Chapter 126 A Future Of The Past
'Are you okay?'
The sound was like a key being tapped lightly.
I thought I recognized that voice, and as the blurry scene became clearer, the person talking became clearer.
'You're okay now.'
In a familiar corner of town.
There's a blind spot made by a group of buildings.
A knife rolled on the asphalt, and a man lay face down nearby. I reached out to the trembling blonde girl with a blue face, saying that.
That was definitely me.
(Ah. This is probably when I died. But wait...)
But something felt off. It couldn't be. I was sure that before this, I got stabbed by that fainted guy with a knife, and that's how I died.
I shouldn't know this. So what is this I'm seeing now? Blurry questions bubbled up like foam, but they just disappeared without answers.
'Um...'
Then, the girl's voice, which I had never heard before, was light like a bell.
Her golden hair shone beautifully even in the haze. Big tears dripped from her sky-blue eyes. I vaguely thought she was a transparent girl, too beautiful.
'Thank you for helping me.'
Her words, which I shouldn't have heard, came out as she trembled.
I gasped, my breath caught.
I froze right there, just like her.
Suddenly...
Words flowed into me.
──She was a very mysterious person.
Emotions flowed in.
──Thank you for helping me.
Even though it was just something obvious──
My heart flowed in.
──'You're welcome.'
With a face that looked like she was about to cry, she said that──
Thoughts raced through my mind.
──So, at that moment, I thought, ah. I wish I could be with this person more──
The last pure wish flowed in.
'That's enough, step away from the young lady!'
(Huh? What?)
I was interrupted by a cutting voice and the harsh sound of brakes.
I realized I was surrounded by black cars, men in black suits, and black gun barrels.
'W-Wait! That person is──'
'Don't worry. Leave the rest to us.'
'W-What's going on all of a sudden?'
'Silence, you scum. You will regret your actions against the Ourin Group in hell.'
I was hit on the back of my head with the bottom of a gun magazine, and everything went dark.
(What the...?)
I couldn't keep up with my feelings, and the scene kept moving on without caring. The darkness swallowed me up, turning into a monochrome sandstorm. It felt like switching channels on an old TV, and suddenly the scene changed.
(Huh... is that it? What now? Where am I?)
Now, I was in a town I didn't recognize at all. Since it was by the sea, it must be a port town. It was night, and I saw 2 girls fighting on a boat docked at the harbor. I wondered what kind of scene this was, but one of the girls looked familiar. The other one, I recognized by her voice.
'Amela... using a human-like name even though you're a beast. It's disgusting, can you change it to something like "Lowest" or "Ruthless"?'
(Hey... that girl is Shura.)
'Haha, I like that. Maybe I'll go by that from now on. But first, I'll destroy you and this whole town!'
(This voice... could it be Ruthless?)
What was going on? She seemed a bit younger, but that gray-silver hair and her sharp tongue were definitely Shura. And the blonde girl fighting her spoke just like Ruthless, a voice I had heard many times before.
This was a scene I didn't remember. So what was I seeing now? No matter how hard I tried to think, I couldn't find an answer.
While I was lost in thought, the fight reached its conclusion.
'Ugh...'
'Destroy? Don't make me laugh. The ones that should be destroyed are the beasts. I will make sure to wipe you all out, not leaving a single one behind.'
The blonde girl fell, and Shura looked down at her with hatred. As the blood spread across the deck, the moans faded away.
Eventually, when only the sound of the waves surrounded us, Shura sheathed her sword and turned her back.
'...Die!'
With Ruthless's sharp scream, blood splattered everywhere.
The red color spread out, slowly turning white, and then...
I started to lose consciousness without seeing the end.
* * *
"...a damn dream, huh?"
When I realized it, I was looking at the familiar ceiling. As I murmured and sat up, I found myself not on a ship, but in my usual knight dorm room.
"...Am I still on the ship or did I end up back in this damned dorm again?"
I murmured again to check, scratching my head. If it's not a dream, then what is it? Normally, dreams are about me, right? The first one aside, I wasn't even in that intense battle with Shura and someone who looked like Ruthless.
Could it be a prophetic dream? Maybe I saw something that could happen in the future with my protagonist powers. But no, the Shura in the dream looked clearly younger than now, so it makes more sense that it was a past event.
But then, what about the first dream? It doesn't fit as either past or future.
I don't know that scene. It's weird. I must have defeated that knife guy, but I died after getting stabbed by his knife. Then I apologized to Goddess Norn while bowing, and that's how I ended up in this world.
I don't remember being thanked by that girl back then, nor being surrounded by those guys in black suits with guns.
Wait a minute.
(...could it be that Goddess Norn didn't mess up in that timeline?)
I wasn't supposed to die back then. So, this moment is an irregular outcome. If that's true, then that dream might be the 'timeline where I'm alive.'
(If that's the case, why did I see that dream now?)
It's a pretty reasonable assumption, but I still wonder why now. If I was really supposed to end up like that, I'd be curious about what happened afterward.
Especially since I just came to this world, I might have felt regret about dying. But now, I don't regret dying to protect that girl.
So in the end, I can only conclude that I don't really understand it. So, I might as well ask someone who might know.
(Ruthless? You awake?)
(What's up, Master? You just woke up and You're in a bad mood!)
(Oh, you were sleeping too, ya ain't? Had this weird dream.)
(Wow. You think my past is just a weird dream? That's rude!)
(Oh, sorry 'bout that... wait, you're sayin' that was just your life story?)
(Yep. Cute, right? Hehe.)
I was shocked by that.
(Wait, but Ruthless ain't no metal rod all the time, got it? In that dream, ya were rockin' human form, see?)
(Ah, that. That's a form change I can use when I build up love points.)
(You're really puttin' your heart on a plate for me, ain't ya?)
(Thanks for the cheap love, Master.)
What's with the points system? Why love points? If it's true, I'll be polishing you gently with silk instead of sandpaper from now on.
(...So what about the other dream?)
(The one in that confusing place? How would I know? By the way, that guy with the blank face sounded just like you, Master. Who was he?)
(Who's callin' him blank-faced?! You think I'm some kinda joke?!)
(It's the truth! Wait, was that you, Master? Haha, you have a form change too! Hey, what kind of points do I need to get you to that simple face?)
(...Be good, maybe I'll hook ya up.)
(Pfft, then I don't want it! Your current face is way more fun, heehee... Oh, wait, Master, what are you doing with that rough sandpaper? No, no, I'm just kidding! Please don't use that, it'll hurt──)
In the end, even though new facts came to light, there were still things I didn't understand. There were many things I was curious about, but if I can't figure them out, I might as well focus on my daily workout. Alright, if that's the case, I jumped out of bed. It seems like Quollio is out too since the bed is empty. Let's start with a run.
I changed my clothes and looked outside. Quollio must have opened the window for ventilation. The window had been open since I woke up, and beyond it, a clear blue sky spread out.
The bright blue reminded me of someone's eye color.
Suddenly, a piece of that dream floated into my mind.
'Thank you for helping me.'
Those were the words I had wanted to hear for a long time. I guess that means I received them in my true self.
It seems like I've gone through a lot of tough times after that.
But honestly, I feel really envious.
And because of that, I thought,
Even if I die, I'm glad I could protect that kid.
"...Alright. Let's go."
Today feels like I can do better than usual.
With a burst of energy, I jumped into the blue sky.
'Thanks for helping me.'
(...You're welcome.)
Right now, those are just words I think about.
But someday, I want to make them real.
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