The man looked at Asta with a slight squint, but otherwise continued to say nothing. Devoid of magic, he possessed something else—an oppressive, almost ominous aura that seemed to repel all forms of magic. Obviously, Asta couldn't sense any of this, except for the fact that the man's ki was not hostile. If anything, his ki was just… sad. So without a hint of hesitation, he asked,

"Who are ya, old man?"

The man opened his mouth in response, his voice coming out smooth and gravelly.

"I'm…" He closed his eyes as he paused, held his breath for a second, and breathed out sharply.

"I… actually really shouldn't be here. Sorry for disturbing you guys." The man stood up in a hurry, preparing to leave, almost as if he were running away.

To Noelle, the resemblance between the two really was uncanny. The man even had Asta's eyes—and if there was one thing she knew best, it was the look of his eyes. Admittedly, she did sense that something fishy was going on, but Noelle had never been one to listen much to her head when it involved situations concerning Asta. She started to say something, but instead, Vanessa was the one to break the silence.

"Hey, you can't just walk in here and leave like nothing happened! Who the hell are you?"

The man stopped, turning around to look at the stairwell where Vanessa stood.

"Don't wor-" The man's bright green eyes widened as he saw the person standing next to Vanessa.

"Noelle?"

Upon seeing the pain in the unknown but strangely familiar man's eyes who stood in front of her, Noelle's chest tightened. She knew exactly who he was. It seemed impossible, but she knew it was true. She just had to make sure.

"How do you know my name?" Noelle's voice quivered with an indescribable feeling that wasn't quite fear, but something else entirely.

The man hesitated, his gaze locked onto Noelle's eyes. His eyes, so familiar and yet different, held a mixture of emotions that Noelle couldn't quite decipher. There was sadness, relief… and longing? But this was enough for Noelle.

"...Asta?"

A pause. A deafening silence, even more suffocating than the first, reverberated throughout the room until the man replied.

"No." The man directed his gaze towards the floor, his slight smile seeming almost sad, and to everyone's surprise, disappeared from the room with a black flash.

Noelle stood there, frozen in a whirlwind of emotions. The encounter had left her heart pounding, her mind racing to process what had just happened. Vanessa broke the silence, her voice laced with concern.

"Noelle, are you alright?"

Noelle swallowed hard, her eyes still fixated on the spot where the man—Asta?—had been just moments ago. She let out a shaky breath before finally turning to Vanessa.

"I... I don't know, Vanessa. That was... That was Asta, but at the same time, it wasn't."

Asta, who was still sitting at the dinner table, made a confused expression, his brow furrowing in disbelief.

"That… was me? How does that make sense? He was so… tall."

Noelle's gaze shifted from the space where the mysterious man had vanished to the very real Asta before her. Her mind was a storm of conflicting thoughts and emotions, struggling to grasp the bizarre situation that had just unfolded.

Before Noelle could say anything though, Yami, who was sitting at the bar, laughed loudly in response to Asta's observation.

"Hahahaha, that's what you're surprised about? Well I guess he certainly wasn't a runt like you, but I'd say that's the least weird part about this whole thing. That sword on his back? It was one of mine. I'd recognize that thing anywhere."

"But I've never even touched one of your swords," Asta scratched his head.

Yami continued to laugh.

"Exactly. I'd never let you. They cut well, but they're pretty fragile. And expensive. I can't have you drilling a hole into my bank account like that. I already do enough of that myself."

Yami's joke(?) was only met with silence and the sound of Vanessa and Finral, who were deeply aware of their captain's gambling problem, sighing in disappointment.

"Come on guys, least you could do is laugh a little. Geez, tough crowd," Yami then adopted a more serious tone. "Anyway, Noelle."

Noelle, who was still deep in thought, jumped up in surprise as her name was called.

"Y-yes?"

"How were you so sure that the big man was Asta, anyway?"

Noelle's gaze shifted around the room as everyone's attention focused on her, Yami's question hanging in the air like a challenge. She took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts.

"I... I can't explain it, sir," Noelle began, her voice uncertain. "It was more than just his appearance or the fact that he had no magic. I-it's- uh…"

Noelle paused. The words she was about to say- the fact that she could recognize Asta's eyes anywhere- would expose her feelings in a way she wasn't quite prepared for. She glanced at Asta, who was watching her with a mix of curiosity and concern, and then back at the expectant faces around her. She realized that she couldn't hold back now, not when the truth was so close to the surface.

"It's his eyes," Noelle finally admitted, her voice soft but unwavering. "Asta's eyes are... unique. I've looked into them countless times, and I could recognize them anywhere. There's something in them that's a part of him, something that no one else has."

Asta's eyes widened at Noelle's confession, and a warm smile tugged at the corner of his lips. But knowing him, though, he had again misunderstood Noelle's words as a confession of platonic friendship. Yami, on the other hand, leaned back against the bar with a knowing smirk.

"Well, well, well, never knew Little Miss Royalty had such a flair for the dramatic."

Vanessa snickered at Yami's remark.

Noelle felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment, but she held her ground. "It's not about being dramatic. I may not have all the answers, but I trust what I felt."

"No, no. I believe you, Noelle." Yami pointed at Asta, "I'm sure the kid does, too."

Noelle's embarrassment deepened as Yami's playful teasing continued. She stole a quick glance at Asta, who was now wearing a slightly puzzled expression. It was clear that he still hadn't quite caught on to the underlying implications of Noelle's words. She wished she could find a way to clarify without making the situation even more awkward.

Asta scratched his head, his confusion evident. "Wait, what? I mean, yeah, I trust Noelle. She's my friend."

Yami's knowing smirk only grew wider. "Oh, kid, you're missing the point here."

Noelle's cheeks reddened even more at the playful banter, and she shot a gentle glare at Yami. "Can we please focus on the matter at hand?"

Yami chuckled and raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. Let's get back on track. So, if that big man actually was Asta- How?"

"Time travel?", Zora, who had until then been hiding somewhere, jumped down and chimed in, "Wizard King's got time magic. With enough mana, it's theoretically possible. But you'd need a totally crazy amount, though."

"Dude, where were you this whole time?", Magna, still without his glasses, responded, "But yeah, you've got a point. The man we saw, assuming that he was Asta, was a lot older. Looked about the captain's age."

"So you're saying that the Wizard King, for some reason, sent Asta back in time for something?", Vanessa asked.

Zora nodded in response, his tone of voice certain. "Yup. It seems like the most probable explanation to me, at least. I mean… shit, did you see how he looked at you guys? It's like he was standing in a room full of ghosts."

Finral chuckled nervously.

"Now now, don't say that, that makes it sound like we're all gonna die or something…"

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

To this, the room went completely silent.

In the forest, the large man was sitting under a tree, his grimoire, surrounded by a dark red glow, floating out in front of him.

"I told you it was a bad idea.", said a voice, seeming to come from nowhere.

The man sighed. "I know. I just… couldn't help it. They were-"

"Alive? Yep, they sure were. And was it seriously worth all… THIS trouble to confirm something so fucking obvious?"

"...Ugh, Liebe, I just wanted… I just needed to see-"

"I know, Asta. You've been dying to see them again. I have too. But you'll get all the time you'd ever want after we fix this mess."

The man—Asta—smiled, but a hint of sadness from his voice.

"He will, but I won't."

"Shit. You've got me there," Liebe sighed in response.

Asta slouched, bringing his knees closer to his body, making a somewhat complicated expression. The tree bark felt like it was digging into his back, even behind all of his layers.

"Well, you were able to see Noelle again, no?", said Liebe in an effort to break the awkward silence between him and Asta.

"I guess," Asta frowned.

"Not happy?"

Asta paused to think for a second, and then replied,

"I don't... know."

As he replied, a single tear silently rolled down his left cheek, glistening in the moonlight as it fell, the rest of his face obscured in shadow. He closed his grimoire and put it away. After a while more under the tree, he fell into a dreamless sleep.

Asta woke to the sound of flapping wings. He sat up and looked around, but saw nothing. It was still dark out, after all. Annoyed, he laid back down and tried to fall asleep.

"...Who are you?"

The man shot up, now standing, ready, facing towards the source of the voice. It was a girl's voice, and her ki was incredibly familiar. He sighed, standing down. It had to be Nero.

The girl came out from the shadow of the trees. It was indeed Nero.

"Why do you seem so relaxed suddenly? You do realize that you're trespassing, right?", she asked with her trademark tone, trying to sound threatening, but Asta smiled softly and said nothing in response.

Nero sighed, "I don't know who or what you are, but you need to answer my question. Who are you and wh-" Nero paused, seeming to realize something, her eyes widening.

"That grimoire... Asta... is that you?"

Author's note:

Well, that was Chapter 2. Chapter 2 sees the most changes compared to the original story.

That's because this chapter was when I wrote myself into a corner /

Well, don't forget to follow and leave a review! It gives me an ego boost.