Richard's POV
It's dark. I've been floating in darkness for a while no-
What's that? I looked towards the bright light coming my way as I heard a voice calling out a name I know quite well.
"Sister!" And a voice I knew quite well now. Tho it sounded younger. Like much younger.
Beatrice.
I blinked and the darkness exploded into light.
FWOOOSH
Like a veil torn away, reality reshaped itself around me–light flooding the space, morphing into color, sound, sensation.
I wasn't floating anymore as well.
I was... standing?
My feet felt grass. Cool, slightly damp from morning dew.
The sky above was a pale blue, and the sun bathed everything in gentle warmth.
And then–her.
A little girl who was ten maybe. Orange hair in long, messy braids bounced behind her as she ran up a hill toward a pair of figures–one of which... was me?
No.
Not me.
Him.
The original Richard.
I could see him sitting there on a bench beside Sister Evelyn–hands fidgeting with hem of his sleeves, eyes low, face blank and slightly tense.
The real Richard.
The boy who's body I had taken over.
Beatrice skidded to a stop right in front of him, her bright eyes gleaming with curiousity and excitement.
"Who's he?" She asked eagerly, pointing at him without a hint of shame.
Sister Evelyn chuckled, placing a gentle hand on Beatrice's head.
"He's our new friend and guest," she said kindly. "His name is Richard. He's the same age as you."
Beatrice gasped. "Really?!"
And just like that, she thrust her hand toward him, shaking his hand vigorously with a smile so wide I thought it might split her cheeks.
"I'm Beatrice! I'm gonna be your friend from now on, okay?!"
He didn't respond.
His mouth didn't move. He just looked at her, eyes wide, slightly startled.
Beatrice blinked. Her hand was still holding his.
"...Sister, what's wrong with him? Did I do something bad?"
Evelyn shook her head and smiled softly. "No, sweetie. Richard's just a little shy. He saw something really scary... He watched his parents die. That kind of thing can make someone go quiet for a long time."
–What?
My mental steps faltered.
That was... a lie.
I knew the truth. That body–this body–was a vessel. One I had painstakingly created a thousand years ago as a failsafe for my reincarnation.
There were no parents. No tragic backstory.
So why did Evelyn lie?
Why... why did she say that?
Before I could dwell on it, the memory moved again.
Beatrice tugged on his hand, eyes gleaming. "Okay! You're coming with me! Time to go play!"
He didn't resist. He just followed, quiet, his hand still in hers.
But...
He smiled.
Just a little. Barely a twitch of the lips. But I caught it.
TSK.
I scoffed mentally. How foolish. Such softness. Such childish warmth.
Then the memory shifted seamlessly.
***************
The place was full of kids laughing and running about. Wooden play structures, swings, balls being kicked around. Noise everywhere.
A place I had been to as me. The playground.
I saw Alice, younger, shorter, her brown hair tied back in a messy ponytail, laughing as she tried to climb a rope ladder.
Reid and Ben were chasing each other with sticks pretending they were swords.
Huh, guess Reid was a bright kid before.
Original Richard sat under a tree–grumpy-faced, arms crossed, glaring at them like a little storm cloud.
"Come on!" Beatrice shouted, waving him over. "You agreed you'd play this time!"
He didn't move.
Beatrice pouted.
"Fine, then I'm gonna come annoy you until you do!"
And she did. She plopped beside him, poked his cheek. Over. And over. And over.
Poke. Poke. Poke.
He swatted her hand away–grumpily. But then Beatrice giggled and booped his nose.
"Tag! You're it!" She said, and dashed off.
There was a pause.
Then he got up and ran after her.
Then the scene changed again.
This time, it was also a place I knew as well. The orphanage dining hall.
There were balloons, streamers, a home made cake.
It was someone's birthday–Alice's maybe? She had a party hat on, at least.
People who seemed to be her parents were also there as I recognized her mother.
"Make a wish! Everyone chanted.
As she blew out the candles, everyone clapped.
Even the original Richard.
He clapped softly, almost awkwardly. But there was a tiny smile on his lips as Beatrice gave him a slice of cake.
And the scene shifted again.
It was nighttime.
A wooden fort. Flashlights. Kids huddled together.
"What do you want to be when you grow up?" Alice asked.
Ben raised his hand excitedly. "A Hero! Like Lucia the great! A hero who saves everyone!"
Reid nodded. "A swordsman. A really strong one like the Sword King Joseph!"
Alice smirked. "I wanna be the saintess. So I can heal diseases and people."
Beatrice leaned against Richard's shoulder.
"I want to become the strongest mage in the world, so I can become someone who helps and makes people smile," she said softly. "Like Sister Evelyn."
They all turned to Richard.
He just blinked, then looked away, eyes soft.
"You have to answer too, you know," Alice teased.
He scribbled something down on a notepad and held it up.
Ben squinted at it.
"...'I dunno yet.'"
They all burst out laughing.
Beatrice leaned on him more. "That's okay. You'll figure it out."
And like that the scene kept shifting again and again, showing different memories.
One of such was...
Beatrice, Reid, Ben, and Alice were all hiding behind a bush. Original Richard crouched reluctantly with them.
"I told you, Sister Evelyn's gonna be mad if we steal her cookies!" He had scribbled angrily on his notepad.
"Which is why," Beatrice grinned, "we're gonna distract her while YOU sneak them!"
He shook his head violently.
Reid shoved the bag into his hands. "Go!"
He sighed. Loudly.
But he eventually went.
Ten minutes later, covered in flour and crumbs, they were all hiding under a table, muffling their giggles.
Beatrice was beside them, laughing the hardest.
"You're so sneaky, Richard!"
He glared at her with mock rage.
But the corners of his lips curled upward.
I just stood there, watching them.
Watching him.
I... could feel something.
What I felt wasn't sympathy for Richard who would be consumed after this, and it wasn't warmth either.
But rather... interest.
These memories were playing like a film I couldn't pause. A story unfolding beyond my control. And bit by bit, I started to see it.
I started to see why.
Why I just allowed Beatrice drag me around when I had just newly reincarnated.
Why I played that stupid game of Hero and Demon King with them at the playground.
The real reason I felt pissed at the serpents when they were beating up Ben.
Why I felt pissed when they hurt Beatrice and why I talked myself out of killing Ben back at the church.
It was him.
Not just the vessel. Him.
The original Richard.
His somehow acquired soul... it didn't die. Rather it clung to this body.
And when I reincarnated... I didn't overwrite him completely.
Rather we mixed. Rather incompletely.
And that is what caused the care that has been directed towards them.
Especially toward Beatrice.
Even when I had no reason to. Even when I didn't understand why.
His soul had mixed with mine.
Our hearts... were tangled.
And as I watched those memories, something inside me started to crack. A shell I didn't know existed.
And then–
CRACK
The memory blurred.
Like a mirror shattering. Light bleeding through the seams.
And then–
ZZZHHHHHHRRRRRK–!
The robotic feminine voice returned, clear and resonant.
>Merge complete
The world shattered and light overwhelmed everything and soon my vision turned to white.