Chapter 1158: Broken Samsara: Part-3

"What the fuck? Are you a freaking fairy?"

Aether muttered with a mix of disbelief and shock, his brows twitching as his gaze fixed on the absurd scene in front of him.

Inside a strange birdcage, sat a tiny, purplish creature—barely the size of his index finger. She had small, delicate wings, an overly adorable face, and wore fluffy, frilly clothes that looked like they belonged to some magical toy rather than a real being.

She was perched angrily on one of the cage bars, cheeks puffed like an offended squirrel, glaring at Aether with eyes full of unfiltered rage.

"How dare you cage the mighty me, you insolent bastard!!"

Her high-pitched voice exploded with fury, completely opposite to her sickeningly cute appearance. The rage in her expression looked almost comical—like a kitten threatening to burn the world.

Aether blinked, stunned. "A-Are you sure... you’re The

Grace?"

The veins on the tiny girl’s forehead throbbed as she clenched her tiny fists,

"Oh? If you have a doubt Why don’t you let me out, and we’ll see, huh?!" she snapped, her sweet doll-like face twisting into a wicked grin.

"...."

This was... probably the first time Aether ever felt that saying: Looks are deceiving—hit so damn hard.

Now he truly got what that proverb meant. Every word of it.

He leaned closer, narrowing his eyes. "Okay, brat—"

"Don’t you dare call me brat, you fucking asshole!! I’ll cut your dick off and shove it straight up your ass, you hear me?!"

She screamed with pure venom as her tiny fingers balled into trembling fists. Her entire body shook with outrage. How dare this lowlife humiliate her—the one and only—

The Mighty Grace?

The Soul Guider?

The eternal being that guided the dead across dimensions?

She once made death itself kneel... and now she was trapped in a fucking cage like a fairy-shaped hamster?! She didn’t even know how the hell this bastard got hold of something like this!

"Did those two filthy bitches help you?!"

Before Aether could get a word out, she snarled and shouted again,

"Of course they did! Why else would a pathetic, dickless loser like you be able to catch me in something like this?! Fuck you, bitch!!"

"..."

Aether tilted his head slightly, staring at this unhinged, tiny creature.

What the hell even was this thing?

That face looked like it belonged on a candy wrapper, and yet her mouth sounded like it had been dipped in sewage.

This wasn’t cute.

This was demonic.

"Oi..."

Aether’s voice dropped cold, dangerous, devoid of any playfulness.

The fairy didn’t even flinch. She met his gaze head-on and smirked, eyes wild.

"What? Getting pissed off? Huh?! Then let me go, fuckhead! Or... I’ll rip you a new asshole?!"

"....You know what?" Aether clicked his tongue. "I came here to talk with you... but it looks like talking’s not an option anymore."

He nodded to himself and grabbed the cage by its hooked top. The fairy’s expression shifted instantly—her eyes widened just a bit, her cocky voice losing its edge.

"Y-You wouldn’t...!"

"Of course I would."

Aether’s voice turned dark. With a swift motion, he swung his arm in a wide, vertical loop, spinning the cage like a wheel caught in a storm.

"AHHHHHHH!!!!"

The tiny fairy shrieked as her body flung inside the cage, bouncing violently against the iron bars. Each time her skin touched the cage’s surface, it sparked a strange reaction—her limbs trembled, her eyes dimmed, as if something was being ripped from her very body.

Aether’s face curled into a wicked smile as he spun it faster. He looked like a child playing with a toy—only his toy was a pissed-off fairy getting tormented like a rag doll in a blender.

"For someone so small, you sure have a big fucking mouth,"

Aether muttered with a smirk.

"What did you say again? Shove something up my ass? Please. If anything—I’d be shoving something in you. Might even teach you how to speak to someone above your damn level."

"ARRRHH!! YOU’LL PAY FOR THIS, YOU FUCKING MOTHERFUCKER!!!"

Her howl shook with rage as her tiny hands flailed in the air, but she had no chance to regain control. The spinning only got worse.

Aether’s eyes twitched. "God damn, even your voice is annoying... cute face my ass."

After a few more satisfying turns, Aether finally brought the cage to a stop. He crouched slightly, peering inside.

And froze.

The fairy had shrunk.

Not just metaphorically—her body was now almost the size of half a middle finger. Her wings drooped, her breathing was shallow, her face covered in sweat. Her eyes, however—those murderous, blazing eyes—still stared at him like they were ready to burn him alive.

’So the cage weakens her powers ah?’ Aether thought, slightly intrigued as he observed her fragile state.

"Y-YOU WILL—"

"Ah?"

Aether tilted the cage again with a single flick.

She froze instantly, shoulders jerking in terror.

She knew if she triggered that effect again, she might just vanish.

So, biting her tongue and swallowing her fury, she clenched her jaw, holding back the volcano boiling inside her.

Whatever this cage was... it was sure working on her!!

Her cute face puffed and trembled, barely able to hide the rage and humiliation as she kept her mouth shut, trembling like a ticking bomb.

Aether nodded with an expression of cold satisfaction. Finally... control.

"Good girl."

"..."

Veins bulged faintly on the girl’s flushed cheeks, her tiny jaw clenched hard, yet she managed to keep her mouth shut. Her face trembled with frustration, her wings twitching slightly, like she was resisting every urge to bite his head off then and there.

"What’s your name?" Aether asked, voice calm, as if nothing chaotic had just happened.

"..."

"If you don’t say it, I’ll just call you a brat again—"

"It’s Grace," she snapped, her voice cutting the air with sharpness, yet that name, despite her tone, sounded oddly graceful when it left her lips.

Aether smiled, softly and warmly, his expression suddenly turning kind and gentle... as if he were some innocent boy rather than the guy who’d just tortured her like a spinning rat in a cage.

"That’s a good name, Grace... Sweet."

He lowered his body slightly, so he was more at eye level with the caged figure, his voice dropping into a warm, almost soothing register.

"Listen, I know this whole situation is annoying. Hell, if I were you, I’d be pissed too. But the truth is... I really don’t want to hurt you. I never planned to. You were the one who came at me, remember?

Did I ever lay a hand on you before this?"

Grace turned her head slightly, giving him a piercing side-eye, but she remained silent. Her tiny hands were clenched tightly against her skirt, her little chest heaving as if trying to calm a storm inside.

"And about those ’bitches’ you mentioned earlier... I honestly don’t even know who you’re talking about," he added, letting out a tired breath. "I’ve got no involvement with anyone like that."

Aether’s voice cracked slightly. He sniffed. His eyes shimmered faintly with tears—or at least, something meant to look like tears.

"I just wanted a peaceful life with my wives. Is that so wrong? Is it too much to ask? I worked hard...

Sniff..

I survived all kinds of shit just to be with them. That’s all I want. Nothing else. Just a quiet, warm home... where I can laugh with them. Hold them. Be loved...

Sniff, sniff..."

He rubbed under his eyes gently to wipe away tears.

"I don’t know what I did that made you so angry with me. I’m sorry if I offended you somehow... but please, I just want to return to my wives. They’d be bored and lonely without me. Especially..."

He paused, letting his voice tremble.

"Especially Mary."

Grace visibly flinched the moment the name left his lips. Her expression froze, then twisted into something more serious—eyes narrowing like twin blades.

"Mary?" she asked, voice low, suspicious. "You mean... Mary Scarlet? The one currently ruling over my empire?"

Aether gave a small, dreamy nod, his face glowing with a soft, almost dazed smile.

"Yes. That’s her. She’s the woman I love. She’s the one who... well, she kind of kidnapped me, then forcibly married me.

I know, I know... it sounds terrible.

But after that... she was unbelievably sweet to me. I couldn’t even stay angry. She spoiled me, brought me things I liked... spoke to me kindly. She told me she’d protect me from everything.... Even if it was The Grace!"

He glanced at Grace with moist, trembling eyes.

"So please... don’t hurt me. Don’t hurt her. I don’t want her to be sad. She’s such a... such an innocent soul."

"..."

Grace stared at him like she was watching some strange performance. Her expression was caught between shock and disbelief... and a faint tinge of disgust.

"You love that insane woman?"

"..." Aether blinked once, twice, inwardly cringing. ’So even this thing thinks Mary Scarlet is insane... ahh...’ He swallowed his thoughts and forced a shaky nod.

"Y-Yes. I do."

But the next second, his expression shifted like a switch had been flipped. Rage flared across his features.

"Don’t you dare call her insane!! She’s... she’s the most loving, devoted woman I’ve ever met in my life!!

You better not insult her again—or else..."

His grip tightened on the cage, making the metal creak faintly.

Grace flinched instinctively, her wings fluttering in fear as she raised both hands.

"F-Fine! I’m not saying anything else! Geez!"

But inside, she was stunned.

Mary Scarlet... married him? And loved him?

It sounded like a twisted joke.

That woman had never once shown affection to anyone.

It made no sense. That woman was cruel, twisted, and liked to play games. Grace had known her tricks, seen them firsthand—how Mary toyed with souls, wandered into forbidden places just to provoke people, broke sacred rules just because she could. Grace had clashed with her before, especially when Mary dared to take soul for Nyx, acting as if the empire was her personal playground.

And now she was... in love?

This guy... this weird little bastard... somehow caught her attention?

’Don’t tell me... that bitch set this whole thing up on purpose. She probably knew about him, knew how the lost soul was tangled with him. She might’ve orchestrated this—to bait me out, trap me, and gain full control over the empire without my interference...’

After all, it was Grace, the people bowed their heads, not her... so her greed must have increased.

Grace’s thoughts swirled into dark conclusions, her confidence crumbling slightly.

She was never the paranoid type. Usually, she’d confront a problem head-on, throw a punch or a threat and get it over with. But this cage... it was doing something to her.

It wasn’t just holding her physically. It was... draining her, dulling her pride, making her unsure. Her mind felt foggy. Her thoughts weren’t her usual, sharp self.

It was messing with her head.

Her thoughts weren’t flowing right. Her usual calm, prideful self felt... shaken. Disoriented. And for the same reason, she’d been reacting like an angry teenager—lashing out, spouting threats, losing her cool.

Otherwise, the graceful and haughty one would never use those words!

This wasn’t her.

Grace blinked slowly, trying to shake the dizziness.

Her eyes met Aether’s again.

He looked so genuine.

So stupidly gentle.

So pitiful... like a kicked puppy trying to find its way home.

[+10 AP]

"..."

Aether sniffed once more and gently rubbed the spot beneath his eyes, though no tears ever fell. His lips trembled, and his voice cracked just enough to sell it.

"S-So... please don’t hurt me. Or my beloved..."

"..."

Grace kept staring. He really did look like a poor, helpless soul.

He looked so pathetic.

So helpless.

So... honest.

Aether tilted his head, body twitching nervously as her gaze lingered. He looked awkward now, like he didn’t know how to respond to being stared at.

[...Bastard. What the hell are you playing at?!]

The log inside his head snarled.

But Aether’s eyes remained innocent, harmless—at least on the surface.

Inwardly, he grinned.

’Hehehe... the enemy of my enemy is my friend. This little fairy’s idiot look at her, believing me already, if I play my cards right... She’ll dance in my hand~’

He laughed in his mind.

[You’re playing with fire, fool.]

Aether shrugged mentally, still smiling.

[Don’t you dare come and cry!!]

And then, he felt something—a gentle pull, a surge of awareness—as if someone from the outside was calling him back.

"I think I need to go... I’ll talk to you later," he said, his tone soft, almost polite, as he waved his hand.

And just like that, he disappeared.

Grace sat on the bar in silence, her gaze lingering on the spot where Aether had vanished.

Something felt wrong.

Like an itch in her brain.

But just as the feeling built up...

...it vanished again, swallowed by the cage’s silent drain.