"WAHH!"
A yawn slipped past his lips as his eyes fluttered open to scattered flashes of light filtering through the canopy, spilling warmly across his face.
He exhaled, lifting his hand slowly. He examined his fingers, wiggling them one by one with mechanical care. After a moment, he sighed again and glanced down.
"Huh...? Did a nuclear bomb go off here?" he murmured.
The ground beneath was charred black—absolutely black.
He dropped from the tree.
"Ugh," he grunted, wincing. He'd underestimated the fall.
Around him, the forest was ash. Once-standing trees had been reduced to cinders. Bones littered the soil—beast bones.
Ether beasts?
It was the only explanation.
He stepped forward, deeper into the forest.
Destruction.
It was total. Only the tree he'd woken on stood untouched.
Then, the distant sound of fractured sobs drew his attention.
"Ahh… Haah… AHHH! sobs ahhh… sobs ahh… sobs"
The voice trembled, disjointed and raw.
He followed the sound until he reached a clearing—and froze.
Everything was still.
Frozen.
At the center knelt a girl, surrounded by the corpses of countless ether creatures. Her hands clawed at her own throat as if trying to pull air into lungs that refused to breathe. She sobbed, naked, burnt, shaking. Her pink hair was singed nearly to the scalp, her body covered in soot and bruises. Hollow eyes stared at nothing.
He tilted his head, watching her.
"Do I want to?" he wondered aloud. "No... I don't feel the need."
There was no pity, no lust, no curiosity—just a cold detachment. He moved toward her with practiced ease.
She looked up. Her eyes widened. She scrambled backward, panicked, exposing herself further—her body trembling, twisted in fear.
But he didn't care. Not even a flicker of interest.
Something inside him had died.
Only one thing remained.
Revenge.
"I... feel strange," he murmured, looking at his palm. A glowing tattoo flared, bright and alive. "I wonder... can I still feel pleasure?"
Before she could crawl far, he coated himself in ether and closed the distance in a blink, seizing her by the throat and slamming her into the earth.
"Look at me," he said.
Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her terror was obvious—exposed, vulnerable. Her breasts heaved with pain, but he didn't glance at them. His eyes didn't hunger.
That terrified her even more.
He wasn't looking at her like a person. Not even like prey. Just… a thing.
"I. Can. Kill. You."
His voice was flat.
Something in her broke.
Fighting was pointless. Her body wouldn't respond, not the way it should. And for reasons she couldn't understand, she couldn't hurt him. It was like something bound her. Like she belonged to him.
"Now. You can obey me and spare yourself the pain," he said. "Or keep deluding yourself, and we can stay here all day."
Her lips trembled. Blood trickled from where she'd bitten them too hard. Tears blurred her vision.
"Please... make it stop... I beg you…"
Every breath came with agony. Shallow, trembling, desperate. She'd endured it all night. Her mind was slipping.
He studied her for a long moment.
Then, softly, he said, "Breathe."
And she did.
Her whole body convulsed as oxygen returned—eyes rolling back, lungs filling. She gasped like someone tasting life for the first time.
"Hm." He watched, then added, "Wear this. Quickly."
A set of clothes materialized from his spatial ring and fell beside her. He turned away, walking to a tree and folding his arms, gaze lifting to the sky.
…
…
When he turned back, she was clothed—mostly.
The gown hugged her figure, white with blue trim around the hem and waist. A belted, cropped jacket sat over the bodice, giving it an almost military flair. It emphasized her curves—clearly something chosen with seduction in mind.
She packed this for Auston, he thought absently. Why carry it everywhere?
"Good. Where are we?" he asked, scanning the ruined forest.
"…The border of Montelia," she said after a long pause.
She hadn't been given undergarments, and it made her skin crawl. Even clothed, she felt exposed. Humiliated.
"Montelia? You brought me all the way out here?" he muttered, clearly displeased. "No wonder you acted without restraint. No one lives out here. Worst thing that could happen—ether beasts."
She looked away.
"Do you have a way back?" he asked.
She hesitated, biting her lip. "Yes."
"…A scroll?"
"A spell," she replied.
"Teleportation?" His tone sharpened.
"Not exactly. There have to be anchors at both—"
But he was already thinking.
Get a teleporter. Then head to the North Pole.
He sighed. "Let's go—what?"
She was stalling, and he wasn't in the mood for games. If she turned out useless or tried anything again, he'd simply command her to kill herself.
She would obey. Eventually.
"You… didn't give me everything," she said, voice low with shame.
He blinked, then looked her over.
"What's wrong? I see no issue."
A vein twitched on her forehead. Was he blind? Her chest was clearly outlined through the thin cloth. Was he truly this dense—or was it deliberate?
"My…" she trailed off, swallowing her pride.
Ashamed.
"Let's go," he said, completely unbothered. "Use the spell. Get me to the nearest city."
He walked off.
"WAIT!" she screamed.
"You are not to speak. Only cast spells. Twenty meters is as far as you can stay from me. And if I die—so will you."
She gritted her teeth, hatred flaring.
She would kill him. Oh, she would.
But for now...
She had to walk beside him. Like this.
Exposed.
Burning.