As the foxkin mother departed, Dave stared up at the flashing, false stars overhead and then back to Cedez.

"Wait... why the hell did I let you kiss me?" He asked, squinting at her as he reviewed his actions.

"Because I wanted you to," she said. "Sorry... I really couldn't resist. It only took the smallest mental push. It wouldn't have worked if you didn't like me."

"Hang on... what? God damn it, Cedez!" He snapped. "You've used Charisma magic on me, didn't you?!"

"You took a few minutes to put your headband on. I've been here... waiting for you for months," Cedez shook her head.

"What?" Dave stared at his companion. "There's this much time dilation?"

"We're seventy seven years in the past. There's no Divine Shadow over the city. From what I learned, Nox died here and another Verdant General took control of Shandria one hundred and twenty three years ago from the Lumis Magocracy."

"Verdant?"

"Empress Nox Aestaernus was a General of the Verdant Republic," Cedez explained. "Sort of like... Napoleon Bonaparte of Earth, who rose to power during the chaos following the French Revolution."

"Uh-huh," Dave nodded. "I see that you're distracting me with your Earth history knowledge. Why did you make me kiss you?"

"I gained Charismancy a week ago and I'm still having trouble controlling it, sorry," Cedez lowered her eyes. "I'm sure I'll get the hang of it, eventually... until then I might accidentally influence you ever so slightly."

Dave frowned at the foxgirl, reassessing her words. "If we're seventy seven years in the past, there's no Remy here?"

"It's around sixty years before Remicra is even born. She might not even be born here, might never end up in Shandria as a slave," Cedez pointed out. "Without her Divine Shadow ruling these lands, things are... somewhat different. Your father owns about a third of Shandria as Lord Rim, for example."

"I see," Dave muttered.

"Yep. Just you and me here," Cedez said with a soft smile. "Until death do us part."

"You gotta be kidding me," he rubbed his face.

"You're welcome to go get eaten by a wyvern in the wilds outside the gates," Cedez shrugged. "But then the Ward might decide that you're an untrustworthy fellow and you'll never wake up."

Dave exhaled.

He looked up at the distant thermonuclear detonations, feeling his head spinning. This was going to be a long... whatever.

. . .

In the days, months and years that followed, Dave found himself living a simple life alongside Cedez and her family.

He came to appreciate the tranquility of the croft, the warmth of the hearth, the garden surrounding it and the company of the foxkin family.

Cedez’s parents, Clothmancer Alisha and Agromancer Sentim were quick to integrate Dave into their household.

They taught him the ways of the Shandrian lower class, from the hard work of tilling the fields to the joy of communal meals. It was a life far removed from sitting behind a computer desk, but it was a life he cherished because it reminded him of his own childhood in the American Midwest.

Dave did not find Remicra or Svenn in this version of Shandria because like Cedez said - they weren’t even born and Isekai'd to Arx yet. Even the threat of the Dragon God Emperor was still incredibly distant.

. . .

A month after both of them turned fourteen, the tranquility of their simple life was shattered by the roar of a dragon.

The massive, winged, scaled abomination, surrounded by a supercell storm trailing in its wake breached the city walls with a blast of all-consuming fire.

Many mighty wizards gated to the breach to drive the dragon away and were instantly shredded by its claws or vaporized by blasts of brilliant rays of fire.

The white tower in the center of town struck the dragon, driving it away from the city, but it had been far too late. A wall of fire was rapidly spread across the trees and buildings, devastating Shandria.

Dave and Cedez were quickly shoved into the space beneath the floorboards by Alisha, as Agromancer Sentim bound the lock and reinforced the floorboards with his root-growing magic.

As the flames raged outside, the pair huddled together beneath the floorboards. The heat grew intense, and they could hear the sound of buildings crumbling and people screaming in the distance.

Above them, the croft groaned, the wooden beams cracking and creaking ominously.

Suddenly, with a deafening crash, the house collapsed on them, trapping them beneath the rubble and sending wooden splinters and dust flying down on them.

Panicked, Dave flung his hand up, instinctively trying to protect himself from falling debris.

To his surprise, he felt a familiar surge of power within him, a force that seemed to warp the very fabric of space around them. The falling dust slowed its descent, defying the laws of nature.

“Gravity,” Dave whispered.

Cedez was clinging to him, whimpering softly.

Dave automatically tried to activate Phantomancy, but that power simply wasn't available to him here. All he had here was Level 0 Gravity.

The world around them gradually grew hot and suffocating as the dragonfire overhead refused to die. Dave held onto Cedez as his newfound power of gravity flickered on and off as he desperately tried to keep the burning debris and heat above them at bay.

He knew that he had to die to return to the Crown Tower, but this world felt far too real to him and had gradually become his new life.

Just as he thought all hope was lost, the burning debris above them was suddenly lifted, and a gust of cool air rushed in. They were pulled out from under the floorboards by a group of city guards.

"We've got survivors!" one of the mages in gray, Shandrian Constabulary robes shouted.

The Watchmen mages led the couple away from the burning ruins of their home to a group of younger, terrified teens huddled together.

“We should help out,” Cedez said after a minute, gold looking back at the smouldering ruins.

“Why?” One of the soot-covered teens asked, his entire body shaking.

“We could get hurt,” another added. "The City Watch is..."

The foxkin’s expression suddenly changed, her eyes igniting with dancing spirals.

"We need to save as many as we can, damn it!” She ordered, her voice carrying sudden, inexplicable weight that pulled on Dave's desire to protect people. “Everyone! Tell me about your skills! We can help repel the fire and help save more people! Dragonfire cannot be put out by water, so we need to smother it in other ways!"

The young mages who were initially disoriented and fearful, suddenly found themselves filled with determination. A few of them nodded, their faces set with resolve.

"You're right, miss," one of them said, "We can't just stand by!"

With Cedez's words giving them the necessary courage and focus, the other teens began to help pulling more people from the ruins and leading them to safety.

"Did you just...?" Dave asked.

“Used my Charisma to make a difference?" the foxgirl arched a dark red eyebrow. "Yes, I did."

. . .

Dave had discovered that Lord Rim perished in the attack during the destruction of the Rimzadria Estate, leaving with him as the sole inheritor of the noble title and surrounding land.

In the aftermath of the dragon's attack, the section of the city nearest to the wall became but a ruined shell of its former self. The ground was black and covered in ashes. Ruins of buildings and scorched tree stumps were all that remained of the district near to the wall. The destruction was vast, but hope wasn't lost.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Dave and Cedez began to organize the survivors. They raided the cold storage beneath the houses of Agromancers and set up a makeshift soup kitchen to feed the hungry and provide a sense of community amidst the hopeless desolation.

"Good work," Dave said, giving Cedez a tired smile as they ladled soup into bowls for the survivors.

"Thanks," Cedez replied, returning his smile. "But we're just getting started."

In the months that followed, the city began to rebuild. Dave and Cedez stepped up to their roles as leaders in the community. Their days were long and filled with work.

By watching his charismatic friend Dave was understanding the principles of organizational power.

The teenage survivors of the dragon attack organized work shifts, coordinated the various mages, arranged for food and water distribution, and even set up a makeshift school for their younger peers. They found a sense of purpose in what they were doing, solving problems as they arose.

With his knowledge of Bakelite production, his highborn authority and a few young blacksmiths, Dave rebuilt the biggest, least damaged smithy and began to arm the survivors.

When a pair of sturdy, Bakelite armor sets were finished, Dave and Cedez began venturing into the metal dungeon in the mountain lake to grow stronger.

. . .

As time flew by, the dragon-destroyed quarter of the city turned into a new Adventurers Guild with Cedez functioning as its founder and secretary.

With the aid of Earth and Space mage friends, Dave and Cedez redirected the mountain lake, slowly draining it to expose the magisteel warship beneath. Once Sangria was within access, it was much easier to get magisteel out of the lake to fund the rebuilding efforts.

Monstrous, metal creatures defended the ship, but they were no match for the coordinated battalion of armored adventurers directed by the pair.

Once the dungeon was conquered, Dave discovered the corpses of Lumis Magocracy highborns entombed within their flagship's metal-encased bridge over a century ago. According to Cedez the bodies belonged to Empress Sari, Duke Lumir and a few of their men. Deep in the engine room, defended by enormous, metal squids, they discovered the body of Archmage Evelyn Kettlecrux, the metal-controlling mage who formed the dungeon after her death.

Cedez knew their names because she negotiated with them as General Nox many lifetimes ago.

. . .

Years flashed by. Dave and Cedez stood side by side, facing whatever challenges life threw their way. They grew from teens to adults, their bond growing stronger with each passing day, finding absolute friendship, trust and eventually love in their shared experiences and in each other's company.

When Dave was gravely injured trying to take on a massive beast in the metal dungeon, Cedez sat by his side for a month in the Aegis-Healing Arcanum as the healer magi slowly rebuilt his bones piece by piece.

As an entire decade went by, without either of them dying horribly, Dave started to feel that his previous life on Arx was just a dream.

"I'm feel like I'm starting to forget some things," he confessed to Cedez one evening. "They're still out there, right? Still waiting for us in the Crown Tower... on that distant, other Arx, sixty seven years in the future?"

"They are," she nodded. "Don't worry your pretty head about it too much. You're already an incredibly wealthy and powerful Gravity mage here. Learn to harness Gravity to your fullest potential, learn how to be a Shandrian Lord, figure out how to manage your Estate and how to make the lives of the locals better with me. Whatever knowledge and skills we learn in this timeline will help us conquer our Shandria in the future."

"Fair enough," Dave leaned his head onto her lap, enjoying the radiance of pure serenity Cedez had learned to project to drive away the ache of his somewhat-correctly rebuilt bones.

He closed his eyes, drowning his worries in her charisma field. It made him feel better, like he was swimming on a pretty pink cloud along a river of pure bliss.

. . .

On a sunny, Spring day, amidst the cheers of their close-knit community of other Bakelite-armored adventurers, Dave and Cedez exchanged vows beneath the shade of a vast metal tree of the metal dungeon next to the drained lake.

The ceremony was simple, just like the life they had chosen to lead.

With their friends as witnesses, they promised to stand by each other, in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow. As a barrier mage formed a brilliant, flickering shield around them, the pair took off their Bakelite helmets and sealed their vows with a kiss and the adventurers erupted into cheers and applause.

"And now, a little gift for my love!" Dave aimed his hand at Sangria, directing Gravity at the metal-barnacle covered flagship. "A pure magisteel skyship worthy of my princess!"

The Lumis ship groaned as it disconnected from the lake bed.

The gathered crowd went wild in jubilation as Lord Rim, the strongest Gravity mage of their generation, brought the ancient warship fully out of the lake toward them.

----------------------------------------

Dave opened his eyes with a groan. His body felt wrong, far too young.

The blinding fire of the unyielding, magical firestorm was still in his mind before the great, central tower he occupied fell to the assault of the invading horde of a million men dressed in white skulls and cloaks made from human flesh.

“W-what?” He croaked, trying to readjust his new body. “Where am I?”

“Back home,” Cedez said as she slid the silver artifact band off her head.

“Home?” Dave blinked.

“Home, sweetheart!” Cedez grinned. "We're back to Crown Tower Arcane."

She jumped off the stone table, took the band off his head and hugged him fiercely. "Filled with new knowledge to try again!"

“I… urm… right,” Dave muttered and melted into the hug, petting her just like he always used to. The foxkin leaned into his embrace with a purr. Sparks began to dance on his skin and Cedez let him go with a very annoyed look.

Remicra squinted at them.

“You two seem… close,” she commented.

Dave and Cedez exchanged a knowing glance before Dave cleared his throat.

"Remicra... I can explain," he began and then fell silent as he tried to recall where and who he even was now.

“Yes?” The dragoness asked, her magisteel-armored tail thrashing. She looked very irate.

“How long were we… out?” Dave asked.

“Seven hours,” Sherlock replied, examining the couple with mechanical, glowing eyes. "Your mannerisms have changed dramatically."

"That's it?" Dave blinked.

"How long were you under?" Sherlock inquired.

“The trial lasted seventy seven years,” Cedez said with a dreamy look, sparks dancing in silver-blue eyes. “Dave and I got married at twenty six.”

“WHAT?” Remicra barked.

The foxkin simply smiled smugly. She had a look of victory painted on her face.

“You Gods' damned…” Remicra hissed, glaring at Cedez.

“How did the trial end?” Sherlock asked.

“We had... a very long life and died defending our city,” Dave said, rubbing the back of his aching head. Sleeping on the stone floor for seven hours wasn't the best idea. “The Shandria we lived in didn’t have her Divine Shadow protecting it. I was eighty nine. I had the Tower Arcane, the Ward and an army under my command, but even I could do nothing against the Dragon Emperor’s armada of a million magi. I was able to repel the gravity wells produced by the Isekai convergence spell… but the mages under his command cast a combined firestorm on the city. It was like a nuke obliterating everything in its path… that’s the last thing I remember.”

"It was absolutely perrrrfect," Cedez purred. "I got a lot of Charsma practice out of it and Dave got to practice lots of Gravity-related things. Mmmm... making out in Zero-G is absolutely sublime, you should try it sometime."

“I swear to the Gods, I will…” Remicra hissed.

Dave grabbed the dragoness before she could deliver a smackdown on the grinning foxkin.

“No,” he said simply.

“No?” Remicra glared.

"Cedez has been my best friend, my rock, my partner for seventy seven years,” Dave said. "Her and I have been through so much together, Remicra… You have no idea.”

“She tricked you, look at her smug face! None of it was real!” The dragoness insisted. "It's all one big, fat Charisma trick!"

"Reality is a matter of perspective," Cedez interjected. "What we experienced... It was very real to us. The Ward can cast a soul to another Arx, one just as real as this place."

"Besides," Dave added, gently releasing Remicra, "it's not like we can change what happened. We… had a life together and it was…”

“Absolutely incredible,” Cedez exhaled. “Far better than anything I dreamed about. Friendship, family... Love!"

Remicra opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. Instead, she simply stared at Dave and Cedez.

"You... fell in love?" she finally managed to utter.

“It had to be this way,” Cedez said.

“Why?!” Remicra demanded.

“We had to prove to the Ward that Dave is… my hero,” Cedes said. “Otherwise… he would never awaken, never leave this place. The Ward would have ended his life, if it judged him as an unworthy, unreliable bastard.”

Cedez pointed a finger at a dust-covered, ossified body of a man slumped in a dim corner.

"His name was Abolikus Yorish," she said. "He betrayed Natalie, turned against her during the trial, chose to live his own lifetime filled with decadence, wealth and power. The Ward of Shandria never returned his soul. Natalie left this chamber without him.”

Dave and Remicra stared at the dusty, seventeen year old corpse.

Cedez walked to the door and placed her palm on it. The door slid open, revealing a stairwell.

"I’m sorry," Dave looked at Remicra.

He had a distant look in his eyes. Most of him was still there, in the other, lost Shandria. He tried not to think about what happened to everyone that he cared about after his Gravity shield over the city failed catastrophically.

“Sorry?" Remicra repeated, her voice trembling. "What are you sorry for? For choosing her? For living a life with her while I waited here, oblivious to everything? Is that what you're sorry for, Dave?"

"Cedez is... err, was my wife there. We had a family. But that doesn't change the fact that I care about you too, Remy," Dave said, meeting her gaze. “It doesn’t change the fact that we’re soulmates... best friends across the infinite divide.”

"But it's not the same, is it?" The blacksmith’s expression was that of betrayal. "You had a life with her. You had a family, a home... What do we have here, Dave?"

"We have our present, our friendship... and our shared dreams for a better future," Dave said, despite the lump in his throat. "Remicra, I... I need you. I need you by my side from now on and forever. I love Cedez, sure. But that doesn't mean I can't love you too."

"I… I understand," Remicra said, her voice unsteady. "You did what you had to do." She looked at the corpse in the corner and then at Dave, her gaze softening ever so slightly. "I just wish... I wish I could have been there with you."

“Only two artifact bands,” Cedez pointed out.

"The trial decided everything, set things up from the beginning," Dave said. "On the plus side, I learned that I could trust Cedez with absolutely everything, that no matter what she'd be on our side."

“Be merry, you two can cuddle as much as you want here,” Cedez said with a slightly forlorn look, her hand still resting on the door frame. "Come on! It's time for us to go. There's still a lot of floors to go through."

As they started to leave, Dave took one last look at the room and the dusty corpse in the corner. He felt a deep sense of melancholy about his losses, but he also felt a hope for a new future, another try against the Gold Dragon God-Emperor and his armada.

The memories of another life were pulsating in his head like a strange, wholesome, tragic, incredibly vivid dream.

“Let's go," he said.

He grabbed Remicra’s hand, leading the way towards the next level of the Tower Arcane.