Slime#47 opened his eyes to nothingness.

'I miss those days… gaming with friends. Noodles and Coke,' the slime thought tiredly, indifferent to the void surrounding him.

His emotions were going haywire. He recalled his past to relieve them. He didn't want to think for a few minutes.

The silence pressed against him, smoothing his exhaustion rather than easing it.

[ Ding! Timeline 78521452224.178 has ended! ]

[ Error! Error! ]

'What?' Young Slime's eyes widened. "This is new…."

He checked himself, scanning with aura and mana to see if anything was wrong.

[ Ding! An anomaly has been spotted in Timeline 78521452224.178! ]

"What anomaly?" Slime#47 muttered, rubbing the top of his head.

[ Ding! Actions of Slime#47 have deviated! ]

[ Ding! Checking for reasons! ]

'What the heck?' he uttered. "What deviation…?"

[ Ding! Interference of future Slime#47—'$^%$$' has been detected! ]

"Soul Chronicles," he muttered, sighing. "So my future self giving me a skill and encouraging me has deviated the timeline…"

'My future self should have acted differently from me in this timeline,' he realized, taking a cold breath. "So how did he regain his hope, and what would have happened in the actual Timeline 178?" He could only wonder.

[ Ding! Deviated Timeline 78521452224.178 has been renamed to Timeline Slime#47.1 ]

"No, I refuse!" he yelled. This Timeline name seemed mocking to him. "This would always remind me of namelessness."

[ Ding!… ]

[ Ding! Timeline Slime#47.1 has been changed to Deviated Slime Timeline 1! ]

"Well, this is somewhat better," he sighed. There were many slimes in the world.

Mainly, it won't remind him of his namelessness.

[ Ding! Begin the new Deviated Slime Timeline 2? ]

A red panel shimmered before him.

"What to do…" He clenched his fists.

'I cannot leave Mama Slime, Elder Slime, Little Slime, and the others behind… they are waiting for my return,' he fell into deep thought.

"It should work out," he muttered, planning.

"But first, let's check my memories and use Soul Chronicles to prepare." He didn't forget his future self's advice.

He recalled everything he'd experienced, but after a few moments, he broke into a sweat.

'I cannot remember…' He trembled, as he couldn't recall small details like what he did or how he trained in a few loops.

"What did I do in Loop 14?" he muttered, eyes widening.

"I focused on mastery… I can figure it out via Loop 13 and Loop 15… but I can't remember the training," he broke into a chill, as he could only recall a few things from that loop.

"And Loop 28, Loop 30… a few more as well—I can't…" His hands felt out of control, as he couldn't control them properly.

"Soul Chronicle…" he uttered, as his chill spread more.

A small white shard appeared in his soul dimension as he used the skill.

[ Ding! Soul Essence Shard detected! ]

[ Use it? ]

[ It contains all memories and emotions of Slime#47! {Personality}! ]

[ —Yes— or —No— ]

"Yes," he clicked yes as he began to re-experience all the memories.

After a few moments, he opened his eyes. He glanced at his palms, still trembling in fear.

"I can now recall them," he muttered, yet nothing was any happier. Instead, he scowled.

Due to his strong soul, despite the soul essence leaking, he could recall almost all of his life.

"I could remember almost all important details… so I didn't care," he noted, holding his hands together, 'but I was already forgetting things… from useless memories.'

He stayed silent for a few moments.

'I need to get them out...those two lights,' he mused grimly. 'I hope I can get something from them… It's best if I get a solution.'

After a few moments—

"Tch."

Ripples spread across his fluid body.

"Stop," he snapped. "I want to go home. Please… I can't do this anymore."

His voice wavered.

'I'm starting to lose my memories… just like my future self warned.'

"My personality will be affected next," he whispered.

Fear crept in where anger once lived.

"I'm afraid of losing myself," he muttered, eyes hollow.

He clenched his hands, afraid that one day even this fear would disappear.

"How many loops has it been?"

"How many years since I last breathed Earth's air?"

'Come out… now,' he thought, despite knowing no one would answer him. 'I hope my acting works.'

Though he called it acting, his emotions were clearly leaking out.

Yet silence…

He turned calm and yelled, "If you don't come out, I won't start the loop."

He waited patiently after the warning—no moving, no starting a new loop.

---

After a few months...

[ Huff! It has been more than ten years since Earthlings were placed in the loop. ]

With a sigh, a gentle, melodic voice echoed through the void.

"Who—who is there?" His body jolted as he looked around.

'Finally here,' he grinned. He never expected he would find someone else.

'Only a voice…' he thought, as he found nothing except the gentle, motherly sound.

[ I am A̷̰͇̝͕̺̗̯͔̤̦̪̻̹̜̽͂͗͆̒̈̕͝i̶̮̺̭̰̦̦̣̪̬̖͖͍̦̮̬̜̫̤͇͑͑̄͒̀̅̄̃́͒̒̿̐̆̎̄̋̀̚͜͠ͅg̶̛͋͑̓͋̅̀̈̊̐͗̒̀̈́̆͝͠͠͝#$# ]

The name collapsed into distortion.

"…Who?" he asked weakly.

[…It doesn't matter.]

The voice continued calmly.

[ Even if I send you back, you will never meet your parents or siblings again. ]

[ They are trapped in loops—just like you. ]

"Why?" he shouted. "Why Earthlings? Why are we always targeted?"

His voice cracked. 'I want answers… before anything else.'

"Do you know what it feels like to die?"

"Not once. Not twice. Hundreds… maybe thousands of times."

His gaze dropped.

"…Especially under that small menace's spell."

Silence followed.

An empty black void filled his vision.

[ Do you want them, your followers, to stay dead? ]

The question came abruptly.

Faces surfaced in his mind.

His body trembled as he shut his eyes.

Sighing, he asked, "Why did the Time God create loops instead of choosing a few exceptional people and training them as his successor?"

[ You will know in the future ]

The answer made his body twitch.

Again, the reason was avoided.

"I don't want them dead…" Slime#47 yelled. "Now, send me back… You can do it, can't you?"

[ Start the new timeline… you'll meet them again! ] The voice replied flatly.

"Urgh… not them—new versions," he roared, his voice hoarse. "Now, either give me something which would help my current situation, or send me back to the previous loop."

'Now, send me back… I have to save them,' he thought, glancing around him. He was confident that voice would send him back instead of curing his condition.

The voice didn't reply, but stayed silent.

"Don't play silence with me…" Slime#47 barked, clenching his fists. "I won't start a new timeline if you don't accept my conditions now."

[ Very well, Slime ] The voice hummed coldly. [ I'll give you two choices… either start the new timeline, or… give up 30% of your already leaking and cracked soul essence. Pick one. ]

The voice turned stern, chilly from gentleness.

'What?' He didn't expect things to get out of his hand, but he grinned the next moment. "Hahaha."

Now he was given a choice: either give up his remaining life to save his followers, or start a new world with other versions of them.

"I know the choice even without thinking," he declared, grinning widely.

----

End of Arc 4—Trial of Combat.

Last Arc remaining in Volume 1.

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