725 Goodbye [3]

The sun rose slowly in the east, its rays piercing through the morning mist like spears of light. 

As it climbed higher in the sky, it transformed the dark world into a vibrant tapestry of colors, painting the clouds with fiery oranges, pinks, and yellows. 

In a quaint, cozy chapel nestled in a peaceful cemetery, soft instrumental music played in the background. 

The center was occupied by three baskets. There were also three portraits placed next to them. Three people: a man in his middle years, a young woman, and a young girl.

…They all wore bright smiles on their faces. 

Sat on one of the wooden benches of the chapel, a young man gazed at the pictures. His shoulders trembled.

There weren't many people in the chapel. Just three people. It was rather quiet.

The only sound that could be heard was the mumbled cries that were eventually made audible by the young man who was at the front. 

Seated two rows behind, Kevin quietly stared at Ren who mournfully cried.

'In the end, they still died…'

Despite his meddling, and giving Ren the Xurin fruit, his family still died.

This world wasn't a kind one. 

Just like his parents, there wasn't much he could do. Nothing could change the inevitable faith that awaited them.

There wasn't much emotion on Kevin's face as he gazed at Ren. He could somewhat understand what he was feeling, but it wasn't to a high degree.

…He was still trying to understand. 

Understand what he was feeling and what others were feeling. 

He was slowly getting there, but it would still take some time. 

After propping himself up with his hand on the wooden bench, he stood up on his own. While staring at Ren as he sobbed, he straightened his clothes and then left.

He had seen enough. 

***

"What would you do if you had the power to reverse back time? …Even if in the end, your effort will be for naught…"

It was a simple question. A question he had asked out of simple curiosity. There wasn't much of a meaning behind it.

Nonetheless, the answer he got was an unexpected one. 

"I'd spend every second of it thinking that it would be my last."

"…Do you not have higher aspirations? Like perhaps wanting to be the strongest?"

"With my talent?"

He scoffed. 

"Regardless of how much I try, I'll always stop once I reach my limit. If I can reverse time… then I'll just make sure every day is my last. I'll make the most of it."

'Make the most of it…'

Kevin started to ponder over those words.

He eventually shook his head. That wasn't the answer he was looking for.

Turning his head, he stared at Ren.

"What if… every time you died, time would rewind and you'd witness everything happen over and over again… how would you feel then?"

"…I don't know."

Ren gazed up at the sky.

"I'd probably be happy at first. Grateful, even… But maybe, at some point, I think I'll lose my mind. I'd probably end up cursing the one who did this to me like crazy."

"You think so?"

"Yeah… There might be new happy times, but in the end, I'd still be watching my family die… I don't know if I can bear through the pain again… "

"But wouldn't you see them again once you die?"

"So what? All their memories of me will be gone."

Ren tilted his head back.

"They might be the same people, but in the end, everything we've gone through will be different… they will be them, but not the same them… if that even makes sense."

"Is that so…"

Kevin lowered his head and appeared to be deeply ruminating over Ren's words. 

He couldn't quite understand.

It didn't surprise him though. He would only get to interact with his parents as a baby. Their behavior was generally the same, and he never really did anything much with them considering their circumstances.

…It would've been nice to see how they'd react to his current success. 

  Too bad it wasn't possible.

"Still, if the opportunity presented itself to you, would you take it?"

"As in being able to go back in time?"

Ren turned his head and looked at him strangely.

Oddly enough, Kevin nodded his head seriously and sighed.

"Well, yeah…"

"Even if you end up losing your mind in the process?"

"Even if I end up losing my mind in the process…"

Ren repeated absentmindedly. He was probably trying to imagine such a future. 

"I see."

Kevin slowly stood up and patted Ren on the shoulder. 

"You know, you might beat yourself up for having such a low talent, but in reality, you're one of the few blessed ones…"

"Huh?"

Ren gave him an astonished look, but Kevin merely smiled and didn't elaborate. 

There were some things that were just better left unsaid. 

***

"The more time passes, the more I realize just how dangerous this is."

Kevin looked at his hand thoughtfully. It was shaking all over. He suddenly had a few hot streaks run down his cheeks, and he felt something prickle at his chest.

… When he finally realized the true dangers that came with understanding the meaning behind what he was feeling, it was already too late for him to do anything about it. 

He'd give anything to make himself stop learning. It brought far too much pain.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

No matter what he did, he couldn't get rid of them. Even if he erased his memories, they'd still be there.

It was too late.

He had become a human.

"Y,you.. w,hy?"

Turning his head, Kevin's gaze paused on a girl with short, auburn colored hair. She was pretty. Extremely so. 

In spite of this, she appeared to be staring at him with the most menacing gaze he had ever seen her display ever since he had known her. 

Her eyes were filled with betrayal, hurt, sadness, and loathing... 

None of them were good.

Kevin felt his heart prick even more. He managed to mumble something as he bent his head forward and stared at the body that was lying beneath him.

"I,it had to be done…"

Extending his hand, a yellow orb flew out from the corpse and entered his palm. 

He disappeared after that. Not before hearing her anguished cry.

"I'll kill you!!!!!"

'It had to be done.'

Repeating the phrase to himself, Kevin eventually found himself standing in front of a modest looking home.

Knock—!

He knocked on the door once, and a figure soon opened the door.

"Kevin?"

It was Ren.

Kevin smiled when he saw Ren.

Opening his mouth, he asked.

"What would you do if you had the power to reverse back time?"

"That again?"

Ren rolled his eyes and stepped aside to allow Kevin in. But Kevin didn't move from his spot.

He just stared at Ren with an extremely serious face.

Ren's brows knit at the sight. 

"…Are you okay?"

"Just answer."

Kevin sharply said while hiding his right hand behind his back. It was trembling.

"What are yo—"

"Answer me."

He looked behind and added. 

"There's not much time."

Ren frowned and once again looked at Kevin. In the end, although confused, he nodded his head.

"Not sure where you're coming from, but I guess so."

He didn't appear to have given the question a great deal of thought before responding. Had he known the implications those words had, he probably would've put more thought into them. 

But... 

His life wasn't anything special anyways. It was rather cold actually…

As strange as it was, the only friend he had was Kevin. He didn't have any other friends. His salary was nothing to write home about because he worked as a night guard for a platinum-ranked guild. 

A mediocre salary, an empty house, and no social life… He really didn't have anything he could be proud of.

So yeah, if he really did have a chance to turn back time, he'd take it.

Regardless of the price he had to pay.

"That's the answer that I wanted to hear."

Kevin cracked a smile, and his head reached for Ren's face.

"What are—"

Before Ren could figure out what was going on, the hand grabbed him by the face, and a bright white light went straight through his face.

Thereafter, his figure completely disappeared, and Kevin's face turned completely white.

Kevin smiled the moment Ren disappeared.

He might no longer remember him from this point forward, but he was sure they were going to meet again. He would make sure that happened. 

"Ukh!"

As his body began to shake, Kevin toppled over onto his knee. Even though he was extremely weak at the moment, he managed to force himself to stand up, and his expression changed to one of indifference as he did so.

He turned around and calmly gazed toward the sky which was completely dark.

Wobble—!

It wasn't long before the space fluctuated and an eye soon appeared in the sky. 

As soon as the eye came into view, there was complete silence across the globe, and time stood still. Everything came to a halt: the cars, the clocks, and the people who were moving.

The world was suddenly surrounded by an aura of antiquity as the eye gazed toward Kevin, who stared back at it without making even the slightest expression.

"What have you done?"

An ancient voice could be heard resonating across the surface of the entire planet. The voice caused everything, including Kevin, to shake, but no one else in the world heard it.

He fearlessly stared at the eye in the sky.

"I'm merely following my mission."

"At the expense of a protector?"

"Yes."

Kevin answered in a flat tone. 

"I will do anything necessary to accomplish my mission, even if it means absorbing the power of you Protectors."

Following Kevin's words, the air became very still, and an eye in the sky cast a profound gaze down upon him.

It carefully looked at him and scanned him to see if there was anything out of the ordinary.

The process didn't last long. At most a minute passed before the eye slowly lost interest.

The eye closed gradually, and the changes that had been visible in the sky vanished as it did so. After that, everything returned to its usual state, and the cars and clocks started moving again as usual. The people did as well.

"Pfftttt…"

The only one who wasn't fine was Kevin, who spat a mouthful of blood and fell forward. 

Lowering his head and gazing at his bloody hand, he gritted his teeth as hatred flashed across his vision.

"Soon…"

He mumbled.