Death... and me
chapter-2518

?Aelrie looked at Rean in the distance and asked once again. "Rean, tell me the truth. What is happening to me? What does my previous death many years ago have to do with all of this? Don't tell me that you don't know anything. Otherwise, you wouldn't have told Kentucky to not die regardless of the situation."

Rean sighed and nodded in the end. "Be aware that what I'm telling you is just my theory. I might be completely wrong since I haven't had the chance to investigate any further. Anyway, I found out that this place is not an Illusory World. Instead, it is real."

"I see..." Aelrie already began to connect the dots. If it wasn't an Illusory World, there would be no reason for Rean to prevent Kentucky from dying. "Back then, when I died..."

Rean confirmed. "Yes, you truly died back then."

"Then, what about my memories and my soul?" Aelrie asked back. "Have them be transfered to a new body? Or perhaps my body was healed?"

Rean bitterly smiled and finally told the part he didn't want. "In fact, your soul, memories, and body aren't the real ones. I don't know what happened to your real soul, but the soul you have at the moment is nothing but a copy. You... aren't really Aelrie. I don't know if the real Aelrie is still alive or if she died for good."

"That... that can't be, right?" Aelrie found it hard to believe. "I mean, what could possibly create copies of souls and bodies so perfectly? How come none of the higher-ups outside found out about it?"

Rean shook his head. "That I don't know. However, perhaps the really important Angels outside do know about it and are hiding this truth. Or perhaps they don't, and there is some other villain behind it all. Or, as I mentioned initially, I'm completely wrong, and you are really you."

Rean then proceeded to explain everything that happened to him ever since he entered this place. He talked about the Light Beast, the Mirror Cubes and Spheres that were, in fact, Soul Copying Devices. Also, he talked about how one has to first die before having one's soul taken by those devices. Last but not least, he talked about the compatibility issue. "This is all I found until now. Yet, even that Light Beast seemed to have been filled with fake memories for the issue with the compatibility I told you."

However, Aelrie didn't pay much attention to Rean's words. He just kept looking at her body, trying to find some clue that would prove the opposite. She didn't want to believe she was a copy, something created in this place.

Seeing that, Rean added another piece of his theories. "Although I'm not sure if I'm completely right about everything I told you, I believe the part of the copied souls and bodies were correct. Aerie, you should know why that is."

Aelrie's body trembled a little as she remembered Kentucky's words about the Altar. This Dimensional Realm seemed to have control over her body and soul. Yet, controlling such things is easier said than done, especially when the memories are altered in the process. If her own being wasn't being used by the Dimensional Realm, then how did everything back in the Altar happen? Above all, why was she harmed by the Altar when Kentucky could truly exit by just touching it? The only explanation is that Aelrie is different from Rean and Kentucky.

Aelrie then fell with her knees on the floor, finding it hard to recompose herself. "I'm... fake. I'm not real... No, how could that be? What happened to the real me? Why is such a thing happening...?"

*Bang!*

Suddenly, Aelrie was kicked by Kentucky, flying several tens of meters before hitting the ground. With Kentucky's cultivation, Aelrie ended up breaking several bones and got quite some deep injuries. That obviously woke her up, though. "What are you doing?!"

Kentucky snorted. "Hmph! What I'm doing? I'm just kicking some dead weight to see if it can bounce. How long are you going to keep sucking about this? So what if you are fake? The fact is that you have a soul, memories, and a life. Even if you aren't the real Aelrie, you are still someone. Stop thinking about what happened. Instead, think about what you will do, idiot."

"I..." Aerie was at a loss for words.

Rean smiled. Sometimes, it was good to have such a simple-

minded Minokawa like Kentucky around. "Aelrie, what is done is done. Besides, once again, I might be wrong. Now, forget about what happened and tell me. What do you want to do?"

Aerie struggled to get up while blood flowed from her injuries. Yet, she gritted her teeth and got straight. "I want to find the truth!"

Kentucky smiled and touched her with his wing, quickly activating Rean's Instant Recovery Skill. "That's more like it."

Kentucky then looked at Rean in the distance. "Alright, she wants the truth, and so do we. What will we do now?"

Rean pondered a bit. "First, I wish to know why Aelrie was rejected by the Altar. Could it be the Azum Dimensional Realm can't change one's memories if one exits through the Altars? No, that definitely isn't the case. After all, there are always new young angels entering this place. There is no doubt a few of them always find the Altars and end up being teleported outside before dying. Yet, there is no information about the Soul Copying Devices out there. That means their memories are still being altered even if they use the Altars."

"Will our memories be changed if we use it too, Rean?" Kentucky asked.

"No," Rean answered. "Don't forget what kind of power is protecting our souls. Even this Azum Dimensional Realm wouldn't be able to do it to us. Of course, we are exceptions." Rean naturally talked in an ambiguous way so as to not mention the Soul Gem System.

Aelrie had a theory. "Rean... the only reason I can think for the Altar to reject me is that the Altar is not part of the events of all these Soul Copying Devices."

Rean agreed with her. "So you got the same conclusion, uh? Indeed... If the Altars were being controlled by the same entity that is controlling the Soul Copying Devices, this entity, if there is really one, would definitely deactivate the teleportation feature. Which means... This Azum Dimensional Realm isn't just a Dimensional Realm. It is a prison!"