Reivan heaved a tired sigh as he sat down.

'I'm so glad that she calmed down pretty easily...'

After magicking the room back to its original state with a wave of her hand, Karuna sat on the chair opposite Reivan before clearing her throat. "Sorry about that. I got a bit emotional there..."

"Oh..." Reivan held back a snicker when he saw her blushing ears. "It's fine. Although I can't even remember what happened, it seems like I really troubled you... Again, I'm very sorry for that."

"Alright. You're forgiven." Karuna smiled. "Well, we went a bit off the rails there, but let's get back on topic. Now, where were we..."

"You've explained how we've come to meet... and I've come to understand that you're stuck with me for life."

"Good." She nodded her head in apparent satisfaction before gesturing for him to speak. "If you have any questions, go ahead and shoot 'em out."

'Wording, please...'

Reivan didn't waste any time. He already had a bunch of questions he'd wanted to ask since a while ago. "First off, I'd just like to confirm... there is a way to get back, right?"

"Of course there is." Karuna raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't there be?"

He heaved a sigh of relief at her words before shrugging. "I've read about similar situations before. I don't wanna have to stay here for too long, trying to figure out how to go back."

"That's true." She bobbed her head in agreement. "Those types of arcs are really frustrating to read about..."

'Oh? Do we maybe have similar tastes in books...?'

"Well anyway, getting outta here's pretty simple as long as you're not in that muddle-headed state earlier. But let's leave that for later."

"Alright."

"Next question please~!"

"Uh... Earlier, you said you were the previous wielder of my ability..." Reivan's trailed off as he hesitantly glanced at her. "Does that mean you're..."

"Yes, I'm dead." Karuna shrugged nonchalantly before smirking. "Why are you so sus about it? It's been so long since I've died; naturally, I've already gotten used to it."

"I see." Reivan grinned at the thought that he didn't have to step on a landmine. "That's good."

"Yes, it is." She nodded then raised a finger in the air. "I'm gonna stop your questioning for now, since I feel like we've stopped at a good point. With regards to being the previous wielder, as far as I know, I am the second wielder of this ability."

"So that means I'm the third..." He muttered, eliciting a nod from the fairy. But then he frowned in realization. "Then where's the first?"

For a moment, Reivan saw a look of anguish flash across Karuna's face before she shrugged in feigned indifference. "Hell if I know. After I died... he just kinda disappeared."

"Oh..."

After Karuna bit her lip for a moment, she closed her eyes and heaved a tired sigh. "So, now you know why I want you to keep living, right?"

Reivan stayed silent but he understood the implications.

'When I die again... does that mean I get to stay around like her?'

Then he remembered the last line in [Indomitable Willpower]'s passive.

[Indomitable Willpower]

My Will shall not shatter.

It shall not waver.

It is Eternal.

Passive:

All attacks to the mind will be endured without suffering damage.

Mind control abilities are nullified, at the cost of being more stubborn.

Upon death, can remain as a [Soul Form]. (One use only)

'Soul Form...'

[Soul Form]

An incorporeal entity composed of pure energy, controlled by an incredibly strong will.

The [Soul Form] dissipates when the energy is completely depleted, and the will that controls it is destroyed.

Does not have the capabilities of regenerating resources on its own.

Does not have a physical form, and as such cannot affect the world.

The [Soul Form] retains the Special and Extra abilities it had when it was alive.

The [Soul Form] retains the ability to cast Sorcery, if they are able.

The [Soul Form]s automatically have the Extra Skill: [Telepathy]

[Soul Form]s can inhabit bodies that have had their souls shatter, or otherwise damaged beyond repair.

[Soul Form]s cannot attempt to take control of a body with an intact soul.

He would transform into a [Soul Form] when he died again.

'That means I have three lives...'

Being a [Soul Form] or a resident in [Glimpse of Eternity]'s next wielder's mind — both states were very unappealing for obvious reasons, so it was basically like he had one life.

Reivan was suddenly wrenched out of his thoughts when Karuna started repeatedly snapping her fingers in front of his face.

"Oi oi oi. Stop daydreaming will ya? Didn't you already do enough of that?" She scoffed before heaving an annoyed sigh. "Besides, you're probably thinking about how you have three lives or something."

"My bad..." Reivan scratched his cheek while chuckling awkwardly, but then he frowned. "Wait, can you actually read my mind...?"

"No. I've just known you for a long time." Karuna shrugged before directing a blank look at him. "Too long, if you ask me."

Wisely deciding to change the topic, Reivan brought up another question. "By the way, how strong were you when you were... y'know. Alive."

At this, the snow-white fairy shrugged again. "Dunno."

"Hah?" He couldn't help but tilt his head and raise a brow.

"A lot of my real-life memories are foggy..." Karuna vacantly stared into space. "But everything that occurred within fragments of eternities are so clear."

"That's..." Reivan gulped, a terrifying thought forming in his mind. "Was the first wielder like you too...?"

"No... he was even worse. I'm sure that I was at least an Ascendant before I croaked, on the other hand, that guy couldn't remember anything. In or out of [Glimpse of Eternity]."

'Dammit...'

He'd had a hunch, but to his horror, it ended up being quite accurate; the ability took its wielder's memories. Even if he had some sort of after-life ability like [Soul Form], if he lost all — or even a portion — of his memories, then what was the point?

"Even more reason not to die, right?" Karuna interrupted his thoughts, a sad smile on her face. "More than death, the idea of your memories — memories of your loved ones in particular — disappearing is much more terrifying for you, no?"

"..." Reivan's brows creased as he resentfully glared at her. "You can read my mind, can't you? You must have some sort of immunity ability or something, that's why [Lie Detection] didn't work..."

"I told you. I've known you for a very long time." After procuring a cup of tea from thin air, she closed her eyes and took a long sip before continuing. "That's also why I knew that I could easily pull you out of your muddle-headed state by showing you how your actions... or rather, your inaction could possibly affect your family's future. Oh, and about that, I can use [Glimpse of Eternity] too. But I'm sure you knew that already~!"

'This fucking bitch...'

Watching her enjoy her drink while trying — and failing — to stifle a smirk, Reivan really wondered if he couldn't just kick her out of his head and be done with it.

"I still haven't totally forgiven you for that, by the way."

"Chill the hell out, will ya? None of those tragedies are gonna come true." Karuna's eyes flashed mysteriously as she grinned. "Hopefully, that is."

"Which is it?" Reivan's cheeks twitched in annoyance as he glared at her.

She shrugged. "The fragment of eternity I made to snap you back to reality was... based on what I know of your family and everyone around you. Naturally, I also tweaked some things to make you more emotional. Like adjusting Helen's personality so she'd outright abandon you, increasing The Outlands' danger level... things like that. Oh, and ninjas. I kinda like them so I added some too. They were pretty cool, yeah?"

Karuna blushed excitedly as she mimicked a few hand signs from a certain famous anime — which had an absolutely horrid sequel about the main character's son.

Reivan silenced his dissatisfaction but couldn't help but voice out his uncertainties. "Are you sure [Glimpse of Eternity] isn't some sort of future-vision ability...?"

'Everything seemed so... real, after all.'

The pleasant times he'd spent with his family and friends; the countless hours spent bent over a table, writing countless pages worth of words — only to rewrite them because of an accursed typo; the joy and exhilaration of his work being loved by so many people.

Fear so overwhelming that it nailed him in place, forcing him to watch tragedies unfold before his very eyes; the excruciating pain, different from what he had been used to; his mother's fresh blood, dripping out of the giant rat's mouth, causing echoes within his mind as the crimson droplets collided with the corrupted soil.

And the unbearable despair at the end of it all.

Everything had been so vivid. So real — to the extent that those fabricated memories were clearer than the truth.

"Mhm." Karuna nodded knowingly. "Your skepticism is understandable, but just trust me. I've never seen an exact vision of the future. Although the damned thing can provide highly realistic simulations, it can't predict the future that well. It's especially limited by what you — the current wielder — know. Oh, and if it isn't dormant, it's prone to choosing the more depressing outcomes and possibilities. Don't worry too much."

"Yeah, but it only needs to be correct once..." Reivan's shoulders sagged as he massaged the bridge of his nose.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Stop being such a downer." Perhaps to try to cheer him up, Karuna pushed a plate of steak towards him, letting the savory scent waft into his nose. "Alright, that's enough for now. You're in no mood for exposition. Get out of here and see your family again, otherwise, your depression might rub off on me."

"Wha—"

"No ifs, ands, or buts." She wagged a finger and Reivan's jaws were stopped in place. "Since you managed to force [Glimpse of Eternity] into dormancy, then you can just come back here a little later — when you've properly adjusted your mental state. GO and have your parents pamper you for a while or something."

Reivan had a few objections, but he couldn't deny the fact that he had an irresistible desire to see his family right now. His real family. Just as he was starting to wonder how he'd ask her to tell him the method to get back, he found that he had already been released from the restriction.

"It's different when it isn't dormant, but since it is, you can just leave whenever you want." Karuna preemptively answered him, shooing him away with her hand. "Of course, you can come back to make a fragment of eternity for yourself... if you somehow can't remember how to do that, I'll go ahead and teach you. Just not now."

"You've stayed here long enough..." Reivan could barely hear her mutter.

For a moment, he wondered what the consequences of staying here for too long were — seeing as he'd apparently been in a fragment of eternity for an incalculable amount of time — but then he decided to put it aside for now.

Reivan closed his eyes to focus on the desire to get out, and it didn't take too long before he felt— no, he knew he could do it whenever he wanted. It was almost like an instinct or muscle memory of some kind; just like how he was confident he'd still be able to ride a bike despite not having done so for so long.

'Even if the mind forgot, the body would always remember. Oh, wait. I don't think I got that right...'

"Well, goodbye then," Karuna spoke in a monotone voice as she regarded him with a bored gaze. "I'll be here if you ever need me... though it's not like I have anywhere else to go..."

Sensing her depression, Reivan couldn't help but smile for a moment, before a question popped into his head. "Hey, Karuna."

"Mhm," she hummed, urging him to go on.

"Can you really not remember anything?" Reivan paused in hesitation for a moment before he cleared his throat and powered through. "Like, about how you died..."

Karuna's eyes widened, but then she smirked. "I thought you were gonna ask something weird but it's just that...?"

"Just answer it. Please?"

"Well, now. If you're gonna be so polite about it..." She giggled before pensively staring into the air and rubbing her chin. "I can vaguely remember some routine stuff. Like trimming down the trees so they don't block the sunlight from reaching the smaller trees, making sure the predatory woodland creatures don't overhunt, recording how each species of flora and fauna evolve throughout the eons... y'know, general domain management stuff. But I can't remember much of anything. I just... died, I guess? Or maybe someone attacked my homeland and I was forced to heroically sacrifice myself for the good of my race!"

"Staying in my head for so long has certainly done wonders for your imagination." Reivan chuckled, but inside, he was a bit disappointed.

In a way that he couldn't really describe, he had been happy that there was someone, other than himself, that had gone through death. He thought he'd finally be able to discuss the topic with an entity who'd been through the same situation. Maybe even joke around about it.

In the end, it just wasn't meant to be.

Hiding the strange emotion behind a mask of calmness, Reivan smiled as he waved at Karuna. "Well, I'll be going now."

"GTFO." Karuna conjured a white handkerchief out of nowhere before letting it flutter up and down, reminiscent of how people used to send off relatives or acquaintances that were leaving on a voyage.

"Since you might get lonely, I'll visit a lot."

"Who the hell gets lonely?" Karuna looked away. "When I was still alive, I'm pretty sure I was alone for thousands of years, m'kay? Don't bother visiting me for something so silly."

Reivan's grin grew wider. "Oh, and since your name's kinda long, I'll call you by a nickname, okay?"

"Hah?" Karuna's eyes were as round as saucers and her mouth gaped. "What the hell is that... it's three syllables. How is that long? Also, who gave you the right to just start making nicknames for others?"

Reivan frowned and hummed to himself as he ruminated on what Karuna's nickname would be.

'Karu... no, that doesn't sound right.'

"Hey, are you listening to me?"

'Runa, then? Hmm... that sounds a bit better but still...'

"Wow. Look at this guy." Karuna scoffed in exasperated irritation before she threw a cookie at his face.

A scene similar to what had happened a while ago should have repeated itself, however, Reivan was already aware that he was essentially a god in this place right now.

The cookie slowed to a halt in front of him before he picked it up and ate it.

"Mmm... this is really good. Thanks." Reivan licked his lips and flicked off the crumbs left on his finger. "I'll see ya later, Kana!"

"Wha—" She stiffened for a moment before the indignation kicked in. "Hey!"

But before she could do anything else, Reivan had already disappeared.

Karuna gnashed her teeth and cursed as faint blush crossed her cheeks. "That fucking bastard..."

----------------------------------------

Reivan opened his eyes as he sat cross-legged atop his soft bed.

'I'm back...'

A smile couldn't help but cross his face as he looked around, just in time to notice the ball he'd levitated free fall to the ground.

His chamber's silence was broken by the sound of the ball impacting the floor, bouncing a few times before rolling off somewhere.

'Holy shit... Are you kidding me? No time passed...?'

Reivan couldn't confirm whether not even a single second had passed, but at the very least, the years he'd spent inside his ability didn't seem to amount to much out in the real world.

Suddenly, a soft hiss followed after the ball's bounces. Soon, its source made an appearance before Reivan's eyes.

"Zoro-chan... or rather, I think I should stop calling you that since you're crazy big now, huh." He chuckled as he reached forward to stroke the serpent's head. "Zoro, how long was I out?"

Zoro tilted its head and stuck its tongue out, conveying its bafflement through their connection. The creature wasn't even sure if Reivan had done anything at all; from its perspective, he had just closed his eyes for a bit.

"I see..." Reivan nodded in understanding before pulling the little danger noodle into his arms. "C'mere, you..."

As he held it tightly, Reivan reveled in the familiar feeling of having a spiritual bond with the creature — a bond that he'd lost for a few years while he was running around in Karuna's fragment of eternity. It was as they said, people didn't know what they'd lost until they actually did.

Their bond just served to help them communicate more efficiently, but while it was gone, Reivan realized that it was so much more than that; it was a connection that assured him that he always had someone by his side.

Seeing as Zoro would die if Reivan did, their bond meant that he would never live or die alone, ever again. Every second he would ever spend alive would be a second spent with the hissing companion.

Now that it was back, he never wanted to be without it ever again.

Zoro was initially confused by the sudden bout of affection, but then it played along by enlarging itself and wrapping its body around Reivan's.

"Uh..." Feeling extremely claustrophobic all of a sudden, Reivan just chuckled. "Hey, not too tight, okay?"

BANG!

Reivan stiffened — or he would've, had wasn't in his current state of constriction — as the door burst open.

'Is it Mother...?'

His suspicions were quickly proven correct when an extremely pleasant and energetic voice sounded out from outside.

"Rein! I just remembered something!" Vianna waltzed in, scooped Reivan into her arms — somehow freeing him from Zoro's "hug" in an instant — and hugged him tightly. "You're under the effects of the Beast King's Ichor, so you can't be that tired! You little scamp! Trying to get away from Mother...? You're too young to start acting cold towards your parents, y'know?"

Hearing his mother's voice, feeling the warmth of her touch, and smelling the familiar scent of family on her, Reivan's smile couldn't possibly widen more than it could — unless that smiling monster in the dream got to him. He grabbed onto his Mother tightly and nuzzled his face into her chest. "It's you that won't get away, Mom."

It wasn't like he ever took her presence for granted, but that dream had instilled a deep desire within Reivan; a desire to never lose her warmth. In this second life of his, he'd come to discover just how wonderful it was to have a mother, so he absolutely won't ever lose it.

"Oh? What's this?" Vianna's eyes widened in surprise before she smiled warmly. "You're even calling me 'Mom' instead of 'Mother'... and you're being so clingy too... is something wrong?"

Reivan looked up, two pairs of golden eyes meeting in the air. "Not really..."

"Hmmm...." Humming, his mother scanned the room, eventually stopping at the bed's disheveled state. "Oh, did you have a nightmare, perhaps?"

'I guess you can call it that...'

"Mhm," Reivan grunted before he returned to shoving his face into his mother's bosom. This was a comfortable place for him, a place of security. He hadn't even been hugging her for a minute and he was already getting sleepy.

"Oh, my poor baby..." Vianna casually waved her hand, causing the door to shut, while reappearing on the bed. She gently laid down with Reivan, wrapping her arms and tail around him, as if to protect him from all harm. "What was the nightmare about? Oh, but if you don't want to, you don't have to talk about it."

While reveling in the pleasant but ticklish sensation of his mother's fur against his skin, Reivan drowsily mumbled, "Lots of nightmare spawns broke into the city... the castle blew up immediately... there was this really big one that looked like a giant floating meatball that had loads of arms... and then when I'm in a forest all alone, you come in and save me from this monster that smiled a lot."

"Uh-huh..." The warbeast woman listened as she gently stroked her son's grey hair. "Was I really cool when I fought?"

Reivan chuckled sleepily. "The coolest."

"Heh." Vianna couldn't suppress a smirk.

"But then everybody dies..." His trembling arms tightened around Vianna's body. "Even you... you die just to let me get away..."

"Well, that Mom in your dream did a good job then." She giggled before burying her face in his head. "Cuz that sounds like a great way to die."

It was at that moment when Reivan finally understood why Kyouka always hated it when he joked around with his death.

"Don't say that..." Reivan growled.

Vianna's tinkling laughter echoed across the room. "I'm just saying... if I was going to die anyway, that'd be the best way to go."

"Stop it."

"Sorry sorry..." she cooed, intensifying her head-stroking and back-patting. "Geez... maybe it really was too early to show you that place? In any case, don't worry about it too much. If you're scared, then what about all the other people that have been around since the portal appeared? They've been scared all the time."

Reivan's disgruntlement dissipated as he felt his mother's soft touch. His body relaxed, almost melting.

"Aizen's greatest minds have been thinking of the worst possible things that could happen and have tried to make countermeasures for them. They've been doing that for centuries, and I can say for a fact that they're doing a great job."

"How can you say that...?"

"Hmmm..." Vianna paused to think about it for a few moments before slowly explaining. "Well, for one thing, we've been gathering energy in that mountain behind the castle. I'm pretty sure it's enough to vaporize a couple of transcendents, y'know? With enough left over to clear the capital, even if it's swarming with enemy ascendants."

'What the hell? Really?'

"And you may not know this yet, but every citizen has an invisible branding on the back of their neck upon birth. This is partly so they don't accidentally activate any of the various traps we've set all around the country, but it's also because it gives us the ability to evacuate them using a massive teleportation circle that encompasses the entire country. So our last option is to abandon all infrastructure. Once we regroup in an underwater facility to the east of our nation, then we can just retake all our land back. Not like it's that big anyway... so it'll be super easy."

'What the fuck... really? That's kinda nuts...'

"Huh... wait, do I have a brand too?" he couldn't help but ask.

At this, Vianna just giggled. "Why would you need a brand? The blood that runs through your veins is of royal descent. You don't need anything else."

"Uh-huh..."

"So you see? There's nothing to worry about. We're pretty darn safe. And even if something weird happens and you're placed in danger, then Mother will protect you."

"No thanks. I'll take care of myself..."

"Oh, you..." Vianna shook her head in exasperation, probably seeing through his intentions. "You won't be able to stop me with just words, Rein. Because to me, there are worse fates than death."

'Hey, that's what I said... in my head, that is.'

Reivan felt his mother's arms tighten around his tiny body.

"My precious son, to me, seeing you in danger is enough to make me throw away all caution, y'know? No consequences will be too large if it were for you." Vianna nuzzled her face into his scalp. "Because seeing you get hurt... or, the Sun God forbid, die, would shatter me. And I'm sure I will never recover."

"Mother..."

"I will not allow you to die before me... and likewise, I don't want to exist in a world without you in it." She inhaled his scent, as if afraid she'd forget. "That's why it's a given that I'd die for you."

Reivan consumed an enormous amount of willpower to hold back his tears as he bit his lips. "But still..."

"No buts." Vianna harrumphed. "If you don't like the idea of me dying for you... then you just have to be stronger than me. Easy, hm?"

'Like hell it is!'

"Besides~!" She continued, her voice a bit teasing. "Mother's the coolest when she's out there beating monsters up, y'know? If you saw me fight, you might fall in love, y'know!"

Reivan chuckled softly, the drowsiness starting to catch up to him. "Mom's always the coolest... You don't have to fight monsters to be cool... and I already love you too much, so..."

"Oh, you little sweet-talker..." Vianna squealed as her tail gently whacked him repeatedly. "You'll definitely get lots of girls. Unlike your father and brother... and all the other male royals in the history of Aizen."

'So being monogamous runs in the family...?'

Finding that part of his bloodline strange, Reivan was just about to fall into the embrace of sleep when his mother suddenly asked him something.

"By the way, I was thinking of giving you a coming-of-age gift. Although you'll have another one when you turn thirteen, and another one at fifteen, ten years old is still a milestone! If there's anything you want, ask and this Queen, Mother, and Warrior will do her absolute best to give it to you!"

'A gift, huh...?'

Despite slumber threatening to overcome Reivan, the young prince still wracked his brain for an answer. Material objects were likely the easiest things his mother could obtain for him. But he didn't really have anything he wanted really badly.

Instead, he shifted his thoughts to non-material things. Naturally, since it was supposed to be a gift, it had to make him — the recipient — happy.

So what would make him the happiest?

'Happiness, huh?'

Thinking about that word, a person's face immediately popped into his mind.

'Kyouka...'

If his love for her hadn't been obvious enough, just meeting a fake had caused him to succumb to... whatever it was [Glimpse of Eternity] had tried to do to him. Barring his second life, the times he spent with her were undoubtedly the happiest moments of his life.

Reivan yawned, his mouth gaping wide open. Finally, it seemed that he couldn't resist the sandman's call. His eyes closed and in his muddle-headed state, he blurted out his honest thoughts.

"I want a little sister."

"..." Vianna's wolf ears twitched as her closed eyes snapped open. "Huh?"

"And a butler too..."

Not even aware of what he'd just said, Reivan once again slept, but not before smiling at the feeling of his scaly companion silently entering his soul.

----------------------------------------

Vianna was in a daze as she watched her sleeping son's peaceful expression.

'He wants a little sister... and a butler? Wait, what's that about? The little sister aside, does he want someone to boss around...? But he can just boss everybody around, why does he want a butler?'

Despite her confusion, Vianna chose to set the butler part aside for the moment. A butler would be easy to procure, seeing as they already had a lot of those in the castle.

The problem was Reivan's first request.

'But I'm an ascendant...'

For a moment, she inwardly cursed the gods — or whoever ran things — for stealing ascendents' ability to bear children, but then her eyes brightened.

She'd just had an idea. A truly wonderful idea. So wonderful, that it felt like the moons had aligned for this very moment.

'What was that metaphor again...? Oh, that's right! It feels like a light orb smashed into my head!'

Vianna found the expression strange, and she wondered if she even got it right, but that wasn't important at the moment.

While careful not to wake her son with her movements, she took out a small, transparent crystal attached to a red string. She then used it to send a message to her brother, who was in the middle of meeting with the visitors from the eastern continent.

'I'll get you that little sister, Rein!'