/A-Aether... T-The Principal... is d-dead.../
Those words echoed in Aether's mind, their weight refusing to sink in.
He blinked, trying to process the impossible as Sandra's fist collided with his face, sending a sharp jolt through him.... Yet, her strike barely registered.
His thoughts reeled, looping back to Aqualina's trembling voice and the words she'd spoken.
Dead?
What was she talking about?
Isadora Pinkheart—the strongest entity he had ever known—dead?
It was absurd!
Impossible!!
And yet—
/H-Her head was cut off… Sob A-Aether... S-She died protecting us… Sob/
Aether barely comprehended her words.... Instead, fragments of memories flashed before his eyes.
His master's radiant smile!
Her unyielding presence!!
The way she would playfully trash him, only to push him harder than anyone else ever could.
It was unthinkable that she could be gone!
