Hero of Rome

Cacus and Caca take turns gnawing on Cataline’s legs in Tartarus, each bite punctuated by Cataline’s screams of betrayal, as if Rome or Bulla Felix ever cared about his pathetic double-cross.

The instant my face dove into the water, my mind started to numb. It was the strangest feeling as I shot towards the bottom of the river. The stress and determination I had going in started to dissipate, making my strokes weaker with each passing second. Only a handful of feet separated me from the Tears of Mnemosyne when my mind completely blanked.

I stared at a glowing vial buried slightly in the mud. It glowed beautifully, like a lighthouse on a stormy night. My skin shivered from the freezing water all around me.

What am I doing here? I thought, only for the memory of that peculiar thought to vanish a few moments later. I shook my head, trying to understand what exactly was going on.

My lungs started to burn from the lack of oxygen. A red notification started pulsating in my mind.

Health: 49/50

Health: 48/50

Health: 47/50

Strange, I thought, having never seen anything like that before. I looked ahead of me and there glowed a tiny vial in the mud. It was like a lighthouse on a stormy night…

Health: 40/50

Health: 39/50

That seems serious, I thought, my lungs burning from being underwater. Why was I here, anyway?

A small figurine floated up to me from my neck. A beautiful, exotic figure of a woman met my gaze. Her face I had never seen before, but her features were so intimately carved that I longed to be with whoever this represented. A goddess, perhaps? I touched her, wanting her.

The figurine suddenly came alive as a glowing specter. The figurine could hardly do her true beauty any justice. The ghostly woman smiled, cupping my face with her delicate hand, though I could not feel it. She turned and pointed to a bright vial sticking out of the mud.

Was I supposed to get it or something?

Health: 26/50

Health: 25/50

That seems serious, I thought, my lungs scorching to breathe. Whatever I was focusing on washed away from the current, and I found myself looking at the most beautiful woman.

This woman swam down to a bright vial, pointing at it insistently. I had no idea why she kept pointing to it. It was the pleading in her eyes, the longing for me that propelled me to act. I had no idea who I was or what was going on, but I wanted to please the lovely ghost, to do whatever she wanted, to make her happy. It was this desire that led me to snatch the vial. I looked back at the woman, hoping to see her pleased. Only, she hovered at the surface of the water, beckoning me forth before she disappeared above.

Health: 9/50

Health: 8/50

Longing fueled me to kick up to the surface. With all of my strength, I swam upwards. My vision started to grow dark as my health neared zero. It took everything in me not to breathe in the water for relief. Maybe it would, but there was something deep inside me that warned me not to do that.

Health: 2/50

The second my lips broke the surface of the water, I gasped for air. My mind suddenly felt clearer now that it was out of the water. However, I had no idea what I was just doing.

A beautiful lady beckoned me with one graceful hand. She was no ordinary human, but a ghost. Surrounding her, watching me with suspicion was another enchanting woman with short dark hair and hazel eyes. Next to the woman were two young men, equally perplexed by my actions.

The ghostly woman pointed to my hand. I held it up, surprised to see a glowing vile with a milky, ethereal substance in it. As I looked at it, a red lettered loadout appeared.

Item: Tears of Mnemosyne (Dei)

Description: Collected from the Lethe River, these shimmering, ethereal tears of Mnemosyne are contained in a delicate, glassy vial. They glow with a soft milky light, and their liquid seems to ripple with ancient wisdom and forgotten memories. A divine artifact, the vial feels weightless in the hand, yet its power is immeasurable.

Enchantment Effect: The Tears fully restore any memories lost due to underworld influence, enchantments, or curses. WARNING: Drinking Tears of Mnemosyne can result in severely impacting temporal abilities.

Weight: 0.5 kg

Worth: Priceless

Huh, weird, I thought, looking back at the woman. I must have lost my memories. Perhaps if I drink this, then everything will be okay. The warning sign was somewhat concerning, but I had no idea if I had any temporal abilities. The risk of being a blank slate versus having a somewhat damaged mind was an easy gamble.

I popped off the cork and took a sip of the milky tears.

A train of memories slammed into my brain. It felt like the goddess herself jammed her fingers into my skull and spread it wide to allow for the flood of memories to pour into my mind. I fell to my knees at the intensity of everything I had ever known, thought, and experienced painted itself onto the canvas of my brain. This included the hundreds of thousands of books and scrolls I had ever read. It was as if I were reading them for the first time again. Time became irrelevant as I essentially relived everything I had ever done.

As I seized with pain on the muddy bank remembering everything, something unexpected appeared in my mind.

Historical Insight (+lvl 638,146): See over 7 days, 9 hours and 26 minutes into the future of any decision.*

What, I thought, looking at it for several minutes. I hardly noticed the asterisk tacked on the end. That can’t be. That’s—

System Message: “Impossible! That wasn’t part of the deal.”

“What are you talking about? We never had a deal!”

I looked up to see Camilla staring at me with concern, though she looked totally lost. I jumped to my feet, handing her the vial.

“Please drink this, it will restore your memories,” I said as she took it. I chose to ignore the System for the moment.

Camilla eyed me with suspicion but obeyed. Once her lips tasted the tears, her eyes opened wide with shock. She too fell to the mud in agony. I barely caught the tears as she fell.

“By the gods,” she muttered, holding her head as the flood of memories came back to her. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. Before I could say anything, she jumped up and locked her lips with mine. I was completely taken aback by her show of affection, and I found myself unable to think or move.

After a few moments, Camilla hastily pulled herself back. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that. I just… I remembered being touched by Midas.” She shook her head, tears flowing down her cheeks. “That was such an awful experience Max. Thank you for saving me.”

“Not a problem,” I said, trying to ignore the heat rising in my flesh for her.

“Should we restore them too?” she said, pointing to Leo and Michael stared at us as. They looked hopelessly lost, their eyes vacant of understanding. It made me wonder if I should even give them their memories back. Would that be merciful, to make them relive the pain of their now horrible existence? Wouldn’t it be better for them to be free from the past to better endure their damnation?

As I pondered that possible future, I found myself giving them the bottle. “Here, drink this. You will remember everything.”

Leo drank first, his eyes almost jumping out of their sockets from the torrent of memories. Michael had a similar experience when he drank, except, instead of looking at me with surprise, he looked at me with the most amount of hatred anyone has ever given. A guttural scream erupted from his lips as he both crushed the top of the vial and rammed it into my throat. It would have been a fatal blow in any situation, but it was especially in this case with my health in such an abysmal state.

Camilla screamed my name as blood gushed from my throat. I stumbled for a moment, in complete shock of what was happening.

Giving him his memories proved ill advised.

The moment I realized this, I was back on my feet again, this time with my neck still intact. Leo and Michael still had their glazed over look.

“We’re leaving them,” I answered Camilla. I pocketed the tears, picked up my golden oar, and escorted Camilla by the arm back to the golden boat. Before we sailed away, I had Camilla help me with throwing King Midas and the other golden passengers into the River Lethe. Each of them returned to normal but lost their memories. At least they could be free again.

“What just happened?” I said as we stepped into our boat and kicked off. I placed the golden oar in its oarlock and began to propel us forward. Luckily, we didn’t see any more angry faces thrashing around in the water.

“What?” Camilla said, as if nothing occurred. Her serene face made me think she was at peace with my decision.

I shook my head, confused. “I just witnessed my death, giving them their memories back. But then that all changed, and I kept the tears instead and emptied our boat of passengers.”

Camilla raised an eyebrow, looking at me like I was crazy as we resumed our course on the River Acheron. “You sure you didn’t drink anymore of that river?”

“No. It was like I had used my Historical Insight. The tears brought my ability back to see the future. Only, instead of seeing through the futures and coming back to the present, I could change my decisions throughout the possible future, like it was the present.”

System Message: “Look who’s cheating death… again. I watched your brain while it happened, and you are correct.

Chrono Loop: User’s enhanced memory from the Tears of Mnemosyne allows vivid recall of every detail of potential futures as if they already lived them. This ability enables foresight of all futures and seamless adjustment of actions in the present, effectively "rewriting" any outcome in real-time. However, usage results in random, nearly inescapable time loops.

“What the heck, a time loop?” I said, bewildered by the update to my Historical Insight power.

System Message: “Correct again! Be careful with your crystal ball, wizard. I have no idea how you would escape it once it happens. I am excited to watch!”

Camilla must have been privy to the System’s words, for she nodded along as if understanding. “You going to use your power, then?”

The Underworld was quiet as I continued pushing us along. The dark atmosphere from the river began to mix with a dark red. A few minutes later, similar to the Golden Horde, I could see land ahead. But before I could see it, I could hear the screams of the tortured.

Location Discovered: Underworld of Erebus (6/9)

“Yes, I will use it,” I said as our boat ran upon the charred shores of the next ring. “Even if it comes at a cost, you and Cleopatra both deserve to live. I will do whatever it takes.”

Camilla smiled at me, rising to walk with me into the next ring, when the bone chilling cry of Marcus Aurelius being tortured sounded ahead of us.