R-a - Volume 3 - Chapter 36

R-a - Chapter 194 (In editing-v3)

The march of time is inevitable.

Micheal sat on that rock for hours, cool logic in his head battling with the flames of emotion that burgeoned in his heart. Anger, loss, hope, excitement, a myriad of thoughts and feelings settled within Micheal, leaving him torn with indecision as he watched Isabelle tend to her flowers.

He did not know what to do.

The evening light gradually began to fade as night approached, Micheal’s form ever-present and just as still as it had been three hours prior.

In that time, Isabelle had cleared out a sizable number of weeds, carefully sorted several new flowers she implanted into the ground, and even taking a short break to fish using a makeshift rod she’d crafted from wood and plant fiber.

Isabelle had been a headstrong girl, and a powerful warrior in her own right, but one of her favorite hobbies was gardening. She took great delight in growing and caring for flowers of all kinds, one of the few ways she had to escape the violent existence that was the 7 Layers.

Seeing her do something as ordinary as pulling out a weed caused Micheal’s heart to physically twinge.

‘How can I still miss her this much..?’ It made no sense to Micheal. It had been so many years since everything happened here, yet he still didn’t understand how he felt.

His mouth twisted as he tried to figure out what to do, frustrated with his own inaction.

He was supposed to be the confident one, the man with the plan, able to react to anything and everything with cool logic and precision, no matter how dire the situation.

Yet now, a feeling of helplessness had settled upon his shoulders.

He did not know what to do.

‘Could I take her with me right now?’ He discarded the thought almost as soon as he brought it up.

She was her own person, not his slave. She had her own dreams, desires, and goals she wished to pursue. She was vibrant and full of life, while the path he walked was one stained black with blood. What right did he have to drag her along with him?

Shin was his best friend and comrade for his journey through the 7 Layers, while Sophia was someone that wanted his help to find her little sister. Both of them joined him willingly, without any coercion.

If he wanted to convince Isabelle to join him, he would first have to become her friend and her ally. That was a process that had taken him weeks in his first life, through a series of coincidences that were extremely unlikely to happen again.

Micheal gazed upon her dainty figure as Isabelle clapped her hands together in the distance, a gentle smile appearing on her face. The Farian then turned around and began to walk away, headed back home.

After a few seconds, Micheal got up from his rock and began to guard over her as she travelled, ensuring she made it home safely. He battled with his thoughts and emotions throughout this, constantly trying to figure out a plan of action.

‘The Farians have the potential to be humanity’s greatest ally, if I play our cards right…’ Micheal began to think, his mind racing ahead of him as he used his Life Orbs to hide up near the branches of the trees.

His original plan involved him preventing the Great Disaster from truly taking place. In order to orchestrate that, one of the most important things was to start making peace with the other races.

The Byrens were his first pick, while the Farians had been his second.

Creating an alliance with all six of the Great Sects was completely unreasonable. Allying with the Divine Might Sect wouldn’t be impossible, however, not so long as they saw humanity as equals. This would give humanity an extremely solid foundation to work with, making their future that much more secure.

Forging an equal alliance would be a tall order, however, given how the Divine Might Sect held one of the almighty Six Lords.

'Almighty for now, anyway.' He tossed the thought aside. The Six Lords would remain in power for a while longer, there wasn't much he could do to change that.

On the other hand, with the Farians, the fact that they were destined enemies threw a wrench into things. Allying with them would mean publicly committing to a war against the powerful being that had thrown all of the races into the 7 Layers. There was no telling whether the various Tribes of the Farian Race would agree to that.

In his first life, the tension between the humans and the Farians had escalated too quickly for such a thing to occur. In this life, however… perhaps he could change that.

‘But would this truly be the most optimal path, or am I just convincing myself that it is… I can’t gamble humanity’s future for the sake of my desires…’ His face was stony as he continued to mull things over.

While Micheal was arguing with himself, Isabelle made great time as she snuck through the forest, breaking out into a graceful sprint. In roughly 12 minutes, she arrived outside of a cleverly hidden treehouse, built up high from the ground.

Micheal recognized it instantly. Three large main branches supported a bedroom, a dining and cooking area, and a place to sit down and look out at the setting sun from up on high. It was a cozy home that brought back memories.

Isabelle clambered up the tree and went inside of the home, moving out of sight. Micheal watched her go as he hid himself up in a tree, still contemplating his future.

He hadn’t realized how badly he wanted a second chance to fix everything with Isabelle, his heart physically ached as he saw the only women he had truly loved appear before him again.

It could be a second chance he could use to start all over with her, to protect her from dying this time around, and perhaps find something he'd given up on entirely in his first life.

At the same time, he couldn’t help but realize that he was a very different person than he had been when they first met. There was no telling whether Isabelle would like the him of now. Life had made him a rather sardonic cynic at times, far from the cheerful youth Isabelle had loved.

Seconds slipped into minutes as Micheal sat on his tree, lost in thought.

The evening light gradually began to wane as the sun fell downwards. Around 20 minutes passed before Micheal finally sat up, nodding to himself as he reached a decision.

‘Alright.’ He took a deep breath.

There was no point in wavering over decisions forever. If he was going to do something, he would need to make his choice and go with it. Hesitation could prove fatal in the 7 Layers.

Just as he was thinking this thought, readying himself to settle on to a plan of action…

A branch snapped, off in the distance.

Micheal’s entire attitude jarringly shifted as he stood up. His eyes grew cold as his body froze, his attention jerking out in the direction of the noise. His right hand flexed slightly, causing a few metal threads to fly out from his glove so he could hold them at the ready, just in case.

Another branch snapped. And then another. The sounds of footsteps echoed in the dying light, coming from the west. Micheal’s gaze pierced through a layer of leaves and branches as he zeroed in on the intruder, preparing himself to act.

In the distance, he spotted a male Farian carrying a large brown bag on his shoulders. Like most Farians, he was handsome, with a strong jaw, dirty blond hair, and warm green eyes. His body was rather muscular for a Farian, showing signs of someone that trained wholeheartedly. For Farians, putting on muscle was harder then it was for other races, so this warrior’s body was clearly something he prioritized.

Micheal lowered his guard slightly as he saw this, most of his unease evaporating. If nothing else, the Farians, as a race, were extremely loyal. Ever since they had banded together many years ago, it was rare for even rival tribes to actually battle with each other. Disagreements were simply disagreements, typically resolved without violence.

Still, he kept an eye on the warrior as he walked up to Isabelle’s treehouse. The bag the man was carrying had a few bits of cut meat within it, the remnants of a fresh kill.

“Hey! You made it here early!” Isabelle’s voice echoed out as she stuck her head out of one of the windows of her treehouse, waving at the man down below. She had managed to sense him before he announced himself, her senses well-honed.

“We finished prepping for the Life Festival on time, somehow.” The male Farian’s voice held a hint of a smile in it as he continued,

“I’m all practiced up and, I’m gonna tell you now, Iz…” The warrior grinned,

“I managed to secure the top spot! I’ll be front and center, at the very head of the Festival!”

“Ooh, so the star of the show himself has deigned to visit me?” Isabelle pretended to swoon as she laughed out loud, looking at the Farian with open affection. The warrior smiled back as he began to clamber up the tree.

Micheal’s face went blank as he watched all of this.

He blinked several times, a sinking realization slowly settling into his gut.

He had gone back in time.

That meant he got a second chance at everything, it was true… but that also meant he had gone all the way back in time.

Back to before he had even arrived on the Second Layer in his first life.

Memories Micheal had forced into the shadows of his mind for so long, refusing to ever even consider looking at, began to creep forward once more.

Isabelle was a beautiful woman. Sweet, charming, naturally talented. She wasn’t an outcast or hated by her own kind, she was actually very popular.

Had she never dated anyone before Micheal?

Of course not, the Farians shared a similar concept of courtship as compared to humanity.

When Micheal first met her in a random forest clearing, she had been alone and was being attacked by a powerful Magic Beast. She sustained serious injuries and was near death as he arrived. If he had arrived even a minute later, she definitely would have died.

After he saved her life, they formed an unlikely friendship, even as the tensions between races grew. Micheal had found her at a point where she was at her lowest, both mentally and physically.

As he grew to know her more and more, he began to learn certain things about her.

She was single, yes… but not by choice.

The last person she had loved had been brutally killed before her own eyes just a few months before she met Micheal, a tragedy that scarred her horribly.

Unwittingly, Micheal’s careful care for her, as well as his constant training to try and grow strong enough to protect those he cared about, won her over and helped her heal. As the months passed, they went from barely knowing each other, to fast friends, to lovers. In the war-torn worlds of the 7 Layers, relationships and love often flourished as people tried to live life to the fullest.

This became the happiest point of Micheal’s life in the 7 Layers.

However, the lynchpin of their relationship all fell back to one specific thing.

The first person she loved had died…

And he had died just months before Micheal met her.

As memories flooded Micheal’s mind, he sat back down on the tree branch he had been standing on, his legs going numb.

One memory in particular flooded up in his vision, his thoughts jumping back in his mind.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“He was a great man. Honorable, kind, charming.” Isabelle and Micheal had been sitting around a warm campfire in the middle of a forest, resting under the stars above. Shin had gone back to sleep, but not before proclaiming how proud of a third wheel he was.

“A lot like you, actually.” Isabelle punched Micheal in the shoulder, her eyes twinkling as she grinned at him. She looked exactly the same as she did now, the same sparkle in her eyes and smile on her face.

“Well, you always did have great taste.” Micheal replied with a smile. Isabelle had told Micheal yesterday that she wanted to talk about her past. This mentally younger Micheal tried to be as understanding as possible as he listened to her, his heart physically hurting for her as he saw her struggle.

“How did he die?” Looking back, his delivery had been far too blunt. He had never been that good at being subtle, especially not back then.

“He…” Isabelle rubbed at her eyes for a few moments before pausing. She turned to look at Micheal.

“It’s weird, you know? Like, I’ve moved on. I know he’s gone. And I genuinely love you, I love spending time with you, simply being with you makes me smile. But every time I think of him, it makes me want to cry. He and I were never even actually together, I only realized how I felt after he was gone. It just makes no sense!” She leaned over and hugged Micheal, her voice pitiful.

Micheal caressed her, rubbing her back as he felt her shake.

“That’s just how things are, smalls.” He replied slowly, keeping his voice low,

“I know you love me. But it’s alright to miss those you’ve lost. I would never begrudge you that.” He kissed the top of her head as he hugged her close.

They stayed close for several more seconds, two beings joined together, a crackling campfire roaring quietly right next to them.

Finally, she leaned forward again as she began to speak.

“He was one of the frontrunners in the Life Festival, a position he was so proud to have won. I told you about that one, right? The one where we lost half of our greatest warriors.” She spoke quietly.

“Ah.” Micheal muttered, a sudden light of understanding appearing in his eyes. He nodded solemnly.

“Yeah.” She rubbed at her eyes as she spoke, her voice listless,

“The one where a group of High-Tier Magic Beasts attacked.” She stopped speaking for a few moments and looked down.

The younger Micheal, unsure of what to do, stayed silent as he looked at her, trying to emanate a feeling of being understanding.

“And their attack…” After several seconds, he spoke out loud as it became obvious that Isabelle wasn’t going to say anything first.

Isabelle nodded, looking up at him.

“Yeah. They started at the front of the festival, of course. Why wouldn’t they?” Her voice took on a harsh, angry edge,

“And that is where he died, right in the beginning.” Isabelle turned away as she glanced up at the dark night sky, her voice sounding very small all of a sudden.

“He never stood a chance.”

.