Your Promise | Shingeki No Kyojin ;; Eren Jaeger |

Chapter Forty-One

Rose

I tremble looking at Raeger's back, trying to comprehend what is happening. "What the hell..."

Raeger turns and jumps a little, confusion painting his face like mine. "Rose? How are you here?"

"I-I have no idea... The last thing I did was touch a flower and now I'm here,"

Raeger scratches his temple and closes his eyes. "Could it be a link...?"

"A link?" I echo.

He nods. "Yes. It's rare but there are links between the spirit world and the mortal world. I've seen only a few people pass through and others have interacted with links but they were not transported here... Maybe there's a pattern,"

"So that flower is the link to your spirit world?" I ask.

"It seems like it. You can't stay here for long though, if you do, your soul might not be able to return to your physical body," Raeger warns.

"Do you know how long I can stay here before that happens?" I inquire. Our time seems so rushed whenever I encounter Raeger again.

"I don't know but you shouldn't take that risk," We walk back into the forest to where the iris grows. When we approach the flower, I see my body lying on the ground on the opposite side of the flower from where we stand. "Once you touch the link again, you'll be transported back to the mortal world,"

"If my body is right there, then how come you can't cross into the physical world too?"

"There are barriers trapping me here since I'm not alive. Besides, I don't have a body for my soul to go to. As I already told you, you don't have to worry about me,"

Before touching the iris, I look back at Raeger once more. "I have a question before I leave. Have you seen my parents since you've been here?"

"I saw your dad when I first came here but I haven't seen your mother. I'm sure they're fine, they must be together in their own spirit realms," Raeger answers and reassures me.

I faintly smile. "Thanks, Raeger." I say and then touch the flower, blacking out as his smile is the last thing I see.

• • •

I open my eyes and bolt up from the ground. While heavily breathing, I look back to where Raeger stood and see that he's gone, I'm back in the real world. I get up and brush off the dirt on my clothes and rush back to HQ so that I don't get in trouble.

When I arrive at the building, I spot Levi outside the stables, longingly staring at a photo in his hand. I stay put behind a tree for a moment and watch him.

"Rose...Why does this new girl resemble her so much? I've lost Rose and Isabel, only to be haunted by a doppelganger..." The longer he stares at the photo, the more he crumbles up the edges by gripping it too tight.

I ponder for a moment if I should approach him but my gut tells me not to. If I try to involve myself with him, the more he'll be reminded of the one he loves.