I looked around the desolate landscape littered with craters and pieces of a once majestic castle. In front of me lay the corpse of the demon king, and in front of that, a portal home. My journey had come to an end. I began walking into the portal.

“Wait Lucas”
“Stop right there”
“Please Stop and Listen.”

As I was half a step into the portal, I could hear the voices of my former comrades calling out to me. Usually, I would’ve ignored them, but this was a special occasion and it deserved special treatment.

“It’s been 5 years since I’ve come to this world, and 3 since I’ve adventured with you people. I’ve had a lot of time to think these past three years and I’ve come to a conclusion. It really isn’t your fault. I mean, putting together a team consisting spoiled princess, an arrogant dragon, a racist elf, and a commoner from another world- what were they thinking? It was obviously going to be a disaster. You three will never understand but I’ve spent months unable to sleep, trying to decipher their thoughts. At the end of the day, I can only think we were meant to be a mascot party—“

“Lucas, calm down”

“Don’t interrupt me when I’m talking. Anyways, once again, I don’t particularly resent you three for the hardships I’ve suffered, none of you were taught better. No, I blame the kingdoms who chose you three to be a part of my party. But at the end of the day, I guess I still did their bidding, how pathetic.” I chuckled to myself.

“Well, what could I do, over the course of this adventure I truly fell in love with this world. The sights, creatures, and phenomena were truly unforgettable experiences. But now the journey is over, and it’s time for me to return home. Your love, regret, obsession, I couldn’t care less. My only hope is that you don’t treat the future hero as badly as you treated me.”

As I fully stepped into the portal, I could hear their screams, but it didn’t particularly matter to me. At this time, however, I didn’t realize that while the ‘Present’ me escaped, the ‘Past’ me was doomed to unimaginable hardships.

...And I never would, because that was not part of my story.