They Hated Me in My First Life, But Now I Have the Love System

Chapter 506: It’s Her

Just hang in there.

No one noticed Arthur.

He stood frozen at the middle of the field, his breathing shallow, his arms limp by his sides. Everything around him faded, the sound of the wind, Somto’s worried murmurs, Carl’s precise movements. All of it disappeared into silence.

His eyes stayed locked on Nnenna.

That move...

She shouldn’t have known it. No one should’ve known it.

Because only one person had ever learned it before. And it wasn’t Nnenna.

A memory surged to the surface like a wave, uninvited but unstoppable.

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Eleven years ago.

At the edge of the southern cliffs.

Arthur was barely fourteen then, all sharp elbows, messy hair, and a mind always racing faster than his mouth could keep up. His shirt was stained from a morning training session, and a wooden sword was slung across his back.

She came running to him that afternoon, barefoot, face streaked with tears, and fists clenched.

Six year old Anastasia.

"Arthur!" she sniffed, her voice wobbling as she stomped up the hill. "They said I’m small! They said I’ll never be strong like you!"

She dropped to the grass beside him, hugging her knees. Her cheeks were red from crying, but her eyes still sparkled, stubborn and stormy, like always.

Arthur blinked at her, then let out a sigh. "They said that again?"

She nodded hard, wiping her face roughly with her sleeve. "They laughed when I said I would beat you one day."

Arthur "..."

He looked at the spirited little girl who barely reached his knees when they stand together, for a long second. Then slowly, he smiled.

"Alright then," he said, standing up and brushing grass off his trousers. "Come on. I’ll teach you something no one else knows."

Anastasia blinked up at him, confused. "Really?"

once, serious now. "But just

She grinned. "Promise!"

he whispered like it was a treasure. "It’s not about being fast or strong. It’s about surprise. Timing. It only works when you

in deep concentration as he guided her small arms and legs, adjusting her posture with care. He even poked her nose once when she got the

she finally did the move, clumsy, but full of heart, Arthur

softly, still holding her hand. "Who

"I’m gonna get better and beat you one

chuckled, ruffling her

morning sun, but

blinked back

returned, harsh and loud. The distant whirl of sirens. The bark

And there she was.

Nnenna.

brows faintly furrowed, a trace of sweat clinging to her skin. Her lashes fluttered as if caught in some

a second, just one impossibly

He saw her.

child from the

swore she would beat

Anastasia.

That same spark behind the

His chest tightened.

It’s her.

thought came without permission. It wasn’t a question. It was a certainty that hit

pounded in

then, reason

No.

Lost to stone and fire. He had seen the aftermath with his own

Not dead. Just

he reminded himself for what felt like

to that

there it

A shadow. A flicker.

her...

His chest tightened.

shut his eyes tightly, as if

sense. It can’t be. Nnenna

heart wouldn’t

whispering: Look again.