Isekai Journey Of The Magic Archer

[Eon's POV: ]

Getting out of the tower from any of the floors was pretty easy since we only needed to find a door in the central section that led to the elevator that connected all the floors.

It wasn't that difficult to find these doors either but still, these lifts were pretty difficult to use since there were no indication on any of the switches about where it would lead one… they were also in random order so unless you know what each of the switch connected to, you would end up in the wrong place.

'Anna was lucky that she had Mr. Rice with her. He knows what all the switches are and must have pressed the one that was the safest at the moment.'

Had she gone to some other floor, we would have had quite some difficulty looking for her. But, it was fine now.

She was safe, and fine as well.

'We've also confirmed that she is doing well and that she does possess various affinities that she would have to work on if she wanted to get stronger.'

And since she does want to get stronger, I am pretty sure she is going to insist on training… there's no avoiding that anymore.

"Haaaa."

I was worried about her so I couldn't see how troubled Rein was. Still, even though I was the one that brought her outside into the open fields well familiar to me, I could not help but think back to the times where I used to be as young as Anna– perhaps even younger.

"You brought me here and here you are, sighing by yourself." Patting my back, she shook her head with a tired expression as well.

"You never even told me how pretty this place was."

The others had yet to see the fields outside but these fields used to be my playground when I was younger.

It wasn't even that long ago, really. I remember it just like yesterday…

"You see that place over there?" pointing my finger in a certain direction, I looked up at the southern side with a smile on my face.

"That's where I came from…" and saying that, I rested my hand down.

We were going to the capital. Mom had been banished to the outskirts because of the scums at the merchant union. She was falsely accused of the murder of her teacher, the one who taught her most that she knew, but she had found the proof of her innocence as well as what dirty things those who wanted her gone had done.

'We were coming back home, but then…'

We met demons who were trying to open up a gate, and ended up fighting them– in the process, I somehow got dumped into the forbidden forest as well.

It was a random event, but I suffered for years from hunger, from thirst, developed this cursed memory, and then I went around the great forest, finding things that would help me keep my faith.

'The chubby squirrel that I became friends with, the great banyan that helped me and pointed me in this direction… Even though the ones who led me here were the corrupted slimes, all the prior things had been the reason I ended up in this place.'

It was all connected and I am not going to deny that. Perhaps, everything that happened before that was for me to come here and meet the person that would teach me most of the things that I know right now.

"Oh? Are the two trees you talked about…"

"Yeah. That's where the gate to the outside is."

I never knew that after crossing through those pairs of arched trees my life would take such a turn… that I would end up meeting a saint, a Divine beast that possessed powers incomprehensible to someone limited by mortal understanding of the world.

None of it seemed coincidental after that, yet, I knew for a fact that it was not something that should have happened.

"It is only now that I realise how there were many mistakes in what should have been and what had been the errors…"

"Hmmm?"

I was born into this world.

It was not supposed to happen since if I was not born, the world would not have known many things that are present now.

Mom would have not been as motivated to become what she is right now, and the world of trades would have been different.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Ah, nothing too deep."

Carla and Alf would not have had a goal of their own and would not have been able to achieve as much of their potential as they might right now.

The twelve prodigies of the golden era would have remained simple young individuals that were merely better than most children in their fields of expertise.

'There would not have been anyone to detect the invasion of Lakmer and the demonic cultists would have succeeded in that attack, as well as the many following things that they might have planned.'

The world would have taken a step closer to destruction and in the modest of the turmoil, the heroes of the ner era would have been born… but that did not happen.

'At first, I thought it was all a coincidence. But ever since I awakened the stigma, I had gained a lot of knowledge about the past as well as how it repeats itself on multiple occasions.'

Master's messages that she left me, the ones that I saw after we came back from the snake dungeon and last night, also showed how there were many variations within the timelines that should have been linear.

'She termed the unique quantum event that was caused exactly after I was born as [Branching].'

A timeline that should have been certain, the timeframe that should have been similar to a circular line going infinitely– something that did not have any beginning or end, should have been present for a much longer time.

'Nature did not decide this, but this was how it had been for as long as even she could remember, but that changed when I arrived.'

And if that is the case, I don't think anything that happened after that was a coincidence. Probably, much of it was supposed to happen, or perhaps, everything that was happening with me was never supposed to happen.

"Eon?" I was lost in my own thoughts once again, but her voice brought me back.

"Ah…"

I was showing her the place that I came here from, the gates that changed my life, and then I blanked out.

"You're worried about me even though you have so much going on for yourself, huh?" placing her head on my shoulder, she looked up at the pretty sky that was present above us.

The starry sky that was reflected in her eyes was pretty. They made her pink eyes look so much prettier that it drew me closer to her…

Unexpectedly, I leaned in as well, ready to kiss her in that state, but she moved her head away, shaking her head with a bitter smile.

"Eon…"

Then, looking at me with the same bitter expression, she shook her head once more, uncertainty and fear now clouding the same pretty eyes.

"What will happen to us now…?" her voice cracking, she almost had a crying look.

"Rein?"

I didn't understand what was going on with her at first and almost stood up, but then… I sat back down and patted her back.

"It's fine…"
Your journey continues at My Virtual Library Empire

She had realised it now that she had seen all these things here. Now that she had seen this tower, the sky, this vast yard, the things that were present around here… beyond this sanctuary lay a hell much worse than the one present in the other realm, and in here was a heaven that one would not find anywhere else.

"I can handle it."

I had lived in these places, but I had not told her much about how I had lived in these words. She was having conflicting feelings with her own blooming powers and the weird flow of time that was only present inside of the tower, so she was not certain how she was going to spend the rest of the time here.

She knew I would still worry about her even if I had a ton of things to look after– it wasn't just because of Anna that we came here. She knew we would need to improve while we still had these facilities.

"The outside world…"

To get out of here, well, that was not going to be that big of a problem if the Gate works, but if that is not possible, even then, we would be fine in this place for the time being.

The outside world though, was not safe anymore.

"They might be strong, they might be a problem for us for now, but that will change soon. And even if it changes us…"

There was no telling what would happen to us. And she must be thinking of staying away from one another for the time being and figure things out on our own… but if we do that, it would just be more difficult for both of us.

"I'm not letting you go."

Even if it may be selfish, even if it could be for the better, I would still stretch myself and help everyone while I am with her in times like these.

I can handle myself, even if it is difficult.

"So, just calm down and let us do this together." If it's the two of us, we can cross through a difficult road like this one as well.

She just had to believe in herself and Us.