Aizen woke up to the sound of leaves brushing softly outside. The air was cool, gentle, and scented with dew. Sunlight crept through the cracks in the wooden walls of the small hut he'd built. But something felt… wrong. Or perhaps, different.
Something warm was pressed against his chest — breathing softly.
His eyes were still closed, his senses quietly awakening before his thoughts did. He could feel a soft heartbeat against his own. A slender arm, delicate and light, was wrapped around him.
"…What—?" he whispered under his breath.
Slowly, his golden eyes opened. His vision was met by a familiar face — one that should not exist in this time.
Lying beside him, clinging tightly as if afraid to let go, was a young girl with silver-white hair that shimmered like moonlight. Her long lashes trembled slightly, her lips parted just enough to let out a faint breath.
It was her.
Lyra.
But… not the Lyra he remembered. This one was smaller, younger — her face soft, her features innocent. She looked no older than thirteen.
His breath caught in his throat.
How… how is she here?
She was supposed to be in her manor, protected by her family, not sleeping beside him in this lonely forest hut. He sat up slightly, confused thoughts racing through his mind.
"Did I lose time that quickly? I'm sure… I'm only thirteen — in a week I'll be fourteen." His voice trailed into a whisper. "But this is too early for her to appear… why is she even here?"
His heart thumped in confusion and disbelief. Her presence — even as a child — still made his chest tighten.
She stirred softly.
In Lyra's dreaming mind, fragments of emotion swirled. A dream — no, a memory — played in her heart.
Aizen… Aizen, don't go. Stay with me… Don't try to run away. I'll hold you tight…
Her dream self whispered those words, clutching tighter in her sleep as if to anchor him from fading away again. Then, with a tiny sigh, she slowly opened her eyes.
"…Aizen?" she mumbled.
But what greeted her wasn't the towering figure of the man she once knew — it was a boy.
A boy with black hair streaked faintly with silver under the morning light, his eyes shining like liquid gold. His gaze met hers directly, calm yet filled with something indescribable — longing, confusion, and familiarity all mixed into one.
Lyra's breath hitched. Her heart raced.
"Oh, you're awake, miss," Aizen said quietly, his tone polite but distant.
"...Miss?" Lyra blinked, dazed. "Why would you call me that?"
Then it struck her.
He doesn't remember.
Her pupils trembled, her thoughts spinning. Wait—he didn't regress with me? Then… how did he build this hut already? Did he make it before? Or maybe this was his first home before we met… I don't remember seeing this before.
She bit her lip slightly, glancing at the floor. Maybe this is the world before I arrived in his life. Maybe… this was how lonely he was back then.
"Oh, um," she began nervously, trying to keep her voice steady, "I got lost in the forest and… I found this hut you built. I wanted to ask if I could stay for a night, but you were already asleep. I didn't mean to intrude."
Her cheeks turned red as she rubbed her arm awkwardly. "And when I woke up, I was, um… hugging you. I'm sorry, I'm a bad sleeper."
Aizen blinked at her, then chuckled softly.
"Don't worry about it. I know how that feels — being lost, and being a bad sleeper. My sister was the same." His expression softened as his gaze drifted to the wooden ceiling. "It's fine. You can stay here until you find your way home."
His tone was calm and kind — too kind, it almost hurt.
Lyra smiled faintly, but deep inside, her heart was trembling. You don't remember me at all…
She swallowed hard, forcing a small laugh. "O-Oh, I'm sorry! I should've introduced myself sooner." She straightened her posture and said, in a slightly dramatic tone, "My name is Lyra Subaru, of the Dragon Kingdom's Great Families! I'm the granddaughter of the Grand Duke and the niece of the Dragon King!"
Aizen raised an eyebrow, surprised by how proudly she spoke despite her childlike frame.
Lyra continued, her expression dimming slightly. "But… I ran away. I stole a rare artifact — one that could balance magical power if consumed. I… ate it before anyone could stop me."
Her fingers clenched around her skirt as she spoke. "When the guards saw me, they called me a thief… a traitor. They tried to capture me, so I ran. I didn't know where to go, and then I found your hut."
Her voice trembled at the end, the innocence of her words tinged with pain.
Aizen listened in silence. Then he smiled softly.
"I see. That must've been tough, Princess Lyra."
The word Princess made her heart jump.
Then, as if remembering something, he added quietly, "I suppose it's my turn to introduce myself."
He looked down at his hands — large for his age, but steady and calm — and said, "I'm Aizen Arcime. A beastman of the Black Lion race… and the last one left on this continent."
Lyra's breath caught.
"I lost my family in the war against the Dragons." His voice was quiet, each word heavy but without hatred. "So I built this hut here to live… away from everything."
He looked back at her. His golden eyes glowed faintly with sadness and warmth. "It seems like you already know me, Princess Lyra."
Lyra froze.
Her lips parted slightly. "O-oh… um… you're very similar to my older brother," she lied, her tone soft and trembling. "And it feels like… I would've already known you somehow."
"Is that so?" Aizen said with a faint smile. "Then, I must remind you — why would the Princess of Dragons come to her enemy's house?"
Lyra laughed nervously. "Because the enemy has kind eyes."
Aizen blinked, slightly startled by her words.
For a long moment, silence filled the small hut. Only the sound of wind brushing against the trees and the crackle of the dying campfire broke the stillness.
Then, Aizen looked away, pretending to fix a piece of wood on the table. "You should rest a bit more, Princess. The forest outside isn't safe for someone alone."
Lyra watched him — the way he moved, the calm rhythm of his breath. Every little thing about him was exactly how she remembered him from before the regression. The way his hair fell over his eyes, the way his golden gaze softened when he wasn't fighting, even the way he said her name — it was all the same.
But to him, she was just a stranger.
She pulled the blanket closer around her and sat quietly, her gaze locked on him. The ache in her heart deepened.
You forgot everything…
But maybe that's for the best.
Because even though her heart longed for him to remember, she knew what remembering meant — pain, blood, loss, and death.
She whispered to herself, almost inaudibly, "If this is the world where we meet again… then maybe it's my turn to protect you."
Aizen turned slightly, catching her voice but not her words. "Did you say something?"
Lyra smiled softly, shaking her head. "No… just thanking you."
Aizen nodded, a faint warmth flickering in his eyes. "Rest well, Princess Lyra."
As the evening light began to fade, both of them sat in quiet company — a dragon and a lion, two souls bound by a fate neither fully remembered, yet drawn to each other by something older than time itself.
And somewhere deep within them, their souls whispered the same name — the name that once connected their hearts beyond worlds.
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End of Chapter 78