Clunk.
A heavy sound echoed as something resembling a Dharma wheel floated and slowly rotated above Ritsuka's head.
Gradually, Ritsuka opened his eyes. The first thing that greeted him was a city in ruins, engulfed in flames. He looked up—but the sky that should have loomed above the city was gone, replaced by an unnaturally dense darkness.
"Fuyuki Singularity, year 2004…" Ritsuka murmured softly. His gaze sharpened.
"The place where everything began. The zero point that became the key to everything."
He fell silent for a moment, letting the heat of the flames wash over his face. He stared at the darkened sky, his eyes empty yet filled with suppressed rage.
"A fate I should have already resolved… is repeating itself once again. And once more, that fate has fallen upon me," he whispered to the void.
"Rikka… is fate toying with us?"
Ritsuka lowered his gaze to the scorched ground beneath his feet, clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white.
"Marisbury Animusphere," he hissed coldly, placing weight on every syllable.
"Even though my memories haven't fully returned, I still remember your name. I swear that all the suffering I endured will never be repeated on my little sister. With these hands… I will be the one to kill you."
Suddenly, space distorted beside Ritsuka, forming a floating mass of water that projected a voice. Concern could be heard from the other side.
"Hello? Ritsuka, are you okay?"
It was Kagaya's voice.
Ritsuka flinched, his thoughts instantly scattered. But quickly, he forced a bright smile onto his face, concealing the darkness he had just revealed.
"Kagaya! Ah, I'm fine," he replied lightly.
"Thank goodness… Your recording transmission completely cut out earlier. I was very worried," Kagaya said with relief.
"Hahaha, sorry, sorry. I'm really sorry for making you worry," Ritsuka said, scratching the back of his head even though it didn't itch.
Another voice joined in—Koko's.
"So, Ritsuka? Are you going to explain it now?"
"Explain what?" Ritsuka asked, feigning ignorance.
"Your current situation," L replied flatly, yet insistently.
Ritsuka let out a long sigh. His expression turned serious.
"Oh, that. Alright. But before that—Zelret—no, Guru. I know you're listening. My memories have returned."
Silence followed.
"What do you mean, your memories have returned?" L asked, confused.
"Ritsuka, do you need something from Zelretch?" Kagaya added.
Koko snorted irritably. "It's pointless, Ritsuka. That old man's been silent this whole time. He hasn't said a word no matter how much we ask for an explanation."
Then, the next moment, a deep, aged voice filled with authority cut through Koko's complaint.
"How much of your memory has returned?" Zelretch asked, getting straight to the point.
Ritsuka smiled faintly, realizing the Wizard Marshal had finally spoken.
"I only remember fragments. Pieces about Singularities, Lostbelts, and Ordeal Call… Everything is still vague—just scattered shards."
"I see," Zelretch murmured. His voice sounded slightly relieved.
"We should be grateful it's only fragments. If all of your memories had returned at once, you would have gone insane—or died from the mental burden."
He continued,
"Do you want to summon Edmond Dantès now? I can provide a catalyst artifact if you need it to maintain your sanity."
"No… that won't be necessary, Guru. I'm fine right now. I can still control it," Ritsuka declined gently but firmly.
"…Very well, if that's what you say."
That internal exchange between mage and disciple was interrupted when Koko's voice rang out again, louder this time.
"Hello?! Can someone explain what you're even talking about?! Don't forget there are more people here than just the two of you!"
"Ritsuka, what do you mean by 'remembering'? Did you have amnesia before?" Kagaya asked softly, trying to understand.
L added his analysis,
"And what do you mean by summoning 'Edmond Dantès'? That's the name of a fictional character, isn't it?"
Ritsuka sighed again.
"Guru, may I explain it to them?"
"Since their worlds are different from ours and not directly connected to the Root, I think it's fine," Zelretch allowed.
"Alright. Then I'll explain. What do you want to know?" Ritsuka asked.
"I'll go first," Kagaya said quickly.
"Ritsuka, what do you mean when you say your memories returned?"
"That… how should I explain it," Ritsuka paused, searching for the right analogy.
"Ah—Kagaya, you know the concept of reincarnation, like in Buddhist or Hindu teachings, right?"
"Yes, I do. What about it?"
"Well… you probably won't believe this, but actually… this is not my first life," Ritsuka admitted.
"Hah!?"
Voices of shock erupted simultaneously.
"What do you mean? You were reincarnated?" Koko asked skeptically.
"Yes."
"So when you say your memories returned, you mean memories from your previous life?" Kagaya confirmed.
"Yes."
Silence fell. Everyone needed time to process the absurd information.
Eventually, L broke the silence.
"If you had told me this before I joined this group, I would have thought you were insane. But… seeing all this magic, I suppose it's possible."
"Yeah… same here," Koko muttered, sounding resigned.
"I never imagined you experienced reincarnation, Ritsuka…" Kagaya said softly, sympathy in his voice.
"But by the way," Koko suddenly cut in curiously,
"In your previous life, how old were you when you died? Don't tell me you were actually some old man in your dozens."
Ritsuka fell silent, his eyes drifting toward the flames consuming the distant buildings.
"About that… if I remember correctly, my final age was twenty-one," he answered flatly.
Instantly, the atmosphere turned completely silent. No voices came from the communicator—only the crackling of fire devouring Fuyuki echoed in the background.
"Guys? What's wrong?" Ritsuka asked, confused by the sudden awkwardness.
"Ritsuka…" Kagaya's voice trembled.
"Are you telling the truth about your age?"
"Yes. I remember it clearly. I counted properly," Ritsuka replied earnestly.
"Doesn't that mean…" Koko hesitated,
"…you died very young?"
Ritsuka froze. Only then did he realize the implication of his words. He touched his chest, where the pain of the past still lingered.
"Huh? Umm…" He thought for a moment, then let out an awkward laugh to mask the ache.
"Ah, I guess that's true! Ahahahaha!"
"Ritsuka, this is not something to laugh about!" Kagaya scolded sharply, his voice heavy with pain.
Ritsuka's laughter died instantly. He covered his mouth tightly.
"…Sorry."
"What exactly happened to you, Ritsuka?" L asked, his voice filled with analytical curiosity.
"That—that's not important right now!" Ritsuka hurriedly deflected.
"We should find my sister first. She's probably looking for me right now."
"Ritsuka!" Kagaya called firmly, followed by a long sigh.
"Alright, we'll put that discussion aside. But first, you need to re-enable your visual feed so we can guide you."
"Okay," Ritsuka replied obediently, reactivating the visual function on his communicator.
Now, all members of the group could clearly see the horrifying scenery around him—the ruined city, the blood-red sky, and the sea of flames.
"No matter how many times I see it, this place is deeply disturbing," Zelretch commented, his tone unreadable.
"What happened to that place?" Koko asked uneasily.
"Ritsuka, where are you? Are you really in Japan right now?" Kagaya asked anxiously.
"Ritsuka, was there a natural disaster there?" L asked.
Ritsuka began walking along the cracked asphalt road, his voice turning calm and cold—like a veteran explaining a battlefield.
"This is the Fuyuki Singularity, year 2004 AD. This is the starting point of the catastrophe that will strike my world—a disaster that leads to the mass extinction of humanity," Ritsuka explained without hesitation.
"Specifically, after the year 2017, humanity is confirmed to be extinct. And an organization called Chaldea predicted this."
Once again, suffocating silence followed.
"W-wait… what did you just say? Humanity's extinction?!" Koko shouted.
"You mean Japan—no, the world—is going to end in the future?! And this is related to the organization that kidnapped your sister?!" Kagaya asked in panic.
"Ritsuka," L cut in sharply, trying to find logic,
"You said earlier your world is in the year 2015, right? Then why are you talking about 2004 and 2017?"
"I'll explain. Just don't interrupt for now—it's going to be long," Ritsuka said.
"Alright," all three replied in unison, tension clear in their voices.
Ritsuka continued walking through the rubble as he spoke.
"First, about the place where my sister was taken. That place is called Chaldea."
"Chaldea isn't just a magical laboratory or a military facility. Its official name is the Human Order Security Organization. One of the most prestigious mage families—the Animusphere family—founded Chaldea with one absolute goal: to guarantee the existence and survival of humanity, at least for the next hundred years."
He kicked a small pebble on the road.
"Chaldea doesn't concern itself with national politics or ideological wars. They focus on something far greater—our species. They use a combination of Magecraft and Science to observe the future."
"Within Chaldea, there is a supercomputer in the shape of a globe called CHALDEAS. With it, they can observe the state of human civilization in the future. However…" Ritsuka's voice lowered,
"For any future beyond the year 2017, they can see nothing."
"The future after 2017 is pitch-black. Human civilization disappears entirely from their radar. That means humanity has gone extinct. And the cause… lies in places like this—at temporal coordinates in the year 2004," Ritsuka said, then fell silent, letting the heavy information sink in.
"Ritsuka, sorry to interrupt, but I want to ask something," Koko said carefully.
"Yeah, what is it?"
Koko swallowed audibly before speaking.
"Doesn't that mean… you're time traveling with Chaldea's help? And if they can see the future, doesn't that make them an extremely dangerous organization? They could manipulate everything."
"Not exactly," Ritsuka refuted calmly.
"Just because they can travel to the past doesn't mean they're dangerous or free to do whatever they want. They still require authorization."
Ritsuka stopped in front of a large bridge, one deeply familiar to his memory.
"Chaldea is not an independent organization that can act however it wants. It's an international organization bound by strict bureaucracy. Chaldea is funded by the United Nations and contributions from major countries. The money used to build the facility, pay staff salaries, and power CHALDEAS mostly comes from international funds."
"Because it's funded by the UN, Chaldea technically falls under international legal jurisdiction," Ritsuka continued, explaining like an expert staff member.
"In normal, peaceful conditions, performing a Rayshift—or sending humans into the past—is a high-level experiment that requires approval from a supervisory council. So they can't act recklessly. There are simply too many eyes watching them."