"Who are you?!"
Anna gave a confused smile. "What are you talking about? I am Anna."
Noel recalled Ardagan back to his hand and stabbed the ground next to her head. "I ask you once again. Who are you?!"
"Noe—"
Before Anna could call his name, Noel shouted, "Don't you dare call me with that filthy mouth of yours."
Noel never expected that the situation would be like this. The reason why Anna wanted to tell him everything after he returned must be related to this. Still, he didn't think that Anna would be this crazy.
'A split personality? Is she being possessed? Did something happen during the trip? But if that's the case, my mother would definitely tell me about it in one way or another. No, even Damian would be concerned since it means he has failed his jobs.'
Noel thought of several abilities, but none of them could explain what he was seeing right now.
Although he didn't want to do it, it seemed that he had no choice but to use the Affection Medal.
Name: Anna Stargaze
Affection: Love (99/100)
Description: Love you from the bottom of her heart and will never leave you.
This was the first time he saw Anna's affection. It was extremely hard for someone to love another person to an absolute degree. After all, it meant that they were ready to throw away their lives without hesitation.
At the same time, the killing intent earlier made him realize that she had somehow changed. In fact, that might be the reason why she was one point short.
When he thought about it, Noel couldn't help but ask, 'Ardagan, does the Affection Medal see someone's body or…'
[It's peeking at their consciousness.]
'Consciousness…' The reason no one could hide their true selves before him was because of the Affection Medal. But if it truly peeked at someone's consciousness, there might be something that affected Anna's consciousness. It could even be possession.
'Do you know what happened to her?' Noel asked.
Ardagan didn't answer his question, which annoyed Noel.
"Ardagan!" Noel shouted in anger.
Anna looked at Noel's pained expression. But before she spoke, Noel had already declared, "I don't mind the price. If you can help her return, I'm going to sacrifice everything, including my life!"
Anna shivered because of what he said. He truly cared for Anna.
"Tsk." Anna clicked her tongue before saying in an annoyed tone, "That's enough."
"You stay quiet!" Noel gnashed his teeth, wanting to kill whoever did this.
"You are the one who should be quiet if you want to know what has happened!"
Noel and Anna glared at each other. Noel obviously didn't want to let her go, knowing that Anna might use this chance to escape.
But he also wanted to know what truly happened and find out if there was a chance for her to return to the way she was.
Noel clenched his fist so tight that his palm started bleeding. Unfortunately, there was no other choice but to release her.
That was why he pulled out his sword, stood up, and took a step back.
"Just to let you know. Depending on your answer, I might kill you."
"Kill the body of your fiancee?"
"So be it. She is the only one for me. I won't have any other woman beside her and will definitely repay her in the next life." Noel's expression was cold as though he had made his resolve.
"She is blessed to have you, huh? I guess this is my loss." Anna scratched the back of her head while sitting on the ground.
"Your loss?"
"Let me introduce myself once again. I am Anna Stargaze. That's not a lie." Anna looked at Noel, who clearly disliked that answer. "In fact, I am the same Anna you know, who 'killed' your parents in this life."
"In this life?" Noel fell silent for a moment before widening his eyes. He remembered that Anna had an abrupt change in personality when he first met her in the Demon Banner Army.
"Let's go back inside. I will tell you about what happened during the trip, as well as the agreement I have with the Anna who has been accompanying you for the last few years."
Noel was a bit hesitant, but it seemed that he didn't have any other choice.
In the end, Noel recalled Ardagan back to his Spirit Seal, showing that he agreed.
As soon as they reached the mansion, Noel made sure that no one was around and asked, "So…"
"First of all, you need to know that there are two souls or, you could say, consciousnesses, in this body. Both of us are Anna, but the original soul is me."
"So, the one I know…"
"She is the intruder. Even if you dislike that title, it's the fact." Anna's tone was stern, especially when she saw Noel's cold expression.
"I am aware of that." Noel nodded. "However, there is something I can't comprehend. If you are truly the one who tried to kill my parents in this life. Why…"
Noel stopped. It felt like he shouldn't ask this question at the last second.
"Why do I love you?" Anna smiled.
"…" Noel's silence had told her everything.
"It's pretty simple. At first, I still wanted to kill you, but that Anna took over my body, causing me to remain inside the consciousness space where the spirit resides. Basically, I can see everything about her. What she is doing, what she has experienced, and what she feels about you. Ultimately, I am also affected by that feeling… I guess it's still far different for someone who is affected and someone who experiences it all. The killing intent must be the one that gave you the last hint."
"I can't deny it."
"So, let's talk about her soul. You should know that you are the reason for her rebirth, right?"
"Yes."
"However, what if I tell you that time only moves forward? No matter how powerful the time ability is, it won't go backward."
"It won't go backward?" Noel looked down for a moment. It took him a full minute before he understood the entire situation. And it actually referred to what Anna had told him in the first place.
That was right. Before Anna admitted that she was reincarnated, she had always mentioned the Anna in another world.
In the end, her rebirth was merely a crossover to another world similar to what she knows. But what will happen to the Anna in this world?
The answer was right before him. Anna's body couldn't go to another world, only her soul. And that was the reason why she ended up taking over the original Anna's soul.
And the easiest way to release that soul was none other than by dying.
It cleared up several questions in his mind. Why would the original him die with Anna? If he still had the medicine that the Sword Saint gave him, they could still survive. No, with his intelligence, there was no way he would fall into the Third Prince's trap.
In that case, the Noel in the previous life wanted to die together with Anna, so that her soul would leave the dying body. However, the destination was not the Nirvana, but the current timeline.
This was the true process of rebirth.
Without the rebirth, everything might repeat itself. In other words, while Anna took over the original Anna's body, it was ultimately Noel who planned everything.
Noel gritted his teeth. He didn't want to admit it, but he was the problem.
"I…"
"Don't apologize." Anna seemed to know how Noel would react. She looked at him with a solemn face. "I should be the one to apologize. Even though she has influenced me, after mulling it over, I realize how bad I was. Thanks to her, I can become the person I'm today."
Noel looked down, feeling ashamed.
"Then, how is she right now?"
"She is currently like me, watching everything I've done and said from that consciousness." Anna let out a long sigh. "But it seems that I have lost the bet."
"Bet?"
"Yes. I believe she told you that after this trip, she would be able to stand beside you, right?"
"Yes."
"However, you have two spirits, which allows you to easily become a Spirit King or beyond that. How about her? She has the experience, memories, and instincts from her previous life, but in the end, her progress will come to a halt one day."
"But there are a lot of ways…"
"I know. Since you have a head start, you can progress more than what you have achieved in your previous life. But do you truly believe from the bottom of your heart that she will be able to keep up with you once you go beyond the Spirit King?"
Noel opened his mouth, but the words stuck in his throat. It wasn't that he didn't want to answer it; he had been avoiding it the whole time. He believed that Anna could overcome it, but deep in his heart, he still wondered if it was possible or not.
"That's where I come in. Having two spirits allows you to have two Spiritual Energy Reserve, which means having twice the limit of the number of demon crystals you can absorb. Hence, she is seeking another way to close the gap."
"But how is it related to you?"
"That's because there is an advantage to having two souls. What do you think will happen if someone ever has two Spirit Minds, two Spirit Hearts, and experiences two times of assimilation and fusion?"
"!!!" Noel's eyes brightened. "They are related to the soul?"
"Indeed. This is the path she decides to walk on so that she can stand beside you."
"Still, you are…" Noel was still concerned. He understood that Anna was going to stand beside him with this power, but the original Anna still took over her body. Even if she had this power, she couldn't go with him if she wasn't the one controlling the body.
And even if they were going to change intermittently, he felt like he was talking to a different person right now. So, it felt like he had betrayed Anna.
"For someone as smart as you, it seems that you are still unable to figure out the agreement between us." Anna sighed. "I guess the idiom saying 'Love makes you a fool,' is true."
"What do you mean? What is the agreement between you?" Noel furrowed his eyebrows. Anna's words made him realize that this agreement seemed to be key to resolving the issue.
On the one hand, Noel knew that Anna couldn't take over and remove this soul if she wanted that power. On the other hand, he couldn't imagine what Anna planned to do to solve the core of the problems.
Anna closed her eyes for a moment before giving a sad smile. "The agreement is…"
