Walking through the castle corridor after saying goodbye, Enrico followed Angela. This was the first time he had entered the royal castle of the city of Sanos. This castle was located at the edge of the city, where the largest number of mages and knights lived.
'This is my first time in the royal castle of Sanos…'
[Well, it makes sense that it's your first time, after all, you're not that important.]
'Your attempt to annoy me isn't working, so instead try to make my life harder, since that's the only way you can manage.'
In front of a large door, Enrico saw two guards who, upon seeing Angela, nodded and opened the doors, letting them in. Since the king had likely already instructed them to let them pass, the guards were quite relaxed.
"Enrico, it's been a month since I last saw you, and it seems you've grown quite a lot."
In the center of the room, sitting in a chair, Virelle was drinking coffee with a small smile, happy to see him. Meanwhile, the king looked at Enrico with a certain interest.
"Professor Virelle, it's good to see you, and of course, it's an honor to be in your presence, King Alaric."
"It's good to meet you as well, boy, you've been making quite a name for yourself at Astrong… I heard you know things about the future. Don't worry, Hao placed a barrier around us."
Enrico felt a presence behind him and quickly turned around, seeing Hao staring at him while scratching his chin with great interest. He had already been intrigued before, but now his curiosity was much greater.
"If I could contact my brother, he would come running to meet you, Enrico."
"That's a great compliment, director."
"I don't think it's a compliment, because you never know what my brother will do when he gets curious."
He was right — that man could sometimes be terrifying, always bored after having reached the tenth circle.
"A vampire reached the tenth circle, so he probably wants to speak with that vampire, doesn't he? But tell me, did you accept the alliance with the vampires?"
"…Yes, you're right… as for the vampires, we had to accept, since I'm not in the mood to see two tenth circles fighting fiercely. Our world can withstand the ninth circle, but we don't know about the level above that."
Enrico looked to the side, since in the original story he had already seen at least seven battles of that level, and the maximum this world could withstand was the ninth circle — because the tenth could alter the very laws of the world if they wished.
"Well, this world cannot withstand it, but it can send the two automatically to a place that won't affect itself."
"How interesting. You must have seen battles of that level, then. Now I'm very curious about how strong you were."
Those were the words Enrico wanted to hear, so it was time to start telling "his" story, the one where the constellations had changed.
"Well, we can say I wasn't very strong, since back then I didn't care about training and was expelled from Astrong."
"What?"
"Well, you'll know when you see my memories."
Everyone in the room was surprised by his words, even Virelle. Seeing their faces, Enrico put on a sad and regretful expression.
"Yes, I know this is a disappointment if you thought I was some great hero, but not taking my training seriously was one of the biggest regrets of my life."
Seeing his lonely expression, everyone in the room nodded with pity and let it go. What mattered now was seeing this future. Hao then approached and created a barrier above their heads, then with a magic stone, he placed it on Enrico's forehead and held it there.
"Well, I hope this works."
Enrico asked the system to show only certain memories from that original life at the end of the world and to block access to any others. Closing his eyes, Enrico felt himself outside his body.
"Wait, is this my body?"
[Yes, and now the true Enrico's soul will enter.]
He saw Hao holding his unconscious body and placing it on a bed made from his barrier magic. Hao's expression was a bit unsettled while Virelle raised an eyebrow.
"What happened?"
"There's a very strong barrier in your mind. I don't know what it is, but someone placed something very powerful to protect you. I don't know who it was, but I can definitely sense traces of time magic."
Alaric's eyes grew serious, while Virelle clenched her fists and looked at Angela, who simply nodded. Now they were sure it was real, and that was frightening.
"So the world really will end… Hao, I want to see all of his memories."
"I'm trying, sir, but it seems this person's power is far beyond mine… maybe if I focus, I can reveal some memory."
"Then focus as much as you can."
Hao nodded and closed his eyes, entering Enrico's mind. Trying to merge in, he was startled to see a barrier of time around Enrico's soul. Pieces of memories floated everywhere, most blurred and unclear.
He tried, placing his hand on the barrier, channeling his deepest magic to extract something. Concentrating to his limit, his nose began to bleed as he pulled something from within.
"I got it."
In the barrier above, an image began to play, showing Enrico being expelled from the school without anyone saying a word, taking another path. Then the memory jumped forward in time.
"If I had trained, would I have had a greater chance of surviving?"
Overweight, bearded Enrico was kneeling, staring at several figures in the sky — many evil gods — while the entire continent lay devastated without a trace of life. Seeing this, everyone in the room stood in shock at the disaster, while Virelle and Angela focused especially on Enrico's lifeless eyes in that place.
"The only thing I can do is run, and ironically, I only survived because I was a powerless weakling."
Enrico was hiding in a cave while three evil gods outside amused themselves with war slaves, demanding they please them if they wanted to live. Even seeing that, Enrico had to flee, unable to muster even a shred of power.
"I hate this feeling. Why did I stop training? No… it doesn't matter now, since I'm only alive because I'm weak."
Enrico's future life seemed to span years of solitude until, at thirty — five years after the invasion of the evil gods — he walked, now thin to the bone, skin clinging to his skeleton, crossing the continents where no trace of life remained. One day, he found himself being drawn into a true dungeon.
"Where am I?"
"Human, if you save the world I created, I can give you a chance to change all your regrets."
"All of my regrets?"
Tears streamed down Enrico's face as he clenched his fists, forcing himself to rise. He looked into the eyes of that being, a tall, pale man with long silver hair.
"What do I have to do?"
"I see hatred in your face, boy, and that is interesting. Simply save the world I created, and then you will have your reward."
Enrico's eyes were red with tears and fury. The feelings he carried were humiliation and frustration. He stepped toward the door behind that man, filled with a thirst for revenge for his humiliating life. Before entering, he asked one last question.
"What is your name?"
"Kronos."
"My name is Enrico, and I will save this world of yours to obtain what I want."
The vision ended as he crossed the door without looking back, and then the castle hall fell into complete silence.