A week before Aether woke up,
"What should I do?" Aria muttered in a weak, trembling tone as her fingers gently moved across Aether's unmoving arm.
She and the others were struggling every day to restrain the panicking Elders, who kept pressing them for an audience with Aether. They feared Aether was breaking his promise, that he had decided to abandon the Empire without any official engagement.
Not only the Elders, but the entire Empire felt restless. Naiadae had ended more than a month ago, yet not a single word had arrived regarding what would come next. Worse still, Aether himself had not appeared, had not spoken, had not even offered a reason for the postponement.
That silence placed them in an impossible position. Telling the truth about Aether's condition risked plunging the people into panic once again.
So Aria and the others clung to a single hope. They prayed Aether would wake up soon. Not just for their own sake, but for the countless lives depending on him.
