Alone in the room Sariel had left, Yuto sat studying his Status Window.

[Void Storage Lv.1]

An unfamiliar name caught his eye. It had appeared on the screen earlier, when he took the girl's hand in the darkness.

'The quest reward...'

He did not know what it was, but it seemed to be a Void Skill. Brooding over it would yield no answers, so Yuto tried activating Void Storage.

A pitch-black screen flashed into view before him.

Item 1: Unknown Egg.

Item 2: Bonds from a Past Life.

"...?"

Tilting his head at the words on the screen, Yuto focused on the entry labeled 'Unknown Egg.'

Grade: Unmeasurable.

Description: An egg born in the deepest reaches of the Void. A faint pulse of life can be felt within. Special qualifications are required to hatch it.

That still did little to explain it. Staring at the description, Yuto reached for the Unknown Egg. The egg stored in Void Storage emerged into the room.

Violet mist billowed out, revealing an egg with intricate patterns etched into its pitch-black shell. A faint heartbeat pulsed within.

"This is..."

The moment Yuto voiced his surprise, a message appeared.

[Quest Triggered: The Stirring of Life.]

[Objective: Reach Level 10 and ???]

[Reward: Egg Hatching, ???]

'A quest...?'

Yuto's eyes narrowed. He now had a rough understanding of Void Storage. It seemed to be a sort of pocket dimension containing objects connected to the Void.

'Level 10...'

Reaching Level 10 was not the only requirement. Yuto stared at the unexplained '???,' but no amount of staring revealed what the question marks concealed.

'I'll probably find out once I reach Level 10.'

Yuto returned the Unknown Egg to Void Storage. It was an object connected to the Void. The Void itself might be an unknowable entity, but since it had brought him back and now dwelled within his body, he had no choice but to use it.

'Someday, the Void might betray me just as the Shattered Star did...'

But with the Void already inside him, shutting it out was not an option. Steeling himself, Yuto continued his thoughts.

'My current level is 1. This Status Window must be another of the Void's powers.'

Over the past month, he had experienced firsthand just how much the Status Window's attributes could change his body. Then how could he raise his level? He glanced at the Status Window.

His level was still '1.'

'First, I need to find out what makes my level increase.'

Since he had joined the adventurers' guild with Sariel's help, he could investigate while clearing dungeons. Having decided that, Yuto turned his attention to the second item in Void Storage.

Item 2: Bonds from a Past Life.

'I have no idea what this is.'

Bonds from a Past Life. Yuto studied the words, but unlike the Unknown Egg, no description appeared. Without hesitation, he reached toward the second item.

Black mist billowed up, just as it had when the Unknown Egg appeared. But nothing emerged from it. Instead, the mist burrowed into Yuto's chest.

"...?!"

The mist had entered Flokiro's Evostone. Before the startled Yuto could grab it, the mist-wreathed stone floated into the air.

FWOOSH!

The black mist enveloping the Evostone turned to flame. Then the Evostone dissolved into light.

The light began to take shape. Particles of light swirling in the air gathered together. Four legs, a long, outstretched tail, two pointed ears. Flames burned along the outline, shaping a familiar form.

It was a small fox.

"Ah..."

Yuto rose to his feet. His chair toppled backward, but he had no attention to spare for it. The flames soon subsided, and as the light faded, a small fox with orange fur landed softly on the floor.

This was not the battered creature he had seen in the colosseum. The shredded back, the blood-soaked fur—all of it was gone. Flokiro stood there whole, without a single wound.

"Flokiro..."

Yuto spoke the name in a trembling voice. Flokiro's ears twitched. His closed eyes slowly opened. His yellow eyes swept around the room, then settled on Yuto and stopped.

None of the madness Yuto had seen in the colosseum remained. Now there was only longing in Flokiro's eyes. As he stared at Yuto in disbelief, tears welled up in them.

"Yu, to!"

With a shrill cry, Flokiro leaped into Yuto's arms. Tears in his own eyes, Yuto hugged him close.

"You... You came back with me, too."

The night he returned. At the very moment Yuto drove the Void's tentacle into his chest, the dying Flokiro had been dragged back to this time with him. They had landed in the same forest, lost their memories, and reached out to one another without even recognizing each other.

"I don't really understand... what happened..."

Flokiro stumbled over his words.

"W-what I remember is... seeing you off in Belkain's banquet hall. After that..."

Flokiro's eyes trembled.

"The collo...seum. Running wild there, out of my mind. And..."

"You don't have to force yourself to remember. Those memories must be painful."

Yuto smiled bitterly and hugged Flokiro close.

"I'll explain... little by little. Though I don't fully understand it myself."

After gazing at him for a moment, Flokiro held out a fist. Knowing what it meant, Yuto gave a rueful smile.

"It'll be a hard road. You still want to come with me?"

"Of course I do. I'm your partner."

Flokiro stubbornly rubbed his tears away with one hand.

"... Thank you."

Smiling, Yuto held out his fist.

TAP.

The moment their fists met, aether shone between them.

CRACKLE!

An Evomon contract sigil soon inscribed itself on the back of Yuto's hand.

It was a contract between a human and an Evomon. Forming one required no complicated procedures, but once made, it could not be broken unless the partner died or the Evomon became an Evostone.

For that reason, a contract carried great weight for both human and Evomon. In a sense, it stripped an Evomon of its freedom. A contracted Evomon could no longer live entirely by its own will. An uncontracted Evomon could roam the world freely, but after entering a contract, exercising that free will required its partner's consent.

Unless its partner agreed to summon it, an Evomon could not even materialize. Despite those restrictions, Evomon entered contracts with humans for one reason: evolution.

An uncontracted Evomon's form remained fixed, with little opportunity for growth. Only by forming a contract and building a bond with a partner could an Evomon evolve.

Humans thus gained steadfast companions by contracting with Evomon, but maintaining those contracts and keeping their Evomon manifested consumed aether continuously.

In many ways, a contract was a double-edged sword, yet Flokiro had asked Yuto for one as though it were only natural. It also meant he intended to devote the life he had gained through their return to Yuto.

"I..."

Meeting Flokiro's eyes, Yuto spoke.

"Intend to take revenge."

"On whom?" Flokiro asked, his eyes flashing.

"Shiro Ristal."

At Yuto's answer, Flokiro ground his teeth. Yuto recalled the Shiro he had seen earlier: twelve-year-old Shiro, undergoing the constellation ceremony in full public view.

"The Shiro here now is different from the one we remember."

"So you're not going to take revenge?"

"I don't know."

Yuto murmured with a bitter smile. The past he had returned to was vastly different from the world he had lived in. In this world, Belkain had already fallen.

"I still don't know why Shiro betrayed me. But... he brought Valistera's army to destroy Belkain. That betrayal had been planned for a long time."

Yuto released a long sigh and shook his head.

"When I attacked Shiro, the Shattered Star... sided with him, not me. I don't know why it did that, either."

Even if he sought out the present Shiro, he would not learn the secrets behind everything that had happened in his previous life.

"But the constellations are still the same, aren't they?"

Flokiro's eyes flashed as he asked. Yuto nodded silently, stroking the obsidian dagger Sariel had left him as a parting gift.

"I haven't decided about Shiro yet. But the constellations... I have to take revenge on them."

"Exac—"

GROWL.

Flokiro, who had clenched his fist to reply, froze. Looking embarrassed, he clutched his stomach.

"I-it's because I only just came back to life."

Yuto could not help chuckling.

"I don't have any of those sweet treats you like right now, though."

Turning, he approached his backpack in one corner of the room. There was probably food inside.

"...?"

Opening the backpack, Yuto froze. A roughly folded letter lay on top. He hastily unfolded it.

The writing was a hurried scrawl.

[Little one, if you're reading this, I expect it means you've recovered your memories and I've left your side.]

It was a letter from Sariel.

[Much of what follows is conjecture. But as I am truly wise, I believe my conjectures to be the truth.]

[Little one, you told me you wanted revenge. On those who made your past so painful. I believe you are a survivor of Belkain. If so, the ones you wish to avenge yourself upon must be the constellations that destroyed Belkain.]

[—Or so I thought. But little one, before you lost consciousness today, you were staring at Ristal's prince as though you wanted nothing more than to kill him.]

[Why could that be? What connection does Ristal's prince have to Belkain's fall? Wise as I am, even I cannot answer that. But there was no doubt that your hostility and hatred were directed at Ristal's prince.]

[I pondered it at length beside you while you lay unconscious, but I could make no sense of it. Still, I thought I ought to tell you this much.]

[Little one, taking revenge on Ristal's prince—in other words, killing him—will be very difficult.]

[Because the boy is Ristal's prince? No, that isn't the only reason. It is because a monster in the truest sense dwells within that boy.]

[Would you believe me if I told you that Crimson Ringmistress, that wretch you saw, follows Ristal's prince?]

"... What?"

Yuto's eyes widened as he read.

[And not just Crimson Ringmistress. All seven members of Eclipse in Callisto serve as Ristal's prince's hands and feet.]

[How do I know this? Because I am very wise and know a great many things. So remember, little one. However much power you may possess, killing Ristal's prince is impossible for you now.]

[What should you do, then? There is only one answer. You must grow strong enough that you can no longer be called little one.]

[Heed my warning, and do not throw your life away before you have even repaid your debt to me.]

Yuto's hands trembled around the letter. Sariel's message was so shocking that he could scarcely believe it.

'Eclipse... serves Shiro?'

It was unbelievable, yet Sariel had no reason to leave him such a lie. Did she even have a reason to falsely accuse Shiro in the first place? His head throbbing, Yuto sank into a seat.

'...'

Amid the confusion tangling his thoughts, the pieces began to fit together. In both his previous life and this one, the members of Eclipse were monsters even kingdoms could do nothing about. That was partly because of their immense power, but also because most of them, apart from exceptions like Crimson Ringmistress, operated in secret throughout Callisto.

Yuto and Shiro had defeated those monsters one by one. Though no one could even pinpoint their whereabouts, Shiro had located them precisely and hunted them down with Yuto.

'If Shiro was connected to Eclipse... even in my previous life...'

A horrifying possibility took shape.

Yuto and Shiro had become the heroes of Callisto because they defeated Eclipse.

What if that entire campaign had been a scheme of Shiro's making?

What if Shiro was the one who had made Yuto a hero?

And who had stripped that hero of everything and brought him to his knees in despair?

'Shiro.'

The constellations' laughter and chatter as he lay dying echoed through his head. His life, his heroic tale—the constellations had written and directed that damned play. Yuto had been its foolish leading actor, mistaking everything for his own choice without even realizing he was a character in a script.

'The constellations weren't the only ones writing and directing that play.'

Yuto clenched his teeth. Shiro's betrayal had ushered in the climax of the tragedy that starred him. It had been all the more devastating because it struck at the happiest moment of his life—and Shiro had walked beside him all the way to that moment.

'Shiro. Shiro Ristal. What... were you, really?'

Why did Eclipse follow Shiro? Why had the Shattered Star sided with him?

And...

'Sariel.'

Yuto looked down at the letter crumpled in his hand.

'Who... are you, to know a truth like this?'

The question circled stiflingly within his chest. Sariel was not in this room to answer it. She had left, saying she would return someday to collect his debt.

Everything was bewildering, but one thing was certain.

Yuto believed what the letter said.

* * *

All through the night, Yuto worked to steady his emotions.

He assumed that Shiro Ristal was Eclipse's master.

With that assumption, many things fell neatly into place. The battles of his previous life, where they struggled but never lost. The betrayal. The constellations' mockery.

If Shiro had orchestrated it all in league with the constellations...

'There are still questions.'

What did Shiro gain from it? What had he wanted so badly that he betrayed Yuto? Yuto recalled that horrifying night.

["You're struggling far too much, my friend."]

Those were the words Shiro had whispered to Yuto as he charged at him, coughing blood yet still alive despite the hole through his chest.

["All of this is for the sake of our promise. A world without hierarchy, an equal world with neither gods nor kings. My friend, have you forgotten our promise?"]

They had made such a promise. To overthrow the rule of the constellations that brought misery to the world, and set that world free.

'An equal world with neither gods nor kings...'

But those were words Yuto himself had never spoken. Had that been Shiro's true desire? He could not know what Shiro had really meant.

'Your betrayal had been planned for a long time, and you... had been deceiving me.'

Yuto looked out the window.

Ristal's royal castle stood in the distance. Shiro would be inside.

Yuto had wondered whether he should take revenge on Shiro in this world he had returned to.

Now there was no reason to agonize over that question. If Shiro was connected to Eclipse and the constellations, then by Yuto's standards, he was unquestionably an enemy.

'But as I am now, I can't kill Shiro.'

He could not breach the royal castle's tight security. Even if he did, killing Shiro would be impossible. If Eclipse followed him, Shiro must possess some unknown power Yuto knew nothing about.

'In the end, I need strength.'

Yuto quietly clenched his fist.

As he brought his emotions under control, he also considered what he needed to do next.

'I'll clear dungeons with Level 10 as my goal.'

Killing dungeon beasts yielded crystallized aether, known as crystals. Crystals were a commodity that could be exchanged for money, and absorbing them could also increase the body's aether.

Whether dungeon crystals would raise his level remained unknown, but it was worth trying.

'After that... I need a patron.'

Someone to provide the backing that fallen Belkain no longer could. Yuto narrowed his eyes and clenched his fist.

'Two years from now, then.'

Looking ahead two years, Yuto began fleshing out the plan in his mind.

* * *

KEE-AH, KEE-AH.

Seagulls cried, and the wind carried the salty scent of the sea. The hot sun beat down on cliffs battered by rough waves.

Buildings crowded in tiers along the sheer coastal cliffs. Historic yet lively, it was the wealthiest port city in Callisto.

Merchant City. Callisto's largest trading port, where the world's money, goods, and desires flowed.

"We're here."

A boy with a black hood pulled low over his face murmured as he surveyed Merchant City in the distance.

It was Yuto.

Two years had wrought a great change in the once small, frail boy. He had grown a handspan taller, and firm muscles now filled out his formerly scrawny frame. His jawline, beginning to lose its childish softness, was sharp, and the eyes visible beneath his hood were uncommonly deep and calm for a boy.

Now fourteen, Yuto stood on the threshold between boyhood and young manhood, an air of danger about him.

"The smell of the sea."

Beside Yuto, Flokiro spoke, gently swishing his tail. Evomon contracted to humans did not grow except through evolution. Thus, Flokiro remained the same adorable fox he had been two years ago, but his eyes, like Yuto's, concealed the seasoned experience of a warrior who had skirted death countless times.

"It brings back memories."

Flokiro grinned. This was their first visit to Merchant City in this world, but before their return, Yuto and Flokiro had been here many times.

OOOOOH...

A great bellow sounded in the distance. Yuto glanced at the sea below the nearby cliffs. One of Merchant City's signature sights spread out before him.

Titan Shells—turtle-shaped Evomon the size of houses—glided leisurely through the sea with enormous cargoes, even boats, loaded onto their shells. Along the waterfront, huge cranes worked ceaselessly to unload the freight the Titan Shells had brought.

Here in Merchant City, Evomon were used not simply as battle partners but as the driving force of industry. The greatest wealth in Callisto had been built upon Evomon labor.

'Nothing's changed.'

Yuto smiled bitterly. It looked vibrant and prosperous on the surface, but behind that splendor lay the ruthless logic of capital and the gulf between rich and poor.

Just as in the cities Yuto had passed through over the past two years, the poor went hungry in shadowed alleys even here, while a handful of nobles monopolized the wealth.

At the pinnacle of that wealth stood House Marigold, Merchant City's largest trading concern.

Yuto thought back over the past two years.

He had spent those days running without rest. From the day he remembered who he was, parted with Sariel, and reunited with Flokiro, Yuto had thrown himself into dungeon after dungeon like a madman.

Status Window:

Name: Yuto Belkain.

Level: 9

Stamina: 60

Aether: 60

Strength: 45

Agility: 35

Charm: 30

Remaining Points: 0

Void Skills:

Void Step LV3.

Void Touch LV4.

After two years of roaming dungeons and consuming crystals, he had reached Level 9. Along the way, Yuto had gained a clearer understanding of the system within him.

Levels increased through experience and the absorption of crystals. Thankfully, the aether from those crystals did not all vanish into raising his level; some of it was absorbed into his body.

Each level granted ten points. Yuto had distributed them according to his needs.

The stat he had invested the most points in was stamina. To improve the performance of his immature body, he had no choice but to invest heavily in it.

Aether could be increased by absorbing crystals as well as by allocating points, so he had not invested too many points in it. Although his displayed aether was 60, his body currently held more aether than that number suggested. That was only natural after clearing dozens of dungeons with Flokiro and consuming their crystals.

Strength of 45 and agility of 35 gave him monstrous power and speed that belied his age and build. Even unarmed, Yuto could now contend with hulking men or Evomon.

Surprisingly, the charm stat had proved useful in many ways. Without Yuto doing anything in particular, it made others feel favorably toward him from their very first impression. It was akin to a form of enchantment.

Of course, it was not absolute, but for Yuto, who roamed alone, charm was well worth the points he invested in it. Moreover, when infused with hostility or killing intent, the charm stat could also be projected as an intimidating presence.

'The preparations are complete.'

For two years, Yuto had worked busily and cautiously toward this day. Though he had cleared dozens of dungeons, he had not reported them to the guild, and he had completed only the bare minimum of commissions.

He had done so to avoid attention. Focused attention inevitably bred suspicion. Yuto had concealed himself thoroughly.

He quietly clenched his fist.

He had come to Merchant City to make arrangements for the future.

For the past two years, he had not focused solely on leveling up. He had also prepared for today. Yuto took out a glass vial tucked deep inside his clothes and checked its condition.

He had entered dungeons teeming with lethally venomous beasts again and again. Even as his flesh rotted and hallucinations tormented him, he had collected venom until he finally completed this antidote.

'The Black Death Venom antidote.'

Before his return, surviving countless battlefields had required more than fighting prowess alone. To stay alive on the battlefield, he had also needed to learn the healing arts.

This antidote did not yet exist in the current era, but recipes for many medicines remained in Yuto's mind. This antidote in particular had left him with regrets in several respects before his return, and he had a personal connection to it as well.

Yuto remembered the woman who had been obsessed with creating it.

Before his return, Yuto had visited Merchant City while concealing his identity as Belkain's prince. He had wanted to see Callisto's largest trading port firsthand and learn from it.

During his visit, the head of House Marigold had died.

His health had been declining for months, leaving him bedridden. Numerous treatments had been attempted, but every one had failed, and the family head had ultimately passed away.

After a solemn funeral, the eldest son became the new head of House Marigold. His younger sister left the family of her own accord, saying there was no longer a place for her there.

'Levian Marigold.'

Yuto smiled bitterly as he recalled her name.