Throughout the way to my room, we were quiet, possibly because I was lost in thought.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked, referring to aether, as we got into the room.
"What I mean is you have a unique power no one understands. Did you think just anyone could become my vessel?" she said.
"I constantly take your life force. The average person would be dead already, much less a human," she continued.
"Why am I alive then?" I asked, clearly bothered by the conversation.
"You possess aether. Do you know what mana is?" she asked.
"Yes, it's the energy used to cast spells," I answered.
"Correct, but wrong," she said.
"Mana is the energy harnessed from nature. Quite literally, anything that exists possesses mana," she continued.
"Then what about aura?" she asked.
"It's the energy used by swordsmen to enhance the body and stuff," I answered.
"That's correct, but did you know not only humans use aura? Demons, elves, even monsters are capable of using aura," she said.
"Aura is simply the energy generated by living things. So, to cast a spell, you convert the energy in nature—called mana—to another form, and to use sword techniques, you channel the energy in your body properly to enhance it," she said.
"So I can use sword techniques now?" I asked.
"No, because your body is too weak right now. The mere attempt could quite literally blow you up," she said.
"While aether makes up everything, when your body decays, it returns to aether. Perpetually, everything contains aether—a pebble on the roadside, even your individual cells," she continued.
"So everything, even mana and aura in themselves, possess aether," I suggested.
"Yes, they do. In fact, think of them as just forms of aether, made so that those of us from the Lower Realm could use aether."
"What's the Lower Realm?" I asked, after changing into a bathrobe before getting into the bath.
"It's the realm of us mortals," she said.
"Uhm, so stuff like angels are in the upper world?" I suggested.
"No, that's not the case. The Lower Realm is split into three dimensions," she said.
"The Human Realm—for humans and creatures like elves, dwarves, and even dragons. The Demon Realm—for demons. And the Heavenly Realm—for the archangels," she continued.
"Each dimension is led by certain figures. For the Human Realm, it's the Great Dragon Averonth; for the Demonic Realm, it's the 72 Demons of Hell and the demons that represent the Seven Deadly Sins; and for the Heavenly Realm, it's the three Archangels of Heaven," she said, as she created some illusions to illustrate.
"Now, probably if God existed, then it would be in the Upper Realm," she stated.
"But you could consider all what I said bullshit. No one has gone to the Upper Realm, so no one knows. But you and I definitely have aether," she said.
"How do you know?" I asked.
"'Cause your vital signs are still okay, despite the fact that I'm draining your vitality—or life force. So your body is probably using aether to regenerate your life force as it dissipates," she said.
"But let's stop here. If I go into any further details, you won't get it, and I might be wrong as no one really understands aether," she said before sitting on my hair.
"Okay, but what are you doing?" I asked, grabbing her from my head.
"I'm tired. Let's go to sleep," she said drowsily.
"Aren't you going to disappear?" I asked, wondering why she hadn't disappeared.
"No, I did that 'cause I didn't know how much you could handle. But now that I know you use aether, I would rather not erase my existence," she said.
As we got out of the bath and dressed up—
"What did you mean by 'erase your existence'?" I asked.
"I'm tired. I'll tell you in the morning," she said.
"How are you going to get dressed?" I asked, because none of my clothes are pixie-size.
"I have aether. Materializing a cloth or two won't take much effort," she said while making a nightgown probably her size.
"That would explain where all those mini-sized towels came from," I thought aloud.
"Won't it fade after some time?" I asked.
"No, it won't. Only mana and aura fade that easily," she said as her voice faded.
"Teach me how to do that sometime," I said while laying on the bed.
Snore.
I looked at her tiny form. This was the first time I'd seen her sleep. It was nice—having a companion. That was something I never had. Not even family.
I thought a bit about how I had the potential to actually be strong. This second chance was going to be worth it.
The next morning
Thanks to the massive window beside my bed, I'd gotten used to waking up early. So it was no surprise that I opened my eyes before Erelya.
She lay beside me, her red hair fanned across the pillow, breathing softly. For all her mysteriousness, her sleeping form was… comforting. And damn it, she was cute. Not that I'd ever say that out loud.
"Stop staring," she muttered, eyes still closed.
"How did you know?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"How the fuck wouldn't I know, with all that gawking?" she replied lazily, floating up for a moment—only to fall back down again like a lazy feather.
"That makes zero sense. Are your instincts really that sharp?" I asked, impressed.
"Nope," she said, stretching slightly, her voice smug. "You make it sound like a battle technique. But I could feel your eyes on my boobs."
"What the fuck? Why would I be looking at your boobs? They're basically nonexistent," I shot back instantly.
She opened both eyes and glared. "That's only because I'm in this form, dumbass. If I took my true form, your heart would explode before you even processed what you were seeing."
"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night."
"But," she said suddenly, her tone shifting, "you still insulted my pride."
She snapped her fingers.
I don't know how, but the moment she did, a cold shiver crawled up my spine. My body knew something terrible was coming.
BOOM.
A dimensional tear ripped open beside my bed, and out stepped a creature—no, a nightmare. A beast with thick, armored scales and molten eyes. One that even C-rank adventurers would run from in terror.
Its breath alone singed the floor. Its claws could carve through iron.
"Hahahahaha!" Erelya laughed, hovering in the air like some miniature demon queen. "If you survive this, I might consider sparing you," she said with a wink.
For a moment, she looked utterly wicked. Ethereal. And horrifying.
'What the fu—'
CHOMP.
"AGHHHHH!" I screamed as the beast's jaws clamped down on my leg, tearing through flesh like paper.
Blood sprayed across the marble floor. I couldn't even think. Pain wracked my entire body—raw, primal agony unlike anything I had ever felt. Worse than the night I was murdered.
Back then, they wanted to kill me.
This thing wanted to play.
It swiped a claw across my chest—
SLASH.
I crashed into the bed frame, ribs shattering like glass.
My screams turned into gasps. I couldn't even form words anymore.
The beast stalked forward, eyes glowing, enjoying every second of it.
Erelya floated above, legs crossed midair. "Don't worry," she said with a smirk. "I have enough power to probably do this… a few more times."
"Please—" I croaked, coughing blood.
"But," she continued sweetly, "I'll spare you this once. Do it again and you're dead. Deal?"
She extended a hand, her voice light and happy like we were discussing breakfast.
"Repair."
A golden glow wrapped around me, forcing my mangled flesh back into shape. Bones snapped into place. Flesh regrew. My screams faded to groans.
But the memory lingered.
'It hadn't even been that long since I last heard that spell…' I thought. 'But this time, it was cast by the very one who killed me.'
Knock knock.
Erelya's expression shifted. With a flick of her fingers, the beast vanished and the room repaired itself, hiding all evidence of my bloodbath.
Rowan walked in, nose twitching.
"Young Master, it's time for your swordsmanship lessons. Your instructor has arrived," he said, sniffing the air. "Also… forgive me, but—was someone killed in here? It smells heavily of blood."
'That's my fucking blood, dumbass,' I wanted to say.
"Never mind that," I muttered, sulking. "Just send someone to clean up later."
He gave me a long look. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. Don't worry about it."
He nodded and left so I could change.
I stripped off my clothes without care for style or grace. Who had time for elegance after being ripped apart and healed back to life? I was a commoner originally anyway.
The bath's warmth stung at first, but it soon felt good—maybe too good. A mental thing, probably. My body was whole, but my mind? Not so much.
The silence didn't last long.
"You still think they're small?" Erelya teased, her voice echoing inside my head again.
I stared blankly at the wall. 'If I say yes, I die. If I say no, I'm lying.'
"What did you just think?" she asked, her tone sharpening.
"Nothing, ma'am. Please have mercy," I said immediately, like a street rat who knew how to survive.
She smirked. "I've been meaning to ask. How do we stop sharing thoughts?"
I perked up. "You can do that?!"
"Yep. Just a little tweak I added when binding the contract. I can deactivate it anytime."
"Then do it. Right now," I said firmly.
"But it's fun—"
"Only activate it when I ask." I cut her off.
"Haaah… fine," she said with an exaggerated sigh.
'Hope her boobs shrink even more,' I thought smugly.
Silence. Beautiful, liberating silence. Fifteen minutes passed with me mentally dissing her while getting dressed in peace.
Then I walked to the training grounds.
My new instructor was already there—an old man with a sturdy stance and a sword at his hip. But the man beside him made my gut twist.
Taller. Bulkier. And much more dangerous.
"You'll fight," said my father.
I smirked, assuming the old man would be my opponent. I stepped confidently into the ring—only to freeze as the buff man entered the ring too.
"Wait—what the hell? Dad, I think there's been a mis—"
Then I saw it.
My father was smiling.
"You're fighting me, boy," the buff guy said, cracking his knuckles.
'I definitely fucked up,' I thought, holding back tears. This would probably be the last moment I'd ever think clearly again.