Repeating Fate

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

“Are you alone?” (Shishou)

The first time we met, I thought this child might already be dead. He didn’t respond when I spoke to him, and his eyes lacked any vitality, as if he had already given up on life. I was thinking of leaving him alone if he had given up on life, but for some reason he kept running after me. Perhaps it was the instinct not to die and the lack of anyone else to rely on, but intrigued by his audacity and resilience, I decided to raise the child partly as an experiment.

“I’ll give you my knowledge. Use it to gain the strength to survive.” (Shishou)

The experiment involved teaching the child the knowledge and skills I had accumulated over the years to see how much he could understand and grow. After all, it was centuries worth of my experience, and I thought he would be discarded if he couldn’t grasp the teachings. The child desperately listened to my words and continued to mimic my actions. At that time, I only saw the child as a nuisance, but over the years, I grew fond of him, and I feared the thought of parting ways.

Part of it was my lack of understanding of boundaries; I had been too indulgent. I decided around that time that if I were to raise another child, I would be stricter and more hands-off. Eventually, when the child reached the age of a young adult, we parted ways, and that was the last time I saw their face.

“Connection… complete. There you are.” (Shishou)

By impaling me on the pillar of mana stones, I entered the world of that child. I walked through the white world in the form of my elven self. This place was within the vast mana residing in the pillar of mana stones, and at the center of that world, there was a small luminous orb with an eerie presence. I approached it slowly before touching the orb.

“You’re not even wary, despite being this close. How pathetic.” (Shishou)

This orb was the core of that child, marked by a magic circle—a soul, if you will. And currently, I was like a foreign substance, a pathogen, intruding into someone else’s body. Normally, there would be unconscious defence mechanisms, but the child showed no reaction even when I touched them. It’s a pitiful story as a mentor, but for the time being, it was convenient. Now that I had come this far, I should be able to read his memories. Considering he uttered fragments of my words and the name of sacred tree, it wouldn’t be surprising if there were still remnants of memories.

‘Now… tell me what happened after we parted ways.’

“…I see. So, you were in a hurry.” (Shishou)

First, it became apparent that this child hadn’t completely lost their memories. Due to a flaw in the magic circle that sealed his personality, he could only recall a small portion of his memories of his life as a human and the memories he had made since. However, as an external connection, I was able to peek into their memories, and it seemed he had quite a difficult time.

“Sensei… thank you…” (??)

“Don’t be ridiculous! Using Sensei’s creations… How dare you…” (??)

“That’s right… My mission is…” (??)

After we parted ways, it seems this child continued to travel aimlessly until he stumbled upon someone misusing magical tools I had created in the past. Somehow, he had a strong sense of justice. He quickly punished the user and reclaimed the magical tools, which seemed to give him a sense of purpose. He set out to find and reclaim my magical tools.

It wasn’t their intention, but they ended up thinking along the same lines as my current disciple, Sirius, whom I had entrusted with a similar task. However, with time and a calm perspective from the outside, it was clear now. Not only couldn’t he stand the thought of my magical tools being misused, but he also unconsciously sought me out. The dignified demeanor he showed when we parted ways was merely a desperate attempt to not disappoint me. At that time, I was pushing him to stand on their own, so I couldn’t perceive his true feelings.

Thus, he sought anything related to me and continued their journey across the world in search of magical tools.

“There are still… How much longer…?” (??)

“You too… pitiful…” (??)

“Is this… the kind of place…?” (??)

While he found a goal, unfortunately, I had left quite a few creations scattered across the world. Perhaps realizing he couldn’t find everything on their own, he seemed to have searched for trustworthy companions or potential successors along the way, but it seemed he didn’t have many fortunate encounters. He spent most of his time alone. As a result, ironically, he stumbled upon this cave of mana stones that anyone would desire, all on their own.

“No one… can be trusted… They all… betray…” (??)

“Someone… to inherit… my legacy…” (??)

“With this… my… theories…” (??)

As he aged and his body gradually declined in performance, still, he couldn’t find anyone to carry on their will, and there were still many places he hadn’t searched.

Amidst the anxiety and inner turmoil, this child, worn down by his own heart, chose a path: to transplant himself into a mana stone. With ample mana stones suitable for research and transplantation, he decided to live longer and wait for a successor. Perhaps he took inspiration from stories of sacred trees that I had lightly mentioned in the past.

After conducting research and completing the magic circle to transplant their personality into the pillar of mana stones, their body breathed its last. That was where his confirmed memories end.

“There’s nothing left… to entrust… to you, Sensei…” (??)

“I want to… see you… one more time… I want… to…” (??)

“…Wa…nt…to…” (??)

However… it failed. Whether it was because the catalyst, the mana stone pillar, was too large compared to the experimental ones, or due to old age and anxiety causing slight distortions in the magic circle, the transplantation failed.

As a result, instead of finding a successor, he left behind a mere, mechanical-like pillar of mana stone, burdened with knowledge forced upon it, recalling only a few words.

“What a foolish child. Messing up at the very end.” (Shishou)

No, perhaps it was also my fault for not firmly pushing him away and completely severing their dependence on me. I was not the one who dwell on regrets, but facing reality like this was hard to bear. Truly… it’s frustrating.

“And you, you’re just unlucky. I came all this way…” (Shishou)

Lastly, this child had repeatedly wished to see me just once more. Despite that wish being granted, they couldn’t even recognize me in front of him. At least I wanted to end it with my own hands. At that moment… their memories suddenly returned.

“Oh, that’s right. Your name… was Eos, wasn’t it?” (??)

My apologies. It was a bit late, but I finally remembered.

“A… Aahh… ~~… ~~… ~~…” (??)

‘Though the pronunciation is difficult and the words don’t come out smoothly, I see… you remembered too. A name that didn’t fit my image, a name I hated being called, and a name you only uttered a few times… my name. I taught it to you when you were a child. After calling you by it once as a joke and almost getting beaten up, you never called me that again. But now, like a broken machine, you’re screaming it over and over again. It’s still an annoying name, but for now, I’ll forgive it. You’re the only one who knows that name now, Eos.’

“You must be tired, right? Lean on my chest, and rest peacefully.” (Shishou)

 

 

— Sirius —

 

Just a few seconds after thrusting the sacred tree knife into the pillar of magic stones, a small crack appeared in the pillar with a shattering sound. Simultaneously, the faint light emitted by the magic circle disappeared, indicating that Shishou had finished the job thoroughly.

“…Let’s go back. To where we should return.” (Shishou)

With this, there would be no more entities like Lambda. However, since this cavern might still contain the research results of Lambda, who could carry out inhumane acts so casually, and Shishou’s magical tools, I’d want to make sure to obliterate not just the entrance of this cave but also this hall. I would have liked to examine Shishou’s magical tools in detail, but I’d have to give up on that for now.

I had already used up the tools for base destruction, but with the mana stones around here, I could make several bombs-like objects easily enough. I tried to retrieve Shishou impaled on the pillar to get started, but for some reason, the knife wouldn’t come out. It wasn’t stuck since it didn’t budge at all. Could it be that Shishou was resisting?

“What’s wrong, Shishou? Isn’t it over already?” (Sirius)

“Yeah, it’s over. So, hurry up and leave.” (Shishou)

“Of course, I’ll leave. So, let’s go quickly.” (Sirius)

“I refuse. If you pull me out, this cave will collapse. Damn it, is this Lambda’s doing?” (Shishou)

Once the magic circle engraving my senior disciple’s personality disappeared, this pillar of magic stones was set to self-destruct. However, after Shishou had calmed down and investigated, it was found that when the pillar collapsed, hidden magic circles throughout the hall would activate, causing the cave to collapse and emitting a special wave to destroy magic tools simultaneously. Whether it was out of a desire not to hand them over to anyone else or to protect the master’s dignity, it was a meticulously thought-out evidence eradication.

“The range is limited to within the cave, but it seems that the magic circles are completely destroyed by the wave. Lucky you, it should save you the trouble of cleaning up afterward.” (Shishou)

“You’re making light of the situation! This is more than just troublesome!” (Sirius)

“Calm down. I’m holding it off right now, so it won’t activate immediately. You have plenty of time to walk back while talking, so go on.” (Shishou)

“Is that what would happen after leaving you behind?” (Sirius)

‘Right now, I’m not in the best shape, and if I want to return to the others alive, leaving it to the master to escape is the best option. But even so…’

“What’s gotten into you? You’ve never said such noble words before.” (Sirius)

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

“What are you talking about? Even if you worry, buried underground like this, I won’t die. What are you so concerned about?” (Shishou)

“Even if you don’t die, do you think it’s easy to find when you’re buried in a place like this!?” (Sirius)

“In that case, tell the main body to get me a new one! If you explain the situation, they’ll give me another—” (Shishou)

“The Shishou who traveled with me is only you!” (Sirius)

‘The Shishou before me is just a fragment of the sacred tree, but I don’t see it that way. Moreover, if it were my usual master, I think she would have suggested forcibly escaping together as the first option. It seems she had quite an attachment to the senior disciple, whom she ended himself, which is quite unlike her.’

“And besides, don’t you want to be there to witness the moment when my and Fia’s child is born? Although we’re not biologically related, considering our relationship with you, isn’t it like having a grandchild?” (Sirius)

“…Hmph! Only that old man would be delighted with grandchildren. But I am interested to see what kind of children will be born from you two.” (Shishou)

“Then let’s go back together. Share the information with me.” (Sirius)

‘It seems like he’s regained some composure, so now all that’s left is to figure out a way to escape the cave together with Shishou. The safest option would be to stop the collapse of the cave altogether, but since Shishou forcibly stopped the switch from activating, preventing the collapse itself seems to be difficult. Moreover, this is Lambda’s meticulously planned evidence erasure mechanism. Since it would be a hassle to clean up afterward, let’s intentionally exclude this option.’

“In that case, the only choice is to run. From the master’s perspective, how much time do we have?” (Sirius)

“After I escape and the pillar collapses, the collapse will probably start from this hall and spread outward. So, if you head towards the exit, there should be some time. Even then, it’ll only be a few seconds.” (Shishou)

“But it’s worth a try…” (Sirius)

“In that case, I’ll make a little adjustment when I’m about to detach. That might buy us a few more seconds.” (Shishou)

“Good enough!” (Sirius)

Having consumed the last bit of water and preserved food and discarded the pouch attached to my body, I turned towards the entrance of the hall while gripping the master’s knife. Despite forcibly stopping the collapse, as the entire cave began to tremble slightly, I calmly regulated my breath while slowly circulating mana throughout my body, strengthening it, and aligning my breath.

As expected… including the speed at which I circulated magic, the overall efficiency was halved due to fatigue. But I should be able to maintain top speed until I escape. There was no need for a countdown… With Shisou, I could perfectly synchronize my movements.

“Let’s go!” (Sirius)

Retrieving the knife and kicking off the rocks at my feet, I dashed out of the hall at once. With Shishou’s restraint gone, the collapse magic circle activated, and the collapse of the cave began. Stones and fragments of mana stones fell from the ceiling due to the vibrations, but they were still mostly small pieces, so I was fine. Along the way, there were a few bends in the passage, but I continued running without slowing down as much as possible, climbing up the walls whenever necessary to maintain speed.

“To the left… Straight ahead… To the right…” (Sirius)

I couldn’t use “Search” due to the lack of magic power, and the light from “Light” was very faint, allowing me to see only a little ahead. However, I had the route firmly memorized, so there shouldn’t be any problem.

‘If memory serves me right, I should turn left at the next fork and proceed up a gentle slope until I can see the exit. I can feel the ceiling of the rear passage collapsing behind me, as if it’s chasing me, but thanks to the master’s little trick, there’s still some time before complete collapse.’

“At this rate…!” (Sirius)

Passing by the side of the underground lake I had traversed before, I spotted the last fork in the road, so I aimed at the spot on the wall where I’d kick off, and then suddenly, I felt an intense sense of unease, causing me to almost unconsciously slow down my running speed. In this situation, it seemed like nothing short of suicide, but my judgment wasn’t wrong. It was because just around the corner to the left, there were several medium-sized monsters blocking the passage, as if intentionally closing it off.

“What the…?! Dammit!” (Sirius)

Normally, it would be unthinkable for monsters to enter a collapsing cave like this. Regardless of their low intelligence, they should sense the danger instinctively. Yet the monsters standing in front of me, while unable to move much due to the narrowness of the passage, were clearly targeting me.

‘It’s as if they’re hungry beasts facing their prey… No way!’

“Those guys from in front of the cave entrance!” (Sirius)

When the mana stones used to lure monsters to the Demonic Continent broke, some of the affected monsters were nearby. Those monsters had given up chasing me in front of the cave entrance, but with the collapse of the magic stone pillar, the effect of the monster repellent wore off, and thus they began chasing after me on instinct.

Going head-on was… not an option. Even if I tried to slip through the gaps, the monsters, like a wall of flesh, were spreading out to fill the passage, making it impossible to pass without stopping. Even if I tried to blow them away with “Anti-Material,” I didn’t have enough time to concentrate mana over this distance.

While desperately trying to come up with a plan while slowing down, both the collapse and the monsters were steadily approaching. With a slight hesitation, the choice I made was… to turn back.

“If both options are bad bets…” (Sirius)

What I was aiming for was the underground lake in the opposite direction I turned earlier. It was not particularly large, and to intruders, it would seem like a dead-end. However, during the investigation of the cave with “Search,” I discovered that the submerged part of this underground lake has a large hole, which seemed to extend quite far into the depths. And from that direction, I caught a faint scent of seawater. There were lakes called brackish water lakes, where seawater and freshwater mix due to underground water, and that underground lake was likely one of them. In other words, if I could dive through the underground lake, there was a chance I can reach the sea.

There was no guarantee that they were connected, and I didn’t have any decent equipment, so it was still dangerous, but I though the chances of survival were higher than being trapped between monsters and falling rocks.

“At least if I can get out…” (Sirius)

And then, as I jumped into the underground lake with the momentum of my run, a dull pain shot through my head…

『――― Respond! What’s going on?』 (??)

‘What… is… that… familiar… voice?’

“Are you okay!? Report your situation!” (??)

‘Ah… it’s you. That voice, still full of spirit despite the years… It’s been quite a while since I’ve heard it. I didn’t expect you to be here too.’

“Wait! That should be the last resort. Get out of there quickly!” (Sirius)

‘No… that’s not it.’

This was a memory from when I communicated with my partner during my past life’s final moments. Though my consciousness was foggy and my memories were unclear, the fact that I could think means I was not dead, at least not yet. However, even when I opened my eyes, everything was pitch black, and the ringing in my ears was so loud that I couldn’t hear anything.

I didn’t even know where I was, so I tried to focus inward to check my body’s condition, and I strangely feel resigned.

“I remember now…” (Sirius)

Multiple fractures and internal bleeding in my abdomen, with almost no sensation in my left hand and left foot—this state was almost identical to that memory. Moreover, this posture of leaning against some sort of wall with my back was also the same.

As my consciousness gradually returned, I recalled how I sustained these severe injuries.

At that time, as I leaped into the underground lake, I was struck directly on the head by falling rocks from the ceiling. Furthermore, due to the collapse of the cave, the water from the underground lake began to flow towards the sea, engulfing me in a muddy current. Unable to resist properly due to the dulling of my thoughts from the impact of the falling rocks, I was repeatedly struck by rocks throughout my body as I was swept away. These injuries all stem from that.

Still, I managed to maintain consciousness somehow, and fortunately, my body got caught on a rock along the way. Using my hands to feel around, I climbed onto a small piece of land I found and then completely lost consciousness.

“I’m still… inside the cave… aren’t I…” (Sirius)

Fortunately, it seems the time I was unconscious was short. The entire cave still trembles slightly, and it’s strange that I’m still unharmed, despite the high possibility of the ceiling collapsing at any moment. Perhaps this area hasn’t collapsed yet because I was swept away by the water, distancing myself from the center of the collapse.

‘Though I managed to survive, the bleeding is severe, and in my current state of imminent unconsciousness, I wonder if I can make it to the sea. As for Hokuto… it’s probably impossible.’

I ordered Hokuto, whom I parted ways with at the entrance of the cave, to destroy the bridge connecting the two continents. Hokuto’s ultimate technique, which releases a massive shockwave of mana from his mouth, was perfect for destroying large structures. However, considering the scale of that task, it would take time and consume a tremendous amount of mana. Even if the task was already completed, he must be utterly exhausted, and besides, it was impossible to find me in such a small cave deep inside the cave.

Though such a despairing situation was common, a certain reality began to eat away at my heart.

“Tsk… What a… unpleasant… situation…” (Sirius)

‘Is this what they call fate? Suffering the same injuries as in my past life, where I was caught in the collapse of a high-rise building, and now, in this cave collapse. Lambda, with similar ideologies to the mastermind I fought before my death, and now, even in this reincarnation… it seems my end will be the same…’

“Haha… This won’t do… My spirit is… faltering… I need to… think rationally…” (Sirius)

‘Right… Despite being covered in blood and feeling no pain in my left leg, unlike in my past life where I lost everything below the knee, this time it’s still intact, and with the right use of magic, I can still move it. These negative thoughts only arise because of my current condition, but it’s not the same as my past life. Above all, I must make my beloved women… my wives… happy. As a man, I can’t afford to be any more pathetic.’

“First… stop the bleeding. Then… the leg…” (Sirius)

Switching off my consciousness and focusing again on surviving. I used [String] magic to suture the severed blood vessels and reinforce the cracked bones with magic. I then used [String] to fix the mithril knife given to me by Shishou and Fia like a splint, allowing me to move my left hand and foot a little.

If I couldn’t maintain the magic, I might bleed to death or go into shock, but with this, I could move forward. So, I plunged back into the water.

The current was still strong, but this time, with consciousness, I could reduce the number of times I hit the rocks and even deflect some of the impacts. It felt like an eternity of agony, even though it was probably less than a minute. And just as my breathing enters the danger zone, suddenly, the resistance of the water against my body decreases significantly.

‘Have I finally reached the sea after passing through the underground waterway? Even if I think about surfacing, after being tossed around underwater like this, I have no idea which direction is up. Considering the time, it’s still night, so I can’t rely on the sunlight either.’

But even if I wanted to figure it out, I no longer had the time.

“Ugh… My breath… is… bad… Consciousness… fading…” (Sirius)

‘Just a little further… Just a bit more… My hand… reaching… out…’

 

 

(Please consider supporting at https://www.patreon.com/bayabuscotranslation)

Previous Chapter | Table of Content | Next Chapter