My dear witch, please turn evil according to the script!

Chapter 407 The Overwritten Timeline

As a sea of ​​white flowers gradually filled the space in front of Roland, he felt a familiar presence the next moment.

That was the unique magical aura from the underworld that I had just left not long ago.

Don't be nervous, but don't let your guard down. Under the constraints of the 'rules,' I can't unleash my full potential.

[Through some minor tricks, your soul was taken from the gaze of the Whisperer of Eternity to the underworld.]

[If nothing unexpected happens, your physical body is currently in a coma. But don't worry, I will have Elena relay your condition.]

Therefore, before you completely leave, do not listen to those whispered murmurs in your ears.

Even if the physical body enters the underworld, I can still grant the living a brief stay there by bestowing blessings and protection.

However, if my soul were to enter this place directly, the power I could use would be extremely limited.

If your consciousness and soul are truly succumbing to the call of the underworld, then there's nothing I can do.

So, concentrate.

What lies ahead is a journey that can be both long and short.

The God of Death spoke slowly and deliberately, then stepped past Roland and walked in front of him, guiding him through the boundless sea of ​​flowers.

As Death marches on, the unnamed white flowers in her path automatically move aside, making way for her and revealing the purplish-black earth that had been hidden by the flowers.

Roland remained silent, simply following Death forward.

After entering the underworld, the amplification effects of all the runes on his body were canceled.

He shed all external enhancements, leaving only his purest self and his purest soul.

This experience is still quite novel.

Moreover, he did not hear any mumbling.

Even so, he didn't mention it, after all, it was a well-intentioned reminder from the Grim Reaper, and maybe it just wasn't time yet.

He was more interested in knowing something else than himself.

[You want to ask about Kalia, whom you just saw, and about the timeline overlap?]

No problem. I'll tell you everything I know.

[For you now, this information has reached a point where you can be informed.]

Roland was silent for a moment before asking, "Do you know what I'm thinking right now?"

I am the master of the soul, and the end point of all life.

Especially now that we are in the underworld, it's not difficult for me to know the thoughts in your soul.

Moreover, even if I can't sense it, guessing your thoughts isn't difficult.

Death marched ahead without halting its advance.

"...What did you mean by what you just said? Is there some information that I was not allowed to know before?"

That's right. Having already been to Enwa, you probably already know about the grand plan unfolding around you, right?

Having visited Avalon, Enva, and entered that council chamber, you should now understand your... no, your former self's identity, shouldn't you?

Given your intelligence, I think you should already understand.

And this is a standard for judgment.

If you discover everything, then whatever your subsequent choices are, you have the right to know everything.

[If you are not consciously aware of these things, then there are certain pieces of information that must never be shared with you.]

As for the reason, I don't know either. You'd have to ask your past self.

However, if possible, I don't want to see the person from the past and the person you are now as reincarnations of the same individual.

Whether from the perspective of the soul or consciousness... you and he are similar, but are two completely different beings.

But in any case, you now have the right to know everything.

[Timeline overlay, as the name suggests, involves placing a brand new timeline over an existing one that has lost all hope, in order to give it a second chance.]

The Kalia you saw is from the old timeline.

[In that timeline, an individual named Roland Lancelot already existed, but the dominant consciousness within him was not you.]

He didn't have the habit of building a small cabin by the lake, nor did he have the habit of practicing magic by that small lake.

From a young age, he possessed almost everything related to magic, and also had unprecedented talent in cultivation.

At the age of fourteen, he was exceptionally admitted to the Royal Capital Magic Academy ahead of schedule, and the academy's headmaster, Hern, a powerful half-elf, wished to take him as his disciple.

So Roland took his elderly father to the capital and never returned to Riskan.

Therefore, when Kalia was hunted down for the same reason two years later and arrived in Rishkan, she did not meet the person who could change her fate.

She eventually escaped the cultists' clutches, but failed to safeguard the Truth Cross Scales pendant, which retained the demon king's remaining divine power.

Therefore, a massive and extraordinary plague quickly broke out, spreading uncontrollably.

She wanted to travel to the capital to find her teacher. However, she was unaware of the situation in the capital at that time, and even less aware that she had been watched by those cultists the entire time.

And so, tragedy struck.

She killed her teacher without her knowledge. But her teacher still helped her one last time.

She briefly broke free from the control of her consciousness, regaining a brief period of lucidity.

Although she was quickly taken away by the cultists, who used the effects of the Sword of Silence to cause its powers to spiral out of control, bringing eternal silence to the capital.

After that, she fled amidst the chaos of the capital and returned alone to Blackthorn Territory.

There, she encountered a one-armed demon swordsman.

Perhaps it was because they shared a similar plight, perhaps it was the attraction between people who were different, or perhaps they were both very gentle people to begin with; in any case, they became very good friends...

"stop."

Roland interrupted Death's narration, took a deep breath, and, having fully understood the system's anomaly, asked, "And what about me? What am I doing in this timeline?"

Interesting. I thought you'd be more interested in this child's story.

"...I know all of this."

【…】

"I see." The God of Death smiled after a brief moment of surprise: "Then tell me your story."

Your father still didn't make it through that winter. After all, in terms of medical conditions alone, Riskan wasn't much worse than the capital.

But because of your status, he passed away peacefully and received the best care.

[You've only been studying at the Royal Capital Magic Academy for two years, and even without any dangerous training, you still advanced to the Legendary rank on your sixteenth birthday.] [The entire Royal Capital and the entire Academy are celebrating this.]

Because of your abilities, you were granted special permission to participate in the entrance examination as an instructor.

Although the methods and identities differed, you still overcame all opposition and secured the opportunity for Princess Iluvia to attend school.

However, because no college was willing to accept her, and due to the conflicts you had with other instructors and college leaders during the assessment, you became her temporary mentor.

In their daily interactions, Iluvia, who had lacked love and respect since childhood, quickly developed special feelings for her temporary mentor.

However, she hid it very well, showing no intention of expressing it, simply keeping her emotions hidden deep inside.

[Until you are selected to join the investigation team investigating the death of the Grand Mage Flam.]

Then, on the third day after the investigation began, on a sunny morning that was otherwise unremarkable, you left your residence as usual, went to your research lab to give Iluvia a few instructions, and then never returned.

On the fourth day, your body was found on the streets of the capital. There were no obvious external injuries; the cause of death was exhaustion of vital energy.

[Just after your body was discovered, the sounds of a great battle erupted from the Inspectorate. Then, the spatial structure of the capital began to crumble, and subsequently, an eternal, deathly darkness began to spread.]

[After realizing your death, Iluvia's abilities also began to spiral out of control.]

That power, representing a portion of the authority of death, erupted in the mortal realm, killing almost all life within the royal capital along with Kalia's out-of-control abilities.

However, what turned out to be a blessing in disguise... was that her loss of control actually prevented Kalia's even more dangerous power from spreading outwards.

The power of the Whisperer of Eternal Silence is never limited by space.

Only equal power can restrain it.

Of course, your story isn't over.

[You are indeed dead, but under Iluvia's berserk power and her obsession with you, the twisted rules of death instead infused fragments of plundered and destructive life force into your corpse.]

[Your cause of death was the depletion of your life force, and your legendary rank also meant that your organs and body wouldn't die so easily and quickly.]

Therefore, you have come back to life, but you cannot be considered truly alive; you have merely become a living puppet freed from Iluvia's control.

Although you were only barely clinging to life, before you completely lost consciousness, you used your knowledge of spatial magic and your authority to open a still-functioning teleportation array within the capital city, transferring yourself out of the city.

When you regained consciousness, ten years had passed.

The world had fallen into eternal darkness; at least, there was no safe zone left throughout the entire Empire.

Because you saw signs of cult members, you chose to return to your destroyed homeland to investigate clues.

But you found nothing. Meanwhile, the Demon King, who had been resurrected by gathering the remnants of the prototype's souls, found you in his final moments of clarity amidst his chaotic consciousness.

[The instant she came into contact with you, her consciousness briefly cleared, and after pointing you to the correct path to salvation, her soul completely dissipated.]

Later, through the help of elves and dragons who came to the mainland for refuge, you found a way to reach the underworld.

After that, you saw me.

[Then comes the content related to the timeline coverage.]

Death paused here, turned to look at Roland: "That's all I remember."

As the ruler of the underworld, I have retained most of my memories due to the unique characteristics of this place.

However, some secrets have still been erased from memory.

This is the inevitable price to pay.

In short, that timeline is a future where all hope has been lost.

You failed to recall everything in time, but the plan devised by the evil god's minions succeeded completely.

[When the power of the extraterrestrial enemy fully descends and the world's boundaries shatter, even if the world is not immediately destroyed, it is only because the time has not yet come.]

As the key figure in the plan, you died at the very beginning of the story, unable to remember anything.

Fortunately, he at least gave us a second chance.

[Ha, no, no, it should be said that the Demon King gave this world a second chance.]

[If she hadn't found you, if she hadn't located you because of that deep-seated obsession and her sensitivity to the soul, there probably wouldn't be an environment where you and I are chatting now.]

Therefore, the gods were able to restart and overwrite this part of the timeline, allowing it to revert to a starting point and begin anew.

Roland took a deep breath, then sighed, "I see..."

"Should we start over?"

"So what should I do next?"

"I don't know," Death replied with a smile. "This is not an excuse, nor is it a pretext that you cannot know the truth at this time."

It means exactly what it says; I don't know.

As part of the plan, after one failure, all I need to do is relay the message, find a way to help you regain your memory, and ensure you don't die before you do.

As for more... go and search for your own memories.

Before choosing to vanish completely, that being must have left you with crucial parts, in a way you can understand.

Of course, considering you've already started collecting those keys, perhaps you'll know what to do when you open that stone slab.

At this point, Death smiled again: "The exit has arrived. You should return to the world of the living."

I look forward to the day we officially meet.

At that time, I will return the key I kept here, along with the truly important items, to you.

……

Roland wanted to ask something else.

But when he came to his senses, he had already left the underworld.

The tranquil atmosphere was gone, replaced by an omnipresent sea of ​​flowers.

Only the thunderbolts struck, accompanied by a deafening roar that burned away the filth.

"Roland!"

A loud shout, choked with sobs, brought Roland back to reality.

He looked up and could only see part of Cherlinina's face and the strands of hair falling across her forehead; her face was almost entirely obscured by her rather prominent breasts.

"I'm fine... I just took a stroll around the underworld. Didn't Elena tell you?"

"She said it, but I still..."

Cellina paused mid-sentence, gently biting her lip. "It's good that you're alright."

(End of this chapter)