Next morning,
Aether's eyelashes trembled slightly before his tired eyes slowly blinked open. A dull weight pressed on his mind, not from his body but somewhere much deeper—mentally, he felt drained. Last night's guiding to the soul had left its mark.
His expression was lethargic, unfocused, still lost in thoughts from the night before.
'I guess that's why she warned me not to do it again.'
He groaned inwardly, dragging a hand down his face.
He had always believed he was inside his own soul domain, a space he understood and controlled… but after last night, it became painfully obvious—there was something else. Something far more complex.
And then there was No. 27.
It was still inside him.
But why?
Was that his soul?
What did Grace mean when she said… this wasn't his soul?
Then what the hell was it?
Was something else trying to take over his body? His identity?
