Ruun looked down at Theresa, his eyes showing everything that she needed to know.
She let go of her daughter's hug, and immediately knelt down before Ruun.
He raised a brow, but even before he could ask anything, she spoke.
"I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, and there's nothing in the world I can do to pay my debt with you... But know that, if you accept me, I'm gonna be your humble servant until my last breath..."
Her eyes were glued to ground as she spoke, and when she was done, Ruun scratched his chin, raised his brow a little higher, and looked at her.
And for the first time ever since he found out the power that resided in the Abyss, he looked a bit intrigued.
"And why is that, mage?"
"Because I remember..."
For the briefest of the moments, Ruun had opened his eyes wide, it was brief enough for neither Theresa nor her daughter to notice it.
But Kora did.
Kora knew, and she hated that world because of it.
She fell in love with Ruun because of his story, and even though she was only allowed to stay with him as an apprentice, it was enough for her.
And she promised that she would turn this world miserable once she left the Abyss.
She gritted her teeth, and her thin tail wiggled like a whip behind her.
However, she knew better than to take any action before her master allowed to, so she waited.
"What is it that you remember, mage?" Ruun's tone was cold as ice and dark as night.
"I remember what made you become what you are, today." Theresa's voice was respectful, even solemn. "I remember the injustices that still run through the veins of this empire, of this world... And I remember how you tried to correct it, but weren't able because of the Great Constellation's greed."
'So she really remembers...?'
"How?"
After Ruun asked, Kora tucked her hands in her pockets, knowing how boring it would be, to listen to his master's story from the point of view of a third party.
***
Even miserable isn't a word that can define Ruun's first life.
He was born in a poor family, among six brothers, and his mother and father were able to barely put food in the table for five of them.
They were never home, working in the fields to make enough to have a roof over their heads, and leaving their kids to their own devices.
Which made Ruun's life even worse.
Every day he had to fight for a single meal, and after getting sick of it, he ran away.
Because living in the streets should be better than the life he'd been living so far.
However, the streets were an even tougher place than his old home, where Ruun was forced to become the subordinate of a group of bandits.
He was beaten, stepped on, and abused, every single day.
He would get beaten just because his boss had made one less coin than the day before.
One day, when he woke up, with his muscles still aching for the last beating.
"We're gonna rob the castle, suit up!"
The rich only got richer, while the poor only got poorer and sicker, so they wanted to make things right.
At least for them.
But Ruun had another thing in his mind.
***
"You killed them the night they forced you to accompany them to the castle, but the guards spotted you and brutally, slowly murdered you, calling you names I never heard anyone say in my life, before I became a hero."
Theresa had tears in her eyes, and her daughter looked at Ruun, fidgeting with her fingers.
"YOU KNEW!" Kora's voice burst out, echoing through the streets. "YOU KNEW AND YOU DIDN'T DO SHIT! HOW DARE YOU STAND ABOVE THE SAME GROUND AS MY MASTER? HOW DARE YOU BREATHE THE SAME AIR..."
"That's enough, Kora." Ruun's voice didn't lose a single drip of indifference. "I get it that you remember my first life, and to know that with such vivid details, you must've seen it all happen. Which means that the Great Constellation's powers didn't affect your memory when she first rewrote the world's history. I'm amazed."
But his voice didn't sound like he was.
Neither his eyes.
Ruun's eyes glowed with purple light as he said.
"Raise your head, and look into my eyes."
Theresa did, and when she looked, she couldn't stop screaming and crying in despair, but forced herself to not look away.
"Okay, that's enough." The glow in Ruun's eyes disappeared. "You have a remarkable will, I'll give you that. But don't ever forget that negligence is also a crime."
He looked at Kora, who was glaring at Theresa with menacing eyes.
"Let's go, Kora. We have things to do and places to be."
"But, master..." Kora wanted blood.
Theresa's blood.
"Let her do whatever she wants, I don't care. For now, I still have five heroes to revive, and a constellation to kill..."
"But... Ruun?" Theresa got up, running toward him, chased by her daughter.
"What now..." He rolled his eyes.
Theresa looked like she was forcing herself to say something, and after a few seconds of self-struggle, she spoke.
"The Great Constellation... Is dead..."
"You were afraid to say that?"
Theresa shook her head in affirmation.
"Not a problem, I'll just bring her back to life and break her the same way she wanted to break me all along. But different from me, she'll beg for death even before I start."
"What was the dragon's attack, then?"
"Well..." Theresa started talking, but got interrupted by her daughter, Fjara.
"Mom became a criminal because of you... Sir. And the new king wanted her head, after finding out that she was working to finish the spell that could bring you back from the Abyss."
Fjara shook her head in affirmation.
"And this new... 'King' killed the constellation?"
Fjara shook her head again.
"He is stronger than the Great Constellation." Theresa retorted. "The way I heard she died... Was gruesome."
Ruun gave a slight smile and started walking, immediately followed by Kora, Theresa, and Fjara.
"Well, let's see how long he can keep me entertained."