However…there are two possibilities for this existence,” I stated plainly, setting my empty cup down on the table with a faint clink.

The old man glanced up sharply, eyes focused with curiosity. “Yes? Get on with it, young’in.”

I smiled faintly, appreciating his directness. “In either possibility…you exist, but technically, I don’t. The first scenario is that I was sent to the past specifically to change the future. This follows the dynamic theory: altering past events definitively reshapes the future. However, this scenario poses a paradox. If I succeed in changing events, the circumstances that led me to travel back never occur, thus negating my own journey and actions. This would trap me in an endless loop—an impossible paradox. Clearly, this is the worst outcome.”

“If I weren’t already steeped in prediction and divination,” he said thoughtfully, “I doubt I would grasp what you're suggesting. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I do. And the second possibility?” He extinguished his cigarette decisively, as if rejecting the first scenario outright.

“The second possibility aligns with the multiverse theory. Here, my actions create a new, parallel timeline without altering my original future. You and everyone here would experience a completely different outcome, free from the doom I witnessed. Meanwhile, I would return to a changed future, leaving my original timeline intact elsewhere. My companions and I would retain memories of the original timeline, making you the eighth person informed about this.”

He nodded slowly, considering my words. “That does seem far preferable.”

“How exactly does your ability to predict the future work?” This was crucial information.

“Well,” he began, scratching his chin thoughtfully, “it manifests through dreams. Ever since childhood, my dreams have hinted at future events—but only in fragments. For example, I might dream of a beautiful, peaceful landscape, only to suddenly sense impending doom. The specifics remain unclear.”

“So you might glimpse part of an event, but after waking, anything could happen?” I clarified.

“Yes, exactly. My dreams provide hints or symbolic clues, leaving me to interpret their meanings. Imagine seeing a candle teetering on the edge near a barrel of oil—obviously a crude example—but without seeing the outcome, I can only guess at the implications.”

“How far ahead do these dreams extend?” Another critical detail.

“Variable,” he admitted, chuckling lightly. “Could be sixty years, could be five days.”

“That's still incredibly useful, even if it were just tomorrow.”

“Yes, but there’s another complication. Human actions often alter the outcomes I foresee. A dream might show a flourishing field, only for human intervention or something unforeseen to change that completely.”

“So that confirms something intelligent or at least sentient caused the devastation of your future,” I reasoned, my gaze drifting toward the window as I pondered.

His expression darkened slightly, realization dawning in his eyes. “I…hadn’t considered that before. But now, hearing your perspective, it seems entirely plausible.”

I turned back to him. “Then, different forms of temporal manipulation—if this truly is time travel—can be at play here. With your predictive dreams, we might pinpoint exactly what needs altering. I think there’s a straightforward way to confirm which theory applies.”

“You mean the girl, correct?” the old man guessed shrewdly, rising slowly to his feet.

“Yes. If you and I explain what we know to her carefully, perhaps she'll grasp the severity. Actually, I’m somewhat surprised you’re accepting all this so calmly.” I reignited my smoke, inhaling deeply. It had gone out on its own through my musings.

He smiled slightly, though weariness crept into his eyes. “For a long time, I’ve been tormented by glimpses of doom, sleepless nights filled with anxiety, and isolation in this very house. Now, knowing the potential cause, I feel compelled to act. Understanding brings clarity, and with clarity comes a sense of duty.”

I chuckled softly, extending my hand warmly. “I like you, old man. I'm Jaeger, by the way—I never asked your name.”

He hesitated only briefly before firmly shaking my hand. “Isaiahh Crowell.”

The moment he spoke, my body froze instinctively, surprise rippling through me visibly.

Isaiahh furrowed his brow, confused by my sudden reaction. “What’s wrong?”

Releasing a slow breath to steady myself, I gestured for him to sit again, my expression grave. “You better sit down…I have a longer story for you."

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“You mean to tell me that an old man bestowed you powers…and had the same name as me?” The old man had long lit up another smoke, droning his fingers on the table in contemplation.

“Yes…and then began everything after that.”

“Names can be coincidental…lets just say that…and he could also have the same ‘clan’ name…let’s say that…but for him to be able to speak with the dead…”

“What is it?” I felt something defining was about to be said, and sadly it was, as the man continued.

“I come from a long line of mystics…in fact, my ability to predict the future is based upon this…you could say witches, you could say warlocks…I know of all people, for you in that…game…this isn’t so strange but…some of the abilities have pertained to speaking to the dead. If I died, and he somehow left this place…or rather someone of my lineage…and then grew in that world, well…he could converse with me, and with my ability to predict the future have given you this power to make sure one day you would come back to stop this all from happening.”

“Holy fuck…” almost dropped my smoke.

“That…would actually make quite a bit of sense…I don’t know what I would have said…but for him to use the name, means that he too was named it…or I told him to change his first name to it in the event you came here.”

“Holy fuck…”

“Holy fuck indeed.”  The old man nodded continually as he closed his eyes.

“That means…in the time line I came from where you died, that man had made contact with you to give me what I needed to survive as well as reach this point…but why not tell me what he faced? How to end all this”

“Because Jaeger…those are variables my ability can’t control remember…human nature, or rather if I knew the outcome would be this without saying anything well…I wouldn’t say anything then…I am amongst the elders of this village, and when I make a decision I don’t always explain why for a good reason. I am known as wise, and that is probably why Credance, the girl, brought you to me first…she is a good friend of mine haha.”

“oh I see…” I nodded but several more questions were on my mind.

“Ask them, I’m very wise” The old man gave a nod.

“I’ve described where I have come from…what is ‘here?’ what is the order of this world?”

“Ah I see…” Isaiahh knew exactly what I meant by ‘world order’ especially after hearing  the type of world I came from with power systems, and magical systems, let alone the new ‘game’ the gods there were playing, “Alright…it isn’t as you presume it to be I promise that…”

“What do you mean? No magic or powers?”

“Not exactly no…in this world, somewhat like yours we engineered and created…but long ago after several old wars, we disbanded the idea of digitalization and communication.” The old man seemed to be reminiscing.

“No…digitalization or communication?” Did he mean in the form of mortal sciences?

“Yes…we created machines, and things that move of course…but we broke away from phones, and communication devices on that scale…we have radios of sorts, and ways to interact but our world is without the same communication network as your own…albeit yours is magical…still…from your views on just the buildings of the city I first picked up on, you seemed to be confused by our modern design without technology…well, that’s how it is.”

“That’s…so interesting.” I couldn’t help but nod, it was strange to my ears but to come from a place where mysticism and magic was banned, why not technology? Still, what made up for that lacking aspect? Magic of different sorts?

“To answer the questions of what you are most likely asking yourself heh…well we never broke away from ‘kingdoms’ they merely became more modern. Much like your own kingdoms and Empires that have lasted thousands of years ours was not from magic, qi, or spiritual energy you said? But the energy of Union of Nations itself. No bouts of democracy, or otherwise was formed in this world…we merely have kingdoms, and within that duchies…sects…etc…with mystic arts being the polar aspect to these kingdoms but not a force in control of anything other than their own people…we aren’t as advanced as your world so to say it seems…huh…feels kinda shitty to describe it like that.”

Indeed, it did sound like he was shitting on his own lawn but that was just how it is.

“Guns?” I asked curious.

“Banned” Isaiahh merely replied.

“Aww I see…mm…the abilities you were talking about? Mystics?”

“You know I have future sight yes? Or future…dreams? Mm….well…there are others with different abilities like these.”

“Ah…eh?”

“Well…ha…our world has abilities that some gain…that are the peak of the human ability, or the peak of the human mind…in a natural way. The best way to describe it is that we have what we describe an afterlife, and we are linked to that zone of ghosts…”

“Ghosts…psychics…I see now” I began to understand a bit about this world more, as well as the fact that all the people who died here including Cadence had become ghosts! It was the natural order of their world.

“Yes psychics that’s the word…in more powerful places, there are more powerful psychics, but it isn’t at the level of bending space and setting things aflame hahaha…no…no…we haven’t had anyone with such powers strong enough yet, or so that I know, but the world is limited in communication so who knows. I haven’t travelled the world.”

“That’s it then…that was the cause” I finally felt an ebb of an answer why this all came to be.

“You said the other…you…or the person who gave me these powers could commune with the dead…what if someone had the ability to instill life by using those ghosts…back into the bodies of the living?” The room suddenly felt darker.

“That…my god…my great god no… This was not impossible at all, and with the fact that I had a long distant relative that could commune with the dead, it could only mean one thing…

…we have…to kill the remnants of my clan.” Isaiahh spoke after a long moment of silence, sadness and grievance causing his eyes to shut tightly.

My eyes slowly opened wide…”Oh fuck…maybe it was something else though, I’ll investigate.”

We left the house with solemn looks on our faces, and set off to the elders spread around the town, not long after that a small group of women and men formed in a hidden room set in the attic of a well-known bar that they all hanged out at often.  

Why kill his remnants? What purpose would that serve? To stop the man from meeting me in the future or? To make sure after we solved this fiasco, that they wouldn’t exist in the present to obscure things incase one grew up wanting to do evil, and persuaded me to redo this all…I don’t know, I simply don’t know.

Isaiahh Crowell, the true Isaiahh was indeed vague in his meanings.

Not a single one of them spoke up as Isaiahh told everything he knew, while I added the points I had said before. The group, close friends of the old man speaking before them, could only grunt or sigh at the revelations being presented to them.

“What makes you think that all he said is true? Possible to occur?” Asked a old wrinkled woman briskly.

Isaiahh looked back to me and waved his hands, while I stepped forward in front of them all.

“…because…my power exists, to prove that I too…come from a different existence.”

A mist slowly formed in the air and from it a strange looking frog with several jutting crystals from its back leapt out with a plop.

The frog opened its mouth, and buckets and buckets worth of steel poured out onto the ground before their very eyes. I bent down and absorbed the metal into myself, light flickering from the candle light of the room on my now metallic skin. Nobody in the room spoke, and even Isaiahh kept his mouth shut as his eyes widened. Truly, there was no better proof than this.

I lowered my head a bit and looked at my hands, ‘Or am I the crazy one?’

My ‘cape’ flung out as two wings sprung to life, to the eyes of those around me I was no different than a metallic skinned black winged angel.