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.

did you get here? Were

"No."

the distance. Toward a

"Are you really fine?"

"…"

know the answer to. Was she

She just felt… empty.

she didn't know

did, and found everything hard

"I… I don't know."

those words. Taking out her glasses, her vision started to blur, and she found herself unable to see what was

her eyesight fixed a long time

was rich and was smart enough to produce a potion that could fix her

didn't

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

was no one around her at the moment apart from Ren, but even so, she didn't want to keep

see what was above

***

'She's surprisingly calm.'

mind when I stared at Melissa beside me. At least, that was what I was able to perceive from her on

I wasn't too

of

he made things easier

that things

was in no state to properly fight

do before coming here, and that took

Swoosh—!

attention was eventually drawn to a dark

waste a second

I've arrived on

contact with it,

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

a scene that I had experienced a couple of times already, and my comprehension of the laws started to increase at the

I was able to comprehend, the more I found myself able to use Kevin's old

to that that I was able to get into the Pillar without destroying it from the outside. It still took a little toll on me, but it was

"You… who are you?"

warm sensation, I heard a certain voice, and when I looked down, I saw that

expression was anything but friendly, and the power that radiated from his body was also nothing to

to

in place. Golden runes whirled all around

to keep my composure. In

A blue light headed our way and enveloped the entirety of my vision. A powerful force soon enveloped the area that the demon and I were

when my sight returned, I found myself standing in the middle of the air with two black orbs

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