636 The Man Who Was Here

[POV: Da Wei]

I stopped beside an enormous lake.

This was where the village of Willow had once stood before it ascended into the sky and made its way to the Hollowed World. The memories came back with surprising ease, the pain and fear still vivid enough to make my chest tighten.

Funny enough, it was not far from here that I had first landed in this world. Well, technically, it was the second time I had landed here after losing my memories.

“Da Wei, huh? There’s probably a meme in there somewhere that I missed.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought.

I walked along the lakeshore, taking in the scenery. None of the memories Nongmin had shown me matched what I saw here, yet I could still feel that I had been in this place before.

It was a strange sensation, but I was certain of it.

The other me had apparently miscalculated something when preparing for the possibility that I would lose my memories. The question was whether I was willing to restore the memories Nongmin claimed belonged to me.

“I don’t know, man. This feels like a cop-out.”

I looked out over the lake.

“I feel like you’re robbing me of a great adventure just so you can go back to tending your empire or whatever it is you’re dealing with. And Nongmin? He’s honestly creeping me out. I don’t even know why I’m saying this, but I wish you were here so I could lay it all on you.”

Those were my sincere thoughts.

From what I had seen of the memories Nongmin showed me, it seemed the other me had dealt with one memory problem after another. Corrupted faith. An infection from the Supreme Void. Some bizarre aftereffect of the Source. There always seemed to be something capable of messing with my memories.

“Why does it have to be you?”

I asked the other me. Or perhaps I was really asking myself. I sat beside the lake and lowered my legs into the water, soaking my shoes, socks, and pants. It was petty, but if I was going to disappear anyway, what difference would a little mischief make?

We were the same person. I understood that much. Yet the difference between how I saw the world now and how the other me had seen it mattered more than I wanted to admit.

The funny thing was that fixing the memory problem was actually easy.

The other me already knew it could be undone with a snap of his fingers.

Instead, he had left the decision to me. He was essentially putting his faith in a stranger. Then again, that wasn’t entirely unbelievable. This version of Da Wei had apparently done the same thing with his dark counterpart, Dark David. The thought of myself becoming some edgy overlord was honestly beyond me, but the memories I had seen certainly gave me one hell of a ride.

“Here goes nothing.”

I took a deep breath and channeled a power I hadn’t even known I possessed.

If it weren’t for Nongmin and the memories he had shown me, I would never have realized I possessed something this absurdly powerful. Some part of me still wished it wasn’t real. I almost wanted Nongmin to be lying to me.

Slowly, my eyes began to burn.

Yeah. He hadn’t been lying.

“Origin Art: Ophanim.”

My eyes glowed.

Rings upon rings formed within them, countless eyes gazing into the world and beyond it. For a moment, I felt myself being swallowed by an overwhelming tide of memories and near-omniscience. Past, present, and future brushed against my existence all at once.

I took a slow breath and closed my eyes. When I opened them again, the version of me who had been sitting beside the lake was gone. Ophanim had returned me to myself.

“That hurts a lot.”

I wiped the bloody tears from my eyes.

Using my Origin Art in this place had pushed me dangerously close to damaging my soul. That was the last thing I needed. If my soul were damaged badly enough, there was a chance the Supreme Void would seize it upon my death and cycle me through his internal reincarnation system, eventually using me in his Ascension Games.

I was really cutting it close.

Losing my Supremacy Trait had weakened Ophanim as well, making it much harder for me to parse through the past, present, and future.

“Oh, come on.”

I stood up, grimacing at the uncomfortable feeling of my soggy socks. I was about to use Searing Smite to dry myself when a fragment of another life flashed through my mind. I stopped. The sensation left me strangely conflicted.

After a moment, I lowered my hand.

“You did good, buddy.”

The words came quietly, but I meant them. I thanked him from the depths of my heart.

“I’ll take it from here.”

When I returned to Meregreen, it was already night. The moment I stepped through the manor doors, the maids greeted me with wide smiles.

“Welcome home, Master David.”

“Welcome back, Master.”

“Good evening,” I replied.

Their greetings were familiar, yet somehow, they felt distant.

Yesterday felt like I had still been standing in the Hollowed World, surrounded by memories that felt like they belonged to another lifetime. Now, I was back in Meregreen, standing inside a manor that was supposed to be my home.

Except I felt like a stranger in my own house.

“Where are the guests?” I asked.

“They are already having dinner, Master David,” one of the maids replied. “The head maid is hosting them at the moment.”

I nodded.

I was eager to get on with the journey. Even if we pooled all of our cultivation together, I doubted we could simply force our way out of this place. The only reliable way to leave was through the Tower.

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There was a research group from the Hollowed World stationed there. They had volunteered to study the Tower from the False Earth’s side, and the Empire had no intention of abandoning them here. Common sense dictated that we needed a reliable means of transportation between the two worlds.

That was why they had built the elevator.

It had been constructed using the Tower itself as its foundation, with the transportation structure literally attached around the base of the Tower. If I showed my face there, they should have no reason to stop us from using it.

“Should I inform the head maid that you have returned?” the maid asked. “Perhaps you wish to take over hosting the guests yourself?”

“It’s fine.”

“What about dinner, then?”

“I don’t have much of an appetite.” I glanced toward the corridor. “Where is N’wa?”

“She is in the guest room, Master.”

“Thank you.”

I excused myself and headed upstairs. I could delay talking with Nongmin and Tao Long for a little while. The truth was, I was bothered. Not by them, exactly. I was bothered by the other me and the man I used to be. I stopped before the guest room and knocked.

When the door opened, a card immediately flew toward my face. I caught it between two fingers. Just as suddenly, the card erupted in cursed red flames.

“Cleanse.”

Holy light washed over the card, suppressing the curse before I followed with Frost Smite. The flames froze and shattered into fragments of red ice that scattered harmlessly across the floor. The red-haired woman standing before me was practically glaring holes through my skull.

“The red hair doesn’t suit you, Dark Witch,” I remarked.

Unexpected nostalgia washed over me the moment I said it.

“What?” N’wa asked, clearly confused.

I stepped forward and forced my way into the room, catching her by the shoulders before she could retreat.

“It’s me, Da Wei,” I said plainly.

Her expression hardened. “You are finally showing your true colors, Evil God.”

I stared into her eyes. “Look into my eyes, and you’ll have your answer.”

N’wa hesitated, reluctant to cooperate, so she closed her eyes. Her body gradually stopped struggling. I could feel her fear as she trembled in place, unable to fight back against her sworn enemy.

“I see,” I muttered.

I released her shoulders and stepped back. I had no intention of forcing her to remember everything at once. There was something I needed her to understand first.

“This Slayer Order. Don’t get involved with them anymore. Otherwise, you will only continue to be used, just as you were in your past life.”

I remembered that version of her.

During the Ascension Games, she had taken the epithet of the Dark Witch and fought against me. She had used someone when it suited her, discarded them when they were no longer useful, and eventually discovered that she had been nothing more than another piece on someone else’s board.

I wanted her to remember that. It was not because I wanted to punish her for what she had done, but because I wanted her to understand what was happening to her again.

“I can’t.” N’wa's voice trembled. She suddenly fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face. “I have nowhere to go. I... I have nowhere else to go.” Her hands clenched against her clothes. “The Slayer Order is my home. I can’t fail them.”

I looked down at her. “You know that they were using you.”

I looked around the room.

I couldn’t imagine staying in this world for long. Even if I had told them that I would return, and even if I meant it when I said it, I couldn’t imagine coming back often enough for my existence to truly matter to them. Their lifespans were limited, after all. Far more limited than those of the denizens of the Hollowed World, where cultivation was becoming increasingly common.

I looked at N’wa. She was broken and weak. It was the furthest image I had ever had of the Dark Witch, yet ironically, it was exactly how she had looked during her final moments.

“Here’s the deal. Stay here,” I offered. “Or go back to your Order and do their bidding. Feed on your hatred and continue hunting me down. I guarantee you, it’ll be a fruitless endeavor. The only chance you’ll ever get to hunt me down is now. Once I leave this world, there’s a good chance you’ll never see me again. I’ll wait for your answer tomorrow.”

I turned around and walked out of the room.

To my surprise, several maids were standing outside, apparently listening in on our conversation. The moment they noticed me, they returned to their chores without even pretending they hadn’t been eavesdropping.

I sighed. What did I even mean to these people? The thought brought me back to the other me. Yeah. I couldn’t stay in this place. But as much as I hated to admit it, part of me wanted to.

When I arrived at the dining hall, I exchanged a glance with the head maid, Sheila. She was a young woman with a confident demeanor, and she immediately understood what I wanted. She excused herself, leaving me alone with Nongmin and Tao Long.

“Good work,” I said.

Nongmin continued eating without looking up. “Eating in this world feels strangely satisfying,” he remarked. “Even hunger itself seems to become a spice.”

Tao Long shrugged. “I couldn’t care less. Taste is taste, no matter where you eat.”

“I’m back,” I announced, implying my state of mind.

Nongmin continued eating, but Tao Long couldn’t hide his surprise. “I’m glad you’re back. So, what’s the plan now?”

“For now, eat.” I sat down and joined them at the table. “There are a few things I need to do before we move on. I ask that the two of you be patient. I understand that you took a lot of risks coming here. I didn’t expect Gu Jie to actually go so far as to exile me in this place.”

I picked up some food and stared at it for a moment.

“She probably didn’t imagine that I’d awaken my memories this quickly.”

Nongmin's expression became serious.

“You do know that this can’t end with an earful, right? Your daughter and the love of your life schemed to put you down here. I know I shouldn’t be speaking for myself, but they crossed a line at a time when they were the ones most responsible.”

I looked at him.

“Was I too soft on them?”

Tao Long answered instead.

“Yes.”

He set down his utensils.

“Your daughter had been acting suspiciously for some time already. It started after the events of the False Earth, and it’s only continued to worsen. I don’t know if it’s because of some obsessive form of love, but when there’s smoke, there’s fire. Where do you think the rumors in your court came from?”

He paused before continuing.

“And then there’s Alice. She started acting out of place after she gave birth to Gu Jie. I don’t want to make assumptions, but none of this looks good for them. If you plan on sparing them, fine. But there still have to be consequences.”

I was silent for a moment.

“I’ll think about it when I’m there.”

I looked between the two of them.

“Just eat. You’ll need your energy.”

After we had our fill, I had the maids guide Nongmin and Tao Long to their rooms.

I then summoned a lawyer.

It was rather late in the evening, but I was rich, after all. Granted, my wealth here couldn’t compare to what I had accumulated in the Hollowed World, but I still had more than enough to make arrangements.

I wrote up a will and a series of grants, arranging things so that the people I believed deserved it would have their chances. I also arranged a rather hasty party.

The maids knew what it was for.

They kept quiet about it, though their expressions betrayed a lukewarm reluctance. The women of this era often found themselves in disadvantaged positions. Some of these women had once been prostitutes or slaves. Others would have fallen even further into ruin if the other me hadn’t entered their lives.

The same was true for much of Meregreen.

The city had already been on a path toward self-destruction, caught between the abuse of its local mayor and the greed brought about by the mines. The other me had apparently managed to change the lives of quite a few people simply by being here.

So I wanted to leave something behind.

I wrote letters for the people of note I had met, for the local faces I had grown acquainted with, and for the maids who had served me during my time here. I wrote down whatever I thought they needed to know.

Also, I started a journal.

I poured my thoughts into it, writing about the person who had stood in my place while I had been without my memories. I wanted to leave behind some record of him, even if only a few pages could prove that he had existed.

I didn’t know if anyone would ever read it.

That wasn’t the point.

If I truly had to leave this place behind, then I wanted to at least leave something that said the person who had lived here had mattered. I worked throughout the night without slowing down. Being a superhuman Paladin had its advantages. My body didn’t tire the way an ordinary human’s would, and my mind could process information at a pace that made an entire night feel almost trivial.

By the time dawn arrived, everything was prepared. A carriage was waiting outside for our departure.

Tao Long was the first to notice me. He stared at my face for a moment before raising an eyebrow. “You look terrible.”

I touched beneath my eyes. “Do I have eye bags?”

“You have eye bags.”

“Do you know how to ride a horse? Or maybe the carriage?”

Tao Long shook his head. “I’m a dragon. Why would I know how to ride a horse?”

I stared at him. “That is somehow the worst excuse I’ve ever heard.”

Nongmin stepped forward. “I can handle the horses.”

I nodded. “Thanks.”

We waited a few minutes longer. I was beginning to wonder if N’wa had decided against making her decision known, whether to stay or hunt me down. Suddenly, I heard hurried footsteps approaching from inside the manor.

N'wa emerged from the entrance, rushing toward us. Her expression was resolute. “Let me come with you,” she said. "Let me decide if you are truly the Evil God that the Slayer Order thought me to hate. If you are, then I shall slay you."

I sighed. “Get in.”

N’wa nodded and climbed into the carriage. I followed after her. Whatever happened next, at least she had made a choice.