BIRTH IN THE WORLD OF AETHERION
Gray skies hung low, as if holding back rain that hadn't finished pouring out all its sadness. The city streets were dampened by the drizzle left from last night's storm. Smoke from vehicle exhausts mixed with the aroma of fast food and wet earth. People passed by with hurried steps, some busying themselves with their phone screens, others just trying to survive in a life that kept moving forward.
Among that stream of humanity walked a high school student named Rio Takazuki a quiet teenager with disheveled black hair and tired yet calm eyes. A dark blue school bag hung on his shoulder, worn textbooks visible through the half-open zipper.
He wasn't a bad kid. Nor was he extraordinarily smart. He was nobody special.
Messages in the class group chat were buzzing about the upcoming School Cultural Festival. But Rio's phone screen remained silent. Not a single message was directed at him.
He wasn't hated. Just ignored.
"Rio!"
A familiar voice called him from behind. Rio turned and saw a girl running after him, her light pink school bag bouncing on her back.
"Yuki," Rio greeted with a rare thin smile that appeared on his face. "Aren't you going home with Mei and Hana today?"
Yukine Matsumoto, or Yuki as Rio had called her since they were small. She was the only person who still wanted to talk to him without any special reason. The girl with short brown hair and big round eyes had been his childhood friend since kindergarten, though they rarely chatted now because they were in different classes.
"They're in the drama club, right? I'm tired of hearing them talk about boys all the time," Yuki laughed while matching her pace with Rio's. "Besides, it's been a long time since we walked home together."
"When was the last time?" Rio asked while kicking a small pebble on the road.
"Hmm... when we were first years, right? Before you became really quiet," Yuki glanced at Rio with a slightly worried expression. "Are you okay? You look really tired lately."
Rio shrugged. "Same as usual. Just... tired of everything."
"Tired of what?"
"Life," Rio answered flatly, but then smiled slightly. "But it's okay. We have a math test tomorrow, right? Have you studied?"
"Don't remind me!" Yuki groaned while dramatically holding her head. "I still don't understand integrals at all! Can you help me?"
"I can. But payment is ice cream."
"Deal!" Yuki gave a thumbs up enthusiastically. "You're really the most reliable when it comes to studying."
Rio felt his chest warm up a little hearing that comment. At least there was one person who still considered him useful.
They walked in comfortable silence for a few minutes, occasionally Yuki telling stories about small dramas in her class or commenting on new movie posters displayed at the bus stop. Rio listened while giving short responses now and then, enjoying the presence of someone who didn't demand him to be someone he wasn't.
"Rio," Yuki suddenly said when they stopped at a traffic light. "I want to tell you something."
"What?"
Yuki seemed hesitant for a moment, her face slightly reddening. "I... I'm glad you still want to talk to me. I mean, I know you prefer being alone now, but... thank you for being a good friend."
Rio looked at Yuki with surprise. It had been a very long time since anyone had said something so kind to him.
"Yuki..."
"I'm serious!" Yuki nodded with slightly teary eyes. "Sometimes I'm afraid that one day you'll just disappear without saying anything. You know, I only have you as a friend who really understands me."
"Don't be dramatic," Rio chuckled softly, but his heart was touched. "I'm not going anywhere."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
The traffic light turned green, and they began to cross. Rio felt a little warmth in his chest that he hadn't felt in a long time. Maybe his life wasn't completely empty after all. Maybe there was still a reason to keep going.
"Hey, Rio! Look at that!" Yuki pointed toward a toy store across the street. "There's a new anime figure! That's a character from the anime we used to like, right?"
Rio followed Yuki's gaze and saw an anime character figure that they had indeed watched together before. "Oh yeah, Rika from Guardian Force. Do you still remember?"
"How could I forget! We cried during the last episode!" Yuki laughed while pulling Rio's sleeve. "Let's take a look! Maybe there's a discount!"
Rio was about to refuse, but seeing Yuki's sparkling eyes made him unable to bear saying no. "Okay, but just for a moment."
They ran across the street, Yuki in front with cheerful steps, Rio following behind with a thin smile seeing his childhood friend's enthusiasm.
Yuki had just stepped onto the opposite sidewalk when Rio heard a sound that made him freeze.
HOOOOOONK!!
The sound of a truck horn echoing loudly, followed by the ear-piercing screech of brakes.
Time seemed to slow down.
Rio saw a large container truck speeding from the side, its driver looking panicked while turning the wheel and pressing the brakes with all his strength. The truck couldn't stop anymore.
And Yuki was still standing in the middle of the road, frozen looking at the big truck heading toward her.
"YUKI!"
Rio didn't think. His body moved on its own. He ran with all his strength and pushed Yuki hard, making the girl tumble to the safe sidewalk.
But Rio was too late to save himself.
CRAAASH!!
A hard impact hit Rio's body. The world spun in painful slow motion. He felt his body lifted into the air, bones breaking, warm blood flowing on his face.
"RIO!" Yuki's scream pierced the evening air, full of panic and deep fear. "RIO, NO!"
Rio fell onto the asphalt with a horrible sound. His head hit the wet road hard, and blood began to pool around his motionless body.
A crowd of people began to gather. Ambulance sirens were still far away. Yuki ran over, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Rio! Rio, wake up! Please wake up!" Yuki knelt beside Rio, her hands trembling, not daring to touch her friend's badly injured body. "Rio, you can't die! You promised you wouldn't go anywhere!"
Rio was still conscious, though his vision was getting blurry. He could see Yuki's tear-filled face, could hear her voice trembling with fear.
"Yu...ki..." Rio whispered in a voice that was almost inaudible, blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.
"Yes, I'm here! I'm here, Rio!" Yuki held Rio's already cold hand. "The ambulance has been called! You have to hang on! You can't leave me!"
"Sor...ry..."
"Don't apologize! You saved me! You're a hero, Rio!" Yuki cried even harder. "You're my hero!"
Rio's vision was getting darker. The sounds around him began to fade away. But he could still hear Yuki's heartbreaking sobs.
"Rio, please... don't go... I haven't told you..."
"Told me... what?"
"I... I like you!" Yuki screamed through her sobs. "Since long ago! Since we were little! I never had the courage to tell you! Rio, please, don't die!"
Rio felt tears flowing down his cheeks. If only he had known... if only he had known that there was someone who truly cared about him like this...
"Yu...ki... I al...so..."
"Rio! RIO!!!"
But Yuki's voice already sounded like a very distant echo. Darkness began to envelop everything.
The last thing Rio saw was Yuki's tear-filled face, begging him not to leave.
The last thing Rio heard was the heartbreaking sound of crying, the voice of someone losing the person they loved.
And then... silence.
Not a peaceful silence, but absolute silence. As if time itself had stopped to witness what was about to happen.
---
He woke up or at least, he was aware.
But there was no body. No feeling of cold, heat, or pain. Only consciousness... floating between soft and empty darkness.
Not like night. More like an empty space that hadn't been painted yet.
Rio didn't know how long he was there. It could have been a second. It could have been a thousand years. But the image of Yuki's crying face kept haunting his consciousness. Guilt and regret filled that formless soul.
"I didn't get to tell her... that I also..."
But something... slowly approached him.
A voice.
Not a human voice, but something that spoke directly to his consciousness. Deep. Cold. Straight.
"You are not forgotten. But also not yet formed."
"Your path ended in one world... but not finished in another."
"Your sacrifice was not in vain. Love that was never expressed will become strength."
"So, listen carefully, unfinished soul:"
"I will give you a new form. A new world. Not a gift. Not a punishment. But an opportunity."
"Awaken. And find a reason to keep living. Find new love."
Rio wanted to ask about Yuki, about the world he left behind. But his thoughts were pulled away before he could refuse.
"Aetherion..."
That was the last word he heard before the entire world collapsed into light.
Light touched his eyelids—warm, but foreign. The sound of rustling leaves and whispered wind greeted him. The aroma of wild grass and morning dew filled lungs that felt... new.
His eyes opened.
Blue sky stretched wide above. Around him, green meadows extended, surrounded by tall trees and the sound of a river flowing in the distance.
Rio or whoever he was now sat up breathlessly.
His hands... white, slender, and smaller. Long silver hair covered part of his face. He wore clothes like a simple thin linen dress.
"Uwaaaah! W-What is this!?"
The voice that came from his mouth... wasn't Rio's voice. Higher. Softer.
He felt his own body. His chest, neck, face. Everything had changed. He wasn't the Rio from before.
"Did I... become a girl!?"
Panic struck, but also an irrepressible curiosity. His body was light, as if more connected to the air around him. But there was no mirror. No answers.
Then, in the midst of his confusion, Yuki's crying face suddenly flashed in his memory. The desperate screams, eyes full of tears, the confession of love that came too late.
"Yuki..." he whispered with his new voice. "Are you okay? Are you safe?"
Wind blew carrying the aroma of smoke from the distance. At the horizon, only forest with very many trees surrounding the meadow.
Tears flowed down his new cheeks. Not because of the changed body, but because of deep regret. He could no longer return. Couldn't apologize to Yuki. Couldn't tell her that he loved her too.
"But... I was saved. Given a second chance," he murmured while wiping his tears. "Maybe... maybe this is the time to live more meaningfully."
Light footsteps were heard approaching. A small deer passed at the edge of the forest, looking at Rinoa—as that name would later be given to her—with curious eyes before leaving again.
She stood trembling, then took a step. Every step was a step toward a new life, toward the possibility of becoming someone more meaningful.
"This time," she whispered with new determination, "I will protect the people I care about. This time, I won't run from destiny."
And with that step, her story in the new world began.
...TO BE CONTINUED...