Chapter 204: Chapter : 204 : I Hate This Floor!

The hall stretched outward, expanding into a cathedral of mirrors. Every surface reflected a version of her—dozens, hundreds—each slightly different.

One was bowed so deeply she looked folded in half.

One had torn wings.

One knelt beside Aiden—but he looked away.

One stood alone while others laughed together.

A bell rang.

The system did not announce itself.

A voice did.

Soft. Kind. Cruel because of it.

“Welcome, former property.”

Aethoniel screamed.

“D-Don’t call me that!” She spun, wings flaring in panic. “I’m—I’m his wife!”

The voice hummed thoughtfully.

“Are you?”

The mirrors shifted again.

She saw Aiden—standing tall, surrounded by strength. Luna’s certainty. Nyxion’s confidence. Venya’s warmth. Others who stood straight beside him.

And then—

Herself.

Behind him.

Half a step back.

Eyes down.

Hands folded.

Her breath hitched. “I-I don’t mean to…” She said quickly, desperately. “I try. I really try.”

The floor cracked.

Words burned into the air, one by one.

ENOUGH.

USEFUL.

BURDEN.

The last word sank into her chest like a nail.

She shook her head violently.

“N-No! I’m not— I don’t want to be a burden! I never want to make Benefactor look bad!”

The mirrors leaned closer.

A new reflection stepped forward.

This one wore fine clothes. Clean. Free.

But the collar was still there.

The reflection smiled with pity.

“You don’t belong with them,” It said gently.

“You know that. Look at you.”

Aethoniel’s knees buckled.

She fell to the floor, hands slapping against stone.

“I-I know…” She sobbed. “I know. That’s why I stay quiet. That’s why I don’t ask for things. I don’t want to cause trouble.”

The voice pressed closer, warm like honey.

“You could let go.”

Chains appeared around her wrists—not heavy. Familiar.

“Release the bond,” The voice whispered.

“Free him from your stain.”

Her heart slammed painfully.

“Y-You mean…” Her breath fractured. “If I leave… he’ll be happier?”

The mirrors answered.

Aiden smiling more easily.

No glances of worry.

No gentle reassurances whispered to someone trembling.

The image hurt worse than any blade.

Aethoniel curled in on herself, sobs shaking her whole body.

“I-I just want him to smile… Even if it’s not with me.”

The chains tugged.

The system finally spoke—but quietly,

almost respectfully.

—

[TRIAL CONDITION PRESENTED]

[RELEASE YOUR CLAIM]

[YOU WILL BE FREE OF DOUBT]

[YOU WILL NO LONGER HURT]

—

Her thoughts spiraled.

*If I let go, I won’t be scared anymore.*

*If I let go, I won’t embarrass him.*

*If I let go—*

Her fingers brushed the chains.

They were warm.

She screamed.

“No!” She clutched her head, wings shuddering violently. “I’m scared! I’m always scared! But—”

Her voice broke completely.

“But I don’t want to disappear!”

The mirrors cracked.

The reflections shouted at once.

“You are replaceable!”

“You are weak!”

“You were bought!”

“You don’t deserve—”

Aethoniel slammed her hands against the floor.

“STOP!”

The sound echoed—raw, desperate, real.

She lifted her head, tears streaming freely.

“I know I’m weak!” She cried. “I know I was a slave! I know I shake and stutter and can’t even look people in the eyes!”

She pressed a hand to her chest, right where the bond pulsed faintly. “But he chose me anyway.”

Her voice shook—but did not stop.

“I don’t know how to be proud,” She whispered. “I don’t know how to stand tall like the others. But I love him.”

The mirrors went silent.

She swallowed hard.

“And if loving him means being afraid every day that I’m not enough…”

She took a shuddering breath.

“Then I’ll be afraid.”

The chains shattered.

The mirrors exploded into light.

The hall collapsed inward, folding into darkness—

—and then warmth.

Gentle. Buzzing. Alive.

Aethoniel floated, suspended in a soft amber glow. The scent of honey returned—clean this time. Safe.

The system spoke again, changed.

—

[TRIAL OF SELF-WORTH COMPLETE]

[YOU DID NOT RELEASE YOUR CLAIM]

[YOU ACCEPTED YOUR FEAR]

—

A small light drifted toward her—not heavy, not bright.

A hive-shaped sigil, softly glowing.

It settled into her chest.

Her wings steadied.

Her breathing slowed.

Aiden’s presence brushed against her bond—not words, not images—just reassurance. Solid. Unquestioning.

Aethoniel sobbed once more—but this time, quietly.

“B-Benefactor…” She whispered. “I’m still here. Even if I’m scared.”

—

[TRIAL OF BURDENS — COMPLETED]

—

Light came softly.

Not like a flash. Not like a tear.

It was a warmth that spread through the last edges of every trial at once—through fear, doubt, resolve, devotion—until each of them felt the same pull.

Forward.

The forest that had tested Luna’s devotion faded like mist at dawn. The silver moon dimmed. The empty ache in her chest loosened, replaced by something steady and familiar.

“Master…” She whispered, ears twitching.

The amber glow around Aethoniel’s hive-mark pulsed once—gently—then stretched outward, pulling her away from the shattered mirrors and the lingering echoes of her own screams.

She flinched, instinctively clutching her chest. “B-Benefactor…?”

Venya felt it as joy.

The small golden flame she had accepted flared brightly, humming like a content heartbeat.

She laughed even as the floating island beneath her dissolved.

“Hee—Venya thinks this means we’re done!”

Nyxion felt it like a shadow snapping back into place.

The throne room of chains and choices folded inward, darkness peeling away as if it had never dared cling to her for long.

“About time,” She muttered, lips curling into a smile that trembled just a little.

Far away, under auroras and sand, Arisha felt the same pull. So did Serica, Vaara, Vegia, Selvara, and Thristle—each of them mid-breath, mid-thought, mid-complaint.

The desert vanished.

The bazaar vanished.

The mirrors vanished.

The chains vanished.

They all stepped forward—

—and arrived.

Together.

They stood in a vast passageway that looked half-real, half-dream.

Columns lined both sides, tall and pale, carved from something that shimmered like stone seen through heat haze.

Symbols ran along them—not words, but impressions: loyalty, fear, trust, burden, choice.

Above, the ceiling arched impossibly high, fading into a glow that felt like sunrise filtered through clouds.

The floor beneath their feet was smooth and warm.

A mirage temple.

A crossing place.

A convergence.

For a heartbeat, no one moved.

They looked around, breath catching.

“Luna…?” Venya said first, eyes lighting up.

“Aethoniel!” Vegia gasped.

Nyxion’s gaze snapped forward.

Then—

She saw him.

Aiden stood at the far end of the passage, one hand resting at his side, shoulders slumped in exhaustion he hadn’t noticed yet.

Fluffynugget perched proudly on his shoulder, glitter drifting lazily as it chirped.

“Mii~”

The woman who had followed him through the bazaar was gone. No trace. No echo. As if she had never existed at all.

Aiden looked up.

And froze.

For half a second, his brain didn’t catch up with what his eyes were seeing.

Then—

“Luna.”

She didn’t answer.

She screamed his name.

“MASTER!”

She ran.

Not gracefully. Not carefully.

She launched herself down the passage, boots skidding, tail lashing wildly behind her.

Aiden barely had time to open his arms before she hit him full force.

She wrapped herself around him like she was afraid he would disappear if she didn’t.

Her claws dug into his coat. Her face buried against his chest.

She was shaking.

“I thought—” She choked, voice breaking completely. “I thought you were gone. I thought—”

“I’m here,” Aiden said instantly, arms tightening around her. “I’m right here.”

She cried.

Not quietly.

Great, ugly sobs that soaked straight through his shirt as she clung to him like an anchor.

“I hate this floor,” She sobbed. “I hate it. I hate being away from you.”

Aiden pressed his chin against her head, eyes burning. “Yeah. Me too.”

He barely finished the sentence before—

“My king!”

Thristle slammed into them from the side, arms locking around both of them with zero concern for personal space.

“Do you know how cold it was?” She demanded loudly, eyes suspiciously wet.

“Do you know how many bugs I punched?”

Aiden huffed out a breathless laugh. “I can imagine.”

Serica arrived next, a little slower, but her hand still grabbed his shoulder firmly.

“You’re alive,” She said, like she’d been checking off a list. Then, softer, “Good.”

Vaara hovered behind her, then stepped in, wrapping her arms around his waist carefully. “I didn’t like not being able to feel you,” She admitted quietly.

Vegia placed a hand over his forearm, smiling with relief that reached her eyes. “This floor is cruel.”

Selvara crossed her arms—but she stood close. “Tch,” She muttered. “…Don’t do that again.”

Arisha came last from that group, stopping just in front of him. She bowed her head slightly.

“You returned,” She said simply. Relief flickered in her eyes.

Before Aiden could answer—

Something small collided with his side.

Aethoniel.

She didn’t jump. She didn’t tackle.

She pressed into him carefully, arms trembling as they wrapped around his middle, wings shuddering. “B-Benefactor…” She whispered.

Aiden felt it immediately.

The way she shook. The way she clung like she wasn’t sure she was allowed to.

He shifted just enough to pull her fully into his arms.

“I’m here,” He said gently. “You did good. All of you did.”

Her breath hitched.

She buried her face against him and cried—quietly, like she didn’t want to disturb anyone.

Venya arrived last.

She didn’t rush.

She walked up with a bright smile that wobbled at the edges, then wrapped her arms around his back from behind.

“My Lord,” She said cheerfully, voice thick with emotion. “Venya knew you’d be fine.”

Aiden laughed softly, surrounded on all sides. “You all scared the hell out of me.”

Fluffynugget fluttered up, circling them all in excited loops. “Mii~! Mii~!”

The light in the passage brightened.

The columns hummed.

Something deep within the space acknowledged them—not as individuals, but as a whole.

A family.

Aiden rested his forehead briefly against Luna’s.

“Whatever this floor was trying to break,” He said quietly, “it failed.”

Luna sniffed, pulling back just enough to glare at the ceiling. “Good. Because if it tried again, I’d bite it.”

Thristle cracked her knuckles. “Same.”

Nyxion smirked. “Together.”

The passage began to open ahead of them, light spilling forward.

Not a threat.

An invitation.

Aiden straightened slightly, keeping an arm around Luna and Aethoniel both.

“Alright,” He said, voice steady despite the weight in his chest. “Let’s go.”

—

END OF Chapter : 204 : I HATE THIS FLOOR!

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