chapter 2: "THERE, THER, LITTLE ONE,"

A strange peace settled over him. Maybe even a hint of regret. With a faint smile playing on his lips, Aether drew his last breath.

****

Aether sighed, a sound lost in the endless darkness. He stared into the void, a silent question hanging heavy in the air. "So now what?" He called out, testing the silence. "god... budha... anyone...?" A hollow laugh escaped him. "Yeah, right." Time, a concept once familiar, now stretched and blurred. Had hours passed? Days? Did it even matter here?

Frustration bubbled over. "If this is it," he yelled into the abyss, "at least give me a girlfriend! Is that too much to ask after all this time? No complaints, not a single one... wait, what's.. that?"

A faint glimmer pierced the darkness, a spark in the infinite black. It grew stronger, a beacon in the void. Aether squinted, raising a hand towards the growing light. It pulsed with an otherworldly energy, drawing him closer until it finally swallowed him whole.

****

Warmth enveloped him. Aether's blurry vision struggled to make sense of the world as muffled sounds reached his ears. "Bah-bah," a voice cooed. Then, a joyous cry, "Mary, oh thank the gods of old, it's a boy!" He felt himself lifted, placed in a soft embrace. "Bah-bah," the voice soothed again. 'Is someone crying?' Aether wondered, his eyes fighting to adjust to the light.

"A miracle, truly," a voice, soft as an angel's song, whispered close by. "Welcome, Aether, my beautiful baby boy." Aether felt a gentle touch on his hand. He squinted, his vision finally clearing - a woman, her face etched with relief and love, held him. "Am I a baby?" he thought, a gasp escaping his lips.

Mary, cradling tiny Aether in her loving arms, hummed a calming melody. A wave of emotions washed over him. "Is this… a miracle?" a part of him cried, a wail erupting from his small body. The thought of a second chance, of warmth and love, flooded him with a joy he hadn't known existed. In this moment, held by Mary, tears turning into soft whimpers as her lullaby soothed him, Aether knew true happiness.

"There, there, little one," Mary whispered, her voice a balm. "Your mother is here. Grow strong, grow happy, my love." And in the gentle sway of her embrace and the melody that filled the air, both mother and child drifted off to sleep.

Five years had flown by, and Aether was now a curious five-year-old. He perched on his lumpy straw bed, taking in the familiar yet unsettling surroundings. The room, a testament to neglect, mirrored his own muddled feelings. Sunlight sliced through a cracked windowpane, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air. Cobwebs hung like macabre tapestries, and the warped floorboards groaned under the weight of their meagre belongings.

Despite the hardship, Aether considered himself lucky. He had Mary, his loving mother. Time had unveiled the truth. Mary was a first-circle intermediate mage, her hair vibrant brown before the cruel disease, mana glut crippled her. leaving her hair a dull gold, a stark reminder of the sickness, however, her blue eyes colour remained the same. Captured and branded a slave, it wasn't long before she retaliated with her last offensive magic and made it to the slave settlement, since she was branded, no one would accept an escapee. Here, Mary showered Aether with all she had – love, stories of the grand Sineru citadel she once called home, and a faint hope for a better future.

While recollecting everything he learned over the last five years, from the window he overheard his mother chatting with the other women, "Are you sure it's normal? "Mary questioned "You're just overthinking it" they assured her, "but the way he sucks on my breast, it feels so... aggressive and embarrassing " The other women laughed aloud as Aether jumped from the bed a blush crepping up his cheeks.