Ray stared in disbelief at the people he once called party members.
None of them even had an ounce of regret or hesitation in trying to get rid of him.
It certainly looked like they wanted to get it over with and forget about him as soon as possible.
In other words, he was more of an inconvenience to them.
Like a tool who had outlived its usefulness and they couldn't wait to get rid of it.
Ray's face turned into a sad expression as he looked back at the five years he had spent with this elite warrior party.
He had followed them for five years.
He had fought beside them.
He had bled for them and trusted them all his life, but this was how it was going to end?
Ray refused to believe this was it.
He struggled once again and the dark chains around him, wrapped even tighter with the pain intensifying as Ray's vision began to blur.
Memories he had long forgotten began to flash through his mind and his eyes began to stream as he recalled his late childhood friend and first crush who had died right after he left his village to join the elite warrior party.
Ray also recalled how his little sister and mother had died from a deadly monster tide that stampede against the village, killing hundreds within minutes.
It took months for Ray to hear of his family's death and he probably wouldn't have known about it, if it wasn't even for an old man who had sent a letter to him from his village.
Tears began to stream down his cheeks as Ray recalled promising his little sister that he would return once he had completed his mission.
But he couldn't even complete his mission now and neither had he protected his family when they needed him the most.
In a nutshell, Ray believed he had failed them all and right now, he was about to die as well.
He screamed aloud as the magic circle underneath him glowed even brighter and dark colored vapor poured out of his chest to flow into Aldric like water pouring into a cup.
Aldric's eyes glowed like gold and his body turned golden as he ascended to become something beyond human comprehension.
Meanwhile, Ray's life force was being drained out and he was dying.
His vision turned blurry and dark but he certainly noticed Aldric's ominous smile as he stepped closer to Ray, whose body and flesh had been drained out of its vitality, leaving behind a weak and rotten body that could easily be crushed and broken with just a simple stomping of a feet.
"Goodbye Ray, and thank you for your valiant sacrifice."
Hearing this, Ray wanted to grit his teeth in rage.
For five years, this bloke had never once noticed his presence.
For five years, his teammates had treated him like trash.
They saw him as an insignificant pet and livestock that they had to feed and bring along with their adventures.
Yes, he was an Awakened, just like the rest of them, but since Ray was a commoner, none of his party member really viewed him with respect.
Moreover, he had awakened a really rare but useless ability which had so many drawbacks and inconveniences, so they had allowed him to join their party, for the purpose of using him however they pleased.
Being a commoner from a simple background, Ray couldn't say anything about how wrong they were treating him.
He knew they never liked him, but he couldn't leave the elite warrior party as well because they were the strongest team in the kingdom, and he really wanted to be famous in the eyes of all commoners in the kingdom.
He wanted to be remembered as someone great and important to the main party members and he had secretly hoped that he would be as strong as the rest of his teammates, hoping by then, they would begin to recognize and acknowledge his talent.
But he was wrong and right now, there was nothing he could do about it.
And so, with a look of disgust in his face, Aldric lifted his feet and slammed it on Ray's skull which was now as soft as a sponge.
*Crushed!!!*
Ray suddenly gasped as he snapped his eyes opened and lifted himself up on his bed.
His forehead was coated with beads of sweat and his heart was hammering rapidly in his chest.
Ray's hands clutched the cloth and rough wool blanket he was sitting on,then he slowly looked around to see the walls, thatched roof and small windows, letting in the rays of sunlight of a bright and early morning.
Recognizing the place he was in, Ray was certain that he was currently in his former bedroom.
He stared at his hands and noticed how young they were.
They looked completely different unscarred and callused from farm work as a commoner and not from the battles and ears he had participated in for the past five years.
"What is happening?"
"Why are my hands so....."
Ray had barely completed his sentence when a screen suddenly appeared before him.
[Congratulations!! Awakening complete.]
[The Goddess has chosen you to become one of her beloved champions.]
[You're now an Awakened, with the Class: Void Walker.]
"What?"
Ray couldn't believe what he was seeing right now.
This was the exact message that had appeared before him five years ago, on the very day he had become an Awakened.
"But how?"
Ray couldn't comprehend what was going on.
He vividly recalled what today was.
It was the day the Goddess had chosen him.
It was also the day everything in his life had changed as well.
But wasn't this supposed to have happened five years ago?
Or had he somehow found his way back in time to the very day of his awakening?
If so, then that means, he had somehow managed to regress back to five years before his death.
Ray looked at his hands again and he turned them over just to be sure,then he felt his face and noticed how young and soft it was.
Noticing all these, Ray became even more certain that he had truly returned back to the point where everything began.