Purgatory (1)

“Haa, haa…”

Seyad raised his upper body drenched in cold sweat. He let out a gasping breath, brushing his hair that was stuck to his forehead with a rough hand. I felt sick to my stomach, as if I had woken up from a terrible nightmare. I felt like I had witnessed something, but when I came to my senses, I couldn’t think of anything.

My whole body trembled as if I had woken up from the endless heights of falling and hitting the ground. It was a familiar pain. When winter approaches, it was a ‘price’ that attacked after overusing my power. It’s not unusual to feel this way. However, What was strange, was the situation in which I felt the sensation itself.

‘I’m sure I’m dead. Even if I wasn’t executed, I would have died.’

Seyad raised his hand to check his chest. The touch of the fingertips was smooth. The cool, pale upper body was untouched by any wounds. I’m sure my whole body should be in a state where the bones are crushed and there is no unharmed place.

Seyad, with his thick eyebrows frowning, raised his head. The room with a subtle shadow was very familiar to the eye. Very few old furniture was touched, and firewood was burning in the fireplace. This was nothing different from the room he used in his lifetime.

Is hell like this?

As I looked through the scene that could not be explained by any logic, I got out of bed. The sound of the sweaty robe fluttering was clear. Standing barefoot on the cold wooden floor, I walked to the window. When I pulled back the thick curtain and opened the window, A sharp sound came in with a swirling blizzard.

The piercing cold gave me goosebumps. The smell of dry branches carried by the wind from afar and the cold, frozen air were too realistic. The view of the endless white snowy field was the image of the territory where I grew up, but perhaps this was my hell. Isn’t it the best punishment for me to be trapped in a place full of endless cold and loneliness?

“My lord, did you coughed? May I come in?”

Then I heard a knock and a voice calling me from outside the door. Startled, I turned around and looked at the door with a puzzled look on my face, and strode forward and opened the door. Quickly, behind the door that swung back, stood a young man with a bucket of water. The moment I saw him, Seyad’s cold eyes shook.

“Quillie?”

Quillie was the son of a butler, a servant who had been taking care of Seyad since childhood. Being one of the few people who spent Seyad’s childhood with him, he died five years ago. This is because of ‘the incident’ that took place on the first day of the prayer ceremony, which marks the beginning of the cold season. I never thought that I would see again the existence that had disappeared to ashes, so even Seyad, who had always been cool-headed, was shaken for a moment.

“…? Are you okay, my lord? You don’t look well.”

It seemed to be the same for Quillie who was surprised. With his eyes wide open he examined his master very carefully.

“Shall I call a doctor? Those who have been called in advance for the prayer ceremony are waiting, so they will come soon.”

The words ‘prayer ceremony’ took away Seyad’s words. Quillie in front of him was acting exactly the way he did in his lifetime. It was Quillie’s role to help the lord of the Northern territory, which was the busiest ahead of the prayer ceremony.

Quillie was part of weight Seyad carried. He was one of those he was suppose to protect, but he couldn’t. Quillie has always been loyal and sincere. He always supported Seyad, even though there was no clear idea of his rule, he silently stood by Seyad’s side even when everyone else turned their backs on him.

Seyad himself didn’t understand, Quillie was not the kind of person who could be in hell. A killer, who had stolen hundreds of lives, and Quillie, were unparalleled. This situation could not be explained to Seyad, who thought that if there was a life that continued after death, there would be no other life than hell.

Since it was impossible to understand on my own, the only way left was to ask and find out. Seyad asked Quillie, with a cool expression on his face.

“Where am I?”

Quillie’s eyes widened when he heard the question. Unable to hide his bewilderment, he managed to asked back.

“What?”

As if he didn’t understand the meaning of the words, Quillie was asked more questions that were close to interrogation.

“How long have you been here, and what happened to my wound?”

Quillie listened to Seyad’s questions with a bewildered look on his face, and finally came to his senses and began to answer his words one by one.

“What do you mean, where am I, my lord? Aren’t you the Grand Duke of the Great Prosius Family that has protected the North for generations? I am the faithful and lovely Quillie, who has served your excellency for more than 20 years since I was born. Master, are you okay?”

Quillie was like the man straight from the past. No, he looked a lot younger than he was in my last memory. Quillie in my memory was a young man of the same age as Seyad, but he was only a child in the eyes of Seyad, who is about to turn 30.

“And what do you mean by wound? Haven’t you been in the castle for weeks to prepare for the cold season? Did you inspect the land on your own again!”

Seyad looked at Quillie, who was making a fuss and looking at him. Memories were like grains of sand that had no choice but to be lost, so even if you tried to hold on, they would slip out of your grasp. Even though I thought I hadn’t forgotten anything about Quillie, I felt strange to watch the scene as if I had returned to the past. The mere presence of him made the surroundings noisy and lively. It was a difference that I didn’t realize before because only silence remained by Seyad side for too long.

‘It’s just like the real thing.’

All the senses I felt, including Quillie in front of me, seemed realistic. I felt as if I had turned back time and returned to the past.

At that time, I remembered the last wish I made before I died. If I could somehow turn back time, it was my wish to prevent what I had done.

I wished earnestly, even if I sacrificed my soul, but it was just the lingering attachment of the dead. If time could turn back with such a wish, the world would have been ruined by the lingering attachment of the dead.

Of course, Seyad was not an ordinary dead man. He was a ‘Titer’ who had been assigned to protect humanity from Nirah, the monsters who had ruled the land since the beginning of time. Titer, who had been with the founding of the Solias Kingdom, was gifted with a special ability from the moment of birth, which was unpredictable and unstable every time.

However, no matter how bizarre the ability may be on the world, I never heard of a power to change what happened. And even if such an ability existed, there was no way to explain why this was happening to him. This was because there was no Titer who dared to turn back time and let Seyad live. All existing Titer’s hated Seyad.

Therefore, it is all an illusion to feel like I am back in the past. It was clearly a bad fantasy created by hell. There’s only one way to wake up from this fantasy.

After making the decision, Seyad took action immediately. Turning his back from Quillie, he rushed back to the room and headed for bed. Seyad’s sudden action, which had been standing without an answer to the question. Made Quillie follow him restlessly.

“Since you haven’t said anything, this Quillie is very worried. It’s as if someone who hasn’t spoken yet is practicing silence today…”

Ignoring Quillie, who was chattering behind him, Seyad took out a dagger that he placed under his pillow. The moment Quillie’s eyes windened due to Seyad holding a dagger out of the blue, Seyad cut his wrist with the dagger without hesitation.

“Mr. Sayad!”

The sharpened blade cut easily through the flesh. Bright red blood flowed down over the white skin. The startled Quillie ran over and grabbed Seyad by the waist.

“What’s wrong with you all of a sudden, huh? Was what you said earlier a warning that you would get hurt! No, this isn’t it. Is there anyone outside? Doctor! Call a doctor!”

The hallway was cluttered by the sudden commotion. I could feel the servants rushing over to Quillie’s frightened cry. Leaving Quillie alone, who was wailing, Seyad stared intently at the bleeding forearm. The intense pain rising up like a fire spreading throughout his veins, and the things surrounding him, which he considered an illusion, did not disappear and continued as they were.

The deep cut didn’t go away, but opened red and faced Seyad. Its like saying this is reality.

T/N: wow an MC who went back In time? I wonder if he’ll make any changes ahhhh, and Quillie (ಥ◡ಥ) yes you are lovely.

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