Unlimited Isekai 68 The Life of Dave (Patreon)

In the years that followed, Dave found himself living a simple life alongside Cedez and her family.

He came to appreciate the tranquility of the croft, the warmth of the hearth, the garden surrounding it and the company of the foxkin family.

Cedez’s parents, Clothmancer Alisha and Agromancer Sentim were quick to integrate Dave into their household.

They taught him the ways of the Shandrian lower class, from the hard work of tilling the fields to the joy of communal meals. It was a life far removed from sitting behind a computer desk, but it was a life he cherished because it reminded him of his own childhood in the American Midwest.

Dave did not find Remicra or Svenn in this version of Shandria because they weren’t even born yet. From what he learned this inexplicable timeline existed nearly seven decades in the past of the city and even the threat of the Dragon God Emperor was still incredibly distant.

A month after both of them turned fourteen, the tranquility of their simple life was shattered by the roar of a dragon. A flying, scaled abomination, surrounded by a supercell storm trailing in its wake breached the city walls with a blast of all-consuming fire.

Many mighty wizards gated to the breach to drive the dragon away and were destroyed by its claws or vaporized by blasts of brilliant rays.

The white tower in the center of town struck the dragon, driving it away from the city, but it had been far too late. A wall of fire rapidly spread across the trees and buildings.

Dave and Cedez were shoved into the space beneath the floorboards by Alisha as Sentim bound the lock and reinforced the floorboards with root-growing magic.

As the flames raged outside, the pair huddled together beneath the floorboards. The heat grew intense, and they could hear the sound of buildings crumbling and people screaming in the distance.

Above them, the house groaned under the weight of the fire, the wooden beams cracking and creaking ominously. Suddenly, with a deafening crash, the house collapsed on them, trapping them beneath the rubble and sending wooden splinters and dust flying down on them.

Panicked, Dave flung his hand up, instinctively trying to protect himself from falling debris.

To his surprise, he felt a familiar surge of power within him, a force that seemed to warp the very fabric of space around them. The falling dust slowed its descent, defying the laws of gravity.

“Gravity,” Dave whispered. Cedez clinging to him, crying softly.

Dave tried to activate Phantomancy, but that power simply wasn't available to him here. All he had was Level 1 gravity.

The world around them gradually grew hot and suffocating as the dragonfire overhead refused to die. Dave clung onto Cedez, his newfound power of gravity flickering on and off as he desperately tried to keep the burning debris and heat above them at bay.

On some level he knew that he had to die to return to the Crown Tower, but this world felt far too real to him, had gradually become his new life.

Just as he thought all hope was lost, the burning debris above them was suddenly lifted, and a gust of cool air rushed in. They were pulled out from the under the floorboards by a group of city guards. "We've got survivors!" one of them shouted, relief evident in his voice.

The city Watch mages led the couple away from the burning ruins of their home to a group of younger, terrified mages.

“We should help out,” Cedez said.

“Why?” One of the soot-covered teens asked, his entire body shaking.

“We could get hurt,” another added. "The City Watch is..."

The foxkin’s expression suddenly changed, her eyes igniting with silver-blue spirals.

"We need to save as many as we can, damn it!” She ordered, her voice carrying sudden, inexplicable weight. “Everyone! Tell me about your skills! We can help repel the fire and help save more people! Dragonfire cannot be put out by water, so we need to smother it in other ways!"

The young mages who were initially disoriented and fearful, suddenly found themselves filled with determination. They nodded, their faces set with resolve.

"You're right, miss," one of them said, "We can't just stand by!"

With Cedez's words inspiring them, the other teens began to help pulling more people from the ruins and leading them to safety.

"Did you just...?" Dave asked.

“Got my Charismancy back,” she said. “Yeah... better late than never.”

In the aftermath of the dragon's attack, the section of the city nearest to the wall was but a ruined shell of its former self. The ground was black. Ruins of buildings and scorched tree stumps were all that remained of the lowborn district. The destruction was vast, but hope wasn't lost.

Dave and Cedez, despite their young age, began to organize the survivors. They raided the cold storage beneath the houses of Agromancers and set up a makeshift soup kitchen to feed the hungry and provide a sense of community amidst the desolation.

"Good work," Dave said, giving Cedez a tired smile as they ladled soup into bowls for the survivors.

"Thanks," Cedez replied, returning his smile. "But we're just getting started."

In the days, weeks and months that followed, the city began to rebuild. Dave and Cedez, with newfound maturity, stepped up to their roles as leaders in the community. Their days were long and filled with work.

By watching his charismatic friend Dave was slowly learning the principles of organizational power. They organized work shifts, coordinated the various mages, arranged for food and water distribution, and even set up a makeshift school for their younger peers. Despite the hardship, they found a sense of purpose in their work.

With his knowledge of Bakelite production and a few young blacksmiths, Dave rebuilt the smithy and began to arm the survivors. He and Cedez began venturing into the metal dungeon to grow stronger. In time, the dragon-destroyed quarter of the city turned into a new Adventurers Guild with Cedez functioning as its founder and secretary.

With the aid of earth mage friends, Dave and Cedez redirected the mountain lake, slowly draining it to expose the magisteel warship beneath. Once it was within access, it was much easier to get magisteel out of the lake to fund the rebuilding efforts.

Years flew by and they stood side by side, facing whatever challenges life threw their way. They grew from children to adults, their bond growing stronger with each passing day. Despite the hardships, they found happiness in their shared experiences and in each other's company.

On a sunny day, amidst the cheers of their close-knit community of Bakelite armoured-lowborns, Dave and Cedez exchanged vows beneath the shade of a vast metal tree of the Metal dungeon.

The ceremony was simple, just like the life they had chosen to lead.

With their friends as witnesses, they promised to stand by each other, in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow. As a barrier mage formed a shield around them, the pair sealed their vows with a kiss, the adventurers erupted into cheers and applause.

. . .

Dave opened his eyes with a groan. His body felt wrong, far too young. The blinding fire of the final detonation was still in his mind before the white tower he occupied fell to the assault of the invaders.

“W-what?” He choked. “Where am I?”

“Back home,” Cedez said as she slid the silver artifact band off her head.

“Home?” Dave blinked.

“Home!” Cedez grinned. She jumped off the stone table, took the band off his head and hugged him fiercely. "Filled with new knowledge of the future to try again!"

“I… urm… right,” Dave muttered and melted into the hug, petting her back like he always used to. The foxkin leaned into his embrace with a purr. Sparks began to dance on his skin and Cedez let him go with an annoyed look.

Remicra squinted at them.

“You two seem… close,” she commented.

Dave and Cedez exchanged a knowing glance before Dave cleared his throat.

"Remicra... I can explain," he began and then fell silent as he tried to recollect where he even was now.

“Yes?” The dragoness asked, her magisteel-armored tail thrashing. She looked very irate.

“How long were we… out?” Dave asked.

“Seven hours,” Sherlock replied.

"That's it?" Dave blinked.

“The trial lasted seventy years,” Cedez said with a smirk. “Dave and I married at sixteen.”

“WHAT?” Remicra barked.

The foxkin simply smiled smugly. She had a look of victory painted on her face.

“You…” Remicra hissed, advancing on Cedez.

“How did the trial end?” Sherlock asked, turning his mechanical eyes to Dave.

“We had a long life and died defending the city,” Dave said, rubbing the back of his head. “The Shandria we lived in didn’t have her Divine Shadow protecting it. I was eighty nine. I was the best, strongest gravity mage, but even I could do nothing against the Dragon Emperor’s armada of a million magi. I was able to repel the gravity wells produced by the Isekai convergence spell… but the mages under his command cast a combined firestorm on the city. It was like a nuke obliterating everything in its path… that’s the last thing I remember.”

“I swear to the Gods, I will…” Remicra hissed.

Dave grabbed the dragoness before she could deliver a smackdown on the grinning foxkin.

“No,” he said simply.

“No?” Remicra glared.

"Cedez has been my rock, my partner for seventy eight years,” Dave said. "Her and I have been through so much together, Remicra… You have no idea.”

“She tricked you, look at her smug face! None of it was real!” The dragoness insisted. "It's all one big Charisma trick!"

"Reality is a matter of perspective," Cedez interjected. "What we experienced... it was very real to us. The Ward can cast a soul to another Arx, one just as real as this place."

"Besides," Dave added, gently releasing Remicra, "it's not like we can change what happened. We… had a life together and it was…”

“Absolutely incredible,” Cedez exhaled. “Far better than anything I dreamed about. Frienship, family... Love!"

Remicra opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. Instead, she simply stared at Dave and Cedez.

"You... fell in love?" she finally managed to utter.

“It had to be this way,” Cedez said.

“Why?!” Remicra demanded.

“We had to prove to the Ward that Dave is… my hero,” Cedes said. “Otherwise… he would never awaken, never leave this place. The Ward would have ended his life if it judged him as an unworthy, unreliable bastard.”

Cedez pointed a finger at a dust-covered, ossified body of a man slumped in a dim corner.

"His name was Abolik Yorish," she said. "He betrayed Natalie, turned against her during the trial, chose to live his own lifetime filled with seventy years of decadence, wealth and power. The Ward of Shandria never returned his soul. Natalie left this chamber without him.”

Dave and Remicra stared at the dusty, seventeen year old corpse.

Cedez walked to the door and placed her palm on it. The door slid open, revealing a stairwell.

"I’m sorry," Dave looked at Remicra.

He had a distant look in his eyes. Most of him was still there, in the other, lost Shandria. He tried not to think about what happened to everyone after his gravity shield over the city failed.

“Sorry?" Remicra repeated, her voice trembling. "What are you sorry for? For choosing her? For living a life with her while I waited here, oblivious to everything? Is that what you're sorry for, Dave?"

"Cedez is... was my wife there. We had a family. But that doesn't change the fact that I care about you too, Remy," Dave said, meeting her gaze. “It doesn’t change the fact that we’re soulmates... best friends across the infinite divide.”

"But it's not the same, is it?" The blacksmith’s expression was that of betrayal. "You lived a life with her. You had a family, a home... What do we have here, Dave? What do we have?"

"We have our present, our friendship, our shared dreams for a better future," Dave said, his voice strong despite the lump in his throat. "Remicra, I... I need you. I need you by my side from now on and forever. As for love, it's not a one-time thing. It's not a finite resource that runs out when shared. I love Cedez, sure. But that doesn't mean I can't love you too."

"I… I understand," Remicra said, her voice unsteady. "You did what you had to do." She looked at Dave, her gaze softening. "I just wish... I wish I could have been there with you."

“Only two artifact bands,” Cedez pointed out.

"The trial decided everything, set things up from the beginning," Dave replied. "I learned that I could trust Cedez with absolutely everything, that no matter what she'd be on our side."

Remy grumbled as Dave hugged her.

“Be merry, you two can hug as much as you want here,” Cedez said with a slightly forlorn look, her hand still resting on the door frame. "Come on! It's time for us to go. There's still a lot to do."

As they started to leave, Dave took one last look at the room and the dusty corpse in the corner. He felt a deep sense of melancholy about his loss, but he also felt a hope for a new future, another try against the Gold Dragon God-Emperor. The memories of another life well lived were already slowly fleeting from his head like a strange, wholesome, incredibly vivid dream.

“Let's go," he said.

He grabbed Remicra’s hand, leading the way into the unknown.