[IT’S SO fucking hot in here.]

Neoma was usually immune to heat, but not this time.

As soon as she touched the Eternal Flame, her soul was sucked in.

And then, just like that, she found herself in a different reality after she opened her eyes.

“Wow. What a view,” Neoma said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Did I travel back in time? Is this what the Eternal Flame wants to show me?”

It was strange to see the world burn with her very own eyes.

Yep, that was the sight that greeted her.

It seemed like she was standing on a very high cliff that was surrounded by a sea of fire. Seriously, everywhere she looked, all she saw were red flames swallowing up everything. The sky had even turned dark because of the thick black smoke coming from the fire.

If she wasn’t in her Spirit form, and if that world was her reality, then she wouldn’t last a second there.

The thick black smoke would suffocate her.

Ah, scratch that.

The heat would probably melt her before she lost air.

“Is this how I killed everyone in the first timeline?” Neoma whispered to herself, smirking bitterly. “I deserve eternal damnation then.”

“Don’t worry– he’ll soon put out the Eternal Flame.”

The fuck?!

To say that Neoma was surprised when she realized she wasn’t alone would be an understatement.

But the thing that shocked her the most was the identity of her “companion.”

“Oh, damn,” Neoma gushed in disbelief. “I look that sexy in my early twenties?”

Yes, the beautiful creature standing right in front of her was no doubt the Neoma of the first timeline.

Gosh.

[Is it possible to fall in love with your own self?]

Neoma of the first timeline had her white hair tied up in a high ponytail.

Hmm?

[The tips of her hair aren’t pink…]

Neoma of the first timeline was wearing the same outfit-slash-armor that the Goddess of Beauty lent Neoma in the current timeline.

[Did the Goddess of Beauty also lend the same armor to Neoma of the first timeline?]

Uhm, why did she have a feeling that the older Neoma stole it from Astrid?

[Her vibes are so different from mine. She still looks pretty and charismatic. But her eyes are dead, and her aura screams ‘dangerous.’]

Ah, Neoma recognized that look.

[It’s the look of someone who has already lost everything.]

Neoma didn’t like that look, but there was something about her older version that she hated more.

“Ma’am, if you don’t mind my asking, how tall are you?”

Neoma of the first timeline looked confused, but she still answered the question. “210 centimeters.”

210 centimeters…

[That’s roughly around six feet and nine inches…]

“Nooo!” Neoma cried, covering her ears with her hands while denying reality. “Our growth spurt should have been over a long time ago!”

“Your second growth spurt has already begun, child.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s a sign that you’re on the verge of becoming a god.”

“Huh?”

“The human world can’t handle people like you who have the same power as the gods,” Neoma of the first timeline explained. “Soon, the human world will reject you until you have no choice but to ascend.”

“You know that I am you from a different timeline,” Neoma said in a serious tone. 00:07

“Ascend… to the Upper World?”

Neoma of the first timeline nodded. “Commander Yoan, the divine son of Lord Levi, was also born with the power of a god. Eventually, the world rejected his existence when he reached his peak. That’s the reason why he couldn’t stay in the human world for long.”

Why didn’t Ruto tell her something as important as that?

“It seems like your Commander Yoan didn’t tell you anything.”

[Ah, she knows.]

“You know that I am you from a different timeline,” Neoma said in a serious tone. “How much do you know?”

“Everything I need to know about you,” Neoma of the first timeline said casually. “The moment you touched the Eternal Flame, I got to see the majority of your memory. Commander Yoan turned back time for you, so you got to live again after I died a lonely death.”

[She sounds bitter, and rightfully so.]

Neoma understood because despite being the same person, she still felt very different from Neoma of the first timeline.

[I’d be jealous of my version who got to live a better life, too.]

“What are you?” Neoma asked carefully. “Am I talking to a piece of your soul stuck in the Eternal Flame? Or am I inside a dream?”

“The former,” Neoma of the first timeline said. “Even though Commander Yoan turned back time for us, it didn’t erase the “memories” that the Eternal Flame had absorbed from everyone who had succeeded in wielding its flame in the past. I was the last person to do so, hence a piece of my soul was left behind for a sole purpose.”

“To welcome the potential new owner of the Eternal Flame?”

“I see that you’re more quick-witted than I am.”

“Nah, I’ve just consumed too much anime in my past life, so I already know where this is going,” Neoma said, shrugging. “You’re here to give me a test to see if I’m worthy of the Eternal Flame, aren’t you?”

“That’s what I’m supposed to do, I guess.”

[Why did I hear quotation marks in the air when she referred to Tteokbokki as a Soul Beast?]

Neoma fell silent for a moment before she decided to bring up a sensitive topic. “I heard from my Commander Ruto that you suffered a lot to own the Eternal Flame. You didn’t have an affinity to the fire element because you didn’t tame your Soul Beast.”

“I was born with a dead Soul Beast,” Neoma of the first timeline said casually. “The red dragon with you right now was the “Soul Beast” that Commander Yoan got for me when we tried to free the Soul Beasts in the past.”

[Why did I hear quotation marks in the air when she referred to Tteokbokki as a Soul Beast?]

She was curious about that, but something else caught her attention.

“You tried to free the Soul Beasts? Just like what Mama Boss, Papa Boss, William, and Empress Juliet have done in the past?”

“The Soul Beasts must be released to prevent the most dangerous Calamity,” Neoma of the first timeline said. “But I guess that won’t be your problem this time since you’re stuck here.”

Oh.

If it was the most dangerous Calamity, then it must be the Third Calamity that Yule had mentioned to her.

[Then Nero and Dahlia are supposed to free the Soul Beasts?]

Did the task of freeing the Soul Beasts get handed down to Nero and Dahlia because Yule knew she would be stuck with the Eternal Flame?

“Do you desire the Eternal Flame, child?”

“Personally? Nah,” Neoma said honestly, shaking her head. “I’m only here because of my deal with King Drystan. I need the Eternal Flame to save the world or something.”

“Do you think you’ll get the Eternal Flame with that attitude?”

“Yeah.”

Neoma of the first timeline smiled.

Then, much to Neoma’s shock, her older version approached her quickly, and she only realized she was standing in front of her when the Neoma of the first timeline put her hand on her shoulder.

[Dammit!]

“You’re not worthy of the Eternal Flame, you arrogant child,” Neoma of the first timeline said in a serious tone. “And I hate you for having a better life than I did after forgetting all the painful memories of your first life.”

Neoma was about to complain that it wasn’t her fault, but all that came out of her mouth was an agonizing scream because Neoma of the first timeline had set her on fire.

[YOU GODDAMN BITCH– IT FUCKING BURNS!]

***

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