The city lay buried in ice and snow, seemingly devoid of life. Time flowed slowly, stretching even the fall of a snowflake into an eternity.
Louis reached out to catch a snowflake and studied its distinct patterns. He knew this was not his first time here.
The difference was that this time, he could sense every corner of the city. Wherever the cold currents passed, everything fell under his control. Though he stood within it, he felt as if he were high above, silently observing this dead city.
Not a single light shone in the vast, dark metropolis. It was like an enormous beast sleeping beneath the night.
Looking down at the silent city beneath his feet, he felt no urge to do anything. His mind seemed empty, without the slightest ripple of emotion. The sensation was all too familiar.
It was like he had once been-a walking corpse without feelings, something that could not be called human.
Louis suddenly wondered what he looked like now, and a full-length mirror appeared before him out of thin air. The being reflected in it was astonishing. From his hair to his toes, even the clothes on his body, everything was made of blue-white crystal. The only exception was his eyes, which emitted a faint blue glow, like a possessing ghost.
In the room, a man sat cross-legged amid sharp ice crystals, like a cold corpse. After an unknown length of time, the crystals covering his face began to flake off. His eyes suddenly opened, and an eerie blue light flashed through his pupils before vanishing.
Crash-
As he moved, the fragile crystals surrounding him began to crumble and shatter, like an egg breaking open as a newly hatched life emerged.
But clearly, it had not truly succeeded.
Louis looked at his