Red brick dust swirled through the air as the church walls collapsed. Roedrich Johannes Faust spat blood from his mouth, his dark green eyes staring toward the fifteen members of the Truthful Alliance surrounding him in the ruins of Saint Marinus Cathedral. Their black robes fluttered in the cold night wind, all of them now filled with hatred that had festered for over two centuries.
"Cursed sorcerer," hissed Commander Steinberg, who was leading tonight's expedition. His hand gripped tightly the Judgment Mind shaped like a silver hammer, golden-white energy flowing from the Mind through the blade and filling his body. "Two hundred and ten years you've evaded justice. Tonight it all ends! Evil bastard!"
Roedrich laughed, his voice sounding terrifying among the ruins. His tattered cloak fluttered as he struggled to stand. "Justice? You who destroyed half the city of Srovelska just to chase one person, and you speak of justice?"
A blonde woman with ice-blue eyes stepped forward. Sister Evangeline Rishtafaune, wielder of the Purification Mind. "The Chronos Mind you possess is a violation of both written law and religious law. The Chronos Mind cannot be owned by someone so evil, even someone with the purest heart shouldn't wield it!"
"Especially in your hands, murderer," added Brother Marcus, raising his Trinity Mind shaped like a golden cross. "How many thousands of lives have you taken with that cursed power of yours?"
Roedrich wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. His body was too old and weary. Two centuries of living on the run, always hiding, always fleeing every day. His Sacrament, once so powerful, was now truly like porcelain about to shatter. "You never understood, did you? Mind is neither blessing nor curse. Mind is a tool possessed by humans. And like a knife, it can be used to cut bread or pierce a heart."
Commander Steinberg slammed his Judgment Mind hammer to the ground. A wave of white energy spread out, creating a circle of light that trapped Roedrich. "Enough of your empty words! Surrender the Chronos Mind and die with honor!"
"Honor, you say?" Roedrich reached into his cloak pocket and pulled out an old, rusted revolver. The weapon trembled in his wrinkled hands. "I've lived for two hundred and ten years. I've seen emperors rise and fall, witnessed wars that claimed millions of lives, seen progress and discoveries that changed the world. And you bastards… you still think inside your little boxes!"
The fifteen members of the Truthful Alliance prepared to attack. Each of their Minds began to glow, preparing a combined assault that would surely destroy Roedrich in an instant.
Roedrich smiled. A strange smile for a human. "You want the Chronos Mind?" He raised the revolver to his own temple.
"Catch it if you can."
"DON'T!" screamed Commander Steinberg after realizing what was about to happen.
BANG!
The bullet struck Roedrich's temple. Blood spurted, his body began to collapse. But in the final seconds before falling, his lips moved, whispering an incantation he had memorized during his last years in exile.
"Chronos Mind, in life where there are no answers, then answers shall become life, SACRICRUCIFIX."
Golden light exploded from his dying body. Time began spinning backward slowly, then faster, spinning endlessly. Buildings in Srovelska appeared and disappeared like miniatures destroyed by a child. Seasons changed in seconds. Years passed backward like book pages flipped carelessly.
And then silence followed.
…
Snow fell heavily on the roof tiles of the Derrabelum family house. Winter wind howled outside, snowflakes striking the old glass windows. Inside the warm dining room, the fireplace burned quietly, its light spreading across walls covered with rose-patterned wallpaper.
"Jean, sit properly," Allistina Redrinish scolded while ladling potato soup into her child's bowl. The middle-aged woman wore a dark green dress with a white apron in front. Her golden-brown hair was neatly tied back.
Jean-Francai Varens, a seven-year-old boy, fidgeted in his chair. His large brown eyes gazed out the window where snow continued to fall. "Mama, when can we go to the toy store? I want to see the miniature steam train we saw in the display window yesterday."
"My dear child, the weather is terrible," said Percival Derrabelum while cutting wheat bread with a dull knife. The forty-five-year-old man wore a white shirt with a dark brown vest. His thin beard was beginning to gray in places. "This snowstorm won't let up until tomorrow morning. We can go after the weather improves."
"But Papa, what if someone else buys the train?" Jean whined while swinging his legs under the table.
Roedrich sat across from his little brother, watching this small family scene with unusual eyes. He was fourteen years old now, still too young to understand the bitter sweetness of the world. Too young to know that in the future, he would become the most hated person on this continent.
"You worry too much, Jean," said Roedrich with a voice older than his current age, something his parents couldn't quite understand. "Toys are toys and they'll always be there."
Allistina looked at her eldest son with some surprise. "Roedrich, you're talking like an adult again. What happened to mama's cheerful boy?"
Percival chuckled softly while sipping his soup. "He's going through a transition, dear. All boys experience a phase where they feel more mature than they actually are."
"I'm not feeling more mature," Roedrich replied quietly. "I'm just tired these past few days."
Jean stopped whining and looked at his brother with innocent eyes. "Why are you tired, Brother? We didn't do anything today except play chess."
Roedrich smiled faintly. Chess was a simple game he once considered trivial. Now he could defeat grandmasters with his eyes closed, but currently he had to pretend to struggle against his little brother who was just learning.
"Maybe I'm thinking too much," said Roedrich while taking a piece of bread. The familiar wheat taste filled his mouth. Simple food he once considered ordinary now tasted like the most delicious meal in the world.
Allistina rose from her chair and walked over to Roedrich. Her gentle hand touched her eldest son's forehead. "You don't have a fever, but your face is very pale. Are you feeling unwell?"
"I'm fine, Ma." Roedrich caught his mother's hand and held it against his cheek for a moment. Warmth he hadn't felt in so long. "It feels good to be together like this."
Percival and Allistina exchanged glances. There was something different about their eldest son tonight, something they couldn't understand and different from usual.
"Roedrich," said Percival in a gentle tone. "Is something troubling your mind? You know you can tell Papa and Mama about anything, right?"
Roedrich looked at his father's face. The man who would die in six years from lung disease. The man who would never see his eldest son become the monster feared by the entire continent.
"Papa," said Roedrich quietly. "If someday I become a different person, I mean someone who might disappoint the family... would Papa still be proud of me?"
Silence filled the dining room. Only the crackling sound of wood in the fireplace and the strong wind blowing outside.
Percival rose from his chair and walked over to Roedrich. His large, warm hand touched his eldest son's shoulder. "Roedrich Johannes Faust," he said with a firm and loving tone. "You are my son. Blood of my blood, flesh of my flesh. No matter what happens in the future, no matter who you become, you will always be my son. And I will always be proud of you."
Tears fell from Roedrich's green eyes. Tears he hadn't shed for the past two hundred years.
"Papa doesn't know what I'm going to do," whispered Roedrich.
"I don't need to know," answered Percival while wiping the tears from his child's cheek. "What I know is that you are a good child. A smart child, a loving one, who always protects his little brother. Whatever happens, I believe you'll make the right decisions."
Roedrich almost laughed. The right decisions? He would kill thousands of people. He would create a Mind considered the greatest heresy of the Age of Gaps. He would become humanity's number one enemy on this continent.
But tonight, in this small warm dining room, surrounded by family who loved him unconditionally, he was still a fourteen-year-old boy longing for the warmth of home.
"Thank you, Pa," whispered Roedrich.
Jean, who didn't understand the serious conversation between father and brother, suddenly shouted with joy. "Look! The snow stopped falling!"
Everyone turned to the window. Indeed, the snowstorm that had been raging since afternoon was beginning to subside. The night sky that had been pitch black now showed a few twinkling stars.
"Tomorrow we can go buy your miniature steam train," said Allistina while lovingly ruffling Jean's hair.
"Really, Ma?" Jean jumped excitedly in his chair.
"Really. But now it's time to bathe and sleep."
"Aww, just a little longer, Ma. I want to chat with Brother Roedrich first."
Roedrich smiled seeing his little brother's antics. In the original timeline, Jean would die at twenty-three in a train accident. But now, Roedrich had a chance to change everything.
Suddenly, excruciating pain struck his body. Like thousands of needles stabbing his Sacrament from within. Roedrich grimaced, his hands gripping the edge of the table so tightly his knuckles turned white.
"Roedrich!" Allistina screamed in panic.
The dining chair fell with a loud crash as Roedrich collapsed to the floor. His body convulsed, cold sweat drenching his forehead. The pain grew worse, as if someone was tearing his internal organs with iron claws.
"Papa! What's wrong with Brother Roedrich?" Jean cried in fear.
Percival knelt beside his eldest son, trying to hold Roedrich's convulsing body. "Roedrich! Roedrich, listen to Papa!"
But Roedrich couldn't hear anything. In his consciousness, he could see his Sacrament completely shattered. The small space inside his body that once contained the power of Chronos Mind was now utterly destroyed like a house hit by an earthquake.
Temporal regression. Returning to the past with all memories and experiences intact, but the physical body reverted to its past condition. The problem was, this past body had never possessed such a powerful Sacrament. This fourteen-year-old body couldn't contain the residual energy from the massive Chronos Mind.
With what consciousness remained, Roedrich tried to stabilize his Sacrament. He tried to absorb natural energy from around the house, tried to rebuild the foundation of his power from scratch.
But this body was too weak for that.
Darkness swallowed him.
...
Roedrich woke up in his own room, the small space on the second floor he remembered with a simple wooden bed, study desk, and old wardrobe. A cold wet cloth was placed on his forehead. Morning sunlight filtered through the curtain gaps, creating lines of light on the wooden floor.
He tried to sit up, but his body was still weak. His Sacrament was still in shambles, but at least the stabbing pain had lessened.
The bedroom door opened slowly. Allistina entered carrying a tray with warm porridge and chamomile tea.
"Thank goodness you're awake," she said while sitting on the edge of the bed. "You were unconscious for almost twelve hours. Papa almost called the doctor."
Roedrich tried to smile. "I'm fine, Ma. Maybe just too tired."
"Tired?" Allistina touched Roedrich's forehead to check his body temperature. "You're still a child, Roedrich. A child your age couldn't possibly be tired enough to faint like that. Why? Tell mama."
If only she knew that her child had lived for two hundred and ten years.
"Where's Jean?" asked Roedrich to change the subject.
"Papa took him to the toy store this morning. He was very worried about you last night, wouldn't even sleep. Papa said it was better to take him out for a while so he wouldn't keep thinking about what happened."
Roedrich nodded slowly. In his heart, he was still trying to process this situation. Temporal regression had truly succeeded. He had returned to the past, to his young body, with all memories and knowledge intact.
But there was a major problem, his Sacrament was destroyed, and in this condition he couldn't even use the most basic Mind. He needed time to rebuild the foundation of his power from scratch.
And more importantly, he had a second chance. A chance to change everything. A chance to save his family. A chance to choose a different path.
Roedrich Johannes Faust, once dubbed the "Most Evil Individual" by the Truthful Alliance, now lay weak in his childhood bed, staring at the cracked wooden ceiling.