[POV: Narrator]

Inevitably, the one thing most unavoidable in any universe is the concept of death itself, as without death, there is no life. In every world, there also exists cruelty and ignorance, yet, in that same world, exists beauty and love, for there will always be an opposite to all that exists.

But the sole reason why these concepts exist is due to the natural laws of the world. These laws are rules that the gods had established- they are the ultimate foundations that cannot be broken under any circumstances.

But although I say that they cannot be broken, it had already been done. Goddess Emma had reincarnated a soul that was meant to have perished.  Goddess Yris had erased an entire timeline for the sake of saving a mortal’s life. And these are the few out of the many fell gods who had once ruled the Land of Ember.

…

As Wyliame awakened, he realized something strange. It was a sense of familiarity, yet a sense of unease and disturbance. The smell of firewood entered his nostrils as the warmth from the many blankets above him embraced him in artificial love. 

“Mya! Can you bring a warm towel and a glass of warm water?” a voice called out.

As Wyliame gently opened his eyes, the light from above immediately blinded him, instinctively forcing him to reach out his hand in an attempt to block out the brightness.

“Hey, keep your arms still! I haven’t finished healing you yet!” the voice demanded.

Wyliame gently placed his arms back in the same position that they were prior to his movement. He knew the voice all too well. It was Lorelia.

Yris… why am I back here? What the hell did you do…? Wyliame asked in complete shock.

<”I told you, didn’t I? I’ve erased the timeline where you’re dead. Now you have yet another opportunity to live.”>

Although Wyliame was in utter disbelief, he fully understood that his life would’ve been over if not for goddess Yris. It was only right for him to feel grateful.

"I was so worried when I found your body in the snow," Lorelia began. "I thought you were dead..." 

Wyliame turned over to his side and just as he expected, Lorelia was in the process of restoring his hand, just as she had done before. When she glanced at him, Wyliame let out a smile.

“Thank you so much, ma’am…” 

Lorelia smiled back. “Of course, my dear! My name’s Lorelia. What’s yours?”

…

“I’m Wyliame.”

Just then, Mya opened the door on the far end of the room and walked in while holding onto a towel and a glass of water.

“Thank you, dear,” Lorelia said with a smile as she retrieved the items from Mya, placing the glass of water onto the table beside her while gently laying the towel on Wyliame’s forehead. The warmth from the towel made Wyliame feel cozy, but yet, a part of him thought that the entire situation was eerier than anything else.

“Ahahahaha! You look like you’re enjoying this, don’t you?” 

Wyliame turned over to his right, his eyes widening as he realized that Onas had been standing beside him the entire time.

“Hey kiddo, you can call me Onas. Welcome to the Elvaris household!”

Onas…

Just then, Mya, who was hiding behind Lorelia, began to scoot herself closer to Wyliame.

“Um… m-my name’s Mya… I-I hope we get along well!” she shyly introduced herself before bowing down and striding out of the room.

“That’s our daughter,” Lorelia pointed out with a smile. “She's a little shy, but she's a great kid.”

…

“Say, you look like you're around her age…” she continued. “How about you two marry when you're older, hahaha!"

It was a joke that had shocked Wyliame before, but, at that very moment, Wyliame found it difficult to feel the same way.

"Hahahaha! What the hell, Lorelia! You're gonna scare off our patient!" Onas laughed. "But… what was a kid like you doing out there in the middle of a blizzard anyways? You look pretty young…”

Wyliame noticed that, as far as he could remember, there were some slight variations to their spoken sentences.

"My family abandoned me and left me out in the snow alone." Wyliame lied.

…

The room became silent. Lorelia and Onas stared down at the boy, not knowing how to reply to the words that came out of Wyliame’s mouth. Huh? What’s with their reaction? He thought.

Suddenly, Lorelia stood up and began walking toward the door. “Hey Onas, can you take care of Wyliame for a while? I’ll get started with cooking dinner.”

He gave a thumbs up at Lorelia as she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Wyliame raised his eyebrow, confused as to what he just saw. The last time that he told Lorelia and Onas that he had been abandoned, they overwhelmed him in their warm embraces. But yet, instead of that, Lorelia had simply left the room.

"Hey Wyliame," Onas began. "How about you just stay with us for now? It's way too dangerous for a kid like you to be out there alone. We don't have a spare room for you, but if you don’t mind, you could share a bed with Mya.”

“...can I really?”

"Of course. We can't just abandon someone who needs our help. You could stay with us for as long as you'd like." Onas insisted with a smile on his face.

Wyliame nodded and smiled back at Onas. "From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much.”

Onas chuckled and began walking away. “Ahahaha! No need for that! Anyways, I'm gonna go out to get some more wood for the fireplace. Rest up for now, alright kid?"

He made his way out of the room, leaving Wyliame alone in the cozy bed.

Hey goddess. Is this right? Getting to live another life even though I should’ve died?

<”Why’re you asking me that now? You’re a reincarnated soul. You’ve already cheated death once with the help of Goddess Emma.”>

…yeah… that’s true…

Wyliame stared at the ceiling, trying to gather his thoughts. He was grateful and indebted to Yris for saving his life, but at the same time, he felt a sense of discomfort and anxiety. There was just one thought that was bothering him.

<”Y’know I can hear your thoughts, right? ’We’re just delaying the inevitable… what’s the point? The war will come soon.’... is what you’re thinking right now.”>

Wyliame let out a sigh, sinking his head further into the pillow beneath his head. Am I wrong for thinking that?

<”No. It makes sense.”>

…

Wyliame expected Yris to elaborate further, perhaps comforting him about the impending doom, but that was all Yris said.

I only have one night to think. After the morning comes tomorrow, the battle will already begin! Damn it… what the hell is this…

Suddenly, the door gently opened. Wyliame raised his head slightly from the bed and noticed Mya tippy-toeing into the room, oblivious to the fact that Wyliame was fully aware of her presence. 

*Croak*

Mya’s eyes widened as she realized that she made a loud noise. She glanced over at Wyliame and quickly calmed down as she saw that Wyliame seemed to not have heard a thing. Mya continued creeping up to Wyliame’s bed, reaching out her hand for him, and then-

“Um…whatcha doing, Mya?”

Startled, she let out a slight gasp and jumped backward, banging her foot into the table behind her.

“OW! Ah… Ah… Ah…” Mya groaned in pain as tears began forming from the corner of her eyes.

“A-are you okay? Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you…” Wyliame apologized, leaning upright from the bed and staring down at Mya, who was clutching onto her foot while laying on the floor.

“Y-yeah… I-I was just a little surprised…”

She took a deep breath before standing back upright, looking at me with her teary emerald eyes. 

“I-I heard that you’re going to stay with us. Y-you’re going to sleep with me, right?”

Hah… I forgot how shy she was when we first met, Wyliame thought.

“Yeah, sorry for the late notice," he apologized. "If you guys have a couch or anything I can sleep there-"

"No! It's fine!" she yelled. "O-oh sorry for raising my voice. I don't really m-mind if you s-sleep with me."

“You sure? You don’t have to force yourself, you know?” Wyliame insisted.

"I-I don’t mind, really…" she blushed.

Aw, look how cute she is…

<”Ah, so not only are you an idiot, but you’re also weird.”>

…the hell?

Suddenly, Mya flipped the blanket away from Wyliame’s body, exposing him to the colder air. “D-do you want me to show you our room?” she asked, although it would’ve made more sense if she asked that question first and then flipped the blanket away.

“Yeah, sure,” Wyliame replied.

Hearing that, Mya’s eyes lit up with delight. Although she seemed shy on the outside, it comforted her to know that she’d have a friend to talk to. Encouraging Wyliame to get out of bed, she grabbed his hand but…

“AGH!” Wyliame yelped, instantly pulling his hand away from Mya. 

W-what the hell?! My hand hurts so damn much!

Wyliame took a peek at his fingers, his eyes widening as he realized that they had a slight tint of gray. Not only that, but it was extremely difficult for him to make any sudden movements with his hand.

That’s right… Lorelia left me before she could even finish healing my hand…

“I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t know that your hand was hurt!” Mya cried with guilt, staring at Wyliame’s hand worryingly.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s my fault, too. I didn’t even know that my hand was hurt…” Wyliame mumbled as he slowly got out of bed, trying his hardest to not use his injured hand to do so. “Can you lead the way to our room? I’ll just follow behind you.”

Mya, still ashamed that she had hurt Wyliame, slowly nodded and began walking out of the room, glancing backward to make sure that Wyliame was trailing behind. For now, Wyliame had decided to play along with the time loop, unaware of what fate had installed for him.

 

###

 

On the other side of the house, Onas stood in the bathroom, staring at the mirror. But what stared back at him wasn’t human, but a scaly monstrosity, one that was bloody-red, furious, and chaotic with screaming eyes of hatred.

<”You see that little boy, don’t you, Onas? He’s a god-bearer.”> a deep voice sounded from the mirror, staring deeply into Onas’s soul.

“...”

<”Kill him.”>

*KNOCK KNOCK*

“Onas? Are you in there?” Lorelia yelled out. “I really have to use the restroom!”

…

“Sorry about that, honey! I’m coming out now!”