Chapter 1419: Good... bye.

Eternal Prison

That name itself was enough to send a cold shiver through anyone who heard it, a name that carried weight and despair.

Being stuck in the Eternal Prison felt like the worst fate anyone could ever endure.

And there was no one willing to spend their freaking life locked inside this mind-breaking, horrifying place.

No sane soul wanted to rot here.

So... of course, even Grace was not going to stay in this hellhole.

When she realised what Aether was doing, she didn’t like a single bit of it. Her heart pounded with panic and anger, and her instincts screamed for survival.

She understood he was trying to save his woman... so what? She didn’t ask for this, did she? She wasn’t going to die for some random woman she wasn’t even aware of, someone who meant nothing to her.

No way she was just letting this go without a fight.

So she did it... she exposed his truth without hesitation, without a thought about what would break in the process.

"This crystal could only take one person from this place," Grace said with a cold tone as she stared at the crystal glowing faintly in her hand.

The only way to escape this nightmare was that crystal... meant for Aether, not for Delphine.

"I don’t know what he is trying to achieve by saving you, but I’m not staying stuck here for you, woman." She shot a sharp, careless glance toward Delphine, who stood frozen with a broken expression, blank eyes trembling as she stared at Aether.

Aether nudged his eyebrows together, the lines of annoyance and fury tightening across his face.

"Del, don’t listen to her—"

"I... I trusted you," Delphine whispered, voice trembling as she lowered her eyes. She couldn’t even look at Aether anymore.

"I fucking trusted you again... believing that my Aether would not betray me... FUCK!!" Her fingers clenched around the chain so tightly as she stared at her foot, her breath shaking.

She couldn’t believe she trusted this bastard again and again, only to be betrayed every time.

How hard would it have been for him to tell the truth?

How fucking hard?!!

Delphine’s lips trembled as she lifted her head. Her eyes glistened with tears and fury as she glared at him.

"You were still looking down at my love... weren’t you?"

Her teeth clenched, voice breaking between rage and heartbreak.

Aether moved closer, reaching for her, his voice soft and desperate.

"Of course not, I... I didn’t mean to lie—"

Delphine interrupted instantly,

"When I saw you falling from the chair and trembling... I... I really thought you were acting, Aether! I honestly thought you were trying to manipulate me again.

Somewhere in my mind, I thought you were doing that on purpose." She laughed weakly, painfully.

"You lost my trust, Aether... you lost my fucking trust... and yet this idiotic woman... this useless, love-struck bitch... still can’t let go of you... haha." Her laugh echoed through the prison, hollow and broken, like something slipping into madness.

Aether bit his lips hard, jaw tight, as he threw a single sharp glare at Grace. Grace only shrugged, sitting on the chain calmly as if she wasn’t the root of the chaos that was rising between them.

He raised his hand to touch Delphine... but she moved back instantly, eyes burning with betrayal as she shook her head. "N-No... no, I am not falling for this. I am NOT falling for your pathetic trick again!!"

Aether’s shoulders trembled, his voice growing smaller, almost weak. "Del...."

Tears rolled down from Delphine’s trembling eyes, "How could you? How could you do this to me? Do you think my love is not worth telling the truth?"

Her voice cracked harder this time, like her heart was tearing open in front of him.

"Del... you are mixing things now... please think rational—"

"Fuck your rational!!" Delphine slammed her fists against his chest again, harder, her whole body shaking.

"You fucking asshole! You rotten bastard! YOU FUCKER!!" Her fingers dug into his clothes as if she wanted to drag answers out of him.

"I... I believed you... just to feel broken again?..." Her forehead pressed against his chest as she cried helplessly, her breath falling apart every second.

"T-That’s why you told those words... You wanted me to deliver them to others, so they could move without waiting for your words, r-right?... haha... I am an idiot... such an idiot!" Delphine muttered, voice trembling with disbelief and self-blame.

"I trusted you even when it hurt me... every damn time... and I still trusted you."

Aether stared down at her... she was crying again. He had seen her cry so many times because of him, and every time felt like a knife twisting deeper into him.

But this time... he believed he chose correctly.

He wanted to protect her.

He wanted to shield every part of her from this nightmare.

He wanted to stop her tears, even if it meant breaking himself.

He wanted her safe, free, alive.

He... he just wanted to save her.

Not for himself but for her... for the woman he loved beyond reason.

"Tell me what choices I have?"

Delphine flinched at how cold it sounded. She lifted her head slowly, her wet eyelashes sticking together, eyes searching his face for even a trace of warmth.

She saw none.

Aether nodded once.

"Yes, it’s my fault, and I accept it. But... do you think I wished for this? Huh? Tell me... what would you do if you were in my shoes... tell me, Delphine!"

His voice rose at her name, not in anger but in pain, raw and trembling.

Delphine blinked quickly. "O-Of course I would have told you the truth and—"

Aether shook his head, stopping her. "You know, and I know... that is not true."

Delphine frowned, her voice turning desperate. "I am not like you... I believe in my love! I don’t betray the person I hold close!" Her hands pressed against her chest as if trying to contain the raging ache inside.

"My heart doesn’t lie... not to you."

Aether raised his eyebrows slowly. "Is that so? Then tell me why you hid from me during the Pyra Empire incident."

Delphine froze again. Her lips parted, but nothing came. She remembered the fear, the visions, the danger that wrapped itself around her.

She remembered staying away from him, convincing herself it was to protect him.

"I... I... well—"

Before she could form even a single excuse, Aether’s voice cut through her hesitation, ice-cold and sharp.

"Even when you broke up with me... tell me, is that truly the only reason you did it... or is there something else you’re hiding?"

Delphine subconsciously stepped back.

Aether saw it... Her retreat spoke louder than any words she could ever say.

"I knew it... ahh." Aether nodded several times, breath shaking. His jaw tightened until it hurt, veins rising across his skin.

He looked anywhere except at her, as if the truth was too cruel to face directly.

He connected the dots... Delphine’s habit of stepping away from people when her visions warned her about them.

Her mother’s warning echoed in his mind.

The Prophetess once told him the truth he didn’t want to hear—Choosing her daughter meant death.

What did it mean?

Was that... choosing her daughter meant... he would definitely die?

And who had the power to kill him?

Mary?

Morgana?

Even if it was them, how was Delphine involved?

Something wasn’t connecting the way he needed... unless—

"I see..." Aether finally looked at her.

Delphine’s eyes trembled as if she had been caught by his words. She didn’t expect him to find it... not so quickly.

Aether clenched his fists, whispering under his breath, "You were protecting me again... weren’t you? Even if it destroy—"

Clang~

Suddenly, a sharp clanging sound echoed through the void.

Grace, who was sitting on the chain, was suddenly yanked violently as if the chain pulled on one end... as if something massive had tugged it!

The crystal in her hand flew out of her grasp.

Both Delphine and Aether snapped their heads toward it. Their eyes met for a brief, desperate moment before both of them dove forward to catch the crystal.

Aether’s fingertips grazed against its surface, and his face lit up with a flicker of relief—almost—

But Delphine caught it first.

Her fingers curled tightly around the crystal, her breath shaking as she looked at Aether.

Aether raised one hand toward her while his other hand gripped the vibrating chain.

"D-Del... no..." he said, his voice heavy, serious, almost begging.

Delphine bit her lips as she clenched the crystal harder. She glanced at Aether, her eyes trembling but softening at the same time.

"M-Maybe we’re not so different, Aether...

We both do everything we can to protect our love, don’t we?" Her voice softened into something painfully gentle.

"Del! Listen to me... I can still get out. I will find a way. Believe in me."

He tried to reach her, but she stepped back slowly.

Delphine shook her head. "Mother told me... There is no way out, Aether. If a god couldn’t escape, what could mere things like us possibly do? Huh?"

Aether clenched his teeth. "Del, dear... please don’t do it. This will be lonely and painful."

His voice cracked as tears pooled at the corners of his eyes. His arm shook as he reached toward her again.

Delphine still smiled—shaky, fragile, but full of love.

"I told you, didn’t I? I love you more than anything... And compared to that... this loneliness is nothing."

Her fingers tightened around the crystal. The previous cracks began spreading, crawling across its glowing surface like veins.

"No... no, no... dear... please..." Aether’s voice trembled, his whole body shaking. "I want nothing but happiness for you!"

He lunged forward again, reaching, but she kept slipping away from him.

It was getting terrifying for Aether.

He could feel something slipping out of his grasp—Something he couldn’t replace.

Something he couldn’t live without.

Delphine smiled weakly, "I am a teacher, Aether... I believe in numbers. The number of women waiting for you at home versus... one here. I’m sure which was the right answer from the very beginning."

Aether shook his head instantly, desperation ripping through his voice. "Why don’t you understand you are important... You are my life?!"

His voice broke at the end, his hand reaching out as if he could pull her back just by touching the air between them.

Delphine smiled sadly, her eyes softening with a love deep enough to suffocate her.

"For you, I am just one among them, but for me... You are the only one."

Her chest shook as she forced the truth out.

"You were the first man I opened my heart to... the only man I ever allowed inside my soul."

Her voice dropped into a whisper.

"For me, there is no home waiting. No one is waiting. There is only... you."

She inhaled sharply, trying to hold back tears that refused to be held.

"I love you, Aether...I did, and I always do.

Even now... when everything hurts."

With that small, heartbreaking smile, she pulled her arm back and threw the crystal toward him with every ounce of strength she had left—every ounce of love, pain, and surrender she carried.

Aether’s already widened pupil—widened even more—as time slowed into something suffocating.

Its cracked surface shimmered with unstable light, fractures crawling across it like a dying heartbeat.

Even if he caught it... It would break upon the impact.

Even if he held it... he would lose her.

Even if he tried... she had already chosen.

He felt it... the moment she gave up on saving herself.

The moment she accepted the pain... The moment she surrendered everything for him.

His eyes tore away from the crystal and locked onto Delphine.

She smiled softly, almost peacefully, as if embracing her end was easier than watching him suffer.

Her lips parted with a fragile whisper, her voice carrying love, grief, and a farewell that shattered him.

"Good... bye."

THUD!

CRACK!!!!

SSSNNNNGGGGG~