Chapter 2 – The Day Before the Fall
807 Words
I stood frozen at the doorway, staring at the man who had killed me.
He was exactly as I remembered him sharp features, confident stance, eyes that weighed and measured everything they saw.
In my first life, our paths had crossed three years from now, on a battlefield painted red. Yet here he was, standing in the morning light of my small, peaceful street.
“Adrian, right?” he said with an easy smile. “Mind if I come in?”
My fingers twitched toward the doorframe. The instinct to slam it shut was almost overwhelming, but I forced my face into something neutral. “I’m… busy.”
He tilted his head, as if studying me. That smile didn’t fade — it only deepened. “We’ll talk later, then.”
Before I could reply, a voice called out from behind me.
“Who is it?”
Lila.
I turned slightly, blocking her from view. “Just a stranger,” I said quickly. “He’s leaving.”
The man’s gaze flicked past me, catching sight of her, and for an instant I swore something shifted in his expression — interest? Recognition? It was gone as quickly as it came.
“Well then,” he said, stepping back. “Enjoy your day, Adrian.”
He walked away, unhurried, his boots tapping against the cobblestones. Just before he turned the corner, he glanced over his shoulder and gave me that same, unreadable smile.
My grip on the door tightened until my knuckles ached.
---
Once the door was locked, I leaned against it, forcing air into my lungs. My thoughts spun.
That man had no reason to be here. This was the first true deviation from the timeline I knew — and it was too early for comfort.
In my first life, I had been powerless at this point. A wandering soldier with no influence, no money, no allies. I had stumbled through the years until the war swallowed me whole. This time would be different. It had to be different.
I sat at the desk and dragged a scrap of parchment toward me. With slow, deliberate strokes, I began writing:
Day 1 (Seven Years Before the End)
Lila alive. Must protect at all costs.
Market delivery today — "opportunity".
Unknown variable: Him. Arrived far earlier than expected. Possible threat.
I stared at the last line until the ink bled into the fibers of the paper.
---
The market was exactly as I remembered it — noisy, chaotic, full of the scent of spices and freshly baked bread. Children darted between stalls while merchants shouted over one another, each swearing their goods were worth the silver.
Near the edge of the square, I spotted it: a wagon piled high with sacks of dried herbs and bundles of rare fruit. In two weeks, a blight would wipe out most of the local crop, and the prices for these would triple.
I stepped up to the merchant. “How much for three sacks?”
He eyed me skeptically, clearly wondering what a young man like me needed with that much. I didn’t answer. I just laid down the coins.
By the time I left, I had made my first investment — small, but certain. Knowledge from the future was my sharpest weapon, and today, I had tested the blade.
---
On my way back, I caught sight of Lila in the open square, laughing as she played a chasing game with the other children. Her hair caught the sunlight, and for a moment, everything looked so… ordinary.
But my chest tightened. In my first life, she hadn’t survived the first winter after the war began. I could still see her pale face, hear her final cough.
Not this time.
Even if I had to burn the world down, she would live.
---
That night, by candlelight, I began to write in earnest.
I listed every event I could remember — the rise and fall of factions, the betrayals, the critical battles, the plague that struck in the third year, the faces of every ally and enemy. My hand cramped, but I didn’t stop.
When I finally leaned back, the parchment was covered in names and dates. I would refine them later, but for now, I had my map.
I glanced toward the window. The street outside was quiet, bathed in silver moonlight. Lila was asleep in the next room. All was still.
Until it wasn’t.
“You don’t belong here.”
The voice was barely louder than a whisper, but it cut through me like steel.
I shot upright, heart pounding. My eyes scanned the room — empty. Shadows clung to the corners, flickering in the candlelight.
“Who’s there?” My voice came out low and sharp.
No answer.
But I knew I hadn’t imagined it.
Someone or something was here.
- Writer
