Chapter 56: The Outsider’s Dream

The sky was filled with the wonderful singing of birds, as the sun shone its light across the land, and the streets were filled with cheerful laughter. The smell of freshly baked pastries hung in the air, and the wind brushed gently.

Children ran on the streets, having fun, without a care in the world. Their parents shouted at them to be careful, but nothing could stop them from causing some mischief around town.

Like stealing food from shops, pranking merchants with false money, or just knocking on doors and running. These were the best moments, when they all gathered up to do something fun.

How much he wanted to do it too.

Aether looked at the town through the windows, feeling a faint feeling of jealousy from seeing other children his age having fun, while he had to stay inside the castle.

Well, at least he was going to awaken sooner than them, due to his blood. But he still wanted to enjoy his youth like they did.

He sighed, walking away, and putting on a suit.

It was his sister’s birthday today, so their father had thrown a grand banquet for her, inviting all the nobles and their children. Which meant that he will need to spend time with his friends. That thought made him smile, as he couldn’t contain his happiness.

He rushed down the stairs, running through the halls as the maid tried to stop him, scared that he would trip and fall. Which was exactly what happened.

Aether fell headfirst onto the ground, but due to landing on the red carpet that covered all the halls, he only ended up with a broken nose.

The maids rushed as they saw blood running from his nose, trying to stop it as fast as they could. They also helped with his suit, which was a little ragged by the fall.

And with a warning, he was back to rushing to the ballroom.

As he opened the doors, he felt a bright smile form on his face as he saw so many people. Dancing, singing, having fun. His eyes were lit by stars, as they were a bright galaxy.

He walked inside, slowly making his way to where his sister was.

As she saw him, she smiled, ruffling his hair. She was wearing a red dress, one that made her shine even among a crowd of noblewomen. The way she moved around, how she carried herself with pride and beauty. He could only be happy for his sister. But he couldn’t keep her busy.

So he left, rushing through the crowd of people, trying to find his friends.

And it wasn’t hard to notice them, since they stood out among the other kids.

One of them was the son of the Duke, and one of his father’s most trusted friends. If he remembers correctly, they’ve known each other since childhood, and have grown together, ascending in classes and clearing books. But that stopped whenever it came to breakability.

Not everyone was able to challenge the trial; only a few, and those are the kings and queens of the world now. Why they were chosen is unknown, but what was known was that it wasn’t an easy process. But even after becoming a breaker, they still kept in touch. His father was also the one to name him the Duke.

His second friend was the son of one of the Duke’s maids, so Ethan, the Duke’s son, had known him for a lot more time than he did. Sometimes he even felt left out.

After finding them, they stood at a table together, talking, but for Aether, it was hard to relate to what they were saying. So he just nodded and laughed, trying to seem as if he understood the things he didn’t. And after a while, Ethan came up with the idea of pulling a joke, which Aether was exhilarated about.

The plan was simple; they were going to change the time on the clock, so the others thought that more time had passed. It was an innocent joke, but to them it was more than enough.

Aether snuck his way to the cloak, moving its hands, making it look like three more hours had passed. Then he quickly got back and waited patiently for someone to notice. And when it did, they couldn’t contain their laughter.

Many had been confused by it, checking to see if that much time had really passed, stopping their singing and dancing. To them, it was pure humor.

Aether smiled, looking at how much fun they were having and seeing the smiles and laughter on his friends’ faces. It made him happy.

But… while to him this moment was one that he will never forget, was it going to be the same for them? They have been doing this kind of thing for a lot of time, so did this one really matter that much?

And after seeing how fast the others moved on from it, his doubt only grew stronger. Seeing how they shared inside jokes, and how they had their own code words.

Was he… really part of this group?

…

…

Aether jumped up, breathing heavily as he clenched his chest. His eyes darted around, trying to find out where he was. But, calmed down, looking at the Sun, which reminded him that he was actually inside a book at the moment, and one of the Godspawn rank at that.

He ran a hand through his hair. Scoffing as he realized he had repeated the same dream for a month or so now. It hasn’t left him ever since the day of their first sacrifice, but he didn’t know why his mind kept replaying it.

It wasn’t the Abyss who was doing it like it had done before. No, it was he who kept wanting to relieve those memories. But why?

What was his subconscious trying to tell him? What was the meaning of his dream?

He groaned, getting up on his feet, moving close to the Sun. It had grown to be taller than him, which has been a long and hard journey; he has had to trick many people, plant that doubt, and shatter their hope. And yet it was a little underwhelming that after all that work, it was only this big. Even with Elpis starting to have success, they were still moving too slowly.

They were going to find a way to speed things up, or they won’t have time to finish it. If they took too long, the world was going to continue its descent, and many would die because they couldn’t have done it fast enough. He didn’t want that moment to come; not only did it show him how much he failed. But it would also probably mark the end of the original story, meaning he will be trapped inside for his soul to wander the depths of the void.

He sighed, walking away from the Sun, staring at Elpis and Avrie, who were sleeping. They, too, have been putting their souls on the line: Elpis helping him with getting people to sacrifice themselves, and Avrie with the Sun’s actual growth. He couldn’t help but think about how amazing they both were.

They were an amazing team, even back in the outskirts, with Elpis fighting on the front lines, and Avrie helping from the back with her bow.

They were truly amazing together, filling each other’s flaws.

…

And he was also in this team, just that, he didn’t fill any holes in. He didn’t have Avrie’s knowledge when it came to the world and cores. And he didn’t have Elpis’ talent when it came to combat. He was slower, weaker, and his stamina was nowhere near his.

No one could replace the Witch or the Knight; if they did, the others’ weaknesses would be opened yet again. No matter who the one replacing them was. But if someone were to replace the Fool, then nothing would happen. Anyone could be in his place; he was just lucky to be in this position instead of them.

Even without him, they could have done it, he was sure of it. Maybe they could have done it even faster, who knows? Maybe Elpis wouldn’t have been focused on trying his strategy and would have found a way to do things faster.

He sat down, leaving a little distance between the three of them. As he tried going back to sleep, his eyes would not close no matter what.

He had finally found people who accepted him, and yet he felt as if he still wasn’t fully part of the group. He hasn’t felt like this in a long time. If he remembered correctly, the last time was when he had first met Clarisse. When she first took him in and helped him back on his feet, even if he was a helpless child who hadn’t even awakened yet.

He wondered, would things now end the same as it ended with her? Will he doom both Elpis and Avrie to their deaths like he did with his teacher?

And will he just watch helplessly, just like he did last time?

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