Lying down in my bed, I depressingly stare at the empty ceiling of my room.

"Jeanne why do you have to bring that up..." I whisper under my breath.

As I continue to contemplate, I notice a woman's figure slowly materializing beside me.

It was Entropy, a spirit that lies within me or so she claims.

"Hey" I greeted her in a low tone voice.

"You seem troubled. What is it that's in your mind my lord" Entropy asks concernly as she sits at the side of my bed.

"Nothing..." I depressingly replied.

"You know that's a lie"

"It was nothing important"

"I see... Though I want to respect your privacy, I feel storms of emotions brewing within you, it's very concerning"

"It was nothing really, it's just something of the past"

"Are you sure?" Entropy asks to which I can only nod in reply.

Still unconvinced, Entropy lets out a deep sigh before snapping her fingers producing a hypnotic purple light that forces my eyes to shut straight and my consciousness be transferred into the Domain of memories.

Back here again huh...

Lying flat in the empty white world, Entropy again materializes out of nowhere and elegantly sits beside me gesturing me to use her lap as a pillow.

"Why bring me here?..." I ask accepting her offer.

"Because it is the only way. I know that you won't say anything right now, but there's no denying that I feel a huge amount of guilt inside you.

—We spirits are very sensitive to our mage's shifts in emotion, and the stronger the bond that we have with our mage the more susceptible we get. It is not too farfetched to say that some spirits even got corrupted to madness under the influence of their warmages' emotions"

"It's just... sigh... Entropy have you done something that you really regret"

"Not really, but if it is something that involves regrets. Well, there are uncountable times that I wish I could have done something instead of doing nothing"

"Quite the opposite huh"

"Indeed, I truly wish I could've done something for you on so many occasions, but alas..."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Who knows" Entropy then smiles as she caresses my hair.

Just as I was starting to feel a bit relaxed, It was then that my surroundings began to shift into an open plain under a beautiful starry night.

"Rey race me to the top!"

"—wait!"

"Come on Rey, You're too slow!"

"Huff huff huff... Jeanne, using magic is cheating!"

"It's not my fault you can't use magic haha!"

!!!

Those voices!

Hearing such familiar voices, I slowly got up from the ground, and what greeted me was a distant recollection of back when I was just ten years old.

"Come on Rey, just a couple more steps to go!"

Standing over the top of the hill was a young girl and a childhood friend of mine. Her name is Railliana Hera Von Ainclad, and is a daughter of a duke household.

Wearing a strikingly elegant blue dress, she had fair light skin that was distinct to those who lived over the far northern territory of the empire, shimmering golden hair that was unique to the Ainclad family, and ash-gray eyes that resembled the long winter of their territory.

Seeing how I was struggling to climb up the hill slope, Railliana began to shout many encouraging words toward me who was almost on the brink of exhaustion.

"I know, huff huff... but just let me rest for a second!"

"—Come on you guys, the meteor shower is about to start!" It was another girl who shouted and was the older twin sister of the Railliana.

Being her twin sister, it was understandable that she shares many similarities with Railliana such as her complexion and hair color, with the only difference being their default facial expression and eye color. Instead of a typical grayish eye, She had cerulean-colored pupils that had a unique marking inside which was greatly elevated by her soft-looking face that resembled that of their caring mother.

Upon seeing the figure of the girl from afar, my body unconsciously loses its strength whereas tear starts to unknowingly pour from my eyes.

"Alicia..." I heavily whisper in my mind.

After we all reached the top of the hill, all of us then decided to lie down on the grassy ground and began to stare at the ocean of stars.

"Huff huff huff... Are you sure there will really be a meteor shower?" my young self then doubtfully asks Alicia while still panting for air.

"Yes, I saw it using my ability, it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!"

"—Hey Rey, why do you always doubt my sister?! I'll have you know, the high empress visited us once and regarded her ability as a treasure like no other!" It was Railliana while hugging her sister Alicia.

"Well, I don't know, it's just that seeing the future is kinda absurd don't you think?"

"Fufufu, he did have a point" Alicia chuckles at my remark which greatly annoyed Railliana.

"Why are you defending her sis!"

"Now now Railliana, Rey is not a mage remember, it's a given that he can't understand how magic works" Jeanne explains as she produces a ball of water for all of them to drink.

"Well, it's real so just believe her!"

"Fine fine..." The three girls then giggle as I accept my defeat.

After watching the heartwarming interaction, It seems that they all arrived at just the perfect time as after a couple of minutes, the starry night sky abruptly began to be lit up by countless bolts of shooting stars.

"—See!"

"Whoa!" Jeanne mesmerized by the scene can't help but be stunned out of amazement.

"This is my first time seeing this!"

"Beautiful..."

Taken aback by such a beautiful sight, I can only stare at the group from afar as the scene continues to unfold.

Alicia upon seeing everyone enjoying the moment, couldn't help but let out a smile and raise her hand up into the night sky.

"What are you doing?" It was me who asked Alicia upon noticing her action.

"Don't you know that if you reach your hand out to the sky and deeply wish upon a shooting star, that wish will undoubtedly come true"

"Really?!"

"Yes, it's true! When Grandpa was still young he often went to war, and during those times, Grandma always had to go outside in search of a shooting star so she can wish for his safe return" Railliana follows up as she also raises her hand.

"Hmm... I see, then let me also make a wish"

Following the example of the two, I then also reach my hand out into the stars and deeply close my eyes.

"—I wish for our friendship to last forever!"

"Fufufu. You don't really need to make a wish for something like that. Why not wish for something that'll make you stronger, like magic or spirit!" Jeanne giggles.

"I like my wish to be something more attainable"

"But isn't that the point of a wish?"

"hmm... It's actually not a bad wish, I guess I'll also follow you on that" Alicia then follows suit and wishes for the same thing, but under the mask of her joyous face, she bares an expression akin to a worried one.

"How about you, What's your wish, Liana?"

"Sorry, but I'll keep mine for myself" Railliana embarrassingly replied in a low tone voice.

"hm... very curious, —but I won't pursue"

After finishing with our wishes, the four of us then excitedly get up from the ground and continue to watch the meteor shower.

As the last shooting star streaks by, Alicia then calls out to the rest of the group and hands us a piece of finely crafted brooch that has the shape of a star.

"This is?" sightly confused, the young version of me then asked Alicia.

"I bought it yesterday, I wanted to give this to you all as a gift to commemorate this day" Alicia smilingly answers.

"wow, that's incredibly cheesy of you Alicia, but very thoughtful, and thanks. I'll promise to treasure this till the very end" Jeanne commented as she picked one for herself.

"Don't listen to her, It's not cheesy at all!" It was Railliana defending her sister as she also picked one for herself.

"Thanks, I'll also make sure to treasure this dearly—"

...

... ...

It was just then that the string of memories began to vanish away and be replaced by another scene.

After the disorienting feeling from the motion sickness subsided, I now found myself standing in a lush garden, and just in the distance was the same group of children playing a round of tag.

This is...

After realizing what this string memory is all about, my chest suddenly tightens.

"My lord?" Entropy who notices my discomfort concernedly calls out to me.

"N-Nothing..."

Watching the group play, I grimly stared at myself who was struggling to catch Jeanne.

This is truly... very suffocating... This day, this very moment, I wish I could simply forget it.

"Come on Rey catch me if you can!" Jeanne laughs at me as she glides around the garden using wind magic.

"Jeanne stop using magic!"

"Oh come on now weak face, use those legs of yours!" As Jeanne continuously glided around, she didn't notice that she was about to collide with Railliana.

Seeing an opportunity for a victory, I pantingly continued with my chase until...

"Got you!"

A group of three armed men suddenly jumped off out of nowhere and targeted us.

"Kyaaaaa!"

—A scream from Railliana and Alicia immediately drowns the entire garden as the group of men grab us by surprise and begin dragging us into an isolated part of the garden ready to carry out their heinous crime.

"Description said the girl got a golden hair, but there's two of them!"

"Then let's just split the poison and inject it into the both of them before the guards arrive!"

"Don't, we can't risk the poison losing its potency, the job said we need the one that has the power of clairvoyance"

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"But there's no time, the guards will be here any minute!"

Upon hearing those words both Railliana and Alica's eyes widen out of terror.

Realizing the graveness of the danger they were in, it was Jeanne who managed to remain calm and secretly conjure magic using spell casting and blasted all the assailants with high-pressured wind making them lose their grip.

"Run!" with a loud shout from Jeanne, all of us managed to struggle out of the armed men before bolting away to make our escape.

Knowing their target was Alicia, it was Jeanne who selflessly volunteered to hold them off as she knew she was the only one who had deep experience with magic.

"I'll hold them off, go, run, and call the guards!"

"—But!" Reluctant to leave Jeanne alone, Railliana begins to conjure a magic of her own and summons a torrent of water hitting one of their assailants and slamming it unconscious.

"Railliana, they're after you and your sister!"

"I know but I can't leave you here!"

It was then that one of the other armed men caught them off guard and grabbed Railliana by her neck.

"Guuh!"

"A mage with the eye of clairvoyance can't use any conventional magic, you're not the one we're after. Die!"

"—Graah!"

As the armed men were about to slash Railliana, it was then that I managed to sneak behind the man and stab him right in the back using a sharp gardening tool that I randomly picked up.

"Why you little!"

"Hurry run!" I shouted out of desperation.

—But it was not enough, The tool didn't manage to inflict that much damage, and it was not too long that the table was then turned.

Grabbing me by the neck, I trashed around trying to break free but was instead thrown to the ground like a ragdoll.

"Annoying brat!" pulling the sharp tool out of his back, the rough-looking man angrily glares in my direction before lunging out to exact revenge.

Accepting my fate at that time, I could only close my eyes and wait for the inevitable, but at that very moment, Alicia out of nowhere, jumped in front of me to receive the blow.

"Kyaa!"

""Alicia!!"" the three of us synchronously shouted, but it was too late.

Realizing that their target was right in front of their face, one of the armed men didn't waste any time and stabbed her with a small syringe blade that was endowed with a poison vial before grabbing their unconscious comrade and escaping away.

"Alicia!" Regaining a little bit of my strength, I forcefully pushed myself up from the ground and desperately ran toward Alicia to catch her before she hit the ground.

"I-I'm glad... you're safe"

Letting her rest in my arms, I immediately applied pressure to her wound trying to stop the bleeding, but Alicia upon seeing my worried face, desperately lifted her hand and caressed my cheek.

Not wanting to waste any second she has left, she then brandishes a soft smile on her face wanting to let me know that everything will be alright before removing the tears that were forming in my eyes.

"Alicia... W-Why... —Why did you do that!"

"It's ok, don't cry"

"But!"

"It's okay, I... —I'll see you soon" Was her final words before closing her eyes.

"No no no no Alicia!"

Upon watching the scene make its way to its tragic conclusion, I can only remain silent and endure the suffocating pain within myself.

"I see..." Entropy mutters.

It was then again that the string of memories changed.

I am now standing in a familiar room, it was Alicia's room, and right on the bed was Alicia herself lying down unconscious and unresponsive to all the people who are lamenting for her.

It has already been a week since the incident.

"She was fortunately alive, but she's been struck with an unknown poison, we already tried every we can, antidote, cure magic, exilirs... but it's just too powerful. I'm sorry to be the bringer of such grave news, but I currently have no idea if she may ever open up her eyes again" The doctor announces the bad news to everyone in a low sympathetic voice.

"You mean my sister won't ever wake up again?"

"..." The doctor can only give her a silent reply.

Unable to hold her tears, Railliana ran out of the room to which Jeanne and I worriedly followed suit.

"Liana wait!"

Following her outside into the front yard, I tried calling out her name to stop her from running away only to be met by a high-pressure water magic.

"Ugh..." I groan in the pain from being slammed into a wall.

"What are you doing Railliana!" Jeanne upon seeing Railliana's hostility towards me tried to stop her but to no avail.

"It's all your fault!" Railliana shouted in spite as she unleashed another water magic at me.

"It's because of you that my sister will... —that my sister will never wake up again!"

"..."

I still remember that after the incident, Railliana remained quiet throughout those passing days. I can only imagine that she's been forcefully suppressing all her emotions in the hope that everything will be alright. —but, it seems that hearing the doctor's announcement was the final drop of water that broke the dam.

"..."

"Why does it have to be her?! When It should have been you!" With her tears now pouring down uncontrollably, Railliana's knees then collapse not knowing what to do next.

Upon hearing her spiteful words, both my and my young self's eyes synchronously darkened from the drowning feeling of frustration and guilt.

"..."

Everything she said was the truth... I am the one who caused all this... the only one who's responsible for what happened to Alicia. I should have known better... After all, I am always been no good to others.

Just what kind of friend am I when I can't even protect them? What good of friends am I when I can only cause them misfortunes like this?... Do I even deserve them? I kept asking myself those questions over and over... Nonetheless, her next few statements were like sharp nails being hammered right through my heart.

"I see, now I understand why other people call you weak and useless..."

"..."

"That's enough!" Jeanne then tried to calm Railliana down but was simply ignored.

"Funny unlike your older sister, you don't really have a clue where to place yourself huh... What are you even trying to prove back there huh, Tell me!"

"—But..."

"But what?! You're weak! You should've just run away with my sister and called the guards! It's all your fault... It's all your... ... ..." Railliana was now at her breaking point, having lost her significant half, she could only drown in sorrow and focus all her hatred on me.

"..."

"Rey please understand that she's just angry and confused because of her loss, maybe it's best to leave her be for now" Jeanne had always been the mature type of the group despite all our ages being the same. But even so, there's no changing what she had just said.

To me who's always been at the end of all criticism and insults from all the people around me for being such a weak and useless person, hearing those same words from those whom I considered my closest friend with such animosity was simply gut-wrenching.

"—I wish we wouldn't have met you!" As Railliana shouted those final words, it then that something shattered inside of me.

"Railliana that's enough!"

"I... —No, She's right, it was my fault for being useless... —I-I'm sorry, and I promise, I'll never show my face to you ever again"

Deprived of any emotions my young self then simply stood up from the ground and walked back into Alicia's room only to return the star brooch she had given before leaving the manor.

"W-Wait I didn't mean to—"

Railliana, upon realizing what she had done, wants to immediately apologize and stop me but can't muster the courage to do so.

"Rey, please don't..."

Jeanne too wants to stop me from leaving but I simply ignore their plea, there's nothing more that I can do.

"Didn't you wish for our friendship to last forever?!"

"!!!" Stunned for a bit, I could only stare at the ground before completely running away.

"Rey!"

Those words hold no meaning now... Not after everything I've caused...

—I'm sorry Alicia!

"..."

As the memory comes to an end, the entire world fades into nothingness, before I knew it, I am now again standing in an empty white world.

"Satisfied now?" I turned to Entropy as she stood silently staring up in the sky.

"I never... could have imagined that something so tragic would befall you at such as young age"

"Ever since that day, everything has changed. Well, for the better I suppose"

"But you cut them off of your life... Did you really think that it's for the better?"

"Those three were the only few who honestly considered me as a friend, especially Railliana, and how did I repay them?"

"..."

"—Maybe I left because I couldn't handle the guilt... Or that because I couldn't face the truth that she was right!"

"About you being weak?" Entropy then looks at me.

"..." I silently nodded to which she replied with a soft smile.

"That couldn't be further than the truth... Because I know what you're capable of, and believe me, I've seen it. If anything It was me who was the one who was weak and useless between the two of us"

"..."

"Long ago you and I took an oath, I vowed to you that time that I would always be there for you, no matter the time, no matter the hardship, and no matter what circumstances will befall us, and yet when it mattered the most, I wasn't able to help you... I feel so powerless as your spirit"

"Entropy..."

"—But now that I am here, I promise you, I will not let anything like this to ever happen again!"

Summoning her raven wings, Entropy then turns around and raises her hand in the air. Upon her command, the entire domain began to rumble as three familiar white doors began to rise from the textureless floor.

Taking a closer inspection It was indeed the same three doors that I had seen the last time I visited this place.

"Those are?" I curiously ask as I touch the engravings on the insignia.

"—The doors that connect you to your past"

"Past?"

Entropy then nodded.

"Remember these names, Luhi Deamon, Kristop Aluzirus, and Magus Liareign. These three are the names of your past lives, each has its origins, stories, and legacy"

"Those names... You mentioned them before"

"—yes, I've said it before and I'll say it again... Within you is a collection of memories that shaped the world into what it is now"

"It's hard to understand what you're talking about... —are you saying I've lived more than once?"

Entropy nodded again further confusing me with such an absurd claim.

"When the time comes, these doors shall open themselves to you, and only then that you'll know who you really are..."

As Entropy said those final words, the world began to be swallowed by darkness indicating that my time here has come to an end.

**********

Opening my eyes, I let out a big yawn.

Getting up from my bed it seems that my face is a little wet.

Tears?

Wiping off the tears from my face I turn my attention to the clock.

"3:52 am, just about right to start the day"

Exiting my room and heading down to the kitchen area to grab some leftover food, it seems that I'm not the only one who has woken up this early in the morning.

"Good morning dorm mother" I greeted the sweet lady who was cooking as I entered the kitchen.

Mrs. Rea Silda, also known as Dorm Mother is a woman in her late adulthood and the sole owner of this dormitory. She has a common characteristic of an imperial citizen with fairly light skin, black hair, and a pair of black eyes.

She oftentimes would wake up earlier than me to prepare breakfast for the many students who reside here.

Now despite how large this dormitory is, there are only two people who run this place, namely the dorm mother and her daughter who's also a second-year student on my campus. As for her husband, I've met him only a couple of times, he's a soldier who's stationed overseas and would only come home once a year.

"Hmm... Already up for your daily routine?" The dorm mother greeted back.

"Yes, I'm just gonna grab a loaf of bread and be on my way"

"Hmm... That won't do, just wait a couple of minutes the soup should be almost ready"

"Okay thanks"

"—By the way, Mister Luther came by yesterday and delivered some meat that he said you've hunted. Honestly, I thought there was some kind of mistake because I didn't order any supplies, but he clarified to me that half of the meat he managed to process was addressed to be delivered here and you're its recipient. There was quite a variety I'll make sure to cook you something good for dinner"

"Ah, no need dorm mother, just make the usual and share it with the others, it's the least that I could do to help"

After eating my breakfast, I wasted no time and headed straight to the campus.

With the sun still down and the only source of illumination was the street lamps, I readied myself for the long haul that I was about to do.

"Eight... Seven... Six... — Two... One..."

As I finished warming up and was about to start with my jog, Entropy out of nowhere slowly materialized in front of me.

"Good morning" Entropy gracefully bowed and greeted me.

"Morning, what are you doing here?"

"Nothing, just testing my current limit. So far, I can only partially manifest myself into the world"

"Can other people see you?"

"No, Not at the moment, unless I'm able to perform a complete manifestation, only you can see me"

"Well that's rather convenient" I commented.

"Do you mind if we talk about something as you do your routine?"

"That depends, but what do you want to talk about"

"It's about the memories that we saw last night..."

"Sigh... Then that's a no" Letting out a deep sigh I immediately rejected Entropy's proposal and started my jog.

"But I want to learn more about your past"

"That's none of your business"

"It is now! May I remind you that I am your spirit?"

"Ent, seriously, please spare me"

"Hmmph... Fine, I'll retreat, for now"

"Thank you"

"—But only because you've called me Ent!"

"W—wait, I didn't notice..."

"Fufufu" Entropy giggles as she floats around and whispers something into my ears.

"Glad to know you're slowly starting to return to your past self m-y-l-o-r-d"

Ignoring Entropy's teasing, I simply continue with my jog until my legs give out.

**********

Ding! Ding! Ding!

"Well then that's it for today, see you tomorrow"

It was now the afternoon and the class had just ended.

Packing my things into my bag I was then approached by Arthur.

"Yo class' done, you got any plan today? —You see, I was kinda invited by the students from the class next door for a get-together at the newly opened cafe near the market, I'm currently the only guy that's been invited so I was kinda hoping you'd tag along" Arthur then briefly turns to a group of four girls waiting at the door.

"Sigh... Popular with the girls as always, you go enjoy yourself, I have something to do at the library"

"Seriously? I mean those four girls are the most popular ones in their class, have you heard of Cynthia? She's a daughter of a count, I bet she'll be interested in you, come on now, don't waste your shot!"

"I still have to decline sorry" was my final answer.

"Fine, but just in case you change your mind, here's the address"

Arthur then handed me a piece of paper and waved goodbye to me before approaching the girls.

"Sorry... he seems busy, let's try again next time" Arthur disappointingly apologized in the distance before heading on their way.

Exiting the classroom into the hallway, I notice that there are tons of people clustered by the student lounge.

"Was there a celebrity or something?" Uninterested I simply shrugged my curiosity off and headed straight to the locker room.

After dropping off my things at my locker, I am now walking through the campus grounds towards the direction of the library.

"Stone shard!"

"Aqua vortex!"

Hearing some distant shouts and explosions, I couldn't help but take a short glance towards the training ground on my right.

It seems that the mage club is training today.

The Mage Club, similar to the Dueling Club is an organization that predated since the founding of this institution, but unlike our club which prioritizes military arts, the Mage Club instead focuses more on the fundamentals of magic.

Seeing various magic attacks being launched toward the target dummies, I couldn't help but be curious and spare a little time to watch their activity.

"Hey isn't that..."

"Yeah"

Sitting on one of the empty benches, I couldn't help but begin to notice the stares of other people towards me.

"Did I do something wrong?" Embarrassed I can only ignore them in silence as I continue to watch the students at the training ground.

Using my sharp eye, I began to focus on one of the female students as she took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

Raising her hand, the female student then begins to meticulously write a familiar string of letters in the empty air using her pointing fingers.

"Violent flame from my soul,

burn brightly and scorch my foe!"

After her short spelling is done, the female student then breathes a sigh of relief before releasing the string of letters and letting it compress to a single point.

Spell casting huh

"Elflamme!"

With a loud shout, the female student then conjures a fireball out of thin air and launches it straight at the target dummy resulting in its destruction in a fiery explosion.

Elflamme, it's one of the most common magic known in the empire, and being able to use this type of magic will guarantee to land you somewhere in the many magic institutions of the empire.

"My lord?"

I heard a voice inside my head.

"What is it, Ent?" I whisper under my breath.

"Nothing"

"Now aren't you being mysterious"

"Who knows"

Entropy again decided to appear beside me and accompany me as I watched the mage students from afar.

Magic huh, If only I had something like that back then, perhaps everything would be different today.

"Say Entropy are you really a spirit that's contracted to me?" feeling anxious about my situation I decided to strike out a conversation.

"Yes, of course, there's no doubt about that, rather why do you need to ask something like that?" Entropy confusedly tilted her head.

"—Don't tell me you're not satisfied with me anymore?!"

"N-No of course not! It's just that I heard spirit mages are capable of unimaginable feats that they can alter the aspect of reality itself using the power of mana. Listen, as I already told you, don't have a single shred of affinity to aether much less to mana. I'm sure a spirit such as you would find me very unsatisfying"

"Sigh... You talk as if you were Magus back then... —I hate that! Why are you so down to Ashtalt on belittling yourself?! —I'll have you know if anyone other than you tried to form a contract with me, they'd be subjected to infinite horrors until their body would just be an empty husk of flesh from the madness within"

"—wait what?"

"I am after all the seraphim of the end and chaos. Also, you may not have mana at the moment but there was no mistake that you're still able to cast spells. We'll just have to find out how that is possible.

"Sigh... I guess I'll believe you for now. Come on let's get going"

With an anxious mind, I then left the training ground and continued on my way into the library without any more distractions.