When Sara opened her eyes in Reemada, she took a deep breath, her mindset somewhere between Thank God I’m back and Jesus Christ, I really have to do this shit again?

She and the students were standing in King Trinov Escar’s audience chamber. It was a large, elaborate room adorned with gold statues, Greek-style marble pillars, and purple-marbled tiles, perfect for a paranoid narcissist. The natural golden stola crystals cast an ambient glow on the room. Later, once Jason was dead, and Mary took over, it became mood-lighting for long sessions of people “groveling” between her legs. Just the thought disgusted Sara and made her want to kill her again (a near-constant feeling any time she even thought of her).

“Where the hell are we?” Mary demanded.

Speak of the dead, Sara thought, rewatching the origin story of a villainous bitch. She was morbidly curious, watching for warning signs everyone should've caught sooner, but she was soon drawn away by the sight of Emma frantically trying to comfort people despite being panicked and afraid. Just the sight made Sara’s heart twist with pain. King Escar watched the same scene with a slight smile, ambition burning in his eyes. Prick.

“Welcome, heroes!” King Escar said in a thick, twisted British accent. This wasn't the first time they summoned people from Earth, but it had clearly been a few centuries, and most of the language had been forgotten. However, it was enough for scholars to translate Escar’s speech and help him practice it, doubtlessly cringing all the time. “You’re probably wondering where you are—”

“Damn right we are!” Jason yelled, taking out his anger on the king. “What the fuck is going on?”

A scholar openly translated Jason’s statement, “Yes, Your Majesty, we hope you will elaborate,” into Trellen, the common tongue. King Escar frowned, knowing that was a lie, but lifted his hand for silence and then continued his rehearsed lines.

“Let me begin by telling you where you are.”

Instead of telling them where they were, he dove head first into a trainwreck of a speech that focused on all the wrong things. If he had half the tact he should’ve, he would’ve led with the fact that the “heroes” (as they’d be called) would be given personal servants, immense wealth, and noble titles. The students were young adults, confused and trying to find their place in the world. Just appealing to the men’s dicks, the women’s desire for luxury, and everyone’s need for security would’ve done the trick. But he didn’t. Instead, he informed them that Agronus, a nuclear weapon of an enemy, would soon break the seal holding him inside his castle, take control of his demon army, and slaughter or capture all the humans in Reemada. Then he explained how he virtuously and permanently kidnapped the students from their peaceful world and would soon hand them swords and force them to fight said demon army—whether they wanted to or not.

Unsurprisingly, the students panicked. Emma started crying, Ms. Shouts cited laws, and Jason ran around, trying to play hero, like a hamster who forgot he was in a cage. It was morbidly hilarious to watch him, but her eyes were trained elsewhere.

Emma… Sara grimaced, watching her cry. She wanted to console her, but…. Sara wasn’t her friend—she was a callous imposter. More importantly, she refused to let Emma die in this cycle. If she let her get close, Emma would demand to follow her into danger—just like in her last life. Sara wouldn’t let that happen. So she turned away, and that’s when she saw Daniel.

Daniel was as panicked as the rest, but he wasn’t focused on the hooded mages in the room or the king in front of him. His eyes were glued to the floor.

Sara followed his eyes and found an elaborate geometric array on the floor below them. Wait…. This array! Pushing through the crowd, she approached the center, staring at it with trembling eyes. It had the same exact center! Suddenly, a wave of self-hatred washed over Sara as she recounted her fight with Agronus, realizing that she fought him on top of a modified summoning circle!

To her credit, Sara didn’t do it blindly. As the heroes would soon learn, Agronus was sealed in his castle with an array made by the legendary mage Telia Sayon. So when she saw a massive array on the ballroom floor and watched it weave itself back together after every attack, levitating over missing sections of flooring and always remaining perfect, she just assumed that it was some shit only a legendary mage could create. She was wrong. The moment she killed Agronus, his body released an unbearable amount of mana, and the array activated instead of releasing. That was when she woke up on Earth.

Someone set her up. Son of a bitch!

Sara’s lip curled, and she kicked the lines with her Doc Martens. Nothing happened. She wondered what would happen if she put a gash through it.

Suddenly, King Escar summoned a politician to control the panic. The man announced that there would be food and baths and reasoned that it would be best to explain once everyone calmed down. It took another twenty minutes, but the students finally agreed and followed them out the door.

2

Sara hated the feast King Escar prepared for them. Not because the food was bad but because being around the younger versions of the “heroes” was more uncomfortable than she expected. She was approaching thirty at that point, and she couldn’t even remember most of the students’ names, let alone what they liked to do. More importantly, Reemada was her home. She knew it like the back of her hand. But to the other students, it was a hellish frontier of mysteries and dangers, only bearable because the castle had flushing toilets. That disparity alone made her sigh, pick up a full bottle of helshma (a criminally overpriced wine made from fermented dockberries), and sit at the edge of the table, drinking and wishing it was harder.

How the hell will I explain my knowledge? she thought, snarling at students who approached. All of them kept their distance—except one.

“Ummm… hey, Sara,” Emma said. “Can I sit next to you?”

Sara winced, not wanting to engage. But when she saw Emma’s watery green eyes contrasting against her red, puffy lids like a traumatic Christmas card, Sara’s intestines twisted like a boa constrictor. “Come on. You don’t need my permission.”

“Thank you,” Emma giggled, wiping her eyes and sitting.

Just watching her made Sara’s heart ache, and despite her best intentions to distance herself, she found herself rubbing Emma’s shoulder. “It’s gonna be okay.”

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Emma looked into her eyes. “Why are you so confident?”

As Sara thought about how to answer, she got a sudden idea of how to explain her knowledge. It was a shitty one, but it bypassed her personality flaws and would accomplish her goal and give her access to the kingdom’s politicians.

“I dreamt this would happen,” Sara said. “And it felt so real that I found myself shoving pads into my carry-on the moment I woke up. It was stupid as fuck.”

Emma let out a bewildered giggle. “Girl products? This was going to happen, and you packed pads?”

Sara ran her fingers through her hair and leaned her elbow on the table. “That’s not even the stupid part. I had nearly finished packing the damn bag when I realized I didn’t even need to go to school.”

Emma chuckled, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Then why the hell’d you come?”

“Oh, that. I realized that I needed to at least warn you guys. So I rushed to the school, but when I got there, I had no makeup on and realized that telling you guys would make me sound like a lunatic. Like, how do you casually waltz into English class and declare, Run! We’re going to be sent to another world?”

Emma laughed, and the others nearby started scooting closer.

“So there I was, pacing up and down the hall, running my fingers through my hair, and it occurred to me that I could’ve just pulled the fucking fire alarm!”

A little more laughter; a lot more curiosity.

“But then I was dry heaving at that point. Like, pulling a fire alarm for a false alarm is a crime, right?”

“Not if there’s a legitimate reason,” Daniel said, hesitantly walking up to the table. When he got there, one of the men’s faces (she couldn’t remember his name) went pale, and he shot up. “Here you go,” he said, presenting his seat. It seemed he wisely heeded Sara’s warning not to fuck with Daniel.

Daniel cringed from the attention and slowly sat down. “Thanks….”

Sara studied Daniel’s expressions before shrugging. “What good reason? That we’re going to be transported to a fantasy world with kings and demons? I’m sure the superintendent would’ve loved to hear that after homeroom ended.”

Daniel blushed as the other students chuckled.

“Anyway, I’m exhausted, frustrated, and what’s the first thing I see when I walk into the room to tell everyone?” Sara asked. “Jason staring at Mary’s chest, publically implying we just had sex. I was so pissed that I actually sat down!”

Emma burst into giggles, and the other students snorted. As for Jason and Mary, they watched her with predatory eyes—the eyes of future tyrants. At least in another life. In this cycle, their gazes would only contain petty jealousy, condemnation, and rage.

3

Sara ignored everyone for the rest of the night, listening to the eerily familiar melodies of Lyonnia flutes, haunting her mind and welcoming her home. Then she said she was tired, casually declared that she’d break the pelvis of anyone who slept with their servants—as it was literally fucking slavery—and then walked back to her bedroom as a few of the men groaned.

The bedroom was lavish, adorned with gold detailing, a massive four-poster bed, a bath as big as a hot tub, and Reemada’s interpretation of cosmetics, which weren’t very good. Last time she came here, she proved she was an artist by making them work; this time, she couldn’t give a fuck less. Well, unless it concerned Kye… fuck. At least she had modern products.

“Do you need anything else, mistress?” Tamon, her servant, asked. He had the frame of a bodybuilder, but he hadn’t eaten enough to be anything but lanky. She’d have to change that.

“Yes, I do,” Sara said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a bag of Escaran griffins. They had already gotten bribed and had enough money to start a tavern. It was sick. “If you get the chance, please buy me a leeta tomorrow,” she instructed, referring to Reemada’s version of a house cat. They had the same frame but had pointed ears, halfway to looking like a rabbit. “I’ll be busy, so you’ll need to take care of it. Can you do that for me?”

Tamon’s eyes widened, and he swallowed hard as he accepted the currency. “As you will, Mistress.”

“That’s all. You’re dismissed.” As she was closing the door, she paused. “There’s a lot of gold there, and leetas are pretty cheap. Please buy yourself one to take care of, too. Leetas need friends, and friends can’t come from the same owners. Earthian custom. Can you do that?”

Tamon fell silent, so she turned around and saw him trembling with glittering eyes, trying to find words. “I’d love to, Mistress.”

Sara smiled gently, glad she didn’t need to poke and prod him for six months again to find out what he liked. “Good. I look forward to meeting them. Good night.”

4

After closing the door, Sara sat in her room, sighing. It felt like the entire world was on her shoulders now. Was she a hero? Absolutely not. But when bad shit happens, it affects everyone. And she refused to let Raul and Emma die as Jason and Mary seized the throne. She refused to get chased down, moving from country to country, living in slums while avoiding bounties. She refused to let Edico and Rokus sacrifice themselves again. All of that made for a shitty fucking life. Not this time. She’d do whatever it took to make sure that history wouldn't repeat.

The greater question was: How did she end up going back to begin with? Thinking back to the last moment when she struck down her sword on Agronus, she finally remembered. That laugh…. she thought.

Suddenly, adrenaline hit Sara’s bloodstream, and her heart started racing, palms clamming, eyes losing focus. It was like the onset of her rare PTSD episodes when she relived Emma’s death in excruciating detail, only to snap back to reality, body drenched in sweat, looking around to figure out where she was.

Yet it was different. Instead of seeing it, she could hear it. That laugh. That haunting fucking laugh. Someone was laughing when the array lit up, and now that she remembered it, she couldn’t get it out of her mind. That was strange because, aside from knowing it was a man, she couldn’t even remember what it sounded like. The reason it stuck out was because of its tone. The man who was laughing wasn’t cackling about his victory; he sounded bewildered, amazed that the array lit up. And there was no malice in the voice—

—that’s what made it so chilling. It was as if the person’s brain didn’t register anything was wrong with the situation, only focused on the wonder of it happening.

Who… was that? Sara thought, racking her brain, braving the gruesome details of the battle. She could remember Agronus’s body, mangled to pieces, looking like a half-transmuted chimera in a bowl of squirrel guts, but she couldn’t remember more about the man. That’s because it came when the array lit up, and she couldn’t turn in time. It was frustrating.

The only thing that she was certain of was that he was one of her classmates. Otherwise, why not just reset time in Reemada, since they were getting resummoned, anyway? The only explanation was that the man knew she’d be standing in the circle, so he sent her back to Earth, hoping that she would decide to stay. If she didn't have Kye and Tiber, she probably would have—

—but she did, so that person fucked up. Once she found them, she’d….

Sara didn’t know. She was angry enough to paralyze them, but it really depended on their intentions. Sara was dying at the end of her fight with Agronus, and there was a strong chance he saved her life. He also brought Emma and Raul to life and created a world where Tiber could be healed of tyexis. If they were a classmate, it wouldn’t be a coincidence. None of these things were lost upon her. Also, there's only one person she tentatively suspected, and if it were him….

No. Whoever was responsible had legendary skill in arraycraft, and none of the heroes were notable with arrays, let alone extraordinary. She was on the road most of the time, but she was the head advisor and Hero. If anyone else knew of such a person, she would've found out. Something must've happened. Someone left while she was away and changed, and that could've been anyone. Drawing conclusions would only create biases, and if age taught her anything, it was that people always find proof of what they suspect—whether it's true or not.

Sara pushed it out of her mind. This was a problem for the future. For now, she had to ensure she got everything back and had enough strength and prestige (two things that solved nearly any problem) to ensure it never happened again. Step one was reconnecting her broken mana channels. So that's what she did.

Closing her eyes, Sara visualized the mana jutting around her chest and tamed it. Then she spent the next six hours forcefully circulating it through her body, opening up new mana channels and forging them into weapons for the challenges of tomorrow.