The Inner World was not a physical place. It possessed no horizon, no ceiling, and no walls. Looking out into the distance yielded nothing, only a quiet darkness into which the realm slowly dissolved. There was no wind, no weather, and no sound. Yet it was not entirely pitch black.
A faint, originless illumination permeated the atmosphere, keeping the immediate surroundings visible while leaving the far reaches shrouded in haze.
Beneath everything lay the Black Water. It was not truly water, but the solid floor of the realm. A person could stand, walk, or run across its pitch-black surface without sinking at all. Yet with every movement, ripples traveled across it, spreading, overlapping, and disappearing like a liquid responding to a light breeze.
It obeyed the logic of Albion's mind rather than the physical laws of the outside world.
Albion stood upon the dark surface, looking around the endless expanse with a neutral, deliberately lighthearted expression.
'It looks different,' he thought, his gaze sweeping over the faint ambient glow. He remembered the last time he had been here. There had been a hollow sun hanging above the world, but now it was completely gone. Despite its absence, light still existed here—subdued, but persistent.
'Is it because I opened up to Juvia and Sheila?' he wondered quietly. 'Because I actually connected with them?'
He glanced down at his feet, watching the faint circular ripples expand beneath his soles. It really was strange. It looked like an endless, lightless ocean, but it felt as solid as a stone floor.Then, his eyes shifted forward.
Amon was standing a short distance away.
He wasn't smiling. Usually, Amon would be wearing a sharp, mocking grin, making some cruel gesture, or throwing sharp words to tear Albion down. But now, he simply stared at Albion with a heavy, unreadable expression. One so quiet and serious that it was genuinely unsettling.
Albion swallowed down the slight awkwardness settling in his throat. Lacking basic social skills, he usually would act blunt or sarcastic simply because he spoke whatever came to mind. But right now, inspired by his recent time with Sheila and Juvia, he was actively trying to make an effort.
He wanted to fix this, or at least make whatever existed between them better than it was. Trying to bridge the quiet, Albion pointed toward Amon's attire.
"I actually like your clothing," Albion said, keeping his tone light, though the forced casualness felt unnatural on his tongue. "It suits you pretty well. Though... Don't you think it's a bit too similar to my white robe? Not that I mind, of course. You could've chosen something a little different."
Amon didn't answer. He just kept staring, his crimson eyes cold beneath his messy white hair.
Amon's robe was the inverse of Albion's. Where Albion's white garment was soft, light, and ethereal, Amon's black robe was heavy, dark, and severe. It was a single-piece garment falling from his neck to below his knees.
His raised collar was sharper and higher, framing his head in darkness, while his sleeves allowed his pale fingers to emerge naturally from the black material.
Most notably, while Albion stood barefoot, Amon wore simple, low-profile black leather boots. Slightly oversized and scuffed with faint wear, they separated Amon from the Black Water beneath him.
Silence stretched between them. Albion cleared his throat, searching his mind for what else to say.
"I've made some progress on the goals I had back then," Albion continued, pressing forward despite the lack of response. "I understand the outside world a lot better now. I know how Phantom Lord works—the unwritten rules, how mages aren't supposed to fight inside the guild halls. I learned about magic types, too. Caster magic, holder magic, magic items..."
He paused, looking down at his own hands.
"I even awakened my own magic," he added honestly. "I haven't made much progress with spells or actual combat applications yet, but I have a solid baseline now. Though... to be completely honest, I haven't found out anything new about my mother. That's still something I need to figure out."
Albion took a quiet breath, a faint, genuine look of satisfaction touching his small face.
"I know I can't learn everything at once," he said softly, his words coming straight from his heart."I have to be patient. But I've learned a lot today. Before, I just wanted power... power to break the fate that was chosen for me and build a new one. And I think... I think I found that new fate. Being with Sheila. Being with Juvia."
He looked back up at Amon, his crimson eyes bright. Before Albion could think of what else to say, Amon finally opened his mouth.
"What are you doing here?" Amon asked. His voice was flat, devoid of its usual mocking rhythm. "Why are you here, Albion?"
Albion's awkward, lighthearted facade vanished. His face settled into an expression of resolve—clear, serious, and stripped of all hesitation.
"I came here for one reason and one reason only," Albion said, his voice echoing cleanly across the quiet expanse. "So I could save you, Amon."
For a split second, Amon's crimson eyes widened. Then, a massive, jagged grin tore across his face. The movement stretched the black stitches at the corners of his mouth so violently that tiny droplets of blood began to leak onto his skin. His small frame began to tremble as he tried to stifle the noise, but within seconds, he burst into a fit of hysterical laughter.
The laughter echoed endlessly through the boundaryless realm, sharp, chaotic, and manic. He bent over, slapping his knee violently, tears of mocking hysteria welling at the corners of his eyes. It was the most unhinged laugh Albion had ever heard.
Finally, Amon wiped his eyes and straightened up, the terrifying grin still plastered across his bleeding mouth.
"Save me?" Amon wheezed, his voice dripping with amusement. "That's the best joke I've ever heard!"
The intensity of his grin softened slightly, settling into a cold, hateful scowl.
"You can't save anyone," Amon said. "You couldn't even save the relationship between you and the person who raised you the moment you gained awareness in this world! Yet you want to save me? What makes you think I would ever want a brat like you—a pathetic, insignificant puppet like you—to save me? What makes you think you can save anyone, let alone another part of yourself?"
Amon took a step forward, his worn leather boots heavy against the black floor.
"Do you seriously believe you could be that person for anyone?" Amon sneered, leaning down slightly. "Do you seriously believe that you, out of all people, could save anybody?"
Albion didn't sway, his expression remained steady, the determination in his eyes only growing stronger under Amon's harsh words.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "I know. There are definitely people who are better than me at a lot of things."
As Albion spoke, the Black Water around them reacted. A short distance away, the dark liquid rose up, churning silently before molding itself into a solid, detailed shape, the iron-bound figure of Gajeel Lionheart.
"There are people out there in Phantom Lord who are much stronger than me," Albion continued, staring right into Amon's eyes.
Closer to Albion, another section of the floor welled upward, shaping itself into the fluid, quiet form of Juvia Greywater.
"There are people out there who are definitely smarter than me," Albion added.
Then, right beside him, the water crested one last time, taking the gentle, smiling shape of Sheila.
"And there are people out there who are kinder than me," Albion said softly. "Probably wiser than I'll ever be."
The three liquid figures stood like silent sentinels on the dark floor. Albion took a breath and looked Amon directly in the face.
"But I don't really care about that," Albion said. "Because I know that if I were in your shoes... if I wanted someone to save me from the bottom of my heart... I would be so much happier if that person did it not because they felt compelled to, but because they genuinely cared about me."
He took a small step closer. "I want to be that person for you, Amon."
Amon's eyes widened in sheer disbelief. The last remnants of his grin vanished, replaced by an ugly, furious scowl. A dark vein bulged on his pale forehead as his temper exploded.
"What is wrong with you?!" He screamed, his voice cracking with rage. "Who the hell could you possibly be talking about?! Someone capable of risking his life for others?! Someone capable of putting his mind and life on the line to accomplish what he sets out to do?! Someone capable of helping—of saving others?!"
Amon reached up, grabbing the heavy black fabric over his chest and squeezing it tightly in a white-knuckled fist.
"Don't lie to me!" he roared."Someone like that could never be Albion Ebonveil! I know better than anyone just how pathetic, how weak, and how useless a person like Albion is! Albion Ebonveil is weak, pathetic, and rotten to the core! I know that! I know that better than anyone else!"
He glared at Albion, his body shaking with unvented malice.
"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Amon shouted. "You think just because you awakened your magic that you suddenly have the privilege of saving people?! Don't make me laugh! That's the stupidest joke I've ever heard in my entire life! You can't save anyone! You can't save yourself! You can't make friends! All you do is fill everyone's life with ruin!"
Albion didn't yell back. Instead, he took another step forward across the rippling black floor. He reached out, extending his small hand toward Amon, a warm, gentle smile breaking across his face.
"I know," Albion said quietly. "I've made mistakes. I know I've done things to you that you might never be able to forgive me for. I know I rejected you for so long... and I'm sorry."
The water around their feet rippled softly, mirroring the quiet shift in the air.
"But you and I... us... this can be a new beginning for both of us," Albion said softly. "This doesn't need to be the place where everything ends. It can be the place where everything truly begins. The beginning after the end."
Albion's smile remained steady, free of deceit. "Even if you never forgive me, I will always forgive you, Amon. After all... you tried to protect me. Deep down, you just wanted to protect me."
Albion looked deep into Amon's shocked crimson eyes. "Because at the end of the day... I am you."
Amon's eyes widened to their limit. The violent fury in his chest seemed to freeze solid, his jaw dropping slightly as the words hung in the quiet light of the Inner World.