"W-what just happened?" I asked, eyes blinking and mouth half open.
The both of us were now standing again on the paradise of flowers. So many questions were piling up at the back of my mind, but what I sputtered out escaped from my lips unexpectedly.
"You… you died right? Then why are you here, standing in front of me?"
"What you see now is only but a small fragment of my soul, merely trying to live off from the essence of this very temple. At that time, all I could do was send half of your soul and half of the Pure Light to another world to mislead those people. My power was just enough to keep you away for a good twenty years in Earth… and now that you're back, I fear that they might have started looking for you too."
So that was the reason why I had allergies in both lives? Because I've had the Pure Light in me all along, as both Mai and Calla?
I felt utterly stupid for thinking that I never belonged in this world, for thinking that I wasn't my father's real daughter—just simply for thinking that I wasn't Calla. Realizing how foolish I'd been, I wanted to smack myself so badly. Is this why everything felt so natural to me once I returned here, even while believing I was entirely someone else? I had subconsciously wanted to help the East all this time, not because I wanted to prove myself… but because the place was special to me.
But none of this is important at this moment. The real questions were,
"W-why… why did they do it? What do they want to do with the Pure Light?"
"The answer to those questions, I do not know." The woman's fragile hands swept back the hair strands that escaped from my ear. "That is why… I want you to use the Pure Light and become Sol. Along with taking the role of protecting our Flos people, you might find the answers to those questions as well. Can you do it, dear sweet daughter?"
I smiled as I cupped her hands with mine. "Of course, I'm your daughter. I can do anything."
If it means knowing why those bastards had to kill my mother, if it means removing any kind of threat to my mother's beloved people—I will do anything.
A rush of enlightenment took over my body. Right, with this power, I can find the people who did this to her.
"Shall I raise high hopes for you, then?" She chuckled sweetly—her glossy cheeks became much more emphasized. "Worry not. I will always be here to guide you."
"But where am I supposed to start, mother?"
I wasn't just a scared little girl anymore, I now know that I have lived two sets of lives, and I knew what I had to do. All I needed right now was a starting point.
"You will know when the time is right. For now, stay patient and do what the Pure Light tells you to."
"Alright, I will." Then I hugged her. "You'll be gone after this, won't you?"
The familiar warmth and scent triggered sweet memories of bedtime stories. Why is it that those moments were all that I could remember?
She patted my back lightly. "Yes sweetheart, I can't stay in your mind for long. And eventually, you have to return back to your father."
"So this is goodbye?"
"For now."
I parted my body from her. "Can I come back once in a while?"
"Yes you can, but not too frequently, my dear. I'm going to need a great amount of energy for meetings like this, so come here only for important matters, alright?"
"Mmm, yes mother." I nodded. "One last question before I go."
"What is it?"
"Would you be able to return my memories of this life?"
"I'm afraid I can't, Calla." She sighed before continuing. "But I can do say that someone has taken them away from you."
I flinched. "W-what…"
The woman with cloud-like hair only smiled as she leaned in to plant a kiss on my forehead. "You should go now. I can feel your father's anxiety levels from way up here." She laughed gently. "Tell him that I love him."
A flash of light took away my sense of sight before the silence of the greenhouse took over. I stared at the statue before me, the exact same image as the woman I saw earlier.
All of it was true, right? I must have been hallucinating. Maybe the air here had some kind of drug?
No, I had to make sure.
I hurriedly turned back to where I came from. With every step that I took, my heartbeat ran faster and faster.
A figure of a knight running towards me slowly came into view, his sandy hair trickled with sweat. "Young lady! Where have you been? We've been looking everywhere for you! The high priests have gathered since earlier and your father's about to get real mad!"
"Sir Alaric, give me your Teleportation Shard that leads back home."
I didn't know what came to me when I allowed my father to keep my shard for me.
"H-huh? What do you mean, young lady?"
"Give it. Now."
The knight's face was full of confusion as he handed me his only means of returning home. I quickly grabbed the Teleportation Shard from Sir Alaric's hand. Then I ran towards the place where everyone had gathered by the altar.
"Y-young lady! Where are you going?" I heard a voice trying to catch up to me.
I just kept running until I arrived in front of all the other knights and… my father, face fuming with anger. The five high priests were already lining up behind him, including High Priest Marcus. His face was full of curiosity.
"Calla, come here. What in the world has gone wrong with you to be running around the sacred temple like this?" asked my father from a distance, he was clearly keeping a calm expression to keep face for the high priests.
I'm sorry father, but I have more important matters than this.
I turned away and headed towards the main entrance. I could hear voices calling out to me, but all of them where blocked out by the voice in my head that told me that I had to do this or else I wouldn't be able to sleep for the next ten years.
Then I stopped just a few distances from the temple doors. I spotted the target item that I've wanted to obtain—a tapestry hanging on the pastel white brick wall with a drawing of the Goddess Khloris, sitting on a meadow. But the problem was that it was so high up.
I heaved in a sigh, preparing myself for the foolish thing I was about to do. For once, if you're really there, help me. I calmed myself and threw out a hand. My mind was aiming towards the strings that kept the tapestry in place.
A thin beam of white light flew towards the tapestry and hit it just right above. Then it fell to the floor and I picked it up. Footsteps came running towards my direction—the knights, the Duke and the High Priests.
All of them had shock printed on their faces. But I couldn't care less as I split the red Teleportation Shard to magically go back home.