Adham looked a few years older. His body was covered in scars, his hair was longer, and his clothes were dirty and tattered. Helena almost did not recognise him with a stubble. He was kneeling while holding a little girl's corpse. Adham looked up to the grey sky and contemplated his past.
"Where did I go wrong?"
Helena's heart was aching to see the sight. She touched him, but her hand passed through his body. This view was nothing but a memory. She could not interact with past remnants. Helena looked away and spoke to the demon.
"What is happening in here?"
"Oh, right. You were already dead before this happened." Karl crossed his arms. "This is the future of the second timeline."
Helena was horrified. "This... this is the future?"
"Yes. Three years have passed since your death. Sinner Punishment and Bloody Riot still happened without you. This man foolishly joined the rebel. They succeed and choose a new leader for the kingdom, but..." Karl chuckled at Adham's figure. "The new king terrorised the kingdom with tyranny. Persecution struck anyone who opposed him. Adham had no choice but to join a new rebellion army because of the dreadful crisis. Civil war broke out and ruined the country. The new rebellion lost."
"Who is this new king? They managed to turn the condition from bad to worse!"
"It won't be a surprise and mystery if I tell you."
While Adham still wept from his failure, someone appeared between the grey fog. A man with a horn and black wing manifested from the air. He landed right in front of Adham. The mourning man was stunned and laughed.
"... I must be going insane. To think I will hallucinate from exhaustion."
"Oh, no. You're not hallucinating." The demon assured him. When he snapped his finger, the corpse in Adham's arms was glowing. The wounds over her body had disappeared while her ragged clothes changed into a white dress. Adham only blinked at the miracle.
"You see, I'm a demon. I can grant you any wish in exchange for your life."
Adham did not react to the revelation. Karl raised his eyebrow at the lack of response. "Well, this is a rare occurrence. You're not surprised."
"Does it matter? I've lost everything..."
His eyes were mixed with grief and guilt. The rebellion would never rise again. Adham had no one to blame but himself. He should not have put that man as a king. Adham was blinded by outrage and being used without realising it. He would not join Bloody Riot if it led to this destruction.
"Don't be so harsh on yourself. I can help you fix anything."
His voice was gentle and kind. Nevertheless, it was a trap to lure the victim into fake comfort. There was no genuity in his action. His behaviour was a calculated movement. He did this hundreds of times. The demon offered his hand while hiding a deceitful facade.
"Tell me your wish."
Adham could not think straight. His body and soul were beyond worn out. That man stared at the demon like he was a saviour. Adham received the offer without a second thought. Only one wish flashed through his mind.
"I want everything to return as it was."
A crack appeared in the scene. The memory was broken apart as if it were a mirror. Helena fell into endless darkness.
The last thing she saw was the demon's sly grin.
Helena gasped for air after waking up from the nightmare. She sat on the cold floor while holding her head. Looking into the past gave her a painful headache. Helena felt nauseous and almost threw up on the carpet. Her head felt like it was split in two by an axe. Karl was crouching next to her side. He relished watching her excruciated expression.
"Good morning, sleepy head. Enjoy the dream?"
Helena cursed him while coughing. "You bastard..."
Karl clapped his hands, invoking her wrath further. "It is a beautiful tragic story. Lover in first life yet a stranger in second life. He tried to save you at the beginning but joined the rebellion that killed you in the end. Alas, a twist of fate brought you back together in the third life!"
Helena struggled to stand up. She still has not recovered from watching the past. "You supposed to reverse back Adham's memory, not me!"
"Why should I?"
"Because-"
Helena stopped speaking. A terrifying thought flickered through her mind. She had guessed a loop in bestowing a desire. Helena stared at the demon. The creature smirked at her comprehension.
Helena spoke in a trembling voice. "It does not matter how, as long the wish was granted..."
Karl cackled at her answer until he was crying. The laughter sent a chill to Helena's spine. Helena hated that she was right. She stayed silent until Karl stopped laughing. The demon wiped the tears from his eyes and praised her for once.
"Oh, Helena Blackmoore. You grow smarter now. If only you were this intelligent in your previous life."
"You trick Adham."
"Trick? Oh, please, we demons are bound by the contract. There is more than one way to fulfil someone's wish. I obviously could not bring you back. Your soul had left your body for a long time. Even demons were powerless against death. So, I returned to the past and put your old memories. You survived on your way."
Helena gritted her teeth. Living as a villainess made her alive and granted Adham's first wish. "Then the reason I return to the past again... Is it because of Adham's second wish?"
Karl shrugged his shoulder. "Maybe. I turned the time back to his past. He was happy and relieved for a moment, but...." He chuckled lightly. "How unfortunate. I ate his soul one minute after granting his wish."
Helena was upset. "You did not even give him a chance to fix his mistake!"
"I did not breach the contract, didn't I? He wished to return everything as it was, not resolve the problem. Blame him for picking the wrong wish."
Helena was no longer throwing a tantrum. Her anger changed into silence. She was glaring at the demon with pure hatred. There was a deep grudge in her eyes. Her brain was filled with strangling, stabbing and every torture that existed in a book. She wanted to murder the demon on the spot.
"Whoa, stop staring at me like that. I was as shocked as you were when your memories were still intact. That kid's first wish somehow lingered in this timeline. Even I could not predict this outcome."
This must be some sort of sick joke. Adham made a contract twice with the same demon. Yet, he had no memories of his actions. Meanwhile, Helena recalled everything because of his wishes. The journey she had been through made sense now. Yet, one thing remained odd in her mind.
"...Why did you go this far? Is it really for my soul?"
"Of course! It has developed into a tastier meal. Do you even need to ask?"
"When I confronted you for the first time, why did you reveal the truth? Isn't it easier to wait for me to be in despair to give up my soul or use your power?"
That man looked in the distance as if he were thinking about something. It was strange to see dismay in his face.
"I have been living for centuries, Helena Blackmoore. I travelled through different worlds. Love, war, sacrifice, greed, envy. I've seen all of it. However, your story is different. It is something I never seen before. Watching you struggle until the bitter end is delightful."
Karl put his hand under her chin and whispered in her ear. "I aid you so I can see the finale of your tale. Your opponent is not a normal person, Helena Blackmoore. It will be boring if you die without a fight. I need the protagonist to live longer for entertainment."
"Jerk."
"Why, thank you. I am a demon, after all."
Karl cackled and disappeared into thin air, leaving her with so much new information. Helena sat on her bed, feeling angry yet hopeless. Tears fell onto her pale cheek. She could not hold her frustration.
Even if she killed herself, the demon might find a way to revert the time.
Helena cried herself to sleep. She only woke up to the sounds of an explosion. That girl ran to the balcony to see smoke of fire from afar. Helena's anxiety went to the roof. She knew the sign behind the explosion.
Bloody Riot had begun.