Precedence System: I Take My Rewards In Advance

The woman was sitting across from him with both hands wrapped around his, apparently attempting to explain something that Zishan couldn’t quite understand. He heard her mention leaving, but several words disappeared before he could make sense of the conversation.

”Is there really no other way?”

His own voice sounded different now. It was as though he was worried about something.

The woman lowered her head, and although Zishan still couldn’t see her face, he noticed the way her hands tightened around his fingers.

He tried listening to her answer, but the words became indistinct again.

’OI! WHAT ARE YOU TWO TALKING ABOUT?!’

His body moved closer to her and pulled her into his arms. She immediately buried her face against his chest, gripping his clothes while he held her.

”I don’t want to leave you,” she said.

”Then, don’t. Stay here with me.”

The woman remained quiet for a while before saying something that Zishan couldn’t hear. His body went still, and whatever he’d been planning to say apparently disappeared when she started crying against his chest.

Zishan was becoming increasingly annoyed with this ridiculous setup.

He’d been forced to watch himself eat cupcakes for what felt like an entire afternoon, but now that something important was finally happening, he couldn’t understand a fucking thing!

His body continued holding the woman while she attempted to explain herself. He occasionally heard fragments of their conversation, although none of them told him where she was going or why they were apparently so worried about being separated.

Eventually, she pulled away and reached for the plate. ”I made your favorites.”

He looked at the cupcakes before returning his attention to her. ”You’re seriously expecting me to eat right now?”

”Well, I spent quite a while making them. It would be a shame if you didn’t even try one.”

She pushed the plate closer, apparently determined to make him eat something despite everything they’d just discussed. He eventually surrendered and picked up a cupcake, taking a bite while she waited for his usual ridiculous reaction.

”It’s good,” he told her.

She complained that he sounded considerably less enthusiastic than usual and asked whether she’d accidentally put too much sugar in the frosting again.

He laughed, but when he reached across the table and caught her hand, he didn’t bother taking another bite. ”You’re going to come back, right?”

The woman stopped talking.

She moved her chair closer and wrapped her arms around his neck, remaining there for so long that Zishan began wondering whether she was ever going to answer him.

Then, she spoke. ”I will find you.”

His body tightened its hold on her.

”It doesn’t matter how long it takes,” she continued. ”I will find you again.”

Zishan attempted to focus on her face.

He couldn’t understand why he was suddenly so desperate to remember what she looked like. He didn’t even know this woman, yet the thought of her leaving made him want to grab her and refuse to let go.

His body seemed to share that sentiment. ”What if I can’t remember you?”

The woman remained quiet for several seconds before pulling away and reaching for the plate of cupcakes. She selected one of the better-looking ones, placed it in his hand, and began explaining how she’d make his favorites again when they finally reunited.

”As many as you want! You’ll probably complain that I didn’t make enough, and I’ll have to spend another entire afternoon baking because somebody doesn’t know when to stop eating.”

He finally laughed. ”You’re seriously planning to win me over with cupcakes?”

”Why not? It worked the first time!”

Zishan couldn’t help admitting that she had an excellent strategy. He’d already spent a large amount of his previous life eating cupcakes, and he’d even managed to get himself electrocuted while attempting to save one from falling onto the floor.

’Wait! Wait...’

He suddenly remembered the cupcake he’d ordered before his death. The ridiculously expensive one decorated with a dragon.

For some reason, he couldn’t stop thinking about it while the woman continued promising that she’d make his favorite cupcakes again.

His body reached for her hand. ”Then, you’d better make a lot.”

She laughed and wrapped her arms around him again, although Zishan could feel her trembling as she attempted to control her breathing.

”I will...”

He pulled her closer and kissed her.

Zishan wasn’t sure what happened afterward, but for a moment, he completely forgot that he was supposed to be experiencing somebody else’s memories. And somehow, he could move on his own. He held the woman without thinking, and when she began pulling away from him, he caught her hand before she could leave.

”Wait!”

She stopped.

Zishan tried looking at her face again. ”Wait! I don’t even know who you are!”

The woman hesitated at his words. She reached toward his face, and for a brief moment, he thought she was finally going to tell him her name.

But the table disappeared before she could speak.

”What the hell?! Not now!”

Zishan tightened his grip on her hand as everything around them began vanishing. He tried pulling her closer, but the more he struggled, the harder it became to feel her fingers against his own.

”OI! I’M TALKING TO YOU! WHAT’S YOUR NAME?!”

The woman seemed to be saying something, but he couldn’t hear her anymore.

”FUCK! I CAN’T HEAR YOU!”

He attempted to move closer as her figure began disappearing, desperately hoping that he’d at least be able to remember her face.

”WAIT! PLEASE!”

Her hand slipped from his grasp.

He heard her voice one last time.

”I promise.”

Zishan opened his eyes.

He was back inside the medical tent, sitting on the same treatment bed with his Dragon Egg resting against his chest. The wounded soldier on the neighboring bed was still sleeping, and several healers were moving between their patients as though nothing particularly unusual had happened.

”...”

”What the fuck was that?”

Zishan examined the egg, checking whether it was about to produce another mysterious System notification. Its markings had already returned to normal, however, and there was no sign of the strange pulsing sensation he’d experienced earlier.

He tried remembering what had happened during the vision.

The cupcakes. The woman’s laughter. And the promise she’d made before disappearing.

’Who the hell was that?’

Something wet rolled down his cheek. Zishan raised his hand and examined his fingers.

”...Huh?”

He touched his other cheek and discovered that he’d apparently been crying without even realizing it.

’Why am I crying...’

He hurriedly wiped his face with his sleeve before checking whether any of the nearby patients had noticed him. The soldier beside him was still asleep, and the healers were far too occupied with their work to pay any attention to him.

Zishan attempted to laugh at how ridiculous the situation was, but his throat felt strangely tight. Another tear rolled down his cheek before he could properly compose himself.

”Fuck...”

He wiped his eyes again.

He tried recalling the memories once more, wondering whether he’d simply overlooked something important. He could still remember the way the woman had laughed when he nearly choked on that enormous cupcake and how she’d complained about wasting so much frosting.

Even the warmth of her hands against his cheeks remained clear.

But her face...

Zishan lowered his head toward the Dragon Egg.

He wanted to ask the System what the hell had happened, but he couldn’t bring himself to start another argument with it.

Instead, he pulled the egg closer and rested his forehead against its shell while attempting to control his breathing.

The woman had promised to find him.

Another tear slipped down his cheek, but Zishan made no attempt to wipe it away. He held the Dragon Egg closer to his chest, remembering the woman’s laughter and the promise she’d made to him. He wanted to call out to her, to ask her name just one more time, but he didn’t even know where to begin looking for her.

This was the first time. The first time he found himself missing someone he couldn’t even remember.

And the tears... they just wouldn’t stop.