“This isn’t possible,” Said Milo with an overjoyed tone in his voice. He was extending his arms around, letting the light of the candelabra envelop his arms; he twisted around as his expression grew in excitement.

“I think you are a little too excited about what just happened; we got to find that guard and make him undo whatever he did to us,” I said very seriously.

“I don’t think we will find him” Milo smirked

“And why is that?”

“He probably isn't born yet.” His smile widened

“Excuse me?”

“We are in a time loop. I heard about them, I just never seen one.” He pointed at the walls and the flooring. “This had more cracks when we came in, more wear and tear. Now they look fresh. – New”

“In a time loop? Like Groundhog Day?”

“SPECIALLY LIKE GROUNDHOG DAY!” he exclaimed

“So when are we?”

“Well. judging by how new the building seemed, probably the late 1800s or early 1900s.”

The early 1900s was all my mind could think about. If what Milo was saying was true, then I had a chance to go and stop my murder and return the artifact, sure, I’m probably a couple of years early, but that is no big deal. I could wait around, as long as I needed to, stop what had happened to me, and most importantly, stop Nyx before she continued using her acolytes on the termination of my race as we know it.

Milo must have read my mind because he came closer to me and grabbed my arms in a consolation gesture. His ocean-blue eyes looked worried.

“Ren, I know what you are thinking.” He looked at the door beside us, the night eating away anything far away in view. “You can’t stop it from happening; We are in a time loop. They are bound to places. Once you exit, you will be back to our time.” The melancholic tone in his voice made me snap back.

I wanted this to work; I wanted to get my memories back and save the Grand Central. I wanted to ensure no one else would have to be taken by Her.

“I-I… It just would it be so easy you know? I could be there before it happened, prevent it even.”

“I know, and I wish this is how it worked, but even magic has its limits.”

What was the point of working for an all-powerful being when even he had his restrictions, Phanes abilities should exceed the transcendence of this world, not be limited by it. Frustration filled my body, Unable to change the past even at a time-traveling experience that wasn’t what I would call ideal. Milo extended his arm, offering to guide me to the castle. I wanted to take it, but I denied it. I didn’t want Milo to feel any of my anger or frustration right now. I just wanted to concentrate on the task at hand: the Fates.

The castle’s walls extended in a mix of architecture and fairy tail. We walked for a while, admiring the walls and the paintings. Whoever lived here loved to story tell stories, making masterful art everywhere one could see. We found a staircase towards the end and went to another floor.

Before we knew it, we were on the third floor of the palace. Walking around what seemed to be a dining room, paintings of a young handsome man filled the walls, and next to them more tapestry of marvelous stories; the dinner table extended from end to end, and a smell of freshly cooked chicken filled the air. My stomach growled.

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I didn’t realize how much time had passed since the last time I ate. The past day and a half had been filled with so much information I forgot I hadn’t eaten yet. My last meal probably was that morning before I left the hospital. But this was different; the food seemed fragrant and fresh, and nobody was around, just us and a banquet, apples, berries, and some wine. Looked like someone was preparing to receive a large party. The food called my name, and my stomach demanded to be fed especially when I saw the pastries across the room.

A shame we couldn’t eat any of it; this could be a trap or poison, and it was best not to disturb the beautifully prepared meal in front of us.

“We still have Jeremy’s card; we might have to treat ourselves to some real food when we leave,” said Milo. I could see the hunger in his eyes. His hand in his stomach told me he was hungry, too.

“A banquet better than this one.”

He nodded, and we walked around the room some more, attempting to ignore the fragrant smells and admiring the pictures as we looked around the castle for the fates. As we were walking out of the room, I crashed against someone, and we both fell to the floor.

The man in the portraits was before me; he was wearing some type of hunting attire, and his dark hair was messier than in the pictures, but it was definitely him. I must have hit him pretty hard because he had a small bruise showing in his forehead. The man stood and cleaned his clothes as he offered me a hand to stand up.

“Ah, A visitor.” he helped me up. “Welcome to my home. I’m Sir Ludwig”

Milo immediately bowed in his presence and signaled to me to do the same, so I did.

“He is THE king,” Milo whispered.

“Please, no need for formalities. It has been a while since someone came.”

Milo looked confused, and honestly, so did I. The man for the portraits was live and roaming the castle. It was very late at night, and with us stuck in a time loop and no one else in sight, we simply assumed there was no one else here but the Fates.

“Your Majesty, what are you doing here?” Milo asked,

“Isn’t it obvious? I live here,”

I stepped in immediately.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, we will make our way out.” I grabbed Milo and puled him in the opposite direction.

“Why? You are looking for them, No? – They are waiting for you.” Milo and I stopped dead in our tracks. “There is no rush,” the man said softly. “They will quite literally be there tomorrow and the day after and the day after that,”

Milo froze. “You know about the Fates?”

“Know about them? They saved me!” the King exclaimed as he moved a chair and got comfortable with a piece of chicken in his hand.

“They saved you?” I asked reluctantly

“I will tell you the story, Fair Maidden if you have a meal with me.” He pointed at the chairs across his with the chicken dripping liquid around.

Milo pulled my arm and did his best to whisper as the man waited patiently for us to join him.

“This is weird, and he died before the castle was built.”

“That's the part that you find weird, Milo? The man is sitting on the other side of the room, and by the looks of it, he is very human and very alive,” I said sarcastically – “He also seems to know about the Fates.”

“Yeah, that’s weird, too.” Milo nodded. “We might need the information he has; look, he was known to be kind and benevolent, but he was also known for going Mad.”

I closed the distance, whiting us.

“Define Mad”

“He believed he was in a fairy tail.” Milo looked around. “He might not have been wrong”

I could see how people thought King Ludwig was crazy; he had been living in this loop for centuries and, probably at some point, was able to leave and come as he pleased. He probably tried telling someone, anyone, about the marvelous discovery he made in his new home, maybe even about the fates. I would have thought he was crazy, too at least until yesterday when I was seated across a God himself.

“You might be right; he might not be as crazy as people thought — So what now?”

“We eat with him,” Milo said, and I could swear I heard his stomach growling back in approval. “Nobody has ever come here before. The Fates don’t like visitors if they have taken a liking to him,” he pointed at him with his chin. “We better find out why and how.”