I was dreaming.
In this dream, I was flying through the air.
My mind was foggy, but somehow I knew I was flying.
The world around me was a blur of constantly changing shapes and colors. I leaped through the air like a sound wave or a particle of light, my body bouncing randomly in different directions.
I didn't know why this was happening. But I was sure of one thing: no matter what I tried, I was eventually going to lose speed and fall to the ground.
So I focused. I stared at the ever-changing landscape below us, trying to find a relatively safe place to land.
Why did I feel the need to do this? Good question. Something inside me screamed that I had to do it if I wanted to survive.
Still, we were going too fast.
It was like staring at the reels of a slot machine, except everything was moving much, much faster. Focusing more intensely, I gathered magical energy in my eyes... and for a moment, we suddenly slowed down.
Oh shit. I'm falling.
Panic gripped my chest, but now I could clearly see the ground beneath me.
I needed to find a field. Falling into the sea or crashing into a mountain wouldn't be good.
The woods were obviously dangerous, but if I could aim for a field...
I forced myself down, hoping for the best.
My speed slowed rapidly as I hurtled toward a wooded stretch of land, and an instant later, I lost consciousness.
...
"Gah!" I woke up with a start.
"..." I was in what looked like a cabin. It was snowing outside, and I couldn't move my body.
"Ghhh..." I forced my head to turn and, sure enough, I was in a bed. It wasn't the most comfortable bed in the world, but it did the trick.
My body was covered in bandages, and my throat was dry.
Was it a dream? No, this isn't my room, and judging by my injuries, I fell from the sky, and very hard.
(creak..)
Suddenly, the sound of a creaking door made my concentration shift to the corner of the room, revealing a woman.
But not just any woman. She had dark skin with what looked like dreadlocks and armor.
"Oh? You're awake now. You had us worried, friend. Do you want some water?" she asked in a relaxed tone as she looked at me.
I stared at her for a long moment, trying to gather the mana in my hands, and luckily I could. I wasn't restricted...and besides, my magic sword was leaning against a wall in the room, so I'd take a chance.
"Yes, please..." I murmured, and the woman gave me a drink.
I sat up with enormous effort and drank the contents of the bottle. The water was cold, and judging by its taste, it must have been melted snow water...
"Where am I?" I asked, looking at the woman.
"Don't you remember? You're in the Northern Territories, in Basherant," the woman said as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
"How long was I unconscious?"
"We don't know, but it must have been two days since we found you."
"Two days?!" I said, exhilarated.
"Suzanne? Is something wrong? Has he woken up yet?" a man's voice came from the doorway.
It was a man, blond, his hair reaching his shoulders, and he was wearing a red robe that covered him completely. A magician.
"Yes, he's a little excited, that's all," the woman replied.
"Well, my name's Timothy. We found you two days ago in the forest about half a day's drive from here. You were badly injured and on the verge of freezing, so we brought you here," the man said. At first glance, he seemed like a kind person, but I'm not one to be fooled by appearances.
"...Was there no one else with me?" I asked, remembering Ghislaine and Eris.
"Hmm? No, actually, you were there alone. Were you on a team or something?" the man asked. His curiosity was genuine, but I was feeling more and more confused.
"Wait... You said Basherant, right? The Northern Territories... How did I get here?" The panic in my voice was palpable.
"What? I don't understand. Where are you from then?" Timothy asked, sounding even more confused than I was.
"I'm from Buena Village in Fittoa... H-how did I get here?"
"Fittoa? You mean the Asura Kingdom? That's impossible. That's months away from here to the north," Suzanne said, crossing her arms. "Are you sure you're not leaving anything out?" She raised an eyebrow.
"No... I was training with Ghislaine and Eris, and then... a light blinded me, and it felt like I was falling from the sky..." The more she told me, the more senseless the situation became. Was it teleportation magic? On that scale? I don't know. I don't know how that magic works.
Timothy and Suzanne were staring at me intently, both with their arms crossed. I couldn't blame them for calling me crazy; not even I could understand my own situation.
"So you're saying you fell from the sky... here, after a light completely trapped you." Timothy's tone was surprisingly thoughtful; he seemed to be considering it.
"...yes, I know it sounds stupid, but it's the truth of my situation," I said as I tried to sit up.
"Hey, be careful there, your injuries are somewhat serious," Suzanne's voice conveyed an almost maternal concern.
"No matter, I'm fine," I said as I placed my right hand on my chest and a green light illuminated the room.
It was my recently acquired advanced healing magic.
The pain, fatigue, and my injuries vanished as if they had never existed before the astonished gaze of Suzanne and Timothy.
"Th-that was..." Timothy tried to mumble, but from his expression, I could tell he had never seen anything like this.
"Healing magic...and no enchantment." However, Suzanne came out of her shock faster as she analyzed me.
I looked at my right hand; fortunately, Sylphie's bracelet was still intact. In fact, everything except my clothes was in good condition.
Again, these must be good people. "Thank you very much for your help, but given the circumstances, I can't stay here too long. I don't know what happened, and I must return home quickly," I said as I walked to grab my sword.
"Wait a minute! You're too young to know what to do in a place like this," Suzanne objected as she blocked my way to the door.
"Besides, you haven't even told us your name," Timothi added.
"Rudeus... my name is Rudeus, and believe me, I can handle myself just fine," I said, staring at the woman.
"Please, how old are you? Eight, nine?"
"I just turned ten, and like I said, I can take care of myself," I grumbled at the woman's refusal.
" "Fine, let's say that's true. This cabin is close to the city, but with the weather out there and with your clothes on, you won't last a day before freezing. Besides, you'll need money for everything. Trying to hunt for food will only make you kill yourself before the cold sets in. And besides... do you even know the way back to Asura? It'll take about five months of travel by carriage, and you'll have to pay for each and every one of them. Can you do it?"
"I..."
As much as I wanted to argue, I knew she was right. She might see me as just a child, but the issue of money and transportation was something I hadn't thought about. I really needed help with this.
"Don't worry, our group will also be heading to Asura soon. Although we're not going to Fittoa, we could drop you off near there. What do you think? You just need patience," Timothy said, and I sighed.
"Okay... please help me," I said in resignation.
"Perfect, but first we should give you something to eat. You must be hungry after all, right?" Suzanne asked. I touched my stomach, which growled just in time, so I nodded again.
"You said your group is going to Asura, right? What's their name?" I asked.
At the question, a smile spread across Timothi's face as he looked at me.
"Say hello to the newly formed Counter Arrow! We will dominate the north of the central continent with our influence!" the man said in an unusually childish tone.
Suzanne just sighed as she shook her head, but I could see a small smile on her face.
It shouldn't be so bad traveling with them, right?
...
[Nanahoshi Pov]
"What?..." The words came out of my mouth like a whisper that the wind carried away.
"What happened?" I asked while looking around but no one answered, in fact there was no one around me.
"W-what, Orsted?" My voice came out in panic, I didn't understand what was happening.
The wind ruffled my hair, I was standing on a barren ground and the sky was cloudy.
But that wasn't supposed to be the case. Just a few seconds ago, I was in a completely white world.
Hitogami had already been sealed and was celebrating with Siegh and Lara...
But then what was I doing here? Did the teleportation magic take me back to some random place?
I knew it wasn't an exact magic and less towards the world of the void, by which anything could happen, so I looked for my locator ring under my robe but...
"Ah?...n-no!" My ring, I didn't have it, in fact none of the clothes I had were there now.
And instead I was dressed in a uniform, a uniform that brought back bittersweet memories every time I saw it in my wardrobe.
But then why do I have it on me?
I searched my belongings, my backpack... my half-charged phone, I had it all back.
My confusion was such that I started running around the place until I realized I was inside a crater and I realized my reality.
"b-but why?!, we had already defeated him!!!".I screamed at the top of my lungs to no one in particular, so loud that it even echoed across the open field I was standing in.
I had already heard that Orsted was trapped in a Loop to defeat Hitogami which would only be broken by defeating him.
What if I'm in my own loop? What if I have to kill him?!
The anxiety, fear, anger and confusion were too much and I fell to my knees on the floor where I began to cry.
"I had already solved it!! We had already won!! So why?!"
I screamed until my throat bled, I cried until my eyes burned and I hit the floor until my fists bled but no one came or so I thought.
In the midst of my misery a tall, imposing figure that I had come to appreciate approached me.
That just confirmed my theory, I was in a loop.
The person who approached me was none other than Orsted, the Dragón God.
But I didn't even have the strength to get up so I looked at him while I was kneeling on the floor.
He approached me and looked at me, I could see the doubt on his face, an expression I had never seen on him, no, I had seen it, but only after decades and when we met Rudeus.
"Orsted..."
"Nanahoshi?..."
!!!
We both spoke at the same time and my eyes opened wide as did his.
"Do you remember me?"
"Do you remember me?"
"..."
"..."
Again we both spoke at the same time so I stayed silent but he didn't speak either.
I opened my mouth and he stayed silent so I spoke.
"What happened?..." was all I could say.
"My calculations were wrong, to break my loop I'll have to kill Hitogami..."
"..." My gaze went straight to the ground as the weight of his words processed through my mind.
"So I'll have to do it all over again?!" My voice came out louder than usual but he didn't flinch.
"No, I already have a plan, but we'll have to find Rudeus."
"Rudeus..." In my perspective he had died decades ago and it had affected me greatly so the idea of seeing him again made me more anxious than I could admit.
"As you know, the Mana disaster has already occurred, and if we're lucky, he'll be on the Demon Continent. That will be our first stop." Orsted said.
"...I remained silent, the idea of doing it all over again, of spending more time locked up in this world...
"And what are we waiting for?!, I want to leave this world!" I let my frustration out in my voice and Orsted just closed his eyes as he nodded.
"I'm sorry..." I mumbled. "I-it's just that...I thought we had won..." I said and tears began to flow out of my eyes uncontrollably.
And there I started to cry, we had lost, Hitogami had won again.
"Let's do this...let's kill that bastard" I said angrily and a smile formed on Orsted's face.
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[Hello! For school reasons, I'll only be able to release one chapter starting tomorrow, but tell me what time you prefer, 2 p.m. or 6 p.m.? I'm ready either time.]