"Call her in."
The moment the words left my mouth, the door creaked open again, and a figure stepped in.
My breath stopped.
Sylvie.
She looked… old.
Too old.
The woman who walked towards me bore little resemblance to the young, radiant girl I had once sworn to protect.
Her pink hair, once vibrant and full of life, now looked dull, strands of silver threading through it.
Wrinkles lined her face, with deep creases of exhaustion and suffering colouring her once flawless skin.
Her black eyes held no warmth—only the tired emptiness of a woman who had lived years beyond her time.
And it was my fault.
It was because I had sealed her mana core.
I had forced her to be a human, a weak, puny, human being—
A sharp pang of guilt twisted in my gut as I clenched my fists at my sides.
My fongers were so tight that I could actually feel my nails digging into my palm.
Sylvie's eyes flickered between me and Noah, her expression unreadable.
