[POV Liselotte]
The return to the Academy was a blur of disjointed images. I don’t rember descending the steps of the Throne Hall, nor the cold feel of the carriage door handle, nor the journey back through the capital’s streets. My mind had turned into a scratched record, replaying the sa image over and over again: Ulric, clad in that radiant white armor, walking with the arrogance of soone who knows the world belongs to him. But to , he was no legendary hero; he was the boy who used to mock my quiet nature in the hallways of a high school on Terra, the leader of a group that made other people’s lives a living hell.
When my senses finally returned to the present, I found myself sitting on the sofa in our suite in the dormitories. The fireplace was lit, yet my bones felt as though they were made of frost. Leah was in front of , kneeling on the carpet, gripping my hands with desperate strength. Her eyes were red, clouded by a worry that bordered on panic.
“Lotte, please… say sothing. You’ve been staring without blinking for an hour. You’re really scaring ,” Leah begged, her voice breaking. “Ever since those n appeared in the hall, you turned pale as a corpse. What did they do to you? Did you feel so kind of magical attack that I didn’t see?”
I tried to form an answer, but my throat was dry. The reality of seeing the ghosts of my past, transford into the so-called “saviors” of a corrupt church, was a knot that wouldn’t let breathe. Chloé, who had been leaning against the wall watching the scene with a seriousness uncharacteristic of her, stepped forward. Her animal instincts had sensed sothing Leah, blinded by love, couldn’t fully grasp.
“Leah,” Chloé said in a low voice. “This is important. I need to talk to Lotte about what happened. Alone.”
Leah tensed, looking at the wolf with surprise and a flash of pain. “Alone? Why? I’m her friend, I’m the one she protects… if sothing’s wrong with her, I—”
“Trust , princess,” Chloé insisted, placing a hand on Leah’s shoulder. “It’s not that we don’t want you here. It’s that Lotte needs to process sothing that only she and I can understand right now. I promise we’ll tell you afterward.”
Leah looked at one last ti, searching my blue eyes for so sign. I could only nod faintly, an almost imperceptible gesture. She sighed, stood up, and after giving a quick kiss on the forehead that burned like fire, she left the room toward the balcony. The silence that followed was heavy. Chloé walked to the door and slid the bolt shut, then turned back to , crossing her arms.
“Lotte,” Chloé began, her golden gaze fixed on mine. “Tell the truth. Those guys… those so-called ‘heroes’… they’re from Terra, aren’t they?”
The na of the forbidden planet echoed through the room like thunder. I felt the ocean of energy in my chest stir. At last, I lowered my head and nodded.
“Yes… they’re from there,” I replied in a trembling voice.
“Did you know them from before?” she asked, sitting down in front of .
“They were my classmates, Chloé,” I said, and speaking the words aloud was like releasing a leaden weight. “In my previous life, when I was Edward, they sat in the sa classroom as . One day… a day that seed completely normal, they just disappeared. Like magic. No traces, no explanations. And now I understand why.”
I ran my hands through my green hair, tugging at the strands in frustration. “Once, I managed to speak with the spirit of my planet, with Tiara. She told that Gaia had abducted them. But I… I wanted to believe they were sowhere safe. I rembered reading legends in this world about heroes who saved the kingdom and then vanished. I thought they were already part of the past. Seeing them there, in that armor, being called ‘Heroes of Gaia’… it was a blow I wasn’t prepared for. They were my classmates, Chloé. And even though back then they treated terribly… even though Ulric was a bully who made my days hell and the others just watched or laughed… even so, I felt so affection for them. They were part of my ho.”
Chloé stood and placed her hands on my shoulders. Her face was serious, but her eyes burned with a fierce warmth.
“Listen carefully, Liselotte,” Chloé said, gripping my shoulders so I wouldn’t look away. “I know Edward is suffering because of them. I can sll your sadness from here, and I know that part of you wants to run to them and ask what happened. But you need to understand sothing fundantal: you are no longer Edward Celium.”
“I know, Chloé, but it’s hard—” I tried to interrupt, but she cut off.
“No, you don’t fully know. If you did, you wouldn’t be trembling over ghosts. Listen to : Edward died in that fire, or at least that life ended forever. The boy who sat in that classroom disappeared just like they did—but you were reborn. Now you are Liselotte, the Supre Guardian of Whirikal. Look at your hands, Lotte. These are not the hands of a frightened student. They are the hands of a woman who could freeze oceans if she wished.”
I fell silent, processing her words. She continued, her voice softening but losing none of its firmness.
“You have to accept that you are soone else now. You are stronger, wiser, and people depend on you. Those guys you saw in the throne room… they haven’t grown like you have. They may have shiny armor, but they’re still the sa arrogant bullies—only now they have dangerous toys. Don’t let the mory of who you were stop you from seeing who you are now. Edward couldn’t defend himself, but Liselotte… Liselotte is the nightmare of any army.”
“Do you really think I’m that different?” I asked, searching for a certainty my clouded mind couldn’t find.
“You’re worlds apart, Lotte. Edward was a victim of fate; you are the one who shapes it now. You’re the woman who matured through three years of peace to prepare for this mont. Those people down there… they are no longer your classmates. They are soldiers of a church that wants to destroy what you love. Don’t let nostalgia turn you into a victim again. Edward suffered enough—don’t let Liselotte carry his chains.”
“You’re right, Chloé,” I said, taking a deep breath as the cold of my magic steadied my nerves. “I am Liselotte. And if they co as enemies, I’ll treat them as such.”
Chloé smirked and released . “That’s what I like to hear. But listen… there’s more. You have to tell Leah. She was on the verge of tears a mont ago. She’s terrified because she feels like she’s losing you, like there’s sothing between you and those ‘heroes’ that she can’t reach. If you don’t tell her, that secret will beco a crack between you. And in the war that’s coming, you can’t afford cracks.”
“I don’t know if she’s ready to hear that I co from another world, Chloé,” I murmured worriedly. “It’s too much.”
Chloé leaned forward, narrowing her eyes with a mischievous expression. “Besides… she loves you, you idiot.”
I froze. The air seed to leave my lungs, and a burning heat rushed up my neck to set my cheeks ablaze. My blue eyes went wide as I stared at Chloé as if she had just claid the sky was green.
“What…? What are you talking about, Chloé? She’s… we’re friends, I’m her guardian…” I stamred, unable to process the idea.
Chloé laughed mockingly at my reaction. “Please, Lotte, even a blind person could see it. The way she looks at you, how she reacts when others talk to you… don’t be so dense. But don’t take my word for it. It’s better if you ask her yourself and trust her. Leah followed you to the ends of the world without ever asking why; she deserves to know the truth about who you are.”
I covered my face with my hands, trying to calm my racing heart. The thought that Leah might feel sothing like that for —for Liselotte, or for what remained of Edward—filled with a mix of terror and a strange warmth.
“Alright,” I finally said, taking a deep breath. “I’ll tell her. Everything.”
Chloé nodded and moved to the door to slide the bolt open. “Good luck. I’ll go find sothing to eat and give you space. I have a feeling this is going to be a long conversation.”
Chloé left the room, and monts later Leah entered from the balcony. Her shoulders were slumped, but when she saw standing, her eyes lit up with cautious hope.
“Lotte? Are you feeling better?” she asked, approaching carefully.
I took her hands and guided her to sit with on the edge of the bed.
“Leah… there’s sothing I need to tell you,” I began, looking at her with all the sincerity I could muster. “Sothing about who I really am and why those n from the Church affected so deeply. It’s a long story… but I need you to trust once again.”
Leah squeezed my hands. “I trust you with my life, Lotte. I always have. Tell anything.”
I inhaled deeply. “I wasn’t born in this world, Leah. Before I was Liselotte… I was soone called Edward.”
And so, I began to tell her everything.
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