1999, April 4th

  William dreamed. He dreamed that he was in a wild hyacinth meadow. The sun was shining down, with the light reflection off the lake nearby. The temperature was slightly cooler, despite the fiercely shining sun. He dreamed of teaching a teenager how to fight. She had purple hair with a round face. Why he would teach a teenager how to fight, he didn't know. But he was teaching her all his swordsmanship, martial arts, and more. The sky suddenly darkened. The wildflower wilted. Clouds began to form as rain started to fall on him. He was now chilly, as if he were in the winter without clothes on. The girl, petite and young, grabbed him by the hand. Her previously smiling face was now tinged with sadness. Her mouth didn't move, yet words continued to pour out of her.

  W?h?y? ?d?i?d? ?y?o?u? ?f?o?r?g?e?t? ?a?b?o?u?t? ?m?e???

  D???????????????o???????? ???????????????????I????? ????????n??????????????o?????????????t?????????????? ?????????????????m???????e??????????????????a????????????????n?????????? ??????????a???????n???????????y????????t??????????h????????????????i??????????????????n????????g???????????????? ??????????t?????????o?????? ??????????y??????????o?????????u???????????????? ?????????

  R????????????????e???????????????????????m????????????????e??????????m??????????????????????????????????b??????????????????????????????e????????????????r???????????????????????????????????? ????????????????m??????????e???????????,????????????? ?????????????????????????????W????????????????????????i?????????????????????????????????????l??????????????????????????l????????????????????????????i????????????????a?????????????????????????m??????????????????????.?????????????????????????

  R?????e??????????????m??????????????e????????????????m????????????????b????????????????e?????????????????r??? ??????????m?????????????????e????????????!????????????"

  R E M E M B E R

  He woke up, his back wet with sweat. He frowned as he remembered the dream. He had already forgotten the girl's face, despite having just seen it recently in the dream. The only distinct thing he remembered was that she had purple hair, very similar to the hyacinths in the dream, and the voice was distorted when she spoke to him, but she seemed to be pleading with him, though he remembered her last word very clearly. Remember... What does she mean by that? Is remembering her an integral part of me? Dreams are a natural extension of my subconscious, which means my subconscious wants me to remember her. But why? And why now?

  He sighed and looked at the time. It was 7 am. Still so fucking early. His mood soured, so he went to clear his head by washing his face. He stared into his mismatched eyes as he wondered, Why was I teaching her martial arts? That seemed to be an odd detail. It seemed to be important as well. Although he didn't know much about dreams, he knew that in dreams like these, every detail mattered. That every detail was a signal from his subconscious. The martial art could mean either of two things. That he was the guardian of her, or she was the guardian of him. But if she really was either, William wouldn't have forgotten her.

  This girl could be the same woman I remembered yesterday... The more he thought about it, the more the thought seemed to take hold. Then that means she was someone from my younger days. Could she be a mental construct? Nah, that's too far-fetched. I don't even have any trauma... He paused. Then shook his head. Today was supposed to be his rest day with Eve, damn it. He shouldn't be thinking about that stuff today. He washed his face again. He took a deep breath and went to the home gym. Eve was already in there, stretching.

  "Morning," he told Eve.

  "Morning. You're awake early today," she said.

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  "Yeah, had a nightmare." He stretched his legs.

  "Would you like to talk about it?" Eve raised her right leg and continued stretching.

  "Nah, rather not."

  "Alright."

  After stretching in silence for about 5 minutes, Eve took a longsword and threw it to William. "Catch."

  William caught it and grumbled, "Could have warned me earlier."

  She didn't reply but giggled. She grabbed her rapier, "Come at me."

  He grinned, "With pleasure."

  He grabbed the longsword with both hands. Due to the perk, Blade Bond, the blade felt much more comfortable and intuitive in his hand. He spun the blade around a little as they circled each other. He took the Alber stance, in which the sword was pointed downwards. Eve's right hand held the rapier and was aimed at his chest, while her other hand was near her chest, ready to parry or dodge if needed. They circled each other for a while.

  Eve took the first shot, aiming for his chest. William flicked his sword up, parrying it and returning with a counter slash. Eve blocked. By using the momentum from his parry, she was able to reposition her rapier to quickly block it, her left hand also coming to grab his hand. He retreated, not allowing her to grab him, and took a stab.

  Eve patted the stab away and lunged, her left foot staying behind and her right foot moving forward a bit, increasing her range massively. He flicked it away and returned to a more proper posture of Ochs, in which the sword was drawn up and to the 'outside'. They circled each other again. By now, William was fully awake. The adrenaline was coursing through his veins as this time, he struck first. He feinted a slash towards her upper body. The moment Eve moved to block, he switched his target to her forward leg.

  She lifted her leg and retreated, stabbing him. He parried and followed her. She tried to stab him again, but this time, he grabbed the longsword with one hand and used his now free hand to grab the rapier by the blade firmly. Using his superior strength, he pulled. Eve, shocked, was unable to resist and fell.

  Afraid that she would fall, William caught her, their faces merely inches away. Unable to resist, Eve kissed him. William, although surprised, quickly reciprocated the kiss. The kiss went on for a few seconds before they stopped.

  Eve said breathlessly, "How about we call this a draw, hmm?"

  "Fuck that. I win." William snorted.

  "Damn, that didn't work." Both of them smiled. "That was a good fight. You've improved a lot, William."

  "Well, yeah. I've been training while you've been busy with work."

  She sighed as she shelved her rapier, "That's not going to change anytime soon, especially now that we have a new product."

  William nodded and also stored his longsword, "Unfortunately, it's not going to get easier. If you want, you can hire more to delegate, but please do make sure they're properly competent. I don't want freeloaders in my company."

  She snorted, "I don't want them either. I'll make sure to hire only the best of the best. Satisfied?"

  "Immensely. Now, you should take a shower first. I'm going to go for a run now."

  "Hmm."

  It was now 9 am. William had just returned from the run when Sarah, now around 40 years old, had just finished preparing breakfast. "Will, you're back. Come, I've prepared your favourite pasta."

  William smiled and replied, "Thank you, Sarah. You're the best."

  As he walked over to the kitchen, he felt a little sad. Sarah was now 40 years old. For the first time in his two lives, he was faced with the possibility of a person he cared about getting old. Sarah was his mother, in all intent and purpose. She cared for him, fed him, and loved him as if he were her own son. He had been spending less time with her as well.

  He sat down at the dining table and sighed. Eve, already eating her portion, looked over, "What's wrong?"

  He shook his head, "I just noticed that Sarah is getting old. And I've been spending less time with her..." William knew that it was the natural order. But he was a selfish man. He didn't want anyone to leave him. He had lost his three best and only friends when he first died; he wasn't ready to lose a mother to Death again. He glanced at the system overlay. It was always there, silent and minding its own business. Maybe I can find a solution to old age there. I wouldn't know where to start if I had to start studying human biology, too. And it might be too late when I'm fully proficient.

  Eve sighed, "You're always so negative, Will. Don't think of it as very little time left. Think of the time we've spent with her. Think of the good times, the best times. Be optimistic. She is not going away anytime soon."

  William closed his eyes, "You're right. You're right." When he opened his eyes again, there was determination in his eyes, and Eve noticed.