With a sigh, he slowly opened the book, then began to read…
As his eyes, carrying an unnaturally deep vicissitudes of life, scanned the pages one after another, his expression continued to change. Like the time before, and the time before that, each time he read through this small and unassuming notebook, his heartbeat accelerated with an uncontrollable momentum.
He stared at each page for a moment longer than necessary, and he scanned each word as if it might all carry a hidden, unfathomable meaning.
Then he exhaled through his nose, leaning back.
He knew in his heart that this small booklet was a treasure unlike anything he had ever seen before.
He didn't understand why Elena would give it to him specifically, but when he asked, she just told him that regardless of how far calamity spread, the Cross Continent was the root of everything.
After reading through the booklet, he understood that Elena wanted him to be her eyes and ears…
She wanted him to look for certain people!
Those people from the palace had wanted information on Elena, not only access to everything about her and the people around her, but also leverage when necessary. They said it was a precaution, but at the time, he thought it was just their petty schemes. Now that he had a better understanding of both parties, he understood that these people were not so simple! He couldn't even begin to guess how many strings were being pulled behind the scenes. They could never have known that Elena had already turned the tables, transforming him into her own spy!
He hadn't handed this booklet over, not because he couldn't, but because he chose not to…
Because from the very beginning—
He was never a dog of the capital!
He was never loyal to the empire!
His identity was special, very special, and Elena knew this, so she had chosen him to play a part!
The pages quietly turned beneath his fingers.
This booklet recorded a number of things, ranging from the calamities and how they will unfold, to a list of future events, names, and information regarding people of interest, and details on certain places that could be used to increase the overall strength of the Cross Continent!
Each entry was precise, right to the point, and described the dangers involved…
The more he read, the deeper his frown became, but after a while—
His thoughts drifted back to that moment, back to her voice.
The way she acted 'before other people', and the way she acted 'back then' were completely different, almost like two different people.
— "You don't have to trust me," she had said in a cold yet calming tone.
His fingers paused on the page.
— "But you should trust your instincts, especially because you're from 'that family'."
Silence filled the room.
"…Tch!"
He leaned back slightly, closing the booklet halfway, then cursed out loud.
"Annoying girl!"
-
Time passed.
Then, without a sound—
The door opened, and a tall figure, shrouded in a composed aura, stepped inside.
He was a young master dressed in white robes lined with intricate green cloud-like patterns that shimmered faintly under the light. His features were refined, almost unnaturally so, with a quiet elegance that felt out of place in the rough architecture of the city guard HQ.
At his waist, a slender flute hung loosely, swaying slightly as he walked, producing a faint hum…
He closed the door behind him, but the captain didn't turn his head. He already knew who it was, and it could even be said that he was waiting for this person's arrival.
"…You're late," he said flatly.
The man smiled faintly.
"Am I?" His voice was light, almost a bit teasing, yet it was mixed with indifference, seemingly unbothered by the mundane world around him, like a transcended immortal with a spotless temperament.
The captain's gaze shifted towards the window.
The city skyline stretched out into the horizon, alive and unaware of the monster that was currently lurking in its depths.
"…Things are moving faster than expected," he muttered.
The man in white stepped closer, stopping just before the desk.
His eyes flickered briefly towards the booklet, but he did not ask because it was just too ordinary. It was also this unconscious action, one that the guard captain quietly caught, that allowed him to silently make a world-shaking decision in the future.
The man in white shook his head, then looked deeply at the back of the guard captain.
"…Have you made your decision?"
The captain didn't answer immediately.
He fully closed the booklet, leaving only his hand to rest on top of it.
"…I have," he muttered.
There was a quiet pause, but the man's smile slightly deepened.
"…Interesting, then when do you intend to return? How long will it be?"
The captain finally turned his head.
His gaze sharpened, but then deflated, because the man sitting here in white was—!
* * *
The clock turns back, back to the night when the Captain of the City Guard and Elena met in secret…
-
Elena had lived three lives.
In her 'first life', she had been a Hero!
She was born in Evergreen Town, recruited by the Sky Tower, and was firmly pushed onto the stage of history by the whims of fate! She fought through the early calamities not as a 'true savior', but as a bystander, just going through the motions while the world uncontrollably burned around her.
She was helpless and fell into despair…
In the end, she died during the ninth calamity, when the Dragon of Destruction descended!
-
In her 'second life', she awakened knowing more of the truth.
In this life, she avoided the Sky Tower.
She became a lonely hero, drifting from place to place, and followed the flow of fate, letting it drag her forward from one event to another. Instead of playing the Hero like before, she used this life to understand the world and master a wide range of martial and magical techniques.
She was a true genius!
She played her part, but she grew too quickly…
Her 'abnormalities' became impossible to hide, and eventually her halo was discovered by the hidden old monsters sleeping in the world. They hunted her down, and she eventually died near the end of the Seventh Calamity!
During this life, even her name was unknown, becoming just another grain of sand lost to the wind.
-
In her 'third life', or the previous loop, Elena chose a very different path...
This time, she stayed in the shadows.
She abandoned the heroics and focused completely on survival.
Stealth, misdirection, and anti-divination techniques, she learned it all. Elena buried herself beneath layers of protection, moving carefully through the cracks of the world. In this life, despite fate continuing to reach out again and again, it just couldn't pull her in. Elena even tracked down one of the greatest divination masters alive…
- Qulanira Quella Quint!
Elena was taken in as a disciple, and from her new master, Elena learned many powerful divination techniques! She understood how fate worked, how to use it, and how it could be deceived.
When the end of the Eighth Calamity came, Elena was ready!
She burned everything!
Because the calamities were 'nearing their end', the 'haze' that blocked divination had thinned.
She burned everything!
Not to stop the ninth calamity, no, she spent every drop she had accumulated, surviving just long enough to divine everything that mattered to her. Through this, Elena learned many things, things that she would not have been able to know otherwise, things from both the past, present, and future, spanning many people, places, and things, all things that she had missed in her previous lives!
In this life, she died before the appearance of the Dragon of Destruction, devoured by the power of her own divinations' backlash, but from this, Elena learned many secrets—
-
With a click of the clock, the world was once again reset, sending her into this loop…
* * *
That night, the night when the captain and Elena met, she focused on certain people. First were the nine individuals who, in every lifetime, inevitably rose to prominence as outstanding practitioners!
None of these people could be missed!
-
'Dorthy Quella' of the Quella Quint Family—
A magic-focused 'piece'…
Even without the title of hero, Dorthy always stood out among the most remarkable mages of the current era. As a member of the mysterious Quella Quint family, her talent for magic, divination, and the theoretical understanding of everything related to runes, magic, and energy made sure that she would shine no matter her circumstances.
-
'Arthur Goodwin'—
A rune-focused 'piece'…
Like Dorthy, Arthur did not have the title of hero in the previous three loops, yet his brilliance was undeniable. His ability to predict and calculate bordered on the supernatural, and strangely enough, in the last loop, Arthur appeared even stronger when he was forced to rely on his own brain rather than the 'crutch' of the divine gift of foresight.
-
'Melllillyan Tibon'—
A support-focused 'piece'…
Mell, the successor of the Tibon Family, possessed extraordinary management talent and practical skills in every lifetime. Even when her circumstances diverged, her competence never disappeared. Her most frightening trait, however, was her inexplicable ability to recognize and gather great talents. It was a gift Petra had yet to truly discover, and one that Elena found herself envying. When trained to its limit, one could trace good fortune and avoid misfortune, making them incredibly tricky!
-
Rotell Hellion—
An offence-focused 'piece'…
One of the three princesses of the Hellion Empire. While the Hellion Empire was powerful within the borders of the Cross Continent, it wasn't particularly exceptional compared to the forces overseas. The three princesses, however, were another matter altogether. Rotell, an aspiring swordswoman, was fated to become the future 'Silver Swordsman', inevitably walking down a lonely path towards the peak of swordsmanship. She would lose everything, face betrayal, fall into many schemes, and eventually die, but until that point, this person's rise was completely unstoppable!
The guard captain still remembered the sheer shock that struck his soul when he heard these words.
-
'Mithra Bluebonkun' or Little Mith—
A speed-focused 'piece'…
She is an energetic young 'weapons expert' trained under a great elder of the Insect Race. Mithra rides a massive blue beetle into battle and wields an enormous azure hammer. Her combat style was direct, destructive, and overwhelmingly aggressive, but at the same time, she was young and cute, with a faint flicker of unreasonable naivete, personifying the law of lack of common sense.
-
Fumell—
A poison-focused 'piece'…
A strange and reclusive poison master who rarely leaves her home. Despite her lethargic and somewhat, er… useless personality, she is one of the most dangerous individuals throughout the world. Without someone to 'guide' or 'support' her, however, she will fail to display her full potential. It would be best if she could be sent to the Amaranda Academy around the end of the third calamity, allowing her to be forced into the game ahead of time.
-
Hestdum Holzeyras—
A range-focused 'piece'…
'The archer whose arrow never misses twice'. Although often seen as just another lazy slacker, Hestdum possessed a terrifying talent with the bow. Ironically, she had discovered this by accident, originally only learning archery to make killing quicker and more efficient so that she didn't need to 'be there in person.' In other words, she is a lazy and aggressive horse girl who doesn't like to work.
-
Jura Poulifna—
An area of effect focused 'piece'…
A rabbit-type beastman and a deeply devout follower of the legacy of the first Hero. As a Crescent Moon Rabbit, Jura wielded a special ceremonial fan and specialized in large-scale destruction and wind-type magic. Her abilities are focused entirely on battlefield devastation, capable of wiping out entire armies in a single strike.
-
Toad—
A defence-focused 'piece'…
He is a chubby glutton known only by his nickname, Toad!
Toad possesses the 'Grand Devourer Physique,' allowing him to consume nearly anything without limit. His appetite and monstrous constitution caused many people to mistake him for a high-level magic beast rather than a human cultivator, but he is definitely a human—and a particularly despicable one at that! He is the kind of person who would break into a bathhouse, paint its female denizens, then run away and later display those 'artworks' in full view of the public.
In other words, he has very, very thick skin!
-
These nine are usually called the 'Nine Heroes of Calamity!'
* * *