The Hammer of Dawn was Alexander's most powerful attack, who was considered the strongest hero in history.
That attack concentrated the light and power of all the stars in the cosmos, which meant he was employing the power of all existing gods.
Therefore, it was no mistake to affirm that the light of the Hammer of Dawn had an infinite temperature.
An energy so high that no object could resist it. In fact, when something touched that light it simply ceased to exist.
The Hammer of Dawn completely purged it, banished it from reality itself.
So why didn't the entire planet disappear?
Such an attack had enough potential to destroy the entire cosmos, however, this didn't happen for a simple reason: Alexander was a hero.
Heroes have the ability to manifest their will in the world, so that any attack they perform will ignore everything they don't wish to harm.
Alexander could summon [Cruel Sun] in a school and wouldn't burn a single fly.
It was selective damage, or rather controlled interaction.
When the ray of light fell, it didn't ignore the castle's ceiling, because Alexander didn't want to leave a trace of the demon king.
However, when the ray of light made contact with the veil of chaos, it didn't interact with it. It ignored it.
With no interaction with the veil, the latter couldn't "interrupt" its sequence of cause and effect, and therefore couldn't block it.
That devastating ray simply continued on its way and advanced toward the demon king.
He had been overconfident.
He knew it. He knew he should have been more cautious, that he should have prepared an extra countermeasure against that attack.
It was the final attack of the strongest hero after all.
However, it was too late to regret it now.
Deep down, he always knew. It was his destiny to be killed by the hero. It was his destiny to perish so the world would be saved.
All his life was gray. He couldn't leave the castle. He could only study, acquire knowledge, all while awaiting his death.
His life was full of places he couldn't visit, things he couldn't do, limits he couldn't cross.
He always studied unconsciously, without valuing the beauty of the knowledge he acquired, all because one day it would all end.
But that day he had discovered it, the beauty that knowledge can create.
It was ironic, almost cruel, but the only truth was that...
"The only day I dared to live was the day my life was destined to end," he said as he watched the column of light inches away from him.
It was sad, but he had just discovered a wonderful world only to lose it in that instant.
Wouldn't it have been better not to discover what he was losing in the first place?
No.
Even if they were few, he would never renounce those moments of lucidity he had lived.
What's more, if he could go back, he would undoubtedly have enjoyed every second.
"You still have time."
Something said within him.
He didn't have to give up on living. He still had time to survive.
He had to escape.
He had to dodge the ray.
With all the effort he could muster, the boy managed to stretch out his arm.
But it wasn't enough.
How could he believe he would be fast enough?
The ray simply fell on him, purging every trace of his being.
An immense silver radiance bathed the entire place.
The light erased much of the castle, though a chunk remained standing to prevent Alexander from falling into the void.
Night had already fallen, and the night sky was full of stars.
He had done it.
However, a while of silence had to pass before Sylvie dared to celebrate.
"We did it, right? We finished off that bastard," the fairy said. It was a bittersweet feeling.
They had saved the world, but at what cost?
"I suppose we did," the hero responded with an exhausted voice.
It was like suddenly waking from a dream. It still didn't feel real.
Though part of him wished all of that were a dream.
"Yeah... haha, who would've thought, huh? In the end goldilocks and the fly saved the world," she continued, trying to lighten the mood. "Do you still remember when they called us that? Nobody took us seriously, but look at us now..."
Though her voice didn't sound proud, rather nostalgic, as if she missed those times.
"Yeah, I still..."
Alexander's expression froze.
Something was wrong.
Something was very wrong.
Why couldn't he remember it? Why couldn't he remember what Sylvie was talking about?
"Yeah, though Martha did believe in us. She's still waiting for our return... I'm sure she's preparing us a whole feast," Sylvie continued, trying to hold back tears.
However, Alexander's sadness had disappeared, replaced by an exorbitant unease.
He couldn't remember Martha. In fact, he could feel how he was starting to forget everything.
Was this how it worked? Would his memories of this world be erased and would he be returned to his world?
Alexander didn't want to believe it.
No.
The truth was far more terrifying.
Alexander was forgetting even the memories of his world.
But he realized it too late.
"Alexander, are you okay?" the fairy said as she looked at the hero, the one with whom she had lived thousands of adventures.
Seeing him, she felt a chill. Something was wrong.
His expression wasn't normal.
It had become inexpressive, too inexpressive.
"Me?" the boy asked with a voice so cold it didn't seem like his. "I'm better than ever."
The boy turned to look at her. Seeing him, Sylvie went pale.
His eyes had turned black, like two abysses of uncountable depth.
His hair, once golden, began to turn ashen, gray, until it completely lost color.
But above all, it was his presence. It was no longer the warm presence that made her feel safe, but an uncomfortable and chilling presence, as if something terrifying were lurking in the darkness.
"You..."
It was then that Sylvie realized.
"Who are you?"
That was no longer Alexander.