The ground shook. Grayson felt the ground vibrating around him, and the paintings hanging on his wall began crashing to the floor. “Is this an earthquake!?” he yelled, surprised.
Right when he began to calm down, a thundering sound echoed in his ears. The force of the sound was enough to throw Grayson to the ground. To make matters worse, a huge flash of light blinded him.
“Today was supposed to be a fun day! The final episode of my favorite show is on today,”
The peeved man struggled to get back on his feet. He rubbed at his eyes, still suffering the aftershock of the flashbang.
“Look’s like it was a success,” said a strange voice coming directly above Grayson.
“What was that?” Grayson replied, seemingly unaware of the new voice.
“Wait… What the hell!” Grayson jumped back realizing that strange voice wasn’t his. In front of him, he saw an older man with a beard looking down at him, with a discerning eye. He could have sworn he was home alone.
“Who are you!? And what are you doing in my house!” He stared right back at the man with the same glint of discernment. His feet took a defensive stance, he was ready for whatever the man might do.
For a second Grayson could have sworn he saw the older man look around his house with a hint of nostalgia.
Is he the previous owner of this house—?
“Do you believe in magic?” the bearded man said, interrupting Grayson’s train of thought.
I take that back, this guy has to be a drug addict or something. Those ragged clothes and the fact that he’s just standing in my living room without being invited! Grayson eyed the man with even more suspicion. “How did you get into my house and what does magic have anything to do with this!?” Grayson yelled deciding he entertained the man enough.
“Well, I did not expect this to be easy,” the older man sighed. his gaze shifting away from their surroundings and fixing on Grayson. “It will be easier to explain if I just do this.” The man lifted his hands into an odd pose, prompting Grayson to step back, wondering if he should tackle the man.
That was until he saw strange lights beginning to appear in a spiraling pattern around the man. He looked awestruck, eyeing what looked like little golden fireflies coiling. They shone in a dazzling brilliance.
An image of a boy zipping around his living room with a blanket over his shoulders shot into Grayson’s mind. He remembered the emotions that ran through him, watching his favorite superheroes fight. At that moment, Grayson thought of a single word. Magic.
“I will ask you again.” The little fireflies flew faster, brighter, coalescing into an aura surrounding the man. “Do you believe in magic?” The older man reached his hand out toward Grayon, his gaze piercing his soul.“Because when you ask who I am, the answer is simple: I’m you, Grayson Alderwood, the future version of yourself.”
What is he talking about? What does he mean he’s me? Grayson stared at the extended hand, the golden light, the unfamiliar, yet so unfamiliar face. Everything was moving too fast. His mind raced searching the old man for an answer.
“Should I trust him? Is this a prank?” A realization clicked in his as he unknowingly slowly extended his hand toward the man. Strangely, he didn’t feel the need to question it further; his body, mind, and soul seemed to know the man was telling the truth. The answer was already there, tugging at him.
Sitting at the dining table with Grayon—also Grayson. One of them sat looking composed drinking at a cup of coffee. The other looked like they’d just seen a ghost, which wasn’t that far from the truth.
Young Grayson studied the older version of himself, hesitating before blurting out, “Did I… ever lose my virginity?” His face turned beet red the moment the words left his mouth.
His elder self stared at him. A silence filled the already quiet atmosphere.
A long few seconds later, the silence begrudgingly broken. The old man burst out laughing, unable to keep it in any longer. “Out of all the things you could have asked me, why was I here, whether you ended up getting married, or how I know magic, you ask whether or not you lost your virginity.” The younger man’s face grew red as he looked at the laughing man.
“Oh come on, if you’re me, you would know how things… have been for me.” He couldn’t bear the shame any longer and angrily yelled back at the old man.
“Well, I suppose I do understand.” his elder self coughed, “I was in your position once, don’t worry there’s a lot in store for you in the future—love that is” For the briefest of moments, his older self's expression tinged with sadness before it quickly vanished.
“You know it’s been a long time since I have seen this place, it looks as homey as I remember it.” the emotions that flashed across the older man’s face were not missed, and Grayson wondered what could have possibly happened in the future. “That’s enough fun for the moment, I should get onto the reason why I am here,” his future self clapped, ending that thought.
All jovial energy in the room halted. With a serious look on his face, his future self gazed directly into young Grayson’s eyes, causing him to straighten up instinctively.
His palms quickened with moisture. In front of him was an old man with a long gray beard, wearing tattered robes, and scars that ran down the arms of the man. A gray beard, tattered robes, and scars unable to be hidden, Grayson saw the older man for what he truly was.
“Tell me Grayson Alderwood, do you care about the life of a stranger? Would you cry if you saw a child die in front of your eyes? What about your classmates or friends? What about your father? Mother?”
Out of all the things he was prepared to listen to, this was not what he expected. “Why are you asking this? Of course, I would care if someone died in front of me, regardless of their relation to me,” he replied.
The air grew sharp. The old man looked at the uncomprehending boy and contemplated his next response: “Of course, I know these answers already because I am you. I ask you this because in less than an hour, the world will end.”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Grayson’s eyes opened wide as he peered at the old man searching for a joke anything.
“The world is going… to… end?” he said, these being the only ones he could find.
“I’m sorry.” the old man said quietly. He purposefully chose not to reply with an explanation, giving his younger self the time to think. At times like these, he forgot what it meant to be normal, so young and unaware of what was truly at stake.
A fist slammed into the table. Because the man sitting in front of him was himself, a future version albeit, what was being told to him was not a lie. Had it been anyone else Grayson would laugh. “Explain. You can’t just say ‘I’m sorry’ and expect me to believe that shit coming out your mouth.” He saw the sadness on the older man’s face but couldn’t stop himself from cursing at the man.
“You’re right I should probably explain things properly, forgive me if I’m unable to provide you with much detail, there are things you should and shouldn’t know.”
The gist of what unfolded between the two was unsettling. In less than an hour, an apocalypse would descend upon Earth, and humanity would be summoned to a tutorial, tasked with fighting for survival. Beings known as Constellations would grant powers to those they deemed worthy, bestowing them gifts that would prove useful in the fight against the forces that would soon tear the world apart. But the truth, as Grayson quickly learned, was that the Constellations weren't all they seemed. They might not be the true architects behind humanity's destruction, but they sure as hell were manipulating events from behind the scenes, using humanity for their own devices.
In a universe where working together was more pertinent than ever, the so-called beings of the highest caliber still fought against one another. They weren't the benevolent gods they pretended to be, but selfish entities whose lust for power had led to the downfall of many civilizations like Earth.
Grayson interrupted his future self-time, seeking clarification on points that made his mind spin. “Wait, you mean to say the Constellations were behind all of it? But... how? Why would they let humanity die?” he demanded, his voice betraying both disbelief and fear.
Future Grayson sighed, rubbing his temples. “It’s complicated. Their motives were never purely for us, or for you. But that’s not something I can explain in detail.” He paused as if weighing how much to reveal. “Even the basics that might give you a head start, I dare not share them. Too much help can be a poison.”
Future Grayson’s return to the past was a mystery, though he had dropped hints that powerful beings—ones who had long since faded from history—had been involved. “The last remnants of humanity... they helped me come back,” Future Grayson said quietly, sadness creeping into his tone. “But that, too, is a story for another time.”
Grayson pressed him for more, his curiosity and fear driving him to demand answers to questions that seemed to multiply the more he learned. But no matter how hard he pushed his future self would only share bits and pieces—enough to paint a grim picture, but never enough to explain everything. Each revelation brought more confusion, more weight to the burden he now carried.
“There’s one thing I don’t understand, how are you going to save humanity if you weren’t able to do it with the help of these powerful beings?”
“That’s the thing I won’t be saving humanity, you will,” laughed the older man.
“What do you mean me? Aren’t you supposed to be some ultra-powerful monster? I’m just an ordinary guy who gets tired after walking up two flights of steps.”
Future Grayson simply smiled as he looked back at the young him who eyed him as if he were insane. He needn’t answer, the long hour was wrapping up.
----------------------------------------
[SYSTEM MESSAGE TO HUMANITY]
To all of Humanity, you have been called
In five minutes, humanity will be connected to the greater universe. To prepare, all of humanity is invited to participate in the tutorial.
All will enter, and only the worthy will survive.
Prepare to awaken to trials unknown, Survival is a privilege earned, not given.
Welcome to the—
----------------------------------------
A strange screen popped up in front of Grayson. “This must be the System you mentioned.” As he read the system message another window popped up in front of him, this one being bit different.
----------------------------------------
[ERROR: ANOMALY DETECTED IN VICINITY]
[Analyzing entity threat level…]
[Unauthorized entity detected: Classification – Temporal Calamity.]
[Initiating emergency protocol…]
[Deletion commencing…]
----------------------------------------
“There's your answer. To be more precise I can’t fight back against the system, time and space travel takes a lot out of someone.” The old man helped Grayson back up, who had fallen after the error message popped onto his screen. “Quickly we don’t have much time before it’s too late.”
“You’re going to die just like that!?” The old man smiled listening to his younger self worry over him. I can't remember the last time someone so fragile cared so much about my well-being. His body parts of his body began burning in a golden flame, parts of him evaporating into the air.
“I've told you as much information as I'm allowed to share, but there's one important piece of information I haven't told you: that is, for any of this to work, you're going to have to kill me.”
“What—” Grayson tried to protest.
“I’m not done yet. As powerful as I am, even I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen,” he said, his voice tense. “I’ve gambled my life on a possibility that might lead to nothing. Rewards can differ greatly from person to person.” His body was burning away rapidly now, a gaping hole forming in his chest. He continued, “But what I do know is this: if you receive any kind of authorization, you need to use it to refuse the tutorial. You don’t need to know why, but that is the most important thing that must occur.”
Grayson stood there, dazed, looking at the man he was beginning to like. “You can’t be serious. After everything you went through, you can’t just throw your life away like this. No—I won’t allow it.”
The old man spoke over him, “Listen, Grayson, when I came back into the past I was fully determined to do what must be done, even if it meant forcing the younger version of me to kill myself.” A knife materialized out of thin air, its blade pure dark obsidian. The old man pressed it into the younger man’s hands.
This can’t be happening. Today was supposed to be a normal day. I can’t lose the old man now. Grayson didn’t know it but he had begun thinking of the future version of himself as more than just a version of him. He was him but not him, someone who lived an entirely different life than him, who loved, who saw his loved ones perish, and someone whose goals were completely different from him.
Before he knew what even happened, the knife that was in his hands was halfway through the old man’s heart. The world was spinning, his mind was clouded.
“No!” He tried taking the dagger out, but the older man just stepped forward.
“Grayson, I’m sorry for forcing you down this path, I don’t expect you to forgive me, if I had another chance at redoing this encounter I would have still done the same.”
The old man smiled one last time, and then his body completely exploded into dust. Grayson watched this scene as tears streamed down his eyes.
Why did this have to happen? I wish I could have spent more time with you!
----------------------------------------
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
Quasi-Mythical Entity Slain! Congratulations, Grayson Alderwood! You are the first of humanity to slay a Quasi-Mythical being!
Note: As you are currently unawakened, no experience points or titles will be awarded.
Due to your current soul capacity, some rewards will be withheld at this time.
One-Time Use System Change Authorization Granted! You may now alter your system parameters at your discretion. Use wisely.
Unique Skill [Past Echo] obtained!
----------------------------------------