The Author's POV

Pitter! Pitter!

The muffled sound of rain hitting against the window beside me, woke me up.

I groggily opened my eyes and glanced toward the window, where I was greeted by a gloomy scene. It was a dark and dreary sight, typical of any rainy day.

It perfectly synchronized with my mood.

[You have 37 missed calls]

When I finally had the opportunity to check my phone, I noticed several missed calls. They seemed to come from my parents, Amanda, Kevin, and the others. I ultimately didn't answer them back and just shut off my phone.

I wasn't in the mood to talk with anyone at the moment.

Everything felt like a dream to me at the moment. No, rather, a nightmare. One that I couldn't possibly escape from.

'What time is it?'

An unknown period of time passed while I lay on my bed just blankly staring at the ceiling of the room I was in.

Raising my hand and turning my wrist, I checked the time. I felt a sudden pang in my heart while I stared at the time. 16 : 39 P.M.

"...It's almost time, huh?"

I reluctantly got out of bed and stumbled toward the closet where I pulled out a set of black clothes. Grabbing onto the clothes, my hands shook.

It was almost time for Smallsnake's funeral to start.

A few days had passed since the incident, and those few days had been among the most difficult in my life. It was difficult to prepare a funeral for someone you had assumed would accompany you till the end and would always be around.

I...I just couldn't stomach it.

How?

Just where did things go wrong?

Why must things have turned out this way?

"What's this?"

Unknowingly, I felt something wet stream down from the side of my face.

"..Ah, shit."

I raised my hand and clenched my chest as a sharp, heartbreaking agony swept across my chest.

It hurt.

It really hurt.

I...I really didn't expect things to turn out this way. I...I really didn't.

***

Ryan looked toward the empty casket in the distance as he passed through the long aisle that was covered in a long red carpet and seemed to stretch for miles. It was probably shorter, but to him, it looked endless.

His footsteps felt heavy, and his eyes were rather blurry.

It still hadn't sunk into his mind.

...The fact that Smallsnake had left him.

The fatherly or brotherly figure he had been missing throughout his entire life was gone just like that.

"I..shouldn't be like this."

He mumbled to himself while he walked down the aisle.

'Fix your clothes, you look like a total mess like that.'

'Is that really how you want to look at my funeral?'

wipe your

thought

Ryan's face as he suddenly thought of his appearance. Raising his arm, he wiped his tears

nag me if he saw me in this

hollow laugh escaped from his

something grip his chest. Once again, he felt the corner of his eyes tear up, but as he thought of

show him

not have been here, but to Ryan, he

He was always here.

casket for a couple of good minutes, Ryan lowered his head. He

as a cat, Ava, Hein, Leopold, Kevin, Amanda, Emma...all of Ren's friends and people that were previously on the other planet. All

But...

only one

'Where is he?'

Ren. It didn't take long for him to spot his parents whom he had met once with Smallsnake...they

was here apart

'Why?'

wondered while he continuously

'Why isn't he here?'

didn't seem like he was the only one that was looking for him. Practically,

...How could they not?

one that was supposed to speak first. He was supposed to be the one guy

why wasn't he

all people, he should've

Why?

Why!!

Why!?

'D..does he not care?'

found herself thinking about the dream he had witnessed as a result

just think of us

it back when he was watching everything. In the first place, he didn't understand much of the content that

...It made no sense.

one thing he managed to pick up from

individuals without showing any remorse and treated everyone as though they were expandables that could be tossed

knew them or not. If they were in the way of his goals,

Ryan saw in the visions, and this was also this behavior that made Ryan understand that the dream was probably a fake.

He wasn't.

Never.

least that was what

ticked, and everyone quietly sat down waiting for him to arrive,

no,

downward in a negative direction, possibly as a result of the fact that he wasn't in the finest emotional state. No

being the Ren he knew, Ryan just couldn't stop overlapping

not the

only thing keeping him

Smallsnake's words that kept him from going down an even bigger downward spiral of

"Keum."

out of his thoughts was a small cough. Raising his

"Why is he there?"

Kevin. He barely knew Smallsnake, what right did he

of you are uncomfortable with my sudden

his wrist and checked

seem like Ren is here yet. Since we can't afford to take the whole day,

Clank—!

doors slammed open abruptly. As soon as that happened, more than half of the audience turned to look in the direction of where the noise came from, and there they saw a ragged figure coming

'Ren?'

as he spotted

notice his appearance as

of his glaring black circles, pale face, crooked tie, and wrinkled clothes, Ryan pursed his

several figures rushed to him, only to be rejected by him who slowly walked toward the

his teeth,

deep sense of shame rise from deep within his

stupid of me to think

hardest. He previously thought that he should've been the one who was supposed to be the saddest about his apparent