Ning and Ely arrived on the outskirts of Nantes city in France. They arrived alongside an abandoned alleyway and walked out with hands still holding each other.
As soon as they were out, Ning could see the river Loire across from them. Seeing that gave him an idea of where to go.
However, as he was about to move, he noticed that Ely wasn't moving at all. He turned around to see that she was staring at the river with wide eyes, which were starting to get misty with tears.
"You okay, honey?" Ning asked her.
Ely's hands shivered a little before she got a hold of herself. "Yes," she said, wiping her years. "I just got emotional. I remembered seeing this river all the time when I was stuck in my room, and the memory overwhelmed me a little."
Ning noticed her slightly trembling hands and held them together tightly. "You must be nervous," he said.
"I am," Ely said truthfully. It had been ages since she had seen her brother, so just the thought of seeing him caused her to get nervous all of a sudden.
What would he think when he saw her sister that was supposed to be dead? How would she explain it to him? Should she even explain it? Many thoughts swarmed her head, making it hard to think properly.
Ning patted her hand and squeezed it tightly. "It's all okay," he said. "I'm here with you."
Ely took a deep breath and smiled. "Thank you," she said. "Let's go, I think I remember my way home."
Ning let Ely take the lead since it was her hometown after all. Even if it was thousands of years ago for her.
She remembered mostly, but it had still been over a decade since her memory, so things had changed. The dungeon breaks had especially changed it quite a lot.
Ning helped her through a few turns, but she was still able to remember most of it. Finally, she arrived in front of a tall apartment building and stood there silently for a second.
"This is it," she said. "This is where I used to live. He's still here, right?"
"Yes, he still lives in your same old apartment," Ning said.
Ely took a deep breath and looked at the metal panel on the side with apartment numbers. She remembered the apartment she lived in and pressed the button.
She could hear the buzzing all the way up from the 15th floor and if she were to use her divine sense, she could even see her brother, but she found it hard to do that right now.
She buzzed again, and this time she got an answer.
"Who is this?" the voice asked.
Ely took a sharp breath when hearing her brother's voice. She tried to speak but found it hard to make any sound. Still, she forced herself to speak.
"This is Chase, right?" she asked.
"Yes, I am Chase. Who are you?" he asked.
"Chase, it's me, Claire," Ely said.
The voice paused for a second. "I don't know any Claire," he said.
"No, it's me, Claire, your sister," Ely said. "Brother, it's me."
The voice paused again for a second and this time spoke with an angry tone to it. "Is this some sort of sick joke? My sister is dead and has been for many years," he said. "I don't know how you found that out, but please leave."
Chase left, leaving Ely in a stunned state, unable to do anything.
Ning saw that and sighed, "you expected this, didn't you?" he asked. "He doesn't believe you, he has no reason to. Do you have anything you can tell him to make him remember?"
"I… maybe," Ely said, forcing back the tears. She buzzed in again and waited for her brother to answer.
It took nearly 3 buzzes before Chase answered again, "What?" he asked with a sharp voice.
"Do you remember my 7th birthday?" Ely asked.
"What?" Chase was confused. "What are you tal—"
"We were poor since father had just passed away, and mother was sick that day. She couldn't go out to get anything for us and you had to stay with her the entire time. I was starting to think my birthday would pass away without any celebration. I was sad."
"But right before midnight, you surprised me with a strawberry cake. It was small and you told me you asked the people from the bakery to give it to you since they were going to throw it anyway. We didn't have candles, so you stuck a matchstick on the small cake and lit it."
"I remember the smile on my face when I blew it," Ely said. "Do you remember that, Chase? That is one of the happiest memory I have of my childhood, and a memory of just how much you loved me and cared about me."
Ely waited for a bit, but it didn't look like her brother was going to speak at all. However, he suddenly spoke again, his voice barely containing his involuntary tremblings.
"H-how do you know that? No one but my sister and I should know that," he said. He was too shocked to ask anything else.
"That's because it's me, Claire," Ely said. "It's your sister."
"But… but my sister died," Chase said.
"Yes, and I was born again. I reincarnated," Ely said.
"That's… not possible!" Chase said. "How can someone come back to life?"
"The whole world breaks with gods giving powers to everyone, and you think reincarnation is not possible? I know you are hardheaded, brother but please think a little," Ely said.
Chase took a deep breath, loud enough that he could be heard from the intercom. "If you really are my sister, reborn or not, you should know the combination to our door's lock," he said.
The gate buzzed and opened up. "Come up and enter, I will wait for you," he said.
The speaker crackled as it was shut off and Ely looked at the open front gate. "Let's go in."
