I moved into a combat stance and wielded my knife as I saw the specter in front of me. We both moved slowly around the place waiting for our opponent to step forward and attack.

I didn't know what that thing was or exactly or what it was that it wanted to try but I couldn't trust that its intentions were good to begin with.

"If you think you can kill me then try it or get the hell out of my sight."

The beast grew larger and larger and its essence encompassed more and more space. Finally after simply glaring at me in a threatening manner it decided to advance towards me with all its speed.

I prepared an attack with my knife anticipating its movement but the attack never came and my opponent only stood a meter still in front of me

"By all the heavenly emperors, young Natho, sorry, lord king!" he began to laugh wildly without moving from his position "Fate is rather curious don't you think? The last thing I would have expected was the two of us meeting again so many years after death itself "

The mass took humanoid form and its hand rested on my shoulder.

When it finished taking shape I could see who it was.

It was one of my former bosses and teachers. Talkain, the dragon slayer and master of fire swords.

The general was wearing common village clothes but this was accompanied by his vest full of stains that no one would have guessed were dragon burns. His gesture was one of immense happiness to see me even though his words and tone seemed to indicate that he already knew what the situation we were in was

"General Talkain "

"Who else is it going to be? I hope your new status hasn't made you forget your old friend my young king."

I removed his hand from my shoulder

"I was never any king, it makes no sense for you to refer to me that way."

"And why is that, because it was written in some ancient law that never mattered to anyone but a little group of nobles disconnected from reality? Does a cold and soulless law matter more than the entire sentiment of the people? Don't be so modest with yourself Natho, although it's not like during your career you've cared much about being modest either."

"It doesn't matter what a law created by a few men says or what the sentiment of millions says. In this no man's land a title is completely irrelevant."

I withdrew from the place without another word, the spirit of my old master began to accompany me all the way to the surface

"I understand that in the world you are not in the best of conditions right now and maybe things are a bit difficult but look on the bright side, we have each other."

For me having him didn't matter, I could have Siggurd or even Beatrice by my side and it still probably wouldn't matter if there was nothing to share with anyone anymore

"Hey...I know you're upset about everything that's happened since your death but..."

"If you want to talk to me about anything let it be about what happened after my death, I'm absolutely not interested in any other topic of conversation."

"Everyone in the kingdom thought you died trying to stop the birth of the homunculus king."

I didn't die on a mission to kill the homunculus king by any stretch of the imagination, I died in the most vulgar way possible at the hands of a level 200 winged beast that I went to kill alone.

I hadn't had a problem with beasts like that before, that's why I didn't bring any item that could help me, I didn't go with any ally to the battle. I just wanted to try to subject myself to any kind of challenge that would make me forget everything, I just wanted to be busy enough to forget about Beatrice.

That was how the one whom many considered a king even without being one died, at the hands of a random beast, trying to overcome a daughter whom he only saw as an extension of his own pride. There was nothing heroic about such a death.

"I died under very different circumstances What specific events occurred?"

"The eternal midnight had begun."

That event I had seen in my dreams, how the entire realm was plunged into total darkness and how the moon was filled with blood until it was consumed by the sky itself.

That image I have not been able to erase from my head and I am too thankful that I no longer have to sleep because otherwise that would not stop repeating itself in my nightmares

"Do you have any idea how it could have happened - its origin or who was involved in the ritual?"

"No one ever knew. All we knew was that one day the night stretched a few hours longer than usual, the hours turned into days and in those days all that mattered was keeping the vampires and chimeras that kept attacking the northern and southern cities at bay." His tone had become completely serious, very different from his cheerful and jovial accent he was accustomed to

"I was always in charge of one of the northern battalions. The priests had detected a new island to the North so we went there but we didn't have the object that was going to allow us entry. When I finally found the thousand year old chimera heart key it was too late" My old companion was taking his time to continue his story, I could see in his ghostly face the pain he felt for all the losses in that war. It is a pain that I was able to understand better than anyone else.

"The creatures entered the northern and southern cities at the same time. They advanced much faster than our armies could react, they advanced much faster than my partner and my children could react."

I didn't want to say anything, I knew that no words could help him cope with that pain. In situations like that words only have a neutral or negative effect, only the arrogant believe they have the power to soothe the hearts of others like that.

"I know what else you want to ask and no, Siggurd's location was never known for all those years. Many believed she had died along with you but several witnesses claimed to have seen her after your presumed death in the alchemy stores."

"Okay, that was all I needed to know."

"I hope what I was able to tell you was helpful, I hope my intentions don't seem malicious but I wanted to ask one last favor in return. I want to see my old home again."

"It's in shambles just like everything else in this world" I replied without even bothering to look him in the eyes, I didn't want to give him some false hope that there he would find something that would make him feel better

"If you want to see some abomination walking around you don't have to go that far, the difference will be little between your home and anywhere else."

"I know, but I still want to go anyway. I didn't get a chance to visit my home one last time after the war and now I do"

"I'm not going to convince you otherwise and I don't think I have anything more to lose" I agreed fully convinced that he would only feel even worse if he went there but I didn't want to leave him completely alone if that was the case

"Then we have a deal, relax, I promise I don't just have disaster stories at my disposal." He said returning to his usual tone and shaking his hand with mine "There's a lot I still want to tell you, I promise this will be anything but a boring trip."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

[You have unlocked a secret special move: Necromancer's Contract lvl 1].

[Description]

[Those who are already dead can still take over the life of their slaves. A simple but effective contract, the one who signs it gets what he wants and the one who proposes it gets hold of his soul's true potential]

[effects]

[By signing a contract with someone who is already dead in the summoner's time then the summoner takes possession of his soul by turning it into a Spirit of transcendence]

[allows travel into the past of the one with whom the contract is made if the favor involves that past]

[allows the user's mind to be sent to any past time in his life as long as he is in the same life span of the one with whom the contract is made]

[Both parties must have been alive at the same time for the spell to work].

[More contracts can be made once in the past]

[Restrictions]

[mana consumption: All mana for 10000 hours]

[cooldown time: 10000 hours]

[Requisites to level up]

[Unknown]

[You have unlocked a secret ability: contractor's eyes lvl 1]

[Description]

[Secrets of the heart cease to be secret to those who possess this ability and true desires come out] [effects] [Allows the user to see the contract he will have to fulfill with his client] [Requisites to level up] [Unknown]

"Necromancer contract?"

"I don't know what that is but it sounds like a spell that would be worth grindy for ages."

"Hey, the description I just read says I can do you a favor at any time in your life but..."

"Is that what this new technique of yours says? By all higher beings, if finding us here was the first great miracle after death then this fortunate series of events would be the second. You just do what you do best and our celebration with food and drink will be such that we will look like descendants of the homunculi that consume our lands."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Did you just hear what you said about your spell? You have the power to alter the past itself. If I ask one favor of you now then this would be for you to go and kill whoever it was that awakened the demon king."

"I just discovered that power And now you want me to use it to break the rules of space and time? "

I had a bad feeling, something that would allow me to travel into someone else's past was strangely convenient and I felt it might even be a trap

"Look at nothing else around you Natho, we are literally at the end of the world what does it matter to break a couple of things from the very fabric of reality itself? Reality chooses to break itself every chance it gets, we would be nothing more than pawns in the infinite game of which supernatural force ends up making the biggest impact"

For the first time Talkain had said something completely coherent since we'd met

"I guess nothing can go wrong anymore."

I heeded his plan but first we had to get ready

We reached the highest mountain we had found in the vicinity.

At that point I no longer cared if things could go worse because that being the case was the norm now. If I could have just one chance to return to the past then victory could be final, the homunculus king would not resurface, the vampire king's generals would not have a chance to escape, I could save Beatrice and the citadel could be completed if all else failed.

At last I could become the hero that my kingdom already believed me to be, I would no longer fail them when they needed me most

"Are you ready for what may happen?"

"We are warriors Natho, we are ready for nothing and so we face everything."

[skill activated: Contractor's Eyes]

[Contract] [Prevent Talkain's family from dying in the eternal midnight].

"The contract with you is clear, I must save your family."

"Hey, killing the homunculus king would basically save them."

"If my stay in the past ends as soon as the contract ends then I guess that will be a requirement or it will all have been for nothing."

[spell activated: Necromancer contract] [spacetime laws have been altered].

"The spell has already begun."

The knife I was holding in my hand began to float as a storm enveloped the atmosphere and shook everything. From the floor came a summoning circle with energy that rivaled that of the storm itself as the two forces clashed to create a rupture in the fabric of reality.

[time travel initiated] [focus on a specific stage of your life right now].

If we were to win I would have to absolutely take advantage of every second I had at my disposal and exploit to the fullest every moment in which I had made an important decision. I had to become as strong as my circumstances would allow me to be and even stronger.

"the beginning of everything" I whispered and the spell stabilized releasing energy in more and more symmetrical shapes and obeying my commands.

In our surroundings appeared sealing circles that ended up channeling the power of the spell.

The energy flowed and my partner and I standing still were lost in the power of space and time that was revealed before our eyes showing infinite possibilities.

Finally all that passed before my eyes was a gigantic, icy blanket of pure white. That sensation let me know that the spell had been cast correctly.

I looked up, I was in the middle of a hill full of snow. I looked around and there were tree trunks lying everywhere. I looked at my hands and found that the color of the skin was the same as always.

[time travel successful] [levels and statuses reset]

[Name] [Natho] [Level] [1] [Race] [Human] [Class] [None]

[special moves] [None]

[Abilities] [None]

[Vitality] [1]

[Stamina]

[1] [Strenght] [1] [Speed] [1] [Mana Affinity] [1] [Health] [100/100] [Durability] [50/50] [Mana] [10/10]

I had made it

I had returned to being my teenage self and had returned to that moment in my history when I survived the destruction of my hometown

"In this place, there feels a strange peace despite the war that is still going on. You know, I have often questioned myself whether something like true peace really exists or if we are destined for an endless war in which we must simply learn to seek and share a personal peace"

Talkain was with me standing to the side, still his appearance was transparent which indicated that he was still a spirit

"Looks like you came with me, anyway, we have no time to waste."

I stood up and took off running up the hill until I could reach Iztakaf.

"So this is where your adventure begins right'?"

"Yes"

I remembered the place with a strange nostalgia, I distinctly remember that before the storm I had long wished to just get the hell out of there and not return. It was little more than a small boring town with little opportunity to prosper and I wanted to see the world and maybe even make a place for myself in it .

Deep down I felt very grateful for that storm but at the same time I felt guilty about that feeling. It was that same guilt that led me to try to rebuild the place when I became a royal knight.

It didn't take us long to get there, the village was quite small with wooden huts of a corresponding size and where the biggest thing was the old store I worked in.

Right now the place was a small odyssey of death, the corpses of the previous citizens along with their blood adorned the place as if this had been a field of war when in reality it was nothing more than collateral damage.

Perhaps truly my day to day life as an adventurer was not so different from the end of the world in some respects. It was certain that death had become a normal part of my routine by now.

I remembered how the first time I saw this I was traumatized and had no idea what to do. I had absolutely nothing but tried to take refuge in the forest totally helpless and it took me weeks to climb a single level. This time I would make sure to do things differently.

We made it as far as the wooden door of the old store where I worked. As we entered I could see several of the former employees lying lifeless across the floor and counters.

"This must have been a very hard experience for you."

"I got over it a long time ago" I said as I started going through everyone's pockets. It had been so long since that event that they didn't even quite remember exactly who out of everyone was my boss

"Hey hey hey A gentleman as noble as you stealing the corpses of the people he worked with"?

"If we want to solve the apocalypse then titles like "noble" will be set aside" I said as I had finally found a slightly rusty key

"And all of that in favor of whatever I need at the moment."

I entered a corridor behind a counter and walked until I reached a part of the wall. There I put the key in and went down to a basement where there was only one chest

"And what I need now is all the power my memories can give me."

I opened the chest and there I found the objects I was looking for.

[items found] [basic healing potion] [basic mana restoring potion] [basic sword] [basic shield] [spell scroll: fireball lvl 1] [spell scroll: Smoke Screen lvl 1] [Anti-cold Boots]