Rudger reached out his hand toward Gabriel.

What he was trying to do now could be felt instinctively without being told.

That's why it had to be stopped.

The moment he extended his hand, Gabriel's figure had already disappeared.

A calm silence swept through the research lab.

A cold and alien sensation, like the cool dawn dew settling on his entire body.

It felt as though the single second that just passed was like decades.

Rudger slowly lowered his outstretched hand.

Then, with slow steps, he left the research lab.

-Thud. Thud.

The sound of his shoes hitting the wooden floor spread throughout the building like bell tolls in the pre-dawn hours.

-Creak.

Rudger slowly opened the door to the room right next door where Rene was sleeping.

Through the gradually opening door, he could see Rene peacefully lying on one of the beds.

Rudger fully opened the door he had half-opened.

On the long sofa opposite the wall where the bed was placed sat an elderly man with abundant white hair, holding a cane in one hand, sitting in a powerless posture.

-Thud. Thud.

Rudger approached the sofa and sat down in the empty space on the opposite end.

The old man and Rudger sat at each end of the sofa, quietly gazing at the bed where Rene lay.

"Just."

In the quiet silence, Rudger was the first to speak.

"How long has it been?"

"Well."

The weak voice of an old, cracked man.

The old man fiddled with his snow-white beard that grew below his chin.

"After passing 30 years, I got tired of counting."

Though he said it like that, Rudger could tell.

That old man, no, Gabriel Cosmo had nearly exhausted his remaining lifespan.

"Why?"

Rudger couldn't help but ask.

"Why did you go that far?"

Was that question unexpected?

Gabriel glanced at Rudger, then shifted his gaze back to the sleeping Rene.

There was unprecedented kindness in his eyes.

"What do you mean, reason?"

The chuckle that escaped Gabriel's lips carried multiple meanings.

The most significant of those was probably the incredulity of 'Are you in a position to ask such a question?'

"If you were in my position, you would have done the same."

"No. I couldn't have done it."

"......"

"Only you could have done it."

It was a first.

For that arrogant man, a man who seemed incapable of acknowledging others, to praise him to this extent.

Gabriel felt a tickle in his chest.

In the past, he had wanted recognition from someone but couldn't achieve it, yet now he receives acknowledgment just for doing what was natural.

The moment he realized that change and difference, he could only sigh at his foolish past self, wondering why he had behaved that way.

"I am a time magician. Time magicians are much freer in time than other people. But foolishly, it was I who was trapped in time more than anyone else."

Gabriel took something out from his pocket with his skinny, scarred hand.

It was a glass bottle containing a transparent liquid.

"Everyone moved forward, but I couldn't. I kept circling in place, trying not to leave. My time stopped when she died that day."

Gabriel looked at the vial with trembling eyes.

It was Rene's medicine that he finally succeeded in creating by combining the ingredients himself.

Looking at it, Rudger instinctively felt.

He hadn't been told the stabilizer ratio yet, and research hadn't been done.

Yet the fact that he had completed it meant that Gabriel must have spent years researching the stabilizer alone after finding the ingredients.

While discarding his own time.

While consuming his own lifespan.

"So, I'm letting it flow again."

As much as he had been bound to the past.

As much as he had postponed and stood still.

Now he wants to shake it off and move forward.

"This is what I got back for stopping time all this while."

Gabriel slowly rose from the sofa.

Despite his legs trembling with age, he didn't give up on standing.

Holding a cane in one hand, using it as a lever to stand up, Gabriel slowly approached Rene.

"So this is my last act."

Gabriel opened the cap of the vial and carefully poured it into Rene's mouth.

Slowly, drop by drop, so that the sleeping woman wouldn't wake up.

It was a simple action, but for the aged Gabriel, even that considerably consumed his physical and mental strength.

But Rudger didn't help Gabriel.

He couldn't from the beginning.

This was something Gabriel had chosen to do.

All he could do was watch, taking in every moment of that scene.

It was just then, as Gabriel, having emptied the vial, gave a contented smile.

"Uh, uhng."

With a murmuring sound, the sleeping Rene faintly opened her eyes.

"...Master?"

Having lost consciousness for so long, Rene still seemed dazed.

Despite her state, she immediately recognized the old man looking down at her.

"Finally awake? Such a sleepyhead."

Gabriel chuckled at Rene, naturally as if he were teaching her again.

"Master, you've aged a lot."

"My goodness, you brat. So much time has passed, of course I've aged. I guess I've lived long enough to age."

"It feels like I had a long dream."

"What kind of dream did you have?"

"I can't quite remember."

"Oh dear. That won't do. If you fall asleep again, you might continue the dream."

Gabriel smiled warmly and Rene found it somewhat unexpected.

She always remembered her master as a stubborn and self-willed old man.

But at the same time, she knew he was someone who cared for her more than anyone, despite being unable to be honest.

Master must have become much gentler with age.

Rene couldn't help but think that.

"Ah, I just remembered the content of my dream. It was about living with my mother."

"...I see."

"And."

Rene's faintly open eyes slowly closed.

"I remember playing happily with my uncle. Uncle Gabriel, who was really good to me."

"......"

Gabriel opened his trembling lips to say something, but no voice came out.

Unconsciously, he covered his mouth with his hand.

If he didn't, he felt like he would burst into tears right there.

Had tears still remained even though he thought he had shed enough in the time that had stopped?

"I remember the scenery of that day. Playing happily with my brother, catching fish together with uncle, and making new friends."

Gabriel swallowed his sorrow and calmly asked.

"Was it enjoyable?"

"Yes."

Rene answered with her eyes closed.

"The end of the dream was terrible, but for sure, that moment was happy."

"Then I'm glad."

"Master. I really tried hard at Theon. I met good people, made friends, and experienced many amazing things. There were difficult times too. There were many assignments and lots to study."

But still.

All of that process.

Was truly enjoyable.

Rene said with conviction.

"But I'm anxious. I feel like I can never be happy again from now on."

Gabriel knew why Rene was saying such things.

That's why he didn't ask the reason.

If Rene, who didn't want to worry others, would speak to this extent, she must be in a troubled state.

"Rene. This master of yours hasn't lived a fulfilling life enough to advise others about life, but I can tell you this one thing."

"What is it?"

"My life has always been a succession of regrets and avoidance. If there seemed to be a difficult situation, I would pretend not to know or run away. Because difficult things are scary, because comfort is better."

"No. Master is..."

"Even someone like me couldn't run away forever. The world cruelly cornered me and forced me to make choices. In fact, I could have run away then too. As always, I could have turned my back and looked away."

Gabriel spoke in a calm tone.

"But this time, I just couldn't."

"......"

"So this time, I didn't run away. I faced it squarely without looking away and fought with my fists raised. And do you know what happened? The very thing I thought was so frightening ran away with its tail between its legs."

Recalling that time still brought joy, as Gabriel chuckled.

"That's how it is. Even if an opponent looks very frightening on the outside, you don't know anything until you face it directly."

"Why are you telling me this...?"

"Rene. I hope you don't run away. Despite it being hard right now, I hope you fight and overcome it."

I know that just encouraging with words like this doesn't provide any courage at all.

Wasn't I the same?

Despite such advice from others, I couldn't deeply accept it until experiencing it firsthand.

Still, he had to say these words because this was all he could do for Rene right now.

"You can dismiss it as the ramblings of your aged and senile master. I won't force you to follow this. Just remember this one thing. Someday when you face difficult times, recall what I said today."

"Yes."

Rene couldn't understand why, but she could feel the desperation in Gabriel's voice.

"I will."

"Good. Then that's fortunate. Surely you have many days ahead to live. Someday, difficult times will come. Perhaps it might be right now."

Gabriel slowly rose from his chair.

"But if you endure and live on, things get better."

"Master."

"Now go back to sleep."

Rene couldn't ask her master where he was going.

An irresistible drowsiness swept over her, pulling her consciousness back down to the depths of unconsciousness.

After confirming that Rene was sound asleep, Gabriel slowly moved his steps, attempting to leave the room.

"Are you leaving?"

Rudger had been waiting outside for their private conversation.

Leaning against the wall and waiting quietly, Rudger asked Gabriel, who had opened the door and come out.

"Where are you going?"

"As you can see."

Gabriel showed his hand.

His emaciated, scarred hand trembled like an aspen leaf in the wind.

"I don't have much time left."

"You're just going to disappear alone to a place where no one will remember you?"

"You remember me."

Gabriel chuckled.

"Why are you acting so unlike yourself? We weren't the type to worry about each other."

"......"

Despite the playful words, Rudger made no particular retort.

Rather, seeing Rudger's eyes looking at him, Gabriel realized what emotion he held and let out a hollow laugh.

"Only now that I've aged do my eyes finally open to see. Yes, that's right. You've always been that kind of man."

"If you receive treatment now and manage your condition, you might live a few more years at least."

"But during that time, I'd have to live lying in a hospital bed. I don't want to live like that."

"So you're going to die?"

At Rudger's slightly heated question, Gabriel thought about what to answer before opening his mouth.

"The history of time magic is deeper than you might think. From my master, to the master's master, if you trace back continuously, you'll find that the lineage has been unexpectedly long. But most of the time magicians don't live out their full lives. You know the reason why, right?"

It was because they consumed their own life, their time, for the magic itself.

Because of that, Gabriel's master developed dementia at a young age and met a terrible end.

"As magicians who handle time, conversely, we can't properly handle our own time. That's why even our end often goes in undesired directions."

Maybe that's why death itself wasn't very frightening.

He had kept in mind that someday his time would come to an end but what was truly frightening was that his end might be like the previous generations of time magicians.

"I want to at least choose my own end."

That's why he used all his remaining time to save Rene.

He had no regrets about that.

There couldn't be any.

"This handful of time given to me... I'll use it only for myself."

It should be enough time to walk to his final resting place.

"I..."

Rudger moved his lips to say something to Gabriel, but then released the strength from his clenched fist.

There was only one thing Rudger could say now.

"I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you this."

"What's this? You've been keeping that in your heart? I'm the one who should be sorry. Her death wasn't your fault, yet I stupidly kept blaming you."

"Now, you're leaving?"

"Yes. I'm dying in exchange for saving the girl."

"The old man dies, the girl lives. Quite a fair trade."

"That's precisely what 'time' is."

Gabriel waved his hand at Rudger.

"I'll be going now."

"...Alright. Farewell."

After saying goodbye, Gabriel left the house.

He could see the devastated cityscape, but paid no attention to it.

The place Gabriel arrived at, walking with his cane, was the outermost part of the 3rd floor of Isla Machina.

It was a small cemetery park artificially created on an island full of machines.

Beyond the park's railing, the view of the sea filled with sea fog could be seen, and the morning sun was rising across the sea level.

Gabriel looked at the morning sun and slumped down in front of a grave.

"You know. I kept my promise. Rene will surely live well from now on."

Gabriel spoke to the tombstone while catching his breath.

"Really, it was tough. You should have seen it. I wondered if I had ever put in such effort in my life."

Gabriel's head, holding the cane with both hands, slowly lowered.

"So, now I'm going to rest."

Is that okay?

His eyes gradually closed.

In the slowly darkening world, Gabriel heard a woman's voice.

-Yes. You did well.

Was it an illusion? Or a memory of the past seen as a life flashing before his eyes?

It didn't matter what it was.

Because he got to hear her voice, which he thought he would never hear again.

And so, in one corner of a small cemetery park created for one individual, an unidentified old man breathed his last.

Someone who first discovered the body later said that a happy smile was on the old man's face.