Last Chance [Extra #2]

Part 9

Edgar was completely lost. Elena was not Elena, but oddly he wasn't as hurt by that as he thought he'd be. He realized that he'd actually accepted Elena's death long time ago. And now, the person behind him, who possessed his dead sister's body, would continue to live as Elena despite not being her at all. The more he thought about Celosia, the more pity he felt for her. She had lived many lives before, unable to reach the peace death brings, and Edgar couldn't fathom how difficult it must've been for her all these years. Compared to Elena's easy life, Celosia really had it hard.

He was glad that she told him the truth about her identity. Now that he knew, he could help her get used to this new world she was thrown into. There must have been things that Celosia wouldn't know or understand, so Edgar could be her guide of sorts, teaching her about everything she found confusing or unfamiliar.

Even if she wasn't his real sister, he still considered her one.

The two of them sat quietly and simply admired the sight before them, having said everything that needed to be said. They didn't need to exchange more words. Celosia didn't want to share her past with the Cardinal, unwilling to involve Elena's family in her problems with the Temple, and Edgar didn't want to press Celosia for answers regarding his dead sister. What mattered was that Elena was gone. There was nothing more that could be added to that. He couldn't change the past, so there was no point in talking about it.

Soon, Celosia became too tired to stay on the hill, her body too weak to stay up for so long. Edgar, noticing this, suggested going back home, then helped Celosia get up from the grass and led her back to the mansion. She was considerably stronger than weeks before, but walking around was still too exhausting for her. It tired her out easily, as her muscles were still not fully functional. It would take her months to be as fit as she once used to be, but she was unwilling to wait for so long.

She was going to use her own power to heal her new body and bring it back to full mobility. She knew the Cardinal had definitely found out that she was alive by now, and he would come for her sooner or later. She wanted to be prepared for the 'sooner'.

Having revealed the truth about herself to Edgar, Celosia considered telling him about her power as well. After a while, she decided to do it. "Edgar, there's something you should know about me," she began as they descended from the hill.

"What is it?"

"The reason why I'm... maladapted to magic here..." she continued, although hesitantly.

"I guess that it has something to do with you not being Elena, am I right?"

"You are. How do you know?"

"Elena was born with blonde hair, like me. But when we found her, well, you, your hair was black. Black hair, at least in this world, is a sign of magic incompatibility. The Temple says it's because people maladapted to magic are an easy target for demons and so on, but I don't believe that. There's got to be another reason." Edgar, although not an atheist, didn't believe all of the Temple's teachings. He didn't consider them an authority he needed to obey or anything. He didn't really trust the priests, knowing how power changes people. He'd seen many people get drunk on the power they have, and abuse it solely because they could.

"So that's how you knew I was incompatible with magic here when I first said it..." Celosia thought back to the dinner, during which she revealed the small fact to Elena's family. They told her they knew about it, which surprised her a little, seeing that Elena had never had any issues with magic before.

How did no one find it odd that she changed so suddenly? Or perhaps they did, but they simply didn't question her about it.

Celosia didn't dwell on that too long and continued her story, "The reason why this body can no longer accept magic is because it has its own source of power. It's my own innate ability that I was born with, one that is connected to my soul, not my body, so no matter how many times I reincarnate, I still possess it in every life."

"Oh, so you're a mage?" Edgar asked, intrigued.

"Is that what you call people like me here?"

"Well, yeah. There used to be an ancient tribe in the East that possessed their own magic, but they were wiped out during the Great War when the first emperor took over their land. He wanted to conquer the whole continent but died before he could achieve his goal. However, the Eastern mages – at least that's what they're called in history books – were completely obliterated," Edgar explained. The more he talked about the Eastern mages, the more he thought Celosia could be one of them. It would make sense. Celosia, her name, meant 'a burning flame' or 'aflame' in the ancient language of the mages, and was widely used to describe women with bright amaranth hair that resembled the flower with the same name. The brighter the redness of the hair, the more powerful the mage was – that was the legend, at least. Edgar was curious if Celosia was actually part of that nation or not. He thought she was, but there was no way to check.

In his mind, she could be. Her name, her innate power, the fact that she can reincarnate... they all made Edgar think that Celosia might be either a survivor of the Great War the first emperor started or...

A saintess.

However, seeing that she couldn't accept the magic surrounding her, which came from the magic stones underground, made the second option less probable.

The more Edgar thought about it, the more questions he had. He wanted to ask Celosia about her first life, to see if it was even remotely similar to what he knew of the ancient Eastern mages, but he couldn't bring himself to bother the woman with his curiosity. She could hardly walk and keep her eyes open, much less answer intrusive questions that would undoubtedly bring back a lot of memories.

For someone who lived many different lives, her first one must've been the most memorable one.

Edgar had no idea how right he was. For Celosia, her first life was not only memorable, but also horrid. She hated the fact that she even remembered it. She would rather forget it.

When Celosia could no longer walk, too tired and sore to continue, Edgar carefully picked her up in his arms, but not before asking her for permission. Since she wasn't Elena, he couldn't treat her arbitrarily. He was a mere child compared to her, so he decided to treat her with the respect she deserved. Thus, he politely asked her if it was alright if he carried her the rest of the way home, and once she agreed, he tenderly picked her up in his arms and slowly walked through the forest, careful to not jostle her too much.

It warmed Celosia's cold heart to see him so delicate with her. Edgar was exactly how she imagined him to be after seeing Elena's memories. Protective, sweet, polite, gentle, loving, understanding and kind. She half-expected him to strike her when she revealed the truth about Elena, but she was pleasantly surprised to see a soft look of understanding on his face instead. He was a much better man than she expected him to be.

She was grateful that he understood her. It would make her new life much easier if there was at least one person who knew who she was. In her previous lives, she never took the risk to reveal her real identity to someone, no matter who they were. Even if she was married, she didn't confine in her husband. She kept this secret for decades, centuries even, yet she revealed it to Edgar after mere weeks.

Perhaps the Heroux family were really her last chance. If Edgar accepted her so easily, maybe his parents would too.

And maybe, just maybe, they would learn to genuinely love her and end her suffering.