“Can you... see me?”
No.
Leon quickly realized that the issue wasn't whether she could see him, but rather that one word she had used: “reincarnation.”
“Reincarnation?”
Leon looked at the pink-haired woman who, despite being covered in sand and dirt, performed an elegant lady's curtsy. He asked seriously, “What do you mean by reincarnation? Is the Alicia I know your reincarnation?”
The question about “reincarnation” wasn't his only doubt.
Leon had many questions: Where was this place? Why had he been suddenly pulled here? Why could he hear Big Alicia’s inner thoughts? And what was the deal with Alicia turning pink-haired after breaking out of that black cocoon back in the real world?
Facing Leon’s rapid-fire questions, Big Alicia only smiled.
“Your... doubts... I... will... choose... what... I... can... answer... to... answer... you.”
She raised her hand and gestured. Two wooden chairs and a stone table rose from the wilderness. On the stone table sat two cups of steaming hot water.
“Partner... of... my... reincarnation. Please... sit.”
Leon was slightly taken aback by her ability to create things out of thin air. However, remembering that this was a dream-like realm, he quickly relaxed and took a seat.
Once seated, Big Alicia studied Leon as if looking at a toy she desperately wanted but was trying to be restrained with. She spoke.
“First... I... will... answer... the... first... question.”
“I... can... see... you... because... this... segment... of... inherited memory... has... ended.”
Inherited memory?
Leon’s mind raced as he heard the term, but he remained silent, waiting for Big Alicia to continue her explanation.
“Every... time... I... reincarnate... to... advance... I... must... remember... the... inherited memory...”
Through Big Alicia’s fragmented explanation, Leon understood many things, though new questions arose in their place.
Big Alicia explained that as “Alicia,” the soul did not dissipate when an individual died.
Instead, after being purified by an unknown force and having the impurities removed from the soul, it would be cast back into the world for “reincarnation.”
After reincarnating, “Alicia” would continue to grow from infancy under the name “Alicia,” gradually increasing her strength and gaining access to inherited memory with each advancement in rank.
This inherited memory not only granted Alicia great power but also made her understand the destiny she bore as “Alicia.”
But at the same time, it was a heavy burden.
“To... obtain... the... power... of... inherited memory... one... must... personally... enter... the... memory... to... experience... it.”
Big Alicia looked at Leon and said, “In... other... words... to... experience... it... through... my... perspective.”
Experiencing it through Big Alicia’s perspective?
Leon recalled what Big Alicia had gone through in this wilderness:
The exhaustion of having to stay constantly alert with pursuers following like shadows;
The torment of being constantly eroded by 【Hunger】, fighting for her sanity every single second;
And the deep, bone-deep sorrow of watching the children she led die one by one from accidents...
Even as a bystander, Leon found these experiences hard to bear, let alone for that silly, candy-loving girl.
Seeing the worry on Leon’s face, Big Alicia suddenly gave a genuine smile.
“Fortunately... my... reincarnation... has... you.”
“Me?” Leon asked.
“Yes... yes.” Big Alicia nodded. “You... are... someone... she... trusts.”
“That... is... why... you... could... enter... here.”
“But... you... are... not... Alicia... so... you... will... not... become... me... to... feel... this... pain.”
“And... because... she... is... linked... to... you... she... will... not... become... me... either.”
Hearing this, Leon finally understood why the God of Thieves had appeared in Alicia’s dream and told her to find him so they could sleep together.
It was to exploit a “bug” where he wasn't “Alicia,” allowing him to use a bystander’s perspective to lessen the pain Alicia felt while obtaining the power of the inherited memory.
Only... Leon raised his eyes to look at Big Alicia.
“But since I’m in a bystander’s perspective, I can only bear one portion of the power of 【Hunger】. What about the remaining dozen or so portions?”
He suddenly realized why he, as an incorporeal entity, felt hunger when entering the domain of 【Hunger】. He realized why he could hear Big Alicia’s inner thoughts and why he felt a heart-wrenching pain when those children died.
It was because he was bearing a small part of the pain brought by the inherited memory.
But... what about the vast majority of that pain?
Leon stared at Big Alicia. The price for obtaining the power of inherited memory wouldn't just vanish; it had to go somewhere.
In this place, besides himself, there was only Big Alicia.
Big Alicia waved her hand gently, offering a smile. “I... have... experienced... it... once... it... will... not... hurt... anymore.”
Leon remained silent.
“Now... to... answer... your... question... about... what... place... this... is.”
Big Alicia knew that when Leon asked “where,” he wasn't referring to the dream, but to this wilderness.
She said, “This... is... the... East Continent... of... Ommisiah.”
“The East Continent?”
Leon was shocked. The continent of Ommisiah was actually divided into East and West?
On every map he had ever seen, Ommisiah consisted only of the continent housing nations like the Heron Empire, Nightmare, and the World Tree Forest. What was this about an East Continent?
Big Alicia said, “The... continent... you... are... on... is... the... West Continent. Opposite... to... the... West... is... the... East.”
This meant that beyond the maps Leon knew, there existed another equally vast Ommisiah continent, lying silent on the other side of the world, unknown to the public.
No, Leon thought of the Sage King. That man of riddles might know about the East Continent.
“Then...”
Leon was about to ask more when Big Alicia interrupted him.
“I... do... not... know... much... about... the... East Continent. I... might... mislead... you.”
Hearing this, Leon didn't press the issue of the East Continent, but he made a mental note of it.
Then, he asked about other matters he was concerned with.
“You said that anyone who is ‘Alicia’ will be reincarnated after death. Why is that? After reincarnating, does she receive all the memories of her past lives? And what effect does this inherited memory have on Alicia herself?”
Big Alicia replied, “Past... memories... are... only... a... tiny... bit. They... will... not... affect... her.”
“You... do... not... need... to... worry.”
“Inherited... memory... is... the... power... that... makes... Alicia... stronger. And... it... will... grow... stronger... with... each... reincarnation.”
“Aside... from... the... pain... it... will... not... affect... her.”
“As... for... the... reason... for... the... reincarnation...”
Big Alicia shook her head and said to Leon, “You... are... too... weak.”
“If... you... knew... the... reason... you... would... die... the... moment... you... left... here.”
Rate on N.U.
