“Reset...” Kilama and Magan were shocked. They apparently hadn’t known about this.
“Although I reset the timeline, I could not change my fate to take that soul in. That was when I had the idea to take a soul from his land that understood the inner workings of this unruly soul to counter it. I selected a just-deceased soul whose frequency matched that of my land and placed it in the body of one of my beloved people, Serephione. Serephione’s life had been the most altered by Maribelle. If not for Maribelle, Serephione would have been destined to rule as queen and bring stability to the kingdom. This time around, you, Serephione, nearly died along with your mother just after being born, as if you were remembering your past fate and despairing. Between the flawless bloodline you were born into from this world and the kind soul you had brought from the other world, I felt that it was fate that the two should come together. The two beings melded together with no opposition, and I deliberately left memories from both past lives to guide you. I believed that you could return this world to its rightful state.”
That makes me...like an antivirus program...
I wasn’t particularly angry. It was too late for that. However I’d come about, I was still me, the same me who’d tried so hard to live a good life for all these years. If anything, I felt relieved after having my questions answered.
“However...this time was also a failure. The influence of the god from the other world was stronger than I’d anticipated. It could be due to strong faith, or a matter of population... Serephione, your efforts remained unrewarded in your second life as well as your first...”
So I really did have two past lives...one on Earth, and one as Serephione. Neither one was fictional. I have a question, in that case!
“What does it mean that this world is similar to a book on Earth called Wild Rose? Maribelle seemed to be acting arrogantly because she thought things would play out as they did in that book, due to the resemblance.”
The goddess slowly shook her head. “I don’t know. Although it is beyond human knowledge, there are countless parallel worlds in the realm of the gods. It could be that my world happened to resemble Wild Rose, which inspired the god to reach out to me...or perhaps the person who wrote this book of prophecy was aware of my world. From what I have heard, the reason Maribelle caused such trouble is because she was convinced that this is the same world as that of Wild Rose.”
That makes sense... If people can reincarnate from Earth into this world, then it’s possible that people could reincarnate onto Earth from here.
The god from Earth had tried to make the events of this world go like Wild Rose, since that was what his darling Maribelle wanted. That meant that Autopilot only worked on characters from the book because Maribelle was so focused on the plot and didn’t express interest in anything else. That had been more than enough victims, though.
“But Maribelle destroyed her own life. Nobody antagonized her in this world, so she did whatever she wanted under others’ protection and ended up unable to move from her own curses backfiring on her.”
“Yes, it is precisely because she brought about her own demise despite her fortunate reincarnation that the god of that world couldn’t interfere. I have more than fulfilled my promise to him. If he is not happy with this ending, he can simply take her back.”
“And Judore may have been damaged, but Gil is going to be king. As for Trundle, I’m sure my grandmother will wake up and rally everyone. The world didn’t fall apart this time. Doesn’t that mean the timeline reset was a success?”
It would take time, but the people of this world would work together to rebuild, and peace would come again, especially since Gil, my grandmother, and Gillain were at the top...although I wouldn’t be there.
“But you’ve been hurt so badly, Sere.” Kilama screwed up her face in pain, her voice sad.
“You have carried the fate of my land on your own from a young age and fought against Maribelle. As the goddess of this world, I cannot call a timeline where you were sacrificed a success.”
“Are you...?” Magan gave the goddess a doubtful look.
“I am going to reset the timeline again. This time made for a good sample. Next time, if she doesn’t understand that this world is not Wild Rose, I will lead her to bring herself to ruin before she harms my land. What would you like for yourself? Would you like a quiet life in a small, isolated village far from Judore? Or should I return you to the other god’s world?”
Another reset?
So everything will go back to when Maribelle was reincarnated...before I was born?
I don’t know... I definitely didn’t come out unscathed, but I finally was able to see a bright future without Maribelle’s shadow looming over it. And there’s no guarantee that the next time will be any better, even if she does have a sample...
And does that mean my entire life will be erased back to a blank slate? After all that suffering and training I went through with Lou to make it to this point? Right, Lou!
I hastily stood up. “Goddess, Lou and Asu and Miyu and everyone fought Terl for my sake! Please, don’t punish them! I’ll take responsibility for everything they did!”
“Whatever reasons they may have had, a taboo is a taboo... Why do you want to take on their misdeeds?” Magan peered at me from behind with his gray eyes.
“Because...Lou and I are one and the same!”
“Even after you died?”
Am I not allowed to speak on Lou once I die?! Can’t we still be one and the same?
“Even in death...Lou is my other half. I’ll shoulder his misdeeds with him. You can give me any punishment you have to! Please...let Lou and Asu and Miyu live peacefully...”
They should have been able to live as just members of the four holy beasts, but they went through so much for my sake...
“Sere... Do you really think they can live peacefully without you? A holy beast whose contractor has died is a sorry thing to see...” Kilama looked into the distance as if she may have had a painful separation in her past.
Asu had said that if a holy beast’s contractor died when it wasn’t the will of the gods, it meant the loss of the holy beast’s soul. I didn’t know what loss meant... Would Lou and Miyu disappear in despair after losing me?