Ray stared in disbelief at the people he had once called party members.
Although he had never really considered them as friends, he still saw them as people he had hoped to one day be acknowledged by.
However, at the moment, none of them had even an atom of regret or hesitation about trying to get rid of him.
Rather, it looked like they wanted to get it over with and forget about him as soon as possible.
In other words, he was more like an insignificant bug to them.
He was a tool that had outlived its usefulness and they couldn't wait to get rid of it.
Ray's face turned into a sad expression as he looked back at the five years he had spent with this elite warrior party.
He had followed them for five years.
He had fought beside them.
He had bled for them and trusted them with his life.
Yet this was how it was going to end?
Ray refused to believe that this was it.
He struggled once again and the dark chains wrapped themselves even tighter around him, causing the pain to intensify as Ray's vision began to waver and blur.
Memories he had long forgotten began to flash through his mind and a few tear drops began to slide down his face as he recalled his childhood friend and first crush who had died right after he had left his village to join the elite warrior party.
Ray also recalled how his little sister and mother had died from a deadly monster tide that stampeded into the village, killing hundreds within minutes.
It took months for Ray to hear of his family's demise and he probably wouldn't have known about it, if an old man from his village hadn't sent a letter to him.
More tears began to stream down his cheeks as Ray recalled promising his little sister that he would return once he had completed his mission.
But he hadn't even completed his mission till now and neither had he protected his family when they needed him the most.
He had failed in both ways.
In a nutshell, Ray was feeling crushed by the fact that he had failed them all and right now, he was about to die as well.
He screamed aloud as the magic circle underneath him glowed even brighter and purple colored vapor surged out of his chest and flowed into Aldric like water that was being poured into a cup.
Aldric's eyes glowed like gold and his body turned golden as he ascended to become something beyond human comprehension.
Meanwhile, Ray's life force was being drained completely.
He was dying.
His vision turned blurry and dark but he was still able to notice Aldric's ominous smile as he stepped closer to Ray, whose vitality had been sucked out of his body and flesh, leaving behind a weak and rapidly rotting body that could easily be crushed with the single stomping of a foot.
"Goodbye Ray, and thank you for your valiant sacrifice."
Hearing this, Ray wanted to grit his teeth with rage, but he couldn't because of how weak he was.
For five years, this bloke had never once noticed his presence.
For five years, his teammates had treated him like trash.
They saw him as an insignificant piece of livestock that they had to feed and bring along with them.
Yes, he was an Awakened, just like the rest of them, but since Ray was a commoner, none of his party members ever treated him with respect.
Furthermore, he had awakened a really rare but useless ability which had so many drawbacks and inconveniences. So they had allowed him to join their party, just so they could use him however they pleased.
Being a commoner from a simple background, Ray couldn't say anything about how they were treating him.
He knew they never liked him, but he couldn't leave the elite warrior party either, because they were the strongest team in the kingdom, and he had really wanted to be famous in the eyes of all the commoners in the kingdom.
He had always wanted to be remembered as someone great and important to the main party members as well and he had secretly wished that he could be as strong as the rest of his teammates, hoping that by then, they would finally recognize and acknowledge his talent.
But he had been very wrong and right now, there was nothing he could do about it.
Then, with a look of disgust on his face, Aldric lifted his foot and brought it down on Ray's skull which was now as soft as a biscuit bone.
*Crushed!!!*
Ray suddenly gasped as his eyes snapped open and he sat up on his bed.
His forehead was coated with sweat and his heart was hammering rapidly in his chest.
His hands clutched the rough wool blanket on his body like a death grip, then he slowly looked around to see walls, a thatched roof, and small windows that were letting in the sunlight of a bright and early morning.
Looking at where he was, Ray was certain that he was currently in his former bedroom.
He stared at his hands and noticed how young they looked.
They were different from how he remembered them; they were callused from the amount of farm work he had done as a commoner, but there were no scars from the battles and wars he had taken part in for the past five years.
"What is happening?"
"Why are my hands so...."
Ray had barely completed his sentence when a screen suddenly appeared before him.
[Congratulations!! Awakening complete.]
[The Goddess has chosen you to become one of her beloved champions.]
[You're now an Awakened, with the Class: Void Walker.]
"What?"
Ray couldn't believe what he was seeing.
This was the exact message that had appeared before him five years ago, on the very day he had become an Awakened.
"But how?"
Ray couldn't comprehend what was going on.
He vividly recalled what today looked like.
It was similar to the day the Goddess had chosen him.
That had also been the day everything in his life had changed.
But why was today exactly the same as what happened five years ago?
Or had he somehow found his way back in time to the day of his awakening?
If that was the case, it meant that he had somehow managed to go back five years before his death.
Ray looked at his hands again and turned them over just to be sure. Then, he felt his face and noticed how young and soft it was.
Piecing all these together, Ray became even more certain that he had truly returned to the point in time when everything began.