Here we are at Chapter 6. In this one, we're featuring the one who granted Inglis' dying wish, the goddess Alistia herself. She was actually in love with her in the first place, so... I do not own Reborn to Master the Blade. They belong to their respective owners. Here's chapter 6. Enjoy.

Chapter 6: Fateful Reunion

It's the middle of the night in the capital and all are peacefully away in the land of dreams. In the knight academy, all students and staff are no exception. In their dorm room, Inglis and Chris sleep away, with the latter doing it less so with some light snoring. As she slumbers, a soft voice echoes in her mind.

"Inglis... Inglis..." a female voice calls out, causing Inglis to lightly groan in her sleep. "Inglis... come find me..." the mysterious voice speaks again.

Inglis finally stirs awake, "That was..." she mutters, fully awake now.

She looks out the window to the night sky. Quickly and quietly getting changed so as not to wake Rafinha, Inglis jumps out the window to find the source of the voice.

"Inglis... Inglis..." the voice continues as she moves ahead.

Now she knows this is no dream if she can hear it while she's awake. The voice gets louder the closer she gets. Meanwhile, back at her room, she forgot to close the window, allowing a cool breeze to flow inside and hit Rafinha.

"Brr, Chris... close the window... H-Huh?" Rafinha raises her sleepy head, slowly waking up. "Huh? Chris?" she finds her cousin and squire is nowhere to be found.

Back with Inglis, she finds herself at the forest just outside the school grounds. A part of her is hoping for some kind of ambush and to have enemies attack her suddenly. It would be great training, especially if there was a strong warrior among them. However, the peacefulness of the voice that echoes to her makes her doubt that. There wasn't a hint of ill intent in the voice. What's more, the voice sounds... vaguely familiar.

"Inglis... come to me... You're almost there," the voice echoes again.

"Who are you?" Inglis mutters, but she gets no answer.

However, she can feel that she's getting closer to the source of the voice. Moving deeper into the forest, she finally comes to the site of a small lake, the stars of the night sky shining upon its surface. It's a nice little scene, but Inglis doesn't care about that. No, what she's focusing on is the beautiful woman sitting upon a rock overlooking the lake. A woman with pale skin, long white hair and a gorgeous dress to match. She remembers this woman. The one who set her upon her path in her previous life. The one who granted her dying wish. The one whom she fell for so long ago.

"Is it... Is it really you?" Inglis has to catch her breath and stay calm.

The woman turns and her face is one Inglis would never forget, "It has been a long time, Inglis. I always knew we would see each other again someday," the woman turns out to be the Goddess Alistia herself, the one who reincarnated Inglis.

"Divine Goddess Alistia..." Inglis can scarcely believe her eyes.

Alistia smiles gently, "You look rather adorable as a young woman. But, even so, you're still as gallant as ever,"

Inglis slowly walks towards the goddess, "Divine One, I've always wondered... if we would ever see each other again, just as you once said in my previous life. I believed we would see each other again, but never this soon, or like this," Inglis stands before her before bending the knee. "It does my heart great joy to see you again, Goddess Alistia,"

"Oh, Inglis, there is no need to stand on ceremony. After everything we've been through together in your past life, you may simply call me Alistia. Now come, sit. It has truly been a long time since we last spoke. Let us talk," she pats a spot on the rock next to her.

Inglis gladly takes the goddess up on her offer. Meanwhile, Rafinha, Leone, Lisolette, and Rene who's sitting in Leone's chest, are out looking for Inglis after Rafinha found her missing.

"Do you think Inglis is okay?" Leone wonders as they look around.

"Please, she'd love to be in the middle of a fight right now. Besides, if anyone may need help, it's the fool who decided to attack Inglis. Of course, we don't know if she's even fighting anyone right now. Let's keep looking," Lisolette replies.

"Hmm, I'll bet she went this way. The less people around to interfere, the more likely Chris will be able to go all out," Rafinha surmises.

"Good point," the other girls give flat expressions.

They continue on their way to find their missing friend. Back with Inglis and Alistia, the two have been conversing by the lake, catching up on what they've been doing, though it's mostly been Inglis recounting the events of her second life.

"By the way, I've always wondered... why did you reincarnate me as a girl?" Inglis always wondered about that.

Alistia giggles, "Consider it a god's passing whim of comedy. It was all in good fun. Besides, being a woman isn't all bad, is it?"

"Well... I admit, I do enjoy sweets and looking at myself in the mirror when I get to try on nice clothes. Though, I can't help but feel awful when there are men leering at me with their lustful gazes. It made my skin crawl. I certainly hope I never looked at a woman with a gaze like that," Inglis sighs.

Alistia giggles again, "Well, I can hardly blame them. You are quite beautiful as a girl. You were handsome as a man in your past life, so I wanted to see if you'd keep those good looks even as a woman. And strong too, only now you've become stronger,"

"Yes, because now I can focus solely on mastering the blade. To see how far I can go as a warrior. Of course, there really aren't any weapons I can easily acquire that can stand up to my strength. Most break too easily," Inglis scratches her cheek.

"Yes, a strong swordsman, or swordswoman, needs a strong sword to match. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find a blade suited to be your partner in battle soon," Alistia says, coaxing Inglis to lean her head on her shoulder.

Inglis closes her eyes, enjoying the closeness of their two forms together, "I've really missed you, Alistia,"

"And I, you, Inglis," Alistia replies, stroking her hair.

"Are you able to stay for a while longer?" Inglis asks.

"I'm afraid not. I can't stay for too long. There are rules even gods must follow in this world," Alistia says, much to Inglis' dismay. "But, I can stay for a short period. During that time, I will remain at your side. For a goddess, a short time is much longer than you'd think,"

"I'd like that," Inglis takes her head off of the deity's shoulder. "Then I'll spend as much time with you as possible before you go. Who knows when I'll get to see you again,"

"Before that, I was curious about something. In your last life, despite all the potential suitors who came to you for marriage, you never chose a single one of them. You had no heir, so you chose a successor instead. I wonder, how come none of them managed to capture the great King Inglis' heart?" Alistia asks.

Inglis blushes as she looks away, "Well... because they weren't the one I wanted to marry,"

Alistia smirks, "Oh, and who was the one you wanted to marry?"

"You know, you're surprisingly more mischievous than you appear, Alistia," Inglis pouts.

"You didn't answer my question, Inglis," Alistia notes.

Inglis glances at her, "Because... I wanted to marry you,"

Alistia smiles gently, "I suspected as much. You know it's not so simple, a god marrying a mortal,"

"I know, it's a child's fantasy. That's why I never pursued you... no matter how much I-," Inglis turns her head, only to be silenced by the goddess kissing her.

In both of her lives, Inglis never thought that she'd be kissing the Goddess Alistia, whom she harbored feelings for even into her second life. Inglis relaxes into the kiss before they separate a few moments later.

"I didn't say it was impossible, just that it would be difficult, Inglis. But, if we are to... enter such a union, you would first need to accomplish things here as a mortal," Alistia explains.

"I'll do it. I don't care what it is; I'll do it!" Inglis declares.

"Hmm, that's just like you, my brave and beautiful knight," Alistia says.

"Um, if it's okay... can I have another kiss?" Inglis taps her fingers together.

Alistia chuckles before granting Inglis' request. However, as they kiss, they are interrupted.

"Hey! What's going on here?!" the separate and see Rafinha, Leone, Rene, and Lisolette appear from the forest. "Chris, I come searching for you, thinking something might've happened to you, and what do I find? You're sitting here kissing a beautiful lady!"

"You have to admit, she is absolutely gorgeous," Lisolette notes, inspecting the goddess.

"If I was a man, I'd want her to marry me I think," Leone adds.

Rene simply gives Inglis a thumbs up as a show of support.

"Uh, Rani, I can explain. You see, this is Alistia, and she's my-," Inglis stumbles.

"I'm Inglis' betrothed. It's a pleasure to meet you all," Alistia giggles, not helping the situation.

"Alistia!" Inglis yelps, blushing.

"Well, it's basically true, isn't it? You said so yourself that you wanted to marry me and make me your wife and I accepted your proposal," Alistia says matter-of-factly.

"Inglis! You proposed to her! Tell me everything right now! I want to know when you two met and started dating! Oh, don't worry. I'll help you bring my brother down gently so he doesn't do something stupid," and Rafinha is hooked on Inglis' love story.

Inglis sighs. She feels exhausted already. But when she sees Alistia laughing nearby, she decides that it's worth it. She didn't get to marry her in her previous life, but she'll work her hardest to make sure she marries the goddess she fell in love with in this life.

And that's the chapter. Inglis finally gets to be with her first love, the Goddess Alistia, even if it took dying and reincarnating to do it. The next chapter will be the last chapter, so stay tuned. Until then, please Read and Review.