With and Without You (AetherxAyaka)

Chapter 36: The Plane of Euthymia

His first steps out of the Komore Teahouse sent shivers down his spine and electric sparked his neck hairs straight.

The air felt tense and the world's gravity felt heavy.

Only minutes ago the sun shined beautiful but now a dark cloud swelled and threatened to swallow the sky entirely.

In a way the climate resembled the collision course he was soon to be in.

People from all over the streets were ushering hushed words and rumors to each other. Shops that had once stationed workers to vend products, had been left abandoned, creating an eriee silence in the air.

Only hushed murmurs could be heard along with the shuffling of feet agaisnt stone.

A patch of people here and there, but all heading to the same location.

The Tenshukaku.

He too, stepped into the stone pathway, merging with those who were curiously seeking the cause for commotion.

As Aether and Paimon pressed forward, the patch of people became a trail. The surroundings around him slowly became engulfed in material clothing and pale flesh.

The hushed murmurs from a friend to another or a wife to husband grew into confused chatter to strangers around them.

People had tried to remain calm, but as the situation began to unveil itself, people only began to grow more concerned.

More fear.

At some point Aether caught glimpse of a young girl in what appeared to be a sort of Tanuki influenced clothing, but she too, was lost in the sea of people.

"Is that? No... it can't be... he'd never do something to earn a public execution..."

Aether had heard a voice to his left.

The man in red was hugged in the arm by who Aether assumed was his wife

"I know... he's always helping around in town. That housekeeper's got a heart of gold..."

Aether knew the situation was getting worse and he had to push his way through.

Thoma was on borrowed time, and Aether wasn't sure how much he had left before he had to pay his dues.

"Unbelievable..." he heard someone else say in complete dismay

The trail of people became a crowd as the people as they passed the wooden bridge, fanning out among the stone pavement just before the Tenshukaku. The size of the crowd only grew as more and more people had reached the stone statue of their archon.

It proved to still be a difficult task making it past the crowd. He was fighting through grown figures much larger and much more curious than him.

Slipping through the cracks of people seldomly showed signs of progress, despite the noise of voices only declining. None paid heed to his rather brash wriggling movements or his outlandish clothing, for they were far to distressed by the scene in front of him.

Aether was almost sure he had even heard some adults shed silent tears and mournful weeps. He couldn't tell if they had felt grief for Thoma or if they had felt he betrayed them.

The people were conflicted he knew that much.

However why they were upset, didn't come to mind when he finally made his way to the front.

Thoma was bound by the hands as he hopelessly rested on his knees, with two Tenryou gaurds holding their spears threateningly close.

Dare he move, they should move as well. A swift end for a swift man.