Waking up shouldn't feel like drowning.
But it did.
Zanya—no, Anya—shot upright in bed with a gasp that tore her lungs open. The world hit her all at once: too bright, too loud, too sharp. The ceiling fan hummed like an engine; sunlight stabbed through the blinds; the weight of air itself felt wrong, thick, buzzing beneath her skin.
Her skull throbbed like someone had poured molten metal behind her eyes.
She grabbed fistfuls of the sheets, panting.
"Reincarnation lag," she whispered without meaning to. The words felt familiar and foreign all at once.
Another wave hit—like someone flipping through memories so fast the pages burned. Her childhood in Monterey. Her father teaching her to swim. The quiet, steady life of a marine biologist. The truck. The water.
And layered underneath it—
Zanya Bennett.
Memories that weren't hers.
A life she hadn't lived but now belonged to.
'Too much. Too fast.'
She stumbled out of bed and nearly tripped over her own legs, catching herself against the wall as the room spun. The house was huge, glossy, expensive—classic Bennett wealth—but the details slid in and out of focus.
Her heartbeat thundered.
She forced herself toward the nearest mirror.
The girl who stared back wasn't Anya French.
Dark, wavy hair that fell in soft layers past her shoulders.
Warm brown eyes.
A strong jaw softened by youth.
Olive skin kissed by sun.
If the Zane Bennet from canon was born a girl this is what he'd look like.
She touched her cheek. The reflection touched back.
"Oh my god," she breathed. "It's real."
Her stomach dropped, a mix of awe and grief and disbelief crashing together. She pressed both palms to the counter and closed her eyes.
"I'm… Zanya Bennett. I'm actually—"
A sharp electronic chime cut through the room.
Then another.
Then the world froze for half a heartbeat as iridescent text flickered into existence in the air, like holograms made of moonlight.
[SYSTEM BOOT COMPLETE]
[Welcome, Anya French → Reincarnated Identity: ZANYA BENNETT]
[World Type: Hybrid AU of H2O: Just Add Water and spinoffs (Modern + Ocean Magic + Atlantis Variant)
Survival Priority: HIGH]
Her breath hitched.
A System. A real one.
More prompts fluttered down like falling petals:
[STARTING ASSETS CONVERTED]
]300,000 SC added]
[(Conversion Source: Anya French estate, research accounts, personal savings.)]
She let out a shaky laugh.
"Wow. So I died rich, I guess."
Another screen bloomed open:
[FREE STARTER PACK ACQUIRED:
-Infinity Nikki — Basic Wardrobe (Statless)
Simple modern outfits. Auto-adjusts to aesthetic.
-Animal Crossing — Pocket Inventory (20 Slots)
(Warning: 20-slot limit unless upgraded.)
-Tolkien Trait: Sea-Favored (Minor)
Subtle intuition near bodies of water
Faster comfort adjustment to aquatic environments
-Voltron Trait: Quintessence Sensitivity (Dormant)
Becomes active under conditions of high emotional or magical pressure.]
The migraine ebbed, replaced by a soft hum under her skin—like the world was sharpening around her, aligning to her presence.
Zanya pushed herself upright.
"Okay," she whispered. "Okay. I can work with this. Stay out of canon. No Mako moon pool. No accidental mermaid-ing. Easy."
But the moment she said it, her chest tightened. After all the ocean had always called to her and it was even stronger now.
A tug—like invisible fingers closing gently around her ribs.
A pull toward the east.
Toward water.
The System pinged again.
[PURCHASE MENU — QUICK BUY]
[Auto Spent: 14,000 SC]
[- Animal Crossing: Portable DIY Workbench — 2,000 SC
Craft items on the go. Auto-folds into 1 inventory slot.
- Infinity Nikki: Swimlight Ensemble — 12,000 SC
Lightweight swimwear that improves underwater movement.
Stats: Grace +1 | Movement Speed +1 (water only)
A soft, fabric-like shimmer rippled across her bed where the outfit materialized. She would look at it later—right now, her hands were shaking too much.
"Don't do that again. I need to decide for myself what to buy." She sternly told the system.
A wave of exhaustion washed over her out of nowhere.
"Why am I—"
The world blurred, and she collapsed onto the bed.
Not unconscious.
Not dreaming.
Something between.
Dark water spread beneath her feet.
Moonlight dripped from above like liquid silver.
And in the distance—
A whisper.
Not words.
Not yet.
Just warmth,
longing,
and the heavy, aching pressure of moonlight.
She shivered.
"Who's there…?"
The water glowed softly.
A breath.
A pulse.
A single word, carried on a voice as old as tide and time:
"Saltborn…"
Zanya jerked awake, heart pounding, skin prickling with cold.
The System flickered once, as if startled.
And somewhere far beneath the ocean, something enormous opened its eyes.