Chapter 1870: The disgusting truth of the Terra Empire

"Did your father put this on you?" Young Aether asked in a blunt tone as he looked at Lily, who shook her head.

"No, he did not. I came on my own," Lily said with a serious expression as she walked closer. Her eyes briefly shifted toward the woman sitting comfortably on Young Aether’s lap like a cushion before returning to him.

Looking directly at Young Aether, she spoke coldly, "I don’t know what happened between you two, but my father never deserved those words from you. Whatever happened between the two of you, you should at least apologise to him."

Young Aether stared at the girl for a few seconds before slowly turning his head away.

To Lily, he was simply the man who had hurt her father, not the person who had once protected her.

Lily stepped closer, her expression tightening. "I am talking to you."

Young Aether sighed quietly. "Lily... You should go home. This is between adults—"

"Don’t treat me like a child!" Lily shouted as she stood directly before him. Her hands clenched at her sides as she continued coldly,

"You came there, said all that bullshit, and threatened to kill my father. How could you expect him to deserve a friend like you?"

Young Aether gave a faint smile and slowly nodded his head, but remained quiet.

Lia frowned as she watched Lily. "Darling... was this bitch bothering you? Should I remove her?" Her crimson eyes glowed with restrained fury.

Young Aether softly patted Lia’s forehead. The murderous look in her eyes immediately softened, and she turned like a cat, snuggling into his arms with a quiet purr.

Lily stared at them strangely, momentarily unsure of what to make of the sight.

Young Aether looked back at her and said bluntly, "You should leave, Lily. Your father betrayed me... and this isn’t something you understand—"

"I DO NOT UNDERSTAND! THAT’S WHY I AM ASKING YOU!" Lily shouted again, her voice trembling with frustration.

Not only her parents, but now this boy was telling her the same thing: that she didn’t understand.

It infuriated her.

If she truly didn’t understand, then shouldn’t it be their responsibility to tell her the truth? Yet not a single one of them had bothered to explain anything.

That was why she had come here.

She wanted to end this endless excuse of ’You don’t understand.’

Lily took a slow breath, trying to steady herself before looking directly into Young Aether’s eyes.

"I... I don’t know why my father still sides with you after everything you said. I don’t know what happened between you two, and I don’t know which one of you is telling the truth. But should I believe you? I can’t.

You’re just like that asshole who hurt my family."

Young Aether quietly stared at her, his expression remaining almost completely unchanged.

"But..." Lily swallowed, her voice becoming quieter. "He still trusts you. Unlike him, my father still trusts you."

Her clenched fists trembled slightly as she continued,

"It was the first time I had ever seen my father cry before me. Do you know how much it hurt to see that? He wasn’t angry. He wasn’t pretending to be strong.

He just... cried helplessly."

Young Aether maintained the same dull expression. He already knew the entire display had been an act. Lily was only a child, and because she trusted her father, she could easily be fooled by what she had seen.

Lily lowered her gaze for a moment before looking back at him, her voice carrying more hurt than anger now.

"I really don’t understand what they’re trying to achieve today... But when I saw him like that, I realised something. Whatever happened between you two, I know he valued your friendship. I know it meant something to him."

Young Aether let out a faint, almost humourless laugh. "Friendship...?"

His eyes grew duller as he looked at Lily.

"Then I wonder if it was ever real."

Lily took a breath and looked directly at him. "Come with me."

Young Aether sighed and stood up. Lia immediately stood as well, though she wore a small pout on her face.

He shook his head and said, "I’m not interested in going to Gamma City—"

"Not there," Lily suddenly said.

Young Aether halted.

Lily stood before him with a serious expression. "I’ll prove that my father did not betray you."

Young Aether frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Come with me..." Lily said again.

Young Aether stared at her for a few seconds, studying her eyes. Whatever she had in mind, she was dead serious.

’I wonder... what is he planning now?’ he thought.

Of course, he suspected there was someone pulling the strings behind the scenes.

"Fine."

Young Aether and Lia were then taken to Lia’s car, and the vehicle drove through the streets.

Lia sat comfortably on Young Aether’s lap. She had wanted her son to sit there instead, but who cared?

A lap was a lap!

Lily glanced at her for a few seconds before curiosity finally got the better of her. "Who is she?"

Lia proudly puffed out her chest.

"Mommy!"

"..."

Lily blinked and slowly turned toward Young Aether, waiting for an explanation.

Young Aether said nothing. He simply remained quiet. It wasn’t as though explaining the situation would get him anywhere... would it?

Soon, they reached what appeared to be the border of Zeta.

No, not exactly the border.

Zeta-Alpha. Zeta-Epsilon. Zeta-Gamma.

The divisions of the Empire were arranged in a circular formation, with Alpha City at the center and each major division extending outward like slices of a massive pie.

But if that was the case, what existed at the end of the map?

There was one remaining border.

The outskirts of the Empire.

Young Aether looked ahead through the window. "Isn’t it just a beach?"

He remembered the map he had seen. According to it, the entire outer boundary surrounding the divisions was nothing but ocean.

Lily glanced at him. "It is... but not everything is real."

Her voice became more serious as she continued, "I know my parents are hiding something from me. Sometimes, they leave the house at night and don’t come back until very late. At first, I didn’t think much of it. I thought maybe they just wanted some time alone."

She lowered her gaze for a moment, remembering something she had overheard.

"But one day, I heard them talking about meeting ’Her.’ My father was crying helplessly in my mother’s embrace. I had never seen him break down like that before..."

Lily paused, her fingers tightening slightly.

"Well, I did see him like that today, too. But that was the first time I had ever witnessed it before then. I was shocked. I didn’t understand who ’Her’ was or why meeting her could affect my father that badly."

She looked ahead through the windshield.

"So I followed them."

The car slowed several meters away from the barricade. The vehicle came to a smooth halt behind a weathered concrete structure that partially blocked it from the surveillance cameras.

Lily immediately leaned forward and checked the road through the windshield.

A few soldiers stood near the barricade, their guns hanging across their chests as they watched the coastline. Beyond them stretched a vast ocean, its surface glimmering beneath the distant light. From this distance, everything looked strangely peaceful.

Too peaceful.

Lily opened the dashboard and pulled out a dark cloak.

"Put this on," she said, handing it to Young Aether.

She then glanced at Lia.

"I think she’d better stay here. Even if we’re caught, we’ll be fine because we’re human, but she..." Lily’s eyes moved toward Lia’s pointed ears and princess clothes. "She’ll attract attention the moment anyone sees her."

Lia’s expression immediately soured.

"Who do you think I am? I am the master of dis—"

She abruptly covered her mouth.

Her eyes widened.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Young Aether slowly turned his head toward her.

"What did you say?"

"H-Haha..." Lia laughed awkwardly. "I mean... I’m a master of hiding."

She snapped her fingers.

Her entire body instantly burst apart into countless red particles. The particles swirled together in the air before rapidly shrinking, and when they disappeared, a tiny bat was sitting on his lap.

Lily stared at her.

"..."

Then her eyes widened.

"HOLY SHIT!!! IT’S THAT BAT!"

She nearly slammed herself against the car door, one hand already reaching for the handle as if she was prepared to throw herself out of the vehicle.

"It’s you! You’re the one who scared me before!"

The tiny bat calmly shrugged her wings.

"What am I supposed to do? You were peeking at my son."

Lily’s face immediately turned red.

"W-What are you talking about? Peeking? I-I didn’t do it!"

The bat stared at her.

Just a completely deadpan expression.

Lily’s face somehow became even redder.

"I wasn’t!"

The bat continued staring.

Lily finally looked away in embarrassment. "...Whatever."

She opened the door, stepped outside, and quickly pulled the cloak over herself.

Young Aether followed, covering himself with the cloak as well.

The moment they stepped away from the vehicle, Lily became noticeably quieter. She kept her head lowered and avoided looking directly toward the soldiers.

"Stay close," she whispered.

She led him away from the main road instead of approaching the barricade. They moved along the side of several buildings, keeping close to the walls whenever they crossed an open section.

Whenever a soldier shifted position, Lily stopped.

Young Aether stopped with her.

They waited until the soldier turned away before continuing.

At one point, footsteps could be heard approaching from the other side of a building. Lily immediately grabbed Young Aether’s sleeve and pulled him backwards into the shadow between two structures.

They stood completely still.

The footsteps grew louder.

A soldier passed around the corner only a few meters away.

Lily waited several seconds after the footsteps disappeared.

"Now," she whispered.

They moved again.

They passed through several narrow alleys before reaching the side of another building. Lily stopped beside a section where two structures stood so close together that the gap between them looked almost impossible to enter.

"There."

Young Aether looked at the narrow opening.

"You’re serious?"

Lily nodded. "It gets narrower farther in, but there’s another way out on the other side."

She turned sideways and slipped into the gap.

Young Aether followed.

The moment he entered, his shoulders nearly brushed both walls.

"Careful," Lily whispered from ahead. "Don’t scrape against the wall."

Young Aether carefully turned his body sideways.

They moved slowly, one small step at a time. Their shoulders occasionally brushed the rough concrete, and every time it happened, Lily stopped until she was certain no one outside had heard.

The farther they went, the tighter the passage became.

Young Aether had to angle his head slightly to avoid hitting it against a protruding section of concrete.

"How did you even find this place?" he asked quietly.

"I explored it myself."

"By yourself?"

"Yes. It took me weeks to memorise the route. There are several dead ends, and some of the paths lead straight into areas where the soldiers patrol."

Young Aether looked ahead at her small figure squeezing through the passage.

"And you kept coming back?"

"I wanted to know what my parents were hiding."

Her answer was simple.

Eventually, the passage widened enough for them to stand normally again. They stepped out into a dark alley concealed between several large structures.

Lily waited and listened.

Nothing.

She raised her hand, signalling Young Aether to stay behind her.

They moved through the alley without making a sound.

The distant sound of the ocean grew louder as they approached the outer perimeter. Every now and then, a beam of light swept across the end of the alley from one of the security towers.

Whenever the light approached, Lily pressed herself against the wall and waited until it passed.

Young Aether followed her timing precisely.

They eventually reached another narrow path.

This one was even tighter than the previous passage.

Young Aether looked at it and frowned.

"Keep your head down."

Lily entered first.

Young Aether followed, lowering his head as the walls squeezed closer around him. At one point, his hair nearly brushed against the concrete above.

Then he heard it.

A faint electrical buzzing.

He stopped.

Lily continued for another step before noticing that he was no longer behind her.

"What?"

Young Aether pointed ahead.

The buzzing grew louder.

They stepped out of the passage and found themselves standing before a massive high-voltage fence.

Thick metal poles rose several meters into the air, connected by layers of electrified wire. Small warning signs were fixed along the fence, and faint blue-white sparks occasionally jumped between sections of the metal.

"Careful," Lily whispered. "Just follow my lead."

She approached the fence until she was only inches away from it.

Young Aether followed, keeping his movements slow and deliberate.

The buzzing surrounded them.

He could feel a faint vibration in the air.

One careless touch...

That would be enough.

Young Aether glanced at Lily.

From the outside, this place had appeared to be nothing more than a beach protected by a few soldiers.

But this wasn’t the security of a normal beach.

There were hidden patrol routes, surveillance cameras, concealed passages, and now a high-voltage perimeter fence.

Why would anyone need this level of security for a mere stretch of ocean?

Lily suddenly crouched.

"Wait."

Young Aether immediately lowered himself as well.

A patrol light swept across the fence ahead.

They remained motionless until the light moved away.

Only then did Lily continue.

After several more steps, they reached a section of the fence that had been cut open just enough for a person to squeeze through.

The metal around the opening was twisted and blackened.

Lily looked at it carefully.

"Careful. Don’t touch anything."

She slowly pushed herself through the opening, keeping her body away from the exposed wires.

Young Aether followed.

As he passed through, his eyes caught something lodged between the twisted pieces of metal.

Bones.

Several small pieces were still trapped there.

He stopped.

"Did you cut this?"

Lily turned around.

"No... I didn’t."

"They were already here?"

Lily nodded slowly. "Yes. Someone must have used this path before me"

Young Aether looked toward Lily.

"Just... where are you taking me?"

Lily didn’t answer immediately.

Young Aether gave the bones one final glance before following her deeper into the hidden path.

Lily remained silent as they walked through another narrow passage. The walls were so close together that their shoulders occasionally brushed against them, forcing them to move carefully and quietly. After several minutes, the path finally widened, and they emerged from the cramped passage.

Ssshhh~

The sound of ocean waves immediately filled their ears.

Young Aether stopped.

Before them stretched the ocean, its waves rolling gently toward the shore. The salty breeze brushed against his face, carrying the familiar scent of the sea.

He blinked and stared at it for a few seconds before shaking his head.

"This is usele—"

Lily lifted the ocean.

Yup! Not the water itself.

The entire ocean.

Like lifting a sheet of cloth.

Young Aether’s eyes widened.

"What the fuck...?"

Even Lia’s eyes widened for a brief moment before they glowed with interest.

"Oh... Nice camouflage," she said with a smirk.

The enormous sheet of what appeared to be ocean rippled slightly in Lily’s hands. Yet the waves continued moving across its surface exactly as they had before.

Lily looked back at him.

"Come on. Let’s move."

She crouched and slipped underneath the sheet.

Young Aether stared at the impossible sight for another moment. From the other side, the ocean continued to move normally, as though nothing had happened.

He frowned.

"Why did they...?"

He couldn’t understand why anyone would go to such lengths to hide something in a place that was supposedly nothing more than the Empire’s outer coastline.

Still, he lowered himself and followed Lily beneath the sheet.

As soon as he passed through, the strange material fell back into place behind him.

The ocean continued playing across its surface.

Young Aether slowly turned around.

From this side, there was no ocean.

No beach.

No barricade.

No soldiers.

Instead, he stood before a world that looked as though someone had drained every drop of colour from reality.

His boots touched scorched, lifeless ground.

He took one step forward.

His nose immediately scrunched.

A powerful smell filled his lungs.

Bread?

Young Aether froze.

It was familiar. It was the same smell he had sensed when he first arrived in this world.

But here, it was overwhelmingly intense.

The scent seemed to cling to the back of his throat, thick enough to make every breath uncomfortable.

Young Aether swallowed and looked around in confusion.

Half-broken buildings surrounded them. Their walls were cracked and blackened, with rusted metal hanging from broken windows. Some structures looked as though they had been abandoned for decades, while others had been crudely repaired with whatever materials their inhabitants could find.

There was almost no colour anywhere.

Everything was black, white, grey, or some dull shade in between.

It was like stepping into an old black-and-white movie.

Except this wasn’t a movie.

Above them, the sky was filled with dark smoke rising from several distant factories. The thick clouds of pollution slowly spread across the horizon, turning the already colourless sky even darker.

"Ahem..."

Young Aether cleared his throat.

A strange itch burned inside it, almost like he had swallowed something painfully spicy.

He coughed once and covered his mouth.

"Where.. are... we?"

Lily pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and began walking into the settlement.

"Slum."

Young Aether blinked.

"Slum?"

Lily nodded.

"The disgusting truth of the Terra Empire," she said.