Hello, you may know me by a singular name. From my existence, I have realised I have been...lost, many times. My existence is strange as I feel I have existed over seven different times.
My name is Chara Dreemur or a version of him which I have inherited, a version where I am aware of everything.
"I woke up in this world with a shattered moon huh." This world was called Remnant and honestly, it doesn't seem like a bad world, my soul resonated with an energy deep within this world. I am currently staying at a bakers house in Vale and am helping him with some chores. My age here is thirteen.
Usually it had to do with cutting things since she says I am good at that, she had panda ears
The flour dust caught the morning light streaming through the bakery windows as I measured out another batch. Mrs. Xiong—she'd insisted I call her that rather than anything formal—hummed while kneading dough at the main counter. Her panda ears twitched occasionally, picking up sounds from the street outside that I couldn't quite hear yet.
"Chara, dear, could you slice those loaves when they're cooled?" she called over her shoulder.
I nodded, reaching for the bread knife. The weight felt comfortable in my hand—too comfortable, perhaps. Muscle memory from lives I'd lived, from a knife that had meant something very different. I pushed the thought away and focused on making clean, even cuts.
"You're always so precise," Mrs. Xiong observed, glancing at my work. "Have you considered training at one of the academies? With reflexes like yours..."
I paused mid-slice. The academies. Huntsmen and Huntresses. This world had its own battles, its own conflicts between light and shadow. And my soul—that strange resonance I'd felt since arriving, like my very essence was harmonizing with something deep within Remnant itself...
"Beacon is close isn't it? But I am pretty sure there is an age limitation and i haven't really awakened my aura nor do I have a Weapon."
Mrs. Xiong chuckled, her panda ears folding back slightly in amusement. "You're right about the age—seventeen is the minimum for Beacon. But that gives you four years, doesn't it?" She dusted flour from her hands and walked over, examining my knife work with an approving nod.
"As for aura and weapons..." She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Most combat schools start students younger, around thirteen. Signal Academy isn't far from here. But aura awakening—that can happen at any time, really. Sometimes it just takes the right moment, the right person to unlock it."
I set down the knife, studying the blade's edge. Seven lives. Seven different versions of myself, and in each one, I'd learned something about souls, about determination, about the strange energy that bound existence together. This world's aura felt... similar. Different terminology, different rules, but that same fundamental essence.
Determination...yes that is what is bringing me back from dying in those other worlds. "My Combat abilities are superior to that of those...younger or even older than me so I don't think going to signal will help me...but it doesn't seem like a bad idea."
Mrs. Xiong's ears perked up with interest, though concern flickered across her face. "Superior combat abilities at thirteen? That's... quite a claim, dear." She wiped her hands on her apron, studying me more carefully now. "Though I suppose I've noticed how you move—like you're always aware of everything around you. And those cuts you make are almost unnaturally precise."
She pulled out a chair and sat down, gesturing for me to do the same. "Signal isn't just about learning to fight, Chara. It's about understanding this world's way of combat—Dust, semblances, aura techniques. Even if you're skilled, there are things unique to Remnant that you'd need to learn." Her expression softened. "And... it's about being around other children. Making friends. Having something resembling a normal life before you potentially throw yourself at the Grimm."
Chara smiled. "Friends huh...well that doesn't sound bad...but you would be alone again."
Mrs Xiong chuckled. "What are you saying? Signal is a day school, I will see you when you come to eat breakfast or you decide to come home mid class because you're sick, you have been living with me for almost a year now so you're practically a son of mine."
I paused for a moment, something in my heart fluttering at word son, I remembered someone who treated me like her son too...I killed her...I think. My memories are still fuzzy.
Noticing my dazed expression, Mrs Xiong patted my head and I looked up at her in confusion. "My husband died a few years ago only leaving me with my daughter as you know, she is your age but you rarely see her go out of the room."
"That's because she sleeps a lot in the day, I see her awake when it's night, doing her own stuff." In truth, I have caught her daughter going out multiple times to go and train in the forest by herself, I followed her while she was not looking and made sure to protect her from some of the Grimm which she had carelessly left behind.
Her combat strength was actually pitiful and despite being a bat/ panda Faunus with superior strength than a regular human, she still could not fly or even react to most attacks.
I usually stepped in and lured the Grimms away from her so she wouldn't get hurt most of the time, she has improved over the months. We do not speak to one another that much but I do wish for her not to go behind her mother's back and get hurt.
I felt Mrs. Xiong's hand ruffle my hair gently, and despite everything—despite the weight of seven lifetimes, despite memories of dust and determination and choices I couldn't fully recall—I found myself leaning into the gesture.
"You've noticed Tukson sneaking out then," Mrs. Xiong said with a knowing sigh, not really asking. "I'm not as oblivious as she thinks. A mother knows when her daughter is climbing out windows at two in the morning."
I blinked in surprise. "You know?"
"Of course I know." She withdrew her hand and stood, returning to her dough with practiced movements. "She's terrified of being weak, you know. After her father..."
Her ears drooped slightly. "He was a Huntsman. Died protecting a village from a Grimm horde. Tukson was only nine. She's been obsessed with getting stronger ever since, but she won't ask for proper training. Too proud, too scared of being told no."
Mrs. Xiong kneaded the dough with more force than necessary. "And too stubborn to realize she's going to get herself killed stumbling around in the dark."
"She's getting better," I offered quietly. "Her reaction time has improved. Her positioning is less predictable than it was three months ago."
Mrs. Xiong's hands stilled. She turned to look at me, and something in her expression shifted—a mixture of gratitude and sadness. "You've been watching over her."
It wasn't a question, but I nodded anyway.
"Thank you, Chara." Her voice was soft. "But you shouldn't have to do that alone. Neither of you should be doing this alone." She crossed her arms, and suddenly there was steel in her gaze—the steel of someone who had lost too much and refused to lose more. "If you're both so determined to walk this path, then you're going to do it properly. Signal Academy. Both of you."
"I haven't awakened my aura yet," I pointed out.
Mrs. Xiong smiled—a sharp, knowing smile that reminded me she was more than just a kind baker.
"Then we'll get that sorted first, won't we? I may run a bakery now, but I wasn't always kneading dough, dear. I know how to unlock aura." She walked over and placed both hands on my shoulders, looking me directly in the eyes. "The question is: are you ready to stop running from whatever you're carrying and actually let yourself be part of this world?"
The question hit deeper than I expected. Seven times. Seven lives lived in the shadows of choices and consequences. Always aware, always remembering, always apart from everything around me.
My soul resonated with something in Remnant. Maybe it was time to stop just existing and actually live.
"...Yes," I said quietly. "I think I am."
"Good." Mrs. Xiong's grip tightened slightly, and I felt something begin to stir—a warmth spreading from where her hands rested. "Then repeat after me: For it is in passing that we achieve immortality..."
I hesitated, the words catching in my throat. Immortality. What a strange concept to someone who had already lived seven times, who had died and returned, again and again, bound by something that wouldn't let me rest.
"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality," I repeated slowly.
"Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all..."
"Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all."
The warmth intensified, spreading from my shoulders down through my chest. It felt different from the determination that had always burned within me—less sharp, less desperate. This was gentler, like sunlight breaking through clouds.
"Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."
"Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."
The moment the final word left my lips, something shifted.
The warmth exploded outward, and suddenly I could feel it—a crimson aura flickering to life around me, visible even in the bright morning light of the bakery. But it wasn't just red. Threads of something else wove through it, a deeper darkness that pulsed in rhythm with my heartbeat. Mrs. Xiong's eyes widened.
"Chara... your aura, it's—"
The color fluctuated, red bleeding into near-black and back again, like watching ink spread through water. I looked down at my hands, watching the energy dance across my skin. It felt right, like something that had always been there was finally allowed to breathe.
"I've never seen an aura quite like that before," Mrs. Xiong said softly, not releasing my shoulders. "Red usually signifies passion, determination, strength of will..." She paused, studying the darker currents. "But there's something else there. Something old."
Seven lifetimes old, I thought but didn't say.
"How do you feel?" she asked.
I flexed my fingers, feeling the aura respond to my intent. "Like... like I've been holding my breath for a very long time, and I just remembered how to exhale."
A loud thump from upstairs made us both jump. Then another, followed by what sounded distinctly like someone falling out of bed.
Mrs. Xiong sighed, though fondness crept into her expression. "It seems Tukson felt that. Aura awakenings can be... quite noticeable to those nearby, especially other Faunus." She finally released my shoulders and stepped back, giving me space. "She'll be down here in three... two... one—"
The door to the bakery's back room burst open, and a girl stumbled through, her black and white hair disheveled, bat ears askew. Tukson Xiong stared at me with wide amber eyes, still wearing her sleep clothes—which, notably, had little panda faces printed on them.
"You—" she started, then seemed to register what she was wearing. Her face flushed crimson. "I mean— your aura just— I was sleeping and then I felt—" She crossed her arms defensively. "Why didn't you tell me you were getting your aura unlocked?!"
I blinked at her, caught off guard by the accusation. "I... didn't know it was happening?"
"We barely talk!" The words came out more frustrated than angry. "You've been living here for a year, and we barely talk, and you've apparently been following me into the forest—" She stopped abruptly, her flush deepening. "Wait. You knew about that?"
Mrs. Xiong cleared her throat pointedly. "I believe we all knew about that, dear."
Tukson looked between us, her bat ears flattening against her head in embarrassment. Then her expression shifted, something defensive and vulnerable crossing her features. "I'm not weak."
"I never said you were," I replied quietly.
"But you've been protecting me. Luring Grimm away." Her hands clenched into fists. "I noticed. Not at first, but... I noticed eventually. The way certain Grimm would just vanish when I was in trouble. The paths that seemed clearer than they should have been."
The bakery fell silent except for the gentle crackle of the ovens.
"You're getting stronger," I said finally. "Your form has improved significantly. Your awareness is better. But you were making reckless choices, and I..." I paused, searching for the right words. "I didn't want Mrs. Xiong to lose anyone else."
Tukson's eyes glistened, and she looked away sharply. "That's not— you can't just—" She took a shaky breath. "I don't need a protector."