They were again at the gates.
She saw Alexander put his hand forward to show his tattoo to the guard. She said nothing.
And what if she did? Would anything change? Yes, but not for the better.
After the guards let them enter the city, they went to a newly built inn.
After sleeping the night, they held a team meeting.
"We have six days before our time limit is up. You are all free to do whatever you want today. Tomorrow, we will go to the castle."
Mary explained quickly, and they were all surprised that she, Mary Mob, gave them a free day. She was usually so strict, which is why that was quite out of character for her.
They all started going out when she saw who she was looking for. He was rushing quickly, holding his hand, with an expression of self-disgust on his face, Alexander.
She grabbed his arm, and he shot a deadly stare at her.
"What?!"
He growled.
"Hehe, I just need to talk with you for a bit. It won't take long, I promise."
Mary said awkwardly.
After a few seconds of standing silently, Alexander opened his mouth.
"What do you want to know?"
"What is your connection to the dreamer god's temple?"
She asked, and a sword was quickly pointed at her throat.
"Why are you asking?"
Looking into his eyes, she could see rage and fire she had never seen him show before.
"In a few days, you will get a new uniform. A long silvery trench coat with a rune related to the dreamer god on the back. I want to know why."
Mary answered with confidence.
A coat with one of the dreamer god's runes?
Alexander's memories came back to his master and his initial plan.
"I was a knight of the dreamer god's temple. I joined the temple because one of the temple's branches was responsible for my family's death. Later, my master was killed by that same branch, and I vowed to win the tournament so that I could wish to become the next head of the temple."
Alexander said and then started chuckling.
"Funny thing. I almost forgot about it until today when I needed to use that damn rune. So, how do you know what I'll do in the future."
He said and placed the blade ever so closer to her neck.
"Danniel, the demon god told me to ask you about this."
Mary lied and knew that jerk was listening and would scold her later.
"Whatever, hope you're satisfied."
Alexander said and left the room.
"So... I told you to ask him?"
Danny asked through the watch on her wrist. He knew she lied but wanted to hear why she did it.
"I was curious, and I don't want to come back without all the information laid in front of me."
Mary answered.
Later, during that same timeline. During the final fight, she noticed Antony saying something to Danny before Danny became too shocked to react. She wanted to know why.
"Again!"
"You just came back."
Tempus argued.
"I need to know more."
Mary said without putting any consideration to the gods' words.
Tempus was happy she was mastering his gift and thought she might be able to perfect it in the future, but if she wouldn't take a break, then in what future would she perfect it?
"Sigh, when to?"
He said after careful consideration.
"Same time as last round."
Mary said.
And after a long fall, here she was, at the front gate.
She needed to know what was so impactful that after hearing it, that jerk couldn't fight anymore.
********
She was back at the city gates.
Alexander showed his tattoo to the guards, and they entered the city.
They found an inn in the city and
After sleeping through the night, they all gathered in one of the rooms and talked about what they will do from that point.
"We have six days before the time that the demon god told us to get to him."
Mary explained.
"Then we can take a day before we go to the castle, perfect!"
Shí Hóu said and grabbed Shu as he went out of the room.
Mary remembered the original timeline and took a step forward.
She grabbed Shu's hand and looked into Shí Hóu's eyes.
"Sorry, I need to speak with Shu."
Shí Hóu's hair stood. He felt that if he didn't release Shu's hand now, he wouldn't have his hand for much longer.
"Sorry, come to the bar later, Shu!"
Shí Hóu said and left the room.
Mary kept holding Shu's hand until all the others left the room.
"So, what is it?"
Shu asked.
He was feeling her hand. Mary gripped his hand with a lot of force, and he still felt it even after she let it go.
She looked into his eyes with a hint of desperation, and it was clear whatever she was going to ask was very important to her.
"I need you to tell me, what was that bastard told that shocked him so much he stopped fighting? Please, use your powers and give me an answer."
Mary begged, and the desperation in her eyes seemed only to grow.
Seeing her desperation, Shu activated his gift, and his eyes glowed brightly.
He saw a fight. It was going well until Mister Danniel froze. But he couldn't hear it. He couldn't hear the words that shocked his patron god to the very core.
He sighed deeply. And from that, Mary could already guess his findings.
"No matter what you do, the further you look into the future, you just can't seem to be able to use your gift properly."
Shu was surprised at how accurately she understood his situation.
"How...?"
He was about to ask but couldn't find the right words.
"I know why this happens, but I can't tell you how. We have to stop him from dying."
Mary explained quickly and without much detail.
"What?!"
Shu asked and followed Mary, who was going out of the room.
"Where are you going?!"
He asked.
"To the castle."
She answered swiftly.
"Why?"
He asked.
"I need to speak with that damned god."
She said as she walked quickly. She didn't even attempt to humor the concept of waiting for him. She was going at her own pace.
"How do you know that he will be there?"
Shu asked and grabbed her wrist.
She unsheathed the ancestral sword and swung it in his direction. When the sword reached a dangerously close distance, it stopped in midair, and Mary couldn't move it. After all, Shu was still its rightful owner.
"Mary..."
Shu's eyes showed a sense of disappointment. Seeing him look at her like this was something that Mary couldn't handle. She dropped the sword and mumbled a chant.
She became invisible and even though he could see where she ran to. He was conflicted about whether he should let her finish what she wanted to do or if he should go after her.
Well... thinking was never his strong suit, anyway.
He started dashing in her direction.
********
Mary felt bad. Why wouldn't she? She tried to kill Shu. And instead of explaining everything, she told him she couldn't tell him the truth and ran away.
"So, what are you going to ask Danniel?"
Mary heard Shu's voice and flinched.
"What? You thought that if you became invisible, I wouldn't be able to see you?"
Shu said with a smooth, confident voice.
Mary turned her head to look in the direction of Shu's voice and was shocked.
He wasn't looking in her direction!!!
"Stupid idiot, you are not even looking in the right direction."
Mary mumbled and wasn't even sure whether she had said it out loud.
She was still invisible, and there was no reason he would suddenly be able to see her, but then he turned his gaze in her direction.
"Who's an idiot?"
She could not believe this. Wasn't he angry at her? Why would he pull such a stupid prank right now?
The shock at his actions destroyed her concentration and knocked her out of the invisible state.
Wait! She is showing weakness.
She coughed a little while blushing.
"What are you waiting for? Are YOU not going with me to speak with that bastard?"
"You still haven't answered my question. How do you know he's at the castle?"
Shu repeated his question.
Mary started answering. She was stumbling through her words and was more timid than usual. The longer it took, the more she dropped her head.
"I- I went back in time. I know you don't believe me, but... please..."
"I believe you!"
She lifted her head, expecting to see Shu's eyes glowing brightly, but his eyes were normal. This was not him using his powers to connect to his future memories. This was him, this stupid, trusting, kind beastman, that no matter what timeline it was, was always there to defend her until the final moment.
She remembered that bastard's words and turned red, her heart beating wildly.
She quietly resumed walking toward the castle, and Shu walked by her side.