Memories

A strong smell of herbs filled my nose, awakening my drowsy consciousness.

As I awoke, I felt a cold liquid trickle down my back and slowly ran down my back.

Then hands ran down my aching arms, causing my consciousness to return completely.

"Gahh!"- a moan of pain came from my throat thanks to the hands exerting more force through my body, causing my efforts to break free to cease- "Hold on a little, I can't put too many passions on you or they will cease to suffer the effect." Said the feminine voice behind me.

-Haaaa...

I slammed my face on the mattress of the bed I woke up on and drowned my screams of pain in it, I lasted a while performing that act until finally, the hands stopped pressing on me.

"So," said the woman's voice that seemed to be the one holding me and now helping me to position myself correctly on the bed. You won't tell me what happened to you."

Said the voice, which as I turned around I discovered was Lou, who held a relaxed look in his eyes.

I didn't respond as I scanned the place I was in, which appeared to be a bedroom.

There were two small closets, on which rested some herbs and potions of a black color, which had some shades degrading to gray.

My scanning of the room stopped when I met my eyes with a bed positioned next to me, on which there was a body of which only a few purple locks were visible.

"I knocked her out before she killed you," said Lou as he looked at the same place as me. As far as I know, they have a good relationship, so I can't understand the fight." Lou said.

I looked away from the bed and moved my gaze to the beautiful white-haired Elf, who met her eyes with mine.

"How did you find us? - I opened my mouth to answer and then took a sip of the potion next to me. I managed to feel the mana they expelled and I approached the place thinking that some rats had infiltrated." Lou said as she reflected on what had happened.

As the headmistress of the largest academy in the kingdom and the continent, it was not strange that she was invited to the king's birthday, she had agreed to come out of pure courtesy, but she asked to be part of the security group that guarded the castle.

While she was walking around the garden where the guests were and stealing some pieces of bread and food, she felt a brief vibration in the mana that was in the environment, at first she hesitated to go to check because although it was brief, she managed to perceive that the quality of the mana did not exceed the E rank.

She was about to contact the other people of the security corps to check, but due to the nobles who recognized her and the noise they generated with their chatter, she said she had to leave, using as an excuse her job as a guard.

With a serene look, as if she was in her own house, Lou went through the corridors of Aren's castle, all thanks to the mana that had been absorbed in the environment, a few seconds passed in which she finished going through the corridors quickly, thanks to her speed worthy of an S class.

He took a fork to the left and immediately noticed the place where the man was coming from, a garden.

With a quick and simple movement, a sword of elegant black metal appeared between his right hand, and with another step a little mana was released from his body, causing a translucent black aura to cover his sword.

But his steps stopped instantly, as his eyes fully took in everything in the garden.

Even in the state, it was in, one could notice the fine decorations that it carried, along with thousands of flowers, of which only the petals remained scattered on the earthen floor which was completely broken into cracks.

But all this disaster did not manage to keep his eyes on the garden, but on the people in the center of it, which seemed even more destroyed than the garden itself.

In particular, the man with platinum blue hair, who was on his knees and was being held by the hair of a woman, from whom waved an immense purple hair that reminded him of the orchids of the Elven forest.

Instantly he recognized the two people, his pupil in the art of swordsmanship, Adad Hall.

And Emilia Zeijrn, a pupil he had heard about from his secretary Ana, according to what he told she was a genius who could use the water and earth element with great affinity.

"This time I will save everyone! - said Emilia with a shout, which traveled to the entrance of the garden where Lou was, who upon seeing the small purple Aura coating Emilia's rapier gave a big jump-Boooom!".

A sound of a small explosion rumbled as a bolt of lightning shot out of Adad's hand.

"Giaah!"

The lightning struck Emilia's moving sword causing her to recoil, but she used her impuso to spin around with a small shout of momentum to swing her rapier back towards Adad's unprotected head.

-Thud!

A thud resounded as Lou grabbed Emilia by the head and pulled her towards his knee, sending her flying through the air a couple of meters until she landed on the ground completely passed out.

Lou's gaze did not stop on Emilia but instead focused on Adad.

Bloodstains filled his dismembered shirt and his skin had become even whiter than normal.

"Without a second's hesitation I took you in my arms like a prince with his beloved and brought you into the room for treatment," Lou said as he crossed his legs and arms, "Then you left Emilia lying there."

A surprised look crossed Lou's eyes "No, as you see I brought her in after giving you first aid, but I didn't do anything for her but apply a potion."

"I didn't kill her at that instant as I thought it best for you to decide the punishment. After all, hurting a noble to such a degree let alone a Duke is punishable by death and above all, she is only a commoner." Lou said as he looked at Emilia with pity.

It was not unusual for Lou to say that since executions of people who attacked nobles were relatively normal, not only in Aren but in the entire continent of Axe, but he could not allow that to happen not only because Emilia was the heroine of the game but also because of the words of the statement she had recently made.

A statement that he did not doubt and that explained the behavior that he had exercised so far.

Emilia is a returnee.

"I don't plan on killing her, but I do plan on some punishment for her," I said as I looked at Lou, who responded with confusion.

"Haa, why don't you do it, she almost killed you."

Lou paused in her words as her face turned to understand.

"Oh, now I get it, she's the ex that you still love, isn't she."

I ignored Lou's words that were a half-truth and answered.

"It's because she's special."

"What do you mean by that?."

"Mm in the future you'll know."

I ignored Lou's questions and thought of a new topic to talk about.

"By the way the garden was destroyed wasn't it."

"Oh didn't I tell you? I rebuilt it with my ability."

"The one you used to change the shape of the sword."

"The one you used to change the shape of Dead Rose?"

"I thought I told you," Lou said as he stretched out his hand toward one of the empty potions causing it to change shape. It's called a reset and it's an S-class ability."

********

[Emilia's Pov]

Darkness, once again all I saw was the now memorable darkness, which I had seen before I woke up and couldn't move my body.

But unlike last time, I did not last long in this emptiness, which gradually disappeared like the morning fog.

Gradually the cramping sensation disappeared and control over my body returned.

Before I could think of anything my eyes opened and my body moved.

And then I was in shock.

I couldn't see what I saw, or rather I didn't want to believe it.

It was a sight that was impossible for me to forget, one that despite the time was not erased.

One that tormented me in my dreams.

A sight Adad's dying and bloody body hanging from my arms.

I tried to move but I couldn't and then I realized, it was like when that thing controlled me. It was my body but it was not responding to my brain's commands.

My vision became blurry as tears flooded my eyes, I didn't know if it was mine or Emilia's at the time.

"Why, why did you have to do this? - I said with a nasal, broken voice due to the sobs.

A smile formed on Adad's face, which was very different from the Adad I had fought before. "It's because you are special."

"My life is worth no more than thousands. Why did you have to commit this massacre?" I said sadly.

A pause in our conversation formed as Adad scanned the hellish landscape around us.

The fire was rising to the sky, the air was hot, the mana in the atmosphere was still chaos and thousands of lifeless bodies littered the ground.

"Emilia... - Adad said in a voice so weak that it cracked in mid-speech, "You have to learn, that death can generate life."

"And besides, to me, your life is worth more than any - a big smile formed on Adad's purple, trembling lips as he spoke-. Because... I love you."

A great, heavy silence fell over Emilia, who kept shedding tears as she shook Adad's body, which now lay lifeless in her arms.

Even after years, she had not stopped regretting this day, if only she could have saved Adad.

If only, she had not pierced Adad's body with her rapier.

If only they could be happy, she would give it all.

As she looked at Adad's body her eyes began to close again, until they fell back into darkness.

"Pathetic, don't you think."

An overbearing and powerful voice echoed in her ears, forcing her eyes open.

Now he was no longer in the moor full of bodies, but in some ancient city partially destroyed and in ruins.

"He gave not only his life, but the lives of thousands for you

and you wasted it all with your weakness, I guess it was what they call a sacrifice in vain."

Said the voice, causing my blood to rage and send signals from my brain to my body to move.

But I couldn't move until a hand revealed itself out of the darkness and with a smooth motion made my body float towards it.

I stopped a few ft from the hand which moved forward, until it positioned itself on my neck, squeezing it.

"I thought it would be more fun, but none of you besides the navy blue-haired man managed to entertain me."

Said the voice, revealing his full figure.

I felt hatred rise from deep within me, but I couldn't do anything because of the grip on my neck, which tightened.

"Pathetic!"

-Crack!

Along with the sound of the lake breaking my consciousness plunged into darkness.

This continued for a while until a female voice echoed inside me.

[Congratulations on unlocking phase 3 of the system]

[As a reward for unlocking this phase the system will grant you a wish].

Said the voice of the system, which was now was no longer just images playing in my mind.

"Me, I want to save everyone."

*****

"Haa....!.

"Looks like you finally woke up."

Sounded a voice coming from a beautiful white-haired Elf.

"Where is Adad?"

Said the purple-haired girl who had just woken up, causing a trace of sadness to show on the Elf's face.

"He... he's gone."

***********

[End of volume 1]

Hi just wanted to thank you for reading this.

Now that this volume is finished we will be entering the Dawnwinter style arc.

It's my first novel and at first, I was just posting for the sake of posting, so from now on, I'll try to take it a little more seriously.

Thanks.