Chapter 270: Waiting For Time To Come

Shera Rigen's perspective

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"Urgh...?". - Suddenly, I got some consciousness, I opened my eyes

I hazily see my eyes are a bit blurred, around me seem to be a bit dark. I can see some weak blue lights on the walls, they look like windows. Somehow I don't understand anything, I feel very hazy, I try to remember. But I can't do that at all, my mind is now just a blank, full of gaps.

I look up again, trying to describe the scenery. Right now, I seem to be kneeling on the floor, the space around me is a little bit cold, walls are dark blue. My hands seem to be squeezed very hard, I feel like they're tied. I try to look behind, I manage to see my wrists tied by chains of iron, they look quite rusted.

"Urrrghhh...". - I tried to move, but couldn't do anything since my hands were tied

The iron chains that lock my hands are attached to a dark blue pillar, right behind me. Now I can't move my hands, I feel tired, I feel both hungry and thirsty. I just wonder what is happening to me.

And most importantly, what brought me to this place...?

"Oh...?". - All of sudden, my mind thought about my dear husband - John

I haven't remembered anything yet. But I hope my husband and Reimi are safe, not in the situation like me. But wait a minute... wait, but how did I get here? I remember I was... urrrghhh.

"Urrrghhh...!". - All of sudden, my mind got shocked a bit, the haziness blew away but the aches appeared

The pain later goes away, like the way it came. Strangely after that, I feel like the gaps in my mind have been filled. Alright, I get it a bit now, I remember now. My mother-in-law used something to shock my body when we were having a conversation, my husband was there with me too.

From what I hazily recollect, Yura seemed to be attacked that way too. But it's strange when she isn't here with me. This dark room only has me inside it. Although I don't know much about my current situation, I hope my husband and Reimi are safe.

I also hope Yura is safe too, or she is very near me and I don't notice that. I must do something to get out of here. John is waiting for me, Reimi is waiting for me, maybe the prophet too. I must do something to get out of here.

"Hel-".

I was about to call for help, but I stopped. Right now, four of us are on the island, a strange place. People here are strange as well, I can't trust anyone here but my relatives. Even the person who claimed to be John's mother also attacked me. I hope all others in my group are now safe.

Alright, I must get out of here all by myself.

"Huh...?". - All of sudden, I heard footsteps. "..................". - Not just one person, maybe more than one is coming toward me

Wait wait wait... the source of the footsteps... behind me!

"Ahhhhhhhhh!!!". - I glanced behind to see the person, but soon I heard a slash and my hands fell

No, I mean I got untied thanks to that action. I'm now a bit exhausted to move, but my hands have been untied from those rusty white iron chains. Some chains are stuck in my hands, I just lower my hands to pour them down. Right now, I think about escaping from the place, but still wonder who saved me earlier.

I turn around, trying to look at the figure who is standing before me. I'm shocked to see the person who is wearing a green camo uniform, with hand holding a machete. That's Hatano! Hatano by real bones and fleshes is right in front of me. She was supposed to be dead, but now that girl is standing right before me!

"I know you're quite scared now, Princess... please take your time". - Another familiar voice came out from behind Hatano, that figure stepped forward, out of her

"Sarah...?!!!". - I was very shocked to see them

My mind freezes, I want to think of a proper answer but I really can't. Two dead people are now in front of me, by their real bones and fleshes. Sarah slowly gets down to lift me up. I don't know what to say to her, my mouth tries to utter something, but my hand touches her face first.

"Oh, Princess...". - Sarah smiled at me, she put my hand away gently. "It's alright, it's alright, I know you're very confused".

"H-, how...?". - I managed to say something out

"Sis, let's bring her back to Mothers". - Sarah turned to speak to her older sister, then returned to look at me. "Everything will be explained later, okay? Please follow me". - Sarah slowly held my hand

"Oh...". - All of sudden, she heard something behind her, so she turned around

I also look in that direction to see who is there. Under the darkness and weak blue lights in the room, the hallway appears to be a small figure. That figure walks slowly toward us. I see a sharp thing in the person's hand, reflecting on the environment, it's a iron short sword.

That figure comes closer to us and it slowly appears to be a little blonde girl. She is a white little girl, wearing green robes, her eyes are blue, having short blonde hair. According to me, this girl seems to be eight or nine, or maybe ten. She looks so tiny, but now I just wonder why there's a child with a sword walking around this place.

"God's Protector?". - Sarah called the little girl, as if she was wondering

"Yes, Miss". - The girl stopped at Sarah, speaking to her slowly. "Mother told me to guard here...". - Suddenly, she glanced at me carefully. "Why did you release this prisoner...?". - She asked Sarah

"They told me to do it". - Sarah replied to the girl. "C'mon, let's get up there and we'll explain it all to you, okay?". - She leaned her hand over to my back, and held it, talking to the little girl

"I'll lead the way...". - Hatano spoke to us, she slowly turned around to wait till we are ready to follow her

"Explain to me everything, how d-".

"Okay, okay, Princess, I'll surely tell you about it". - Sarah tapped my shoulder twice to tell me to be patient

I want to follow Hatano right now, but I accidentally look straight at the blonde girl. Somehow I want to stop here for a bit, because I've seen something odd. The more I look closer, the more the girl seems to be having something like me, I can really feel it.

Somehow I can feel the warmth when I stand before this little girl. Now I just want to talk with her a little bit. Oddly that her face looks somehow... familiar, as if I've known this girl for a long time but I don't notice this.

"What's wrong?". - The little girl asked me, her voice made me feel so... familiar to someone

"?!". - Suddenly, she jumped back, then swung her short sword forward

I don't understand what is happening yet. All I heard earlier was just a collision of metal objects, two metal things collided from swinging. In a blink of an eye, the little blonde girl points her sword toward me. No, I should say she is pointing that thing to something behind me.

"Shera, get back!". - Suddenly, my husband's voice sounded behind me, a hand pulled me back forcefully

I later see myself standing behind John, he covers me, his longsword pointing toward the blonde little girl. Both of them focus on each other very cautiously, no blinking or moving without order. John does not even notice that Sarah and Hatano are around him, he only focuses on the little girl.

"You two, stop!". - A loud voice suddenly came out behind me

The little girl lowers the sword first, but my husband hasn't done it. He keeps pointing his longsword toward the little girl, I tap his back to tell him to calm down. Reimi suddenly runs past me and puts her hand on my husband's. By that, he lowers his longsword slowly.

"Huh...?". - Reimi was shocked to see Sarah and Hatano

My servant gazes at me, as if to ask me what is really happening here. I keep silent, I hope to find a proper answer since I'm also blind in this very situation.

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John Rigen's perspective

I don't know what I should express this time. But I'll temporarily skip this issue behind me a bit, because it's very headache to think about.

After we decided to make a peaceful talk with Amanda, she told us about how she got into this world. After a short explanation, she led us to see Kaori - of course, the guards were on guard very carefully when we were around them. But they soon let us out, we came to meet Kaori to speak with her. Yura was released during that process, she was sitting in a room to wait for us to come and pick her up.

For a reason that I really don't understand, Kaori and Amanda said that they caused this "problem" because the Goddess told them to.

When I was brought into the basement to see my wife, I rushed to her as I saw a sword wielder approaching her from afar. Our conflict soon ended, we walked peacefully out of the basement, and that's all.

Currently, all of us are in the private room of Madame Deity - Kaori. My wife was quite exhausted when she walked out of the basement. She was fed fully, and now Shera is sleeping. Poor my wife, I really want to be with her in the bedroom right now but I can, I just hope she recovers as soon as possible.

Maybe I should keep my eyes on the current situation now, it's complicated. Sarah and Hatano - two deceased subordinates of mine now suddenly appear before me. That's unbelievable, I honestly did not believe in my eyes at first. But I believe them now, I just want to calm down and learn how did they get here and are alive.

By the way, I'm sitting beside Reimi. The table on the opposite side has Sarah and Hatano, my subordinates. They seem to be waiting for me to ask 'em. It's odd when Kaori and Amanda aren't here at this moment, I really want to speak to them more.

From what I know so far, both of them are outside of this private room. They're reminding a little blonde girl - who is their bodyguard. Although having many questions to ask two of my foster mothers, I have no choice but to wait till they are back here to answer me.

"Commander...". - Sarah gently called me, as if to catch my attention

I look at both of my subordinates, I really want to think carefully before asking them anything. It's good when they're alive, but I feel that is very odd when they are here. It's not normal, I still not believe it. But I have no choice but to believe that my subordinates are still alive.

".............". - Alright, I must ask them now. "How did you...?".

"Lady Sarah, Lady Hatano... it's unbelievable when you're still alive". - Reimi asked both of them fully

"It's quite long if we have to explain... well...". - Sarah looked at every one of us, she was about to explain to us. "Both of us died in that world as you know, but somehow we got back here, from three years ago". "We got to this island when we woke up...". - After that, Sarah looked around the room. "Luckily that we met our superiors, John's moms... they are very kind, we started working here, following them till now".

"You stayed here for three years...?". - I asked Sarah once again, trying to make sure I wasn't misheard

"Yes". - She nodded. "We wanted to go outside, we wanted to search for you because we thought you would return here after all". "But Mothers did not let us do that...".

"You know why they work here?".

"No, Commander...".

"Why did they attack us?".

"Ummmm...". - She lightly shook her head. "They explained that it was part of the Goddess' script, one mistake will make everything broken". "I don't understand, Commander... they sometimes said to us "we must follow the loop to end it, you'll understand it when you get in our circumstances", that's what I heard from them".

I really wonder what does it mean. But I have no information unless my foster mothers decide to confess to me the truth they are hiding.

When I'm thinking, the room's door can be heard opening quietly. A person comes in, that is Yura - the prophet. Maybe I should ask this elf girl something. She came in here after being outside with those Madame Deities and the mysterious little girl.

"Hey...". - She greeted us, then slowly took a seat nearby Harano and Sarah. "Is she okay, Sir? She looks... tired". - Yura glanced at my wife - who is sleeping in the bed

Nod...". "You're behaving very odd here, prophet, we're in a strange place, we meet strange people around here". "But you behave like you're very familiar with it, as if you have adapted to it".

".................". - All of sudden, Yura went silent. "It's hard to explain to you, Sir... just... they've told me things that they reminded me to keep in secret...". "I'm sorry when I can't tell you anything".

I want to ask Yura, but I stop it when I think it won't lead to anything positive. She will surely won't tell me about it. Surprisingly, Amanda and Kaori step inside the room not so long later. They look at us, they slowly approach us.

"I hope the three of you have had a nice reunion...". - Amanda said to us gently, but she soon realized that our reunion did not go with her expectation. "Could you go outside for a while...? Because we've got to say something to our son".

"Oh, okay...". - Sarah nodded, she gently got out from her seat for my foster moms

Hatano silently follows Sarah to go outside. Reimi stares at Amanda, as if to beg her to let her stay, but her eyes soon go down with disappointment. Yura gently nods, then slowly gets outside. Reimi reluctantly gets out of her seat, she slowly walks outside.

When the room only has the four of us, my two foster mothers pick up their seats. They glance at me for a while, then glance at my sleeping wife on the bed. After looking at her for a while, they return to look at me once again.

"I'm sorry when you had to get through that harsh welcome, my son". "We can't do anything, I cannot tell you but please understand what we did to you earlier...". - Amanda apologized to me, she got closer to the table to see me precisely

"...................". - I choose to stay silent, I want to grab more intel before doing anything

"I know you have many questions, but please ask us after we finish what we are about to say". - Kaori spoke up

"Hmmmm...". - I made a slight nod to speak to them

"There's a reason that led us to send the three of you here". - Amanda seems to be the one who will explain to me instead of Kaori. "Operation 1172... do you understand the reason why we chose that number...?".

"The time of this world when we got here was 1172". "Then... what do you want to say to me exactly?".

"The year you will start the mission... that's 1172".

"This year is 1177, your mission is about to end...". "Here, by these...". - Suddenly, Amanda took out a brown bag then poured out round glowing things on the table

"These jewels?". - Those are the jewels that glow in blue, why did Amanda send me these...?

"We took them from your bag, my son...". "Remember what we say to you: When this world's about to end, go inside the tunnel to get in a machine". "Use these jewels to open the portal back to your world, the mission of the three of you, from that is over, that's it".

"But for what?".

"We can't explain to you, please understand... don't worry about this world's fate, we'll be here to save it".

"Wait... you mean I have to leave my wife, my family and the people I know to get back to that world?". "It doesn't make any sense at all, why?".

"We don't tell you that you can't bring your relatives with you, my son". - Amanda lowered her voice to make me calm down

"The Goddess is going to destroy this world". "Soon, December 26th, it'll happen". "The prophet had shown us everything earlier, she saw massive things would appear in the sky". "This world only has 3 days left before the invasion of the sky intruders comes, you should escape".

"Can't we stop it?". - I don't get it at all, they sent us to this world just to see it gets destroyed, then we'll be sent back to our old world?

"Of course, we can...". - Amanda nodded to me. "However, I can't say we can save this world completely". "You see the child with the sword? She will be the one to sacrifice for the world's sake".

"..............".

"The vessel to sacrifice should be you... but we begged her not to do it". - All of sudden, two foster mothers got off their seats then sat beside me, as if to show me their love. "We had to travel to another dimension, a parallel world to pick up this child". "That little girl was on the verge of dying when we found her... now she is, truly going to die once again to save this world".

"Who is that girl? You picked her up somewhere? What about her parents...?".

"We can't tell you... her parents were already dead when we found her".

"There's a machine underground, only living creatures that have living tissues and your blood can go through it". "When that person comes inside, their body will be exposed to the green light from above, of the system...". "From that, a green barrier that covers this world will be formed". "No creature from the outside side will be able to go through, or do physical damage to the inside". "But the livings from the inside will be able to attack the outside, we will stop the invasion that way". - Honestly, I don't focus on this story at all, I really don't understand why they sent us to this world from the very beginning

"But that green barrier only lasts based on the will of the sacrificer". "If that chosen one can't stand it, she'll vanish, and the barrier will be shut, everything will be over".

It's bad when that little girl will die to save this world. However, I can't do anything to help her. I pick up every blue jewel on the table, then stuff them inside the bag that Amanda gave me earlier.

"Can't we do anything to save her...?".

"It means you'll be the one to sacrifice, my son". - Amanda replied to me, asking me not to do it

"...................". - To be honest, nothing I can do to save that little girl, it's selfish but I want to live, my dear family is always in my heart, they're the reason that makes me live to this long

"Why did you send us here in the beginning?".

"My son... when you return to your world, you will have the answer you need". "This world has a connection with our world, do you still remember the thing called Sword Mountain?".

"Nod...".

"It's part of this island, a weapon created by the Goddess, used to destroy the outside invaders". "It's not just a weapon, but a time machine, a portal to another dimension... our world".

"The intruders that are about to destroy Euro Grant are just creatures also sent here from another dimension". "This world has the connection to ours, saving it means saving our world too, my son...".

"Wait... you mean... you sent us here just to wait for the time to get in that machine?".

"Nod...". - Kaori nodded to me, while Amanda was about to say something

"When you get inside the Sword Mountain and activate it, you'll return to your world, that thing also disappears from this world as well...". "From that, even when we fail to save this world, our world won't be harmed". - Amanda explained to me

"That's the main purpose that you did not say to me?".

"No...". - She shook her head slightly, as if to tell me that I was wrong to think that. "That's just the sub-part, the main part will be revealed when you return to your world". "However, I hope you can... really understand, since you'll be the one to correct the answer alone, my son".

I go silent after hearing Amanda's explanation.

"Hey...". - Suddenly, my foster mom spoke up to tell Kaori something.  "It's time for us to send the messages, all Euro Grantians must stand together now, let's move on". - She slowly got up, then both of them walked toward the room's door

"You want to follow?". - Amanda turned around and asked me

"Yeah...". - To be honest, I want to stay here with my wife more than go with them

My foster mothers don't say anything more. They move to the door, then slowly open it. We walk outside, Sarah, Hatano, Reimi and Yura are outside, waiting for us to come out. Right after I come out, I slowly approach Reimi.

"I want to stay with Shera, you follow both of them on behalf of me".  "Use it well". - I grabbed her hand, lifting it up to show her Advisor strapped on her wrist

"Record everything they show you on their go, you may not know much".  "But I'll surely explain it to you when you send me those videos".

"Understood, my Lord...".  "John...". - Reimi nodded, then she slowly followed those two Madame Deities

I turn around and see Sarah and Hatano are still there with me. I look at my subordinates, then raise my hand to ask them to follow. The door is later opened, the three of us walk inside but I don't close it. I use hand signals, asking Sarah and Hatano to choose their seats.

I later look out, watching Reimi following my foster mothers to somewhere that they wanted to show me. Every second passes by, I watch it till she finally goes out of my sight. I close the wooden door, then slowly approach the wooden table.

"I really want to ask you something...". - I told my subordinates, then slowly sat down on a couch

Shera Rigen's perspective

After I went outside of the basement, I felt too exhausted and so I... did I pass out?

I don't know...

Currently, my mind is having lots of thoughts. I'm curious about that little girl's background, she looks so familiar to me, very familiar. Sarah and Hatano were supposed to die, but now they are really alive. I hope I can find a proper explanation for this reason, I really hope so.

When I'm trying to keep thinking, I suddenly have some consciousness. My eyes open and I find myself looking at a stone roof of a room. Everything around me feels so warm. I realize that I'm currently covered with a bedsheet, warm and sweet.

I slowly get up, trying to figure out everything that is appearing before my eyes. However, my mind is still a bit hazy. A person suddenly comes and lifts me up gently. That's John - my dear husband, he hugs me tightly in his hands. Behind him are his subordinates, Sarah and Hatano - who are really supposed to be dead.

I try to grab my husband for more longer, I really want to be in his warm hands longer than usual.

"From now on, the world's life is about to be reversed, everything of it will be destroyed, left nothing...". - Suddenly, a strange voice sounded in my mind

My husband and others also seem to have aware of that strange incident. They may have heard that strange voice sounding in their heads just like mine, it's very odd now.

"I'm bored to keep this world, now I'm gonna destroy it...". - That voice sounded once again, then went silent