Lucy died right in front of me.
In her last breath, she made a statement that brought several memories flooding my head.
I remembered so many scenes of my favorite Novel, where the exact words were mentioned.
"Hero, please save us."
Those words carried more weight than any other.
'I'm... such an idiot.'
Even though I had read the T.W.T.S.S. Light Novel several times—witnessing various tragedies that occurred in the book—why had I become so complacent?
This wasn't a world of fun and games. It wasn't the ideal fantasy setting.
No, it was a place riddled with war and chaos—a world where death was the norm.
Yet...
'I didn't think things through...'
What had I been doing?
Fooling around and trying to impress everyone else while neglecting the core essence of this world, what kind of joke was that?
In the end, my negligence caused this.
Around me was chaos, blood, flames, and dirt. Everything I built since the day I arrived here... everything was razed to the ground.
Amid everything, I stood still—unable to keep up the facade I furnished.
This wasn't a novel any longer. It wasn't an anime I watched, or a means of entertainment viewed behind a screen.
It wasn't a dream either.
This was reality.
And stuck in this reality, with everything already turned to shit, I could no longer hold back my true self.
"Keuk... I... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." My body trembled as I fell to the filthy floor.
My obsession with hygiene didn't dare kick in at that point. I was too immersed in my regret and grief to care.
When a person is at their lowest, their true selves emerge.
And the true form of everyone's Hero—Samuel Peterson—was no more than a pathetic fraud.
'I'm weak. I'm stupid. I'm useless. I... I...'
"HERO!"
>WHAP!<
I felt a stinging sensation on my cheek, pulling me out of the torrents of murky thoughts that enveloped me.
"SAM! SAM!! SAM!!!" The voice that rang out was persistent.
As I turned in the direction of the desperate cry, I found someone looking at me with tears in her eyes.
It was... Sarah?!
"Hero... Sam..."
'Please, don't... don't say those words...' My heart sank.
There was nothing I could do.
Everything was gone, and everything was my fault.
A scenario wrought by the supposed 'Hero' who failed to save his people... what kind of cruel joke was that?
"... Lucy died waiting for you to come. She sacrificed herself for your arrival."
I knew that well enough.
My eyes went to the corpse of the redhead. The smile on her cold face sent shivers down my spine, and her dried blood sickened me. I simply wanted to die at that moment, but...
"LUCY'S LAST REQUEST... PLEASE FULFIL IT!" My eyes widened as I watched Sarah bow before me in her pleas.
'No. Stop that. Don't do that... please.'
"Please, Hero..." Byron's voice echoed in my ears as I looked in his direction.
"... Save us." With that statement, he bowed too.
I looked at the three Adventurers too. I had no idea why and how, but they too were pleading with subservient bows.
They were all bowing, pleading, waiting... all for the Hero.
'Am I really a Hero? Do I deserve this? What can I do?'
My sullen heart was still in confusion when something else popped up in front of me.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
<Root Quest Has Surfaced!>
[You made a promise to save the people. Now fulfill your duty as the Hero.]
<Parameters>
Success: Achieve a desirable/happy ending.
Failure: Anything less than the Parameters of Success
—Reward: NONE
—Failure: DEATH
~You Can Not Refuse This Quest~
[Please, Hero... Save Everyone]
"Ah..."
'So, even the System has joined the fray.' I bit my lip and began rising from my low estate.
My heart remained sullen, and my body was still trembling. However—!!!
"... I understand now."
I smiled at the people whose faces remained planted on the floor and then turned my gaze toward the enemy who cautiously approached.
It was a Middle-Rank Demon.
It was my first time seeing one, and since I was so distraught by Lucy's death, I hadn't noticed her until now.
"Level 50... a Mage... I see..."
I couldn't win in a fair fight.
Even if I managed to win, then what? All this tragedy wouldn't simply undo itself.
[Please Hero... Save Everyone]
The System's message to me kept flashing in my head, and a glimmer of emotion began emanating from within me.
"You Hero? You Weak. Hero Weak." The Demon spoke for the first time—or perhaps this would be the first thing I heard her say.
She was snickering at me, daring to move even closer.
Her minions were trembling, most likely because of the sight I showed them on my first day in this world.
Unfortunately for me, the Middle-Rank Demon wouldn't fall for the same theatrics.
If I wanted to win, it had to be through violence—unbridled violence.
"I can't win..." My voice was low, but not exactly despairing.
I simply stated the truth.
"Even if I beat you... it's still a loss for me."
In essence, the current situation made it impossible to achieve victory and complete the Quest.
"Why did I overthink things? Why am I hesitating?" A smile formed on my face.
My shivering body ceased trembling, and the tears in my eyes dried up.
"I guess I'll just have to start over."
This wasn't how things were supposed to progress. It was a bit premature, but I had to use my trump card so early.
"I didn't think I'd have to use this..."
But, there was no other alternative.
"Arcana Call: The Fool."
Suddenly, I felt a bright light surge from within me.
>SHIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG<
*****************
Everything slowly became a blur, and non-existence took over.
Reality warped, and I found myself drowning in the sea of time.
'No... not the beginning!'
Images overlapped with other images.
Several scenes played over and over, and I navigated through them.
I was lost in an endless stream of time—forced to pick the point of entry.
'Not there... not here...' My eyes scoured the vast space, searching for the only viable means I could use to guarantee saving the future.
The timeless world slowly dimmed, letting me know that I was running out of options.
If I didn't choose quickly, the effects would be random—or worse, reset!
"There!" My eyes finally spotted the period in time that I desired.
My body naturally gravitated towards it, leaving every other checkpoint behind.
'With this... I'll be able to do it...' A smile formed on my face, and my heart ached.
This was a big sacrifice, and my future just became uncertain.
However, if it meant saving everyone... I had to do it!
'You can do this, Sam. You can save everyone!'
—And then everything became blank.
*********************
Arcana Call.
These are the Trump Cards of a Hero, tied to the very mission he embarks on.
In the Original Novel, Damien had to scour all the worlds in order to advance his Arcana Call and obtain more features.
It wasn't until his collection was complete that he arrived at the Grand Finale.
Of the Arcana Calls that exist, there is one that the Hero starts out with—The Fool.
After traveling worlds, he obtains 20 others and reaches the epitome of power.
That serves as the major crux of the story.
[The Fool] Arcana is a forbidden power that no one should wield. An ability tied to the regrets and wishes of every being that exists.
The desire for another ending.
A Reset!
A Do-over!
A Second Chance!
By turning the tides of time, you can return to a certain point in existence and alter the events of the supposed future.
However, there is a cost...
... TIME!
The total amount of time a person has spent in existence is the Toll Fee of using 'The Fool.'
A Hero who has been summoned for a mere two weeks can not choose to reset something beyond the bounds of the time in which he has spent on the world's plane.
Unfortunately, the price does not stop there.
Once a trip is made, one can not use the Arcana again, until they return to the exact point in time where they left.
As such, if a Hero leaves a certain future and returns a day back in time. He can not use [The Fool] until the future arrives once more.
Plus, all the time the Hero has accumulated will be reset, and the cost of time will begin to count from that point onward.
In simple terms;
It matters not how much time you have in store.
Everything returns to zero once you use [The Fool] once, and you have to begin stocking up again.
However, even with these lopsided rules, there exists a bigger advantage.
An advantage that ensures the second chance sought... may be achieved.
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