Chương 19: Chapter 18: Two Years Later

Shariel was now gone from the room. Yuto sat alone and stared into his status window. [Void Storage Level 1] That was a feature he had never used before. This screen had appeared in the darkness when he had taken the girl's hand.

A quest reward...

He didn't really know what it was, but it was probably a Void Skill. Just thinking about it wouldn't tell him anything, so he tried to activate it. A black screen flashed into view. [Item 1: Mysterious Egg.] [Item 2: A Connection from the Past Life.]

"Huh?" He cocked his head, confused by the words, and looked at the entry that read, Mysterious Egg. [Rank: Unknown.] [Description: An egg born in the deepest depths of the Void. It pulses faintly with life. Special conditions must be met for it to hatch.] That didn't seem to clear much up at all. He cleared out the description and reached for the egg, and it emerged from Void Storage with a puff of purple fog. It had a black shell marked with complicated patterns, and he could actually feel it pulsing faintly.

"Ah..." he said, surprised. [New quest: The Stirring of New Life] [Objective: Reach level 10 and???] [Reward: Hatch the egg, and???] A quest...?

Yuto squinted. He began to understand what this Void Storage was. It was some kind of magical space in which objects connected to the Void could be stored.

Level ten...

Just reaching that level wasn't all there was to it. Yuto glared at the question marks that hid the information, but they didn't go away.

I suppose I will find out when I get to that level, he thought. He put the egg back in. This egg was connected to the Void. The Void itself was impossible to understand, but it had brought him back to the past, and its power was inside him. That meant he had to use the Void.

Perhaps the Void will betray me one day, just as the Broken Star did... But the Void was already inside him, and he could not remove it from his plans. He gathered his thoughts and continued musing.

I'm currently level one. This so-called status window must also be a feature of the Void. He had already noticed firsthand just how much the stats could change his body. How then would he be able to level up? He glanced at the status window. He was still level one. Figuring out which method I can use to level up must be my priority. He had joined the adventurer's guild with Shariel's help so he could find out by clearing dungeons. After making this decision, he moved his gaze to the second item in Void Storage.

[Item 2: A Connection from the Past Life.] I have no idea what this is.

A connection from his past life? He focused on the words, but unlike with the egg, no explanation came up. He reached for the item without hesitation. Dark fog appeared again, just as when he had tried to grab the egg. But this time, nothing came out of the fog. Instead, it pierced his chest. He started.

It had flowed into Flokiro's Evostone. Before he could grab the Evostone, it floated into the air, wrapped in fog. The fog transformed into flames, and soon, the Evostone fell apart into fragments of light. That light began to create a form, and the particles swirled as they gathered into one. They became four legs, a long tail, and two pointy ears. The flames burned along the edges of the familiar shape. It was a small, fox-like creature.

"Oh..." Yuto got to his feet. The chair fell behind him, but he paid no attention to that. The flames soon died away, and where the light had been, a small fox-like creature with orange fur landed softly onto the floor. He wasn't battered and torn like at the Colosseum. His shredded back and bloody fur were gone, and he was fully intact and unhurt.

"Flokiro..." Yuto said in a shaky voice. Flokiro's ears twitched in response. The closed eyes slowly opened, and yellow pupils inspected the room. The gaze stopped when it hit upon Yuto. The madness that had been in those eyes at the Colosseum was no longer there. There was only longing there now. Flokiro watched Yuto in shock. His eyes filled with tears.

"Yuto!" Flokiro screamed, and jumped into Yuto's arms. Yuto also had tears in his eyes as he hugged the creature.

"So you... You came back with me," Yuto said. On that fateful night when Yuto had driven the appendages of the void into his chest, Flokiro, who had also been dying, had been brought back as well. They had fallen into the same forest, lost their memories, and failed to recognize each other.

"I have no idea what happened..." Flokiro stammered.

"A-all I remember is sending you off from the banquet hall in Velkyne. And then..." Flokiro's eyes trembled.

"I was at the Colosseum... I had lost my mind. And..."

"You don't have to force yourself to remember. I know it must be painful," Yuto said, hugging him and smiling bitterly.

"I'll explain it to you in time, though I don't know everything," he said. Flokiro watched him blankly, then held out his fist. Yuto smiled wryly, knowing what this meant.

"It won't be an easy path. Will you come with me?" Yuto asked.

"Of course I'm going to come with you. We're partners," Flokiro argued, rubbing away the tears with one paw.

"Thank you..." Yuto smiled and reached out his fist. The moment their fists touched, ether sparked between them, and the mark of an Evomon contract appeared on the back of Yuto's hand. It was a contract between him and his Evomon. The contract itself did not require a complicated process, and once created, it could not be undone until the human died or the Evomon turned back into an Evostone. As such, the contract itself was a serious matter.

In a sense, the Evomon would lose their freedom by creating such a contract, since they would no longer be able to live in the world as they saw fit. Without a contract, an Evomon could wander the world freely as they wanted, but after they entered into a contract, they needed the approval of their human partner. If the partner did not even summon the Evomon, they could not even manifest in the real world. Despite such limitations, Evomon still entered into contracts with humans because of one concern: evolution.

Evomon who did not have a contract stayed in their original shape for good and did not have any opportunities for growth. Only by forming a contract and building a relationship with the human partner could they evolve. The human gained a trustworthy partner and companion through such a contract, but they would need to continually spend ether to maintain not only the contract, but the summoned state of the Evomon.

The contract had its pros and cons, but Flokiro had demanded it of Yuto as if it were the most natural thing in the world. By doing so, he had told Yuto that he would spend this new life he had received by traveling back in time for Yuto's sake.

"I..." Yuto said, making eye contact.

"I will have revenge."

"Against whom?" Flokiro asked, his eyes flashing.

"Shiro Ristal," Yuto said. Flokiro ground his teeth. Yuto thought about the way he had seen Shiro not too long ago. Shiro had been in a ceremony involving the Constellations while everyone watched.

"The current Shiro is not the same as the Shiro that we remember," Yuto said.

"Does that mean you won't take revenge?"

"I don't know," Yuto said, smiling bitterly. The past to which he had returned was very different from the world that he knew. In this world, Velkyne had already been destroyed.

"I still don't understand why Shiro betrayed me. He led Valisthera's army and crushed Velkyne. The betrayal was many years in the making." Yuto sighed at length and shook his head.

"When I attacked Shiro, the Broken Star sided with him, not me... I don't know why." He could go to Shiro now, but he would not be able to find out the secrets behind everything that had happened.

"But the Constellations haven't changed, at least," Flokiro said, his eyes flashing. Yuto nodded quietly and felt the obsidian dagger that Shariel had left him as a parting gift.

"I don't know about Shiro yet, but against the Constellations... yes. I must have revenge," he said.

"Right—" Flokiro froze. His stomach had just growled. He looked embarrassed as he put his hands over his belly.

"I-it's because I just came back," he said. Yuto gave a chuckle.

"I don't have any of the sweet snacks you like at the moment," Yuto said. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. He turned around and approached his backpack, which rested on the other side of the room. He probably had some food inside. He froze when he opened it. At the top of his backpack was a roughly folded letter. He quickly spread it open. He saw words scrawled on the paper.

[Child, if you're reading this, then you have recovered your memories and I have already left you.] The letter was from Shariel. [This letter contains many guesses from me. From this point on, I am very wise, you see, and I regard my guesses as truth. You told me, child, that you wanted revenge against those who pained you in the past. I believe you are a survivor of Velkyne, which means that your revenge must be against the Constellation who destroyed the nation. Or so I thought, when right before you passed out today, you glared daggers at the prince of Ristal. I wondered about that. What could the prince of Ristal possibly have to do with Velkyne's destruction? There is no way for me to know, not even in my deep wisdom, but it was clear that your antagonism and hatred were directed at him. I have given the matter a lot of thought while sitting next to you as you lay there unconscious. But I simply couldn't figure it out. But I knew I had to tell you this one thing. Child, it will be very difficult for you to take revenge against—that is, kill—the prince of Ristal. It is not just because he is a prince; there is also a real monster inside him. Would you believe me if I told you that the pathetic creature you met, the Crimson Ringmistress, worships him?]"What...?" Yuto's eyes widened. [It's not just her. Every one of the Seven Eclipses in Callisto serves him. How do I know this, you might ask. It is because I am very smart and know a great many things. So, child, take my advice to heart. You may have quite a lot of power, but right now it is not possible for you to kill him. Then what must you do? There is only one answer. You must become so strong that you will no longer be considered a child. Remember my advice and do not let yourself be killed meaninglessly before you have repaid your debt.] His hands shook as he held the letter. The message in the letter was so shocking that it was hard to believe.

The Eclipses... serve Shiro? It was incredible, but there was no reason for Shariel to have lied about this. Besides, what reason did she have to speak out against Shiro? Yuto felt his head begin to ache and sank to the floor. As confusion spread in his mind, the puzzle pieces fell into place. The Eclipses had been monsters that not even kingdoms could oppose in the past life as well as in the current one. This was because they were extremely powerful, but that was not the only reason.

Except for the Crimson Ringmistress, the Eclipses worked in the shadows all over Callisto. Yuto and Shiro had tracked down each one and taken them down. Shiro had somehow been able to find them even though their locations were never known.

If Shiro was connected to them even in the past life... A horrifying thought blossomed in his mind. Yuto and Shiro had become heroes of Callisto because they had defeated the Eclipses. But what if that hunt had only been a ruse? What if Shiro was the one who had turned Yuto into a hero? Who was it that had made Yuto despair and taken everything away from him?

Shiro. He remembered the things that the Constellations had laughed about as he died. His entire life, his heroic acts, had been nothing but a play, written and directed by the Constellations. He had never realized that he was only a character in a script, thinking that everything he was doing came from his own free will.

And it wasn't just the Constellations who designed that charade. Yuto gritted his teeth. The climax of Yuto's tragedy had been Shiro's betrayal. It had happened at the point in Yuto's life where his happiness had hit its highest point, and had been fatal for that reason. Shiro had been part of Yuto's life right up to that moment.

Shiro. Shiro Ristal... Who or what were you? Why did the Eclipses follow him? And why had the Broken Star sided with him?

And Shariel.

Yuto looked down at the letter that he had crumpled in his hand.

Who exactly are you? How do you know this truth? The question refused to leave his mind. Shariel was not here to give him an answer. She had left him, saying that she would one day be back to collect her debt. All of this confused him, but one thing was clear. He believed the contents of the letter.

* Yuto spent all night controlling his emotions. Shiro Ristal could be considered the master of the Eclipses. That explained a great deal, including the battles in the past in which they had struggled but never lost, the betrayal, and the mockery of the Constellations. If Shiro had been behind it all, in league with the Constellations...

There are still unanswered questions. What would Shiro have gained through that? What had he desired when he betrayed Yuto? Yuto thought about that horrible night.

"You're trying too hard, my friend. It's already over." Yuto had not died despite the wound in his chest and fought back even as blood spurted from his mouth. And Shiro had whispered to him.

"All this is for our promise in the end. This is for a world without hierarchy. A fair one, with no gods, no kings. Don't tell me you've forgotten our promise, my friend?" They had indeed made such a promise, a promise to free the world from the rule of the Constellations who brought misfortune upon the world.

A fair one, with no gods, no kings...

But Yuto had never said those words himself. Was it truly what Shiro had desired? Yuto could never be sure whether Shiro had meant it.

Your betrayal was many years in the making, and you... You deceived me. Yuto gazed out the window. He could see the royal castle of Ristal in the distance. Shiro would be inside. Yuto had wondered whether he should take revenge on Shiro in the current world. It was no longer necessary to think about that. If Shiro was connected to the eclipses, then, as far as Yuto was concerned, he was the enemy.

But I can't kill Shiro in my current state.

Not only was it impossible to get through the tight defenses of the castle, even if he did, he wouldn't be able to kill Shiro. If the eclipses served him, then Shiro no doubt possessed some kind of mysterious power that Yuto didn't know about.

In the end, I need power.

He quietly clenched his fists. As he reined in his emotions, he thought about what he should do next. I will clear dungeons with the goal of reaching level 10. Killing the beasts in the dungeons would give him crystals, which were hardened ether. They were a currency that could be exchanged for money and also absorbed into the body to increase ether. It was unclear at the moment whether the crystals would increase his level, but it was worth a shot.

And after that, I need a sponsor of some kind. He needed someone who would support him in place of Velkyne, which no longer existed. Yuto narrowed his eyes and tightened his fists.

I'll do this for the next two years.

He continued to flesh out his plan. * Seagulls cried in the sky, and the wind carried the salty smell of the sea. Rough waves crashed against the cliff face, and the sun's rays burned hot. The cliffs along the shore were sheer, and many buildings had been built along them in a stair-like pattern. It was an antique but lively place, the richest harbor city in Callisto. Merchant City, the largest port in Callisto, was where the money, goods, and desires of Callisto flowed.

"We have arrived," a boy wearing a dark hood pulled over his face muttered at the sight of Merchant City in the distance. It was Yuto. The two years had worked a great change in the small, weak boy. He was a full handspan taller now, and his previously thin body was now covered in lean muscle. His face had begun to lose its baby fat, and the eyes visible under his hood were dark and calm, not at all like those of a boy. He was fourteen, standing somewhere between boy and young man. He gave off a dangerous air.

"The smell of the sea," Flokiro said, wagging his tail next to Yuto. An Evomon who had a contract with a human did not grow unless it was by evolution. Flokiro was still the cute, fox-like creature he had been two years ago, but the eyes, like Yuto's, hid the experience of a battle-hardened warrior.

"Reminds me of old times," Flokiro said with a grin. This was their first time visiting Merchant City in this world, but in their previous life, they had come to this place multiple times. A loud roar echoed in the distance. There, a sight unfolded that could be described as one of Merchant City's greatest highlights. Turtle-shaped Evomon the size of houses, Titan Shells, were carrying large bits of cargo, even entire ships, on their backs as they floated on the ocean.

In the harbor, large cranes moved without rest, taking the cargo off the backs of the creatures. Merchant City utilized Evomon not only as battle partners but also as powerhouses of industry. The city had become the richest in all of Callisto thanks to the labor of these Evomon. So nothing has changed. Yuto smiled bitterly. It looked lively and prosperous on the outside, but the underbelly hid a strictly capitalistic logic and a gap between the rich and the poor.

Just like in the cities he had passed through over the past two years, this rich city still had its poor who starved in the dark alleyways while only a small number of nobles controlled all wealth. At the pinnacle of that wealth was House Marigold, which ran the greatest merchant guild in the city. He thought about the past two years. He had worked without rest ever since the day he remembered who he was, said goodbye to Shariel, and was reunited with Flokiro.

He had wandered from dungeon to dungeon, like someone obsessed.

Status window Name: Yuto Velkyne Level: 9 Stamina: 60 Ether: 60 Strength: 45 Agility: 35 Charm: 30 Remaining points: 0 Void Skills: Void Steps Level 3 Void Hands Level 4 Thanks to clearing dungeons and swallowing crystals for the last two years, he had now reached level nine. In the process, he had been able to more clearly understand the system that had entered him. Leveling was done through experience and the absorption of crystals.

Thankfully, the ether that he absorbed from the crystals not only raised his level but was also partly absorbed into his body. He received ten points every time he leveled up, and he allocated them as he saw fit.

The stat that he had put the most points into was Stamina. It had been necessary in order to improve the performance of his inexperienced body. Ether would increase merely by absorbing crystals, even if he did not dedicate many points. So he hadn't put many points into that stat. On the status window, his Ether stat was 60, but he had more than that in his body. It was only natural, given how many crystals he had swallowed while clearing dozens of dungeons with Flokiro.

45 Strength and 35 Agility gave him power and speed that far outpaced his age and size. He could fight large men and even Evomon without a weapon. The Charm stat was unexpectedly useful. He didn't have to do much for people to have a good impression of him. It seemed to allure people in a way. It was not perfect, of course, but as a lone wanderer, the stat seemed very much worth it. He could also use it to intimidate others if he decided to make others feel killing intent or antagonism.

I am ready. Yuto had planned the past two years carefully and spent them busily. All for this day. He had cleared dozens of dungeons without reporting to the guild and kept actual jobs to a minimum. He didn't want the attention, since too much of it would result in suspicion. Yuto kept himself out of view. He quietly closed his fists. He had come to this city with consideration for his future. For the last two years, he had focused not only on raising his level but also on preparing for this day.

He pulled out a glass bottle he had kept in the folds of his clothing and checked what was inside. It was an antidote that he had eventually completed after multiple visits to dungeons filled with poisonous beasts. He had collected venom, experiencing the pain of his flesh rotting and putting up with hallucinations that plagued him.

The remedy for Black Death Venom. In the past life, simple battle ability wasn't the only thing he had needed to survive all those battles. He had also needed healing abilities to keep himself alive. This antidote hadn't yet been invented in this current time, but he still had the recipes for various medications inside his head. This antidote in particular had left him disappointed in many ways in the past life and was memorable for him as well because of someone connected to it.

He remembered a woman who had obsessed over the creation of it. Before he had traveled back in time, he had once visited Merchant City while hiding the fact that he was the king of Velkyne, in order to see the greatest port of Callisto with his own eyes and learn what he could. It was around the time of his visit that the head of House Marigold had died. His health had worsened over the past few months, and he had been bedridden. Many remedies had been attempted, but all of them had failed.

After a solemn funeral, the eldest son became the new head of the family, and his younger sister left the house of her own accord because she believed that there was no place for her there anymore.

Rivian Marigold. Yuto thought of her name and smiled bitterly.