Chapter 7: A Retrospective of Time "You once wished me happiness, and I..."
Eleanor—
The figure and voice of my lover faded into the distance, and the blood-red sun rose in the long river.
Eleanor's soul first rose to the surface, then plummeted back down after the world shattered, crashing into a pool of shattered light.
The warm ocean current enveloped her ethereal body, and she felt as if she had returned to the body of her "mother" from a very, very distant past, experiencing a mysterious and profound fetal movement.
Eleanor drifted in the soft, silky river, her "body" solidifying a little more each time.
But time loses its original sense of passing in this time and place; one second, one minute, one hour, one day, one month, one year seem to change into the same color in endless cycles.
"..." The cracked, ethereal soul was mended in the crimson current, regaining its magnificent glow, like a gem embedded in pieces of silk, radiating bright fire as the sun turned.
Where is this place?
She didn't know how much time had passed, or "how long," before she opened her eyes on the top of her head during her aimless drifting and looked at the constantly reorganizing and regenerating "world" around her.
Is this the River Styx?
Eleanor's thoughts drifted and converged, her past experiences weaving into a solidified tapestry that spread across the sky and across the land with the glittering stars.
"Hoo..." Her soul breathed again in this colorful yet eerie world, the air in her nostrils quiet and fresh.
She gradually recalled scenes from the past and stories, including reincarnation on Earth and myths and legends from other worlds.
Since even the River Styx exists, the myths and legends must be true, right?
Eleanor silently recited the story she had heard before: This world was created by the Great Mother Goddess Gaia, who used her dreams and spirit to construct things from the void, and then sprinkled her abundant divine blood to create pools of blood and her beloved daughters.
He and his daughters lifted the first life from the pool of blood—humanity of the Golden Age, also known as the Evergreens and the Noble-Blooded...
So, am I just returning to dust, and blood to blood?
Eleanor lay on her back in the river of blood, lazily swinging her arms to let the warm liquid envelop her.
These liquids resemble blood in appearance and viscosity, but have a faint, pleasant aroma that makes people unconsciously indulge in them, like an infant nestled in its mother's arms.
whoosh—whoosh—
A gentle breeze brushed against her cheek, ruffling the high-hanging starry curtain. The moment the "curtain" fluttered, Eleanor's soul trembled violently.
That's not the sky—that's not the sky! That's, that's—
[A Mother's Face]
The stars are not eyes but gazes; the wisps are not distorted spacetime but rather low-hanging, continuous, and ubiquitous strands of hair.
The concept of the Great Mother Goddess Gaia—Mother—flows smoothly through the viewer's mind; it is knowledge that is absolutely forbidden!
But in front of her mother, the daughter had no taboos.
The madness that should have continued was drowned out by the first cries of the newborn babies. Eleanor, with tears in her eyes, opened her arms to her mother who was watching her.
He finally awoke.
Upon returning to this place, she finally recalled her first encounter with her mother.
Before being born into this world, souls from other worlds naturally fall into the blood pool and enter the sight of the Mother Goddess.
However, the Great Mother Goddess of the previous life is still asleep.
In his sleep, He scooped up the stars of another world and gently embraced them: the whole world was the blood and dreams of His mother.
He would naturally grant this lovely child happiness and joy, however, time is not a straight line for the gods, so...
"Mother!"
Eleanor stretched out her two little hands and called out loudly to her mother, whose world seemed wider than the heavens and the earth: "I...I..."
In my next life, I never want to meet Andra again...
No, I'm lying.
In the spiral of intersecting time and space, the reborn soul is no longer affected by the voice of depression, and can no longer lie to its all-knowing mother.
A single tear fell down her cheek and melted into the river of blood.
"I love her so much... but it hurts so much, so much." Dark red impurities appeared in her transparent soul. She curled up, hugging her knees, no longer going with the flow.
Gaia enveloped the vast world, and He listened quietly to His daughter's intermittent narration and endless heartfelt words.
The mother lowered her eyes and her strong arms, reaching her hands into the river of blood.
The soul in His palm became pure again, and a golden light shimmered on Eleanor's chest: it was the marigold pendant she never parted with, a gift her mother had casually given her when they first met.
Humans can only regain their memories under the influence of God, but God has never forgotten.
Gaia gazed tenderly at the spirit in her palm, who in Eleanor's eyes appeared as a loving and elderly woman, bowing slightly toward her.
"My lovely stars."
He placed a kiss on the girl's forehead, his gentle voice echoing across the vast sky.
"You once wished me happiness, and I grant it now."
The marigold pendant vibrated softly as the original thirty-six overlapping petals were pieced together and gathered together, recast into six beautiful petals in the molten gold.
Each petal has six curved red lines, like the veins of the plant itself.
The Mother Goddess did not speak, but the information flowed into Eleanor's mind like a spring, making her realize the weight of this gift.
The Mother Goddess granted her the ability to be reborn through this six-petaled marigold—she would have six lives to start over before attaining true happiness, and in each life she would have six opportunities to go back six days.
Eleanor looked up, instinctively wanting to give thanks, but her thoughts drifted when she saw the deep affection in the god's eyes.
Time flows on again.
"Go on, my lovely daughter."
His enormous body merged back into the crimson sky and earth, while the beautiful silhouette of a woman was hidden behind a veil, yet omnipresent.
......
Rustle, rustle.
The sand crunched underfoot, the sea breeze rustled through the treetops, and... the television set whirred loudly.
The fragmented images swirled in my mind before gradually settling down.
Rustle, rustle.
Eleanor slowly began to hear clearly that someone was moving the veil with their hand.
She often heard similar noises; the palace servants always seemed to be taking down the curtains in roughly the same way. However, today the sounds were much more casual than usual, and there was even the tinkling of bells.
...A bell? Why would there be a bell?
Eleanor frowned in her sleep; she had been unusually sensitive to monotonous sounds since she was forty. So the bells in her bedchamber were merely decorative, all stripped of their wicks.
But instead of her usual agitation, she was overwhelmed by a deep sense of...melancholy?
A warm drop of liquid spilled from the corner of her eye.
Eleanor bit her lip, gently hugged the pillow, and rolled over, bumping into a warm body.
Andra?
Her lips parted in surprise, then she quickly swallowed the sound back down her throat.
The girl lying beside her had long, jet-black hair. She was not Andra, but rather—her third sister, Myrcella, who had passed away more than forty years ago!
"Sister!" Eleanor rushed over and hugged her blood-sister tightly, nuzzling her back with her little head.
"Awooo!" Mysera's head was pounced on by her sister and slammed hard against the bedpost with a loud thud.
The small princess bed couldn't support two little ones rolling around; they rolled twice and landed on the soft carpet at the same time.
"Ha ha ha ha."
The waitress, who was tidying the bells, let out a pleasant laugh. She had her hair styled in a beautiful updo and leaned down to affectionately tap Eleanor on the ground with her finger.
Snap.
The sensation of fingers touching her forehead completely woke Eleanor up.
She looked around and realized that this was no longer Angie's spacious and quiet palace, but the princess room where she lived as a child.
The window was wide open, and the afternoon sun streamed through the windowpanes. Through the window, one could see the guards' spears and hear the twin guards, Manju and Jingji, whispering to each other.
"Your Highness, did you have a nightmare?" The attendant, who was half-squatting down, spoke very respectfully, but his tone and demeanor made it seem as if he were talking to his favorite little darling.
...Coral, her name is Coral, she was the very first Coral, my original personal attendant.
Eleanor's memories of the past decades receded like a tide, and her childhood, which had been buried at the bottom of the river, resurfaced.
Coral picked up the dazed little princess and gently kicked the third princess, who was lying on the ground throwing a tantrum, with the tip of her shoe, saying without any politeness, "Stop howling, you should act like a princess."
"Aww-tsk~" Misé made a face, but at twelve years old, she thought she should set an example for her younger sister, so she simply patted her bottom and stood up.
Eleanor stared blankly at her living, breathing sister, and as Coral straightened her clothes, she pouted and burst into tears.
She clung to her sister's clothes, tears streaming down her face, which startled Mysera so much that she caught her sister's back and shook her gently.
"Okay, okay, I'm here, I'm here." Mysella puffed out her chest and shook her little sister vigorously with her arms.
Eleanor stopped sobbing, her consciousness and body rapidly merging amidst her wailing. She suddenly realized that the memories belonging to the older Eleanor were fading quickly.
Those golden experiences and weariness of the world become light with each breath, whether it is divine mercy or the inevitable price of going back in time, I don't know.
No, I must quickly memorize the memories of the "future"!
Eleanor wiped away her tears and struggled to break free from Myrcella's embrace.
However, she looked around but couldn't find paper, pens, or her familiar desk, then realized that she was only 10 years old. And the work of optimizing her paper and quill pen didn't begin until she was 16.
"Alright, little sister, stop crying!" Mysella proudly raised her head and puffed out her chest in response to Coral's approving expression.
She put her arm around Eleanor's shoulder and dragged her outside, saying as they walked, "Didn't you cry and beg that naughty boy from Hetuya to be your guard yesterday? And Mother actually agreed. Come, come, let's go outside and see her. I made her kneel in the hallway!"
Hertuya's bad boy... Andra?!
Eleanor's eyes widened, and she immediately forgot about taking notes.
She grabbed her sister's arm and yelled, "How long did you make her kneel outside?!"
"Huh? Who remembers that clearly? Anyway, she was very attentive, coming to report for duty before dawn." Misella giggled and rubbed her sister's head happily.
This is terrible... Eleanor thought to herself: She knows all too well how vengeful Andra is, so did I sleep for this long in my past life?
Memories of the future become blurred, while memories of the past gradually become clearer.
As she took her steps, memories of the past came flooding back: yes, Eleanor had slept until late morning back then. But she didn't know how long Andra had been waiting outside; she only remembered the moment Andra gracefully rose and walked towards her.
rustle--
The early spring breeze swept over her as her sister dragged her toward the door, where she squinted in the sunlight.
The next second, the blinding light was blocked by a tall figure.
She did not see anyone kneeling awkwardly outside, because the beautiful hostage arrived gracefully as the little princess awoke.
Her features were striking and elegant, her posture upright, and even the way the spring breeze blew through her hair seemed deliberately arranged by Cupid. He sent an angel to lift the ends of her hair and, unintentionally, to stick pink petals onto them.
"Your Highness."
Andra gracefully lifted his hem and knelt on one knee, then raised his head and, just as boldly as in his previous life, looked directly into her pale face: "I will become the sword that protects you."
A note from the author:
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There's a small detail: when Eleanor stabbed Andra with her hairpin, she was actually stopped by a barrier. They were both aware of the barrier's existence; that transparent, force field-like thing was similar to what we call "royal aura" or "force field shield" in legends, and was actually one of the few remaining forms of "magic" in that world.
The approval and following of enough people will create an indestructible shield around the ruler, extremely difficult for outsiders to break through. So, in her previous life, Eleanor was just furious... However, Eleanor was also a queen loved by many. If she were truly as strong as Andra, she could break through the shield, but the physical strength of the first Eleanor was too weak.
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