Regnum Aetern: Dual Rebirth

After finishing all his tests, Adrian fed the baby serpent some raw meat and put it back into the wooden box.

The academy city provided regular holidays called rest days. They were primarily to rest the body, since it was necessary for proper muscle growth. But of course, it would complicate things if only the students doing physical activities got these rest days, so it was given to all students.

Today was such a day, so there weren't any lectures for him to attend.

Lying on his bed and looking at the ceiling, Adrian let out a sigh.

'It seems I have to do something now. I can't just let things go on forever.'

There was something he had been delaying for days now, but he didn't think it was a good idea to delay it more.

Getting out of bed, Adrian left his room and turned his attention to the room right next to his own.

It was Evangeline's room.

Adrian knocked on the door.

"Evangel, I believe it is time that we talk."

He waited for a bit, but there was no reply, so he knocked on the door again.

"I want to talk to you, Evangel, so open the door."

But there was no reply this time either.

Adrian clenched his fist.

'By sensing her presence, I have a general idea of her location, so I'm certain that she isn't sleeping and is sitting close to the door, which means that she can hear my voice clearly. Ugh, I really didn't want to resort to this.'

Adrian placed his hand in the middle of the door and gave it a light push. Under the weight of his Phase Four strength, the lock instantly shattered, and the door opened.

Evangeline was sitting on the floor near the door, looking into empty space with a lost gaze.

Adrian grabbed her by her wrist and lifted her up. He looked straight into her eyes and asked.

"Just how long are you going to continue this? At least tell me why you are like this. I know that something happened during the time you were separated from us in the castle, and that is the reason you are like this, but whatever it was, you need to move on."

She briefly met his gaze before lowering her head. After a few moments of silence, she muttered in a barely audible voice.

"You wouldn't… get it, Adi."

He frowned.

"And how can you know that? You didn't make any effort to communicate, yet this is what you have to say when I am trying to help you?"

He knew that Evangeline was not like him. She didn't have something ‌like immutable that could numb her emotions. Moreover, she was just a girl in her teens. So he had given her time to sort things out, but she still seemed to be wallowing in misery.

Adrian grabbed her shoulders.

"Just tell me why you are like this. I can't help you without knowing anything."

There was another pause for a few moments, then Evangeline gritted her teeth as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"I-I… I lost a dear friend back there."

Adrian furrowed his brow in confusion.

'Lost a friend? That… doesn't make any sense.'

Was she saying that she made friends with someone during the time she was separated from the team? But that was not possible.

There should not have been anyone on that island, so who could she have made friends with? And in case there really was someone, how could she get attached to that individual to this degree in such a short amount of time?

It was absolutely impossible, no matter how much he thought about it.

'The only way I can make sense of the situation is that she was trapped in some sort of illusion and is still unable to distinguish it from reality. She must think that all those events in her memory are really true.'

Of course, there were several other possibilities, since this was a world of magic where anything could happen. Still, the possibility that it was all an illusion was the most likely.

'But I can't just tell her that. There is no way she is going to listen to me in her current state.'

Just looking at her was enough for him to surmise that she was not going to tell him any more than that.

After thinking for a bit, Adrian took a deep breath and spoke to her in a gentle tone.

"Okay, I understand that you have lost a friend. It must be hard on you; their memories must be haunting you every moment. But Evangel, you need to move on. Life isn't going to wait for you. It isn't going to wait for anyone. They are already gone, but you are still here—"

"I can't." She cut him off with her weak voice. "It's not possible for me, especially after seeing Lilias's expression during her last moments."

'Lilias, huh? At least now I have a name for this illusory friend.'

He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You still need to move on."

He could see her clenching her teeth with a frustrated expression on her face. Then she raised her head and looked into his eyes.

"Adi, you have been friends with Ravian ever since you were little, right? If something were to happen to him, then would you be able to move on?"

She looked at him intently, clearly wanting an answer.

Adrian pondered.

'How would I react if something happened to Ravian?'

He tried to imagine such a scenario, but the answer remained the same. Maybe it was because of immutable or maybe Adrian had not gotten that close to him, but…

"I might feel sad for one day, but I am certain that I will leave it all behind the next day and move forward—"

"No!" Evangeline suddenly raised her voice. "You are lying! There is no way you would be able to move on after sharing so many memories together. You are just saying that for the sake of convincing me!"

He spoke firmly.

"I am not lying."

His words made her pause. He could see her eyes shaking. And then she asked in a barely audible voice.

"What if… it was me instead? What if something were to happen to me?"

He sighed.

"My answer remains the same. Even if it were you, I would still move on the next day."

Moving on was important. Adrian had learned that well in his previous life.

Despite the place his grandmother held in his heart, he had still moved on in the end after she passed away. Compared to that, who were Ravian and Evangeline?

Evangeline's expression twisted as she heard his answer. She had an expression as if she had been betrayed.

A tense silence filled the room as she lowered her head.

And then…

"Adi, I didn't expect this from you… In the five years you were gone, I had never been able to move on. But even after everything we have been through together, to think you would say that…"

She clenched her fists and shouted.

"Get out!"

Adrian remained still, and he stared at her silently.

⪡"Did you not hear me? I told you to get out of my room!"⪢

Adrian still didn't react to her shout. But for some reason, he briefly felt a strange sensation over his body that went away the next moment.

Evangeline suddenly pulled back her fist, as if about to throw a punch at him. Seeing that, Adrian calmly raised one hand to block her attack.

But as her fist struck his hand—

"Guh-?!"

The impact flung him backward through the doorway, and his back collided with the walls of the dormitory corridor.

"Ugh… What was that?"

The force behind her punch was far greater than he had imagined.

Evangeline walked forward and closed the door, covering it with a layer of stone moments later.

Adrian paused.

"Don't tell me… did she also reach Phase Four like me?"

***

Evangeline lay down on the bed and buried her face in the pillow.

She let out a weak murmur.

"Why…?"

Evangeline hadn't yet made many connections in this new life. And the number of people she held dear was even smaller.

There were her parents. She loved them as much as she had loved her family in her previous life. She knew that they would be willing to do anything for her, and the same was true for Evangeline.

And then there was Adrian. They had been together since childhood and shared a lot of memories. To her, he was as important to her as her own family.

'I had thought… that he felt the same way…'

Adrian had been an insensitive person even during his childhood. But still… to think he would say that to her…

Suddenly, the memories of Lilias's last moments came to her mind. Bringing back a familiar ache in her chest.

The image of the girl's expression twisted in despair was still vivid in Evangeline's memories.

There was something else she could recall perfectly as well. Those were Lilias's last words before she disappeared into nothingness.

Evangeline muttered unconsciously.

"Avaritia…"

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