Chapter 3

The statue glowed with a burst of white light, and I could almost hear a soft sigh.

The light shot into my heart.

All at once, I felt hollow inside.

Looking back, all those memories felt meaningless.

Or maybe, to everyone else, everything I'd done must have seemed like a joke.

The warmth in my eyes faded, replaced by a cold indifference.

And the crack at the corner of my eye vanished, as if it had never been there.

I stood up, gave a respectful bow to the statue, and returned to my room.

Early the next morning, I was…