Inside the temporary throne hall, two figures stood dangerously close to each other, so close that even their breaths collided in the narrow space between them. Their blades pressed against each other’s necks, lingering just a few inches away from carving through flesh and ending everything in a single motion.

Drip...

Blood slowly traced thin lines down both of their necks, as neither of them moved.

Their eyes locked, unblinking, as if both were waiting for the other to falter first.

After what felt like an eternity, Aether’s lips curled slightly, his voice low and edged with cold disdain.

"You love me? What kind of ass joke are you trying to tell?"

Mary let out a sharp, humourless laugh, her smirk twisted with disgust as her grip tightened around the hilt of her blood-forged sword. The weapon pulsed faintly, as if feeding on her irritation.

"Oh, fuck you. I would rather eat shit than love you. That thought alone makes me sick!! Yucck!!"

Veins rose along Aether’s forehead, his jaw tightening as something darker flickered in his gaze. It was not her rejection that struck him, but the weight of her words, the way she reduced him to something lower than filth.

Fuck you!

He pushed back against her blade with his own as he forced her weapon a fraction away from his throat.

His expression hardened,

"Even if the entire world burned away and only you and I were left standing in the ashes, I would choose death before spending eternity with you."

Mary’s body shuddered in fury, her eyes flared, and she leaned forward, pressing harder.

"Fuck your mother, you arrogant bastard."

Their blades locked tighter as she shoved him forward, boots scraping against the stone floor. Aether resisted instantly, pushing back with equal force... yet restrained by something neither dared to acknowledge.

One hesitated because of the white flames that could reduce everything to nothing.

... The other held back because he no longer possessed the power to answer with equal force.

Mary’s thoughts flickered with unease. ’What if he uses those flames?’

Aether’s mind raced with a different fear. ’Shit! I cannot let her realise I cannot use my powers.’

Despite the silent calculations, neither of them stepped back.

Pride held them in place as firmly as their blades.

After a prolonged struggle, the tension shifted slightly as Aether exhaled,

"I have signed the contract."

Mary’s brows lifted. Slowly, she pulled her blade away from his neck, the blood weapon dissolving into thin strands that vanished into the air. Without breaking eye contact, she reached out and took the document from his hand.

Aether stepped back, creating just enough distance to breathe, though his gaze never left her.

Mary scanned the contract, her eyes moving quickly, calculating. A faint hum escaped her lips as a sly smile crept onto her face, satisfaction gleaming in her expression.

’With this, the value of my empire will skyrocket.’

A subtle glow seemed to flicker around her.

Aether stared at her blurred figure. He knew he had no real choice here, no hidden path waiting to be uncovered. This was the only way forward. Rather than turning her into an enemy and inviting unnecessary chaos, it felt like the wiser, safer option.

Not friends.

Not allies.

Just... trading partners, bound by need rather than trust.

He tilted his head slightly and slyly asked,

"It seems your empire has been under attack as well. Strange, considering the strong ties between your two empires..."

Mary’s expression flattened instantly. The document vanished from her hand as if it had never existed. She turned toward him fully, "That has nothing to do with you."

Aether’s lips curved into a faint smirk, almost agreeable.

"Of course. It has nothing to do with me."

But within his thoughts, ’So even they are nothing more than trading partners.’

Aether straightened slightly, "Nyx will stay here as the ambassador of the four empires."

He could not afford to give her unchecked control.

Since he had witnessed the exchange between Mary and Nyx, it became clear that Mary did not truly hate Nyx as much as she pretended.

Compared to others, the likelihood of her killing Nyx felt significantly lower.

Mary frowned for a brief moment, her brows knitting together before she exhaled and casually shrugged, ’Even if that little girl returns, nothing will change.’

She tilted her head slightly, then gave a small nod.

"Fine."

The agreement was settled between them like a quiet closing note, signalling the end of their discussion.

There was nothing more tying Aether to her in that moment.

Except for one thing.

"Can I talk to Morgana?" Aether asked.

He had not come here for a single purpose but three!

The contract had been one reason... Morgana was the other.

There was something he needed to understand. Something that had been gnawing at the edges of his thoughts ever since the Aethernal Seal revealed fifteen connections.

Mary’s expression tightened, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Morgana? Why?"

Aether gave a small, indifferent shrug, "I just want to talk to her."

Mary’s frown deepened. She could already sense where this might lead.

The white spear.

The way Morgana had knelt, shaken by something she refused to explain.

Under no circumstances would she allow this.

The last thing she wanted was to lose her only sister to him.

"I don’t know. She’s probably off playing with some men~"

Her tone came out cool, almost careless, but her eyes lingered on him. She expected something, anything. Disgust. Anger.

Even a flicker of killing intent.

Instead, Aether simply hummed, as if the answer barely mattered.

"Is that so. Then I’ll take my leave."

He turned without hesitation and began walking away.

Mary watched his back, her expression shifting into something more complex. Confusion laced with calculation, as if she were trying to piece together a pattern that refused to reveal itself.

Aether reached the door, his hand gripping it firmly as he pushed it open. Just as he stepped forward, he paused. His body stilled, and slowly, he turned his head back over his shoulder.

"So... is it true that you lov—"

BOOM!!

A surge of violently red, blood-like flames exploded forward, slamming into the door just as it shut in the nick of time.

Outside, Aether let out a quiet chuckle.

He continued walking on the corridor, as something began to settle into place within his mind.

After hearing Nyx’s words, after everything that had unfolded, the truth he had been avoiding no longer remained scattered fragments.

It made perfect sense.

’Morgana and Mary... both of them knew me.’

This was never just Mary being playful.

Nor was it simple protectiveness over her daughter.

There was always something deeper beneath her actions.

He understood one thing with absolute clarity.

If Mary had truly gone all out against him, if she had abandoned restraint, he would have been gravely wounded.

There was even a real possibility he would not have survived.

But she never crossed that line.

Except once.

That moment during the fight with Snape, when she had genuinely tried to kill him.

Or... was that not her?

His thoughts shifted, narrowing onto another name... Morgana.

She remained an enigma he could not unravel.

No matter how many times he tried to piece her together, she refused to form a complete picture.

In previous timelines, she barely spoke to him. Her presence was always at a distance, her attention always centred on protecting Lia.

That was all.

And yet...

She had slept with him.

She had kissed him with no hesitation or... even playfulness.

When they slept together, she seemed completely emotionless, her face devoid of even the slightest ripple of feeling.

When she suddenly kissed him, she appeared just as nonchalant, as if the act carried no weight for her at all.

It felt wrong.

It felt like she was not acting on desire, but attempting something else entirely, something he could not quite grasp.

And yet, whenever things escalated, even at the exact moments when he stood completely caught off guard, she would hesitate.

Always that brief pause.

Always that invisible restraint, as if something unseen held her back from crossing a final line.

At first, Aether had not cared enough to think deeply about it. It had been nothing more than another oddity in a world filled with them.

But after witnessing the fifteen projections within his domain, everything changed.

The Void Empire had appeared among them.

Especially through Morgana’s eyes.

Yup, He had seen everything.

Even when No.25 took control of his body, Aether had not completely lost. His awareness lingered, allowing him to observe through his own eyes as events unfolded.

Which led to a single, pressing question.

How?

How was Morgana connected to him?

He already knew where his seal had been planted.

Selene, Aria, Celestia, Maelona, Helena, Aqualina, Liora, Delphine, Raven Sandra, Seraphine, Nightfire, Thalia.

Thirteen.

"Thirteen bear the seal... yet there were fifteen projections," he muttered under his breath, his voice low, almost swallowed by his thoughts.

That left two unaccounted for.

Nyx could be excluded. She had not received the seal, her existence as a half-soul preventing it.

So what about the remaining two?

Also, those two black projections.

His brows furrowed as his thoughts rearranged themselves.

"Come to think of it... I saw everyone except Delphine’s view. Was it black because she was meditating?"

The idea settled in his mind with a quiet sense of logic.

Plausible.

With one possibility eliminated, only one unknown remained.

Morgana.

Her visions had been clear, undeniable.

But he had never placed a seal on her.

Aether frowned, his steps slowing slightly as the thought surfaced again.

"Was it because I slept with her?"

Could that act alone create a connection?

Could something as simple as that function as a link?

Then again, if that were true, Nyx’s vision should have appeared as well, even without the seal.

Unless something else was at play.

"Arrgh..." Aether groaned softly, clenching his fist as frustration crept in. "This is too confusing..."

There were only two paths forward.

Speak to Morgana directly.

Or search her body for any hidden mark, any trace of something resembling his seal.

Until then, he could only wait.

As for the final black projection... Mary seemed like the most likely answer.

If anyone possessed the power to block or obscure their connection, it would be her.

Too many variables.

Too many unanswered questions.

Aether exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair.

"And to think... I’ve connected with fifteen women in the span of a single year."

A faint, incredulous smile touched his lips.

There had been a time when he would have laughed at the mere idea of such a life.

Now it was his reality.

Just as that thought lingered—

Thud!

A door burst open with sudden force, the movement sharp enough to interrupt his thoughts completely. Before Aether could react, a hand grabbed him, pulling him inside.

And in the next instant, he found himself pushed onto a bed.

Above him stood a small figure, her golden hair tied into a lively ponytail, crimson eyes gleaming with a familiar intensity.

Aether blinked once, then his lips curved into a slow, knowing smirk.

"Well, hello, Ms. Lia. It’s been a while~"

His gaze sharpened slightly, amusement flickering beneath the surface.

The third reason he had come here...

Was standing right in front of him.