Chapter Five Not In This Life

The rain continued falling softly.

Neither of them moved.

Neither of them spoke.

The question hung heavily between them.

“Why do I remember dying whenever I see you?”

Issac's voice was calm, but the confusion behind it was impossible to hide.

Star lowered her gaze.

For one hundred years, she imagined this moment countless times.

She imagined finding him again.

She imagined what she would say.

She imagined how he would react.

Yet now that he stood before her, alive once more, every word felt impossible.

How could she tell him the truth?

How could she tell him that he once stood beside her as a knight?

That he gave his life protecting her?

That the last thing he saw before he died was her sword buried in his chest?

Star clenched her fists tightly.

Some truths were too cruel.

At least for now.

"Because we knew each other once," she finally answered.

Issac frowned.

The answer only created more questions.

"That's not all, is it?"

Star remained silent.

The rain tapped softly against the bridge railing.

For a moment, only the sound of rushing water below filled the silence.

Issac looked away toward the river.

His head still hurt.

The images from earlier refused to leave him alone.

The battlefield.

The blood.

The pain.

And her.

Always her.

"Then why do you look at me like that?" he asked quietly.

Star froze.

The question struck harder than she expected.

Because she didn't know how to answer.

How was she supposed to explain a century of guilt?

How was she supposed to explain that every time she looked at him, she remembered the day she lost him?

Or that for one hundred years she blamed herself for his death?

Slowly, Star turned away.

"I don't know."

It was the closest thing to the truth she could give.

Issac studied her expression carefully.

She looked exhausted.

Not physically.

Emotionally.

Like she had been carrying a burden for far too long.

Then suddenly his eyes landed on a small scar across her hand.

A strange feeling washed over him.

Pain exploded through his head once again.

Another memory.

Another fragment.

A battlefield beneath dark skies.

His hand reaching for hers.

A promise.

A vow.

Protect her.

The vision vanished instantly.

Issac staggered slightly.

"What the—"

He grabbed the railing for support.

The memories were becoming stronger.

More detailed.

And far more frightening.

Because they felt real.

Star stepped forward instinctively.

"Issac!"

For a brief moment, the way she said his name felt familiar.

Comforting.

Like he had heard it a thousand times before.

The feeling disappeared as quickly as it came.

Issac slowly straightened himself.

His breathing remained uneven.

"Who are you?" he asked again.

This time his voice was softer.

Not fearful.

Desperate.

Star looked at him for several seconds.

Then she smiled sadly.

The kind of smile that carried far too much pain behind it.

"Someone from your past."

Issac's heart tightened.

For some reason, those words felt important.

Dangerously important.

But before he could ask another question, Star stepped back.

Almost as if she was afraid of saying too much.

Far away, in universe eight, Time sat alone within the palace gardens.

His sword rested beside him.

His thoughts remained fixed on the battlefield.

On what happened.

On what he saw.

Everything had stopped.

The rain.

The fire.

The soldiers.

Even time itself.

Slowly, Time picked up a small stone from the ground.

He stared at it silently.

Then tossed it into the air.

For a brief second—

the stone froze.

Hovering motionless above him.

Time's eyes widened.

The stone dropped a moment later.

But he had seen it.

His power was real.

And somewhere within the palace, hidden behind darkness and stone walls, King Tears smiled.

Meanwhile, back on the bridge in universe seven, Issac looked at Star one final time.

The question had been burning inside him since the moment they met.

"Have we met before?"

Star closed her eyes.

A hundred years of memories flashed through her mind.

The knight who protected her.

The friend she trusted.

The person she lost.

Slowly, she looked back at him.

"Yes."

Issac waited.

The rain continued falling softly around them.

Then Star whispered:

"But not in this life."

And for the first time since his strange memories began—

Issac felt truly afraid.

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