"My memories from the future? What are you talking about?" Zaefal asked, completely lost.
The pink haired girl remained silent. She snapped her fingers and in an instant, appeared directly in front of Zaefal.
Zaefal was startled, but he couldn't move. His entire body felt stiff and paralyzed.
The woman touched Zaefal's forehead with her index finger. Instantly, Zaefal's eyes glowed brightly and he felt an indescribable pain. He felt his body being shattered into pieces, and his eyes burned as if stabbed by hot daggers. Zaefal couldn't bear the agony and screamed as loud as he could.
In the midst of his suffering, fragments of foreign memories began to flood his mind.
A black haired woman, holding his cheek while smiling and crying.
The same black haired woman, hugging him tightly, bidding farewell and whispering, "I love you."
Rasie, enslaved by the demon race.
Illya, being burned alive by the elf race.
And Fyar, being stabbed from behind by a man dressed in all white.
Then, the most horrifying of all, the massacre of the human race by all other races combined.
After a few minutes that felt like an eternity, Zaefal's mind cleared. He stared at the pink haired woman, breathing heavily. "W-what was all that? Don't tell me all those horrible things happen in the future. Who was that black haired woman?!"
The woman disappeared from in front of him and reappeared sitting in her chair. She then spoke in a soft tone, "I have only given you ten percent of your future memories."
"Ten percent? What do you mean? Why not give me all of it? What is your real purpose? Are you joking? Answer my questions!" Zaefal's voice rose slightly.
"Do not misunderstand. This is the agreement you made with my master in the future. I will give you another twenty percent when you reach level fifty," the woman answered calmly.
"At least answer my questions from before!" Zaefal insisted.
The woman sighed. "The black haired woman is your wife. In the previous timeline, she was in your party. She sacrificed herself so that you could enter the place where my master resides and make the deal." She paused for a moment, then added, "As a consequence, 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 yelled.
"And as for your first question, yes, everything you saw truly happens in the future. You should be able to understand now why your future self sent his memories to you," the woman stated.
"Where is she now? Can I save her? Can I remember her again?" Zaefal asked, his voice trembling.
"I cannot answer that. You will know when all of your memories are restored."
"Why do all the races slaughter humanity?" Zaefal Ask
The woman was silent for a moment. She then looked at Zaefal with a sympathetic gaze. "Ten years in the future, the demon race, the dragon race, the elf race, the dwarves, and the beastmen, all of them agree to exterminate the human race. They consider humans to be nothing more than a greedy and destructive plague."
Zaefal was stunned by this revelation. His eyes widened in disbelief. As far as he knew, all the races were currently living in peace. Humans weren't doing anything wrong to them. What was the trigger? Greed? Humans weren't taking resources from other races, they were buying them at prices they were happy with.
So why? What was the trigger? Various questions swirled in Zaefal's mind.
The woman seemed to know what Zaefal was thinking. She then said, "You must be asking, why, what went wrong, what the trigger was, and so on. Calm down. You will see for yourself as time passes. And you will know everything once your future memories have fully entered you."
Zaefal forced himself to calm down and came to a conclusion. "The reason my future self sent his memories is to prevent all of that from happening." He looked at the woman again. "Alright, one last question. Is that all there is to the deal? Just my future memories?"
"No. There is one more thing," the woman replied.
"What?" Zaefal Ask
The woman chuckled softly. "To give Fyar magic."
"Fyar?!" Zaefal was utterly shocked.
After saying that, the woman slowly faded and disappeared, leaving an echo of her voice in the air. "Until we meet again, Zaefal. I will see you when you reach level fifty."
"To give Fyar magic?" Zaefal murmured softly, his voice nearly lost in the silence of the forest. "Could it be that his power can never truly return? In the previous timeline, did he really live without any magic at all?" The question hung in the cold air as the figure of the pink-haired woman vanished completely from his sight, leaving Zaefal alone with a demon's corpse and a truth that weighed down his soul.
Zaefal let out a long breath, a thin white vapor escaping his lips. He looked up, letting his eyes gaze upon the expanse of glittering stars in the dark night sky. The stars were so beautiful, so calm and eternal, seeming to care little for the chaos that had just been thrown into his life. An unfamiliar sadness began to creep into his heart, mixed with a shock that made his entire body feel cold.
Wife. The future. A deal. Humanity annihilated. The words spun in his mind, feeling so real and yet so impossible. It had all come too suddenly, striking him without mercy. He leaned his weary back against the rough tree trunk again, letting his turbulent thoughts drift. In the midst of his reverie, however, something else emerged.
A new memory fragment seeped into his mind. This time it was not painful. On the contrary, he felt a painful warmth, a longing so powerful and a sorrow so deep it took his breath away.
He remembered now. He remembered the woman with black hair.
The memory came in soft, gentle pieces. He remembered when she sat beside him all night, comforting him with a gentle touch on his shoulder when he had lost both of his parents. He remembered how stubborn she was, always refusing to leave him alone, even when Zaefal pushed her away and told her to go.
She was the one who always held him close, whispering words of encouragement when he felt like a failure and was drowning in despair. She was the one who always patiently listened to every complaint and every foolish story without ever judging him. When Zaefal had no money at all, she was the one who quietly paid for all of his adventuring gear, dismissing his shame with a warm smile.
He remembered how she always believed in his dream of becoming a great adventurer, even when all his friends laughed at him and thought it was impossible. He remembered her bright laughter, which always sounded so genuine every time he told a joke that was not funny at all. She was also the one who would scold him with teary eyes whenever he came close to giving up and wanted to quit being an adventurer.
That woman. It was always that woman.
Without realizing it, tears began to stream down his cheeks. They were warm at first, then grew cold as they touched his skin in the night breeze. He remembered most of the moments he had spent with her, and each memory felt like a dagger twisting in his heart. A name that had been buried so deep now surfaced, feeling so heavy and precious on the tip of his tongue.
With a trembling voice that was barely a whisper, Zaefal spoke to the wind.
"S-Sera. Seraphina."
The name was finally spoken. In that instant, his defenses crumbled. Zaefal began to sob, his shoulders shaking violently. He felt a paralyzing longing and a sorrow so thick, mourning the loss of someone he never even knew he had, until just a few moments ago. In the middle of the silent forest, under the gaze of a thousand stars, only the sound of his weeping broke the stillness of the night.