Sol touched his cheek where he had been slapped, looking bewildered. Sure, she was naked, but this wasn’t the first time. When they traveled together, Lapis hadn’t been shy about changing clothes in front of them, she previously said it was faster than finding a secluded spot like Nataly did.
The woman quickly grabbed the cloak from his hands and rushed to put it on.
“Did she lose her memories?” Sol asked out loud to his squad behind him.
Duncan, who also found her reaction odd, speculated, “Could it be that she only remembers up to the moment she put her blood in those vials?”
The rest of the squad found logic in his theory. Sol turned back to the woman, who had just noticed the small group of spectators, and asked, “Lapis, can you tell us the last thing you remember?”
“Lapis? Oh! No, I’m not—”
Before she could finish, another group of bubbles rose from the pool, and another woman emerged from the liquid. She looked identical to the first woman.
Unlike the first, the second woman made her way to the edge of the pool and got out. She turned to Sol and, without any trace of embarrassment, said, “Thanks. Got any clothes?”
“Lapis?” he asked, just to make sure, though he already knew the answer. Compared to the other woman, this one felt much more like the Lapis they knew.
Lapis nodded. “Yeah. So, any spare clothes?”
“Lapis! I thought I was a goner!” The unknown woman jumped and hugged Lapis. The naked Lapis didn’t resist; she just stood in place, letting the cloaked woman hug her tightly. While the one sided hug continued, Sol checked all his spatial rings for another cloak but couldn’t find any more. Instead, he took out one of the dresses from the ring Lapis had given him before she died.
Lapis lightly pushed the identical looking woman away and shook her head. “I’m not wearing that. Give me your spare clothes.”
“Mine? Sure.” Sol took out a set of his everyday clothes, not worrying about the size as he was slightly bigger than her, and the clothes were loose fitting.
“Why are both of you acting so nonchalant about this?!” Nataly yelled, confused by how quickly they had changed tempo.
“Well… I think I already have a good grasp of what happened. But let’s get her clothed before anything else,” Sol said with a helpless shrug. Like Nataly, he had plenty of questions, but knowing Lapis, it was best to get her clothed before asking anything.
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…
A few minutes later, the squad and the two identical women were in their squad's rest area. Lapis was now wearing Sol’s clothes, while the other woman had taken the dress and changed into it.
“So, before you begin explaining, do you have any questions for us?” Sol asked. While he was interested in hearing the two’s story, he knew they also had their own questions.
Lapis, wearing a slightly oversized shirt and baggy pants, nodded.
“How long have I been dead, and how did everyone escape?”
“Around a month and a half. As for how we escaped from the A-Ranker… we didn’t.”
Sol recapped the events that had occurred after her death, not skipping any details this time, unlike when he had told Commander Zaman and Diana. After all, Lapis had been there for most of the parts he would normally skip over, and there was no reason to lie. He then spoke of the book he had found on the third floor of the Royal Library detailing Ophis’ life and legacy, which described the method to activate the latent power of rebirth in her—well, their blood.
“Wait, if you were dead for over a month, how long have I been dead?!” the other woman panicked.
Lapis glanced at her, then looked away, somewhat ashamed. “Eleven months.”
“Eleven?!”
The woman made an exaggerated fainting motion and fell toward Lapis, who was seated next to her.
“So, can we start with who she is?” Rex asked from the side, seated on a chair they had dragged in from another room after running out of seats.
Lapis was about to introduce her, but the other woman stood up and spoke first.
“I’m Lazuli! Lapis’ twin sister! I died heroically saving my dear younger sister from a very dangerous monster.”
‘Lapis… Lazuli? Their parents had a really weird naming sense; their hair isn’t even blue,’ Sol inwardly commented.
“The only truthful thing you said was your name. You died to your own poison magic because it was blown back at you, and I’m the older one,” Lapis said, immediately calling her out on her lies.
Lazuli was shocked by the instant betrayal. “Okay, sure, but I did it to protect you! And I am the older one—I was born first!”
Lapis shook her head. “Not anymore. I’m nine months older than you now.”
“What?! That’s not fair! Wait! We were both revived at the same time, and I left the pool first, so I’m still older!”
The two began bickering over who was older, each using different reasoning, and neither backed down. The rest could only watch the comedic display between the two identical women.
Sol couldn’t find an opening to interject and change the subject until it suddenly turned to him.
“I’m the one who traveled and worked for almost an entire year just to revive you. Just be thankful and admit I’m now the older sister,” Lapis began resorting to guilt tripping her sister into conceding.
“But you died too! It was this pervert that revived us!”
“Can we drop it with the pervert… My name is Sol.”
He regretted not letting Nataly approach Lazuli instead, but how was he supposed to know she wasn’t Lapis?
He continued speaking with a more authoritative tone before they could continue arguing for who knows how long. “Settle who is older later. Lapis, explain.”
Lapis nodded, switching gears instantly. “Our family has a long history, and we believe it’s connected to Ophis, the God of Rebirth. We don’t know all the details, as much of it was passed on orally, but every few generations, someone like us is born. They call us ‘Scale Born,’ like my sister and me.”