Amon's eyes were flickering as a tinge of light returned to his consciousness. Slowly, the sensations that were familiar to him returned. A heaviness to his head couldn't be described with simple words weighed on him,. It felt as if a boulder was weighing him down while, at the same time, it was light and feathery. It was an odd sensation, but Amon quickly got used to it.
As the light returned to his mind, he next noticed the distinct scent of flowers. It was sweet and light, which greatly helped to speed up his recovery. Amon moved his fingers while gradually blinking his eyes open. When he did so, Amon noticed that his head was slightly elevated on a cushion, or what seemed to be a cushion.
Gradually, all of Amon's five senses returned, and slowly, he sat up, blinking away the remnants of his restful slumber. As awareness dawned upon him, he realized he found himself in a serene garden, bathed in the gentle hue of dusk. The Sun was far in the distance, beyond the horizon that covered all of Soflea.
Amon looked down at where his head once rested, and a wave of embarrassment flushed his face red. He could see the heavy dent in Yue's dress, indicating that he had been sleeping on her lap for a long time. Shaking his head, the young boy rubbed his face to hide his bashfulness, but that evasive deed didn't escape his partner.
"Awake?"
"... How long have I been asleep?"
"A couple hours, probably three."
Yue's chuckle was as sweet as the melodious wind dancing through the soft flowers of the garden.
"After you absorbed Sister Yval's blessing, I teleported us back to the Solaris House. I didn't know how long it would take for you to wake, so I didn't wish to impose on Sister Yval. Also, my paranoid grandfather would get suspicious if we're away from Soflea for too long."
The white-haired girl giggled happily while she raised a handkerchief towards Amon's face as she attempted to wipe the drool off his face. However, Amon rapidly intercepted the move, took the handkerchief from Yue's hand and wiped his face.
"How are you feeling?" Yue asked with a mixture of curiosity and worry.
"Oddly… Better…"
Amon didn't lie.
After waking up, he'd first noticed the abundance of mana within his body. Mostly, it was the Solar mana that the Golden Dragon Progenitor had infused into his body. As a member of the Solaris House, his body took in the mana like a fish in water. The absorption rate and power increase he'd felt were drastic, and Amon was easily ten times more proficient at mana control than before.
"If it's like this… I can now use the Nine Suns Heart Mantra!"
Amon was ecstatic. For the longest time, due to the imbalance between his mana and body, he could not cultivate the Solaris House's signature technique.
The Nine Suns Heart Mantra.
It was the technique that made the Solaris Founder stand toe-to-toe against the mighty Dragons and the ability that allowed the Solaris Saint to repel the first Demon Invasion. Furthermore, it was the signature ability in [Bright] that allowed the protagonist to grow exponentially.
Now that Amon has obtained the rights to cultivate the Nine Suns Heart Mantra, his growth would be expedited significantly, giving them a better chance to repel the Calamities.
"How strange… Even though there's so much Solar mana… My Lunar mana is still just as strong."
"That's to be expected," Yue nodded in agreement. "Your soul is originally from another dimension. Its properties are completely different from the Solaris House. In time, as your soul grows, so will your Lunar mana."
"Does that mean I would need to undergo another blessing?"
Amon raised his brow. While he wasn't against going through another round of that painful procedure, it did seem unsustainable to keep relying on a Dragon for assistance.
"No, you must develop a cultivation technique that allows you to balance both Solar and Lunar mana."
However, Yue's answer was in a completely different direction.
"Only through figuring out a balance between the two will you be able to reach transcendental heights."
"... I assume that I've done so in your timeline."
Amon reached a critical point in the conversation. However, Yue simply smiled and shook her head.
"That's something for you to find out. I wouldn't want to spoil your development, now would I?"
"..."
Amon sent the adorable figure a threatening glare, but he did nothing to follow up. There were many things enigmatic about Yue Elune that Amon couldn't figure out just yet. However, after his short expedition to the North Pole and meeting Yval, the Golden Dragon who could have killed him with a snort, there's one thing Amon had confirmed.
Yue could be trusted.
At least… for now.
"What do we do now?"
Seeing that Yue didn't intend to give him hints on his cultivation, Amon changed the topic.
"Well, first, we will have to train hard! Building our strength before the events of the future happen! With your mana imbalance fixed, you can gain strength at a tremendous rate and even become powerful enough to stop the first few Calamities on your own!"
"..."
Amon secretly agreed with Yue's exclamations. Either way, his original plan was to deal with the Calamities alone. Now that he's given a much better physical state, it was only a matter of time before Amon regained his former strength.
"Unfortunately, we will need the power of the Holy Sword to help us in the future, and only the [Protagonist] can wield it. Sadly, our dear [Protagonist] will return to the Solaris House in eight years, so we must endure until then. In the meantime, we will have all that time to improve our skills and build our influence! I will liaise with a few organisations to create a web specifically to repel the Demons and the Demon Cult."
The main threat in [Bright] has always been the Calamities. However, the Calamities didn't occur on their own. There had always been a trigger point, a secret reason why the Calamities appear one after the other.
The Demon Cult.
Almost all of the evil written in [Bright] was caused by the Demon Cult and their cryptic leader… A man that not even Amon knew about—the Prophet.
'The Demon Cult… The Prophet… The Herald… The Titans… The Demon Lords… They're all enemies I'll have to face in the future.'
Just thinking about the hurdles ahead gave Amon a migraine that could last a lifetime. Thinking back, he was naive to assume he could resolve all the issues alone. And those were just the final bosses. The story still had multiple minor bosses that caused innumerable amounts of death and destruction. If Amon truly wished to become a hero… those were enemies he had to eliminate.
"And when the future events finally begin in full, we will be prepared to face them! While our [Protagonist] fights the canon events, we will be helping him from the sidelines. We will also empower other promising individuals, strengthening them to join our private special forces!"
"..."
"Don't worry about anything! I have been preparing for this day ever since I've regressed. Amon, the only thing that you need to focus on is regaining your strength! You can join the Knight's Academy to learn the Solaris methods while I care for everything in the shadows!"
At a certain point, Amon stopped listening to Yue's energetic rant. His golden eyes shimmered as they hid a whiff of comprehension within.
"Yue… You… Are you not disturbed?"
"Disturbed? By what?"
"That you're a character in a book I'd read?"
Amon was well aware… Even though he'd lived for ten years in Hyades, his brain hadn't fully accepted that he was living in an alternate world. Mainly because he had read [Bright] and was aware of its events. In a certain sense, Amon felt like he was floating through a dream, an illusion that was severed from the fabric of reality.
Perhaps that was why he was so detached from this world. He felt like he was living in a storybook rather than a real human in the real world.
"Transmigration and regression… It's all too surreal. How are you not disturbed by any of these?"
"..."
Yue's scarlet eyes widened at Amon's words. She hadn't expected the boy to open up about his feelings with such candour. But after thinking about it, a soft and gentle smile emerged on her lips as she leaned in with a chime.
The young girl's dreamlike appearance briefly mesmerised Amon. Since she was only ten years old, Amon couldn't describe her as a beauty, but he roughly saw the features that would slowly grow into a femme fatale that could fall an entire nation. Her ruby-like crystal eyes, immaculate complexion, and rosy lips were all in full view of Amon as he held his breath.
"When I'd first heard that I was a character in a book you'd read during my past life, I asked myself the same question. Am I real? Why am I doing this? Is this all pre-ordained, a story written by a God, and are we just the characters following the story?"
Yue's words were abstract as if she were talking to someone far away. However, her eyes never left Amon's. She stared right into the former Transcendent's soul and continued:
"But after a while, I gave up thinking about that."
"... Why?"
"Because…"
Yue wrapped her arms around Amon's waist and slid her body towards his. Amon flinched slightly and was tempted to push the girl away, but he physically restrained himself. Watching as the young girl edged closer towards him, Amon never once broke eye contact. He watched as Yue planted her forehead onto his until their noses touched ever so gently.
At this distance, Amon could feel Yue clearer than ever before.
The sound of her rapidly accelerating heartbeat. The sweet fragrance of her perfume. The warmth that came out from her skin.
Everything was being transmitted towards Amon.
After enjoying his embrace for a few seconds, Yue cracked the most brilliant smile that Amon had ever seen and said:
"Because, aren't we alive now? Everything I feel is real! You are real! And I am real! Isn't it enough?"
Yue's pearly white teeth were displayed as she separated her nose from Amon's. However, her arms were still tightly wrapped around Amon's waist, and the grip seemed only to tighten as if she would never let him go.
"I've tasted a glimpse of happiness in my previous timeline. And only after losing it did I realise how fleeting life was. Now that I have a second chance, I will not squander it!" Yue declared.
Amon remained breathless and wordless at Yue's firm declaration. He watched as her ruby eyes sparkled with determination.
"So I will protect this reality, even if I must give my life for it! Who cares if this story is written by someone else? I will be the one who decides the ending!"
Yue grabbed onto Amon's chin and brought her face closer once more. This time, Amon moved back, preventing the girl from doing as she pleased. But Yue was a step ahead. Slamming her palm on the wall behind him, Yue looked down on Amon and said:
"So Amon Solaris! Will you join me in protecting this reality? To become the hero and the main protagonist of this story?"
"... You already know my answer."
Amon gently peeled Yue's arm away from him and shook his head. From the very beginning, he was aiming to be the hero. All his life, he had lived as an experimental lab rat. Then, he became a weapon of war. Only at the end of his past life did he learn how to live as a human being, and even then, he was too late.
He didn't get a chance to become a hero in his past life, so this time…
Amon will become the hero of this story.
"Yue Elune, I accept your proposal."
Amon had accepted Yue's proposal before, but it was half-heartedly. This time, however, Amon declared his acceptance with his soul on the line.
"Hehe, you won't regret it!"
Sensing the change, Yue quickly returned to her maiden-in-love mode and firmly linked arms with the young boy. Rubbing her cheeks on Amon's elbow like she'd gained a prize, Yue looked up at the boy and said:
"Ah, we can discuss the details of our partnership later! We should return to meet the Solaris Lord and my grandfather and, at the same time, get some dinner. After using that long-range teleportation spell twice, I'm famished!"
"Okay…"
Amon didn't object to Yue's suggestion. However, before he moved a single step towards the main house, he looked down at Yue with words stuck in his throat.
"Ermmm… Yue…"
"Hmmm? What is it?"
"About just now… Ermmm… You took care of me while I was unconscious, right?"
"Yeah?"
"And you helped me intercede with the Golden Dragon Progenitor too…"
"Hmmm?"
"About that… erm… Thank you."
Amon scratched his cheek, embarrassed. He still remembered the lap pillow he was given and the drool that was dripping onto Yue's lap. He could still see remnants of his saliva on the young girl's immaculate dress. Unable to look the girl in the eye, he turned his face away while desperately attempting to cover the red on his cheeks.
However, it was to no avail.
Yue's ruby eyes turned into ruby moons as she witnessed a side of Amon she never knew existed. It took a few seconds for her to register the words that came out of his mouth before she literally jumped for joy. Taken aback by the sudden movement, Amon turned back and gave her a firm reprimand.
"Hey! Don't do that!"
"Hehe, I can't help it! I'm just so happy!"
Yue covered her cheeks while wiggling about like a worm. She then released Amon's arm and twisted in front of him with her hands behind her back. Looking straight at her future husband, the young girl said in bliss:
"Hey, Amon… Want to know something? I'm really, really glad I've regressed and met you once more!"
"..."
Abashed, Amon remained silent as he moved back into the Solaris Palace with quickened feet. Not to be outmatched, Yue followed suit with blissful skips that trailed behind him.