155. Becoming a Slave
The memory was forever frozen at this moment, the moment the two of them made a promise.
Then, the picture began to twist, deform, and then lose its color, surging towards Reina.
Memories began to return to her mind like a movie.
While struggling with her contradictions, Reina saw Calysia again.
In a pale, soul-like space.
Nothing existed, but this was not the space now called the [Place of Prayer].
—She stood quietly before her.
With her hands behind her back, a guilty smile on her face.
As if she had been waiting for her all along.
And this time, it wasn’t a memory, but an absolute reality.
The two’s acquaintance, Calysia’s past, the years of companionship and the birth of their plan.
From acquaintance to forming a karmic bond, to familiarity, mechanically analyzing each other’s behavior, exploring the [truth], and finally, the other person actually became her last hope.
Most of it was within her expectations.
Calysia didn’t actively seek the power of the Goddess of Light. Even the [phantom] of the Goddess of Light released by the Shadow of God, she didn’t show much desire to attack, but rather tended to [protect].
She was protecting me.
Although it didn’t conflict with the act of “not wanting Reina to regain her memory,” Calysia was someone who would “hold onto what she had until death.”
So, the current Calysia acted as if she “already had it,” not “never had it.”
Calysia could even freely enter the [Place of Prayer].
After the incident with Fred, Reina had a bold guess.
And after the Pope told her a part of the past, she was even more certain.
All her power was probably with Calysia, at least most of it.
Although she couldn’t directly return the power to her, she controlled her [skills] like a “system.”
Although it couldn’t be ruled out that she originally had power but was [sealed].
And now it seemed that Calysia was the master who controlled her.
And the only thing that needed to be given to her now was that key.
But there was still an indescribable feeling.
Calysia was a dragon without talent. The source of her power was the reincarnation granted to her by the Goddess of Light.
And I am her vassal.
Even in the past, that world she was familiar with, only existed in illusions, a virtual world obtained through a large amount of calculation and computation.
“Reina.”
Calysia stepped forward, clearly having hesitated a lot.
She was like a child who had made a mistake, looking over cautiously, as if this action held great determination.
In a daze, Reina remembered again that cute dragon girl who would often suddenly appear behind her and hug her.
The little one who would rub her eyes constantly after being pushed away by her.
“…”
“I’m sorry, Master. That flower… I didn’t save it.”
Reina lowered her head.
Although it was just a simple apology, it still required a lot of courage.
Not just for the present, but also for the past, thousands of years ago.
However, the recovery of her memory was not complete.
Although these memory fragments returned like a movie, and her former consciousness flooded her mind like a torrent, in the end, it all seemed dim in front of Calysia…
As if, besides the few years she had lived with Calysia, the rest was just meaningless fragments of life.
And then, more questions arose.
Why, with a three percent success rate, did it seem to have looped hundreds of times?
These things were not important at all.
Because the girl before her was an existence who had given everything for her.
The emotions she couldn’t feel before were materialized after absorbing the other’s soul core.
Now, the emotions she could experience were entirely thanks to Calysia’s soul.
Shame, guilt…
A series of emotions appeared, but seemed to be buffered by her long-term speculation.
And the more emotionless she was, the more unacceptable it was for Reina.
“It’s okay.”
Calysia walked up to Reina, as proactive as before. Perhaps she had never changed all these years.
She had been waiting for me for a long, long time…
But only today was she willing to tell me all of this.
“The meaning of my existence is to complete your mission, Reina. I don’t know how long I’ve been waiting, nor do I know if I will succeed today, but I can tell you… the [key] cannot be returned yet.”
Calysia’s soul was already gone.
Because even that key had already left her body and was collected by herself.
And when Reina tried to absorb this key, the previous problem arose.
—It couldn’t be returned.
“Then what should we do? How many times has this been? Master, isn’t our reincarnation already over? Have we not succeeded yet?”
Calysia smiled and shook her head.
She still wouldn’t say.
This last part seemed to be the reason why she couldn’t speak.
It must be the reason why the [key] couldn’t be returned.
But just then, Reina felt a heart-wrenching feeling.
As the Goddess of Light, she should be trying to find a way to return the key, rationally choosing the optimal solution, and finally, completely completing the [Reincarnation] magic.
But the part of her that was Reina, the part that had been given a soul by Calysia, that somewhat selfish and arrogant, yet incredibly real part, resisted.
…I have to respect my master’s choice.
I am my master’s slave.
I have to give Calysia the best ending.
The same body, in different time periods, possessed two different decisions.
And Reina, who had recovered this part of her memory, and the current Reina, had a conflict in their goals and ideals.
What should she choose?
But just then, Calysia… seemed to have seen Reina’s helplessness, extended her hand, caressed her face, and said, “Reina, the most important thing isn’t who you were, but who you should be now.”
“I…”
Reina’s eyes suddenly widened. In a daze, she seemed to have understood something.
“It seems I failed in the end, escaping the erosion of the Dragon Mark.”
Reina lowered her head and glanced at her chest, at that shimmering crimson, gem-like existence.
If she wasn’t mistaken.
The young master was just a phantom that never existed, or perhaps a skin that was once used to “exist.”
But the current Reina didn’t blame Calysia.
She had had this suspicion for a long time.
Fred had also said that she had once been subjected to a cruel illusion by the Dark Elf Queen.
The illusion would maximally utilize Reina’s mental and computational power, endlessly “consuming” her internally.
If it weren’t for Calysia, she might still be just a puppet whose power was constantly being extracted.
Finally, she made a decision.
This was only natural, yes… it was always supposed to be like this.
“Master.”
Reina held Calysia’s arm and pressed her body against her.
Then, a delicate, high-tech golden ring appeared in her hand.
As if she had made a decision, she slowly held it up. From now on, there was no turning back.
“[God-Binding Collar]”
“Please, put it on me yourself…”
“The Goddess of Light will forever be your most loyal slave.”
