"Noah."
"Yeah?"
"Hmm… Your name still hasn't rolled well on my tongue. I think I need to say it more often from now on."
"Haha, you're not alone, Carl. The same applied to me."
Finally arriving at Noah's house – which was practically a mansion with how big the garden and house were – I unloaded my belongings while being guided inside by him.
Greeted by a chandelier in the living room and an extravagant staircase leading upward, 'luxurious' was the perfect word to describe this house.
'This is even bigger than my house as an esper.'
Noah gave me a tour before climbing to the second floor.
"Here's our room."
'Our? Oh... Right, I'm his lover staying inside his house, I guess it makes sense for us to stay in the same room.'
Noah opened the door, revealing its inside. It was a cozy room with great lighting.
Although it's quite wide, it's not empty. With the bed in the center, side tables and shelves full of trinkets were filling the empty spaces around it.
The glass window on the side kept the room bright. With its balcony facing the garden, the view was magnificent.
"This is like a dream house."
I commented as I gazed out of the garden. Noah came up to me, wrapping his arm around my waist.
Nuzzling his head on my neck, he closed his eyes. Now that he's taller than me, he could easily wrap around my body from behind.
"I didn't know hugging someone from the back could be this comfortable. You always hug me from the front."
I chuckled as I patted his head, "So this is your revenge for me because I always hugged you from the front? I have piggybacked you before though."
"Hmph, I already hinted at you to princess carry me, but you never realized my obvious hint."
Noah grumbled even further about how his need of hug was never fulfilled properly. He pouted his lips like a child throwing a tantrum.
Cute.
I patted his head to assure him, "It's not that I don't want to, I just like seeing your face while holding you in my arms much more than hugging you from behind."
"So even when I'm hugging you now, you want to see my face?"
I nodded as he peered from the side. His facial features were a lot sharper, but when he smiled, he looked as innocent as his previous life. That smile was the reason why I never got bored of his face.
Beaming with smiles, he kissed my cheek, "Hmm, but what should I do? I like hugging you from behind."
"It's not like you couldn't hug me from behind then switch to hugging me from the front later. So let's just do as our mood wants us to."
He chuckled, "Yeah, great idea."
I turned toward him. As much as I wanted to cuddle, I needed to ask what's important first.
"Well then, shall we continue yesterday's talk?"
.
.
"To S-Rank esper, Ethan Dale, who has dedicated his life to the country, we shall give one last farewell."
HONK!
A death ceremony was held in memory of the country's hero and fellow espers who had lost their lives in the battle of the white castle.
Although it was no secret for the espers on the field that this incident was caused by the same hero who saved them, the civilians who didn't know the truth were eternally grateful to Ethan.
To honor Ethan's sacrifice, Francis decided to keep all the espers' mouths shut. Because it was also true that Ethan eliminated the boss using his last breath.
"Sniff… Heuk…"
Wilson couldn't hold his sobs as Ethan's coffin was buried. Team Zero also held a similar expression. Streams of tears fell down their cheeks as they silently endured the loss of a friend.
Ilyas blankly stared at the white coffin buried under the soil. Tears had long dried from his eyes, leaving none left to be shed. Clenching his fist, fire lit up in his heart.
'There must be a way.'
Ethan wasn't someone from this world. Even if the body had died, the soul hadn't.
'I just need to find that soul.'
From then on, Team Zero was dismissed by Francis. As much as they tried to continue the S-Rank only strike team, the void left by Ethan was big enough to damage the team's coordination to reach their original goal — efficiency.
Although the three members often stayed in contact — especially for guiding — they rarely met in missions, creating a distance among them.
Wilson, who was traumatized by his brother's death, worked relentlessly with Marcello to create a drug to cure esper's rampage.
After years of developing it, he finally succeeded. His theory was so ahead of time that it created ripples of evolution in esper's medication. And with it, he became the founding father of new generation medicine.
Ilyas didn't stay still either. Whenever he got off work, he immediately jumped into researching a way to connect with Ethan's soul. With the help of Grandma Zaza, he finally detected a trace of his soul.
"Our keychain?"
"Seems like that's the only way for you to meet that kid again."
A connection to the soul built on memories, and the only way to achieve that was reincarnation.
'If that's the only way, I'll do it.'
For the next ten years, Ilyas dedicated his life to set up things properly. So next time — when he reincarnated — he would be born in Ethan's original world.
"Remember Ilyas, defying the universe has its price."
"I know."
The price was a complete elimination of Ilyas' soul and the inaccessibility to this world for Ethan's soul. So if he failed, the history between them and the fact that Ethan crossed the world would never happen, the world in itself would be destroyed to be recreated into a new timeline.
It was a gamble, but a gamble that paid off.
Once Ilyas breathed his last in this world, he was reborn in the world of his destination – with his memories slowly returning to him as he grew older.
He chased a career related to music. As Ethan had jokingly suggested before, he would become an idol. He could also use the excuse of being an idol to travel the world and look for Ethan.
And he finally found him. The one bearing the same soul as his beloved.
Because he succeeded, he remembered him.
Both of them could be together again.
"I'm so happy to meet you again. Really."
Ilyas – now Noah – said to the person in front of him. Hearing Noah's words, Carl shut his mouth – a pained look on his face.
"Sorry I was selfish. I didn't think things through, causing you all so much pain."
"Don't be, it just shows how important you are to us."
A surprised look appeared on his face before he lowered his head.
"Thank you Noah… For finding me again."
Kissing his hand, Noah smiled.
"No matter how many times, I'll find you again."
My light and my hope. The star that shone brightly, illuminating my dark path.
"Thank you for coming into my life."
~ Fin ~