Chapter 1331: Grenthollow obliterates all souls

Drip... Drip....

A white nectar flowed from dark slits that had turned red due to the relentless pounding.

Aether stared between Nyx’s trembling legs, watching the slick sheen glisten in the faint morning light.

He arched an eyebrow, ’Fuck. I lost my control...’ he thought, the sting of regret flickering across his face.

He couldn’t believe he had just lost himself so completely... Just because she whispered those wicked, breathless words—filthy, needy, teasing—he’d surrendered all restraint and fucked her, no care for the consequences, letting raw hunger decide everything.

He looked up at Nyx, who watched him with a half-sleepy, swollen-eyed gaze. Her hair was tangled around her face, lips parted, skin flushed and dewy. Shyness danced across her features as she caught his eyes.

"You tempting ghost girl~" Aether murmured, voice low and rough as he leaned in, playfully nudging the tip of her nose with his. She broke into a soft, drowsy giggle, the sound muffled as her fingers slid down and shielded her slit, carefully cupping herself so nothing would drip from her.

Last night had been a wild, heady blur... Neither of them managed a wink of sleep.

She herself lost how much she felt for the first time.

All night long, Aether moved above her, over her, inside her, each thrust making the bed creak, each gasp echoing in the dark.

He’d been merciless, swept up in her desperate little pleas, the way her body twisted beneath his.

Honestly, she’d tempted him more than ever—seduced him with those honey-dipped, dangerous words, coaxing him to fill her again and again!

"Where did you learn those words, Nyx? Huh?" he asked, pressing a kiss to her bruised, soft lips.

Nyx’s cheeks burned pink as she hid her face, unable to confess she’d memorised every sinful line from a forbidden book Nightfire had slipped her.

Aether was surprised, watching so many emotions flicker across her tired face—embarrassment, pride, mischief, a shy kind of satisfaction.

He adored it, every last bit, but he also knew he’d lost his mind last night, filling her up and forgetting the important thing.

But what was done was done.

He drew a slow breath, deciding not to worry too much. Still, he’d have to ask Emberlyn for something, medicine or magic, to keep fate at bay.

"Emberlyn will give you a potion that’ll keep you from making a baby, alright?" Aether said, his tone turning soft but serious as he brushed a wild strand of hair from her forehead.

Nyx pouted at that, lower lip trembling. She let out a long, resigned sigh. She knew she’d started it... She’d been the one to lure him over the edge, to invite all this. She understood Aether didn’t want a child yet, not with everything else at stake, and part of her respected that.

Still... her heart ached with secret longing, the dream of holding something small and warm—a piece of both of them.

Aether didn’t say anything else. Whatever she chose, he’d stand by her. He’d already told her his own wishes. Now, whatever happened, she would face the consequences, and he’d carry his own pain in silence.

He smiled anyway, gentling his touch, and pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead. "Sleep well," he whispered, fingers brushing her cheek.

Nyx shook her head, her voice small, "I need to—"

"Nah, nah... No way. You worked so hard last night and... I’m pretty sure your hips are killing you right now. Mine are aching, so yours must be worse..." He kissed her quickly, grinning, then stood and pulled the quilt over her body, tucking her.

Nyx nodded, clutching the quilt around her, eyes shining as she watched him move. Her lips parted.

"I love you!" she called as she pulled the covers up and buried her flushed face beneath.

Aether blinked in surprise, a slow, helpless smile spreading across his lips.

She could be so impossibly cute sometimes, it was almost unfair.

He turned toward the bathroom and stepped beneath the spray, letting cool water run over heated skin. As steam filled the air, his mind drifted to his other world—his domain before taking the tub.

***

"It’s been a while, Ms. Grace," Aether said as his consciousness appeared beside a small, ornate cage. The little fairy was still perched on the slender bar, wings tucked, swaying gently back and forth. Her expression was as calm as always... serene, knowing, almost bored.

Grace answered without so much as a glance in his direction. "What do you want now?" she asked with a blunt tone.

Aether let out a wounded sigh, pressing his palm to his chest,

"Oh? I can’t believe you’d say such a thing... I came all the way here just to see you, you know." He crouched down beside the cage, settling onto the floor, watching her with a half-smile. "You see, I’ve been running myself ragged lately—barely any time to sleep."

Grace didn’t say anything.

Aether was not going to give up. "Come on now... I’ve been swamped ever since the arrival of the Sixth Empire," he said, nudging his forehead with two fingers in exhaustion, glancing at her with a curious look. "You have no idea how chaotic it’s been."

Grace raised her eyebrows but kept her silence, her delicate wings fluttering once in quiet annoyance.

Aether continued, not losing steam, "So, this Sixth Empire and the new trial that Mother announced... it’s all happening at once. We’ve been scrambling, just trying to survive. That’s why I’ve been so busy, I swear! Believe me, Grace." His voice edged toward pleading.

Grace finally let out a long, slow sigh and met his eyes. "I forgive you... So, tell me what’s going on outside? Has this Sixth Empire actually arrived already? Can you see it? Has anything changed?"

Aether took mental note of her shift and calmly replied, "No, we haven’t seen the Empire itself. Only the name appears, written in some strange words that keep spreading across the sky. It’s like a prophecy, or a warning—nobody can really make sense of it yet."

Grace frowned, tilting her head as she processed his words. "I see..."

Aether leaned in, watching her eyes. "Do you know something about it? Anything at all?"

Grace shook her head, "That’s none of my business." The edge in her tone made it clear she didn’t want him digging into that Empire, not with her.

Aether bit his lip, frustration flickering over his face. If only she’d share some useful information, maybe he could finally make sense of the chaos outside.

He shook his head, knowing she wouldn’t give him more—her affection was too low. Besides, now wasn’t the time for that kind of conversation. He steered them back to the real reason he came.

"Say... what if someone took Grenthollow from its usual place? Would the souls still move as they always have?"

Grace stared at him, blinking twice, her expression shouting:

What the heck are you talking about?

"What are you saying? It’s impossible to move it from its place."

Aether frowned. "Impossible? But it’s just a mountain, right?"

Noticing the genuine confusion in his tone, Grace’s frown deepened. "Did someone move it?" she asked.

Aether shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "I don’t know. My lovely Mary said it vanished suddenly, and we’ve been searching for it ever since."

Grace stood up on the bar, her face shifting into shock, wings quivering. "Impossible," she muttered under her breath, lost in thought—until her gaze snapped back to Aether, sharp as crystal. "...Maybe. Yeah, right..."

Aether swallowed hard.

Did she know something, or was she just guessing?

He tried to keep his face innocent, even as he felt her stare bore into him. "What are you looking at? It’s not like I took the mountain! My beloved Mary is heartbroken, you know?

Snif, snif

... How could I ever watch her be so sad and gloomy?" he whined, his eyes shimmering as if he were on the verge of tears.

Grace kept her eyes locked on his face,

’If it wasn’t him... then who could possibly move it? No one should be able to, unless they have E—wait... what about the old one? Maybe she used my absence to finally touch my Empire? That’s possible, but taking Grenthollow? She was cursed.

She couldn’t even approach it, let alone move it... Unless she broke the curse. Or maybe she’s planning something even bigger?’ Thoughts flew through Grace’s mind, each more tangled than the last, until she finally looked back at Aether. He sat before her, trembling and pitiful, as if her silence wounded him more than any accusation.

[+400 AP]

"Tsk, I’m not saying it’s you, okay?" Grace said, her face scrunching with a sharp, annoyed look.

"R-Really?" Aether blinked, relief flickering across his eyes.

Grace nodded. Aether let out an inward sigh, a small smile tugging at his lips. "So? Would the souls still move on, even if Grenthollow is gone?"

Grace tilted her head, her expression thoughtful as she turned the question over in her mind. After a pause, she finally spoke,

"Grenthollow is a sole anchor. Even if it’s removed from its place, it still functions... so the souls would continue their walk, falling into the cycle of samsara. However—" she hesitated, gaze sharpening, "—the connection to the Void’s Cradle might be... shivered."

Aether leaned in closer, voice lowering. "If that’s true, the sinner souls wouldn’t get swallowed up, right?"

Grace nodded, her tone now tinged with warning. "They’d be stuck on the steps, and as time passes, there’s a chance the entire stairway could lock—blocking all souls from moving on."

"Then that’s a serious problem, isn’t it?" Aether’s voice trembled with worry. "What are we supposed to do now? If Grenthollow’s missing and we can’t bring it back, shouldn’t we at least let it keep working wherever it is?" He glanced away,

"My Mary... she’d be devastated if something happened to the souls."

Grace couldn’t help but snort, rolling her eyes at the way he said "Mary" yet again, as if the woman’s name was a magic spell.

It never failed to irritate her.

"Actually, there’s another way," Grace said, her tone more measured now.

"Oh? What is it?" Aether’s curiosity flared instantly.

Grace frowned, studying his face. "Why do you sound so interested?"

Aether flinched slightly before regaining his composure. "I mean... if we can find a way, maybe we’ll also figure out where Grenthollow is, right? Maybe the souls would return to the Void’s Cradle if we restore the path?"

Grace stared at him for a long moment. At last, she spoke.

"This is something unique to Grenthollow itself. Once it reaches a certain threshold, the souls that are stuck will be... obliterated."

Aether’s breath caught. "You mean..."

"Yes. They’ll be erased—gone from reality itself."

Aether frowned, "But isn’t that basically the same as the Void’s Cradle? The souls fall in and are lost forever, aren’t they?"

Grace shook her head.

"There’s a difference between endless suffering and true oblivion.

The Void’s Cradle captures souls and traps them in torment—forever stuck, used as energy for the void itself. No reincarnation, no rest... Just endless hunger, draining them dry!

But when Grenthollow obliterates a soul, it’s a simple erasure."

Aether’s expression grew solemn.

Grace continued, her voice now solemn as well. "But... there’s a catch. Every soul on the steps would be obliterated—innocent or wicked, it doesn’t matter."

At that, Aether’s face fell. "Every soul? Even those who don’t deserve it?"

Grace nodded, her tone matter-of-fact. "That’s how it used to be-ahem... Anyway—" she cleared her throat, "—there’s no point in worrying unless you plan to do something. Just find Grenthollow, quickly. Otherwise, this world will have no new souls to be born again."

Aether nodded, ’Looks like I have no choice but to face that woman myself,’ he thought, his mind already plotting his next move.

"So that’s the real reason you came here?" Grace shot him a knowing, almost judgmental look, raising one elegant brow.

Aether’s smile turned sheepish, lips curling in embarrassment. "Please... I didn’t mean to, but—ah!" He clenched his fist, then let it go, a sigh escaping him.

"Fine, fine. I’m sorry. But I really did want to spend time with you, you know." His voice softened, and he began telling her about the insane chaos unfolding outside... his run-ins, the mounting threats, even his sleepless nights.

He explained everything that had been happening on his end—how he was coping, how the Empire was trembling under new trials. Naturally, he tried to prod for information about the Void Empire, curious how they had managed to escape the invasion of Clarion energy. But as expected—

"I didn’t know that." Grace shrugged, not even the faintest flicker of surprise on her face. If she cared, she didn’t show it.

’So she really doesn’t know anything?’ Aether thought, frowning, but he let it go for now and continued his story, recounting every recent event and hoping to get something from her. The only reaction he earned from Grace, though, was a bored,

"Hmm," she hummed, eyes half-lidded, utterly uninterested.