With how the two met each other explained and out of the way, it's of tremendous importance to notice that despite Samuel Goldsun's claims of being able to change the past and future, he didn't eliminate the threat that could kill Arthur using his own superior abilities. Instead, he seemed to not be willing to piss of 'Lady Clockwork' any further.
As Alex thought about his and Arthur's first meeting as well as it's significance to why he'd go out of his way 'change destiny', he realised that the more answers he got gave birth to new questions...
"How will Arthur die exactly?" Was what Alex decided to ask first after a moment of deliberation.
"The hatred he has been nurtured within him for many years is about to explode, allowing him to create a really malicious Spell Slot of the Wrath Attribute. His mind will deteriorate and he will become a Berserker that only knows how to kill.
The ramifications of his loss of control will lead to him being 'purified' by the Church, allowing them to once again tilt public favour in their direction. This was their proof that those with 'Evil' powers are destined to be villains in their ongoing 'religious narrative'." Samuel replied without withholding anything. He wasn't going to feign mysteriousness like other time-travellers or be vague about it.
All he gave was a sharp and concise explanation.
The spearman was well aware of the hypocrisy underneath the facade of the Luminous Church. It wasn't like he judged them for their beliefs though. After all, their religion also gave people free healing services to those who went to them impartially.
They weren't pressured by Noble Rankers nor did they look down on commoners, but he still didn't like them... Even if his Mentor was part of them, he didn't see any reason to like their bias towards Classless Beasts and later on, Anomalies.
{"The 'Wrath' Attribute, you say? That sounds a little familiar." Alex's eyes became cloudy.
"It should... Aren't you supposed to be a well-learned magic user? Don't you know of the classifications of Attributes and their respective roles? Or have you been fooling around for too long with all the money you earned from the Guild?"
"A lot of things have happened today... It's not like I'm omniscient just because I'm knowledgeable."
"Then let me tell you. What I meant by the Wrath Attribute is just a way of simplifying the many 'Sinful States' of the Evil Attribute. In fact, you could even say that any version other than the Original State barely even conforms to 'Evil'.}
This conversation is what WOULD have happened for the sake of exposition. However, the fact that Alex was more well-versed in the nature of the Evil Attribute due to his abnormal Class Skill made it impossible that he'd ask such a simple query.
Instead, he asked just one very important question:
"Why do you want me to take action when you can travel through time and create paradoxes?"
Immediately after the scholarly freak spoke, Alex felt a chill run down his spine as a chuckle left Samuel's lips... that intense look on his face made him realise that this spearman didn't really want to talk. This villain, who didn't seem moved after beating up his past self, suddenly burst into a fit of laughter while hiding his face with both his hands.
Fitting really, since he was a man who never wanted the ugliness of his existence to be considered superficial... He really wanted to let Alex know of the misery he will experience...
"Why do you think I'm here?" He asked, the only part of his face that could be seen was his eyes.
"...To change the past?" Instead of giving a meaningful answer, Alex chose a safe deduction.
"You called me twisted before, but now, it's like you yourself are not entirely noble as you seem."
"I don't understand your point..."
"Don't you? Those eyes of yours actually see me as my own 'individual'. It sickens me when I see them. You... Everything is your damn fault." There was immense hatred in his eyes as they flowed dangerously momentarily, but quickly closed them.
"Eye-contact is a basic rule when you're talking to someone. To look away would be rude."
"You're sickening, disgusting, depraved, idiotic."
"I'm not sure why you would see me that way." Alex lifted his brow in confusion. He didn't think of himself as bad as Samuel was making him out to be. It almost felt as if the spearman before him wasn't thinking about him, but a someone else who gave up on morality.
"...What a farce this is." Samuel's eyes unfocused as he looked at the teacup instead of Alex's pupils.
The 'pure' self he saw in front of him made the paradoxical time-traveller feel ripe with impurity.
Hehe, who was the 'you' Samual was referring to?
"Your answer isn't wrong, but it also misses the point of the question. It's like giving someone painkillers but not healing their injury, an answer that isn't rational... not in any sense of the word."
"You've been saying meaningless words that don't have much of a point for a while now. What about my question? Aren't you going to answer?" Alex suppressed his emotions to stay on point.
He still didn't seem to understand what Samuel meant by 'not pissing off the concept of time'...
"Don't worry. We're about to get there~ But first let us try a thought experiment. Humour me, and tell me: What are the benefits of having the ability to travel time, without any kinds of restrictions?"
"...What are you getting at?"
"Like I just said: 'Humour me'."
"Being able to control history...?" He didn't say this answer with certainty since it was only a theory.
"Exactly!" Samuel took his hands off his face and displayed a cheerful smile, it was an expression that didn't fit the situation, and therefore, caused him to think that the expression he had was fake.
"After seeing your eyes, I now realise how much of a great 'thinker' I am. I'm definitely a man of some damn worth. Right now may be the 'present' to you, but for me it is the only day in the 'past' I had already attained the power to change... myself.
And therefore, I now want to put my all into breaking this persona of yours.
The one of an outsider that looks at the world through glass. Still seeing the world, yet being separated from it by a fine line..." The lofty intentions of the spearman finally leaked out.
"I do this because I've already realised the truth of the world through my own actions..." He continued spouting nonsense with no context. How was Alex supposed to figure out what he was trying to say?
"..." Though he still didn't interrupt him. All the youth did was shut his mouth and listen intently.
"Arthur, Lily, Fear, and Vhalen. These four people were the friends I made in my past life later on in my life. They made me feel happy. However, what they could not do is make me feel fulfilled...
Although I'd thought I had moved on, my heart always wanted to go home before my memories of when I became a Saint Class martial artist were awakened, but I realised after countless failures that going back there was utterly impossible.
I could only make due with feeling happy, but not content with my livelihood over the years."
'Woah...!' What Samual started to ramble about really hit home with Alex inwardly. Truly, before he attained the rest of his past life's memories, he wanted to visit Earth, even if just for a moment.
However, now he no longer felt the same way. It was to the point that he wondered what drove Samuel to irresponsibly use his power when someone he cared for was on the line. Shouldn't there be other ways of saving Arthur?
"Just like you would, when I first created this supreme Spell Slot: I used it extremely responsibly.
Once I remembered what truly happened before my death, however... everything changed. No longer could I ignore the massive incidents that were the results of my selfishness, and this spurred me on to become a 'Hero', doing everything I could to control history. Creating as many paradoxes as I could in order to make everything perfect.
I never forgot dad's words to cultivate my heart and not my strength, making it hard for Demons or other sinister entities to corrupt me through normal means. It is only unfortunate that humans aren't those who are fit to play a specialised 'role' forever.
It's natural that I 'broke character' in the end and ended up falling into the abyss of my own feeling of worthlessness." Samuel spoke while only giving the minimum amount of information about his past.
"That sounds like an excuse." Although the scholarly freak didn't know what the spearman before him went through, he felt that it was a little exaggerated that Samuel, who can control time to a certain extent, could encounter a situation which left him powerless to fight against. As thinking of the theory that he DIDN'T exaggerate scared him...
"Why do you think so?"
"A heart refined through experiences can become an unbendable sword, cutting past all obstacles."
"How idealistic... I'm wondering what would happen if you were to put such an unbending sword in front of a mirror bent a little inwards, then wouldn't it only be natural that the reflection will distort?
'You' have such a vane heart~" These words almost caused Alex to lose decorum... The anger that swelled up from finding that his 'future self' was so weak-hearted made him feel contempt.
The scholarly youth never forgot his father's words and even practiced martial arts on a regular basis to temper his heart with morals... He did so in order to reach enlightenment with devotion to the arts.
He also did so in order to never forget his core values... and this was why he couldn't understand for what reason Samuel suggested in his words that he had abandoned their father's teachings.
It made it hard for him to accept the spearman as his 'future self'... A seed of despair placed in his heart, one that he was doing all his efforts to bury as he looked at those lifeless black eyes... He felt as if that intense gaze was burning through him.
"A reflection has nothing to do with reality." The scholarly freak tried to reason back to him.
"That may have been the case on Earth, but you're forgetting a crucial point: This world ISN'T Earth."
"And so what if it isn't?"
"You'll realise that over time. Even if I explained all of it to you, there's no hope for the present 'you' to understand with your state of mind. I'll wait for you to grow before saying anything. Just remember even in Earth's religious texts: The devil was an angel too."
An awkward silence blanketed the room once again after the spearman spoke, but the scholarly youth didn't mind. His eyes observed Samuel intently as if he was trying to see through the man's heart.
"You may say: 'A reflection has nothing to do with reality', but there are Demons of the world that are capable of proving you wrong. Your utilitarian philosophy will one day lead you to despair."
"Stop spouting such ominous words. It's not like I'm going to turn out like you. After all, this meeting is enough to change the future, even by a little, and I am not the type to fall down a rabbit hole trying to save others." He refused to believe what he heard.
He pretended to not understand what the spearman was hinting at by saying all this.
"...Fine. Let's put this to the side for now. Let me ask you this: What do you plan to do with the Radiant Sword 'Mirror' Cult. Are you still planning on leaving them alone even if I told you they are the target of Arthur's hatred? Do you plan to destroy them?" He backed down as his eyes regained their usual nonchalance as if nothing in the world mattered to him, only caring about his desires.
"I can't do that."
"Why not? You didn't seem to mind crippling the Spell Slots of the so-called 'Crazies' in your first Hero's Journey, making it impossible for them to work or gather together. Can't you try that once again?"
"This and that are different. They no longer seem like passionate serial killers who seek to impress their 'Lord'. If they succeed in creating peace between Humanoid Beasts and Humans, then many innocents could be saved in the future."
"How inhumane..."
"...What?" He was flabbergasted once again.
What did he say wrong this time?
"You make it sound like saving people you don't know is the most logical thing to do. At least have some shame towards those who lost their families to that Cult and want justice for the sins of the members that had murdered innocent people before... or is the only reason for your inaction because you are unable to see them as anything more than a still redeemable, collective group?"
"Just tell me if they fail or not if you want to say something about it. I do not like being judged."
"...They'll succeed." Samual rolled his eyes.
"Then we're done here. I need to go talk to Arthur and see how he's doing. As long as we talk it out peacefully, we can come to a consensus that doesn't get him killed." Alex was still optimistic about his chances as he no longer felt the need to speak any further with this future version of himself. All he needed to do was persuade Arthur.
After the scholarly freak exited the room, the once helmeted spearman collapsed on the floor in an exaggerated manner as if he couldn't be bothered standing anymore. He looked at the ceiling of the room with despair as he thought of his 'timeline'.
What was it like to be able to create paradoxes? The answer was it wasn't all as good as the ignorant masses made it out to be. To control the flow of history was different from tempering with time in small and subtle ways. After all, sentient beings were far more complicated than the power of magic. They had a knack for unpredictability.
When he first started utilising his Paradoxical Return's Spell Slot, he believed his ideals could help him create a 'perfect' history for himself where no one he loved died... but no matter what he did, someone would always be sacrificed.
He was disillusioned over time after realising that he as one person couldn't control what would happen as a result of his interferences. There were too many probabilities to keep count of...
It wasn't the nihilism birthed from knowing the absence of 'God' on Gaia, but the existential nihilism from knowing he was only a small cog in the machine the 'God' of this world built... who could do nothing as his loved ones kept on dying.
It was to the point that gave up on everything...
'My hands... are so stained with blood... but no one will ever know that most of it... is all my own.' He thought while reaching his hand towards the sky with a tired expression. His eyes filled with the loops he had done in order to 'stop himself' from changing the timeline in ways that made him regret. How many alterations had he made...?
One part of his ability he would never reveal to others was the 'methods' his ability could be used to do unspeakable things to others... and how he knew them all too well due to trying them out himself. Alex too... will have to experience this.
To escape from under the Demon Lord's nose with the young priestess in hand, he had been forced to do a double suicide after using his ability to create a 'second version' of them a seconds back in time while relocating them somewhere else to escape.
Was the little girl the same one he 'saved' from the Demon Lord? He himself didn't know. The number of times he had been forced to kill his past self as well as others to fix a mistake wasmistake of was too many to count. He felt numb to the sensation years later...
If 'God' truly exists, then could a sinner like him be forgiven? Especially for the depraved things he did in an outburst of despair back when he gained a God Complex with this ability? This... he truly didn't know. He only hoped that his past self wouldn't suffer from the same things he did and grow to be someone who could hold his own against a world where the 'absurd' can become part of reality.
Samuel prayed... He prayed for a miracle.
His heart dead set to no longer try to change the future by himself anymore like he did before....
If the Samuel of this 'new present' wasn't enough to gather those who could help him change the chaotically flowing rivers of fate, then he'd go into the past and pin all his hopes on the version of him who was most susceptible to change:
The 'most optimistic' version of himself....
May he go experience himself a wonderfully great adventure... An adventure beyond greatness!