The Undying Star
A star? I wasn't even close to being something as beautiful. But... undying? Yes. I was. Since death never ever accepted me into its embrace. So what if I live this story to its end one more time? Just one last time. I want to feel it, living, rather than death. Only once. What awaits me at the end of this never-finished draft, I wonder... Is it the cure to my curse, or yet another rebirth?
What we pay to live here
A fire that absorbs Aether.
Such a thing clearly can't be normal. Still, judging by the fact that the fire was placed right at the center of the cathedral's altar, one of the most frequented locations in the town, it's something that the higher-ups are already aware of, or most probably, it's set by them.
"Is that it?"
"...What do you mean?
"Is this the only problem here?"
The phenomenon was indeed not normal, but seeing as to how it was designed and located in such an obvious place, with not a single attempt to hide its presence or function, it couldn't be something too harmful or evil.
"Or... is this really a problem??"
This place's residents visited the cathedral each morning to give their prayers, meaning they faced this unusual fire every single day, yet they didn't seem to have a problem with it. Losing a tiny bit of Aether isn't a big deal for a saint, even if it's drawn on a daily basis.