Chapter 16

As the three of them stood awkwardly on the side of the dimly lit road, the atmosphere felt thick with tension and unspoken words. Suddenly, a sleek black sedan glided to a stop beside them. The window rolled down, revealing General Zarek, his expression serious but not unkind. "Get in," he commanded, his voice steady.

The interior of the vehicle was surprisingly spacious, providing ample room for Issac, Jaren, and Marcus to settle in comfortably despite their mounting anxiety. The silence that enveloped them during the ride was heavy, each of them lost in their thoughts, their minds racing with the implications of what was about to unfold.

After what felt like an eternity, they arrived at a nondescript building nestled in a deserted neighborhood. The exterior gave little away, appearing almost abandoned. But as they entered, the facade crumbled; inside, the space was transformed into a luxurious hideout filled with cutting-edge government technology and sleek furnishings. The contrast was stark, and Issac couldn't help but feel a sense of awe mingled with apprehension.

At the entrance, General Zarek scanned himself at the door, the biometric security system humming quietly as the door swung open. Issac quickly glanced around at the impressive interior while following the general to a spacious living room, where plush sofas beckoned them to sit.

Once settled, Zarek's demeanor shifted to one of stern authority. He leaned forward, fixing his gaze on Issac. "Explain everything," he instructed, the weight of his words settling over them like a heavy cloak.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Issac began, his heart pounding in his chest. "This isn't my first life."

The general raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "As in reincarnation?"

Issac shook his head, feeling a knot of anxiety tighten in his stomach. "No."

Marcus, leaning slightly forward, pressed for clarification. "Then what is it?"

Issac hesitated, knowing he was about to delve into a complex and painful truth. "This is my third retry on this timeline of my life."

Before Jaren could interject, his mouth opening in surprise, Issac quickly added, "Please, don't ask anything until I'm done." He needed to get this out, to share the weight of his past without interruption.

"In my first life, I lived to the age of 38 and had a wife and child. From the age of 20 until my demise, Marcus became my best friend. We fought together to clear dungeons and climbed the towers to grow stronger. At 25, we both joined a prominent guild called the Starlight Guild, where Jaren was the vice guild master and the only S-Class Guide and Esper." Issac's voice was steady, but he felt the memories tugging at him, bittersweet. "In that first life, I was just a run-of-the-mill C-Class Esper with wind powers. I worked hard to earn an instructor role for new recruits, and it was surprising that on the last day of our lives, I found myself in the same raid group as Jaren."

Jaren interrupted, a frown creasing his brow. "Last day of our lives?"

"Yes," Issac replied sharply, taking a sip of tea that had been served to him, grateful for the warmth. He could feel the weight of the room pressing down on him, every eye focused intently as he continued. "After we reached the end of a supposed D-Rank dungeon, something felt wrong. That was when five S-Class monsters emerged from the shadows, their dog-like forms massive and terrifying, equipped with extra appendages for grabbing. They were as tall as horses, but the leader? He was twice that size. They seemed sentient, and I realized the danger we were in."

Issac paused, the memory flooding back vividly. "Jaren told me and the recruits to run, and we did. Two of those monsters chased us, picking us off one by one until only I and a Guide trainee remained. We fought while retreating, but the odds were stacked against us. I carried the Guide and used my wind powers to try to get us ahead. We were almost out. But…"

His voice faltered, panic beginning to grip him as the memories threatened to overwhelm him. The air around him grew stifling, and he felt himself slipping into darkness, his breath quickening. "But…"

"Breathe, Issac," Alfred's voice chimed in his mind, a soothing reminder to ground himself.

Then, he felt a warm hand on his face. Jaren's Guide powers washed over him, a calming wave that eased his spiraling thoughts. Issac took a moment to collect himself, grateful for the support. "I'm okay," he murmured as Jaren settled back down beside him.

Issac drew another deep breath, forcing himself to continue. "But the gate to the dungeon was sealed, and nothing I did could open it. The two monsters chasing us closed in, waiting for their leader. That's when it happened. The leader emerged, carrying a half-dead Jaren in its jaws and dropping him like a bag of trash."

At this, Jaren's face paled, and he opened his mouth as if to protest, but Issac cut him off again. "Now hush. We both used the last of our strength to fight, but we lost."

He paused, steeling himself for the final part of the tale. "It was when I woke up to a system and found myself reawakened at 18 that I discovered I had the power to go back in time—at the cost of dying."

After a few moments of heavy silence, Marcus finally broke it, his voice hesitant yet curious. "So… what happened in your second life?"

Issac leaned back, the weight of his experiences pressing on him as the memories of that life surfaced. "In my second life," he began slowly, "I was different. After waking up again at eighteen, I made it my mission to change everything I thought I had done wrong in the first timeline. I tried reconnecting with my wife, but I ended up pushing her away, so far that she got a restraining order against me. I couldn't handle the disappointment, the failure..."

He sighed, rubbing his temples as the memories came flooding back, dark and complicated. "I became disillusioned. I didn't care about doing things the 'right way' anymore. I lost trust in the system, in the government that was supposed to protect us. I started digging deeper into what was going on behind the scenes, especially in the labs.

"Turns out, the government wasn't just hiding information about dungeons and Espers. They were conducting experiments—horrific things—on Espers and Guides. I discovered the truth, but at that point, I didn't care about exposing them to the public for the sake of justice. I wanted revenge."

Issac's gaze hardened, his voice taking on a sharper edge. "So, I went rogue. I became a rogue Esper, an antihero—an assassin, if you will. I exposed government labs, destroyed their operations, and took down those responsible for the horrors happening behind closed doors. At the time, I thought I was doing the right thing, but... I killed a lot of people. Both innocent and guilty." His eyes lowered as the weight of those choices still pressed heavily on him.

Marcus's eyes widened, the weariness on his face deepening. "You… you took down government labs? No wonder you weren't on anyone's radar anymore. You became a ghost."

Issac nodded. "That life was dark. I kept running from my mistakes, from the people I hurt. But I was still hunted, and eventually… I died again."

There was a brief pause before Jaren spoke up, his tone more serious. "And now this third life? What makes this one different?"

Issac exhaled deeply. "In this life, I've realized I can't keep running from everything. I have to face the past, face the things I've done and the choices I've made. This time, I'm not trying to go it alone. I'm telling you both this because you deserve to know the truth—and because I can't do this without you. The apocalypse is still coming, and I need to stop it."

General Zarek, who had been listening intently, leaned forward, his eyes unreadable. "The apocalypse?"

Issac nodded, his tone grim. "It's what every timeline has been leading to, whether I changed things or not. The dungeons, the towers, the experiments—all of it is connected. I've seen it twice already. The monsters grow more dangerous, the corruption spreads, and humanity is on the brink of destruction."

Marcus, still reeling from all of Issac's revelations, asked the question they were all thinking. "And how do we stop it?"

Issac looked around at each of them, his face set in determination. "By working together this time. By pooling our resources and knowledge, by being smarter. I've made a lot of mistakes in my previous lives, but I'm done making the same ones. This time, we're stopping it before it's too late."

The weight of Issac's words settled over the room, leaving the others to process the magnitude of what he had just revealed.