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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“…..”
It was devastating.
I cursed the gods, blaming them for this cruel twist of fate.
But nothing changed.
My voice was hoarse, my throat raw, my head throbbing, and a deep, agonizing emptiness consumed me.
My cries of anguish, filled with a torrent of emotions, yielded no results.
Ares and Hare, standing beside me, offered their concern, but I didn’t want to see them.
I wanted to see Daniel.
I longed for his gentle smile, so I sought him out, the Daniel of this time, the ordinary student who remembered nothing of our past struggles, the one who possessed no extraordinary power.
But…
He lay on the infirmary bed, his eyes open but unfocused.
“Why?”
Why?
Daniel, at this point in time, should be reeling from the expulsion handed down by the headmaster.
Why was he like this?
Confused, I overheard the headmaster’s worried voice.
“Is the expulsion that much of a shock? What’s wrong with him?”
“It doesn’t seem like a simple fainting spell. Perhaps he has an underlying condition?”
The headmaster and the school nurse discussed Daniel’s condition.
They glanced at me, then, as if understanding my need to be alone, excused themselves.
I slowly reached out to my childhood friend.
“Why? Daniel… why?”
I had never seen him like this.
Not in my past life, nor in this one.
He had never collapsed in the infirmary like this, his spirit seemingly broken.
As my hand, trembling with a mixture of pity and helplessness, reached for him…
– It’s a curse from the Sun God.
A woman’s voice, one I had never heard before, echoed in my mind.
Unlike the Goddess of Death’s, her tone was light, almost playful, yet strangely subdued.
Before I could react, she introduced herself.
– Hello, I am the Goddess of Time. The one who revived you, the last survivor of your past life.
“You…!”
– I understand your confusion. I never intended to revive the apocalypse. But these are the rules I’ve set…
“I don’t care about that.”
I clenched my fists.
“What do you mean by a curse from the Sun God?”
– Impatient, just like your childhood friend.
Did she find this situation amusing?
A surge of anger welled up within me, and I almost unleashed my power.
Normally, at this point in time, I shouldn’t have access to my powers, the mark shouldn’t be visible, but…
The darkness within me stirred, ready to obey my command.
I possessed the memories of my past life, the experience of destroying the continent. It wasn’t a pleasant power, but I wouldn’t hesitate to use it if necessary.
– Remember what the Sun God said at the end.
The Goddess of Time spoke like a professor posing a question, and I reluctantly dredged up the painful memory.
“He specifically mentioned Daniel. He said there wouldn’t be a next time.”
– It’s simple. The Goddess of Death forced your awakening as the apocalypse. That gave the other gods a reason to intervene. And at that crossroads… the Sun God chose Daniel McLean.
“Chose…”
– Even if the Following Apocalypse destroys the world, I can simply turn back time. The Goddess of Death is out of the game. Now, only the Following Apocalypse remains…
“He was afraid of Daniel.”
– Indeed. He was a monster, despite being human. The Sun God, unaware of my criteria for choosing a returnee, needed to restrain Daniel. So he cursed him._
A question arose.
“If you turned back time, shouldn’t the curse have disappeared as well?”
– I turned back human time, not divine time.
To humans, it was a return to the past. To the gods, it was simply resetting the game board.
The thought was unsettling.
– In that sense, the Goddess of Death can no longer interfere. She exhausted her power in the previous timeline, forcing your awakening. Honestly, it would have been dangerous without the power Kurika gave him. The curse persisting means…
“It means the Goddess of Death’s forced awakening also carried over.”
– Precisely.
I had wondered why the Goddess of Death had expended so much power in a timeline that could be reset, but now it made sense.
If time had been reversed without the Sealing Dagger, I would have been rampaging as the apocalypse from this point onward.
– Regardless, it’s unfortunate. This means I’ve failed as well.
“……”
– Even I can’t keep turning back time indefinitely. And there’s no one who can stop the Following Apocalypse. I didn’t expect Helios to prepare something like that.
“Do you find this situation so trivial?”
– This is the outcome. Gods are surprisingly quick to accept defeat.
My head throbbed, the pain almost unbearable.
I took a deep breath and asked,
“Why do I have the memories of the zeroth iteration, the time I destroyed the continent?”
The zeroth iteration.
The time I destroyed the continent and killed Daniel.
– It’s not something I can simply give or take away. There’s no distinction between the zeroth or first iteration. You receive all the memories upon returning.
“……”
A faint flicker of hope, like a candle in the darkness, ignited within me.
I thought, I considered, I questioned the goddess.
“Do you truly want to prevent the world’s destruction?”
– Yes. I’m quite skeptical of the new world they intend to create.
Her voice was genuine, pure.
Her naivete was almost unsettling.
“And Daniel is the closest you’ve come to achieving your desired outcome.”
– The only one. Even Daniel McLean ultimately failed. I doubt any other human could do better.
“The Goddess of Death’s power was sealed by the dagger. So why do I still have the power of the mark?”
– Because that’s the agreement. When I turn back time, all gods must have a chance. The Goddess of Death’s meddling is gone, but… that’s why the meteor hasn’t fallen yet.
The Following Apocalypse would arrive if the Earliest Apocalypse failed or stalled for too long.
I looked at Daniel and asked cautiously,
“Can’t you lift the curse?”
– I can, but it would expend a considerable amount of power, making future returns uncertain. And it would be pointless. Even if I healed him, he would just be the same naive Daniel who was expelled in the zeroth iteration.
“Then…”
I looked down at Daniel, then slowly raised my head.
Though I couldn’t see her, I felt as though I was looking directly at the Goddess of Time.
“Make a pact with me.”
Did she understand the weight of my resolve?
A pact?
A plan, a consequence, unimaginable for a simple village girl, began to form.
“Tell me if you can fulfill my request. Can you change the time of the next return? Not to when Daniel was expelled, but to a specific point I designate?”
……
“Is it difficult?”
– Slightly. But since the Goddess of Death meddled, I suppose I can bend the rules as well.
The Goddess of Time added, her voice filled with curiosity.
My questions must have seemed strange to her.
– What are you planning?
“You said I would regain all my memories upon returning, regardless of the iteration.”
– Are you saying…
I knew.
It sounded absurd, a foolish notion for a simple village girl, but…
“I’m going to send Daniel back.”
I could do it. I had done it before.
The darkness within the dust beneath the bed, the shadows cast by the curtains, the circular shadow beneath my feet…
Everything stirred, answering my call.
– Do you understand the implications? You’re essentially condemning everyone in this world to death, except for Daniel. Strangers, friends, family…
“If time continues like this, the Following Apocalypse will arrive. Everyone will die anyway.”
……
“You said it yourself. If even Daniel failed, no one else can succeed.”
– Yes, that’s true.
“Daniel couldn’t stop me the first time I destroyed the world. But he succeeded after learning about me. It will be the same this time. I’ll tell him the truth about the next apocalypse.”
– I can only send one person back. If you send Daniel McLean back, you will be completely forgotten.
“……I know.”
Even breathing felt difficult.
It felt as if the world was rejecting me.
“But even so…”
I clenched my fists, the fabric of my skirt crumpling in my grip.
My heart ached, fear and loneliness washed over me, but I forced myself to speak, my gaze fixed on the unconscious Daniel.
“I will destroy the world again.”
The swirling darkness reached for Daniel.
Unlike before, it gently enveloped him, absorbing him until nothing remained but the lingering warmth on the bed.
And so, after exactly one year…
A world remembered by only one began to turn.
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