The SSS Ranked Villain's Return

Evangeline? Neraxis called out, wary.

[I'm here. Sort of,] she replied, her voice also carrying unease. [I can't manifest myself, nor can I interact with your mana. We're separated—but also not at the same time.]

I see. He turned his gaze back to the trembling Ariella. "You say this is your world? What do you mean by that?"

"This is what I see whenever I meddle with time... and it looks like my powers don't work on you anymore," Ariella answered. "But... your powers seem to work on me."

"Do you mean those spectral things?" Neraxis asked, tilting his head. "I'm not dealing with them on my own—my mana is doing everything by itself."

"I know, so is mine," Ariella replied with a nod, wiping her tears as she pushed him away.

The moment she did, he felt his consciousness slip slightly backward before snapping back into his body.

"I can't even push you out of this place either..." Ariella remarked with a conflicted sigh before flashing him a glare. "Who are you?"

"I don't have to tell you that, and you don't have to tell me who you are either," Neraxis said sternly. "But I'm a bit curious—do you actually not have limits? This looks a bit surreal."

"Limits is a strong word..." Ariella grumbled. "Unlike others who can control time and age faster when they use it, I'm the opposite. My lifespan increases, and I can't even die a natural death—neither can I die by suicide."

Hearing the confidence in her tone, his eyes widened. "It sounds like you've tried it before."

She looked him in the eyes for a moment before glancing toward the spectral remnants. "I tried it. I failed. Every time someone comes close to killing me, I turn back time automatically. Every time I try to end my own life, time turns back automatically as well. It's a curse..."

Ariella's gaze darkened as she made her way toward one of the spectral remnants and touched it.

The moment she did, Neraxis felt a dull pain in his shoulder, which grew with every second that passed.

But then, he saw Ariella visibly flinch as she clutched her white, clock-like eye.

From it, blood dripped down.

"...You feel the pain of others," he deduced.

"Pain I inflict and pain I don't inflict. If people were killed and I turned back time, I would feel the combined pain of everyone," Ariella explained.

"So if you turn back the time of the whole world..."

She turned toward him with a half smile. "Yep. It hurts."

"When you say my powers affect you, do you mean they relieve your pain?" Neraxis asked, tilting his head.

"They stabilize time and relieve the pain, yes." She nodded. "Normally, I would be seeing millions of outcomes right now, but I'm only seeing five or six—and they keep decreasing because of whatever your power is doing."

"I'll take that as a compliment. But still, how long do you plan on keeping us here?" Neraxis asked, looking around.
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The space around them kept cracking, but since time kept resetting, the cracks didn't mean much.

"After it finishes stabilizing, I will bring us back," Ariella affirmed, her tone and expression much better than earlier.

However, she was extremely dangerous. With just a touch of a spectral remnant, she was able to hurt him.

This is one overpowered curse... he remarked in his mind as he walked up to Ariella and placed his hand on her cheek.

Ariella was startled by his actions, but as he began infusing his mana into her, she quickly let out a relieved breath.

The cracks that had been covering the entire space around them began disappearing, and following that, the spectral remnants vanished as well, leaving only the two of them.

As that happened, her white, clock-like eye began moving again.

"What's your name?" she asked plainly.

And he replied just as plainly, "Neraxis."

"I see... Thank you, Neraxis. I didn't expect to meet someone I could talk to in a place like this... It gets a bit lonely in here," Ariella said with a soft smile.

But Neraxis was still a bit curious about one thing. "Does this happen every time you use your time powers?"

"Only if I accidentally rewind too much or stop time for too long," Ariella explained matter-of-factly. "If you weren't here, then it would have taken me a bit of time to fix everything..."

A mage dealing with time says it will take her a bit of time? Neraxis furrowed his brows. "How long?"

"...This?" Ariella pointed all around them. "What happened earlier would have taken me three years to fix."

"..." Neraxis was speechless at her comment.

Three years...? She spends three years doing nothing but fixing the cracks and the spectral remnants?

If that was really the case, then that meant she had to interact with every single spectral remnant and endure the pain for three long years.

"Don't worry too much. Three years is on the short end," she let out a hollow chuckle. "My longest was when I first reset time. Fixing that took nearly 129 years."

"...129 years?" Neraxis winced. "How old were you?"

"I had my awakening when I was still pretty young. So my first time using my powers was when I was ten," Ariella replied, and as Neraxis was about to say something, she cut him off. "I don't need your pity, nor do I need your consolation. I'm happy I can do what I do—since it gives me a lot of time to myself."

"But—"

"Neraxis." Ariella glanced at him with a stern look. "I can't do anything about it—neither can anyone else. My main skill, Time Maiden, makes all attempts fruitless..."

She trailed off, her eyes widening in wonder. "Could you try killing me?"

Noticing her intentions, Neraxis swiftly refused. "I'm not going to kill you, Ariella."

"Try, please?" she practically begged. "Try squeezing my neck."

[A masochist spotted?] Evangeline remarked from the side.

Nonetheless, as hesitant as he was, he could understand what Ariella might be feeling.

She looked around 18 or 19 on the outside, but she had likely experienced hundreds—if not thousands—of years already.

So, he gently placed his hands around her neck and began squeezing.

She wore a hopeful expression, and after a few seconds, her legs gave out. Just as her eyes were about to roll into the back of her head, Neraxis stopped.

So she wouldn't fall, he awkwardly held her by the waist.

I regret that. Neraxis sighed inwardly, watching as Ariella began breathing stably again.

This time, she had an ecstatic look on her face.

"You're the one," Ariella said with an obsessed expression. "Neraxis, can you kill me?"

Knowing that a simple "No." wouldn't do, he decided on something else.

"I will kill you in a year—but only if you ask me to." Neraxis stated with a serious look.

Ariella clicked her tongue as she stood on both feet again. "Fine—but I'll keep nagging you. So after this round is over, give me your phone number."

"Sure," Neraxis replied, amused.

The moment he did, the world slowly began returning to normal.

People began moving, breathing—and even the timer above resumed beeping.

It was odd to think that this conversation of theirs had happened, yet not even a nanosecond had passed on the outside.

Nonetheless, Ariella glanced at him with a teasing look.

"Let's finish this, Neraxis."