268 The Next Generation (1/2)
”LORD FORRESTER, is there a way for me to remember the life that I had before the reset?” Julian asked the former saint while he was walking him back to his room. Well, it wasn't like he needed to do that. He just wanted to talk to Lord Forrester without Winter. His brother was a worrywart and he didn't want him to unnecessarily worry about him. ”The memories that the Sun God showed us didn't include mine.”
”I don't want to say this but” Lord Forrester stopped when they reached his room. Then, he faced him and pointed at himself. ”Lord Julian, I'm pretty useless without my Holy Scepter. A few years ago, I was a little more useful because back then, I could still use my divine power. But after my deadly match with Aku Moonchester and the Golden Tiger, the remaining divine power in me had been drained.”
”But you're the son of the Sky God,” he said, confused. ”You're supposed to be overflowing with divine powers. How did yours get drained?”
”I know, right?” he agreed with a firm nod. Then, he raised one finger. ”But Lord Julian, don't you remember what kind of weapon the Holy Scepter is?”
”A living weapon that feeds on its owner's divine power” He trailed-off when he realized that it was the answer to his question a while ago. ”Oh.”
”Yes, the Holy Scepter fed on my divine power a long time ago,” the former saint said. ”When I said my divine power was sealed, I mean it was sealed inside the scepter. I can only freely use it if the Holy Scepter is in my hands.”
”Ah, I see.”
The former saint fell silent for a while before he spoke again. ”You're practically a god because of who your parents are, Lord Julian. Having your memories intact despite how many times you get reborn is supposed to be the privilege of someone like you. But because of your mother's punishment, you practically lost that privilege. Even your mother and father had their memories erased. That's probably the price they had to pay to get what they wanted in the past.”
”I understand why Mother lost her memories,” he said. ”But what about Father? What did he do to lose that privilege?”
Lord Forrester let out a deep sigh. ”Lord Julian, your father used to be a very difficult person in the past. He didn't know how to communicate properly and he did things on his own without even consulting your mother. To simply put, he pulled some strings in the past to have your family safely reborn into this lifetime. But it seems like even the Black Serpent has forgotten the things that he had to sacrifice for it to happen. For a god, losing their memories is like suicide.”
Yeah, that was the cause of all their problems: missing memories.
”Lord Forrester, when humans are reborn into a new lifetime, the memories of their past lives are wiped off,” he said carefully. ”Where do those memories go? Do they just disappear? Or is there a place where they are kept?”
”There's this place called 'Plane' where some gods usually reside to watch over their favorite humans,” the former saint explained. ”The Plane is also the world between the living and the dead. The souls or the spirits of those who have died stay there while they await for their reincarnation. There are 'officers' in the Plane that collect the memories of the humans who are about to get reborn.”
”Have you been there?”
”Yes, since I already died a few times,” he said. ”Humans forget about their time in the Plane when they get reborn. But since I'm a son of the Sky God, my memories of it stay with me. Although I'm not supposed to talk about it to other people.”
”But you just did.”
The former saint laughed it off. ”It's fine since you have divine blood in you.”
He is so easy-going.
”Lord Forrester, is there a way for a living person like me to enter the Plane?”
”Why would you want to enter the Plane, Lord Julian?”
Sharp.
”I don't believe that the only reason that our family has been reborn without our full memories is because our parents were punished,” he explained. ”I have a feeling that someone is purposely messing with us someone who can manipulate memories without being caught by my mother and father. The only time I can think where they could steal the memories of the Supreme and the Black Serpent is during their reincarnation.”
”That's a valid point.”
”Then, please help me.”
”Like I said, I'm useless without my Holy Scepter. As long as I don't have the value that I gain when I have my weapon, the gods won't listen to my prayers,” the former saint said. ”But I know someone who has a strong connection with the Plane.”
His ears perked up. ”Can you introduce me to them?”
”You already know her though.”
”I do?”
”There's only one person I know who can get reincarnated as the same person again and again,” Lord Forrester said. ”She's dubbed as the 'Fire Princess' but she rarely uses that title these days.” He paused before he snapped his fingers. ”Your brother often calls her 'little brat princess' though.”
Julian's eyes widened in surprise. ”Are you talking about Lady Solenn?”
***
”WINTER, go and make hot chocolate for me.”
Winter glared at Solenn. He was sitting on the floor while creating little snowmen (as part of his training to control his ice Mana) when the little brat princess bossed him around. Only the two of them were left in the tea room after Lord Forrester and his brother Julian left together. ”Why should I? If you want to drink hot chocolate, then make one for yourself. I'm not your servant.”
”It's your fault why this room is extra cold,” Solenn, who now sat on the sofa while wrapped in a thick blanket, complained. ”Why the heck are you making snowmen in this room? If you want to play, play outside.”
”I'm not playing,” he snapped at the little brat princess. ”I do this to practice my Mana control. If these little snowmen melt easily, that means I'm still weak.”
”I don't care. Go to another room.”
”Why are you cold anyway?” he complained. ”Your dominant Mana is fire, and you're the daughter of the freaking Fire Archmage. Can't you warm yourself or something? Mommy never gets bothered by the cold, you know?”
”You're a child so you wouldn't understand even if I explain to you why my body is weak against the cold.”
He was about to give a retort when they heard a knock on the door.
And then, Julian entered the room with a mug of hot chocolate in his hand.
”Julian, please tell me that hot chocolate is for me,” Solenn said while giving his older brother a creepy puppy dog eyes. ”I'm so cold.”
”Of course, it's for you, Lady Solenn,” Julian said politely, then he handed the mug to the little brat princess. ”Do you want me to accompany you to the living room?”
”The knights are gathered in front of the fireplace,” the little brat princess said while holding the mug in her hands. No matter how hot the hot chocolate was, it wouldn't burn a Fire Mage like her. ”If we come out, they will excuse themselves. Even if we tell them that they can stay with us, they wouldn't listen since their duty to serve us is very strong.”
He raised a brow at that.
The little brat princess bullies me a lot but she's considerate to other people.
”You're kind, Lady Solenn.”
”I'm not. I was just raised by my father to be a good leader,” Solenn said. ”Do you need anything from me, Julian?”