“Welcome.” The old innkeeper adjusted her cracked glasses as she struggled to get out of her dated but comfortable chair. She glanced at the pair of them and then at the eerie reception desk. “A room for one or two?”

  Max took one long look around the depreciating inn while trying to contain the coughs tormenting his lungs and throat. The floorboards were peeling up. There were a couple of holes in the ceiling allowing the moonlight to pour into the establishment. How many cobwebs were lurking around the room? “I think I’ll just camp outside tonight-”

  “Hold on,” Cy grabbed Max’s shirt before he could head to the exit. The innkeeper paid them no mind as she continued to struggle towards the reception. Cy let out a couple of his own coughs before continuing his thought. “We’ve spent the whole day hiking and teleporting across the mountains. We’re not feeling good, and neither of us got any sleep last night-”

  “We’ve also got limited funds, so I’ll just bite the bullet and-”

  Cy’s words were sharp as they cut through his argument. “I also remember you trying to kill me was the reason why I wasn’t able to sleep last night. Going to make me have another restless night?” Max didn’t say anything, but he also didn’t move. “Look on the bright side, there’s a hot spring here. We can both do with a proper clean up.” The old innkeeper finally reached the reception desk. Before she got settled Cy said in a loud voice, “We have a reservation. It should be under the name Darius Vanga.” She held a hand to her ear for Cy to repeat their reservation.

  The name caught the innkeeper’s attention. “Darius Vanga?” Cy nodded, causing her to grab a key behind the desk. “Come.” Her manners went out of the window while she led the way. Every time one of them coughed, she would throw them a dirty look. “Get washed up. Dinner will be ready in an hour. There are no other guests but try not to be too loud. You never know who could be coming by. And absolutely none of those wild sex parties of his-”

  “Elder Darius passed away this morning.” No! Goddamn it! Why did Cy have to interrupt? What was Darius doing in this rotting inn? “This will be the last reservation.”

  The old innkeeper paused to adjust her specs as she murmured, “At last,” before continuing her hobbled stride.

  Max felt even more perplexed by the innkeeper. “What’s going on?” He whispered to Cy.

  “Just wait,” he replied in his normal voice.

  The old innkeeper guided them down a dirty corridor before stopping at a tall, decorative painting leaning against the wall. With help from Max, she moved the picture frame to show a hidden door and opened it for them. “Enjoy the hot spring. Remember, dinner is in an hour.”

  Max couldn’t believe his eyes as he entered the room. Clean, luxuriously decorated, and surprisingly spacious, they entered the wide room. There was only one bed, but Max could see a stack of spare bedding tucked away. It would be a bit nostalgic sleeping on the floor again. On the other side of the room, there were a few windows and a door showing a private hot spring. Cy grabbed Bessie’s sac from Max’s shoulder and threw it on the floor. “Make yourself at home.”

  “This is… a nice place?” Max felt himself shiver. Was he getting a fever? At least it was another sign his body recognised the illness.

  Cy opened the door to the private springs. It was stunning. Who would have thought this tiny inn, a third of the way down from Tsujuma to the nearest town, would have this treasure tucked away? Well, Darius apparently.

  “We can rest here for now.” Cy began looking around the room, pulling out hidden stashes of cash before shoving them in Bessie’s bag. “Elder Darius found out about this place a few years ago, so he often stayed here.”

  “And left all this money?” Max tried to nonchalantly pull out something extra to wear as the shivering got worse. Unfortunately, they were all clothes in Cy’s taste. He found the darkest and baggiest one he could find.

  “It was in case of an emergency. He won’t be needing it now. You’re wearing more clothes? Usually, you do the opposite to enter a hot spring.”

  “I’m getting a fever.” He admitted, as he gestured for Cy to go ahead while Max took a seat at the table. “I’ll just take a little nap until dinner comes.” As Cy closed the door behind him, Max fell asleep with his head on the table.

  Max awoke with a jump from the old innkeeper slamming a large tray on the table. “Dinner.” She said before promptly leaving. Had it already been an hour? His nausea strengthened from seeing the home cooked food in front of him. It was scarily similar to his last meal with Bessie and farmer Lill. Was it worth it? Or should he just go to bed and spend his energy recovering? He needed the sleep anyway.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  On cue, Cy came through the door to the hot springs. Wearing a new set of clothes and his hair still wet, the hot springs appeared to have had a good effect on him. “Dinner is here?”

  “It just came.” Despite his lack of an appetite, it was worth enduring a meal. Max wanted answers. He watched Cy cough a few times before he started on his bowl of thick broth. “So… I guess I should apologise again.”

  Cy raised his hand, putting an end to that conversation. “Hearing you say sorry for the millionth time doesn’t change anything.” Max didn’t say anything. To make the atmosphere less tense, he picked up his spoon and began stirring his bowl. “Why don’t we start with introductions again? What’s your name?”

  Max stopped stirring. “Huh? What do you mean? My name’s Max.”

  “What about your first life?”

  He felt embarrassed. It took time for him to recall. “Kaito. Most called me Kai, since my name wasn’t too common where I lived.”

  “It wasn’t common?”

  This part was much easier for him to remember. “My mother was from a country far away. Kai was a familiar name in the area.”

  Cy thought for a moment as he broke off a piece of bread. “Not Ren then?”

  “No.” Max suddenly recalled the story prompt. “But it’s in the name of the story for this life. ‘Ren, Do You Remember Me?’”

  “Sounds like you were called Ren once.”

  “But I have no idea when.” Max pulled off a piece of bread for himself but continued to dodge eating. It was easy to cover his lack of eating through the constant coughs. “It could’ve been any of my lifetimes.”

  “And how many is that?”

  “I don’t know.” Max admitted. “Lost count a while ago.”

  Cy took a break from eating. “Do you know how many times we’ve met previously?”

  The question caught Max off-guard. How many times had he met someone like Cy? Someone with his type of magic? There were a few memories that stood out to him. “I know three for sure, if you are who I think you are. So, I guess… thirteen?”

  “Try two hundred and eleven.”

  The idea felt impossible and yet possible. “That many?”

  Cy let out a couple of coughs. Was his sickness getting worse too? “Probably more. That’s the number Darius suspects. You met him a few times before as well.”

  “To be fair, he never showed me that kind of magic before. I would’ve remembered it.”

  “Or you were too inexperienced to value it. Elder Darius and I almost always have our gifts since our type of magic is linked to us rather than our bodies. We usually develop it instinctively, but how good we are at it can vary. When Elder Darius realised we were the same, it was a big reason why he campaigned to be my mentor.”

  A type of magic untethered to a body? Max had heard about people like that from the others, especially from June’s research. Thinking back on Edric’s report, it made sense. It never mentioned anyone teaching Cy how to read fates. Cy picked it up naturally while he was still a kid.

  Maybe Cy had a point. Perhaps he had overlooked the various people he met throughout his lives… Max tried to think back on all the times he must’ve met Cy. He couldn’t be sure of that large of a number. But if Cy was right, then he might be able to test it. “Do you have anything with magic that I can draw runes on?” Cy gave him a questioning look. “It’s not for anything malicious.”

  Cy coughed for a second before getting up and making his way to Bessie’s sac. It didn’t take him long to pull out a stack of parchment paper created by Elder Nova. “Now that we’re away from the community, these are going to be a lot less powerful.”

  “It’s okay,” Max only took one piece before Cy handed a pen over to him. He was a little surprised Cy was willing to trust him so much but decided not to press on the issue. He drew a couple of runes before folding the paper over. Trusting Cy, there was no need to overcomplicate them.

  “What did you write?” Cy asked, as he took his seat again.

  “I’ll tell you in a few minutes.” Max finally took his first bite, but immediately regretted it. “To be honest, I’m not feeling great. You can help yourself to my half if you want.”

  Cy didn’t need telling twice. “Since you’re not eating, why don’t you tell me about the story you’ve got?”

  Max took his time explaining the different components word for word, which Cy seemed to have some surface level knowledge of, before giving his own interpretation about the different parts. “I wouldn’t worry about the Bare Bones penalty. I didn’t have magic to begin with and external magic I absorb gets stored in some of the runes instead of my body.” He pointed to an example hidden beneath his clothes before erupting into coughs.

  “And you’re confident it’ll work?” Cy remained sceptical.

  “I know it works. I’ve had this penalty before.”

  “What about the other penalties?”

  “The illness is no big deal,” Max couldn’t help coughing again. “The other two though… I’ve never seen them before… I think, for the most part, we should stay away from other people like me.”

  “Well, no shit.” Cy scoffed.

  At first, Max smiled at him before dropping it quickly. Edric had completed his story. He should be free to help as he promised, but could Max trust him? Especially with his death bringing about a completed sub-goal and penalty removal? Max felt uncomfortable. While June was more concerned with answers, Edric usually answered for their organisation. What was more valuable for him? Progress or reputation?

  Turning his attention to the positive news, Max glanced at the parchment. “I know your rune name now.”

  “No, you don’t.” Cy frowned. “I would be dead otherwise.”

  Max unfolded the parchment for Cy to see. “You see this one here? This is your name.”

  “It looks… disappointingly simple. How do you even know it worked? Isn’t that a basic healing rune.” He pointed to the rune above.

  “You haven’t coughed since I wrote it.” Max replied calmly as Cy studied the piece of parchment. “When I first experimented with this kind of magic, I was at a kind of boarding school with other kids gifted with magic. Among them was a snot-nosed kid a couple of years younger than me. He was gifted at seeing fates and stubborn as hell at bothering me. Always pestering me to discover his name too.” Max pointed at the rune again. “This is you.”