Nova's eyes widened at the sound of the old language, then grew even wider as realization struck him like a physical blow. "... The clockwork ballerina?" he asked in the same tongue. "Annelie?"

She fell to the ground in shock, staring up at Nova with a thousand emotions on her face, the most prominent one being tearful joy.

She continued in their old language, still with a trembling voice. "It can't be you, can it? How?"

Nova was frozen in shock, unable to comprehend how this could be possible. She couldn't know that language unless she was from the same world, and if she recognized him by his forging methods, there weren't many other possibilities.

"Please speak to me… Master Gorton, how is this…"

"You've… also reincarnated?" His voice was barely a whisper. "Ever since the New World?"

"Yes!" The words tumbled out of her. "Seven lifetimes! And I've never met someone I know before..."

"How is this… possible?" Nova's carefully maintained composure cracked. "I thought I was alone all this time."

He crossed the distance between them in two steps, kneeling beside Annelie and pulling her into a tight embrace. For the first time in centuries, he felt tears threatening to fall. The little girl who had danced on legs of clockwork and steel, who had brought hope to a harsh new world with her grace—she was here, against all odds.

They held each other in silence for a long moment, both overwhelmed by the weight of centuries and the impossible chance of their reunion.

Finally, Nova pulled back slightly to sit in front of her, studying her face through misty eyes. "Your face is different, but your eyes... they're the same."

"Your hair is as white as ever," Annelie said with a watery laugh. "And you still forge the same way. As soon as I saw that intense focus, and the way you held the metal to your ear, I knew it had to be you."

He chuckled, still embarrassed that he didn't notice her earlier. "I'll need a barrier or something next time I forge so I'm not totally vulnerable."

"You really should." She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "Gods, I still can't believe it. I owe you so much, Nova." Her eyes shone with both respect and gratitude. A look he was quite familiar with. But that didn't make it any less sweet.

"Not at all. You gave me all the reward I wanted back in the New World. Seeing you dance and smile again was… It's still one of my fondest memories. Besides, I'm sure you've helped others in your lives as well."

"With an inspiration like you, how could I not?"

Nova felt another set of tears about to appear. He squeezed her shoulder gently. "We have a lot to talk about. But first—how did you end up here? In the church?"

Annelie's expression darkened slightly. "It's... complicated. They found me after my soul had completed. Said I had talent that shouldn't be wasted. I didn't have much reason to refuse, so here I am." She looked up at him. "What about you? I heard you refused to come at first."

"I was dragged here," Nova said dryly. "Sar, an archbishop, threatened me to come. I wasn't confident in escaping, especially not with Millie in tow."

"Millie? She was with the church?"

Nova nodded. "She needed protection. This world..." He shook his head. "It's not kind to children with talent."

"No," Annelie agreed quietly. "It's not." She straightened suddenly, as if remembering something. "We should go somewhere else to talk. The forgemaster sometimes checks in at night."

"Let's go back to my room," Nova said, thinking of Millie still sleeping alone. He retrieved his newly forged hammer and walked past her with a smile. "We have a lot to catch up on."

As they left the forge together, Nova felt a warmth in his chest he hadn't experienced in centuries. He wasn't alone anymore. Someone else understood what it meant to live multiple lives, to carry the weight of accumulated wisdom behind a child's face.

'... Thank god I came here. Figuratively speaking.'

Nova and Annelie sank into a plush couch in a moonlit corner of the room. Despite the silencing formation around Millie's bed, they spoke their old language in hushed voices, slowly dismantling their lives apart.

"After you died…" Annelie blinked slowly, likely affected by the late hour. "The city continued to expand, far beyond the borders you know. Your forging techniques were passed on to your supposed disciples. But none could match what you made for me." She smiled wistfully. "Those legs danced until the very end."

Nova returned her smile, hearing how his work did exactly what they were supposed to. He could still remember every part of them. "... Disciples? People who read my books?"

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"Most likely. They had some of your knowledge, and especially one was very talented. But as the technology grew more advanced, there was less use for the masterworks you once forged. Our survival was no longer dependent on swords and armor, and if they were, it could be made with machines."

"Such is the way of the world, I guess… But I'm very glad to hear the attacks stopped." He let out a deep breath, thinking back to the great battles he had to join in, even as a blacksmith. But it was a good thing he did. "And your next life?"

"Oh, it was… a complex world. Technology far beyond my first life, and very chaotic. It was every man for themselves. But… there was a beauty to it." She looked out of the window, lost in old memories for a short moment. "I actually had my legs replaced—"

She laughed softly. "Just because I felt like it, honestly. The new ones could do things your clockwork couldn't match, but they lacked the sentimental value."

Her expression grew more serious as she continued. "The third world was far simpler. Primitive, but fascinating. Everyone used monster parts to grant themselves new abilities and powers. I learned to merge beast flesh with human, became something halfway between woman and creature. The strength was incredible. Our tribe continued to grow, eventually putting me at the helm. I like to think they're still going strong…"

"Then came the void." Her voice dropped lower.

Nova felt his heart sink. The only time he ever felt completely helpless was when facing the void in his seventh life. A memory he preferred to avoid.

She continued, "I was born on the edge of the void and a human world, where reality was more or less stable. But one day, I was forced to flee inside the darkness, to escape the madness of humans. I used what I'd learned about body enhancement to adapt, to take power from the void-creatures. I was climbing the ranks of predators when... Well. Something got me. I never saw what."

Nova expected her to have skipped over certain details, but he didn't press. "I'm impressed you managed that much. Most would succumb to madness in minutes."

"You've faced the void as well?" Her eyebrows raised in worry.

He let out a heavy sigh. "Once. As a powerless doctor. I was the only one remaining in the end… But it's still your turn. What was next?"

She stared at him quietly for a moment, sensing his deflection. "... The next one was stressful, but I had learned to avoid the spotlight. An empire controlled from the shadows." A hint of pride crept into her voice. "Three generations of rulers never knew who really held the reins—why they cared for the poor, or how they avoided conflict at every turn."

Nova felt a sense of pride as he listened, but he didn't want to interrupt before she was done. "And your last life?"

Annelie's face hardened. "I was a divine warrior, chosen by angels to fight in their holy war. Turned out it was all a game to them—just entertainment for bored gods." Her hands clenched in her lap. "I won their war. Then I tried to kill them for their injustice. Didn't quite succeed, but..." She smiled grimly. "I made them bleed first."

A warm feeling spread through his chest as he listened to her tales. 'No longer the fragile girl who needed something to hold on to. From a damaged bulb needing help to bloom, to a beautiful flower, and then through several seasons of harsh growth…'

"You've faced every challenge without wavering, kept your convictions through seven lives." He met her eyes directly. "I'm proud of you, Annelie. More than I can say."

The words hung in the quiet room. Annelie's cheeks flushed pink, and she ducked her head like the young girl she'd once been. "That means more than you know," she whispered. Her fingers twisted in her lap. "So much more."

Nova studied her face in the dim light. "It will be hard for me to think of you as someone nearly as experienced as myself. I'll apologize in advance if I treat you like a child."

"No need," she replied, turning away with a hint of embarrassment. "I still feel like a child in front of you. But I do have valuable experience, if you ever need it."

"Of course. I'm very interested in the body enhancements you spoke of. I've never encountered anything quite like it."

"I'll be happy to share," she replied with a slight smirk. "But tell me about your lives. The New World wasn't your first, right?"

Nova confirmed her thoughts with a shake of his head. "It was my third. The first was on a complex world, and it's still the most advanced one I have lived in. There was no magic or mana or anything like that, so I used my fists and my friends to protect those I felt needed it. And then I created a cat shelter in my older days, when I was tired of it all."

Annelie smiled, almost like she could see his old form taking care of the many cats. "That sounds like something you would do. Ever the champion of justice, even in your first life."

He sensed a hint of embarrassment in her voice. "Our first lives are hard to compare. Yours was in a simple world, where all you had to do was dance and survive. I wasn't as lucky."

Her head bobbed from side to side, considering his words. "I guess… But I get the sense you did the same in every life."

"To an extent, sure. I was a lot more decisive in my next life, though. Born into a clan of assassins, in a world where children were… Well, not much better off than here. And my family was part of the reason. Luckily, I was the last one alive."

Annelie whistled, understanding the meaning of his words. "You did always have a certain edge about you. It's less pronounced now, though."

"Yeah, it was an unpleasant life. It was a good thing the New World came when it did… Then I fought in an eternal war for a while, was king for a while, became an immortal cultivator, failed as a doctor, and killed a god as an archmage. All simple stuff."

"Oh, come on! I need more detail than that! You killed a god?" Annelie leaned forward eagerly. Her silvery grey eyes reflected the moonlight streaming through the window.

"Gods should learn that they can bleed from time to time," he declared, to both her and the system, which likely didn't understand his words. "I only killed one, though. And I gave my life for it."

"That's still amazing! Then that's… only four years ago?"

"In my memory, yeah. Although, any amount of time could have passed before I was born. And speaking of, I'm quite suspicious about us both being born at nearly the same time…"

"Yeah, it does seem like an incredible coincidence." Annelie's fingers traced patterns on the velvet cushions. "But I think you might be the reason I started reincarnating in the first place. Maybe that's connected to our timing."

"...Why would I be the reason?"

She drew her legs up beneath her, a habit she had kept since her first life. "Do you think I met many reincarnations in my first life? And did they give me a part of themselves?"

Nova stilled. He had to admit she had a point. 'But then, how did I start? I kind of assumed the cat shelter was the reason, with nine lives and all that. I don't remember anyone that could have been reincarnated on Earth… At least, no one human.'

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