Chapter Text
[Do you want to reset?]
[Yes] [No]
Reset? What did that mean? Why was the strange illusion asking him questions? Insulting him further.
Kim Suho had called him his protagonist.
He looks down at the summons, who chirp and nod at him, eyes filled with something like hope.
Javier raises an arm to touch the apparition in front of him.
He'd already lost everything anyway.
He lightly taps the [Yes] unsure how solid the apparition is.
A blinding light envelops him, filling his vision within a second. When he regains the use of his eyes, Javier finds himself still in his room, right where he'd been when he'd touched the vision.
He glances around, immediately noticing that's he's; one, wearing different clothes; and two now truly alone, Kim Suho's summons have vanished.
His chest tightens. Had he made them disappear? Please say they would be back, he'd been tasked with keeping them safe.
In his investigation of the room, he notices his sword is no longer broken. It's laying against the wall, in the same spot he'd used to put it.
It's clean. Not a speck of blood. Javier has to force his eyes away from it.
The room as a whole feels wrong, despite it most definitely being his room. He slowly rises to his feet, looking around properly.
Things are displaced, items back in areas that he'd moved them from ages ago.
Yes. Ages ago, almost like—
Someone knocks on his door.
Most had already left the manor, no one to pay them or order them around anymore.
Javier stays silent, eyes locked on the un-opened door.
"Um— Sir, Asrahan?" He hears from the other side of the door, "Baron Arcos requests your presence in his office."
Javier freezes.
Baron Arcos? Even if the man wasn't dead, he'd been a Count for a while now.
He looks around his room again, familar yet, distantly like he'd returned to it years ago. And Baron Arcos was asking for him.
Reset
That's what the strange illusion had said.
Did that mean he'd gone back in time?
The idea was ridiculous, yet the information in front of him had few other solutions. He'd found himself in his room, as it was years ago, and was hearing people refer to the Baron, not the Count.
He pinched his arm.
Not a dream then.
"Sir Asrahan?" The voice calls again. "I don't want to rush you, but I also need to know if you're in there."
Javier opens his mouth, intending to call out his presence. But he bites it back, still not trusting his voice. Not trusting his body, as it had already betrayed him.
He strides to the door, and opens it instead.
"Oh! alright then. Thank you Sir Asrahan." The maid in front of him says, startled.
Javier just nods.
"Okay, I'll be on my way. You know where to go." She adds, looking at him nervously before she runs off.
He watches her go, still standing in his doorway.
Baron Arcos had asked for him.
Javier wracked his brain for when this might be, given that information. He still wasn't completely sure what had happened, but he hoped, deep down, that he had returned to the past, before anything had gone wrong. Maybe then—
He shook his head, grounding himself.
His presence had been requested. No matter what, he shouldn't keep the Lord Frontera waiting.
The halls were in a state of dissrepair, given their Barony status this likely meant he went rather far back. They'd fixed up the manor years ago.
Was Kim Suho here? He wonders, although he doubts it. If the man had been, Javier would likely have been bothered by him by now. The sun was far up in the sky, already beginning it's descent.
Javier felt his lips twitch up at the thought.
A few minutes later, he found himself stopped at the door to the Baron's office.
He should knock. The Baron was waiting for him. Javier tells himself, flexing his hand. Just to make sure he cam
He slowly raises a shaking fist, knocking twice.
"Come in." Un-mistakenly Baron Arcos' voice calls from inside the room.
Javier takes a deep breath, trying in vain to school his expression into something more presentable, and opens the door.
The Baron looks tired —typical of their debt ridden times— he's agonizing over some sort of paperwork. He looks up at Javier and smiles when he hears the door opening.
Javier's face must be telling, because Baron Arcos looks immediately concerned, smile vanishing.
"Javier? Are you alright?" He asks, standing up quickly.
Javier takes a few grounding breaths before responding.
"Yes." Javier finally gets out. His voice is somehow still broken, despite his strange maybe-time travel. "My apologies, I had a very disturbing dream, it's left me on edge."
"Oh, must have been quite a vivid one." The Baron replies, smile returning, although muted. "You'll be alright if I ask you to do something, I hope?"
"Yes, of course." Javier answers quickly.
"That's good, you know I don't like giving anyone else this task." He says, sitting back down. "It seems Lloyd has gone back out again. Please make sure he doesn't do anything foolish, will you?"
Javier blinks.
Could it be?
The fateful day was not the only time The Baron had asked him to collect his son. But—
Javier pushed the thought away. There was no reason to agonize over it, either he was right or he wasn't only time would tell.
"Of course, My Lord." Javier responds. He cringes at his own voice, still gravely.
"You aren't coming down with anything, are you Javier? Your voice sounds rather scratchy." Baron Arcos asks.
"No, I feel physically fine." Javier tells him. He does, even. Nothing should be making his voice the way it is, he suspects it's a side affect of something else. He'd always been best a tlying when it was technically true.
"Well, make sure to take care of yourself." The Baron tells him, "And if you can, keep Lloyd out of as much trouble as possible." He adds with a slight grimace.
Javier just nods.
~
He knows where the young master most likely is, but decides to take his time, examining his surroundings.
Nothing around him gave him a clear clue as to when exactly he was. He didn't quite want to ask anyone either, from someone who was mostly on top of everything, asking what day it was would raise questions.
Javier wasn't a good liar.
Javier shakes his head, as the sun slowly dips below the horizon, walking along the roads of the Barony. He greets a few of the villagers, as politely as he can without speaking.
He'd almost forgotten what it had looked like, before Kim Suho had come and changed everything. People still looked happy to see him, but they all looked tired, run down.
Javier eventually found himself walking along a very familiar road, as the last of the sunlight faded.
Young Master Lloyd was splayed out there.
Javier lets out a small laugh.
He'd been right. He crouches down next to the man, resisting the urge to kick him lightly.
Perhaps it would be better if he woke up in the manor.
Javier leaned over to pick him up, he's about to send mana through the man to keep him calm whe he remembers his current state.
His body hadn't figured out the Asrahan Core technique. It was clear to him by now that his body had returned to that of this time. There wasn't yet a Kim Suho to help him crack the case.
He'd just have to settle for keeping the man steady as he headed back to the manor.
It mostly worked, as the man in his arms kept asleep, beside some strange muttering that Javier could not quite make out.
He'd have to work on his mana, sooner rather than later.
Javier makes his way to the Young Master's room easily, more than familiar with it by now, he carefully lays him down.
He had once despised the man in front of him, then grown to care for an imposter that would likely come to this world soon. Maybe it was the sentiments he's overheard on the train, what seemed like all that time ago, but Javier felt that hatred wane. Lloyd was not the man who had saved the Barony, but he wasn't completely rotten.
Javier still hoped Kim Suho would arrive soon. The selfish part of him wanted it more than anything, to be able to properly protect the man he'd failed so horribly.
An irrational part of him reminded him of what happened when the man was out of the equation, everything had collapsed, so quickly and so thoroughly. Told him it would happen again, if the man did not return.
Javier had so many questions about the whole situation. He had no clue where to start getting answers.
He looks down at Lloyd, wondering once again, how long he would still be, well Lloyd.
Maybe Kim Suho would have answers, but that would mean revealing Javier knew who he was. Maybe with time, once the man had settled down.
Javier eventually left the room, resigning himself to a more than normal sleepless night.
Swordmaster syndrome was no joke. He added it to this list.
~
In the early hours of the morning, Javier recived the first of his answers.
[Successful Reset]
The vision told him.
[As a former protagonist, you now have access to some additional resources.]
[As you are originally a character, you cannot access RP.]
[Instead you will receive XP, awarded when advancing the new plot or protecting key characters]
[Investing XP will allow you to develop certain skills]
[Current XP: 0]
Javier stares at the strange boxes in front of him.
The wording— former protagonist catches his eye.
He'd seen it used before.
"Have you taken me back in time?" Javier tries, asking the air.
There is no answer.
He sighs, that would make things too easy.
When no more boxes appear, he collects himself quickly and makes his way to the Young Master's room.
He leaves his sword in his room, just in case.