Everything was frozen.
From the burly man to the fire that crackled behind.
All... besides the dark mist before me. The dark mist that took the outline of a human, and had no face.
It was faceless.
This was a sight I had seen in the past, and, recalling the memories of back then, I realized that I had come a long way since then. I was so much stronger and was no longer as clueless about the truth of the world. And yet, the primal sense of fear that I felt back then from the faceless figure and the one before me remained the same.
Just how big was the gap between us?
'Hm?'
I felt something change within me.
The cage that had trapped me started to shatter, and I could feel myself moving again.
Suddenly, I was no longer confined within the ring. The world around me sharpened into focus, and so did the man standing before me; from the faint wrinkles etched across his face to the deep red that colored his thick hair.
Everything was much clearer to me.
