Prince of The Abyss

Murdering a man in broad daylight, you would think that people would react, flinch at least... after all, it is a human life that had been taken right next to them, even if they didn’t care about the person that died at all, to the point they actually wouldn’t care they’re gone, they would at least be scared for their own.

Because they couldn’t know if they were next.

And yet, as the head of the man fell to the ground, rolling onto the ground, no one reacted, not even looking at it. Some walked around it, while some kicked it out of their way. As if it were a big rock, and not the head of a being that used to breathe before this, someone who had a family.

That was the reality of the Withered when it came to killing.

You could argue it was because of him that this wasn’t normal, in the sense that it was because he had killed him with a blade that was evidently a pretty powerful relic, and a random guy with a knife. They knew they stood no chance against him; that’s why they didn’t react.

But if that was the case, why did they still pass him without looking? They got close, some even touching; if they were scared of who he was, they wouldn’t do that.

In the Withered, life and survival were the most important things. Enforcing your dominance was also pretty important; they knew when to stop.

...

Aether dismissed his mantle, the Academy uniform that he had been wearing under, revealing itself to everyone...

Many stared for a second; some even stopped. But there was one thing: they didn’t get close to him. They kept their distance.

This was the difference between being frightening to people to the point they didn’t care what you did, and just them not caring that you killed someone.

’Everyone in the Withered is selfish; that’s just what it means to survive. To steal, to rob, to kill, and many other bad things. That was the normal life. And it has always been that way.’

Even with him killing the man because of his action, he had done nothing in the grand scheme of things; it was just to prove to himself and Voidpiercer that he wanted a change, as small as it was.

Even if he killed one, there were many more doing the same thing.

Sure, if he kept killing child murderers, some would stop, some may start doing it more hiddenly, stopping from just throwing them in a random alleyway for everyone to see.

But that won’t resolve anything; many other problems still persist.

After all, murder isn’t the only thing in this cursed place.

Human Trafficking, Torture, arson, and many more, and most aren’t done by evil hearts, just people trying to live. Was he a good guy for killing the man, from a righteous view, of course, but if you were to ask the people in this place about it, not all would agree.

...

Putting on his mantle, Aether left the marketplace.

He was wrong; Voidpiercer was wrong, as much as the blade knew, as much as it knew about human nature and normal human emotions. Not everyone was normal.

He had revealed himself; what happened? Nothing.

For people who have lived generations in the same conditions and seen people try and fail, hope isn’t that great.

You have to give the results; that was why the rebellion worked, and why people actually tried, because they saw something was actually happening. If he wanted to actually raise their morale and make them wish for a change, he had to show them a path.

...

Only a few actually were desperate enough to cling to that hope. Aether smirked, looking behind him where a man had followed him.

He didn’t stagger; he smiled at Aether. ”Thank you...”

Aether tilted his head, trying to see confusion; in reality, he knew exactly what he was here for. ”What do you mean?”

The man repeated. ”Thank you... Thank you for avenging my child.”

And just when you think you find someone who really wants a change, you are faced with the reality... the man had known who the killer of his child was; if he didn’t, he wouldn’t come to thank him; he hadn’t shouted his reason to the whole Marketplace.

And yet, he had done nothing himself; he just accepted it as something that always happened in the Withered.

Did he not care for his child? Not at all; he probably loved him more than anything.

In his mind, he had just gotten unlucky.

...

This was the norm of the Withered.

...

Lying on the Library once more, Aether stared at the sky. In these quiet moments, it was the only time he could actually think. He was annoyed; after all, he had spent a lot of time answering himself a question, to finally get his mind right.

And now, everything happening made him question if he had really gotten everything right; had he become the human he wanted to be? And honestly, he couldn’t answer it yet... a big part of him believed that he had. After all, in these times, he felt that his mind had been more stable than it had been in a long time.

He felt better.

Being more self-centered and not getting close to everyone made him feel more... he couldn’t find the exact feeling... but safe, for lack of a better word.

And yet, because of his time with Sena and Voidpiercer, he felt the opposite.

...

And now, after living in the Blue Rose and coming back to the Withered, his two lives interfered a lot...

...

He didn’t.

Fully know who he was, or who he wanted himself to be. It was as if he was multiple people, really: an Academy student, a Vessel, the Leader of the Second Rebellion who still wished to let the Withered free, but also the heir of his home Kingdom.

Many of these fragments of him didn’t go well with each other; maybe that was why he was having such a hard time.

...

’I need time... I’ll have to wait and see what’s happening to me... I don’t think this is the moment.’

...

He smiled. ’For now, I’ll just focus on the odd ones out in the Withered... just like Riven was. People who aren’t the normal, who liked to believe in a desperate home.’

Getting up, Aether looked in front of the Library, where a familiar face was standing, a woman he had now met a third time in all his time in the Withered.

’How interesting fate is...’