"You heard me." A chuckle was heard. "A victim~!"
"What did you say?" Vino was furious at the statement he just heard. He knew he couldn't have been useless, right? The doubt seeped into his mind, and he felt weak once again. He felt vulnerable.
You could hear his teeth grind against each other.
Vino calmed himself and shouted. "I am here because I decided so; I can tell you that much!"
The intensity of his voice made a nearby flock of birds fly away. Rina looked up and saw Vino climbing the tree once again. He wouldn't let words stop him for long.
Vino took a deep breath again and decided to keep up his spirit by yelling. "And I'll be damned if I don't kill that god."
Vino didn't notice, but the clouds above began pouring water, and thunder began roaring. Frags seemed visibly worried at what he had just heard. "Vino! Watch what you say; there are beings beyond us that live up there. You need to know your limits! Don't ever disgrace a god!"
Before Frags could give Vino an earful, lightning had struck a nearby tree. Vino looked back down at Rina.
"The gods should not have disgraced me either."
The rain picked up and began washing dirt down the mountain. Vino looked up and could see the squirrel shivering in the rain; it was frightened by the lightning. For some reason, he felt bad for the squirrel and continued, not to capture but to protect the little guy.
When he reached close to the squirrel, the creature flicked its tail and backed up. Vino had no evil intentions but also had no way to communicate with the scared creature. After following the squirrel to the top of the tree, Vino decided he would take a leap.
Vino readied his legs and jumped at the squirrel, catching it before it could run. It tried to wiggle away, but Vino had him good. Vino had almost fallen down, but luckily, he grabbed onto a branch right before losing his balance.
"There there. Its ok." Vino comforted the little squirrel, and took his bracelet back out of its grasp.
Vino tiredly traversed the tree with his free hand and saw Rina. She was soaked with water and wasn't in a good mood.
"Vino...Can we get somewhere dry? I don't really care about the squirrel anymore." She saw the squirrel in his hands and got a little upset. "Or not..."
"The poor thing has nowhere to go. Let's bring him with us." Vino patted the squirrel, dodging its vicious bites in the process. It finally accepted the pats, but still wasn't happy.
"Awww—he's kind of cute!" Rina cheered up immediately."Let's call him Francis!"
"Wasn't he just trying to kill us?" Vino was shocked at the immediate acceptance. He waited a second and finally gave in to the happy look from Rina. She looked towards the squirrel and began moving towards it. The squirrel leaned away from Rina's hand when she reached out to pet it. Rina felt sad afterwards, but they still headed back to Vino's house, with Rina guiding the way.
They rushed through the door and were dripping with water. Aria looked over in shock and brought the two further inside. She quickly started a fire and gave them both a change of clothes. Vino was told which room was his, and he began towards the room.
He got in and started changing into his clothes effortlessly. Meanwhile, Aria and Rina had made a makeshift cage for the squirrel, using a basket and some wood on top to make sure he couldn't escape.
Vino finished changing and walked back into the heart of the house, but he got there a little early, as Rina was still sliding her shirt on. Her belly was in full sight, and he turned around to let her finish dressing. Aria called him over, and they had a quick dinner of just bread and some cabbage soup.
Aria looked toward Rina and breathed in. "Did he recover any of his memories?"
"Yes, he remembered the spot where we first met, and he caught me when I slipped. We had a romantic—"
Vino cleared his throat aloud to stop Rina's rant. "Now, I think I should have time to recover before you start talking so much. My head can't handle it."
Rina showed her angry face and tried to hold it under control, failing miserably and embarrassing herself. She looked towards the little squirrel and noticed it looked hungry.
She grabbed the left-over cabbage, the core and outer leaves, and held it up to the squirrel's makeshift cage. The little guy was hesitant, but eventually started eating it.
"Look at Francis! He can eat cabbage!" There was a glow in her eyes. Rina seemed to be enjoying her new discovery. She had a devious look in her eye and turned to Aria, who was enjoying the quick dinner.
"Aria, can I tell you something?" She giggled to herself, knowing she was doing something diabolical.
"One of the first things Vino remembered is that he kissed me the first time we met."
Aria spit some of the soup out to the side. She was completely shocked that this wasn't said before, and to think he remembered the kiss before her! She couldn't stand for it. "Vino, it looks like you have grown up."
Vino facepalmed and got up from the table. He finished eating and headed towards his room to think. He really just wanted to talk to Frags.
"Can you tell me more about our past, Frags? I don't think I can stand not remembering something. My mind feels too empty for a body this size. Its uncomfortable." Vino was doubting himself once again, knowing he would be lying to everyone around him. He genuinely replaced someone who had loving friends and family.
"You know, it was always meant to be like this. I checked countless times, and no matter the path, you always replace me in some incident. The worst path was one where we both died, and the best was the one now. I can see multiple futures at once; I just check my future actions every now and then to see what will happen. Its hard to explain. Its like procrastinating."
"Well, that means you are forced down a path no matter what. A change in decisions may affect the current future."
"Yeah, if I deviate even a little, I don't know what could happen with us. Maybe it will start over, like a time loop. The same can't be said for your uncertainties. You are unpredictable." Frags bit his thumb and thought in more detail.
"I can bet you won't. You will remain fixed in your current time while I go back. meaning we will lose time if it changes." Vino smiled and tapped his head. "Theoretically, if I die and then the 10 years expire, do you know what would happen?"
"Yeah, but its not good. Let's just say I will be gone for some time. Just know that the best, well, most surefire path is the one in which I assist you. Every time I tell you something though, the future gets blurry and slight changes occur." Frags scratched his chin and decided to lay down in the past version of the room.
Vino came to a realization and gasped, "Have I already died once? Is that why there are only 10 years left?"
"No, luckily we survived the squirrel, or that would've changed. Besides, I am sure you would remember the past attempts if you did."
Vino sighed and got comfortable in the bed. "I think I need to sleep."
"Alright, I have a surprise for you, so go to sleep."
"What do you mean by surprise?" Vino didn't feel sleepy anymore, and he was freaked out by the response he heard from Frags.
"Just go to sleep; I'm tired as well." Frags went silent, and Vino soon followed, falling into a deep sleep after the long day.
Meanwhile, Frags was thinking about his bed and attempting something. He seemed to be struggling.
"Why can't I fall asleep while using my ability? How would I do that?" Frags sat up in a meditative position. He focused all of his conscience on sleeping and tried subconsciously activating his ability. Flashes of light flashed through his eyes, and he saw the future actions. He tried to communicate with Vino but wasn't focused enough for it to work. He needed to meditate into a different level of focus, much deeper than before.
Frags exhaled and calmed his mind so he could try again. This time, he managed to bring Vino directly from his dream to see his past.