The gears of history have once again transported me to that unknown world, but now the longing in my memory is not as intense as before.

In the distant sky in each of our hearts, there is a small house that belongs to us, where a weathered photo album is displayed, with countless scenes we missed captured on those photos.

As I flip through the album, waves of ripples mixed with countless voices enter my ears, almost driving me crazy!

"We have to always be together! We must keep our promise..."

Who is talking to me? Please, I beg you, stop.

"We promised to never be separated, I will always be with you!"

Please, stop, that's enough! Please, end it...

I can no longer endure this bottomless pit of a slideshow, is this why people lose their past life memories?

We remember too much of the difficult companionship that we find hard to let go of, those things keep on surging in our minds.

"If that's the case, it's better to forget them all now!"

I have never been so sad as I am today, perhaps it's because of the memories that came back, or maybe it's the guilt I must bear.

I will search for her traces in this silver city, even if time sets a trap here to entrap me.

It is another night before Christmas, but I don't know where I am. I see a girl wearing a blue and white puffer jacket, putting her icy hands in her pockets, shivering beside an unnoticed flower bed in the icy streets.

She seems to be waiting for someone, but that person has broken the appointment and will never meet her again.

The cold wind howls through the unfinished streets, and the girl seems unable to bear it anymore.

"Leave that place, he will never come!"

I try to kindly persuade the girl to go back home, but she doesn't hear my voice at all. She stubbornly gazes at each snowflake with vacant eyes, as if waiting for the final judgment.

"He will definitely come... We promised to meet."

The next day, a young girl froze to death in the snow, and no one paid attention to her. The hospital staff took her body away until dawn, leaving behind a trace and a pure white envelope placed in the groove.

Just as I was about to pick up the letter, the voice of my friend Yu Xiang rang in my ears again.

Juxi...

She called my name, and that person is the club president... Yu Xiang?!

My heart is in turmoil now. Has Yu Xiang also disappeared since then?

"She died because of me, didn't she?"

Carefully, I walk to the forgotten body, slowly stooping down to wipe her cheeks. But in that moment when I touch her, everything in front of me disappears like a dream.

"Is there nothing left?"

I sit in the snowy ground beside me, feeling a complex pain in my heart. I can't help but bite my lip, and soon, fresh red blood flows slowly from the corner of my mouth, telling me that all of this is not a dream!

"It's not that I couldn't catch up, it's that from the beginning, there was no chance to chase a phantom that never existed. I'm sorry, I've left you with bad memories."

"Juxi, it's not your fault. I've never blamed you. It's just fate's arrangement that forced us to walk this path with a detour."

The big figure of Mirage sneaks behind me when I'm not paying attention. It feels like she can haunt me whenever I exist in the spiritual form!

It feels like being possessed by an evil spirit!

"Just like a game, some deaths are caused by your momentary carelessness, and some are the consequences of your wrong choices. But they are all necessary outcomes for the development of the story that no one can defy!"How can a game be compared to life, but indeed we are all just doing what robots do, and every step we take is manipulated by it.

"Sometimes we think we've freed ourselves from its torment, but in reality we've just fallen into another trap."

"So are my emotions and perceptions now not real, just a dream?"

I slowly bend each of my fingers, carefully feeling and earnestly telling myself that this is the true reality!

After the sisters' deaths, they turned into mirages and then were reborn, but why am I able to retain my physical entity instead of becoming a mirage?

"... "

It seems like I asked something I shouldn't have. After a brief silence, Yuka still chose to answer my question.

"Have you ever heard of the King of Heroes?"

"How could I have heard of that?"

"Oh, I see!"

Although she is just standing still now, I can hear a hint of helplessness in her voice regarding my amnesia.

"The reason we become mirages is because we all possess the power of the Heroic Spirits within us. It is a power that was discovered in ancient times on Earth, the planet on which humanity depends for survival. That power is called Mana!"

"Oh, so it's like the magic we can use in the game..."

As I speak, I gesture in the air, imagining various cool skills to defeat monsters and level up.

"... "

"I was just joking, please continue."

I realized that my joke was a bit inappropriate, so I quickly changed my tone.

But after Yuka seriously considered it, she still answered my question.

"... There is still a difference, after all, Mana doesn't have the fancy colors like in the game, but it has extremely destructive power!"

"How powerful is its destructive power?" I became a bit tired of her teasing.

"Hehe, how powerful do you think it is?"

When it comes to the destructive nature of Mana, Yuka smiled bitterly and said, "It's powerful enough to make countless people obsessed and unable to extricate themselves from it. In the end, it also brought about the demise of numerous glorious ancient civilizations."

"And you, you are the King of Heroes!"

Yuka said with a very certain tone.

"Because only the King of Heroes among all the Heroic Spirits won't perish in the fire of desires. The holy soul he possesses can redeem all the evil in the world."

I am the King of Heroes?!

"Only you can save everyone and end this divine game."

After speaking, she gently tapped my forehead, and then a huge beam of light descended from the sky, leaving a sea blue mark on my forehead.

"Wahhh, it's so hot!"

"It'll get better soon, your current behavior is what the King of Heroes must do, and it is destined for you to experience it!"

"Do you remember Grail... even those distant memories?"

"You only remember a part of it, but it's not easy for you to reach this point without Mana. With the help of my Mana, your consciousness can still be sustained."

"Your Mana?"

I worriedly asked, "Is it really alright for you to give it to me?"

Because I saw her body gradually fading, does that mean that once they lose their Mana, they will simply disappear?

"Not just us, as the King of Heroes, it's the same for you. Losing Mana means losing the value of existence, and eventually, you will gradually be forgotten by people."

A touch of inexplicable sadness filled my heart, and the fading memories started to become clear again.

In the ancient century, at the age of thirteen, I followed my grandfather away from the bustling city and came to a remote and peaceful mountain forest to train. When thirsty, I drank from the mountain spring, and when hungry, I ate the game hunted in the forest.

Under my grandfather's devilish training, I gradually adapted to this bloody life.

Before living that life, I had always resided in the crowded city, unaware of the beauty of living like a wild person in the mountains and forests."Xiaoxi, come and get your grandfather a cigarette!"

"Grandpa, I'll be right there. Try to smoke less!"

I always get annoyed when Grandpa asks me for a cigarette, and he would smile when I'm not happy.

"Okay, okay, I won't smoke."

But sometimes, when the crave hits, one must have a smoke. During those times, when I was hunting in the mountains, Grandpa would secretly grab two for himself. He would run to the cave next to the small wooden house we lived in, which was usually used for cooking, and smoke the cigarettes to relieve his cravings.

Don't let Grandpa's usual gentle appearance fool you. When it came to training, he would transform into a completely different person. He would become fierce and relentless, showing no mercy towards me.

"Juxi! Your opponent won't show mercy in a life-or-death duel!"

"Wuwuwu..."

"Juxi, a true man would rather bleed than shed tears. Wipe away your tears and continue fighting!"

"Ah ah ah!"

I shouted, clenched my fists, and threw everything I had towards Grandpa's abdomen, but his fist had already hit my right cheek.

"Remember, your fear only gives your opponent more confidence in defeating you!"

"Umm..."

The punch I just received left me with ringing in my ears, and I couldn't get up from the ground for a while. At the same time, the weather became extremely bad. The rolling dark clouds in the sky indicated that a heavy rainstorm could come at any moment. Additionally, my performance today left Grandpa somewhat disappointed, as he shook his head.

"We'll stop here for today. The rain is getting heavier. Let's go back inside, and I'll treat your wound."

"Yes, Grandpa."

I knew that Grandpa had his back turned to me, not wanting to witness the heavy hand he used to strike his own grandson. Each punch brought him immense pain.

On my fifteenth birthday, Grandpa finally took me away from the small mountain forest where I had lived for nearly three years.

It was the first time Grandpa stood outside the safe zone and told me with a passionate laugh.

"Hahaha, Juxi!"

"Grandpa..."

"From now on, we will part ways, but remember, you have an exceptional talent for controlling elemental power. You are destined to be given the mission of ending the irregularities in this world!"

"Yes, Grandpa, I will heed your teachings."

Grandpa nodded approvingly, covered his mouth, and coughed lightly. I saw that his fingers were slightly stained with red.

"Grandpa, are you...?"

I asked with concern, but Grandpa continued to gaze at the distant mountains, not moving a muscle.

At fifteen years old, my kind and strict grandfather left me and went to a place filled only with happiness and peace. Meanwhile, I embarked on a journey in the war zone.