Reiss plopped into a pool of mud and blood. Rising, water falling off him, he searched. He needn't have. The swirling mana bomb was clearly visible. Reiss could see specks flying outward from the epicenter to land in the swamp around him.

"Quinnie."

Was she dead? Just like that? After years... just like that?

A breath on his ear.

Reiss swung behind him.

*Ting*

A barrier repelled him and left him open. He waited for death as he flew backward.

Splashing back in the mud, death never came for him.

Pulling himself back up, Reiss retook his stance.

"You are fast. No muscle or sensory enhancements. And that wasn't teleportation magic before. I would have noticed any spatial signatures."

Reiss eyed his opponent. If she was able to cast a barrier spell so quickly...

"Is it true? Timekeeper?"

Lizzy strode forward, ignorant of any danger. Her long legs and lithe form making her appear seductive, walking on soiled water. Reiss looked for openings, yet there were none. He couldn't attack. He would die. Again. He would die again.

Lowering his sword and relaxing, he sighed.

Lizzy stopped striding forward, surprised at his actions. Then she laughed. It was wholehearted and threatened her Water Walk spell. Taking control of herself, she wiped at an eye.

"So you can tell the difference between us. Good. Good."

Becoming serious once again, her eyes dissected him from top to bottom.

"Now, is it true? Can you cast time magic?"

Reiss nodded, not bothering to deny it. He would die here. This iteration was a total failure and forfeit. He would come up with something else.

"Technically. My Class allows me access to time-based Skills. It would be the equivalent of time magic to your eyes. Only, it is cast automatically using a verbal or mental command."

It was true. Reiss obtained many time-based skills as he leveled up. Most of them were currently on cooldown. None of them would save him.

The skill he used twice, [Flicker], allowed him to return to the location where the skill was used last, as long as the time between uses did not exceed five minutes. If the time exceeded five minutes, it brought him back to the location exactly five minutes ago. It could only be used five times a week, and he already used all but one. One wouldn't save him. Not that he wanted to be saved...

Lizzy brightened, her eyes shining like cut emeralds. Much to Reiss' consternation, she ran over and embraced him. Reiss couldn't maneuver enough to get off an attack, and the Elden girl would have set up precautions anyway. No point in throwing her off; Reiss stood there.

"I hate girls who are misleading."

"Oops, my bad."

Lizzy extricated herself and walked back to a comfortable distance, cleaning away any grime transferred during contact with a cantrip. She struck an introductory pose closer to a bow than a salute.

"Allow me to introduce myself formally. I am Lizzy Letruiz, Grand Overseer of the Oirel Military. And also..."

Grinning toothily.

"You're not my type either."

Reiss rolled his eyes. He hated this type of person the most. Her full name, title, and position made no difference. He would die here all the same. The name of his killer was irrelevant.

"If I'm not your type, then don't hug me. It can create a misunderstanding, and I'm already married. My wife would have had fun pulling out your hair."

"She must have her hands full. Being with someone so... touchy."

"You're the one being touchy. Just tell me what you want. I want this over with."

Reiss folded his arms. He was not pouting.

Lizzy smirked sardonically.

"I want your help."

"With time magic, no doubt?"

Placing a hand on her chest, she looked wistful and dramatic.

"Yes. I am something of a magical prodigy, you see? I can use any branch of magic. Even space. I can cast a portal to anywhere, destroy mountains, obliterate armies..."

Reiss tapped a foot. It sloshed in the water, ineffective.

"But time eludes me: my goal and mortal enemy. I never thought I would find one who could use it, even with restrictions. It only adds to my interest that you don't know any magic and appear completely without mana."

Reiss curled a hand in a "get on with it" gesture.

Lizzy coughed.

"Show me how to use time magic, and I will give you anything you want."

A staring contest ensued. Lizzy lost.

"I can teach you any magic you wish!"

No response.

"What about money? Fame? I can give you a world's ransom."

"..."

"Elden will settle for peace, and I will even personally help keep the other worlds off your lawn? Some of them would be tricky, but I am extraordinary."

Reiss' gaze bore into Lizzy, making her extremely nervous and uncomfortable. If he didn't want any of that, then maybe it was simpler?

"I can teleport you back to your wife. Grant you both asylum if you wish it."

Reiss rolled his head, responding.

"My wife is dead."

The wind promptly left her sails.

"Oh."

Her entire demeanor changed—an understanding between enemies.

"I'm sorry. Was it us?"

Reiss shook his head. He decided to explain before the mood somehow got worse.

"My Skills don't work the way you think. It can't be taught, only learned. I don't know how any of it works. Aurelians usually cast magic with half-baked knowledge and assistance from the system. You can continue to offer me whatever you wish. You won't be able to learn it, as I can't teach it. In the end... I will still die here."

Tilting her head in confusion, Lizzy looked around. They were alone. One side was already destroyed while the other had retreated. They stood among a torn battlefield with nothing but the dead as company.

"I'm not going to kill you. I finally found what I need. It might take longer than planned, but the riddles of time magic won't stay hidden now that I have an access point."

"Hah! You're no different from Willam or Charles. You're going to trap me in your dungeon and dissect me piece by piece to uncover the correct answer. I can see it in your eyes. You can't hide it."

Lizzy flinched.

"I wouldn't do that, at first. If nothing else worked and you consented to a few experiments, then I wouldn't see any harm in going down that avenue."

"No harm for you. No. I won't help you. Not willingly or unwillingly. I've had enough being used for one iteration."

The words didn't make sense to Lizzy. Why would he not even try? To unlock the mysteries of Time? He could learn to control it and protect his people. He could even bring back his wife! Who would pass up that kind of power?

"By going with you, I touch something that should remain untouched. I am an anomaly and nothing but a cruel prank by those damnable sprites. It doesn't matter what you want. To become all-powerful, or to use Time magic for good. You won't have it. Kill me now, and let's end this farce of an iteration."

The Aurelian had spotted the lingering desperation in Lizzy's eyes. However, she was silent as she saw the same in Reiss'. An unending pain and the need for it to end. The difference between the two of them? Lizzy hasn't fully lost hope yet.

"If I kill you... You will come back, won't you?"

She somehow guessed it. Reiss said nothing. He would rather he didn't come back. Better to stay dead.

Lizzy sighed, her shoulders drooping. Rubbing at her hair in frustration, it became a tangled mess between her fingers. Rubbing and more rubbing. Scratching. Scrounging. Searching.

"AGH! Fine. Fine!. Whatever. I can tell you won't help me."

Lizzy jabbed a finger into Reiss' chest. Growling through her teeth.

"But, you aren't getting out of this that easily. We will meet again. I can only hope that whatever Lizzy you meet then, you will choose to help her. I don't want to become all-powerful. I would settle for just powerful enough."

Lizzy clenched her hands. Even with all her power, she was still too weak. She couldn't even...

"You want to save a loved one."

Reiss stated the words flatly. A fact.

Lizzy nodded softly.

Reiss waved a hand in front of him. A dismissive gesture.

"You aren't the first to ask. You won't be the last. It's better for the dead to stay dead."

A sneer came across her face, unbidden. The memory still itching.

"Don't pretend to understand who I lost. Don't pretend I am just like all the others wishing for her parents to magically come back and hug her again."

"You are no different. You are powerless to turn back time, yet you irrationally cling to it like all the others. You're trapped in the past and unable to move forward."

Lizzy glared hard at Reiss. Her body trembled with emotion. Her words were a whisper on dead wind.

"I'm not the only one trapped in the past... Am I?"

Realization hit Reiss in a wave. Lizzy took perverse pleasure in seeing his own words affect him.

In the end, though, it didn't matter. Reiss wanted to move forward. One more death got him closer to finally ending it all anyway. He remained silent and waited for judgment.

Water seeped into his boots and cooled his toes. Filth still trickled off him. Lizzy, in contrast, was in pristine condition. Not a hair out of place. The vibrant purple strands somehow reorganizing back into place. Her feet not dipping below the water, and only a single stain marred one of her boots from kicking a muddy rock.

Taking a deep breath, Lizzy schooled herself, reigning in her emotions.

"One day... We can become friends. I hope that you remember me, then."

With that, Lizzy turned and walked away. Leaving Reiss to stand alone among the dead.

"You won't kill me?"

Glancing over her shoulder, Lizzy looked at him sorrowfully.

"I am not a monster. I protect my people. Just like you do. I wasn't lying when I said I wouldn't kill you."

She paused.

"I refuse to kill a man looking to die."

Reiss scowled. Uncrossing his arms, he intoned.

"Fine. I'll do it myself."

She couldn't stop it in time. Reiss bit down. There was the high-pitched crack of breaking glass.

Lizzy watched in abject horror as his body blew apart. Pieces of his head plopped off her shield just as his chest cavity exploded outward, arms spinning off in different directions. His lower half remained relatively intact, intestines sloshing on top of his pelvis like an overfilled wine glass. The legs toppled over, falling into the watery mud with a sick squelch.

Frozen stiff, the horrific scene replayed in her mind again and again. The gruesome death was near instant, probably painless. Then she looked around her, realizing she couldn't identify the pieces among the battlefield. The liquid she was standing on was more blood than water.

Hugging her arms to quell the tremors, she turned and teleported away.

A silver clock-hand marked the grave, erected in memorial of a dog's death.