***
“Ahhh!”
“Cherrya!!”
Enoch and I plunged straight toward the ground.
We had definitely broken through the surface we were standing on, but for some unknown reason, instead of continuing to fall, our bodies were suddenly propelled upward before being spat back onto solid ground.
“We… returned…?”
The familiar yet devastated landscape of the Carmedan Jungle came into view. The area where the swamp had been was now completely destroyed, likely due to ejecting both Enoch and me.
Scattered around us were the corpses of monsters, perhaps killed in the process.
Despite the aches radiating throughout my body, I gritted my teeth and endured the pain as Enoch and I assessed our surroundings.
“I don’t sense any monsters nearby.”
“If this used to be the swamp, then we should be at the heart of the Carmedan Jungle. The fact that there’s no presence at all… does that mean we completely wiped them out?”
“…Probably.”
After exchanging glances for a brief moment, Enoch and I collapsed onto the ground without a second thought. Any concern for dignity or composure was long gone as we lay sprawled out.
“Wow. Wow… I’m going to die.”
“………..”
Next to me, Enoch simply focused on catching his breath.
It felt like a dream.
I raised my arm, recalling the sensation I had experienced when breaking that space apart. My uniform was in tatters, and my arm trembled violently as if it no longer belonged to me.
Bruises had already formed where my veins had bulged grotesquely.
What was that place? Why did I see memories of my past life? And why did Enoch, despite witnessing the same thing, perceive it from Yoon Doyoon’s perspective?
Because I have memories of my past life… Did Enoch get caught up in that strange phenomenon as well?
He had said that he saw me in my past self. Despite the differences in appearance and language, the only word he had understood was the one I had taught him as a child—inspector.
Did Enoch realize something about my past life?
“………”
I turned my head to look at Enoch, who was lying beside me.
The events we had just experienced were anything but ordinary. Enoch, too, was unable to conceal his confusion as he stared blankly into the air.
His slightly trembling pupils seemed darker than usual today.
Just like how I once overlapped Yoon Doyoon with Enoch when I was younger… did Enoch Gray also overlap my past self with the current me?
Had I known that Enoch would end up witnessing memories of another world in this way, I never would have foolishly made him say inspector when we were children.
Regret surged through me, but it was already too late.
Just looking at Enoch Gray’s bewildered expression, I could almost see the whirlwind of thoughts spinning chaotically in his mind, rising and falling in waves of confusion.
“Hey, Enoch.”
I spoke to him for no particular reason. It felt like I shouldn’t give him any more time to dwell on what we had just witnessed.
“You felt it too, right?”
“Felt what?”
“This sensation.”
I glanced at Enoch’s arm as I spoke, and he, in turn, raised his own arm, mirroring my action.
The state of his arm was just as battered as mine, confirming that he had experienced the same thing.
The exhilarating rush from manifesting sword aura for the first time—it was even more intense than that. The lingering sensation coursed through my entire body like a pulse.
Despite our confusion, Enoch and I were undeniably sharing the same experience.
“We went through something bizarre, but at least we managed to escape. So let’s set that aside for now.”
I abruptly sat up, looking down at Enoch, who was still lying on the ground, and continued speaking.
“Let’s spar.”
“What?”
Enoch looked up at me, dumbfounded.
I simply shrugged.
“Come on, let’s spar. Before we forget this sensation.”
“Ha…”
Enoch blinked a few times before sighing deeply. Then, gripping his sword, he stood up.
“Just moments ago, my head was filled with too many thoughts. But hearing your straightforward words somehow calmed me down.”
He reached out his hand to me.
“Now, I can finally see you as Cherrya Emblem again.”
“Hey, I was always Cherrya Emblem.”
“Exactly.”
Taking Enoch’s hand, I got up and tightened my grip on my sword.
It had been a while since we last sparred.
I never thought a duel with Enoch—something we had done hundreds of times—would feel this unfamiliar.
“Let’s exchange ten strikes.”
“We’re both exhausted. Let’s make it five.”
“Enoch Gray, have you grown weak?”
“I’d say I’ve become more cautious.”
I aimed my sword at Enoch, observing him closely.
His stance had returned to normal, but I scrutinized him with the same sharpness I would before a real fight.
When I confirmed that his face was no longer clouded with overthinking, I planted my feet firmly on the ground.
No matter how much I pondered, there was nothing I could figure out at this moment.
I still didn’t understand why I had been born with memories of my past life.
And now, I was supposed to make sense of this new, surreal experience?
Grandfather once said there are certain places where monsters always appear. No matter how many times they’re destroyed, they eventually restore themselves.
Not just in the Carmedan Jungle.
There was a place like that in the Kratyn Forest in Lutinas as well—the same place Aunt Diana had gone to investigate before she went missing.
“…I need to check it out.”
If I announced I was heading to Kratyn Forest, plenty of people would try to stop me.
But I could figure out how to bypass them later.
For now, I had to seize the opportunity in front of me.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
My heart started pounding.
“I’ll let you take the first strike.”
“Wow, how generous of you.”
Slowly, I built up my momentum, focusing on the sensation in my arms.
That overwhelming energy—the one I had gathered to the brink in order to shatter that space—was now merging with the power surging from my heart.
I drew it out once more.
“Here I come!”
I swung my sword wide, lunging at Enoch like an arrow. The ground beneath me caved in from the force.
“Tch.”
As Enoch blocked my sword, he immediately aimed for an opening, thrusting his blade toward me. I twisted my head to dodge and grinned.
The glimmer of sword aura on his blade was different from mine, yet it carried the same essence.
“Ha!”
I let out a loud laugh and swung my sword again.
Clang! Clang!
The clash of our sword aura sent sparks flying, resonating like boulders crashing into each other.
For so long, I had held back against the knights of Emblem, who couldn’t keep up with me. But with Enoch, I could finally unleash everything without hesitation.
A faint smile appeared on Enoch’s lips—perhaps he was thinking the same thing.
Out of the five strikes Enoch had proposed, three had already passed in an instant.
With only two left, I licked my lips in frustration.
I wanted more.
I wanted to keep clashing blades with Enoch, to lose myself entirely in the battle, letting my mind go blank in the relentless rhythm of our swords.
‘Come to think of it, Inspector… You once asked me why I was being so annoyingly friendly with you. If my whistleblowing actually means something, I’ll tell you the reason. It just doesn’t sit right with me that I’m the only one who remembers.’
Even now, Yoon Doyoon’s voice kept surfacing in my mind.
I wanted to erase it all.
To forget everything.
Even just for this moment.
