Eternia's Requiem

The morning arrived far too peacefully.

That was the first thing that irritated Etherius.

Birds chirped.

The breeze drifted through the estate gardens.

Servants walked through the halls carrying tea and documents as though nothing had happened.

As though an entire district had not been reduced to a wasteland.

As though a monster older than creation itself had not descended into the world wearing the face of a young girl.

As though thousands had not died.

Etherius sat alone on a stone bench overlooking the Sinclair estate’s eastern gardens.

His eyes were dark.

Tired.

Restless.

For the first time since his rebirth, he felt something he hated.

Powerlessness.

In his previous life he had been able to explain most disasters.

Wars happened because nations grew greedy.

Assassinations happened because nobles fought for power.

Catastrophes happened because someone made a mistake.

Everything had a cause.

Everything had logic.

Everything had reason.

But the being he had witnessed several days ago...

The First Dream.

That thing did not fit inside any of those categories.

It wasn’t a king.

It wasn’t a demon.

It wasn’t a saint.

It wasn’t even something that should have existed.

Etherius still remembered those eyes.

Ancient.

Cold.

Patient.

Like someone looking down at insects.

His hands clenched.

"I need power."

The words escaped quietly.

Not because he wanted revenge.

Not because he wanted glory.

Not because he wanted to become some legendary hero.

No.

He simply wanted to survive.

And survival required power.

A ridiculous amount of it.

Enough to challenge monsters that could flatten cities.

Enough to resist entities that could possess bodies.

Enough to protect people standing beside him.

Especially one particular pink-haired nuisance.

A familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.

"You’re brooding again."

Etherius looked up.

Eternia stood several meters away.

Her pink hair swayed gently in the wind.

She looked normal.

Too normal.

If he hadn’t witnessed the massacre himself, he never would have believed this girl had once become the vessel of an ancient cosmic horror.

For several seconds neither spoke.

The silence was awkward.

Heavy.

Eventually Eternia crossed her arms.

"Why are you staring at me?"

Etherius immediately answered.

"Checking if you still have four arms."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"That’s not funny."

"It was a little funny."

"It wasn’t."

"It was."

"It wasn’t."

Etherius smirked.

For the first time in days.

A tiny smile.

Eternia blinked.

Then she realized.

"You did that on purpose."

"Correct."

"You wanted to break the tension."

"Also correct."

She clicked her tongue.

"Annoying."

"You say that a lot."

"Because you are."

"Fair."

The tension eased slightly.

But only slightly.

Eventually Etherius became serious again.

His gaze settled on her.

"We need to talk."

Eternia nodded.

Her expression became solemn.

"I know."

They moved toward an isolated training field behind the estate.

No servants.

No guards.

No observers.

Only open ground and silence.

The moment they arrived, Etherius told her everything.

Every detail.

Every moment.

Nothing omitted.

He described the barrier.

The destruction.

The battle.

Lucien Valebrook.

The Axis.

The extraction.

The death.

The First Dream’s words.

Its actions.

Its goals.

Everything.

As he spoke, Eternia became increasingly pale.

Not because she doubted him.

Because Eternity had already confirmed most of it.

Inside her soul space, Eternity remained silent.

Listening.

Remembering.

Reliving old nightmares.

When Etherius finally finished speaking, several minutes passed before anyone said anything.

Eternia lowered her head.

"So... I really killed all those people."

Etherius immediately shook his head.

"No."

"But my body—"

"Your body."

His voice became firm.

"Not you."

Eternia didn’t answer.

Etherius understood.

Even if it wasn’t technically her fault, guilt wasn’t logical.

Guilt rarely cared about facts.

It simply existed.

Eventually Eternia exhaled.

"What now?"

That question hung heavily between them.

What now?

How exactly did two teenagers stop something older than existence?

The answer was obvious.

They didn’t.

Not yet.

Etherius began pacing.

Thinking.

Analyzing.

Planning.

Finally he spoke.

"We need three things."

Eternia raised an eyebrow.

"Only three?"

"Three impossible things."

"Ah. That’s more realistic."

Etherius ignored the comment.

"First. We need information."

Eternia nodded.

Agreed.

"We know almost nothing about The First Dream."

"Correct."

"Second?"

"Power."

She snorted.

"Obviously."

"Lots of power."

"Still obvious."

"Enough power to punch reality if necessary."

"Less obvious but increasingly concerning."

Etherius continued.

"Third."

His expression darkened.

"We need a way to prevent possession."

That immediately silenced her.

Because that was the biggest issue.

As long as The First Dream could take control of her body, nothing else mattered.

Any plan could fail instantly.

Any victory could become defeat.

Any ally could become a victim.

Eternia slowly sat down.

"What if he comes back tomorrow?"

Etherius answered honestly.

"We die."

"..."

"..."

"I appreciate the honesty."

"I try."

She sighed.

"This sucks."

"Indeed."

Inside Eternia’s soul space, Eternity finally spoke.

"He’s right."

Eternia mentally turned toward her.

The future version of herself sat calmly upon a floating throne of light.

"Thanks for the encouragement."

"I’m serious."

"I know."

Eternity’s eyes narrowed.

"The First Dream has lost direct control."

"Good."

"But he still has influence."

"Bad."

"Very."

Eternia groaned.

Meanwhile Etherius suddenly stopped pacing.

An idea had appeared.

Small.

Risky.

Possibly insane.

Which meant it was probably useful.

"We should train together."

Eternia blinked.

"...What?"

"Training."

"Right now?"

"Right now."

"We just survived a cosmic apocalypse."

"Correct."

"I nearly got possessed."

"Also correct."

"And your solution is training?"

"Training fixes most problems."

Eternia stared.

Then laughed.

Actually laughed.

The sound surprised even herself.

Etherius raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Nothing."

She shook her head.

"You are insane."

"Thank you."

"That wasn’t a compliment."

"I’ll take it as one."

A few minutes later both stood opposite one another inside the training field.

The atmosphere changed.

Joking disappeared.

Focus remained.

Etherius drew a wooden practice sword.

Eternia spun a training spear.

Both adopted fighting stances.

Then charged.

CLANG!

Wood struck wood.

Eternia thrust.

Fast.

Accurate.

Aggressive.

Etherius deflected.

Pivoted.

Counterattacked.

Their weapons collided repeatedly.

Neither held back.

Not because they wanted to hurt each other.

Because both understood something important.

The world had changed.

Their enemies weren’t ordinary anymore.

Every weakness could become fatal.

Every flaw could become a death sentence.

Minutes passed.

Then an hour.

Sweat covered both of them.

Their breathing became heavier.

Yet neither stopped.

Inside Eternia’s soul space, Eternity observed carefully.

"Your stance is improving."

"Thanks."

"Still terrible."

"Thanks."

"You’re welcome."

Eventually physical training transitioned into something far more important.

Mana.

Aura.

The foundation of power.

Both sat cross-legged opposite one another.

Etherius spoke first.

"In my previous life, most people treated mana and aura separately."

Eternia listened.

Carefully.

"But truly powerful individuals didn’t."

He drew symbols across the dirt.

Simple diagrams.

Explanations.

Connections.

"Aura comes from the body."

She nodded.

"Mana comes from the world."

Another nod.

Etherius pointed toward the center.

"And Ether comes from harmony."

The word lingered.

Harmony.

Balance.

Fusion.

Unity.

Not domination.

Not control.

Harmony.

"The body and world become one."

Eternia’s eyes widened slightly.

She understood immediately.

That was why ordinary mages struggled.

They treated mana like a tool.

A weapon.

A resource.

But Ether required something deeper.

Understanding.

Acceptance.

Connection.

Etherius continued.

"When aura and mana merge perfectly, they create something superior."

"Ether."

"Exactly."

The training began.

Slowly.

Painfully.

Mana circulated.

Aura moved.

Both attempted fusion.

And both failed.

Spectacularly.

Eternia accidentally launched herself backward.

Etherius nearly exploded a training dummy.

Several trees lost branches.

One unfortunate rock ceased existing.

Progress.

Probably.

After several hours, something finally changed.

A tiny spark appeared above Etherius’s palm.

Silver.

Pure.

Beautiful.

Ether.

Real Ether.

His eyes widened.

Success.

Tiny success.

But success nonetheless.

Eternia immediately became competitive.

"Oh no."

Etherius smirked.

"Oh yes."

Minutes later she succeeded too.

A small pink-and-gold spark danced between her fingers.

Ether.

Real Ether.

For a moment both simply stared.

Because this wasn’t ordinary power.

This was the beginning of something greater.

Something rare.

Something extraordinary.

Inside her mind, Eternity smiled.

"The future is changing."

Eternia blinked.

"What?"

"You awakened Ether earlier than I did."

Silence.

Then realization.

A small change.

Yet important.

The future wasn’t fixed.

That meant destiny could be challenged.

The thought energized her.

For the first time since awakening, hope appeared.

Real hope.

The sun slowly began descending toward the horizon.

Orange light covered the training grounds.

Etherius stood.

Exhausted.

Sweating.

Barely able to move.

Eternia looked equally terrible.

Her hair was a mess.

Her clothes dirty.

Her legs shaking.

Yet both smiled.

Tiny smiles.

Tired smiles.

But genuine.

Because today they had accomplished something.

Not enough.

Nowhere near enough.

But something.

They had taken their first step.

A small step.

Against a being older than creation.

Against fate.

Against despair.

Against The First Dream.

And somewhere far away...

Beyond worlds.

Beyond dimensions.

Beyond mortal understanding.

A pair of ancient eyes slowly opened.

The First Dream looked toward the distant world.

Toward two insignificant mortals.

Toward a boy carrying an Axis.

Toward a girl who had reclaimed her body.

For the briefest moment...

It smiled.

Not mockingly.

Not cruelly.

But with interest.

Because resistance had finally begun.

And resistance...

Made the game far more entertaining.