"Eva, you should tell us more about yourself," Aurianna insisted, her tone laced with curiosity.

"I don't want to," Eva replied quietly. Then, raising her voice, she added, "And you two should focus on training!"

"I've given Kleizorn a skill to teach you both," Eva continued, and Kleizorn nodded in affirmation.

"Oh, what skill?!" Aurianna asked eagerly.

"I'm curious as well," Leila added, her head bobbing in agreement.

"Shining Stars," Eva declared. Although Aurianna and Leila couldn't see her, the dissatisfaction in her voice was unmistakable.

"Doesn't sound very special," Aurianna muttered, frowning.

"Trust me, it is," Eva stated coldly, her tone making Aurianna and Leila feel nervous.

"Now, I’ve confirmed it. You two are mutations with Regal powers. You feel an unfamiliar feeling within you, but it's being deeply suppressed by the White Gemaris gem, correct?" Eva inquired. Aurianna and Leila remained silent, their lack of denial confirming Eva's words.

"So that's what it was," Aurianna thought, recalling the new skill she used during her battle with the Grand Human.

"Yes, what you used was Chaos Realm," Eva explained. "It's the power to make a certain area your domain, turning everything within it into your energy supply. I don't even fully understand that skill despite seeing it many times. Every Regal has a different Chaos Realm. Leila has Chaos Flames, a fire that can burn anything." Eva sighed before continuing.

"Does it matter? As long as I get stronger, I don't care what's inside me!" Aurianna declared, placing her hand on her waist.

"Hehehe, that's the thing," Eva said nervously. "Kleizorn will start."

"Start what exactly?" Aurianna wondered.

"Both of you should lie down," Kleizorn instructed. Aurianna and Leila frowned.

"On the ground? I want a bed," Leila insisted, crossing her arms.

"Fine," Eva relented and created two beds for them. Both girls happily lay down.

"This is better!" Aurianna cheered with a smile.

"Remember, Aurianna and Leila, if you fail this, you could ultimately damage your soul and lose yourself. You must overcome whatever you see inside the dream," Kleizorn warned as Aurianna and Leila slowly drifted off to sleep.

"Hey, Aurianna," she suddenly heard, waking to see a familiar face beside her.

It was a young, fair teenage boy with short brown hair and a pair of brown eyes. He wore a luxurious suit and sat on the grassy ground, gazing at the meadows ahead where people strolled in the distance.

"What, Clide? How the hell are you here?" Aurianna asked, suddenly remembering him. ‘I completely forgot about him!’

‘I'm sure I didn't meet him this time. What's happening?’ she wondered, her gaze turning cold as she noticed two noble girls nearby playing with large, puffy flowers. When the flowers touched their skin, they burst into many pieces, creating a beautiful scene, but Aurianna's expression remained indifferent.

She looked down and noticed she was sitting on a picnic rug beside a picnic basket filled with utensils and food.

[You have begun the process to obtain the skill Shining Stars. You shall face your last and most terrible memories. If you fail, you'll be stuck here forever.]

Aurianna heard the voice but seemed extremely confused. "What the hell is that voice? What was it saying? I couldn't hear well," she said in a displeased tone as she looked around.

Clide noticed Aurianna's sour mood and decided to cheer her up. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Aurianna?" he said with a gentle smile. "Do you remember our last picnic here?"

Aurianna frowned, her mind racing to catch up with the strange situation. "Clide, this doesn't make sense. I shouldn't be here with you. This must be some kind of trick," she hoped to say but her voice couldn't come out causing her to look around warily.

Clide's expression softened. "Aurianna, sometimes it's okay to just be in the moment. Enjoy this time, even if it feels strange. Look, the meadows are beautiful, and we have a whole picnic spread here. Let’s just enjoy it for a bit."

Aurianna nodded. She picked up a delicate sandwich from the picnic basket and took a bite. ‘I can't control my body what is happening??!!’

“Hey, Aurianna, come on! They’re waiting for us. Doesn’t it feel good to be alive?” Clide asked, standing up and letting the wind blow into his face.

‘This isn’t right,’ Aurianna thought, her eyes darting around as memories from her past life flooded back. ‘I remember they brought me here before, and when we were attacked by monsters, they left me behind.’ She tried to move, but it felt as though her movements were being restricted.

“I’ve been being cooped up in the palace, so yes it does,” Aurianna replied, repeating the exact words she had said in her past life. The realization made her feel extremely annoyed.

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‘What is trying to control my speech?’ she wondered in frustration. ‘Am I reliving my past?’ she concluded.

“Hey, Aurianna,” Clide called out again.

“Hey, fuck off!” Aurianna snapped coldly, immediately feeling a sharp pain sear through her entire body, as though punished for breaking an unknown rule.

“What!” Clide gasped, bewildered by her sudden shift in attitude. He looked at her in confusion and he felt hurt, clearly not expecting such a harsh response.

Clide's expression shifted from confusion to concern. "Aurianna, are you okay?" he asked cautiously, taking a step towards her.

Aurianna clenched her fists, the pain gradually increasing. "I'm fine," she replied, trying to take control of her body. "Just... needed to clear my head."

"Roaarrr!" A sudden, dreadful roar interrupted them, causing the group to panic, except for Aurianna.

"Is that the sound of a beast?" one of the girls blurted out in fear, taking a step back.

Suddenly, a monster rushed towards the group, crashing into a tree next to them. It shook its head before turning its attention to them.

Before them stood a phantom tiger-like beast with enormous tusks and blood-curdling eyes.

"What is a monster doing here?" Clide nervously blurted out, falling onto his butt in fear.

‘Now that I think about it, how did a monster get so close to our borders back then? There were adventurers around, so how the hell did it get so close? Someone probably wanted me dead and didn't care if they had to sacrifice some nobles. The boldness and audacity,’ Aurianna thought with a cold chuckle.

However, Aurianna felt a push on her back and she fell into the picnic basket, catching the attention of the monster as the others dashed off.

Aurianna got up to see the monster getting closer to her, and she gave a cold smile.

‘And she just pushed me,’ she sneered. The monster launched at her and bit her arm, but no screams came from Aurianna.

‘This feeling... my body feels so dainty, like when I was a Saintess in the past,’ she thought as she watched the monster scratch her body, making a bloody mess.

"Fuck off, monster!" Aurianna yelled. Using her bitten arm as bait, she grabbed a knife near the picnic blanket and stabbed the monster's head temple and neck several times until it fell dead. Her arm was entirely bitten off.

Aurianna breathed heavily as she stared down at the monster, her broken arm slowly healing.

"If this were real, I would have chased down those assholes and killed them. But this is probably just a test," Aurianna mumbled coldly.

"Bring in the next ones! I'll handle anything you throw at me!" Aurianna yelled with a crazed expression. The area around her immediately changed, and so did her dress.

Aurianna found herself in a modest Saintess dress, walking with three familiar figures and several knights.

“Hey, Aurianna, eyes on me!” Kent's face appeared in front of her, his eyebrows rising in a peculiar, exaggerated manner.

“Kent? Cindy? Derek!” Aurianna's pupils shrank at the sight of them, and her expression twisted into one of rage.

“Auri dear, are you okay? Why do you look so angry?” Cindy asked, worried and a bit scared, gripping her staff tightly.

“Ahaha, this fucking test is testing my damn patience!” Aurianna yelled in annoyance. She pulled a knife from under her skirt and stabbed Kent in the eye as he approached her.

“Ahhh!” Kent screamed in pain from the sudden attack.

“Aurianna! What the hell are you thinking?” Cindy gasped, trembling in fear. Kent stumbled back, slowly pulling the knife out of his eye, tears of pain streaming down his face.

“Damn test, you'd think I'd flinch and cower in fear just because it's them? Like hell!” Aurianna yelled. She pointed her staff at Kent's sword hanging by his side and blasted it, severing his body at the waist as well as shattering his sword and leaving everyone in shock.

“What the hell have you done?” The knights stared in shock at the chaos that had erupted within the supposed Hero's party, all because of the Saintess.

“Chi, chi, a hero's weakness is their weapon!” Aurianna said coldly, tilting her head.

“Aurianna, what are you doing? Are you even Aurianna? Who are you, imposter? Aurianna would never act like this! You don't have her eyes. Everyone, stay back! I'll handle her!” Cindy yelled, pointing her glowing staff at Aurianna.

Aurianna stared at Cindy and moved swiftly, evading Derek’s attempt to block her. She landed a kick on Cindy's neck, grabbed her staff, and shattered it with her knife, causing Cindy to stumble.

‘I traveled with these buffoons. I know their weaknesses well enough,’ Aurianna thought coldly.

“Ahhhh!” Cindy and Kent screamed as their bodies began to corrode, turning into black ash and bones before collapsing lifelessly on the ground.

“What have you done? How did you know?” Derek asked in surprise, stepping back and warily observing Aurianna.

Aurianna’s eyes gleamed coldly as she stepped over the remains of Cindy and Kent crushing their bones. She then turned her attention to Derek, who stood trembling, his sword drawn but his hands shaking.

The knights, previously paralyzed by shock, began to move, forming a protective barrier around Derek. “Protect the Hero!” one of them shouted.

“Fools,” Aurianna muttered. She pointed her staff at the ground and a shockwave erupted, knocking the knights off their feet. Derek lunged at her, but she sidestepped effortlessly, landing a blow to his side that sent him sprawling.

“You’re weak, Derek,” she said, standing over him. “You always were.”

Derek coughed, blood trickling from his mouth. “This... this isn’t real,” he gasped. “It can’t be.”

"Kill her! She's an imposter!" Derek yelled frantically, pointing at Aurianna before hiding behind the other knights who were just getting back on their feet.

"Yes, sir!" The knights immediately surrounded Aurianna, their swords and staffs aimed at her.

"Cowardly wretch, fight me!" Aurianna shouted, raising her staff.

"Judgment!" she cried, and a golden magic circle appeared in the sky, shining down on everyone. It then turned pure white with rainbow-colored lines crawling across it.

"Blast away!" she commanded, and holy light rained down, incinerating everything in its path. The area turned to ash, leaving Aurianna standing alone.

"Why aren't you scared? Why aren't you afraid? This is my domain! I won't let you gain this power, especially not from a halfling!" a male voice boomed through the sky, filled with anger and frustration.

"So, you're the bastard setting up these tests? How fun," Aurianna said with an evil smile.

"I'm going to kill you for daring to show this to me!" she yelled in rage.

"How cocky of you! You forget this is my domain. I am a supreme being, Shining Star! I shall not become a mere servant to you, a Gemaris!" he yelled back.

"I'll kill you and take over your body. Then I'll kill everyone you care about. I can see all your memories, past and present. I wonder what their faces would look like as they witness you killing them. It would be so much fun!" he mocked.

"You talk too much!" Aurianna declared coldly, striking her hand toward the sky. A large crack appeared, shocking Shining Star completely.

"What the fuck!" he gasped, seeing the crack.

"How the hell... what???" he stammered, utterly stunned.

"At first, I just wanted to learn a damn skill. But now, after hearing what you said, I'll kill you and rip you to fucking shreds," Aurianna yelled, her expression terrifying.

"Ahhh, she's scary!" Shining Star cried.

"Your arrogance will be your death!" he roared, and suddenly thousands of rainbow-colored strings wrapped around Aurianna, attempting to squeeze her to death.

"Ahhhhh!" Aurianna screamed as she tore the strings off her, despite them cutting into her flesh.