Vivian fell, and Merlin once again became a white-haired, decrepit old man.
He aged decades in an instant.
During the tens of thousands of years he was exiled in Avalon, it was these Mirror Demons, these followers who most closely surrounded him, offering nothing but worship and awe.
Humans live barely a century; over the countless eons, with generation upon generation passing, Merlin had come to know only the Mirror Demons. Sometimes, while deeply immersed in his research, he would look up to find that years or even decades had passed.
He had gleaned some rules of the Endless Darkness but had also condemned himself to solitude—a long stretch of time shared only with the Mirror Demons.
Merlin could not bring himself to hate Vivian; he simply couldn't manage to foster the emotion, but as a Faith God, he had to kill the Mirror Demon to avenge his believers.
What was the cost?
"I'd rather age like a human than suffer endlessly through the years..."