William left the sleeping Nicolas in the house and walked to his favorite place in the Lost Forest. It was a lake not far from his home. He liked to visit it at night when the bright moon reflected in the water.
There were barely any animals around, one could hear the rustling sound of the leaves as the night breeze brushed through them. He lay on the grass and enjoyed the breathtaking view of the stars in the sky.
Those things don't seem of much importance to some people, but to William it's something that he takes time to appreciate. He enjoyed the quiet countryside that surrounded him. He usually does it for relaxation, a moment to forget about life, but something about that night didn't bring the blacksmith any tranquility. The young man's words kept repeating in his mind.
—A hero…
William stretched his right arm to the moon in the sky. He closed his hand as if he had grabbed it. When he opened his hand to look, there was nothing.
—I don't understand... why do people look up to me so much?
William has questioned himself constantly about his fame, but he's never found an answer. People from outside his family circle have always come up to him expecting he will become someone of great status in the future, one to accomplish many achievements. Then again, they see him young, single and with no kids. To them, there were endless possibilities of how his life could take shape and they expected him to make the right choices. They didn't know how much anxiety would accumulate in William as the years went on. It goes without saying the circumstances he had with his family behind closed doors.
—Why me?
The young man looked at him the same way. He had high expectations of the blacksmith. The difference was that his expectations had yet to fade. He questioned why the young man continued thinking of him in such high regard despite only seeing him wasting his life being lazy and drinking every night.
—I'm no hero. What is there for me to teach you?
"It's a matter of time before you become disappointed in me too..." the blacksmith murmured to himself.
He didn't know when, but he knew in due time his apprentice would get tired of him and leave. It would just be him and the tiny house inside the forest.
"—Isn't it a lovely night?"
"Hm?"
The blacksmith's eyes opened wide. He was startled by the sudden voice that spoke to him and brought him back from his thoughts. He took his gaze away from the starry night sky and fixed it on the woman before him.
The woman was standing near the edge of the lake as she observed the moon reflecting on the water. William could not see her face, but he was left speechless by her beautiful crimson hair glowing under the moonlight.
"I believe it is too beautiful tonight to be in such a gloomy state, don't you think?"
"I-I suppose you're right…"
—What does she know? The man thought to himself. He then recalled how Lucy gave him a drink right when he was thinking about things that caused him stress. The woman before him, although she was not offering a drink, could tell the man was lost in his thoughts.
—Am I that easy to read?
The blacksmith, his face red with embarrassment, stood up and cleared his throat. His eyebrows furrowed, "Excuse me mam, but I don't think it's safe for you to be walking around the forest this time of night."
The woman, still not turning around to look at the blacksmith, tapped her lips with her index finger in thought, "I suppose you're right. Although, I should be telling you the same thing."
The man wryly smiled,
—You got me there.
The Lost Forest, where the blacksmith resides, is considered one of the most dangerous places in Heratia. Barely any person sets foot inside unless they know their way around the area. William was curious to know why such an out-of-place woman was in the forest so late at night.
"Don't mean to intrude, but why are you inside the forest at this hour?"
"Oh? I was told this area was very beautiful at night."
—Really…
As far as the blacksmith knew, he was the only one that regularly visited the area at night. People don't usually roam inside the Lost Forest, let alone at late hours due to how dangerous it is.
The blacksmith didn't ask any further. He wasn't going to stick his nose where it didn't belong. Instead, he nodded in agreement, "You should have seen it this morning. The sunrise looked amazing."
"Ah, it's unfortunate that I missed it. I must've misread the time. I guess I'll have to stay here until the next sunrise."
"—You have absolutely no sense of danger…"
The blacksmith was taken back by the woman's lack of safety precautions. She set foot where no daredevil would step into without a single thought.
—Now she thinks she can just camp until morning?
William did not care if the person was a man or a woman. If they're not prepared to face danger inside the forest, then they should stay as far away from it as possible.
Looking at the back of the woman, the man could tell she was not someone that went outside much. Based on what the man could see of her arms and legs, she had delicate features. She had no armor, the only thing that covered her body was a white dress, she was clearly unprepared for any danger that came her way.
"Just so you know, even if you were to stay until morning, you wouldn't be able to see the sunrise. The forest changes every so often. You won't get a good view until possibly next month."
The trees would grow and the landscape would change. It would follow a yearly pattern where, every morning before the full moon, the trees would open up for the sky to be seen and reflected on the lake. The sunrise and full moon were visible only on that specific day.
"Waaah? Waiting for the next full moon is not a luxury that I have... Then, again, you could say that I do."
The woman was lost in thought. A few seconds passed and then she clapped her hands together as she came up with a solution to her problem, "Then I guess I'll have to rewind time!"
"—Like hell you can!"
Magic is common knowledge for any class of citizen. It is studied thoroughly by the pixie scholars. So far, the discovery of magic has advanced the fields of healing and combat and, the last thing William heard, the scholars were working on elixirs to amplify the user capability.
"Hm? You don't believe that I can do it?"
"Well, with magic, it's possible to accomplish things such as healing and combat spells. To have the power to change the course of time… seems rather unlikely."
The woman chuckled, "Well you're right, I don't have the ability to go back in time. I wish I did…" She sounded sad for a few seconds, most likely due to her missing out of the full moon/day experience, but quickly switched to a cheerful tone of voice.
"Say, now that we speak of time, answer me this: what's your opinion of the future?"
The blacksmith scratched his head, "I would say it's uncertain."
"Oh?" The woman crouched and touched the water of the lake, "If you knew the future, would it be possible to change it for your own benefit?"
The man crossed his arms in thought. With so many factors that come into play, would such a thing even be possible? "Who's to say… Wouldn't knowing about it change the future by itself?"
"It could play a role, but, what if the future that you know isn't already the one where you have the knowledge?"
"If it were for something like saving someone's life, then I guess I could."
She was curious about the blacksmith's point of view, "Really? Would you be able to challenge and win against fate?"
"Heh, with that kind of power I would make fate kneel before me."
The woman was surprised by Williams' answer. Her mouth quivered slightly, "Let's say that in the future, you will keep seeing yourself dying at every possible outcome except one. Would you still try and challenge fate?"
"If there are a thousand outcomes where I die and only one where I survive, then it's a risk I'm willing to take. I'll do everything in my power to achieve that one outcome. I just have to follow that future."
The woman sighed and let out a slight smile, "I see… so this is how it started." She murmured to herself.
People tend to think philosophically about life late at night and the pair were no exception. Even though the blacksmith was enjoying his time talking to the woman, he was out later than usual in the forest. He didn't know what creatures they could stumble upon. "Listen, it's getting late and I should head back to the house. You should do the same."
The woman nodded in agreement, "I suppose you're right."
The blacksmith began to walk in the opposite direction of the woman to where his house was, "If you want, we can pick up this conversation later miss…"
— Now that I think about it…
The man realized that during their long conversation, they had not introduced themselves to each other, let alone seen the woman's face. The man turned around mid walk, "That's right, I didn't catch your name—"
"—I wouldn't move so abruptly if I were you."
When he turned around, the woman was already staring at him. The blacksmith didn't get a proper look at her face before collapsing face first on the ground.
"What are you— Agh!" He tried to stand up, but he felt a sudden chest pain and then his arms and legs were paralyzed, "What are you doing to me?"
The woman didn't answer his question. Instead, she walked to his limp body and crouched next to it. It wasn't raining and yet the blacksmith felt drops falling on his face.
The woman whispered in his ear, "I'll wait for that day. The day when you defeat fate."
The blacksmith heard a faint roar and afterwards he was unconscious.