The world was an ever-changing place.

And time was something no one had control over. It continued to flow through the ever-changing world, mending and broking things in its wake.

For an immortal, whose life span exceed beyond the flow of time and was frozen and stopped in place, such a concept was a curse.

Such a curse was bestowed upon Celestria. One she had no control over and never asked for.

It's been a long time.

Really exhausting time.

The passage of time never stopped and it was a long time ago she questioned anything other than the vow she had taken.

When was the last time she felt a tinge of warmth for another? She couldn't remember. It's been a long time and her memories were starting to blur.

Celestria acknowledged she was tired. Time was starting to wear her out.

But she was hopeful. Finally, finally, she could see her millenium-year-old plan coming together.

Everything was piecing together little by little. Bit by bit. Slowly and steadily.

It wouldn't be long before she could reunite with him.

The anticipation was like a slow poison. Celestria who had awaited for centuries, patiently weaving everything to form a coherent picture to fulfil her utmost wish, for the first time felt impatient.

Despite her fluctuating emotions, her beautiful visage was vacant. Eyes cold and dull continued to stare motionlessly toward the peaceful chattering of people in the garden.

You were unaware of the cold gaze, deep in your thoughts.

Stiff in posture, eyes warily following Claude talking to Athanasia, closely paying attention to how he treated her. His gentle pats on her head as she pouted at his remarks put a numb, almost vacant look on your face. The subtle shift in your expression was barely discernable, no one saw it.

Amusement sparked in dull indigo-hued eyes.

She noticed the conflicted emotions flashing in your eyes when Claude turned to you with a fond smile. And how you avoided his touch when he reached out to tug the stray strand away from your face, the latter stiffening in confusion and hurt.

Oblivious to the rising tension between them, others continued to laugh. Jennette's emerald eyes curved into a bright smile as she beamed at her father. Anastacius awkwardly shifted, letting a small smile show on his face for his daughter while sitting at the end of the table arrangements, far away from others, looking out of place.

Anastacius ignored the subtle hopeful glances of her daughter and niece. His now black eyes flickered to Claude who ignored his existence the entire time.

It's been only a week since they put on a grand show of executing the former emperor. When in reality, Claude as the Emperor had merely stripped them of their magic, cutting off their connection to the royal lineage. Which resulted in their signature royal golden hair and sapphire crystal eyes disappearing, reducing them to mere commoners.

Not once had they interacted with each other except to taunt and mock. If their eyes met, it was quickly diverted as if they couldn't stand each other. Though to outsiders it would seem like both brothers hated each other but it was far more complicated to just oversimplify their issues with mere hate. Such instances revealed the deep scars of the past, unhealed and raw as the day it was inflicted.

Reconciling with a hurting past wasn't easy. Especially when the one who inflicted the pain was a family member. Even time couldn't tell if such a thing was possible.

"What fickle humans," Celestria scoffed.

Despite the hopelessness, both brothers were trying to mend things, not completely for their sake but for their daughters' sake whose sisterly bond was stronger than their history of bad blood.

A cold smirk curled up her blood-red lips as her eyes shifted to the restless black-haired magician. Lucas, was it? How entertaining.

Lucas kept looking around, his crimson eyes cautious and annoyed. It was like he could feel the danger, feel her presence and the danger in it.

How amusing, No one ever had achieved such a feat. Her existence was cut off from the world, deliberately so. She was merely an entity looking in from the outside. Yet the child could sense her.

"As expected, no disciple of that child would be ordinary."

A long time ago, back in days when magic was highly feared, she had taken pity on a child who was white as the snow, fearful of his power, fearful of people afraid of him. She knew that feeling. She understood what he was going through. So, she took him under her wing and looked after him for years to come. She trained him to control his magic, and make use of the power within him however he pleased.

Once she was sure he could face whatever came his way, she left. She did observe from afar but that too soon stopped.

It was surprising that a timid child had taken a disciple. Did he desire to bestow the same kindness offered to him to someone suffering the same fate? Foolish child.

You choose to leave this world behind and broke free from the curse of immortality. But what about the child you left behind?

He left a child behind. A child he was supposed to look after, a child he had taken the responsibility for him.

A child he forgot when made his own family. And eventually, he left that child to join the family that departed before him because he couldn't bear to live without them.

Left that clueless child to suffer the pain of his decision.

"Selfish. Truly selfish. The kinder a person was, the more suffering they inflict on others." Celestria whispered an emotion akin to bitterness and resentment lingering in her voice drifted by the breeze. "You were the same after all.."

The irony was the child was moving on and following the same path as his master. The same path which may either lead to a warm home or his destruction.

"Well, it matters not." To her, bringing back her beloved was her lifelong cherished wish and one she would make her reality.

"Soon, we'll reunite again."

The whispered words carried on the breeze that was fluttering violently as if surrendering to the chilling resolve in her voice.

A slender finger lifted and a small glittery butterfly landed on it. “I wonder how many hearts will be in pieces. What a shame a sacrifice is always required to get what you want. You cannot change anything without destroying something in return.“

“Grrr...“

Celestria lifted her head and looked over her shoulder. A small ball of white was growling, a menacing glare pulsing in eyes of different hues.

Celestria smiled thinly. “To think, my child, my creation would turn its back on me. Great familiar, did you find a home within that child? Enough to go against your birth mother who brought you into existence?"

The pulsing heterochromatic eyes sank coldly.

***

Ether remembered how he was brought into existence. He remembered vividly when he opened his eyes and took his first breath. The beautiful night, the glowing forest filled with pulsing light, he remembered everything.

He was an existence created out of the essence of life itself. Mana. Magic.

An existence born with all the knowledge of the world same as the being who created him.

So he wasn't confused or bewildered when the face of a graceful being was the first thing he saw.

He knew on instinct she was his mother, the great being who created him.

Then came days when she bestowed every bit of her knowledge, helping him grow up and grow into his potential.

He was familiar. A being born to serve her. And he liked the thought of being the protector of his mother, of standing before the danger and slashing away every threat before it could reach her.

He took great pride in who he was. The great familiar of Celestria Midnight.

A being who treated him as her child. Loved and cared for him.

Time flew by and moments spent together became beautiful memories piled up on each other. There was a common saying; we are made of memories and experiences compiled together. The same was true for him But he never thought he'd become stagnant as the memories froze over and the moments spent together started to dwindle.

Her mother who caressed his head gently each time he accomplished something, loved and cared for him since his birth, carried secrets veiled beneath her kindness.

There was a reason why no light was reflected in her dull eyes.

The reason why despite having a smile painted on her beautiful face, her eyes remained dead.

Something he failed to notice. Something that he realized a little too late.

"No matter what I do, I cannot escape this emptiness. What curse did you put on me? Tell me, tell me if you can hear me, what shall I do to get rid of this grief, this sorrow I feel?"

Then the belated revelation came to him. Uttered by the lips of his Mother drunk on grief and despair on the deary night where the moon was shying behind the grey clouds, as if afraid of the secrets that were going to be unveiled.

He was a replacement. A replacement for the person she loved. He was a temporary respite to the void formed in her heart from the despair of losing the one she loved dearly.

He didn't mind. If it could bring his mother the slightest solace, he wouldn't mind being the shadow of someone else. At least he thought he didn't.

He did. Pain and grief plagued his being. In his heart, he couldn't expect that he was a mere replacement to soothe her sorrow. But he loved his Mother with all his heart, and it didn't matter for what reason he was created, as long as he could hold on to these genuine feelings, he would never regret anything.

But was that true? Were his feelings of a child looking up to his Mother, genuine? Or was it the mere default he was created with? He didn't know. Maybe he didn't want to know.

Doubts. Confusion. Sorrow. Resentment. These emotions took a tight hold on him. Each day it became harder to fight off the despair as he started to question the meaning of his existence.

What was the purpose of his birth? Did he even have a purpose, a meaning, now that his Mother regret him?

However, he just continued to play the role of the familiar he was born into and pretended to not know the questionable choices of his Mother.

Over time the dullness of her eyes only worsened. Despair and pain rob them of any lingering warmth.

Then there came a time when he lost her. Lost her within the regrets of the past she refused to let go.

"I have to bring him back, no matter the cost, the consequences. I am willing to do everything."

With her growing obsession with death and otherworldly realms, he was abandoned and forgotten by her.

"You would not understand. So do not stop me."

No matter what he did, he couldn't stop her Mother from the path of destruction she chose for herself.

"If you cannot lend me your strength, for what reason do you follow me? Your existence is to serve me, not question my actions, but if you cannot do that, do not get in my way. I have created you and I can very well perish you. Your existence is meaningless to me."

He couldn't stop her.

So he sealed himself away from the world he was brought into, having lost the purpose and meaning of his existence.

Now faced with being who was responsible for existence, for his solitude and anguish, he couldn't muster any positive emotions.

"Things have changed, Mother. I'm grateful to you for many things but I cannot allow you to touch that child."

A deep inhumane cold voice rang in Celestria's head.

Ether cannot speak, he could only communicate his voice through telepathy but his weak mind cannot handle his voice. Their head would instantly burst.

Truly, he was created for Celestria whose power was beyond one's imagination. she might be the only one who could handle his voice in her head without getting hurt in the process.

Celestria acknowledged the meaning of the glaring eyes with a light nod of her head. Almost like she was looking back on memories, she let out a soft nostalgic sigh. “Ah, things have changed indeed. You were born out of my yearning for the warmth of another yet here you are standing against me, the very being who brought you into consciousness. The child must be precious to you.“

Ether scoffed. His chest was heavy, and so, suffocating. He couldn't name the emotion. Anger? Resentment? Sorrow?

He couldn't tell. Maybe that's why frustration and the unnamed emotions leaked into his words that shot out like sharp knives.

“You brought me into this world, gave me consciousness, all for your own selfishness. You wanted to fill the void left behind by that human. I was thrown away by you because I couldn't fill that void.“

Celestria's smile dimmed.

“Even if you loved me once, in your own twisted way, even if I cared for you once, that has come to an end a long time ago. The day I cut off myself from you, from the world you brought me into, I left to never return. That child found me in my cage, in that cave, the place I vowed I'd never leave. She brought me out to the light, to the world you were supposed to show me. That child to me, is now my reason to live, Mother.“

Like a day-old memory, he remembered vividly. A human child stumbling into his dwelling. What a curious thing she was.

Despite being a human herself, his mother's knowledge of humans was lacking. She never interacted with many humans, never had close bonds with them aside from her lover and the child she took under her wings, she never knew any other human intimately. So her insight of them was limited to a few. She had little to no understanding of them, aside from her perceived prejudice resulting from her past.

Thus his own knowledge of them was limited.

With his curiosity ignited after a long time, he went along with the eager child whose soul was different from others. It didn't take long for him to warm up to her. And in time he came to care for the curious beings known as humans.

Celestria let out a cold laugh. "My, my, you have picked up peculiarities of that child."

The air between them distorted. Mana pulsed in the air like the beats of a heart.

The room crumbled in places under the forceful aura and scared off the few remaining maids working in the Ruby palace.

"Of all people you could care for, you choose a child whose fate is meant to end soon."

Ether growled, rage flashing in the glowing heterochromatic eyes. "That won't come to be, Mother. Her fate is to be happy with her family. And that's what will happen, I'll make sure if it."

Celestria coldly looked at the familiar that was once her companion through long years of solitude. “You must know, just like you want to protect your precious child, I do have my own precious person. Do not think of getting my way. I have been lenient—”

Her cold venomous voice was cut off by an alarming scream.

"Mom?!"

"What happened?! Why did she faint?!"

"Lucas, do something!"

A slow smirk curled up her lips. She watched as hastily Ether leapt out of the window and rushed towards you.

"It's time. Soon, I'll reap my debt."

***

The silence of the room was suffocating.

There was no escape from the restless feeling. It was crawling under his skin, latching on to his nerves.

Claude exhaled heavily. His body was stiff, and tired eyes mindlessly darting around the bedroom, mind distant and dazed.

The moon was slowly fading behind the clouds, stars barely visible. A gentle breeze blew the curtains and Claude flicked his wrist, closing the window and blocking off the outside world.

His fingers slowly traced down your pale cheek, worry lines creasing his forehead. Another exhale and he hunched forward, clashing his face between his hands.

Your unmoving figure lying on the bed was striking up an unbridled fear in him. How long were going to stay that way?

"I cannot say why she fainted but she's not in danger. Maybe it's something to do with her memories....or maybe not."

Claude knew he shouldn't harbour false hope but Lucas's words pierced the part of his heart that wanted you back. Wanted you whole again.

Dammit, he needs to keep it together. He wasn't the only one going through this. Athanasia, Felix and the maids, all were worried too.

Athanasia's crying face flashed before his eyes and Claude frowned.

And Athanasia. For her sake, he needed to keep his calm and not lose it. As a father, he couldn't allow himself to be selfish again and let emotions take over him. He already hurt her enough as it is, he didn't want more of it.

In his distant thoughts, he failed to notice the slight twitch of your fingers. It's only when he sought after your warmth and clutched onto your hand desperately, did he feel the slight shake.

He jumped out of his chair, leaning over your waking figure, his eyes darting on your face, watching hopefully as he held on to your hand tightly.

Relief was immediate when you slowly opened your eyes and blinked dazedly.

"You're awake." His voice was barely a whisper.

His heart was pounding, the anxious knot in his stomach easing as he stared at you, reminding himself you were awake and well. Nothing bad happened. All the horrible scenarios he conjured up were his paranoia, nothing else-

"Claude..?"

His thoughts came to a crashing halt.

Air escaped his lungs. The relieved breath he was about to let out, choked midway.

His head shot up, eyes wide and trembling, his body frozen stiff.

You blinked, groaning as you struggled to sit up. "Claude?"

You let out a startled gasp when he lunged at you. His weight came crashing on you, knocking out your breath.

Claude at moment didn't care as you squirmed underneath him. He had to make sure he wasn't imagining it. He had to make sure what he heard wasn't his desperation, wasn't something his longing heart manifested as something sick.

The way you called him...

The way you said his name...

Not with hesitation or in an unfamiliar tone. But with...

"(Y/n)?"

"Yes?" You croaked out.

Claude's heart jumped to his throat, pulsing painfully. He almost cried. It's felt so long since he heard you call his name so fondly.

Claude gathered you into his arms and sat up. "(Y/n)..one more time..say my name..one more time.."

Hearing his weak voice, you let out a breath. "Claude... My Claude..."

His shoulders shook violently. Tightening his hold he choked out, "Again."

"Claude," You slowly got on your knees and hugged his head to your chest, hands threading through his hair. "Claude, I'm here. I remember everything. Your (Y/n) is back."

You continued chanting his name in soft whisper, reassuring him over and over as he trembled in your arms.

"I love you, Claude... I'm sorry I forgot us."

Something was wrong.

Claude gritted his teeth. Even though his heart was relieved of the painful throbbing, his body refused to relax. Refused to give into the warmth of your presence.

There was something about your voice. Something sorrowful and distant, like you were in his arms but miles away at the same time.

The way you held him tightly, he could feel the trembling you were trying to suppress. His ears were ringing with your racing heartbeat as he pressed himself closer. Something was wrong about it too.

He inhaled sharply when he felt something wet trail down his neck, it was the place where your face was pressed.