67: Beyond Time and Space

“You cursed wretches!
Do you have any idea who I am!?”

Dan’s furious roar sent the swarm of abominations scattering, momentarily silenced by his overwhelming presence.
But the tide of vengeful spirits rising from the darkness was far greater than his fury.

In the blink of an eye, the “Eyes of Nightmare” encircled him, binding Dan in place.
Grinding his teeth, he glared at Tom, now attempting to dominate him through sheer force of will.

“Even if I can’t move… there’s not a soul in this world who can resist my gaze!
Feel the wrath of my Illusion Eye!”

A noxious mist erupted from Dan’s eyes, twisting into the form of a massive serpent.
It lunged at Tom with lethal intent—but the snake passed harmlessly through him, dissolving into faint particles of light.

“What…!? Impossible!
My perfected illusion eye…
It should’ve worked!
How could this be!?”

As Dan panicked, Tom calmly approached, his eyes filled not with hatred, but sorrow.
There was something almost sacred in the way he moved—as if he had transcended earthly desires.

“That appearance…
Your white robe…
Could it be… is this what I was truly seeking…?
A world beyond time itself…?”

Tom lifted one foot ever so slightly, then glided forward as if skating silently over ice.
Dan, still paralyzed, could do nothing but watch, his breath shallow and ragged.

“No… don’t tell me…
The world I knew nothing of… was the afterlife!?”

And then—Dan saw everything.
In the next instant, Tom passed through him like a gust of wind.
The binding force vanished, and Dan spun around, shocked.

“You… What did you do to me!?”

He no longer felt the weight of his own body.
Looking down, he saw he was barefoot, standing in the tall grass.

Tom—now radiant—looked directly at him and spoke the truth.

“Dan… You saw it too, didn’t you?
The truth of this world.
In a world without death, you’d never come to understand it.
That’s why… I think Emma wanted to show you—through me.”

Dan, trembling, carefully adjusted the collar of his black suit and straightened his tie.
But he felt nothing against his skin.

The only sensation left…
was the damp, sticky feel of the grass beneath his bare feet—something he had always hated.

“So this is… the world of imagination.
Now I understand.
The words you spun created that beautiful field.
My picture books could never have achieved that.
A novel’s power… it’s a dream I could never reach.”

He looked down at the book in his hands.
The pages he had torn were now restored—blank and nameless.
Staring at it, Dan set aside his tangled emotions and spoke quietly, as if coming to terms with something.

“…So this is what death feels like.
But it’s too late… once you’re dead.
I created my own world from my ambition…
and my hatred for Emma…
I can’t let it go… I never will…”

He let go of the book.
His fingers turned to glass, the frost spreading up his arms and over his entire body.
With a trembling hand, he struck his own chest once—
and without a sound, his crystalline form shattered, scattering like dust and fading into the void.

***

The space around Rena began to calm.
Looking up at the Eternal Mirror, she saw its cracks slowly healing.

“…The tremors… they’re fading.
It’s over.”

Countless ancient books fluttered through the air.
From their pages flowed radiant, magical energy that breathed life back into Emma’s great mirror.
Its surface grew brighter, its frame shimmering with golden light.

Each book turned its pages as if rediscovering its purpose,
sending glittering particles of wisdom toward the mirror, which absorbed them silently.

“…What happened to Dan…?
And Tom…”

The golden axe in Rena’s hands suddenly resonated with the Eternal Mirror.
A silhouette flickered on the surface.
Instinctively, she gripped the axe tighter, bracing herself.

── Hi, Lena. How’s it going? ──

A gentle voice whispered from behind her.
It passed through her like a breeze, carrying a familiar warmth with it.

“…Tom? Where are you!?”

She sensed someone nearby, yet no one appeared.
As she turned, a piece of paper floated down and landed softly at her feet.

── There’s a page in my memory… one I can’t erase.
I want you to be the one to close it. ──

“…Leaving me another note again?
Why won’t you just show yourself… Please, Tom…”

Her trembling voice echoed in the silence.
The mirror before her began to shimmer once more, showing a new scene.

It displayed a familiar location—a large pond in a quiet park.
Standing at its edge was a stylish, eccentric-looking woman.
She gazed at the water, lost in thought.

Then she turned to leave.
But something stopped her.

She froze, as if sensing something.
Rena watched closely, but the mirror didn’t reveal what the woman was looking at.

“…What is it…?
She seems… on edge. But why?”

A well-built man in a dark suit entered the scene.
He walked confidently toward the woman.

Suddenly, a chill ran down Rena’s spine.
Their voices echoed in her mind.

“Rena… I wanted to see you one more time.
Before that boy claimed you as his.”

“W-Who are you!?
What are you talking about!?”

A chill ran down Rena’s spine as her body went rigid with fear.

The mirror had shown her a future scene—a tense encounter between her adult self and Dan, reborn.

And it was one final stage, meant just for her.