I placed a hand on his shoulder while kneeling on the ground. I looked at him, concerned.

“Damn it, old man. For a moment, I thought you were dead.”

The old man slowly opened his eyes.

“That would be difficult. I can’t die.”

I was stunned but chose not to ask why.

“Well… how are you feeling?”

With some effort, the old man stood up and began walking through the cave. I quickly got up to follow him as he headed toward a small exit that led outside. The cloudy air greeted us, and the old man stared at the horizon. I watched him curiously.

He’s gone senile, I thought.

“Old man?” I said to get his attention.

“So, I was trapped for quite a while,” he replied with a neutral expression as he turned to look at me.

“Huh?” I frowned, confused.

“Darius, I know why you came. Let me tell you something: this was something I couldn’t avoid.”

My doubts showed on my face. Raindrops began to fall, hinting that a storm was coming.

“Old man, if you know what’s happening, explain it to me. There are things going on out there right now.”

“Come on, let’s go inside. Looks like it’s about to pour.”

We returned to the cave, but my lack of time kept me restless. The old man walked toward the area with the crystals and stopped. I followed him closely, waiting for answers.

“As you’ve been told, there are beings outside of time who created this world from nothing, giving it life and form,” he began, looking directly at me.

I listened attentively.

“There isn’t much information about us, but we are known as the Four Sages.”

“There are four of you?” I asked, slightly confused.

He nodded.

“That’s right. For millions of years, none of us had materialized to wander this world. We were merely observers. We made a pact not to interfere with the decisions of the different beings and races that exist, allowing free will and natural development. But one of us broke that pact.”

“Wait, wait! Are you saying the one responsible for everything happening now is that sage who decided to intervene?”

“That’s correct,” he said calmly. “When he materialized, I had to follow him to ask what he was planning. He said he wanted to walk among mortals to better understand the world we had created. Naively, I believed him and left him alone. I had no idea what would happen next.”

This is a disaster, I thought. “Then why didn’t you stop him when you saw what he started doing?”

“Although we can observe this world, we cannot track or see what one of us is doing. Everything he did went unnoticed until it was too late.”

Some sages you turned out to be, I thought sarcastically.

“I see,” I finally said. “I guess there’s no point in dwelling on that. Was it him who trapped you here?”

The old man sighed, disappointment written on his face.

“Unfortunately, yes. When I finally saw what he had been doing, I summoned him to this cave. I didn’t know if he would respond to my call, but he did. I questioned why he had begun corrupting mortals. His response was that we had never truly taken the time to understand what we had created.”

“And what did he mean by that?” I asked.

“He said we had created selfish, greedy beings obsessed with power. According to him, this world needed to be corrected and restructured. Since then, he’s been pulling strings from the shadows, traveling through different eras.”

I walked around the cave, rubbing my face. I didn’t know what to say.

“This is too much to process! There are three of you left! How the hell haven’t you been able to stop him?!”

The old man shook his head in frustration.

“When I tried to act, he was faster than me. He created a containment spell and a mana absorption barrier. That’s how I ended up trapped here, gradually losing my power. I have no idea where the other two sages are. Until I regain my strength, I can’t contact them.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“So you’re telling me you can’t do anything,” I said, feeling frustration boil inside me.

The old man looked at me seriously.

“I need time to regain my powers. Only then can I inform the other sages.”

I paced back and forth, restless.

“But by then, it could already be too late!”

I couldn’t accept that. After a few moments of silence, I decided to ask:

“When we first met, did you already know about all of this?”

The old man hesitated for a moment before answering.

“Yes, Darius. Back then, I already knew.”

I froze. The revelation hit me hard, making me think that perhaps all of this could have been prevented much earlier.

“At that time, I couldn’t reveal anything to you,” he continued. “I didn’t know if you could be trusted. After all, you were partially created thanks to that sage. You share part of his power.”

“What?” I stared at him in disbelief. “The dark being told me something similar when I agreed to help him. He said someone powerful had corrupted him and made him what he is. Now I understand he was probably referring to that damned sage.”

The old man watched me with a concerned expression.

“Darius, about that—be cautious. That dark being might be working alongside the sage. He could have manipulated you in some way to achieve something.”

I frowned, not doubting his words.

“I don’t trust the dark being. I’m well aware there might be more going on. But within him is my Selene. For now, I have to work alongside him to free her. However, my memory is still a bit hazy… even though I’ve recovered a lot, there are still some gaps.”

The old man looked at his hand for a moment. Then, he conjured a wooden staff. It caught my attention. It was engraved with strange symbols, and its length reached almost to his shoulder, about the same height as mine.

With both hands, he gripped the staff, closed his eyes, and began reciting a spell in an unfamiliar language. A bright, undulating light emanated from the staff and started surrounding me. I looked at the lights with curiosity.

“What’s happening?” I asked, watching them intently.

The old man didn’t answer; he continued chanting as if in a trance. The lights sank into my body. I didn’t feel fear—something inside me knew they wouldn’t harm me. Then, the memories came. It was as if a puzzle in my mind was finally coming together. Everything clicked. I felt a profound clarity and immense relief.

When the old man finished, he leaned on the staff, clearly exhausted.

“I had just enough power to help you with that,” he said, breathing heavily.

I looked at him, astonished.

“Well… I didn’t see that coming. Thank you.”

The old man smiled.

“Darius,” he said after catching his breath, “if you use your time-traveling ability again, you’ll once more lose your memory. That ability consumes a tremendous amount of your chaos magic. And I must warn you: the damage is cumulative. It could be harder to recover your memory next time. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”

I grew serious.

“I understand. But then… how am I supposed to face the sage if I encounter him? The dark being told me to try and lure him to his era to confront him. Now, with your warning, I see that’s not a viable option.”

The old man nodded slowly.

“I have an idea, but it would need to be confirmed, and it’s dangerous.”

“I’m listening.”

“Your magic was given to you by the dark being, which in turn was granted to him by the sage. Essentially, your magic is the same as that of the sage.”

I processed his words, understanding the weight behind them.

“So, my chaos might be able to affect him? Is that what you’re saying?”

The old man nodded, then sat down on a nearby rock.

“Yes, but even though your chaos might affect him, it doesn’t change the fact that he wields the same powers as you—only more pure and refined.”

I nodded, showing that I understood what he meant.

“Old man, take the time you need to regain your powers. In the meantime, I’ll return to the village with this information and prepare the people.”

The old man smiled and nodded gently. As I turned to leave, something came to mind.

“Now that I remember everything clearly, I recall that the last time I was here, you showed me a transparent crystal. And now I don’t see any.”

The old man let out a faint chuckle.

He nodded as he listened to my question about the crystal.

“That crystal… doesn’t exist now because you haven’t created it yet.”

“What?” I stared at him, confused.

“That crystal you saw in the future was created by you, right here, with your chaos magic. It’s a cycle. If you don’t create it now, you never would have discovered your nature or reached this point.”

I tried to process what he was saying. It was like a puzzle slowly coming together.

“So, I have to create it now to ensure my future self finds it? That’s… complicated.”

The old man took his staff and pointed to a section of the cave where raw minerals glimmered faintly, embedded in the wall.

“There’s what you need. That mineral is receptive to magic. If you shape it with your mana, it will become the perfect vessel for your energy. But I warn you, it requires precision and willpower. This crystal won’t just hold your magic—it will also reflect your essence.”

I approached the wall, observing the raw crystals faintly glowing. I extended my hand toward them, feeling my energy resonate with their surface.

“This is such a mess. But I guess I don’t have another choice.”

The old man smiled faintly.

“It’s not just for your future, Darius. It’s also to remind you that even amid chaos, you have the power to shape your destiny.”

I moved closer to the mineral, observing how it glimmered faintly in the wall. Although I didn’t fully understand why I needed to do it, I decided to follow the instructions. I placed both hands around the largest piece and struggled a bit to pull it out. Although it looked heavy, it was surprisingly much lighter than I expected.

I stared at the mineral in my hands and then at the old man. I remembered how I had imbued my sword with mana in the past and decided to try the same. I closed my eyes and let my mana flow into the mineral.

I felt my dark, chaotic magic begin to envelop it. Slowly, the material transformed in my hands, refining and changing shape. It became longer than it was wide, with a design compact enough to hold in one hand. Finally, the mineral stopped glowing and turned into a completely transparent crystal.

I held it up, examining it closely. It was beautiful. For a moment, I couldn’t help but be surprised by what I had accomplished.

“This… this is truly magical and strange at the same time.”

I let out a laugh and looked at the old man, who was also smiling. I approached the mound where the colored crystals rested and placed mine in the center. I observed how its transparency contrasted with the others.

“Hey, wait,” I said as I positioned it. “If I hadn’t mentioned the crystal, would you have told me to make it anyway?”

The old man let out a small laugh.

“I already told you, Darius. You mortals have free will, so we’ll never know what might have happened if you hadn’t remembered.”

His comment made me laugh even more.

“I don’t know if you’re being sarcastic or not, old man.”

The old man laughed with me, filling the cave with a lighthearted atmosphere.