Aaron lay sprawled on the Eldest's couch, while Cale had sat down on the floor next to him and was banging his head with one hand. The mage had been unconscious for a good half hour now, which was considerably more than Cale would have expected. Fengari had distanced herself for now, spending her time watching people. The Eldest, on the other hand, had left his own apartment because Sefra had called for him. Therefore, Aaron and Cale were the only two who were in this large, silent room. It was an unusual feeling to be alone in the Eldest's apartment in the early morning hours. Even more so with a person Cale couldn't tell what to think of.

Cautiously, Cale raised his hand and touched Aaron's face, which had turned ice-cold. He had already brought out a blanket and a warming crystal, which in time also brought some improvement.

"I didn't think you, of all people, would be so fragile", Cale muttered to himself as he checked to see if the man was even breathing. Why did people react in such different ways when they encountered a dragon? The three mages sank completely into fear, while the Eldest fled in panic to a safe distance and Grischa couldn't handle the information at all and started screaming. Did it have something to do with how much bad they had heard about the dragons? And if this was the case, why was Aaron so afraid? Had the information regarding the dragon queen been too much of a good thing? Had Cale perhaps been better off not mentioning it?

When Aaron suddenly made a sound, Cale turned his attention back to the mage, who slowly opened his eyes.

"You're awake again", Cale noted with relief, which caused Aaron to look at him with lazy eyes. He was silent for a few seconds before he spoke up with a dry throat.

"I'm having déjà-vu."

"Déjà-vu?", Cale repeated irritated.

"That's the same thing Prince William had said to me after the Pachendran's gas got me", Aaron explained, raising a hand to his face before rubbing it. "Where is the Eldest?"

"He went to work", Cale replied, making Aaron want to stand up immediately. But Cale prevented him from doing so. "You've been out for quite a while, Aaron. Every once in a while, you should give your body a break, you know?"

For a moment, he regarded Cale silently before hesitantly laying back.

"You're like William, you know that?"

"Well, I'm honored that you think so", Cale replied, receiving an amused clearing of his throat in return. Aaron stared at the ceiling for a moment before reluctantly choosing his next words.

"Your cat, was that really a dragon?"

"Yes, Fengari is one of the dragons that live in the mountains of Sylve. She's not here anymore, don't worry", Cale explained, causing Aaron to look at him with serious eyes.

"You know how dangerous dragons are. What are you thinking, doing something so rash?"

"It wasn't as rash as you might think. Besides, it was the Eldest who instructed me to contact them", Cale commented, causing Aaron to laugh in exasperation.

"You two are tired of living."

"I can't shake the feeling that you have a history with dragons", Cale admitted curiously, which caused Aaron's expression to darken abruptly.

"Things I really don't like to talk about."

"Worse than the thing with Neonar?"

"No, but on a similar level", Aaron returned.

"Would you tell me what happened?"

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"What makes you think that?"

"Aren't you on their side?", Aaron asked reproachfully, causing Cale to shake his head.

"There is no such thing as their side, Aaron. The dragons are not enemies of the humans."

"Bullshit", Aaron blurted out, looking at Cale with wide eyes.

"I haven't told you anything yet. Don't you want to listen to me first about what I have to tell you?"

"Caleb, they're dragons. DRAGONS!"

"I'm aware of that."

"Do you have any idea what kind of power the dragons have? They can destroy all of Altona if they want to."

"I know. I flew on Fengari and got to observe how powerful their fire is", Cale interjected. The comment left Aaron wordless. With serious eyes, he stared at Cale, who finally covered Aaron's unpleasant look with his hand.

"You're crazy."

"Aaron, I died", Cale finally declared. "If I tell them I was literally killed by the Dragon Queen, what are you thinking?"

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Impossible", Aaron replied, jerking Cale's hand aside. "It can't be. Then how can you still...?"

A smile appeared on Cale's face, which is why Aaron suddenly got goosebumps and quieted down.

"The special case you told me about..."

Cale nodded as Aaron understood the information and came to the correct conclusion.

"I possess something the dragons call the gift of rebirth. When I die, I'm sent back to the year 1145 and get to experience my whole life all over again."

"No way...", Aaron uttered in horror, bracing himself with one arm and staring down at Cale in the prone position, who put on a nostalgic face.

"What do you mean, would you listen to my story now?"

Aaron kept the answer to himself as he looked at Cale for a while. You could tell Cale was serious, which was why Aaron knew of no reason not to give him a chance. He had a rough idea of what to expect now, and if even the Eldest knew and believed the story, he should at least give it a listen.

"Sorry. What... exactly happened to you?", Aaron finally replied and sat up. Only then did he notice the blanket on top of him, which is why he looked down at himself in irritation for a moment and turned to Cale. Even if what Cale had to tell him was pure fantasy, Aaron at least knew that the 12th seat cared about him. That thought caused Aaron to relax a little.

Cale took a seat in the chair to his left and, similar to the other times, first began to talk about his first life and how he had ended up in Frignez at that time. Aaron literally had shock written all over his face as Cale told him about the second wave attack and how the icy land had turned into a refugee center, despite their standoffish attitude towards strangers. When Cale reached the point in which he arrived at Holy Island, Aaron stared at him with such disbelieving eyes that Cale had to laugh. He then told about his death and the 3rd stage he had gone through. When Cale finally got back to Groka, he paused for the first time and explained to Aaron what his Igrikum and his large mana supply were all about.

"I see, so that's what the special case is all about. You age until your supposed death, but you carry the Igrikum from the beginning", the 3rd seat summarized briefly, prompting Cale to nod affirmatively.

"That's not even half of what I wanted to tell you", Cale finally commented, stretching as Aaron silently watched him do so.

Cale then summarized the major events in his other lives, and also mentioned at this point that he had already been a High-Magician in his 5th life. Aaron found it disconcerting that Cale knew a version of him that he himself would not get to see. Also, that Cale knew Basil Kama from this life made Aaron understand why Cale had avoided personal contact with this man. It made sense. His whole behavior in the last few made much more sense now.

When Cale finally arrived in his now life and told what plans he had made and what had happened, it abruptly filled in some unanswered questions that Aaron had found strange since their first encounter. Even the events during the second wave he found disconcertingly ridiculous when he got to hear Cale's take on it, but didn't comment on it further.

Cale finally arrived at last week's findings and told Aaron exactly what the dragons, the gods, their Igrikum, the dragons' abilities and the world's mana were all about. When Cale finally got to last night's meeting, Aaron had to interrupt.

"Just a second please, that's a lot of information all at once. You guys are working with the dragons because the Kormand... what's their real name again?"

"Thormads."

"And the dragons are also trying to find a solution for you to break out of this rebirth loop?"

"Correct."

"Does that mean a lot more dragons might show up here soon?"

"I hope not", Cale replied, which is why he left Aaron with a blank expression.

"What makes you so sure the loop won't end on its own?", Aaron added finally, causing Cale to look at the man in confusion.

"How exactly do you mean that?"

"Well, if all the mana of the gods would be spent... why do you assume that's the end of the world?"

Cale paused, leaned back, and thought seriously about this statement. Could it be that he had been worrying unnecessarily all this time? Until now, he had assumed that his existence and the existence of the world he was trying to save would simply dissipate. What if Mellontikos had intentionally sent him into this time loop, but had not assumed that he would die so many times? Was the god perhaps trying to show him something important from the future that Cale still didn't know?

"I really never thought of it that way", Cale muttered to himself.

"If what you told me is true, then it's quite possible that your goal would have to be to survive."

"Well, it doesn't sound too far-fetched, but then I still wonder why? Why go to all that trouble if not for the Thormads?"

"Maybe it was never about the world, but about you?"

"Me?"

"Well, why did the god choose you? Surely there are billions of people and dozens of dragons he could have used just fine? Why you?"

"I really have no idea", Cale replied, wide-eyed, immediately pushing the idea away. "I'm just a normal person like everyone else."

"As far as you think. But is that true?", the High-Magician interjected challengingly, leaving Cale momentarily at a loss for words. Protectively, he had his hands in the air as he and Aaron stared at each other thoughtfully.

"I just realized... do you believe me, Aaron?"

"...?"

"The story I told you. Do you believe it?"

In obvious conflict, Aaron frowned and seemed to go over both sides carefully. For a good half minute, he looked at his hands, lost in thought, before turning to Cale.

"Yeah, I believe you. A lot of what you did and said makes sense because of it, even if it doesn't explain everything right away...", Aaron replied calmly, causing Cale to breathe a sigh of relief.

"That reminds me, YOU are the swordmaster who owns Karekama, right? It wasn't a lie that the Magistrat entrusting you with the sword, was it?",Aaron suddenly blurted out, causing Cale to laugh and make the dark sword appear in his hand. "Ah, it was so obvious! How do I miss something like that twice?"

"Miguel Heriog and I had the same master, if you're interested", he commented, causing Aaron to just shake his head in disbelief. "Jonat Paseru was his name."

"Is there another false identity you possess?"

Cale actually had to do a recount.

"I don't think so. The swordmaster, the Dragon Rider and Zod Adenia would have to be the only three."

"Would have to?", Aaron repeated.

"I've been around a lot and haven't always shown my true form. I own so many different names as is sand by the sea", Cale replied, causing his counterpart to sigh in irritation.

"You forgot the little girl from Ziyad's vision."

"That's right!", Cale exclaimed almost euphorically, earning a cold stare from Aaron in return. The High-Magician looked at him for a while as he pieced together the information from Cale's past, inevitably understanding why William had received the Igrikum from Cale. Even though the prince had known the mage for barely a few weeks, it had been dozens of years for Cale.

"Caleb, are you sure you don't want to tell William about this?", he finally added, causing Cale to sigh and nod. "You realize he's not going to stay in your shadow forever, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you haven't been in that situation yet, but... William and the rest of the group are not from here. There's no need to flee together if the creatures' attack never reached these proportions. Have you ever considered that they might... well... could go home to protect their own peoples?"