Sky patted Lily's head awkwardly.

Lily then released him from the hug and grabbed his hand.

"I, Lily, hereby allow Sky to enter my domain as he pleases!" She said formally.

"Um... okay?" Sky responded, not knowing what else to say.

Before Sky could react, a purple light shone on his hand. As it dimmed, a mark was left behind of 3 jagged crystals pointing away from each other.

"This is the symbol of my domain. You may enter and exit as you please as long as you have this."

"O-Okay... Thanks?" He said, still not sure what was going on.

"You're welcome!" She said before turning around and running back the way she came. "See you soon!"

"Where are you going?!"

"Back to my domain! If you want to visit, just come to your soul space and simply will yourself to see me, hehe~."

Lily suddenly paused and looked back at Sky. She flew back towards him and slapped him across the face. A warmth spread from Sky's reddened cheek to the rest of his body. A form of energy, similar to ether, shot around his body and rested in his core.

"You idiot! I'm not done helping you yet!" She said as she flew back to her domain.

Confused, Sky merely touched his cheek and winced. He looked down at his hand to see the energy gathering there. It was light purple and swirled around before dispersing.

'I think I should get out of here,' he thought.

When Sky willed it, he felt the stone beneath his butt and the cool draft running through the cave. Opening his eyes, he saw a speck moving from a very long distance. The dot gradually moved closer and closer, zooming past everything and heading towards Sky. Finally, a tiny voice screaming "Wake up!!!" fired toward Sky, whacking him on the forehead, almost knocking him out.

"What was that for?!" Sky exclaimed as he held his forehead, sprawled on the ground.

Avis loomed over Sky with an angry look on his face. "I've been trying to wake you up for the past five minutes! So what were you doing?!"

Sky stared for a moment, and then his eyes widened. "You-you're talking?!"

"What? Of course, I am! What else would I be doing?"

"I-, I don't know?! Usually, you talk through system messages?"

Avis's voice sounded flustered. "S-System messages? What are you talking about? I've always been able to talk!"

"B-But..." Sky trailed off, not knowing what to say.

Avis sighed and floated in front of Sky. "Look, I don't know what's going on, but you need to tell me what happened there. Not even the system knows what happened! It was as if your conscious space was completed isolated."

Sky then proceeded to tell Avis everything that happened in the soul space, from meeting Lily to the domain access, and finally, the energy she bestowed on him.

Avis was silent for a moment after Sky finished his story. "Hmm... I see."

"What is it?"

"I think I understand what's going on."

"What is it-"

Thunk

Avis thumped Sky on the head, "Do you expect me to believe that?!"

A system prompt popped up before Avis could abuse Sky more.

"He speaks the truth."

Avis turned from the system to Sky and back to the system.

"You met a Siverine?"

"I-I did."

"And she just gave you free access to her domain?!"

"W-Well... It was all really, really weird..."

Avis sighed, "This is bad... very bad."

"What's wrong?"

"Lily is one of the ether's Siverine. They have no true corporeal form and pride themselves on being a creature closest to that of ether. Meeting Lily wasn't bad, but now you have ties to her. Did you even think for a second for any enemies you have made just associating yourself with her?!"

"Enemies?! But she's just a girl! She was too innocent for any sort of relationship like that."

"Maybe so, but that doesn't stop the question, why did she befriend a filthy human out of all other beings? The ever-powerful Siverine wouldn't do something so foolish unless there was something in it for them. Not to mention having unfettered access to her domain."

Avis ranted on and on about how Sky should've been more careful, and Sky mostly ignored Avis. 'I think I preferred him using the system prompts; his voice gets annoying.' Sky thought before he turned to look at Avis, who was beet-red.

"You done?" Sky asked warily.

"For now, but I'll be keeping an eye on you."

Avis then flew off, leaving Sky alone in the cave.

Sky sighed, and almost immediately after, a system message popped up.

"Quest: 'Becoming one with Ether!'

"Restriction: Complete this task alone."

"Ah~, you think I can do it now?"

Sky stood up and circulated his ether. He could feel unrestrained circulation, almost as if his body was made for this. He felt the ether streams throughout his body and noticed how much thicker and more defined they were. While circulating, he put his hands together and pointed them out of the cave. As the ether condensed, the air around it warped and whirled. A giant ball of ether shot out from his hands and travelled at high speeds, piercing through trees like a hot knife through butter. It didn't take long for the ball to disperse into the atmosphere.

As he completed the quest, a satisfied smile made its way to Sky's face. However, what he didn't expect was the state of his hands. They were trembling, and his arms felt like they were about to fall off.

"What the hell...?"

He tried to circulate more ether to ease the pain, but it only worsened. The feeling was akin to someone trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't. Although he was satisfied for only a moment, he questioned what he had just done. Not just asking what he had done but also questioning the nature of ether. While he condensed the ether around his hands, he felt resistance. It was as if the ether was against what he was doing and resisted it.

'I was given a gift by ether, and what do I do in return... spit in its face.' Sky continued his self-reflection and came to a conclusion. He will never go against the nature of ether and will condemn himself if he does.

"I'm sorry..." He muttered as he looked up at the sky, into the infinite abyss that was ether. He could see the vast ether-lines spread across the world. It was within everything, not just the sky but the trees, plants and ground itself. Everything seemed to encapsulate themselves with ether. There was an order to this world, and he will respect this order.

"From now on, I will live in harmony with ether. This is my resolve."

With that, his trembling stopped, and he felt a warmth within his chest. It was as if something had been unlocked inside of him. He stood up and left the cave, ready to start anew.