Chapter 76: The Right Thing to Do

  [Item Acquired: Time Plane Memory #5 – Added to Inventory #2]

  [Quest Completed: Memories From the Past]

  [75,000 XP converted into 1 Stat Point]

  [2 Points Available: Choose a stat to level up]

  “I can’t believe it…” Goren muttered. “You’ve been able to see these things this entire time?!”

  I turned to face him, still reeling from what I had just witnessed in the memory fragment. It seems that somehow, he had seen it too.

  “Who cares about that?” I snapped. “Spurius Axul was still alive on the day of the ritual!”

  “Who cares about him!” Goren snapped back. “He’s just another Axul as far as we’re concerned. And he’s definitely dead by now anyway.”

  “That’s not a given.” I countered. “Gaelith was supposed to be dead too, yet he’s practically immortal. Spurius Axul is his father. I won’t rule out the possibility that he might still be alive somewhere.”

  "Still not important..."

  "Not important?" I shook my head. "He snapped their necks with a flick of a wrist and a snap of a finger. It's way beyond anything we've encountered so far, even from the Axul!"

  Goren shook his head in frustration.

  “Speaking of Gaelith…where the hell did he disappear to?” I asked, suddenly recalling that the knight had vanished the moment the glowing engraving blinded us, and the door opened. Where to? I had no idea. “We need to look for him…”

  “Look for him?” Goren echoed, baffled. “Where, Spellsword? In case you forgot, this place is huge! He could’ve ended up anywhere – or maybe he’s not even in the tomb anymore!”

  “Then, what do you suggest? That we just leave him? Is that it, Goren?” My voice rose. “That would be in character for you.”

  Goren’s gaze hardened, but he remained relatively calm. “Yes. That’s exactly what I’m suggesting. And I’m sure he would’ve agreed with me. We can’t waste time searching for him when we’re this close to ending it all. And without his shiny sword keeping Erebus off your back, who knows how long it’ll take before the Dark Hunters find us?”

  He was right. I hated it, but he was right.

  And still.

  We planned for this to be the last run. If Gaelith is fighting for his life somewhere and we won’t help, he wouldn’t respawn in the next run because there won’t be a next run if everything goes as planned.

  I couldn’t just abandon him.

  “We’re not leaving him behind.” I muttered, my resolve clear.

  Goren eyed me for a moment, his anger rising before he turned way with a growl. “God, you’re annoying with all your righteousness! We already have it! You saw the memory. We know where what’s-his-name hid the Key to the Darknessbound Core! You remember that mural, right? It’s on the fifth floor. It’s just three floors away!”

  “I don’t care.” I said firmly. “If we end Erebus on this run without knowing what happened to Gaelith, we might be signing his death warrant.”

  “Dude is a thousand years old, Spellsword!” Goren snapped. “He’s lived long enough!”

  “Is that what you call a life?” I asked, my eyes wide with disbelief. “He was a prisoner here all this time, killing adventurers so they wouldn’t get devoured by his Other Self. He was alone, suffering for centuries. Don’t you feel even a shred of pity?”

  Goren sighed deeply, visibly struggling against his growing frustration. “Listen, I feel bad for what happened to him. I really do. But my family is more important to me than anything. And I’m not going to risk their well-being for some ancient knight I’ve only met today.”

  It seemed like neither of us was going to back down.

  Unlucky – or maybe lucky – for me, sharp whistles cut through the air.

  Erebus’ agents.

  That was fast.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake…” Goren muttered, running a hand down his face.

  “Looks like this won’t be the last run after all.” I said, turning to him. “You know what to do.”

  He nodded, visibly disappointed at the turn of events. Pulling out his daggers, he stepped closer.

  “Wait.” I said, unequipping my armor and storing it in the second inventory – I wasn’t going to steal it again next run. “Now, you can do it.”

  Goren sighed again. “I’ll wake you up early again.”

  “No need, I – “

  I couldn’t even finish my sentence.

  [Health: 0% - You Have Died]

  ***

  [Déjà vu System: Level 54 - MAX]

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  [Loop Count: 57]

  I felt a push – and woke up.

  “Good morning, Spellsword.” Goren said, sitting in the chair beside my bed.

  I ran a hand over my face, slowly regaining my senses.

  “You know,” he continued, leaning back, “it’s kinda refreshing seeing you not immediately trying to attack me after I wake you up.” He chuckled.

  I ignored him. “Why are you here? We don’t have anything to do this early and you know it. We need the tomb to be opened by Lorren’s mages first.”

  “True,” Goren admitted, leaning forward. “But I wanted us to settle on a plan. We wanted the last run to be the final one – and it wasn’t.” He met my gaze. “This time, we end it. We must.”

  I knew what he was hinting at.

  “The plan is simple.” I straightened up. “We find Gaelith first. Then, together, we head to the mural on the fifth floor. Also, I think he’d be interested to know that his father was still alive on the day of the ritual. And that he was the one who killed his friend.”

  Goren rolled his eyes. “Spellsword, for fuck’s sake…Don’t you have a girlfriend to save?! I really don’t get you!”

  My temper flared instantly.

  “This has nothing to do with her. And don’t you dare even mention her!”

  Goren sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Fuck. I said I was sorry.”

  “Sorry won’t undo what you did to those versions of her.” I rose from the bed, glaring angrily at him. “Now that you know the plan, I’ll ask you kindly to leave my house.”

  Goren let out a frustrated growl, shoving himself up from the chair.

  “Fuck!” He stormed toward the door, throwing it open. “See you at the entrance!”

  “I won’t be there.” I replied.

  He stopped on his tracks. “What?”

  “I’ll come later.” I said, nodding slowly. “After they’ll get a substitution for me.”

  Goren’s confusion only grew, so I continued. “It doesn’t concern you.” I said. “I’ll be there. You just need to be ready.”

  He sighed and nodded.

  Then, he was gone.

  I exhaled slowly, letting the anger settle before turning my attention to the next task.

  Using the extra hours he gave me, I began preparing a brew – one I wasn’t proud of, but one I knew would be necessary.

  ***

  Before Yana arrived, I allocated my two stat points into Agility, bringing it to 61.

  Then, right on cue – just as late as she always was in this time loop – she knocked on the door.

  I opened it, butterflies swarming in my stomach.

  And there she was – the love of my life.

  Her red hair was tied back into a braid, resting behind her shoulders. Her freckles, still as mesmerizing as ever, sent my heart racing. The memory of our kisses burned in my mind, urging me forward.

  I couldn’t stop myself.

  Without hesitation, I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her.

  “Wow, Aidan, did you miss that much?” she chuckled, returning the hug.

  “Well, if you didn’t, I can back away.” I teased, already knowing exactly how she felt about me.

  She laughed softly, her embrace tightening. “No, no. Just surprised. That’s all.”

  “How are you?” I asked, slowly steering the conversation toward my plan.

  “I’m great.” She smiled, her dimples driving me mad. “But we should really talk about it on the way, or we’ll be late. My bad for showing up so late.”

  “Nonsense.” I said, grinning. “Let’s have some tea first.”

  Her eyebrows arched. “Tea?” she repeated, still smiling. “Since when are you a tea person?”

  “Two years is plenty of time for a man to develop a taste for tea.” I lied effortlessly, gesturing for her to come inside. “Don’t worry, we’ll race toward the tomb.”

  She hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded and stepped inside. “I’ll take you up on that offer.”

  Once inside, she spoke again, glancing around. “It’s a nice place.”

  I was reminded that this was her first time inside. Even across all the previous runs, I had never invited her in before.

  “Eh, it’s not bad.” I replied, not really caring. “Christian knows the owner, so she cut me a deal.”

  “Christian? Oh, your guild master, right?” She asked, chuckling.

  I nodded, enjoying the sight of her smile more than anything. “Yeah.”

  I gestured toward the kitchen table, where a pot of tea sat waiting.

  Her eyebrow rose again. “Oh, you even brewed it beforehand?” She smirked. “I don’t even recognize you anymore.”

  I laughed. “Of course I did. I knew you were coming, so I woke up earlier to make it.”

  She nodded and took a seat at the kitchen table.

  I poured two cups of tea – one for her and one for myself.

  She took hers but didn’t drink yet. Then, she smiled. “I like it.”

  I blinked. “Like what?”

  “This. Organized, prepared Aidan. I could get used to it.”

  Normally, I would’ve laughed at that comment – or at the very least chuckled – but what I was about to do didn’t allow it.

  I simply nodded. “There are more surprises where that came from.”

  Her smile widened. “My, my, Aidan Dar, consider me hooked for the rest of the day.”

  She lifted the cup, bringing it close to her lips.

  I held my breath.

  But then…she hesitated, lowering the cup slightly.

  “Aren’t you drinking yours?” she asked.

  I nodded. “Of course.”

  I raised my cup, pretending to drink. She drank hers.

  Relief flooded me as I lowered my cup.

  “What’s that odd taste?” she asked, still smiling.

  The smile only deepened the pain in my chest. Worse than Goren’s daggers ever had.

  “It’s blackberries.” I said. That much was true. I had added the blackberries Goren gave me to mask the taste of the sleeping agent.

  She took another sip. “It’s nice.”

  I watched as she drank more, ensuring the effect would kick in soon.

  Then, losing control of myself, I whispered:

  “I love you.”

  The words just slipped out.

  Her eyes widened, her cheeks flushing red, almost hiding her freckles.

  “A-Aidan, I – I…” she stammered.

  Then, she blinked.

  Once.

  Twice.

  Her fingers loosened around the cup.

  “What’s…going on?” she mumbled, her voice fading.

  And then, she collapsed.

  I was there to catch her before she hit the floor.

  Lifting her gently, I carried her to my bed, laying her down carefully.

  Then, I pulled out a pair of handcuffs – a relic from one of my previous quests. They weren’t ordinary cuffs – they muted our Core Systems. I considered selling them but was now glad I didn’t.

  I clasped them around her wrists, securing her to the bed frame.

  “I’m sorry.” I whispered, knowing she couldn’t hear me.

  I sat beside her for a moment, watching her peaceful, unconscious form.

  “I can’t let you enter that tomb, Yana.” My voice still a whisper. “We’re ending Erebus on this run. And if something happened to you, there wouldn't be another chance to fix things, and…I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”

  I shook my head.

  “I promise I’ll explain everything when I get back.”

  Then, I donned my armor, and stepped out of the house, locking the door behind me.

  ***

  I surveyed the tomb’s entrance from a distance, watching as Lady Mikaela looked around, clearly surprised that Yana hadn’t shown up. Moments later, Fiona informed her that I was missing as well, and she immediately assumed we were together.

  Kelltins didn’t show up again as well.

  In response, she and Lorren called for substitutes. Thanks to the mage’s magic, the replacements arrived within half an hour.

  I waited for them to enter the tomb – then gave it another ten minutes before finally approaching the entrance myself.

  Inside the main antechamber, the high-leveled adventurers rested, keeping watch as the lower-level parties ventured through the first levels of the tomb.

  I needed to sneak past them and meet up with Goren.

  I only had one skill that could do the job.

  For the first time, I activated Speed of Light, layering it with Wind Rush.

  The name was an exaggeration – but even so, I was likely moving faster than any person in the world ever had.

  I felt bad for wasting such a powerful skill on this, but it was necessary to keep everyone else safe and unsuspecting. I didn’t want to explain myself and have them follow us into more danger.

  In a blur, I zipped through the antechamber in its most poorly lit section, passing unnoticed. By the time anyone might have sensed something, I was already in the corridor beyond, just outside the chambers we had been originally assigned to.

  Goren noticed me immediately, likely sensing me with his Distance Gauge.

  He melted into his shadow and reappeared at my side.

  “Are you ready?” I asked, my voice steady.

  He nodded once, no hesitation.

  “Lead the way.”