The aftermath of the battle still clung to the world like a wound that refused to close.
The ground was shattered into fractured lines, as if reality itself had been split open.
Dust floated endlessly in the air, carried by a weak, trembling wind that couldn't decide whether to calm the scene or mourn it.
I stood alone in the middle of it all.
My breathing was unstable.
Slow… then sharp… then broken again.
My heart still hadn't returned to normal.
And my eyes…
They still carried that faint blue glow.
A remnant of something I couldn't fully control.
"I… need to calm down…" I whispered to myself.
But my voice didn't feel like mine.
It felt distant… like it belonged to someone else.
The silence around me was heavy.
Too heavy.
Even the wind felt like it was watching me.
Then… I felt it.
A presence.
Not loud.
Not aggressive.
But sharp.
Like something standing just beyond my perception.
My body reacted before my mind did.
I slowly turned my head.
Nothing.
Only ruins… dust… broken earth.
But the feeling didn't disappear.
It grew stronger.
My eyes narrowed.
"…Someone is here."
A pause.
My breath slowed.
Then I saw it.
Far away.
On a structure that barely survived the destruction…
A figure stood.
Still. Silent. Observing.
The wind moved around him strangely… as if avoiding touching him directly.
His coat barely moved, despite the chaos around.
His presence felt disconnected from everything else.
Like he didn't belong to this scene.
Or this world.
I squinted.
My heart tightened slightly.
"Who are you…?" I whispered.
The figure didn't respond.
But I saw it clearly now.
His head tilted slightly.
As if studying me.
Analyzing me.
Like I was not a person…
but a phenomenon.
A subject.
A result.
My fingers tightened unconsciously.
"…How long have you been watching?"
Still no answer.
But the silence itself felt like a response.
He knew everything I was saying.
Everything I was thinking.
That realization made my chest tighten.
A cold sensation crawled up my spine.
I tried to step forward…
But stopped.
Something about him felt dangerous.
Not like the opponent I just fought.
Different.
Deeper.
Controlled.
Like a calm that could erase existence itself without effort.
My eyes briefly flickered with blue light again.
I didn't even notice.
But he did.
I saw it.
His eyes sharpened slightly.
A faint smile formed on his face.
"…Interesting."
That one word echoed in my mind more than anything else.
"Interesting?" I repeated silently.
What does that even mean?
My breath became uneven again.
Then suddenly—
A vibration in the air.
Not an attack.
Not movement.
Something else.
Like pressure shifting reality.
The figure slowly raised his hand.
And in that moment…
Everything around me felt heavier.
The dust stopped floating.
The wind froze mid-motion.
Even my heartbeat felt delayed.
My eyes widened slightly.
"…What is this…?"
The figure finally spoke.
Not loudly.
Not emotionally.
Just calmly.
"Your power… is unstable."
My body froze.
Those words hit deeper than any attack.
Unstable.
I clenched my jaw.
"I don't need your judgment…" I said quietly.
But even I didn't sound confident.
He tilted his head slightly again.
Like he was amused.
"Of course you don't."
A pause.
"But you will need control… soon."
My eyes narrowed.
"Who are you?"
Silence again.
Then…
The air shifted.
His presence began to fade.
Slowly. Calmly.
Like he was never fully there to begin with.
My heart jumped.
"Wait—!"
But he was already disappearing.
And before he vanished completely…
He looked at me one last time.
And said:
"I've been watching you for a long time."
Then he was gone.
No sound.
No trace.
Only silence remained.
I stood still.
My hand trembled slightly.
"…Since when…?"
The question stayed unanswered.
But one thing became clear.
I was never alone.
Not even for a second.
And this was only the beginning.