Mancer nodded glumly, ignoring his last remark. Edwin was not technically dead, but he'd been trapped in a space outside of time. An eternity in nothingness was by no means a light sentence, but it was still far too tame an end for him. 

“So, what are you gonna do now?” Chroma asked, “there doesn't seem to be anything left on this continent.” 

Mancer was quiet. He'd thought about it many times before. What would he do once he'd killed the man responsible for all of this destruction? Of course, now that he had Chroma in his corner, the answer seemed obvious. It wouldn't end with one little death. On the contrary, this loneliness would only bring more suffering. It wasn't enough just to get revenge. No, Mancer was going to prevent this apocalypse from ever happening in the first place. 

*** 

Moments later, Mancer stood in front of a stone tablet chiseled from granite. Behind it, a scraggly, withered tree stood sentinel, guarding the gravestone with its surfaced roots. 

“Seiche,” Mancer called, and his first water spirit made her appearance. “You know what to do,” he said solemnly. 

She nodded and floated over to the gravestone, leaving a trail of water vapor behind that fell gently to the ground. Her small body was made of water, and she wore a dress formed from the same shimmering mist. She rested her hand on the headstone and water flowed over it, engulfing the granite and washing away the dirt and grime. It almost never rained these days, and when it did, it was not a pleasant rain. 

Mancer watched as the dried blood and caked dirt flowed from the small memorial for his late wife. It had been thirteen years since her passing, but he still felt her loss keenly. For perhaps the four thousandth time, he read the inscription he'd carved into the gravestone. 

He knelt down and activated the magic circle inscribed upon the granite, then backed up quickly as the spell came to life. A perfect reproduction of Jyna stepped towards him, smiling softly, and yet her smile was brighter than any conceivable light source. At her feet, flowers of all varieties bloomed wildly, growing with no semblance of order whatsoever. She stopped directly in front of him, her velvety vermilion hair still despite the wind, and her crystal clear eyes sparkling with an unfathomable depth of emotion. 

It was his most cherished and precious memory. 

She was wearing her favorite dress. It was pure white from her shoulders to her torso, and then faded dramatically into a deep crimson at her feet. Jyna blinked slowly, tilting her head to one side. Her smile grew pensive, as if evaluating someone or something. Then she spoke, and the graceful words that fell from her melodic, angelic voice flipped his world once more. 

“Don't let the world define you,” she said, “we're the only ones that matter, and I won't let anything tear us apart.” She paused for a moment, smiling brightly once more, and uttered the same three words that every devoted couple shares. “I love you.” 

Mancer reached forward and tried to touch her face, but she was only a memory. With one last smile she disappeared, leaving Mancer to bleed out from his heart's open wound. The flowers withered and died as quickly as they'd bloomed, crumbling into dust to scatter in the flighty breeze. The dead wood behind Jyna’s monument, what remained of the tree of life, cracked and splintered, finally giving way in the face of the constant wind. 

He took a deep breath, and the stench of dust and decay filled his lungs. This was the last time he'd visit her grave. He was sorrowful, but excited. He had a chance to rewrite history. 

Mancer knelt once more at Jyna's gravestone. He touched the magic circle gently, and with a flash of light, transferred it to the first of his eight mana circles which surrounded his heart. 

“Now I'll never lose you,” he said bitterly. 

Chroma looked on silently, watching his new partner's affectionate display impatiently. Of all the beings that had contracted him, this human was by far the strangest. He was desperate yet dispassionate, except where Jyna was concerned. 

“I'll never understand humans,” the time spirit mumbled. 

“Chroma,” Mancer called, and his newest summon floated over to stand on his shoulder.

“You ready?” Chroma asked, cracking his knuckles. Mancer nodded. 

“Then here we go!” The lord of time stretched forth his hands and twelve magic circles surrounded them. The breeze stopped and then blew backwards. In the distance, the setting sun started to rise and shoot across the sky as time itself reversed into a dizzying loop that took them everywhere and nowhere, simultaneously existing and not, but then it was there, and Mancer couldn't keep track of anything. As the sun set where it rose for the hundredth time, the strongest spirit shaman in history lost consciousness. 

*** 

“Are you even listening to me?!” 

Someone was yelling. Mancer opened his eyes groggily to find his mother and father sitting in front of him, glaring sternly. Well, his mother was glaring, but his father looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. He blinked a few times, rubbing his eyes to see if they were playing tricks on him. Then he pinched his cheek, but it seemed he wasn't dreaming. He was currently six years old, and he was being reprimanded by his parents. 

His mother sighed and rubbed her forehead. “How many times do I have to tell you to leave the other servants alone? They don't have time for your silly games, and we certainly can't afford another disaster like yesterday. It took nearly all of our savings to pay Lord Baltimore back for all those plates you broke! Now, I know it wasn't on purpose, but I need you to think before you act. Can you do that for Mommy?” 

Mancer nodded cautiously. He thought he knew the incident his mother was talking about, but he didn't want to seem forgetful. His mother smiled sweetly, and his six year old self was suddenly brought to tears. She immediately scooped him up into her arms as he wailed and sniffled, crying into his mother's shoulder as they sat together on the bed. 

“Pericles,” she said softly, “you know I love you, right?” 

Mancer flinched as she said his real name. Ever since Jyna died, he'd kept people from using it. His mother had passed away long before then, and his father never used his given name. 

“What's wrong, my baby?” 

“Nothing mommy,” Mancer replied, “everything's alright now. I'll be more careful next time.” He felt embarrassed speaking in such a childish tone, but he was a child after all, and he didn't want to worry his mother. Life was hard enough as a peasant family without him making things more difficult. They were lucky to be working for someone as magnanimous as Lord Baltimore. 

His mother smiled cheerfully. “I have no doubt you'll do your best,” she said, but in her heart, she was silently pleading for him to keep his word. Reluctantly, she let go of him and stood up. “Mommy has to go to work now. Behave for Daddy, and Miss Shana when she picks you up.” 

“Okay…” Mancer grumbled. His mother bustled out the door of their little cottage, leaving him and his father alone. 

“Daddy?” he asked tentatively, “can I go out and play?” 

His father nodded. “Stay by the cottage, and don't climb any trees,” he warned. 

Mancer emphatically agreed. “Don't worry Daddy! I will and I won't!” With that, he rushed outside as quickly as his stubby little legs could carry him. His father chuckled at the boy's response, picking up yesterday’s paper. 

Once outside, Mancer walked to the edge of the clearing and looked around nervously. Seeing no one, he quietly called out to Chroma. Seconds passed with no answer. 

“Chroma!” he said again. The wind picked up, sending a handful of leaves swirling around his feet. 

“Chroma! Answer me!” When no response came, Mancer stomped his feet in frustration. He wondered if the regression had somehow affected his summons, and a cold sense of fear washed over him. 

“Rixi?” Her contract symbol glowed briefly, but she didn't respond. Mancer was desperate now. Without his spirits by his side, he was nothing but a lowly mage. An incomplete husk of himself. 

“Seiche. Please answer me,” he whispered. For the longest time there was no response, and then… 

“You called?” Seiche beamed at him, oblivious to the terror he'd just felt. 

He cried out in relief and snatched Seiche out of the air, holding her close to his chest. “I'm so glad,” he said, “please don't scare me like that again.” 

Seiche blushed at his sudden affection. “What's wrong?” she asked. 

“Rixi and Chroma aren't responding to me!” 

The water spirit smiled knowingly. “Rixi's just sulking, but as for Chroma…” Her expression darkened. “I… I don't know.” 

“What do you mean?” 

Seiche sighed. “It's… best if you see for yourself.” She formed a flat plane of water in front him so that he could see his face in a mirror. He gasped in shock as he beheld himself. His hair was still green, but his eyes were no longer shining and… 

Chroma’s contract symbol was gone.