Your Past Life

"Aren't you afraid of me?"

An ethereal voice echoed in his ears.

For some reason, Ye Qing no longer felt so nervous. Instead, he was remarkably calm. "You and I are the same kind. Why should I fear you?"

"The same kind? I have no kind."

Mewtwo seemed to remember something. For the first time, its voice sounded so dejected.

Ye Qing said firmly, "No. In this world, you and I are the same kind."

Mewtwo was puzzled. "Why? I'm a Pokémon, and you're human."

Ye Qing smiled. Now that he had piqued Mewtwo's interest, he was certain it would not kill him, so he spoke a little more boldly. "You're a Pokémon? What mother gave birth to you?"

"Birth? Parents?"

Mewtwo fell into thought. This was another question it had never managed to answer.

"If I'm neither a Pokémon nor a human, then why would you and I be the same kind?"

Mewtwo's question turned the tables on Ye Qing, raising his opinion of it. As expected of the pride of Psychic-types, its intelligence was beyond that of ordinary Pokémon.

Ye Qing said nothing, merely looking around.

Mewtwo did not need to read his mind to understand his concern. It appeared before Ye Qing and said calmly, "It's safe here. Apart from that being in the cosmos, no one can peer into this place."

Faced with Mewtwo's sudden appearance, Ye Qing involuntarily stepped back a few paces. After a moment's thought, he said, "Neither of us is native to this world. We come from the same place."

Mewtwo frowned. "We're not? I'm certainly not, but why aren't you?"

Ye Qing did not answer. He simply looked at it and smiled. "I know your past life, and every question that has left you puzzled. I can answer them all, one by one."

"Really?"

Mewtwo's eyes flashed. It had accumulated so many questions along the way, yet no one had been able to answer them-not even the person who had created it!

Ye Qing spread his hands and said earnestly, "You can read my memories, but you must promise to read only those related to your birth."

"All right. If everything you've said is true, I'll compensate you!" Mewtwo was growing impatient. Never before had its emotions fluctuated so intensely.

Mewtwo took a deep breath. Ever since its birth, it had lived in confusion, not knowing who it was or what it was, let alone the meaning of its existence!

Upon hearing that Ye Qing could help it discover its true self, it could no longer remain calm.

As Mewtwo's psychic power sank into Ye Qing's mind, everything before its eyes suddenly went dark.

It was a boundless space, containing nothing but darkness that could devour all things.

Just as it was puzzling over this, images suddenly appeared in the space.

The images showed a primeval forest, where countless Pokémon lived carefree lives.

Just as Mewtwo became engrossed, the scene shifted. Four humans armed to the teeth appeared in the forest, each with an R-shaped insignia on their chest.

The leader at the front looked at the documents in his hands and murmured, "The Mythical Pokémon, the ancestor of Pokémon, Mew."

"Mew?"

Mewtwo looked thoughtful, unsure what they meant by Mew.

Then one of the team members beside the leader spoke up. "Its power is limitless. It can cause floods, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions, move mountains and overturn seas, and transform oceans into land. Since ancient times, it has left legends all over the world."

The leader sighed. "But hasn't it already gone extinct?"

His subordinate shook his head. "We don't know. Although no one has seen it firsthand, there have been many rumors of Mew sightings lately."

The leader scoffed. "Ridiculous. They sent us here over a mere rumor!"

Mewtwo quietly read Ye Qing's memories, patiently continuing to watch the scenes in his mind.

The scene shifted again. After who knew how many days, the four finally found the Ancient Ruins, where they discovered a mural of Mew carved into a wall.

Mewtwo murmured to itself, "So this is Mew? Why do I feel an urge when I see it?"

The images blurred. When they became clear again, Mewtwo found that the group had arrived inside a tent.

A fossil bearing the impression of an eyelash lay on a table.

Inside the tent, several people in white lab coats were busy at work.

A moment later, the leader from before walked in.

Upon seeing him, a researcher immediately reported respectfully, "Sir, please look. This is our discovery-a fossilized eyelash from Mew!"

The leader beamed. "Good. Hurry and send it back to headquarters. With this discovery, our God-Making Plan can finally begin!"

The scene changed again, revealing an enormous laboratory filled with countless instruments and people working feverishly.

Data constantly refreshed on one computer after another, all of it pointing to a single eyelash.

Inside a fluid-filled incubation chamber, Mewtwo saw an infant-sized version of itself. Beside it were many more chambers containing Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charmander, and others.

"Was I born here? Or was I artificially created through cloning?" Mewtwo continued watching with these questions in mind. It knew the truth might be close.

The scene changed again, and everything around it plunged back into darkness.

"That's it?"

Mewtwo clenched its right fist. It had been so close to the answers that it could barely stand this!

"Ugh!"

Ye Qing clutched his head and collapsed to the ground. Though it had been no more than a shift in Mewtwo's emotions, that alone was enough to make him suffer.

Noticing Ye Qing's condition, Mewtwo hurriedly reined in its surging emotions.

After a long while, the images appeared again, and Mewtwo breathed a sigh of relief.

This time, the images showed its younger self. Yet when Mewtwo thought back to its birth, it found no such memories in its mind.

Just as it began to doubt whether the memories in Ye Qing's mind were real, it witnessed its younger self slowly open its eyes.

The researchers' discussions in the laboratory kept reaching the young Mewtwo's ears.

Who am I? Where am I? It sounds like someone is talking about me, but what are they saying?

When Mewtwo heard its younger self in the images voice those questions, a strange feeling suddenly welled up within it. Only then did it truly realize that the young Mewtwo in Ye Qing's memories really was itself.

Mewtwo saw a ball of light appear beside its younger self in the images. Then a clear voice rang out.

"That's all human language."

As the voice spoke, a little girl of three or four with blue hair and beautiful eyes appeared beside the young Mewtwo.

Mewtwo watched everything in the images, straining to remember, but it could not recall who the little girl was.