Reborn Regress Return: I Am the Heir of Shadows!

The warm nutrient gel slowly flushed from the pod after the emergency exit as Sena wiped the sticky residue from Julian's cheeks while brushing the hair from his face. She narrowed her eyes while biting her lips.

"It's just a game, so why?"

Thanks to her evolution reaching almost perfection, her strength in the game and slight changes manifested in reality.

"Huff…"

Sena huffed with great force, exhaling the air from her lungs as she lifted Julian's body and carried him from the VR unit. She took swift breaths with each step, his warmth, and weight pulling on her muscles, but he wasn't heavy.

"Don't worry, Julian. It'll be okay."

Normally, his naked body might excite her, but the dried stains of blood and the strange situation stopped those thoughts. She listened for his shallow breaths, unable to focus on anything but his safety.

The rampant pounding of her heart echoed in her mind as he sank into the mattress and remained unconscious.

"Is Maria home?" Sena struggled to pull her gaze away from Julian, sneaking from the room with quiet steps and checking the various rooms, only to find a small note on the table.

'Hm?'

Sena slipped the note between her fingers, and before her, a dull red glow filled her cheeks.

—

Bestie, I won't be coming home tonight because my dad wanted me to visit somewhere with him. I hope you don't mind since it's movie night!

On that note, why not invite that handsome boyfriend you're always speaking about to spend the night?

Maria

xxx

—

"Maria!"

Sena crushed the embarrassing note before tossing it into the dustbin. Her head shook while trying to forget the delusional and erotic thoughts that came to mind.

She crushed the embarrassing note in her hand, tossing it into the dustbin before shaking her head, trying to remove the delusional and naughty thoughts from her mind.

"What do I do? Ah, the first aid kit, under the sink!"

When she saw Julian suddenly collapse in the game and start bleeding from all his orifices, Sena panicked, but then, when it happened in reality, her anxiety exploded.

Clack!

The expensive yet unused first aid kit sat beneath the sink, with various cleaning gels and tools that neither she nor Maria used. She grabbed it and dashed, her feet moving rapidly, unable to leave Julian alone in the current state.

"What is he hiding?" she muttered in a low hum as she entered the room and slid across the floor as she rushed.

'Ah?'

Sena gawped at the reflection on her bedside table, making her cheeks turn bright red, 'Did I just run around the apartment naked?' She bit her lips before turning to the bed, her gaze focused on Julian's pale face.

'I won't die.'

"You look so pale. What happened?"

"Sena… don't go… that's dangerous." Julian's hands thrust into the air, his body shifting in the bed, thrashing about with a low, helpless growl.

'Julian?'

"I can't lose you…" She grasped his hands, gently caressing his palms while stroking them in circles and sitting on the edge of the bed. "I won't let you die… this time."

"Eh?"

"Julian, calm down. Why would I die… this is just a game—come on, wake up."

'His hands are too cold.'

Sena pressed her lips together and focused on her abdomen, a flicker of heat growing the longer she did, a fiery, blue aura something from the game wrapped around her hand, the heat flowing into Julian's body.

The aura differed from the makeshift aura used in the training room, and somehow, Sena instinctively knew she could use the special attacks in the game… in real life.

This sudden discovery caused her stomach to sink, and many questions formed as she held his hands tight.

"Julian… what's going on?"

"Sena…" A soft voice echoed from his lips, much different from his usual tone, a lighter and more affectionate tone. "I love you." He reached out with his face contorting as if suffering immense pain and suffering.

"Ah?"

Although their relationship started to heal from the sudden breakup, Julian's words struck her like a dagger to the heart. Sena's eyes trembled, unable to stop tears from welling as she planned to call the company to complain, but his words grasped her attention.

"Sena… are you alright?" His hoarse voice croaked as if small cuts cut his throat, making his tone a little dry.

"One second, don't move too fast." Sena rushed to the fridge, brought him a bottle of cool water, and sat beside him in bed.

She looked to the side, unable to stop herself from gazing back at him, noticing his pure, red eyes that scanned her body intently.

'I'll ask him about…'

Her body shifted closer as she became nervous and wanted to know more about what had happened.

"Sena?" His face became strange for a moment; his lips trembled before twisting into a bitter smile, and his eyes closed slowly. "You've already guessed that I am hiding something, right?"

Though he taught her some things, Sena didn't quite believe them, at least until this moment, and so her mind and thoughts became at odds with each other.

"The game is real… Sena, I mentioned something similar before, right?"

"You did, but this is a little difficult to believe… no, it was impossible to believe."

His lips curled into a smile, grasping her hand and stroking the back of her smooth skin.

"Until now, right?"

"Will you tell me everything?" Sena didn't want to be silent or ignorant about things anymore. She bit her lip, punishing herself for not believing him sooner.

"I promise."

"It all started when…"

Julian started to tell the tale of his fractured memories, about his first life in this world and how the game could help people evolve, improve themselves and survive. His body trembled when he mentioned what might happen when the first Devil appeared.

He mentioned that the first changes would start in three days, while the true horrors would happen gradually over the coming weeks.

Until judgement day, in one month.

'No wonder he acted so serious and treated the fights like life and death or scolded me for being greedy and taking risks.'

"So… we have until the 25th March?" Sena asked in a concerned mutter.

"Yeah, since I died, there are 24 hours until I can enter. So, I planned to buy supplies. Will you join me?"

"Hmph." Sena scoffed. Though she believed Julian would never lie to her, the sudden influx of so much dense information made her want to resist and refuse.

"Ugh?"

Suddenly, a stabbing pain filled her head, the sound of Julian's voice becoming static as his concerned face faded, and the world rippled like the surface of a pond.

'Eh, why am I here?'

Sena found herself standing in the middle of the city; she snapped her gaze, observing her surroundings.

A destroyed city with broken signs, collapsed buildings, and countless corpses.

No longer naked, she wore a strange set of leather armour, and the weight of the heavy blade in her hand lingered.

She turned around, but there was nothing there… only darkness and corpses…

"What is this?"

A massive shadow appeared over five metres tall, a massive behemoth of darkness, the scent of rotting flesh and a sickly warmth filling the air from the moment it appeared.

It was holding a gigantic sword while making a spine-chilling groan.

With a single sweep of its blade, the strange vision shattered, and she returned to the calm room, Julian staring at her with a concerned face.

The world returned to the bedroom, the slight cold of the air conditioning making her conscious of her naked body.

"AHHH!" Sena screamed, her face pale, as she jumped at Julian.

"Sena, what's wrong—ack!"

Before he could ask, her soft lips pressed against his, their heat spreading through his mouth as her tongue pushed inside his lips, erratically brushing along his.

Yet, her body became cold and shivering, with small bumps forming on her skin. She held him tight as if to escape the terrifying sight and vision she saw, sucking on his tongue to forget those thoughts.

'What if Julian dies for real next time? He wasn't beside me, what if that was… my future?'

The lingering terror bored into her soul as she kissed him, desperate for his sweet taste, the musky scent of his body with a light sweat and the warmth that soothed her fragile heart.

'A world without this man… I would rather let it collapse!'

Smack~

Their lips parted, a thick strand of saliva binding their swollen lips. Sena clung desperately to Julian, her eyes wet, welling with tears as she sought comfort and support from him. In response, Julian wrapped his arms around her back.

"Even knowing about what I've done, would you forgive me?" He asked.

"When the world collapses, will you still be mine?"

An infatuated girl's heartfelt plea echoed through the room as Julian's eyes widened, gazing into each other's eyes, their lips moved closer like a gravitational pull.

"I won't let you go this time."

"Mm… then prove it, show me how much you love me."

Sena's eyes narrowed as she pushed him back onto the bed, her hand wiping the dried blood away with a cloth before straddling his waist.

"This time even the goddess won't disturb me."

Thud!

With that, Sena swiped her phone and tossed it into the next room.