【 Not Established…… 】

【 Not Permitted 】

【 Requirements not met… 】

【 Returning to original… 】

Indecipherable words surfaced before my eyes, disappearing and reappearing repeatedly.

I struggled to absorb as much as I could from the countless messages.

The entire space began to crumble.

Through the shattered ceiling, I glimpsed a world of swirling, unfathomable mystery.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Something unformed existed beyond the wall.

Then, I realized why those phrases had appeared.

‘Was it because I tried to forcefully escape the space?’

The past revealed by the necklace was confined to a specific space.

My attempt to break free had triggered an automatic reversal.

I gritted my teeth.

No.

This can't be happening.

Returning to the past without finding any clues?

I clenched my jaw again.

I needed to uncover more.

Then, I realized something.

What should I call it?

It was an instinctual act, not entirely driven by my conscious will.

Or was it?

Perhaps it wasn't.

One thing was certain: I had forced ‘something’ upon this world.

I had compelled this fabricated past to reveal more to me.

The real past, untouched by the presence of ‘me.’

I didn't know the price I would pay.

But a thought struck me: if not now, I might never witness what truly mattered.

By sheer chance, entering the space containing Fron's past had led me to a ‘clue.’

Perhaps this wasn't just a clue related to the necklace.

This mysterious necklace showed me the past.

It was strange when I thought about it.

Until now, I had assumed it was connected to the Demon God.

But the necklace only reacted…

‘…When I encountered fragments of the ancient past.’

It happened when Besaha, Sytan's magic instructor, showed me the book with traces of the vanished village.

It happened again during the midterm exams when Gu Poison consumed the homunculus.

And countless other instances.

The necklace absorbed something and reacted only when I encountered remnants of the ‘ancient’ past.

And now, by attempting to break free from this fabricated past, I had glimpsed something.

I didn't know what it was.

It could be something crucial, a clue from the past.

Then, a new phrase materialized.

【 What are you trying to see? 】

It was a gigantic hand.

Black,

Yellow,

Red,

Blue,

A hand of myriad colors moved as if to conceal the space.

My vision was filled with dazzling colors.

【 Don't look. 】

【 Don't look. 】

.

.

.

.

【 I said, don't look. 】

It sounded like a desperate plea.

Or a warning directed at me.

What was I not supposed to see?

Or what was it trying to tell me?

I couldn't comprehend any of it.

But one thing was clear.

My chaos was distorting causality.

The amplified chaos had created a possibility within this world.

It was accelerating the rewinding clockwork.

Faster.

And further,

What would happen if it rewound beyond my wildest imagination?

Of course, this wasn't my intention.

It felt natural.

My body whispered that this was the way, and I surrendered to the flow.

I had never regretted trusting my instincts.

So, I decided to believe in them once more.

【 Don't look. 】

No.

I will look.

No matter what you're hiding.

I will see it.

【 Don't look. 】

No.

Whatever you are, I will see you.

With my own eyes, I will witness what you're trying to conceal.

Because you,

You're not on my side.

【 Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. 】

The unknown entity thrashed violently.

A heart-wrenching cry pierced my ears.

It sounded like a desperate plea, an order, and a wail of despair all at once.

But none of that mattered to me.

I unleashed the power of chaos once more.

Or rather, my subconscious amplified it.

Then, Adel's words echoed in my mind.

He had warned me that the price of wielding chaos was the destruction of my own body.

…And perhaps Adel was gone.

Gone forever.

His last words, spoken as the mirror shattered.

‘Do you remember?’

He had asked if I remembered his wish.

Of course, I do.

Though the chaos had stolen my name, I still held onto his wish.

And even if using chaos now cost me something precious, I would never forget Adel's wish.

That was enough.

As long as Adel's wish existed and I remembered it, nothing else mattered.

Even if it meant sacrificing a part of myself, I needed to know.

What was the necklace?

Who was trying to stop the rewinding of time through chaos?

I wasn't even sure if it was a ‘who’ in the first place.

【 Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. 】

The phrase continued to appear.

Each time it filled my vision, an excruciating pain shot through me.

If not for the Eyes of Arrogance…

Come to think of it, I was no longer in the child's body. I was back in my own.

What was going on?

And what was that colossal clockwork rewinding before my eyes?

I didn't know.

I had no answers.

All I could do was wait for the rewinding to stop.

Wait for it to reveal the truth.

How much time had passed?

Click—

Click—

Thud—

The rewinding clockwork ground to a halt.

It lingered for a moment, as if observing me, then vanished abruptly.

A few final phrases filled my vision.

【 …Causal loop restored. 】

【 Unqualified. 】

【 Rewinding, acceleration. Stop. Acceleration. 】

The phrases uttered incomprehensible words, then settled on a single declaration.

【 Not yet. 】

Thump—

As the final phrase disappeared, my body plummeted into the abyss.

* * *

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