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"So, what were these other worlds like?" Even Yae could not keep the look of curiosity off her face, looking at the sitting man with interest. His friends gathered around him, waiting for his descriptions.
"...I recall, one world. It was larger than this. It was, so advanced, technologically. Even more than Sumeru. Various weapons of war, vehicles, armies so equipped, they would slaughter even vision users."
Aether took a deep breath, his metal armor creaking silently as he breathed in, out. The looks of interest he garnered steeled his mind.
"The world was, a world at war. Constantly, consistently. There was death, rife everywhere. I felt their souls vanish into, the murky void. All there was, was explosions, gunfire, screaming. Even so-called 'outdated' weapons had been commonplace, the ones we use here. Between, weapons we called guns, sturdy vehicles called tanks, flying metal beasts we called helicopters, there was death, chaos, hell on that planet."
Aether chuckled sourly to himself. "That was during, my first days, my darker days. I embraced, the God of Death. I too enjoyed watching, my enemies fall beneath my feet. I was like my sister, but she stayed away from humans. I fought with them, when they prayed to me."
Thoma crossed his arms, a curious gaze in his eyes. "How would we stand to them?"
The response was quick, immediate. "Nowhere. You would die. Even an Archon, would be felled by their weapons."
Their was a deafening silence. The Narukami Grand Shrine had no noise, not even chirping of grasshoppers. Ei placed a hand on her chin, thinking.
"Fell an Archon, you say? Truly, this world must have been a marvel to behold, even if it were rife with combat."
The Wendigo snorted. "As if."
The Shogun's righthand raised an eyebrow, Sara leaning forward with a question on her lips.
"You say that, but you also said those was your darker days. You enjoyed killing them. So, what happened between then and now?"
Another deep sigh escaped his lips. "It was there, on that hellish planet, I learned to love humans. I... made my first friend there."
He chuckled bitterly once more. "He treated me as someone normal. It was grating, at first. But I found it endearing, so I spared him. I let him live for my, amusement. Humans always had, something to fight for."
Aether's eyes darted to the red sash around his arm, catching everyone's attention. "But him? He had, nothing but this cloth. He laughed bitterly at the endless war he was, trapped in, forever. He cared not for, such petty squabbles. I felt, his emotions. Grief, anguish. But he still treated me normally. I remember, threatening to slaughter him."
Sara leaned back, crossing her arms. If what he said was true, what would give the man any reason to like him? But again, this sounded like someone who had no reason to live. She could understand the position. She had seen several of her troops fall into such a state, during the civil war. It brought pain to her heart to remember them.
Gorou sighed, letting his emotions looser than the Kujou General's. He still remembered everyone's name, their fallen bodies being brought back, and those who were left behind. The only thing remaining, their memories of the dead, and their names.
"He laughed me off, saying it would, be a blessing. But even as he walked around, a lone soldier, he never, ceased to help people. He would brighten, anyone's day. But he was never truly happy. I traveled with him, out of pity. We killed, anyone in our way. But he would help those, hurt by war."
Aether closed his eyes. The painful memories he tried to repress came surging forth, and his head dropped down. They hurt. They always hurt. "And I saw, how many people suffered. I never thought much. I was still, young. I still, learned much. It was amusing, at first. Death, strife, agony."
He sneered at the ground, spitting. Yae raised an eyebrow, but ignored it in favor of his tale.
"But as I saw more and more, I felt pain. My heart, could not handle this. I was, too young of a god. My heart, not mature enough. I felt my heart weep. I was a horrible person."
His face sunk, and Aether's armor groaned as he shifted position. Gorou could feel his own emotions grow unstable, weeping at the thought of so many people hurt. What a sickening world, Aether lived in then.
"And t hen he smiled back at me. A true, genuine smile. And he spoke."
Aether cracked the smallest of smiles, barely visible. "He said to me, 'One day, you'll truly understand, our fragile hearts and, insane minds. And I want you to smile, the day you understand humans, my friend. I want to be, the first to see you smile.' He opened, his heart to me. Told me his stories. He was my, first friend."
Kokomi smiled. "He must've been a kind soul, even through all his suffering to help everyone, even you."
Aether smiled emptily. "Truly, he was. I learned, joy. I learned, anger. I learned, frustration, jealousy, and humor from him. He taught me, to be human. To live, like a human."
He coughed, and he bit his lip, those bitter memories resurfacing. Even when he pulled up those memories, thousands of years later, they made him tear up. An emotion that had not gone unnoticed by anyone.
"How much did he mean to you, if his memories are making you tear up, Aether? It's rare to see someone like you cry." Yae wasn't teasing, but rather genuinely curious. She was engrossed in his story, wanting to hear more and more, learn more about this enigmatic god before her.
"He was slaughtered, barely two years later. He was lied to, backstabbed by the people he helped. But he died, smiling. He told me, not to grieve. He said, 'I had a hard life, Aether. Even if it was, filled with pain, suffering, hardships, my greatest accomplishment... was making a god a human. Making a god, my friend.'"
He let the tears flow loosely, his eyes staring widely at the ground. "I learned rage, hatred, fury."
Ei could sympathize. Losing your friends, your sister, it would do that to someone. It's what partially caused her seek for eternity. She was tired of losing everything. Voicing her thoughts aloud, she made sure to give her concerns to Aether.
The man shook his head. "I razed that planet to the ground, in grief. In my rage, I left nothing. Only bodies. My only friend, dead. I grieved, for weeks. My heart was broken. I did not know, how humans lived with this pain. But over time, my heart closed again, repairing the wound his death, had left me. But I never forgot. I never, will forget. From then on, I wanted, to learn more about humans. To walk amongst them, you all. It is a privilege, to experience a human's life."
He let loose a last sigh. "Humans are wonderful, vicious but gentle, cruel yet kind. You are, all unique."
Ayaka glanced at Thoma and Yoimiya, two of her best friends. She couldn't envision a life like that with them. She was close to experiencing it, but she didn't want it to happen. "Aether... to live such a horrible life..."
He glared at her gently. "Do not pity me. I will not, stand for it."
Yoimiya clapped her hands. "It's not pity. It's just... we were all close to experiencing it. The civil war here... it was taking everything from us. I almost lost a friend, and Ayaka couldn't get involved either, or she'd be executed."
Thoma smiled. "You saved me then, even if you weren't in this form. That's more than proof enough he still lives on in you."
Ei nodded her head. "So long as you live, his memory is eternal. That too is another form of eternity."
Aether's head looked up to the stars, to wherever his friend Paimon was, a faint smile on his face. Humans truly were interesting creatures. It was never a dull moment with them. But that only gave his eternal life another reason to look forward to the next day. Indeed, the stars smiled down on him, as if they said he was ok.
He heard his friend laugh, one last time, and he closed his eyes.