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.

here? How did you get here? Were you here

"No."

head and stared into the distance. Toward a spot where she couldn't

"Are you really fine?"

"…"

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

She just felt… empty.

she didn't

just did, and found everything hard to

"I… I don't know."

to mutter those words. Taking out her glasses, her vision started to blur, and she found

had her

was rich and was smart enough to produce a potion that

didn't want

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

from Ren, but even so, she didn't

to see what was above her

***

'She's surprisingly calm.'

stared at Melissa beside me. At least, that was what I

I wasn't too

of me was making it difficult for me to maintain

made things easier

I knew that things weren't over yet. Still, the situation was very advantageous

was in no state to properly

do before coming here, and that took almost everything

Swoosh—!

attention was eventually drawn to a dark spot in the sky. It was writhing in the air, and the skeleton of a figure

a second and

like I've arrived

the moment I made contact with it, I felt a soothing energy spread throughout my entire

take shape again, and the excruciating pain that had been pulsating through

already, and my comprehension

to comprehend, the more I found myself

was also thanks 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

"You… who are you?"

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

friendly, and the power that radiated from his body was also

really be talking to me when you're in

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

left my body, and I found myself struggling to keep my composure. In spite of

powerful force soon enveloped

found myself standing in the middle of the air with two black orbs levitating in front of

took a while for it to sink in, but pain unlike anything I'd ever felt before started to cover every inch of my