Michael got out of the fountain and headed up the stairs to the throne room, unlike before, Freya was not waiting for him.
‘So archangels huh, system did you see what happened?’
I saw your memories, yes that appears to be an actual archangel and the one’s body you were inside of, was that of somebody possessed by sin, hence why it is called a Fallen.
‘I see.. well, it was a bit haunting, can something like that happen to me too?’ He was a bit worried about the Ascension, while that particular Michael was not the strongest, he thought his will was decent at the very least.
Don’t underestimate your personality, something like that wouldn’t even make you bat an eye.
Michael’s brow twitched “What is that supposed to mean?”
The system chose to ignore him, that was until he asked a question that was lingering on his mind.
‘Can you seal my status just as easily as the other system?’
No, certain conditions have to be met, however, due to the speed at which you are becoming stronger, the locking of status wouldn’t really work, it only works for those whose strength is under level 200, you are at around level 150 strength wise.
‘Level 150 huh, am I the only one growing this fast?’
You are a bit different than others, however, the others should start picking up on mana control, even if it is unconventional for those under level 200, some people are born exceptional, there is also that regressor friend of yours.
‘True’ Michael looked around the throne room and did not see anyone at all, what seemed the most strange was that the throne itself was a little bit dusty, as if a lot of time had passed.
But it did not make sense to him, he was sure only a maximum of 2 days had passed, he would have died from starvation or something if it were longer.
Well… you don’t exactly feel hunger in the trials..
‘Shit…’ Has his perception of time dwindled that much? It seemed impossible.
He tried thinking back to the trial, specifically to the synchronization, maybe the Michael who was still alive even after being turned to dust, spent an eternity like that.
Maybe that’s why the time was so distorted.
It’s possible, they are based on the feelings of the other Michaels, your observations were correct.
He nodded and proceeded to walk into every single room, trying to find a hint as to where Freya had disappeared to.
Michael eventually found a note, honestly, the first thing he should have checked should have been his room.
He picked it up and read it, his expression turning sour.
—–
It seems you got the short end of the stick, it has been a year since you disappeared. I am not able to keep the time dilated while I am not here. I did make it so the time stops in the fountain room, in exchange, the flow of time outside will become the same as in here. By the time you come out, a maximum of 2 years would have passed outside. Sit on the throne and you can come back.
—–
‘Oh..’
Oh.
Both Michael and the system had similar reactions, it seemed his so called 2 day training didn’t really go as planned.
He didn’t even get to meet the guest she mentioned, well that’s besides the point by now, he had to return immediately.
Walking up to the throne, he dusted it off and sat down, his vision shifting back to where he first entered the temple, there was a forest..
Which for some reason, had most of its trees cut down.
‘Can you cross reference my memories and figure out if this is actually the place?’ He asked the system.
Just a moment.. Yes, this area is the same, well minus the trees.
Michael sighed and headed towards the deforested area, there was a little road there leading to what he assumed was the village.
His getup was still the same as it was 2 years ago, however, he didn’t assume anyone would recognize him though.
He eventually arrived back at the village, it looked livelier than before it seemed his classmates dealt with the monsters surrounding it.
Michael went back to the inn he had been to the first time he arrived to the village.
The bartender was busy dealing with the drunkards so he didn’t see him arrive.
Sitting down on a stool, Michael waited for him to finish up, a few people were glancing in his direction, it was not common to dress like some sort of a priest in a village such as this.
“What can I get yo-” The bartender absentmindedly asked before finally taking a glance at the person in front of him.
“You.. you were still alive?” He seemed to be shocked, after his disappearance, many assumed he had died.
Michael shrugged and put on a small smile “Surprise?”
“Surprise my arse, you have a bounty on your head like no other” The bartender snickered as he picked up some kind of a marble and crushed it.
Suddenly, a bunch of people ran through the doors of the inn, arriving right in front of Michael.
A single person, in particular, stood out, he seemed like the mayor of this village.
“Are you Michael?” He asked, still a bit unsure, the bounty had his face all over it, however, it seemed too good to be true.
Michael decided to show rather than tell, he cast purify in a wide area and its range seemed to have increased even if the status was broken.
The green light enveloped everyone present as they widened their eyes, this was really the former Saint.
“Come with me” The mayor gestured to follow.
They headed to what appeared to be the village mayor’s residence, it was quite spacious compared to the rest of the houses around it.
The inside was oddly luxurious, Michael even wondered if this so called mayor might have been the corrupted type, however, he was not one to worry about such things at the current moment, everyone had their own circumstances.
Sitting down, the mayor picked up some sort of a phone and dialed a number, the other side picking up nearly instantly.
“This better be an emergency, I told you not to call this number for random reasons, I am not giving you more money” An annoyed voice rang out from the other side.
‘Is that Amanda..?’ She sounded a bit.. well, like herself if he was being honest.
“Of course it’s an emergency you hag, I found your Saint” As his rude words descended, Amanda turned silent, not even minding the hag comment.
‘Looks like they are friends, probably’ Michael chuckled to himself.
You seemed to miss the part where it’s not a missing person report but a bounty.
He flinched ‘Oh.. I mean, it can’t be that bad right? I am.. was the Saint.’
I applaud your optimism.
After a solid minute of silence Amanda, finally spoke again “Is that bastard with you right now?”
“He is.”
“I am on my way” With that, she ended the call.
For some reason, the mayor looked at Michael with pity.
‘…It will be fine.. right?’
