Chapter 94 Groom The Flame II



Today was the day Ember invited me to hang out.  What a coincidence, and convenient for me. 

Yet the timing was so good that now I accused her of being a regressor instead of a reincarnator.

Haa… I feel like I'm becoming more and more skeptical and paranoid…

As time passed by since I first arrived in this world, I felt like this world had become more alien to me. No, I mean, I felt like there was something more to this world than I had expected…

It was not only that I was trying to change the storyline, because I had predicted every variable of what would happen if I was to change something. But, it was something more, a key, an important key that made this world different from the one I knew.

Like, what was the nature of the shrine where I got Retro and Avatar Mask? Especially Retro, why did I get a sword? Did Jin also get the sword too?

Then Ember… Someone who I suspected was the one who caused all of this.

Myself, Zio Varrez. This boy, according to the memory I saw at that time, said he could see the future, even talking to his future self which is me using his Clairvoyance.

The conversation felt natural at that time, I did feel as if he was talking to me directly.

Looking at the bed opposite mine, the curtain had been rearranged, revealing the empty, tidy, and clean bed.

Zia, a weird girl who claimed as my childhood friend. I wondered why I never questioned her. Though I felt like I had done that, I didn't actually remember what the questions I asked her were.

'Maybe Reina remembers?'

She was sleeping soundly like a human should, her small hand was wrapping my finger. Waking her up gently, I waited for a while before started questioning her.

"Reina. Do you remember anything I ever asked Zia?"

Rubbing her eyes, she looked at me with a sleepy face.

"Zia…? Oh, that invisible friend of yours, master?"

'Invisible friend' she said. So, Zia still hadn't shown herself to Reina, I guess.

But… I had some thoughts about the reason. And that was why I asked Reina.

I nodded, "Yeah. That one."

To my surprise, Reina began to tell me from the first time I met Zia in this very room, on the first day of school.

She even told me the story I had forgotten or wasn't aware of, like Reina had never seen Zia's form which I clearly saw with my own eyes.

The Ego could see what their master saw, feel what their master felt. We were bound to each other. Sadly, the master, if not strong enough, they couldn't do what the Ego could do.

Every time I talked to Zia, she told me that I was talking to the empty air. She even had a shiver run down her spine when she witnessed that, worrying about me.

The Ego, especially one as strong as Reina, could detect and prevent illusions from influencing my mind.

"I don't know why you took the earring when you have me, master. I was sad…"

"Well. I didn't think you have already awakened the moment I received you in the dungeon back then."

Because Ego could detect and prevent illusions or any mental attacks directed at me, even if my mental stat was <E> ranked. I, basically, was invincible to them as long as I have Reina.

That was what made me question Reina again and again until I was satisfied.

"As I said, master! You need professional help! I don't know what is it, but I feel something so strong that blocks me from diving inside your memory. Like, you're some sort of a baby that was just born a few months ago."

"It even got stranger that despite your 4 months long memory have a lot of information about the thing that hasn't even occurred yet. The knowledge of the future, I presume? But, it has a lot of branches that also get blocked by something I told you earlier, master."

Reina's golden eyes locked on me, she looked like a curious predator that was intrigued by her prey.

"That's why I accepted you as my master. You're different, strange. I thought you were an outsider like me. But no, you're a native of this world."

Among the thousand words she spitted, there was one word that buzzed in my head over and over.

"Native?"

…

That word still buzzed in my head even when I was waiting for Ember at the meeting location.

I sat at the table in the dessert shop pensively, pondering what Reina said in the morning.

She referred to me as a native of this world.

At first, I thought that was normal as I was possessing Zio Varrez. But again, the Ego's and its owner's contract was a soul contract.

Retro was making a contract with my soul, not Zio Varrez. She said it herself. But, the way she said it was a bit odd…

'You're really strange, master. How can you live with only a piece of soul?' that was what she said.

A piece of soul. I didn't understand what she meant by that.

Anyhow, hearing her refer to me as a native had left a big impact on me. I had a crisis identity!

"Sorry, have you waited for long?"

A soft voice belonging to Ember broke my thought. Shaking my head from my deep thought, I lifted my face to see her face.

"Oh, you finally arrived. Please, take a sit and place your order because I already have mine."

I pointed at my ice cream in a cup container, only to realize that the ice had melted and turned into liquid form. 

"Oh, shit…"

Well, there goes my ice cream.

"Pfft."

The chuckle coming from Ember made me jump–not really jumped, just a metaphor. That was the first time I heard her let out a chuckle. 

'What happened to her? Is she sick? I think she is. Because what the fuck was that chuckle earlier?! That sounds cute. I think I'm falling in love.'

No!

I slapped my cheeks hard to bring myself back into reality.

'Don't get swayed Zio! Remember what your purpose here is!'