Time

Nine

Third person's view

The brunet said Goodbye to the nice family he stayed at for the night, them finding him completely out cold under a pile of snow. They were just coming back home from their trip when they noticed a rather large snow bank on the side of the road.  Thankfully,  they didn't run him over.  That would've been a disaster.

Karl felt grateful when he woke up on a couch near a lit fireplace,  the heat from the fire radiating off to him which satisfied him after almost having frostbite. He was alone for a few moments before he heard footsteps coming down from the stairs,  seeing two people that looked rather concerned for his health.  They were ecstactic to see him awake and well, making him some soup and talking to him,  asking why he was out in the snow.  They thought he was homeless and even offered to let him stay in their house,  but he politely refused,  nervously laughing as he scratches the back of his head with a goofy grin plastered on his face.  He was overwhelmed with the kindness.

The hospitality that he got from the family reminded him of home back in the present,  making him yearn to be back in the nice cozy house him and his fiance's owned. They were so nice that he was almost doubtful that they were humans.

With one last reluctant goodbye from him to the couple,  he left, walking forwards to nowhere in particular.  He wasn't entirely sure why he's here,  so he'd rather find his purpose than to sit and wait.

The time traveller walked for miles, thankfully being in a small town that had bustling people walking around.  The place looked much livelier than last night,  a big contrast to it that made his mood better than yesterday.

He was still confused on why he was here and he wasn't allowed to go back to his own time when he still had a purpose to do,  it was a rule. Most of the time, his purpose was to find his friends and help them with their problems or what they desired, but his friends was nowhere to be found, confusing him a whole lot as he usually spawns somewhere near them.

Everything was different at this moment and the brunet had no answer as to why it was different or why he was here.  He just was.

His gaze caught sight of a small library that seemed empty for today,  everyone opting to just walk around with their friends and passing by countless stalls that stood together. Karl was enraptured by books,  wanting to be an author himself one day and writing about the adventures he had while time travelling.  It was his dream.

He smiled and entered the door,  hearing a bell chime from above him.  He greeted the man that was behind the counter, reading a newspaper and started to walk around the library,  checking for any books that might interest him.

The tall bookshelves surrounded him as he plucked a book from its place, opening it to read the first chapter of the book.  He stayed there for a few moments, completely reading the words and looking between the lines for the real meanings and emotions behind every word.

He sighed contently as he places the book back on its respective shelf,  moving to another area of the library. His hands hovered over the spines of the books as he searched for another book to read before he spotted an empty place that overlooked the next aisle. His eyes widened as he saw who it was.

The green cloaked man.

The god.

He sucked in a breath as he saw him,  reading a book as he leaned on the bookshelf behind him lightly. There seems to be news inside that book that greatly distraught him as he seems to be stuck on one page even after an hour has passed. He doubted that the God was a slow reader since he knew that he wasn't after he saw him read through Henry's notepad in mere seconds.

So, what was in the book that greatly interested the God?

He squinted his eyes and looked at the title,  seeing it was some sort of history book. Why would he be reading a history book?

"I know you're there." A hushed voice said that made him jolt so suddenly.  The man the voice belonged to looked up from his book and straight at his eyes, keeping his gaze as the other only coughed out awkwardly.

"Uh... Hi?" He chucked out, going to the other side of the bookshelf where the other stood. The god only nodded his head as he gave the book to him.

He wordlessly took the book and read the page the God stared at for an hour, eyes skimming through the letters to see what hid behind the page.

His eyes widened once more as he read out a name, "Henry" being the first name of the deceased. It showed a picture of the journalist both saw at the ballroom, smiling widely for the camera.

Both were distraught by the news,  finding it completely unfair that he died so soon.

The time traveller gave the book back to the God who only closed the book and placed it on the slot that was empty earlier.

"You... You knew I was gonna be here... Right?" The time traveller asked, keeping his gaze down to the floor as he watches the feet of the figure across him shift slightly.

"Well,  not precisely.  I knew you'd be in this time. I just didn't know which place you'd be in when you get here." The god explained, keeping a far distance from between them.

"Oh."

Silence lingered between them once more as they both processed the news of their friend's death.

"Why are you here?"

The god merely looked up at him as he crossed his arms.

"We'll be meeting someone here later."

"What?"

"You heard me."

He was cryptic,  that was for sure.  It disturbed the time traveller,  but he disregarded it as he knew the masked man liked being mysterious even before hand.

It just was like him.

The time traveller only shook his head and waited with him, mumbling something about the other being too cryptic for his mental health.