Jokes of time

ㅤ They had defeated Dhaos in the past. All that remained was to finish the job, returning to the present for Cless and Mint. They felt like heroes, though they wouldn't admit it out loud. But their journey wasn't over yet. Their goal lay a hundred years in the future. "OZ," Cless said enthusiastically, "activate the time travel system!" "Command recognized, system activated," the unusual machine responded callously. "Choose a time and place." "The twenty-first day of the fifth month, one hundred and two years from now. Location: the furthest room of the Underground Crypt!" "Error. The coordinates are incorrect. Please select another destination." Cless's resolve wavered. However, after a moment's thought, he continued: "Then transport us to Toltus Village." "Acknowledged. Commencing initialization." Amid OZ's monotonous voice, Cless anticipated returning home, taking revenge on Dhaos and saving his best friend. His eyes blazed with enthusiasm and a readiness for heroic deeds. He felt that after all this, he would surely overcome any obstacle. The journey began. For the brain, unable to perceive quantum disorder, a split second passed, while the body experienced unprecedented overloads in a wormhole full of stars pulled into pitch darkness. And so the four heroes found themselves in Cless's home village, stunned by what he saw. "Um," Arche said first, not exactly known for her tact. "Didn't you say Toltus was destroyed by Dhaos?" "Uh-huh," was all Cless could muster. "Then where are so many people coming from?" Arche continued. "Is this really the right time?" With a fire burning in his soul, both from anxiety and hope, Cless rushed toward the nearest man, uttering sharply: "What year is it!?" The man was taken aback, but then replied, confused: "Four thousand, three hundred and four…" "And the month?! The day!?" Cless persisted. "The fifth?! The twenty-first?!" "…Well, yes." "But…" he caught his breath, his heart skipped a beat, "how can this be…?" And then it dawned on him. Cless ran as fast as he could across the bridge to the house to the left of the church. An ordinary two-story house… Without a dojo. With a small, cozy garden behind a low, sturdy fence. Cless looked at the house in silence, no longer sure what to feel, what to think. Whether there was any hope. "Ami, don't run!" a familiar voice called. "You'll fall!" Cless froze, unable to find the strength to turn around. "But Clem is waiting! We were supposed to leave right after lunch!" Ami stopped next to Cless, beckoning her brother to hurry. Cless glanced at her uncertainly, silently pronouncing her name. Even his lips barely moved: he was choking back tears and a lump in his throat. That same Ami. And her brother's voice… "I'll pick you up after the hunt. Be a good girl and don't give Clementine's parents any trouble," Chester said convincingly and caringly, dropping to one knee before his little sister. "Aha!" was all Ami managed to say, disappearing through the door that had barely opened. The unfamiliar woman inside merely chuckled, as if out of habit. Inside, two girls burst into laughter, happily starting a conversation about their own. "You're so restless…" Chester breathed quietly. "And why are you standing there like that?" he turned to Cless. "Are you okay? I haven't seen you here before…" "Chester?" Mint arrived. This wasn't where she expected to see him, but she was genuinely relieved that he was okay. "Have we met? I'm sorry, I don't remember you," Chester was equally surprised, trying to remember something that wasn't there. Klarth and Arche calmly approached their friends, looking around carefully. They didn't interfere in the conversation, trying to understand what they were talking about first. "It's not him, Mint," Cless said in a dead voice, still motionless, overcome by emotion. "But, Cless…" she tried to object. "You're mistaken!" Cless repeated insistently. "Wow, Cless and Mint?" Chester's ears caught on. "You were named after great heroes? What luck!" Klarth exhaled thoughtfully, understanding the picture emerging from the details ever more clearly. Arche, too, watched silently, unsure where to say something or why. "If you need anything, just ask," Chester continued enthusiastically, as if he'd met true heroes. "I live next door. Are you sure you don't need anything?" he asked, looking alternately between Cless and Mint. "Sure," Cless replied, still lifelessly. "Good hunting." "Thank you! Well, bye!" "If we'd introduced ourselves beforehand, he'd probably have been speechless with excitement." "Arche!" Klarth cut her off sharply; there was no time for jokes. Cless sank down exhausted by the fence, clutching his head in his hands. It took all his strength not to whine in despair. His entire world, everything he'd fought for, was gone. Gritting his teeth, he cried silently, hiding his face from his friends. "What's going on?!" Arche still hadn't grasped the situation. "By changing the past, we changed the present. Cless and Mint's ancestors didn't take the important path of confronting the Dhaos. For them, life took a radically different path. And now this is a world where Cless never existed, just like his parents, like his home." "Klarth, please…" Mint sat down next to Cless sympathetically, soothingly patting his shoulder. She herself wanted to drop her hands and cry, but it was easier for her: she couldn't see the changes to important details of her life, which might no longer exist. "Oh…" Arche finally understood. "We need to go back…" Cless whispered. "We need to fix everything." "And how do you plan to do that?" Klarth asked sternly. "You'll come to two strangers and tell them they need to be together? People are shaped by experiences, their character, their outlook on life, and their feelings. You can't so easily fix what happened. We are now the 'legendary four' who defeated Dhaos, not them." "Then we must stop us!" "We never know what will happen if we meet ourselves; it could end badly." "But I have to try…" "But what about…" Arche interrupted, lost in thought until then. "What about us? If you stop us, then our present will change too. Then we, too, will have nowhere to return to." There was silence. Cless found nothing to say. For just a moment, he wanted to exclaim "Selfish!" But he quickly realized. He was the one who was selfish. "I’m sorry…" he said in a strangled voice. "I don't know what to do. How can I get everything back?" "You have a choice, Cless. Who are you willing to sacrifice: us and everyone in your village, or yourself and your family? Choose." "Okay…" Cless trailed off, his mind racing. His gaze seemed to dart from one thought to the next, never settling on anything for long. Overwhelmed by fear, he turned pale. Sweat broke out on his forehead, and a lump rose in his throat. "Let me take you home," he said, surprisingly calm. "What about Dhaos?" Arche interjected. "He must have disappeared somewhere." "Clearly not here." "True. We don't know what time to look for him in now." "But what should we do then?" "We could," suggested Klarth, "leave a message for future generations through the kings. Specify a time and place when we'll all be together and ready for battle." "Exactly! Excellent idea!" Arche agreed. "Then it's decided. I'll prepare the letters at home." Cless was silent the entire way to Thor. He said a brief farewell to Arche and Klarth as he returned them home. Mint tried not to disturb him unnecessarily. And when they returned to Thor again, Cless asked: "Do you want to stay here with our friends or return to…" he didn't know what to call "the present"—"that time." "If we stay here, we can change something else…" "Does it really matter? We don't exist anymore anyway…" Cless said quietly, as if not for Mint. "Mint…" he said with a heavy heart. "Let's try. Arche and Klarth are already home, they're fine. Let's fix our future. Let's stop ourselves, save the Tree, don't let Mars resurrect Dhaos in our"—he emphasized the last word—"time. Everyone will survive. We will save everyone." "But what if we only make things worse?" "Then we'll try again until we succeed. Mint, we have nothing to lose. We've already lost everything. Let's give ourselves a chance." Cless patiently waited for an answer, which Mint was in no hurry to give. However, after thinking it over, looking into Cless's determined eyes, she said: "Okay. Let's do it." She still felt she was doing the wrong thing, but she couldn't help it. She knew her mother was dead too, even if Cless hadn't yet had time to tell her, to confirm her suspicions. She felt it in her heart, filled with lead from the decision she'd made. "It's too late to back out," she convinced herself. "We've already decided." Together, they approached the OZ in Thor. Cless set new coordinates. The past. The time and place when they first found themselves in this era. Found themselves with their copies behind them. And as soon as Cless called out to them, as soon as their gazes met, they… disappeared. Both versions. And time flowed as if Cless and Mint had never traveled to the past. Only to return again. And again. And again… ㅤ