A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

Relief? Shock? Confusion? Lack of acceptance? Her eyes simply stared up at him. She had seen the pieces falling down, and the realization had been coming to light slowly, but to hear that confession out loud, it ... Well, it stunned her. It felt like she was dreaming, but she was wide awake. The sensation perplexed her greatly, and she barely could part her lips. That whole game had been nothing ... Her mind didn't know what to make all of it all. She was relieved to know that he never would force himself upon her. Sure, that could change in the future, and trusting him ... After Ca ... After him, could she trust their kind again? Then again, Ether's expression indicated that she could; she couldn't detect one hint of falsity in his words or his emotions. He had laid them all bare before her.

Right now, he wasn't lying; she was sure of it. Ether was different from ... him. They had a different relationship. Doubt set in, however, as further comprehension of his words' meaning dawned upon her before the doubt faded away again. It was as though she was experiencing whiplash several times over. The blood and tears continued to stream down his face a little longer, and his eyes stayed upon hers. His smile had fallen, and he looked so ... so terrified. A part of her wondered if that's how he had looked when he had been younger with his grandfather. That nearly caused a string of her heart to be tugged, but she forced it aside as a laugh, no several, wanted to escape her.

They weren't from amusement. No, they were from her own horror. He thought that revealing such a secret made him less terrifying? If anything, it scared her all the more. He had killed all of those people just so he could continue the charade that he would have a child with her no matter what, but she also couldn't yell at him, scream at him. She couldn't do any of that, and she couldn't even blame him for thinking like that.

After all, she constantly had reminded him how she was going to kill him; how she was going to use his weaknesses against him. Her parents even were planning his death, or they were trying to come up with solutions to do so. Momentarily, her mind desired to ask about them, but it switched right back over to the facts Ether just had given her. Even if he was fine with her killing him, he still wanted to live; he still wished to have a child with her.

With that gone, though, he lost a vital threat against her, and threats had been what had connected him to her in the first place. That connection would weaken, and she could get away easier, which might make him all the weaker. If his strength diminished, he could be killed quicker, so he wanted to preserve that link as much as possible. Otherwise, all of those pieces might fall. Wait ... Her thoughts came to a pause. No, it was more like a crashing halt.

Even though she had been staring right at him the whole time, it was like she was seeing him completely for the first time. Perhaps, his true reason for starting the game made him all the more terrifying, but, in that moment, he didn't seem anything like the creature he had been in the tunnels or during the game. He was just Ether. If she could sit up, she would, and the words slipped from her mouth effortlessly. "I know how to kill you without injuring your heart." His eyes didn't even widen, but he didn't look away. Instead, a small smile formed upon his lips. It almost looked proud, but it was pained and didn't hide his vulnerability.

"I'll take what you desire most," he spoke softly and giggled as if those words had been the silliest, most agonizing ones in the world. "Cal ..." He stopped himself, knowing the effect the name had on her. "He guessed wrong. It's not a child with you. I made it seem that way because you were even less likely to leave and run away from me. It gave me more control over your life, and your parents became all the more hesitant to attempt anything against me too."

Another giggle parted from him, and for a split second, she wondered why she ever had found them horrifying. Then, she remembered everything he had done, and they continued to hold a threatening quality to them. "The game added to that. It increased your fear of me; it made you forget what I had said back in the cabin and what those words truly meant." A small smile touched his lips. "I could worry less about you finding out because you were so focused on my obsession with having a child with you."

"But, I'm what you desire most," she finished as puzzle pieces fit together so perfectly in her head. It sounded arrogant saying that, but it was the truth. "All this time, all I've had to do is leave. Not die, but leave."

"You're my home. If you leave, I lose my home; I lose my sense of belonging," he spoke almost inaudibly, his eyes still meeting hers. He made sure that none of his bloodied tears fell upon her, but he didn't wipe them away either. "Your life is mine. If I lose you, I lose my life."

All of her wanted to laugh. There was no amusement present. Incapable of laughing due to her weakened state, she managed a bitter smile. "You make it sound so easy. I may have found your true weakness, but you won't let me leave."

"Haven't you managed it before?" That caused her to drop her smile. "You left the cabin, you made it to Dunnuuna and you almost killed me. You left the amusement park, you made it to Faller's Grove, and you could've killed me. Each time you've left, I've lost my senses, and rage consumed me. You calmed me down, and you stabbed me on both accounts. But," he finally wiped his tears away using his hoodie sleeve, "I suppose that I didn't let you leave."

"No, you didn't." Her voice came out firmer and more relaxed than she had expected it too, and she couldn't stop herself from her next words. "You're an idiot." Slightly, his eyes widened, and the whole conversation had seemingly pushed away any desire to sleep. "Learning about the truth behind your actions didn't make you 'weaker.' If anything, it shows how terrifying you are. You're willing to kill strangers and not even eat them just so that I don't leave you."

Nearly, it felt like she was returning back to her old self. The part of her that knew never to underestimate him and the part that wished to end him, but that wasn't her anymore. And, her confidence that she just had been gaining back vanished within a few moments. Her expressions relaxed until she felt her emotions get the better of her once more, and the tears formed again. "But, finding out your weakness; it doesn't matter."A few droplets trickled down her cheeks. "The truth is that I didn't kill you. Even in your grandfather's cabin ... I work in a funeral home; I know where a heart is. And, your body's outward appearance is close enough to a human's that the inside probably is too. Besides, your mother was human, so the location being the same is reasonable."

The truth that Ca ... her tormentor had wanted her to see. Yeah, she saw it now, and it truly was crippling. It didn't matter what motives Ether had behind his actions; it didn't matter that he had created the game for a whole different purpose. No, what mattered was that she knew how he felt about her ever since he had told her his feelings back in the cabin, and she had let self-induced ignorance blind her.

Like he had said, his game had made her forget his words, and she let them. She permitted those seven months to cloud her judgment; she allowed his threat of having a child with her consume her. Despite that, her ignorance couldn't control her actions, and she had failed to kill him because she, ultimately, hadn't been able to despite everything he had done to her because ... because ... More tears came again, and she wondered just how her body could handle it all.

"... My hand had missed on purpose even if I hadn't been completely aware of that, even if I had forced that thought from my mind and deluded myself into thinking that I accidentally had missed." A horrid, twitching smile managed to form on her lips. "My emotions may have been chaotic, but deep down, I knew. I just sealed it away so that I could forget, but he ... he brought it ..."

So badly, she wanted to lift her hands to her face and cover it. She wanted to hide again, but like Ether, everything just was coming out. It felt relieving in some insane way, but it also tore her apart, especially since it had been her torturer to have brought it all back out of her. Her eyes widened, however, when she felt a hand gently cover her eyes: his right hand. "(F/n) ..."

"I can't kill you." She had said it before, and it hurt just as much that time. "Because ... Because y-y-you're the o-o-only one who will ... will accept e-ever-every-thing I've done. And, I ... I ..." It hurt so much, so d*mn much to admit it, but she cried it out before she could stop herself. "I miss that! I miss your acceptance!" Barely, she gripped onto her shirt with as much strength as she could since she couldn't reach up and squeeze his hand as hard as she could out of frustration and agony.

"Even if I know your weakness, it doesn't matter," she repeated before she released a sob. "I can't leave you. I can't kill you." She sounded like a broken record, but she didn't care. Her mind had been beaten, just like her body if not worse, and all of her secrets had come tumbling out. "I'm so sorry; I'm so sorry," she repeated until she finally added, "Mom, Dad, Laura ... I'm so sorry."

His hand continued to stay over her eyes, and she made no motion to push it off. She couldn't, and she didn't want to; she didn't want to see him even though the truth was so d*mn crystal clear to her. (F/n) felt slight movement on the bed, but she continued to cry. Presently, she didn't wish to be strong; she just wished to be held and not judged even if that sounded completely pathetic to some, even if it meant lying on his lap, the one who had forced his life into hers. No, she had been the one to enter Cankerfell, his home; he never forced that upon her. He may have been the one who followed after her, but she had begun it all. More tears cascaded down her already stained cheeks, but something soft quieted her sobs.