Chapter 151: A Stranger’s Memory

"You’re talking to me?"

The first guard looked as though Eden had just asked him whether the sky was blue.

"Of course, Your Excellency!"

Eden opened his mouth, then quickly close it.

He slowly nodded.

"Right. Of course."

He had absolutely no idea who these men thought he was.

But if they were going to let him inside without asking questions, he wasn’t about to ruin the opportunity.

"Don’t worry about it," he said, attempting to sound casual. "It happens."

Both guards bowed even lower.

"Your generosity is immeasurable!"

’God, these people are dramatic.’

Eden walked between them and pushed open the enormous doors.

The interior was breathtaking.

A vast hall stretched before him, its floor polished to such perfection that it reflected the golden light pouring through enormous stained-glass windows. Tall pillars lined the central aisle, each adorned with elaborate carvings depicting celestial figures and scenes he couldn’t quite understand.

At the far end stood an elevated platform.

And upon it, facing a magnificent altar, was a woman.

Eden stopped.

He recognized her immediately.

The same white hair.

The same delicate features.

The same unmistakable presence he had sensed inside the green crystal.

’Thats the Ruler of Sorcery.’

But something was different.

The white halo above her head was gone.

And the robes she wore were almost identical to his own.

Silver and gold.

Elegant, flowing, decorated with intricate patterns that seemed to shimmer beneath the light.

She stood with her back turned toward him, her eyes closed and her hands clasped before her chest.

Praying.

Eden looked around.

The church was completely empty.

No priests.

No worshippers.

No other guards.

Only the woman at the far end of the hall.

He glanced toward the altar, trying to determine who or what she might be praying to. There were symbols engraved into the stone, but none resembled anything he recognized.

He couldn’t even tell whether the figure depicted above the altar was a person, a deity, or something else entirely.

’What exactly is she praying to?’

He took a cautious step forward.

Then another.

His footsteps echoed through the hall.

The woman did not move.

Eden continued approaching, keeping his attention fixed on her.

He was close enough to see the intricate golden embroidery along her sleeves when she finally spoke.

"Interrupting a lady in the middle of her prayers is rather rude, you know."

Eden froze.

Her eyes remained closed.

She hadn’t turned around.

Yet her voice carried through the enormous hall as naturally as though they had been standing face-to-face for some time.

Eden cleared his throat.

"Sor—"

He stopped.

Something felt wrong.

He had intended to apologize, perhaps ask where they were, and find out why the guards had reacted to him as though he were someone important.

Instead, a gentle laugh escaped his mouth.

Short and refined.

Completely unlike him.

Eden’s eyes widened.

’What the hell?’

His lips moved again.

"Even in Caelestia, things do not always go as planned."

Eden went still.

He hadn’t said that.

He hadn’t even intended to say anything remotely similar.

The words had come from his mouth, but they hadn’t come from his mind.

The woman finally opened her eyes.

She turned around, revealing a pair of beautiful eyes that shimmered with an ancient, almost sorrowful intelligence.

Then she smiled politely.

"That is certainly true. Still, your appearance is a rather unexpected development."

She tilted her head slightly.

"After all, the hierarchy has always been the same. The Supreme God Zephyro, followed by the twelve Rulers."

Eden’s mind raced.

’Zephyro? The twelve Rulers?’

’This must be a memory then.’

He tried to speak. To ask her what’s going on, or where he is.

His lips moved before he could finish.

"Has that hierarchy truly always been the same?"

The question was delivered with calm curiosity, accompanied by a faint smile.

"Or has reality itself been rewritten at some point in the past?"

Eden’s blood ran cold.

He hadn’t chosen those words.

He hadn’t chosen the tone, either.

His body was speaking for him.

The woman fell silent.

Her smile faded slightly, replaced by a thoughtful and concerned expression.

For the first time since he had entered the church, she seemed genuinely unsettled.

"His Highness Zephyro would never do such a thing."

Her voice was firm, almost defensive.

Eden tried to force his mouth open.

’Listen to me! I don’t know who you think I am!’

Nothing came out.

Instead, his body gave another short, elegant laugh.

"I suppose that is true."

The woman studied him carefully.

For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.

Then she asked a simple question.

"May I ask your name?"

Eden seized the opportunity.

’Eden. My name is Eden. Just say Eden!’

He tried to force the words out.

His lips parted.

And the answer that emerged was not his.

"My name is Mendax."

The words were accompanied by a warm, elegant smile.

A smile Eden had never worn in his life.

The woman regarded him for a long moment.

Then she inclined her head.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mendax."

Eden could no longer move.

He could feel his heart beating.

He could feel the fabric of the silver-and-gold robes against his skin.

He could feel the floor beneath his feet.

But none of it felt like his own.

The truth settled over him with the weight of a collapsing sky.

He wasn’t watching an old memory.

He wasn’t merely witnessing a conversation between two ancient beings.

He was inside Mendax’ body.

Standing in front of the Ruler of Sorcery, Replaying a Memory in a way that almost made Eden believe it was his own.

Long snow-white hair flowed behind him.

Eden stared at the woman.

He attempted to say anything, to make any kind of noise, or to even move.

But whatever governed this memory wouldn’t allow it. Instead, Eden was forced to speak and move in a way that was unlike his own.

He had become a stranger trapped inside the past.

The past of the very being who had given him the power to regress.