My eyes shoot open, and my vision welcomes a now familiar ceiling. Luminous streaks of sunlight beam through the window to my right, and I set myself upright to assess the situation. I established connection to ‘The Loom’? Faint memories of text appearing in a cold, dark place enter my mind. Echoes of a dead Helix, a guard... and I. Phantom pain assaults me. Resisting the urge to vomit yet again, I look under the blanket, and see my leg, fully intact. No bones sticking out and no blood pouring forth. Enduring the pain with clenched teeth, I look around the room. Clarice, Bert, and Helix all look towards me. These are not mere delusions of the future. I have read many novels in my youth. Fiction, romance, comedy, myth, legend, and all sorts of other genres to gain as much knowledge as I can due to my lacking self. Plus, it was something of a hobby of mine. Among them, there are many stories that explore the idea of being able to live after death by going back in time? Is this a similar situation? But time travel magic has been deemed impossible by the Magic Tower. Is it something else?

  The woman in armour, Clarice, steps forward and, with an authoritative voice, begins speaking.

  “Osiris Arkenia, third child of the Arkenia family, hear the decree of the Solar Pantheon: answer all questions truthfully or suffer the consequences of defying the will of the heavens.”

  Is there a limit to how many times it can happen? There is really only one way to move forward here, and it is to use the knowledge from the future to save everyone in this room, so let me begin. Before Clarice could start speaking, I look towards Helix and interject.

  “Helix of the Department of Truth.”

  With a small jolt, Helix reaches for her robe’s hood. She pulls it down and, with her lime green eyes, stares directly at me.

  “Osiris of the House Arkenia.”

  A heavy stillness fills the room. With Helix wearing a serious expression, and Clarice and Bert looking on in confusion, I press forward without hesitation.

  “I have not seen past your shroud, nor have I used any tricks to gather your name. I need you to listen to me and tell the people I am telling you the truth. Please set up Absolute Truth.

  I have always been quick on the uptake, and if there was ever a time to act, it is now. I do not want to experience dying again.

  Helix begins her incantation.

  “Veritas of the Pantheon of Truth. Hear my request. I must ascertain the truth with my own eyes and ears, so I implore thee to grant thy power to this insignificant vessel. Please empower myself with thy divinity so that I can be thy ear and eyes that bring justice upon this earth.”

  Helix finishes her incantation, a deep and sombre navy blue mana mixed with divinity dances around her entire body, and explodes forth until it covers all corners of the room. Her pupils turn navy blue but for a moment.

  “Absolute Truth is activated. Say what you want.”

  Taking a deep breath, I steel my resolve. “In about 3 minutes, spears with incredible power will burst through that wall on my right. They will impale you Helix, and you will die on the spot. Next they will aim for me as well and I will perish alongside you.”

  Helix’s serious expression showing a crack. I must press onwards.

  “I do not know where they come from, but their power is enough to break the wall and then strike someone at their core. Their accuracy is great, so whoever is casting them into this room cannot be far. Help me find them and ensure that everyone gets to survive.”

  Helix expression wavers, until it completely changes.

  “Pffttt…” A short snort escapes her mouth, and she bursts into laughter. “hahahahaha– by the heavens that is the most confident I have ever heard someone lie.” She continues snickering and laughing to herself.

  Clarice looks towards her, “All of it was a lie?”

  Helix waves her hand. “There is no way that any of that was true, even Absolute Truth is ringing alarms that the one in front of me is an irredeemable liar.”

  Helix steps closer to the bed. Now we are only about 3 feet away. She grabs the edge of the bed and leans in, those lime green eyes full of suspicion. “Seriously though, how did you get all of our names, I do not remember ever talking to you. I have heard of you of course, they say you are the great failure of the Arkenia family! A talentless nobody bound to be forgotten by history.”

  I have seen this before. This is the Department of Truth’s usual playbook. They dig deep into their target’s psyche by trying of enrage them. Was Helix in charge this whole time? Using Clarice as her front?

  “Helix, I am Osiris Arkenia, you know my mother is a Justiciar. Can you imagine the interrogations I have been through when I did the smallest things? You have to realize that the standard tactics of the Department of Truth won't work on me.”

  For the first time in the conversation, her expression turns serious. “Say who you are again.”

  “Why should I repea–”

  She grabs my collar and leans in closer. Her face distorts into a fierce expression. “I said, say it again”

  SCARYYYY

  That's my only thought, if I don't get killed by the spears, she will surely have my head on a spike.

  “Alright, fine, fine, just let go of me.” I push aside her hand that grabbed my collar. “ I am Osiris Arkenia”

  “How can that be a lie?” She examines my face and scrutinizes every bit of my movements. “Are you really Osiris Arkenia? What has Tenebris done with the soul of this vessel in front of me.”

  As she's questioning me, I hear the faint sound of chains. Recalling my past two deaths, the spear attacks were always after those damn chain sounds. The first spear always came between me and the three figures, but now Helix was standing directly in its trajectory. Having seen Helix dying in a gruesome way twice in a row, my body reacted on its own. I jump at Helix, and the five guards all fire as if they were ready. All but one miss their shot, afraid of friendly fire as I roll on the floor embracing Helix tightly. Blood pours out of my left shoulder, the bullet went completely through my skin and flesh. Stone, metal and glass scatter in the room as a spear cuts through the air right where Helix was. Two more spears appear, but as if anticipating it due to my warning, the guards are able to activate their magical shields in time to intercept the seven spears that came after the first.

  I got a few cuts and scrapes thanks to the debris, but my lungs and legs were fully intact. Pain assaults me as blood begins gushing out of my would, and bleeding onto Helix’s cloak. I lived past the spear strikes! A joyous occasion indeed. While I am lost in thought, a rough, callused hand, pushes itself onto my chest. Regaining my senses, I look down upon Helix, who has a slight blush. She shoves me away with a force that could move mountains itself with a shout.

  “Get off of me!”

  As she pushes towards the wall, I hit my head and lose consciousness.

  * * *

  Absent-mindedly looking at the boy she just pushed away. Helix tries to regain her composure quickly. She stands up from the floor from where she and Osiris lay. She takes off the cloak that is now covered in Osiris’ blood and tosses it aside. Bert approaches her.

  “Lady Helix, are you alright?”

  Clearing her throat, Helix manages to speak while maintaining her normal voice.

  “Yes I am. Ensure that Osiris is in stable condition and contact the Garrison.”

  “At once Lady Helix. Clarice has departed to search for the spear thrower, please vacate the premises to ensure your safety.”

  “No Bert, we must assess the situation before we move out. Guards, set up a perimeter in the room and report to me if you see anything strange”

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “Yes sir!”

  The guards busily move to set up a defensive barrier around Bert, Helix and Osiris. Looking out of the broken wall, Helix can see Clarice manoeuvring across rooftops of nearby buildings. Helix’s gaze drifts to the collapsed boy, who is getting basic first aid from Bert. Caedis Arkenia, the boy’s mother, is well known amongst the Department of Truth. She is something of a hero to Helix as well. In the past, Caedis was responsible for rectifying the wrongdoings done against a wealthy merchant, Helix’s father, when no one else stood by their side. The Solar Empire has an enormous territory, and only 1,000 members in the Department of Truth. They are spread too thin to find every bit of injustice within an Empire that has a population of nearly 10 million. Even within the capital of Lux, people of the Department of Truth have various responsibilities. At least 100 must be within the Imperial palace, and the rest ensure the truth in public settings.

  This case with Osiris was an urgent matter. Since everyone but Helix was out on an assignment or too far away, Helix got express authority to handle the situation. Caedis Arkenia, the only other available Justiciar could not participate due to the conflict of interest. Helix has been hailed as a genius, for she gained the favour of the Goddess of Truth Veritas at the age of 6 without anyone's knowledge. She lived near the frontier with her father who was a merchant. Since the Department of Truth barely showed their faces there she lived there without knowing what her talent meant. She helped her father prosper by detecting lies within business deals, so she was used to facing liars. One could say that during her entire life she has been surrounded by nothing but liars. She has trained tirelessly with multiple mentors and has developed an impressive skill set both in combat and diplomacy.

  That’s why she could laugh so boldly at the confident lie of Osiris. Who even says things like that? Is what she was thinking. Within a moment, her thoughts were flipped upside down. The predictions that Osiris made and were flagged as lies turned out to be true. What could be the meaning of it? As well as the fact that when she asked who Osiris was, his honest answer was detected as a lie. She thought maybe it was due to the influence of Tenebris. Maybe some sort of skin walker had taken over his body and was pretending to be him. If that's the case, there was no reason for him to save her. Her face feels hot, and her heart beats faster. Yeah, that’s it—this feeling must be anger, she concludes.

  “Lady Helix, a report from Clarice.”

  “Pass me the comm link” Bert hands over the golden comm link, “This is Helix, status report”

  “This is Clarice. There are no signs of the perpetrators. The garrison has deployed troops and is securing the city gates and streets, but it is likely that their target was someone in the room. Such attacks wouldn’t work on me or Bert, and the guards are Servus so they could not have been the targets either. The most likely scenario is that they were either after you Lady Helix, Osiris, or the both of you.”

  “Alright Clarice, get back here, and get additional troops from the garrison. We are heading towards the nearest fortifications while securing Osiris”

  “At once.”

  The comm link cuts, and Helix hands it back to Bert. Looking down on Osiris, Helix speaks.

  “How is he Bert?”

  “He is alright, he should wake up any minute now, but you can speed up the process.”

  “Alright” Helix crouches down in front of Osiris and gives him some slight slaps. “Hey, *slap*, hey hey *slap* Osiris Arkenia wake up!”

  * * *

  Felling someone's rough hand patting my cheeks, I slowly open my eyes. In front of me, there is a pair of lime green eyes staring at me with a tilted head.

  “You are finally awake, get up.”

  She puts out her hand out and helps me up. Why do I feel the back of my head hurting? I scratch my head as I try to recall my memories, but the last thing I remember is sitting on the bed. Suddenly a pain akin to getting my lungs pierced envelops my left shoulder. I fall to my knees, but Helix helps me get back up. Past the pain, I manage to get my words out.

  “Helix– did anyone die?”

  “No, there were no deaths, and it seems that the city is safe. We are moving out to a nearby fortification, as the targets were most likely you and me. Clarice and garrison troops will be joining us, along with the five Servus we have here.”

  “Why would I be a target?”

  “You are, willingly or unwillingly, a servant of Tenebris. There is plenty of people who would want you dead.”

  “What about you?”

  “Well, there are many reasons why one would want a member of the Department of Truth dead, so this is natural. I have faced this kind of treatment for a long time. We will move out now, so shut up, and don’t ask any questions. You are still in confinement, so if you do anything suspicious, we have the right to execute you on the spot.”

  Unable to say anything, I nod. I guess I can only follow and entrust myself to them. With a larger force, we should be able to avoid dying… right?

  The Servus and Bert form a shield around us, and Bert leads the way. We leave a hospital that I have never seen in this vast capital and meet up with 20 troops stationed outside. The armoured lady Clarice leads them and meets up with Helix.

  “Helix, I will be your personal guardian, ensure that you are within 5 feet of me at all times, or I cannot guarantee your safety.”

  “Very well Clarice, can you ensure the safety of Osiris as well?”

  Clarice turns her head toward me, her face twisting in disgust. Yep, she clearly hates me.

  “If that is your wish, Lady Helix.”

  Helix nods and the team departs towards the fortifications.

  “How long is the walk?”

  “It should take us no more than 15 minutes to reach the fortifications, we have a path that avoids high traffic areas as to not put civilian lives in danger, but there is an unavoidable crossing at the Ains Square.”

  “That can’t be helped. We must be at the highest alert level then, if we are being pursued, then that is when they will strike”

  Clarice nods her head at Helix statement, and our group proceeds. I can say nothing in this situation. If I tried to run, I would become a fugitive. I have not done anything wrong, so if I just ride this out, I should be able to go back home and see everyone.

  We wade through alleyways and backstreets until finally we come to a lively open space. This is Ains Square. There are people moving around everywhere, today is the farmer’s market here in the capital. There are people celebrating a bountiful harvest and selling their products everywhere. Merchant and farmer stands of all colours and shapes fill the square, and we cautiously wade through the ecstatic crowd. The atmosphere is filled with joy and vigour as people talk, barter, dance and drink. As I am getting sucked in by the atmosphere, Clarice pushes by back to move along. Looking around I can see that all the guards as well as Helix, Bert and Clarice are on high alert. Have they sensed something I haven’t? They quickly move to an open area of the crowd, and I hear a familiar faint sound of chains ringing out.

  Looking around in a panic, I can’t spot anyone suspicious. When suddenly– around 30 civilians from the surroundings all stop moving. Their heads twist unnaturally sideways, and blood begins to pour out from their eyes. They lunge at the surrounding guards and along with them, a heavy spear splits through the crowd of people, killing them instantly. In the blink of an eye, over 20 civilians died. The spear advances onward and collides head on with Clarice. She is pushed back, but she makes sure to grab Helix as she is pushed away. Her metal greaves leave a thick line along the plaza ground, and she comes to a stop. Bert is commanding the troops, and three more spears fly towards Clarice. Civilians perish with each flying spear cutting through them as if they were butter. Clarice and Helix are still within earshot, but they are drowned out by the screaming crowd. The atmosphere did a complete 180 and everyone has begun fleeing Ains Square in horror. Clarice takes out her comm link and communicates with Bert. Somehow I am able to hear them past the frenzied crowd and clashing weapons of the guards.

  “Change of plans, I am escorting Lady Helix straight to the fortification, to try to subdue the assailants. The spear user has not revealed themselves, so be careful.”

  She cuts the comm link and picks up Helix.

  “Put me down at once Clarice! You must protect Osiris as well!”

  A light protest of Helix, but Clarice looks towards me than towards Helix.

  “I know what you are thinking, but I cannot put your life in danger, that is my duty. If the child of Tenebris dies, then so be it”

  Clarice rushes off and disappears.

  The surrounding guards are falling one by one. One of the assailants is especially powerful with a fiery whip that's holding Bert in place. They are slowly drifting away from me, and the fallen guards now surround me in an empty space. The civilians have all but fled, and from the shadows of a nearby cabbage seller steps out a figure clad in armour holding a spear of similar design. The greaves upon his right leg around bound by fetters, and thus the sound of chains rings out. A disgruntled voice escapes from under the helm of the figure advancing towards me. Their voice resonates across Ains Square.

  “I am Tenebris’ 9th knight of the round table. My goddess has decreed that you must perish for you are too weak. Say goodbye comrade.”

  He raises his arm and the spear he was holding begins filling with mana and divinity. The spear grows in size until its shaft is about the thickness of my upper body. The armour-clad figure throws the gigantic spear, and I try to dodge left. The spear is so large that even with me dodging, it has cleaved out the entire right side of my upper body. The bullet wound that tore through my shoulder is the least of my worries. Blood drips as a semicircle shaped hole sits where my right arm, chest and abdomen should be. Blood pours forth from the wound, and I collapse on the spot. Pain akin to nothing I have felt before flood my senses, but it soon disappears without a trace. I have died.

  * * *

  In a dark empty space, I float in nothingness. Before my eyes, text begins to appear as if woven together from fine threads.

  [ User [REDACTED] has died]

  [ Determining cause of death ]

  [ Searching user’s memories… ]

  [ Source of death: Tenebris’ 9th Knight of the Round Table ]

  [ Connecting to The Loom ]

  [ … ]

  [ … ]

  [ … ]

  [ Connection established ]

  [ System Setting: Preservation Mode ]

  [ SUGGESTION: ]

  [ Change to Combat Mode ]

  [ Y/N ]

  My fingers move by themselves in this darkness. It feels as if I am drowning in a vast ocean.

  [ YES ]

  [ System Setting Changed ]

  [ System Setting: Combat Mode ]

  [ Calculating appropriate time in combat ]

  [ Energy Sufficient ]

  [ Beginning Transfer ]

  [ May the Threads of Fate Guide You ]