Mysteries: Arcana Wars

"Did you step on Maldoron?"

"I called you several times and you didn't hear me, you were just standing there looking around!"

Klein froze when he saw the young man's dark, deep eyes.

The other person's angry and flustered words seemed to drift away from Klein's ears, and the world seemed to drift away from him at that moment, with the noisy amusement park falling silent.

This was the first time Klein had heard Rosselvin in real life, aside from the illusions of Melissa and others.

The young man in front of him had a long braid and was wearing a fancy hair clip on his head. He immediately caught Klein's attention and retrieved countless fragments from his chaotic memories in an instant.

One of the books, traversing the gaps of time, has photos on its pages gradually overlapping with the faces before our eyes.

"You are... Field Moretti!"

Klein rushed up and grabbed the other person's hand tightly, as if he had grasped a chain of survival in the fog.

"You're not dead...you're not dead!"

"You're alive! Alive!!"

"What do you mean by dead or alive? I'm not even sure if it's real or fake!"

Field muttered to himself, trying to shake off Klein's hand, but he failed due to the difference in strength and sequence. He could only let Klein's other hand grope up and down his body to confirm that the person in front of him was real.

"You are not a curse, not a blessing, not a spell..."

"You are real, aren't you? Tell me, you're not a figment of my imagination!"

"Of course I'm a hallucination of this world! Klein, are you delirious with fever?"

Ignoring Klein's dazed gaze, Field quickly stripped off the plush mascot costume, pulled Klein up, and ran off.

"Run! Klein!"

Field shouted anxiously.

"The giant snake behind us is catching up!"

"...Wait, what's next..."

Klein instinctively looked back, but all he saw behind him was a stream of people screaming and fleeing in all directions, shattered machines emitting flames, and black smoke billowing everywhere, making his respiratory tract sting. There was no snake-like creature that could run.

“Didn’t you see that huge flying snake?!” Field shouted without turning his head.

"……look……"

Before Klein could finish speaking, another machine exploded behind them with a loud bang, and scorching flames even licked Klein's back.

"I didn't see any snakes behind me!"

The sounds of intense burning and screams from tourists rose and fell, and Klein could only shout at the top of his lungs.

No! I can't see it!

"What?! You didn't see anything at all?!"

"yes!!"

"Oh, it's alright then, it must have just been my hallucination."

"what!?"

Accompanied by Klein's incredulous voice, yet another machine they were passing by exploded.

A mysterious and invisible force was relentlessly pursuing Klein. It might be a curse from the gods, the sins of mortals, or a demon that incurs the wrath of both gods and men, attempting to kill the protagonist of this performance.

Klein suddenly understood what Field meant.

The so-called giant snake is not just a hallucination of young people, but more like an abstract perception of their surroundings, presented as a concrete hallucination.

It's possible that the escaped monster is chasing them, or that the cultists have swarmed out to sabotage their escape route; in any case, what's happening behind them is definitely not a good thing.

The hallucinations Field was experiencing might be a manifestation of a burst of inspiration, but they seemed... well... somewhat eroding his sanity...?

In a series of deafening explosions, the two always managed to escape disaster. A dangerous serpent followed like a shadow, its orange flames and gray smoke biting at the back of Klein's neck, like a dazzling yet deadly cloak draped over the protagonist of the story, stretching and growing endlessly behind him.

The roles are reversed here; the hunter has become the hunted.

Klein couldn't help but think of Fowles, who had not yet been reinstated.

Back then, he was just like now, dragging Fowles along as they ran through the sky filled with sparks, eventually escaping the world and hiding in a bizarre underground city.

Now, he's the one being dragged along.

For the first time, Klein experienced the romance of an explosion; he realized that flames and dust could truly be so captivating.

They shook off the giant snake, the smoke, and everything in their path. Intense flames illuminated and destroyed the streets, tearing at machinery and creating a unique backdrop for this moment of madness.

"Don't just stand there, snap out of it, Klein!"

Amidst the chaos of war, Field shouted from the front.

"Aren't you from the past?? Why are you dragging me, a Sequence 7, along to run away?!?!"

"Leap! Leap, flames!"

"Run! Aa ...

Field's appearance greatly shocked Klein. It wasn't until Field called him back to his senses that he snapped out of his shock and madness and landed on the battlefield before him.

Klein immediately pulled Field into a fire jump, and they quickly hid behind some cover in the distance.

"Boy, you..."

He clenched his fist and found that there was nothing behind him.

His flame leaps... are no longer effective against Field!?

Fortunately, Field was already experienced and quickly reached Klein's side by leaping through flames.

However, wherever he leaps, black smoke and flames will surge forth, and the maximum distance of a single leap is much smaller than that of other Sequence Sevens.

Klein sat on the ground, leaning against his cover. The concrete shards falling from the explosion gave him a sense of security, while behind him came a continuous stream of gunfire and screams, as if from another world, unable to reach behind Klein's cover.

Field, who had leaped out of the black flames, quickly appeared beside him, huddled together, and nervously listened to the sounds behind them.

As another series of explosions rang out behind them, a terrifying giant snake tore at the amusement park rides. Flames were its body, explosions were its roars.

Only after the unseen giant snake howled and disappeared into the distance did Field breathe a long sigh of relief, then turn to see Klein, who looked dazed.

Once again, Klein grabbed Field's hand as if it were a lifeline.

"So, everything Melissa said is true?" Klein's gaze was intense. "You are Melissa's descendant, right!"

"Does it have to be this 'Remembrance of Things Past' thing at this crucial moment?!"

Field covered his face in despair, feeling as if the world had ended.

But Klein's expression was serious and earnest, his eyes almost pleading.

Tell me, tell me!

Let my bewilderment across a thousand years end!

I really only need... one answer...

What will my future be like?

"you……"

Recalling the unease that had plagued him along the way, Field suddenly realized something and cautiously probed.

"You really... don't remember anything?"

His response was a silent yearning.

Field then looked seriously and calmly into Klein's eyes.

Compared to the pair of eyes he remembered, the ones in front of him looked too young, as clear as the warm sun at noon in winter.

At that time, the mud and the years had not yet stained his eyes. Although the young man's face already had a divine radiance, he still had a unique naivety and temperament.

Field's impression of Klein was from three hundred years ago, after the millennium in the fourteenth century.

The Klein of his memory had become a veritable old monster. The weariness of long years and inner struggle had seeped into his eyes, which now only revealed an enigmatic, faint smile and a superficial cunning. Sometimes, even Field felt a chill run down his spine when he saw those eyes; they were cold and terrifying.

Occasionally, a look of disorientation and madness would erupt from his eyes like a volcano, only to eventually return to deathly silence.

This is a... very young Klein.

Realizing this, Field suddenly became interested again. After all, this young ancestor was still alive and by his side, not in those upside-down and chaotic illusions.

Hey, could this be considered... one of Klein's dark histories?

Ultimately, concerns about the status quo and an overly cautious timidity prevailed over these strange and dangerous ideas.

“Alright, what do you want to know?” Field glanced at the terminal. “But we need to hurry.”

"I would like to know……"

Klein was silent for a moment.

"I want to know, what will my future hold?"