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 by his sobbing, Aetheria decided to get up because her body had become light again. Slightly glancing to Ethan's side, she saw another figure full of white light standing there. Not knowing what had happened, it drew Aetheria to stare at Ethan in confusion.
"E-Ethan... what's wrong?" Aetheria asked 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 was 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... can...?"
"Ask your husband. I am not a creature who is good at talking."
Aetheria glanced at Ethan who was bowed down, horrified. "Tell me, what has happened, Ethan...? Don't tell me you..."
"I summoned the core of the world, asking it to take care of our child, with... my soul as the exchange. With my own hands, I took him out and... made him happy, I had time to hold him. He did not wake up and cry, but I was already very happy."
Aetheria covered her mouth, bowed down weakly and her crying broke out at that very moment. "Wh-what have you done... You, how is this possible... Tell me I am only hallucinating. I beg you... say it like that, Ethan..."
Ethan stroked Aetheria's head once with affection and love. "Sorry, okay. 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 teasing me, right? Quickly tell me if all of this is just nonsense."
"Forgive me, darling."
Aetheria only bowed down and cried bitterly. Her heart kept asking, "Why does it end like this? We only wanted to live happily, together with our child whose arrival we awaited. 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 swollen, her eyelids drooping weakly and sobs still audible. This is painful. Very painful for her. The happiness she dreamed of so much will soon disappear. That hurts. Her chest is very tight.
"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 the Demon King full of sin. Loving and having you is boundless happiness like water in the ocean. Thank you also for carrying my child, and 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 keep dreaming of you, and remembering how in the mortal realm we spent time together. I love you."
Aetheria's crying became worse as the hand she was holding began to fade forming fragments of particles like dust. It did not stop, and she could not 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! Loving and cherishing you!" Not knowing what to say because her chest was so tight and her whole body was enveloped in sadness, made Aetheria shout the same sentence if she, "I love you so-so much!"
"Yes, I know. I also love you all, now, later and after death. Later when he is born, I am sure he will pick you up. After that time comes, live well and be happy. I will watch, and witness how he grows. Bring me into that happiness by continuing to remember me. Sorry if I am selfish."
Ethan loosened his hug, wiped the tears on Aetheria's cheek 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.
When the body parts began to disintegrate up to the head, Ethan remembered something not yet said and said it immediately. "And one more, please introduce me as a cool and great father when you meet him later. Ask him to also call me father."
Aetheria laughed flatly, "Alright. I will tell him about you like a hero in a fairy tale book." This is indeed painful, but she also realized she had to 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." In front of her eyes, she witnessed Ethan disappearing, as if merging with nature.
"A touching farewell." Having only watched from afar for a long time, finally the creature spoke again.
Aetheria turned toward it, more precisely toward the fetus in the transparent magic ball in its hand. "Take care of my child."
"Though very difficult, but that is for sure. Your husband gave his strong soul as an offering to support the vortex at the center of the world's power. Don't think about reincarnating or pulling his soul from there, because that is even impossible for me."
The creature turned, about to leave Aetheria in the dim room, but before that it 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 it disappeared behind a light portal.
"Goodbye, my child. Let us meet again sometime later."
"The Demon King has disappeared! The Demon King has disappeared! Summon His Majesty the Sky Emperor!"
That voice came from a patrolling guard. A shout that shook the entire sky palace. Aetheria, only remained still and her smile once curled thinly in the darkness. For some reason, she really looked forward to her father's reaction. The big prey had disappeared.
"Infinity eye... Ethan whispered that eye is in our child. Father... in the future you may face a duplicate of Ethan. The path to becoming The Divine, that is not easy." Aetheria's voice was heard again as smooth as silk.