Forgotten Juliet

* * *

Thud.

His knees buckled in despair.

The caw of the crows eying the corpses resonated ominously. Amongst the desolate battlefield, there was only one living human, a man with black hair.

Kneeling, the man barely held himself up with a sword.

Blood trickled down his chin. By now, he couldn’t feel pain, nor could he feel his arms and legs.

[Good, this seems sufficient.]

In front of him appeared a snake, its skin resembling that of a sleek human.

The snake chuckled mischievously upon seeing Lennox Carlyle, who was barely breathing.

[With this, you should be able to open the door.]

[…]

The end of the world was duller than expected.

Lennox didn’t know how much time had passed since that day.

The scattered droplets of blood, the pale complexion of the frail woman in the red-stained white dress, only the gradually cooling warmth and touch of the skin in his arms remained vivid.

His time had forever stopped at that moment.

Since the day Juliet died, he neither counted his age nor kept track of dates. Such things were ludicrous luxuries.

Without his will, he roamed the battlefields as they came. The snake seemed more joyful as Lennox’s mind became exhausted. It was as if he was possessed by an evil spirit.

[Ah, the contractor is dying but what is that beast protector doing?]

The snake sneered as it surveyed the surroundings.

Then, a large black panther with a helpless expression appeared.

(…Who’s calling whom a beast, you lowly snake?)

The black panther, glaring at the snake, was a demon bound to the artifact of the jet-black sword. And behind the appearing black panther, a majestic door stood as if a mirage.

Lennox could see the edge of the enormous door gleaming ominously in gold.

That was the ‘Gate of Time’.

The demon of the sword owned by Lennox Carlyle. The black panther, whom he contracted, was hinted by the cunning snake to have the ability to resurrect the dead woman.

Through the door that controlled time.

Demons fed on human suffering and negative emotions, but the force moving that majestic door was said to be nothing but colossal chaos.

Although demons easily deceived and tricked humans, they couldn’t lie.

[…Can she be revived?]

(Strictly speaking, I can reverse time to before the woman dies.)

When forcefully summoned to verify the truth, the black panther reluctantly admitted.

(But to open the door, you need massive chaos and calamity.)

[…]

(And that’s not a price a human like you can bear.)

But Lennox Carlyle thought otherwise.

If he could go back to a point where she wasn’t dead, to meet the lively Juliet again, nothing else mattered.

And finally, he brought the end to the world.

He created enough chaos to move the door, including destroying himself and the world.

The only thing left was for the black panther to open that door.

With greedy purple eyes gleaming, the snake urged.

[What are you dawdling for? Open it now!]

(…)

However, the colossal door only gleamed at the edges and didn’t budge a bit.

[What? Why won’t it open?]

The snake’s sleek face contorted in disappointment.

The black beast with an inscrutable expression spoke.

(This is insufficient.)

[What? What are you talking about now?]

(Reversing time is against the law of causality.)

The black panther, glaring at the snake with disdain, scolded sternly.

Then, the black panther’s green eyes turned towards Lennox Carlyle.

(Contractor, you have to present the most valuable thing you possess.)

[…Ha.]

Cough.

Lennox tried to laugh.

But before he could chuckle, a harsh cough erupted from his ruined lungs. There wasn’t a single intact organ left in his body.

‘The most valuable thing?’

He barely managed a twisted smile.

It’s funny.

What more could be taken away from him here?

He had already lost everything.

Anyone with a shred of meaning to him was either dead or had turned their backs on him since his crazed moment.

And the most precious and radiant woman he had…

[…]

He thought and thought about the woman he had lost.

He had lost and forgotten many things, but the memories of her gestures, her expressions were clear as day.

The only valuable things Lennox Carlyle had were all related to her.

The emotions Juliet taught were unfamiliar, but now he knew the name of those feelings. He realized too late, and he ended up ruining it with his own hands.

To not forget his sins, he reminisced about Juliet every moment.

He tried hard not to forget the woman who looked back with a bright smile.

[Do as you please.]

A blunt voice flowed out.

[If there’s more to take away.]

He sneered coldly.

After all, all that was left for him was a body that wouldn’t be strange if it stopped breathing at any moment, and a sword possessed by an evil spirit.

[Well, take out an eye or something.]

The only decent part left in his ruined body was probably his eyes. Even that was getting blurry due to the incessant bleeding.

[Just take that man’s life, okay?]

The snake, who suddenly interrupted, hastily shined its eyes.

[Not some trivial thing like an eye, right, like the heart?]

(It’s not for me to decide.)

The black panther said with a stern face. Lennox found that amusing.

Then who decides?

(The law of causality will decide what to take from you.)

[…Causality?]

(Yes. When you go back to the past, you’ll be in a state of having lost the most precious thing you have now.)

The black panther explained with a reluctant expression.

It could be eyesight, or it could be an unseen blessing or talent.

(The part taken from you will be given to someone else somewhere in the world. To balance things out.)

[That’s really troublesome.]

Lennox groaned without laughing. He gradually felt his body cooling down.

[I don’t care what you take, just open the door.]

[Yeah, hurry up!]

The snake rushed in with its eyes gleaming madly.

The black panther warned one last time.

(…You don’t know exactly when you’ll go back to. It could be years ago, or decades ago.)

Rumble.

As soon as the black panther’s words ended, the ground began to tremble.

A dazzling pair of wings sprouted from the back of the black panther, and the giant door, which didn’t seem to move at all, began to open slightly.

A dazzling light seeped through the opened crack.

(…I hope you won’t regret it, contractor.)

The black panther seemed to want to say something more in the end, but Lennox didn’t care.

The dazzling beam of light coming through the door’s crack began to swallow up his body along with the surrounding scenery.

Exhausted Lennox simply gazed at the opening door with dry eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, it would be a world before she died.

[…]

He could meet her in a little while.

His heart pounded with a warm beam of light wrapping around him and anticipation.

He didn’t know how far back in the past he would go, but suddenly he thought it would be nice to meet Juliet before losing her parents.

With luck, he could prevent the misfortune of Juliet losing her parents and being sold here and there.

‘It can be changed.’

If successful, Juliet would grow up as a dignified and elegant lady with high self-esteem, instead of being starved for love and homeless. Then, the likelihood of Juliet falling in love with him would be high.

The reason she fell for Lennox was because she had nowhere to lean and was starved for affection.

Rumble.

Finally, the door opened wide.

The rumbling vibration and dazzling light were now about to swallow everything.

(Wish you luck)

The black panther turned its body swiftly.

The warm light completely wrapped around his body, and everything around him, including the black panther and the snake spirit, began to be sucked into the door quickly.

In his fading consciousness, the last scene Lennox recalled was the sight of Juliet smiling at him.

Lennox savored it slowly.

The Juliet he met again wouldn’t recognize him. Only he had the memories while going back to the past.

Juliet, who grew up happily, wouldn’t fall for him at first sight. This time, she would choose a much better man.

[…]

It didn’t matter.

Lennox Carlyle closed his eyes without regrets.

All he wanted was one thing. To see a living, brightly smiling Juliet, even if just once.

It was okay to give anything in return to see Juliet again.

‘Ah.’

Just before losing consciousness, he suddenly thought.

It would be nice if what’s taken isn’t his eyes…