Nephthys explained the details of the mission.
"The point in time you’re traveling back to is the ’Dark Era.’ It happened while you two were fighting Ever Kire."
At that time, Nephthys had been fighting the Society. They had captured her loved ones and thrown them into a dungeon, and Nephthys had dived in to save them.
But the dungeon she entered was one where space and time were distorted.
It was a world where bizarre flows of time and unnatural laws coexisted. Nephthys used her time abilities there to save her people and stop the Society’s wicked plot. With that power, she safely escaped the dungeon, crossed over to Roc Island, and succeeded in eliminating Ever Kire.
Everything seemed fine, but the Society’s goal was never to trap Nephthys in the dungeon, nor was it to stall her for Ever Kire’s plan.
Their true aim was to force her to overuse her time abilities. This created a rift in the distorted space-time, and a member of the Society slipped right through it.
"They jumped in fully prepared to never return to this timeline," Nephthys explained.
At the mention of the infamous Society, Simon’s expression darkened.
"What is their goal?" he asked.
"I’m not entirely sure either," Nephthys said, shrugging. "The possibilities are too vast. Countless events can occur within time—more than human intelligence can even comprehend."
"For example, even in the timeline we live in now, time can fluctuate for a specific range or target. There are cases where going back in time can change the present or future, or cases where you enter a different timeline and fail to change the future, and..."
"We aren’t here for a lecture," Lethe cut in. "As the Witch of Death, you should be able to at least roughly deduce the Society’s objective based on the clues gathered so far."
"Yeah, I suppose so," Nephthys said, closing her eyes. "The past they entered is twenty-two years ago. Before either of you were even born. They likely chose this timeline to alter a historical event from that era."
"If it’s a historical event from twenty-two years ago..."
"Without a doubt—" She smiled meaningfully. "It involves Richard and Anna."
Both of their eyes widened. Nephthys paced around with light, quick steps.
"Think about the incidents the Society has caused so far. They have always tried to plunge the continent into chaos and spark a war between the Dark Alliance and the Holy Federation. But right now, we are in an era of peace. They will likely try to erase this era of peace for their own goals."
"If so, then without a doubt—" She raised a fingertip. "The Society is highly likely to be near Richard and Anna. Coincidentally, twenty-two years ago is before the two of them got together."
"Then, right now..." Simon’s mouth fell open. "Are you saying my parents’ meeting is connected to the era of peace?"
Nephthys simply offered a soft smile in response.
Lethe raised her hand. "I have a few questions before I accept this mission. Does this mean that if they change the past, it will affect the present?"
"No one knows what will happen. Nothing might happen, or a time paradox could occur and shatter reality as we know it, or the world’s space-time could be flipped upside down."
"Or, if the Society achieves their goal and Richard and Anna fail to get together..." Her small finger pointed at Simon. "Simon, your very existence might be erased."
Simon’s eyes widened in shock. Lethe clicked her tongue and swung her arm defensively.
"How can you say that so calmly! If the situation is that critical, you should be the one going to the past to resolve it, not us!"
"I cannot go to the past," Nephthys replied. "Especially not in a case like this, in the 1700s range."
"Why not?"
"There are a few principles to time travel. And among them is the most important: the First Principle."
’Under no circumstances must a present entity travel to a timeline where their past self exists.’
It was an act that fundamentally defied the laws of the world. The world would treat the time traveler like an invading virus and attempt to completely erase their very existence.
"I’ve lived for three hundred years, you know? If I, a time mage, return to the past, my past self will immediately notice. And it won’t just end with a simple time paradox..."
Simon stayed silent, absorbing the weight of her words.
"For the same reason, sending Richard or Anna to the past is also impossible..." Nephthys looked at Simon. "Therefore, the one who must go is someone who did not exist twenty-two years ago, someone who can emotionally influence those two, and the living fruit of their love. You have to go, Simon."
Simon nodded in understanding. "Understood. If it’s about my parents, then of course I have to go."
Nephthys turned her head. "And the Saintess here seems to have her own connection to Anna. If you cherish Anna, you should cooperate, right?"
Lethe scrunched up her face. "It is true that I cherish Teacher Anna, but to be frank, I am not pleased with the idea of her ending up with a necromancer."
Nephthys giggled. "Are you sure about that? Without Richard, the Simon we know wouldn’t be born."
Lethe clicked her tongue, glancing toward Simon for a moment before swiftly turning her head away. "Ugh, fine. I get it."
"Good, good! Then you accept my mission, right?" Nephthys approached the two and pulled out a pair of necklace artifacts, each with a small hourglass attached.
"The moment you enter the past, the sand in these hourglasses will start flowing. And the moment time runs out, I will unconditionally pull you back to the present, regardless of how events have unfolded. If you stay in the past for too long, you could be devoured by time."
"Understood," Simon said.
Nephthys placed the necklaces around their necks. "Time is relative. Just because there’s a lot of sand left in the hourglass doesn’t mean you have plenty of time, and the reverse isn’t true either. Do not rely too heavily on the visible amount of sand."
"Got it!"
She pulled a bag out of her subspace and handed it to Simon. He opened the bag to check inside as Nephthys explained.
"That is a map from twenty-two years ago. Those are books on the culture and common sense of that era, and oh! This is old currency."
She shook the coin pouch inside the bag, making it jingle. "If the currency doesn’t work, you can just hand over food or something."
"Excuse me?" Lethe asked, raising an eyebrow.
"That era is a bit peculiar."
After handing over all the supplies, Nephthys clapped her hands together.
"Now for the mission briefing. Your objective is to travel to what is currently the neutral zone, but was known in the past as the Bahila Territory."
She traced a line across the map with her fingertip. "Making small talk with people along the way is fine, but it’s best to avoid influencing their values or beliefs as much as possible. A small variable could snowball into a massive incident later on."
"That makes sense." Lethe crossed her arms. "The Society is trying to change the future, and we are trying to set it back to how it was."
"Yep. You catch on fast!" Nephthys looked at Simon. "Simon, you must reduce any variables you can. If possible, it’s best not to use sentient Ancient Undead either. Even if they are the dead, it’s dangerous for their past and present selves to exist at the same time."
"Herseva should be fine, right?" Simon asked. He had only brought Herseva with him right now anyway. And Herseva was an undead that did not exist twenty-two years ago.
Nephthys nodded. "That Lich? Perfect. Anyway, back to the main point. Once you enter the neutral zone, find Richard and Anna, who will be in the thick of the war on the front lines."
She smiled brightly. "Then, you just need to prevent the Society’s interference and ensure those two end up together. No matter what happens, do not reveal your true identities."
"Understood!"
"We’re out of time now, so you’re going immediately!"
All preparations were complete. Nephthys manifested her ability.
A brilliant golden light erupted with a low hum. Simon and Lethe held hands and carefully stepped into the magic circle.
"When you return from the past, only a minute or two will have passed in the present. So don’t worry too much about things on this side," Nephthys said as she awakened the clocks of her ability. "Keep this in mind: keep a close eye on the time you have left, and do not let your guard down. You never know who might be the Society member from the future."
"Got it!"
"Here you go!"
Amidst the surging golden light and the ticking of clock hands, Simon closed his eyes. He felt his body blur as his senses faded away.
His mind filled with clocks.
Clocks ticking at different tempos, in different flows, spinning entirely on their own whims.
He felt dizzy. A headache flared up.
Then, at a certain moment.
The wildly spinning clock hands slowly began to align. The slower hands moved a bit faster, and the faster hands slowed down, waiting for the others.
’TICK!’
Soon, every single clock hand pointed to noon.
Simon gasped, his eyes snapping open.
Feeling his bodily senses return, he quickly looked around.
’Did we really arrive in the past?’
However, the sight unfolding before his eyes was far too strange to be called the past.
’This is... Leshill?’
A sky of ash.
The clouds were a sickly gray, and strange ash-like particles fell from the sky like rain, settling on Simon’s hair and shoulders. The grass on the ground was blackened and withered, and the trees were stripped down to bare, skeletal branches.
A nearby stream bubbled and gurgled, flowing with a foul stench that resembled wastewater. Simon looked around with a confused expression. It was vastly different from the scenery he knew, but he could spot familiar natural landmarks here and there.
He was right. This was Leshill.
’Are we really in the past?’
It would have been easier to believe if someone told him they had traveled to a post-apocalyptic future.
"Could you let go of my hand now?"
A low voice came from beside him. Turning his head, he saw Lethe glaring at him, her eyes half-lidded in annoyance.
Startled, Simon quickly released her hand and stepped back. "W-We arrived in the right place, right?"
"Yes." Lethe sighed as she looked up at the sky raining ash. "It seems so. I am familiar with this phenomenon."
"What phenomenon?"
"The Holy Federation’s tactical weapon, ’Ashen Judgment.’ They claim it is a rain-like weapon that only kills wicked demons who deny the Goddess, but well..." She scanned the withered trees and plants around them and spoke bitterly. "It seems it was a weapon that simply killed demons, civilians, and nature equally..."
"Oh."
"And according to history, this weapon began to be used in earnest during the latter half of the Hundred-Year War." Lethe turned to look at Simon. "We are definitely in the past. Before the era of peace arrived—in the era of war."
Simon stared blankly at his hometown. It was gruesome and horrifying. To think this was Leshill, the place where he was born and raised.
"I understand being shocked by the state of your hometown, but we need to move," Lethe said, pointing at the hourglass hanging around her neck. "The countdown has started."
"Right." Simon slapped his cheeks lightly to snap himself out of it, then pulled the map from the bag Nephthys had given him.
He unfurled it. The map from twenty-two years ago—during the Hundred-Year War—was vastly different from the current one. Instead of territory or geographical names, it was filled with military terms like ’Frontline,’ ’Fortress,’ and ’High Ground.’ The entirety of the Dark Alliance was effectively a battlefield.
"First, just as the Witch of Death said, we need to head to the neutral zone where Teacher Anna and Richard are fighting—the Bahila Territory." Lethe skimmed the map before pointing to a spot with her fingertip. "It seems Leshill isn’t a recognized city during this time, but fortunately, the neighboring territory, Hove, exists even in this era."
As expected of a large city, Hove seemed to have existed perfectly fine in the past as well.
"So you’re saying we should head down to Hove and find a carriage to ride?" Simon asked.
"Correct." She raised her head. Ash and embers continued to fall from the black clouds. "Let’s hurry."
Simon and Lethe walked along the river, heading toward Hove.
The river was severely polluted thanks to the ’Ashen Judgment,’ giving off a terrible stench. As they descended the mountain, they saw countless corpses of dead monsters. There were also polluted or mutated specimens that couldn’t be found in present-day Leshill.
Lethe cast purification magic on Simon and herself several times to wash away the clinging ash.
’To think my parents fought a war in an era like this...’
Simon’s thoughts grew complicated.
Soon, they arrived at Leshil’s neighboring territory, Hove.
Simon gasped.
Leshill was nothing in comparison.
An unbelievable sight unfolded before their eyes.

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