Late at night, Cale lay awake in bed, staring at the ceiling as the wind blew through the open window. Compared to Exarion, his new home was not nearly as bright at night, which felt unusual. When he looked out his window, he could only see the street in front of him and a few dozen houses on the other side, nothing like the view he had experienced every day at the magistrate's office.

Cale longed for his former life - for the work at the magistrate's office, the conversations with the people who were important to him, and the comforting feeling of always being able to find someone when he was looking for them.

<"He did what?">, exclaimed the Eldest in surprise.

<"Aaron told the royal palace that I am the swordmaster who leads Karekama. I never mentioned to him that it was a secret, but I didn't think he would bring it up so directly either.">

<"He must have revised the documents afterward. When I read them, your name was not mentioned at all. I paid special attention to that.">

<"That makes it all the more strange. Aaron couldn't have known that I was keeping a low profile, but why didn't he tell you anything himself? Did he ever hint at anything related to me?">

<"At first, yes. He was suspicious of you, but after he read your report and you left the magistrate's office, he didn't mention it again. Only Rangar and Grischas ask about you from time to time. But I'll definitely talk to him about it.">

<"Thank you, Damian.">

<"No need to thank me. Rather... has this caused any major problems?">

<"That depends on how many people find out about it. From what I heard, Sir Venlan will inform Duke Feigoud and King Leonhardt today, which I can accept. But if more people find out about it, then somehow it will reach the public and inevitably spread. The name Zod Adenia will become so well known that I'm almost tempted to start over from scratch.">

<"Then let's hope that doesn't happen and they keep the information to themselves. If you want, I'll write a letter right away instructing the palace to handle it with care.">

<"I'm not sure, do you want to get involved? Couldn't that cause problems for Altona?">

<"Not if I ask them politely and don't give them orders. Besides, we helped them first, so they still owe us. Even if I wanted to use that debt differently.">

<"For cooperation, I suppose?">

<"Correct. Don't worry about it, I can take care of that.">

<"I guess I'll just trust you then. Sorry for giving you even more work.">

<"Not at all, consider it an advance payment for your memories">, replied the Eldest with an amused tone, causing Cale to smile as well and close his eyes.

<"I can live with that. Are you ready? Can I start?">

<"Anytime">, Damian confirmed, so Cale began to focus on the dragon's mana as he transported Damian and himself into his memory. As discussed a few hours ago, Cale had finally found time to show him the past after all the drama with Sir Venlan.

<"I'll start with my second life, back when the creature wave had overrun Exarion">, Cale began.

Without waiting for a response, Cale changed the empty scene and found himself on the streets of Exarion. He had been traveling with Aletta, Ben, William, and Philippa when the first screams and warning cries could be heard. On this sunny evening, the residents had no idea of the impending attack - only the High-Magicians and Cale were aware of it. Since the Eldest had not taken any countermeasures, Cale now suspected that he had received the information from the future far too late. No wonder they were unprepared and had only emerged from the large building minutes after the first deaths.

While Cale's attention was focused on the fighting mages and he was considering whether to help them, he followed his group deeper into the city center. However, all this was to no avail. In just a couple of moments, the southern part was completely flooded with creatures, so that everyone present was involved in the battle. Cale remembered vividly how much it had annoyed him that he had not known the exact date of the attack. As a result, he had unwittingly spent too much time on his journey and killed the whole group.

Philippa was the first to be struck down. Just as Cale was busy killing some creatures with fire magic, the young woman screamed, and before Cale knew it, the archer had been decapitated. His heart skipped a beat and fear overwhelmed him as Ben came to a halt beside him and fended off an attack. Aletta, on the other hand, remained at William's side and was surrounded by a group of creatures that dug their claws into the prince's body.

Cale immediately fired his abilities at the unknown creature, but by then it was already too late. William fell lifeless to the ground, and Aletta followed him moments later. Ben could still be heard screaming loudly and running towards his friend, while Cale was busy processing the fact that he had killed his friends. As Ben threw himself to the ground to check on William, the creature appeared behind him. Cale's instincts kicked in and, without really knowing what he was doing, he unleashed his Igrikum, creating a barrier around the bodies of his friends.

With a dull thud, the creatures slammed into it, but since Cale hadn't enclosed himself in the barrier, he was also attacked. This ignorance of his own abilities caused him to unintentionally drop the barrier, killing the last member of his group.

Powerless, he stood in the middle of the street and began to sob as his emotions overwhelmed him and completely consumed him. An enormous amount of mana suddenly rose up inside him and flames shot out of his body uncontrollably, killing everything in the immediate vicinity.

This is how Cale survived the second wave of attacks, and after a good hour of despair and struggle, he was able to free himself from Exarion. For a moment he saw Sefra and Grischa outside the walls before leaving everything behind and fleeing to the north. He remembered how he had lived for months at the northern tip of Altona, full of humility and hatred, ignoring everything around him, even when dozens of refugees approached him.

At that time, he had not returned to Frignez and had spent the following years in his second home until the third wave had reached it and wiped out all life. Cale, on the other hand, had hidden in the Twin Mountains and merely watched as people fought for their lives. It was not until several years after the third wave that Cale was able to think clearly again and decided to find out exactly what had happened to him and why the creatures had attacked.

As he viewed his memories with the help of Velence's ability, he repeatedly noticed Thormods that he had never noticed before. Some had crawled out of their hole and spread out across the land, presumably to get a look at the current situation. The fact that Cale had unknowingly spent most of his second life in the ruins of Altona and survived was truly nothing short of a miracle. It was the time in his life when he began to draw logical conclusions and no longer listened to his feelings.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

<"How cruel">, the Eldest admitted regretfully after what felt like an eternity, causing a wry grin to appear on Cale's face. He had seen so much suffering and death that he was no longer bothered when dozens of people died before his eyes. As long as they weren't people who were important to him.

<"Altona was not a pleasant sight.. and Sylve and Frignez were in a similar situation at the time">, Cale simply commented and changed his memory. <"This was in my third life. I stayed in the kingdom at that time and witnessed the chaos from a completely different perspective.">

He found himself in Kradno, the largest city in the province of Pistori. Hundreds of thousands of people had ended up here, including many refugees from Altona who reported on the events. Everywhere Cale looked, people were arguing and crying as he tried to gather information on how different the attack was from his past.

In the end, there was never a public statement from the duke, so Cale didn't waste any more time with useless people. He persuaded the group to return to Bellator and lived there for about two years, which gave him the opportunity to see where the kingdom was failing.

He also presented the day on which he spoke with Grischa to the Eldests. A good six months later, the capital was hit by the third wave, but this time Cale was better prepared and did not even try to help, even though Ben and William were a major obstacle. He had to force them to flee with him, and the people ended up in the south, mostly in the provinces of Mornet and Eglohigen.

They spent the following weeks in the capital of Eglohigen, Tissem, which was located directly on the sea. Together with dozens of refugees, the group fought daily for their survival, but Cale never revealed that he was a mage. However, this decision ultimately cost him his life, and he died in a battle he could have won if he had been more attentive.

Cale did not know what happened to the rest of his group afterward, but he suspected that they had ended up in Winstest. All the refugees ended up on the other continent at that time, while the capable warriors stayed behind and tried to save what was left of their continent.

<"Sylve held out longer at that time because they were better prepared for an attack than Altona. However, neither Sylve nor Frignez really had a chance. No one was prepared for the scale of the war, and the more people died, the greater the despair became.">

<"I can now understand why it is so important to you that Grischa develops the communication crystal and that the general population is educated about the creatures.">

<"Many things would have turned out differently if we had had the opportunity to do so earlier. Not being able to talk to the people on the other side of the death zone was an extreme problem. Sylve was still lucky, but in Frignez, you had the feeling that you were just waiting for your death">, Cale explained, while also speaking about himself. <"That's why, in my sixth life, I encouraged Grischa to put his crystals into circulation much earlier... currently, not much is really known about this talent.">

<"Admittedly, it's only through you that I know what a valuable asset Grischa is to the Magistrat. Training him so early on to be my successor was truly not my best idea.">

<"He is clearly too young to deal with such extremely important and mostly political issues. In my last life, he had reached a point where he knew what to do even without help, but he still had great doubts.">

<"I understand">, the Eldest finally spoke up. For a few moments, no one else said anything, so Cale changed the subject and continued with the topic.

<"This happened in my sixth life, the first life in which I ever told anyone about my time travel and where the dragons joined us.">

What Damian saw was their first meeting, in which Cale told everyone the truth, and the resulting discussion. Almost all High-Magicians were shocked by the statement, asking him dozens of questions or finding it hard to believe him, while the Eldest, Aaron, and Grisha remained calm. It was controlled chaos, and Cale tried to calmly explain to everyone present what was going on with him and his time travel.

<"Did I already know at that point that you knew the future?">

<"Yes">, Cale confirmed and let the memory fade.

Cale found himself back in his old apartment, watching his alternate self standing next to the bookcase, talking seriously with the Eldest for the first time. Without comment, he listed the tricky questions that both the Eldest and he himself had thrown at each other until he finally interrupted their mind game and got straight to the point. You could see how shocked the Eldest was, even though he tried not to show it.

<"That was at the end of the year 1162. Grisha had been marked by a Thormod some time before and lost his pure mana, so the Igrikum began to destroy his body. On that day, the tension was so great that I simply took the risk of asking you directly. I had the feeling that if I didn't do anything, I would lose Grischa, and I really wanted to avoid that.">

<"After that day, we started working together?">

<"Yes. We often spent nights or whole days trying to find a solution to Grischa's problem and talking about time travel. Incidentally, it was you who instructed me at the time to search for the black dragon from my vision, which ultimately turned out to be Mellontikos. You can't imagine how valuable this information was to me and how grateful I am for your support. Without you, I wouldn't be here.">

<"You have to thank my alternate self for that.">

<"I did. Several times, even though I will never have the opportunity to do so again">, Cale confirmed. <"By the way, we subsequently contacted the dragons and later informed the other High-Magicians about everything. I mean the entire truth. After that, we began to take the initiative and initiated countermeasures.">

<"Did the measures help?">

<"Better than in my previous life">, Cale replied bluntly and changed his memory so that the Eldest could get an insight into the events of the new year.

Cale even showed him how he had exposed Nodiavi and how he had received the warning about the impending attack. When it finally came to the actual battle, the Eldest became surprisingly calm, and Cale hardly said a word. For him, it felt as if these memories were real, as it had only been a few months ago. His conversation with the other High-Magicians and their hunt for the Thormods in particular were pure tension, but when he felt the mental connection to Aaron break, his heart began to beat faster.

Cale knew what was going to happen, but he couldn't warn the Eldest. So, after a while, the Eldest saw Cale follow him into the mana-free zone, defend the seriously injured man against two Thormods, and defeat them. But it was all in vain, because Aaron had lost so much blood that it was truly a miracle he had held on for so long. The feeling of Aaron dying in his arms hit him in the face and tears formed in his eyes.

Even though Aaron had caused tremendous chaos in his current life, it was this memory that reminded Cale of who Aaron was and what the man had done for him.

"Keep an eye on Damian for me."

Aarons last statement echoed in Cale's head with such energy that he had to cover his mouth with his hand to keep from becoming wistful. How had he managed not to show any of this to Aaron? It was almost as if he had forgotten that Aaron had just passed away. Suddenly, he lost all the anger he had felt toward Aaron today. He was really annoyed by what the 3rd High-Magician had done, that he had even called him an idiot after everything that had happened.

<"I'll share with you the final moments of my sixth life">, Cale announced in a subdued voice, triggering the memory, which made him realize how upset the Eldest himself was.

The Eldest did not comment on this scene at all, but it was obvious how shocked he was by the events. His current silence reflected exactly what had happened in the sixth life. Without a word, the Eldest jumped off the dragon and disappeared for dozens of minutes before reappearing in front of them and looking at Cale with tired eyes.

<"This place looks familiar.">

<"It should. Your last vision happened here">, Cale simply explained without turning away from what was happening. Their conversation about nature's low mana and the possibility of actively using the Igrikum came up.

"What would you say to yourself, Damian?", Cale's alternate version was heard.

"I'll leave that up to you. A sentence or a memory, whatever you feel is right."

"Then all of this. Show him this situation and say the following: Spring 25, 1146. Groka in Sylve. Come and find me, help me, and trust me unconditionally."

<"Strange to see this vision from this angle">, the real Eldest commented simply, watching as Cale and Velence observed his alternate self for a few moments before several minutes passed and they drifted off in thought. Then, suddenly, an enormous amount of mana could be felt creeping through their bodies, and a fraction of a second later, all spectators were blinded by a bright white light.

<"What... what happened?">, the Eldest asked, confused.

"Caleb, take my hand!", a young woman's voice screamed the next moment, before her face could be recognized.

Cale just sighed and shook his head as he witnessed this event yet again. These words were like poison to him, even though his mother had no idea how much this statement weighed on him. Without comment, he let the events unfold until the Eldest could be felt and seen. Only then did Cale explain in words what exactly had happened.

<"From one moment to the next, I was reborn. I didn't know what had happened either - until you showed up. This is the current timeline and what you yourself have experienced, Damian.">

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