Lucien and Kade started in awe, as the last island dropped, the whole city was... gone. As if it wasn’t even there. Now the only things that remained were the ruins... it was amusing, how the city always looked down in the wasteland, never caring about it, only to now belong to it.

Funny. How things can come around.

But at the moment, that wasn’t what was important.

"Aether!" Kade screamed. Quickly rushing to the ruins, with Lucien behind him.

Their master had stayed back in the city.

...

He couldn’t have died right.

Kade searched around desperately, his eyes darting around, hoping that he would see Aether. With all his heart, he did. If he died, he could have never forgiven himself... since even now, that he had grown strong, he wouldn’t be able to protect the one he cared about.

He didn’t want to feel the same feeling he felt when his brother died. And yet, here it was, even after he had sworn, coming back to him.

"No, no no! This can’t be happening." He kicked rocks out of his way, going inside houses that still had a fraction of what their structure was. All to just try and find him. And fast, what if he was still enough, if they took too long, he was going to die.

But the city was gigantic, and since it had all fallen down, it was hard to find him.

They searched constantly, not even stopping for a second, since what if it mattered, what if that small second was what decided if Aether died or not. If they were to be late by that time, it would feel even worse, the regret he would feel, he didn’t know if he was strong enough mentally to withstand, if the guilt in his mind was already too much.

They searched for a while, as if they were trying to find a thin needle in a city size haybell.

With each second passing, his heart beat more and more. To the point his heartbeat might have been actually dangerously high, not normal, but in such a moment, do you think he would ever notice? And if he did, do you think he would care?

To him.

...

It wasn’t like losing a master.

But rather than losing an older brother, someone who cared for him, fed him, made him strong, so he could stand his own ground, without needing to be protected at every corner. Someone who had helped him wield his motivation to grow mentally.

To accept that killing is a normal thing, and to not be scared of it.

A brother who had taught him everything he needed to know about the real world.

...

He couldn’t lose him, no matter what happened; he was not going to accept it. He was going to go to the Tides himself and get him back if he needed, but he won’t let him just die... not like this, not after their fight. He couldn’t have his last moments with one of the people he cared about most be a silly little argument.

...

And his struggles were answered, as after a long time, they found him, on the ground... alive. Just that he looked to be in bad condition, really bad condition. His body didn’t seem to have had any injuries... but at the same time, blood and vomit rested around him. With the blood flowing from his eyes and nose.

Kade quickly rushed to him, kneeling in front of him, and grabbing his headlight so he would look in his eyes.

"Aether! Don’t die on me, please..."

...

...

"He won’t," Lucien said.

Kade’s eyes widened as he turned to look at the magician.

"He doesn’t have any fatal wounds... It’s weird... from such a high, something like this is impossible, and yet here he was. With a bloody nose and bloodshot eyes. Sure, they are bad things, but not things you would get from a fall..." Lucien said, not to question Aether, but rather, just confused. He cared about their master just as much as Kade did, but it just didn’t make any sense to him.

Kade turned back to Aether... "What happened?"

...

...

...

"Shit," Aether said, feeling himself suddently feeling himself fall from the sky. The island fell harder than him, faster, leaving him in the air. He tried to hold onto something, weaving his arms around, so he could catch onto something, but to no avail. He should have expected this to happen; he was not nearly as heavy as an island. So, of course, he was going to fall a little slower. But still! He was falling from the sky!

...

This situation is one that no Reader could survive... well, any other Reader except him... after all, with everything he had achieved in this class. It was hard to put him in the same group as them.

Aether watched as the island fell to the ground, creating a cloud of dust. He put his arms in front of him, so it wouldn’t get in his eyes, looking through the small cracks, and waiting to see the ground. So that he could use his ability.

He had to time it, after all, Erosion only lasts a second, it was impossible to survive if he used it too early, it would just end. And if he used it too late... that was pretty evident, wasn’t it?

... And he didn’t have to wait, as through the cloud of dust he saw it. He quickly braced himself, not to feel the pain from the fall, but from his ability. And just as his body was about to make contact with the ground, it turned into a shadow, completely losing its form and any resemblance to what a human looks like. In that moment, he was blind. All his senses were lost; he didn’t even know if he was dead, if he had timed it well, or if he was never going to wake up. Or rather, more realistically, he was going to gain his vision back for a fraction of a second before dying.

...

But if time came and he really did die from something like that... then he was going to have to wait and see.

Since this time wasn’t the one.

He was relieved, but not for long, as the pain from using his ability quickly took his body completely over. A pain he knew so well, yet his body could never get used to. Erosion, it was a great skill, one that saved him a lot and helped him a lot with surviving. After all, he could survive and fall with it. Just not those in Frozen Crown, since those you just fall for eternity. But the cost you had to endure made it something he could only do as a last resort.

Aether waited... endured, hoping it would go away... but before that happened, he saw something, or rather someone, in the distance. Kade... followed by Lucien.

Of course, he should have expected that they weren’t going to go far, and definitely not far enough not to see the island fall, or hear them... he really hoped that Kade wasn’t feeling guilty for this... it was his choice, him leaving without him, or not coming with him didn’t do anything.

Yet, at the same time, knowing Kade... there was a big change that this was definitely what he was thinking at the moment. He was too kind... always blaming himself when someone got into danger, it didn’t matter if he was involved or not. He was going to feel guilty.

Just like he blamed himself for his brother’s death.

Even if he didn’t have anything to do with it.

...

...

...

"A skill... that makes you a shadow?" Lucien said, confused.

Aether got his upper body off the ground, sighing in relief as the pain finally stopped. "It’s... a long story, I promise I will tell you everything, but not now... next time we rest... I promise."

Lucien had wanted to learn more about the trick Aether had pulled out to survive such a fall with little injuries. But seeing Kade instantly nod, he wasn’t going to be the annoying one and keep going.

..."I’m sorry... for earlier." Kade said, a little quieter than usual.

Aether chuckled. "It’s fine... I get it. After all, I also lied to you guys, to protect you... Look, I haven’t even gotten the shard."

He said, taking out the compass, and showed that it still showed it was nearby... changing each time he moved it... But it moved a little too much, to the point that each little movement of his wrist made it move.

Aether’s eyes widened. As he got up. Pushing off the stone ruins he had been standing on... 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

And when he did... There he saw it. The third shard.

Picking it up, Aether noticed that it was only half of the blade... meaning that there was sadly still one more to go... he would have normally been annoyed, but not now.

He turned back to Kade and Lucien. "I... guess I didn’t technically lie?"