While Luna was processing the memories, BaoBao noticed that the golden specks in her eyes started to glow which made her irises look golden instead of grey. Her round pupils were becoming sharp slits and her breathing was becoming irregular.

Luna? He called out worriedly.

However, he did not get a reply.

Luna!

Just as he yelled out her name again, he heard Luna's thoughts and saw the flashback she experienced.

 

It was the eve of a new year. She was only 12 years old then. 

Just as they did so every year, her family was gathered in her father's study where her parents would review their results for the whole year. Luna knew without needing to be told that she was the only one who made no improvements in any aspect of herself whatsoever.

Like she anticipated, her siblings were commended for doing well even in areas that were not their talents. Although her parents also commended Luna for being the most earnest, sincere, and hardworking one of them all to the point of advising her siblings to learn that from her, all she could was shame. 

She knew that they truly respected her persevering nature but she just could not stop thinking that whatever they said were simply pleasantries and meaningless comforting words. More and more of such thoughts stubbornly planted themselves in her mind. Her inner turmoil must have shown on her face because her parents came up to her.

"Luna dear..." Her mother tenderly held her face and tilted it up gently so that she was looking at her. "You've truly done well not giving up. We can only imagine how tough it has always been for you and it's not the end yet. We're really proud of you for that."

Tears welled up in her eyes. "How can you be proud of me when I haven't achieved anything?" Luna asked in a small voice.

"My child..." Her father began speaking while he gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "Each of you have your own strength and yours shine in a different way than your siblings. We're proud as long as you learn to capitalise on that strength."

"Remember the purpose of everything, Luna dear. Everything is so all of you can live proudly in this society and the upper echelon."

Her siblings approached the small circle and Desmond talked about Luna proudly as usual. "Who cares if you haven't achieved anything yet! Nobody would dare to mess with someone as serious as you. If everything does fail..." 

Desmond thumped his chest firmly. "They'd have to deal with me!"

When he sensed three glares on him, he laughed bashfully and quickly corrected himself, "I mean us."

Erica was the next to speak up. "If only you can see yourself through our eyes..."

"Luna dear, look up and around you. This is what I want to last forever."

Luna did as told and met their affectionate and compassionate gazes. Tears started falling out of her eyes. Her parents smiled and took their children into their arms to form a group hug.

"My children, live and make your mark in this world in your own individual ways. Let there be nothing that can ruin this happiness we have now." Her father encouraged.

"Of course!" Her siblings said with gust. Erica hugged Luna enthusiastically while Desmond rubbed her head.

"Mm!" Luna nodded with tears streaming down her face.

What did I do to deserve this kind family? Who am I to deserve their love? I'm just a failure who doesn't know when to give up... They're just too nice to me... I can't be a let down anymore than I already am.

And that was the last time Luna cried. She never stopped to think about her emotions anymore and never paid attention to her thoughts because all she could come up with were more questions that she could not find an answer to. She also did not want to be more of a bother than she felt she already was, so she decided to suppress everything deep down inside her. She would just keep doing what she has been doing and hopefully some results would come out of it one day.

 

How could I forget? I failed. I failed to keep the promise we made to our parents! I really am just a failure after all!

The buildup of tears in her eyes finally trickled down her face. At the same moment, she lost control over her body. She had been using every ounce of self-control to suppress the intense desire to go on a rampage but now that her emotional and mental state was thrown into a turmoil, her bodily instinct took over.

She punched in front of her and cleanly broke through what turned out to be a coffin that was holding her. The force of her punch blew away the soil that was in its path. The hole had not been very deep. She planted her palm firmly down on the ground to the side and hauled herself out of the coffin. She burst out of the now empty pit and sprinted off in the direction of the tantalising smell. The speed she ran at was far beyond what a human could do.

Luna?! BaoBao knew that she was not acting herself in this moment. There were so many thoughts racing through her mind that even he felt a bit disoriented by it.

While he quickly assessed whether Luna's life will be in danger and how he could help her regain her senses, she already reached the source of the smell. It was a pair of young children digging graves not too far away from where Luna had been buried.

Luna leapt towards them and was in midair when BaoBao's desperate voice rang out inside her head, Vanora!!!

Clarity returned to Luna's eyes and she took in a sharp breath as she was reminded that she had a task to complete. She was instantly brought into the present and her brain registered several things of her current situation at once.

The children were finally aware of her presence but she was already about to reach them so they did not have time to react. She knew that she had no time to change the course of her path. She was also aware that revealing herself to villagers and the angels now would be highly disadvantageous. 

Instead of tearing the children apart as was intended, she decisively placed her hand on the boy's shoulder to propel herself beyond them. She landed on the other side without a hitch then looked back to check on the children's condition.

The boy's now deformed right shoulder was clearly broken and his arm was left dangling by the side. His face was covered in tears but he had a fierce and stubborn expression on his face while he used his good left hand to point the spade towards Luna. He was clearly incompetent as he was trembling like a leaf but he still stood protectively in front of his younger sister who also has a face full of tears but was also gripping onto her spade tightly with two hands, ready to provide assistance anytime.

Luna's heart ached. It's my fault.

She gritted her teeth so hard she could feel her gums ache. Something in her nagged at her to eat them so that she could get stronger and being in such close proximity to them in her current state was unsafe, so she sprinted off and disappeared into the woods.

She ran as fast and as far away from human civilization as she could. She did not know for how long she has ran for but she kept it up until she lost all the energy she had and collapsed heavily on the ground. The speed she was running at caused her to tumble and roll before stopping when she crashed into a big and tall tree. It knocked the wind out of her and she laid still on the ground in pain.

After a long moment of silence, Luna finally opened her eyes. It was now back to her usual grey eyes. Thank you BaoBao. Don't worry, just the thought alone is enough.

BaoBao had thought of materialising himself in this world to aid her and hug her for comfort but he has learnt from the previous world to be careful. They did not know every power there is to know in this world yet.

Also... Thank you for earlier. You did well.

No... it's the least I could do...

Luna smiled softly. I knew I could trust you.

She rolled over to lie on her back and sighed. While she looked up at the tall trees that seemed to reach high up in the sky, she asked BaoBao for the original soul's wish.

The original soul's wish is simply to survive. With the strength and power you have now, this sounds like the easiest wish to fulfill so far!

...I don't think so. It may very well be the hardest.

BaoBao was puzzled then put in more effort to analyze Vanora's current plight. He realised his underlying assumption that Luna would know how to use her new powers and neglected the fact that she was now directly involved in a war between angels and demons. Ahhh... Sorry...

At least you realised it by yourself. It's fine.

Luna pieced together her identity and the original soul's wish to figure out who she was in the story. At the same time that she reached a conclusion, BaoBao also figured out who she was.

The random new demon at the end of the story!

Now that I know how I would die and where it would occur, I have to do my all to avoid that place and the female lead.

If you really fulfill this original soul's wish... Won't this be your first time living out a lifetime in a world?

That's if I manage to fulfill the wish. I need strength and knowledge to survive but I lack both. Luna closed her eyes and sighed again. 

When she opened her eyes, a determination shone in them and BaoBao knew that she was ready to take on the fulfillment of the wish in this world.

Let's start with finding some food. Hopefully it'll satiate this weird hunger.

While Vanora got up on her feet, BaoBao informed her. There're some deer up north.

She sniffed the air and found that she could differentiate many different kinds of smell in the air. The smell of dirt, trees, grass, flowers, the dense humidity of the forest air, and the different animals living in it, including the deer that BaoBao identified. With her keen sense of smell, she could also estimate about how far away it was from her.

She hunched forward and contracted her leg muscles in preparation to take off. When she kicked off, a deep imprint was left in the ground and it took her only around a minute to reach the herd of deer that had been 1 kilometre away.

It took her only moments to scan the entire herd to find the best catch and she leapt towards it. She easily landed on its back and simultaneously twisted its head to break its neck. While the body toppled onto the ground and all the other deer ran away after finally realising they were targeted, she flipped and landed neatly in front the dead deer.

She then focused on her hearing and could hear the herd running off into the distance even after a minute has passed. She could also hear the noisy buzzing of the insects all around her and the grass being displaced by crawling or slithering animals.

She stroked the fur of the dead deer then proceeded on to close its lifeless eyes. She quickly started a fire before effortlessly skinning and ripping the deer apart to cook it. 

When the smell of blood and raw meat hit her, it had made her stomach rumble and growl. However, she found that the more she cooked it, the less tantalising it smelled to her. She ended up only half-cooking the meat before taking a bite into it. The cooked part tasted bland and unappetising while the raw centre was the complete opposite. It tasted buttery and smooth and made her want far more of it. Unable to bring herself to eat completely raw uncooked meat, she settled with cooking the surface of it.