"A final parting gift!"

The ship gets pushed out to sea by the gentle west wind. Takashi's knees hit the deck. He clutches his head from the invisible blur running in his head. It finally settles with a long breath.

He quickly pats his torso and his eyes widen even more. No holes found on the left side of his ribs. He touches his left side and finds no holes and no wound. The tote bag is not stained with that weird golden blood.

Odysseus lays a hand on his shoulder. He turns abruptly to him.

"Are you alright?"

Taki latches onto Odysseus tightly. "Tell me this is real. That you're alive," he whispers with heavy tears flowing down his face.

Odysseus is puzzled, but he hugs him back.

"I'm here. I'm here," he speaks gently. Odysseus lets him cry to get it out of his system. Theo, Sander, and the others give them a respectful amount of space.

After a few moments, Takashi collects his thoughts. A strong thought gives him hope.

It worked. I jumped back through time! My plan worked!

Odysseus clutches his shoulders. "What happened to you?"

"I need to explain something first," he stands up. "I somehow have the power of time."

The crew glances at each other with raised eyebrows.

"I don't know how I got it, but it happened before I met all of you," Taki continues. He explains the incident of freezing the Cyclops who tried to eat him. With that same power, he saved Karisa back in Aeolia.

"...and I just jumped back from the future."

Murmurs and whispers spread among the crew. "Is it possible?"

"I'm telling the truth. We were using the bag of winds to hop our way home and we were forced between taking the narrow channel where Scylla and Charybdis were or going around the mountains."

Odysseus and some of the crew's ears perk up upon hearing those names. "W-what? But they can't be there. That's impossible!"

"Wait. What are those names?"

With heavy shoulders, the king of Ithaca describes those monsters. "Somehow things have changed. Let him finish."

"We took the long way around and we-"

The memory seizes his body up like a boa constrictor.

Sander steps forward. "We didn't make it?"

Takashi manages to nod his head. "I was the only survivor."

A blanket of dread falls upon the soldiers.

"But-But we took the safer route," Damian argues. "How did all of us die?"

"Poseidon stopped us."

The name of the deity rattles everyone to their core. A long pause of silence rests between them all.

"That seems impossible," Galen finally breaks the silence. "No human can wield such a power unless," he tilts his head. "Are you a demigod?"

"No. I'm human just like you."

"But how then can you do any of those time abilities? Could you prove it?"

Takashi points to the bag of winds. "I'm going to bring that down without moving from this spot."

"Show us," Theo smiles with amusement.

The foreigner clears his mind. "Stop."

His watch clicks and time freezes the ship, the water, and everyone on board. The same emerald shade colors the sky again. He looks at his watch and notices a large, visible crack on the face of it.

That wasn't there before. What could it mean? Let's save that for later. He retrieves the bag and stands in the same spot, letting time resume.

Everyone almost jumps back from his feat.

"What?! This is incredible!" Odysseus regains himself.

Takashi hands the bag over to a crew member so they can tie it back to the mast.

"So what you said about the 6 day skip to Aeolia was the result of your power?"

"I'm able to retain pieces of what transpired, but to everyone else it felt like 6 days."

"I-I'm sorry for doubting you," Galen apologizes.

"It's alright. Turning back time means we can avoid making the same mistake. I don't know what else I can do, but I'm going to push myself until I unlock everything. I won't let you down again."

The Ithacan king slaps his shoulder. "Men, we are going to prepare ourselves for the narrow passage!"

He relays the descriptions of the creatures with a stern warning to keep their ship between them.

The courage of Takashi and Odysseus uplift the men and they get to work.

"I'm going to see how long my pause ability works."

"Go for it!"

Takashi checks his wristwatch again and something else startles him. The time is the same when they left at 12pm, but the day has changed? It's saying Oct 11 the next day. He checks his phone which says the same. His right foot taps against the deck.

Does using that ability push me to the next day? If that's so...it needs to be a last resort. I can't continue worrying Penny and my family.

He takes out his cellphone and sets the timer on it. "Stop."

Time freezes and his watch clicks. He hits the button on the phone... Everything resumes and the timer is stopped.

3 minutes. That may not be enough. Let's try 4 minutes.

He repeats the process, but the timer still says 3 minutes at the end.

There has to be a way to augment this. Maybe I can work with what I have for now.

He pauses everything again to test something. Taki pokes Sander, but nothing happens to him.

He wraps his arms around the waist and drags him backward. Takashi grunts with a smile. He knows how he can outwit Scylla when she attacks the ship.

Is there a way to undo the pause? That I can resume when I want to?

He imagines everyone going back to normal. "Resume."

Nothing happens.

"Let's try: Start! Play!"

Everyone and everything goes back to normal. He checks the time and finds he was able to beat the clock.

Sander scratches his head. "Wait, wasn't I over there?"

"Sorry about that! Just testing something! What else am I capable of? Let's try something but on a smaller scale," he whispers to himself at the end.

He thinks about the exact words that Sander said. Reset is too big of an action for that. Wait! Could I jump further back? Before I was taken?!

He can then ditch the watch in a trash can and be with his family.

He clears his mind. Thinking of the feel of the chair. His wife when she was in labor. Hikari's face. His in-laws.

"Reset!"

He opens his eyes only to find disappointment. The watch only has the singular crack on the glass.

Why can't I jump back? Come on.

"Reset," he whispers. Nothing answers him. His right foot taps faster. A frightening thought whispers in his head.

The abductor could have placed a limit. They won't let me leave that easily.

He draws his shoulders back while clutching his evil eye necklace.

I will get everyone here back home. I will leave this place. I will kiss my bronze goddess.

His right foot finally settles down. A long exhale leaves his mouth.

"Rewind."

The watch clicks. Damian is pushing the rope instead of pulling. Theo is running in reverse.

"Stop. Play!"

"Wait, wasn't I over there?" Sander repeats while scratching.

Taki smirks from his expanded bag of tricks. His legs then buckle underneath him. He breathes as if he had just completed a short marathon.

Sander puts him on a barrel. "Are you alright?"

So the limit depends on my energy. "Maybe I need something to eat."

"Stay right here." He returns and hands him a roll to eat.

"Thanks," Taki breathes heavily before taking a bite. For now, I need to be wise about the timing. Is...there a possibility of me pushing past that limit?

After catching his breath and some food, he rests up to prepare for the narrow channel of smoke ahead. Meanwhile, the crew members put on their breastplates and wield their swords and shields for Scylla. Odysseus helps Takashi wear his armor properly so he can stand close to the rowers.

Damian takes control of the wheel to keep the ship steady in the center during the passage.

Unknown to them, a small flash of light appears.

Churning. The sound alerts them to the pincer point. The oars creak from the tightened grip.

Odysseus motions his men to stay quiet.

Takashi forces his right foot still. We will be okay. We will be okay, he repeats to his doubtful mind.

On the right side of the ship, numerous caves are visible.

Whimpering. The sound of puppies almost jolts the men out of their seats.

On the left side, a large whirlpool filled with rows of teeth suck up the leaves and fish that pass near its mouth.

We will be okay. We will-

It's too quick for Takashi and Odysseus to react in time as six men on the right side, including Theo, are plucked up by Scylla along with their screams.

"Stop!"

The foreigner's mouth drops from the sight of the monster. The bottom half of Scylla has misshapen dogs that lead down to her canine legs. Her strawberry blonde hair covering her face almost resembles the six elongated serpents from her naked hips. A fair skinned beauty that's decorated with the frozen blood droplets of the men.

Theo's head is separated by the sharp jaws of a snake while the intestines of another is in the middle of a strain. The jaws of the other snakes latch onto the legs and arms of the other four men.

Their dulled eyes are frozen in time.

Taki forces himself to swallow his vomit. "Rewind and Slow!"

The passage of time flows backwards, but almost sicken him from the intestines returning to their proper place.

"Stop!"

The six snakes are now within the striking distance of its potential victims.

Taki quickly grabs six bags of meat and stuffs it into each of the serpents' mouths. After that, he drags the targeted men out of range as a fail safe.

He calms his racing heart. "Play!"

Time plays out. Scylla's serpents strike and find their mouths filled with some choice meat. Thep pull and rip apart before Scylla jumps back into the cave.

"Row quickly!" Their king commands.

The men move back into position and row with all their might.

The caves and the whirlpool are now several yards behind them. Everyone lets out an exhale of relief while Takashi's stomach ejects his breakfast and dinner from last night on the side.

Galen gives him a pouch of mint water to clean his mouth. After swishing his mouth, he spits out the remaining bile to steady himself.

We made it, Taki. Let's breathe innnn and outtt, he thinks before looking up.

His eyes almost pop out. Where is the bag of winds?

Blood splatters

"Looking for this?" A voice startles them from the helm.

Takashi and the others spin to recognize the old man from Aeolia they helped. The sight of Damian's bloodied corpse under the trident makes their hearts jump.

Poseidon?!

Odysseus almost rushes up the stairs with his spear, but his feet warn him to stay away. "Y-You will answer for this!"

"Is that how you treat a god, Odysseus? Especially the one that controls these waters?" The deity crosses his arms in an indignant manner.

The implication forces the Ithacan king to lower his weapon. The horrible truth weighs down on the crew for the first time, but for Takashi, this is the second time. His right foot taps quickly while his mind tries to formulate a plan.

"No matter," Poseidon pulls from his back the bag of winds and loosens the cord. The strong gust pushes the ship backwards. Splinters of wood scatter from the ship scraping the mountainside. Charybdis' hungry mouth awaits the vessel with eagerness.

"Rewind and slow!"

The winds fly back to their origin while the damage to the ship is coming undone. While the men act in reverse, Takashi runs up to the helm with shield and sword in hand. He thrusts forward with his shield, but it bounces off the sea god's invulnerable body.

Within a blink of an eye, Poseidon grabs his trident and runs it through the breastplate. The foreigner feels the weapon close to his beating heart. A wince of pain leaves his lips as the weapon pins him down to the wood. Time resumes against his will from the trident slicing off his right arm. His screams bring joy to the malevolent Earthshaker.

The deity reopens the bag to end it all. The back of the ship is torn to pieces from the carnivorous beast below. Takashi sees the monster's rows of teeth. There is nothing but pitch black.

"RESET!"

His watch cracks again.

----

"A final parting gift!"

Aeolus' face appears in the form of a large cloud which blows the ship out to sea.

Takashi clutches his head as the memories of the two resets settle inside him. He sinks to his knees from reliving the loss of his right arm.

"Taki, are you okay?!" Odysseus holds his shoulders.

The pieces finally fall into place. His heart returns to its natural rhythm. His vision becomes as clear as the morning sky.

Taki checks the watch to find another crack on it along with the new date of October 12th.

His mind brings up a final image of the last reset. The terrible mouth of Charybdis forces him to scream.