Chapter Text
The light was more blinding than I would have liked.
It was midday.
The cold pierced you down to the bone, your naked body exposed to the world. Your knees hit the ground, dirt and small stones scratching against a rugged path.
You were on the shore of Japan’s sea.
You focused, trying to recall beyond the unconsciousness of these past years.
The first three billion one hundred fifty-five million seven hundred sixty thousand seconds were just the first hundred years. I stayed awake for forty-seven billion three hundred thirty million four hundred thousand seconds, about fifteen hundred years. I barely remember being conscious after that. I probably regained my count around two thousand seven hundred eighty-nine years after I was petrified. At this exact point, another nine hundred twelve years had passed.
"The Saint!" "She came to save us from the outsiders!" "The Saint has awakened!"
Countless cheers with no meaning until you heard "Suika awakened the Saint!" You followed everyone’s gaze; a little girl was trembling under all the attention.
She was wearing glasses… on a watermelon.
Suddenly, something was draped over your shoulders. A blonde woman appeared behind you, asking everyone to calm down, saying it seemed their ancestors had sent them a gift after so many years. On your end, you clung to her body beneath the image of that girl, so beautiful and so much like your beloved sister. Ruri, feeling your hands wrap around her, turned to look down at you and, smiling, spoke.
"Is it you? Right? ____ Weinberg." Your soul plummeted into the depths of oblivion. Your mind, as swift as any 21st-century computer, began crafting—on an unimaginable scale—hundreds of responses to explain what was happening. And you didn’t like a single one.
The truth was even more painful.
Your mind was about to explode. You had been locked up with that woman, Ruri, for five days, as she recounted each story with great fervor. She was undoubtedly a descendant of your sister. You thought. Sadness still caught you off guard, unable to believe that you would never see your only and beloved sister, Lilian, again. You also hadn't had time to talk to the girl who had been the cause of your de-petrification, but somewhere along the way, you heard someone talking about a stranger who used a strange magic called science, undoubtedly someone from your same century. It couldn't be anyone from your exploration team; you were the only scientist in that group. You also ruled out your professor or lab partners; all of them had been on the other side of the world before the strange ray turned them into statues. So of course it must have been some Japanese man who resurfaced on his own in this stone world.
You sighed as you stood up. There were still thirty more stories to go, but your brain was begging for mercy. You looked at the village and smiled wickedly. The Saint. That's what they'd called you; you already had admiration and respect from those people. Nothing could be more perfect. Still, you had no interest in investigating the stranger you'd heard so much about.
"Fine, I'm going to need some paper." People looked at you and waved. You waved in amusement. Now they would all become your slaves.
Your giggle only embarrassed Ruri. You were definitely as troublesome as her stories said.
Three days later, Priestess Ruri could only see all the villagers working with strange wooden implements that you had ordered made, all for the purpose of creating the famous paper you'd mentioned. You almost seemed to be doing the same thing Chrome had done with the stranger outside the village.
"Just a one craftsman who has to share with a stranger? God, I should have him locked up." He remained silent for two seconds before turning to look at her. "Can I have him locked up?"
"I think that would anger Chrome and Kohaku," she answered timidly, still not believing the kind of person her village praised so much. You were nice, she admitted, having started talking about expansion, home improvements, and something about some kind of greenhouse where you could grow essential things. She noticed your interest in people, but the methods were somewhat difficult to understand.
"Ruri!" The boy was running around very happily, sweating from head to toe. You made a face of disgust and focused on making paper, glue, and destroying seashells. "What the heck happened here? We were only gone for four days." He couldn't believe how similar the inside of the village looked to the outside with Senku.
"Oh." She seemed shyer with the boy around. You picked up on it immediately and smiled, planning your next move. "The priestess asked us for help making some things, and since Kaseki is busy with you guys, she requested as many people in the village as possible."
"Chrome!" Kohaku, the strongest woman of all time, according to your observations. Was also approaching at great speed. "You came running to see Ruri and took the things from the lab. Senku says you can't run with that or you'll drop it and kill someone. Your love for Ruri will cost us dearly if that happens."
They both felt embarrassed. A romantic cliché that made you laugh; it was the kind of things your sister loved. He tried to excuse himself in the most clumsy way possible, claiming that his only intention was to supervise Ruri's mysterious curse. Bacterial pneumonia. You diagnosed it after a few hours with her.
"Look at this, Ruri! Sulfuric acid is terrible. This will help us find the medicine for your illness." As soon as you heard that, you turned around and snatched the bottle he was showing.
Before anyone could say anything, you raised your hand to silence them. Your smile was one of genuine excitement and pleasure at seeing one of your old friends. Deadly chemicals. How you missed them, the hours in the lab surrounded by time bombs that could explode, burn you, or melt your very skin. There was nothing better in the world.
You didn't wait for them to talk; you simply decided that bottle belonged to you now. You took one of the sheets the villagers had made for you and carved a message with a charcoal stone, hoping whoever received it would understand English. When you finished writing, you passed the paper to Chrome and smiled like Lilian taught you.
Like an angel.
"Chrome, your Saint asks you to take this message to Senku, the one who calls himself a scientist. Your appearance mesmerized the three of them." You knew how to use your cards well. So well that for a few seconds they ignored your unpaid workers behind you. "And tell him that I know how to speak Japanese, but his writing system always gave me a headache." False. You knew japanese in all.
You ended the conversation with them like that. If that Senku was producing medicine for Ruri, then you could focus on other things. Planning new goals and checking out possible strategies in the village. Starting the world from scratch, your fantasy a reality.
"Come on, priestess, you still have a lot to tell me." The three of them hunched over, their attitude somewhat... unusual.
"Are all sorcerers like this?" Kohaku immediately thought of Senku. They were both equally confident and cruel in their use of science.