Thief of Time

Yeah, this is seriously not happening at all. Dia stared at her headless, frozen corpse as it fell apart for the fifth time, thus proving that she couldn't even attempt to draw the Frozen Emperor's attention at all. The plan to not die, worked out after a second, chilly death, was to communicate something along the lines of knowing how to bring back his beloved, but…

This plan was premised upon actually being able to communicate at all.

Which she couldn't. As that sad, sorrowful thought tore through her mind, a set of words flashed into her vision, and her face twisted slightly.

[<Personal Quest: A Scenario of Stagnant Grief> has updated.]

[Personal Quest: A Scenario of Stagnant Grief

Quest Introduction: Despite the Omen's strength, that which has been set in stone can no longer be altered. There are a thousand shades of death, but his beloved has been dyed in that of the irrevocable. The Frozen Emperor, having realised this, has turned himself into a tribulation for his following iterations, hoping to let them learn about this particular end…and in doing so, bring forth an end to his own scenario as well. Witness, then, the day in which your counterpart overcomes his own inner tribulation.

Quest Requirements: Witness the end of the Frozen Emperor

Quest Rewards: <Skill: Will of Progress>

Additional Remarks: You will only be a witness in this final vision.]

"Dada!"

Dia blinked twice, looked away from the small block of text and then rubbed the little girl that was snuggling up to her chest. "Thanks for the warmth. I froze over again, so it's nice that you're here to give me some warmth, you know."

She looked at the others. "I'm back. Nothing changed. Died a horrible death, as usual."

"Even with the placard?"

"Even with the placard," Dia replied. After dying twice from being unable to speak or shout, the others had added suggestions like bringing a placard along. Unfortunately for her, normal placards were easily destroyed by the aftershocks of the battle between her and that damned ice giant, so she had wasted another attempt in getting a shockproof one.

Yet, nothing could have prepared her for the fact that…well, the Frozen Emperor was too deep in slumber to actually notice the words on her placard. Could she have done better?

Dia believed so, but the only question was how. She had learned a few things — in her ninth attempt, someone had managed to plead a case in front of the Frozen Emperor, driving him to act. That person then returned and shared details of how she did it…and there was nothing that included an ice giant and a bitter chill.

She sighed and looked at the others. "Don't worry about me. Maybe I'm not fated with this scenario at all."

"You said something about other people not needing to face the ice giant, right?" Schwarz asked. "Did you ever figure out what was going on with that?"

"Nope." Dia frowned. "I'll be honest with you. It seems that thing is targeted at me specifically. Maybe the Frozen Emperor knows me or something."

She glanced at Nero and Kemata, who were holding hands and leaning on each other. Would a hypothetical Nero-Omen not want to meet her, someone he knew a few hundred years ago? It was quite possible, after all…

"Why are you looking at me oddly?" Nero asked.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Just wondering if you're the Omen," Dia replied. "You seem to fit the bill…"

"You do know that Kemata's very much alive, right?" Nero replied. "And I'm definitely not letting anyone kill her. Besides, the Holy Son of the Black God being an Omen is literally impossible. The Lord is not part of this cycle, and by extension, I cannot be either."

"Is that so?" Risti asked. "I mean, that's a convenient way of covering it up, but…I don't think it actually matters. If you're really the Omen, it means that our little mercenary group is awesome."

"Right?" Farah chuckled. "Our group is an exceptional one, Omen or not. But you really aren't the Omen?"

"Nope." Nero frowned. "What did you base this random guess on, Dia?"

"Well, the Omen had a beloved and probably knows me somehow," Dia replied.

"You're the princess of an entire dukedom," Nero replied. "Quite a few people should know you, yes? What was your appearance like in those scenarios? Are the lifeforms in these scenarios capable of independent thought and whatever? Or are they just illusions of the bygone past or a hypothetical future, incapable of reacting to actual things?"

"I think they're capable of independent thought," Dia replied, thinking about her experiences back in the city. "However, there's a counterpoint to your specific point about people knowing me — I've never been recognised at all. No one seems to realise that I'm this person known as Princess Dia…but again, it's been nearly two centuries."

"True. So the Frozen Emperor possibly knows a Princess Dia…that cuts down the pool," Nero muttered. "In a sense, anyway. People who know you are almost certainly nobles, and nobles have a very long lifespan. Other than the Seekers of Life and these nobles, no one else would know you."

"Maybe I should make a list of nobles who are dedicated to their sole love as of now?" Dia asked. "After all, the Omen turned into the Frozen Emperor after his lover perished."

"That's a plausible approach, yes." Schwarz muttered.

"Actually," Nero interjected, "I'm a bit curious. It seems that you are not looking at a particular duo who happen to be absent right now, yes? Is there a particular reason why?"

"Lily and Claud?" Dia asked, before thinking about the whole thing. Indeed, the possibility of them being the couple of tragedy in this damn script was there, but…

She hummed once, and then said, "Well, I can't quite imagine them actually doing something this dangerous, you know. Claud, the Omen? Yeah…that's a bit ridiculous. He's too cautious for that."

Schwarz nodded. "Even if he was the Omen, what happened during the Trial of Aeons kinda disproves that, right? I can't see Claud actually doing something so high profile. After all, Tot pissed off every single divinity in existence by hogging the Cosmic thingy."

"Cosmic Egg," Nero corrected. "And I suppose you're right."

"Besides," Farah abruptly added, "Claud and Lily went on to help with the Distortions afterwards. They must have known about the Omen, given the stupid number of times he appeared in those notifications. If Claud's the Omen, why would he stand in the public eye and help deal with these Distortions? That doesn't make any sense at all, does it?"

"Mhm." Dia nodded her head. "Well, there's no point guessing. Tomorrow's going to be the last day of these visions. Everything will end tomorrow, and I get to leave with a brand-new skill. I wonder how that's going to work, though."

"You'll have to decide which skill you want to give up soon enough," Nero added. "What will you exchange for?"

"I'm not too sure either," Dia replied, "but I'm leaning towards Sword Waltz. It's good for improving my reaction time, but as I am now, my reaction time can't really be improved any further. The only way it can improve is to make me predict the future in advance, which it can't do."

"Oh."

The others looked at her.

"That's how it is, I guess." Dia smiled. "Anyway, I'm a bit tired out now. Dying ten times over ten days isn't good on the psyche at all, and I just want to close my eyes at this point."

"No need for soup?" Nero asked. "Or tea?"

"None required," Dia replied, a smile on her face. "To be honest, I'm glad that all this is over, and I'm also glad that I didn't actually need to experience a hundred years at once. Otherwise, I think I might have really gone mad or something, you know. Now that this is all over, and there's only a single thing for me to watch, I'm actually very relieved."

"…Yeah. The five grand skies, despite how they shine down from the most distant of heights, are surprisingly human." Schwarz shook his head. "Sure you don't want something, though? You didn't have any qualms with my stew yesterday."

Dia gulped, but her head throbbed the moment she tried to move. "Can't, I'm afraid. My body's acting up rather badly right now. I would very much prefer to sleep right now."

"Okay, then." Schwarz got up, along with the others. "Go and have a good rest."

"Mhm."

Beth looked at Dia after the rest filed out, and then pointed at herself. "Me too?"

"You're fine. Just go to sleep too." Dia yawned once. "Let's hope that this will never happen again. At least Nero's here. This ritual magic is really handy in preventing me from accumulating too many traumas at once…"

She yawned. "I'm going to sleep. You should too."

"Dada!"

Smiling gently, Dia closed her eyes and let the fatigue claim her.