Chapter 295: Ch 294: Magic -Part 1

Kael had no idea where he was going, but stopping to ask questions clearly was not an option anymore, especially when the people chasing him seemed determined to catch him.

Kael glanced over his shoulder and immediately regretted doing so.

There were far more people following him than there had been a few moments ago, and every single one of them had a familiar face.

"This is getting ridiculous..."

Kael turned forward again and continued running, only to gradually realize that the streets around him were changing.

The modern buildings were becoming more familiar, and the roads he had never seen before were slowly transforming into places he remembered from his previous life.

Then he saw something that made him slow down.

His old clinic was standing in the middle of the mist.

Kael stopped several meters away from it and stared at the building, his confusion becoming even stronger as memories began resurfacing.

"This is..."

He knew this place.

It was where he had spent countless hours listening to people talk about their problems and trying to help them overcome their emotional struggles, and it was also where he had first met Sera.

Kael stared at the entrance for several seconds before the door suddenly opened.

"Doctor Kael, aren’t you coming inside?"

Kael froze at the sound of the voice.

It was his own voice.

He slowly stepped closer to the entrance and looked inside, only to see another version of himself standing in the darkness.

The figure looked exactly like the Kael from his previous life, wearing the clothes he used to wear while working at the clinic.

Kael stared at the phantom in confusion.

"Who are you?"

The other Kael smiled in a way that made him deeply uncomfortable.

"You already know who I am."

"I really don’t."

Kael answered honestly because, despite the similarities, there was something about this person that made him feel like he was looking at a stranger wearing his face.

The phantom took a step forward.

"I am the person you were before you decided to leave everything behind."

Kael frowned.

"I didn’t decide to leave anything behind. I died."

"You died, but you never left."

Kael’s expression slowly changed as he tried to understand what the phantom meant.

Behind the other Kael, the phantoms from his past had stopped chasing him, and they were now standing silently around the entrance of the clinic.

"You keep telling yourself that you started a new life, but you never dealt with what happened in the old one."

The phantom continued speaking while Kael remained completely still.

"You simply buried everything and pretended it no longer mattered."

Kael shook his head, although he was no longer certain whether he was denying the words or trying to convince himself that they were not true.

"That doesn’t explain why you’re here."

The phantom smiled.

"Perhaps it doesn’t need to. And it does not matter. It is time for you to come back to us. To me!"

Kael stared at the people surrounding him, his confusion only growing as he tried to understand whether they were memories, illusions, or something else entirely.

For some reason, however, he had the distinct feeling that whatever this place was, it had been created specifically for him.

The phantom of himself attacked him, with the others starting to join in one at a time. Kael felt like he was in a sci-fi movie, fighting hard to save his life.

But no matter what he did, it felt hopeless. Could he truly win against such things?

’No! Let’s not focus on winning, but on getting out of here. What did I learn about such illusions in the magic tower?’

For the first time, Kael regretted not paying attention in theory class. But in his defense, he never expected to need it in his life. He usually just blasted away such spaces using his magic.

But now? He had no magic to use, and he felt desperate.

"Are you still not realizing what is happening? My poor dear follower. I am here for you."

The faces behind Kael began to morph into a familiar one. From Iris to Elena, they all looked like Goddess Aria, and she reached out toward Kael, which made him suppress his voice.

’I am not afraid! I cannot be afraid, or the corruption will take over. I need to keep a calm mind—’

"My dear Kael, it is time to come back to me. Here, allow me to show you the way out."

A hand grabbed his face, and Kael suddenly could not breathe. He clutched his throat, but no air would reach his lungs.

He was suffocating here while the goddess watched him wither in pain.

"Y-You...!"

"Shhh, don’t worry about it. A little bit of pain is necessary in order to remind you whom you belong to. Consider this...your punishment for leaving me here all alone. This time, I am not going to let you go."

The goddess promised, and Kael was starting to panic. It was also starting to hurt, and his breath was barely coming in.

’Am I...dying? But I don’t want to die!’

Kael had a lot left to do, so he could not die right now. In fact, he refused to die right now because he had a life to live.

He somehow found enough strength to grab the hand around his neck, and he looked at the hazy person above him.

"I..."

He started to speak, causing the goddess to tilt her head and come closer to him to hear what he had to say.

"I...refuse to...die..."

Kael spoke with enough strength to even convince himself. That was why he felt a sudden surge of power inside him that started to blast out everywhere.

This familiar rush...this feeling...there was no doubt about it. This was magic.

His magic had returned to him, and it was purifying the corruption around him.

"Kael! Stop it! Don’t try and fight me. You need to come back to me. I won’t allow you to do this—"

The corruption was fading fast when the goddess made a last desperate attempt to get to him. Kael tried to block her, but he was too tired to move his hands.

’Is that it? Am I...done...?’

Kael was not sure, but the power that was heading toward him was blocked by someone.

Another person jumped ahead of him and tried to slash the corruption, but it was already gone.

"Tsk, we lost the target. I will make a call to the department to get them to look into this."

The girl who had just attacked the fog and saved Kael looked pissed. But he was more concerned about the Leon look-alike, who quickly looked around before turning to Kael with a serious expression on his face.

"Are you alright?"

Leon’s look-alike asked, extending his hand toward Kael. It was weird to see Leon extending his hand to him, and Kael quickly grasped it.

The magic swirling inside Kael suddenly decided to leap out, and the Leon look-alike clutched his head in pained shock.

"Hey, are you alright? Senior...! Hey, what did you do?"

Kael had not done anything yet, but he was suddenly being treated as public enemy number one. He looked around for a way out before deciding to blast these kids away, when the Leon look-alike raised his hand.

"I am fine. This is just temporary. The sudden blast of magic shocked my system. I will recover soon."

The Leon look-alike assured them, but everyone went dead silent at his words. And then, they all turned to look at Kael at the same time.

"You have magic?"

"How can you use magic?"

"Is it genuine magic and not that artifact bullshit? Holy shit! A human has magic?"

Kael had lived three lives now, and two of them had been in a world where he could actively use magic. And yet, he was confident in saying that he had never felt more out of touch before.

The Leon look-alike let out a sigh, which made everyone quieten down and look at him carefully.

"Everyone, the show is over. Get back to work now, and I will keep you informed about what is going on. As for you, come with me. I think we have a lot we need to talk about."

Kael had half a mind to run away, but he knew that even if he did manage to escape, he would still need money. And that meant that he would still have to come to work.

So, he decided to follow the familiar face until they were all alone. And then, he had a gun placed against his head.

"I will only ask you this once, so you better answer truthfully. Are you human?"

"Of course I am. Do I look like a monster to you?"

Kael asked, and the Leon look-alike narrowed his eyes before lowering the gun. Relief filled his face as he nodded at Kael.

"I see. It’s just a little hard for us to believe that a human has magic. I am assuming you have no idea what is going on?"