Bab 178: Ch. 177: A Rose By Any Other Name

Identity. An eternal question compressed into a single word.

What makes you… you? Nothing is constant about a person. Our appearance grows and changes over time. And so does our personality or persona. In the span of 10 years, a person could be completely unrecognizable from their past selves both in the way they look and the way they act.

It looks like Julia. It sounds like Julia. But if it weren't for her familiar, albeit slightly more mature appearance, I would not recognize this girl to be my dreadful half-sister. Yet I know it is still her in there.

But then again, did I ever really know Julia? Did I mistakenly dismiss her as a low-level goon of the final boss, Empress Katya?