As the feeling of emptiness welling up on the back of my neck spread throughout my body, I woke up to hear something fall.
A coup.
When I checked, it was the Records Stone Fragment. He was sure he held her tightly even when the light exploded, so why had he fallen? I quickly approached and picked her up. That's when I realized there was something else on the ground.
«Clothes...?»
The robe was made with high quality fabric. But the important thing was not the material, but the owner. It wasn't just a high-quality robe, it was the robe that Auril Gavis was wearing and that was on the ground in the place where the old man was just now. It was as if his body had been sucked somewhere, leaving this behind.
«Don't tell me...» I looked at the Record Stone Fragment in my hand. «Did this activate for the old man?»
I was beginning to understand what had happened, although I was momentarily stunned by the results, which were different than I expected. The Record Fragment Stone had reacted to Auril, not me.
I can not believe it.
I forced myself to regain my composure and began to organize myself from the beginning. There were two possibilities. First of all, Auril had received a call from the times just like me.
«Have you used the Record Fragment Stone before?».
«I've used it before».
Secondly, Auril was in a state where he had already used the Record Fragment Stone. In this case, it meant that the old man was living at this time after receiving a call. That's how he met me, and the work he did - the role that needed to be fulfilled -, once completed, returned to its original era.
In the first case, it means it went back in time and I guess in the second it means the opposite.
That's how the situation in my head was organized.
No, it is still too early to draw conclusions.
I realized my lack of information and changed my mind. He didn't know enough about the Records Stone Fragment. It was wise to keep all possibilities open. It was possible that the call of the times was not something that only happened in the past. It could also be a call from the future.
I should think about this part later.
I placed the Records Stone Fragment back into the subspace and picked up the robe from the ground. Then I searched enthusiastically.
Looting!
After all, it was Auril Gavis's falling object. Most likely he had something interesting on him.
Are you kidding me?
As a result of searching enthusiastically, I didn't find much other than the robe. Just ordinary socks, shoes and luxurious pure white silk panties.
«Ahh, damn!» Realizing that the piece of cloth I was touching was underwear, I threw it on the floor. Anger took over me.
What kind of old man has nothing?
I was looking forward to it because this man gave off the air of a final boss. There was no bigger bust.
«Ah». Late, I remembered seeing Auril draw water from his subspace. At the time I assumed it was a subspace ring. «But it was a subordinate subspace». A subordinate subspace could only be used by high-level mages. In this case, there was no physical object; It was directly connected to the soul with a tattoo or something.
Hey, no, wait a minute...
So if I used a subordinate subspace, would that mean I could take all the equipment I collected here back to my time? The idea came to me suddenly, but it wasn't enough to scream Eureka. I was not a magician. Unlike a magical device, a subordinate subspace could only be opened by the magician's own mana.
Ha, so it's another failure...
I sighed and erased my regrets. Getting angry and expressing my regret didn't change anything. There was something else I needed to do right now.
First I had to meet with Amelia.
I picked up Auril's belongings and put them in the subspace before moving through the sewer again. It was clear that these were ordinary clothes, but since I might have missed something, I decided to check it out one more time.
Splash, splash.
Retracing my steps like this, I found five or six corpses.
This is where the internal dispute took place.
Since I had the good sense to take the unclaimed equipment, everything was looted. I assumed that since all these people were trying to migrate to the overworld they were carrying expandable bags or subspace rings, so there were no problems with inventory.
Wow, how much does all this cost?
Using my shoulders, neck, arms and everything else, I carried all the bags and kept moving forward. Soon, I arrived at the place and Amelia was not there. Judging by the traces of the battle with the chief of Orcules, he must have fainted here. Where had he gone in the meantime? There was no need to think much.
She must be there...
I couldn't hide the bitter feeling and quickened my pace.
A collapsed roof blocked more than half of the hallway. I could see Amelia removing the debris. He moved his hands so frantically that he didn't even realize I was nearby.
"¡Aaaahhh!"
Why are you screaming suddenly? It's scary.
Watching him grab his head was wild, so I quickly walked over and grabbed Amelia's wrist.
Touch.
As soon as my skin touched hers, Amelia shuddered and turned around. «...Yandel?» She seemed surprised to see my face, trying to shake my hand. «Let go. I need to find...»
«Even if you search, you won't find anything».
"¿What?"
I smiled. «That's why I told you. It will all be over when you wake up». Despite those words, Amelia continued to look lost. It seemed like he wasn't understanding me. «Just follow me». It would be faster to see it with your own eyes.
***
When she came to, Amelia only felt despair. She was alone in the dark sewer and the familiar silence indicated that it was all over.
Yes, it's all over...
Amelia got up and started walking. There was a place I had to go because I wasn't able to do it that day.
«Forget... all the painful memories here. A normal life... finally begins for you».
He had to leave his sister's body behind. When he went to look for her after a while, Laura's body was gone. Apparently, the workers restoring the passage had cleaned all the bodies. This turned into bitter regret for her.
«I have to find her».
He had to find her, even if it was just a corpse. He had to get her back, not leave his sister's body in this dirty sewer. Now that he had traveled twenty years into the past, he was able to do that. No, maybe that was the only thing he was allowed from the beginning.
«¡Ugh, heugh...!»
Shortly after arriving at the scene of the tragedy, Amelia began to clean all the rocks she could find. She was so desperate doing it that she seemed kind of crazy, and it wasn't such a wrong description either.
"¿Because...?"
His sister was nowhere to be found. She had to be here somewhere.
Could it be that even this is not allowed to me?
«Aaaahhh!» For the first time in a long time, Amelia screamed out loud. He was able to swallow a moan even when his flesh was cut and his bones were broken into pieces, but this time he couldn't do it. He felt like his heart was being torn apart.
Squeeze.
At that moment, he felt the warmth of another person. «...Yandel?» He was the person I had seen every day for the past six months, someone all too familiar. «Let go. I need to find...»
She immediately tried to get him off her back, but the barbarian didn't let go, as always. Saying something incomprehensible to her as she resisted, he forced her up.
«This place is...»
They walked for centuries until they reached the afterworld, the gigantic city of Rafdonia where the influence of the palace reached every corner.
«Ugh, my eyes...» The city in broad daylight was too bright for eyes that had just emerged from the dark sewer. Before her eyes had time to adjust to the surroundings, the barbarian dragged her by the wrist. «Where are we going?»
«I said you'll know when you get there».
Amelia scanned her surroundings even as she was dragged hard. There were pedestrians passing by on the street, smiling children and parents, crier merchants, and pure white marble reflecting sunlight. It was a place he once desperately longed for, a world full of warm sunlight where he could live a normal life, unlike Noark. Of course, he now knew that not even the overworld was a paradise, that it was a place where beasts existed with even greater evil than Noark and where common tragedies occurred every day.
«Only once...» However, she wanted to see him only once, her sister and herself living normally, sometimes crying and sometimes laughing.
«Hey? What have you...?»
«Yandel, get out of here alone. I have something to find down-»
«Ugh, I told you, you won't find it». When Amelia stopped walking, the barbarian looked at her in frustration. He said: «She's alive, your sister».
"...¿Which?"
Alive? But how...?
«I'll explain it to you later, so follow me, okay?».
The barbarian guided the confused woman and continued walking. Amelia didn't resist. I didn't have the mind to do it.
«Ugh, it took a while because he didn't say what first aid station it was».
After who knew how long, Amelia arrived at a first aid station located in the overworld. Then, explaining his appearance to a staff member, he found the hospital room.
Drag.
When he opened the door, the figure of a girl lying on the bed entered his field of vision. Warm sunlight came through the window.
«L-Laura...» It was an unreal scene that he never thought he would see in his life. Amelia approached the bed like someone possessed. Then he grabbed Laura's hand. He could feel his sister's heartbeat through connected flesh. «How did this happen?»
In response to Amelia's question, the barbarian told her everything that had happened so far. He made a deal with Auril Gavis. To eliminate contradictions, Lethe's Blessing was used to erase his memories, disguised as a carriage accident.
«When I wake up, your sister probably won't remember anything. You will live your life thinking that the name on the ID tag is yours.»
«A-ah...»
«But don't be so sad. When we go back to the future, there will be no problems. Then you can reveal your identity and live as friends».
His heart was pounding. That's when he realized it.
«Also, you said that the dragon hunter is also trying to recover his memories. Let's find a way together once we return, how we can recover lost memories».
He really did.
«Hey? So please say something. You're making me anxious...»
Although he had accomplished something miraculous, seeing him watch her cautiously, not knowing what to do with himself, made Amelia laugh. «No need».
«Hey? What do you mean?»
«It means you don't have to worry anymore. I won't try to recover my sister's memories».
«Hey? How is that?»
Amelia smiled at his question. Since he didn't smile often, the movements of his facial muscles seemed very strange to him. «It's better not to remember».
From now on, his sister would be different. The life she so desperately longed for would begin, and in that life, painful memories would only get in the way.
«... Goodbye, Laura.»
I'm fine. Even if I'm not with my sister. Even if it is far from the normal life I wanted. Even if it's still uncomfortable to even lift the corners of my lips.
His sister would have nothing to worry about.
«Come on, barbarian.»
«It's Yandel, not barbarian.»
«Yes, Yandel.»
I was no longer alone.