Chapter 34: The Demon Queen of Flames part 3
"Anyways, I am really curious about the story of how the two of you met?" Natas expressed his curiosity.
"Our story wasn't anything unique. Selina…" Kayn said as he started to walk again to the gate of the Starlight Hero Academy.
Selina was the name of his first girlfriend. It is such a sweet and beautiful name, and it actually also translates to the word 'Moon'. It wasn't a coincidence that she was named that way. That's because the Mayor of the Moon Dragon City is her father. And because of how much his father loves this city, he named his only daughter after it.
"I and Selina grew at the same neighborhood. Although I was living in an orphanage, and she was living in a wealthy and prosperous household right beside that orphanage. Our status was basically like night and day, but because her father was so thoughtful that she sent her to a public school as he doesn't want her to grow up to be like those spoiled brats from the majority of the rich households, we were able to become friends with each other,"
"Unlike other families, Selina's household was welcoming and hospitable to any of their guests. They were well-respected by a lot of people, including people from the poor and middle class, because of that reason. As a matter of fact, not once have I ever seen them insulting or looking down on me because of my status as an orphan. I was grateful, that's why I don't want to take advantage of their family despite the high chance that I could have just honestly pulled myself out of poverty as long as I hold their thighs tightly and kiss their asses,"
"It was probably because of that that his father wasn't against me when Selina decided to pursue me,"
"Do you know why she pursued you?"
"How the hell would I know of that? Even now I am still questioning the value and worth of the present me,"
"Okay, forget about that in case your head would become narcissistic again. So, what was it like being the person who was put into a position that was supposed to be for females?"
"I can't believe you still have such backward thinking," Kayn can't help but insult Natas.
"I am just joking. No judgment here, alright?"
"How sarcastic," Kayn rolled his eyes. "But to tell the truth, it indeed wasn't comfortable. It felt like something was wrong from the start. And because of that, I quickly switched our position with me courting her instead. She liked that idea and was intending to say 'Yes' right off the bat. But I told her not to and that she should only decide when she genuinely feels like I deserve it,"
"Days went on like how every couple in a courting stage is supposed to be, and after an eventful day at our school on one afternoon, she finally said yes,"
"From that day on, we officially became girlfriend and boyfriend,"
"How ordinary. I was expecting it to be like the movies about a poor boy and a rich girl falling in love with each other,"
"Honestly, I was also expecting something like that. But in reality, it didn't turn out to be the case. Although, that is exactly how my life with her is right now,"
"That's how it was supposed to be from the start. You are probably just given a head start against your future competitors,"
"Are you sure about that?" After all, since Selina is a Hero, all of her pursuers are naturally Heroes as well. And because of the fact that her boyfriend is merely a Superhuman, no one pays any respect or consideration to his position. Even with the fact that he is one of the brightest stars of the Starlight Hero Academy.
"They are competing against the future number one Hero and yet you, being the latter, lack confidence? Just how far did you fall off after our reincarnation yesterday?" Natas said in a joking manner. But his question actually also holds an underlying meaning.
"I don't know, man. Maybe this is the side-effect of going into reincarnation. Probably something called post-reincarnation syndrome. I heard about it from a group of researchers in some universities. They described it as the feeling an individual would get after replacing the past soul with their future soul. Because of the perfect compatibility between the two souls, there's a very high chance that some parts of the past soul would remain, thus affecting the future soul," Kayn explained as he looked at Natas in hopes of getting a confirmation.
"Don't look at me like that. I still haven't experienced going into reincarnation,"
"Eh, but you've experienced numerous lifetimes already,"
"The floors starting from the 901st to the 1,000th are special in a way that every living being on that floor won't be affected by the law of time. As a matter of fact, we even formulated a theory that as long as someone is somewhere on that floor in the event that the 'Tower' alters the timeline, there's a high probability that they would be taken to the past as well,"
"And besides, we weren't the ones who personally undergone the reincarnation all these times. So, we are naturally not aware of how it feels like,"
"You've experienced it now,"
"We are different. I didn't take over my other body in this timeline,"
"Okay, okay. I yield," Kayn could only let out a heavy sigh after noticing that Natas wasn't buying his excuse. It was really obvious anyway that he is just making up excuses for his lack of confidence and insecurities. Even if he is the number one Hero on Earth, he isn't excepted from feeling such emotions, especially now that he is back to being a mere Superhuman.
"I understand how you're feeling. You were the number one Hero the day before yesterday. And now you have become a mere Superhuman. You feel like there is something lacking in you, which affects your mentality. That's okay, because Nicholas also went through with that in his case," Natas finally decided to say some comforting words for Kayn.
"So, this is normal?"
"Very normal. That's just how things are supposed to feel after going into reincarnation. You're not expected to immediately jump into action and instantly get used to your present situation. After all, you were already very used to and familiar with the state you had, then all of a sudden everything changed. You will naturally get a sense of loss and would feel like something is missing. That might be the meaning behind the past soul affecting the future soul,"
"You'd get used to that eventually," Natas patted Kayn's back to encourage the latter.
Kayn honestly can't quite comprehend why he is suddenly feeling this way. They were initially talking about his girlfriend, Selina, then all of a sudden, he felt a sudden change in his emotions and mood. What's even weirder was the mere fact that he is certain that this was the same outlook he once held within him when he was in this present moment.
Now he is confused whether the entity that really reincarnated is his soul or was it perhaps only his consciousness.
"Nah, there's no use thinking about that. I am just making things very complicated for me. Whatever it is, what's important is that I am in control. And that at the end of the day, it's still me," Kayn muttered under his breath.
"Hey, what are you murmuring about?"
A sudden female voice immediately pulled Kayn away from his thoughts.
"This is my cue to get out," Natas swiftly left Kayn's side and decided to explore the Starlight Hero Academy. After all, he would just become a third wheel if he stays with Kayn and Selina. And besides, he is actually very supportive of Kayn and Selina's ship. "I hope you can stay with his side in this life,"
Looking at the source of the sound, Kayn saw with his eyes right away a beautiful woman with fair skin. She has light purple hair tied into a ponytail using a gold hair accessory, thus revealing her slender neck and making her look even more appealing to the view. Looking at her eyes, he instantly saw the familiar purple iris and a dark purple pupil that felt like staring straight at the bottomless abyss.
As always, Selina was wearing a tailor-made dark purple crop top that goes along well with her dark purple winter jacket. Then paired with denim shorts and boots that almost reached her knee.
Seeing Selina's get up, Kayn can't help but look down at himself out of insecurity. Unlike her who was looking totally fashionable and trendy, he, on the other hand, was just wearing a school uniform. The worst part is, although it looks neat and clean, the sign that it was worn hundreds of times already was pretty obvious.
He could already hear the students around them murmuring about the striking contrast between him and Selina.
"Oh, I didn't notice you there," Kayn smiled at Selina.
"Are you serious?!" Selina felt annoyed.
Seeing Selina's face, Kayn instantly thought that he had said something wrong. In hopes of redeeming himself and avoiding world war three, he hastily looked around his surroundings hoping to get a sign.
Not long after, he finally realized his mistake.
"Just kidding. Of course, I noticed you. How could I not have noticed when your fans are being so loud," No wonder she was in a bad mood. It was because she seriously doesn't like being surrounded by people or her fans whenever she is out to do some personal stuff.
"Selina, can we get out of here?" Another female voice abruptly interrupted Kayn and Selina's conversation.
Even with just the voice alone, Kayn could already guess that it belongs to Selina's assistant.
"You're having it hard the most, Leah,"
"No worries, no worries," Leah waved her hands off as a way of saying it's alright and this is a part of her job.
"I am sorry about this," Kayn still felt a bit apologetic.
"Tsk! Here we go again," Lead uttered as she stopped in front of Kayn. She was already extremely familiar with this episode of Kayn. Reaching her hands, she continued, "How many times do I have to tell you? The collar of your uniform should look like this to make it pleasant. Your chin up, chest out, and your stomach in. I am not against you being Selina's boyfriend. In fact, I support you instead of those Heroes who like to show off all the time. But at the very least, please look the part, alright? And most importantly, have confidence in yourself,"
"I seriously dislike it when you're acting like that! You're the boyfriend of the one and only 'Empress of Flames'. Hence, you have every right to be proud," Selina felt slightly irritated.
"I know, I know," Kayn nodded his head.
"It seems like the two of you are done here. Now, can you both please walk to the car and get in?" Leah said as she gestured with her hand to point to the car waiting at the entrance of the Starlight Hero Academy.
"Okay, okay. Can you stop nagging me like a mother?" Selina grabbed Kayn's hand and pulled him as she walked towards her car.
Seeing this, Kayn no longer fought back and followed silently.