Chapter 518: Hollow Body
He didn’t feel alive... and really, a part of him didn’t believe he was alive anymore
His body was screaming at him to just let go and fall asleep, an eternal sleep. Each step he took was like being stabbed by a hundred knives. He limped, almost falling each time he moved forward.
He would have never believed he would get in such a state... it was a wake-up call. He wasn’t nearly as strong as he thought he was.
His vision was blurry, to the point that he could barely see where he was going without Eden.
It was safe to say... that he had gone way above his limit, but he really just couldn’t control his emotions; they were too much. He didn’t even know what to feel at the moment, now that the anger was gone.
What was he supposed to feel, to think, and to do?
It felt as if whatever he did was always going to backfire; nothing worked. No matter what it was, he always failed.
A big part of his spark had died... he didn’t really believe there was a way out anymore; he was completely broken, beyond repair.
The voices whispered into his ears, all telling him to just give up, and how easy it would be. Death... he had been running away from it for so long now, and really, was it... that bad? He felt as if he had been tortured more by running away than he would have been if he just let it have him.
Taking a step forward, he suddenly felt weak, falling onto the ground as he rolled to stare at the sky, his cloak covering his body as blood painted it; after all, this wasn’t his mantle; it could get stained, to show the suffering he had gone through. Blood filled it as his Abyssal Matter disappeared, and since the skin had yet to heal, the bleeding was still there.
He had no power to try and stop it, and really he wasn’t even sure he could; there were way too many cuts.
He just stared at the sky as he slowly felt like dying... of course, it wasn’t going to be a problem; he was just going to come back, just to die again, for the last time.
’Damn it...’ He cursed, trying to get up on his feet with the last power he had, but to no avail.
And suddenly... maybe he did regret not listening to that shadow... after all, if he hadn’t gone to the man, he would have never even gotten into this situation...
Of course... the main thing that caused this... was his stupidness.
He clenched his fists one last time as his eyes closed.
...
...
...
The sand rubbed against his skin as he suddenly awakened in a dark desert; his eyes widened, quickly getting up on his feet. Looking down at his body, he was completely fine, as if nothing had happened... but how exactly had that happened?
How did he get here... and this place... he knew it; it was the same one as when he fought Denial, where he found that damn rock. But what on earth was he doing here? Why was he here?
Looking around, the black desert extended endlessly under the dark sun; it was just as he remembered it, not changed at all; it was... such a weird feeling. He felt nostalgic, as if he had been here before, which he had, but not for long, and definitely not enough to feel like this.
Sighing, Aether started walking, feeling the dark sand scrape the skin off his foot as he did. ’That’s... different.’ He said, gripping his foot; before, it didn’t do that. So what had happened?
’This place, just what importance does it have? What does it mean?’ It was a complete mystery to him; all he knew was that it wasn’t from the Abyss’s memory, which had been a shock, but at the same time, not a really good one, since it had just flipped around all his theories, and to this day, he hasn’t figured out anything about it.
...
It was... weird. He had thought this was a dream; after all, it made no sense for him to just... be here. After all, he had been on the verge of death just a minute ago, and in no way near a dark desert... naked.
But he felt pain... and clearly so, so what was up with that? If this wasn’t a dream, then what was it exactly... and how was he supposed to get out of this place?
Taking a deep breath, he started walking, moving through the pain as he bit his lip. It was... annoying and very painful, leaving a trail of blood on the sand before him, but at the same time, what else could he do?
He wandered the dark desert until his feet just couldn’t move, so, in a desperate need to keep moving, he turned to crawling... he didn’t know why he kept moving, even after it got bad for his feet.
It was just that... he felt compelled to do so, to continue even though he knew it was going to come to this... and even now, his mind was telling him to continue. He knew that his arms were going to get roughened up, the same as his chest, and the pain would be absolutely bad, and yet, he still wanted to move.
To keep going forward. For what?
He had no idea.
He screamed in pain as the sand took more of the skin from his body, getting through the muscles, as the trail of blood only got bigger and bigger; he felt himself... losing more and more blood, to the point that there was hardly any inside of him, and yet... he didn’t feel anything.
He reached the bone; his muscles were almost completely gone, as the bone slowly started getting damaged by the sand, making him unable to crawl forward with his arms, but... he wanted to keep going forward, but with what? He couldn’t use his feet or arms anymore.
...
Aether groaned as he used his face to propel himself forward slightly, the sand eating at the skin on his face, as he continued, like a maniac, going forward without any goal.
It ate at his face until all the skin was gone, leaving a horrifying scene for anyone, but there was no one to see. His heart fell as the sand reached his eyes, and he lost his vision. His teeth grated against the sand, getting devoured.
Slowly, his whole body was being scraped alive.
But... then he stopped, as he just couldn’t move anymore...
The trail of blood he had left... had stopped, as there wasn’t anything to flow out of his body; he just stood on the ground, with none of his senses still working.
He was like a...
...
Hollow Body.
...
...
Suddenly, his body... regenerated, but not normally; rather, through Abyssal Matter, he gained parts of his body back, replacing what was lost; to the littlest details, he gained his senses back, his ability to walk.
Looking at the ground, Aether pushed himself up to his feet, seeing the sand scrape the skin off... only to then notice the Abyssal Matter under it, regenerating almost immediately.
’What the heck...’ Aether said, looking at his body, which... was completely normal; there was nothing abnormal with it... he was just a lot paler than usual.
Gripping a finger, he took a deep breath before pulling on it... watching as it extended, with Abyssal matter connecting it to his hand.
He stared, utterly confused.
What was going on exactly? He had no idea.
But somehow his body had regenerated through Abyssal Matter.
...
...
...
Opening his eyes again, Aether found himself in a small tent, completely covered with bandages... and yet, whenever he moved, he felt fine; nothing hurt. Sitting, Aether slowly took the bandages off... and to his surprise, his wounds were... all healed, as if nothing had happened.
But he couldn’t understand why; his wounds had been terrible, and he could never have been healed. He had to be dead, but he wasn’t, so what exactly had happened?
Staring at his hands, he didn’t notice a man come in.
The man smiled. "Oh... this is a surprise. You survived... honestly, I really have no idea how you are alive; it’s a miracle of Praise."
Aether paused for a second, staring at him, seeing if he was serious, before tilting his head. "Where am I?" He asked, confused.
The man smirked as he opened up the tent, revealing a camp filled with people and many other tents, yet among all of them were some special people he knew...
Sofia and Keres.
His sister was here... in all her glory.
...
’You have to be kidding me... this is a joke... right?’ He quickly put his mantle on, confusing the man, who didn’t understand the gesture.
But he had noticed that he had looked at Sofia. "She’s the one who saved you, you know? The one who found you; if she didn’t, you would be alive right now."