When the plot-skips players into the game world

Chapter 543: Chapter 424: Past Life, Present Life Chapter 543: Chapter 424: Past Life, Present Life This was the first time Aiwass had seen Isabel cry, shedding tears.

But in her crying, there was neither sadness nor fear.

Instead, Aiwass could sense a kind of reassurance and warmth.

— The first thing that came to Aiwass’s mind was the diary Isabel had once shown him.

In that diary, passed down by members of the Du Lac family to record the traces of their lives, the first two sentences written by a nine-year-old Isabel were:

“I am so scared…”

“Daddy said, I can cry…”

Back then, Isabel, immersed in the fear of death, was so lonely and frightened.

She had no idea that Queen Sofia, the person she most wanted to stay, was actually her.

From Isabel’s perspective, the gradually dying relatives were like a blade hanging in the air, ready to fall at any moment.

She couldn’t smile no matter what.

— So she could only cry.

Latterly, even the “Daddy” mentioned in the diary silently fled from Glass Island.

Isabel was left utterly alone.

It was like standing on a cliff, with only a log bridge under her feet.

Just one glance down at the abyss would make her dizzy and weak-kneed.

In that fear of death, where even her biological father chose to leave her, Isabel managed to maintain her pure and kind heart, not twisted by fear, already giving it her all.

And the one who made Isabel no longer afraid, no longer cry, was Aiwass.

Aiwass pulled Isabel out of that darkness, helped her don the crown, and become the queen of Avalon.

As a queen, she must give people confidence.

The queen has no right to cry because she cannot show the slightest weakness in front of her people.

Now, the one who could make her cry again was also Aiwass.

Aiwass’s gaze gradually softened as well.

At first, he just comforted Isabel, joking with her in a soft whisper, soothing her with a gentle voice.

But at some point, he, too, felt his eyes moisten.

Aiwass also thought of something.

He thought of the scarf Queen Sofia gave him, of Isabel’s radiant smile the first day she painted his portrait, and of the gleam in her beautiful eyes when she handed him the diary.

Afterwards, Aiwass suddenly remembered the day they first met.

She, still using the identity of “Lulu,” wearing the identity of her biological mother “Annie Alexander” to meet him.

Aiwass recalled the moment she carefully took “Little Aiwass” from his arms, the heartfelt tender smile on her face, and the lullaby she quietly sang to put him to sleep.

…

In hindsight, perhaps Lulu’s lullaby wasn’t so potent as to nearly put himself to sleep as well.

Although Isabel’s singing talent was indeed exceptional, she, without the bonus of any Path traits, wouldn’t have easily lulled Aiwass to sleep.

It was probably because…

Aiwass himself longed for that kind of love.

Isabel’s gentle lullaby might not penetrate the restive heart’s shell…

but to a heart that had been parched for a long time, it was like a spring rain.

It’s not the wine that intoxicates but the person themselves.

For Aiwass, the lullaby that “Lulu” sang to “Little Aiwass” to sleep was also the bedside song that he himself wanted to hear from the bottom of his heart.

The summer evening breeze blew through the window, ringing the wind chimes.

And he was being cradled in his mother’s arms, enjoying the carefree childhood bliss.

In the child’s eyes, there was no anxiety about the future, only hope for tomorrow.

Aiwass slowly held Isabel a little tighter.

Gradually, his comforting voice ceased.

Isabel’s crying also subsided.

The two of them embraced quietly as time flew by.

Inhaling the scent of her hair, feeling the warmth in his arms.

In his past life, Aiwass, too, had a dad and mom, grandparents.

He also had enlightened parents, a happy childhood.

In that naive and ignorant childhood, he was much happier…

much, much happier than this world’s Aiwass.

His parents taught him a lot about life and work, helped him develop many good habits, and nurtured a cheerful personality.

His father would play games with him, and his mother always made delicious meals and told him stories.

His grandfather would take Aiwass to play chess, fish, while his grandmother knitted sweaters and made cotton clothes for him.

— Until an earthquake that destroyed Aiwass’s entire world left him alone.

This was just like a poem by Dickinson.

She once said, “I could have borne the darkness, had I not known the Sun.”

Aiwass had been loved, had tasted the nectar of happiness.

His family were good people, he grew up in a bright world—until the Sun fell.

— He remembered.

Aiwass’s eyes widened slightly, and his breathing halted for a moment.

Those memories he had deliberately chosen to forget were being retrieved once more.

It wasn’t as if the seal had been lifted, but rather as if he had finally opened an assignment left untouched for an entire vacation.

He had long been aware of their existence and even knew roughly what they contained, yet he was never willing to face them.

Even before the earthquake, Aiwass had felt an uneasy premonition.

He had seen insects crawling, toads taking to the streets.

But he didn’t take that fleeting unease seriously.

Only in retrospect did he feel heart-wrenching guilt and regret.

—If only I had taken those signs seriously at the time, Aiwass would sometimes think.

Waking up from nightmares, his back soaked with cold sweat.@@novelbin@@

It took many, many years before he gradually forgot that guilt.

But that love, like the marks he carelessly engraved on the walls of his childhood home, was deeply etched into the depths of his heart.

Perhaps it was because Aiwass had once experienced such beauty that he now craved that kind of love all the more; perhaps it was precisely because he was the only one to survive the disaster that he would subconsciously want to sacrifice himself to help others.

Because he had suffered, he hoped others would not have to endure the same;

Because he had felt that powerlessness, he wanted to control his own destiny;

And because he was the only one saved at that time, he now always seemed fearless in harming himself.

It was a subconscious desire for self-destruction.

Even before Aiwass had awakened the memories of his past life, he would always subconsciously choose to sacrifice himself to help others; he would always evade the affection and expectations of others, never willing to accept their love.

It’s like if his account was stolen, he’d quit the game for good, if a pet died of old age, he’d never keep another pet, if a wife or husband passed away, he’d never remarry…

What Aiwass resisted was the love from others; and at its root, he detested his own weakness.

That’s why Aiwass always kept a subconscious distance from others.

And now, his adaptability to the Path of Devotion and the Path of Transcendence stemmed from this subconscious behavior.

If Isabel was a gorgeous but fragile glass, then Aiwass was steel with a tough exterior but already full of cracks inside.

—That wasn’t emptiness, but fear.

The fear of disaster striking again and being powerless to prevent it…

unable to save the ones he loved.

If that was the case, then it was better not to love at all.

As long as he never owned, he wouldn’t suffer from the sadness of loss.

“…

So it turns out, I am also afraid,”

Aiwass realized, whispering softly to himself.

“What?”

Isabel hadn’t heard what Aiwass said, and asked with some confusion.

Her voice was hoarse and muffled from sobbing, but the gentle tone was endearing.

“It’s nothing.”

Aiwass replied softly, “I just suddenly realized…

it turns out the biggest coward is actually myself.”

He had always been encouraging Isabel to overcome her fears, watching as she gradually became stronger.

But wasn’t this also a projection of his own fears onto her?

Her victories were his victories, helping her to stand up was like helping his past self.

—The courage Aiwass had given her now became the courage she gave back to him.

Even if Aiwass recalled the past again, he wouldn’t be afraid because of it anymore.

The moment he realized this, the restless heart in Aiwass, agitated by facing his past, began to calm down again.

In Aiwass’s eyes, red and purple reached an unprecedented harmony and balance.

“Lulu.”

He called out softly another name for Isabel.

“Hmm?”

Isabel, also puzzled, shook her head slightly and used Aiwass’s shoulder to dab at her tears before lifting her head out of his embrace.

And Aiwass, silently, moved his hand resting on her back upward.

His fingers slipped through her flowing golden hair as his open hand gently cradled the back of Isabel’s head.

In an instant, Isabel realized what was about to happen.

Her eyes widened in surprise, her long lashes fluttering like butterfly wings, and her clear, green eyes shined with a bright, water-like luster.

She then closed her eyes and held her breath.

Aiwass leaned in and kissed her gently.

First her forehead, then the tip of her nose.

Finally her lips.

Isabel’s slim waist bent slightly backward as Aiwass held her ever tighter.

A faint touch, followed by separation.

Licking away those slightly bitter tears until the deep, labored breaths when they couldn’t catch their breath.