Chapter 496: Master and the Blade

Sitting on a wooden log, Aether took a sip of his water, just staring at the dirt wall, while a small blanket kept him warm. He really felt like a little child at the moment, but with the people of this place insisting on it, how could he ever say no?

This place... it was different from anything in the Wonderland, the reason? Simple: it was populated by Readers from the Rebellion. To say that he had gotten lucky would be a big understatement.

Apparently, from what he heard, this place was created by one of the Harbingers as a safe place for Readers to live in. But once they enter, most don’t live, since it’s so remote they had no way of getting the message out to the people about this place.

Even fewer know what was happening outside

It was why he was treated so well, because he had information. A lot of it, and they wanted it.

Though he had to say, they probably weren’t going to be so fond of the news he came with; after all, neither was he, but what can you do.

The only bad thing about this place was the monsters. Since it was built in their work, they can easily access it. The Readers have had many battles with the monsters, and they continue to have them, but so far, there haven’t been any big losses, so it should be fine.

Outside that, the place was pretty impressive. Big, which made him wonder how the monsters were able to dig all of this up. But at the same time, he didn’t care that much about hearing about its history.

And more importantly, there were a lot of people here who all had their own roles and good affinities; it was times like this when utility affinities really made their worth. They even had their own blacksmith, which was damn impressive. After all, they weren’t something you saw every day; he was surprised the King allowed him to join a party on the expedition in the first place.

There were also houses in this place, which was a surprise. After all, this field was not normal; they were far down, and there was only dirt, which was not normal. ’But who cares?’ He had no idea how they were able to do anything in this shithole either way.

Taking a sip of his water, he noticed Elise approaching him, sitting down near him, and resting her head in her arms. "So, how’s the outside?" She said, staring into his eyes.

Aether chuckled at her gaze; he had no idea what she was thinking exactly. If he had to say, it was probably the outside world, but what he did not know was what about it; what did she think it looked like? Since he was sure she was far off.

"It has been quite boring lately. If I say so myself." He wasn’t lying, after all; this was his true answer to this question. It wasn’t his fault Elise hadn’t asked a better question that could get more information out of him. It wasn’t like he was trying to keep things secret or anything; what was the point in that?

Thinking of it, Lilith would have loved this place, just being here and seeing so many people around them, all Readers, alive and well. It would give him a moment of relief... But sadly, he was long gone.

Elise chuckled. Leaning a bit closer. "Oh, really? I see. Well, there isn’t that much of a difference between the outside and inside of this place then..." She chuckled. "How about Lilith? Did you meet him? How is he doing?"

Aether staggered slightly. ’Speaking of the devil.’ But of course Elise was going to mention him; it was evident. Not only were they childhood friends, but more importantly, they were all part of the same party.

Aether tightened his grip around his cup slightly, which Elise took notice of but didn’t question. "Lilith?" Aether said, almost laughing, even though there was nothing funny about it. "He’s dead."

...

...

"What?" Elise said, confused. Her eyes were wide open, as she just stared at him as if he had said the most absurd thing ever in the world. And really, for her, it probably felt that way; after all, it would be the same with him and his sister. Ever since he was a child, Sofia had been a model when it came to strength, and her powers and title made her invincible in her eyes.

Just like Lilith was for Elise, getting the sudden news that he was just... dead was probably not something she expected.

"He got killed while fighting a monster together... I do take guilt in his death... so if you’re mad, you can tell me." Elise sighed once she heard him, shaking her head. "Why would I do that? I don’t know what happened, and I’m sure even if you say you feel guilty, it wasn’t your fault."

’But... it was.’ A big part of Lilith’s death was because of him; his choice caused it, so he really didn’t get how she could say that it wasn’t his fault... it was obvious he was cursed... which was also why he wanted to leave this place as soon as possible, without making others suspicious, but while also helping them.

They did really need the information.

"So... the Vessel of Freedom is dead." She said, resting her hands on her knees. "It isn’t hard to accept, but what is easy in this place, huh?" She said, chuckling.

Aether stared at her... he knew that Lilith’s death had probably affected her a lot more than she was showing. After all, people can be quite good at masking their true emotions, him included. And he knew that continuing to talk would only make it harder for the girl.

But she deserved to know.

"Elise... do you know about your brother?"

Her smile faded, the color of her skin dimming slightly. He hadn’t said anything, nothing at all, but asked if she knew anything. And yet, he had a feeling that she had probably already gotten what he was trying to say. Not that it was that hard.

"N-No, why? He’s fine, right?" She tried to put a smile on her face so she could be optimistic, even if in reality there was nothing optimistic inside her mind.

"I won’t sugarcoat it or try to make it seem better than it is. He’s dead. And has been dead for a long time now. He was killed by the people of the Wonderland. I’m sure Lilith would have wanted to tell you, but since he isn’t here, I thought it would be a good idea to tell you myself."

Elise didn’t say anything, just tapping her knee with her fingers. "I..." She said, before going quiet for a tiny bit more, just staring at the ground. "I appreciate it, I really do... I do enjoy that you didn’t try to make his death better than it was. Dying by the hands of those monsters is a very bad death, not a happy one."

She got up from the log, putting on a smile for him. "I’ll... need to think for a bit if you don’t mind. I was supposed to give you a tour, but... I’m sure you will be able to do it yourself, right?"

Aether nodded quickly. Even if he had no idea what was around this place and where each place was, the only things he knew were rumors and what he had seen so far with his eyes. But at the same time, he really couldn’t force the girl to help him.

He had just dropped a bomb on her, two, actually, and her mind was in shambles. He would have acted the same, heck, worse, a lot worse, if he had found out Sofia died like she found out her brother died.

So he let her go... after all, he had something to do himself. Even if he had no idea where things were, he could just ask people or the shadows around this place. And he did have a first place in mind.

The Relic maker, after all, was finally ready to use a specific material... for what exactly...

...

Well, as much as he didn’t want to... it was probably time to get another offensive thing to help him...

And while Voidpiercer was great.

A new blade would be even better, specifically one good against more than one enemy.

...

This was natural for Readers, changing their armor and weapon, yet at the same time, he had grown with Voidpiercer; it had become a part of him. He had a good relationship with it, and now to think he was going to be using a new blade.

Was weird.

...

But needed.

After all, the lizards had already proven to him that, while strong, Voidpiercer wasn’t nearly as strong as it was before, when he was a Reader and could use it at its full power. It was still a Seeker blade.

He didn’t want to get another blade...

But it was something that needed to happen.