Mel slowly sunk to her knees, overwhelmed by the shock of what had just happened. A part of her wanted to think that it had all been nothing but a dream, but the evidence surrounding her proved otherwise. Edward's body laid on the ground, badly wounded, but still alive and breathing. Ulf and June were crouched down on both sides of him, trying to help him as best they could. Ulf was technically an Alchemist in Training, so he happened to have a few healing remedies in his bag.

Mel saw him look over at her, the concern clear to see in his warm brown eyes. If the situation hadn't been so serious, she might have laughed. Leave it to Edward to be concerned about her when he himself was hurting. Most people considered selflessness to be a good trait, but in Mel's mind it meant that you were more at risk of being killed. That likely stemmed from Mel's upbringing on the streets of Harburg.

Her focus then shifted towards the broken pieces of glass that were scattered across the cavern floor. Gyendal had destroyed the orb of his own free will. She never thought she would see the day that Gyendal would give up on trying to steal the power of the orbs. Although she wasn't sure if he had entirely given up on his plot, but she didn't care about that at the moment.

Not only had he destroyed the orb, but he had also kissed her, basically claiming that he hadn't been pretending to like her. At least, that was what she thought he meant. It was kind of confusing to be honest. However, she believed that he meant it, even if he did have a strange way of proving it to her. He had kissed her, not while he was disguised as Spook, but in his true form. As unlikely as it was, all the signs pointed to the conclusion that he was attracted to her as well.

"I think we should get Edward to a Healer," Ulf stated. "He's pretty beaten up from the blast, and starting to cough up Blood."

Hearing that, Mel directed her attention back towards Edward. Much to her horror, she found that Ulf was right. He was hacking up blood rather violently. Gyendal hadn't killed him, but he had left his life dangling by a thread. "Go on without me," Mel insisted. "I'll catch up."

For a moment, it looked like they were going to protest, but they must have changed their minds, because they nodded their heads in understanding and went on their way, carrying Edward between the three of them. As soon as they were out of sight, and she could no longer hear the echo of their footstep, Mel slowly got to her feet.

She never wanted magic. At one point she had thought that it might have made her life easier, but that was when she was a child, trying to survive on her own. Now, after seeing how much damage could be caused by it, she wanted nothing more than to get rid of it. Sure, she might have been able to break through Gyendal's barrier, but she also nearly succeeded in burning Yvette.

"Gyendal's feelings for you must be stronger than I thought," Nox said, as she suddenly appeared before Mel. "I definitely didn't expect him to destroy the Orb for you. Such a shame."

"I suppose you wanted him to use it to take over the world," Mel concluded.

"It doesn't really matter to me," Nox said with a shrug. "Either way, the Darkthrop Prophecy will be fulfilled."

This confused Mel. "What are you talking about? The Orb of Death is destroyed. There's no way for the prophecy to be fulfilled now."

Nox laughed, a strangely familiar looking smug grin emerging across her face. "It is true that the Orb of Death would have helped you fulfill your destiny, but the prophecy doesn't depend entirely on it. There is still a way for it to be fulfilled, and no one can stop it."

Then, before Mel could say another word, Nox disappeared.

Mel clenched her fists. Would she ever be rid of the Darkthrop Curse? It seemed to follow her everywhere she went, hurting those she cared about. As her anger and frustration grew, she felt her newly discovered magic rise again, but this time, she willingly let it out, blasting one of the walls of the cavern with it.

In that moment, as she stood, staring at the deep dent she had just made in the stone wall, she made a decision. She would go far away, to a place where none of her friends would ever find her. The thought of never seeing Stella and Edward again pained her, but she knew that she had to. It was the only way to protect them from herself and all the danger that came with.

"I'm sorry, everyone," she whispered, and with that she went on her way.