A CHANCE

Back when Anastasia offered to help revive Elorin's parents, it was because she, too, knew the kind of danger he would be. Even with her simple thought processes, she thought that it would be easier to control Elorin in the future if he was very grateful to Leonel.

It was a good idea, but the simple-minded little World Spirit had never connected the fact that this might help Aina's parents as well. At the very least, if she had brought up the idea earlier, it would have been possible. But she only brought up the idea right after Aina had just become a Seventh Dimensional existence.

According to Anastasia, the problem with Aina's Dimension being too high was that now the link to her mother was being weighed down.

With the Silver Tablet, back then, Leonel could revive up to the Seventh Dimension. With Anastasia's ability to reverse the flow and peek into the stream of time itself, it would work.

Unfortunately, it wasn't just the Silver Tablet that was limited, but Anastasia herself. This was why even after getting the Life Tablet, Leonel never thought to do this.

However, Anastasia's limitations could be mitigated by Elorin.

Anastasia had the raw power, and when it came to executing the in-built functions of the Segmented Cube, she was practically second to none. This was why if the Segmented Cube wanted to hide, no one would be able to find it, and it was also why Leonel even had the option to turn a couple of hours of the outside world into an over century for himself!

However, for a task that was outside of her purview, her control was limited.

That was where Elorin could step in. His raw Time Force was completely inferior compared to Anastasia, but when it came to control… well, Leonel had just seen it personally.

Elorin was still only the Sixth Dimension, but he had just taken out a group of Eighth and Ninth Dimensional individuals with God Constitutions as though they were worthless.

Even Leonel couldn't do such a thing so easily.

"I…" Aina's lip trembled.

Leonel was looking down at her with caring eyes. While Elorin felt enraged about all of this, Aina only felt guilty and warm at the same time.

This demonic couple had never had a normal moral compass to begin with. Aina didn't particularly care about Elorin's feelings on the topic. All she could see was Leonel's care for her feelings even though having a trump card like Elorin would have made so many things far easier on him.

Elorin had become a true powerhouse long ago and could have definitely taken on a great deal of the burden along with him. But because Leonel couldn't trust him, he kept him on the back burner.

He had had a trump card to force Elorin into submission for a long time now, but he hadn't used it for her sake. It was hard for her to feel anything but warmth… and hints of guilt at the same time.

Now, Leonel was giving her a choice.

His words were clear. The result of this might be outside of her expectations. He was no longer nearly as naive as he was in the past and he likewise knew that playing with life could end poorly for them all.

But he was still giving her this choice.

She was a grown woman, the mother of his child, the love of his life. She had the right to make this decision for herself instead of him making it for her.

"I will do it," Elorin said plainly.

Leonel faintly nodded, but his gaze didn't leave Aina's.

Aina thought about all the dreams she had of her mother suddenly reviving one day, of her coming back and their lives being all the better for it.

But then, for the first time… she thought of what the worst of it might be.

What would her mother be like if she came back with memories of that torturous death she experienced? Her mother was nothing but a mortal, which was why this was even possible at all to begin with… could a normal person's mind even hold up after such a thing?

And what if she did manage to hold up, what would happen to their lives after that? What about when her mother found out that her husband had only gotten close to her as a tool for revenge? That it was because of Miel's selfishness that she had ended up suffering like she had?

How would she feel about the fact her daughter killed without blinking an eye and consumed blood for pleasure? Would she be able to adapt to this new world at all? Would she still be the same loving mother, perfect and flawless in her memories?

It was the first time Aina had ever thought about anything going so wrong. She had seen Leonel break down several times every moment he ran into a roadblock in reviving his father… and now he didn't even think much about it at all, having already realized that it would simply be an impossibility.

Aina's eyes dimmed a bit and she leaned her cheek into Leonel's chest, using the rhythmic flow of his blood to calm herself down both for the sake of her own sanity and the health of their baby.

How nice would it be if she had her mother's help in raising their child…

"Is it okay if I… watch first?" Aina asked softly.

Leonel stroked her hair. "Of course. You can change your mind whenever you want."

Smiling lightly, Leonel continued to reassure her.

"Even if you want me to go pluck out some stars from the sky for you, I'll do that."

Aina smiled, chuckling softly.

"Anastasia. Let's retreat first, then do this."

"Okay," Anastasia nodded.

…

Soon, the group had retreated… but they didn't leave the world. Instead, using Anastasia's ability to hide in space and time, they hid deep within the endless sand dunes.

Then, they began.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.