Thump. Thump.
He clutched at his heart area tightly. His breath quickened.
"It was definitely my voice."
But it was his first time saying these words.
It couldn't be helped.
It was the first time Estelle's son had come to his house, the first time he had been thrown into prison, the first time he had been fitted with a magic control bracelet! His palms were sweaty.
His lips were parched, and his whole body trembled slightly.
Absurd assumptions kept unfolding in his head.
"This situation has already happened 8 times."
Snap!
Lark immediately moved to the laboratory. He then frantically searched through the documents.
He was already certain of one hypothesis but felt he needed to see the exact evidence with his own eyes to be satisfied.
"There is another regressor besides me."
He muttered as if possessed.
"During the time I've been buying this round, the other has reincarnated at least 8 times."
The number of times he had heard his own voice was eight.
That meant eight lifetimes.
Then, the other regressor could be living their 9th life.
"How can this be? Reincarnation is a power of external gods!"
A god can have only one 'incarnation'.
This was a common fact among the gods of Lark's living dimension and even those from outside.
Lark was the incarnation of an external god who governs time.
That's why he was granted the power of infinite regression.
Of course, the magicians of Eseled who made Lark an incarnation didn't intend this power.
"If a new incarnation is born, the weaker one will die."
That's why Lark couldn't have children.
As an incarnation, his child would invariably be born as an 'incarnate body'.
That was the law.
How could a newborn baby be stronger than Lark? For that reason, Lark's child could never survive.
"Who is it? Who is the incarnation!"
Lark searched and searched for a way that two incarnations could coexist.
Shuffle!
Rough handling caused the documents to spill messily under the table and books to fall from the shelf.
He didn't care about such trivialities. What mattered was whether two incarnations could exist.
If there's another incarnation, who are they and how did they manage to contract with an external god?
Despite his frantic search, all the materials in Eseled pointed to one answer.
Two incarnations cannot exist.
If a new incarnation is born, it dies within days.
Then, the hypothesis of another regressor couldn't be true.
But the regression had occurred.
Eight times.
"Who in the world is it!"
Bang!
He kicked the table irritably.
He couldn't tell how many hours ago it was since he put the bracelet on Creed's wrist. The laboratory had no clocks or windows.
But he had obviously spent a considerable amount of time rummaging through the documents, having gone through a vast amount of material related to the gods of this world and the external gods.
Crack!
The crackling sound suggested it was past morning.
Lark groaned in pain through his gritted teeth and crumpled the research paper he was holding.
"Who is the regressor...!"
Hesitation.
Lark halted his movement.
...Could it be.
His eyes gradually filled with horror.
There was no need to look far for a suspect regressor.
Lark immediately moved to the third floor.
"Don't you want to ask why I know that child?"
"Just give me a little, just a little time."
"I'm scared."
"I'm scared, that's why I can't tell you right now."
Yes, he should have realized it sooner.
A face he'd never seen before.
A name he'd never heard.
Unusual behavior for a child.
Lark met Navia, dressed elegantly, in the middle of the third floor corridor.
Her clear eyes widened in surprise and then calmly settled down.
"Your Grace."
Navia called out to him.
Ah, yes. Was there something to talk about?
Looking at his earnest expression, it was clear that she had made a significant decision.
The decision to declare himself a regressor.
His lips parted as if he was in a trance.
"It's you."
Once he voiced it out, his certainty solidified.
"It was you."
The being he had thought strange all this time was right beside him.
A child with inexplicable abilities unless she was a regressor.
The child who had become his daughter.
"You're a regressor."
Navia.
She was another incarnation.
* * *
Navia was frozen in place.
Why did the term regressor suddenly come up? No, how did the Duke even know this fact?
Her heart pounded wildly.
She had intended to reveal it first, but he already knew.
How?
Navia looked at Lark with trembling eyes.
But Lark seemed just as confused.
At that moment, Navia realized she wasn't the only one overwhelmed and understood the need for composure.
She steadied her breathing.
Lowering her shoulders, she maintained a calm and collected mind. Then she responded.
"Yes."
It was the confession she had planned to make.
Navia boldly stated the truth.
"I am a regressor."
Lark closed his eyes for a moment.
This situation was certainly a first.
It was impossible and should not be possible for another regressor to exist.
A lengthy discussion was needed.
"Alright. Now I understand how to deal with you."
Lark spoke slowly, lifting his eyelids with a slightly hoarse voice.
The two shared similar expressions. The overly detached expressions only regressors could have.
"Let's talk in my room."
* * *
They didn't exchange a word while entering the bedroom.
It was a strange silence, filled with complex thoughts.
Lark sat down on the bed and summoned a chair opposite him.
It was a low chair, so Navia could sit without his help.
Thus, they faced each other.
Lark spoke first, before Navia could.
"Are you living your ninth life?"
"…Yes."
Navia looked surprised.
How did Lark know she was a regressor, and even the exact number of her reincarnations? It was bizarre. Strange thoughts made her heart beat erratically.
Could it be? Maybe...
Navia dismissed the thought.
She didn't want to judge hastily on her own. Instead, she waited for Lark to tell her.
Soon, Lark confessed calmly.
"I don't remember."
What?
"I'm continuously regressing."
"…What?"
Navia unknowingly clenched her trembling hand tightly.
Lark drove the point home.
"I am an infinite regressor."
Then, a perfect silence descended.
Thoughts ceased, and even her heart seemed to freeze in the stillness that engulfed Navia.
Only the words "infinite regressor" overwhelmed her.
Unaware, Navia held her breath, then exhaled roughly, crumpling her skirt.
Her hands were shaking violently.
"How..."
Her voice came out as if it had been worn down, unable to continue.
Navia opened and closed her lips several times, unable to grasp the situation.
An infinite regressor.
To have reincarnated so many times that he couldn't remember.
There was no joy in meeting another regressor.
Navia knew too well how cruel reincarnation was.
How could she be optimistic upon seeing this secretive mansion and Lark?
Lark, who had to maintain his body with magic.
Lark could guess the shock Navia must be feeling.
He had felt the same.
But they needed to talk. They had to understand what future this current reincarnation was shaping.
Why exactly the child had died eight times, he had to find out.
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So intriguing! :))
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