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“Are you a mage who manipulates space?”

Today is the first day I met Zion.

I regressed with time magic and returned to this day.

I sacrificed some memories, but obviously, I can’t recall what they were.

Simply going back to the past doesn’t cost much, but new memories gained in the same world and time can’t be used as a cost for time magic.

When using time magic, there are three types of memories that cannot be spent:

First, memories without any emotion; second, memories obtained from returning to the past; and third, memories that were once paid for and then retrieved.

Therefore, if you live repeatedly in the same time in one world, the memories that can be used for time magic do not accumulate but instead get erased.

Having lived many lives, I possess considerable opportunities; however, it means I can’t see infinite possibilities through regression.

“Excuse me… is that correct?”

As I wandered in thought and didn’t respond, Zion awkwardly smiled and replied.

Though I’m used to regression, seeing Zion in his young and healthy state made my heart ache, and I found myself at a loss for words.

I nodded, and Zion smiled brightly.

“I am Zion Laurel. I’m heading north to defeat the Demon King. Would you lend me your strength to end the war?”

“…Alright.”

I grasped her hand once more.

To grasp a future where Zion and I could overcome two wars and live together.

***

No matter how many times it’s repeated, the inevitable happens.

To win the first war, I couldn’t avoid Iris’s sacrifice, and even when I actively participated in battles, fearing that Zion might overdo it, her body would break down when the war ended.

Five years after the war ends, the gate opens again without fail, and I think, ‘Damn it, not this situation again…’

The Demon King always gazes at me, closing gates with spatial magic, no matter the circumstance.

Though there is information that the gate is incomplete, the scars of war on humanity also mean we lack a complete army, so charging in with troops doesn’t significantly improve the situation.

I’ve tried many times to outsmart the Demon King and close the gate, but the only method left is my own sacrifice.

Just as Iris’s sacrifice was unavoidable in the first war, in the second war, if I don’t sacrifice myself, the gate cannot be struck.

In every situation just before my sacrifice occurs,

– Cawwwww!!

Zion chose me over the world.

Even if I keep the fact that I can use time magic a secret, it’s the same.

Just spending time with a broken Zion brings her happiness, and she clings to me.

So, is this world a fate that can’t be saved?

If I leave for five years to avoid Zion choosing me, she will completely become a wreck and won’t be able to participate in the second war.

The only way to save the world is through my sacrifice, and that sacrifice will never occur due to Zion.

In this situation, my conclusion is…

‘I must not strike the gate, but kill the Demon King. That’s the only way for both Zion and me to survive.’

Overcoming the Demon King.

Completely defeating the powerful Demon King and Aurora, who have lived for centuries, is the only possibility for salvation in this world.

Then what I need to do is heal Zion, who was broken after the war, and make her stronger.

In the first war, Zion fought evenly against the Demon King, so as long as her body heals, it’s not an impossible story.

I also tried to reverse Zion’s time using enormous amounts of memory, but reversing the time of the Hero Zion too much began to distort the world’s timeline, so I had no choice but to erase it to make it as if it never happened.

No matter how much I searched while reversing time, no methods existed in this world to heal Zion, and ultimately I had to find a way from another world.

Humans from some worlds performed miracles even without magic.

Modern medicine.

I vaguely remembered that there was a way to make a completely broken person move again.

But as I repeated regression, the memories of the world I lived in began to vanish without a trace, and now only memories of Zion remain.

Now, it’s a situation I can no longer postpone.

I had to make a decision.

“Hanamana.”

“Yes?”

I need to go to another world, experience something, and come back.

But in reality, this is an impossible task.

Because when I leave a world, that world transforms into a world without me.

Once a world changes to one without me, I can never return to that world again.

So what I must do is,

“I’m going to do Great Regression from now on.”

“Great Regression… what?”

“I’m actually a regressor. I’ve regressed several times, but in this fight, we can’t win. So I need to use Great Regression to find a way to heal Zion.”

Great Regression is the only means by which I can go to another world and then return.

Hanamana appeared a bit dazed but thought for a while before nodding her head.

“I see, so this struggle is one we can’t win. Though I can’t believe Hop is a regressor.”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe it, but I’d like you to do me one favor.”

“A favor?”

“It’s something that’s essential.”

“…….”

Great Regression is the ultimate time magic that requires paying the entire cost of all memories.

So all possible means have to be used, and various conditions must be met to use it effectively.

The reason I approached Hanamana is to fulfill one of those conditions.

I figured she wouldn’t refuse, but if she did, I’d consider changing my request by going back a bit in time.

“Is it okay if I ask a few questions before deciding?”

“Anytime.”

Fortunately, it seems there’s no need for that.

The first question Hanamana threw was,

“You mentioned doing Great Regression, but what exactly is that?”

It was a question about what Great Regression is.

“Have you ever heard the saying that all worlds are connected from beginning to end?”

“I’ve heard about it. It’s one of the theories regarding world lines and time.”

“That theory is true. To put it simply, Great Regression is a regression method that goes into the future, not one that rewinds time to the past. It’s a way to throw my consciousness into the future.”

It’s a special regression method that only those who can traverse spacetime can use.

The only way I can return to this world with experiences from whatever world I desire.

That is to send my consciousness and soul into the future and complete a circle through all worlds.

Spatial magic is the magic that opens pathways to spatial realms. And spacetime magic opens that pathway to other worlds.

If I escape to another world through the made pathway, the world I was in will transform into a world line where I do not exist.

However, if I can travel the worlds along the original pathway rather than the one I created, the world will remain intact and unchanged.

Great Regression is the ultimate time magic that allows me to experience all possible worlds and then return to this current world.

The price for that is all the memories I currently possess and all the memories I will gain in the future.

However, just before I come back, I can leave just one memory of one world behind.

So right after I perform Great Regression, I will likely feel that I have reincarnated from that world to this one.

Upon hearing all this, Hanamana nodded as if she understood and then prompted the next question.

“Then, what’s the point of telling me all this?”

“As I said earlier, it’s because I have a request.”

“Then finally, what is that request?”

It was finally time to discuss the main issue with Hanamana.

Though I knew that such magic as Great Regression was possible, it wasn’t a spell meant for gaining experiences of specific worlds.

The reason was that losing all of my current memories was a significant drawback,

But it’s also possible that despite living in infinite worlds, there may not be a world where I can live the life I desire.

As inevitable events happen no matter how many times they are repeated, there are things that do not occur regardless of how many times I try.

I’m not going to another world to learn modern medicine with my memories, so perhaps there isn’t a world where I can live as a doctor.

These actions are necessary for that purpose.

The request I would make to Hanamana is simply,

“Please give me a suggestion. One that is strong enough to be etched into my soul.”

“A suggestion? What exactly…?”

Since I can’t take memories with me, I’ll take a suggestion.

This suggestion must meet two conditions.

First, it should open up the possibility for me to live as a doctor due to that suggestion.

And secondly, it must be a suggestion that allows me to find Zion in this world, even in a state with no memories.

That is precisely…

“I can only love what is broken.”

“…What?”

Hanamana’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You just said that the magic of Great Regression allows you to live and return from infinite worlds, right?”

“Exactly.”

“But if you etch such a suggestion into your soul, then what will happen to your life across those numerous worlds? Will you be forced to live an infinite life where you can’t love anything whole?”

“…….”

So that was the case.

I’d never considered that this suggestion might have such an implication.

Because,

“It doesn’t matter.”

They are memories that will be erased anyway, and lives that don’t concern me.

After all the various lives I’ve lived up to now, none of them mattered outside of the world where Zion exists…

“…….”

After hearing everything, Hanamana ultimately gave me the suggestion.

Then, with that, I consumed my remaining life and memories to activate Great Regression.

Finding the best possible memories among the infinite worlds I will live in will require a lifespan’s worth of time.

Will I only love the broken? Despite a multitude of lives that surpass the bounds of normalcy, including living in worlds where I break things,

I managed to find a world where I mastered rehabilitation medicine and healed countless broken patients.

And among the memories I’ll possess from that world, there were also clues that could help me regain my current memories.

Thus, creating the spell “Recover,” I placed my magic book in a position where I could learn it if I returned to the past.

Since Great Regression doesn’t alter the world, this magic will continue to exist in this world.

Additionally, since it’s rehabilitation magic, when I return, I will certainly learn it.

I can’t guarantee that I’ll retrieve my memories, but if I do, it could significantly aid in defeating the Demon King.

Lastly, I set my future direction so that my life as a rehabilitation expert would be the last stop of Great Regression, and then I cut my final lifespan to ensure I return in my prime of passion and learning.

Now, I’m about to pay all my memories and step toward the infinite time beyond.

Since I must start from a much younger version of myself, where I placed the spell “Recover,” I regret that I won’t be able to see Zion’s face one last time.

“I will definitely return, Zion. I will come back and find you, and I will heal you. Together we will defeat the Demon King and head into the future.”

I bid farewell to the memory of Zion that remains in my mind.

And then,

“Great Regression.”

Those precious memories quickly fade away from my mind.

For the new memories I will create with Zion and the future I will heal.

 

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