The sky over Elegia was gray.
The clouds hung low over the ground, almost touching the spires of the fallen clock towers.
A faint burnt smell filled the air.
Boer's figure appeared at the edge of the ruins.
His foot landed on the rubble with a crisp crack, and he raised his head to look at the scene before him.
Ruins.
Nothing but ruins.
The former kingdom of music was now nothing but crumbling walls.
A clock tower's spire lay on the ground, its clock face shattered, its hands stopped at a moment that would never be remembered again.
Flames had licked the musical notes carved into the walls, leaving their edges charred and their lines blurred, like a score soaked in tears.
Broken glass, shattered rubble, and splintered bones covered the ground.
Boer's gaze swept over the ruins.
His Extrasensory Vision spread silently, covering the entire island. Within a seven-kilometer radius, there were only two life signals-at the other end of the island, near the bay, a young life-form with unusual energy fluctuations.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
"Found you."
He did not teleport. Instead, he started walking slowly in that direction.
He passed the fallen clock towers. He passed the burned-out concert halls.
He passed houses that had once spilled music from their windows, now reduced to empty window frames.
The sea breeze blew in from the bay, passing through gaps in the ruins with a low, mournful sound like weeping.
Boer paused.
He turned his head and looked at the remains of a mural on a broken wall. Fire had blackened it, but he could still faintly make out the image-a man in robes holding a harp, surrounded by a circle of dancing children. Their mouths were open, as though they were singing.
Then he