How much the world could change in such a short time was fascinating, yet also quite frightening. Although it has changed for the better now, who knows what path it will take next? When one person could turn it on its head, who could even know what would happen next?

The Second Ring was divided into two groups: those who were still blinded by the Abyss, who wished his death, and still believed that The Queen was going to come and kill him. They thought that if they stayed true to the end, they would be rewarded by her for being loyal when everything was over.

The second group was the Promise; it was the people who had woken up, who had opened their eyes, and finally saw after being blind for so much time. He had promised all his followers that he was going to kill the Queen, and hence the name of their group. If he failed, then Promise would also fall, meaning he had also failed to keep his word.

The Groups have been in an endless war, fighting over which side was better.

What world was going to prevail in the end?

No one was sure that they were on the right path; there wasn't evidence of which world they were going to live in, but they hoped desperately that it was the one they chose.

It was nothing but a game of hope.

"Hope is a powerful weapon... isn't it?"

He laughed, looking over the Ring from above, lying on top of a roof, the only point that was still lit up by the sun.

He had killed both The Nine and The Ten, both had been awful fights where he had needed to get information, and then train in his opponents' weakness, and their method of winning. It was exhausting... but he didn't want it to end.

He had never imagined he was ever going to find himself in such a situation. Before Frozen Crown, he needed his master to help him with the easiest stories of all. Not being able to handle something like a Reader Fragment, and here he was, killing a Harbinger Devil.

When he had arrived at the fisherman's home, he first met Avrie; he never would have guessed what he had to do to get to this point.

When he was going around with Elpis and Avrie, trying to find a way to build the sun, and then when they finally achieved it, and needed to feed it. He never thought that he was even going to go inside the Second Ring, even more conquer ten of its zones.

When he saw that his affinity was restricted, and that his path had changed to something he didn't understand in the slightest. He didn't even think he would survive a day, and yet here he was.

It just showed how unpredictable the future was, that you never know what you would have to be doing in the future.

He wondered, if he was someday going to remember this moment, what would he say?

How was the world going to look in a few years from now? Would he even going to be alive to see that day? And if so, what part would he hold in that future?

...

When he had first entered Frozen Crown, he had only done it so he could get stronger, and he had. Yet he felt like he had gained a lot more than just strength.

He wondered what he would have done differently if he had his the memories of his journey in Frozen Crown when he entered.

Would he have still met up with Avire? Would he have saved Elpis?

Time was such a strange concept to him; he couldn't understand it. You know everything from the past, yet you can't change anything about it. But at the same time, you can do what you want in the future, and yet you don't know anything about what will happen.

But that was why something existed between past and future.

The present, where you can do whatever you want and know what will happen.

...

....

He had already chosen what he was going to do with her present. Something that he said he was going to do for a while now. Yet, before it was just a dream, he wasn't sure that he would ever get the chance to do it.

"The time has come... man, this is weird."

After so much torment and agony, just to finish a promise. To grant a wish to someone who has guided him from the very start.

"I wanted to ask, do you even think I can do this?"

He smiled, looking at The Jack. Gripping the hilt of his blade, trying not to show how much his hands were shaking.

It felt bittersweet, knowing that he was going to finish his promise, but at the same time, kill the person who had helped him through his journey, who had helped him become who he was today.

When he didn't know what to do, he gave him a task, something to strive for. When he was lost and needed direction, he was there for him.

When he lost everything, he was still there.

And when he started to become too confident, he was there to show him the reality of the world he was chasing after. He told him what he needed to win, but at the same time, didn't tell him directly.

He was the person who helped him grow and gave him a purpose to chase after.

...

"I don't, but I have hope that I'm wrong."

...

"Weren't you the one who told me how dangerous hope is?"

"No one is invincible to hope, Aether, it's a poison."

"It is, isn't it?"

...

"But.. isn't it also what has helped me get this far?"

...

Aether stepped forward with one of his feet, curling his blade back, as he took his stance. Waiting for The Jack to do the same. And he didn't, he just waited for him to attack. To catch his blade with his bare hand. Even putting his finger over the tip.

To show that the poison had no effect on him.

"It may have been, but that's why it's dangerous. It's a trap that leads only to ruin."

Aether raised his head to look at J., smiling under his teeth.

"Does it? Or is ruin caused by losing hope?"

The Jack's eyes widen slightly, processing Aether words, before shaking them off.

"It does, look at me. I had hoped that we would find a way to turn back time, only to find out the truth. But I didn't lose hope, thinking that I could save everything by destroying the Sun, but it didn't change anything."

The Jack tried to throw Aether by using his blade, but he had already retracted it back into his mark. Bringing up his fists, which surprised him, since his blade was his only way of winning.

Aether dashed forward, coming with his fist from the right, trying to hit Jack in the fist, but before he could, J. already caught it. But it was part of his plan. As he curled his knee up, he hit him in the chest.

But it had done nothing. And how could it? A reader shouldn't be able to touch the body of a Harbinger, not even with a blade. But with his body.

But he still smiled, continuing to swing his body around.

"You say that hope has only caused you chaos. But now that you've lost it, how is it better? I think you're in a bigger hell than ever."

The Jack frowned, catching Aether by his throat and tightening his grip slowly.

Aether tried to get his hands off his throat, but to no avail. He couldn't even get a finger under his arm. But he still smiled.

"Back when you were writing the notes, you seemed to still hope for salvation. You hoped that I was still alive and that I would find the notes. And here I am! Didn't your hope get answered? Here I am, I have come to kill you just like you hoped for.

...

"And yet it has been for nothing. You can't even land a hit on me, but kill me. Hope has only brought me more despair yet again."

...

"Here you are, losing hope again..."

Aether stopped trying to stop him from strangling him and instead moved his blade under his jaw, using his rage to summon it and pierce his jaw.

Caught off guard, The Jack let go of him, bewildered by what had happened.

Being able to breathe yet again, Aether didn't let him get the chance to recover. Retracting his blade into his chains, and summoning it again to pierce his chest just as his feet landed on the ground. The tip digging deep, in hope that the poison would work if it was closer to the core.

...

...

"When will you understand that it's useless?"

Aether looked up to see that The Jack's injury had already healed.

...

"I'm done playing around."