Chapter 4

Olivia’s words still lingered in the air, and a brief silence fell between us. But the woman quickly lost her patience and prepared to attack.

“I’ve chatted with you long enough! I’ll finish what I started!”

A pair of purple, glowing swords appeared in her hands, shaped like clock hands. She rushed at me with fierce speed. I barely dodged her wild swings and countered with a straight punch. Olivia pulled her head back just in time and leapt away with sharp agility. Changing strategies, she switched to a ranged technique. With a swift motion, she swung her blades and hurled razor-sharp waves of purple energy at me. I blocked them with my crescent shield.

She analyzed me carefully.

“Not bad… but not good enough.”

She was about to attack again—but suddenly she murmured something under her breath. More likely, someone had contacted her telepathically.

“But I’m not done yet…! Okay, I understand…”

Her weapons dissolved, and with an irritated hiss, she vanished in a swirl of purple fog.

The frozen people around us returned to normal. They had no idea what had happened.

Seeing Kaori collapse and burst into tears, I reverted to my normal form and rushed to her. Olivia’s words had deeply shaken her. I tried to comfort her, telling her not to take any of it at face value. After all, we didn’t even know what Olivia meant by Kaori being an “anomaly.” And the claim that she would bring destruction sounded absurd. But Kaori refused to budge.

With her head lowered, she wiped her tears and whispered:

“I believe her. It explains why I’m basically a ghost… why people barely even notice me. Deep down, I always knew I didn’t belong here…”

Then she turned around and ran.

“Kaori…!”

I called after her, but it was no use.

I stood there, consumed by my own thoughts, wondering how things had ended up like this. A few minutes later, I tried calling Kaori several times, but she didn’t pick up. Eventually she sent a message saying she was heading back to the dorm because she needed to be alone. It hurt, but I respected her wish. I didn’t try to catch the bus she might have taken.

On Monday, when school came, we greeted each other, but she barely spoke to me. I didn’t know what to do. Days passed like this. I lost all motivation and even neglected my duties. Students who misbehaved in the hallways were surprised I didn’t stop them. The disciplinary committee scolded me a little, and I apologized, promising to pay more attention. Kaori heard about the incident and wanted to talk to me. One afternoon, as I was packing my books, she approached me.

“You don’t have to feel bad because of me. You don’t need to carry unnecessary burdens.”

I fell silent for a moment, then explained after collecting my thoughts.

“Why would I see you as a burden? You haven’t done anything wrong. And besides… I’ve been experiencing plenty of bizarre things even without you. It’s in my interest too to understand what’s happening. And also…”

I blushed slightly. It was embarrassing to say, but holding it back felt wrong. Kaori watched me curiously.

“And also… I’ve grown fond of you.”

A sad smile appeared on her face.

“I’m glad you feel that way. You’re the only person who’s ever truly cared about me. But even if you have superpowers, you’re still human deep down. You can’t carry everyone’s problems.”

Even though she still didn’t understand that I wanted to help her, I had never heard her speak so maturely before. Over the next days she still kept her distance, but little by little we talked more again.

One afternoon after school, we planned to stop by a nearby café. But on the way, we ran into Fergus. His presence immediately made us tense, and I was about to transform, but the man quickly tried to persuade us.

“Wait a minute…! Before we start fighting, at least let me explain something…”

I didn’t like the idea at all. He could’ve been manipulating us or leading us into a trap. But this felt like our best chance to finally get closer to the truth. So I decided to hear him out.

“What do you want? Make it quick.”

What he told us next surpassed even my wildest imagination.

According to him, our current timeline was a modified timeline. And that the overwritten past was the result of interventions made by the Magistras. He revealed that he, Olivia, and their colleagues had originally been a team of scientists and researchers who wanted to create a better world. When they studied the universe at quantum levels, they discovered the existence of magic — essentially the projection and channeling of thought into physical reality. It required enormous concentration and practice. They also used biological serums to make the learning process easier.

Kaori and I stood there stunned. I interrupted to ask why they rewrote time in the first place. Surely that must have put many people in danger. Was it out of selfish gain? Fergus sighed and continued.

He explained that during their research, they discovered the existence of an ancient destructive force. Historical myths spoke of this force returning from time to time to wipe out humanity whenever people lived selfishly and immorally. It was a kind of cosmic mechanism. Some ancient religious texts referred to it as the Kali Yuga. It had already destroyed six previous human civilizations; we were the seventh.

Fergus’s team found signs that the Kali Yuga was approaching again. Knowing they couldn’t defeat something of that scale, they searched for an alternative solution. And they found it through the concept of time. If they could change the past, it would affect the present.

They aimed to create a peaceful utopia where humans lived in harmony with each other and nature — hoping to deceive the Kali Yuga.

But this required immense skill, years of research, preparation, and the mastery of time magic. Over many years they progressed enough to perform spacetime-altering spells. Fergus, Olivia, and the others gathered to perform one grand, world-changing spell in an abandoned area — they needed both secrecy and space.

What shocked me most was that the spell actually worked. Spacetime began to bend. But the cost was horrific. Most of their colleagues collapsed, suffering unbearable agony and dying in torment. Olivia and Fergus nearly met the same fate, but the spell completed just in time.

They found themselves in the utopia they had envisioned — not the corrupt and decaying world they came from. Not the collapsing city of Atlea… but its successor:

Bliss City.