The Unlimited Ascension: Reborn as an Extra

The cold wind swept around, blowing the dry leaves from the ground. As the atmosphere remained quiet but peaceful, the tall grasses swayed gently in the air. Birds were sitting safely on the branches, saving themselves from the hot rays of the sun.

Under the tree’s cool shade, two figures sat beside each other, looking at nothing but the front. For a moment they remained silent, only focused on feeling the peaceful atmosphere around them. Just as the calm silence settled for a while, Lyris finally couldn’t hold back anymore and spoke up slowly.

"What did you want to say?"

Alen turned his eyes toward her, looking at her with a calm face. There was no outward expression on his features which could reveal what was truly going on inside his mind.

"Did you ever get betrayed by someone you trusted?..."

Lyris’s eyes widened at his sudden question. She wasn’t able to speak for a while and remained silent, considering his question.

"Yes... And also no..."

Alen tilted his head in confusion after hearing her words.

Lyris met his eyes and answered firmly while maintaining eye contact.

"’Yes’ because many people I trusted had betrayed me. They were only caring about me because they were tasked to; no one had ever given a damn about me and my true happiness..."

A sad, bittersweet smile appeared on her face as she continued.

"And ’No’ because, somewhere in my heart, I already knew that they were going to betray me one day. Now or in the future, it was bound to happen..."

"So... Why did you ask?"

Alen looked away from her as he gazed out at the open clearing.

"No... It’s nothing, just a casual question... I guess we are quite similar on a few terms..."

Lyris looked at him, trying to see right through his calm expression, desperately wanting to see the real him which he was trying so hard to hide. But she didn’t force him to answer, as she wasn’t in any place to expect to hear any secrets of his.

They were only companions who happened to survive together for a while; at most, they may have become friends at some point. But even friends kept secrets from each other, so revealing what was hidden in the deepest part of his heart was not a thing she could actually get from him, unless he told her himself.

"In what kind of terms?..."

Alen pursed his lips and answered while looking down at his own hands.

"Well, like how we both got betrayed by some people and are trying to live a better life. We both want to become stronger for our own reasons. We both are running away from life; you are because you want to prove something to someone, and I am because I wanted to prove something to myself..."

Lyris looked at him and said firmly after hearing his words, placing one hand over the other on her lap.

"I am not proving anything to anyone..."

Alen tilted his head and replied calmly.

"Oh, really? But why do I feel like you are proving yourself to someone? You are trying to hide your true identity, just to not get caught by others. You are trying to run away from someone who doesn’t even care about you, but you are actively forgetting yourself and pretending to be someone else you aren’t..."

Lyris sat stiffly at his words. She wasn’t able to protest his logic. It was true that she was trying to pretend to be someone else, hiding her identity and running away so that she wouldn’t get caught, only to live a life of constant pressure and fear of being found out.

"From my perspective, you should stop caring about someone else who doesn’t deserve your attention and start caring about yourself and your own things."

Suddenly, something stirred in her chest as she snapped her eyes up and glared at him.

"Stop it! You do not get to interfere and comment on my life! You don’t know how much I have suffered! You don’t know that there was no option for me except running away in the first place!"

"If I had not, I wouldn’t be alive here talking with you! You don’t know what I have been through my whole life, so stop comparing my pain to yours!"

Lyris looked at him with a thoroughly frustrated face, as all of her pent-up frustration and the anger buried deep in her heart finally burst out onto him.

"I am sorry, I spoke out of turn. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings..."

Alen immediately apologized. After seeing her pained expression, he realized how absurd his words were. He was trying to suggest things to her when he didn’t even know how much she had truly suffered.

Lyris finally calmed down after hearing his apology. She stayed silent for a moment while clutching the fabric of her dress.

"No... It’s alright. I’m sorry too. I snapped out without any reason; you were just trying to help me..."

Alen shook his head and denied it.

"No, you don’t get to apologize, it is my fault. I should be the one to mind my own business..."

"No—it is my fault. I just took it the wrong way, you are not entirely wrong."

"But—"

"No, but—! I—"

They both stopped speaking simultaneously as they stared at each other, realizing that they were fighting just to offer an apology.

*Pftt...*

"Hahahaha..."

Both of them began to laugh out loud, as they couldn’t control themselves. The tense atmosphere warmed up beautifully as they finally let go of any nonessential thoughts and focused on the current moment. They calmed down and looked at each other once more before shyly looking away.

Alen leaned back against the tree trunk as he looked around, trying to find someone.

"So where did that little girl go? She also took the weapon with her so that I wouldn’t be able to forcibly call her back. Damn, that little shit has gotten a spine after gaining some of her power back. She is starting to become quite a disobedient menace. Hmm, it seems I need to teach her a lesson soon enough..."

"Hmph? Are you talking about Ravena? Now that I think of it, I haven’t seen her for quite a while. Last time she told me that she was going to stroll around for a bit, she said she had already told you and taken your permission..."

Alen raised one skeptical eyebrow at her words.

"Permission? Do you really think that spirit would even ask me for permission to go anywhere? What a joke..."

Lyris pursed her lips as she realized he was telling the truth. There was no way Ravena, the notorious spirit who hated him to the core, would go to him in order to get his permission. She would rather choose to not go anywhere instead of getting his permission. That sounded exactly like her. So where is she now?

Lyris felt tense at the thought of leaving her alone in the massive city without anyone present.

’I should have gone along with her rather than coming here. What if something happens to her?...’

She looked at Alen and felt surprised at his perfectly calm expression. There wasn’t any hint of worry on his face, as if he didn’t care about her well-being at all.

"Why are you so calm? Do you know where she is? What if something happens to her?"

Alen sighed as he looked at her worried expression.

"You don’t need to get heated up; she is alright wherever she is. Instead, you should worry about the other person who might try to hurt her. She would not get in trouble; instead, because of her, other people might get into trouble..."

A small, dangerous smile curved itself onto his lips as he looked out into the distance. He was suddenly getting a mental signal from his other manifestation tracking Ravena, indicating that the notorious spirit had indeed gotten involved in some messy trouble.

"Sigh... Let’s go. We have to go get her out of trouble..."

Alen stood up and started walking without looking back. Lyris stood up quickly as she wore her cloak and pulled up the hood, stepping right beside him as they walked out together into the city.