression shifted.
A sinister smirk curled her lips, "Iâve planted enough doubt in his mind... heâll start questioning everything now. Arcane... ######... soon, heâll trust no one." She waved her hand dismissively, and the space around her reverted to the gloomy underground cave.
Back in the black void where the game had once played, Aether reappeared, the oppressive silence now weighing heavy.
The darkness was thicker than before!
"Hello?" he called out, his voice echoing in the emptiness. No words appeared to greet him, no system updates flashed before his eyes.
Only silence!
Aether then muttered, "Activate system code: 232476."
Suddenly, the white words appeared in the void.
[... Activating]
"Bypass the system,"