Mar’Garet froze mid-step, her eyes narrowing dangerously. Slowly, she turned her head to face him, her crimson gaze locking onto his. “What did you just say?” Her voice was low, filled with barely contained fury.
Alister took a step forward, his expression calm but his eyes gleaming with amusement. “Your lord’s last order. My last order. What was it?”
Mar’Garet’s grip tightened on her spear, her anger flaring. “You’re not only impersonating him, but now you dare to claim I’m not following his orders?”
“That’s it! I won’t tolerate this any longer!” She whirled around, her spear raised, ready to strike.
But in an instant, before she could act, Alister moved, closing the distance between them in a heartbeat. His smile widened, taunting. “Oh? You really can’t remember your lord’s last order? I’m just asking a simple question. No need to get so hot-blooded, Mar’Garet. You just need to answer, that’s all.”
Her eyes burned with rage as she yelled, “My lord asked me to protect his people and his throne-”
“That’s incorrect,” Alister interrupted, his voice cool and steady. His smile only deepened.
Mar’Garet recoiled, disbelief and fury clashing in her expression. “What!” Her voice trembled with anger, and she braced herself to retaliate, but Alister’s next words stopped her cold.
“My last order to you, Mar’Garet,” he said softly, stepping even closer, “was for you to smile. Remember?”
For a moment, silence hung between them. The weight of his words cut through her rage, and Mar’Garet’s eyes widened in realization. The memories surged back-her lord’s final words, spoken with a warmth she had long buried.
“I am the strongest, I am the Overlord! I’ll definitely return victorious,” he said with a confident smile spreading across his draconic features.
His laughter and confidence seemed to dissolve some of the fear within her. She nodded, a small smile on her lips.
“I will guard our people and your throne, my lord.”
“And be sure to smile while you do.”
“… Yes, I’ll make sure I do, my lord,” she reluctantly said, managing a small smile. “And I’ll be waiting for your return.”
Alister watched as the recognition flickered across her face, his smile still in place, but it eased up slightly.
Mar’Garet’s expression faltered, her fiery demeanor suddenly downcast. Her confident stance weakened, as if Alister’s words had reached deep into her guarded heart.
Alister wondered in his thoughts,
‘Was that all it took?’
Had his mention of those final words truly broken through her defenses so easily?
But suddenly, a shift in the air alerted him. Mar’Garet’s hand tightened around her spear, and in an instant, she swung it in a wide arc. Alister seemed to vanish from where he stood, his form flickering as the spear sliced clean through his afterimage. He reappeared effortlessly beside Alzuring, his calm, amused expression still in place.
“Trying to strike your lord when his guard was down?”
“I know you’ve always been desperate for a win against me, but you can’t use underhanded methods like that.”
Mar’Garet remained silent, her eyes sharp with a look of defiance and uncertainty. Slowly, she began walking toward him, her armored boots echoing in the space.
With each step, she moved further from the summoning doors. As if responding to her decision, the massive doors behind her began to close, sealing shut with a low rumble.
Watching this, Alister’s gaze darkened slightly. “Should I take that as your decision to stay?”
Mar’Garet halted, her spear now held loosely at her side. Her voice was harsh, though there was an undeniable tremor beneath it.
“I don’t know who you are, but many people were there the day my lord and his generals went out to battle. You must have heard those words from someone.”
Despite her defiant tone, Alister could sense the deeper pain behind her words. He could see it now-Mar’Garet had waited for him, clinging to the hope that her lord would return. She must have seen signs, small glimpses that reignited her faith, only for disappointment to crush it each time. freёwebnovel.com
And so, she decided to wait, not allowing hope to consume her with regret, but never fully abandoning the chance of his return. It was the only way she could endure the endless void of time, surviving on the thin thread of hope while refusing to let it rule her.
Alister’s expression softened, understanding the struggle within her. “What are the chances of that happening?” he replied, his voice now more somber.
“Many of our people died that day. Those who ran away wouldn’t bother passing such words to their children. What would be the point?”
His words struck a chord, and for a moment, Mar’Garet’s gaze softened, if only for a moment. She remained still, her grip on her spear tightening as she wrestled with the emotions surging through her.
Mar’Garet’s eyes narrowed as she studied him carefully. “What happened to your hair?” she asked slowly, her voice filled with disbelief. “It’s short… and black now. Your face… your aura… you even look younger. How can you explain all that? What happened to you?” Alister let out a deep sigh, as if the question weighed on him. “In all honesty, I’m not certain. I’ve lived all my life as Alister Hazenworth, and it’s only recently that I’ve started to recall memories of a past life that seemed to belong to me. I guess you could say I got another life somehow.”
At his words, both Alzuring and Mar’ Garet’s eyes widened in shock. They yelled together, “Reincarnation?!”
Alister shrugged awkwardly at their intensity. “I guess so.”
Alzuring’s expression shifted from shock to fascination. “Fascinating,” the dragon rumbled. “Rebirth is a concept known to the members of the dragon clans, believed to be an ability of the celestials. There has always been a huge debate on whether the dragon god comprehended it, and that if he were to appear again, the dragon race would surely thrive. Could it be that the young lord comprehended such an ability before your death?”
Alister paused, unsure how to respond. He had no memory of mastering or even hearing about such an ability, but Alzuring’s words lingered.
Could that really be the explanation? It seemed to be the most plausible reason for why he had memories of a life he hadn’t led yet felt deeply familiar.
But deep down, although he had never voiced it aloud, Alister believed it might be connected
to the system that governed his abilities.
Still, he chose his next words carefully. “Perhaps. I have no memory of mastering such a
power, but maybe that was the case. It’s one possibility, after all…” He trailed off, glancing at Mar’Garet, her expression still guarded but less aggressive now.
“Regardless of how I’m here, the memories remain,” he said. “And those memories connect
me to the life I once led.”
Alister let a small smirk creep across his face, his eyes locking with Mar’Garet’s. “So, is that enough for my rebellious disciple to recognize her lord?”
Mar’Garet paused, her expression going blank. The silence between them stretched, the
tension thick in the air.
Without warning, Mar’Garet swung her spear in a wide arc, slicing through the space in front of her. To Alister’s surprise, a dark rift appeared, swirling ominously. He tensed, ready to react, as she calmly reached her left hand into the rift. The air crackled with energy as her hand emerged, gripping a second spear, its black and silver surface gleaming with mana.
Her voice was steady, but there was a fierce look in her eyes.
“What you’ve said may be true, but it could just as easily be a lie,” she stated, her gaze sharp as the tip of her spear. “The only way I’ll believe you is if you can beat me in a spar.”