The Twisted World of Araeh

"Would I be here if I knew?"

"………."

Alaric's eyes flinch, sighing. "I call you here because you ought to be. The world was in your hands, and I..."

Before Alaric completes his words, Carus cuts it: "My hands are mine; I don't want to hold it."

"You really straight forward ain't you." Holding his temple, Alaric snaps at Carus. "Then why are you here? Ain't you here to prevent the condemning future?"

"Just what is this world?" At that moment, Carus's eyes became sharp. "It seems you know what'll happen, but at the same time you appear unsure, as if this exact moment was not foreseen."

"You seem to know me beforehand. The mysterious tree and its guardian that has never been revealed must be the ones behind it. "The carefree expression disappeared from Carus's face. "There's a hero in this world. And according to someone, this was the world of a game he used to play, and the hero was the protagonist before reincarnation."

"However, that certain someone was the protagonist of a novel I read in my past life. Care to explain what's happening here?"

“Of course, I’m not dumb enough to believe this is actually the world of that novel.”

Great! He's not as stupid as I thought. Alaric grins, not revealing his rude thoughts. "Yeah, if you think about it, it's really confusing. But I want to hear your thoughts first.

"Well, there're a few things I can think of." I numerate my thoughts while raising a finger each. "First, the world was resetting; second, it was rewriting itself; third, there's a regressor; and last, I can't think of anything."

"Just by knowing me beforehand, you confuse me. At the same time, you seem to lack information about me either." Crossing his arm, Carus tilts his head. "Or else I'm actually in the world of the novel, where the main protagonist is inside his game and there's also a protagonist inside it, which is mostly unlikely."

Alaric heaved a sigh. "There's no need to wrack your head over it; it's actually simpler than you think."

With those words, their surroundings change; it's more accurate to say they have been transferred in different dimensions. In a dark, transparent realm adorned with countless lights, the world they knew was below their feet.

"Wait, is this the academy....?"

"No, this place was Araeh's last defense." Before Carus could even make an assumption, Alaric rebuked him with a matter-of-fact tone. "Look in front of us."

"Those are Araehs..." Carus's eyes widen, taking a few steps back.

"Hoh? You can recognize it, huh? Do you have affection for this world?"

In front of them, two enormous worlds are standing together that go beyond logic. Although the worlds in front of them were engulfed in the burning sky and one of them was shattered beyond recognition, Carus could distinguish it.

Destruction of the world that fits the description in Carus's head.

"What is this...?"

"This is the final defense of Araeh, the world's simulation. To make a copy of the world to experience the future," Alaric crossed his arms, gazing at the flourishing world below it. "But both of them have already perished; all that is left is for the real world to go through the most horrible future."

"If this is possible, why only two?"

"Hmm, although it's called a world's simulation, it's also simulated other worlds that are connected to Araeh as a by-product." Alaric sighs, gazing at the future of the world. "It's the only thing remaining; it's already beyond its limit. No, it's already the end."

"Before that..." Carus's eyes shut, and the moment he reveals his eyes, seething rage glows. "What's that….?"

Carus's index finger points in the first simulated world. The original future of the world. The undulation of lights and fluctuation of strange numbers common to computers engulf the world.

"That invaded this place before the future changed once again," Alaric sneered. "The thing that plagiarized and turned the first simulation into a game."

"......"

"The unknown system—only an idiot wouldn't realize it—that thing has something to do with this."

As silence enshrouds the surroundings for minutes, Carus's attention shifts to the second world, which has the most horrible state.

"So that's the future we're heading to, huh?" Carus broke into a lethargic smile, looking at the shattered second simulation world. "Can we win?"

"We don't know. We can still pear in the future, but this world's end is not changing."

"Pear into the future, huh? So that's how you find me, but fate is not changing for the better or for the worse." There's a hint of sadness, though Carus smiles widely. "It seems I'm not a protagonist that can affect the course of the world."

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"As we deem ourselves already hopeless, several blurred possibilities suddenly emerge." Once Alaric saw Carus's expression, he fixed his knowing gaze on him. "The fate was not changing, but odds were being written around you, and one of them just reached reality and changed the future."

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First-person pov

The surroundings change once again, and the world plays the future that is waiting ahead. Unlike when I read the novel, the feeling and atmosphere in the surroundings affect me.

The unbearable pressure, the heat of burning land, and the raging storm above.

Eu

The indifferent eyes I grew used to by now pierced me. An icy glare emanated killing intent. Euvialin is one of the casts in the novel and my second friend in this world. She's standing in front of me. Though her unhuman purple skin makes me certain she's not Eu.

"I know you." Staring at her, I lost emotion within me. My eyes wander below me.

A young lady with golden curly hair was lying lifelessly below me. If not for her tattered body, she is definitely a dignified novel woman.

"Why didn't you help sooner?! You monster."

The voice of a man echoed in the surroundings before I realized a black-haired guy was already hugging the lifeless body. I remember those words; it's from the MC... directed to Eu.

They evaporated into the air, while the fake Eu remained glaring at me. She is the homunculus created by Charles, the most destructive humanoid weapon. The first time the hero and MC fought together was to stop her. However, they both fail as one of the heroines dies.

Eu was the only one who was capable of killing it.

In response to the contempt look of the homunculus, I sneered.

“You will not appear before us.”

A strong force grabs my neck, depriving me of air. She reappeared right in front of me, at a speed that couldn't be followed. Ignoring the pain, I wear my most delighted smile.

"I already erased your existence, fuck off!"

Her image slowly turned into dust, taking off her bloodshot look at me. Even after her presence is completely gone, the grip on my neck remains like a curse.

The first ending I had changed...

Hearing Alaric’s voice from afar, the surroundings came back to normal.

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Third person

"Hmmm, I didn't expect the record could affect you this much; I almost couldn't pull you back."

Carus ignored his words, for the first time in a while, he felt a sense of relief. "I changed something…it's possible."

"That's why, even if you are unable to change fate right off the bat, there is a chance that you're able to bring out new possibilities in reality."

But this is weird. While Alaric was being dramatic, Carus was submerged in his thoughts. So the first simulation was the game MC played, while the second one was the novel. But?

"Before that, weren't the MC and I both from Earth? How come we have different knowledge despite reincarnating in the same time frame?"

"You're from a different Earth, in a much younger world. The information that leaked from here was also delayed there." Alaric responds indifferently, as if it's something trivial.

That's it….? So that's the explanation for all of this? Some idiot leaks the future of this world and changes it for once; after that, another idiot leaks it in my world... to think it'll be this dumb. Anticlimactic......

"Your face basically tells what you're thinking, you know?"

"Ain't that dumb? No world reset or regression, something like that."

This time, it was Alric who grinned, borrowing Carus's words. "Huh? I thought you would notice it already."

This mother fuc...wait a minute. Now that I think about it, the concept of regression and world reset did not exist here, even though most of the time manipulating magic was impossible. A world without turning back.

"Huh!? So that shit from the novel is true. I thought the reality was different."

"All the information in that novel was factual." Alaric looks in the distance. "In this world, nothing can be turned back, the past will be the past, and regrets remain. After all, this was the first world, a progenitor tree, or what they call a world tree."

There's a hint of sorrow in the Alaric tone, which Carus realizes but decides not to point out.

The concept of a world tree was entirely different in reality. This world was like a second-rate world tree—the world of origin. Endless worlds were from this world's parallels, the world made from magic or made by individuals. All of it was connected to this world.

In a tree, you can only twist its fruit to get it, but you can't twist the tree. This world has the same concept. As it was connected to all sorts of shit it's impossible to turn this world around.

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First-person pov

“You're not going to ask what Euvilian is?”

After a few minutes passed, I accepted everything I learned and experienced here. But Geezer threw a random question.

"No," but my mind was resolute.

“I see, you’re a great friend. I guess that’s why she chose you.”

“More than that, I want to see a record again.”

“It’s dangerous to get in contact with records directly.”

"It's fine; I will only peak, and you will accompany me."

To my surprise, Alaric, let me do as I want.

……………

…………………

We end up in a ruined world, but I know it's Araeh. As soon as I found a person soaked in blood, everything became real again for me. She is a young woman with silver hair mixed with gold strands. Wearing shattered armor, her last moment was spent beside an empty boulder.

I didn't hesitate; I just thought it was right to do. I hold her lifeless hand without saying a word or anything. I don’t know what to do.

".........!" Alaric was visibly flabbergasted. But I have something important to ask.

“Do you know the reason for this?”

“No, like you, we don’t know anything about it.”

"I see..." I didn't doubt his words; in the novel, Alaric was also oblivious about it.

"Hey, ain't the simulation quite dangerous?" Tightening my grip on the cold, delicate hand, I want to make sure of one thing. "What if a soul mixed in with that and came back? Ain't that a regressor?"

"Indeed, something like that occurred in the distant past. But don't bother with it; measures have been taken to prevent that."

***

Back in Alric's personal realm, sitting on a chair in front of Alaric while sipping on a cup of coffee as we have our discussion.

"Man, why did I get into this world with a terrible setting and no existing plot? Not; it's very accurate to call it messed up at this point." Groaning, I lean my back on my chair.

"Are you still sulking regarding that? If regression resetting were possible here, I doubt you and I would be able to handle that kind of headache."

Without him saying that I know it already, I don't want that kind of headache either.

"You see why I'm not reincarnated in a medieval fantasy world? My past knowledge was basically pointless in this advanced world." Gulping down my coffee, I scream. "Where're the usual scenarios? Medieval magical world! Fighting demon lord! Hero summoning! Trash hero! Or even dark hero revenge! Where are those!!?"

"Is this really useful?" Alric muttered, holding his temple. "Those things already happened 5000 years ago in the past. If you were reborn on that day, you would wish that you had never been born."

Hearing that piques my interest. The history of this world now—that's something I barely know anything about. With excitement, I looked straight into his face. "Hey, hey, what happened in the past?! Tell me, tell me. Did all of that happen in the past?"

Alaric shakes his head. "No, it's not the right time to talk about..."

"Don't you dare use that stupid line from a game or novel! You can't just leave me with a clip hanger!!" Placing myself behind Alaric, I grab his head. "Oi!! Don't leave me on the edge like that, telling me now! It wouldn't affect the goddam future!"

"Arghh, fine, fine, it's a long story, so I'll tell you later." Alaric, who sensed I'd not back down, gave in. "There's something we need to talk about first."

"You better not fool me."

"As you know, we barely know anything about the possibilities around you. So we don't know the path that you'll take. Can you reveal your plan to me? If that can help?"

Well, there's no harm in letting him know.

"I'll make friends."

Alaric covers his eyes. "I lose the silver hope I have left."

Well, his reaction was reasonable. If you think about it, it's certainly dumb, but.

"Don't you think it's ridiculous to assume a single person would be able to save the world when you already saw the two of them fail?" Slanting my head, I couldn't contain my grin. "If I brought the two protagonists and other absurd individuals, ain't we got a better chance?"

"I don't want to work; they can do it themselves." I rise from my seat and grab one of the books hovering in the air. "If this world has protagonists, so do the other worlds."

.......................

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3rd person…..

"…….."

Being left alone in his space, Alaric was lost in thought, gazing into the air, where Carus grabbed a book before he left.

"So he already knew." At that moment, a lively woman's voice rang in the surroundings. "Well, if you think about it, it's not that hard to figure it out; the other two were just oblivious; the conversation you just had made him certain."

Unsurprised by the voice, Alaric leaned his back, prompting his chin with his fist.

"So the reason behind those possibilities was the path he was planning to take." With a short pause, a grin appeared on his face. "He's planning to drag even those that don't have anything to do with this world. If it's already messed up, there's no problem with messing it up even more."

"It's not like there's a reason to stop him. If this world falls, other worlds will fall into devastation as well."

"I know that. Sigh. There's something that's going through my mind."

"Hmm, what is it?" the voice responds in its previous tone.

"Just what is that kid? Is he really a reincarnator?"

"Huh? Uhhh." Confused by Alaric's sudden question, the voice stutters.

"Uhh, yeah. Doesn't he have a memory from the past? Are you okay in the head?"

Ignoring the last comment, Alaric mumbled.

"His soul was too young and pure, as if he..."