“But you’re not Eli, are you?”

  I just stared at Mary uncomprehendingly as I heard her words. I took a moment to process them— to even understand what she was saying. After all, it was the last thing I had expected her to say during this moment.

  And even after taking a minute to make sure I actually heard her correctly, I still didn’t get it. So I just smiled nervously as I tilted my head at her.

  “What do you mean, Ms Mary?” I asked, feigning ignorance.

  But Mary just closed her eyes and repeated herself, trying to hold back her tears. “You are nothing like the Eli I knew. I don’t know what happened, but the Eli I knew is dead.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense—” I started, before I caught myself. For the first time since I woke up in this body, I began to lose my cool. And I wasn’t sure why. “I’ve just… you know, matured a lot since I became a [Healer]. It’s given me a sense of responsibility I never had before.”

  I spoke insistently, trying to keep calm. But my heart was pounding in my chest, and my mind was racing. Why was I feeling this way?

  It had to be because of the influence of Eli’s soul. Either he was offended by the fact that Mary was accusing him of not being him. Or maybe…

  I felt bands of fear constricting around my throat.

  Maybe I was realizing that I might have to kill Mary now that she knew the truth. And the idea of doing that terrified Eli’s soul— which was making me panic. But I had to stay calm. I had to find a way to resolve this without exacerbating the situation.

  Mary sighed as she looked back out towards the night sky. “Ever since you returned that night nearly a month ago… you’ve changed.”

  “I told you, I had a traumatic experience—” I started as I tightly grasped onto her hand.

  But she spoke over me, shaking her head. “Even though I never gave birth to him, I am Eli’s mother. He is my son. I know what he’s like. I’d know if he changed or became more mature. But you?”

  Her gaze slowly drifted towards me. She stared down at me with sadness in her eyes, and I almost recoiled from that look.

  “I know who you are,” Mary whispered as she met my gaze. “I know what you are.”

  I took a step back when I heard that. A shiver ran down my spine, and my hands dropped limply to my sides. I stared at her, seeing the single teardrop that ran down her cheek.

  And I knew…

  My fingers twitched as my gaze darkened. I gritted my teeth, and the realization settled in.

  I knew that I had to k—

  And my lips moved. “You’re right.”

  I took in a deep breath as I spoke. I felt the tension leaving my body, my fingers relaxing. My teeth no longer ground against each other. I raised my head and met Mary’s gaze.

  “I am not Eli. At least, I am not the Eli you knew.” I spoke softly as I refused to look away, and Mary wiped away the single teardrop from her face, turning her body to me now. “But when I told Hannah the truth about me, she said that I was still Eli.”

  I raised a hand to my chest and almost chuckled.

  “At first, I thought what she said was ridiculous— I didn’t understand what she meant. But… the more time I spend around you— around everyone here in this orphanage— the more I feel like I belong. Even though you were all strangers to me, I somehow just knew everyone. I just knew that this is my home.”

  I thought about all the times I spent staying up late and chatting with Hannah. Or the time I spent with the twins— them pestering me to show them the same spells I did over and over again.

  I remembered groaning at Michelle as she came to me with another one of her friends who somehow injured themselves again, and I thought of the concern I felt for Ethen when he hadn’t left his room for the first few days after the incident with the Blood Swords.

  And there were things which I somehow recalled that I never even experienced. Arguments I had with Jay that I never had, doing chores with Melinda that I never did, or playing games with Jason that I never played— but they all came rushing back to me like a distant memory.

  Looking down at myself, I just sighed.

  “I know I am not the real Eli, but he is not gone either. I can tell you that for certain.”

  And when I said that, I was speaking from the heart. It had been a hypothesis I had before, but now I knew it was true.

  But even though I was sincere in my words, I wasn’t sure if it would’ve been enough to convince Mary. I looked back up at her. I saw the soft expression she wore on her face— I couldn’t quite tell how she felt. And I could only hope she believed me.

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  She bit her lower lip as she closed her eyes. It didn’t look like she believed me. So I opened my mouth to continue.

  But she hugged me as she whispered, “I know.”

  I blinked a few times as I felt her warm embrace overwhelm me. I shivered a second later, but it was not out of fear. It was because I was taken aback by the sudden sense of comfort. Slowly, I hugged her back.

  “I also know that you don’t mean any harm,” Mary continued, speaking softly into my ear. “Because if you did, you would have done something terrible by now. I just… want you to promise me something.”

  I didn’t say a word. Instead, I let her pull away from me slightly to meet my gaze. She looked me in the eyes as she held onto my shoulders.

  “Promise me you’ll live Eli’s dream for him— that you’ll live Eli’s life to the fullest for him.”

  And as she spoke, her eyes welled up once more. Tears poured down from her cheeks as she continued in a trembling voice.

  “Promise me that you will be someone who Eli would be proud of for him.”

  Mary was crying again now. And this time, I was the one who pulled her into a hug. I nodded as I closed my eyes, remembering all the times she comforted Eli when he was younger— whenever he sprained an ankle or got caught by the guards for stealing, he would always put on a tough face at first, especially around others.

  But eventually, when he was alone with only Ms Mary— with the woman who raised him and cared for him— he would always cry. And she would always be there for him. Just like a mother would.

  And as all those memories belonging to Eli flooded my mind, my heart began to ache. I began to move on instinct, letting my body act on its own. I closed my eyes, tightly holding onto the boy’s mother until her tears subsided. As I held back the boy’s own tears from pouring out. Before I finally spoke from my heart the words he wished to speak.

  “I promise.”

  ***

  The next day, I told everyone in the orphanage about my decision to leave Velmond for the Holy Academy. I didn’t leave immediately, of course. Reverend Donovan would have to speak with Ms Mary first, before making arrangements to prepare for my departure. Especially since I was still a kid, they weren’t going to let me travel alone.

  “Don’t worry,” he had reassured her. “Sister Frida here will look after Eli for this trip. She will accompany him until he arrives at Lux and meets with Archdeacon Emmett, before returning to Velmond.”

  And while Jay had initially been incredibly jealous of this opportunity I was getting, he eventually got over himself, even giving me a few of his books to study on the journey there.

  “Just don’t embarrass yourself!” he told me as he stuffed one of my suitcases with half a dozen tomes. “The Holy Academy only lets in the smartest and most hardworking students from around the world! They’ll cannibalize you there if they think you’re an idiot! So do not slack off!”

  Once I had made my decision, Sarah also seemed to relent, agreeing that if this was what I wanted, then this had to be the right decision. And since Ethen, Jason, Melinda, and Michelle were already in support of me going, that meant only the twins were still against it.

  And they spent the remaining few days I stayed in the orphanage trying to change my mind— begging me to stay. It only got worse during the day I was supposed to leave, when they bawled their eyes out the entire time and threw a temper tantrum. It got so bad that they refused to even leave the orphanage, so Ethen had to stay behind with them, which was where I said my goodbyes to him and the twins.

  Everyone else followed me to the front of the city where a small wagon was waiting for me— it was not a luxurious carriage or anything of the like. Donovan had gotten a [Trader] who was heading to the capital city to agree to bring Sister Frida and I with him for a small fee.

  But it was not a single horse and cart that was going to be making the journey. The [Trader] had four wagons in total, and he even hired a Silver Rank adventuring team to guard him on his journey since it was a long trip. And he was even doing Reverend Donovan a favor by charging him such a cheap price to let us tag along.

  “Don’t worry,” the [Trader] said as he shook hands with the [Priest], nodding at both myself and Sister Frida. “We’ll take good care of them.”

  And then it was finally time for me to leave Velmond. I said my final farewells to everyone I knew in the city— even Nicky showed up, although she stood off to the side, just nodding my way.

  There was also a small crowd of people gathered there who heard that I was leaving. It was a mixture of people who I helped heal— whether it was from the Blight, another illness, or a minor injury— or those who had seen me around at the temple. They waved goodbye to me, and I waved back at them too.

  However, it was my family who I gave my attention to at this moment. Most of them had been acting like everything was normal over the last few days— like it was just another day where we chatted casually and joked around. But as I said my final farewells to them, they all broke down crying, one after another.

  Even Hannah.

  Especially her.

  Despite carrying a cheerful demeanor for the last few days, Hannah cried the hardest out of anyone else now that it was time for me to leave. She clung onto me, hugging me tightly, even as I made my way towards the caravan.

  Mary had to separate us and pulled the little girl back. The middle-aged woman was the only one who wasn’t crying because she had already shed all her tears a few nights ago. And as she comforted Hannah, she met my gaze and spoke softly.

  “One day, in the distant future, you’ll meet Hannah again. It is not a matter of if, but a matter of when— fate wills it so.”

  I blinked a few times as I listened to what Mary said. She picked up the little girl and continued.

  “When that happens, you have to remember who she is— who you are. That she is your younger sister. That you are her older brother. That you are family. And remember that the two of you must be there for each other, over all else.”

  I paused for a moment, taken aback by what she said. Especially because I didn’t quite get what she meant. But I nodded after a moment.

  “...I will.”

  “Thank you. And may the Goddess of Life guide your journey ahead.”

  With that, Mary turned around, walking back to the rest of the crowd with Hannah in her arms. I swept my gaze over everyone that was gathered here— all the familiar faces. Hannah, Ethen, Ms Mary, Nicky, Reverend Donovan, Sister Elia… most of the people I had met here in this city had come to say their goodbyes to me.

  For a moment, I relished this scene— but then I remembered the vastly different experiences I faced in my past life. The scorn. The hatred. The pain.

  I remembered my goal: to break the pointless cycle of suffering.

  So I resolved myself.

  And finally, just over a month after my reincarnation, I left Velmond behind, heading for the Holy Academy of the Church of Life.