Clues about reincarnation. If I think about what I’ve known and guessed so far, I could say it’s not much.
Well, that’s because I haven’t thought deeply about it.
It’s simply that a miracle that makes time go back, allowing me to try everything I’ve done again, has reached me. I treated it as just such an opportunity.
Why does reincarnation happen? Why does time specifically take me back to a summer day when I was twenty?
I could have returned right before I died, or maybe even to when everything began, back to my childhood.
If that’s the case, I could have contemplated more with more time and wrapped everything up in a few reincarnations.
But why go back to a summer day when I was twenty, to a rather difficult time when my actions were restricted? I had started to wonder about that not too long ago.
Even when looking for relics, I couldn’t find any information about the Moon Stone.
Like it never existed, traces of the Moon Stone had been erased from all over the world.
From that question arose, awkward parts intertwined and brought me here.
What the characters written on the walls of this ruin mean is very simple.
It’s simple, but it resolves a considerable part of the questions I’ve held onto so far.
[The incompetent goddess couldn’t interfere with time, so she couldn’t do anything about the great dragon hiding in the twisted time.]
“So what remains is residual thought.”
Though it’s known as a seal, the mural shows that the Dead Dragon was split into two.
If we were to nitpick, it was divided into mind and body, and what’s said to be sealed is the body of the Dead Dragon.
As time passed, the residual thoughts that lost power simply didn’t exist from the start.
I had merely been under the illusion that they had weakened; the residual thoughts were still there, holding their power.
My hand moving along the mural became more frantic.
The speed of reading the letters, and the pace of understanding and absorbing it into my mind, were gradually increasing.
It required a lot of knowledge to comprehend all this and make it my own.
It was a moment to gather the information about the Dead Dragon that I learned through Arwen.
Once again, my eyes widened as they read the mural.
I already knew that reversing time was the ability of the Dead Dragon. But I didn’t think much of it.
If it was a relic containing the power of a god, I assumed the Moon Goddess could also make it capable of repeating reincarnation.
However, this mural firmly denied that.
The Moon Goddess cannot interfere with time. The only being able to manipulate twisted time is the Dead Dragon.
In short, it meant that this relic known as the Moon Stone was not created by the Moon Goddess.
“…Then.”
The outstretched hand pointed to a mural depicting a dragon hidden within time.
What the dragon, stripped of its body, intended to do was quite simple. To reclaim its own physical form.
After regaining its body, would it not have to shatter this world created by the Moon Goddess?
But searching for its body in the twisted time was no easy task.
[Time is such a complex concept, and the great dragon hidden within that concept sought a way to reclaim its body. A body that could accept its own mind, one that could withstand the process of accepting its own consciousness. A body close to sentience, if possible.]
When recalling sentient beings existing in the world, there are the Non-Human Races and Humans.
So, would it try to make contact with the Non-Human Races? The answer to that question lay in the content depicted in the next mural.
The dragons that emerged from within time faced opponents from the Non-Human Races—all had perished,
And thus, the drawing showed those who had been driven away fleeing into a vast forest.
At the sight of the great forest, I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
The forest inhabited by the Non-Human Races, which would be in the southern region of the Empire.
Isn’t it said that the great forest, commonly referred to as the center of the continent, was the homeland of the Non-Human Races?
[The dragon killed all who opposed it. The frightened Non-Human Races fled into the forest in search of survival, and that great woodland would, for a long time, become their homeland.]
It’s a statement that seemed to foresee the future, but it was quite close to the truth. Even now, a thousand years after the dead dragon’s disappearance, haven’t the Non-Human Races remained there? Even though they briefly lost their place when the Empire flourished, that forest has always belonged to the Non-Human Races.
Since the Non-Human Races rejected the dragon, I thought that the next body it sought would likely be that of a Human.
There is but one sentient being capable of accepting the dragon’s mind that transcends time.
I paused my thoughts for a moment and wiped my face.
Before I knew it, Adele, who had approached beside me, was staring at me intently.
It seemed she had realized that I was reading these words.
Even if she didn’t understand the content, she must have already grasped that it was something serious.
“I’ll read a bit more…”
“Suit yourself. Since it looks serious.”
My hand moved on to touch another mural.
The letters were slightly blurred, but the meaning conveyed by the images and text was, as I anticipated, that the dragon was making contact with humans.
Humans found the existence of dragons intriguing, and did not reject the dragon that opposed all beings including gods.
In fact, isn’t there a mere 10% of the Empire that does not worship the Moon Goddess?
Adele, who had been observing the humans favorably towards the dragon, parted her lips.
“Are they together with the dragon?”
“I don’t have enough clues to explain in detail yet, but yes. You can see it that way. It’s a story about reincarnation.”
“Yes. You could say it’s a story about reincarnation.”
Adele frowned at the word ‘reincarnation.’
She knew that if I died, time would turn back.
Perhaps it was awkward for her to talk about such things directly, as she cleared her throat several times before cautiously continuing.
“If we’re talking about reincarnation, then you’re referring to what you’re experiencing.”
“I’d say that’s an explanation, but… it seems a lot is different.”
The subject of reincarnation is neither the Moon Goddess nor myself. Then who is the one that created the Moon Stone?
Naturally, that thought led to the Dead Dragon.
The only being capable of interfering with time. Unless this mural is distorted,
the only conclusion I could draw from this ruin, which still resonates with the Moon Stone, is one.
The Dead Dragon created the Moon Stone. I’m living within the repeating time fashioned by the Dead Dragon.
Why, though? Just as those questions began to swirl in my mind, I soon realized that the content of the mural had come to an end.
To be precise, it had been erased. It wasn’t that someone erased it, but rather, the drawings faded away after failing to withstand the passage of time.
The blurry letters that remained certainly mentioned time, but there was definitely a lack of information.
If I wanted to find out more about this place, I would probably need to seek the Order’s help.
If not that, I might need Adele’s assistance.
At least at this point, she would know more about the Dead Dragon than anyone else.
She might not have visited this northern ruin either, so perhaps her research could greatly benefit this ruin.
“Have you found anything?”
I shrugged under her steady gaze.
If she was asking whether I found anything, then technically I did find something, but in truth, my questions only multiplied, and I didn’t find anything concrete.
The one thing I did discover was that the Moon Stone might belong to the Dead Dragon.
My reincarnation is intentional.
It means this reincarnation isn’t just about me; it’s thoroughly infused with the Dead Dragon’s intentions to reclaim its own body within the twisted time.
Even if I tried to think positively about it, there wasn’t much to be cheerful about. Still, I forced a smile.
As long as I was with Adele, I didn’t want to show any signs of confusion…
“Do you think it would look okay if you smiled like that?”
Yet, her words cut right through me, and my lips twisted into a strange shape.
I tried to hide it, but was it that obvious? Adele blinked at me, then let out a small sigh.
She let out a small breath.
Mumbling that she regretted coming to the ruin, she approached me and took my hand before speaking.
“I’m sorry. For bringing you here.”
“…You don’t need to apologize. It’s something for me to think about.”
“Then I should be even more sorry. If it’s something for you to think about, then I should think about it too.”
In that moment, I didn’t understand the meaning of her words, but then I did and quietly stared at Adele.
Even after saying such things, there was not a hint of embarrassment on her face.
Rather, she seemed so natural about it that it was I who felt flustered.
“I don’t want to hear you say it’s a secret anymore. While recalling the time we’ve spent together, I thought about it, and there shouldn’t be any secrets between us. You and I.”
“I’m not trying to keep it a secret—”
“You’re just trying to bear it alone so I won’t worry. Don’t I know you? I do. I know what you’re thinking and what feelings you’re trying to hide from me.”
As Adele stepped closer, I didn’t back away. Instead, I stood still as if inviting her closer, and yet, she came nearer, bringing her lips close to my face.
The gap felt small enough that even a slight movement would result in contact.
Smiling a little at the sweet scent coming from her, I was met with her sly grin as she continued to speak.
“If you’re looking for something, this time I’ll follow too. It won’t change no matter what you say. If you want to try to stop me, go ahead. If you’re thinking of tying me up somewhere, go right ahead.”
“Why would I do that to Adele? It’s just that it’s dangerous. Don’t you know what the name Dead Dragon means?”
The Dead Dragon wasn’t simply related to me.
It was tied to the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince was involved with Adele’s death.
So, I wanted to move as far away from Adele as possible.
Even if it was something that had never happened before, just considering that slight possibility was painful.
Should I think this is unjust, knowing that she was killed by the Crown Prince?
No, I thought about it a bit differently.
Rather than an injustice, it was affection for me, which I understood better because I had some insight into her heart from her past life.
“You’ve never thought of yourself first. You said you didn’t want to tell me about the dangerous situation? I hate that even more. Just knowing you’re doing something dangerous irritates me more. So, this time I’m going with you, no matter what you say or how you try to stop me.”
With a determination in her eye reminiscent of a cold winter, the woman continued speaking.
“I’ve made up my mind.”
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