The prophecy said that a hero would come who would stop "The Great Calamity". But I don't believe in prophecies. If everyone already knows about what will happen in the future, then one can easily change the future itself, right? That's what I thought all along. But I'm now hoping that my thinking is something that isn't true.
Falke walked through the White District near the Nordenia Academy of Magic. Most of the students at the Nordenia Academy of Magic were children of nobles. They used to spend their money in the White District, Nordenia's most famous shopping center. But Falke here came not as a student from Nordenia, but to kidnap a Nordenian student himself.
They did not lie about the splendor of the White District. Falke had often heard descriptions of the White District from travelers who had come here, but Falke never thought that the White District would be this grand. Tall white buildings with magnificent carvings. The streets were wide, but still packed with merchants and shoppers. Falke could smell the fragrant odor of street food in the White District. Ah damn, if only I had more money, he thought.
Falke then turned towards a narrower street. This place looked very dim due to the tall buildings on both sides of the street. There were many people living on the side of the road. Some are begging, some are selling strange things. This place is the other side of the White District that people rarely see. The White District does look impressive from the outside. But in reality, the White District is not really a good place. The government in Nordenia basically does not care about the interests of the lower classes. No matter how magnificent a place is, there must be a darker side, Falke thought. The beggars on the street stared at Falke, but Falke ignored them.
Falke's steps stopped at an inn. Not just any inn, but an inn where couples come to have some "fun". So this is the place huh? I hope Eule has booked a room for me, Falke thought.
Falke had been staying in this town for a few days. Searching for information about the person he was going to caught . He had actually heard quite a lot of information from his client. But Falke felt he still needed more information before he actually catched him.
Falke then stepped into the inn.
"I hope Eule does her job." He muttered.
Part 1 - Sacred Memories
Rito's heart was pounding more and more with each step he took.
"Emm Eule, if I may know, where are you taking me?" Rito asked.
Eule only replied with a smile, and continued to pull Rito's hand, grasping it tightly.
Some time ago Eule took Rito shopping to the White District. At first Rito thought he would just accompany Eule shopping. This was nothing new for Rito, his friends often took him to the White District just to accompany them shopping. What Rito and Eule did at first was just shopping and walking around the White District. Until finally Eule suddenly whispered something that made Rito excited and took Rito somewhere to "have fun".
Ah damn, is this really going to happen?, Rito gulped. Rito met Eule when she was being bullied by some senior at the Academy. Of course Rito had beaten up those brat quite easily, and now their relationship was quite close. What will his other friends think of this situation?, Rito thought.
Just looking at Eule from behind made his heart skip a beat. Eule had smooth skin, white and clean like milk. Her hair was long and elegant. Her body had a very great smell. It would be a lie if Rito said that Eule did not look like an angel.
They then headed down a narrower, poorly lit road. Although Rito had lived in Nordenia for a long time, this was the first time he had passed through this street. Nordenia was a very large city, Rito didn't have enough time to explore every corner of the city.
Their footsteps stopped in front of an inn. Rito's heart was beating even harder. Is today going to be the day I've been waiting for?. Eule pulled Rito's hand to enter the inn.
Eule approached the innkeeper to book a room, and went to the room they had booked. But Rito's footsteps stopped right in front of the room they booked.
"Wait a minute, are you really sure you want to do this?" Rito asked.
"If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't have brought you here. It's too late to back out anyway." Eule replied with a gentle smile
Eule pulled Rito's hand to enter the room. Then Eule closed the door and locked it. Damn, this is really going to happen, Rito thought.
"Rito, close your eyes." Eule said in a smooth voice.
Without thinking, Rito closed his eyes. He didn't care anymore. He began to imagine the things that would happen next. He smiled slightly as he imagined these things.
This was the best day-
"Eu-Eule?" Rito opened his eyes and saw a knife that had pierced his chest.
Rito began to panic. Damn it, I have to activate Regenerative Memory, he thought. He tried to look at Eule's face, but his vision was too blurry. Apparently, Eule added a bit of poison to the knife he stuck into Rito. Rito fell down in front of Eule. His consciousness began to fade, but he could still hear the sound of other people's footsteps coming towards him. He then heard Eule's voice talking to a man, but Rito could not hear their conversation clearly because his consciousness was fading.
I cannot die. The fate of the world is in my hands. I must find a way.
That's what Rito thought before his consciousness disappeared completely.
Ah, damn my head is spinning. Rito's consciousness recovered slowly due to Regenerative Memory. What happened, the last thing I remember is that Eula took me to the White district. Then Rito started to remember. Oh yeah, I just remembered, I was trapped. Rito then realized that now he was tied to a chair with chains from his feet to his chest. He was still in the same room that Eula and Rito had booked.
"Oh, you're awake." Said a strange man sitting on the bed next to Rito. "Let me Introduce myself. Im Falke, but you might be more familiar if I introduce myself as a Blood Hunt."
Blood Hunt. There's someone who hired Blood Hunt to catch me?.
"Hey, no need to look at me like that. Not everything they say about Blood Hunt is true you know." Falke said.
"But most of the rumors about you guys are true, right?" Rito replied with a serious look.
"Well you're not wrong." Falke replied.
Rito remained silent.
"You know, waiting for your Regenerative Memory to work is very long. Eule and I have played twelve suffle games while waiting for you to wake up." Falke said with a smile.
Wait, he knows about Regenerative Memory? So that's why Eule didn't hesitate to stab me. But how did he know about the Memory? No one has inherited Regenerative Memory for the past two hundred years.
Not long after, Eule came into the room carrying a lot of things.
"Oh Rito, you're awake. I just left for a while to buy supplies. I didn't know you were awake," Eule said.
"I don't know who the two of you are, and what you're up to, but I hope you let me go before-"
Falke kicked Rito so hard in the face that he fell to the floor.
"You idiot, you should know who's cornered here." Falke said. "I know your abilities are beyond reason, but what can you do under these conditions." He continued.
Damn what should I do, thought Rito. Should I activate that Memory? But if I do that, I risk destroying this inn and everyone in it.
Most people that was caught by the Blood Hunt will most likely end up dying.
Falke then stomped on the head of Rito who was still on the ground.
"What a loser. Do you realize how easily we caught you?" Falke said. "I guess the only thing in your head is a woman." He continued.
Rito whimpered in pain. Rito can actually get out of this situation easily, but of course there are consequences. He could activate the Self-explosion but he would slaughter everyone in the inn, but if he didn't do that he would probably die.
I have to make a choice, Rito thought. If I die now, the world will most likely end.
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry." Rito said.
Rito's body slowly began to glow.
"Falke, do you know what he wants to do?" Eule said anxiously.
"Hey kid, I know what you want to do, but isn't that too desperate, you're going to kill us all anyway, you idiot!" Falke said frantically.
"Do I have a choice?" Rito said. Rito's body glowed even more.
"Damn it Eule we have to run!"
Rito's body then glowed even more, the light then seemed even more unstoppable.
Within seconds, Rito's body released a shock wave that destroyed everything in its path. The wood that was the foundation of the inn was destroyed easily. The people who were hit by the wave had their bodies ripped apart and bounced off. Within seconds, the building was blown up like a balloon.
Rito lay panting in the middle of the ruins of what had been the inn. The chains that had previously bound Rito had been shattered into pieces. The Exellon Knight, will definitely arrest me after this. I wonder what Emi would think if she saw what I did. She must be disappointed, Rito thought.
"You really almost killed us." Falke said, full of wounds. He walked with a slight limp towards Rito. "I'm going to kill you." Falke drew the sword on his back, and jumped towards Rito with speed beyond human limits.
Falke launched and smashed into Rito like a cannon. But Falke's senseless attack surprisingly missed. Somehow Rito managed to dodge the attack and jumped back. Falke's sword slammed into the concrete. Rito didn't miss the opportunity. He then hit Falke and made him bounce quite far.
Wait a minute, there was something strange, Rito thought. Without realizing it, Eule had slashed his back with a dagger from behind. Eule immediately prepared to attack Rito again before Eule was suddenly pulled down to the ground, as if gravity had increased many times over. Rito then picked up Eule's dagger and tried to stab Eule in the neck. However, his attempt was stopped when Falke slid back and stabbed Rito from behind. Falke withdrew his stab and Rito fell to the ground. The stab created such a severe wound that Rito was almost unable to move. Rito's situation was became even worse by Eula's poison that began to activate after being cut with her dagger earlier. With the poison in Eula's dagger, it might not be long until Rito would eventually die.
Damn, if only I was holding a sword. I can't die. If I die here, what will happen to the world. I have to save my friends.
Falke placed his sword next to Rito's neck. "See you later kid."
"Wait a minute, please listen to me. I don't care if you want to kill me after this, but please listen to me first!" Rito said.
"You think I'm stupid, why would I listen to you." Falke argued.
"Please. I admit, I'm a fool. I'm really a fool. But I still want you to listen to me. Just for once. I believe I won't be able to last much longer. So please, I won't ask you for anything else!." Rito mustered all his remaining strength to speak.
"I told you why I'm listening-."
"Wait a minute Falke, I want to hear what he has to say." Eule interrupted.
"So you now supporting him huh?." Falke get a little bit mad.
"well, I don't think it would hurt to hear this guy's ramblings one last time." Eule said.
"Alright-alright, but make it quick." Falke finally agreed.
Falke heard many footsteps from afar. the Exellon Knight, he thought.
"We need to get out of here."
Falke pulled Rito's collar, then jumped up and climbed onto the roof of the building, with Eula following close behind. Falke and Eule's jumps were far above the average human's limit. Falke and Eule then ran and jumped from building to building. The buildings in the White District were tall enough that one could see almost half of the entire city of Nordenia.
Despite being carried by Falke in a very uncomfortable position, he still gulped at the beauty of Nordenia from the rooftops of the White District. Nordenia was filled with elegant white buildings. Among all the white buildings, one stood out from the rest. It towers much higher than the surrounding buildings. That building was the White Tower, in the center of Nordenia. Surrounding the White Tower were smaller towers. There are twenty towers surrounding the White tower, and each tower is connected to each other. The White Tower and its splendor are clearly visible from the rooftops of the buildings in the White District.
After running for some distance, they reached the outskirts of Nordenia. They then went down a small alley. Falke let go of Rito's collar and dropped him to the ground.
"So what are you trying to say, kid?"
"I don't know who hired you, but surely he has created a chain effect that will lead us all to the end of the world." Rito said.
"What are you trying to do, threaten me?" Falke replied
"You must know my abilities right. I can store infinite memories. But I'm sure you don't know this, I'm the only person who can hold sacred memory."
"You arrogant brat, there's no wa-"
Rito unbuttoned the shirt on his chest, and revealed a glowing symbol. A symbol of five swords opposite each other. A Blood Hunt would easily recognized this symbol, they basically have waited their whole life for someone with this symbol to come. But having waiting his whole life make Falke stop believing at the prophecy. But, knowing that they've just killed someone they've been waiting their whole life, that they almost thought isn't true make them feel really devastated.
"Are you trying to say-"
"Yes, the prophecy is true." Rito interrupted. "The prophecy would have been true, if you hadn't tried to kill me today."
Eule and Falke were dead silent.
"But I believe that the prophecy is only an intermediary, I believe anyone can be the hero who stops the Great Calamity. Mr. Blood Hunt, if I'm not mistaken your name is Falke isn't it. I only have one request, please take my place."
"So you mean all the prophecies about the Great Calamity are actually real!" Eule said.
"So all this time the Great Beast can be killed?" Falke said.
"I don't have time for questions, my time is running out." Rito's voice was getting weaker.
"W-what do you mean, you can't die now, we'll do something. Don't you have Regenerative Memory?" Falke said frantically.
"Looks like you guys really don't know anything about me, Regenerative Memory needs at least two days to be used again." Rito replied with a weakened voice. "I'm not saying this because I believe you guys. I'm doing this because it's the only thing I can do right now. I'm sure I won't be able to hold on much longer. And you are the closest people to me right now. So, please listen to me."
"We will listen to you." Eule replied
"There are several conditions that must be met to stop the Great Calamity. That is by killing all the Great Beasts and obtaining Sacred Memory." Rito's voice was getting weaker.
"What do you mean, how can anyone other than you defeat a Great Beast!. Hell, even the greatest sage couldn't handle the Sacred Memory!." Falke shouted
"Well, maybe you're right. It seems like this world is really destined to be destroyed and there's no way to stop it." Rito's eyes then filled with tears "Oh, if only I could live one more day. I'm not a perfect human being. I'm a foolish man who is easily tricked and thinks of women all the time. But I'm grateful to have lived a great life at the academy. The day I first met Emi, the day Emi and I saw the fire festival, the day I helped Aliya beat up those nobles at academy, and the day we all saw the beauty of Nordenia from North Hill. Those days were beautiful, absolutely beautiful. I really, really had a bad luck."
The glowing symbol on Rito's chest then dimmed. His gaze had become blank.
"What have we done?" Falke said with a very panicked face.