Chapter 13

'Day 227, Sunday

Yesterday morning, I managed to use my ability while I was awake. How I did it was quite simple. All I had to do was replay the scene in my head and alter it however at that time, it happened in the present. My ability has always made me alter what happened in the past but yesterday was different.

I tried to redo it by thinking about the scene and changing it back when he still had his mouth yet nothing changed. I have to admit, I'm scared of my ability but at this point, I'm more scared of myself and the thoughts that are forming in my head. To think that I would want Felix's mouth to disappear is frightening...

My mental health is deteriorating again, it's unstable and I don't know what to do. The signs of it are the memories in my dreams, the thoughts that had been in my mind, and how my memory problem is getting worse. I try to be polite and smile all the time like what the doctor told me to but I don't think it's working.

It's good that I can still recognize what's wrong with me unlike before and if I remember correctly, the doctor told me that if I notice something wrong or feel that something is not right, I have to go to a professional and get help.

I don't want to see another doctor... They're mean and their eyes always make me feel like they're judging me! They're all the same, they can't help me; They don't want to help me in any way, they only want my condition to get worse. They tell me they're there to help me and that they will always be there to listen but... THEY DON'T EVER LISTEN.'

The traveler felt satisfied with what he had written and began to reread it out loud. When his eyes fell onto the last paragraph, he couldn't help but frown. The handwriting of the last sentences... was different from his. It even had letters that are capitalized which he never does.

The way it was written was a bit childish and impolite, he couldn't remember writing this paragraph.

"They tell me they're there to help me and that they will always be there to listen but they don't ever listen?"

"???"

The traveler shook his head and thought that he should really go see a doctor. Sitting on his bed, he placed the journal back in his bag and walked towards the door. However, as he opened it as if he had a change of mind, he closed it again and went back to his bed.

He took out his journal and began to aggressively write something down.

After a few minutes, the traveler stopped writing. He looked confused as he observed the room. His eyes fell onto the journal in his hand, didn't he put it back already? He asked himself, he was supposed to have left the room by now.

"Don't go, don't go, don't go, DON'T GO, DON'T GO!! I don't want to see a doctor!! I don't want to!" There was a whole page in the journal that was filled with just 'Don't go' and 'I don't want to.'

The traveler shivered as he began to feel anxious. He didn't write any of this down. Why would he do something so childish? He was nervous and his hands were shaking. All of a sudden, he wrapped his hands around his body while saying, "Calm down... C-Calm down, calm down, calm down!"

'Why do you want to go to a professional? Start using your head, Cassius. They don't actually want to help us, all they do is act like they are doing what's best but they're all just actors who pretend like they know everything.' A voice rang in the back of his head, it was gentle yet sarcastic.

The traveler smiled as he calmed down. He placed his journal back in his bag, grabbed the Claymore beside the bed, and carried it in his right hand. He went to the door, opened it gently, closed it, and walked away with light footsteps.

Usually, the traveler would have this dark vibe around him as he only wore black clothes but this time, he seemed bright and joyful. When he went to the entrance lobby of the inn, he headed towards the woman behind the counter and asked for some food. Instead of coffee, he asked for juice and an omelet.

After giving him his meal, the woman felt as if he was in a good mood and complimented him for it but after she did, instead of responding, the traveler's smile fell, and walked away as if he heard nothing.

Sitting on a chair while eating his food, the traveler remained quiet. Everything around him was noisy which seemed to irritate him as his hands moved fast as if to finish his meal faster. With his eating speed, he finished within ten minutes and left the inn.

To his surprise, a familiar young man greeted him outside. It was Caesar and he was dressed formally, with a suit and tie. The traveler had to admit that he was handsome indeed but remembering the time in which the young man tried to invade his mind, he felt his anger rising.

He didn't show it but he felt it. This was confusing as the traveler was usually calm and reserved. For him to feel this much resentment and hostility, it was peculiar.

The traveler mumbled to himself, "Another actor who pretends to be helpful but is nothing a leech!" He said in a low voice, "They're all the same!"

His voice was almost silent and Caesar couldn't hear it but he felt the animosity in the air. He felt nervous but said, "U-uh, Cassius! I knew I'd find you here! You don't look so well, are you feeling okay?"

The traveler looked at him in the eye, neither shaking his head nor nodding, just silently observing the young man. Minutes later, as if he came back to his senses, he suddenly became nicer, "Of course, I'm feeling alright. Why did you look for me? Is something wrong? Are you having some trouble?"

Caesar, looking at the smiling traveler with doubtful eyes, he said, "Actually, remember what I told you before? That my father was a businessman? We have a mine in the north but I got the news that there's a swarm of insect beasts living in there currently and I was hoping..."

Before he could say anything else, the traveler shook his head and the smile he had was gone. He sighed as if to express his grief, "I'm sorry but I can't help you with that. Maybe you should try and send a request to one of the guilds. You see, I'm currently heading somewhere because of a mission so forgive me for not being able to help."

Caesar squinted his eyes, he did not like being rejected but he knew he was dealing with a wielder so he didn't dare to force him. "Is that so? That's a shame but I guess you're right. It seems that you're a guild member now considering that you're doing a mission. If you don't mind me asking, which guild did you join?"

The traveler smiled but before he could respond, he grabbed his pocket watch and checked the time. "It's already ten o'clock, I apologize but I have to go now."

Caesar gritted his teeth, the traveler not only rejected him but even ignored his question. He was not pleased but he smiled and said, "It's alright, a man should stick to his schedule after all."

Turning his back away and leaving the irritated Caesar behind, the traveler had a playful grin on his face. He had changed again and his original personality seemed to be nonexistent.

Walking for quite some time, the smile had long disappeared and he was heading north to go find the witches in the forest. He seemed normal at first glance but if one would look harder, they would see so much hatred and grudge within.

The traveler didn't seem to struggle with directions and instead, he was very good at it that he even found shortcuts that led him to the exit of the city and entrance of the northern forest. It took him minutes to get there but to him, hunting down the witches was an easy task.

Taking a step into the forest, he said out loud, "Kier!" After his yell, the raven which has been flying above descended and landed on his left shoulder. It appears that it was the name of the bird.

"If you don't want to end up to be my dinner tonight, find them." He said with an aggressive tone.

The bird, with no hesitation, flew and made some screeching sound. After it flew off, the aura around the traveler changed again, changing back to his nice and gentle attitude. He carefully took out his journal and quill pen as he was walking.

He wrote down some details, of how he met Caesar on the way, of how he was so nice to him. However, he didn't write anything about what he felt during their encounter. He wrote the good things that occurred, of how he 'gently' told the bird to help him find the witches.

He said out loud, "Cassius isn't as bright as he seems. Some white lies wouldn't hurt. It's all for your sake, little Cass."

The traveler chuckled. After spending more than two hours in the forest, there were no signs of the witches. He never really understood why they were in the forest as many would live like a normal human in cities or settlements.

The traveler stopped by a tree... There was a paper attached to it. The traveler picked it up gently and read out loud, "Dark Forest Village cuts all ties with Whitestone City? Friends to enemies?"

"The village chief of the Dark Forest village has long been friends with the baron of Whitestone city despite the distance between the two territories. But according to some reports from trusted sources, Whitestone city has been blinded by their greed. They attacked the village of Dark Forest while pretending to be friends and as the chief welcomed them with warmth, the fiends from Whitestone city stabbed him in the back."

The traveler felt amused, "Didn't Caesar say that there are witches in Dark Forest village? Perhaps it's a lie but why would Whitestone city attack its ally?"

Before he could say anything more, the bird, Kier landed on his shoulder. "You mean, the witches just entered the forest? They came from Whitestone city?"

The traveler couldn't help but laugh, "So it's Whitestone city that has witches? Not the dark forest village? Haha, how amusing. Caesar, that little liar..."

The traveler didn't say anything else as he walked back to where he came from, hoping to meet the so-called witches. Since Caesar was a witch who can use mind manipulation, the traveler assumed that there will be some who has the same power.

"There's five of them? Kier, do you think there are only five of them? What if there's more?" The traveler began to ponder. His mission was to eliminate the witches but they never said how many there were. "It doesn't matter, does it?"

"If they become aware that there is someone hunting witches in the northern forest then why would they dare show up again? If some would remain, that won't be my problem anymore."

After thirty minutes of Walking, the traveler caught sight of a group of five. All of them were women, three were old enough to be his grandmother while the two were middle-aged.

As he was approaching them, he thought, how should he prove that they are witches? He couldn't just say that he eliminated the witches without having proof that they were witches. The traveler thought for a while and remembered something from one of his travels...

Someone once told him that witches have a mark on their nape. It was a goat's head, they hide them under their hair or clothing. The traveler observed the women, they all had long hair and there was a silk scarf wrapped around their necks.