"What the hell...

" John muttered

The ground was cracked, and there was a small pool of blood which had merged with the ice. John felt familiar with the spot and could nearly feel what had happened, but there was something stopping him. Something which he couldn't believe.

"Is it really possible to do something like this...?

" John muttered as he crouched down.

John had seen many things before, he had learnt about the fundamentals of this world precisely because of such, the scene which stood before his eyes caused him to question all that logic.

"There's mana in every living being, cell and organism in this world... And yet... I can't find an ounce of magic power in this blood, which is impossible. It hasn't even been that long...

"

Even blood contained a flow of magic in it, there were even spells where one could control there blood, droplets from cough, rain from the sky. There was magic in all of these little things. John found that out himself as he grew older. But never had he seen something like this.

"Not an ounce of magic power... There's only one explanation for this. It was erased.

" Said John

John slowly dropped down to the ground before he hung his head. As he stared at the cold ice beneath him a smile was formed on his mouth, before he let it out.

"Hahaha... Hehe... Man... Whoever it was, they really got me, huh...

"

…? Aren't you mad? The spirit asked

John slowly raised his head and stared at the sky.

"Sure I'm mad but, at the same time, he didn't really kill me or hurt anyone precious to me. So next time I'll just be more careful.

"

…Crazy kid.

"I know I am. Huh? Did I just get Deja-vu?

" John asked as if suddenly noticing something

John then slowly got up before turning to the area where the carriage was.

"Time to go back...

" John muttered

Just as he said that, the sound of someone calling out to him came from the exact direction he was looking at.

"John...!

"

"Idiot!

"

John easily recognised who it was from the voices, and he could also tell that they weren't too happy about it.

"...Should I just fly back to the carriage...?

"

***

"Why did you try running away?

" Serena asked as she stared at John who sat opposite to her on the carriage

Without saying anything, John looked away and Ariel also looked a bit disappointed remained quiet. Seeing this John ended up giving in and turned to the two

"I still came back for you two.

"

"...After flying away.

" Ariel muttered

"Look, I was still a bit confused.

"

"Yeah, sure... Where's that confusion now?

" Serena asked

"...

"

Serena let out a sigh before looking over at Ariel. Seeing this, Ariel nodded and Serena and Serena nodded back.

"So? Any idea on who or what did this to you?

" Serena asked before taking a seat

The sound of the carriage moving around them seemed to fade as John's expression went from a relaxed and nervous one to a serious one.

"No. But whatever it was, it's best not to mess with it.

" Said John

"What exactly did it do to you? And are you sure it's okay to just leave it?

" Ariel asked

"I'm not sure... All I know is that It might have taken my memories, the rest is a blur. Besides, that's lucky enough as it is...

"

John slowly got up and the two watched as he stared out through the back of the carriage. He stared straight at the sky which was slowly darkening as the sun began to set.

"Yeah... It could have killed me.

"

Dying... Dying a third time would suck- Huh?

Just as the thought came up, John's eyes widened.

"What...?

" John muttered as he stared up at the carriage ceiling

Serena and Ariel who saw that, got their guards up before looking up as well.

"Is there something outside?

" Serena asked as she quickly began to look around

Ariel used wind and cast a search spell outside to see if she could notice what had surprised John

"...

"

Without saying anything, John continued to stare at the ceiling.

"Oi! Is there something coming or not!?

" Serena asked

"No... Sorry.

" John muttered before lowering his face as he placed his palms on it.

Despite Hearing this, the two girls kept their guards up.

"Look, John, instead of going all quiet, can you explain what you noticed?

"

John quietly looked over at Serena and noticed the worried yet annoyed look on her face before muttering.

"I remembered something...

"

A third time... Wasn't it just once... Why do I feel like, it's happened a second...? Don't tell me... It did happen and I forgot...?

"What did you remember?

" Lydia asked from the front of the carriage

She was listening in on the conversation along with Master Sylvia. Everyone seemed worried with how John was acting.

Seeing this, John raised both hands before slamming them simultaneously on his face.

*CLAP!*

The slam connected so well that it ended up clearly waking John up. John's eyes seemed to return to normal as he let out a sigh.

"Finally, I snapped out of it...

"

"Snapped out...?

" Ariel asked

John nodded before taking in a deep breath and letting it out.

Yeah... Snapped out, I ended up realising something, but it wasn't clear enough.

"Just the effects of losing my memory.

" Said John

"Just...?

" Serena asked

"So... You're feeling better?

" Ariel asked

The two still looked as confused as before.

"In a way... But still... For some reason, I'm starting to feel... a bit...

"

Before John could finish, his vision got blurry and his strength seeped from his body, before his eyes closed.

He lost consciousness. Because of that, the carriage was forced to stop once more as they went to check up on John.

Worried that something might have happened, they were relieved to find out that John had only fainted and that it wasn't anything too serious.. Or so they assumed.