CHAPTER 35 —
The darkness surrounding Aetheria did not fade with time.
It thickened.
The moment the Herald vanished, the world had already begun breaking; only no one in Aetheria realized how deeply. Haruto remained awake that night… if it could still be called night. He sat on the balcony of the Skyhub, Airi asleep in his arms after trembling for an hour, he watched the pitch-black horizon for hours.
But the horizon never shifted.
The sky never lightened.
No morning came.
Time itself had become a stretched, trembling thing.
And Aetheria was trapped inside it.
DAY ONE: The World That Refused to Turn
No dawn greeted the city.
Instead, a strange grayish glow spread across the void sky, a light without warmth, without color, without source. People stepped outside their homes with confusion on their faces, whispering to each other as they looked up at the false sky.
"Is it… morning?"
"It does not feel like morning."
"But it is brighter, isn't it?"
"It feels wrong."
Haruto walked through the central plaza with Airi at his side, her fingers tightly wrapped around his. Frost padded beside them, fur raised. Lunara circled above, stiff and silent. Lyria clung to Haruto's shoulder, dim but awake.
Airi tugged his sleeve softly.
"Onii Chan… why is the sky like this?"
Haruto looked up.
The sky looked like a painted ceiling, smooth, fake, unmoving. No clouds drifted. No wind passed. Even the faint light didn't come from a sun. It was just… there. Like someone had dragged a brush of pale glow across a canvas.
"I… don't know," Haruto answered honestly.
Airi's voice dropped. "It feels like we are inside a room… pretending to be outside."
His heart tightened at her words.
She was right.
She was terrifyingly right.
But neither of them knew the truth yet that Aetheria had been pulled into an imitation of itself, a void-crafted replica. Outside, in the real world, a dome of darkness sealed the city away. But inside, the illusion realm held them captive, shaping itself however the Herald desired.
The citizens sensed it too.
Anxiety clung to the air.
Mothers held their children close. Warriors sharpened weapons already sharpened. Shopkeepers stood outside their stores, staring at the unmoving sky. Spirit beasts huddled under benches. Every sound echoed too loudly, as if the city had become hollow.
Whispers began.
"Has the world stopped?"
"Is this because of the Herald?"
"Is Aetheria cursed?"
Haruto forced himself to stand tall. They needed his strength, not his fear.
But as they walked, the distortions began.
Mana lamps blinked faintly even though no wind touched them. Rails vibrated with an unfamiliar rhythm. Buildings seemed slightly out of alignment, as if shifted sideways by half a centimeter.
Airi noticed it first.
"Onii Chan… look…"
She pointed at a bakery window.
Her own reflection stared back.
Except.
Except the reflection blinked a moment later than she did. A delayed, unnatural blink.
Airi gasped softly. "That's not me… why is it—"
Haruto gently turned her away. "Don't look at reflections today."
She swallowed hard. "Is the Herald… doing this?"
Lyria whispered from his shoulder. "Its presence is still here. Even after leaving. It stains the air."
Frost growled. "This world is bending."
Haruto clenched his fists.
Aetheria was becoming unstable.
And they did not know why.
THE FIRST VOID WHISPER
Late in the day, if "day" meant anything anymore, the first whisper came.
Airi was sitting beside Haruto in the strategic meeting hall, legs curled under her, trying to stay strong. Lunara leaned against a pillar, scanning the horizon. Frost watched the entrance. Lyria hovered near the ceiling, shaking slightly.
Haruto and the council discussed evacuation routes, routes that no longer existed.
"We cannot leave the city," a dwarf engineer said. "All exits are swallowed by darkness."
"Then we reinforce the Skyhub," an elf proposed. "If the Herald returns—"
"We cannot fight it," another elf argued. "We reinforce nothing. We hide."
"You cannot hide from a Herald," Frost growled.
Arguments rose.
Fear tainted every voice.
Then…
Airi lifted her head suddenly.
Everybody fell silent.
She wasn't looking at anyone.
She was looking at the empty corner of the room.
Her eyes widened.
Her lips trembled.
Haruto immediately grabbed her shoulders. "Airi? What is it—"
She whispered.
"I heard it."
He froze.
"What did you hear?"
Her voice shook like a leaf in a storm.
"A whisper… behind my ear… it said—"
Her breath hitched.
"'Still watching.'"
Lunara slammed her tail into the floor so hard it cracked. "The Herald's eye is on her even now."
Lyria covered her mouth, trembling. "The void… it is bleeding into her hearing."
Frost bared his teeth, pacing the room aggressively.
Haruto pulled Airi close.
She buried her face in his coat. "Onii Chan… I don't want to hear it."
"I know," he whispered, stroking her hair. "I know."
But he could do nothing.
Nothing but hold her until the whisper faded.
DAY TWO: When Aetheria Began to Fall Apart
The second day began with a scream.
A merchant ran through the plaza, dragging his child behind him. "Help! My house, my house collapsed! It melted! The walls melted!"
People rushed to see.
Haruto and the others arrived a moment later.
And they saw it.
A house that once stood strong now caved inward like soft clay, its walls sagging, dripping, warping into black shapes before solidifying again.
Airi grabbed Haruto's hand tightly. "Onii Chan…"
"It's not real," Haruto whispered.
But even he didn't know that.
To them, this was their Aetheria.
To them, their home was melting.
Lunara flew close, studying the distortion. "This is void corrosion. It is eating the illusion."
Frost sniffed the air. "The corruption increases."
Lyria whimpered. "We must calm them… Aetheria is panicking."
Haruto nodded.
He faced the frightened citizens.
"This will not spread. Return to safety. Stay close to the Skyhub."
His voice was steady, but his heart pounded.
Aetheria was falling apart.
Piece by piece.
And every collapse reminded Airi more of her nightmares.
THE MIRROR INCIDENT
Later that day, Airi walked past a still fountain near the plaza. Water reflected her face. She barely glanced at it…
But something else did.
A second face surfaced on the water's surface.
A smiling circle.
Haruto grabbed her before she could scream.
He threw his cloak over the fountain.
A distorted laughter echoed beneath the cloth.
Lunara stepped forward, eyes flaring purple. "The Herald left fragments of itself everywhere. It is peering."
Airi hugged Haruto's waist tightly. "Onii Chan… I don't want to look at anything anymore."
He stroked her back softly. "Stay with me. No reflections. No still water. No dark corners."
Airi nodded silently.
Frost pressed his head against her arm in comfort.
Lyria hovered close, glowing softly to warm her.
Even Lunara moved nearer.
The void was watching.
But so were her protectors.
THE WORLD OUTSIDE
In the real world, though they could not see it, Aetheria was swallowed under a dome of darkness. Empires sent scouts, but none could enter. Their attacks vanished into the black. Their mana sensors failed. Their aerial units disappeared.
No one could reach them.
No one could see them.
No one could help them.
But inside the illusion realm, no one knew they were cut off.
They only felt the world breaking.
DAY THREE: The First Cracks in the Sky
The third day began with worse signs.
The sky cracked.
Haruto heard a sound like splitting stone, except it came from the air above. He looked up and a thin white fracture tore across the dark sky for an instant, like a crack on glass.
Then dozens more.
Airi grabbed his arm, horrified. "Onii Chan… the sky is breaking…"
Lyria sobbed. "The void realm cannot contain Aetheria's size. It is collapsing."
Lunara's face darkened. "The Herald is preparing the final stage."
Frost growled. "It is waiting. It is letting fear soften us."
The city was trembling.
Citizens wept openly. Homes flickered between real and unreal. Roads twisted slightly like cloth. Mana lines pulsed erratically. Creatures refused to move.
And the voices began.
Not just for Airi.
Everyone heard them.
Whispers.
Skittering sounds.
Laughter.
Footsteps behind them when no one was there.
Airi clung to Haruto's coat the entire day. She refused to leave his side. She refused to sleep. Every shadow looked like the Herald's mask.
Haruto held her, calm on the surface, shaking inside.
Every night, he whispered to himself:
"We will not break…"
But the void whispered back:
Break.
THE STRATEGY ROOM: FEAR AND HOPE
On the third night-day-time meant nothing, they gathered in the strategy room once again.
Haruto.
Airi.
Lunara.
Lyria.
Frost.
Dark elves.
Elves.
Dwarves.
Beastfolk.
Everyone who could stand.
Haruto placed maps on the table, though the maps were useless now. Roads were gone. The forest was gone. The sky was breaking.
He spoke clearly:
"We have four days left."
Airi squeezed his sleeve. "Onii Chan…"
"We will prepare," he continued. "We will train. We will gather mana. We will prepare traps. We will stay together. The Herald will not take you."
Airi looked up at him, trembling, but she nodded.
Lunara stepped forward. "The Herald is mid-tier. Even with our combined strength, even with Haruto's mana, even with Airi's power… this battle is unpredictable."
Lyria's voice cracked. "But we will fight anyway."
Frost stood tall. "We will give the Herald a battle it will remember."
Airi took Haruto's hands in hers, whispering softly:
"We won't run."
Haruto smiled faintly. "We won't kneel."
Together, they whispered:
"We will protect each other."
Airi leaned against him.
The void cracked again, louder.
As if laughing.
AIRI HEARS THE COUNTDOWN
The council dismissed late into the endless dark. Haruto lifted Airi, carrying her to the Skyhub balcony where they had sat many nights before.
The corrupted sky stretched endlessly.
Cracked.
Hollow.
Dark.
Airi rested her head against his shoulder. "Onii Chan… do you think we can win?"
Haruto held her close. "We will."
Airi smiled. "Yeah, we will…"
A soft breeze passed.
But there was no wind.
Haruto realized too late…
It wasn't a breeze.
It was a breath.
Airi froze.
Her body tensed.
Her eyes widened in terror.
"Onii Chan… I hear it…"
Haruto gripped her shoulders. "What? What do you hear?"
Then.
A whisper.
Right behind Airi's ear.
"Four…"
Airi broke.
She clung to Haruto desperately, shaking violently.
"Onii Chan… it's counting… it's counting down…"
Haruto held her as if she were the last light in a dying world.
Lunara rushed in. "What happened?!"
Frost snarled. "The Herald… it has begun the next stage."
Lyria cried. "It is inside the realm!"
Haruto stared into the void horizon.
His eyes glowed faintly, filled with fury and fear and something deeper.
Determination.
"It wants us afraid," Haruto whispered. "It wants her afraid."
He pressed Airi's head into his chest.
"But we will not break."
Airi held his coat tightly.
"…I'm scared… Onii Chan…"
He kissed the top of her head, closing his eyes.
"I know."
He tightened his arms around her.
"But it should be scared too."
The void pulsed…
Once.
And the Herald's whisper echoed again, faint but unmistakable:
"Soon."
Then silence.
Airi cried softly into Haruto's chest.
And the void sky cracked a little more.
Waiting.
Hungry.
Counting down.
Four days left.
END OF CHAPTER 35 — Three Days in a Dying Sky