Chapter 514: An Insulting Imitation

"You know, I used to think of you as my inspiration when it came to fighting... how you moved with the blade, it was so impressive..." He smiled, his arms tensing on the hilt of the blade, as he swung it directly into Elpis’s blade, making him fall onto his back due to the difference in their strength.

"Things change... and humans are the ones that change most. I’ve gotten much more powerful than you have ever been. After all, you are still a Reader, aren’t you?"

Elpis groaned, getting up on his feet, shaking slightly from the shock. "It doesn’t matter; I will still kill you." He gripped his blade, getting back into his stance.

Aether frowned, out of disappointment rather than annoyance. After all, Elpis, just like Avrie, and every single person he cared for as a Reader, had a very special place in his heart... of course, that wasn’t going to stop him from killing their evil versions if he came upon them.

After all, at least in his opinion, the person he was facing was an insult to who Elpis was and his beliefs... he was a lot more mature back then, not this childish... he was the one acting like a child.

"You’re going to die." He sighed. "This isn’t a threat anymore or a joke. I’m telling you the truth: you could never beat me, so just get away. I will be taking my leave tomorrow either way, so forget about this.

This is the only chance I’m giving you."

The Knight stopped for a second before dashing forward, trying to strike him. Annoyed, Aether swung his blade hard, breaking right through Elpis’s, leaving him with only the hilt.

He froze, staring at his broken sword.

"You know," Aether said, getting close to him, raising his blade. "I understand why you might want us dead... we’re entering your world and taking advantage to do whatever we want... for people like you guys, it might not be fun.

Though, you do know that you aren’t... real, right? The world: every single person in this place is a book, written by the original.

Plus, now with your world merging with the Wonderland, we can’t enter it anymore; even more, this part of the Wonderland is heavily against us. So what is the point? To get revenge even though you never experienced it firsthand?"

The Knight backed away slightly, throwing his sword away. "If someone entered your world and was the one to choose how it ended, with the ability to basically do whatever he wanted, with little consequence. Wouldn’t you want him dead?"

Aether chuckled. "Of course I would; I wouldn’t hesitate once." He tilted his head, smirking. "But you want to know something? I’ve never experienced it, and I won’t, just like you haven’t either and won’t, so I don’t understand what you are trying to say."

Elpis clenched his fists. "What about those who have already changed their ending? I mean, why shouldn’t they take revenge?"

...

Aether stared at Elpis for a good minute, trying to see if he was going to say anything else. "And you think such people exist?"

The Knight scoffed. "Of course? Why wouldn’t they? Do you really think that we don’t continue living after the ending of our book is over?"

"That is what an ending is, isn’t it?" Aether walked forward, watching as Elpis backed away as he did, so he dashed forward, grabbing his hand.

"Whenever a Reader finishes a story in the Wonderland, it’s over; whenever he gets done with a book, it ends; no more, no one else can enter it.

There’s no such thing as a continuation if it’s not written. You are creations, shaped to have memories and dreams, a future. Whenever the last word is read, that’s it; that’s why it’s called an ending."

Elpis tried pulling away, but each time he did, Aether’s grip only got stronger. "Though, let’s say you are right, and you guys continue living after an ending. Every world that got merged was a story, a dome, an unfinished story, one that wasn’t finished, since finished ones stop existing, mostly replaced by Anchors.

So, it isn’t possible for someone to see the ending of their story and still be inside the Wonderland... rather, there’s no way they existed in the first place."

...

"Still, it’s normal for us to want revenge-" Aether didn’t wait another second, as he cut off his head cleanly at the neck. He had said it once, and he was going to say it twice; the person who he had just killed was an absolute insult to who Elpis was...

And that was that; he wasn’t going to comment on it anymore. Everything that needed to be said was said. There was no such thing as convincing them.

’These lies are already too deeply ingrained inside their minds.’

Letting go of his weapon, he stared at Elpis’s dead body before heading back to the place he had left Elise and Isak alone to sleep; after all, he also needed some rest himself. He had something very important to do tomorrow.

...

...

...

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Elise asked, skeptical of this whole plan; after all, she considered it even more crazy than the shadow did. She wasn’t going to trust an old man who was considered crazy about something as important as getting out of the Wonderland.

What were the chances of it going wrong?

’Probably high... but I want to take that risk, and if they don’t, I won’t force them.’ And he didn’t... it was their choice to follow him. And it has, for a while now. He found it weird how people kept trying to stick with him for whatever reason.

He didn’t understand why.

He wasn’t the nicest person, and he wasn’t someone who always needed support...

And above all, he wasn’t someone who knew how to be a leader; rather, he didn’t know how to be a good leader. ’Everyone can be the one making the decisions and calls. That doesn’t mean they fit that spot... I’m one of them. I hate making decisions when others are affected.’

It was ironic, since he didn’t like to lead. But he also wasn’t fond of getting bossed around... after all, he did like to make decisions by himself; it was one of the things he enjoyed most. Even if some caused him more harm than good, it didn’t matter, since at least it was he who made that mistake, and he was also the one who faced the consequences instead of having to deal with another’s.

Reaching a small hut outside of town, in the direction the shadow had spoken of, Aether knocked on the door. Waiting... but nothing happened, so he knocked again, and again. Until the door finally opened.

Standing before it was a very old man, using his cane to stay on his feet. His hair was white, really white; it made him wonder if it was because of his age, or if he naturally had that color, since it looked a lot purer than any old hair he’d seen.

His skin was wrinkled and full of scars, which was surprising; it made him question what the man had gone through. You don’t just get that many scars by doing nothing, so there had to be an explanation for them.

"Hello," Aether said, resting against the doorway. "I heard you knew something about getting out of this place." He smirked, winking at the old man, whose eyes started to sparkle when he heard about his discovery.

"And if I do know? What can you give me in exchange for my knowledge?" The grandpa said, chuckling, but because of his old age, he quickly started coughing.

"I can give you many things if your theory works; trust me, the pay will be worth it. But I can’t just pay you beforehand; your reputation isn’t the greatest, you know."

The man frowned, tapping his cane angrily on the floor. "I’m not a madman! They are the crazy ones; they’ve gotten too attached to this place, and can’t believe there is actually a way out. You will see; I will prove it to you, and after I do, I will prove it to everyone else.

And we will see who else is crazy."

"Oh, trust me, I hope I’m horribly wrong." The man stepped to the side, making space for them to walk inside his hut, which was pretty small, but big enough to hold the four of them.

Entering, he was surprised to see all kinds of stuff, from animal heads to vials filled with blood and others he didn’t recognize, to even beautifully handwritten papers.

’Funny, it does seem like the home of someone crazy, but not the crazy the shadow was describing...’

"Before I ask... are you three Readers?" The man said, making them stop in their tracks. Aether looked back at the man, who was standing outside the hut, his hand on something, but he couldn’t figure out what.

Looking down, he felt as if the floor under him was... hollow.

’Shit,’ he thought, as the ground under them fell.