Regnum Aetern: Dual Rebirth

Chapter 117: Evangeline’s dream

It felt as though time had slowed down as Adrian’s eyes widened.

Hidden by the sleeves of her dress, Evangeline’s arm was covered in a stone-like shell, making it look as though she were wearing bronze armor underneath. Looking closer, he even noticed a layer of stone around her neck, peeking out from the round collar of her dress.

He instantly understood what that meant. She had created a layer of stone over her entire body to use as armor, all while hiding it with her frilly dress. Maintaining the stone armor constantly must’ve taken a lot of effort; no wonder she was panting so heavily.

And now that his strike was deflected, Adrian was wide open.

Evangeline didn’t waste the opening. Before he could correct his stance, she aimed her hand at his chest, releasing a wind blast at point-blank range. The wind blast connected perfectly, sending him flying several meters away as his back collided with the tree.

The impact from the wind blast and the collision with the tree left his head spinning, making it hard to control his body. His thoughts were equally chaotic.

’I... lost? But how...?’

Did he underestimate her? Did he make some miscalculation? Was he weaker than her?

’No, I... did everything correctly...’

He had remained cautious and tried to probe her for everything instead of charging in confidently. Even the last attack was perfect and well-planned. It was clear that she hadn’t seen it coming.

’Then why...’

How was he outplayed by a ten-year-old child? And Evangeline at that? It didn’t make sense.

Just then, words of Sir Avalon rang in his mind.

’In the end, pride became his downfall.’

Was that it? Had he lost because he had become arrogant? No, he didn’t think that was the reason either. "Prideful" was not the word he would use if he ever needed to describe himself.

’Is it... because she was correct? Is it because I don’t have a dream like her?’

That made absolutely no sense at all.

***

"Haah... Haah..."

Evangeline still stood at the same spot as she panted heavily. Her body felt so hot that she felt as though she were suffering from a high fever, and the stone armor covering her skin felt incredibly heavy and uncomfortable.

Moments later, she released all her spells and the stone armor, along with everything else, dissipated into wisps of mana.

She shifted her gaze to look at Adrian, who was motionless with his back against the tree. His gaze seemed lost and confused.

Looking at him, a surreal feeling enveloped her.

’I... won. I really won...’

Even though she had fought with everything she had, she didn’t think she would have been able to beat Adrian. After all, he was so much stronger and more experienced than her. But now that she had, she didn’t know what to feel.

She placed a hand on her chest, feeling her wildly beating heart. Slowly, her lips stretched into a wide smile.

’It... feels so amazing...’

For the first time in both of her lives, she felt a sense of achievement. She had ’accomplished’ something. Even if the one she had defeated was only a small child, she had still done it on her own.

It felt thrilling.

Now, more than ever, she felt that things were really different since her reincarnation. In her previous life, she didn’t have the ability to do anything, always watching and wondering if she could’ve done things if she were given the chance.

But that was not the case in this life.

***

Adrian had quietly stood up and walked away with the lost look in his eyes still present. And now, Evangeline sat on the grassy ground with her back against the tree, looking at the blue sky silently.

For some reason, she felt very emotional at this moment.

She closed her eyes and remembered her previous life. She remembered sitting in a wheelchair, watching the outside world through the window.

And whenever she observed that bustling outside world, there was always only a single thought in her mind.

’Even if I disappear tomorrow, nothing will change in the world.’

There will be no empty desk in a classroom, no empty room in someone’s house, or an empty office with a nameplate.

Even the hospital room where she spent her entire life, the place that contained all the hints of her existence, would be cleared out within a few days in order to accommodate another patient.

Suddenly, Evangeline felt a tightness in her chest.

In the end, it wouldn’t have mattered whether the girl named Maya had ever existed on earth or not. In that sense, she... might as well have never existed.

Scrolling through the internet, Evangeline had once come across a strange theory.

That theory stated that for something to exist, it must be observed. That which isn’t observed cannot exist.

People seemed to have been using that theory to prove the existence of god. Evangeline still didn’t know whether that theory was correct or whether god had existed in her previous world.

Still, that strange theory solidified her own meaning of life.

’Life is a story.’

A story that starts from the moment of one’s birth, like a clean white page. The longer one lives, the more words are added to that blank page. The moment of death is the completion of that story.

’But... stories can’t exist on their own.’

For a story to exist, it needs a witness. Someone who has experienced that story, and the story exists in their experience.

Thus, life was also a journey to gather witnesses for your story. The connections one makes, the relationships, the people one affects—all of them are witnesses that allow one’s story to exist.

And so Evangeline dreamed. In the story of the world, she wished to be the protagonist. Witnessed by all, and thus existing alongside the world forever.

She dreamed of being eternal.

Evangeline raised her hand toward the sky, as if trying to grasp it.

’In this life, I will achieve it. No matter what.’

She would continue walking; she would continue climbing; she would not stop until she reached the top and stood somewhere so high that she was witnessed by all.

’In the story of this world, I will become the female lead.’