Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 295: Epiphany

Chapter 295: Epiphany

It was an unexpected turn of events, or perhaps it was not that Douglas found himself standing in front of the technical college Emily attended.

He could give lame excuses to explain why he was there but none would suffice as a good reason so he accepted the fact that he’d come because he missed her.

Recalling those times when he’d been clumsy and Emily had berated him to be more careful brought a smile to Douglas’s lips.

Finding a free spot, Douglas sat comfortably, his gaze trained on the buildings within the college grounds.

Closing his eyes, he sought to listen, clearing out all other noises about him as he reached for Emily.

Unfortunately, his attempt was quite flawed as the distance was too great, and even then, he had no idea which building she was in.

Contemplating whether to wait for her, Douglas soon decided against it.

What was the need to do all this after he’d been the one to push her away?

There was no way he could forget the expression she had that day, the tears that streamed down her cheeks, or the pleas she made to stop him from acting.

But he didn’t listen.

Naturally, he felt he was doing the right thing, cutting off all connections with Emily to protect her from those wishing to harm him but he couldn’t help but feel the pangs of regret.

What if he hadn’t done that?... Would she have been happy staying with him?

No, there was no need to think about what should have been.

He had made the choice and now he had to live with it.

Biting down on his lower lip, albeit unwilling, Douglas turned and made his way into an alleyway close by.

However, hardly had he taken a few steps into the alley when a thunderous explosion erupted from behind leaving him shocked.

He glanced back and his shock quickly shifted to abject terror as he realized that the explosion occurred in the technical college.

"Emily!" Douglas exclaimed before rushing forward without thinking, his figure quickly blurring as he charged into the college grounds.

Ignoring the flurry of activity about him, Douglas ran without pause, his gaze moving rapidly as he searched for her.

But she wasn’t there.

Amongst the fleeing students or terrified teachers, she wasn’t there.

"No... no." He muttered as he imagined the worst possible scenario...that she was in the building that exploded.

Douglas grabbed his head as tears welled up in his eyes, a terrible headache descending as he dropped to his knees. "Ah!"

He screamed at the top of his lungs as he blamed himself for everything.

If only he’d stayed with her, if only, if only.... Ah!!!!

As he wallowed in self-pity and the anguish that assaulted his senses, Douglas could barely register anything that was happening around him... at least until someone grabbed his shoulder, snapping him out of it.

He looked up to find a middle-aged man who by all indications seemed like a teacher in the college.

"Young man, come with me, the fire is spreading. We need hands to carry buckets of water to quench it. There are survivors in the building."

Douglas froze as he heard the man’s words, his eyes flickering with uncertainty as he slowly opened his lips. "Survivors... there are survivors in the building?"

"Yes!... Now come along." The man said with a sense of urgency.

He only intended to get more helpers but he didn’t realize that his words were all Douglas needed to act.

"... Thank you," Douglas muttered as he slowly rose to his feet and without hesitation, dashed toward the burning building.

Even as the yellow flames burnt his flesh and the searing heat stung his eyes, Douglas did not waver, pushing through the rubble as he sought her out.

Emily wasn’t dead... no, he could feel her. She was just ahead!

It was a building with three floors so Douglas charged up the stairs, hopeful that he would find her and...

"Somebody help us!"

... Then he heard it.

A feminine voice he could never forget even in death.

He immediately shifted directions and ran toward the origin of the voice, quickly picking up on some people still alive.

Arriving before a collapsed door, Douglas charged through it, ignoring the burn marks he sustained to find himself in a burning classroom... and there she was.

"Somebody, help!" Emily cried out as she was hurdled at a corner with a few of her classmates, some of whom had already passed out from the smoke with the others trying their best to ensure no one was touched by the flames.

"Emily!" Douglas called out in apprehension as he rushed toward her.

"You..." Emily wasn’t even given a chance to complete her statement as the floorboards she was on gave in and she fell through, along with all those with her.

Douglas fell through as well and just as the flames claimed Emily, everything seemed to slow down.

The flames, the students... even those outside seemed to slow down.

Douglas stared at Emily as several thoughts crossed his mind in that fleeting moment.

As the flames slowly danced in a certain rhythm, their tips already caressing Emily’s soft skin, causing her expression to contort in pain, Douglas wished to reach out to save her.

He wished to prevent her from suffering pain of any sort.

No, he had failed his parents, he had failed Alex... he had even failed himself.

So no, even if it meant doing away with everything he knew and had learned up until this moment in a bid to reach out to something more... something that could save her at this moment.

And so, in that slowly moving space where not even atoms were freed from the constraints, Douglas had an epiphany.

To freeze was to prevent motion and with the use of Psionics, one could enact motion of an object.

So, he needed not to freeze or to move an object but to determine the fundamentals of motion itself to reverse what had already begun moving.

And so he did.

The flames began to burn inward, destroying itself while Emily and her friends returned to the spot they’d fallen through with the floorboards repairing as quickly as they’d broken off.

By the time Douglas was done, the flames had died down and Emily as well as her friends were looking at him with shocked expressions.

As seconds passed by, Emily finally broke the silence with a simple question. "Who are you?"

Follow current novels on freewe(b)novel.c(o)m

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.