It was as if my mind exploded at that very moment. I suppose seeing my own creations come to life around me should've been something I'd be used to at that point, but I still couldn't help but feel amazed. After all, this was unlike anything I have ever seen before.

The city of Nordan was mostly medieval, so one couldn't really expect to see any bright lights in the streets. Those guys were happy if they had a lamp. And Sunwalley... well, that was a chapter of its own. A small town with barely two dozen buildings. It wasn't anything large.

Everstar, on the other hand, was enormous. Standing there, I could immediately feel blinded and paralyzed by all the overwhelming factors. It was even bigger than any city I had seen when I was still alive. There were skyscrapers everywhere. Looking up, I could see them quite literally tear through the clouds. Neon lights were decorating almost every building, except for the very tops. Futuristic vehicles, which looked like little dumplings, were hovering on the road, carrying their passengers from one place to another. And so many people. It reminded me of seeing movies set in big American cities, except that this place was even more crowded. And as I stood there, eyes lost in the sky, I didn't notice a man walking right towards me. The moment he entered my peripheral vision, it was too late.

"Does he not see me?!" I immediately thought. Moving out of the way in time was impossible at that point, so I just closed my eyes and prepared to bump into him. But nothing happened. The man simply casually walked right through me. Shivers ran across my body, but that was all. I panicked. "Am I dead?! Did I become a ghost? And why am I here?!" Desperate to get some answers, I tried stopping a few people and asking them if they can see or feel me. Nothing. It was as if I wasn't even there. Like a non-existing being.

After spending a few minutes trying to communicate with the locals and getting the same exact results, I decided that it was time for a different strategy. Reluctantly, but with a clear goal in my mind, I walked in front of a moving vehicle. If it would kill me... Well, I'm not sure what I'd do in such a scenario. I hoped that my new ghostly form will allow me to survive the impact. If there will even be any in the first place. I just had to try if I was indeed invincible. And just as I predicted, the front of the car passed right through me. For a brief second, I let out a relieved sigh, but it was far too early for that. As soon as I was inside the passenger's area, I started moving along with it, as if the vehicle suddenly decided to pick me up. At first, it shocked me. I was trying to put my hand on the door and get out, only to realize that the detector of the car probably didn't register someone like me. After about a minute of trying, I gave up.

*This is your punishment!

"For what?" I asked my own thoughts.

*Everything! You let them all down! You let them die! They believed in you! You deserve to wander this place endlessly. Nothing fits you more than living among them without being noticed!

"That's not true! It's not!"

*Really? Are you going to deny it? If you managed to defeat the Gunslinger faster, your friends could still be alive. Garry could still be alive. And none of this would happen if you didn't die in the first place.

"I... I had to..."

*No! Nobody has to die by their own hand. They CHOOSE to! And this is where it got you. You didn't seriously think someone like you deserves anything better, did you?

I stayed quiet. Every time these thoughts came, it was harder and harder to resist them.

*Were you hoping for heaven? To be with your loved ones? The ones you lost? Please. If they could see you now, they'd regret ever meeting you.

"Shut up..."

*Your parents would regret having a son like you!

"SHUT UP!!!"

If it wasn't for the sudden stop of the car, I'd probably go mad at that very moment. My corporeal body continued with the motion and flew right out of the front of the vehicle. The few flips I did in the air before landing made me dizzy. With troubles, I picked myself back up. This time, I could feel the solid ground beneath me. Why? So I could pass through people and objects, but not the planet itself? There was nothing I understood about my current situation. However, before I could start to form any theories about my new physical properties, I noticed that all the people around me were staring at the sky and the whole place was suddenly standing still. Some of the residents even dropped their bags with groceries and their mouths flew open. Curiosity commanded me to look up as well and see what is so fascinating there. After all, I was already dead. No matter what I'd find, it wouldn't hurt me.

As soon as I spotted it, my body reacted in the same way as everyone around me. My jaw hit the ground and my eyes wanted to jump out of their sockets. There was a fire in the sky. A massive one. A gigantic flaming ball. And it was growing. A few moments later, everyone started running around, seeking shelter. Everyone except for me. My legs refused to move. I was staring into that burning death as it approached us.

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Soon after, the fireball stopped moving. Its diameter still covered most of the sky, but it no longer seemed to be heading right toward us. People were slowly coming back into the streets, taking pictures of it, and calling their friends or families. And that's when it all went down. The ball released a big orange wave of heat. You could see it coming, but it was too fast for anyone to run away. I saw as it descended upon the city. The top floors of the skyscrapers got instantly burned. Glass windows shattered and fell to the ground like a scorching rain. When the flames finally hit the ground a few seconds later, all life around me ended in a single heartbeat. Nothing remained of them but charred corpses, falling to the ground with the most disgusting squelching. Everything flammable began exploding. It felt like I was in the middle of a war zone. When the apocalypse finally subsided, many minutes later, I was left alone. Cars were demolished, rubble from the buildings filled the street, and I was just wandering through a destroyed city. Nobody had to explain anything anymore. Now I knew. This was what happened. The event that started with my death. When I burned my creations, it was quite literal. This was the fate all these people met. And more would soon follow.

At that point, I looked like an actual ghost. My body was covered in blood after the battle in Sunwalley. Only my shirt was covering the ugly wound on my arm. Tears were flowing down my face as I realized that all these corpses are here because of me. For a good while, I wished I was one of them. Dead on the ground. But... in a sense, I already was. Just a spirit. The only positive was the lack of pain. Not the psychological, but the physical one. my wounds felt as if they weren't there. I walked over glass shards, hot metal, and sharp rocks, and felt nothing. No heat, no cold, no pain. Just the endless suffering at the hands of my own mind. Was this hell? If somebody told me yes, I would believe him without a single bit of doubt. As I walked the street for a while, my feelings got worse and worse. Back then, before all this happened, in my old life, I hoped that my death would be the solution. However, so far it seemed to be the exact opposite. All that negativity stayed with me and only grew stronger.

*Look at their bodies!

The voice in my head commanded.

"I don't want to."

*LOOK AT THEM! You are the reason they are dead. Watch what you've caused!

I looked around me. It was a terrible sight. You couldn't tell who was who. The burnt bodies looked all the same. Except for the small ones. Those were the ones whose fate I pitied the most. A few meters later, my legs refused to carry me anymore. I fell down on my knees. They say that no pain lasts forever, but how long will seeing the outcome of my actions cause me such suffering? Weeks? Months? Years? Eternity? Or would I perhaps go insane before that could happen? They say that a broken mind suffers less than the ill one. I really hoped that would be the truth.

Suddenly, a sound came from behind me. It was as if somebody fired off the largest air horn in history. Soon after that, another heatwave hit the city. The pressure caused buildings to collapse and fall to the ground. A cloud of ash and dust rose up from all the fallen rubble. I couldn't see anything. Out of desperation, I gathered enough strength to pick myself up from the ground and kept walking. All sight has abandoned me. I could barely see what was underneath my feet, let alone in front of me. Even despite that; however, I kept walking. To this day, I'm not sure why. I suppose that deep inside, I wished to pay for my sins by wandering across these scorched lands.

After many hours, a familiar sound reached my ears. I could hear human voices. They were muffled and distant, but there was no denying that there could be some survivors.

"Hello?! Where are you?!" I shouted into the thick fog. However, no matter my intentions, I was still just a ghost. Nobody could see me before this apocalypse, and since then, nothing changed.

"Ready?" I heard coming from the road ahead. That question was clearly meant for someone else. From that, I deduced that there must be at least two survivors. That's good. Even if they were the only ones who made it, at least there was still life.

"Spray!"

A massive wave of water tore through the clouds and flew right into my face. It didn't hit me and I couldn't even feel its presence, but I still got so startled by its sudden appearance my body instinctively leaned back and fell to the ground.

"Water?! They are fighting the flames? But that means..." A new hope flashed before my eyes. If the whole world was burning, nobody would be trying to extinguish the fire. This could mean only one thing - part of the city was still alive.

I got up again and rushed through the fog to see what was ahead of me. As soon as I made it through, my eyes nearly flew out of my skull. The fire quite literally stopped at a certain radius. There was a red glowing line indicating the reach of the flames. Everything beyond them seemed to still be intact and alive. At least mostly. However, underneath this new hope of mine, there was nothing but sorrow. I looked at the faces of the survivors and they were not smiling. Some of them cried, some screamed, and some just sat there, completely paralyzed and shut off from the rest of the world. Ambulances were taking care of those who got only partially burned. Everyone was moving around, carrying bodies, both alive and dead. It was like seeing what it's like inside a burning ant nest.

A big and luxurious black car drove right up to the barricade set up by the police. The door opened and out came a man I knew far too well. His face made me feel furious once again, but... what was he even doing here?

"Mr. Wilson, please, get out of here, this is no situation for a noble. We've got this under control," said one of the officers who approach the vehicle.

"Nonsense! I cannot just sit in my office after some absurd fireball in the sky destroyed half of the city! I bought a bunch of buses and other larger cars and paid the drivers to come here. They will arrive shortly and take the survivors to bunkers, malls, and other public shelters." It seemed that the man's words pleased all the people nearby.

"That is very appreciated, sir. With your help, we can get these folks out of here much faster. I suppose... other nobles won't be joining you, will they?" the policeman asked.

"No. They'd rather hide in their homes where it's safe."

"That's understandable. Still, we are very grateful for your help, Mr. Wilson."

"It is no problem. And please, officer, call me Jack."