"In other words, you are the owner of the body which Rudy is currently living in, right?" Angelica asked with a knowing look on her face.


    [That is correct, but it was our body, to begin with.]


    "But you two are different."


    [No, we aren''t. It seems you have watched too many anime, Angelica. Your Rudy and I have the same memories and personalities. Nothing has changed. I can''t even call us clones.


    Of course, if we both existed in the same timeline in two different bodies, I wouldn''t dare to say that we both are the same. That would be an entirely different case.]


    "Let me get this straight." Angelica raised her brow and said, "You said that both Rudy merged when Rudy transmigrated to this world— which has already happened in this timeline, so doesn''t that mean you two are already one?"


    [Yes,] he nodded. [But then he time traveled to 1989, fought Asura, and our souls have divided into two parts again— which is me.]


    "This is… confusing. So currently, you and my Rudy are not merged?"


    [No. We won''t stay merged. It''s a paradox loop that can''t be solved, but the loop will break if we do something that''s not supposed to happen— Which is why we are contacting you.]


    "Why do you think I will help you out? If the loop breaks, there will be two Rudys."


    [Breaking the loop doesn''t mean changing anything. Remember, we are from the past that has already passed for you in the 2008 timeline.]


    "So you two won''t merge?"


    [If there are two equal forces in the same ne, one will automatically disappear. Once the loop breaks, my body won''t have any soul in it, and your Rudy will keep living in my body— which he is.]


    "What will happen to you? Will you die?"


    [No. I will simply be a part of the cosmos.]


    "That means you will die."


    [That''s not how it works. Souls are forms of energy, and my soul is a cosmic energy— which is the universe. Lord is born from a part of the universe, so I will be the power and will eventually return to Rudy.


    To be honest, it''s for the best that our original soul is divided into two parts. Had it stayed one and Rudy had returned to 2008 with one soul, his powers would have started leaking again, and the same thing as 1990 would have happened.


    Now that our souls are divided, Rudy will have more time before his powers leak. Until then, he will have to find a solution. I have already asked someone for help, and she is trying her best to find as much information as she can.]


    "Who?" Angelica asked curiously.


    [Unfortunately, I cannot tell you everything. If you let anything slip off your tongue by mistake and Rudy learns of anything he isn''t supposed to, everything will be ruined.]


    "Don''t you find it amusing why the original soul was divided into two parts and not three or more— especially when it had shattered into billions of fragments? That''s not a coincidence, is it?" she sharpened her gaze with a judging re in her eyes.


    [Indeed. An external factor was involved, and I have to find out who. From the very start, someone has been pulling strings, leading to a chain of coincidences. Nothing bad has happened and whatever happened was in Rudy''s favor.


    Hence, it''s safe to say that the external factor is helping us, but the question is why?]


    "It… could be the universe…?" Angelica mumbled.


    [I said the same thing to him,] Jessica nced at the kid Rudy.


    [I thought of the possibility. It could also be the Lord''s power. We don''t know, which is why I asked Nyxia to…. shit!] He covered his mouth, but it was toote.


    "So the person who is looking for the information is Nyxia, huh? That also exins why she travels so much around the worlds," Angelica smirked.


    Jessica shook her head at Rudy in disappointment and remarked, [And then he called me dumb when my tongue identally slipped.]


    [She tricked me!] Kid Rudy hissed.


    SIGH!


    He rubbed his face in frustration and looked at the camera.


    [I never knew you were this sly.]


    "Excuse me, it''s not my fault if you fall for my trap."


    [I think we have told her more than enough. Let''s do what we have to do and end this session. We are short on time.]


    "Wait, I have onest question." Angelica looked at Jessica and asked, "Who killed me?"


    [We don''t know. Mind you, this is 1999. Jessica died in the year 2000. Also, I can''t save her.]


    "Why?!"


    [If she is dead in 2008, that means I was unable to save her, even with my powers. Jessica will die regardless of what I do. That''s the turning point. That is a harsh reality I had to ept… yet… I can''t. When she dies… I will die with her.]


    [No, you won''t. You don''t have to feel guilty about not being able to save me. We will meet again in 2008 anyway.]


    Angelica lowered her gaze and uttered in a low voice: "But you won''t remember anything. You will be someone else. You will be me."


    [Precisely. And that''s where I came up with a solution— which is also the main reason for contacting you like this.]


    "And that is?"


    [Rudy will give all my memories —up to today— to you, so you will regain your memories of when you were Jessica. You will be me.]


    "What… will happen to me… then?"


    [Nothing. You will just get your memories back. Nothing will change,] Jessica shrugged. [Think of it as you had amnesia and you lived a few months without your memories. But when you get your memories back, you don''t be a new person; you simply remember everything.


    It''s like using old save files in a new device or a new version of the game.]


    "That… makes sense."


    [I leave the final decision to you. Do you want your memories back and be Jessica again? Or do you want to stay with no memories and live as Angelica instead? Give your answer quickly. We only have a minute left.]


    ====


    Thanks, @TheDNAlien, for the gift!