Liora lay still with her back facing Xu Kai, eyes shut, but sleep did not co. Her body was calm, but her mind churned like a storm. That mory—it hadn’t just been a dream. It was too clear, too vivid. And the pain when she tried to push deeper... it felt too real.
She swallowed hard and opened her eyes slowly, staring at the wall of her small hut, barely lit by the soft glow of the night light outside. Her fingers clenched slightly over the sheet as she whispered into the silence, "System... was that really my past life? Was I truly Aeris? And... was Atlas really my brother?"
The voice that answered ca gently, almost like it had been waiting for the question.
[System: Affirmative. Atlas was your real brother. And you were Aeris.]
Liora froze. Her breath caught in her throat.
It wasn’t a dream. It wasn’t a fragnt of soone else’s mories.
It was her.
She was Aeris.
Aeris—the stubborn cadet who chased after Xu Kai with reckless heart. Aeris, who trained hard and smiled brighter each day. And Atlas, her brother—the cold, unreadable one who always lingered near her, who shielded her like no one else ever did. She had always wondered why he was so good to her, even when she didn’t understand him. There were tis she thought he might’ve been a relative of the original body’s owner. But it wasn’t that.
He had protected her because he was her brother.
Her real brother.
Liora closed her eyes again, and her chest ached. She had spent so long confused, doubting, even feeling guilty for never truly connecting with Atlas. And now she knew the truth—he had known who she was the whole ti. And he had chosen not to tell her. She rembered the countless tis she had asked him why he was always there, always watching her, always saving her.
He had only ever said: "You don’t need to know."
Tears pricked her eyes again.
Why didn’t he tell her?
Why had no one told her?
Her voice shook as she continued, barely a whisper, "System... what about the life I rember before this one? When I was a princess? Was that also ? Or did it co after? Before?"
There was a long pause.
Then the system replied slowly.
[System: Host, this is your original body. You never transmigrated. When you died as Aeris, your soul was sent into the past—where you lived as Princess Liora.]
Liora’s breath caught again.
Sent into the past...? That ant... her life as a princess had happened after her death as Aeris?
The system continued gently, [I am not allowed to tell you who sent you or why. You must unlock the rest of your mories on your own. But after your ti in the past was complete, your soul returned to your original world—this one—two years after your disappearance.]
Liora listened in stunned silence.
So only two years had passed here?
The system added softly, [For your safety, you were placed on a remote planet undergoing apocalypse. You needed to grow strong again before returning.]
It all made sense now. The hidden truths. The system’s silence. The strange gaps in mory. The way Atlas had looked at her. Even her physical changes. She felt different. Looked different.
A sudden thought struck her, and she frowned.
"If this is my real body... then why do I look so different from Aeris? My hair is bold red, but hers was snow white. Why?"
The system’s voice turned apologetic.
[That data is not accessible yet. You must upgrade further to access the full explanation.]
Liora sighed deeply.
Another restriction. Another layer of truth kept hidden.
She turned slightly under the blanket, her face still away from Xu Kai. Her fingers curled around the edge of the sheet as the weight of everything settled on her.
She felt confused. Lost. Her identity was no longer clear. Was she Aeris? Was she Princess Liora?
Who was she really?
And why had the system lied to her all this ti?
At first, she had been told she had transmigrated into soone else’s body... that this world wasn’t hers. And now... now she was being told that this was her original life all along.
Tears welled in her eyes again. Slowly, silently, one slipped down her cheek.
And then—she felt it.
A warm touch against her skin. A thumb, rough and calloused, gently wiping the tear away.
Liora blinked and turned slowly. Xu Kai was looking at her with soft, worried eyes. His brows were furrowed slightly, and his lips were parted as if he wanted to say sothing but didn’t know how.
Her heart twisted.
Before she could stop herself, the words spilled out.
"Can I trust you?" she asked softly, her voice almost breaking.
Xu Kai didn’t speak. He only nodded, slowly but firmly, eyes never leaving hers.
And sothing inside Liora gave way.
She sat up and threw her arms around him, holding him tight.
"Why are you so good to ?" she whispered into his chest, trembling again. "Do you... like ?"
Xu Kai’s body stiffened at first, but then he relaxed, one arm wrapping around her back with quiet care.
He didn’t answer imdiately. But after a heartbeat, his voice ca low and steady.
"I do."
That was it.
No dramatic words.
No hesitation.
Just truth.
And that was all she needed.
Liora looked up, her eyes glassy, and her gaze locked with his. He looked so stunned, as if he couldn’t believe he had said it out loud. His ears were a little pink, and his jaw was tense.
But Liora didn’t wait.
She leaned forward and kissed him without any sha.
Soft and full of emotion.
She didn’t hold back.
It wasn’t graceful or perfect—it was ssy with feelings too big to na. Her hand gripped his shirt, and his arms tightened around her, pulling her closer, not out of passion, but out of a desperate need to feel sothing real.
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