"I'm so sorry, Claire. I never ant for it to end like this…" he whispered, his voice breaking.
She reached out as if to touch his face, but her hand passed right through his skin. "I told you, Azzy. It's alright," Claire said softly. "You didn't hurt . If anything, you did save in a way. And at least… I'm at peace now. I'm free of all the burdens, and I get to live with you, even if it's in a different way. I'm happy. Seriously…"
Azzy's heart clenched, and a wave of emotion hit him like a tidal wave. The ache in his chest only grew deeper, a gnawing sorrow he couldn't shake. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words felt stuck, tangled in the weight of his guilt.
"It's not that simple," he said finally, his voice filled with sorrow. "I've… married soone else."
At his words, Claire's face faltered slightly, though she still wore her soft, understanding smile. "Azzy," she said gently, "I knew about your situation. I had access to your mories. To be honest, it is quite surprising. You had so many burdens on you, you faced so many troubles, things I never imagined you would. But, on the side note, there is sothing you have yet to realize, Azzy. You've been in that ditative state for almost four Seraphic years—fourteen years by Gaia's standards."
Azzy's eyes widened in horror. "What?" he gasped, his mind racing as the implications hit him all at once. "That ans my son… he's already born! And by now, he's probably… seventeen years old on Irth?!"
A cold sweat broke out on Azzy's brow as panic gripped him. His heart raced, thoughts tumbling over each other in an overwhelming rush. "I wasn't there for Leiza when I promised I would be! I missed his birth… and the ti he grew up. What if… what if she married soone else? Am I just supposed to… move on again? What about my family back in the Death Clan? So many years have passed—my sister would be all grown up by now, too…"
The weight of lost ti felt unbearable, suffocating him. "What about the country I planned to found? The clans that were supposed to join ? Will they still rember ? Will they accept after so much ti has passed?" Azzy paced in a panic, his thoughts spiraling out of control. His grip on the present felt tenuous, slipping through his fingers like sand.
Claire watched him silently for a mont, her presence still and gentle, as if giving him space to process his emotions. Then, in a soothing voice, she spoke again, her tone much calr than his frantic state. "Azzy," she began, her words gentle yet firm. "It is what it is."
Azzy stopped in his tracks, his breathing shallow, eyes wide with disbelief. He turned to her, shaking his head. "What do you an, it is what it is? You think I can just accept this? I've missed all this ti. I wasn't there for my family. I wasn't there for Leiza. I should go back and rewrite the tiline. Maybe, I could save you, this ti."
Claire's spirit let out a soft sigh. "Instead of trying to rewrite your tiline, it's better to co to terms with it. What you are now is the little things that happened in your past, Azzy. The future lies in what you do now, in how you move forward."
Azzy felt the weight of her words, but frustration boiled up inside him. "And look at how well that worked out for you, huh?" he snapped, his voice tinged with bitterness. "Didn't you just go along with the flow and accept your fate? Is that what you're suggesting? To simply give up and… let things be?"
Claire didn't flinch at his harsh tone. Instead, she smiled, though it was a sad smile. "I found a place where I'm free of struggle, Azzy. A place where I can live in peace, where I can be with my loved one for eternity without burden or pain. That is where I am now."
Azzy fell silent. The words struck him deeply, and a weight settled in his chest. He had never truly thought of Claire in that way, but now that she said it, there was a strange kind of peace in her acceptance. She wasn't struggling, not anymore. She had found freedom.
His frustration ebbed, replaced by a deep, quiet sadness. "I'll try," Azzy said finally, his voice hoarse as he took a deep breath. "I'll try to accept it. But you don't have to stay like this forever. I'll find a way to bring you back, in your own body. I'll resurrect you, Claire. I promise."
Claire's form glowed softly, and her smile grew warr. "It's alright, Azzy. Take your ti. I'm not going anywhere. If anything, I find this state enjoyable. I'm with you now, all the ti. I'm here, with you… forever."
Azzy hesitated, feeling an odd shift in the air. Her words, though comforting, left a strange aftertaste. "You sound… different," he remarked, his brow furrowing in confusion. "I don't know… I can't quite place it, but your personality it's changed. Is it really you who's talking, Claire? Or… is it the jewel?"
Claire's gaze softened, and she nodded. "Neither of us really has a soul in the traditional sense, Azzy. We're personifications of cosmic jewels. The only difference now is that I don't have a body to anchor . I don't have organs and I don't experience emotions the way humans do anymore, not in the sa way. But everything I say now, everything I feel, is coming directly from my soul. It's the purest form of myself, without any of the distractions of a physical body."
Azzy remained silent, his thoughts swirling. He didn't know whether to feel relief or sorrow at the knowledge that Claire, in her current form, had transcended her previous human experiences.
Was this still her? Was this still the Claire he had known, or was she now sothing else entirely?
"Azzy," Claire's voice brought him out of his thoughts, her presence still warm and comforting despite the uncertainty. "I might not be the sa Claire you rember, but as I have said earlier. It is what it is, and just learn to go with the flow, accept whatever fate throws at you."
He nodded slowly, not sure how to feel about it all. The ache in his chest remained, but there was also a strange, bittersweet sense of acceptance creeping in.
Maybe she was right. Maybe this was a path he would have to walk, not one of rewinding ti or chasing ghosts, but moving forward in the present.
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