"My memories from the future? What are you talking about?" Zaefal asked, his voice still hoarse. He tried to understand the strange woman's words.
The pink-haired girl did not answer. She simply flicked her finger. In the blink of an eye, she vanished from her chair and was standing directly in front of Zaefal.
Zaefal flinched in shock, his instincts screaming at him to move back, but his body didn't respond. All his muscles felt stiff and heavy, as if frozen in place. He couldn't even move a finger.
The woman raised her hand and touched Zaefal's forehead with her cool fingertip. Instantly, a blinding white light exploded behind Zaefal's eyes. An indescribable pain tore through his consciousness. He felt as if his body was being shattered into pieces, and his eyes felt like they were being stabbed by hot daggers. Zaefal could no longer bear the pain and screamed as loud as he could into the silent forest.
In the midst of his agonizing suffering, fragments of foreign images began to forcibly invade his mind.
A black-haired woman, holding his cheek gently while smiling and crying at the same time.
The same black-haired woman, hugging him tightly while saying goodbye and whispering, "I love you."
An image of Rasie, her eyes empty, chained and treated as a slave by the demon race.
Illya, screaming as her body was engulfed in flames before the emotionless elves.
And Fyar, coughing up blood as a sword pierced through his back, held by a man dressed in all white.
Then, most horrifying of all: a vision of cities burning and the massacre of the human race by the combined forces of all other races.
After a few minutes that felt like an eternity, the pain disappeared. His vision cleared. Zaefal stumbled back and fell against the tree, gasping for breath. Sweat soaked his entire body. "W-what was all that about?" he asked, his voice trembling. "Don't tell me those horrible things... happen in the future. Who was that black-haired woman?!"
The woman was back in her chair, sitting calmly as if nothing had happened. She then said in a gentle tone, "I only gave you ten percent of your future memories."
"Ten percent?" Zaefal stared at her in disbelief. "Why not all of it? What is your real goal? Are you kidding me? Answer my question!" He raised his voice slightly, panic and anger beginning to mix.
"Don't misunderstand. This is a deal that you made with my master in the future. I will give you another twenty percent when you reach level fifty," the woman answered calmly, completely unaffected by Zaefal's emotional outburst.
"At least answer my other question!" Zaefal insisted.
The woman let out a soft sigh. "That black-haired woman was your wife. In the previous timeline, she was in the same party as you. She sacrificed herself so that you could enter my master's domain and make the deal." She paused for a moment, her eyes looking at Zaefal without emotion. "As a result, her existence was erased from this world. As if she had never been born."
"That's absurd! Why would I do something like that?!" Zaefal snapped, refusing to believe it.
"And as for your first question, yes, everything you saw really does happen in the future. You should be able to understand now why your future self sent his memories to you," the woman revealed.
The trembling in Zaefal's body grew stronger. "Where is she now? Can I save her? Can I remember her again?"
"I cannot answer that. You will know when all your memories have been restored."
"Why... why do all the races massacre humanity?"
The woman was silent for a moment. Her gaze softened slightly, showing a hint of pity. "Ten years in the future, the demon race, the dragon race, the elf race, the dwarves, and the beast-kin race all agree to exterminate humankind. They consider the human race to be nothing but a greedy and destructive pest."
Zaefal was stunned to hear that explanation. His eyes widened in disbelief. As far as he knew, all the races were currently living in peace. Humans hadn't done anything bad to them. What's the trigger? Greed? Humans currently don't take natural resources from other races, but buy them at an agreed-upon price, he thought, confused. So, why? What triggers it?
The woman seemed to know what Zaefal was thinking. "You must be asking, why, what went wrong, what the trigger is, and other things. Don't worry. You will see for yourself as time goes on. You will know everything once your future memories are whole within you."
Zaefal took a deep breath, trying to calm himself and piece together the horrifying information. "The reason my future self sent his memories... is to prevent all of that from happening." He looked at the woman again, this time with a sharper gaze. "Alright, one last question. Is that the only part of the deal? Just my future memories?"
"No. There is one more thing," the woman answered.
"What?"
The woman chuckled softly, a mysterious little smile playing on her lips. "Giving Fyar magic."
"Fyar?!" Zaefal was utterly shocked.
After saying that, the woman's body slowly became transparent and faded away, blending into the darkness of the night. Her voice echoed in the silent air. "Until we meet again, Zaefal. I will see you when you reach level fifty."