MONA was amazed to be in her Spirit form. Her sleeping baby was still in her arms and just like her, Neoma was also in her Spirit form since they had to abandon their physical bodies in their previous world.
They had successfully crossed over to the world called Earth. She wanted to be happy but she couldn't do it while watching hundreds of humans get drowned after the cruise ship sank in the middle of the sea. Cries and frightened screams could be heard everywhere.
Her heart hurt for the poor humans struggling to survive. Unfortunately, she didn't have the power to help them.
"It's time, Mona," Novak, now in the form of a man in his late fifties with white hair and bread, said. In his human form, he looked like a normal elderly dressed in a white suit. But even though Novak had a physical form, it seemed like he had turned on his ability to turn invisible. After all, he was floating in the air with her and her baby. "The child called Nabi has passed away. The poor child's soul will depart its body. I will help your child enter Nabi's body once it's the right time to do so."
Mona nodded and hugged her baby tight. Even though the two of them were in their Spirit form, she could still touch her daughter just fine. "I understand, Lord Novak," she said, then she turned to the Ancient Spirit. "How about the woman called Areum Go?"
"Areum Go is a weak human," the Ancient Spirit said. "I will put your soul in her body after I put your daughter's soul inside Nabi's. Once you're inside Areum Go's body, you just have to kick her out. Like I said, an ordinary human's soul is weak. You can beat her."
Beat Areum Go?
That sounded brutal.
But to be honest, stealing someone else's body was more cruel. Although Go Areum was destined to die anyway, it wouldn't change the fact that stealing the human's body was equal to killing her.
She had prepared her heart for that moment. Still, it didn't make it less difficult.
[After all, Areum Go is an innocent human…]
"Mona, are you hesitating?"
She took a deep breath before she shook her head. "No," she said firmly. "I will live in this world with my daughter."
Novak nodded, as if he acknowledged his resolve. "Now, it's time."
The Ancient Spirit descended and landed by the ship that was visible on the surface. Of course, she followed Novak with Neoma in her arms.
"That is Areum Go," Novak said as he pointed to someone. "With her lifeless infant."
Her heart broke when she saw Areum Go floating in the water while hanging on a piece of plywood. The woman cried loud while hugging the lifeless infant lying down on the board. The infant was obviously Nabi.
[Areum Go and I really look alike. We could pass off as twins.]
Twins?
She suddenly remembered that Gavin once asked her if she had a twin sister.
[Come to think of it, why did he ask me that?]
"Mona, the soul of the child Nabi has already left its physical body," Novak said, interrupting her thoughts. "Let go of your child. I will put her soul in Nabi's body now."
She nodded, then she kissed the sleeping Neoma's forehead. "See you later, baby."
When Novak raised his hand, Neoma's soul was sent flying toward the lifeless infant's body.
Her heart thumped against her chest loudly.
[Please don't reject my baby's soul…]
"Nabi!" Areum Go exclaimed in delight when Nabi opened her eyes and cried. "My baby!"
Mona was also relieved that the body didn't reject Neoma's soul. But she was worried when her daughter cried. [My baby rarely cries. Is she hurt? Or is she shocked to be put inside a new body?]
"Mona, it's time…"
Novak trailed off and looked up.
Even she was forced to look up at the sky when a huge shadow had cast over them. The moon didn't cover the sun, but it turned dark because of something else.
[Shadow…?]
But it wasn't the only problem that occurred.
Time had stopped.
The humans, the sea waves, the birds flying in the sky, and everything around them had stopped moving. It seemed like only she and Novak weren't affected by the strange phenomenon.
[Just what is happening?]
"Mona, watch out!"
Novak's warning came a little too late.
Mona was shocked when she felt a cold, and sharp thing pierced through her chest from behind. She was still in her Spirit form so she was shocked that she was physically attacked. Moreover, the ice rose that grew from the ice stem that stabbed her was familiar.
[Isn't this the Ice Spirit's ability…?]
"What did you do, Gavin Quinzel?!" Novak yelled angrily, shocking her. The fact that the usually calm Ancient Spirit raised his voice was surprising. But the thing that shocked her was when Novak mentioned Gavin's name. "How did you cross over to this world and possess a human body?!"
What…?
Despite the sudden heaviness in her body that was literally weighing her down, she still forced herself to turn around.
She was greeted by a man that looked like Gavin Quinzel. But according to Novak, the soul inside the human belonged to the commander. And judging by Gavin's position, it was obvious that he was the one who stabbed her with the ice rose from behind.
Now she felt betrayed.
"Gavin, why?" Mona asked, angry and confused. "Why are you doing this?"
Gavin, in the body of a human that looked like him except for the hair and eye color, smiled bitterly. "Lady Roseheart, you're not the only one who has the memories of their previous life."
Her eyes widened in shock.
"In my previous life, I possessed this body," the commander explained. "I am Kim Won-shik, and I'm in love with Go Areum."
She gasped from shock, but she remained speechless. Her brain felt like exploding because of Gavin's shocking revelations. [This isn't his first life? And during his previous life, he was a man who loved Areum Go?]
Then…
"When you asked me if I had a twin sister…"
"It was after I regained the memories of my previous life through a long dream," Gavin said solemnly. "Lady Roseheart, I'm sure you've already realized that we have regressed, and so did the people in this world. When I realized that, I thought I could save Areum and Nabi."
She didn't need to hear more.
After hearing what Gavin had to say, she instantly understood that she had been betrayed. Not only that, the commander also helped her not because he cared for her but because he wanted to take advantage of the situation.
"But I'm late," the commander whispered to himself while looking at Areum Go.
Only then did she realize that Neoma, now in the body of Nabi, wasn't affected by whatever it was that froze the time.
"Nabi is already…" Gavin trailed off, then he shook his head and turned to her. "It doesn't matter, even if the soul has changed. Nabi is still Nabi. Areum and I will raise her well, Lady Roseheart."
"My daughter is not yours," Mona growled at Gavin. But unfortunately, yelling was all she could do now. She couldn't move, and her soul was getting frozen with a thin layer of ice. And so, she turned to Novak to ask for help. "Lord Novak–"
She stopped talking when she realized why Novak had been quiet all this time.
[Lukas, the elf…?]
She just realized that Lukas was there. The elf held a red sphere in his hand that felt ominous for some reason.
On the other hand…
Novak had been wrapped into a dark aura, and now he looked like a cocoon.
She couldn't believe that an Ancient Spirit like him had been subdued this fast. But looking at the red sphere in Lukas's hand made her realize why Novak had been silently dealt with.
[That sphere… it belongs to a god.]
And who was the god that Lukas served again?
"Lord Helstor," she said in disbelief. "The God of Eternal Darkness must be the one who helped you get this far…"
That also meant that she had been tricked by Lord Helstor!
She thought the God of Eternal Darkness was helping her. But in the end, the one the god was helping turned out to be Gavin.
Now she felt like a fool.
But it wasn't the time to wallow in regret or curse Gavin for his betrayal.
[My baby…]
She turned to Neoma who was still crying as if her baby was calling her.
[Neoma…]
She raised her hand as her vision became blurry because of tears. But unfortunately, she couldn't move her body to reach her baby. The ice that covered half of her body was weighing her down until she found herself sinking into the sea.
"Neoma…" Mona called for her daughter weakly because her consciousness was fading away. "I'm so sorry, baby…"
Mona closed her eyes.
It would take a while before she gain consciousness. But once she opened her eyes again, she would find herself back in her original body…
… and that body was trapped inside an enormous block of ice under the Black Ocean.
***
GAVIN did it– he was able to save Go Areum.
Thanks to Lord Helstor stopping the time for him, he had the chance to send Lady Roseheart back to his previous world.
Then, he was able to save Go Areum and Nabi (that he had to force to sleep using Lukas's spell). He brought the two to the nearest island where some of the survivors were taken to after being rescued in the middle of the sea.
"Nabi…"
Gavin smiled when Go Areum, who was lying on the hospital bed, finally woke up. "Areum-ah."
"My baby…" Go Areum said in a panicked voice, then her gaze fell on the infant on his arms. She looked relieved to see that Nabi had just fallen asleep. "Nabi…"
"Nabi is safe, Areum-ah," he assured her. "She just fell asleep."
She fell silent for a while before she raised her head to meet his gaze. "You're not Won-shik oppa."
He was shocked by what she said. But he immediately played it cool. "Areum-ah, do you not feel well–"
"I saw everything," she said, cutting him off. "The time stopped, but I was conscious. I saw everything– even the woman that looks like me."
How did that happen?
He thought Go Areum was a normal human being. But he should have known. If she was the "version" of Lady Roseheart in this world, then she must be a special existence as well.
"I'm pretty sure that Nabi has already passed away," Go Areum said in a cracked voice. Ah, she was crying again. "Is the Nabi in your arms still my baby? Why does the woman who looks like me call my baby as if she's also her daughter?"
To be honest, he didn't know what to do at first.
But in the end, he decided to come clean instead of asking Lukas to erase Go Areum's memories. After all, he didn't want to live a life deceiving her.
"If I tell you everything you want to know, will you believe me?"
Go Areum wiped the tears off of her face before she looked at him straight in the eye. "First, I want to know who you are and what happened to the real Kim Won-shik."
Gavin nodded before he spoke. "Then, please listen to me carefully."
That night, Gavin properly introduced himself to Go Areum.
He told her everything from his past life to the present.
Of course, his story sounded like Lady Roseheart was a bad person. He couldn't help it, though. After all, he didn't want Go Areum to think badly of him.
Go Areum was shocked at first, but thankfully, she didn't find him strange.
[I can make Areum-ah fall for me in this lifetime.]
And after a few years of pursuing Go Areum, Gavin finally won her heart.
***
HE WAS too late.
The boy with purple hair and dark purple eyes was too late when he arrived at the Black Ocean. When he arrived there, the giant clam and the imoogi called Nathaira tried to attack him. Thankfully, he still managed to get Princess Neoma's body out of the Black Ocean.
He also had to save the physical body of Gavin Quinzel.
Unfortunately, he didn't have the power to save Lady Roseheart who was trapped in an enormous block of ice that sank deep into the ocean.
[I'm sorry I failed to save you, Lady Roseheart…]
After leaving the Black Ocean, he went to the Roseheart Mansion with the physical bodies of the young princess and the commander.
"The door has closed," he whispered to himself, then he turned to Princess Neoma. The soul inside that body didn't belong to the real princess. It belonged to the child that was kicked out of her body from another world. "How did a human's soul managed to cross over to this world?"
Was it the doing of the God of Eternal Darkness again?
[I should have killed that damned god in my previous life.]
***
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