Back Again

Ace stood in front of his window, looking out the window as the skies started to grow dim.

The sun at the horizon coloured the skies in a dark orange hue that seemed to spread throughout the place and break into his room as well.

Ace was not focusing on that though. He was busy staring at the little container in his hands and the sluggish creature wriggling around in there.

______________

Possession and devouring of the soul.

That is what these creatures are. They are pretty low level but some of them can evolve to the point where they can do whatever they want to and take on any form of a person they devoured.

But the girl was still alive, barely though. That is the reason why it took possession of her.

Even if Silas tried to see through her, he wouldn't have been able to.

Because it is here but not at the same time.

To have to lose your sister like that. Ace thought. It would suck so much.

There was actually a way to make sure she didn't die but ... that would not have ended well.

He was bound to lose her one way or another. This was the least painful way.

If she survived, she would have become crippled for the rest of her life. Later on, she would die in the hands of the enemy kingdom.

Silas and the player will be trying to save her but keeping her alive that long ... he remembered the short vision of how she looked like and shivers ran up his spine.

___________

"Are you ok?" Cleo asked, flying behind him.

"Why do you ask?" He said, not looking up.

"You don't look so hot," Cleo said back, flying and resting on the cork on top of the glass bottle. "You ok?"

"So far, I have been killing creatures. Though this is just my second night here. But today … I killed that girl." He mumbled, looking at his hands. "I … I had to do it."

"No one is blaming you for killing her," Cleo said, looking up at him, concern written all over its face.

"It doesn't matter whether they are blaming me or not. It doesn't change what I did." He mumbled, frowning as his hands clenched into fists.

"You know that you will have to be doing that and more the higher you grow in power." Cleo raised an eyebrow.

"I know." He sighed. "I just … didn't think I will be doing it. You know? All this still feels very new to me and … I am not used to it."

"You'll be fine," Cleo said, flying to his face. "Ok?"

"And if I am not?" He asked, the corners of his mouth twitching up.

"Then you die." It shrugged. "Life is like that here. You either kill or be killed. You cannot be a pacifist."

"Are you trying to teach me something here?" Ace asked, raising an eyebrow at Cleo. "Could it be about tonight?"

"Yes." Cleo looked him dead in the eyes. "You still have some of the time thingy left over right?"

"I haven't used them once." He said as the screen popped up. "See?"

"Good." Cleo said, "Tonight is supposed to be in your honour but I want you to skip that out and go to the forest that you went to before."

"Why?"

"Just listen to me and I will explain everything." Cleo rolled its eyes. "Go on."

"Where? Jumping out the window?"

"No. Look at how many people are there." Cleo looked over the window and only then did Ace notice just how many people were loitering around the place.

"Oh. Who are they?"

"They are people coming to take you and Ajax to the palace," Cleo said as the sounds of people talking grew even louder.

"Annddd?"

"You can't go yet." It said, "Climb over the edge and walk along the railings."

"Why?"

"Just hurry up. No time for questions. They are coming."

_____________

Ace place the hood over his head as he walked along the narrow railings that popped out of the wall of the house they were staying in.

He looked over the railing to see men in uniforms coming in lavish carriages and talking to his brother.

"They will be looking for you," Cleo whispered. "You cannot get caught."

"And why not?" Ace asked, jumping over a railing to a balcony in a room they have never used before. "O feel like I am committing some kind of crime."

"You will attend the ... ceremony. But not just yet." It said, something glinting in its eyes. "Not like how you should anyway."

"Ok, but why do I need to go to the forest then?"

"You still have unfinished business." It said, "Ok. Now teleport. It should be easy for you."

"My magic does not work that way." He frowned. "Ajax is the one that can do all that stuff. I can only summon weapons."

"Right, I forgot about that," Cleo said, thinking. "Why not summon yourself?"

"What?"

"It's simple, you will only have to try and summon yourself to a destination. Just think about it and you will be there."

"I don't think it works like that," Ace looked around the balcony to see the guards running to Ajax and whispering something to him.

In no time, Ajax ran into the house once again.

"They know you are gone now and will be looking for you. It is now or never." Cleo insisted. "You will never know if it will work or not if you don't try, right?"

"I guess." Ace sighed, looking at his gloved hands. Taking the gloves out, he looked mar on the palm of his hands. "Ok. I'll try it."

Shaking his hands, he felt mana flow through his body and he imagined the forest that he was in just the night before.

As the magic flowed and wavered slightly, Ace felt himself being transported away. Just then, the doors opened and he made a very brief eye contact with Ajax before he disappeared completely.

________________

Once Ace blinked again, he was in the same lonely forest that he was in the night before.

"Now what?" He asked, taking off his hood. Cleo was nowhere to be found. "Cleo?"

"Back again?" he turned, startled at the voice.

There was the same black-haired kid, sitting on a tree. Upon seeing him, he became defensive almost immediately and the boy merely chuckled.

Jumping down from the tree with the grace of a bird, he landed without as much as a sound.

"Who are you?" Ace asked, putting his hands in his pocket. "I keep seeing you around."

"I know. I keep seeing a kid like you too." He said, tilting his head to the side, "Should I say, your highness?"

"So you know me." Ace said, getting warier of the boy. "But I don't know you."

"Don't you have somewhere important to be, your majesty?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the boy, completely ignoring what he just asked.

"That is none of your business." Ace retorted back. "You dodged my question too."

"I think you will know me when you need to know me." He chuckled. "What are you doing in the time forest anyway?"

"What are you doing here?" He asked back and the boy looked at him with an amused grin. "What's so funny?"

"I don't find anything funny." He shrugged. "I do like you though."

"What?" Disgust filled the boy's face and the other boy seemed to notice, though it was dark with only a few lights here and there.

"You really are amusing." he laughed, turning around. "Well, whether you are late for your function or not is not a problem of mine. Just try not to be too late."

"What do you know about that?" Ace asked as the boy disappeared. "Who was that guy?"

"Unimportant," Cleo said, appearing. "You should focus on what you have to do right now, you are short on time. Especially after talking to that boy."

"You sound like some kind of helicopter mother." Ace said, finally turning away from the direction the boy was and then walking the other direction.

"Just summon the potion," Cleo said, down on its last straw. "We have somewhere we need to be."

"And that is?"

"Back to the day you were given your first mission." It said, eyes glowing. "You did a good job but I didn't like it."

"I heard that I levelled a kingdom." He mumbled, tapping on the screen as a potion appeared in his hands.

"You did and that was exactly what Ajax did in the previous life.

"The king rewarded him greatly but ... it wasn't good."

"You are making no sense."

"Sorry, I short-circuited three just now." It shook its head. "Ok. So you seem like you may be following down the same path as Ajax was ... that is concerning."

"Ok. So we are trying to change the past again."

"Yes. But you have only five minutes to do it."