The Author's POV

Drip! Drip! Drip!

"It can't be… no…"

"Uwaaaa!"

Incomprehensible mutterings, a loud wail, and the sounds of rain dripping against the ground.

All of it reached my ears, and yet at the same time didn't.

Standing where I was, my mind was blank. I couldn't think of anything, and the noise around me came from one ear and left from another.

I was numb, so numb… Staring at the figure that lay before me, I didn't know how to react.

'He's dead…'

I tried to check up on him moments prior, but his heart and breath had stopped. There was nothing I could do at the moment, and it was this sense of helplessness that made me numb.

Why? …why did it have to happen again? Why did someone else have to leave me? Especially my father, of all people… the one person I was supposed to protect?

I closed my eyes, the rain still trickling down my face. Images of the past flashed in my mind, moments that I had shared with my father.

'Is this how he felt?'

At last, I was able to understand the constant agony that the other version of me had to endure on a consistent basis, and I noticed that something was beginning to eat away at my chest.

"Haa… uhaaa…"

Breathing was becoming incredibly difficult at the moment, and if not for me being used to this, I would've already lost it at this point.

'Not yet… I can't show weakness just yet…'

I held back everything that was threatening to come out at that moment and kept it to myself.

There would be a time later when I could show weakness… The time wasn't now.

Not yet, at least…

The rain continued to pour down, drenching my clothes and making me feel cold. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of raindrops hitting the ground.

"B,brother."

It was upon hearing Nola's voice that I turned around. The pain that I was feeling further intensified when I caught her gaze, and I raised my head to look up.

She had grown up since I had last seen her. With the time she spent in Immorra, she was now 14 years old… a teen. She had grown into a beautiful young girl and was no longer the little girl that I used to know.

Unlike before, she was aware of what was happening, and I couldn't bring myself to look at her.

"B,brother."

She called out again, but I didn't respond. I didn't want to face her. To see the look of sadness and confusion on her face.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The silence was deafening, the only sound being the raindrops hitting the ground. It was as if the world had stopped for a moment, frozen in time.

"Hiek… b,brother… answer me…"

The rain masked her soft whimpers, and my heart ached at the thought. I really wanted to go to her at the moment and give her a hug, but I stopped myself.

Now was not the time…

'Not yet.'

I couldn't mourn just yet.

when I still didn't have

"Huuu."

deep breath, trying to calm myself down. It was hard, but this wasn't the first time I lost someone important to me. I had already readied myself beforehand and was somewhat

Even so…

It hurt like hell.

"Nola, mom..."

to my family, my voice trembling

heavily over me,

eyes upon me, their concern palpable in the air. I knew I had to be strong. To keep it

"Uhh."

deep breath and pointed towards a small house in the distance, my heart aching at the thought of leaving them behind. But

you go over

my

eyes widened in shock as she spoke up, her voice thick with

"You're leaving?"

nodded, unable to meet her

with you too, but...I can't. There are things I need to do, and I can't afford to

mouth, and I regretted them almost immediately. Nola's reaction was swift and fierce, her grief and

just died,

cried, her voice growing louder and more desperate with

here with Dad is

"No... wait..."

what I had meant, but how could I explain that to her

"Nola, calm down."

intervened, trying

beyond reason, her

are you taking his side?! Did you not hear what he said? He thinks being with us

That's not what he meant, and

arms wrapping

what did he

demanded, her eyes

handle the situation. She

We're

it! Let me

was perfectly restrained by her, and she continued to glare at

"Fine, go!"

tears that streamed down from her eyes were masked by the gentle raindrops

"I… I…"

in our mother's arms, and

"Uwaaaa! Daaaad! Whyyy!?"

to look in a particular direction. My

I thought back at what just

"Haa…haaa..haaaaa…"

'Not yet.'

had to force myself once again, but unlike before, it proved to be a much harder task.

"Fuck!"

loud made the situation a bit better, but it was not enough. I needed to vent… I needed to let out what was built up in

Rage…

right then, as if something within me snapped, the world around me turned completely gray,

the waves beneath

Rumble! Rumble!

projection of a massive sword soon materialized on the

***

"Do you see it?"

of them were

he was able to see everything that

is a consequence of your

as his own father died, he showed no such reaction. It frustrated Jezebeth to no end, and he knew that the man in front of him was not someone who would

severely