Where am I right now?
It feels like I'm gasping for air… and yet, I also feel strangely at peace.
This feeling is just like...
That bath I used to love the most.
When I'd dissolve the lime-scented bath salts and sink into the warm water, completely relaxed.
Utterly cozy and serene. Right now, I feel just like that…
Grrrrr… Grrr... Rumble... Bubble.
Wait a second. The water's boiling like lava...?
What the—am I in a hot spring or something?
But I was definitely dying in the freezing ocean just moments ago.
This is strange. The sound is terrifying, but it doesn't feel hot.
KWA-KWANG!! BOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted. The sound nearly tore my eardrums apart. The earth itself seemed to shake, space and time bending around me as if I were falling endlessly into a void.
Normally, anyone would've fainted in a situation like this—but for some reason, my mind remained crystal clear. The thunderous roar eventually faded into silence.
And yet...
Though I still felt submerged in water, I couldn't open my eyes. Not even a little.
Am I dying? No... Maybe I'm already dead? I don't know. But my senses feel far too vivid for a dead person.
"Master!!! Are you all right?!"
"Guh, guh... I-I'm fine. Cough, cough."
Two male voices rang in my ears. One sounded like a young man, the other like an old man. It was odd. Their voices were far too clear.
Hold on. I was drowning in the ocean. Could they be... grim reapers or something?
GASP!!! Grim reapers?!
Without thinking, I snapped my eyes open.
A room filled with milky-white steam. An elderly man with a long white beard and a green turban lay sprawled on the ground. Beside him, a handsome young man wearing a red turban was peering at him with concern.
Who are these people?
And this room... It looked like something straight out of Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings. Did I die and go to heaven or something? And why does heaven look like medieval Europe?
The old man groaned as he tried to sit up, clutching his back, then flopped back down.
"Master, please don't push yourself. Let me handle it. You should rest."
The young man approached me. Startled, I flailed around. He leaned down to get a closer look at me, and I tilted my head back to look at him.
He gently tapped the glass between us with his knuckle.
That's when I realized—I'm underwater. I'm inside some kind of tank. And this man is looking at me like a child would look at a goldfish in a bowl.
Their faces and bodies looked enormous to me. Is this what a doll feels like when it looks up at its owner?
"Ooh... This is..."
The young man's eyes widened as he spoke in awe.
"What is it?"
The old man asked. The young one practically shouted with joy.
"It's a girl, Master!!! A little girl!!"
"What?! A girl?!"
The old man suddenly sprang to his feet with renewed energy and rushed toward me. The two of them began gazing at me in wonder, and only then did I look down at myself.
I had the general shape of a small human. But aside from my face, my body was covered in short, soft fur—like that of a tiny golden cat—and I even had a long, lion-like tail.
It was a little unsettling… like a hybrid between a feline and a primate, with a human head awkwardly attached.
"Ooooh... Finally... Finally! Kahel, we've done it again! Another homunculus! And it's a girl!"
"I'm so moved. All that effort finally paid off."
"When was the last Homunculus GIRL that was created??"
"Over a hundred years ago, I think. I'm not certain."
"Yes, yes. That child belonged to the great alchemist Zecharios, didn't she?"
"That's right. She died within ten days of being removed from the flask."
"Indeed. But this time, our achievement shall be remembered for eternity."
The old man wiped away tears with his long sleeve. Kahel, the young man, looked at him with mild exasperation.
"Master... With all due respect... Shouldn't we wait until we've raised her properly—at least married her off—before celebrating?"
"Silence!!! A homunculus is the pinnacle of alchemy—an exalted being destined to become a grand mage or even a god! What nonsense is this about marriage?"
Kahel scratched his head.
"Sure, but that only applies to the successful ones..."
Ignoring him, the old man lovingly stroked the side of the tank I was in.
"Let's give this child a name."
"A name? But don't we usually wait ten days...?"
"Nonsense! Words shape reality! Kahel, I have a good feeling about this one. I just do. Maybe she'll become a goddess like Ayla, or marry a demon king like Beelzebub, or rise to greatness like the archmage Lakis!"
"Didn't you say the same thing about the last one, who died before even opening her eyes...?"
At that moment, the door burst open and a girl rushed in, balancing a tray on her hip.
"What's going on?! I heard a huge noise!"
Kahel smiled at the girl who ran in breathlessly.
"Ah, Becky. We just successfully evolved a new homunculus. This one's especially lively."
"A homunculus? Really? It just evolved?!"
The girl stared down at me intently, and I studied her in return. She looked about fifteen or sixteen, with red hair and bright green eyes.
She looked just like a child actress I'd seen in a TV show... What was her name again?
I was tilting my head, trying to remember, when the girl suddenly screamed.
"Eeeek!!! She tilted her head!! You saw that, right?! Right?!"
As Becky made a fuss, Kahel wrapped an arm around her shoulders, clearly moved. The old man stroked his beard with pride. It was the first time I'd ever seen someone be so touched just by my existence. It felt... strange.
"I told you I'd make it happen. The last eighty days were worth it... Haha..."
"I never imagined that little tadpole would grow into something this cool."
Becky tilted her head curiously, her large green eyes sparkling. Kahel laughed.
"Ha! So Becky, do you finally believe me now? It's not a tadpole—it's a ho-mun-cu-lus! A being with infinite potential, the pinnacle of alchemy! In all of alchemy's 300-year history, fewer than seventy alchemists have ever made one, and in our time, only ten remain—including our master."
"To be honest, I used to doubt him. But now, I believe."
Becky beamed, and the old man's eyes flared.
"I have always been a great alchemist, Becky. You simply failed to recognize my brilliance due to your ignorance!"
With a smug smile, the old man once again stroked his white beard. My mind was spinning.
I... I had become a homunculus.
A homunculus.
A tiny artificial human created by medieval European alchemists by combining a man's semen with a woman's blood, incubated for eighty days in a special solution!
How the hell did I end up in a body like that?! All I ever did was watch a few anime about homunculus!
I thrashed about, knowing it was useless. The moment I moved, all three of them rushed in, eyes wide with wonder, like they'd just witnessed a miracle.
"She moved again!!"
"This one's definitely healthy. Good. Very good!"
The old man clasped his hands behind his back and began pacing around the room in excitement.
"Becky, what kind of name do you think would suit our precious little lady here?"
"Well, I was just baking a pie... So how about Pie?"
"W-What?! Pie?!"
The old man's eyes bulged. Kahel quickly broke into a nervous laugh.
"Becky just mispronounced it. She meant Pani. Right? Pani! So pretty! Don't you think?"
"Pani..."
The old man repeated the name, tapping gently on the tank. I couldn't take it anymore. Homunculus or not, I wasn't going to live in this damn fishbowl forever!
I tried to speak—Hey, I wanted to say—but only a soft babble came out.
Frustrated, I tried to punch the glass, but damn it, I couldn't even move properly!
It felt like I was stuck in heavy air, every motion a struggle. Even lifting an arm was exhausting. I could only open and close my mouth like a pitiful little goldfish.
"Excuse me. Where am I? Who are you people? Why am I here? My name isn't Pani—it's JESSICA! Please, let me out. I can't move. I can't speak!"
I tried to scream those words with all my might. Tried to gesture. Tried anything.
But all that came out was a pathetic little squirm.
"Uuugh..."
After all my effort, the only sound I could make was a weak, baby-like moan.
The old man jumped.
"Did you hear that?! She made a sound!!"
"I-I heard it too."
Kahel leaned closer, eyes wide with astonishment.
"This one really is healthy. The way she moves... and even making sounds before opening her eyes... She feels special."
He sounded deeply moved.
"With such a beautiful and healthy child, isn't Pani too simple a name? She's going to become a goddess like Ayla, or an archmage like Lakis, or marry a demon lord like Beelzebub! We need something grander."
"Like what?"
Kahel asked, and the old man's eyes lit up.
"What about Artemis, goddess of the forest? Or Valkyria, goddess of war? Maybe Moira, goddess of fate—no, no, that's not quite right. Aphrodite! So she may grow up beautiful like the goddess of love!"
"Ugh... Uuugh."
I groaned again, desperate to communicate somehow. But still, all I could produce were senseless sounds. I was going crazy.
"See? She's so bright and full of life!"
The old man said proudly. Becky, who had almost left, turned back with her plate still in hand, eyes wide.
It must've been bizarre for her too—to see someone barely the size of her forearm squirming inside a glass jar. Damn it.
"Hi there! Can you hear me?"
She spoke cheerfully, but I wasn't in the mood for pleasantries. My breath was growing shallow. I started choking, my face contorting in discomfort.
"Kahel."
"Yes, Master?"
"Increase the concentration of Apanera. She seems to be having trouble breathing."
"Yes, sir."
Kahel adjusted a gear on the device connected to the red hose beneath the tank.
Immediately, the water surged violently around me.
"!!!!!"
More and more water filled my mouth. I coughed, gasping, struggling in agony. I wanted to scream, to beg them to let me out.
The world faded into darkness.
My flailing stopped, and I went limp.