Waking Up

I woke up, this time, slowly and steadily. It had been a while since I had slept in comfort. At the same time, I felt a hidden anxiety creep on me, and it failed to shake off. The mystery remained an ominous conundrum, and it felt more compelling the more I tried to move my mind away from it. From the murder, time travel, to this premonition sense, I failed to grasp any part of it. All I knew was that I had fallen, as I had approached the forbidden library, the reason behind it remaining largely forgotten. The reason behind me being at this "friend's house," also remains unclear to me.

I looked outside the car, and I readily recognized which route we were taking. This was the route to the train station. Only one train goes to Central, after all, and this is the lone train station from where we can catch it. I let out a small gasp out of trauma. I hoped that this time, the past would not repeat itself.

"We are here."

I snapped out of my deep thought. He had opened the door midway while he signaled me to get out. I looked in front, puzzled again.

"Could I save everyone this time?"

The thought buzzed through my mind. It hurt to be reminded of all the people that I could have saved, lost. Not even a single memory about them remained, except their names, which I could recall with clarity. I could feel as though the breeze took their lives away in an instant. I recalled the forbidden library well, and I could not tell whether I was looking at a foreign structure, or at myself. I was filled with guilt, and the most overwhelming being the hatred for myself. Yet, I could not tell why I felt this deep attachment to my past, despite most of my memories being forgotten.

The train was about to arrive. It seemed Heinrich had gone to meet with the staff, he said, because of regular duty. I had paid for a small meal of fried chicken porridge, when I was right outside the train station. It felt cozy to eat this warm food in the midst of the freezing weather. Before, when I was at the mansion, I could not have expected to be able to treat myself to a proper meal. This was nothing short of a lucky turn of events.

The word 'lucky' stood out to me, and I felt that I had this strong feeling before as well. I shrugged it off as a mere coincidence.

"It seems you enjoyed the meal."

Heinrich's voice muffled under the noise of the train gates opening. I remembered that I was excited when I first joined the service, and got the opportunity to ride the steam train. Along with time, the tides of this country started to change as well. Development picked up with the opening of borders, and so did new modern technology get developed. It was truly a time of reckoning for this world, and by their fruits it will be judged.

I boarded the train with that same feeling of nostalgia. The seat no. was 443, and I sat right beside the window. Heinrich followed right behind me.

While this was the only train to Central, it was also the most luxurious. Chandelier-like lights were placed in the center, and a reading light was put above every chair. The chairs were in four for every corner, and two tables were placed between them, which were folded below the window. The food, I heard, was excellent Central cuisine, from the variety of flavors, especially the Northern house's influence was prominent.

Despite us being the only passengers that onboarded at this station, the train was delayed by two hours. And, then I realized. I started to feel a strong sense of premonition at this. I started to gasp in panic. But I could not find the words to say to Heinrich, to explain the situation well enough for him to believe me.

"Heinrich, we must hurry, and leave the train this instant!"

The moment those words escaped my mouth, the train doors closed, and my words were swallowed by it. Words could not escape from my mouth anymore. All I could do was face the situation at hand.

"Passenger no. 443, please arrive at the deck."

My memory started to play back like a music sequence. I now knew nothing could help me to escape this destiny of mine. What could I have done differently? The similar thought echoed in my mind. Again, I started having trouble differentiating the imaginary and reality. The scenery outside the train started to resemble the town, which I could not save.

The train stopped suddenly, and the lights went out. The train floor started to shake as if a giant structure was moving. My sight started to flash. It seemed I was in the forest again. I started to shout in despair, and the voices came back to shudder me.

"Murderer! Murderer!"

I was truly a murderer. I felt repulsive, and wanted to vomit.

"Wolff! Wolff!"

I woke up in shock. It seems I was back on the train. I looked outside, and noticed it following the normal route to Central. I closed my eyes in relief.

"Passenger no. 443, please arrive at the deck."

I could now see the library gate, as I stood right outside it. I knew I was in a dream.

"You must be Wolff Muller, I presume?"

A spirit descended from the skies, all translucent and ghostly. I could barely see it, but I felt that if I saw any more, I would shake in fear.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, my name is Oulanem."

Though I found the name at first foreign, it was a striking resemblance to the name of the Heavenly Lord, albeit mixed up. I was cautious; spirits are our natural enemy after all.

"I am the Earl, or should I say, the owner of this space that you're currently residing in."

It was obvious that this space, or realm, was artificially crafted by a tremendous amount of mana, the degree of which no man can possess. And, this spirit must be no ordinary one, a specialty among the rest.

"Now, I must be brief: You must wake up soon."

"You must sleep now. You must first accomplish what you came here for."

The two voices overlapped, as if an incantation was being read. Now, I started to see two scenes side-by-side, of the train being stuck in the dark, and me sitting in it. It was as if the two were blending, and clashing against each other. I started to lose track of time, as my sense of presence started to sublime.

When I woke up, I was sitting in the train, in front of Heinrich.