CHAPTER 93: THE FALL OF A FROZEN WORLD(28)

"Eir, my son, you shouldn’t be scared of death. Everything has an end; it’s just a natural cycle. You should look at it as a final rest. Don’t grieve my death, as it will only lead to worse."

He frowned, clenching his mother’s hand. She smiled at him, massaging his palm, as she slowly lost her eyes.

He loved his mother more than anything else; she was the only one there for him now that their father had left, after hearing the news of their new baby.

Letting go of his dead mother’s hand, he looked next to her, where a baby resided. His golden hair... no one would know that behind it was the one who had killed their mother. The two pieces of blue crystal that were his eyes seemed so innocent... he was nothing but innocent.

...

"Aether, that will be your name. One fitting for the outside, and not the inside..."

...

...

Having to ravage trash cans for food, to steal, even to starve himself sometimes. Those were one of the things he had to do to raise Aether. And it never got easier. If his mother were here...

Even now, he has to take care of his every need, and he has grown way more demanding now; he hasn’t even slept in days.

Maybe that was why he reacted like he did just now.

"... So where is the food?"

Aether chuckled nervously as he looked at the empty trash can.

"Well... not here apparently."

...

"Just how useless can you be, you damn murderer?"

Eir gripped his mother’s collar, raising him up and screaming in his face.

"Can’t you let me rest for a second? Are you a dog or something that always needs others to do everything for them?"

Aether kicked his feet around, trying to touch the floor, but his legs were too small. He tapped his brother’s arm, trying to make him let go, but he wouldn’t listen.

"You want something to eat? Here, the wall is nice."

His eyes widened, trying to stop his brother as he slammed his face into the wall. He broke many of his teeth in the process.

He couldn’t eat for a while after that.

...

...

His awakening has been disappointing to say the least; he had gained no powerful affinity, it wasn’t even something that would help him with what he was doing. But what is notable that day is how Aether started to act strangely

Like he was talking to someone, he had whole conversations, laughed, and was sad, all by talking to himself. He, of course, was very annoyed by it, trying to make him stop numerous times, and yet it never seemed to work.

And so to finally make him stop, he threw him out of the shadows, to show him what he was going through every day while he talked to his invisible friend.

And yet... Aether never came back.

...

...

It was easier after he left, as he only needed food for himself, but at the same time, it felt empty without him. Like a voice was missing around him. He never considered how he missed listening to him blame for hours, to try and help him.

He had grown, and so he realized the truth, finally stopping putting the blame on him for their mother’s death. It had been stupid of him to say that he was a murderer because their mothers did after he was born.

She had even told him not to grieve, and yet, he had done exactly that. And had dragged Aether into the hole he created for himself, making him go through everything he did, even if he was still a small child.

He wasn’t always this good at what he did; he wasn’t born with his skill in finding trashed food or other things to steal. He failed more than he could count, so why y when Aether did the same, did he react that way?

And now with the voices, maybe he had been jealous or something, but he made the biggest mistake by kicking him out. He didn’t know what had been going on inside his mind. Aether was young and inexperienced; how was he supposed to survive in these conditions?

And wasn’t that also his fault?

If he had really wanted Aether to help him, shouldn’t he have trained him until now, instead of spending his free time sleeping?

Because of his mistake, Aether likely faced his death on the streets alone.

...

And if he hadn’t, after time froze, he definitely had.

The coming of the Queen was a surprise to all, but what was even more unexpected was the end of the world. No one had expected time to be frozen, and so no one had been prepared for it.

The world was in absolute shambles because of that, people scrambled to try and find food that could be eaten, or something to drink.

Not even the rich were safe, as after her coming, the Rings changed completely, becoming the pain part of the Kingdom, holding nobles, aka those who have already accepted her power, and their distant relatives. And the outskirts, which were almost unhabitable as time had frozen in the middle of their worst tundra ever.

There was no way Aether managed to survive in these conditions. It made him crazy, as if it were all his fault. Like he had been the one to kill him with his two hands, so... he set out to find him, searching through the towns of the outskirts first, and surviving with scraps.

But even after the whole of the outskirts was traversed, he had found no one.

He felt searching as if he was looking for someone who didn’t exist.

But at that time, there had been talks about a masked being that came to people and recruited them for some reason. And he wasn’t just anyone.

It was said he was the vessel of Priase.

...

And he also appeared in front of him, just that... for some reason, he actually recognized him.

"Aether?"

The boy looked at him with his blue eyes, as if he were staring into his soul. He smiled at first, but after he heard that name, his smile faded.

...

"Who? Someone with that name doesn’t exist."

...

Letting go of his dead mother’s hand, he looked next to her, where a baby resided. His golden hair... no one would know that behind it was the one who had killed their mother. The two pieces of blue crystal that were his eyes seemed so innocent... he was nothing but innocent.

He was the one who had killed their mother.

... Or was he? Was her death really his fault?

"------, that will be your name. One fitting for the outside, and not the inside..."

...

Wait, which name was it again?

...

...

"Eir, Eir! I found some food, come!"

He sighed, seeing his brother’s excitement. It has been five years since he was born, and life has never been the same since. ------ had no idea how hard it was for him to raise himself and keep himself from starving, even more in a place like the outskirts.

Having to ravage trash cans for food, to steal, even to starve himself sometimes. Those were one of the things he had to do to raise ------. And it never got easier. If his mother were here...

Even now, he has to take care of his every need, and he has grown way more demanding now; he hasn’t even slept in days. He was tired, very tired, to the point he couldn’t think straight. But this wasn’t a good enough reason to do what he had done.

Maybe that was why he reacted like he did just now.

"... So where is the food?"

------ chuckled nervously as he looked at the empty trash can.

"Well... not here apparently."

...

"Just how useless can you be, you damn murderer?"

Eir gripped his brother’s collar, raising him up and screaming in his face.

"Can’t you let me rest for a second? Are you a dog or something that always needs others to do everything for them?"

------ kicked his feet around, trying to touch the floor, but his legs were too small. He tapped his brother’s arm, trying to make him let go, but he wouldn’t listen.

"You want something to eat? Here, the wall is nice."

His eyes widened, trying to stop his brother as he slammed his face into the wall. He broke many of his teeth in the process.

He couldn’t eat for a while after that.

...

...

His awakening has been disappointing to say the least; he had gained no powerful affinity, it wasn’t even something that would help him with what he was doing. He felt as if all his work was for nothing, like he had been doing everything just to get a little candy for appreciation. But what is notable that day is how ------ started to act strangely.

Like he was talking to someone, he had whole conversations, laughed, and was sad, all by talking to himself. He, of course, was very annoyed by it, trying to make him stop numerous times, and yet it never seemed to work. It was like he was glued to whoever he was talking to, getting mad when he tried to stop him.

And so to finally make him stop, he threw him out in the shadows, to show him what he was going through every day while he talked to his invisible friend.

And yet... ------ never came back.

...

...

It was easier after he left, as he only needed food for himself, but at the same time, it felt empty without him. Like a voice was missing around him. He never considered how he missed listening to him talk for hours, to try and help him.

He had grown, and so he realized the truth, finally stopping putting the blame on him for their mother’s death. It had been stupid of him to say that he was a murderer because their mothers did after he was born.

She had even told him not to grieve, and yet, he had done exactly that. And had dragged Aether into the hole he created for himself, making him go through everything he did, even if he was still a small child.

But now it was impossible to tell him everything, as he was most likely dead. If he hadn’t died back when he threw him out, with her coming, there was no chance he would survive.

It was hard for him to resist now that the end of the world had come, and time was frozen. But someone like ------, it was his job to teach him to survive, yet he had done nothing.

...

And yet he had hope he was alive... and he couldn’t let go of that hope. Going on a journey to find him. But it didn’t lead to anything.

However, at that time, there had been talks about a masked being that came to people and recruited them for some reason. And he wasn’t just anyone.

He was Praise’s vessel.

And he also appeared in front of him, just that... for some reason, he actually recognized him.

...

"Aether?"

The boy’s eyes widened, as if he had never expected to hear those words.

...

"Who? Someone with that name doesn’t exist."

...

Letting go of his dead mother’s hand, he looked next to her, where a baby resided. His golden hair... no one would know that behind it was the one who had killed their mother-

"No! Shut up."

Everything around him shattered as he found himself in front of the boy again. As if nothing had happened.

He wasn’t going to let those cursed memories replay again, not anymore.

Aether smiled, walking over to him and placing his hand on his shoulder, then leaving without saying another word.

Eir had wanted to stop him, but he was caught off guard by what he heard next.

[You have gained a path.]

***

[Path]: —The Jack—