Aetheria opened her eyes as the warm light was blocked by someone. Her eyes blinked slowly, vaguely seeing Ethan sitting beside her while kissing the back of her hand. Aetheria felt water dripping there. When she regained her vision, what she witnessed was Ethan sobbing softly.
Worried about his sobs, Aetheria decided to get up because her body had become light again. With her eyes glancing slightly to the side of Ethan, she saw another figure full of white light standing there. Not knowing what had happened, it made Aetheria stare confusedly at Ethan.
"E-Ethan... what's wrong?" asked Aetheria in her weak tone.
"Everything is fine, Aetheria."
Aetheria looked doubtful, really not wanting to believe Ethan. And indeed. Her forehead wrinkled and her face turned pale as she touched her stomach. There, it was as if what she had been guarding — her fetus — was gone. Angry and sad, Aetheria pulled Ethan's clothes roughly.
"Where is my baby?! Where is my baby, Ethan?! Answer me!"
"Calm yourself first, Aetheria."
"How can I be calm?! Where is my baby! Where did you hide him?!" Aetheria began to sob softly.
"I-I... Aetheria, I..."
"Your baby is with me." The creature interrupted, showing a transparent ball where Aetheria could see a baby sleeping inside it.
"Ho-how... is it possible...?"
"Ask your husband. I am not a creature who is good at talking."
Aetheria glanced at Ethan who was looking down, horrified. "Tell me, what happened, Ethan...? Don't tell me you..."
"I called the core of the world, asked it to guard our child, with... my soul as the exchange. With my own hands, I took him out and... happily I got to hold him. He didn't wake up and cry, but I was already very happy."
Aetheria covered her mouth, bowed weakly and her tears broke at that very moment. "W-what have you done... You, how is this possible... Tell me I'm just hallucinating. I beg you... say it like that, Ethan..."
Ethan stroked Aetheria's head once with affection and love. "I'm sorry. After this you will be alone. Please forgive me for breaking my promise not to leave you alone. Sorry. After this you will be alone."
Aetheria shook her head firmly while staring at Ethan's face which felt so warm. "No-no... Ethan... You're lying to me, right? You're pranking me, right? Quickly tell me that all of this is just nonsense."
"Forgive me, darling."
Aetheria just bowed her head and cried sorrowfully. Her heart kept wondering, "Why does it end like this? We just wanted to live happily, with our child whose arrival we were waiting for. Bu-but... what is this? Ethan will leave me and my baby will be separated far from me..."
Ethan gently stroked Aetheria's cheek, guiding her to look back at him. "Look at me, Aetheria. Come here, look at me, darling."
Aetheria lowered her eyes which were..., eyelids drooping weakly and sobs still audible. This is painful. Very painful for her. The happiness she dreamed of so much will soon disappear. It hurts. Her chest is very tight.[because]
"Take care of him and give him lots of love, so that the seed of destruction within him does not sprout. Whether his name is destruction or bringer of disaster, he is still our child, proof of our love."
"E-Ethan..."
"For the time you have given me all this time, your love and your help, I am very grateful. Never once did I think I would be allowed to love a woman like you as a Demon King full of sins. Loving and having you is boundless happiness like water in the ocean. Thank you also for carrying my child, and for staying with me until the end."
Ethan took a breath and exhaled it slowly. "I love you, Aetheria. I love you, will love you even after death. In a long sleep... I will continue to dream of you, and remember how in the mortal realm we spent time together. I love you."
Aetheria's tears became worse as the hand she was holding began to fade forming shattered particles like dust. It didn't stop, and she couldn't reach it because the disintegration happened very quickly. Her face cried in panic, and reflexively hugged Ethan tightly. "I also love you. I love you so much!"
Ethan returned the hug while stroking his wife's back, then smiled happily. "Thank you."
"I love you! Love and cherish you!" Not knowing what to say because her chest was very tight and her whole body was covered in sadness, it made Aetheria shout the same sentence... [as him], "I love you so, so much!"
"Yes, I know. I also love you both, now, later and after death. Later when he is born, I'm sure he will pick you up. After that time comes, live well and be happy. I will watch over, and witness how he grows. Bring me into that happiness by continuing to remember me. Sorry if I'm being selfish."
Ethan loosened his embrace, wiped the tears on Aetheria's cheeks and said again, "I will always be present in your heart. Feel my presence here," He pointed at Aetheria's chest while smiling full of affection.
As the body began to disintegrate up to the head, Ethan remembered something that had not been said and said it immediately. "And one more thing, please introduce me as a cool and great father when you meet him later. Ask him to also call me father."
Aetheria laughed blandly, "Alright. I will tell him about you like a hero in a fairy tale book." This is indeed painful, but she also realized she must respect Ethan's choice. This decision of Ethan's... is a form of love that he can show for the last time.
"Aetheria... goodbye. Once again, I love you."
Aetheria clasped her hands to her chest and nodded slowly. "Goodbye." Before her eyes, she witnessed Ethan disappearing, as if merging with nature.
"What a touching farewell." Having only watched from a distance for a long time, finally the creature spoke again.
Aetheria turned towards him, more precisely the fetus in the transparent magic ball in his hand. "Take care of my child."
"Although very difficult, it is certain. Your husband gave his strong soul as an offering to support in the vortex of the center of world power. Don't think of reincarnating or pulling his soul from there, because that is even impossible for me."
The creature turned around, about to leave Aetheria in the dim room, but before that he left a sentence, "When your strength recovers later, come to the parallel realm, I invite you. You don't need to make a sacrifice. I need you when the time comes for this fetus to be born." Then he disappeared behind a portal of light.
"See you later, my child. Let's meet again sometime."
"The Demon King has disappeared! The Demon King has disappeared! Call His Majesty the Sky Emperor!"
That voice came from the patrolling guard. A shout that shook the entire sky palace. Aetheria, only remained motionless and her smile once again appeared thin in the darkness. For some reason, she was very much looking forward to her father's reaction. The big prey had disappeared.
"Infinity eye... Ethan whispered that the eye is in our child. Father... in the future you may be facing a duplicate of Ethan. The path to becoming The Divine, it is not easy." Aetheria's voice was heard again as soft as silk.