Chapter 6 – Names and Memories
Kurora looked at Ignes with a profound, hovering curiosity.
"Who is it… that can scold you, Your Highness?" he asked, his voice barely a ripple in the mental sea.
The question lingered in the air like smoke.
Who could possibly scold a being of Ignes's stature?
Kurora's mind raced through the celestial hierarchies he knew. There are only two souls in the entire Soul Realm who can even be called 'Your Highness' by right of essence…
Then how could someone like that exist? Someone who held authority over a fragment of the core?
His small blue body stiffened as the thought remained unanswered, a cold void where information should have been.
Ignes didn't look at him. His focus remained fixed on a point beyond the physical walls of the room.
"You don't have the authority to know that," he said calmly.
There was no anger in his voice. No arrogance. It was a simple statement of fact, as immutable as the laws of gravity.
He shifted his gaze slightly, his eyes clouding over as if he were leafing through a vast, dusty library.
"…Anyway."
"I think I have too many memories."
His voice became quieter, sounding more like a weary traveler than a fourteen-year-old boy.
"I'm not sure anymore… if I've mixed up my different lives. The threads are starting to fray at the edges."
He closed his eyes for a moment.
"Some of them feel hauntingly similar to this one. Some of them… overlap, like shadows cast by the same flame."
He opened his eyes again, the red pupils sharp and demanding.
"Give me the information. Tell me who I am supposed to be in this world."
Kurora felt a small, sharp sting in his chest.
Being shut out from the truth made him feel small—not just in size, but in importance. A faint sadness washed over him, but he suppressed it instantly.
He straightened his posture, pulling his flippers to his sides.
"You are Ignes von Heart."
"Your father is Alexander von Heart. The Duke."
"Your mother is Alena von Heart."
"You have one brother—William von Heart."
"You belong to one of the four great Dukedoms that serve as the pillars of this world."
He paused, letting the names settle, then continued.
"This empire is called Aeternum."
Ignes listened in a silence so deep it felt heavy.
Then—
A faint, sharp smirk appeared on his lips.
"Don't tell me…"
"If my last name is Heart… then the other three Dukedoms are Diamonds, Clubs, and Spades."
He tilted his head slightly, a mocking glint in his eyes.
"And the royal family name is Ace."
He paused, a lazy, dangerous amusement playing across his face.
"…Or maybe Fool."
Kurora froze.
For a long second, his consciousness stalled.
Ignes… making a joke?
No—it wasn't just a joke. It was a dissection. A sharp, cynical observation that stripped the world of its noble grandeur.
This was different.
The Ignes he knew was gentle. He was a calm lake, soft-spoken and distant.
But this person? There was a jagged, sharp edge in his words. A biting wit that hadn't been there before the coma.
"…Yes," Kurora finally whispered, his voice trembling.
"The Dukedoms are named exactly as you said."
"And the royal family name is Ace."
He looked at Ignes with a mixture of awe and disbelief.
"How did you guess them all correctly? You didn't know this before. You always said politics was boring."
"You didn't care about your Duke title at all. You would leave the responsibilities behind to go play with your magic in the archives."
He hesitated, his curiosity overcoming his fear.
"And… why 'Fool'? Don't you think that's an unsuitable name for a royal family?"
Ignes leaned back against the pillows, his expression coolly detached.
"They're just names from a deck of cards, Kurora."
He spoke as if the structure of the Empire was a children's game he had already solved.
"I thought calling the Emperor 'The Fool' would be… entertaining."
There was a faint, dark amusement in his voice. Then his gaze drifted again.
"As for how I guessed…"
He tapped his temple lightly with a pale finger.
"…Pattern recognition. Simple, predictable structures."
"Four Dukedoms. One central ruler. A world built on a game of chance. It was obvious."
Kurora stared at him, his little heart sinking.
This… is not the same Ignes.
The thought came naturally, unbidden. It wasn't that he was wrong, or that his soul had changed—it was just different. Hardened.
Ignes continued, his tone turning casual, almost bored.
"And from your description of my past self…"
He paused. A small, chilling smile appeared.
"I was probably in my 'crazy scientist' phase."
He added after a heartbeat, his voice dropping an octave.
"…Or my 'psycho scientist' phase."
Kurora blinked, his flippers hanging limp.
"…Phase?"
He didn't understand the word, nor the context. But one thing had become terrifyingly clear.
Something inside Ignes had shifted during those two years in the void.
Not his power. Not his identity.
But the very way he perceived the world. The way he spoke. The way he looked at the people around him.
And Kurora couldn't tell—
If this transformation was a blessing for the return of a King…
Or the beginning of something far more dangerous for the Empire of Aeternum.