I was dead… or at least that's what I thought.
And yet, even after a few seconds, I didn't feel anything strange. Just… silence.
I opened my eyes. Everything around me seemed frozen in time.
"Okay… what the hell is going on?"
A thousand thoughts crossed my mind. Maybe it was a spell cast by some sadistic demon, made to torment me until the end.
"You imagine too much, you dumbass."
I turned sharply towards the voice. And for the second time in a few minutes, I didn't know how to react. In front of me stood a human figure, made of blinding white light.
Wait… did he just call me a dumbass?
"Yes, dumbass. And before you ask, here your thoughts can be heard as if you're saying them out loud."
Fantastic. This was all becoming too much, even for me.
One moment I was on a battlefield, slaughtering enemies, and then the magical explosion I had triggered swallowed me whole. And now I was here. In this space, suspended in nothingness, with a figure who didn't like me very much.
I was seriously starting to doubt my sanity. Not that I had much left, to be honest.
"Are you done thinking useless thoughts?" he asked me, his tone acidic.
"So, Mr. Radiant… will you tell me what the hell is happening?"
"You think you're funny, huh?"
I could feel the irritation in his voice as he started pacing back and forth.
"You know, I've known you for a long time. Since you were born. And even then, I knew you'd be a problem."
"A bit exaggerated, don't you think?"
"No. I'm understating it. I watched you mess up countless things. The gods and I watched in silence. We couldn't intervene. We told ourselves: 'In the end, he's just one person. What harm could he do?'
And yet… you managed to ruin a plan that took centuries to set in motion."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
I wasn't the type to get offended by an insult, but being accused of something I didn't even understand… was a whole different story.
"Let me answer with a question: have you ever felt particularly lucky?"
"Me? Lucky?... HAHAHAHAHAH!"
I burst out laughing just at the idea. My life had been nothing but bad luck.
Born in that shitty archipelago, forced to work like a slave for the local gangs just to help my sick sister… Not only did I fail to enter the Academy because of it, but it was all pointless — she died anyway.
I ran away from that place with the comrades I'd made, we became mercenaries… but one by one they started dying. Everyone I ever cared about, was dead before my eyes. And when the war broke out, I was trapped in a hell with not even a shred of humanity left.
So no. I never felt lucky. Not even once.
"I think there's a misunderstanding. The kind of luck I'm talking about isn't about finding some gold coins or living a happy life. I'm talking about the rarest and cruelest luck, the chance to stay alive."
"Then even less. I had to fight tooth and nail to survive."
"Come on, Adel… you're giving yourself way too much credit. How many times, in the most desperate situations, were you the only one left alive? Even when there were people who had much better chances?"
"That—"
"Shall we talk about what happened in Paradise?"
"Don't you dare mention that place."
The air turned colder, almost freezing, because of the murderous intent I radiated. But the figure ignored the danger.
"Now, do you understand what I'm referring to?"
"…Let's say what you said is true. What does that have to do with what's happening now?"
"Finally, you're getting it." The figure cleared his throat.
"Every individual is born with a destiny, divided into three parts: birth, purpose, and death. It's the law that rules every living being. But there are exceptions. Like you. I like to call them… errors."
"You're quite creative, I see."
He ignored the sarcasm and continued.
"You were born without a destiny. And in theory, you shouldn't even have had a soul. But you did. And to fill that void, you became a parasite. You fed on other people's destinies. Now, do you see where I'm going with this?"
To be honest, it all sounded like a pile of crap, but… I was starting to see his point.
"The reason you're not dead isn't just your skills… but the fact that you unconsciously absorbed the destinies of those who were supposed to live."
"So you're saying they died because of me?"
"More precisely, they didn't complete their destinies because of you. But the result, in the end, is the same."
Those words… weren't easy to swallow.
"But putting everything else aside, if there was one person you should have stayed away from, it was the Hero. And yet you got close to him. You can't even imagine how much I screamed inside when that happened."
"You're telling me that the Hero, Leon, wasn't supposed to die?"
"No, he was supposed to die. But he was the one who should be here now, not you."
The figure sighed, tired. It seemed like nothing mattered anymore.
"But how could this happen?"
"That necklace… did you think it was just a simple amulet? The gods and I knew the alien races would come, and we knew they couldn't be stopped. So I created an object that would allow the Hero to go back in time with all his memories intact… but, as you can see, things didn't go as planned."
"So… I'm the one who'll go back in time?"
"Exactly."
If that was the case, maybe it wasn't a total disaster.
"Then I just have to make sure that, in the next cycle, the Hero uses the necklace, right?"
The figure laughed, but it was a bitter laugh. Then he explained:
"It's not possible. In the next timeline, I won't exist. And with me, the possibility to travel through time will disappear too."
I frowned, confused.
"What do you mean?"
"More than a true return to the past, it's about overwriting the previous timeline. And since I used every fragment of my power to create that object, I won't be able to exist in the new timeline."
Fates, the past, timelines… everything seemed more and more confusing. And yet, my curiosity for the being in front of me kept growing.
"Exactly… what are you? And why were you willing to sacrifice everything just to give the Hero another chance?"
"I am the Will of the World. My duty is to ensure that life continues to exist. But with the arrival of the alien races, every living being is destined to perish. And that… I cannot allow it. Even at the cost of my existence."
CRACK!
The reality around us started to shatter. From the cracks, presences emerged that froze my blood, even more than the champions of the alien races.
"They found us sooner than expected." I could sense the urgency in the voice of the Will of the World, who grabbed my shoulders.
"I don't have time to explain everything. I'll transfer the information directly into your mind."
A wave of knowledge flooded into my head like a raging river, so intense it felt like it would explode.
"Listen to me carefully, Adel. There's a reason why you weren't supposed to be here. In the new timeline, you will have a destiny, but you will carry with you the negative karma you absorbed."
"What are you talking ab—?"
"There's no time! You'll understand once you're there."
The cracks widened, and on the other side, I started to hear voices.
"Destroy this barrier."
"I sense space-time fluctuations."
"We can't let them escape."
I felt my body lift off the ground, while the Will of the World finished what he was doing.
"It's all ready. You're about to go back. And once there… you'll understand. Good luck, Adel. Maybe you're not the one I would have chosen, but I know your hatred for them is limitless. Stop them, at any cost. There won't be a third chance."
As my consciousness sank into darkness, I saw them. Their figures. The gods of the alien races. They tried to reach me, but I was pulled away, far from them.
I'll come… for you… too.
****
Darkness wrapped around me like a heavy blanket, along with a tiredness that sank deep into my bones. Even thinking felt like an effort.
My mind drifted between sleep and wakefulness, but despite everything, I tried to come back to the surface.
My eyelids weighed down, lifted with difficulty. A dim light filtered through my lashes.
A ceiling of rough wood. Smoke rising lazily from a brazier in the middle of the room. And the rough feeling of the coarse sheet against my skin.
I tried to sit up, but my arms gave in under my weight. I looked at them, frowning.
"What the hell…"
The scars I had always had on my arms were gone. But something was wrong, they looked like dry branches, so fragile they could snap at any moment.
With a desperate effort, I got out of bed. The thud was dull, and waves of pain crossed my body. Crawling, I got closer to a pot of water, clear enough to reflect.
"...It really worked."
In the reflection, I saw my young face, without a beard or any wounds. But something didn't fit.
"Why do I look like I'm about to die?"
Pale skin, almost corpse-like. Deep dark circles, sunken features. I couldn't remember a moment in my life when I had ever looked like this.
While I was staring at my reflection, the noise of a fallen basket made me jump. Someone had come in.
"Adel! You're awake!"
A girl threw herself at me, hugging me tight. But the real shock came when I recognized her.
"L-Lena...?"
I could hardly believe my eyes. My sister... she was alive. Still alive. Right there, in front of me.
There were six years between me and her. After our mother died, when I was just a child, she was the one who raised me. Who loved me.
Until she got sick... and left me.
Leaving me alone and broken by her loss.