"Let's end this, Aether."
"..." Aether blinked. For a second, everything around him seemed to stop. The room, the air, even time itself. His breath hitched in his throat. His chest tightened. His heart felt like it had been pierced by a quiet blade as her words echoed again and again in his ears, louder than any scream.
It hurt more than he imagined.
Aether finally let out a soft hum, a sound that trembled with sorrow and a broken kind of acceptance. A quiet surrender.
"I see--" Before he could truly acknowledge her words, when—
"Start again."
"Huh?"
Aether blinked, startled, confused. His eyes widened as he looked at her with a puzzled, almost dazed expression.
