Re-Awakening: I Became a Pay To Win Boss Monster

Chapter 667: Gaia [ 2 ]

How long had he been traveling...?

Rael had long since lost track of time.

The only thing that reminded him that he was actually making progress was the occasional new patch of roots that were a different color.

He had gone by tens of colors, and with everything starting to feel monotone, Rael was kind of hoping to see some more progress.

That was when, all of a sudden, he finally reached a parting in the tree roots, and what he was met with was a large city.

The city was carved into the surrounding roots and trees.

It was a beautiful city.

But more importantly, in the core of the city, Rael spotted the person he had been looking for.

Gaia.

She was caring for one of the trees, and with a blank expression, she was carving buildings into the trees.

It was as though she was in a trance.

A trance that made her not even realize Rael was right behind her.

He was kind of skeptical about whether or not to tap her on the shoulder.

What if instead of making her snap out of it, he ruined something?

Rael was a little too cautious, but regardless of that, after stepping into Gaia’s peripheral vision every now and again, he eventually made her stop carving.

Her gaze passed over him.

But it didn’t linger.

She really didn’t know he was here.

Letting out a sigh, Rael decided to shadow her for the next few hours, which soon turned into days, and even weeks.

He really didn’t get it.

There was definitely some kind of pattern involved.

After all, with how restlessly she was carving the city, he was beginning to think that she might just be far gone.

But that was when Rael took a few steps back and actually observed the city.

Why did it look so familiar?

He was sure he had never seen such a city before.

And yet...

All of a sudden, a distant memory flashed through his mind.

It was a memory of a beautiful thorny city, with hundreds of thousands of people living in it.

A beautiful city, and more importantly, he saw the figure of a dark green haired woman.

It was Gaia, and she was holding his hand as the two walked through the city.

They were having a date.

Gaia and him...

But when was this?

Rael’s head spun at the sudden influx of memories that detailed that entire day.

They had a date, then settled down inside an inn and slept together.

They were a couple.

A real couple.

Yet as Rael tried to pry further into those memories, he was suddenly pulled out of them.

He found himself sitting on the ground, and Gaia stood over him, finally glancing straight into his eyes.

Second by second, her eyes regained their natural clarity.

And eventually, she let out a sigh.

"Rael... I didn’t think you’d come here."

"Well, you weren’t exactly talking to me, were you?" he replied.

She paused for a moment.

Then, she lowered her head, as if she were guilty of something.

"I was looking through my memories... trying to recover them. I accidentally stumbled upon something."

She weakly gestured around.

"This city held a lot of significance in my head."

Right...

"But you saw who you were with, didn’t you?" Rael pointed out.

She immediately nodded.

"It was you, but I don’t remember it being you... if that makes sense."

Well obviously.

He didn’t remember it either.

But the only conclusion he could come up with at the moment was simple.

"Maybe it was the Supreme Beast Rael?"

Gaia stared at him for a moment, then shook her head.

"I remembered that person as well... but I can assure you, that’s not him."

As Rael’s confusion began to grow, she suddenly took a step forward and crouched down beside him.

"You see, after thoroughly searching my memories, I realized something."

"Every perk you get is something the Supreme Beast has used at least once in his life."

She met his gaze.

"I know that much because I was acquainted with the Supreme Beast in the past. He was one of the people who sought me out for help, and so I helped him."

He wasn’t sure where she was going with this.

At first, at least.

But her next words cleared everything up in an instant.

"Do you remember the perk you used, Premium Trickery: Death?"

Rael’s eyes widened, and so Gaia continued.

"That’s right... before my death, I vaguely recall the Supreme Beast talking about a skill with that name. It was a special skill like yours, and it also had the same effects."

Her next words sounded muddled.

If this was really the case... then did that mean there was a possibility the Supreme Beast never died?

But if that was the case, how could some people remember him, while others couldn’t?

More importantly, if the Supreme Beast really erased everyone’s memories, then did that mean that Rael and the Supreme Beast actually had no connection whatsoever?

It was confusing.

Definitely confusing.

But what was more confusing was that memory he had just seen.

And so, when he chimed back into the conversation, he heard Gaia’s thoughts.

"I believe that memory is an alternate timeline. A timeline where there was no war, and only happiness for you and everyone else... I don’t mean to sound conceited or arrogant, but I believe I am pretty attractive and sought after. I wouldn’t be surprised if you had fallen for my charms in that timeline."

"..."

Wow...

Rael found it difficult to even say a thing.

Though she wasn’t really wrong.

She was everything he had ever looked for in a woman, and more.

He was sure their relationship might blossom if she actually had a body.

But if it did... he was also sure he wouldn’t seek out any more women.

Zafira, Lilith, and Gaia would be plenty.

Shaking his head at those sudden lewd thoughts, he met her gaze again.

"So what now?"