Chapter 97

Seeing the confused and conflicted expression I was making, Ellie relaxed a little, though the disappointment on her face was clear. "It's fine if you don't. Your plate is  so similar to hers that I couldn't help but ask. The Aspect Skills I gave you belonged to her, she had me take a single level from hers, and told me to pass them on to whoever I wanted. I had a little hope that you might have known what had happened to her."

The feeling that I should be familiar with the name kept nagging me, before a collection of still memories ran through my head, almost as if they were photographs of a flip book flying across my vision, each accompanied by their respective emotions. The first was from the point of view of what I could only assume was an Elven child playing with a girl that looked to be the same size, inside what I imagined an Elven village might look like. The warm feeling of pure joy and fun coursed through me as similar scenes passed through, until it was replaced with fear.

A scene where the person in the memory was clinging to a slightly older version of the child I'd seen earlier, a small crack shined with light that showed dark boots stepping over it as more scenes passed by until the feeling shifted to relief, followed soon by anger and hate as the person in the memory found themselves the only survivor besides the girl who was holding their hand.

The scenes began passing faster and faster until a final scene, though unlike the stills I'd been seeing up until now this one was completely intact. The person in the memory was steadily walking down a dirt path away from a small town. They suddenly stopped as their name rang out from a woman. "Vell, don't leave! Take me with you!"

It was strange to hear my name called out, but I had figured this was from one of the seventeen whose memories I had yet to see and this confirmed it. The past me didn't turn around, only taking a deep breath as warmth ran down their face. Even when they heard the woman being caught, with a small struggle taking place between her and the people that past me had hired to keep her in town, only a single whisper escaped their lips as they once again began to walk forward. "Forgive me, Ellie."

I could feel Marian tapping on my shoulder as I came out of my trance, utterly confused as to what the memories I'd just witnessed implied.

"Are you okay? You spaced out there for a moment." she asked, checking my body for any signs of abnormality.

"I'm fine." I said, reassuring Marian before turning towards Ellie who also looked concerned. "Did the person you mention leave you in a small town, restrained by people who you didn't even know?" I wasn't really sure how to prove it was the same event, but if the Ellie in the past life's memory was the same one as the one before me, then there were some problems with what I'd been told by the Queen of Hell. Had the world simply not been cut off from the rest of the worlds when that Vell lived, was the world really even cut off, and if it wasn't, why would the Queen of Hell lie about it?

I wished Seshat's Library was a higher level as it had yet to show me information on this world or the Queen of Hell when I had tried. I almost wanted to run around and connect threads to a board like some kind of conspiracy theorist, but my thoughts were interrupted as Marian lightly nudged my foot and subtly gestured to Ellie, whose eyes were locked on to me. "What do you know about her?" Ellie pleaded. 

I had never seen Ellie really display any other emotions other than joy or lust, and it always seemed like she had her act together, so to glimpse her vulnerable state and hear her desperate plea, I couldn't help but wonder what kind of relationship she and the past Vell had. Unfortunately, I didn't have the answers she was seeking, the memories were fragmented and incomplete at best, and even the most intact one was only at the time of their parting.

I could only shake my head unknowingly. "I honestly don't know, but I can tell you that she died, at least she would have had to for me to be sitting before you, since we are sort of the same person."

Ellie looked both saddened and confused. "Are you talking about reincarnation? How would you even know?"

Ellie's voice was slightly raised, as if she were angry with the information I told her, yet I nodded at her questions. "I showed you my Status, you should've seen the Lives of the Past Gift. On top of retaining memories from the life before this one, I also have the memories of two of my other lives, and a partial set from the Vell you knew."

I could see the struggle on Ellie's face as she came to terms with what I told her, before her expression became cold and almost vacant. "I need some time to myself." she whispered emotionlessly. "I'll provide you with a manual for adjusting someone's Status, think of it as a gift."

There was a strange atmosphere as Ellie momentarily walked away before returning with a black tome and ushering us towards the door. Once me and Marian had crossed the threshold from her home, Marian handed me the tome, her hand lingering for a moment before she pulled away and closed her door. I took a breath and looked between Marian and the cold black tome in my hands, it was unlike any other book I'd ever held, and for some reason I felt like it gave off a sinister aura.

Marian gripped my free hand and began to lead me away when there was the sudden sound of crashing from inside Ellie's home. I immediately turned around and attempted to reach for the doorknob only to be obstructed by Marian gripping my hand tightly and shaking her head. "Listen closely." She said, pausing to let me focus on my hearing. As I did so I could hear the faint but discernible sound of muffled crying, which only made me want to intrude more, but I was still stopped by Marian. "Give her time to mourn, imagine waiting for me or Arya for a long period of time, only to fight out that one of died in a faraway and unknown place."

Marian's words cooled my head as even just imagining the scene made me both irrationally angry and sad. I only squeezed Marian's hand in acknowledgement as I turned back to the street and the two of us began making our way back to the manor. There wasn't that much time left in the school year, so I needed to make sure I could use the Skill Ellie had given me, the sooner the better.