Drip… drip…
Tears flowed from Soren's eyes as he awoke.
"What the hell was that..?"
He sat up slowly, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt.
His chest felt heavy, as if his emotions hadn't caught up with his body yet.
'It was so real…'
He already knew that reading books from the library let him experience memories as if he were living them himself, but this time, something was different.
The sensations had been too vivid, too raw.
He wasn't just watching someone else's life.
He had felt it.
Freya's laughter.
Her voice.
The gentle warmth that the original Soren had felt whenever she smiled at him.
And then… her absence.
Even now, just thinking of the name Freya was enough to make him feel depressed, even though she was someone whom he, Isaac, had never met.
He rubbed his temples as pain pricked at the back of his skull.
The emotions were tangled, too deep to belong to him, but too strong to ignore.
Even now, just thinking the name Freya made his chest ache.
'They were closer than I thought…'
He had already guessed that the two of them had been close, but he couldn't have imagined how close they were.
The way she filled every corner of those memories made Soren's current reality feel strangely hollow.
He wiped his eyes again, frustrated.
"Damn it…"
He didn't even know her, not truly, but her name alone carried a weight he couldn't shake off.
'I'm not sure how to feel about this..'
He told himself it wasn't his sadness, but it didn't make the grief any lighter.
The feelings were still there, his or not, they pressed down on him all the same.
Ting-♪
A faint chime echoed in his ears.
.
▶ ù̷̥͇̹̽́o̶̜̊l̷̡̔͂̅S̸̥͕̬̔̐́̉̀ͅ ̴̤̝͎̅͐̓̓͝i̸̢̳͙̮͚̽̂ṉ̴̡̧̧͋̅̐e̶̩̓̾̆̀̃g̸̗͌̉̓̑̚r̵̠̠͎̱̟͛̾̚M̵̢̙̣̒͑͂͐g̶̛̪͛̍̀ ȍ̶̠̘̬̳̩͍̣̩̒͗̿̉̀͝f̷̟͊́̉͋̑͑̽̈̕̚͘͘ ̵̛̠̗̞̠̌̀̏͛̈́̒͆̄̄̕ͅͅḮ̴̪͎̙̮̲̳͌̄̒̇̉͆̒͂̊́̓̉s̶̺̭̗͓̯̭̮̜̭͎͍͕͓̏̉̈́̅͌͗̔̏͌̀͋͋̉͜͜a̵̧̘͇̤̻͖̠̮͋͂́̓̓͒͠a̶̦͙̜̜̜͉̝̜̺̓̏͌c̸̰͚͍̺̮͚͚̳̮̥̠͗̀̓̔̐͝ ̴̛̝̥͉̟̓̈́̇͜͝a̷̡̳̮̰̯͍͉̩̮͓͍̥̟͆͐͑͜͜n̴̬̫͇̫̜̘̤̼̾̇̎̏̈͊̀͘͜͜d̶̡͖̤͕̮̯̫̑̇͋̂͒̎͝͠ ̵̢̜͈͔̮̗̝̠̠͚͑̏͜S̶͉͔̬͔̯̊̎͐̔̔͝o̶͖̭̩͂̄̌̍̐͗̅͜͝r̷̡͓̥̦͕̹̯̬̽̾̽͗͂̃̉̽̋̊͛̐̒͝ë̵͇̘̺̮͉̥͈̌̇̋̆̑̕n̷͈̘͚͍̞̹̰̱͈͉̼̘̹͆̑̒̌:̴̻̹͉̌̈́ ̵͖̝̽̂̋̍͌6̷̠̳̀̀̑̉̐%̸͉̓͑̈̅͗ ◀
.
Soren blinked, staring at the corrupted text.
"What the hell's that supposed to mean?"
But he was too drained to think about it. The moment he blinked again, exhaustion weighed down his eyelids.
He left the library in a haze and collapsed onto his bed without changing.
'I just want to sleep.'
'I'm tired.'
The last thought before darkness claimed him was a whisper that wasn't quite his own.
'Freya…'
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
Days passed before Soren could think clearly about what had happened.
At first, the whole experience disgusted him.
The idea of someone else's emotions, someone else's memories, bleeding into his mind, it made him feel like an intruder.
But once the confusion dulled, his perspective began to shift.
Maybe it wasn't a curse.
Maybe it was necessary.
As someone who had been thrown into this body with no understanding of its past, he had often been at a loss when thinking about dealing with people or situations the original Soren would have known about.
Now, at least, he had a chance to know.
The glitch in the status window also seemed to have resolved itself with time, though he couldn't say it didn't bother him a little.
Other changes had come too. His points had risen to 186, meaning he was edging ever closer to being able to buy another skill.
And, of course, the student body had started treating him differently… again.
Ever since the mock duel, people had gone from quietly avoiding him to outright stepping aside when he entered a hallway.
Whispers followed him everywhere.
Usually, he would have felt depressed about such a situation, but after dealing with a similar situation for over a month already, he had begun to become indifferent to such actions.
Ding-♪ Dong-♪ Ding-♪ Dong-♪
The bell rang, snapping him out of his thoughts.
Soren packed his stationery away, ready to leave class, when…
Slam-!
The door burst open.
A tall girl stood framed in the doorway, short black hair brushing her chin, crimson eyes gleaming like fresh blood.
Her sharp gaze swept the room.
Beads of sweat were glistening on her forehead, making it clear that she had rushed here the moment the bell had rung.
"Is Soren Arden here?"
Her tone cut through the chatter, instantly every head turned toward him.
He froze, meeting her eyes.
The intimidating expression melted the moment she saw him.
Her entire face softened, so suddenly it was almost disorienting.
"I'm here…?" he said weakly.
Before he could say anything else, she ran across the room and grabbed his wrist, her face breaking into a brilliant smile.
"Oh! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!"
"Wait—"
Too late, she was already dragging him out of the classroom.
"Let's go somewhere! It's been so long since I last saw you!"
He tried to pull free, but her grip was like steel.
'Why is she so strong—oh. Fantasy world.'
Accepting defeat, Soren sighed and let her drag him through the hallways.
While being hauled along like a bag of luggage, he opened her information window out of sheer curiosity.
.
[Louise Cruentus]
Age: 20
Gender: F
Race: Human
.
'Another name I don't know…'
But one glance at those crimson eyes told him everything he needed to know.
Red eyes were rare in Ivansia.
Deep crimson like hers? Practically unheard of, except for him.
Even Freya, in the original Soren's memories, had brown eyes and golden hair.
The only other person even close was Sofia, whose irises had a faint reddish tint.
'So she's… family?'
Before he could dwell on it, Louise suddenly turned around mid-stride, pouting.
"I only found out you were attending Stellaris after the mock duels! Shouldn't you have at least come to tell your big sister that you were here? I missed you!"
Her voice was full of mock offense but tinged with real warmth.
Soren blinked.
'Big sister?'
The words sank in slowly, dragging a dozen unspoken questions behind them.
'Why didn't the original come see her?'
Given what he now knew about the old Soren's personality and grief, it didn't make sense.
'...Unless he didn't want to burden her.'
That seemed more likely.
Eventually, they arrived at the location Louise had intended to take him to and stepped inside.
It was a cafe, a place that was unfamiliar to Soren, who didn't have many friends in this world.
From appearances alone, it was clearly a popular spot amongst students, as even though classes had just ended, it was already swamped.
Louise led Soren to a corner booth and plopped down on the seat, picking up the menu in front of her.
"Sit, sit," she said cheerfully, sliding into the seat opposite him. "You have to try something here; everything's good."
Soren sat stiffly, still processing everything.
Louise flipped through the menu, then handed it across to him.
"How are classes going?"
"They're fine. I'm in class F."
"Oh, really?" she said, resting her chin on her hand. "That's the I'm guessing you majored in arcane studies, right?"
"...Something like that."
They exchanged a few minutes of awkward small talk; two people who should've been close but felt like strangers.
Then a cheerful voice interrupted.
"Welcome to Etheheart Café! The usual, Louise?"
Soren looked up to see a purple-haired beastkin smiling down at them, her long tail swishing lazily.
"Yep!" Louise said, grin widening.
The difference in her demeanour was like night and day.
The sharp, confident woman who had kicked open a classroom door now looked radiant, laughing as she chatted with the waitress.
Soren blinked, caught off guard.
'She's completely different when she smiles…'
Louise's appearance was almost scary, from her tall and toned figure to her short hair and sharp eyes, even to the rapier that sat on her waist.
It was no wonder that the other students of class F looked nervous when she appeared in their classroom; she could've easily been mistaken for a delinquent.
When she turned back to him, she winced slightly.
"Ah… sorry, Soren. I got carried away. Shirone's an old friend."
"It's fine," he said with a small smile.
"Oh right!" she said suddenly. "What was that thing you did in the duels? People said you were moving while casting magic! How did you pull that off?"
He scratched his cheek. "Ah… honestly, I don't really know. I just sort of… figured it out?"
It wasn't a lie.
He just left out the part about divine shop tickets and skill purchases.
Louise leaned closer, crimson eyes sparkling. "So you're saying my cute little brother's a genius now?"
Soren's expression stiffened.
He felt burdened by Louise's reaction, not sure how to respond to her.
'I'm not Soren…'
He tried to shake off such thoughts and decided to ask something he had been curious about to change the conversation.
"I was just wondering, Louise—"
But she cut him off before he could even finish.
"—Big Sis."
'Huh?'
He tried to speak once again, but…
"Louise—"
…She pouted in response.
"—Call me Big Sis."
He could already tell he wouldn't win this battle.
When he opened his mouth to ask a question, Louise immediately interrupted with a playful frown.
He sighed internally.
'This is hopeless.'
"...Big Sis," he relented. "What rank are you?"
Her eyes lit up immediately.
"Rank? Oh! I'm sixth in Martial Studies. Pretty cool, right?"
"Wow," he admitted, and he meant it.
Sixth place in Martial Studies, among third years, no less, was impressive.
Even Alex, the protagonist of ❰The Knight of Stellaris❱, had only reached Class A in his third year.
'No wonder I couldn't pull away earlier.'
He made a mental note to never make her mad.
As they finished their drinks, the conversation began to flow more naturally.
Louise was easy to talk to once the initial stiffness faded.
Then, out of nowhere, she asked a question.
"So, how did things go with Aunty Sofia?"
Soren froze.
'Aunty…?'
The puzzle pieces clicked together.
Louise Cruentus, his cousin.
Unlike Arden, Cruentus was a name he had never heard in ❰The Knight of Stellaris❱.
Not in dialogue, not in settings books, nothing.
'I should look into it later.'
For now, though, his attention was on Louise's question, and the uncomfortable silence that followed it.
'How should I reply?'
Soren was once again made aware of something he had been avoiding ever since reading the letter the other day.
Noticing his struggle, Louise spoke up once again.
"Sorry," she murmured. "I shouldn't have brought that up."
Her confident energy faded, replaced by guilt.
She twisted her fingers together, unable to meet his eyes.
"When I heard the news about Frey… I tried to request leave to come find you, but they wouldn't allow it. I'm sorry. I should've done more."
The remorse in her tone hit him harder than expected.
'This is hard…'
Before he had experienced the library's memories, it would've been easy to separate himself. #
The original Soren had simply been a shell, a body to inhabit, not a person, but now, after feeling his grief, his love for Freya, his despair… that boundary had blurred.
He couldn't dismiss her words as someone else's tragedy anymore.
And that made it difficult to even breathe properly.
He opened his mouth, but the words refused to come out.
He wasn't the person she was talking to, not really.
Yet here she was, looking at him with eyes full of concern.
"Are you really okay, Soren?" she asked softly.
Her gaze pierced right through him.
He froze.
He wanted to tell her the truth, that he wasn't him, that the Soren she cared about was gone, but the words caught in his throat.
What would saying that even achieve?
Would it bring her comfort?
Would it bring anyone comfort?
No.
So instead, he said nothing.
The silence stretched.
Then… Warmth.
Soren blinked, realising Louise had stepped forward.
Before he could react, her arms wrapped around him.
It wasn't a gentle hug; it was firm, almost desperate.
"I should've been there for you," she whispered. "I know how much Frey meant to you… but I couldn't do anything."
Her voice wavered with guilt.
Soren stood stiffly for a moment, his mind blank.
Then, slowly, his body moved on its own.
He raised his arms and returned the embrace.
"It wasn't your fault, Louise," he said quietly. "I'm sorry."
He was unable to say much more, still afraid of crossing the line, but he couldn't just let Louise beat herself up for no reason.
They stayed like that for a while, unmoving, the bustle of the café around them fading into a distant blur.
In that small pocket of silence, Soren felt something shift.
Eventually, Louise pulled back, her crimson eyes soft and wet.
She smiled, not her playful grin, but something small and real.
"Thank you, little brother."
Soren's throat tightened.
He could only nod.
Louise stepped back and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand before her usual cheer began to resurface.
"I'll come see you again soon, okay? Don't you dare run off on me this time."
"Yeah," he said quietly.
She flashed him one last bright smile, turned on her heel, and left.
The sound of her footsteps faded down the street.
Soren watched her go, a strange emptiness blooming in his chest.
When she disappeared around the corner, he finally exhaled and sat down heavily on a nearby bench.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to steady his thoughts.
"What should I do…?"
The question slipped out in a whisper, vanishing into the afternoon air.
He leaned back, staring up at the canopy above the café window.
Everything about that encounter had shaken him. Not because of Louise's warmth, but because of what it had reminded him of.
He had been living in someone else's life, inheriting someone else's body, skills, and now emotions, but meeting Louise had made one thing painfully clear: there were people who still remembered the real Soren Arden.
He didn't know what kind of relationship the original Soren and Louise had shared before everything fell apart, but it was clear it had been real, painfully so.
Now, he was the one left to navigate the pieces.
————「❤︎」————