Dragon Raja: Starting with Summoning Erii

So, should I marry you?

Xia Mu's mind went blank.

Chapter Fifteen: I Became You

What does it mean to "marry someone"?

Just as Natsuki was getting overwhelmed by Erii's questions, a new question appeared in the notebook.

He breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Erii doesn't understand anything, so don't take her words seriously.

He thought for a moment, looked at her innocent and naive face, and said softly, "Simply put, if you feel comfortable looking at a boy, you will want to marry him, and from now on, the two of you will stay together for life and never be separated."

Erii's eyes lit up.

She wrote in her notebook: "That sounds amazing!"

But the next moment she looked confused and wrote: "But...do we even have to go to the bathroom together? It feels...it feels so weird."

xiaoshuting.cc

Xia Mu: "..."

"When you touched my hand just now, something strange welled up inside my body."

Erii started writing again.

Xia Mu was a little flustered: "Something... is gushing out..."

Erii held up her notebook: "It feels so bloated."

Xia Mu rubbed his temples: "I also feel a bit swollen and painful."

"Try again."

Erii put down her notebook, extended her right index finger, and held it out to him.

Her finger bones were as slender as jade, and her fingertips were white and soft.

Her big eyes sparkled with innocent light, filled only with curiosity, without any other meaning.

My heart probably won't beat faster.

Xia Mu took a deep breath, raised his right hand, extended his index finger, and gently touched it with hers.

"Boom!"

Like a drop of water falling into a lake, or a shooting star illuminating the night sky, ripples spread rapidly throughout the body, traveling along the nervous system to the brain and triggering a violent reaction.

The two froze completely, their eyes losing focus and becoming unfocused.

The ocean of memories seemed to rise like a tide, completely submerging their minds.

Numerous images and countless experiences emerged without warning.

Natsuki saw 'his' past, or rather, Erii's past.

This is a story of searching for light in the darkness.

She probably understood from a very young age that she was different from others, that everyone kept their distance from her, and that the world was far away from her.

Within the worldview created by anime and games, she looked at this world and trembled with fear.

Because the world dislikes her, she is the little monster destined to be destroyed by the righteous Ultraman.

Life is a countdown for her; she doesn't know when everything will be taken away from her.

She carefully guarded her little world, searching for a glimmer of warmth in life, and then awaited her destiny.

A secluded little room, scheduled IV drips, watching anime alone, playing games alone, showering alone, spacing out alone…

She is well-behaved and sensible. Apart from the occasional playfulness, she would never upset her family, or rather, she wouldn't dare to.

Because she longed to be loved.

Completely immersed in her life, Xia Mu felt a deep sense of despair.

With no future, no hope, the world was irrelevant to her. She quietly huddled in a corner, waiting for her fate to end.

In comparison, the life he gave her was infinitely better.

Although she came from an orphanage and didn't have any real love, at least she had the support of millions of fans, which was some consolation.

Xia Mu gradually recovered from the throbbing pain in his brain, feeling slightly dazed, as if he had just finished reading a novel.

He felt a wetness on his face, and when he reached up to touch it, he realized that he had been crying without even realizing it.

In his other hand, he held a notebook filled with lines of song lyrics.

He couldn't remember the details, only that he was getting sadder and sadder in that vortex of memories, and that he couldn't express the grief, so he finally picked up the notebook.

The title of the song is "Servant's Death".

In Chinese, it means, "I once thought about ending it all."

A song that, in a past life, brought Japan's suicide rate to its lowest point in history during that period.

It perfectly captures Natsuki's feelings when he saw Erii's life.

He raised his eyes and looked at Erii.

Her eyes slowly focused, and tears slowly slid down her cheeks.

"What's wrong?" Xia Mu asked softly.

Erii curled up her legs, hugging her knees tightly with both hands, and large tears fell from her eyes.

"I feel so lonely."

She wrote in her notebook for Xia Mu to see: "I feel so lonely."

Xia Mu's heart skipped a beat: "Why? Do you still remember yourself? Have you also gained a completely new set of memories?"

According to his understanding of the swapped fate lines, he and Erii should both forget their original experiences and treat the new memories as reality.

But he clearly hadn't forgotten, whether it was because of the time travel or some other reason.

Now, his biggest worry is that Erii has forgotten everything.

Erii looked up, her eyes filled with confusion: "I..."

Xia Mu was startled.

Erii spoke, and not in Japanese, but in Chinese: "I"!

At the same time, he noticed that she had written "So lonely" in her notebook, which she had unconsciously written in Chinese.

"You have that memory too, right? Then do you still remember who you are?" he asked quickly.

Erii looked at him through teary eyes, nodded, and then shook her head.

Xia Mu's eyes darted around.

"You have that memory, but you've forgotten who you are?" he asked again.

Erii shook her head, then nodded.

Xia Mu: "..."

"Do you remember Genjiro?" he asked after thinking for a moment.

"He is...the older brother."

Erii's voice is soft and ethereal, easily soothing a troubled mind.

Xia Mu nodded: "Did you just see another version of your life?"

Erii rested her chin on her knees and said softly, "Hmm... I'm so lonely."

Are you lonely?

Xia Mu scratched his head: "It's alright. Being a big star, with lots of people liking you, don't you feel happy?"

He originally thought that his life was a comfort and salvation for Erii, after all, it was a world she had never seen before.

Erii just shook her head and said softly, "I don't understand what that is like. I just feel lonely. Those memories make me feel lonely."

Xia Mu fell silent.

He hadn't expected that Erii's pure heart couldn't understand those memories; she was simply feeling them, a feeling that transcended appearances and reached her very core.

He was indeed lonely.

Having transmigrated to this unfamiliar world, orphaned and entering the world of fame and fortune at a young age, he was unable to establish any close relationships. The fans' affection was merely fleeting; they only liked the idol in their eyes, not him as a person.

"What happened to me?" Erii asked uncertainly.

Xia Mu looked into her eyes and said softly, "We were affected by a Word of Power that wasn't fully released. To others, our identities have been swapped; you've become me, and I've become you. But for us, nothing has changed; we've just gained a memory of each other."

Erii looked at him with a dumbfounded expression.

"I've become you?"

Chapter Sixteen: I once thought about ending it all.

Simply put, in other people's eyes, you are me and I am you, and the memory you see is my life.

Natsuki spread his hands and explained to Erii, "Everyone who knows me now knows you, but those who know you know me but don't know you. Do you understand what I mean?"

He was a little nervous.

Erii's world was too small, and now, even the last world she had left has disappeared.

Seeing the fear gradually appearing in Erii's eyes, Natsuki quickly added, "Don't worry, this isn't unsolvable. Besides, don't you want to see a bigger world? With my life, you can see this world properly."

Crystalline tears glistened in Erii's eyes: "Doesn't my brother... recognize me anymore?"

For her, even if Tachibana Masamune faked his death in the future, she wouldn't feel anything, but Genjiro was indeed the only person who could give her some warmth.

Xia Mu stared into her frightened eyes, like a fawn's, and said, word by word, "In this world, only you know who I am, and only I know who you are."

Erii stared blankly at him, at his dark eyes, and the emptiness in her heart seemed to be filled by an invisible force, driving away the terrible loneliness.