In a world divided by a mystical barrier, humanity is thrust into the unknown. Those who cross it are transformed, gaining extraordinary powers at the cost of the the lives they once knew. On that side, the fabric of reality is rewritten by the tongue, a voice capable of bending the laws of existence to its wielder's inner most desires. Yet, with boundless power comes unrelenting chaos. This fractured world teeters on the brink of collapse, torn apart by conflicting ideals. Some yearn to reclaim the remnants of their past lives. Others seek dominion over the new reality, while a few cling desperately to the hope of peace. The struggle for meaning and purpose divides those who dwell beyond the wall. But amidst the chaos, a prophecy takes root from a truth teller. It speaks of a figure from the untouched— but born on their side, this child is destined to become the Guiding Light, the one who will unite the fractured world and reveal the ultimate truth hidden within the shadows of perception. As ideals clash and the voice of power echoes across a shattered realm, the question remains: will humanity find salvation, or will their desires consume them entirely?
Aether was supposed to be settling down for the night, but the notion of sleep seemed foreign to him. His small frame bounced with boundless energy, the soft creaks of the crib's wooden slats mingling with his quiet giggles. The dim glow of the nightlight bathed the room in a golden hue, casting playful shadows that danced on the walls. His wide, curious eyes shone with defiance against the hour, as though the world outside his crib still held secrets he longed to uncover.
Downstairs, his mother paused, hands submerged in soapy water as the rhythmic thuds from above broke the quiet rhythm of her work. Her brows furrowed in a mix of exasperation and fondness.
"Aether!" she called, softened by the unmistakable warmth of maternal affection.
Her tone carried upstairs, eliciting another fit of giggles.
"Aether, you better be sleeping when I come up there!"
She dried her hands on a worn kitchen towel, as she ascended the stairs. The creak of the old wood under her bare feet echoed faintly, a gentle reminder of the home's lived-in comfort.
As she pushed open the door, the sight before her melted away any frustration she might have carried. Aether was standing in his crib, gripping the edge as if it were a stage. His laughter bubbled up like a spring, his joy so pure it was contagious.
She crossed the room quickly, scooping him up into her arms with a soft laugh of her own.
"What am I going to do with you, my little troublemaker?"
"Boo… book, Mama,"
his small voice earnest, the words slightly garbled.
She smiled knowingly, setting him gently back into the crib. His favorite story. The one he demanded every night, without fail. She retrieved the well-worn book from the shelf, its spine creased from countless readings.
"You really do love this one, don't you?"
her voice tinged with amusement as she dragged a stool beside the crib and opened the book.
Her voice shifted into a storyteller's rhythm.
"In England, in a place that once thrived with industry, there stood a factory. It was long abandoned, shrouded in shadows, hidden in a forgotten corner of the world..."
Her words painted vivid images, each sentence pulling Aether deeper into the tale's world of mystery and foreboding. His restless energy ebbed away with each passing moment, his wide eyes fluttering shut as the cadence of her voice became a lullaby.
She paused mid-sentence, noticing the soft rise and fall of his chest. A small smile graced her lips as she closed the book gently.
"He always falls asleep at the best part"
Lowering her voice, while hovering over Aether.
Placing the book on the desk, she tucked him in, pulling the blanket snug around his tiny form. The house fell silent once more, save for the faint rustling of leaves outside. Moonlight streamed through the curtains, its silver glow bathing the room in a serene light.
She laid beside Aether, shutting her eyes closed.
---
Aether's mother woke abruptly beside him in the middle of the night, her breath catching in her throat. A suffocating stillness had settled over the room.
Her heart raced as her eyes darted to the shadows, the familiar comfort of her surroundings now cloaked in an eerie dread
Hers senses raced inhumanly.
Something moved.
A figure stood at the edge of the room, tall and cloaked, its form melding seamlessly into the darkness. Its presence was wrong, a violation of the room's fragile peace.
Shocked at being noticed he approached where the light from the moon fell, engulfing his face...bringing life to the darkness that it embodied.
It's face, it was out in the open looking right at her, while a cluster of emotion surfaced on her face.
She tried to speak, but her voice faltered, the words caught in her throat like thorns. Denying it from escaping.
He looked her dead in the eye..beyond the veil, but not with hate.
A faint, unnatural glow sparked in the figure's hand- a flicker of light that illuminated the edges of its shrouded form.
"At ease"
It whispered, the single word reverberating through the room with a weight that defied comprehension.
Her body betrayed her. A wave of cold weakness washed over her, pulling her back into the bed. Her limbs felt heavy, unresponsive, as though an invisible force had sapped the strength from her very bones. Her very life being slowly being decreased to naught.
The figure moved closer, each step had a difference in tone, each motion carrying a predatory grace. Its shadow fell over Aether's crib, the child stirring restlessly in his sleep.
But he paid him no attention purposefully, with a motion, the figure reached out and closed her wide, staring eyes, its touch as cold as death itself.
The room held its breath, a calm breeze wandered within the room, but the room rather not inhale.
The figure turned toward the desk, its gaze locking onto the book. It lingered there, as though communing with something unseen. Its inaudible whispers were like phantom winds, carrying secrets too terrible to grasp.
Then, its gaze shifted.
Caused by Aether's soft whimpers, his small form trembling under the weight of the figure's presence. For a moment, it seemed to hesitate, its dark hood tilting as though in thought.
And then it vanished, fading into the shadows as though it had never been there.
The room exhaled, the suffocating stillness lifting.
The house remained silent with it's departure, but it left to wander.
Aether's small hand reached out to this disappearing figure, as to attempt holding reaching the figure.
---
Aether woke, his hand reached out to nothingness when he rose, his chest heaving.
The remnants of the dream or... was it memory. Aether thought.
"Who was that man… what did he do?" He lightly said
"What's wrong, Aether? Bad dream?"
The familiar voice of his aunt startled him. She stood beside his bed, hitting the lamp on the small desk.
(Attempting to fix the lamp but Aunt Graham is incapable of that so instead she hits it hoping to work.)
Aether threw an odd look of confusion. Questioning if the light broke while he slept.
He then looked at the faint light filtering through the window. The sun hadn't risen yet. Quite similar to his dream, the full moon being the subtle protagonist of his dream.
"No… no, Aunt Graham, just feel uneasy" he muttered. She didn't hear him though.
He flopped back onto his bed, staring at the ceiling.
His head left scrambled as this wasn't the first time he'd seen his mother die, in multiple ways has he seen her die in dreams and thoughts that just randomly took over his mind.
Though every time he'd tell Aunt Graham about this she'd tell him it's evil that's takes over his brain, simply don't think.
Overtime he just kept it to himself, These thoughts would randomly appear, mostly everyday...but never once did he see it like this. Never once was it a perspective of himself. Never did he actually see his mother's face...this was no dream was it
Drawn by an inexplicable urge, he made his way to the old room he once shared with her. The door was locked, as it had been since the day she died.
He lingered by the door for a while... consuming the little images of her he remembered. He was barely intact... thinking, what could he do..what can he change but then a single thought immerged.
In that thought his mother carried him, her face out of the picture so he couldn't focused on that, but something else stood out, the book...he remembered the book.
And it was beyond this door.
---
"It has to be here," he muttered, rummaging through Aunt Graham's drawers in search of the key.
The tension started to rise as it became a race.
"What are you doing in my room?"
Her voice froze him. She stood in the doorway, her expression unreadable.
He stared blankly as the words, came out instantaneously.
"A dream… about...," he stammered.
Her gaze hardened. "It's just a dream, Aether. Don't go digging up the past."
"No… it wasn't just a dream. I saw her die. Someone killed her."
Her face paled, but her voice remained firm.
"Enough, Aether. The doctors explained everything. It was a heart attack."
"No! In my dream, there was a man- "
"Aether!"
Her voice cracked like a whip, silencing him.
"It's enough."
"I've told you this before aunt, I've had these dreams multiple times, I've seen her die...over and over again....it's like I'm killing myself..."
"cant you just listen to me!"
He looked at her visibly crumbling but so was she even though she was forcefully holding her emotions intact.
She slapped him.
The sting of her slap was swift, but it was the finality in her voice that hurt more.
"Enough about your mother."
"I've know your mother since i was a kid, i'm her sister...I'm hurting too, Aether... enough!"
Tears streamed down his face as he clenched his fists, his anger and grief spilling over. He wanted to scream, to make her understand. But the words wouldn't come.
He just remained silent
---
Inside the comfort of their home, Aunt Graham carried on with her morning routine. The clang of dishes, the faint hum of an old radio- sounds that filled the house with life. She paused only briefly, expecting the usual burst of noise from her nephew as he dashed out the door. Yet, today, the silence lingered.
I wonder what's he doing... it's about time he left.
"I get he's upset and all but he isn't going to get to stay home..." she muttered leaving the kitchen a mess looking for Aether.
"Aether!"
She called out his name from the bottom of the stairs, waiting for some sort of answer.
No response came.
She walked up stairs storming her way up...those loud stomps were heavily amplified due to the nature of the the stairs, they were wooden and weary.
She got up the stairs, searching around...
"Aether where are you....answer me boy!"
She rapidly checked across the house, door to door.
She couldn't find him.
She ran downstairs to check outside...see maybe if he was just possibly standing outside. She got downstairs and hurriedly opened the door.
Unamused she just saw her 'know it all" neighbour whom she heavily disliked.
Tsk...where is he?!
He's not here...but then where is he
She was quite bothered by a lot of things at this current moment...
Aunt Graham wasn't the talkative type really...she wasn't really going with the idea of conversation with her neighbor but the situation called for it.
"Mrs. Barley...did you see Aether leave?"
She yelled across...catching Mrs.barley's attention.
She looked over, while she was attending heavy bags of plastic squinting her eyes picking out aunt Graham.
"No, not today...I didn't, is there something wrong."
Aunt Graham threw a gesture and a soft smile to through off any uncertainty in her words, "No it's just fine, he left earlier today..." she said walking backwards into her house closing and locking the door.
She let out a heavy sigh, leaning onto the door in deep in thought.
I made him quite mad, he's always arguing about how early I make him leave but he left way earlier today...
"Is something the matter, Isadora?"
A voice came from behind...
"No it's just Aether left earlier today than usual and-"
She stopped mid-sentence at realization, that wasn't her thoughts, she lived alone...and who mention her first name, everyone knows her by her last name.
She looked over behind her and a man with his back towards her, in a long black coat...stood at the kitchen table which was near the entrance.
"How did you get in here." She said, but it came as barely a sound...jammed by her throat.
He turned around, and his face was covered by a mask...
"Aren't you out of shape...you really didn't notice me isadora?" He scoffed, making light of the current situation.
A mask...
He pointed at the seating in the living room, suggesting that they go there.
Normally Aunt Graham wouldn't have willingly participated in such act but the situation called for it.
He knows my birth name...which means he knows who I am doesn't he...
Which also means...he is from the otherside too.
She wanted to do something about the strange figure looming in her house aimlessly as if it were his own so she threw a suggestion of her own
"How about I make us some tea... to get the conversation going."
He turned his head whilst walking to the seating and his eyes seemed to glow...he produced this pressure didn't physically harm her but mentally affected her, like an array of thoughts.
The thoughts came in simultaneously, and it all just struck fear into her.
"It seems you've got an idea of who I may be... you know now where I come from and you using this as an opportunity to gain space to think...or gain some sort of advantage."
"Normally I would give you this chance...normally I would let you muster any sort of courage...but now isn't the time, since I was sent here to deal with you."
Sent?
She looked at the man petrified, she didn't know what to do or to think, the fear still consuming her.
She just screamed.
"Who are you!"
"Who sent you...tell me! I'll end you and that thing."
The man fully turned his body...walking towards Isadora, nearing in, as he got closer, Isadora went further back until her back touched the door, she fell to the floor and down to the ground looking at him in fear.
"I don't see how you can't touch either one of us... you're fodder without Catherine."
"Shut the hell up! Don't talk about her?"
Her eyes turning from fear to fury.
"Struck a nerve, didn't I?"
He lowered himself, leveling with her... "But isn't that the truth, well...she's fodder without you too...she didn't even put up a fight when I killed her."
Isadora snapped, as she pushed him back with a force so strong it moved him to the otherside of the room.
She walked towards him, her hair lifted, poking up as if possessed by the wind, her hands balled into fists. But her eyes were what stood out... a reflection of the sun.
"I'll tear your heart out...and get the revenge I was looking for, you thought I could be scared of the likes of you...in my prime-"
"What prime are you talking about" he whispered in her ear from behind.
The fear isadora felt was beyond comprehension. She couldn't begin to understand, how he was behind her.
She tiled her head, and his mask was off, she looked awfully lost in his eyes...
Her chest was ran through.
"Aether..." she whispered, where a tear stretched down her face.
Her body dropped down to the floor, like a sack of potatoes.
And he dropped too, panting heavily.
A figure coated in black emerged behind him, "so much for fodder, you nearly died there."
"I'll sought things out here...go."
---
Aether sat on the swing, its rusted chains groaning softly with each slight shift of his weight. The park was desolate, an expanse of dying grass and empty benches, positioned between his school and his home. Yet, neither place felt as distant as they did now. He stared at the ground, scuffing the dirt with the toe of his shoe. The cold wind curled around him, sharp and biting, though he paid it no mind.
He should have been in class. But what did it matter?
The sound of footsteps broke the preferred silence, followed by a familiar voice, light and teasing.
"Skipping again, huh?"
Aether didn't need to look up to recognize her. Anastasia stood there, her ever-present grin tugging at her lips, a cigarette already in hand.
"You too?" he asked, his tone flat.
She chuckled, lighting the cigarette with practiced ease.
"If you're not going, I'm not going. School's dull anyway. Besides, you've skipped plenty of times because of me. Call it payback, figured I'd keep you company."
Aether finally looked at her, his gaze as neutral as ever.
"Why do you avoid school? And home? I know you've got a reason. Me... I just do it. I'm an idiot really..."
I got mad at aunt for nothing today... she's probably worried sick
Anastasia's grin didn't falter, though her eyes reflected something within her.
"Let's just say I don't fit in either."
She took a long drag from her cigarette, exhaling a thin stream of smoke that spiraled upward before vanishing into the cold air.
It was warmer on the way here.
Then, with a mischievous tilt of her head, she leaned closer, her face mere inches from his.
"We should get married," she said, her voice laced with mock seriousness.
Aether blinked, his mind scrambling for a response. "Uhh-"
"I'm joking," she interrupted.
laughing as she leaned back. Her laughter was light, almost musical, yet it carried an edge of detachment.
"Unless, of course, you're joking too."
The moment lingered, quiet and unhurried. Few cars passed by- perhaps three in the past hour. The park remained still, bathed in the pale light of a winter sun. The air was crisp, carrying a faint promise of frost. It was the kind of silence that felt alive, the kind that amplified every breath, every heartbeat.
Time stretched until a disruption arrived in the form of a police car. It rolled into the park, its presence jarring against the tranquility.
Aether stiffened, his body instinctively tensing. Anastasia, too, went rigid, her fingers tightening around the cigarette.
The officer stepped out, his gaze scanning the park until it landed on them. He began walking toward them.
"Aether!"
He called, his voice carrying over the grass
Panic clawed at Aether's chest. He didn't respond, couldn't respond. Instead, he gripped Anastasia's hand, his palm clammy against hers.
The officer shouted again, his voice louder this time, though the words were still muffled by distance.
Anastasia tugged at Aether's arm. "We need to go. Now."
Aether hesitated, his feet rooted to the ground.
"Aether!" the officer yelled once more. "Your aunt... Isadora-"
The words were drowned out as Anastasia pulled him into a run. His legs moved on instinct, his mind unable to process anything beyond the sound of their hurried footsteps crunching over brittle leaves.
Finally in the midst of everything, the officer's voice reached him clearly.
"Aether, Isadora is dead!"
The words struck him like a physical blow. His legs buckled, and he crumpled to the ground. The world around him twisted, the edges of his vision darkening. It felt as though he were looking through a tunnel, the sounds around him muffled and distant.
Anastasia knelt before him, her voice frantic. "Aether! Hey! What's wrong? Say something!"
But he couldn't hear her. His breath came in short, shallow gasps, his chest tightening as if a vice had clamped around his ribs. His hands trembled, his fingers curling weakly into the dirt.
"Aether, please!" Anastasia's voice loosen as she shook him, desperation bleeding into her words.
The officer approached cautiously. "Miss, what's wrong with him?"
Anastasia spun around, her eyes blazing with a fury that startled the man. "Don't touch him!" she snapped, her voice filled with tenacity
The world stilled. The wind ceased its whispering, the leaves froze mid-air, and the officer's outstretched hand hung motionless. A strange, unnatural silence enveloped the park.
Anastasia's voice trembled, though her resolve did not waver. "Don't... touch Aether."
"Let it go."
A man jumped before her
Anastasia looked up, her wide eyes locking onto a figure standing just beyond the frozen radius.
"Let it go," the man repeated, but no good as the sound wasn't traveling
Anastasia though was in her own zone...she was still in some sort of mental breakdown arguing with absolutely no one.
Defiance burning in her gaze. "No. No one's going to touch him!"
A wave of exhaustion crashed over Anastasia, her strength draining in an instant. The man moved swiftly, catching both her and Aether before they officer noticed
The world resumed its motion. The officer blinked in confusion, his gaze darting around the now-empty park.
"What the...?"
Reaching for his gun as an unnatural chill swept through the air. Frost crept over the grass, defying the sun's previous warmth.
A tear in reality appeared, and from it emerged a figure cloaked in black.
The officer's hand trembled as he gripped his weapon.
"Who... what are you?"
The figure stepped closer, his green eyes gleaming beneath the veil.
"You don't need to know. You're not part of this story."
The officer's voice wavered.
"Who are you?!?"
-
-
-
"I am Asebia."
"[Thánatos]"