Darkness turned into light, before shutting off again, becoming dark. From his window a lightning bolt appeared, shocking him awake.
Opening his eyes, Jason fell into a state of delirium, his bodily functions failed him as he forgot how to breathe. Up seemed to be down while left might as well have been right. Crawling out of his bed, he fell on the ground as he started to barf a large amount of blood and slime.
Turning his body slightly, he couldn't feel his legs, as if his brain had forgotten he had them. The pain was almost unbearable, his mind on the edge of unconsciousness. It took all his willpower combined to keep himself sane. Lying there in his own fluids, Jason tried to contain his pain.
After some time, he was finally able to function somewhat normally again. Thinking about what he could possibly do, an idea sprung up from the back of his mind.
'If they've prepared a plan to attack the castle, what would happen if we ambushed them instead?'
Having such an idea as the hard floor didn't provide that much comfort to his back, Jason wasn't sure on whether to throw the idea away or not. Doing so would mean he would abandon all the plans he made to try something new, but perhaps it was exactly that he required to move forward.
He had to think on how to convince everyone, but had a rough idea on how to accomplish it. Grabbing a pen, he started to note down a report of a scouting that happened in the north. Writing it in someone else's name was a crime punishable by death, not that Jason was worried it would ever come to that.
By the time they would figure it out, those monsters would have already appeared, and he would've turned back time. 'Offense is sometimes the best defense, right?'
Not wracking his head over it any further, he finished his report before bringing it to Graham. Knocking politely on the door, he was let in. Not beating around the bush, Jason formally submitted his report that came from one of his subordinates.
The commander read it carefully and was filled with doubts. "An army from the princess is moving here at a rapid pace? How can I believe that?"
"We're certain of it, if you want I can even bring my scout in," a bluff, but a convincing one since Jason was quite willing.
"Wasn't your entire squad..", Graham wanted to refute, only for Jason to cut him off quite disrespectfully.
"I left Joahim out so he would go on a private mission to scout the north. I've been having a terrible feeling lately, so I couldn't help myself. Time is of the essence, sir."
Graham had a troubling look to say the least. He trusted Jason a lot, but mobilizing even the squadron that was meant to go south would mean breaking a deal he made with the other commanders. They needed those forces for a swift victory in the south, holding them back would only damage his reputation and could delay the end of the overall war.
"Commander, if you don't believe my scout's report or believe it to be a false alarm. I will take full responsibility and hurry south under the command of Captain Razir.", while extremely rare, it might've indeed been a false alarm. It was entirely possible that a different squadron under another commander might've been making their rounds there.
To confuse them as part of the enemy army was a fatal mistake, but it wasn't as if they were wearing any recognizable badges and communicating with them would've been even worse in case it actually was the enemy army. As a scout, it wasn't as if he had a lot of options.
Of course, this never happened, nor did it have to for Jason's plan to work.
"You're willing to work under him? Then you're being more than genuine," Graham's mood turned slightly for the better, yet turned back just as fast. Because if Jason was willing to take such a vow only meant he was being serious, meaning that there was a potential enemy army on their way.
Checking the report again, the forces were that of 3 squadrons. Not that many when it came to actually taking over Proktor, but plenty to destroy the surrounding outposts. It was clear these weren't the main forces, perhaps a scouting group at best.
'Still, for unknown squadrons to be making rounds here.'
Flashing a grin. "Fine, I'll take you up on that deal. We'll move out with 10 squadrons, including Razir's. We'll make contact with the anonymous forces and question their allegiance. If they're enemy forces, we take them out excluding the captains, we'll need them for interrogation."
Jason beamed slightly, not out of excitement like Graham, but out of pure relief.
"I'll write the order, bring the message to the captains of our strongest forces," with a grin on his face, clearly out of enthusiasm that he would finally be able to do something else than sitting in his office, Graham was ready to move out.
"I'll do so right away."
After some time, they were ready to set off. Moving into the forest, they kept their guard up, but Jason was confident.
Only about an hour or two had passed and Jason was alone in the forest, scribbling whatever he could on the ground. Surrounded by the dead bodies of his colleagues, he vowed to never enter a dragon's den again.
The moment they entered the forest, they were harassed by the Croctows from four distinct sides. It didn't take long before they split up, and each group walked through a forest of traps. Due to the chaos from the Croctows, they couldn't carefully check out where they were walking. That combined with hidden arrays, they never stood a chance.
Despite their prowess, it didn't take long before light took over the entire world before turning black again. A streak of white awoke Jason from his terrible nightmare. He tried to get up, but instantly fell down on the floor.
All the combined wounds were back, even if his body was perfectly fine, his soul had endured plenty of punishment.
The room warped, melting and shifting as if he could see the outside of his room. His thoughts turned chaotic as they held no form.
Ice-cold or steaming hot, his body felt foreign as each passing second felt like an eternity of suffering. Jason was not able to move his body, at least not willingly as a rare spasm was all he could muster.
It felt as if he had to rewire his entire brain. Even just thinking felt like something new. Time was forgotten, unable to measure how much had passed.
The only way to truly describe his state would've been agony, as he was a husk of his former self. Lying there on the cold hard floor for what felt like forever, Jason slowly worked his way forward, not in the sense of actual movement, but purely mentally.
Without a clear plan or thoughts, all that was left was a mix of unruly emotions, unorganized facts and no sound strategy. Even if his body was disobeying him, his mind had to be fixed in the first place.
By the time he was capable of standing up, he couldn't tell how much time had passed. Perhaps he was already too late. The bigger question was, what would he do now? Going outside the castle is a death wish, that much was clear. So Jason went back to his previous plans of just defending against the onslaught.
'If the monsters are defeated, they turn everyone insane, including Murph. Graham has to handle him because Razir isn't strong enough. If he's gone, then the wall is destroyed.'
Looking over his pieces, it was clear what he had to do. 'Letting Murph get killed will result in Graham staying. If I can figure out how to quickly cure that madness, they'll have to use a different approach.'
While Jason had no trouble leaving Murph to die, he couldn't help envisioning the sea of corpses again. Would his emotion go haywire once more? Would he lose control over his thoughts and powers?
'No. I can do this, I've always done it. This time, for sure. We'll make it through.'
Being optimistic, or at least trying to be, improved his overall mood. There was just a single possibility he willingly ignored. What if those men had another card to play?
When he finally got out of his bedroom, Jason felt ready to sleep again. His body wasn't meant to still be alive, let alone walking. Physical therapy was something Jason had grown accustomed to after using his innate gift in dead end scenario's, but it stayed awful.
The journey to Graham's office was a trudge to get through. Walking through a swamp knee-deep was the only correct comparison as his movements were sluggish. Entering without bothering to knock, Graham looked up from his desk with a frown.
Putting his cigar away for a moment, he noticed the terrible state Jason was in. Unlike previous attempts, he cleaned himself up, this time, there simply wasn't a second to waste. He didn't wash his face or change clothes, he didn't even bother cleaning up the blood stains on his chest and arms.
"Jason! What the hell happened?", spreading his willpower over Proktor he found nothing out of note. While crossing a big red line doing so, as the commander, not many would openly argue against him.
"Don't bother looking for them, they haven't arrived yet," Jason was tired, his voice almost listless. Falling into the chair, he felt like a sack of potatoes collapsing upon itself.
"What do you-?", Graham was understandably confused.
Holding his hand out, he stopped Graham from continuing. "Commander, no, Graham. I have an innate gift."
Graham tried to find his composure again, "I expected no less considering your performance. I don't know why-"
"I can travel back in time."
Graham stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide open, all his composure collapsed in a second. Staring at the man who dared to make such a statement. Time and space were the most complex fields in magic that were studied all over the world and beyond. While the field of Space magic had grown quite extensively, Time was never delved into.
Nobody figured it out, and now, a measly Rank 2 mage apparently calculated it?
"That-"
"Graham, this is the seventh time I'm sitting here. Each time I go back, I lose a part of myself. My body is breaking down rapidly. I don't know if I'll be able to move back again."
"Still, how do you expect me to-"
"Back in the coal mines of Garn I advised us to move out of the cave as soon as possible. I knew it would collapse because I almost died in it. In the jungle of Dercerto we found the correct path after struggling a lot, yet you all chose the path I mentioned because I went down the other ones and returned. The explosion of the volcano and the weak resistance of the Vulcans, my doing. The cooperative nature of the mermen in the north, I knew what they wanted after going back a few times. Graham. I'm being serious."
Mentioning a few moments where Jason traveled back to save them, Graham's mind instantly found dozens of examples of Jason's guts telling him to do something. Sitting down, taking a moment to accept the reality in front of him, he was amazed.
Just imagining what could be achieved by studying this gift, the possibilities were endless, but the almost depressed Jason told him there was a reason for revealing it only now.
Shutting off the capitalistic part of his brain, the strategist in him awoke. "If you're willing to reveal that much, I assume it is not without reason?"
"Yes, if all things go well, we'll have some people left alive in Proktor."
Graham frowned, there were plenty of powerful people here, what could possibly be so close around the corner for him to reveal his innate gift?
"If you're wondering, we're up against two mages, perhaps three or a few more."
"What? Then, are we facing a group of Rank 3 mages?", Graham's brain started to churn to figure out a possible plan to fight back. While not having any magical protection arrays in the castle, they still had plenty of tools to fight.
"No, just Rank 2's, high Rank 2's though. And one Rank 3."
Graham deeply furrowed his bushy eyebrows. He had been on edge, but hearing the supposed threat, he felt insulted. "Do you truly believe that-"
"Those three mages were capable of killing you 6 times in a row despite my best efforts."
Graham grew quiet after hearing that. He was up against little to no men, yet Jason was certain he died multiple times. He wanted to believe Jason, but couldn't.
"I can tell you don't see it the way I do. My innate gift is very tricky and hates me. Normally I get a few days when I go back. This time, I only had around half a day. During the first run, we were ambushed by a flock of creatures called Croctows. They heavily damaged our mages before the northern wall blew up, killing everyone."
Graham listened in silence as Jason went through each variation of events he experienced.
"After the secretary killed Murph, I tried having him on the wall, but then they used a special attack that inflicted some kind of madness, driving everyone berserk. Murph was included in that group."
Almost chocking on his spit, Graham realized that Jason wasn't kidding when he said he died in the alternative past. 'If those mages are powerful on their own and also use tricks to have us fight each other, we're dealing with a dangerous opponent.'
"If they simply fought, we would easily overpower them.," Graham stated with confidence to which Jason nodded.
"That's exactly why they never show themselves until they know they've already won."
"So we have to make sure that Murph isn't on the wall, how about having him stand by in the main hall?"
"The secretary will kill him."
"Then how about I stay with him to secure his safety?"
"I need you on the tower to fight against the flock of monsters," Jason knew what Graham wanted to do, but he had been through this multiple times. Numerous times in the past, Jason chose one life over another, mostly out of necessity.
"We can't keep Murph alive, in case they can fire off multiple of those mind-altering attacks. The secretary is also after him, so if we keep him in the back, he'll simply die anyway. The safest choice is for him to die."
A fist pounded on the commander's desk, loud enough for people passing by in the hall to avoid the room like the plague.
"Are you telling me to let him die!", Graham was furious! A Rank 3 mage that has made uncountable contributions for their prosperity. He was with them from before he was even appointed his current position. For him to let someone so precious die because it was easier felt like an insult.
"Graham," Jason's eyes pierced through his skull as he was certain there was no time to experiment on it. "You can ask the secretary to move somewhere and ask Murph to travel to the east for all I care, that, or he dies, either way, he has to be removed from Proktor."
The sternness in Jason's voice made it all too clear. He wasn't willing to make any more attempts at this, it had to be done perfectly, no room for unpredictable variables. They talked about it a little more before Graham conceded.
"Then I'll send him away."
"You already tried that, he got infected and came back with a vengeance," Jason said as he suddenly doubted his own words.
"I'll send him even farther," it was clear Graham wasn't to be convinced, so Jason left it alone. He had trouble remembering all the details, how many cycles it truly had been. If he thought about it, he was on the fifth run, but there were clear memories of alternative events he couldn't put together. When asked, he would instinctively say it was the seventh run, even if his memories contradicted it.
He remembered Graham sending Murph out only for him to come back. He remembered the entire force moving north to catch them by surprise, just to fail even faster. Plans and strategies he didn't remember executing were so clear in his mind.
Whether he was going insane from a side effect or those realities did come to pass, all Jason knew for certain was that his time was running short.
Thinking about the story Jason told it was clear they needed a foolproof plan. "So, this flock of Croctows will come sooner or later, what do we do?"
"So far, the best method was you and Razir using your pressure to try to keep them in place. The ones that you can't handle are attacked by the remaining mages. Slowly, we'll whittle down the entire group."
"Got it, I'll prepare something in that regard. Next."
"They'll fire off the arrow containing a certain aura, I think, that will make everyone see visions."
"Visions?"
"Yes. I can't explain it clearly, but you start seeing something that's been eating you up from the inside. Your fears, doubts, mistakes all come back to haunt you. If you're influenced you might start to go crazy and fight whatever the vision shows you. You won't be able to differentiate between reality and the monsters conjured by your mind."
"I see, how did we get out of it?"
Jason thought back on what happened, everything moved too fast for him to accurately describe it. "I don't know. I got entrapped by it and was about to hit you. You then grabbed my arm and send some kind of cold elemental energy to my head. I tried to replicate it with ice to some effect."
Graham nodded, he wondered what would happen, what the visions would show him. "So we should teach every to apply cold elemental energy to themselves when the attack hits?"
"Something like that. I don't know if everyone is capable of that though."
"What do you mean? Everyone in Proktor has a basic degree in elemental studies. If they don't know what different kind of energies are available then they wouldn't have passed."
Hearing that, Jason nodded in agreement before adding, "Captain Razir didn't know how to."
Silence for just a moment before a light cough came from Graham's mouth. "Moving on, if everyone is saved from that spell, what happens next?"
"I don't know for certain. Normally it would be the explosion arrow, blasting the entire wall to bits. But when we first defeated the monsters and had a lot of people remaining, they pulled out that mind-altering power."
"You're saying they might have other cards to play as well?"
"Yes. I can still travel back once more if I'm not hurt too badly, so I won't be participating in a direct confrontation."
While skeptical, Graham nodded. "How much time is left?"
"An hour or so."
Silence
Graham suddenly got up and stormed out of the room to make as many preparations he possibly could, leaving a headache resisting Jason behind.
'Now let's see if there's anything left.'
Jason wasn't exactly lying when he talked about going back, but he wasn't limited to only one more time. He could hold out until his body gave up, his determination was the only thing that truly mattered.
Standing up, he looked out the window. 'Hopefully it works. If it does, I'll just have to go back and figure out some kind of plan to make Graham think of it himself.'
Jason wasn't planning on seeing this timeline through, victorious or not. If they won, Graham would know what his innate gift could do, information he had to avoid spreading at all costs. He wasn't sorry or apologetic, it was only natural.
He had done this multiple times in the past as well. Once the path was found, he just needed one final reset. 'Let's do this.'