Chapter 529: The Face of Hypocrisy

Aether exhaled... yet this time, no steam came out.

He was relieved; it might not seem like something that important, but it was. Very important to him, and everyone else.

It meant they had fully gotten out of the mountains.

A long journey, one very long, made him wonder just how long the other route would have been. After all, on the map it looked around twice as big, but maps can be deceiving sometimes; plus, it’s one thing when you have resources and all your men are full of energy, and another when they haven’t eaten anything in days.

You slow down.

After such a hard road, everyone seemed calmer than before, maybe because they knew their lives weren’t at risk anymore, and that soon, they were finally going to get their important needs met...

As the town they had talked about, after the mountains, slowly revealed itself in front of them. Perfect for them to invade and take all their supplies. They couldn’t help but cheer.

Their group marched inside, hungry, breaking into houses and stealing everything they had. The people of the town never stood a chance.

Aether used Erosion to pass through the wall of a house, trying not to get the attention of the family living inside it, before walking over to the kitchen where a woman seemed to be cooking something.

He approached quietly before snapping her neck. As her body slowly fell to the ground, he looked at the stake she had just prepared, drool falling from his mouth as he quickly ate it. He was like a pig, eating so desperately; when he finished, he wiped his mouth, turned around, and saw a small child on his knees, pale as a ghost.

’Oh,’ he thought, turning towards the woman he had killed. ’This was your mother, huh.’

He sighed as he walked closer to the boy, summoning Raven. He really didn’t want this kid to haunt him later, since if things continue to go as they are going, they are going to be in the Wonderland for a lot longer, a time when he could get stronger, and then come back for him.

It wasn’t something that was certain to happen, but it was a possibility, and really, he didn’t want to take it.

He raised his blade, slicing the boy’s head off, yet as he did, he saw someone behind him.

Aether tilted his head. "What are you doing here?" He asked Keres, who had a surprised look on his face.

"Interesting." He said quietly as he walked over to him. "Me? Well, I was trying to find supplies like everyone else. This house was completely intact, so I entered. I had no idea you were here."

Letting Raven back into his core, he turned back to see; he searched for things to take. "It’s a fine skill; I can pass through things with it; that’s why." He said, not paying that much attention to Keres. He found a bag filled with meat.

The Harbinger chuckled. "You know... I really don’t understand you as a person, what your personality is. You’re one of the biggest hypocrites I’ve ever seen?"

Aether stopped for a second, turning his head around. "What are you talking about now?"

"I mean, what was your reason for trying to kill this kid?" Keres asked, his smirk never leaving his face; his gaze was weird; it was like he was trying to see what he looked like on the inside.

"My reason?" Aether said, putting down the bag on the counter before fully turning around and resting against the very same counter.

"We readers are at war with these people, the Wonderland people, and who knows how long this war is going to last. Even if we get out, the war will continue outside; if I kill him now, I will stop him from taking the life of more Readers. That’s my reason."

"And is it a good one?" Keres followed up his question.

Aether frowned, slightly annoyed by the questions. "I mean, yeah? It means fewer of our people die; I find it a good reason. And a smart move from me?"

Keres nodded. "Maybe it is." He said, getting closer. "But does that make you a monster?"

Aether chuckled. "I don’t think so, and even if it did, I’m doing a good thing for us Readers."

...

...

"So then, the Blue Rose, what wrong has it done in trying to kill you that day?"

Aether’s eyes widened at that question, before quickly being replaced by a big frown. "What does that have to do with anything. How is that connected to this..."

Aether stopped, his frown slowly disappearing as he thought of something.

Seeing this, Keres burst into laughter, jokingly pushing Aether. "You see it, huh?

Your hypocrisy."

...

"If killing an innocent is justified to prevent the future deaths of others, then why was our attempt to kill you something you considered so immoral, something that makes our monsters bad people? Hm?"

Aether didn’t respond; he just stood still as Keres circled around him.

"Earlier in our bet, I said I wanted you to try and rethink your curse and tell Sofia the truth. I won that bet, and I expect you to do something soon, but now, of course, only if you want,

I consider it a good idea to rethink everything, your whole mentality. It’s better for you, trust me; you will find it gives you a weird sense of freedom." Keres said, leaving Aether alone.

His eyes wandered to the boy again, as his dead body lay on the floor... it was funny; in this situation, he was Keres, and the boy was him, yet unfortunately for the boy, there wasn’t someone to protect him, like Jude had been there for him.

He swallowed hard as he quickly took the bag from the counter and rushed to get out of the house, not even looking back once; even if there were other stuff to take, he didn’t want to look.