Wailing sirens were mixed with the steady downpour of rain.

Boom...!

Lightning roared loudly, painting Jeliel’s pale cheeks a blue hue.

She stared into the void with hollow eyes, lost in thought.

That place, perhaps.

The seat where her father would have been.

The World Business Summit. A gathering where top politicians and businesspeople from various countries including the chairman of Starcloud met to discuss global economic development.

This meeting was attended by as many as 100 participants. It was considered a gathering of the world's elites. Among them, Jeliel’s father sat in the highest seat.

But now, he was gone.

All 99 participants testified with pale faces that Chairman Melian had vanished.

Without any warning, he had turned to dust right before their eyes.

Swoosh~!!

Boom!

The downpour was particularly intense.

The summit was held at the top of the Great Tower. It had its roof retracted as the discussions ended, leaving Jeliel exposed to the rain. She was the closest to the clouds.

Three days had passed since her father’s disappearance.

Many things had happened. Mages from major towers and candidates for the Great Tower had come from all over the world to help search.

Hundreds of police search units were deployed outside, and the Iron Magic Knights came to assist with security.

It was almost laughable that Class 7 mages had to set up barriers around the press line due to the overwhelming number of reporters.

Alchemists' celestial satellites floated below the clouds, scanning every direction, hoping to detect any sign of Melian’s life.

To find just one person, people from all over the world had gathered and poured all their efforts into the search.

This signified how important her father was, but it brought no comfort to Jeliel.

The scenery around her was soaked in rain. It was blurred like typography on wet paper. Nothing was clear to her.

In the end, no one had found even a trace of her father.

… Including herself.

'It's my fault.'

If there had been some other cause, another reason for her father's disappearance, she could have blamed something. But because this disaster was solely her fault, she couldn't blame anyone and was slowly eroding her own emotions.

'What have I done...?'

It was an evening of torrential rain.

She closed her eyes, opened them, and the sun was up. She blinked her bleary eyes, and it was evening again.

How many days had passed?

The dedicated medical staff of Starcloud came to check on her as she remained motionless in the same spot, but Jeliel didn’t even look at them.

“Foolish girl.” He came to see her about a week later, one afternoon.

The sun should have been high in the sky, but it was hidden by dark clouds, making the sky dim.

“You’ve really caused a disaster this time.”

A man known as one of the world’s top Class 9 mages and the pillar of the Western Desert…

The master of the Great Sanwol Tower, Haeseongwol, had come to see Jeliel.

…

Meeting his eyes with a blank stare, she mechanically nodded.

Haeseongwol was dissatisfied with her appearance. He strode over and slapped her hard on the cheek.

Smack!

Her cheek stung. It brought her back to her senses a little.

“Didn’t anyone warn you when you sought out the ancient Carmen Set?”

He had warned her. The greatest mage in the world standing right in front of her had personally warned her.

“Carmen Set will lead to your complete destruction.”

Haeseongwol, who had a close relationship with Melian, had always advised young Jeliel whenever he met her.

But she hadn’t listened.

Because she believed she was always right.

“So, look at the mess you’re in now.”

She didn’t answer.

No, she couldn’t answer. Even if she had ten mouths, she wouldn’t know what to say.

Slowly raising her head, Jeliel parted her rain-soaked pink lips to ask him.

“What... Should I do now...?”

Clicking his tongue, he looked up at the sky. Besides their business relationship, Melian had such a good personality that they often met as drinking buddies.

But he was gone now.

Haeseongwol had also done his utmost to find him but to no avail.

“What did you wish for from Carmen Set?”

“... I asked for immortality for my father.”

“Stupid, ignorant, and foolish. Your lack of knowledge brought harm to your father.”

He looked her straight in the eyes. The gaze of the great mage, which could kill a person with just his eyes, made her body stiff as a stone, but she didn’t avert her gaze.

“Your wish must have been granted.”

“... What?”

“What does life mean to you?”

It was an overly philosophical question. For Jeliel, who had lived mechanically, calculatively, and rationally, it was an incredibly difficult question.

“Everyone’s meaning of ‘life’ is different. For some, it may mean uncovering the truths of magic, and for others, it may mean fulfilling material desires.”

Haeseongwol spoke.

"However, you asked for eternal life without any conditions, rules, or restrictions. How can that be possible when every being in the world is born with a different meaning of life?"

At that moment, Jeliel understood the meaning of his words. Her eyes widened and she parted her lips.

"Impossible…!"

"Yes. Your father had his values aligned with the life of Carmen Set. For him, eternal life would probably mean wandering as a spirit after abandoning his physical body, just like he is now."

"Oh...!"

Thud.

Jeliel's body collapsed and she fell to her knees on the ground.

Complete annihilation of the physical body.

Wasn’t that no different from death?

"Even now, your father has lost a sense of self and is wandering somewhere in Aether as a spirit. Unfortunately, there is no technology to detect spirits, and even if we find his soul, it’s impossible to restore his annihilated body."

Turning his back, Haeseongwol made a cold judgment.

"... Give up on finding your father."

The Master of the Sanwol Tower disappeared into the mist, and Jeliel stared blankly at the spot where he had stood.

"Ha… Haha..."

Her chest felt so tight it seemed about to burst. Something seemed ready to pour down her throat, and her head was in excruciating pain as if it were breaking apart.

‘What’s this?’

‘It's a feeling I've never experienced before in my life.’

‘No, this isn't a feeling... It's an emotion.’

—————-

Although he told her to give up, Haeseongwol said to have mobilized all the manpower of the Sanwol Tower to develop new technology for searching spirits.

In addition, considering the possibility that Melian might survive in another form, he deployed elite magic search teams, but there were still no results.

About two weeks passed, and as both body and mind grew weary,

"Student. Let me read your fortune."

… A passing fortune-teller spoke to Jeliel.

She was in the middle of directing the search on site, so there was no time for trivialities, but the fortune-teller's timing was so perfect that Jeliel had no choice but to pause.

"What is it, ma'am? How did you get in here? Get out immediately!"

"Tsk. Tsk. Young people these days."

The search team tried to chase the fortune-teller out, but Jeliel raised her hand to stop them.

"Wait."

"Yes? Yes!"

"We will withdraw!"

This place was currently protected by a Class 7 police line barrier. This meant that ordinary people could never enter easily. It couldn’t be explained by merely saying that someone accidentally entered. Jeliel did not leave the security so lax.

"Haha. Shall I read your fortune?"

"....."

Moreover, this fortune-teller in front of her... Something felt off.

Despite facing a living being, it felt like looking up at a towering mountain. Even when facing Haeseongwol, she never felt like this. She suppressed the eerie feeling as much as she could and spoke.

"Yes. I want my fortune read."

"What kind of fortune do you want to know?"

Jeliel hesitated for a moment.

"....... Reunion fortune. Please read my reunion fortune."

"Haha. Longing is beautiful, but it’s also a painful emotion."

After saying that, the fortune-teller looked far into the distance. Somewhere so far away that it was impossible for Jeliel to perceive...

"There must be a place which holds countless memories with the one you miss."

".....!"

"Go to that place. If your reunion fortune is good, you may have a fortunate meeting. Haha."

After saying that, the fortune-teller turned her bent back and walked off somewhere. Jeliel mulled over her words in her mind for a long time.

'A place which holds memories...'

Jeliel and his father lived such busy lives that they did not possess many memories together. However, there was one place. A place where memories were surely made.

——-

At that time, it seemed Jeliel was holding her father's hand and boarding a train.

'Let's go to Happyland!'

The old sign creaked as the rain hit it. This place was the train station where the 'Happy Line,' which only operated as an amusement park, used to run. Now, with Happyland closed, no one came there.

Without any maintenance, green weeds grew all over the tracks, old posters were tattered and torn, and the cracked, shattered walls and the stopped escalators gave a somewhat melancholic feeling.

"......"

A place which held memories.

That day, Jeliel held her father's hand and went on her first-ever trip.

The train of the Happy Line, which had ceased operations, moved just for her, and the lights came alive in Happyland, which had been shut down. Again, just for her.

Splash!

Each time Jeliel took a step, water droplets splashed from the puddles on the ground. The simple black dress she wore was soaked through as she did not use an umbrella, but she did not mind at all.

With each step she took in the deserted train station, memories of the day she held her father's hand kept coming back to her.

It had already been nearly ten years, but her sharp mind had not allowed her to lose a second of those precious memories. She now walked this place alone, where she once walked with her father.

Shhhh!

As she walked up to the train station platform, rain poured through holes in the unmaintained ceiling. Avoiding the patches of rain that leaked in, Jeliel suddenly sensed a presence and looked up.

There stood a boy.

He had messy black hair, and he wore a Stella uniform. He was holding an umbrella and scratching his head as he looked at a poster. There was no doubt—it was Baek Yu-Seol.

'Why?'

Why on earth was that boy here? She couldn't understand it logically, but unconsciously, Jeliel began moving toward him.

Splash! Splash!

Her steps quickened. She had long since discarded the high-heeled shoes that hindered her walking. She moved faster and faster toward him.

No, that wasn't it.

She was moving dangerously faster toward him.

"... Huh?"

Baek Yu-Seol quickly hid the poster with an ugly face on it behind his back, but Jeliel hadn't even glanced at it in the first place.

"Huff. Huff..."

"Wh-what? What's going on suddenly?"

Baek Yu-Seol was bewildered, but after reaching him, Jeliel collapsed to the ground as her legs gave out.

Shhh!!

Of all places, it had to be where the rain was pouring down, yet she couldn't even stand up from there. Slowly, she reached out her hand. The place she managed to touch was... only the hem of Baek Yu-Seol’s pants.

She slowly lifted her head and made eye contact with the boy.

It wasn't an illusion.

What was pooled in Jeliel's eyes were definitely not raindrops, but unmistakable tears.

The tragedy was caused by her own mistake.

Even the great Class 9 Archmage had declared it a lost cause. Even the best search team, who could find a grain of salt on a sandy beach, had shaken their heads.

Everyone said there was no possibility.

She thought there was no hope.

However, why did hope pulse through her heart the moment she saw him?

"You. Could it be..."

Baek Yu-Seol had sensed something. However, before he could say anything, she finally burst into tears and spoke.

"... Help me."

She was someone who had tormented him, tried to harm him, and nearly ruined his life. Those words were something she should never utter.

Now that she had emotions, she knew how vile and wicked her actions were.

The awl of guilt kept piercing her heart, tormenting her.

Logically, Baek Yu-Seol wouldn't grant her request.

Even putting herself in his shoes, who would listen to the plea of someone like her—a piece of trash?

She realized she was alone and that she couldn't do anything by herself.

Yet still.

"Please. Please ... I can't do anything anymore..."

Jeliel bowed her head to him.

"... Hey."

When Baek Yu-Seol spoke, the rain suddenly stopped.

Shhhh!

Though the sound of rain still covered the world, strangely, no more rain fell on her head.

'Ah...'

When she looked up again and met his eyes, Baek Yu-Seol was holding an umbrella over her.

"You'll catch a cold."

As he said that and reached out his hand, Jeliel trembled and grabbed it with both of hers.

"Ah. A...."

Understanding the meaning behind his actions, countless emotions swirled in her heart.

On a day when the rain poured down in torrents.

Even though she was under an umbrella, especially hot raindrops rolled down Jeliel's cheeks.

It was a rain of emotions.