Reincarnated Hero System

[MEMORY RETRIEVAL COMPLETE]

That was the line of text that appeared in my—Evan Von Bourne’s—eyes.

“No. Evankhell Von.”

It seemed that Dad—Vincent—had known about my true identity as Prisma’s reincarnation, given that he named me “Von.”

Setting that aside, I processed the flood of memories that had just surged into my mind.

“That explains a lot.”

Like why I’ve always harboured a deep dislike for gods in general, yet that feeling—bordering on intense hatred—never extended to Artemisia and Beatrix.

It also confirmed my suspicion that I was Kayla’s mysterious “benefactor” and gave me far greater insight into events that were soon to unfold in this universe.

Well, “soon” in the current timeline—since in reality, they were the past of “my timeline” once I returned to future Aidos.

Looking up at the floating text before my eyes, I muttered two words.

“Vision Seal.”

Immediately, another diaphanous board materialized before me.

|A R ■■■

■ A – Amnesia (Memory)-The seal induces complete amnesia, veiling memories of their past life to ensure they can start anew without any knowledge of their former identity.

■ R – Restraint (Soul)-The seal restrains their soul’s true essence and potential, limiting their soul power and preventing access to their higher existence.

■ ■ – ■ (■)- T̴͕͘h̷̹͊ė̶̱ ̶̡̕s̷͈̔ê̸͔a̴̮̚ľ̷̟ ̴̢̌l̸̻͂o̸̧̾ć̸͔k̴̗̾s̵͇͘ ̵̭̋a̵̫͠w̴̟͠a̸̢͛y̶͉͛ ̷̪̄t̸͎̊h̶̰̆ê̴̬i̴͖͐r̶̖͂ ̶̣̉A̸̗͋ú̷̥t̷̺͋h̷̼͌ó̸̳ȓ̵̪i̶̤͂t̵̰̎i̸̧̕ẻ̷̳s̵̰͋, s̶̗͒e̴̜͊v̷͉̎e̵̡̛r̷̟̐i̶͙͋n̸̮̔g̶̼͝ ̷̙̃t̸̺͐h̶͖̒e̶͖̋i̵̳͠ŕ̸̜ ̸͖̈́i̵͕͑n̸̜̈f̷̻̅l̶̹̉ü̸̼e̵̳͗n̶̯͊c̸̠̍e̷͛ͅ ̵̝̋ȍ̸͚v̷̜̄e̵̲̓r̸̦̚ ̴̗̔c̶̙̿o̸̓ͅn̷̡̽c̷̭̐e̵͉̍p̵̪͆ť̶̥ș̸̿, d̷̢̎o̶̤͊m̷̱̈́ả̵̜i̵̮̔n̷̰̄s̴͉̓,̴̼̿ ̷̯͑ò̴̝ṟ̸̉ ̴̩̀ĺ̶̰a̵̝̚w̷̬̍s̷̙͛ ̵͂ͅṭ̵̀h̷͖̾e̸̡͆y̷̜͐ ̵͇̆ò̴͓n̷̪̍c̴̭̚e̶̥͘ ̶̺͒c̵̞̅o̵̱̔ṅ̵͈ṯ̴̏r̴͓͑ȏ̸͍l̸̮͒l̶̥̚e̴̦͆d̷̺̓.̵̩̃

■ ■- ■ (■)- T̴̟͝h̸͍̓e̶̳͒ ̵͌ͅs̵̜̑è̷̡a̸̻̍ĺ̶̝ ̸̗̆r̵͉̔e̴͕͘s̶̠͝ẗ̶ͅr̵̞̎i̴̟͝ç̴̄t̵̙̑s̵̪̆ ̴̜̍t̸͖̕h̶̡̓è̷̫i̵̻̓ṟ̷̄ ̴̺͝r̵̬̀ả̶͓ẃ̶̨ ̴̟̊s̶̺̒t̸̻́r̶͙̊e̸̬͝ṉ̸̛ğ̷͈ṭ̵̓h̵̹̔ ̵͘ͅa̸̗̐n̷̻͗d̷͌ͅ ̸̼͗ḙ̸͝n̸̦͑e̸͉̒ȓ̶͎g̷͖͊y̵̫̓, r̵͔͒e̶̱̓n̸̞͠d̸̪̀ë̴̢́r̶̦̿i̴͔̽n̸̬͋g̴̨̕ ̷̺̊t̴̞̐h̸͉͘e̵̫͛m̶̻̉ ̷̲́ű̷͎n̵͇̓ȃ̶͍b̸̻̈́l̶͇͒ẽ̴̫ ̶̥̉t̸̩͠ô̵̯ ̸͍̀a̶͕̅c̶͓̏c̷̡͗ȇ̶̗s̶̨̈́s̸̙̚ ̷̨̽ ȃ̷͔n̷͓͆d̸̢̂ ̵̠͊u̷̲͊ṯ̷͗i̶͓̅l̵̠̈́ḭ̸͗z̶̖̆ḛ̴̓ ̷̬̏t̴̼͂h̷͓̓e̷̮̽i̵̤̊r̶͍͛ ̸̪̾f̷͈̓ȏ̷̦r̴͎̀m̶̖̽e̶̜̽r̷͕̍ ̴̖̓å̴̳b̷̜͝ï̸̪l̷̮̂i̴͖̎t̸̪̏ì̶̬e̸̜͑ṣ̷̒.̸̛̫

■ ■- ■ (■) – T̸̯̕h̵͔͝e̸̩̕ ̷̘̽ŝ̵͕e̶̬̿a̵̛̗l̴̹̐ ̸̲̾p̷̼͊l̸͍̀a̴̗̋c̸̑ͅe̸̢̍ṣ̶̂ ̵͈̾ṭ̷̃h̸͇̓e̵͙̅ḯ̷̳r̶̪̄ ̸̦́t̴̯̿r̵̭̀u̸̝̎ė̷̫ ̴͉̔p̷̍ͅơ̴͉w̴̫̓ȅ̶̯r̷̬̾ ̵̢̇ī̸̢n̵̟̊ ̴̞̑ä̶̳ ̵̳̆d̵̰̑o̴̙̐r̷͓͂m̶̯̈́a̸̱͝n̸͍̒t̷͔͆ ̵͖͊ṡ̶̢t̴̤́a̶̬̕t̷͇͋e̷̠̐, ȁ̵ͅl̴̙̕l̶͖̋o̴̦̿ẉ̸̛i̷͔͗n̶̯̏g̵͖͒ ̸̯̌t̶̩͑h̸̬͊e̴̘͒m̴͕̍ ̵̼̈t̶̟̿ǫ̴̒ ̸͍̏g̸̼̽r̸̟̕a̵̰̾d̵̹͑u̴͕̚à̷̺ľ̵̡l̵̞͆y̴̞͘ ̴͕̃ r̷̫̃ē̸̹ǵ̴͖a̷̮̎i̸̳̍n̵̙͗ ̴̹̅t̵̩͒h̷̹͝é̵̗í̸̝r̴̛͓ ̶̰̕á̴̫b̷͉̋i̷̺̓l̸̖̀ị̴͌t̵̟̀i̶̺͗ē̸̹ś̸̮ ̷̖́ a̶̩̎t̸̳̒ ̸͍̌a̷͚͂ ̶̝͊p̶̖̄ḁ̷̉c̵͉͑ḛ̶̾ ̷̖̌â̵̫l̴̡͒ỉ̸̖g̸͈͐n̸̢̈́e̸̜̓d̵̻͋ ̸͚͠w̴̫͝i̴͙̕t̴͖̓h̵̪̏ ̵͎̀t̵̺͒h̷̹̐è̸̜í̶̤r̴̳͐ ̸̺̎n̴̢͆ĕ̶̢w̵̝̕ ̵̿͜ḽ̸͑i̵̼͘f̸̪͐ḝ̸ ̶̹̕a̶̺̕n̶̯͆d̷͈͂ ̸̹̌c̵̜͑ȟ̸͉ő̴̘i̶̭̾c̴͔̀ë̴̡́s̶̗͠. |

“That’s a lot of glitched-out stuff…”

This was probably the most corrupted system notification I’d ever seen.

Then again, even if it wasn’t glitched, I could already guess part of what was there.

“For starters, those black boxes that appeared when Agnes entered my soul realm—that was the result of her power interacting with my Deity soul.

Those five boxes represented the seal that had temporarily loosened to protect my soul back then.”

As for the letters hidden behind the black boxes…

“That’s obviously A R I E S.

Looks like I couldn’t let go of my connection to that damn constellation after all…”

As soon as I thought that, the diaphanous board before me glitched again, and the letters behind the black boxes were revealed.

|A R I E S

■ A – Amnesia (Memory)

■ R – Restraint (Soul)

■ I – Isolation (Authority)

■ E – Erosion (Power)

■ S – Suspension (Awakening)|

“I see. So it doesn’t see the point in hiding what I already know. The first two were completely revealed since the First and Second Seal Layers have been released.

But since I don’t know about—or rather, haven’t ‘remembered’—what I, E, and S do, it’s not showing those.”

Isolation, Erosion, and Suspension.

Authority, Power, and Awakening.

I had some guesses about them, but nothing concrete.

Moving on, I dismissed the Seal description and turned my focus back to the first notification that had appeared.

[MEMORY RETRIEVAL COMPLETE]

Seeing this, I concluded that the memories of “my” Rebellion that I had just recalled were more like a preview—something to keep me occupied while the rest of my memories were being retrieved.

“Why does this feel like I was being forced to watch an unskippable ad?”

It really did remind me of those ads that popped up while videos were buffering.

“Oh well. That must have been a ridiculous amount of memories if it took two whole days to retrieve them completely. And now, I guess this is the part where they get stuffed back into my head.”

I could instinctively sense that something like an ‘Index’ of the memories had already formed in my mind.

From that index, I could infer quite a bit.

“At the time of my Rebellion, I was 3,875 years old. That was Year 5012 of the 50th General Calendar.

But the memories in that index don’t stop after my Rebellion. There are at least 1,000 more years of memories after that.

In other words, I didn’t die back then.

Well, that much is obvious, considering Arthur showed up at the end and everything.”

I mentally scrolled through the index, checking the dates.

“My memories cut off on the last day of Year 6045 of the 50th General Calendar. So that’s when I died? in my past life?

There’s a gap of exactly 3,999 years between that time and my birth on Earth V, and I have no recollection of anything in between.”

I could instinctively feel that whatever happened in Year 6045 would give me a clue as to why that gap existed.

But there was one little problem.

That was 4,908 years’ worth of memories. A life I had no idea how I had lived, aside from the brief preview I had just seen.

That was 4,908 years stacked against my current 20.

“There’s a very real possibility that the current me would be overwhelmed by the weight of those millennia of memories…and I might lose who I am now.”

I had no issues handling Arlan Maddox’s centuries’ worth of memories because the Reincarnated Hero System stored them in the Archive.

They were not in my head, exactly. More like a PDF file stored in the computer that was my mind, something I could search through whenever I needed.

Or like a book in a library that I could skim through at will. Just because I had unrestricted access to it did not mean I knew all its contents.

But these memories of my past incarnation could not be stored in the System Archive.

The System had only been able to take Arlan’s memories because they belonged to someone else. These, however, were my memories. The memories of my Soul.

Frankly, I was afraid of what would happen if all of them entered my mind at once.

“Would I cease to be the ‘Evan’ I am now? Would my past life’s persona take over? Am I even the real ‘personality’?

What if I am just a placeholder, created by my past self to take the reins in the meantime?”

These questions swirled in my mind, and the answers lay within the very memories I was wary of.

Risk and reward.

A double-edged sword.

If I absorbed these memories, I might end up becoming someone entirely different.

“And I don’t want that.”

The moment I said those words, as if responding to my will, the space around me began to shift.

From a deep, dense darkness, the world around me transformed. Soon, I stood in a place I knew all too well.

A battlefield littered with corpses.

I looked up to the sky and saw them.

A Collapsing Sun.

A Broken Moon.

The Earth beneath the countless fallen was shattered beyond repair.

I had seen this place in my dreams more than once, yet I had never learned where it was or more importantly, why it kept appearing.

Looking up the hill of corpses, their faces frozen in agony, I saw a lone figure sitting at the top.

Waiting.

Beside them was a space, just large enough for another person to sit.

I watched in silence for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh.

Then, I took a step forward, heading toward the top of the hill.

“Time to get my answers, I suppose.”

Reaching the top of the hill of bodies was a rather simple task. All it took was a few leaps, and I was already there.

The view from above was nothing remarkable. If anything, it only made the sheer horror of this battlefield even clearer.

“You have bad taste, you know?”

I spoke to the man who had been there before me as I sat down on a void step I conjured. Even if this was technically inside my mind, I had no desire to sit atop the corpses of unknown people.

[Say that about yourself. You’re the one who likes this place so much.]

“Excuse me? Why the hell would I like this messed-up place?”

There were corpses in every direction, stretching as far as the eye could see. For all I knew, there were probably even corpses in higher-dimensional directions I couldn’t perceive.

No way in hell I would ever want to be in a place like this.

[That’s a truth you don’t want to face. The same way you refuse to face me.]

“…”

Hearing his response, I let out a sigh. He was right. I had not once turned to look at him since I arrived at the top of this corpse hill.

I was consciously making an effort not to look at the person on my left.

But I couldn’t keep that up forever. I might as well get this over with.

Finally, I turned my gaze to meet the face staring back at me.

Unsurprisingly, we looked exactly alike. The only difference was that he appeared to be in his twenties, while I was a teen.

Oh, and he had no Mystic Eye symbol in his eyes. Instead, his eyes were aflame. Literally.

Seeing that I was finally looking at him, he smiled wryly and greeted me.

[Hello, Evan.

Nice to meet you.]

He paused for a moment before correcting himself.

[No…Nice to meet me.]

My Previous Incarnation stared back at me.

But as if sensing my thoughts, he raised an eyebrow and spoke.

[I assume you’re probably thinking of me as a different person. Don’t. I’m not someone else.]

“And I’m supposed to just believe that?”

When he heard my question, he shrugged as if he didn’t particularly care and turned his gaze forward.

[Believe it or not. I didn’t exist until approximately—]

He glanced at the watch on his wrist before continuing.

[—one minute and thirty-six seconds ago.

You created me because you didn’t want to reabsorb your memories.]

Raising his gaze once more, he declared.

[I am nothing but the amalgamation of your previous incarnation’s memories.]

Then, he turned to me with an annoyingly familiar grin.

[You’ve finally lost it. You’re having an entire conversation with yourself.]

His words made my brow twitch in annoyance. Not because he blatantly called me crazy, but because those were the exact words I would have said if I were in his position.

Despite sensing my annoyance, he continued.

[Haha! I am nothing but a jumble of memories that would disappear the moment your lazy ass decides to absorb your previous incarnation’s memories.]

“…it would be in your best interest to stop talking now.”

Despite the threatening edge in my voice, he kept laughing, taunting me as he spoke.

[Why? What’re you gonna do? Absorb your memories?]

The moment he said that, his right arm, which he had been about to use to tap my shoulder, vanished.

He stared at the empty space where his arm had once been for a few seconds before deadpanning me and speaking.

[Dude, really? You just took an arm.]

“Yeah, I did.”

I inspected the arm now in my right hand, nodding to myself as I confirmed his words. It seemed I really did have absolute control over his existence.

Just to test it, I abruptly took off his left arm as well, leaving him completely armless. Noticing this, he cursed at me.

[You motherfucker!]

“Hold on, now. I haven’t fucked anyone’s mother…yet.”

I could feel him narrow his eyes as he asked, […why did you say “yet”?]

Turning to him, I gave him an incredulous look.

“Because I’d obviously be fucking the mother of my kids, duh? What were you thinking?”