Adam woke to the sll of deep rich and savory food and It pulled him from sleep before his mind fully caught up.
He turned his head slowly toward the kitchenette. Redy was sitting casually on the couch, watching TV like nothing in the world mattered.
She glanced at him and instantly noticed.
"Good. You’re up."
Adam blinked a few tis. His body still hurt, but not like before.
"How long was I out this ti?" he asked.
Redy answered without hesitation.
"It’s 4:50 p.m. now," she said. "So approximately nine hours."
Adam didn’t comnt.
He was fully aware of her Tell Ti talent.
Still, he couldn’t help the small chuckle that escaped him.
Which he imdiately regretted as pain flared in his ribs.
Redy stood up and walked over with a plate. The sa sll that had woken him now hit him fully.
She sat down beside him and lifted the spoon.
Adam quickly raised a hand.
"I can feed myself now."
He took the plate from her to prove it.
Stone Cold had accelerated his recovery. His movents were still stiff, but manageable.
Redy’s lips curved downward slightly.
She had wanted to feed him.
But she handed over the plate without protest.
Adam took the first bite.
The sweet tender and juicy flavor exploded in his mouth.
He didn’t pause, he took a second bite, then a third.
He finally turned toward her, chewing.
"This is your best dish yet," he said honestly. "What’s the occasion?"
Redy straightened slightly, looking accomplished.
"It’s for awakening Fuse."
Adam paused mid-bite.
He slowly looked at her.
She looked right back.
Silence.
Then Adam sighed and resud eating.
"You could’ve pretended you didn’t know," he muttered.
Redy tilted her head.
"What would be the fun in that?"
Adam smiled faintly.
And kept eating.
****
Adam wasn’t too surprised.
In fact, he was relieved.
Redy knowing about Fuse ant she wasn’t playing dumb. It told him she wasn’t going to tiptoe around things. And that made it easier to asure her.
But how much does she actually know?
Adam kept eating, expression neutral.
But Redy spoke first.
"You don’t seem shocked that I know the talent you got after reawakening."
Adam shrugged casually while chewing.
"Well," he said, "a regressor’s job is to know what others don’t."
Redy’s eyes widened.
The reaction was instinctive.
"How did you know?" she asked unconsciously.
Adam continued eating.
That was the test.
His thoughts sharpened.
So she doesn’t know about Analyze?
But the confusion in Redy’s eyes didn’t last long, as it shifted.
Understanding dawned.
"...Could it be," she said slowly, "you awakened Analyze as well this ti?"
Adam paused mid-bite.
As well?
He filed that away imdiately.
Instead of reacting, he asked calmly, "What do you an by that?"
Redy studied him for a mont before sighing.
"Every ti I think I’ve seen everything you’re capable of," she muttered, "you do sothing that makes question reality."
Adam waited.
"I didn’t say this earlier," she continued, "because I didn’t see the need to."
She leaned back slightly.
"When soone reawakens their special talent, they only get one new special talent. Not two."
Adam went still.
He hadn’t known that.
So getting both Analyze and Fuse wasn’t normal...
That explained sothing.
He thought back to her panel.
She had two special talents in total. Her original rankless one, and the reawakened one.
Now it makes sense.
Adam resud eating.
"Well," he said lightly, "we can’t cry over sothing good, can we?"
Redy stared at him for a few seconds.
"...No," she admitted.
Adam finished the plate and set it aside carefully.
Then he looked at her.
"So what’s the deal with your other special talent?" he asked. "And I’m not talking about the ntal clock one."
Redy chuckled softly at that.
She t his gaze.
"I was going to tell you sooner or later," she said.
A small smile curved her lips.
"I guess it’ll be sooner."
****
Adam watched her carefully.
Redy leaned back slightly before speaking.
"I don’t know how many tis I’ve regressed," she said calmly. "In fact... I don’t even know if calling it regression is accurate."
Adam didn’t interrupt.
"You read the description, right?"
He nodded.
"Once Upon A Ti allows the bearer to send a fragnt of their soul back in ti upon death."
Redy nodded again.
"Those two words are the problem," she said quietly. "The soul... and fragnt."
Adam’s eyes sharpened, as it clicked.
But Redy still explained anyway.
"The soul is the source of life," she said. "And it acts as a simplified mimic of the mind, which is the true consciousness of a person."
She looked down briefly.
"But it’s just that. A mimic."
She t his gaze again.
"So when I ’regress,’ I don’t return with my full mories. I don’t get my entire consciousness back. Only what that soul fragnt can carry."
She exhaled softly.
"And since it’s only a fragnt... it’s incomplete."
Adam understood.
Even if the soul mirrored the mind, it wasn’t the mind. It couldn’t carry everything. And if only a fragnt was sent back...
"Then how do you know as much as you do?"
Redy’s lips curved faintly.
"It’s simple."
She tapped her temple lightly.
"Quantity."
Adam stayed silent.
"I have a theory," she continued. "That the number of tis Once Upon A Ti has activated, because of my deaths, has reached such a large amount... that the fragnts started forming sothing coherent."
Her gaze turned distant.
"Emotions. Déjà vu. Dreams that feel like revelations."
She looked back at him.
"I still don’t rember everything. Not even close. But it’s still enough."
Adam was quiet.
Hearing her explain it stripped away the mystique.
The talent wasn’t a blessing. It was more of a prison. A cycle of death. Over and over again, without control, certainty and full mory.
Adam could feel the cruelty of it.
Yet she sat there calmly. No bitterness in her tone or visible cracks on her expression .
He didn’t comnt on it.
Instead, he asked the question that mattered.
"What makes soone with an SSS-rank cultivation talent use that ability so many tis?"
Redy looked him straight in the eyes.
There was no hesitation as she said simply:
"Revenge."
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