The Extra's Regressor Wives

Night had fallen long ago, yet Lathel was still lying awake, staring at the ceiling.

The two magic lamps mounted on the wall had already been dimmed to their lowest setting, leaving only a faint golden glow across the room. Every now and then, wind slipped through the window and stirred the curtains. Whenever Lathel shifted beneath the blanket, the silver chain locked around his wrist tapped lightly against the bedframe.

He had changed positions more times than he could remember.

And the chain was not the only reason he could not sleep.

Every time Lathel closed his eyes, everything that had happened over the past few days returned one scene at a time.

Bram lying motionless beside the shattered carriage.

Aldric standing in the road with his wand in hand.

Then the sensation of Pandora seizing control of his body and using a kind of power so far beyond anything Lathel understood that he had barely known what was happening.

In the end, his memories always stopped at the same moment.

Aldric beneath his foot.

Lathel’s fist covered in black energy, raised above his head.

One more strike would have been enough to kill him.

And Lathel had been the one who stopped it.

He closed his eyes, lifted his free arm over his forehead, and slowly exhaled.

Pandora immediately spoke inside his mind.

"That was your twenty-third time turning over."

Lathel did not react.

"I really counted." Pandora sounded completely serious despite clearly having nothing better to do. "Eleven times to the left and twelve to the right. If you keep this up much longer, I think the bed will get dizzy before you do."

Lathel opened his eyes and looked down at the silver cuff around his wrist.

Pandora immediately noticed.

"Still thinking about getting it off?"

’Obviously.’

"I could try helping."

Lathel frowned at once.

Pandora laughed.

"Relax. I said I could try. After what you did to your body last time, even I’m not sure I could break that thing right now without blowing up the entire bed."

Lathel was about to ask her something else when the magic lamp on the wall suddenly stopped.

At first, he thought he had imagined it.

Then his gaze shifted toward the curtain.

One corner of the fabric had been lifted by the wind.

It remained suspended in midair.

Perfectly still.

A particle of dust falling through the light near the window had stopped as well.

The entire room became unnaturally silent.

There was no wind.

No insects outside.

Even the light from the lamps seemed frozen in place.

Lathel immediately called out in his mind.

’Pandora?’

No response.

He waited a moment.

’Pandora.’

Still nothing.

Unease rose instantly.

Lathel tried to push himself upright.

Only then did he realize that his body could no longer move.

Not his arms.

Not his legs.

He could not blink or even turn his head.

Lathel tried circulating the tiny amount of mana still remaining in his body, but even that had stopped inside his pathways, as though time itself had been forcibly frozen.

’What is happening?’

The moment that thought appeared, a faint sound came from the wall in front of him.

Crack.

A fracture appeared in empty space.

It spread rapidly across the wall, ceiling, and window until the entire room was covered in branching cracks.

Before Lathel could understand what he was seeing, the entire scene shattered like an enormous pane of glass.

There was no explosion.

No shards struck his body.

The room was simply replaced by endless darkness.

Countless transparent fragments floated around him.

Each reflected a different scene.

A crowded city.

A deep forest.

Other places that appeared only for an instant before vanishing before Lathel could make out any details.

Among them, one fragment larger than all the others slowly drifted in front of him.

Lathel immediately recognized the person inside it.

Aldric.

He was standing in the middle of a dark forest.

At his feet lay the desiccated corpse of a man.

Aldric’s right hand was still resting on the dead man’s head, but his usual arrogance had vanished completely. His other hand clutched his temple, his face twisted as though he were enduring unbearable pain.

"...give it back..."

"...don’t kill me..."

"...it hurts..."

Whispers continuously echoed around him.

Aldric jerked his head violently.

"Shut up!"

The voices did not stop.

Instead, they became even louder when he circulated his mana.

Some cried.

Some cursed him.

There was even a child’s voice repeatedly calling for its mother.

Eventually, Aldric lost control.

He slammed a fist into the tree beside him.

"SHUT UP!"

The bark exploded beneath the impact.

Morgana appeared nearby in her semi-transparent spirit form.

She watched him for several seconds before frowning.

"Aldric, can you still distinguish reality from the voices?"

"Shut up!"

Morgana paused.

Then her tone immediately turned cold.

"I wasn’t speaking just now."

Aldric clearly realized that he had reacted to another voice, but he no longer had the energy to argue.

He clutched his head with both hands, his knees almost giving way as the lingering wills buried within his mana pathways continued tormenting him.

Lathel watched for a moment and understood.

This was the backlash from the Ancient Magic Morgana had warned about.

Then—

a mechanical sound suddenly echoed through the darkness.

[Ding!]

Lathel stiffened.

Inside the fragment, Aldric immediately raised his head.

[Severe deviation detected in the flow of fate.]

[Stability of the Son of Fate is decreasing.]

[Beginning correction process.]

The pain twisting Aldric’s face disappeared beneath surprise.

Then, slowly—

the corner of his mouth rose.

A laugh escaped him.

"Ha... Hahaha!"

His laughter grew louder.

"So you finally decided to appear?"

Morgana stared at him in confusion.

"Who are you talking to?"

"The System."

Aldric ignored her completely.

He pushed himself upright, the pain on his face rapidly replaced by excitement.

"I knew it."

His smile widened.

"I’m the protagonist. There’s no way the plot would let me die because of the whining of a few pieces of trash."

Morgana’s frown deepened.

"What is a System?"

Aldric did not bother explaining.

But Lathel understood.

He had once lived in another world just like Aldric.

He had read plenty of novels.

Of course he knew what something called a System usually represented.

An existence designed to assist the protagonist.

It could issue missions.

Grant rewards.

Sometimes—

even interfere directly with fate.

The thought had barely appeared when another fragment beside him suddenly expanded, filling most of Lathel’s vision.

A village appeared inside it.

There were no towering walls.

No protective formations.

No powerful warriors fighting monsters.

Only several dozen wooden houses scattered among farmland, with a forest and a narrow stream in the distance.

It looked like any ordinary village someone might pass while traveling.

It was already late at night.

Most of the villagers were asleep.

Two men carrying oil lamps walked along the wooden fence.

The older one yawned while checking the ground outside, while the younger man beside him laughed.

"If you get home late again tonight, Aunt Mara is definitely locking you out."

The middle-aged man immediately snorted.

"She wouldn’t dare."

"Who slept in the stable last time?"

"I chose to."

The young man said nothing.

He merely turned and looked at him.

The older man immediately frowned.

"What is that look supposed to mean?"

The two laughed and continued their patrol.

In a nearby house, a mother pulled a blanket over two children.

Her son had already fallen asleep.

The little girl beside him was still awake, staring at her mother.

"Mom... will there be honey cakes tomorrow?"

"There will."

"Two?"

The woman laughed and lightly tapped her daughter’s nose.

"One."

"Two."

"One."

The girl thought very seriously for a moment before negotiating,

"One and a half."

"Go to sleep."

Her mother pulled the blanket higher and kissed her forehead.

Across the road, an old man added another piece of firewood to the stove.

The dog lying near the door lifted its head at the sound, then curled up and went back to sleep.

A few livestock shifted inside their pens.

The fields in the distance remained completely dark.

Everything was ordinary.

That was exactly why Lathel felt increasingly uneasy.

He did not understand why he was being shown this place.

The answer appeared almost immediately.

[Ding!]

[In accordance with the Law of Fate Conservation.]

[Consumed fate cannot be generated from nothing.]

[To replenish the fate required by the Protagonist Halo, the fate of other living beings must be converted.]

[Current targets: 327 lives.]

[Do you agree to sacrifice all targets to complete the correction process?]

Lathel’s eyes widened.

He wanted to shout.

But time still held his throat frozen.

Not even a broken sound could escape.

In the other fragment, Aldric appeared to be seeing the village as well.

He observed the houses for several seconds.

There was no shock on his face.

No hesitation.

If anything, he looked mildly disappointed.

"Only one village?"

Morgana turned toward him.

"What are you seeing?"

Aldric did not bother answering.

He looked at the number floating in front of him and clicked his tongue.

"Three hundred and twenty-seven..."

He sounded dissatisfied.

"That’s a little low."

A chill ran down Lathel’s spine.

Aldric raised one hand as casually as though dismissing some insignificant matter.

"Sacrifice them."

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