Past Life, Present Life

This was the first time Iver had ever seen Isabel cry and shed tears.

But there was neither sadness nor fear in her cries. Instead, Iver could detect a sense of peace and warmth within them.

—The first thing that came to Iver's mind was the diary that Isabel had once shown him.

In the diary filled with the traces of life left by members of the "Du Lac" family, the first two sentences written by nine-year-old Isabel were, "I'm so scared..."

"Dad said I can cry..."

Isabel was then overwhelmed with the fear of death, feeling utterly alone and terrified. She had no idea that the person Queen Sophia most wanted to keep was none other than herself—from Isabel's perspective, her dying relative was like a sharp blade hanging in the air, ready to fall at any moment.

She couldn't bring herself to smile no matter what.

So all I could do was cry.

Later, even the "father" mentioned in the diary quietly fled Glass Island. Isabel was completely alone.

It's like being on the edge of a cliff, with only a single log bridge beneath your feet. Just one glance down into the abyss is enough to make you dizzy and weak in the knees.

In the fear of dying at any moment, even her own father chose to leave her. Isabel did her best to maintain her pure and kind heart, and not let fear distort it.

And the person who made Isabel stop being afraid and stop crying was Iver.

Iver rescued Isabel from the darkness, crowned her, and made her the Queen of Avalon.

As the Queen, she must give people confidence. The Queen has no right to cry, because she cannot show the slightest weakness in front of the people.

Now, it is Iver can make her cry again.

Iver's gaze gradually softened.

At first, he simply comforted Isabel, chuckled softly at her, and coaxed her gently. But before he knew it, he also felt his own eyes welling up with tears.

Iver also had something on his mind.

He thought of the scarf Queen Sophia had given him, of Isabel's bright smile on the day she first painted his portrait, and of Isabel's beautiful, sparkling eyes when she handed him her diary.

Then, Iver suddenly remembered the day they first met.

She was still using the identity of "Lu Lu" when she met her own biological mother, "Anne Alexander".

Iver remembered the gentle smile on her face when she carefully took "Little Iver" from his arms, and the lullaby she softly sang to him as he fell asleep.

... Now that I think about it carefully, perhaps it wasn't that Lu Lu's lullaby was too strong that it almost hypnotized me as well.

Although Isabel's singing talent is indeed outstanding, without the added Path Trait, she wouldn't be able to hypnotize Iver so easily.

Perhaps it's because... Iver himself longed for that kind of love.

Isabel's gentle lullaby may not penetrate the heart of a restless person... but for a heart that has been parched for a long time, it is like a spring breeze and a drizzle.

Wine doesn't intoxicate people; people intoxicate themselves.

For Iver, the lullaby that Lu Lu sang to Little Iver was also the bedtime song he himself longed to hear.

The summer evening breeze blows past the window, ringing the wind chimes.

He was being held in his mother's arms, enjoying the carefree bliss of childhood. In the child's eyes, there was no anxiety about the future, only hope for tomorrow.

Iver slowly hugged Isabel tighter.

Gradually, Iver's comforting words ceased. Isabel's sobbing also gradually subsided.

The two embraced quietly, and time flew by.

I gently inhaled the fragrance of her hair and felt the warmth in my arms.

In his Previous Life life, Iver also had a father, mother, grandfather, and grandmother.

He also had enlightened parents and a happy childhood. In that innocent and carefree childhood, he was much, much, much happier than Iver in this world.

His parents taught him a lot about life and how to do things, helping him develop many good habits and a cheerful personality. His father would play video games with him, while his mother would always cook delicious meals and tell him stories. His grandfather would take Iver to play chess and go fishing, while his Grandmother would knit sweaters and make cotton clothes for him.

—Until a massive earthquake destroyed the entire world of Iver, leaving him all alone.

This is just like Dickinson's poem.

She once said, "I could have endured the darkness if I had never seen the sun."

Iver had been loved and had tasted the nectar of happiness. His family were good people, and he grew up in a bright world—until the sun fell.

—I remember now.

Iver's eyes widened slightly, and his breath caught in his throat for a moment.

Those memories he had deliberately forgotten were retrieved once more. It wasn't like breaking a seal, but rather like finally uncovering homework that had been stored away for an entire vacation.

He had known about their existence for a long time, and even knew the general content of them, but he had always been unwilling to face it.

Even before the earthquake, Iver had a vague sense of unease. He had seen insects crawling and toads walking on the street. But he didn't take that fleeting unease seriously. Only afterward did he feel the heart-wrenching guilt and remorse.

"If only I had paid attention to those omens back then," Iver sometimes thought.

I woke up from a nightmare, my back covered in cold sweat.

Many, many years passed before he gradually forgot the guilt he felt back then. But that love, like the marks he had etched on the wall of his old home when he was a child, remained deeply imprinted in his heart.

Perhaps it is because Iver once experienced such beauty that he now yearns for that kind of love even more; or perhaps it is because he was the only one who survived the disaster that he always subconsciously wants to sacrifice himself to help others.

Because he had suffered, he hoped that others would not have to suffer again;

Because I have experienced that sense of powerlessness, I want to take control of my own destiny;

Because he was the only one saved at that time, he is now unafraid to harm himself.

That's a subconscious desire for self-destruction.

Even before Iver awakened his Previous Life memories, he always subconsciously chose to sacrifice himself to help others; he always avoided the feelings and expectations of others and was unwilling to accept the love of others.

Just like quitting the game after an account is hacked, never keeping pets again after a pet dies of old age, and never getting married again after a wife or husband passes away... What Iver resists is love from others; and at its core, he hates his own weakness.

That's why Iver always subconsciously keeps his distance from others.

His current adaptability to both Dedication Path of Transcendence stems from this subconscious.

If Isabel is a beautiful yet fragile glass, then Iver is steel with a hard exterior but a cracked interior.

—It wasn't emptiness, it was fear.

The fear of another disaster and being powerless to stop it... the fear of being unable to save loved ones.

If that's the case, then it's better not to love at all. If you never possessed someone, you won't grieve over losing them.

"... So, I'm scared too."

Iver understood immediately and murmured to himself.

"What?"

Isabel didn't hear Iver's words clearly and asked with some confusion.

Her voice was muffled and hoarse from sobbing, yet her gentle voice sounded obedient.

"Nothing."

Iver said softly, "I just suddenly realized... that the biggest coward is actually myself."

I have been encouraging Isabel to overcome her fear and watching Isabel gradually become stronger.

But isn't this also a projection of his own fears onto her? Her victory is his own victory; he helped her stand up, just as he was helping his past self.

The courage that Iver gave her has now become the courage she gives to Iver.

Even if Iver were to recall the past again, he would no longer feel fear.

The moment he realized this, the restless heart in Iver's mind, which had been agitated by facing the past, gradually calmed down.

In Iver's pupils, red and purple achieved an unprecedented harmony and balance.

"Lu Lu".

He whispered another name for Isabel.

"Um?"

Isabel was also a little confused. She shook her head, wiped her tears slightly with Iver's shoulder, and then lifted her head from Iver.

Iver simply moved his hand, which had been resting lightly on her back, upwards without a word. Streams of golden hair peeked through his fingers, and his outstretched hand gently cushioned the back of Isabel's head.

In an instant, Isabel realized what was about to happen.

She opened her eyes slightly in surprise, her long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings, and her clear, emerald-green eyes shimmering with a bright, watery light. She immediately closed her eyes and held her breath.

Iver lowered his head and kissed him lightly.

First the forehead, then the tip of the nose. Finally, the lips.

Isabel's supple waist bent slightly backward, and Iver's embrace tightened.

A slight touch, then separation. Gently licking away the somewhat bitter tears, until a low, labored breath escapes.