Since 'next' is a time-order word, you need another.
'Then' is a time-order word. You are not stating a 'fact', nothing happened abruptly, or 'suddenly', and you aren't comparing anything, 'similarly'.
Antonyms for the word melt would be: Cool, freeze, solidify, gelled, and hardened.
Those words mean the opposite of melt, which is what an antonym is.
Hope I helped!
- Amber
Honestly it’s either doubters or critics but I would go for doubters seems more reliable
