"No need to wrack your brain. I'll tell you now." He leaned forward slightly. "It's
that
—the Recall skill. The same one that saved your life? It's also your death flag."
Ashen blinked.
"…Huh?"
The blank look on his face must have been obvious, because Old Ashen elaborated.
"After the stunt you pulled in the forest, did you really think
no one
would notice?" He asked in a calm, bored voice.
"Three little, seventh-step Pathway Walkers slaughtering nearly
a thousand
Wild Beasts—
with
a Gorefiend thrown in for fun? You think recruiters aren't going to eat that up?"
Ashen felt unease crawl up his spine.
"But no one saw us, right?" he tried. "We can just… pretend not to know anything…"
Even
he
didn't believe his own words.
His counterpart didn't bother to hide his exasperation. "Stop deluding yourself."
"The people who set you up in the first place? They're at least going to want to know how you survived."
"And that's before we even get into the countless abilities out there that let people pry into the truth without needing to ask you a single damn question."
Ashen clenched his jaw. He had considered that possibility, but hearing it laid out so plainly made his gut twist.
"And, of course, among those
countless
skills, there are bound to be some used
specifically
for prying." Old Ashen tilted his head slightly. "Especially from those guys from the Envy Pathway."
"How could they
envy
without knowing what to envy, after all?"
Ashen's hands curled into fists at his sides.
"And do you also want me to tell you what happens when they see that you possess memories from another timeline?"
Now, his counterpart's lips curled into something dangerously close to amusement.
"…Spoiler alert: it's a fate worse than death. Of course, you can always ignore my words—
if
you're into mind rape."
Ashen deadpanned.
'
Do I really turn into such an insufferable asshole later on? Damn.'
Setting that aside, he
really
needed to do something—fast. For all he knew, he was already on the verge of being exposed.
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"Well,
surprise ~
, I'm not into whatever they'd do to my brain, so… got any solutions?" He gestured vaguely to his head. "I mean, my brain's kinda yours too, if you know what I mean…"
Old Ashen rested his face on his fist, speaking slowly, as if they had
all
the time in the world. "Killing anyone who comes your way is the simplest option, but you're obviously too weak for that. So the only viable solution right now is to evolve the Recall skill into an
innate ability
."
"…And how does that help?" Ashen ignored the first option, while quietly taking note of how casually his older self had suggested
mass murder
.
His counterpart, expecting the question, explained with patience that almost felt condescending.
"Innate abilities aren't just fancier skills. They're the most precious skills we have because they're tied to our very
souls
."
"…And prying into another's soul isn't something just anyone can do."
Understanding clicked into place, and Ashen finished the thought. "So if I tie Recall to my soul, it won't get discovered…
for now
."
Old Ashen nodded. "For now. But when you do meet people who can pry into your soul, you'd better have learned how to either cloak yourself or fight back… unlike now."
Ashen exhaled sharply, refocusing. He could freak out about the other stuff later. His life was still at risk even now, after all.
"…Alright. So, how do I do it?"
For the first time since their conversation started, Old Ashen hesitated. It lasted only a fraction of a second, but Ashen
saw
it. It almost made him question if he was hallucinating.
Then the moment was gone, and the usual dull expression returned. "It's actually really easy and
incredibly
hard at the same time."
Ashen groaned. "Please, just give me the
easy
part. I've had
way
too many surprises today."
His older self shrugged. "It's not up to me this time."
Raising his hand, he pointed two fingers at Ashen. A dim light flickered between them before shooting forward, colliding with Ashen's chest.
Before he could even
ask
what the hell that was, the system answered for him.
[Granted one use of Equivalent Exchange.]
"…What the—?" Ashen understood the words, sure, but the implications? Not so much. He turned toward the culprit of his confusion.
"Equivalent Exchange," Old Ashen said flatly. "One of the prices for accomplishing
legendary feats
. Granted by the soul of the planet."
"…And?"
"It can grant you
anything
." His older self's voice remained detached, but his fingers curled slightly. "But it
always
asks for something of equal value in return."
"And the worst part…" His voice dropped into something colder. "It starts by taking whatever is
most precious to you
as payment."
A rare emotion flickered across Old Ashen's face… rage. It was brief, but the
dreamscape itself
seemed to tremble with it.
Ashen tensed.
"…You've used this before, haven't you?" he asked carefully. He guessed it was a sore spot, but if he was going to use it himself, he needed all the information.
The anger vanished as quickly as it came, and the dullness returned.
"Yes. I only had one use of it, and I already paid the price."
"…But?"
Old Ashen's lips twisted in something that wasn't quite a smirk. "Jumping to an earlier timeline seems to have revoked what I was granted… and, in turn, my payment was reimbursed."
Ashen's brows furrowed. "Yeah, so? What did you ask for, and what did you have to pay?"
"…What I asked for is irrelevant for now."
Ashen scowled, about to push further, but his older self cut him off.
"As for what I
lost
…"
The already lifeless eyes somehow became even more hollow.
"I lost the ability to love."
"…Oh."
Alice's face flashed in Ashen's mind. Then his family. Then Seraphine.
A cold weight settled in his chest.
Taking a deep breath, he locked eyes with his older self, then firmly shook his head.
"Then, I won't use it."
Becoming a
dull, empty puppet
in front of his loved ones? Breaking their hearts without even
caring
? 'Yeah, no thanks.'