Chapter 6: SO I AM HE AND HE IS ME

The room, though simple in design, exuded timeless elegance. Shelves filled with books and other study artifacts filled the space, silent whispers of accumulated wisdom over the centuries.

Observing himself, Adam realized he wasn't in his own body. Now he was small, pale, and fragile. Memories of the situation he was in began to flow into him.

He recalled the self-defense lessons his father, the archmage, had assigned him. But he, escaping to his room, had immersed himself in the pages of a book narrating the history of the continent.

The sensation engulfing him was like that of a lucid dream, where one is aware but lacks control over what happens.

The boy's gaze turned to the window of his room, where he saw a beautiful blonde girl chasing a butterfly in the courtyard. The sight filled him with a strange warmth, and his face, without his deciding, formed a smile.

But this moment of serenity was abruptly interrupted by an angry shout from outside the room. The sound pierced the air, warning of the looming threat. "You spoiled brat, wait until your father comes to your room, and watch how I light the biggest fire in Viora with your damn books."

Terror gripped the boy, who hastily got up from the desk and ran to his wardrobe to put on training clothes.

Dressed and ready, he approached the room's mirror to examine his appearance. The image reflecting back was that of a boy with hair as black as a starless night and intense green eyes like spring leaves. Despite his age, his features were sharp and attractive, foretelling the charisma and allure he would develop over time. And above all, what stood out most about his physique were his long ears, marking his non-human origin.

Looking at himself in the mirror, the boy couldn't help the tears. In a whisper, he uttered a name: "Eve."

Instantly, the space around him faded, leaving two figures standing in a dark abyss where nothing else existed except them.

A young man and a boy remained silent for a moment, as if the weight of the newly shared destiny demanded deep reflection. Finally, Adam broke the silence. "I guess you're Enki."

The boy, remarkably mature for his age, nodded. "And you're Adam, right?"

Adam's urgent question came forth. "Do you know what happened?"

Enki shook his head, but then added with certainty in his young yet wise eyes. "However, I can sense it."

Adam, with a spark of hope in his eyes, asked eagerly. "So, how did all of this happen?"

Enki spoke solemnly. "All I know is that when the palace was about to fall into the hands of the orcs, I connected with a higher being. It told me it was time to remember my past life."

At the precise moment Enki's words echoed in the dark abyss, the world transformed dramatically. Suddenly, they stood in a majestic hallway of a palace that, in another time, had been a spectacle of splendor, filled with plants and wooden details. Now, however, it presented itself as a somber display of ruin and desolation, stained by the traces of a recent tragedy.

The once-white and lively hallway was torn and bathed in blood, a silent testimony to a battle that had taken place.

In that moment, Adam realized he was experiencing another memory from Enki's past life.

He saw Enki, desperation in his eyes, carrying a little blonde girl on his back as he ran through the palace. Corpses, both elves and orcs, lay scattered on the floor like macabre shadows.

The girl clung to Enki tightly, her small body trembling with fear. Despite the lack of physical training, Enki moved with determination, his face imbued with fierce resolve.

At a junction, Enki's hope faded when he came face to face with an imposing orc, who looked at him with a malicious smile. "Here are the children of the long-eared ones!"

Enki's heart pounded as he stepped back, only to find another orc in his path. "Barack, it seems fortune smiles upon us. We'll surely be rewarded for capturing them."

With the path blocked in both directions, Enki fell to the ground, the princess crying and trembling beside him.

Desperate and seemingly without an escape, Enki began to fervently pray to any deity or higher power that could hear him. But silence persisted, and the orcs drew closer.

It was then that Enki remembered an ancient book he had stolen from his father's study, where the first archmage mused about his thoughts on the world. And he remembered how the first archmage theorized that there was a higher being that created mana. With one last attempt, he invoked that primordial force that sustained the world.

"Please, creator of mana," Enki pleaded, "as the son of the archmage and a member of the mana-blessed race, I beg you to help us."

At that moment, a maternal and warm voice resonated in his mind. "Order has been broken, and an external force is trying to divert the established fate. It is time for you to remember your past life. I entrust you with the task of saving the world from its premature end. Only something beyond fate can restore it to its natural course."

A blinding glow filled the hallway, and when Enki opened his eyes, the orcs lay unconscious on the ground.

The vision shifted once again, and Adam and Enki found themselves standing facing each other.

Fear reflected in Adam's eyes as he asked anxiously, "Does that mean I'm going to disappear?"

Enki shook his head. "We are the same entity, two intertwined versions in parallel worlds. Your intrusion here only merges us into one, a necessary fusion to restore balance."

Adam nodded, though doubts still lingered. "How do you know? And what will happen to me then?"

Enki looked at him serenely. "The voice in my mind left me with this knowledge. As for you, think of us as water filling a crystal glass. Our essences will blend, and there will no longer be a distinction between you and me."

Resigned but determined, Adam sighed. "The world I knew has disappeared, and the only woman I loved died in my arms. I have nothing left to hold onto, so whatever happens..."

With those words, Adam and Enki embraced, merging their essences in an act of transcendence. The reverie came to an end, and in the real world, Enki opened his eyes to find the two old elves watching him with concern.

"I'm fine, just clearing my mind," he assured with a smile, as a sensation similar to studying for hours subsided in his head.