The triplets came out of their room to find Aether.
"We need to comfort our brother." Highbro said.
"Yes, we have to." Midbro said.
"Yes, we have to." Lowbro said.
"Brother looked so sad....he had been used as bait to lure Father into a dangerous situation." Highbro said.
"So sad" midbro said.
"So sad" lowbro said.
As they kept talking, they reached the main mansion square.
But what they saw was completely unexpected.
They saw their brother holding Lady Cierra by the shoulders. Then he wiped her tears And looking into her eyes, he spoke.
" I'm sorry for making you worried. I swear in my families honour. I'll try to make you less worried. But as you know, the path i need to walk id filled with blood. So..."
Before he could finish, Cierra leaned against his chest and said,
"I'd walk through fire… if it's for you. Next time you get kidnapped, take me with you.
If we're together, I won't worry so much. ehe."
"Hahahah"
Aether was touched by her words and tears ran down his face.
In that moment, they were deeply connected, like the world around them had disappeared.
Just then,
"Ahem"
It was Cierra's maid, Lina.
At the sound of her cough, Cierra quickly stepped back in a hurry.
She had been resting her face on his chest, lost in the moment. But now that her mind was clear, she felt really embarrassed.
Cierra's face turned red from embarrassment. Even her ears and neck were bright red.
Seeing her this state Aether quickly changed the topic.
"I heard you were in the elf kingdom. Does that mean you came here directly?"
".....yes."
"Uhm... thanks for coming here to see me. Please go in and take some rest."
"...yes. excuse me." She lifted her dress a little and gave him a quick bow. Then she quickly walked inside, Her maid also followed her inside.
"Phew... I'm hungry. Let's eat first, then go get the sword."
As he was heading to breakfast, he saw his triplet brothers standing on the stairs, saluting in perfect sync.
Seeing their stupidity, Aether frown.
" I don't have time for this " he simply passed by them.
"You're a true man , brother." Highbro said.
"True man." The midbro said.
"True man." The lowbro said.
* * *
After breakfast, Aether went back to his room.
As he rested on the sofa, a glowing window appeared in front of him.
Ding!
[Abyssal Energy detected]
"Hmm? What's this now?" Aether muttered.
"Ah…" Suddenly a memory from his past life as Naoki resurfaced.
He remembered meeting his brother in a mirrored void. That's where he first heard about the prophecy.
After their talk, space cracked, and he began to fall.
As he fell through the void, he saw a black hole.
It pulled him in without mercy.
As his consciousness slowly drifted away after falling into the black hole, he saw two floating windows.
[Absorption of Abyssal Energy: Successful]
Ding!
[Reincarnating to Eloria : in progress…]
Bzzzt...
After recalling this memory, his mind became filled with questions
"Does this mean I absorbed the black hole?"
"Then why didn't it activate in my last life in this world?"
"Does it have something to do with my regression?"
Ding!
[Abyssal Energy is being assimilated into the user's body]
"Ekkk!"
A sharp pain tore through his body. He fell from the sofa to the floor.
"Hekkk... I need to let it flow through my veins naturally."
As a veteran in the field of mana, he knew what to do.
He sat down with his legs crossed and began circulating the Abyssal energy through his body.
As he circulated the Abyssal energy, pitch-black mana burst from his body, swirling around him like dark smoke.
The dark force spiraled down to his abdomen, gathering with terrifying precision.
Aether's body convulsed violently. Black sweat poured down his skin. His veins bulged dark.
Every muscle screamed, as if being torn apart and rebuilt...over and over again.
Just like that, two days passed.
Black flames erupted all over Aether's body.
They wrapped around him like chains, holding his limbs tight in pain. His breathing became heavy and uneven. His vision blurred. He could not tell if his heart was beating or breaking.
In the center of his abdomen, a dark slowly spinning void had formed.
* * *
Meanwhile, in Cierra's room,
Cierra paced back and forth, her face full of worry.
"Uaaaa, I can't take this anymore. I need to see what's happening to him."
For the past two days, Aether's room had been surrounded by black fog. The elders and the vice patriarch who were present at the family, confirmed that the dark fog was Aether's mana....but it was wickedly sinister.
"Young lady, you should have faith in your fiancé. He is a prodigy through and through."
"What do you mean? I'm not a prodigy!... I'm also a prodigy. But being a prodigy doesn't mean, everything will go in your favor."
"No… I didn't mean it like that. I'm saying if you, his life partner, can't trust him, won't he be upset?"
"You just have a way with words. I'm going to see him."
"Wait, young lady!"
Despite her protests, Cierra's stubbornness won, and both of them headed for Aether's room.
When they arrived, they saw the dark mana surrounding the room had vanished.
Thinking he was done with his circulation, Cierra ran toward the door.
As she opened it, a nasty smell rushed out. It smelled like something rotting.
Worried, she shouted, "Aether!"
The room was still foggy.
Since she came from a mage family, she used wind magic to clear the air.
Swoooosh
The dark mana fog began to clear.
Swoooosh
As the room cleared she saw Aether lying unconscious on the floor.
"Aether!"
She hurried over to him, placed his head on her lap, and called out to him. But he didn't answer.
She gently patted his cheeks, again and again....still no response.
Her heart raced. Her thoughts grew darker with fear.
'This can't be happening...'
Just then, footsteps echoed behind her. The head physician had arrived.
Cierra's personal maid had rushed to get help while she was frozen in worry.
Seeing the head physician, Cierra burst into tears.
"Please… help him!" she cried out, her voice trembling with fear and desperation.
Her nose was runny, and tears streamed down her face without stopping.
.
.
.
.
To be continued....