Chapter 2

He was once again sitting on the chair in front of his desk writing something in his journal. He was noting down everything he had seen in his previous dream, of how the details in his memory had changed to how he wanted it to.

It was normal to adjust one's memory and there can be plenty of reasons why they do so, to tell the truth, he had done it in the past but in his dream last night, it was different. It felt like something had changed but he didn't know what exactly.

After finishing, he freshened up and left his room at exactly eight o'clock. He wore new clothes but no one would be able to tell since he has at least five sets of the same type of clothing. Downstairs, he saw the same woman behind the counter, the same furniture, and the same people.

The traveler didn't know what to feel or think. There were no visible changes. As time passed, he ended up pushing the thoughts in the back of his mind. It was just a dream, after all, there was no need to make such a big deal about it.

When he approached the counter, he noticed the same newspaper on it. Why was it still there? He was curious so he took a look and what happened next confused him even more.

"My grandfather's the one who's been reading that." The lady behind the counter explained once more, "It was about an incident twenty-four years ago. The cursed village was proven to be home to witches so it was cut off from the kingdom. Nine years later, the village was burned down."

The traveler felt uneasy. Didn't they have this conversation yesterday?

He answered with the same words, "It said no one was left alive, is it true? No survivors, none at all?"

The woman said, "Yes. At least that's what the news said but even if there was, it's not gonna appear on the news. The people from above always alter it anyway so not everything on there is true."

He was sure that they already had this exact conversation before he went back to sleep, why was she repeating everything she had said? Perhaps she forgot?

"I see. Thank you for the information."

"Are you here for breakfast? What would you like to eat?"

"Just some coffee."

"That will be two alvas."

He reached for his sling bag, grabbed the right amount, and handed it to the woman. The lady went to the kitchen and came back with a cup of coffee.

He recalled the dream he had last night. He awoke in an unfamiliar location, there was no one and nothing around but a blurry sight. In the next moments, memories from the past appeared unexpectedly.

It was changed to how he wanted it to but when his consciousness returned, he could not feel any change. The last memory that was altered was the conversation he had with the woman about the cursed village.

In the altered version, instead of talking about it, he simply passed by, and no conversation took place. Now the woman explained it to him once again using the same words as if yesterday didn't happen at all.

"Hey," he said, "After I thanked you for the food last night, what did I do next? I'm sorry, I was tired and couldn't remember. I have this tendency to forget quite a lot of things."

It wasn't a lie, the traveler had memory problems that's why he needs his journal with him at all times to remind him of what he had done in case he forgot.

"You went straight to your room after that." The woman answered with no hesitation.

"Oh, okay... Thank you." He politely thanked her with a smile.

Is it possible that when he altered the memory, the reality was changed as well? He didn't want to assume but he can't pretend to be stupid either.

He had problems with his memory but the words she had said is already known to him and the moment she started talking about it, he knew what she was going to say and It was because she explained it already. He believes that what happened yesterday wasn't a hallucination.

Despite it being scary, he wanted to experience that dream once again to check whether he was correct or everything was false and he was indeed having hallucinations.

Carrying his coffee with him, he went to the table he used yesterday, took out his journal and quill pen, then began to write what had occurred this morning.

While sipping his coffee, a group of people entered the inn. Based on their armor and clothing, he could tell that they were knights. It was common to see them here since the inn is a good place for food and drinks.

There were five of them and they headed towards the four-seat table beside the traveler's spot. One of them, the one with the long sword on his back approached the available seat in front of the traveler.

"Is anyone sitting on this seat or are you waiting for someone, gentleman?"

"Oh no, not all. It is vacant."

"Then do you mind if I take this?"

"I don't mind," He responded with a warm smile. Knights who protect the kingdom's citizens should be welcomed and respected after all.

"Thank you! That's wonderful," The knight also smiled in return.

The traveler only nodded as he didn't want the talk to be longer. When the knight took the chair and turned his back away, the traveler proceeded to write on his trusty journal.

As he was doing so, he overheard the knight's conversation. "Remember the noble we met earlier this morning? She was a wielder they say."

"A wielder?"

"The church says that wielders are blessed by the Gods. They are given special powers, it's not magic like they say. Who would believe magic anyway? It was a special power, unique to them only."

"What exactly is her power?"

"I heard that it's to manipulate fire! It isn't that amazing since, in novels and books, people who use fire are rather common but you see, if she is to wield fire, it means no one else will be able to because it is unique to her only!"

"What? You are very bad at explaining, if you were to become a teacher, I doubt your students would listen to you."

"Doesn't matter if no one would listen to me, if I have a student as stupid as you, I rather let them not listen to me than to explain it over and over again!"

"Who do you think you're talking to?"

A knight who was busy eating the whole time stopped their fight and asked, "So there are no wielders out there with the same power?"

"Yes, that's what I heard from the priest."

"...Didn't we learn this from school? You three, is this your first time knowing about this?" The one who was drinking beer the entire time spoke up.

The knight who talked to the traveler earlier said, "I guess all three of them are stupid, eh. Hey, the chief, your grandpa, isn't he a wielder too?"

"What!? I didn't know that!"

Listening to their conversation, the traveler couldn't help but smile a little though he was secretly writing the information he got from them in his journal.

He had heard of this as well but he only remembered now. Because of his memory problems, he often forgets things and remembers them only when the topic was up again.

What the knight had said was correct. A wielder's power is unique to them. They can become wielders at any age, and who they are do not matter. One could become a wielder even after turning fifty.

Unfortunately, not everyone is lucky. Having parents who are both wielders won't increase the chance of their child being one as well. Nobody knows how to become a wielder since even criminals can turn into one.

If yesterday only existed in his imagination then he has gone insane but if it wasn't, then he may have become one.

He wasn't very excited about it since he cannot tell for sure just yet. Besides, hoping that he was indeed one and finding out he isn't would only hurt him. Having low expectations can be a good thing.

After he finished his coffee, he placed his journal and pen back in his bag as he got ready to leave. On his way out, someone came in running. The person was drenched in sweat and was visibly terrified.

The man seemed familiar, he was wearing a green tunic, some pants with a belt, and brown boots. The traveler was in a daze for a while as he could not remember who this person was.

"Knights! Oh, thank God! I knew I would find some here!"

Hearing the man's voice, the traveler finally recalled who he was. It was the person he met yesterday, the father with his wife and son. It confused the traveler why the man came here with a frightened expression.

One of the knights dropped his food and hurried to go to the man, "Huh? What's wrong?"

"I-It's the beast! He attacked my house! My wife! Please help me, help me... I was a coward, I couldn't protect them!" The man sobbed loudly, the people in the inn became alarmed.

It was still morning, why did the beast attack? It's usually not active during this time. The traveler then remembered the reminder that the woman gave him, to not stay too far from the village because of a beast. At that moment, he thought that they needed the reminder more than him.

He didn't want to be involved but he was worried about the boy. He was no hero but he was very fond of children so it is hard for him to leave knowing that the child was in danger. Even if the child would not make it, he can at least pray for him. He knew that the houses here are far apart from one another so it might be too late to save the man's family.

After hearing the man's cries, the knights got up without finishing the rest of their food. One of them asked the father to lead them there, the man didn't hesitate to agree. The knights immediately left while carrying their weapons.

The traveler also left and followed behind though he was much calmer and steady. He didn't run or panic, he walked fast but carefully. In his mind, the chances of the knights successfully saving the mother and son was lower than the chance of them failing.

He was worried about the child but he didn't want to waste his energy, knowing the two might be dead by now. He is a reserved and calm man after all.

It took quite a while to reach the destination but when he did, he saw a stone house which didn't look damaged from the outside. There were some people there too, they were scared and looked at the door with anticipation, hoping that the two were alright.

Waiting for almost thirty minutes, a roar was heard from the inside, and a huge figure ran out from the back of the house. It ran off in a dark area since it was covered with trees therefore the beast was not recognizable.

The knights soon came out with a devastated look on their faces. The last two who came out were carrying a woman who wore a white linen dress. It was bloody and dirty. She had lost both her legs and she had lost too much blood.

If not treated fast enough, she would die. The traveler was surprised that the woman wasn't dead yet. He was about to say that luck was on her side when he realized that her death isn't too far away. She was already lucky enough to have survived the attack but the traveler was sure that she would eventually lose her life.