Lucy died right in front of .
In her last breath, she made a statent that brought several mories flooding my head.
I rembered so many scenes of my favorite Novel, where the exact words were ntioned.
"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 tis—witnessing various tragedies that occurred in the book—why had I beco so complacent?
This wasn't a world of fun and gas. 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 was chaos, blood, flas, 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 ani I watched, or a ans of entertainnt 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 imrsed in my regret and grief to care.
When a person is at their lowest, their true selves erge.
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 out of the torrents of murky thoughts that enveloped .
"SAM! SAM!! SAM!!!" The voice that rang out was persistent.
As I turned in the direction of the desperate cry, I found soone looking at 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 co. 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 . I simply wanted to die at that mont, but...
"LUCY'S LAST REQUEST... PLEASE FULFIL IT!" My eyes widened as I watched Sarah bow before 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 statent, 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 sothing else popped up in front of .
[SYSTEM ALERT]
[You made a promise to save the people. Now fulfill your duty as the Hero.]
Success: Achieve a desirable/happy ending.
Failure: Anything less than the Paraters 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 ti 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 ssage to kept flashing in my head, and a glimr of emotion began emanating from within .
"You Hero? You Weak. Hero Weak." The Demon spoke for the first ti—or perhaps this would be the first thing I heard her say.
She was snickering at , 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 , the Middle-Rank Demon wouldn't fall for the sa 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 ."
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 ford 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 .
>SHIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG<
*****************
Everything slowly beca a blur, and non-existence took over.
Reality warped, and I found myself drowning in the sea of ti.
'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 ti—forced to pick the point of entry.
'Not there... not here...' My eyes scoured the vast space, searching for the only viable ans I could use to guarantee saving the future.
The tiless world slowly dimd, letting 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 ti 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 ford on my face, and my heart ached.
This was a big sacrifice, and my future just beca uncertain.
However, if it ant saving everyone... I had to do it!
'You can do this, Sam. You can save everyone!'
—And then everything beca 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 epito 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 ti, you can return to a certain point in existence and alter the events of the supposed future.
However, there is a cost...
... TI!
The total amount of ti a person has spent in existence is the Toll Fee of using 'The Fool.'
A Hero who has been summoned for a re two weeks can not choose to reset sothing beyond the bounds of the ti in which he has spent on the world's plane.
,m He can either choose to reset—returning to the furthest point in ti—or select a particular point at which he can choose to begin his correction.
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 ti where they left.
As such, if a Hero leaves a certain future and returns a day back in ti. He can not use [The Fool] until the future arrives once more.
Plus, all the ti the Hero has accumulated will be reset, and the cost of ti will begin to count from that point onward.
In simple terms;
It matters not how much ti 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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