WILOW-Ch.420: Message from Lady Death
Water Gardens, Dorne
POV of Domeric Bolton
-Ding
[You have received a message from Lady Death. You can read the message in the Mailbox section of your system.]
Ever since Luna touched his hand, Domeric had been receiving many notification sounds from the system. But, for the first time, after a notification sound, he heard the system addressing him in a robotic voice.
He had never received any verbal response from the system before.
And did the system have a Mailbox tab? As far as he knew, the system only had Champion, Companions, and Store tabs.
But before Domeric could do anything about it, a pair of lips pressed against his, snapping him out of his thoughts.
After a few seconds of being frozen, Domeric came to his senses.
Although kissing Luna felt quite natural, and he wanted to reciprocate, he managed to control himself and gently pushed her away by her shoulders.
"Luna, calm down," Domeric said.
"Why? I missed you so much, Harry," Luna said, leaning towards his lips to kiss him again, but Domeric held her steady by her shoulders, preventing her from leaning forward.
"What's wrong, Harry?" Luna asked, this time more seriously.
And Domeric didn't know exactly how to respond. He didn't even know how to act.
According to his newly awakened memories, he and Luna had been lovers, and Domeric felt he loved her deeply.
But in this world, he and Ygritte were lovers, even considering each other husband and wife. And Domeric loved Ygritte deeply, too.
And worst of all, he carried the scars of Ginny's betrayal from his past life, so even kissing Luna felt like a betrayal of Ygritte.
And if Ygritte were by his side instead of Luna, Domeric would most likely feel like he was betraying Luna.
He needed to understand this situation quickly and find a solution. Otherwise, he couldn't imagine being alone with either Luna or Ygritte.
"Luna, can you give me a couple of minutes? I need to check something," Domeric said.
Luna looked into his eyes for a few seconds, then nodded, got up from his lap, and sat back down in her own seat.
She seemed to sense that something was bothering Domeric, and now she watched him with a worried expression.
Domeric could understand how she felt thanks to their soul bond, and it was natural for Luna to worry about Domeric's dilemma, knowing she could understand his feelings, too.
Domeric would also worry if, after losing his lover a long time ago, he somehow reunited with her and didn't get the reaction he expected.
Domeric pushed that thought to the back of his mind for now, mentally summoned the system, and quickly switched to the Mailbox tab.
He could see the newly added tabs, but he had no intention of focusing on them at the moment.
The mailbox contained only one message. The sender was Lady Death, and the recipient was Harry James Potter.
The subject line read, "I'm sorry."
Domeric couldn't help but feel angry upon seeing this, but he activated his Occlumency and opened the message. He didn't think he could read it normally otherwise.
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"Harry, I'm so sorry about what you went through. But believe me, I have no idea how this happened.
As far as I know, your memories of past lives should have been erased. This is directly related to the All Above One, and I can't say I know much about it.
I said that when I sent Luna and Hermione to this world, I rearranged their souls a little so they could carry and transfer the powers I entrusted to you, but that's not true. I just wanted you to think that I was the one who established the soul bond between you and them.
But even I don't have the power to bond souls. Soulmates can only be determined by the All Above One.
I only sent Luna and Hermione, your soulmates from previous lives, after rescuing them from the Soul Destroyer to this world to transfer your powers.
I'm sorry to lie to you about this. I couldn't tell you about your previous lives.
But it seems that the re-establishment of the soul bond between you and Luna somehow activated memories from your past life.
I don't know why, and as I said, this is a subject where even I have limited access to information. But I will do my best to investigate this matter and find the answers you want.
Until then, stay safe.
Lady Death
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When he finished reading the message, Domeric didn't know what to say.
He wanted to get angry; he wanted to smash things; he wanted to confront Lady Death and yell at her; he wanted to find the beings who were using his life this way and punish them...
But he knew that he couldn't put himself in the same class as the beings who interfered with his life. He might be a powerful wizard among normal people.
But at the end of the day, in the eyes of those beings, he was just a slightly larger ant than the others.
These were beings that others considered gods.
And while he couldn't do anything to them, just getting angry and smashing things around him would make him feel like a chimpanzee screaming in a zoo.
No matter how right a chimpanzee was, their screaming, jumping, and thrashing only gave those watching them more pleasure.
Domeric slumped into his chair, lifted his head, and silently began to stare at the ceiling.
'Why me?' he thought.
Would he always be a puppet in others' hands?
He had even thrown herself into a soul destroyer that would annihilate his soul.
But they kept pulling him out of there and throwing him back into the middle of their own game board.
Did living like this really have any…
Domeric was pulled out of his gloomy thoughts by someone holding his hand.
When he lowered his head, he saw Luna looking at him anxiously.
'That's right, because of our soul bond, she must have sensed my mood.' He thought.
"Are you alright, Harry? And what exactly is this translucent screen? You've been in a bad mood since looking at it." Luna asked.
At first, Domeric didn't quite understand what Luna was talking about, but after looking at the screen in front of him again, it dawned on him.
Luna could see this system screen.
Was it because of the Soul Bond? Or because she temporarily held some of his powers? He didn't know.
But at least this way it would be easier to explain some things to Luna. Otherwise, he didn't know how to put them into words.
Domeric tried to mentally send the system screen in front of him to Luna, and unexpectedly, his wish was granted; the screen slid and stopped before Luna.
"This is an outward manifestation of the powers Lady Death gave me. Lady Death just sent me a message. Please read it, Luna."
Luna looked at him for a while with that dreamy look, but Domeric felt he was looking into her soul rather than her eyes.
"Sure," Luna said, and then began to read Lady Death's message.
After finishing reading the message, Luna looked at him and said. "So, you've lived many lives before, and besides me, you had a life where you formed a soul bond with Hermione. And your memories of the world we lived in together have just awakened. Does this mean you lived in a life where you formed a soul bond with Hermione before coming here?"
Domeric paused for a moment. He was just realizing he had a soul bond with Hermione in a life that he still didn't know.
Then he took a deep breath and said, "No. I don't remember a life where I formed a soul bond with Hermione. In my previous life..." He stopped after reaching this point.
He didn't want to dwell on those topics if possible, but when he looked at Luna, he knew she wouldn't let it go. He had spent a considerable amount of time with her in his past life, and he recognized that look.
Even though Luna didn't pressure him and gave him space when necessary, there were some things she wouldn't let go of until she got the answer she wanted.
But in the end, he was always grateful to her for not accepting a "no" answer.
So, he continued. "In my life before coming here, I lived a life where I was married to Ginerva."
This answer surprised Luna, who tilted her head and asked, "Ginny? Did you form a soul bond with Ginny in your previous life?"
"No. I never formed a soul bond with Ginerva. She... she cheated on me after we got married. After that, I left her and dedicated myself to my work."
At this, Luna rose from her seat and sat on his lap, hugging him again.
"Luna..." Domeric began, but Luna interrupted him.
"Just let me hug you. I know you need it."
Domeric allowed Luna to hug him, and they stayed like that for a while.
Then Luna said, "I know some things are bothering you, Harry. But know that I'll be there for you no matter what. Now, will you tell me what's stopping you from kissing me? I know it's not Ginny. And I don't think it's because of Hermione either."
"I... I have a wife in this world."
"Oh..."
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.421: Essence of Nightshade
Ch.422: Seizing the Throne
Ch.423: A Week in Dorne