"I wouldn't say it was because of you, but yeah. Turned out mother had incurred a lot of debt to be able to keep up with your treatment," Chase said. "I only learned about it 4 years ago when people kept looking for mother for her missing payments."
"However, by then… mother had already…" Chase couldn't continue.
Ely gave a blank look and nodded. "I heard she died in a dungeon break," she said. "Was… was her final moment painless?"
"She was coming home from work when the monsters attacked. As far as I know, it was quick."
Ely took a deep breath when she heard that. "That's good," she said.
Chase brought out the tray full of coffee, and Ely found a picture of herself. "Honey look, this is what I looked like before," she said, showing her photo to Ning.
"Oh wow, you were cute," Ning said. "Cuter than you are right now."
Ely pouted and kicked him in the leg. "Stop joking," she said. She sat on the couch next to Ning and looked at her own pictures, reminiscing about the days from her past from a very, very long time ago.
She had lived many lifetimes worth of years since then, but the vivid memory Ning had given her helped in making her first one, one of the better ones in her mind.
"So, tell me more," Chase said as he sat down opposite them on a stool. "What was your life like? How did you two meet? Where were you this entire time?"
Ely looked at Ning, "Can I?" she asked.
Ning shrugged. "Your choice," he said.
Ely nodded and sighed a little. "This might seem a little surprising, but technically, I am an alien right now," she said.
Chase nearly dropped his cup of coffee. "You're a what? An Alien? What does that mean?" he asked.
"When I died, I was reincarnated into a different planet," she said. "That was where I was raised and lived for a long time before I met him. After we met, we fell in love and got together. Then… stuff happened, but to keep it short, he told me that you were still alive back here due to how slow time moved on earth compared to the other planet. So, I decided to come back and see you."
Chase nodded as he listened to everything he said and then suddenly started shaking his head sideways. "I didn't get a single thing you just said," he said. "You come from another planet? And you age faster there? How old are you even?"
"Well… don't be shocked, but currently, I am about 3 thousand years old."
This time Chase actually dropped his coffee. However, before it could hit the ground, Ely caught it with her Qi, along with all the coffee that had spilled, and placed it all back in the cup before floating it next to her brother.
"Also, I'm a cultivator. It's similar to being a mage but only stronger," she said.
Chase's hands shook as he tried to grab the cup floating in front of him. He grabbed it, but he still dropped it.
"Y-y-you are an alien," he said. "Then… d-did you somehow get my sister's memory? Wh-why are you here?" he asked.
Ely sighed. The progress was starting to regress a little. "Brother, come on. Don't be like this," she said. "I came all the way from another galaxy just so I can meet you again, and you act like I'm trying to abduct you or something."
Chase took a deep breath. "Are you?" he asked.
"No!" Ely said with an exaggerated expression. "It's alright. You're still in shock."
Chase wiped his brows and breathed audibly. "So are you Claire or not? I'm still unsure," he said.
"I am," Ely said. "I was just reborn far away."
Chase nodded when he heard that and took a deep breath. "I see," he said. "I need a drink."
"This early?" Ely asked as she looked around for a clock, before finding one on the wall next to her. "It's 9 in the morning.
"Huh? 9?" Chase turned around to look at the clock as well. "Oh no, I'm late. I need to hurry to the dungeon quickly."
"You're going to the guild?" Ely asked. "On a day like today?"
"I'm sorry," Chase said. "It's a very important dungeon run. If I do well in it, I can be promoted to the main A-rank team for the guild and will get to go in better dungeon runs. I will also earn more."
He was about to leave but hesitated for a second. "Please understand," he said.
"Go on, Chase," Ning said. "We get it."
Ely nodded in the end and Chase left to get dressed. He came back in a suit and pants that made him look almost professional. Almost because there were creases all over the place, making him look quite bad in it.
"You should iron your clothes," Ely said as she moved her palm. Her Qi moved through his clothes, magically ironing out any creases and rough spots.
"Thank you," Chase said mindlessly before moving to grab his keys and wallet from the drawer next to the wall.
He turned around and looked at the two with a hesitant expression. "What will you two be doing? Will you stay here until I come back?" he said, while his eyes darted towards the clock every single time.
Ning got curious. "When is this dungeon run supposed to start?" he asked.
"In… 10 minutes," he said. "It's supposed to start around 9:15. I'm sorry I must leave right now. Please stick around, or don't. Do whatever you want. I will be back by 1 o'clock in the afternoon so we can talk again then."
"Sure," Ely said.
"Do you need me to take you? You seem to be in a hurry," Ning said.
Chase turned around. "On what?" he asked. He then got a little closer and asked, "You're not going to take me on a spaceship, are you?"
