I Got Reincarnated as the Game's Villain-Chapter 44: The Truth of the Past[1]

"Ugh," a groan was the first thing I heard. It was my voice, so it was probably me.

My body was heavy.

Heavy with exhaustion.

I tried to rise, but I couldn’t…

…I tried again, but it was futile.

Something…

Something was holding me back.

’What the heck?’

Am I dead?

Fuck!

No, no, not after everything!

"Ugh," I groaned again, but this time, I felt something cold on my lips.

No.

Something liquid pouring into my mouth.

"Ugh," I groaned again, but suddenly the intense pain I felt began to fade away slowly.

I could feel it.

I was regaining strength.

"Huh?" My eyes opened, and directly above was a bright light.

’What?’

Is that a bulb?

I tried to see it clearly, but my vision was still the same.

Hazy.

I then tried to move, but…

…I couldn’t. Something was still holding me back.

"It seems you’re awake," I heard, then tilted my neck to the side.

Huh?

Just before me was the stature of a child.

Small.

But I could see beards.

’Am I seeing things now?’

That was the only explanation for this.

"Mind telling me who you are?" I heard again, a rough voice.

I looked to the other side, but there was no one.

I then looked back to the person standing before me.

I squinted, trying to get a clearer view, but it was futile.

It was still all a haze.

"I asked a question, kid," I heard the voice, sensing impatience in its tone.

"Amael," I responded, still not sure what was going on.

"Amael… that’s a strange name," he muttered, to which I retorted, "So are you." I couldn’t see him clearly, but he looked pretty weird to me.

"Huh? What’s wrong with me?" he asked, to which I didn’t give a response. However, he added, "Well, I guess it’s your first time seeing a living dwarf," I heard, and instantly my vision cleared.

Now I could see a bit more clearly.

That up there wasn’t a bulb; it was a special stone that used mana to glow.

I turned back in the direction of the man, and I almost fainted.

’A dwarf!’

I couldn’t believe it.

But it looked so real.

A dwarf.

But I thought they were extinct.

"What’s with that look?" he said, then went to sit a few feet away.

"Dwarfs are extinct," I responded matter-of-factly.

Huh?

I tried to stand up, but it was still the same as before.

I felt something holding me down.

Fuck.

I was chained to both pillars of the metallic bed I was strapped on.

"Oh, right. I keep forgetting that," he said, then rubbed his head awkwardly.

But his casualness never eased the uneasy feeling I was having.

"Where am I? Where is this place? Why am I here?" The questions tumbled out of my lips as I attempted to stand, but I still couldn’t.

"It’s better you stop that attempt of yours; it won’t work," he said, then held up something.

I squinted to get a better look, and then my eyes shot wide open.

"What is this… thing you had on your neck?" he asked, then stood up and began walking around me.

"It looks so much like a clock. But it’s not moving," he said, inspecting it.

"How am I here?" I asked, my expression stern.

"I saved you… That should answer all your questions," he said, and I instantly remembered.

’The ryquins’

But…

"How?" I couldn’t help but ask. I was pretty damn sure the monster would have killed me in a stampede the moment time resumed, so how did he save me before they could?

"I made them stop," he replied, then walked back to his seat, placing the chronos lock on the mini table, which was actually like a chopped-off trunk.

"That shouldn’t be possible… None of this should be possible! You shouldn’t even be here!" I voiced out my confusion and frustration, gazing at him straight in the eyes.

The game clearly stated that all dwarfs were dead. So how come I am seeing a living, breathing dwarf standing before me?

"Yes. Dwarfs are extinct," he replied, closing his eyes.

"But… you–" I tried to say but was interrupted.

"I am also dead," he said, to which I only felt more confused and frustrated. If he’s dead, how is he here? Or am I dead? But he said he saved me…

AHHHHH!

This makes no goddamn sense!

"So what are you?" I asked as I just couldn’t place it.

"I am a dwarf. But I died just like the others, however…" he said, then touched his chest, and I instantly understood…

"You’re just a puppet," I mumbled in disbelief.

A dwarf who left a piece of his soul in a puppet?

That…

…actually makes sense.

Dwarfs were the first of all the races to create puppets.

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At least that’s what I know from the game.

"But you said you made those fucking beasts stop. How and why?" I asked, and I could see his expression darken.

What did I say wrong?

"Those beasts, as you call them, are not what you think they are," he said, then stroked his beard.

"Huh? Then–" I was about to say but was cut off.

"Before you ask any more questions, tell me, what exactly are you?" he asked.

"Human," I replied.

"Then how were you able to do the things I saw you do?" he asked once more.

"What things?"

"I don’t even know what I saw... One moment you were there, then you weren’t, then suddenly you were somewhere else. It was abnormal, like you were moving faster than possible. I… I can’t wrap my head around it. So, what are you, really? And what was that?" he demanded.

"I am a human, and that was just a relic’s ability," I said, without faltering.

"Relic? How can a relic do that? It was literally defying the laws of mana. You seemed to move quicker than light… What relic is that?" he asked, his face a mirror of emotion, fascination being the most prominent.

"That," I said, gesturing towards the clock-like pendant he placed on the table.

"That? But… why couldn’t I see any runes on it? To think Magitech has advanced to such a level," he kept talking, but then I interrupted him.

"I answered your question, so tell me, what do you mean by those beasts aren’t what I think they are?" I asked.

And just as before…

…his expression darkened.

"Those… are the dwarfs you believe to be extinct," he said, and my mind froze.

"What?"