NOVPUB
Chapter 318: New Comprehension
While the city remained in uproar due to the battle between mysterious King-stage cultivators, Aldrian stayed in his room at the inn. He had just finished a steamy moment with Sylphia. Now, with his eyes closed, he held his naked lover from behind, his nose buried in her shoulder as if her scent were his lifeline.
"It tickles," she said with a giggle, feeling his nose rub against her shoulder repeatedly.
"You smell so fragrant, even your sweat has a captivating scent," Aldrian murmured. He continued the motion for a few moments before finally resting his nose in her hair.
After a brief silence, Sylphia suddenly spoke.
"Dear, have you ever had dreams about strange things? Like not knowing where you are or not understanding anything in the dream, yet feeling as though you’ve already experienced it?"
Aldrian opened his eyes, caught off guard by the sudden question. He didn’t answer immediately, only after a few moments of silence did he finally responded.
"Well, yes. To be honest, I’ve had many experiences like that. Strange things happen in my dreams, and I often don’t know what to make of them. They’re so weird, but at the same time, I feel like I know them very well."
Sylphia fell silent, contemplating his response. After a moment, she asked, "Aldrian, do you believe in reincarnation?"
"If you had asked me this when we first met, I wouldn’t have been able to answer with certainty. Back then, I would have simply said I believed because it’s the common belief across the continent. But now, after all this time, I truly believe in reincarnation. I’m certain that we’ve lived lives before this one."
"Why do you think so now?" Sylphia asked.
"I just know it. I know it sounds ridiculous, but the experiences I’ve had in my dreams don’t feel like mere dreams. To me, it’s as though I’m living a completely different life—one vastly different from my current one. It’s hard to explain. I’ve never experienced the life I see in my dreams, yet at the same time, I feel like I already have. That’s why I’m convinced my dreams are glimpses of my past life. And also..."
Aldrian fell silent, hesitating to continue. Sensing this, Sylphia turned her naked body to face him, her eyes meeting his. She could see the unspoken weight he carried—secrets he hesitated to share. Yet, she seemed to understand why. She recalled the words of the mysterious woman and was reminded of Aldrian’s extraordinary origins.
She wrapped her arms around him tightly, smiling warmly.
"It’s okay. I know you have secrets you can’t share with me right now. I just hope that someday, you’ll be able to tell me," she said softly.
Aldrian smiled back at her, though his expression held a hint of regret.
"I’m sorry, dear. I want to tell you everything, but the truth is, I don’t even know how to explain it myself. What I can tell you is that I’m searching for answers. Until then, I can’t fully explain my secrets," he said with a sincere, apologetic tone.
Sylphia continued to smile as she rested her head on his chest. After a moment, she looked into his eyes once more.
"Speaking of dreams, I’ve had similar experiences to yours. There’s one dream in particular that felt so vivid—it was as if I was really there, not just dreaming," Sylphia said. She then recounted the dream where she met a mysterious woman with a giant tree visible in the distance.
As Aldrian listened to Sylphia’s story, his brow furrowing. The woman and the scenery she described felt strikingly familiar to him.
"Wait," he said. "This woman in your dream—did she have elven ears?"
Sylphia froze for a moment, stunned by his question, before slowly nodding. "Yes," she replied.
"Did she wear a knee-length green dress and have golden hair?" Aldrian asked.
Sylphia’s eyes widened in surprise. "Yes, how do you know?" she asked, astonished.
Aldrian pondered slightly as he answered her. "I met her once in Balin City. It was an unexpected encounter, though it wasn’t a dream—it was a vision, I’d say. It happened after I picked a strange leaf. I still have it with me, even now."
He then recounted the brief meeting he had with the mysterious woman. Sylphia listened in awe as Aldrian told his version of the encounter. Could it be that the woman could appear in their dreams or visions at will, or was there something more to it?
Sylphia was left astonished by what Aldrian had shared. The woman had even kowtowed to him. Was there some deeper meaning to all of this?
In front of her, the mysterious woman had appeared as a reverend, motherly figure—someone to be placed on a high pedestal. Although Sylphia had never seen her before, that was the overwhelming sense she got after their encounter. She couldn’t fathom such a figure suddenly kowtowing to anyone. Yet, as she thought about it, Sylphia wasn’t entirely surprised. After all, the woman had mentioned that Aldrian was someone whose origin even she couldn’t comprehend.
"I wonder what their relationship was in the past?" Sylphia thought, her curiosity piqued. However, as soon as the thought crossed her mind, a pout formed on her lips, and a sudden wave of jealousy washed over her. The mysterious woman was so beautiful—did she and Aldrian share a deeper bond than Sylphia had imagined?
Unable to quell the feeling, Sylphia buried her head against Aldrian’s chest.
While Sylphia wrestled with her jealous thoughts, Aldrian’s mind was occupied with something else. If Sylphia could see the woman in her dreams, then why now? Why could she only see her recently? Did it have something to do with him and Sylphia confirming their relationship? More than that, why had the woman approached Sylphia and not him? The only time he’d met her was in Balin City—so why was Sylphia the one to encounter her?
"Is it because of the karma connection?" he wondered.
As he and Sylphia confirmed their love for each other, their karma would undoubtedly grow stronger and more solid. With their fates intertwined, was it because of that? Aldrian closed his eyes, entering a state of meditation. Despite being naked and still holding Sylphia close, he was able to meditate.
After a few moments, Aldrian opened his eyes. Before him, he saw the karmic thread with Sylphia—a red thread, even redder than blood, symbolizing the depth of their love for each other. He had never seen his thread with Sylphia before, so this was his first time witnessing it. He observed it for a few seconds, but something seemed off. Above the red karmic thread, he noticed something strange.
He thought he saw something—a thin, transparent thread that appeared and disappeared in the blink of an eye. It was much smaller than the red karmic thread, and it only lasted for a few seconds before vanishing from his sight, not appearing again. However, the moment he saw that thin thread, something inside his mind seemed to explode. A sudden wave of new comprehension washed over him. He closed his eyes, focusing on the sensation as it filled his mind.
Sylphia, still pouting from her jealousy, suddenly sensed something different from Aldrian and looked into his eyes. She saw him with his eyes closed, but she could feel his aura fluctuating. The feeling was hard to wrap her mind around—it was as if...
"He is here, but at the same time, he is not. He is the same, but at the same time, he is not," she thought.
She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the ridiculous notion. She thought she was going crazy, but then another thought crossed her mind.
"Did Aldrian comprehend something?"
At this moment, inside Aldrian’s mind, he saw countless vivid visions. Some were familiar, ones he had already experienced, while others were entirely new. The visions were so vivid that he felt as if he could step into them, to feel the world within them.
Despite their differences, Aldrian noticed a similarity in all of them. In each vision, he saw different women, yet he recognized them all, as though they had shared a long history together. His feelings for each of them mirrored what he felt for Sylphia—yet even deeper. He witnessed countless moments spent with these women, experiencing different situations, each more profound than the last.
There were times when he was in poor condition, but she was the only one who came to him. There were moments when he was alone, yet she was the only one who stayed by his side. At times when he was so rich he lacked for nothing, he still found peace in her presence. Through countless situations, she was the woman who always appeared, standing by his side.
Looking at all of this, Aldrian reached his own conclusion—the same conclusion he had come to some time ago.
"These are the many different lives that Sylphia and I have experienced in the past. And that thin thread... it has something to do with karma."
However, Aldrian sensed that this was something even more profound than karma. Though it gave him a similar feeling, he could tell that it was different when he truly comprehended it.
The thread that connects everything—everything tied together, transcending time and space. You are the only one who can control this connection.
The Thread of Origin.
Suddenly, he heard a voice coming from nowhere. But it was a voice he knew all too well.
"The voice of ’that’ person!"
