Nir remained standing in the middle of the road, as if time had stopped for him alone… while the world around him continued to fall.
The air gradually returned to its natural state,
But the feeling… was no longer the same.
In the past…
He was the one standing far away.
Watching the others as they boasted of their auras, their powers, and the status they were born into without effort.
He would hear their laughter…
See their looks…
And remain silent.
Because he possessed nothing.
But now…
He looked at his hand.
Slowly.
There was no light.
No aura.
No magic.
And yet…
Five had vanished.
Without a trace.
"…"
He closed his eyes.
A strange sensation crept into his chest.
It wasn't pride.
Nor was it relief.
But…
A deeper void.
> "Do you understand now…?"
>
The voice inside him was no longer loud.
It no longer commanded.
Instead…
It whispered.
> "The power they sought throughout their lives…"
>
> "You… erase it by your very existence."
>
He slowly opened his eyes.
In the distance…
The three of them were watching him.
But this time…
Their looks were not as they were before.
It wasn't just fear.
It was realization.
The realization that the distance between them… was no longer measured by strength.
But by kind.
He moved.
A single step toward them.
Sern retreated immediately.
He stopped.
Not because he was afraid.
But because… he noticed.
That retreat…
The very same step he used to take in the past.
Whenever they drew near him.
Silence.
"Nir…"
Lyra's voice was calm… but there was confusion in it.
She didn't draw closer.
She didn't run away.
She only…
Stood.
Between two distances.
"It's all over… right?"
A simple question.
But the answer…
Was not.
He looked at her.
For a long time.
Then he said:
"… No."
Silence returned.
"That was only…"
He paused for a moment.
"… The beginning."
The air trembled for a second.
Not because of magic.
But because of the truth.
In a far-off place…
Inside a dark hall.
A man stood before a black mirror.
Its surface did not reflect faces…
Rather, it showed what should not be seen.
And within it…
Nir appeared.
Standing.
Silent.
"So…"
The man muttered.
"He has surpassed the first stage."
Behind him, there were other shadows.
"Shall we move?"
Silence.
Then…
A cold smile.
"No."
He approached the mirror.
"Let him grow."
He touched its surface.
"The more aware he becomes of what he is…"
He paused.
"…the closer he gets to becoming what we want."
Back—
They were walking.
But the distance between them…
Was no longer as it was.
Cain was silent.
But his look had changed.
It was no longer a challenge.
But caution.
Sern did not speak.
Nor did he draw near.
As for Lyra…
She was the only one who still looked at him as he was.
Or…
Tried to.
"Nir."
He stopped.
"Are you…"
She hesitated.
"…still the same as you were?"
The question…
Was not naive.
But sincere.
He looked at her.
Then…
He answered.
"… I don't know."
And this time…
It wasn't weakness.
But the truth.
That night…
He sat alone.
Away from them.
Looking at the sky.
The stars… were as they were.
They hadn't changed.
The world… hadn't changed.
But he…
Slowly raised his hand.
He focused.
He tried to summon anything.
As he always did.
As he had tried… thousands of times.
But this time…
He didn't try to create magic.
Instead…
To negate it.
And for a moment…
A star vanished.
Just one.
Then it returned.
His eyes widened slightly.
> "Do you see…?"
>
The voice inside him… was calm.
> "Even the sky…"
>
> "is not an exception."
>
He slowly lowered his hand.
And in that moment…
He understood.
With a terrifying clarity.
That he was no longer that boy who possessed nothing.
Instead, he had become…
The thing that…
Makes the possessions of others… meaningless.
And somewhere…
Someone else…
Opened their eyes.
And smiled.
"… Finally."