Regnum Aetern: Dual Rebirth

As the two of them walked through the school’s corridors, Adrian’s attention remained focused on The Fake.

’I think it’s going as planned.’

Ever since Adrian had told him that he needed to find a path to success, the fake had been desperately searching for it. He had even asked his parents and his teachers.

If things continued to go this way, Adrian would not have to wait too long before he reached the conclusion of this ’teleportation.’

If Adrián could have things his way, he would’ve wanted to accelerate things even more by artificially manipulating The Fake’s exam scores. It would’ve been quite easy since nobody could perceive him.

But Adrian was unable to do so, and it was all because of this magnetic pull.

No matter what he did, this pull didn’t allow him to go anywhere, forcing him always to remain close to The Fake. His movements were completely restricted.

Just then, the fake took a turn at a corner, causing him to bump into someone.

"Ah-!"

"Ack-!"

Both of them lost their balance and fell.

The Fake had been somewhat out of it while walking, but the sudden impact brought him back to his senses as he quickly turned to the person he had bumped into and hurriedly spoke.

"Oh, I’m so sorry. I was just so lost in—"

But a girl’s voice cut him off.

"I am sorry; I should’ve been more careful."

The one on the ground with him was a girl who appeared to be two or three years older than he was. She had long, golden hair tied into a ponytail and striking golden eyes.

The Fake tilted his head in confusion. After all, the mistake was clearly his, yet the girl was the one apologizing. And her apology also sounded blunt and insincere, as though she were apologizing for the sake of it.

Adrian, on the other hand, was frozen in shock.

’This...’

The girl on the floor—he recognized her instantly. After all, she may be much younger now, but he was certain she was the young woman he had seen dying on the road after being hit by a car that day.

On the last day he spent on Earth.

Even after all this time, Adrian had never been able to forget that golden-haired woman’s face for some reason. He remembered that strange feeling of his attention being drawn to her, even though he had never seen her before.

But to think the two of them had been schoolmates. Was that the reason why she had drawn his attention back then? But Adrian had never seen her in school before. He would’ve remembered it if he had. After all, her appearance was just that distinct.

’No, more importantly, she isn’t a foreigner?’

From her natural-looking golden hair, it was hard to conclude that she could be anything but a foreigner. But considering she had attended this school, it seemed unlikely now.

The girl slowly stood up and began walking forward after briefly dusting off her skirt. And Adrian...

...was pulled along with her.

’What the-?!’

The magnetic pull was dragging him towards the girl

Adrian had been lost in thought after seeing the golden-haired girl that he stopped noticing things around him, but this brought him back to his senses.

He hurriedly looked behind, and The Fake was already at the far end of the corridor. Adrian hadn’t even noticed it when he had stood up and walked away.

’No, what is going on?!’

Being forcefully pulled along as the golden-haired girl walked, Adrian’s thoughts turned chaotic.

Why was the invisible force suddenly pulling him towards her now? Why hadn’t it pulled him when The Fake got up and walked away?

’It doesn’t make sense!’

Nothing was making sense here.

Soon, the girl walked into a classroom—probably her own—picked up her backpack, and left. She exited the school building and began walking towards the school’s main entrance even though there was an hour left before the school was over.

Being forced to follow her, Adrian’s attention remained fixed on her as his eyes scanned every detail about the girl.

He took a deep breath to calm his thoughts.

’Let’s think carefully.’

Adrian didn’t know a lot of things about his situation. He had no idea what this ’Earth’ was and how it functioned. The fact that this world had details that weren’t present in his memory—like the doctor’s notes, for example—was still a mystery to him.

But there were some things he knew as facts and could make some inferences based on those facts.

It was a fact that what he was seeing and experiencing was created by his Origin ability, Immutable. And Immutable was a power he had gained after his reincarnation. Thus, whatever he was seeing must’ve been created using his memories as a basis.

’It wouldn’t make sense otherwise.’

And thus, he could infer what this pull was and why it existed.

If this ’Earth’ were to be seen as a story, then The Fake would be the protagonist of this story. Because even though it looked as real as the real Earth, it was something that was created using a single individual’s memories as a basis.

’This can also explain why The Fake is different from others and why I can interact with him. He must’ve been created by copying all my memories to that point.’

So if the fake was the protagonist, then the pull was there to make sure that Adrian experienced this world through the protagonist’s perspective.

This place had details that weren’t present in Adrian’s memories. But maybe that was because the gaps had been filled with what was most probable, all to make this ’Earth’ appear real? But that would mean that the world was actually filled with inconsistencies.

So maybe the pull was there to ensure that Adrian doesn’t encounter those inconsistencies by limiting his experience.

The golden-haired girl reached the gate and began talking to the guard. Seeing the familiarity with which they conversed, it was apparent that the guard had already been acquainted with the girl.

And from their brief conversation, Adrian gained a small but important piece of information. He learned the golden-haired girl’s name.

Her name was Lia.

Soon, the guard opened the main gate, and the girl exited the school premises.

Following behind her as she walked at the side of the road, Adrian’s gaze sharpened.

The reason why he was suddenly being pulled towards this girl instead of The Fake could have many different explanations.

But the most likely explanation was that...

’This world is either mistaking this girl for The Fake or considering them the same entity.’