And in the black-and-white world.
Everything was silent. After Raven left, Death was sealed away, and the Dementors slowly retreated. The entire crater seemed to contain only Ian and the sealed Death.
"Gurgle~ Gurgle~ Gurgle~"
The volcano's lava bubbled.
At first, the bubbles slowly expanded, their surfaces gleaming with an eerie orange-red sheen. As the pressure inside intensified, they began to tremble violently, their edges twisting and stretching like molten glass. Then, with a sudden pop, the tops of the bubbles burst open, spewing scorching gas mixed with tiny shards of volcanic glass.
The remaining magma rapidly filled the gaps like melted syrup, only to be pushed up again by fresh bubbles moments later—clearly because Raven had poured in too much "fuel" while forging that baby.
Even though Raven had already left with his creation, the raging volcano had yet to calm down. Ian had originally wanted to check whether anything remained inside, and whether he could push the crystal sealing Death into the volcano as well—he had already proven that he seemed able to interfere with history.
That was why—
Ian moved closer.
Who would have thought—
Perhaps Death had seen through his thoughts, or perhaps for some other reason, but Death's immobilized body was still able to turn his scarlet eyes beneath that black hood.
At that moment—
Standing at the edge of the crater, Ian felt an unprecedented pressure.
Death's gaze pierced through the crystal sealing him.
Those scarlet pupils suddenly locked onto Ian.
In that instant, a chill like a blade stabbed into his bones—He had seen him.
It was no ordinary stare, but a gaze that pierced the soul. It was as though it wanted to pull his existence out of the river of time, examine him anew, define him, and file him away.
"Damn,