Chương 12: Back in Time

Yuto had a dream. In the dream, he was the king, a hero, as well as a beloved husband and father. He did not know the name of the kingdom or the faces of his daughter and his wife. But one thing was clear. This was not simply a happy dream. Inside it, he fought endlessly and desired something powerfully. But what was it that he had fought for? Not even that was clear. After every fight, however, Yuto was greeted by laughter, warm hands, a small child's embrace.

He didn't get to see a face, and the voice was muffled and impossible to make out, but the warmth was clear enough. He fought to protect that warmth, and he survived so that he could go back to it. He was happy. No doubt he had been. At the end of the dream, however, the world turned blood-red. A congratulatory singing turned to screaming. Wine glasses broke and shattered, and the kingdom's flag burned.

The warm hands turned cold and lay limp on the floor, and the small child who had once hugged him was carried away from him by somebody else. He reached out for her, but he could not touch her. He shouted something at the top of his lungs. These were names that mattered more than anything else in the world to him. But the voices in his dream were distorted, including his own, and he didn't know what name he was actually calling. The man with the blond hair raised his bloody weapon and watched him.

The stars in the sky were laughing at him, clapping their hands, amused by the sight of destruction. They were saying that it had been entertaining, and that it was time for things to end. He gasped and awakened. His heart was racing out of control, and his entire body was drenched in sweat. Yuto breathed rapidly and glared into space. He saw an old ceiling. A ceiling...? He looked up slowly. Firewood was burning in the fireplace, and it was still dark outside.

He seemed to have been sleeping inside someone's cabin. He was in an old bed packed with hay, and a thick blanket covered his body.

What am I doing here?

He remembered the things he had seen before he lost consciousness—the public cemetery he had found upon escaping, the night sky with the moon and stars floating in it, and the notification that he had completed his quest. He also remembered a girl standing in the distance.

That wasn't a dream. He put his hand against his rapidly beating heart. Just before he passed out, some kind of power had entered his body. He could still feel how that had happened.

The Void...? That had been the name of the reward. He remembered seeing messages about a status window and something called Void Skills being unlocked. The moment he thought about these things, the black screen reappeared in front of him.

[Status window.] Level: 1 Stamina: 10 Ether: 10 Strength: 10 Agility: 10 Charm: 10 Remaining points: 100 Void Skills: Void Steps: Lv. 1 Void Hand: Lv. 1 What is this...?

These things had been given to him as a reward for completing the quest. He stood there briefly, staring blankly at the words "status window." Interestingly enough, as he stared at them, he realized he knew what the words meant.

It makes no sense, and yet...

Yuto hesitated and focused his mind.

[Distribute points?] New words appeared on the screen. He flinched and hesitated, and at that moment, the door opened.

"You're awake." It was the woman with the black eyepatch, carrying a paper bag. She had just come in from outside, but she was still barefoot, and there was a bottle of alcohol in her hand. The eyepatch was over her left eye, which seemed to be injured or causing her discomfort, and her ears were much longer than normal human ears. Yuto stared at her for some time in surprise.

"I know that I have a beautiful face, but you will make me feel shy if you stare at me like that," she said with a shrug. She strode into the room. Yuto gaped at her briefly, then managed to find his voice.

"Who... Who are you?"

"No, you should start by thanking me, but instead you demand to know my name. You have no manners, do you?" She grinned and sank into a chair close to the bed.

"But I'm a friendly person, and I would like to answer that question for you. Unfortunately, I have so many names that I don't know which to choose. Hmm, perhaps I should come up with a new one entirely. Child, you may call me Shariel from now on."

"Shariel...?"

"You should be honored. I just made it up on the spot for you." She grinned and moved the bottle to her lips. After a few gulps, she stared at his face.

"Now that I've told you my name, it's time for you to tell me yours." He didn't answer her right away. She had come out of nowhere, told him a fake name, and made no effort to hide that it was fake. That felt extremely suspicious. Sensing the anxiety and doubt in his gaze, she chuckled at him.

"You are truly rude. I saved your life, but you won't even tell me your name?"

"You... saved me?" Yuto stammered. He clutched his head. He was finally remembering after the quest had been completed and the strange power that was called the "Void" had entered him; his elevated emotions had made the power lose control. He had been unable to suppress it. That was when she had appeared and helped him. He tried to fight his confusion and spoke up.

"I'm... Yuto. And I am grateful for your help," he said.

"Hmm. So you are not completely crude, but that's not enough, thanks. I even changed you out of your rags. Do you know that, child?" She cackled and brought the bottle to her lips once more. Yuto lifted the blankets and saw that his bloody, dirty clothes had been replaced with a clean outfit. Before he could thank her, however, he felt a jolt of surprise and felt around his chest.

Flokiro's Evostone. It was gone. Shariel produced something, noticing his confusion.

"Looking for this?" she asked. It was the Evostone, glowing a subtle red in the light of the fireplace.

"I took a look at it. It intrigued me. I can't identify the species. I thought about taking it for myself and pretending I had never seen it, but my pockets are already quite well lined." The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"That underground arena you crawled out of," Shariel said with a grin. She tossed him the stone, and he quickly caught it with both hands.

"No one there was alive. The humans had turned to puddles of blood, and the Evomon were all Evostones on the ground. There was a great deal of treasure that had no owner. So I became their new owner." Yuto fell silent.

"You're not going to claim that they are yours, are you? You are obviously not the master of that place. Stuff like that belongs to the first person who finds it. If you had wanted them, you should have carried them out with you."

"Aren't you going to ask me?" he asked.

"Aren't you curious about what happened in there?"

"Whatever happened wasn't your doing. It can't be possible for someone like you," Shariel said with a shrug. She took another swig.

"But I can guess; I sensed that uncontrollable monster's presence—the Crimson Ringmistress, that is. The beings in the Colosseum no doubt died to her. And the only reason you're alive is because she, for some reason, decided to spare you." Shariel produced something else from her pocket—the invitation from the Crimson Ringmistress.

"The Arena of Blood. I don't know whether to call you lucky or unlucky. You survived, that's for certain. But this invitation shows that you have caught her attention. Child, you will one day become her food in that place." Yuto bit his lip in silence. He took back the invitation and climbed unsteadily out of bed.

"Thank you... for your help," he said.

"Those are just words. I want more than words," she said.

"I have nothing to offer at the moment, but one day, when I become capable of repaying you, I will," Yuto said. He bowed to her and tried to trudge past her. She watched him briefly.

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know."

"You're trying to leave without even knowing your destination. Are you afraid that I will gobble you up?" She snickered and grabbed his chest.

"Don't be in too much of a hurry. I have many questions for you... And maybe I will be able to help you."

"But I have nothing to give you in return for your kindness."

"You may be able to repay me someday. I'm a patient person. You seem to be struggling to even get around. Why don't you sit down first of all?" Before he could resist, she sent him flying back onto the bed. It was so bizarre that he looked at her in shock.

"First of all, let's talk. Where are you from, child? And I don't want to hear that you came from the Colosseum. I already know that. Where were you before that?"

"I... don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I really don't. I have no memories of my life before the Colosseum," he said. She narrowed her eyes at him. She lowered her bottle and felt her chin staring at him with an odd look on her face.

"You don't seem to be lying. But child, the world is a dangerous place. You can't just walk around with no memories. Are you trying to leave without even remembering anything?"

"Maybe something will come to me if I wander around."

"Hahaha! What a complacent, vague thing to say. But I understand what you mean. I will take you around with me. So, for today, you should get some rest."

"What?" Shariel got up without answering him, and Yuto grew confused.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Hmm, I don't think I said anything that was too difficult to understand. Should I say it to you again? I will do you a favor and allow you to accompany me until you have your memories back and you reach a point where you won't die randomly in your travels."

"But why...?" Yuto said, doubtful.

"Why would you do such a thing for me?"

"Because you owe me," S hariel said casually. She handed him the paper bag she had placed on the floor previously. It contained bread and a bottle of milk.

"I have nothing to gain from letting you die, but if I bring you around with me and increase your debt, you will one day be forced to repay me. Well, what do you say? Is it not an efficient and wise thing that I am suggesting?" Yuto said nothing.

"I am just a wandering drunkard in the end. And things were starting to get lonely. I could use a companion to speak with for a little while."

"What do you want from me in return?" Yuto asked nervously. It was true that she had done him a favor, but she somehow wanted to delay her reward until later and do something more for him now. He couldn't really understand why.

"Oh, I don't know. We will think about that later," she said mysteriously. She turned around, but before she went out of the room, she rested her hand on the door and turned back to face him.

"Finish your food and drink the milk. Eating well is important at your age so that you will grow." With that, she left him alone. Yuto stared blankly at the door she had shut behind her, as well as the bag she had given him. He felt hungry all of a sudden as he looked at the food. He guessed that a great deal of time had passed since he had fought at the Colosseum, used the mysterious power called the Void, and lost consciousness. He felt the Evostone in his hand. Then he tried to puzzle out his current situation.

He had survived. That, at least, was clear. He was the only survivor, even if he only had the Crimson Ringmistress's whim to thank for it; he had somehow gotten out. As he thought of her, he gritted his teeth.

He could still remember the faces of the people who had died at a gesture from her, just because she had felt like it. Garon and Lugil, who had been kind to him—boys he knew nothing about but their names—had seeped into the dirt of the arena without leaving even a body behind. I will avenge you. The thought of revenge made his heart beat faster. He slowly grew sure of something, thinking about the dream he had witnessed.

I have a lot of people to avenge. The burning kingdom, the lives that had vanished in front of him, the man with the golden hair, the laughing stars... He remembered it all.

That wasn't the future.

He balled his fists and squeezed. It was the past. I experienced it all and then came back to the past. He couldn't remember everything he had lost, and every wrong committed against him, but he knew he was in his own past. It made no sense that he had traveled back in time, but if he had to guess, it was probably the power of the Void.

The status window... Yuto thought, chewing on the bread. The interface responded immediately. He studied every entry and continued to think.

A hundred remaining points. I can enhance myself with these. He glanced at the Evostone in his other hand. He would need an immense amount of ether if he wanted to bring Flokiro back. Flokiro, I... I know you somehow. And I'm sure you know me as well. Did that mean Flokiro had also traveled back in time? Yuto wasn't sure. They had not yet had a proper conversation. Flokiro had protected Yuto even while berserk.

You put yourself in harm's way for me in the past as well. It was just a faint memory, but he felt sure of it. Yuto gripped the stone hard.

First, let me see what this status window can do. He wished he could spend all these points on the Ether stat, but after some thought, he distributed them properly.

I want to spend thirty on Stamina, twenty on Strength, ten on Agility, and forty on Ether. He wasn't sure how the charm stat worked yet, and it didn't seem important to him right now. What he had to find out at the moment was what kind of effect these stats would have on his body. All the remaining points disappeared, and power entered him accordingly.

I see... Yuto marveled quietly and looked down at himself. The effect of the stats he had invested were immediately visible. He felt a new type of energy inside him. He got out of his bed and tried moving around. He felt light. He tried whisking his fist through the air, and it made an explosive sound as it moved. He was taken aback by that. He focused his mind. He could feel the ether inside his body. Sizing up how much of it was inside him, he marveled again.

At the same time, he realized that the changes that had come over him weren't only because of the status window.

I know how to use ether. Ether was an energy that could be found all over the world. Every living being had some sort of ether, but it took a great deal of training to learn how to control it. But Yuto was doing so without needing any practice.

My body remembers how, just as I did with the sword. He focused his mind and drew on the energy. A dark light gathered around his fingertips. Yuto was slightly taken aback by that color. He wasn't accustomed to seeing anything like that. Something told him that the original color of his ether had been different.

Is this also because of the Void?

What is the Void, anyway? After a bit of thought, he turned his attention to Void Skills. Void Steps and Void Hand were both at level 1. He tried to be conscious of them and used both of them, starting with Void Steps. The moment he took a step after activating it, darkness rippled underfoot. He vanished completely and reappeared some distance away in the direction he had been facing.

"...!" This wasn't just fast movement. Somehow, two disparate points in space had connected, and he had moved from one to the other in the blink of an eye. It made no sense and amazed him.

But it uses so much ether. He had far more ether than before after investing his points, but even now it took a toll on him. He tried using Void Hand next. A dark, rippling hand shot into the air from behind his back. He realized that he could move it in whatever way he pleased. He directed it toward the chair Shariel had been sitting in. The hand moved without making a sound and lifted the chair into the air. The chair felt weightless. Yuto considered.

This creates a consistent drain on my ether as well. It was different from magic. It almost felt like a sovereign power granted by the Constellations. Yuto's eyes trembled.

Is the Void a Constellation? He had no clue. He knew he had returned to the past, but there was so much that he still didn't understand.

"Remember."

"Remember who you are."

"Remember why you had to return." The words of the girl he had seen in the darkness lingered in his mind.

"Of course I want to remember," he muttered with a bitter smile.