Aether bit his nails as he went in circles. Really, his whole world had gotten turned around from that; he had no idea what to do next.

Originally, he wanted to just go back and fight Denial after hearing his weakness, and that stayed the same after hearing it. He wasn’t scared of exchanging blows with that guy; he already been beaten up by him. And plus, he had faced the worst; he had faced people who is they used their full power, they could kill him in one punch

He coughed.

“The Queen.”

He didn’t know Denials’ rank or class, but even the Ace had thrown harder punches, or maybe it was just because he was weaker, but they hurt more.

So by that, any opponent he had faced in Frozen Crown was stronger.

That was why he wasn’t scared of exchanging blows with him, because he already been with much worse.

…

But the true problem, just like Leo had said, was the illusion…

Was it true that he could get out of it? Yeah, Voidpiercer was made for this. But he didn’t know if with each illusion he would have to get his memories back, and if he did, it would be very tiring… and even if he did get his memories, it would still be a hassle to break the world every time, constantly. Plus, if Denial healed inside, he just had to get back in the illusion every time he was weak. He was at a clear disadvantage.

So that was why he didn’t know what to do. If he just followed his initial plan, it would just lead to him having to jump out of the palace again, and try to survive the fall again, and he really had a really got felling that he won’t.

So…

He had to find a way to fight Denial without using any of his senses, but how was that even possible? How could he fight someone without knowing where he was, and plus, he had to wait for him to make contact; he would just get beaten up like a child if he went to fight Denial now.

…

He had to find a way, a way to fight, to tell where Denial was without seeing him.

There was the idea of traps with sound, but at the same time, Denial wasn’t dumb enough to fall in any of them. But even more, he wouldn’t let him put them. And let’s say he did, he would know where he put them.

But then what else, what else could he do?

…

Aether sighed. He was exhausted from getting the heart and from thinking so hard…

So he decided to take a stroll, since maybe that would clear his mind, just a bit at least, since his head hurt like crazy.

Aether let his feet carry him without purpose.

The Tides stretched endlessly around him, a living border that breathed and shifted like a restless sea frozen mid-thought. Wind pressed against his clothes, tugging, whispering, carrying fragments of distant waves that never quite crashed. The ground beneath his boots felt wrong, too smooth in some places, too brittle in others, as if reality itself was undecided. He walked because standing still made his thoughts louder, and movement, even meaningless, dulled the ache in his skull.

He did not notice the ground thinning.

His step came down, and there was nothing there.

The world dropped out from under him.

Aether fell.

The wind screamed past his ears, colder, heavier, as the light above twisted into a narrowing wound.

Aether brushed dust from his clothes and straightened, breathing slowly until the pounding in his chest settled. The fall had been short, almost disappointing, the kind that bruised pride more than bones. Above him, the hole he had dropped through yawned like a cracked tooth in the stone, thin light spilling down in uneven lines. The wind still reached him here, weaker but familiar, carrying the same hollow chill of the Tides.

Yet when he looked up, he realized something was wrong; this place was full of shadows, to the brim. And not just shadows, but Lost, shadows without a master, and who chose not to be forgotten. But why were there so many? For this to happen, wouldn’t that mean that a lot of people have died here?…

They also noticed him, all their eyes turning towards him… which made his guts turn. He closed his eyes and put his hands over his ears, curling up. But just like he had expected, he could still hear them.

The wrath in their faces, their anger being all let at him…

He tried not to panic; he just had to wait for them to let it all out, then he could leave. It was hard to ignore them, since he was exgaushed his soul was weaker, which meant they were louder.

He could feel their presence…

…

…

‘Wait…’

Aether opened his eyes… he could feel their presence.

He didn’t know where they were exactly, but he knew they were there, near.

It gave him an idea.

…

The reason for why he could feel them even without being able to see or hear them. Was because they spoke through the soul… so was it that he couldn’t feel them, but rather their soul.

But did that work on shadows with a master, and if he did… could he train to be able to see where shadows, and use it against Denial.

Aether smiled, and the moment the shadows stopped, he crawled out using Voidpiercer.

…He finally had a plan.

…

…

He spent the day with the men, asking them more questions about Denial, until night came around, which was when he was going to actually put his plan in place. Outside, he looked around, seeing the large number of shadows, but this was normal at night.

… He sighed, closing his eyes and stuffing his ears with some cotton he had borrowed from the man.

Darkness, he was in utter darkness. He didn’t see or hear anything. All he was aware of was that he was on the ground, plus the wind was very gentle tonight, so he couldn’t even feel it pressing against him.

At that moment, he was blind.

But that was what he needed.

He was going to try to find a shadow without using his eyes or ears, but rather by sensing its soul.

The thing was that he had no idea how to do that. He hardly knew anything about how souls worked, or how soul attacks worked, so how was he supposed to sense someone else’s soul when he couldn’t even sense his?

…

So that was the first step.

But again, he had no idea how to do so.

So he based himself on something else.

He knew that the core was made from his affinity, and him. That part being his soul, he could feel the essence in his body if he concentrated enough… so maybe.

Aether inhaled, focusing on his core. He imagines it to be a pond, with many rivers, and that he was a small fish going through them. He swam away from his home to the pond and followed a river; if he had to say, it was his right arm.

He felt weirdly calm…

Continuing to swim around, he found that the river he was on split into five more, which made sense; these were his fingers. They were where the river was narrowest, so he decided to go inside it… and dove deep down.

His small body wasn’t made for this depth, so he felt his mind start to hurt, but he didn’t stop; he dove deeper, trying to find something.

And that was when he felt the water change; it became clearer, purer… and yet it was harder to swim here…

He didn’t let it get to him; he turned around and followed this river.

It made him feel dizzy, but it was just probably because he wasn’t used to it.

The river started to become bigger and bigger, and the current of the river began to become stronger, making it even harder for his small body to move around.

But this just meant that he was getting closer to something.

In the end, the river led him to a pond, not the same as the one from before, smaller, but stronger, filled with this strange water.

Aether decided to swim to the center, but it was easier said than done. Many tall waves came from the center, waves that could swallow him whole. But he didn’t fear; he swam towards them. Riding them through the powerful current that made him slower.

But his pride didn’t let him go back, so he continued until he reached the center of the pond.

… This was it, his soul.

…

Aether smiled weakly.

Inside the darkness that he saw, the one where not even light was there to save him… a small white glow had appeared…. right where his soul was.

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