Eyes screwed shut, Asher felt incomparably weak. Had the spell sapped him of all his strength to fuel Yuviol’s resurrection? However, he could no longer feel his tie to Mimring, and thus Yuviol. Both souls were fully dispersed at this point. Asher lacked proper magical training, but he doubted a spell of such a magnitude would do so little. The focus of a spell remained infinitesimally small, not even Grand Cataclysm tier spells had foci larger than a grain of rice.

Opening his eyes, he stared at a set of unfamiliar wooden beams. Although the more he looked, the more familiar they seemed. Feeling coarse sheets around him, and a lumpy yet comfortable bed, there shouldn’t have been a place more familiar.

Of course— at long last, he was home.

Giving thanks to whichever god made this, hot tears started spilling down his cheeks. He died, but it seems his service against evil was not unrewarded. Not that any of that mattered, because he was home.

He left home 25 years before the final battle, but only once did he return before tides of change and chaos destroyed it. Along with the rest of his family. Were they here?

Swinging his legs out of bed, they awkwardly collapsed under his weight, as though they were not his own. His body didn’t respond properly, but Asher had enough presence of mind to catch himself even in his weakened state. Surviving to oppose Yuviol would never happen by chance, moving while at the brink of death was a mere starting point.

However, with an excessive familiarity towards his own body as a result of decades of fighting, it wasn’t simply a weakness that overtook him. Staggering over to a dresser, while not wealthy, his family could afford such things like a basin to wash. Gazing back from the still water was his 16 year old face.

“Why… ahhh.” Starting to think aloud, his voice sounded so much younger and clearer. He was unsure of why he appeared this way. Of course he longed for home and another chance at living a simpler life. However after living as a crusader, Asher wasn’t sure if it was right. Even now he couldn’t help but be acutely aware of a knife chopping vegetables on the floor below.

His emotions swelled, but kept himself in check. After all, while he returned to the form of his youth, he was 41 at heart. More than 20 years passed since the day his town was razed, time enough to quell the demons in his heart. He could think calmly.

While he might be excited to ‘return’, his mother would certainly scold him for passing away so soon, especially when she wouldn’t be able to expect any grandchildren. Although, on that note, perhaps the person making breakfast wasn’t his mother—

Asher spun on his heels as floorboards quickly creaked, before his door flew open.

Moving from a reflexive combat stance to open arms, he caught the flying child, pushed onto the floor by the sudden force.

“Heyo! You’re taking me with you today right?” Quickly climbing atop him, lying sideways to pin Asher’s arms down, a slightly younger boy glowered with brown eyes. Being choked up by emotions and having the wind crushed out of his now rather frail body, Asher couldn’t respond before rolling his brother off.

“Of course, it’s been so long. Evan.”

“What, really?” Taken aback, the two stared at each other. Evan’s own surprise planting a seed of suspicion in Asher’s heart. “You’re always trying ditching me, even when I try to tail you. Keeping those good spots to yourself. You aren’t gonna leave me somewhere sucky, are you?”

This situation...felt wrong. Asher kept his memories up to the moment of his death, even though his body reverted. It seemed unlikely that the gods would have his family forget everything that happened to him after he began his journey. No, this would have been even before he set out, he took Evan fishing many times after learning when he needed to depart.

Could it all be a complicated illusion on Yuviol’s part? While Mimring’s soul disappeared, it happened too quickly, unless he’d been unconscious for over a day, he should still have been able to sense the sword’s fading presence for a while yet. Tireces also claimed illusions would either draw from the target to remain undetected, or from information from the summoner, but neither of those seemed to be the case. If only he’d the magic to benefit properly from the magic tutoring, or Tireces explained what happened before the spell was cast…

‘We should have some time...heh…’

It couldn’t be… even gods couldn’t freely control the flow of time. The closest any wizard had gotten to such a feat was splitting the threads of time. Not that Asher had any great understanding of what that meant, but it was so impo…

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

So much suffering was brought by that word. Thinking it could never be done, or would never be done. The greatest scourge humanity ever knew exploited their doubts time after time, an excessive amount of blood was paid before finally learning their lesson. No matter how outlandish, one needed to remember he was the greatest genius, both academically and in combat.

If he’d really found a way to turn back time, then Yuviol would no doubt pay any price for such a trump card. He always assured his victory, but before that he ensured his escape, and foremost, his own life. A coward that would forfeit any goal or ally if it could save his life.

Being defeated the first time, he would no doubt retreat… or rather never even show his face. Asher knew through years of fighting him that Yuviol would not lead a simple life though. He may operate from the shadows, but he would try again, more cautious than ever.

But the same went for Asher.

His body may have been weak at the moment, however Yuviol gained his foothold as a tyrant by taking Coltan Kingdom by surprise. Asher merely needed to regroup his friends and crush Yuviol before he could prepare any contingencies. No matter how sneaky his plots, there would be traces, and Asher would hunt and send him to the underworld at last.

“Hey, so are we going to go, or what?” Evan looked outwardly skeptical, but there was undoubtedly a glimmer of hopeful excitement.

“Of course.”

Leaning on his harpoon, he waited for his little brother to catch up. Getting caught on vines and having trouble seeing stones under the leaf litter, Evan was having a rough go of it. Belsfield was built along a river and while fish grew fat on the town’s waste, they weren’t particularly tasty. Instead, Asher led them to a hidden stream.

A strange natural phenomenon that entranced his youth, he could never forget the way no matter how many years passed. Past a boulder shaped like a bear and a fallen oak caught in the arms of another. Turning left after the dead branch hanging by a vine, walking for a few more minutes before arriving.

Cutting deep into the earth ran a stream three feet across, hardly enough to qualify as a brook. Yet its waters were deep and possessed a strong current, enough that one would have difficulty standing in it. Strangest of all, at a point very close to where they were, the stream dove into the earth as if it were a frightened snake returning to its burrow.

With his previous experience Asher now realized the waters were likely falling into a grand cavern, possibly through a channel intentionally formed by a group of deep dwarves. Unaware of those subterranean civilizations, Evan was just as awed as he was in his youth.

“Where’s it go? It just fwooshes right on down, why isn’t it filled up?”

“Who knows, maybe the wells in town are the reason.” Even when he returned in the past he did not tell his brother the truth. While not malicious, unlike gregarious mountain dwarves who loved nothing more than sharing drinks with comrades, the deep dwarves were a solitary people. They put in a great deal of effort to remain uncontacted by those from the surface. In respect of the sacrifices they made, Asher would not share anything that might relate to their existence so simply.

How it came to be was less important than the spectacle of it anyhow.

“Anyway, if you fall in and knock your head, it will definitely drag you under. So watch your step.” Before anything else, his brother needed a warning as he was already testing his balance along the steep banks trying to get a better view. “Kneel down near the edge, it’ll let you use your arm strength properly and keep you stable.”

“Got it.” “

Evan stared intently at the water for a few minutes before lashing out.

“Hahaha, what was that?”

“I— I thought I saw something! There was a flash of scales!”

“You mean some light making it through the trees? The fish here are either black or ruby red, remember? Have I ever brought back anything white or silver from here? Hahaha!” Asher grinned dumbly. Ah, it had been so long since he could just take time off like this, enjoying someone’s company.

“Hey, why would I remember something like that, huh? Maybe you just couldn’t catch the silver ones!”

“Back up, let me show you how it’s done.” Evan moved back from the edge and Asher took his place, patiently waiting in silence. Relative silence, as his younger brother began impatiently scuffing at the dirt and rocks. “You’re fine now, but get any louder and they’ll dive right to the bottom where we can’t see.” Evan nodded, taking a few steps back before resuming his idling.

For Asher, waiting a few minutes was nothing compared to hunting any sort of magical beast. There was a glint of red, but he decided to wait for a larger target to appear. Unlike his younger self, he could easily make out the presence of black scales, even in dark waters.

“Hyah!” Lunging swiftly, the harpoon brought out a half meter fish in one fluid motion. Striking straight through the head, it ceased moving immediately, lying still on the bank.

“Woah, you got one just like that.” Evan’s eyes sparkled, like drool in the sunlight. “I can’t wait for mom to grill it. But get me a red one, I like those better.”

“Hey, I’ve shown you where to get them. It’s all up to you if you get any to eat now.”

“I knew it was a trick! You just wanted to keep your catch to yourself now, that’s why you showed me!” Evan truly seemed to believe he’d been tricked, giving Asher pause. Did his brother really see him that way before he left on his journey? It certainly wasn’t the attitude his brother when he visited.

“Well, I'll give you one if you don’t catch any. But you’re going to have to learn to rely on yourself soon.” They were both still young and immature at this point, it wasn’t anything to trouble himself with. Since he had more experience now, he would let up on giving his brother a hard time. Evan still needed to learn to fend for himself though.

The two brothers spent several more hours fishing. Familiarizing himself with his old body, Asher quickly built a pile of fish. Evan looked on in envy before eventually catching one of his own. Spurred on, two black and one red sat at his feet when they decided to return.

“I’ll help you carry them back if you give me a red one.”

“Sure.”

Quickly grabbing the largest, almost a meter in length, the boy staggered under the weight. Asher shook his head and they made their way home.