Four days. That's how long Reece had been out, sprawled on the floor close to the mana crystal source located relatively deep within the mountain range's core area. When he'd cast [Existence Embrace], he'd drained himself to the very edge, his mana body pushed to its absolute limit. The spell had pulled every ounce of primal energy from his mana heart, lungs, and even his mana brain, leaving only a small reserve in his mana brain to keep his body in a comatose state and prevent death.
Even so, recovery should have taken much longer, especially given the deep energy deficit. This time, though, he'd been lucky. With the mana crystal source so close, his body had begun absorbing and converting the ambient mana, helping his cores recharge slowly. But it was thanks to Prima's intervention that his body had held on at all.
The moment Reece collapsed, Prima activated the life-saving measures they'd agreed on for situations just like this.
"Master's dangerous gambles are going to be the end of me," she muttered, casting one life-preserving spell after another. "Melissa, Camila, and Lorna would kill me if they knew what he was up to…"
Since Reece's mana body and cores were almost completely shut down, Prima had to rely on the mana in the cave around them. Spell after spell, she channeled the natural mana, weaving protections and stabilizers to prevent his body from going into a full shutdown. She'd done this before.
Over countless regressions, Reece had often overdrafted himself, and Prima had become more than capable of pulling him back from the edge. This time was no different, and she was confident he'd wake up; it was just a question of when. The mana source, which was also sustaining the colossal [Existence Embrace], could dry up at any time, but she believed in her master's resilience.
As expected, four days later, Reece's body finally stirred, a low groan breaking the silence. His eyes fluttered open, his limbs aching, every breath like fire as his cores kicked back into full operation. The primal mana began circulating throughout his system once again, waking up his hibernating organs and pushing him to sit up.
"Ugh… How long was I out?" Reece asked, pulling his black mask off and tucking it into his spatial bag.
"Four days," Prima replied, curtly.
Reece sighed, hearing the tension in her voice. He'd clearly worried her more than he'd planned. He could allow her a bit of a tantrum; after all, he knew he hadn't filled her in on his full plan. She was his partner, his companion, and one of the many souls in the universe who truly understood him. She deserved to be upset. For now, though, he needed to recover quickly.
After a brief moment of meditation, he was able to bring his mana body back to capacity. Thanks to the reconstruction he'd undergone to achieve this mana body, his recovery was faster than it would have been otherwise. As his primal mana circulation increased, he directed it to his taxed organs, filling each one to its maximum and slightly beyond. The strain had stretched his cores' limits just enough to expand his overall mana reserves, bringing him closer to the next level without crossing into it.
"Enough of the silent treatment, Prima," he said gently. "Let's get moving. I know you went through my memories and saw my reasons for casting [Existence Embrace]. I get it—you didn't want me taking such a risk. But I don't want to involve too many people this time, so expect a few gambles along the way."
Prima's spectral voice held a tremor of anger. "Master… I'm not angry because you didn't tell me. I'm angry because you didn't think through what could have happened if things went wrong! What if we hadn't come across this mana crystal source? What if [Existence Embrace] hadn't activated and you had to suffer the backlash of casting it since that needed to overdraft your cores anyway? Or if the spell drained the crystal source dry despite your modifications?"
She hesitated, voice softening, "Please know that I'm not the only one who cares if you live or die. Liz is out there, taking her chance at evolution—she's risking her life! Melissa, Camila, Lorna… they all trusted me to make sure you wouldn't throw yourself into danger like this. I'm here, and I need you to stay alive."
Reece felt her words sink in, her worry woven through each one. He could almost see her spectral form shedding a tear in their shared mindscape. She was right; his actions, his gambles, were reckless. He'd become so accustomed to the cycle of death and rebirth that he'd forgotten what his life meant to those around him. So many turns, so many resets—he'd grown numb, seeking only peace, not even caring if it was permanent. But her words reminded him that he wasn't alone.
And then, like a breath on his soul, a memory flickered. Faint, elusive, he heard a voice he recognized all too well, murmuring, "Fine, then. One more round…"
The memory faded as quickly as it had come, leaving Reece sitting up, startled and alert.
"Prima… I'm sorry. I know we still have things to discuss, but… did you hear that?" he asked, his tone cautious.
Prima, expecting another one of his dodges, didn't respond right away. But she read through his current memories and stopped, taken aback and not believing it, read them again. "Master… I didn't hear anything. But I see it in your memory… That voice… It's yours, but older. And I can't find anything similar to it in our archives."
Reece raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"It's… impossible," Prima muttered, perplexed. "The voice in that memory sounds like you, but it's a tone we don't have recorded. I'm going through our archives and finding no match. Master, can you remember what happened just before you died in the last turn? I mean, in the very last moments?"
Reece's face turned serious as he searched his mind for those final moments of his last life. "I… can't. I'm drawing a blank. The last memory we both have in the archive is the only one I can recall. I've tried accessing my stored memories of that life present within my gift, but that moment—it's obscured. I can't see anything there."
Prima sounded shaken. "That shouldn't be possible. Our memory archive is flawless. We prepared it specifically to ensure no memory loss, even in the event of a sudden regression. We've even recorded the regression process itself, observing every detail of each reset. But now there's nothing at the end… It's missing."
Reece's voice was low, contemplative. "The memory is a blank space. I can see everything else from that life, but that exact moment… It's just gone."
Prima took a deep breath, as if bracing herself. "Master, is it possible… that it was future you? A version of you, trying to resonate through time? We've pulled off some pretty crazy things, but this… it doesn't make sense. It feels like a warning."
Reece considered her words carefully, nodding. "A future me… reaching back through time? Maybe. We've messed with time and space more than once. But I agree, it could be a warning… A reminder, maybe. Either way, we'll find out in time. For now, we need to focus. Let's secure Liz."
The mystery of the voice weighed heavily on them both, but there was no sense dwelling on it. Reece knew better than anyone the dangers of lingering on the past or letting stray memories cloud his focus. He'd felt the pull of fate and the unforgiving grip of time too many times to let them trap him again. Whatever warning his future self had sent, he'd understand it in due course. For now, there was work to be done.
"Let's keep that memory aside for now," he said finally, "and get Liz to safety. If this is a warning, we'll figure it out. But the path forward is our best option."
Prima gave a resigned sigh. "All right, master. But don't forget… You're not in this alone."
Reece offered a slight nod, letting her words settle within him. He would face whatever lay ahead. But he would not face it as carelessly as before. The stakes were higher than he'd thought, and with each passing day, he felt the weight of his role more profoundly.
And so, he rose, getting ready to tackle the challenges ahead, his mind clearer, his purpose sharper than ever. The echo of that faint voice, urging him on for "one more round," lingered in his mind, grounding him as he prepared for what was to come. Whatever the future held, he would, he needed to be ready.
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A/N: Hey there, bookworm! If you've made it this far, please shower me with reviews and power stones! It's a shameless plea, but a writer's gotta eat, right?