- So... is that it?


    He really wants me to kill him, just like that.


    It''s hard to believe, considering that we''ve already had a few interactions, but the conversation has taken such an absurd turn that I feel as if I''ve skipped several stages. Or maybe I haven''t paid enough attention to realize that we''ve reached the end of someone''s line. This doesn''t sound like a bad joke, and I doubt that a dragon, especially a primordial one, would joke about something so serious.


    - If I may be so bold as to question you... Even in this situation, and despite the suffering, are you sure that this is what you really want?


    *Don''t get me wrong. I wouldn''t allow myself to die so easily for any being, especially a human. But, as I don''t have much choice, I''d rather die for a potential heroine of your race than for anyone else.


    - Heroine of humanity... Talking like that makes it sound like you really overestimate me...


    Now he''s referring to me as a hero. It''s funny. It sounds like what the newbies thought of me back at the company, like I was capable of great deeds or something. In reality, I just did what I had to do, that''s all.


    *Or maybe you''re underestimating yourself. That''s to be expected, since you have no idea of your real potential. I''ve seen many like you, and for humans, honing talents takes at least a tenth of a century.


    - Maybe you''re right.


    In fact, he''s right. For humans, discovering one''s potential takes a long time, much longer than one might think. Before I reached the position I had, I went through a long learning process, gradually working my way up to where I was.


    *In any case, I feel we''re straying from the point. I admit, although you''re a fool, you''re good at the human tongue.


    - Ehe~~ But, with all due respect, now it''s you who''s being foolish. You didn''t even attack or threaten me.


    *Would attacking me change your mind?


    - No offense, but now that I know your condition, I think you''d succumb in vain if you attacked me. If you really wanted to die, you would have done it by now, wouldn''t you?


    *Grr... You''re right.


    He seems to realize his own vulnerability. Even though he tried to ridicule me indirectly, he recognizes that he''s weakened and partially defenseless. But I''m not foolish enough to underestimate him. Being a dragon, he knows how to protect himself and, given his “abyssal” type, he certainly has his defenses. As he proved by leaving the cave completely putrid.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    He really wants to get on with it... The idea of killing a dragon still seems surreal. But, like me, when he puts his mind to something, he goes all the way. In my case, it rarely involved another person.


    - Even so... Even if I accept the idea, how could someone like me kill him? Even unarmed, I doubt I could.


    *It won''t be that difficult. As you can see, I can''t even move like I used to. I''ve been hibernating for over three centuries in this place and, as you can see, I can barely move. But I still know a better way.


    - You know?


    *I have enough time to guide you once again. In your world, you may have heard something similar. In short, all beings exist on the basis of mana. Even if they can''t manifest it in simple magic due to a lack of understanding of their capacity, they all have their origin in it. All beings have an origin.


    - Origin?


    *As I mentioned, I''m the third in my line. Although I don''t have a direct link with my predecessors, we share the same origin, and as a result, I possess part of their memories. Each individual can inherit something of their origin, even without fully knowing their ancestors.


    The concept is very similar to the idea of reincarnation. In my world, there are religions and doctrines that deal with this topic, which makes me find it interesting that, here, they have a similar view, but in a more literal and less philosophical way. As has been mentioned, he ended up inheriting some aspects from his ancestors due to his origin, assimilating this with certain basic concepts, in addition to the information that was passed on to me earlier...


    - So, if you die, it still wouldn''t be... a death?


    *Oh? It''s interesting that your mind has simplified this concept, even though it''s more complex than it seems. The fact is that origin is a relative thing for each individual. However, as far as we primordials are concerned, even if our origin is destroyed, our souls are still preserved. Somehow, in a few centuries, we would be reborn, but with only one piece of information: we are primordial beings, nothing more. I believe that demon lords are the closest concept to primordials in this respect. However, unlike us, they remember their past.


    So, in fact, this fits more as a parallel concept to reincarnation... It''s not something completely different!


    - But you know, I died in my world. How can I still have memories from there when I''m reborn here?


    *Reincarnates from other worlds are different from reincarnates from this world. Because they have no ties to this place, their memories remain intact because their souls preserve them. You may not notice it yet, but soon your origin will be remade according to our world, although all your past knowledge will be kept.


    - So, even if I die here, would I still have my memories in another life?


    *I can''t answer that. I don''t know of any other reincarnated person who has come back to life after centuries, retaining their memories. That wasn''t something that interested me...


    It was a hypothetical question, not that I want to be a guinea pig. After all, I''ve only just come back! I don''t want to die again, dammit!


    But gradually, it all starts to make sense: people from other worlds retain their memories when they are reborn here, while those who are reborn in this world do not. However, their origins are preserved in their souls. Some manage to keep the memories of their past lives, while others lose their essence, only remembering fragments. But at the end of the day, it''s not about reincarnation.


    It''s more like starting a new save.


    Using a video game analogy: if I followed a single path to the end of my story and finished the game, it would be predictable. But if I decided to start all over again, in a different way, I would still know what I was doing, even if the path was new. It wouldn''t be the same in some respects. Or perhaps everything would change with a simple change of scenery. Or I could use past information to know what to do in a difficult situation on the new path. But either way, it wouldn''t be the same.