Chapter 1135: Marriage is scary

As soon as Mary finished their marriage, Nyx didn’t waste a moment. Without waiting for anyone’s reaction, she grabbed Aether’s hand and took him straight to her home.

For the first night, of course.

That’s what happens after a wedding, right?

A couple needs privacy.

Meanwhile, back inside the castle... in Lia’s dimly lit room,

Mary and Lia were lying together on the large bed. The covers were pulled up to their waists as Mary hugged her daughter tightly—like she was clutching a porcelain doll, fragile and precious.

Her voice was low and trembling, barely a whisper as she hummed softly, trying to soothe the ache neither of them dared to name. Her hand gently stroked Lia’s cheek in slow, repetitive motions, as though the action might calm the storm inside.

Her lips finally parted with hesitant worry.

"Are you... really alright, sweetheart?"

Lia didn’t answer right away. Her eyes remained fixed on the ceiling, lost in thought, swimming in everything she had just witnessed. Only after several seconds of silence did she slowly turn her head to look at her mother. A small, tight smile formed on her lips—one that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

"I’m fine, Mommy... really, I am."

Mary stared at her daughter for a long, silent moment. She searched her face, looking for cracks in that delicate smile. Her voice dropped again, shaky and unsure.

"Do you... really love that guy?"

Lia’s eyes lowered to the blanket. Her cheeks flushed with the faintest tint of red, and she gave a shy little nod. A soft, almost embarrassed smile followed.

Mary’s jaw tightened. Her fingers curled into a fist where Lia couldn’t see—knuckles white, nails digging into her palm. She was so close to snapping. So close to marching out of the room and strangling that bastard with her own hands.

But she took a long breath, forcing the rage down her throat, and instead spoke through gritted teeth.

"But he’s married now, dear... You know what that means, right? Being second... being the other woman... It’s nothing but endless pain, jealousy, and heartbreak. I’ve walked that path. I know what it does to a person. I don’t want you to go through the same suffering I did, my baby... please, don’t let this be your fate."

Lia didn’t speak. Her lips trembled slightly, but she forced a smile again. A weak one. She knew.

Of course, she knew. She had grown up watching her mother cry in secret, smile in public, and act like everything was okay.

People called Mary obsessive, insane, even. But Lia... she saw through it all. She saw the gentle, beautiful heart her mother kept hidden from the world.

She let out a quiet hum and nestled closer into Mary’s warm embrace.

Mary, on the other hand, smiled like a woman who had just won a battle—though she had expected more sobbing, more begging, more drama.

Instead, her daughter lay silent in her arms. It was almost disappointing. Still, she held her tighter, sniffed her scent like a mother imprinting a memory, and whispered near her ear with a sly little smirk:

"Also... that man is going to fuck Nyx Shadowfall to his heart’s content tonight. I hope you won’t cry too hard when you think about that."

Lia’s body twitched at those words, violently so, though she kept her face turned away. The smile she wore twisted... it was not a smile at all.

Meanwhile... somewhere far from the warmth and comfort of the castle...

Aether wasn’t happy. In fact, he was as far from happy as one could possibly be.

He stood beside Nyx under the grey night sky, casting a dim grey light over the eerie place in front of them.

A massive graveyard stretched across the land, dead trees creaking in the wind, crooked tombstones leaning at odd angles like broken teeth. The iron gate before them was ancient—twisted black bars forming a spiked arch, and at the top of it... sat a grinning skull, eyes glowing with faint blue flames.

A cold wind whispered through the gaps in the gate, as a ghostly screaming sound echoed!

Aether looked around, confused and slightly disturbed.

"Wh-What is this place?"

Nyx, standing tall and proud with an unreadable expression, turned toward him with the same confidence as always and said calmly:

"This is our house."

Aether’s brain stumbled.

House?

That’s a freaking Graveyard!

He blinked several times, trying to piece the two together. A graveyard... as their home? He wasn’t just shocked—he was absolutely flabbergasted. That wasn’t even a word he used often, but it was the only one that made sense.

Nyx didn’t care about his reaction. She stepped forward toward the gate, her heels clicking on the cracked stone path. The iron bars creaked slightly under her touch. That damn skull on top—its flames flickered brighter, and then...

"Haha!"

It laughed.

Aether nearly jumped out of his skin, stumbling back instinctively as the gate slowly creaked open with a screeching groan that echoed across the empty tombs.

The skull’s laughter faded into a soft hiss as the doors swung wide.

"Come in,"

Nyx said, her voice soft but commanding as she walked through.

Aether hesitated. Every part of his body screamed not to move. But against better judgment, he followed.

What he saw inside made his blood freeze.

The graveyard was massive. Tombstones stretched endlessly into the fog. The ground was littered with cracked skulls, shattered ribs, and femurs, bones bleached white and scattered as if thrown by a storm. Some were neatly placed beside graves. Others seemed tossed around for decoration. A few skeletons were still whole, sitting silently against their gravestones as if waiting for something.

Aether’s breath fogged in the air as the cold bit into him. He took another slow step forward.

Ssshhh~~

"It’s... cold,"

He murmured to himself. But it wasn’t just the temperature.

The cold seeped into his skin, through his flesh, and into his bones. It felt like he was drenched, like invisible hands were crawling over him, pressing against his body, touching places he couldn’t see.

"Don’t worry,"

"It’s just them. They’re touching you... checking if you’re a threat. They always do that with newcomers."

Nyx said casually, continuing to walk as though everything was perfectly normal.

Aether froze in place.

"Th-Them?"

Nyx looked over her shoulder, smiling like it was no big deal.

"Of course. Souls. What else lives in a graveyard?"

Aether’s heart pounded violently in his chest. He looked around again, but there was nothing!

Aether, terrified and shaking, looked at Nyx with wide eyes and asked the worst question he possibly could have at that moment:

"You can... see ghosts?"

Nyx didn’t respond.

Not right away.

Instead, the entire graveyard went deathly silent.

Nyx slowly turned back, her movements elegant and calculated. In one graceful motion, she unfolded the black fan she had been holding, covering the lower half of her face. Her eyes—those mysterious purple-blue irises—remained visible, cold and indifferent as they flicked toward Aether.

She said nothing.

She simply stared.

Aether stood frozen in place, unaware of what she was truly seeing...

Around him, a dozen pale, translucent figures hovered in silence. They were ghostly white—faceless, formless things—staring deadly at him... If he sees them, he would probably black out.

And scattered all across the ground were skulls.

Lifeless, soulless skulls. To Aether, they looked like simple bones... old and forgotten.

But to Nyx?

To her, those same skulls glowed faintly with flickering flames—green and purple fire that danced unnaturally. The air around them echoed with a deep, unsettling moan. The sound seemed to stretch across the realm of the living and the dead.

Gooooonnnnnnnn!

A low, distant hum resonated through the bones, like a warning bell from beyond the grave. [Imgincmt]

Nyx’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"They are not ghosts,"

She finally spoke, her voice calm and detached. She turned her back on the scene without another glance and began walking toward the large structure standing at the heart of the graveyard.

It was a house—if one could even call it that.

A towering structure built of black stone and rotted wood, with crooked angles and rusted spires. It looked like it had been born from the graveyard itself, pulled from the ground like a monument to death. At the front door stood two skeletal remains nailed against the wood like eerie sentinels.

Aether’s eyes darted left and right, trying to make sense of the place. Everything appeared calm. The wind had died down.

But something felt wrong.

Very wrong.

He hurried his steps, trying to keep up with Nyx. The gravel crunched beneath his feet as he reached the doorway, stopping just beside her.

His gaze fell on the two skeletal forms nailed to the door. He swallowed thickly.

’It’s getting even more creepy...’

The skeletons were twisted, their skulls cracked, arms spread wide as though crucified. Their jaws hung open in a silent scream, and their eye sockets stared blankly ahead.

Then Nyx spoke again, and the words stabbed straight through his spine.

"That’s my mother and my father."

"..."

Aether’s face went pale. His eyes widened, blood draining from his cheeks as he looked at the skeletal forms again—really looked at them.

In the flickering light, their bones seemed to tremble slightly, as if they were trying to speak. Trying to scream. Begging for release.

He took a step back.

Nyx smiled fondly at the skeletons and bent her knees in a polite bow. Holding the hem of her dark dress delicately, she spoke in a sweet and respectful tone.

"He is my husband, Father... Mother... your son-in-law."

Aether turned to look at her with a mix of shock and disbelief. The way she said it—like she was introducing him at a family dinner—sent chills down his spine.

Still, not knowing what else to do, he gave a stiff, awkward bow.

"U-Uhm... hello..."

Nyx covered her mouth with her fan again and let out a soft, amused chuckle.

"Haha... he’s cute indeed."

Then, she tilted her head slightly and added with a giggle,

"Don’t worry, Mother. You’ll be meeting your grandson soon."

Aether recoiled.

His head snapped toward her.

"W-Wait! Who... who are you talking to right now?!"

His voice cracked, overwhelmed by the absurdity of it all. He had thought she was just eccentric, maybe a little screw loose in the head from living alone in a graveyard... but talking to her dead parents like they were still alive?

This wasn’t weird.

This was terrifying.

Nyx turned to him casually, lowering the fan from her lips as she answered with a matter-of-fact shrug.

"My father and mother, of course."

"...You’re kidding me, right?"

Her expression didn’t change.

She tilted her head just slightly, lips curled in a soft smile, eyes shining with unsettling playfulness. It was a look that sent a shiver down his spine.

"R-Really? Your parents... are still

here

?"

Nyx nodded slowly.

Aether’s breath caught in his throat. He looked at the skeletons again, this time unable to unsee the human forms they once had. He swore one of the jawbones twitched.

"W-Well then... uh... h-hello again,"

He said with a nervous smile.

Nyx simply stared at him for a second.

[+10 AP]

Nyx burst into laughter.

"Hahaha... How cute. I’m just teasing you," she said, waving her hand dismissively.

Aether’s temple twitched. A vein popped on his forehead.

"So... who are those skeletons, then?"

"That’s my parents."

"You just said you were teasing—what?! You

really

kept their bodies? Why?!"

She gave a nonchalant shrug, stepping toward the house’s entrance.

Aether let out a long sigh, muttering under his breath. He had no idea what kind of person he’d just married.

Every step into this place was like stepping deeper into madness.

Then why did he still follow her inside?

Because... He loves Madness!

As the metal door creaked closed behind them, the earth trembled softly beneath their feet.

Back outside, the skulls that lay scattered across the graveyard began to shift. Bones slowly rolled and clicked together, and the skeletons near the door straightened ever so slightly—like soldiers standing at attention.

Actually, this grave was protecting her house, that’s all.