Lucian's eyes opened slowly. The familiar ceiling of the room met his gaze. His body felt stiff, heavy with unease.
He glanced around. The clock read 9:30 PM.
His stomach twisted. What happened? Why… why is the time so fast?
The events of the night before flashed in his mind. He shook his head, trying to push the fear down.
He slid out of bed quietly. The dormitory was silent. Riven and Luis were asleep, their breaths soft and even. Lucian moved through the halls with caution, each step careful.
He stepped into the garden. The night was still and cold. He waited, crouched low.
Minutes passed like hours.
Then, movement disturbed the shadows.
Fürtwald appeared at the edge of the garden, tall and imposing, his coat fluttering slightly in the night breeze.
His eyes scanned.
Lucian's heart thumped with a mix of anticipation and fear. Finally… he's here.
The garden felt tense.
Lucian's eyes narrowed slightly as he studied the elder. "Your ability… it's that you can slow a person down, right?"
Fürtwald froze, the hand on his coat tightening ever so slightly.
His expression shifted from calculated caution to visible surprise.
Lucian stood still, quiet, letting the words hang. He had understood it almost instantly. The way his body had moved earlier, sluggish and delayed, had not been natural.
The heavy sensation in his limbs, the way time itself seemed to warp around him, the chaotic spinning of the clock—all pointed to the manipulation of motion, of perception, of flow.
The blade had struck him, and his body had lagged as though he were caught in thick water, yet his mind had still worked, piecing together the pattern, calculating the shift in time versus movement.
Fürtwald's eyes widened, clearly shocked that Lucian had understood something he had never shown. "You… you knew?" he asked quietly, voice rough.
Lucian shrugged slightly, calm, almost detached. "I simply had to read the past newspapers that had your name, therefore I know your ability."
Fürtwald blinked, almost at a loss.
"You saw it before I acted."
Lucian's gaze softened.
Instead of teasing the old man like he had before, he simply said, "Your wife… she must have been proud to see you. She's lucky to have looked at you, to have shared time with you."
Fürtwald's shoulders slumped.
His voice lowered, heavy with sorrow.
"She… she died years ago. A curse took her from me. I carried rage, anger… I trained, I fought… all for her. I thought if I controlled the world, the pain would lessen. But it never did."
Lucian nodded, listening.
Fürtwald continued, eyes glimmering in the dim light.
"I was furious… a child defeated me, and I knew she saw it in heaven. She would have laughed at my pride and my stubbornness. I could not accept it. But now, I realized I am old. I am not a warrior anymore. I have wisdom, yes, but cruelty has no place in it."
Lucian kept his distance, letting the man speak, letting the weight of years fill the silence.
He felt the weight of the man's past, the reason behind his anger, and the loneliness that had shaped him.
Fürtwald looked up at the dark sky, whispering to no one, yet speaking to all who had ears, "I loved her once like rivers love the sea… and now I am only left with the rocks they leave behind."
Fürtwald turned away first. His steps were slow, almost dragging, and he left with a quiet "Goodbye, Lucian."
The garden fell silent again. Lucian stood there, unsure why his chest felt tight.
He walked back into the mansion. His feet moved on their own. He went straight to the kitchen. The lanterns were dim, shadows crawling over the walls.
He reached for a knife.
He raised it toward himself.
His hand trembled. What am I doing? Why am I doing this? This is illogical… This is insane…
His breath shook, but he didn't lower the blade. But that man… his life… that empty look…
The thought cut deeper than steel.
The knife plunged into his stomach. He gasped. His knees buckled and he fell to the cold floor. Blood spread under him. His consciousness wavered.
And then, a single wish rose inside him. A wish that didn't belong to this world.
"Please… transmigrate me before his wife died… I'll save her. I'll prevent him from becoming that empty old man."
Darkness took him.
When his eyes opened again, he was moving.
It was a carriage. His breathing quickened. He remembered this place. This was right after his parents died.
Wait… did the system grant my wish?
He stood up and pushed the door open. Wind rushed in.
"Hey! Kid!" the other children shouted.
"What is he doing?!"
Lucian jumped off the carriage. He rolled on the dirt road as knights cursed.
"That kid's crazy!"
Lucian stood, dust clinging to him, and ran toward the nearest knight. "Where is Elder Fürtwald?" he demanded.
The knight blinked. "What are you talking about? Elder Fürtwald? He's at the northern outpost."
Lucian clenched his fists.
Now he knew what to do. He would save Fürtwald's wife.
Lucian ran without stopping.
The road stretched on, leading toward Gravenheim. The knights had said Fürtwald was at the northern outpost, so that must mean the outpost near the capital. His legs burned, but he kept moving.
His mind tried to form a plan. If I reach Gravenheim, then maybe I should go to the guild first… or maybe find a map… or maybe—
He forced himself to stop thinking. No, I do not need a plan. I only need to get there.
He kept running. His body was small, weak, and painfully slow, but he pushed forward. Sweat dripped down his neck. His breath grew rough. Still, he ran like a stubborn human refusing to fall.
Hours slipped by.
The sky changed, night passed, then morning, and then noon.
The world blurred in front of him.
By the second day, his legs shook, but he refused to stop.
He saw the city walls of Gravenheim in the distance.
They looked huge, like a mountain rising from the earth. He reached them with a stagger and then pushed himself again through the open gate.
The capital was alive.
People called out to each other, carts rolled by, and merchants shouted about their goods.
He recognized a few faces of children running through the streets. They were older now in his original timeline.
Seeing them like this felt strange, but he had no time to think about it.
He ran past them. My goal is to save her...
His pace was slow and clumsy, but he made it move. He passed the plaza. He passed the training grounds. He passed the tall stone houses.
His chest ached, but he kept running.
Fürtwald's wife was somewhere ahead in time. Somewhere close to dying.
He would not lose to exhaustion.
Lucian finally saw the northern outpost ahead.
The tall wooden walls stood firm against the cold wind. He pushed himself harder. His breath broke into short bursts, but he kept running.
Two guards noticed him sprinting toward them.
"Kid! Stop!" one of them called.
"Where are you going?!"
But Lucian did not stop. He slipped past them, his small body moving fast enough to catch them off guard.
One guard reached out, but Lucian ducked his hand and kept running straight into the outpost yard.
"Hey! Come back here!" another guard shouted.
Lucian ignored him. He rushed to the nearest soldier standing beside the training rack.
"Where is Elder Fürtwald?!" Lucian's voice cracked.
The soldier blinked at him. "Fürtwald? He's inside! But kid, why are you—"
Lucian was already running again.
He reached the wooden door at the far end of the outpost.
The hallway behind it was dim. He shoved the door open with both hands.
The hinges rattled.
Lucian stepped in and shouted with every bit of breath left in him.
"I'm here! Elder Fürtwald! I've arrived!"