He held his head for a moment as he sat on his bed and felt the world spin around. He could not wrap his head around what was happening.
Glory confirmed what he was experiencing was real. Raven confirmed to have seen it.
And yet, Rem said they had just been here for 5 days. And from the looks of it, it was right at the moment when he had seen the witch cultists in the forest. Just moments prior, he had been fighting one of the great beasts known to be wreaking havoc in the world for centuries.
He could vividly remember the feeling of the wind on his face, the humidity on his skin, the strength flooding his body. Even if he checked his cradled miracle, he found the quantity to have decreased, signifying that it had been used.
Sighing, he analyzed the entire situation again.
Is it possible that I somehow travelled back in time? I felt a profound sense of danger from that fog. And when it hit me, I was back here. Is it possible that it's some sort of new ability that activates when I'm in some kind of unavoidable danger?
But isn't that too absurd? A power that can turn back time... Has the time turned back only for a specific area and not the rest of the world? And even if it turned all the way back, how did I come to have such an ability?
Just then, a thought struck his mind and he facepalmed.
"It was all so obvious." He muttered under his breath and concentrated.
"Tell me the origin of this ability." He called upon the miracle, and made a wish. The cradled power within him surged.
His limpid red eyes turned cloudy and muddled and felt himself floating.
Huuu!
He inhaled sharply.
He felt cold. His arms were cold, his legs were cold. His entire body felt as if he were freezing.
Around him, he found, were shadows curling and wriggling and moving in tangible patterns as far as the eye could see. A profound sense of anxiety washed over him and his glory shot out.
Shiiiii!
The light escaped from his body, trying to illuminate the entire void he had found himself in. The shadows moved in opposition, fighting against the light blooming in this strange space. Two miniature suns bloomed in his eyes and his gaze pierced through the shadows, trying to distinguish where he was.
And as he did, information flooded into his mind. Vast amounts of information about something called witch factors and witches and warlocks. Their unique constitution; their unique powers that tamper with the rules of the world itself. As the stream of information continued to pour into his mind; he saw something move within the shadows.
Two beads of amethyst stared at him. And he felt himself connect to something.
Something vast and mystical. A woman slowly began to walk out from her veil of shadows; and as she did, Hedin's eyes went wide in surprise and confusion.
Before him stood the witch of envy; the Jealous Witch who destroyed half the world centuries ago. And she was the spitting image of Emilia.
"I love you." A voice soon rang into his ears and he felt someone whisper behind his ear.
"I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you." Over and over and over again she repeated the same phrase like a broken record. Her racy and mulberry coloured eyes were opened wide and her skin stretched into a sickening grin.
Hedin felt something clog up in his throat.
He was unable to speak. He could only watch helplessly.
It was not that he was not able to move. But he felt that he did not want to move. He felt... love?
Before the situation could escalate, he was violently pulled out from the realm of shadows.
His spirit stretched itself across the void and landed back into his body. Clarity returned to his mind and his eyes momentarily rolled back into his head; overcome by a sudden urge to puke.
Just then, light appeared around him and the sensation vanished.
"Huuuuuu!" He sucked in a deep breath. Raven pecked at his cheek, making him turn his head.
"Danger! Danger!" It croaked, signifying that it too had felt the danger from that figure.
Drawing out information from the memory of the world had put a significant drain on Hedin's cradled power. Approximately 9 percent of his gathered power in the month had been siphoned right off.
Narrowing his eyes, Hedin decided to spend the miracle wisely from now on and quickly began to digest the information he had gotten.
The witch of envy, even in the tales of the old was never killed. She was only sealed at the pleiades watchtower. And whatever this power is, it's connected to her. A witch factor? I didn't get the whole information about how my ability works, only it's origins.
An ability that resets the world... it does seem like something a witch factor can do. A power that can tamper with the rules of the world. But how did I come to possess it? It's linked with the witch of envy...
Doesn't this also insinuate that she might be the one who brought me here? I might need to look into that. For now, the most important thing to realize is that time has indeed turned back. There's going to be a witch cult invasion on the mansion and the white whale's going to appear near the flugel tree.
And Crusch's army will be there.... Fog that disrupts mana, roars that rupture the ear drums, hide that is inherently resistant to magic and the fact that it is flying... my bullets were only effective because they weren't magic. Even Al Jiwald wasn't doing too much work. And then there's that other fog attack. Can they survive an encounter with it?
Hedin held his chin in thought, his brows furrowing.
I could have taken that whale on. But it would have taken too long. I can't carpet bomb the witch cult; it will do great damage to the Mathers estate. And I can't hunt them down one by one by myself. There's also the matter of evacuation of the villagers. If even a single cultist gets through, it could lead to a lot of lives being lost....
Rummaging through his mind for some more time, Hedin derived specific goals for himself.
The first one was to offer the position of the white whale and help in the upcoming battle, in return for help with dealing with the witch cult.
Second was to make Roswaal aware of the cult and evacuating the villagers as soon as possible.
The witch cult won't be much of a problem. They only have strength in numbers. The real problem is the white whale. It might cause the loss of a lot of lives. Well, I'll deal with it when I get to it.
And so, with the objectives in mind, Hedin confidently walked out of the door.
...
The rest of the day went as it had previously. Hedin alerted Roswaal of the witch cult lingering in the forest and told him to start preparing for an evacuation.
Then, he alerted Rem for the present circumstances. Suffice to say she was pretty distraught about the fact and above all, angry. She didn't have a good history with witch cultists in the first place, as he had come to know in the previous month. And so, her resentment was all the more prominent.
Along with that, he also told her of the greatest obstacle in their path. The white whale.
That fact shook her the most.
The white whale was one of the greatest beasts in the history of the world; famed far and wide for killing the previous sword saint.
Of course, she asked where Hedin had come across all this information; to which raven came forward and croaked. "Praise me! Praise me!"
He had decided that raven would be his convenient excuse for knowing the location of the cultists and the white whale. He did not wish to tell them his possession of an authority; lest he be labelled as a sin archbishop and burnt at the stake.
And so, now was the moment of truth.
He walked into Crusch's office; raven perched atop his shoulder and being led by a maid. As they entered, Hedin immediately noticed Crusch sitting at her desk and Wilhelm standing silently behind her.
Felix was also present in the room, being seated adjacent to her desk.
Rem silently trailed behind him and Crusch stood up from her seat.
"Hedin." She said, walking around the desk to close in on the sofa.
"How may I help you?"
"I have proposal for you." Hedin smiled confidently, making Crusch's eyes narrow in intrigue.
She sat on the sofa and gestured for him to sit.
As he made himself comfortable, Crusch hummed silently and spoke first.
"A proposal, you say?"
"Exactly that. I know why there's been so much traffic all around your estate lately."
Silence suddenly descended into the hall and Crusch's eyes narrowed further.
"And the reason would be?"
Hedin leaned forward, supporting his elbows on his legs and crossing his fingers. His crimson eye glinted ominously.
"The White Whale."
The surrounding air trembled, as if his words had a tangible hold on reality. He shadows thickened and everything seemed to get darker in the room.
Again, Hedin felt that strange shift in the wind around Crusch.
The Karsten heiress' eyes displayed no change; yet Hedin felt her emotions clearly.
Clearing her throat, she spoke, "Do you understand what you're saying? Sir Hedin? The White Whale is one of the three great mabeasts; a living calamity that has taken a hold of hundreds of thousands of victims. I hope you know what you're implying."
"I know what I said." Hedin doubled down on his words, smiling. "I have reason to believe that the white whale has been tracked by you. And by complete coincidence, it has been tracked by me as well."
"Tracking the white whale, nya?" Felix chuckled. "That's not possible. The beast moves far too erratically to be tracked in any meaningful way. We can only roughly map out the area in which it moves; never pinpoint it's location."
"Ferris is right." Crusch gazed into Hedin's eyes. "Sir Hedin. Although I sense no lies in your words, 'tracking' the white whale is the wrong word to use. Even if we have found out where the whale is heading, and we are preparing to rally against it; how do you fit into the equation?"
"Easy." At this point, raven jumped onto the table and croaked once. "This is what I present to the deal. A way to track down the whale with pinpoint precision. I shall lead you and your army right to the whale, wherever it might be."
Hedin felt Wilhelm's emotions turning chaotic but he did not care for it.
He looked right at Crusch and offered a smile.
"A single bird will lead us to the white whale?" Crusch laughed. "You do not lie. Either you are delusional or the bird is genuinely capable of such a feat."
Hedin nodded his head and gestured to Raven.
The bird, having received the signal, instantly began to split!
"Nya!?" Felix's surprised voice echoed in the room.
One raven became two, two became four, four became eight!
Even Crusch and Wilhelm were not immune to such a strange sight!
"What is..." Crusch said, unable to finish her sentence.
"This is what I bring to the table." Hedin said again. "Raven already has multiple clones patrolling everywhere. Each is connected to the other. What one sees and hears can be seen and heard by all others; and by extension, me. I shall lead you to the white whale with it's help and together with me, you will have a far easier time in the battle."
Crusch's expression turned serious after finding real value in the trade.
Humming, she met his eyes again and asked, "And what do you wish for in return?"
"Eradication of pests." Hedin said with venom in his voice; catching Crusch off guard. He scratched one of the ravens on the head and continued in a calm tone. "I have noted the presence of the witch cultists near Arlam Village. I seek your help in getting rid of them. I cannot get all of them by myself and in case some of them slip in between the villagers and leads to tragedy it will impact my camp negatively.
"We both seek to gain from this. Both our camps gain respect by taking care of the whale and also by taking care of the cultists."
"The white whale is no joke." Crusch interrupted. "It is a beast like no other. Even with all the forces we have, we are not sure of victory. Not to mention it's methods of attacks are almost completely unknown. After fighting the whale, how can you expect us to march towards the Mathers domain and fight the cultists.
"In theory it sounds logical. But in practice? We already have a rough chart of where the whale will be. And the loss of a single man will not impact our combat capability much. And so, is there truly anything that we stand to gain from this?"
Silence.
Hedin quieted down for a moment, pondering over her words. Truly, he had not thought of it like that. It seems he was still too naive in terms of political interests and making deals.
Nobody spoke.
Then, Crusch found Hedin's lips stretch into a smile.
"Although I would have done so anyway had the deal concluded there and then, I will say it outright." He said.
"I shall also provide the Crusch camp with a rough estimation of the Whale's abilities."
...
...
A/N: I ain't gonna lie, not really enjoying writing this.
Don't get me wrong, it was very entertaining to write at first and I had some things planned out. My motivation had been at an all time high and I really thought I could see this to the end. Even my patreon gave me plenty of motivation if I lacked any.
But the thing is, I just don't see where I was going with this anymore.
And I feel like Patreon really tied into that. It made what was an enjoyable experience for me seem more like a job? I mean, I earned some money from that, but it was just a hassle. I realize the biggest problem in that was I was too hasty and didn't really have a consistent upload schedule.
I didn't plan things properly, I didn't make the chapters beforehand and I was always stressing over uploading a chapter.
Although I still have plenty of motivation for the Tower of God fanfic, I just don't see this working out anymore.
When I see patreon, I see an opportunity, but I do think the way I handled it made the writing itself seem not enjoyable. If I try writing some other novel sometime, I'll try and follow a consistent schedule but with this...
I'll be removing this from patreon soon and try and see if I can continue on with it, but I can't guarantee anything.
I always think it's a duty of an author to finish the story, but I just don't know about this anyone.
At least I'll be finishing the betelguese arc, so yeah.