Clara was feeling relieved for having confessed earlier.

When her lover suddenly told her his decision of wanting to confess about their relationship she instinctively persuaded him not to be hasty. Upon further discussion, she was convinced by him about the harm it would do if they kept hiding it further.

To be fair she didn't want to be excluded from his affection when even that new girl, Luna, brazenly became chummy with him. Isn't this unfair to her? She knew the reasons that had led to this change but being inwardly accepting of it was a whole nother matter.

Now that she had talked with Karla about it though she felt guilty but she was nonetheless glad to have come clean. It pained her to see her tears and sadness for going behind her back like this but Clara was clear of the consequences of her choices. She did have a relationship with him after having accepted this fact.

That being said, she was sympathetic to Karla about the dilemma she must have felt after learning about their mother's voyeurism. This topic was unavoidable as this was the very thing that had further ended up being a catalyst for their illicit relationship later on. The discussion of that night did revolve around it.

She had thought Karla was the only one who would be getting to know about their confession but it turned out that she had subconsciously excluded the possibility of a certain someone joining later.

As her lover called Luna to be included after the situation with Karla calmed for a bit she was inwardly perplexed as to how that new girl would react.

The later sequence shocked her.

It turned out that the girl was very suspicious of them already and took their story more calmly than her sister. As the conversation continued Clara was glad that her sister had the tacit understanding not to reveal her mother’s fetish. After she had explained Luna stayed silent for a long time. She seemed to be pondering something and finally replied,

“As long as you are honest from now on… I don't have any problem. That being said, shouldn't you also tell Miss Laura about it? After all, you had surprisingly gotten involved with both of her daughters like this.”

Upon hearing this both of the sisters had a strange expression and glanced at each other with some uneasiness. Luna wasn't aware of it so she unhesitatingly asked but the present situation wasn't that simple that they could be open about it without any consideration. The matter of her voyeurism was a big issue they needed to address but it was just that both didn't know how to do so at this hectic time where they kept facing great changes in their lives.

Anyways, her sister only replied that it wasn't a good time for her mother to know about this and that Blue shouldn't be pressured to do so as the matter was very complex.

“I won't bother about it. You two sisters know better.”

Luna replied but it seemed that she had understood something from Karla's hasty reply when the question was directed at Blue instead. Clara could only shake her head in dismay at this girl's keen observation that seemed to see through all the small clues.

She wondered how this girl changed so drastically compared to when she met her back at the Beast Racing club for the first time.

“Though she hides it, it seems… something is different about her change.”

Clara inwardly surmised as they chatted about how to go about their lives after this revelation.

She wasn't a dunce to not notice such a change when she was staying in the same house as her for weeks.

°°°°

Luna was filled with anticipation.

She intuitively knew that tonight her crucial memories will be unlocked. There were many fragments which still eluded her till now and without those she always felt as if something was gravely missing in her comprehension.

That being said, she also knew that this was a measure taken by her past self to ensure that if there was a chance where she faced danger grave enough to jeopardize her true identity before assimilation she would rather have that self die instead and take another shot at reincarnation again.

She was indeed very ruthless with herself.

The present Luna, however, didn't blame such an approach but instead thought it to be appropriate as her mindset and temperament had become somewhat similar to her past self. With the knowledge she had accumulated for epochs and her understanding as a core denizen about the Endless Void there was much that gave her confidence enough to keep on trying again and again.

“It is still concerning that I was born in the Outer Area. There is no way my past self would ever want to go to that place even if the reincarnation method was used as the last resort.”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

She was deeply wary of this conjecture. Better than any inner denizen she was acutely aware of the horror of abominations and only a lunatic would still want to be anywhere near that forbidden place. From a core denizen’s perspective, the Inner Area was similar to a buffer zone that ensured a sense of peace and security for them.

That's all an Inner Area ever amounted to.

As the time went by and reached near midnight Luna finally felt the now ever familiar sensation when her memories came back. This time was very different as expected. It took her a couple hours to finally assimilate with all the remaining memories of her past life.

A titled player, Enshrouded Blade.

The very moment she had completed the assimilation her entire demeanor changed and she exuded a profound presence of a great being who had experienced uncountable years. Her eyes were filled with vicissitudes of life.

It felt that even if the heavens fell upon her she would remain unfettered through it all.

The first thing she did was to heave a tired sigh. Her face was calm as she thought back to the life she had been leading in this lifetime.

“To think fate is so cruel to me. In order to get the Assassin class again it manifested in such a way that… Hmm?”

She noticed an oddity mid sentence.

Luna checked her body, mind and soul thoroughly. Her previous calm face broke as a deep frown now appeared on it.

“The innate skill Time Sanctuary?”

She concluded with some uneasiness but since she had also confirmed that it was in a dormant state and the condition for it to become active was her death she became somewhat calm.

What a joke!

She, a reincarnated core denizen, would face death on the hands of these inner denizens? How could the likes of those ignorant buffoons even harm a hair of her?

Utterly inconceivable!

This wasn't blind arrogance or contempt of a superior existence but mere facts. With the amount of means at her disposal she could deal with any obstacles that dare to stand on her path in this life, especially when she was still outside the Core Area.

With all her memories unlocked the reason why she was forced to reincarnate was now known to her and the difficulty she had to overcome to get her revenge on those that caused her demise still didn't quash her anger and resentment about them.

No matter how long of a time and how much of a sacrifice she had to make she would make sure to bring absolute despair upon them. Since they couldn't finish her off properly and she successfully reincarnated, though with some fate element accident, they should keep quaking in lingering fear of her comeback. She took slight delight in the invisible pressure she kept giving them even when she was the defeated one.

In this life she would have the last laugh.

However, it turned out that she wouldn't be walking a solitary path of revenge in her new life. The naive Luna had made many connections and even had gotten herself a boyfriend.

This was truly… unexpected.

“I am afraid this will bring disasters upon him. That being said, he is also an interesting fellow. To think he bore fate to be related to me in this way. That young man ended up being connected with my four elements in this life. Tsk! Tsk!”

She clicked her tongue in amazement. Now that she had fully assimilated Luna was no longer the same girl though she was still the same soul in the same body. The way she viewed everything and the way she treated others had drastically changed.

Even her “lover” wasn't an exception.

With several epochs of life experiences she was obviously different in her mindset. Her social status within the Core Area was lofty enough even without being a titled player. In her past life she was a married woman with a family of her own. With experience in a marital relationship crossing uncountable years she was anything but the clumsy girl previous Luna was to her relationship with Blue.

In her past life she had only considered her husband worthy to accompany her from the beginning when she first experienced an adult relationship with him till the very end where she was betrayed by him.

Luna couldn't help but chuckle in self-mockery.

“So many years togethers, we even had raised a family yet in the end you did such a thing to me. Good, good. I want to see just what story you had spun after my death. I can't wait to meet you again ‘dear husband’. Keep waiting for me a bit.”

Her eyes were utterly cold as her last moments flashed past her eyes. It took but a second to calm her mind. Even those memories weren't enough to shake her steady mind. In her life, what had she not experienced? Amount of schemes, conspiracies and life-or-death situations she had encountered was as immeasurable as her true age.

Well, in her heart she was eternally eighteen.

That being said, now both her physical body and her “true” age matched so there were no… discrepancies to point at so she put this miscellaneous thought at the back of her head.

She began to review all information and interaction she had with Blue. Someone so intimately connected with her four elements was obviously a matter of great importance to her. Four elements couldn't be treated lightly especially now that she had even more understanding about it.

“Now that I think about it, he is too perfect. A fake persona to hide insecurities? Or a natural hypocrite? I wonder what he is.”

She suspected his character without feeling any guilt. This was completely unthinkable if she still hadn't shed her previous over-affection towards him. Now that she had already got the memory of betrayal by another “perfect” guy she had even less confidence in Blue who she felt was the same type.

Once bitten twice shy.

“Whatever. Truth will be revealed after I read his mind tomorrow. It's late already and tomorrow those nerds need to be handled. Let's sleep for now. I really need a good rest.”

Luna decided as the first exchange event with the other academy dawned near.

She didn't put much emphasis on it before retiring for the night. She had already made a solid plan by now and nothing seemed to faze her at this juncture, especially not anything this little academy with trash quality resources in it could ever throw at her way.

Luna still had to pretend to be “herself” as the timing wasn't right yet.