A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

"Stop arguing... I don't believe there's anything good here!"

Kira's red hair, which had grown quite long since he'd been neglecting it, added to his languid air as he was grumpy in the morning. His once clear, jewel-like sky-blue eyes drooped listlessly, making him look just like a working person who had slept in until noon on the weekend.

Kira walked listlessly into a temple-like place in the town.

"That instruction originated from here!"

The ancient ruins are mottled and full of traces left by the passage of time.

Stone pillars, stone walls, stone platforms—everything turned to ash with the slightest touch. A faint musty smell permeated the air, the scent of time left on the buildings. It was somewhat unpleasant, but still tolerable.

Guided by his heart and based on basic common sense, Kira soon arrived at a large palace. The interior decorations were more elaborate than the exterior, with ancient stone carvings and paintings covering the walls, as if telling everyone who entered the palace a story of a certain period of history that had taken place there.

"This must be where something is going to happen next!" Kira muttered to himself as he walked in.

Inside the hall is a humanoid stone statue, its gender indistinguishable. Its medium-length hair is disheveled and covers its face, revealing only one eye. It appears extremely arrogant and powerful. Its two- or three-meter-tall body is covered with cracks from top to bottom, as if engraved with mysterious magic circles, or as if it were a lava man who emerged from a volcano.

That was what was calling Kira.

"This statue's appearance... seems familiar! It looks like it did when Zhan Fei received the Soul of Time!"

After sifting through the memories in my mind one by one, I finally settled on the scene in the comic: the Goddess of Time vs. the Twin Sky Women.

Kira had a sudden inspiration and guessed, "Could this be the ruins of Mildian, the city of time that worships the god of time?!"

"It doesn't seem right that this kind of place could be found so easily!"

However, considering the call that had been directed at him, Kira felt relieved. "It's not scientific, but it's magic!"

"So? Why did you call me here?"

Look below!

The sound rang out again, this time closer, and Kira could sense that it was coming from the stone statue in front of him.

"under?"

Kira went closer and discovered that there was a stele on the stone base under the statue. Normally, this stele would record the identity and life experience it represented, or the legends it left behind.

"Ugh—! It's that kind of writing again!! I can't understand it... Wait a minute! I think I can understand it?!"

Kira hadn't specifically studied this script, but he could definitely understand some of it. Based on his guess, it was probably like a word game where you needed to reach a certain level of comprehension to learn a skill.

Three minutes later, Kira finished the interpretation and translation with a frown.

Just as he had thought, this was Mildian, the city that was once known as the 'City of Time', and the stone statue in front of him was that of the god Chronos, who controlled the power of time.

According to the inscription on the stone tablet, this descendant was also a very talented mage who was able to borrow a portion of Chronos's divine power to use time-type magic.

But this magical genius was too young and couldn't resist the temptation. He abused his magic to glimpse the future and did some indescribable, far-fetched things about the era.

The stone tablet doesn't specify exactly what happened, but because of this incident, the magical genius was cursed by the God of Time and banished to the mysterious and unpredictable River of Time. His clansmen also suffered varying degrees of punishment, some dying instantly, others afflicted with illnesses, and their descendants experiencing a significant decline in their magical talent related to time.

The surviving members of their tribe erected a stone tablet in front of the statue of Chronos, the god of time, to record the event and warn future generations against repeating the same mistake.

As for when and why these people left the mountains, there is no record of it, and it is possible that there is no connection between the two.

"Hmm... 'The Curse of the God of Time' means being exiled to the river of time? That's a pretty cool concept!"

"But what kind of exile is this? And what's your story? Why did you call me here?"

I am the one who is cursed!

Kira's eyes lit up: "Oh?! You're that loser?! I thought you were going to make up some story about being the God of Time..."

【…】

After a brief exchange, Kira learned that the cursed genius had not died. The so-called 'exile to the river of time' was, in simple terms, an endless cycle of reincarnation in this world.

It's not a linear cycle, but a leapfrog cycle. That is to say, this time it might be in year X100, the next time it might be in year X567, and the next time it might be in year X10, and so on.

The important thing is that although it is called reincarnation, the body is still driven by the original consciousness. He can only watch quietly and listen silently like an observer. He can neither speak nor do anything. His existence or non-existence is the same.

More importantly, the object of reincarnation is not necessarily a person!

The only time he could communicate with the outside world was when he would synesthetically connect with the stone statues of this ancient capital in a way that he didn't know when he would be able to connect, how long the connection would last, or what era the connection would take.

Perhaps the only mercy I can find in this endless cycle of punishment is to connect with this stone statue.

"Tsk tsk tsk... You're really pathetic! Even worse off than Zeref!"

Chapter 573 The Man Cursed by Time

At this moment, Kira really wanted to pull Zeref over and show him what true suffering was! What it meant to be 'cursed by the gods'!

Being rejected by the world? That's child's play! It's practically like getting a god-level spell! And a super cool one at that! You have the nerve to talk about destroying the world in a mere four hundred years?

You're cursed by God, yet you can still fall in love, have children, play Age of Empires games, and even have a way to turn back time to fix things. What about others? Even if they turn back time, they're still suffering. Even if the world is destroyed, they'll still be endlessly reincarnated in the past.

This kind of torment deserves to be called 'cursed by the gods'!

The cycle repeats itself again and again, each time lasting at least several decades. The other person's experiences may be exciting, mundane, or dark, but no matter what, he cannot interfere in their life.

When angry, one can only rage; when depressed, there's no one to confide in; when happy, one can only secretly revel like a fool, with no one to share that joy. One must witness unknown creatures exchanging the true meaning of life, observe the survival-of-the-fittest ecosystem, and observe the daily cycle of photosynthesis...

This is no living life for a human being!

This is mental torture that no human being can endure!

Even if he didn't establish a sensory connection with that object, just watching it was already terrible!

"How many times have you reincarnated?" Kira couldn't help but ask.

I don't remember anymore!

Don't you remember? So many times?!

[The subjects are all unknown plants, animals, humans, demons, dragons... Plants are the most torturous, boring, and time-consuming; fish are the most terrifying! The ocean is truly terrifying!!]

"..."

That's so tragic!! Just hearing about it makes me feel so miserable!!

By the way, did you know that some fish can change sex, some birds lay their eggs in other birds' nests, and some...?

Ah, I've gained more useless knowledge!

Although he was apologetic, Kira interrupted the other person: "So you've finally been released from prison? But I'm curious, why did you come looking for me? My previous location was quite far from here!"

"And you said the frequency and duration of the possession of the stone statue were unknown, but it's been several days now, hasn't it?"

Only mages with sufficient magical power can sense the call of my magical wavelength; as for the duration, do you even know what 'leapfrog reincarnation' means?

"..."

To put it simply, the voice that attracted you here, the one you heard before, is me from some point in the past or future, not the me talking to you now!

[This version of myself has only been possessing the stone statue for less than a day.]

puff--!!!

"How many reincarnations and how many times would it take to have this kind of probability?!"

Kira was truly shocked. Could this be the legendary fourth-dimensional being who could jump between different times within the same space?!

No wonder the other person's calls have been intermittent these past few days. I thought they were just tired and out of energy, but now I know that's the reason...

"How long can you stay in this state? Or should I try to use a separation attachment to get you out?"

Thank you for your kindness, but it's no use! I'm not attached to the statue anymore; to be precise, it has become my tool for communicating with the outside world.

[Also, ever since I first communicated with the outside world through the statue, it has become something that 'time cannot leave a mark on it, but it will be destroyed immediately once it leaves this place,' so there's no point in trying to take me out with it.]

What would happen if the statue were destroyed?

[It might turn into a situation where 'future reincarnations can only occur in the past'... or it might be worse! I don't know if there will ever be another thing like this, so please be gentle...]

How humble...

Kira suddenly felt the topic was very heavy.

"Well... let's talk about something else! You've been to the future, right? Can you tell me about the future or some magic?"

There's nothing I can do! Because the future is subject to change, I can't convey anything to you in any form, whether it's what will happen in the future or the products of that era!

[The way I described the habits of some organisms before was already the limit of my ability.]

"Really? I thought so too! After all, you were cursed because of this..."

Kira nodded in understanding, then pulled out the 'Book of Wisdom' and the notes from a while ago: "Could you help me translate this? You've reincarnated so many times, you must have learned quite a few languages, right?"

I've reincarnated so many times... the languages ​​are all mixed up, so you might not be able to recognize them all...

What use are you then?!

Kira thought to himself, but still obediently held the 'magic book' out in front of the statue and spread it out: "Recognize as many as you can!"

ten minutes later……

Kira asked expectantly, "How is it? Can you translate it? What does it say?"

【It's possible, but telling you wouldn't help. It's an ancient notebook that systematically plans several magical systems, but it's been enchanted. As long as your magical comprehension is high enough, you can naturally decipher and use the magic within. If your comprehension isn't high enough, even if you understand the meaning, it's useless.】

I already knew all this!

Upon hearing this explanation, which sounded like nonsense, Kira's face darkened, and he immediately turned and left the main hall.

"goodbye!"

The cold voice made the poor wretch, who had finally found someone to talk to, instantly panic.

[Wait...wait!! Come back! Please don't go! Talk to me a little longer!]

No one responded...

Three seconds later, Kira walked back in, holding the ancient manuscript he had recently acquired: "I'll give you one more chance to read the contents of this manuscript."

【well……】

The poor wretch's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement.

[Hmm... The above describes a god named Saturnus who left behind a magical ability in human society that could guide the earth's energy, thus protecting the area from harsh weather conditions.]

Kira: "..."