CHAPTER 427: IN THE PAST I WAS WITHOUT A NAME

MOON

Sprawled on a bed of white Zinnia flowers, Zina was deep asleep with an expression of serenity and calm on her face. She almost drooled, a clear sign that she was enjoying her sleep a little too much.

Yet it was obvious that she wasn’t aware of her surroundings. Nor did it seem like she had any idea of her whereabouts.

She snored softly, her palm darting up to swat a bee that buzzed too much in her ears. The offending bee took flight, giving her a wide breadth. And once the disturbance was gone, Zina smiled, breathing deeply as she fell deeper into her sleep.

She was so at peace—so much so that she was oblivious even as the steps of an intruder sounded close to her. And they belonged to none other than a young girl who looked to be about ten, and was a carbon copy replica of herself in all entirety save for the fact that she was older, while the latter was younger.

The young girl’s eyes were blindfolded, and gripped between her fingers was a walking staff. "You sleep so soundly, Zina. Even when your world falls and shatters right before you."

Zina didn’t wake at first. Even though the words managed to infiltrate her formless dreams, she merely turned to the other side to continue her sleep. Her back against the girl as if to warn her from disturbing her any further than she had done.

"Way too soundly, Zina. You sleep way too soundly. Quit brushing me off—and while you’re at it, quit pretending you’re enjoying your sleep anymore than I enjoy speaking to you right now."

Zina’s body stiffened as if caught in the act of doing a terrible evil, then slowly, her eyes opened to the sea of white flowers of did free rent kind that surrounded her.

This was undoubtedly the same place she tapped her visions from. And the zinnia flowers she used as a bed had long crushed under her, their juices staining her clothes.

Without turning to the girl, she said, "It is you again."

The girl tilted her head haughtily. "True, it is me again. But a better question would be why you lie there and pretend your world is fine."

"But my world is fine."

"I do admit that you’re a good actress. But the terrible rhythm of your heart betrays you."

Zina stilled, then she raised a shaky, trembling hand, resting it against her chest.

Her heartbeat was erratic, chaotic even. Was it the sound of heartbreak? Or the sound of grief? She didn’t quite know.

"It doesn’t change the fact that my world is fine,"

Zina gritted vehemently, "even if my heart should stop all over again, I will not feel any different. To know that I left a better world behind gives me great joy."

"Great joy? You carelessly throw such overestimating words."

Zina darted to her feet, facing the blind younger version of herself again with a furious expression. "You asked me to guard my heart and mind! You said that was the only way he and I would survive this! Then I was told I would destroy him. Others said he would destroy me. And many said we were each other’s destruction! But look...I have defeated prophecies and whatnot. I have established his legacy and left him with a peaceful world."

The girl chuckled. Then dissolved into full blown laughter that left Zina incredulous. She laughed for seconds that thinned into minutes before she stopped.

"You think you left him a better world? But you didn’t, Zina. You’ve just destroyed him. Now, he would never be the same again."

The words caused Zina to stagger behind, her heart beating faster than was certainly normal. Her breath hitched in her throat, her heartbeat literally thundering in her ears.

With eyes filled with tears, she stared at the girl. "Did I not make the right decision?"

To her surprise, the girl’s expression turned somber. "If he took his life before you instead to save the world, would you be asking if he made the right decision instead?"

A tear rolled down Zina’s cheeks at the brutal truth that stood before her.

"But you made the right decision," the girl said unexpectedly, "it was a hard decision to make, and yet you made it so bravely. Not many can manage to be so selfless."

Another tear rolled down Zina’s cheeks, unable to find it anywhere within her to appear as peaceful as she had been pretending to be all the while when she was sleeping.

Waking up to this world, she had not only been scared, but she had been unable to face the anguish and raw fear that Daemon showed a few moments before she entered this world.

She didn’t believe it was possible for a man to feel so much for a woman. But in that moment, she could clearly see that Daemon felt the world for her.

And that had only made it harder to leave despite the smile she wore for him.

"So what will happen to him now?" She asked in a voice that didn’t sound at all like her own.

"He will claim the title of the Great Beast Wolf, unite the North, and have the world bow at his feet." The girl spelt out mechanically, "But after that, he will roam the world aimlessly. One of his wolf’s mad, the other, untethered. He will keep chasing what could have been between the two of you. He will keep obsessing over what might have been, and what no longer is. And then one day, he would lose himself entirely to the point he remembers not his own name."

Zina fell on her knees instantly, bawling her eyes out. "Bu...but I did try to guard my heart and mind from him! We might have been close, but surely the love that existed between us is not that strong?!"

The girl smiled pendantically. "What is love? And what is obsession? And who are we to dictate how a man reacts when they lose both?"

Zina raised her head slowly to the girl, not knowing what to make of her words.

"What is love—" she repeated slowly herself, "what is obsession."

"You will now ascend as the goddess you’ve always been." The girl said conclusively, "And with your own eyes, you will see the world you’ve left behind. and you will realize that nothing is black and white. Even the most well-intended goodwill can bring the most

Zina’s tears streamed endlessly. The thought that she would be stuck in that place after leaving behind an unfulfilled life drove her insane. To the extent that she almost regretted—

She sniffled, wiping her tears away even though that was hardly enough to block the dam. "If that is the price of abandoning my fated one, then so be it. I will be here waiting for him. For years and decades to come, I will share in his wins and woes while I await the day he will finally accompany me. If waiting is the price, then I am willing to pay it."

The girl smiled. "Ever brave you are. For once, you’ve never failed us."

Zina stiffened. "Who exactly are you? Are you really my younger self?"

The girl’s smile turned to that of longing and sadness. "In the past, I was without a name. But now you have given me a name so I will bravely answer to it—It is Brynn, Zina."