Everyone was at the biggest festival, held for three days every year.
In the middle of these festivities, a strange incident was happening.
The loud noise of a portal opening in the middle of the town was drowned out by the beautiful fireworks covering the sky.
The thing that came out of the portal was an ancient book, which looked like a prophetic book, along with a note.
The blue spirit, which came into this world as a messenger and a carrier from the unknown, soon disappeared into thin air just before the portal closed.
Now it was hard to tell whether it returned to its world or remained in ours.
Among the many people stood out a little girl. Her face, as beautiful as a fairy's, her dark black hair looked as if the night itself had descended upon it. Her pure lavender-colored eyes looked magical, and her thin porcelain-like body looked so frail that it would break with the slightest touch. She shined beautifully under the moonlight.
She was of commoner birth, but she looked like nobility itself. Her mother was a doctor and her father an alchemist. She had a sister four years older than her, Madeline. It was the most perfect life one could ask for.
Normally, black hair was considered a bad omen or, to be precise, a curse in other nations. But here in Alodia, people couldn't care less about appearances. And her lavender-colored eyes were so unique and beautiful that they captivated anyone who laid their eyes on her, as if by some kind of magic.
And I am the girl we were talking about, Aloya Henson.
Alodia was a pretty big and prosperous country. Its emperor, Jones Faraday, was known to be generous and kind to his people and the innocent. On the other hand, he was also known to be ruthless and cruel to intruders and criminals.
Alodia was among the five countries that were and still are powerful since ancient times. Among the seven existing countries, Alodia and Lidia held the highest positions. Alodia was famous for its high-quality herbs and crops, along with its large amount of magic ores.
Lidia, on the other hand, was famous for its mercenary groups and war equipment.
I, just like my father, had a talent for alchemy, but I chose to hide it because it was more magic than alchemy. Normally, magicians were respected more than alchemists, but I had a feeling that it wouldn't bring me any good to expose this to the world. I didn't want any unwanted attention. Everything started one year ago when I first entered this body. I am not originally from this world. I lived in a world very different from this one. Back in my world, when I lived as Ariel Roy, I was an orphan who never received any love from anyone. After leaving the orphanage, I tried hard to make a good living but was unable to succeed every time. It was hard growing up in that shabby orphanage. After graduating, I started taking life more seriously and tried even harder, but was still unsuccessful.
One day, I was going home after yet another unsuccessful job interview when I saw a beautiful blue orb glowing brightly in the middle of the road. Upon seeing it, I first thought it was my imagination, seeing how no one else noticed this "thing" flying around. Just as I was lost in thought, I saw a truck rapidly approaching the blue orb. My first thought was to save it, but.. what if it was just my imagination? But again, what if it's real? It will die just because of my indecisiveness. Does it deserve that?... With this last thought, I jumped into the middle of the road to save the blue orb. But.....
Even though I saved it, it was me who got hit by the truck. Just before my eyes closed, I thought, "I lived my life without knowing the warmth of a mother and now I am dying like this. God... My life really sucked until the end."
Just as I thought I was dead, I saw a blinding light falling upon me. Is this heaven? Am I dead? I asked, to no one in particular.
"My child..." I flinched upon hearing an unknown voice. "Wh...Who is it?" I looked around to search for the source of the voice, only to see the blue orb I had saved.
"You are the one I saved. I really thought I died without saving you. By the way, are you alright?" I asked without giving it much thought, only to hear a chuckle come from the blue orb.
"My child..." Saying this, it shined so brightly that it almost blinded me, then took the form of a human. He looked more like a spirit than a god, to be honest.
"You're a spirit, aren't ya? Um..." I slammed my mouth shut. "I…I am sorry, I meant—are you a spirit? Because you look more like a spirit to me than a god."
He had long, wavy, light blue hair which looked just like a waterfall. His face looked so angelic that it felt as if it wasn't real. He wore a white robe with a golden belt. His eyes were the vibrant color of lavender. He looked just like an angel.
"Smart, aren't you? Yes, I am a water spirit, and I was entrusted with the duty to guide you to your path. And as a reward for saving my life, I will give you a new life where you will have everything you didn't have in this life. So go live and change your destiny." With that, he pushed me with a finger into a deep and unknown sea.
Upon opening my eyes, I found myself in the body of an 8-year-old.
The world I reincarnated in was nothing like the world I lived in, but it felt kind of peaceful.
At first, I couldn't comprehend what was happening and thought I was dreaming, which led me to be wary of the people around me.
But it all started to sink in once I began seeing fragments of Aloya's memories. But for some reason, this little child knew noble etiquette like the back of her hand. Even though my parents and my sister Marie were nothing but nice to me, I just couldn't help but feel scared and uneasy around them. And on the other hand, my memories or, to be precise, all of Aloya's memories were yet to come back to me. So it was hard to tell if they were really this nice to the real Aloya. Was Aloya really happy, or was it just an act? I don't know the answer to it yet, but I am sure to find out.
"My child, can you hear me? I have something to say to you. Wake up, you pretty soul!"
"Hmmm.... Who is this?"
"My child, do you not remember me?"
I tried to open my eyes, but they felt so heavy that I struggled to keep them open. Once I was fully conscious, I saw the water spirit I had met last time. "Oh, you are that handsome spirit that pushed me into this world."
"Hahahaha, I see you remember me. But there is something more than this. I came here to give a warning: Don't trust anyone too soon. Don't be fooled by their sweet appearances and talks, and trust your instinct."
With that, he started to disappear. "Wait, what do you mean by that?"
"We will meet again soon" he said after disappearing with a gust of wind.
"Hah hah hah (gasping)" It's the same feeling again, like this dream was important but I don't quite remember what it was all about.
"Aloya, darling, are you ready? We need to hurry" my mom said in a hurried yet sweet tone.
Today we were going to the town. It is said that there is a big festival in town today which is going to last three days. This festival happens only once every three years, that's why it is extremely famous.