I prayed for the poor souls Heric killed. I believed in no god, so I just prayed their souls reached Heaven and are at peace now. When I thought about the consequences of my actions, tears rolled down my eyes and I fell helplessly on the ground.
I soaked the sand below with tears and snot from my sobs. The guilt hurt badly, spinning my guts until I almost puked.
In that moment, it was the first time I contemplated suicide. Not because I was overcome by a depression and wish to not be here, but because I would be revived and could maybe change this horrible fate.
The innocent monks and sweet girl that took care of me suffered because of me. Their lives were taken away because I led that ungodly evil to them.
Of course, I didn't know if the lives I had were unlimited, or if I could prevent such a fate. If I venture back into my 4th life, who knows how it'll turn out. I'm still not strong enough, I need the power to protect everyone I care about.
One of the reasons I came to Emperia is the fear of losing loved ones back in Holdanis. I couldn't muster the courage to potentially face Rache being dead again, or Evy and Dorian dying before my eyes. It was too horrid to even imagine, let alone have the thought of that nag at my mind all day long.
I have to kill the Dreamer. If it sent such a twisted individual after me, it deserves death just like Heric did.
I walked back into the ghost town, where most people died and the minority that survived ran away.
I sat on a bench that remained in tact between all of the rubble from the destroyed houses. There were still some houses left to get back into, but who knows if its residents are still alive.
After half an hour of sitting on a bench and sulking, I decided to head in the direction of a bigger city, to continue my journey. I was exhausted, but didn't want to sleep here. It was like a graveyard that I caused, and it didn't seem right.
I took a look behind me, to take in the picture of a town I would never again visit in my life. While I was staring into the distance, I noticed a particular burn mark on the floor a few yards in front of me. It was a bit small, enough to pass as collateral damage from the fight. After all, the ground was split and shattered in many places, so it wouldn't be weird for the ground to be scorched in one place.
When I approached it, I sighed audibly while closing my eyes. It was another message, this time reading "Stay Here."
[Why?] I asked myself. Why did a message appear now? Why didn't it appear when I was in the temple, telling me to stay there for another day?
"Fuck you!!" I screamed into the air. "Why can't you be useful when I need you!?" I yell out.
It warned me of my death in the previous life, and led me to Lucidel in order to save him. If it could do that, why couldn't it protect the temple? It told me not to sleep today, which I listened to. So why? Why didn't it appear in the temple?...
Feeling like I've lost my mind, I decided to lay on the bench and take a nap. Have I gone insane? I could still see the message, and it was confirmed in my past life by other people, but it felt so surreal.
As sleep nestled my worn out mind, I fell into a comatose state. A dreamless, deep sleep that was much needed.
Unfortunately, it didn't last long, as I was woken up by my senses warning me of upcoming danger. If my body and mind weren't hardwired to sense danger, I would've died many more times than I have.
A noteworthy aura was approaching the demolished town at a staggering speed. Someone was either running at hypersonic speeds or flying in a fast aircraft, and I hoped for the latter.
"I swear if it's another deranged enemy that I have to face..." I mumble outloud, cursing under my breath.
I stood motionless while closing my eyes to get a better feel. The entity lost its momentum, almost coming to a halt.
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It began slowly approaching me, presumably sensing my own aura. It was too late to try and hide it, as my previous fight made the ginormous amount of mana stick out like a sore thumb.
Whoever came here obviously sensed it from a distance away, which means not only is the entity enlightened, but has unnaturally developed senses.
I waited curtly as the potential enemy finally entered the street I was standing in.
In a blink of an eye, a small figure appeared in the middle of the street. I could gauge the amount of mana that this being's manapool held. It was about half a barrel full.
The strong manapool was lesser than Heric's, but seemed problematic. The entity had about the same manapool as Amon, the condescending demon child I was on a mission with before my last death.
Taking a better look at it, this entity also had fire magic as the main affinity. Wait, if it has an affinity that's different from dream magic, it means that's not inherently an enemy. The fire was a welcome thing, although something was wrong with it.
There's no way...
Think of the devil, and the devil appears. My mouth drops as the same arrogant kid walks into view, holding his hands in the pockets of his black sweatpants. How the Hell was Amon here!? What is he doing in Emperia?
In only a few months, he should be in Holdanis, on a mission with Lucidel. Well, now that the Dreamer probably changed its plan, Lucidel might not get involved with the dream magic scandal.
"Are you the one that fought here not too long ago?" Amon asks, his scarlet eyes darting around the block, observing the half destroyed street.
As I look into the ground, I realize that the burnt-in message was gone. The kind note that was left behind was referring to Amon, telling me to stay so I could meet with him.
"Yeah, I have. What are you doing here in the middle of the desert?" I ask, still standing in the same place as I know how impulsive this kid can be.
"That's none of your business. Why were you fighting here, and against whom?" he asks with an authoritative tone.
"That's none of your business, Amon," I state, locking eyes with him.
Once I mentioned his name, he made eye contact for the first time. The whole time he was here, he would look around, even while asking me questions. As soon as I uttered his name, his eyes locked onto mine, his brows bitterly furrowed. Intense heat started accumulating around his arms, as his evolved fire began burning slightly.
"How do you know my name?" he growls, almost exploding right at that second.
"Like I've told you, that's none of your business," I respond, drawing the Sunsword from the pocket dimension inside the cuboid artifact.
"Wanna die, human!?" he yells out, summoning a red-hot fireball inside his hand.
He pitches the ball of flame with a stunning speed, but I swing my sword in time, splitting the fiery tear drop in two. The two fragments continue onwards behind me, both flying off at the same angle relative to me.
The fragments each create giant towering explosions, reaching the height of a 10 story building, and the width of a football field.
"Hellfire," I comment, carefully approaching his dangerous technique. His fire can burn through many magic defenses that normal fire wouldn't be able to.
It looks like I'll have to defeat him in order to teach him a lesson. Maybe when I assert my authority, he'll become compliant like he did with Lucidel.
Considering that I could take Lucidel in a fight right now, this shouldn't be a problem.
He charges at me, using his hellfire to boost his movement speed and agility.
I didn't expect him to enter close combat, as he's more of a ranged mage, using his fire from a safe distance.
We clash, with his hands turning black, halfway to his elbow. At the ends of the black color, a fading glowing orange releases small fire particles. His hands look like smoldering charcoal, but are definitely much more durable.
He easily parries my swings, with the blade of my weapon not cutting into his hands. He also uses the energy that his fire emits to stop the force of my swing, while also moving along with the direction of them. His martial arts and fighting style improved drastically from our last encounter, which didn't make any sense.
He couldn't damage me, as I was faster and had much better skills, but he seemed far better in terms of battle experience, which didn't make any sense.
He kicks me away, infusing hellfire into it to blast me away. He was using his mana rapidly, to account the strength difference between us. I couldn't believe his body's natural strength, which seemed even better now than it has in my past life.
The problem was, this was a year before we met in my previous incarnation, so how has he gotten better?
He launches a fireball into the air, snapping his fingers. "Fire Rain"
The fireball detonated, shattering into a rain of needle-like falling drops of molten lava. I had to make a protection shield of light magic to defend myself from the hellish shower.
This was only a distraction, as two more torpedoes of hellfire flew through the air, meeting my exposed frame.
I react quickly enough, arching my sword through the air to parry the fireballs while simultaneously casting the protective light shield above myself which acts as an umbrella. In my past life, I wouldn't have been able to create a strong enough shield to stop the rain.
As Amon dashes forward once again, I activate the
"You seem familiar... Have we met before?" he asks while grabbing the blade of my sword.
I pull on it, taking the Sunsword out of his grip. There was damage done to his hands, as I could see cuts and cracks in his dark hands.
"No, we've never met," I assure him, slicing his leading hand off in a single clean swing.