The Author's POV

It all happened so quickly, but when she felt 'his' gaze fall on her for just a split second, time seemed to come to an abrupt halt, and so did her world.

His expression was the same as usual—a little aged. Perhaps a little different, but it wasn't so different from how it had always been.

Yet, for some reason, in that moment, it felt as though that simple gaze told her a thousand words.

He nodded at her and said something.

She couldn't quite make out what those words were.

That was because she knew exactly what he was going to do, and in that moment, her mind blanked.

Her usually brilliant mind blanked, and she dully stood on the ground, staring up toward the sky, which was soon enveloped by a brilliant white light that came directly from her father's body. It enveloped the sky in its entirety.

BOOOM—!

That was the last thing she saw before a terrifying explosion covered the sky, and she was hurled a great distance away from the scene.

BANG—!

She collided with a tree, and if it weren't for the protective shield that materialized around her just as she was about to make contact with the tree, she likely would have sustained significant injuries.

"Ugh."

With a groan, she forced herself to look up, and that was when she realized that the mist that had blanketed the sky previously had completely disappeared.

Her mind, which seemed stained with something moments prior, seemed to clear up.

But none of that concerned her at the moment. What she was concerned about was something else, and she hastily looked around in the sky for any signs of 'him'.

But no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find him. In fact, she couldn't see anything, and her legs started to go numb.

That was until a hand pressed against her shoulder and a familiar voice reached her ear.

"…He's gone."

"W..what?"

When she turned her head, she caught sight of a hazy, almost transparent figure.

"Who are you?"

She thought he sounded familiar, but the way he looked… was that really who she thought he was?

"It's me."

His voice was hoarse, almost feeble, but when he turned his head and their eyes met, Melissa understood that it was really him.

are you doing here? How did you get here? Were you here

"No."

shook his head and stared into the distance.

"Are you really fine?"

"…"

know the answer to. Was she fine? She didn't

She just felt… empty.

she didn't know

found everything hard

"I… I don't know."

words. Taking out her glasses, her vision started

could've had her

she could've. She was rich and was smart enough to produce a potion

didn't want

were times when her blurred vision would stop her from feeling people's gazes on her and

apart from Ren, but even so, she didn't want to

Didn't want to see what was above her

***

'She's surprisingly calm.'

my mind when I stared at Melissa beside me. At least, that

wasn't too sure, but I didn't have time

of me was making it difficult for me to maintain any semblance

he made things easier for

at the area above me, I knew that things weren't over

no state to properly fight at the

here, and

Swoosh—!

the sudden blurring of my vision, I appeared before a certain area in the sky and looked around me. That was until my attention was eventually drawn to a dark spot in the sky. It was writhing in the air, and the skeleton of

waste a second and

looks like I've arrived on

contact with it, I felt a soothing energy spread throughout my

and then reappearing, started to take shape again, and the excruciating pain that had been pulsating through every

a scene that I had experienced a couple of times already, and my comprehension

able to comprehend, the more

able to get into the Pillar without destroying it from

"You… who are you?"

I heard a certain voice, and when I looked down, I

from his body

you really be talking to me when

and immediately he froze in place. Golden runes whirled all around the area where the Prince and I were standing and wrapped

struggling to keep my composure. In spite

of my vision. A powerful force soon enveloped the area that

how long things were like that, but when my sight returned, I found myself standing in the middle of the air with two

while for it to sink in, but pain unlike anything I'd ever felt before