"And thus, Apophis was taken down by the true gods," Rana finished the story.

"Was he thrown in jail by Ra and the others? Or did they kill him?" One of the nine children sitting before her, a boy with curly blonde hair, asked.

They were all gathered outside, comfortably seated in the shade of a large oak tree. The sky above was a brilliant blue, and the sun cast a warm, golden glow over the lush green vegetable fields that stretched out around them. The parents of these children were diligently working in the fields. A large cottage made of stone and wood, topped with a cozy straw-thatched roof, stood nearby. It was Rana's home, where she lived with her father.

"Apophis was placed in a jail of sorts," Rana replied truthfully.

"And the realm returned to order?" Another child, a girl with straight brown hair, piped in.

"Yes," Rana lied.

It was a white lie—the story intended for children stated it as such. Much like all stories for children, the tale went that evil was defeated, the good won over, and everyone lived happily ever after.

The true tale was a bit more complicated, and her father told it to her only after she had her coming-of-age birthday. Apophis may have been removed from the realm he had brought into chaos, but the damage was done. And with his absence, the void was filled by another, albeit perhaps a less evil being. Moreover, those considered the story's heroes were complex and could be regarded as evil in other, separate contexts.

A clap sounded from nearby.

"Alright, children!" A woman in her mid-thirties called out. "That's enough stories. Let's return to the village. The cart is ready now."

She guided the boys and girls toward a waiting cart with a warm smile. Two sturdy horses were hitched to the front, and the cart was already partly loaded with freshly harvested vegetables, ready to be taken back to the village along with the children.

Rana smiled and waved toward the kids as they pilled in and said their goodbyes.

Telling them stories and reading to them was always a highlight of her days. It was one of the few ways she could interact with others in what her father considered safe.

She clasped her hands and extended them over her head, stretching them out. Birds chirped happily from the various fruit trees surrounding the cottage and flew out of the trees toward the closest village.

Rana watched them fly far away with envy before beginning her walk back to the cottage.

A seemingly simple wooden fence surrounded the cottage's large property. In truth, it was fortified with black mana stones and other traps. The fence also signified how far Rana was allowed to go. Anything within the wall was considered safe, and her father strictly prohibited her from going beyond it.

"Hello," she smiled toward one of the guards who stood beside the fence closest to her. The man tipped his hat toward her, not daring to engage in conversation. He was one of over a dozen guards her father had monitoring the property to ensure her safety and protection.

Unfortunately, they were all mute toward her. As part of their contract, they were strictly prohibited from interacting with Rana, as her father feared that they might weasel themselves into her trust and backstab her.

It was frustrating. Her father had always been overprotective of her, especially after her mother had died. However, in the last couple of years, his paranoia had grown exponentially after he returned from a short trip to Genise, Adovoria's capital city. While there, he had become convinced that something awful, comparable to the chaos brought on by Apophis, would befall Rana.

Thus, aside from the children, to whom Rana had begged him to be able to read and which was one of the only times she pressed against his wishes, she wasn't allowed to have contact with anyone.

It's too dangerous.

Her father's voice rang in her head.

I lost your mother, and I can't bear to lose you too.

Thus, he had wrapped her in a thick blanket of protection, not realizing just how suffocating it was for her.

Rana opened the front door and entered the empty cottage.

The rules of safety did not apply to her father, who was constantly away on business, conducting community service work that benefited those who were less fortunate and taking down the evils of this world. He insisted that all of this was necessary to protect her as well.

Rana never worried that something terrible might befall him on his travels. Her father was the strongest and most powerful person she knew—stronger than all of the guards protecting her combined. She doubted that even that one lunatic who had shown up in her cottage once, or according to him, twice, could hold a candle to her father.

She had once successfully convinced him to teach her to protect herself instead of relying on him, but one bad accident resulted in her father abandoning any thought of her learning his techniques.

Rana ran her fingers over the heavy and rough scar that covered the entirety of her right arm. It was ugly and excruciatingly painful at the time of the mishap, but what hurt more was that it signified her uselessness and powerlessness to shape her own destiny.

Her father insisted that he would protect her and her ability to live a normal life, but her stifled life in this cottage was already far from normal.

Moreover, she now knew that his precautions and seeming paranoia weren't actually without basis. Whatever tragedy that her father had painstakingly attempted to prevent may have already happened, and she was in the midst of it right then and there.

Not that I dare tell him.

Rana closed the cottage door and gazed at her reflection in a nearby mirror.

Staring back was her reflection, a girl of eighteen with dark curly hair, full lips, and enormous eyes the color of honey and the sun.

She sighed.

She knew that in a few minutes, a bird would accidentally fly into one of the windows. About six hours from now, her father would return from yet another one of his travels, and in a few months, one of the farmers currently working the fields outside would discover what would eventually be named the Luminous Vault.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

It was her third life now. The first one ended abruptly about two weeks from today's date, while the second one managed to go through a part of autumn. She wasn't sure how long this one would last or how many more of these loops would occur—she'd been informed by the violet-haired man who broke into her cottage, who was in a similar predicament as herself, that he'd gone through several dozens of these loops himself.

More alarming was his insight that he had previously checked in on her in another lifetime, one that she did not remember, and that even at age twenty-six, she was still living in this same old cottage, having never left beyond the fence.

Is this what my life will be like? A series of loops going through the same day over and over again—after all, my days up until now were already hard to tell apart.

Rana ran her hand over the books her father had brought for her on past travels to keep her entertained. These books were her only way of escaping this cottage and exploring the outside world. The words in them allowed her to transform into a knight fighting against an invasion of demons, a princess maneuvering bejeweled halls and political intrigue, or even a farmer that sets to sailing across the great oceans and fighting against sea monsters.

But I can't ever tell him his worst fears have come to pass.

Apart from the worry of breaking her father's heart, Rana feared what other means of 'protecting' her he would implement if he knew. He once told her a story of a princess locked up in a tall tower, visited only by her mother, and joked that maybe she'd be even safer if he did something similar instead of this cottage.

Rana did not take the joke lightly.

She pulled out a red book, which on first appearance appeared to be a text on agriculture, and likely what her father presumed it to be, but was actually a book on a far more complicated topic of element magic and composition of all organic material. Unlike the novels she read, the element magic described in this book wasn't limited to water, earth, air, fire, and the like. It went far further, dissecting everything on a level that was too minuscule for even the best of eyes. There were even notes throughout the book by a previous reader, suggesting some rather disturbing utilizations but providing actual application alongside the theoretical text.

This book was her ticket out from under her father's burdensome overprotectiveness. It was her way to keep her sanity through the upcoming loops and a method to empower herself since her father wasn't going to teach her to protect herself.

Time to study before he returns.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Yes~ Be in awe, for I have destroyed cities and mountains. Millions perished by my hand, and many others bowed their heads in allegiance to my glory.

Apophis continued hissing.

Release me, and I shall accept you as my master. I will bestow upon you my knowledge and power and help you take over this world as well! With my help, nothing shall stand in your way.~

I watched the small black snake wriggling around in its cage and felt one of my eyes twitch.

This little thing that is stuck pathetically in this cage actually killed millions?

[[ How long have you been banished to this realm thus far? ]]

Ah~ Time eludes me, but it has been a few thousand years.

He's been here that long and is still bragging about all the destruction and death he'd inflicted? So much for atonement and whatnot.

"Luca?" Micah called out. "Can you come over? Fleur finished unlocking a couple of the scrolls, and I need you to memorize them. Their text must be decrypted, but we'll do that later."

[[ Got it. ]]

I turned around and walked over to Micah.

[[ Which one should I start with? ]]

"This one," Micah pointed to a yellowed scroll unfurled across the floor. "Tell me once you're done, and you can start on the next one here. Fleur, please continue unlocking the rest."

I ignored the snake's hissing and his projected voice in my head and got to work.

A whole hour passed by the time we completed getting through all the scrolls and paperwork.

"Good work, you two," Micah said and closed his looking glass. "We should leave; Ridley said he felt a slight influx in mana. The Alchemist might be on her way now."

Fleur and Micah wasted no time and made their way toward the stairwell.

~Wait! Don't forget to take me with you, Awakened one!

I glanced back at the snake in the cage and chewed my lip as it continued hissing.

My offer is valid. With my power and knowledge, I will make you invincible. Not even Players would stand in your way.

Frankly, I cared little for Apophis. The creature was evil and had done no atonement of any sort for the reason it was banished to my realm. Did I really want to take it with me? Heck, maybe it deserved to stay with the Alchemist.

A strange thought came to mind.

[[ Why haven't you paired up with The Alchemist, then? You're both evil beings, so you'd have much in common. ]]

That bitch? Absolutely not.

Apophis seethed in its cage.

The person responsible for my long banishment to your realm decided to rub salt in my wounds and reappeared in your realm a few years ago, all with the sole purpose of screwing with me more. I was living my life as an ordinary immortal snake when that dipshit found me and sold me off to that woman to experiment with as she liked.

"Luca? Are you still here?" Micah reappeared on the stairs behind me. "We have to go."

[[ I’m coming. ]]

With no time to waste, I grabbed Apophis's cage and moved after Micah.

Ultimately, my grandmother's words regarding the evil dragon Azgralos came to mind: Sometimes, a past evil can help curb another more pressing evil.

Whether that was true or not with Apophis, I wasn't sure, but figured there was no way of knowing if didn't at least take him along with me.

I rounded through the stairwell and moved quickly after Micah and Fleur out of the tower and back toward our awaiting carriage.

Once we were far from the white tower, Micah reopened his looking glass.

"Ridley, be ready to move the children," he spoke into it. "Julius, blow them up."

Two loud blasts sounded behind us as Julius blew up the tower as he had in the past.

Oh, HO~ You destroyed that evil tower! And I thought you left those kids in there, but you moved them too. You're quite the hero-type, huh?

Apophis hissed happily in his cage, but I frowned at the misconception.

"Young master Micah and Fleur." Selena held open the door to the nondescript large wooden carriage. "And young master Luca."

I removed the pull tag necklace so Selena wouldn't accidentally close the carriage door on me.

"That was a success," Micah beamed once we were inside the carriage. "And once we decipher all those texts you memorized…." he trailed off, staring out the window.

I smiled, pleased at the difference in the mood this round. However, one element felt frustrating nonetheless.

We could have done more.

The carriage door opened, and the seven children, aged six to fourteen, climbed in, with Fin among them.

"Go on, quickly." Ridley ushered the children inside and sat down with one of the youngest on his lap.

~Ah! Not only did you save the children that the evil woman experimented on, but you also managed to reverse their appearance. It's impressive, but what a shame. Did I get stuck with a hero-type Awaked as my master?

The snake complained, but it sounded pleased.

But there were more. Ah~ They're on another carriage, are they?

It made the pit in my stomach feel even heavier.

[[ They’re not those kids. ]]

They're not? Were there even more?

[[ They were blown up. ]]

~Hmmm?

[[ Those kids The Alchemist experimented on. They're dead. ]]

Apophis stared at me with its purple eyes.

[[ They died painlessly and in their sleep in that explosion. ]]

Apophis remained still inside its cage. The air was filled with the conversation of the children who had been saved from the orphanage.

Why didn't you save them? You even knew they were kids. You knew that.

Apophis coiled up and hissed at me.

You saved an evil creature like me and not those kids? And blew them up instead?

[[ What’s it to you? Weren't you bragging just an hour ago about all the destruction and killing you've done? ]]

This and that are different. Besides, I've never killed anyone who didn't, deep down somewhere, deserve it.

Yeah right.

[[ There wasn’t time or personel. Besides, we had no way of physically or mentally reverting what had happened to them. ]]

I repeated what Micah had told me when I had initially suggested saving them.

Apophis hissed in its cage.

Time can be manipulated. Personnel can be hired. And with enough energy I can probably figure out how to revert them back.

I sighed.

~Ah, it's no use now. They're dead, as you've stated. But you're an Awakened, aren't you? If there's a Game in the future and time loops back to this time, do me a favor and save those kids. In return, I will really help you take over this world.

I cracked a smile.

[[ So that initial offer was a lie? ]]

Yeah, so what? I'll even do a promise tattoo with you—no, I'd insist on it because you're not getting my knowledge of thousands of years for free.

Look at it. Perhaps some atonement and reformation had occurred during his long banishment?

[[ You have a deal. ]]