I Refused To Be Reincarnated

"Oh! What a fiery temper you have there!"

The woman's light-hearted chuckles resounded in his ears, sending his mind into chaos and his body reeling in terror.

Even with his soul-chilling arsenal, he still dreaded mysterious entities and spells. He remembered when the two dark mages summoned a mysterious being from the netherworld and how he ended up paralysed like a fish on their chopping block.

It was the same for the evil ghosts. Without the Luminous Wildblade's protective veil, terror and despair facing a gruesome death were the only scenarios.

He gulped, his hand clenching to summon the trusted dagger to protect himself.

Before he could, light particles danced in his chamber, illuminating it with radiant colors as the woman's voice reverberated.

"Calm down, rascal. I've been waiting for centuries, hoping someone would awaken me, so smile in joy. You're the one!"

As her words rumbled in his confused mind, a silhouette condensed from the light, becoming more defined with each passing second.

Silky black hair glistened and swirled by the solar stone first, followed by two deep blue eyes peering into his soul.

He gazed at her forming facial features, her beauty striking him into mutism as his breath caught in his throat.

Different tastes and preferences didn't apply to her. She was just perfect.

Finally, an old-fashioned adventurer's shirt covered with intricate engravings of glistening gold, thin leathery pauldrons, and an elegant skirt ending in high metallic boots draped her forms like a second skin.

He observed her confident yet warm smile with horror before noticing her pale complexion and the spectral mist flowing around her. She seemed nothing like a regular woman. Instead, he knew she must have been a powerhouse before becoming a ghost.

"Who are you?"

He gripped the hilt of his materialising blade and called for his mana, narrowing his eyes into slits and scanning her every move.

"Me? Hahaha."

She chuckled, pointing her fingers at the pulsing engraving on the ground.

"How can you ask when you conducted my ritual and possess my grimoire?"

A tense silence engulfed the room as his pupils constricted and his breath hastened in disbelief.

How was it possible? Was she lying? He didn't know.

However, she confirmed it with her next words, sending a torrent of shock and confusion rumbling through his mind.

"I'm Elena Leblanc, Ari's student and a former citizen of the Émeraude empire."

Her smile reached her eyes, and she continued.

"See? I'm not lying. I can explain the ritual's underlying principle if you want. But I think you're convinced already. Instead, sit down and let me tell you why and how I'm here."

'No way.'

His mind blanked as he moved and plopped on a chair.

She was really Elena, the archmage who had lived several centuries ago. He had no doubts about it. And against her, he was as vulnerable as a chicken facing a wolf.

Elena joined him and sat comfortably mid-air.

"I know you're lost, but the chain of events is logical. Let me explain the geopolitics of my days first, even if it doesn't interest me."

She started, her raised finger attracting his trembling eyes like a magnet.

"An archmage ruled the sky in the east and the sea in the west. However, they didn't care about wars since the northern continent never had an archmage supervising it, and Zuberi Nyota, who ruled the southern continent, died around three hundred years prior."

She inhaled sharply, memories she didn't want to remember resurfacing in her mind.

"Relying on their new weapons, a miserable race, who had hidden itself deep in the heart of a mountain, declared war on every surrounding country. I've seen it myself! They created an aberration stronger than an archmage!"

She yelled, her fists trembling as the memory of the sea of fire and rubbles replacing the empire she was born in resurfaced in her narrowed eyes.

His soul throbbed at the revelation, and a realisation struck him like a bolt.
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'She lived at the same time Durgrim did!'

The weapon she spoke about was his creation. Probably a mythical artifact and Durazmarn's national treasure.

Meanwhile, Elena used the brief silence to recover, yet he noticed her still bulging jaws and the hate flashing in her eyes.

"I didn't like the empire, but they burned cities and villages alike, killing commoners like meaningless rat and I couldn't support it. To do so, they used a colossal mechanical artefact. Even the tallest walls only reached its waist and its firepower... We had never seen that through history."

She rummaged through her memories, her eyes lighting up as she found its name.

"They called it The Titan's Twilight. Fortunately, its creator regretted how his family used it and shared weapons with the surrounding countries. I heard he even planned to share its blueprint and help construct a second one to stop the royal's mad ambitions to conquer the world and rule all other species."

An icy shiver sent a tremor through his shoulders. What kind of horrible weapon forced Durgrim into betraying his own family?

With rapt attention and too curious to lose focus, he glared at Elena's moving lips, forgetting his earlier anxiety.

"But they caught him red-handed and executed him before he could. Still, his contribution allowed the other countries to develop their own mythical artefacts and, in a joint effort, they damaged the country destroyer beyond repair."

'So that's why they executed him!'

The question that had tortured him about Durgrim's plan to share knowledge finally found an answer.

But Elena's story only started.

"After the titan's fall, can you guess what the other countries did?"

She clicked her tongue, remembering the devastation and the innocent child's cries.

He gulped, the answer evident to anyone with two connected neurons.

"They waged wars against each other to expand their territories. Amidst the chaos, I remembered an old legend Ari recounted when I was a clueless teenager. She said that one day, an elf with incredible powers would return from the dead, and would fight the established order to bring warm sunlight to this cold and devastated world. That's when I made a decision."