《The Time Regressor's Wish》


 01. Rewind

    It was a stormy night. Rain poured down heavily accompanied by strikes of lightning. Inside an empty and dark castle where no sounds could be heard, a shadow walked down the hallway, step by step passing the wall filled with numerous portraits.


    A thunderbolt struck down as the shadow walked past the large window, revealing his small body wearing an oversized night shirt. The shadow, or to be more accurate, the boy, only took a slight glance towards the window before he continued walking, until he stopped in front of a large door.


    The boy knocked on the door twice, but no sound was heard from behind it. Sighing, he knocked once more and finally decided to barge in when there was still no answer. As he had expected, the room was dark and silent. The only sound of breathing came from the desk where a little girl was sleeping soundly on her seat. Under her folded arms was an opened diary full of scribbles.


    "Did she fall asleep when writing again?" the boy sighed while mumbling to himself.


    He thought that he would be in the same state as the girl if not for the dream he just had.


    Then suddenly, the girl groaned with her brows furrowed. She started to twitch and almost fell down from the chair if not for the boy hurriedly running to catch her body.


    "This idiot ¡ª!" the boy quickly calmed himself down when he noticed that the girl was sweating cold.


    He knew then that she would wake up soon. After all, this was the scene that he had relieved countless times.


    3 ¡ª2 ¡ª1


    As soon as he counted down to one, the girl''s eyelashes fluttered and she started to writhe in pain. The boy sat down on the cold floor and laid her head on his lap carefully.


    "Shhh, it''s alright, Fiorentia," the boy hushed her with a gentle voice as his hand started to stroke her head tenderly.


    "That life will only be a nightmare you won''t remember. You''ll forget all the pain you''ve experienced ¡ªeven the moments of your death. So just wake up, because you have another chance to start over."


    As soon as the boy finished his words, Fiorentia''s eyes opened. Tears started to fall down from the corner of her eyes without her knowing why.


    "Fe ¡ªFelix ¡ª" Fiorentia called the boy anxiously. "I ¡ªI think I just have a nightmare, but ¡ª"


    "You can''t remember?" Felix asked as his hand kept stroking her head.


    Fiorentia nodded. She also often had nightmares that she couldn''t remember before this, but never did she feel as anxious as she was now. Felix only smiled bitterly as he helped her get up from the floor.


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    "Before that, why don''t you read your diary first?" said Felix as he took the book on her desk and opened the last page. "You''ll understand after you read this."


    Although confused, Fiorentia nodded. For her, what her brother, Felix, suggested was always for her own best, thus she never complained. She took the book from his hand and started to read what was written on the last page of the diary which she had never opened before.


    15th of the 7th month, year 543.


    To the 8 year old me who may be confused and perhaps anxious with the nightmare you can''t remember.


    This is the day I''ve set as the axis for turning back time. I know that you''re confused right now, so I''ll explain it to you one by one.


    First, you possess a blessing related to time that you don''t know how to activate or use, correct? That blessing is actually called Chronos which allows you to turn back time after death. Of course, it isn''t without restriction.


    This blessing''s restriction is that you can''t retain the memory of the time before you regress. But in exchange, you can set someone and something to be your memory box. The condition is that both have to be who and what is the closest to you. As you may have expected, this last page of the diary is what I choose for the ''something''. As for the ''someone'', you may already have a guess of who it is.


    My 8 year old self,


    Just in case, I remind you, that as long as we don''t die from natural death, the regressions will never stop. So whatever number you are, I earnestly wish that you''ll do your best to survive. Remember, no matter how sturdy your memory box is, it will eventually wear out and break down. And we both know that that is the last thing that we want.


    From


    The ''first'' Fiorentia.


    Fiorentia''s eyes shook as she couldn''t believe what was written on her diary. The blessing of time travel, if it was true, then how many times she had regressed?


    "The memories are kept by someone who serves as my memory box ¡ª" Fiorentia whispered. " ¡ªmy closest person, then ¡ª!"


    She turned her head towards Felix who was patiently waiting for her to finish reading. Unlike before, he now gave a strange vibe which somehow was very inconsistent with his 8 year old body.


    "It''s you, right," Fiorentia said. It wasn''t a question, because for her, no one could be closer other than her own counterpart, her twin brother who looked very much like her own reflection on the mirror, whether it was their blonde hair, purple eyes, height, face, voice, tone, or even expression. Their only difference was their hair length.


    Felix neither affirmed or denied her statement. Instead, he walked towards the window and opened the curtain, letting the sunlight crept inside the room as the dawn arrived. For some reason, in Fiorentia''s eyes, Felix''s figure which was surrounded by the light looked bigger and more mature, just like the weird feeling he exuded.


    "12," he said briefly.


    Fiorentia raised her brow as she couldn''t understand the meaning of the number.


    "It''s how many times you regress," Felix added with a chuckle. "Welcome to your 13th life, my dear sister Fiorentia."

 02. Twelve Lives and Deaths

    "So, when are you going to show me the memories, dear brother?" Fiorentia pouted as she sat on the couch, swaying her legs back and forth.


    "After you finish your breakfast, my dear sister," Felix replied, sipping his tea calmly with the perfect posture.


    The two were now sitting on the couch in Fiorentia''s room. After Fiorentia had finished reading the letter written by her ''first'' life, Felix snatched back the diary and told her to wash up and eat breakfast before they continue their conversation. Although unwilling at first, in the end Fiorentia still followed her brother''s orders. Not long after, the maids brought in their breakfast which consisted of egg porridge with bacon and soft bread.


    "There''s no vegetables ¡ª?" Fiorentia looked distraught as she stared at the food on the table.


    "Oh? I thought you hated them," commented Felix, raising an eyebrow. "Should I ask the maids ¡ª?"


    "No!" Fiorentia quickly refused. "I''m satisfied enough with the food, so don''t you dare ask for those green things!"


    "Not all vegetables are green, Fio," Felix corrected. He had already finished his breakfast and was now waiting for Fiorentia. "Aren''t carrots orange? Turnips and beetroots aren''t green either."


    "But most of them are green!" Fiorentia exclaimed in irritation. "And I''m already disgusted just by seeing the sight of those leaves and roots on my plate!"


    Felix shook his head, feeling helpless with his sister''s exaggeration on the matter of eating vegetables.


    "Alright, I''m finished."


    Fiorentia rang the handbell and maids entered to take the empty bowls and plates. They also brought in a plate of cookies for the two to eat while talking.


    "I''m going to project the memories inside my head into an illusion," said Felix after the maids had left. "You''ll see what''s happening inside the illusion from a third-party''s perspective. Before that, I always say this every time before I show you the memories but ¡ªare you sure? This can be quite ¡ªgruesome and appalling."


    "It''s fine," Fiorentia tried to assure him with a determined tone. "It''s my own death. I of all people should know what and who killed me, right?"


    Felix sighed heavily, knowing that nothing could defeat his sister''s stubbornness. He slowly closed his eyes and chanted, letting his mind loosened to a tranquil state. The illusion Felix mentioned before was his own blessing, Dolus. He could create or project his own memories into an illusion. This was also the reason why the ''first'' Fiorentia chose him as the memory box, since ''showing'' the memories was much more effective than simply retelling them.


    He opened his eyes and saw that Fiorentia was sitting still with her eyes closed. It took a while for her to watch the 12 lives that she supposedly experienced. During that time, Felix saw her furrowing her brows and groaning in pain.


    Then, Fiorentia suddenly opened her eyes in shock, gasping and panting heavily.


    "What in the world ¡ª! Dear Ruler of Hours ¡ª" Fiorentia mumbled as she struggled to let her mind return to reality.


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    "I''ve told you, it''s gruesome. Now you understand why I didn''t let you see this before eating, right?"


    "Yeah, it''s certainly uncomfortable to eat after seeing moments of your 12 different deaths," Fiorentia said with a bitter tone as she wiped her cold sweats with a handkerchief.


    "Just so you know, in most lives, you died tragically in front of me," Felix spoke calmly. "Well, that''s what I''ve seen in those memories. In actuality, the ''current me'' never experienced them. It''s only like a very long nightmare that I never want to go through again."


    Fiorentia tried to recall the scenes she had just seen. In her first life, she died during the war between their kingdom, Regillum and Chaldea Empire when she was 11. Her body was shot with countless arrows as she tried to flee with Felix. In her second life, she managed to escape safely and live until 17. But on the night before her 18th birthday, she was poisoned to death by her most trusted friend. In her third life, she worked with their uncle, the current King of Regillum to strengthen the kingdom''s defense. But in the end, they lost in a war of attrition when she was 12 and was beheaded in front of the enemy''s troops.


    She also tried many things in her fourth and the next lifes. From claiming the throne to becoming a war commander, from being ''invisible'' to making herself known. Once, in her tenth life, Fiorentia who was already tired and ran out of ideas to survive, decided to not do anything and simply went with the flow of events. Miraculously, she managed to live until 22, living her life as a wealthy commoner in the countryside. But in the end, she was framed for crimes she never committed and was stoned to death.


    "Pfft! Hahahaha!" Fiorentia laughed like mad as if mocking her own tragic fate. "Is this supposed to make sense? Like hell anyone would believe those deaths were coincidences or accidents! I''d rather believe that our uncle king''s head would go bald!"


    "Words, Fiorentia," Felix reminded. "It''s not polite to swear. But according to the memories, our uncle will indeed become bald sometime at the end of this year due to excessive stress. Maybe we should buy him a few bottles of hair-growth potion?"


    "Idiot, it''s like you''re asking him to cut our allowance! Don''t you remember that he already did that last week when we accidentally broke that strange pot in the treasury?"


    "It''s a vase with patterns unique to the southern continent. And true, it''s indeed quite hideous, to the point that I wonder if the reason the south gives the vase as tribute is to curse our uncle."


    "Speaking of curses, according to the memories, don''t you think my 8th death was caused by a curse? I mean, it''s strange for me to suddenly have a heart attack during a night walk, right? I never even had heart problems before!"


    "Well, warlocks are rare, but not to the point of almost extinction. I guess it''s a possibility."


    "Why do I feel like I''m some kind of tragic heroine in stories?" Fiorentia grumbled. "At this rate, I could write those 12 deaths of mine into books and publish them."


    "Unfortunately, tragedy isn''t the trend these days," Felix shook his head in disapproval. "Not to mention that almost every time you die before 18. Children''s tragic death and misfortunes are controversial topics that always stirred heated discussions among people. And it will cause another uproar if it is known that the writer is still a child, especially if the child in question is related to the royalty."


    "I know, it''s just a ''what if'' question."


    After that, Fiorentia didn''t say anything for a while before her body slumped down on the soft couch. Looking at her brother who was still maintaining his excellent sitting posture, Fiorentia wondered if he didn''t feel tired at all. Of course, she wasn''t going to voice out her comment, lest she would get another nagging.


    "Aren''t you going to ask what I''m planning to do from now on?" she asked curiously since Felix didn''t speak anything about the subject.


    "I''m indeed curious," Felix admitted. "But my dear sister, it has been proven that hastily-made plans always lead to either failure or death. According to the memories, there''s still 2 years left before the Empire attacks. And 2 years are enough to plan a safe survival strategy with low risks."


    "It''s considered low risk as long as participating in the war isn''t added to it, right?"


    Felix paused. His eyes shook slightly before he nodded. "Yes, it is."


    His voice was cold, but as his twin sister, Fiorentia noticed that Felix was struggling to hide the bitterness he felt inside.


    "And it''s pointless to risk your life defending this kingdom, because Regillum''s time has come to its end."

 03. Emergence of Immortality

    "No."


    "Just why?!" Fiorentia glared resentfully at Felix who had flatly rejected her plan countless times.


    "I''ve told you countless times that the answer is ''no''," Felix sighed at the sight of his stubborn twin sister furrowing her brows in anger.


    "And I''ve asked you countless times for a valid reason!"


    A year had passed since that day when Fiorentia regressed and watched the memories of her previous lives. Currently, they were walking down the open corridor from where they could see the garden.


    "This kingdom will perish," Felix stated expressionlessly. "Nothing will change no matter how much we try to prevent it."


    "So what should I do?" Fiorentia shouted in frustration. "You said that most of my deaths were because of the war, right? But you said that it''s useless to prevent it? Why?"


    "Because the Emperor of Chaldea is a crazy warmonger. His ambition is to unite both the upper and lower central continent under his reign. And somehow, you''re also their target, although I don''t know for what reason. But in case, it''s better for us to lay low now. Remember, we''re still powerless children without parents."


    Fiorentia stopped on her track as she heard Felix''s last sentence. To this day, she could still remember the knights returning with their parents'' cold bodies wrapped in a fabric. Then, she felt a warm touch on her trembling hands.


    "Sorry," Felix muttered as he held Fiorentia''s hands gently. "It wasn''t my intention to make you remember it."


    Fiorentia only nodded without any words. They stayed still for a few seconds before she finally calmed down.


    "I know ¡ªthat according to the memories, I''ve tried to defend the kingdom a few times which only ended in failure," Fiorentia said quietly. "But with the way things are now, we can''t waste every option and opportunity we have. I want this to be the last time, Felix ¡ª"


    "Fio, I understand what you say," Felix interjected. "And I''ve considered that option and your words as well. But the risk is too high. I''m not sure whether I''m not going to break down after dreaming about your 13th death. So, I''ll never take that option, unless there''s a variable that can turn the tables, a variable that never existed in previous lives ¡ª"


    Before Felix could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a loud sound coming from the garden.


    "What in the world is that?!" Fiorentia''s eyes widened in surprise.


    "It sounds like something fell into the pond. Let''s take a look."


    The two children walked towards the huge pond in the middle of the garden where they were greeted with a sight that shocked them to the core.


    "Is that ¡ªa kid?"


    Fiorentia gaped. In the middle of the pond was a silver-haired boy floating unconscious. Felix quickly took off his shoes and ran to rescue the boy.


    "Fortunately the water isn''t deep," Felix muttered as he dragged the boy to the land. "Don''t worry, he''s still alive. Though the question is how did he suddenly appear."


    Fiorentia called the servants. They took the boy to the guest room, changed his clothes and lied him down on the bed. Felix quickly changed his clothes and followed Fiorentia to see the silver-haired boy.


    "He seems to be younger than us," Fiorentia commented as she observed the boy. "5? 6?"


    "7 or 8, I think. And his small stature must be because of malnutrition. From the clothes he wore before, I suspected that he was either abused or neglected. The former was more believable, but strangely there are no scars on his body. I asked the maids to check a while ago and they said his skin was very smooth regardless of his skinny body."


    "Maybe he''s an illegitimate child of a noble family," Fiorentia guessed. "If that''s the case, then malnutrition and abuse suspicion can be explained. As for the matter of scars and his skin condition, I think it''s either someone treated him with a very precious medicine, or ¡ª"


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    " ¡ªhe has a blessing," the two spoke at the same time.


    "Well, whether our suspicion is correct or not can only be answered after he wakes up," Felix sighed. He dragged a chair to the side of the bed and sat down while Fiorentia chose to sit on the bed right beside the boy.


    "I think he''ll wake up soon."


    ***


    "Ha! You piece of trash! How dare you soil my shoes!"


    "Pearls are pearls and stones are stones. There is no such thing as finding a pearl amidst stones. Do you understand the difference between pearls like us and stones such as yourself?"


    "Get your hideous face out of my sight now!"


    Different voices kept ringing inside the boy''s head, along with silhouettes that shook his mentality, bringing up the fear he always tried to forget. The boy knew that this was a dream, but his fear overcame his recognition of the fact.


    "It''s really ironic, to think that the stain I hate the most would be the one whose appearance is most similar to mine."


    "Why can''t you just die like your mother?! It''s pointless for you to live anyway. No one wants you. No one wishes for your existence."


    The boy tried to cover his ears, but the voice kept ringing inside his head unstoppably.


    "My Noel ¡ªforgive me ¡ªI can''t ¡ªfulfill my promise to your mother ¡ª"


    "Where are you taking me?! I don''t want to! Let me go! I want to stay with my brother! Noel! Noel!"


    "No ¡ª!" the boy cried. "Shirel ¡ª! Empress ¡ª!"


    ***


    " ¡ª Shirel ¡ª! Empress ¡ª!"


    The boy''s painful cry awakened Fiorentia and Felix who were snoozing. Felix quickly called the doctor while Fiorentia tried to hush the boy by patting his head.


    "It''s alright, no one will hurt you here, you''re safe now," Fiorentia spoke gently.


    Just in time, Felix returned with the doctor who immediately checked the boy''s condition.


    "I assume he is having a very painful nightmare," said the doctor politely. His eyes, which were staring at the boy, were filled with concern.


    "I see," Felix nodded. "But when will he wake up? He''s been sleeping for almost a day now."


    "If I may be so bold, Your Highness, this child is currently in the state of recovering his mental health," answered the doctor. "Perhaps unconsciously, this child regarded this place as a safe haven, thus allowing his guard to loosen up and his body to rest."


    "So you''re saying that he''ll wake up sooner or later?" Fiorentia interjected.


    "Yes, Your Highness."


    After the doctor went away, Fiorentia sat back at the bedside, carefully holding the boy''s skinny hand.


    " ¡ª do you pity him?" Felix suddenly spoke out when he noticed Fiorentia''s gaze towards the boy and her careful touch.


    "It''s not like that," she refuted. "Just ¡ªI suddenly thought that if it wasn''t for our uncle''s kindness, wouldn''t we be at the same state at this kid?"


    "Well ¡ªif our uncle was someone who couldn''t tolerate anyone threatening his authority, he would already kill our late father long ago. Peaceful brotherhood between royal siblings is a very rare precedent."


    "The more the reason I don''t want him to die," Fiorentia muttered.


    Felix knew where this topic would go, so he stopped speaking. He didn''t approve taking high risks just for the sake of her self-satisfaction. He himself had admitted to Fiorentia that he couldn''t bear the thought of having to dream about her 13th death.


    He shook his head and got up from his seat. "Let''s talk about this later. You stay here, I''ll get you dinner."


    "Coward," Fiorentia mumbled in disdain as she watched Felix''s figure disappeared behind the door.


    It wasn''t like Fiorentia didn''t understand his concerns. But what made her resentful was because Felix didn''t even reconsider the knowledge she received from the memories he showed. She felt that he was underestimating her, although she knew that it wasn''t his intention to do so.


    Annoyed, Fiorentia jumped down from the bed and walked towards the couch across the room, stomping her feet with a loud voice. She didn''t realize that the ribbon on her waist was loose, until her foot accidentally tripped over it. She fell face down, her nose hit the cold marble floor hard.


    "Uurgghh ¡ª" Fiorentia groaned in pain as she tried to get up. Her eyes became wet.


    At that moment, another groan was heard from the bed. Fiorentia turned her head and saw that the silver-haired boy had awakened. The two stared at each other for a while until Fiorentia broke the contact because of the pain from her nose. Her tears started to fall before she was able to stop it.


    The boy was flustered seeing the girl he didn''t know sitting on the floor and weeping. He instinctively tried to get out of the bed, wanting to comfort Fiorentia. But because he just woke up from deep slumber, there was no strength on his legs and he fell down to the floor.


    "Ah ¡ª" the boy tried to speak up but he suddenly paused and bit his lips. Then, he slowly crawled towards Fiorentia.


    Fiorentia watched the boy approaching her slowly. She wondered what he wanted to do to her by coming closer. To her surprise, the boy raised his hand and patted her head cautiously.


    "Don''t ¡ªdon''t cry ¡ª" the boy spoke with a little struggle. "It ¡ªt''s not painful ¡ª"


    ''Is this kid trying to comfort me?''


    Fiorentia was stunned. The boy clearly knew that they were strangers and that he could ignore her. But he still came to her wearing an innocent flustered expression ¡ªlike a baby animal seeing it''s mother for the first time.


    Just as she thought about how naive the kid was, Fiorentia''s gaze stopped as she noticed something on his face which no common child could have ¡ªthe purple eyes of royalty, with the exact similar shade like hers.


    "Purple eyes ¡ª ? H ¡ªhow ¡ª? Who ¡ª?"


    Under the moonlight, the boy''s silver hair was shining brightly. He tilted his head innocently, as if wondering what made Fiorentia frozen. Then, his eyes widened as if he just remembered something important.


    "It''s Noel! My name ¡ªah, wait ¡ªit''s Emmanuel! I''m Emmanuel Yereich Chaldea! Nice to meet you, big sister!"


    A year after her regression, Fiorentia finally found a variable who could become the key to change her tragic fate ¡ªa variable named Emmanuel Chaldea.

 04. A Brothers Lament

    After closing the door, Felix walked through the hallway in a slow but steady manner. His face was cold and expressionless, and yet a hint of sorrow flashed in his purple eyes. He passed many rooms and different hallways until his feet stopped in front of the kitchen.


    In fact, there was no need for him to bother going to the kitchen since he could just call a servant, much less deliberately taking the longer way. But for Felix, it was what he needed to avoid showing others his weak self.


    Before Felix was about to lose in his thoughts, a brown-haired maid popped out from behind the kitchen''s door.


    "Your Highness?" the maid gasped in astonishment as she quickly opened the door wide and bowed respectfully. "What might brought your esteemed self to this humble place?"


    "Prepare another portion of meal for dinner," Felix ordered. "For the kid."


    No matter how much suspicion Felix had for the silver-haired boy who appeared out of nowhere, he couldn''t possibly get anything out of his mouth without feeding him first. Although seemingly confused by Felix''s act of coming to the kitchen himself, the maid nodded without any question.


    After giving the order, Felix went back, this time taking the shorter way that passed through the inner garden. Numerous thoughts flashed in his mind as he kept walking and walking until his feet stopped in front of a huge window from where he could see the outer garden and the road to the main palace.


    The palace Felix and Fiorentia lived in was Tourmaline Palace located in the eastern part of the chateau. It was formerly belonged to their deceased father, the only younger brother of the current King. After their parents'' death, the palace was granted to the two with the King as their guardian. Of course, this decision wasn''t without objections from the nobility. Regardless, the King insisted to the point that he made a decree, thus keeping the two parentless children under his protection.


    For this reason, Felix and Fiorentia were very grateful towards their uncle. So, upon receiving the ''past'' memories through his dreams where the kingdom was destroyed every time, Felix almost succumbed to despair. If he could, he would do whatever it took to protect the kingdom ¡ªor to be exact, his uncle. Yet, he couldn''t rid of the fear ¡ªthe fear of having to see his homeland crumbled to dust with his very own eyes numerous times, affirming his powerlessness in front of fate.


    Felix gripped the curtain while clenching his teeth. In fact, when he said to Fiorentia that he only ''received'' the memories, not ''experiencing'' them himself, it wasn''t a lie in a sense, since it was how he convinced himself every second.


    Every time his mind was confused by the memories, Felix would constantly remind himself that the present was reality, and the memories were only a dream. He could treat them as another source of information and knowledge, but he should never be influenced by the memories.


    "Hastiness leads to error, impulsivity leads to failure ..." Felix muttered repeatedly. " ... there''s not room for another mistake .... this is the last time ..."


    As what the ''first'' Fiorentia had predicted, even the strongest box could break. Felix knew that his mental state was at its limit. Even after a year passed since he ''received'' the memories, he still often dreamed having to watch his sister''s repeated deaths. His mind became wearier by each nightmares. Felix even thought that he preferred going through physical tortures than having to suffer from these dreams.


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    He turned his back to the window, thinking that the silver-haired boy should be awoken by now. In fact, before Felix left the room, he saw the boy''s fingers moved. The reason he went outside was to avoid any quarrels between him and Fiorentia, who kept persuading him to somehow prevent the war from happening.


    "I''m sorry, uncle ..." Felix muttered to himself as his body slumped onto the floor. His elbows were on top of his knees, holding his own head as he looked down, instinctively preventing someone passing by to see his expression ¡ªalthough the hallway was in fact, empty.


    " ... I can''t stand seeing Fio die ...again and again. You''ll understand, right? I know that you''ll do the same if you''re in my position ..."


    Felix didn''t need anyone to confirm or respond to his decision. It was already decided since a long time ago that no matter what happened, his first priority was the safety of his sister.


    " ... first I need to find who targets her."


    He had spent this past year trying to look for their hidden enemy. But his effort was futile, as if someone was tying his body by a thread, moving his body to their convenience.


    His fist clenched tight until blood oozed out.


    "Calm down, Felix Regillum ¡­" he sighed heavily before muttering with a barely inaudible voice. " ¡­.think ¡­think back to what happened at that time ¡­.that person should be close by ¡­"


    Felix tried to recall back the things that happened in the first timeline ¡ªthe day when this mess began.


    ***


    Summer 12th of the 7th month, year 546


    First timeline


    The scent of blood and sight of corpses engulfed Felix and Fiorentia as they fled from the palace as fast as they could. From behind, they could hear screams and the sound of explosions. They ran and ran, struggling to not look back at the chateau that was now in shambles.


    Gritting their teeth and biting their lips, the two held back their tears from falling. Just when they finally passed the city gate, slightly relieved by the fact that they managed to stay out of sight, an arrow suddenly pierced Fiorentia from behind.


    She didn''t fall, as Felix was able to catch her body immediately. His face was pale and aghast.


    "Fio!" he cried in languish upon seeing her bloody clothes.


    Felix''s head immediately turned towards the city wall where he found countless Chaldean archers pointing their arrows towards them.


    " ¡­.run ¡­."


    But he couldn''t hear her voice because they were already bombarded with hundreds of arrows. He tried to block them using his sword ¡ªbut as expected, it was futile. The two children''s bodies were impaled mercilessly.


    " ¡­.Fio ¡­"


    There was no answer. Felix struggled to turn his head around and maintain his consciousness, just to find Fiorentia''s lifeless body beside him. It was very terrifying, seeing countless arrows pierced through her small body, and Felix knew that his state was probably the same.


    He used his remaining strength to move his hand towards her when suddenly a sharp pain struck his fingers.


    "For goodness sake, he''s still alive? What a monster."


    A voice Felix never heard spoke. Although his sight blurred, he could feel that the voice belonged to the one who stepped on his hand. Strangely, the voice was small and sounded shrill, as if it belonged to a girl in her early teens.


    Before Felix could figure it out, he felt something stabbing his chest and the next thing he knew, he was back to his 8 year old self. As memories poured into his brain, Felix soon realized that time had regressed.


    ***


    " ¡­. that voice ¡­if only I could find out who it belongs to ¡­!"


    Strangely, Felix never heard or encountered the owner of the voice ever since then in the timelines after, as if it had disappeared into thin air. It was the reason why Felix didn''t bother to recall or look for it other than in the second and third timelines.


    " ¡­can I even find that person ¡ªno, was that voice truly not my own hallucination?"


    Taking a deep breath, Felix stood up. He wiped the remaining blood on his palm with his own vest, thinking that Fiorentia wouldn''t notice since the color was dark.


    "I guess it''s time to go back," he muttered before continuing to walk, hoping that Fiorentia wouldn''t bring up the subject of their quarrel and wondering if the silver-haired boy had awoken or not.


    ''Who is he?'' Felix thought to himself. ''Why did that boy never appear in the previous timelines?''


    "I feel sorry for Fio, but if his identity is troublesome, then I guess I don''t have any choice," he sighed once more.


    ''I have to eliminate him.''