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.

How did you get here? Were you here

"No."

shook his head and stared into the distance.

"Are you really fine?"

"…"

didn't answer. It was a question she didn't know the answer to. Was she fine? She didn't feel very much. And that

She just felt… empty.

didn't know

found

"I… I don't know."

glasses, her vision started to blur, and she found herself unable to see what

she could've had her eyesight fixed a long

rich and was smart enough to

just didn't

blurred vision would stop her from

was no one around her at the moment apart from Ren,

see what was above

***

'She's surprisingly calm.'

beside me. At least,

calm, I wasn't too sure, but

permeating every part of me was making it difficult for

he made

above me, I knew that things weren't over yet.

was in no state to properly

had to do before coming here, and that took almost everything from me. But it

Swoosh—!

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

waste a second and arrived before

I've arrived

blob, and the moment I made contact with it,

again, and

had experienced a couple of times already, and my comprehension of the laws started to

I was able to comprehend, the more

into the Pillar without destroying it from the outside. It still took a little toll on me, but

"You… who are you?"

when I looked down, I saw

the power that radiated from his body was also

be talking to me when you're

against the demon's shoulder, and immediately he froze in place. Golden runes whirled all around the area where the Prince and I were

myself struggling to keep my composure. In spite of this, I cast

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

that, but when my sight returned, I found

sink in, but pain unlike anything I'd ever felt before started to cover every