"...." - Is used in dialogues

'....' - Is used in thoughts

......................

‘How did all this happen?’

Jason felt cold.

‘Is this death?’

It was dark and silent. He couldn’t move or shout. There was nothing in the surrounding area. 

He was a failure. Even before coming to the planet Yuriel, he was just nobody. In the end, he died just like nobody.

“Is it…..”

“Yeah….”

Jason heard a distant voice in the darkness. 

‘Who is talking?’

He couldn’t make any noise or sound, but the voice was getting clearer. He realised it wasn’t English, but he understood the meaning. There were three distinct voices talking to each other. 

“It is over. That is the 10th simulation. Ends in the 30th year after entering the Primary Dimension.”

“Are we going to do another?”

“Nah… What is the use? They only lasted between thirty to thirty-five years in all simulations. They are going to be wiped out, anyway. The only difference is the time they are going to take to activate the beacon.”

“But… There was one survivor in the last simulation. I mean… Unless we….”

“What is the use? He had no potential left.”

“But isn’t this too much? Should we destroy them...?”

“If not? What are you saying? What will happen to us if..... learns that we brought an infant civilization like this one to the Primary dimension?”

“But we are following the list.”

“Yes, but it is obvious someone from the top made a change. How can there be such a primitive civilization on the list? And they are a technological civilization. Who will put them in a magical world? This is not an error. This is someone doing this on purpose. I am sure they removed the real civilization that was supposed to be here for some reason.”

“Then we report it.”

“And then….? What level do you think the person who did this would be?”

“We are done for. That is not an option.”

“Is this the only way? What if the simulation is wrong?”

“Are you doubting the computing ability of X9000? It is 99.8% accurate. The Cervians will invade and the people from this planet will die with the natives of Yuriel.”

‘Hold on. Who is talking? Why am I hearing this?’

Jason wanted to struggle and see the faces of the people who were talking. He had a good hunch this conversation was about his world; the planet Earth. It was about the destiny of all its people.

“What if they survive?”

“Then we are contributing to a great cause.”

“So, we are going to proceed?”

“Yes, we are going to proceed according to the plan. Just say we just followed the list. No other words to anyone. Don’t talk about the list, either. When they are gone, we can act like it never happened. After all, it is just eight billion people.”

…

‘Wait! Who are you?’

He wanted to scream, but he couldn’t. The voices faded, and soon the silence surrounded him. 

…

“Jason! Jason!!”

‘Who is talking?’

He finally felt his body, but he was still in the dark. 

‘No.’

He felt a blow coming from his left. 

Jason hated it; he hated defending his left. He lost his left arm in the early days of the invasion of the Cervians. A drone blasted it right off his shoulder. 

He moved his right arm with instinct, blocking the slap.

‘Hm?’

His hand didn’t move as fast as he wished it to move, and the attack didn’t carry any actual threat. 

‘I can feel my arm!’

He felt his left arm.

“Jason?”

“Is he awake?”

“Well... He caught my hand.”

“Damn it. Was this kid sick?”

“Not that I know of. He just fell unconscious now.”

“Eh… Can someone get his hand off? He is crushing my arm.”

‘Where am I?’

Jason didn’t feel any hostility from the people in the surrounding area. 

He tried his best to slowly open his eyes, but his eyelids were heavy. He smelled a familiar scent. The scent of fresh sawdust. 

A warm glow came to his eyes as he slowly opened them. A blurry face was staring at him, and he felt a cold feeling on the back of his head. The noise of working machines entered his ears. 

‘Am I dead?’

He felt the face staring at him and the other heads around him were familiar.

‘Is this heaven? What crappy heaven is this? It is like the old sawmill I used to work at. And… Why do I have my left arm? I guess I am dead.’

He tried to lift his body up. It was heavy and weak. It wasn't the body he had as a Master swordsman. 

‘Why am I wearing such clothes?’

He wore the orange-coloured working uniform with boots. These were his old working uniform. He looked around in confusion. Each of these faces brought him long-forgotten memories. Memories from twenty-five years back. 

This was his old workplace. He saw his helmet, earplugs, gloves, eye protectors, and mask on the ground. It looked as if someone had removed them.

“Jason, kid, are you alright?”

‘This is so real.’

Jason tried to think of a possible explanation, but he found none.

“Where am I?”

He wanted to confirm.

“What do you mean? You are inside the sawmill, kid. Did you forget?”

“Yeah, man. Anyway… Can you take your hand off?”

“Ah… Sorry.”

Jason gave an apologetic look, seeing the reddened face of his coworker. 

“What happened?”

He was sure he was dead. 

“What happened? You fainted. That is what happened.”

‘Fainted? But… Was it all a dream? No. It can’t be. It was real.’

He wondered if he had a very long dream. 

‘No. I was outside when we entered the Yuriel. It is not inside the sawmill.’

He looked around. 

“What day is it?”

“Today? It is the 05th of August 2025, kid. Did you hit your head? But you were wearing the helmet.”

“2025?”

His eyes widened when he heard the answer. 

The year the entire world merged with the planet Yuriel was 2030. He thought he was seeing a memory from twenty-five years back, but this was thirty years back. 

“How long have I been out?”

“About two minutes.”

‘Did I see a dream of thirty years in two minutes?’ 

He tried pinching his left arm.

“Aw….”

It wasn’t fake, and the pain was as real as his left arm was. 

‘Does this have something to do with that conversation? What exactly happened?’

“Are you alright, kid?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

Honestly, he wasn’t sure if he was alright or not. Because he experienced something he couldn’t explain. 

‘No. This isn’t right.’

He looked at his coworker who was still holding his wrist in pain. 

Jason felt his body. It was weak. He was an orphan boy who jumped from one foster home to another for eighteen years. It was good enough that he was healthy. He wasn’t strong enough to hurt anyone with the grip. 

This was a technique he learned. A technique he actually learned in the Yuriel. A combat art for close combat. 

‘How come I have memories of actual combat methods from a dream?’

He felt a headache coming over him as he thought about everything that had happened.

“Kid, why not go home for the rest of the day? Then take tomorrow off and go to a physician.”

Jason knew this man was the manager of the mill. He knew he wasn't sick, but he needed time to organise his thoughts and figure out what exactly happened. 

He gave a slight nod without refusing. 

“Alright. Where do you live?”

“He lives with us.”

Jason saw one of his housemates in the group.

He moved to Lumber town for this job. He wasn’t that bright in school. Actually, he wasn’t interested in school at all. It was mostly a way for him to escape from the cramped-up foster homes. When he graduated, one of his teachers found him this job and he took the offer without any hesitation. 

Since he had no place to live here, he stayed in one of the group homes sharing the rent. 

“Do you need someone to come with you, kid?”

“No. I will be alright.”

He needed time to think, and he preferred silence. 

Jason got up and collected his stuff. 

“Thanks, guys.”

He did appreciate them. Besides, he didn’t know what happened to all these people when they were in Yuriel. 

‘But was it even true?’

He had some things he needed to figure out first.

“Give me a call when you are home, kid.”

“I will, Sir.”

He gave a nod before making his way to the resting area. Everything was just as he remembered. 

It was the Sawmill he worked at until the world ended with all the humans entering Yuriel. 

‘Did I return to the past?’