The Perfect Path To Insanity-Chapter 46: Turning Back Time

Jaren appeared in the Gray Zone.

The dirty walls closed in around him, the air cooler but still thick with dust from the streets beyond.

The streets were busier today. Faint voices carried from the crowd ahead, but he noticed people laying on the ground, coughing and reeking of sickness.

Was there something he didn’t know of? Walking here was normal for him, but now that he had joined the Hawks organization, this was nothing but a road to his new office, not back to the Qing’s brothel.

He no longer lived there. And it hurts.

Walking with the crowd, his longsword still hung heavy in his right hand. The blood on his left hand had dried and clotted.

Sweat cooled on his skin now, leaving his shirt clinging to his back and chest. His hazel eyes scanned the faces that passed without really seeing them.

He knew.

He knew Stolas was using him. Anyone with enough intelligence could see through that tired officer’s manners.

Stolas never lifted a finger unless the move put something in his pocket.

Joining Hawks meant stepping into a machine that would grind him down until nothing remained but whatever they needed.

Jaren swallowed.

Turning back now would make everything Grace died for feel pointless. There was nothing left to protect anyway. Revenge was all that remained, and the thought tightened his chest until his pulse thudded hard in his ears.

He kept walking.

Then his shoulders collided with a cloaked figure moving the opposite way. The impact was light but sudden.

Jaren staggered a half step before catching himself.

"Sorry," he muttered automatically.

However, the cloaked figure said nothing and kept walking. Still, Jaren caught a faint tuft of orange fur clung to the cloak’s hem as the figure moved farther away.

Possibly a cat, maybe.

Then he glanced down. A small pouch of coins lay in the dirt. Beside it, three cat treats, they were small brown pellets shaped like fish scattered on the ground.

He bent. Fingers closed around the pouch first, then scooped the treats into his palm. The coins clinked softly.

’They dropped this.’

He straightened, eyes tracking the cloak through the thinning crowd.

"Hey," he called out. "Hey! You dropped this!"

Jaren started after them. The road narrowed here as people pressed closer. Elbows bumped his ribs and he winced.

A cart wheel rattled past. He pushed forward, pouch extended in his left hand. As he was about to reach the figure—

—a sharp scream cut through the noise.

A high, small, panicked scream from the far end of the street.

Jaren snapped his head left.

A boy, no more than seven, stood frozen in the middle of the road. Wide eyes locked on the truck barreling toward him.

It was odd. Only in the Citadel Zones were there any moving vehicles. How could one afford to drive a truck in a Grey Zone?

Despite that, the vehicle was old, paint chipped to gray-brown, but it sped at full speed.

The boy’s feet stayed planted. Caught in the deadlights like a deer.

’He’ll get hit!’

Jaren’s pulse hammered. He dropped the pouch. It hit the ground with a dull clink.

His boots shoved off the dirt. Lunging forward with his arm outstretched, fingers reaching for the boy’s shirt. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

BAM!

The truck struck.

The boy flew sideways, then under the wheels.

Crunch!

Blood sprayed across the road.

People screamed at the sight.

The truck swerved, smashed into the side of a building and collapsed.

Jaren skidded to a stop. His eyes wide at the sight of the blood.

The ringing stirred in his ears, stinging and blocking the sounds of the blaring towners in the scene.

He felt like he’d been punched in the guts. As his breathing slowed, a wave of nausea hit him. And he couldn’t breathe. It all suffocated him.

Gore pooled under him. The boy’s body twisted on the ground, crushed by the weight of the truck.

If only Jaren had been faster. If he had moved the second he heard the scream. The boy wouldn’t be dead.

If only he had been there a second faster. If only he had not been distracted, Grace would still be here with him.

His knees buckled half an inch. Hands shook at his sides. Sweat broke fresh across his forehead, ran into his eyes.

... If only he had the power to turn back time.

...

Golden sparks erupted from his skin. Tiny arcs of electricity jumped between his fingers, crackled along his arms.

It lit the air around him in faint, flickering light.

His system’s screen appeared in front of him.

[Congratulations! You have just activated the skill ’Timeline Sequence.’]

[Sequence 1 has been eroded.]

[Now in motion, Sequence 2.]

The moments replayed in reverse.

The scene pulled backward. Broken bricks lifted from the ground and slotted back into the wall.

The truck reversed in a smooth, silent rush.

Blood retreated into the boy’s body. The small form uncrumpled, flew upward, landed on his feet in the road.

He was whole, alive, staring at the oncoming lights again.

Jaren stood exactly where he had been.

"Haa—ahh— what happened?" His heartbeat pounded faster.

Sweat poured down his face now, soaking his collar. Hands trembled so hard the sword nearly slipped from his grip.

He stared at the boy again. Then at the truck. Then at his own sparking fingers.

"What?"

The truck roared forward once more.

This time Jaren moved faster.

Still unsure of what just happened, the only thing that rang in his brain was: ’save the boy’

The Golden electricity shone brighter around him. His body blurred, and in a flash of light, he appeared directly beside the boy.

Fingers closed on the child’s shirt. He yanked hard, pulling the small body against his chest. The truck rushed past, missing them by inches.

The tires screeched as it veered sideways and crashed into the building again.

Jaren dropped to one knee. Arms wrapped tight around the boy. The child buried his face against his chest, small hands clutching fabric.

The boy’s shaking, wide eyes stared up at him. Then he burst into tears.

Jaren’s chest heaved as he struggled to breathe, pupils blown wide with shock. The golden sparks still danced faintly along his arms, then faded into the air.

Shaking from the adrenaline, he looked down at the boy.

The ringing in his ears quieted.

This was surreal. He could turn back time.

’Grace... if only I had this then...’