Suddenly, the world exploded in a blinding white flash, then returned to darkness.
The young man opened his eyes and realized that he seemed to have escaped that dimension.
"Finally… but where am I now?"
He looked confused. After enduring all that torment, he found himself waking up in someone else's room. Inside the room was a fairly large bed—big enough for about three people to sleep on—a wooden study desk, a wardrobe that seemed to be used for storing clothes, and a mirror large enough to reflect a full human body.
The young man carefully examined the body he was now inhabiting. It had messy black hair, with a few strands naturally falling onto his forehead. A pair of sharp, slightly narrow dark black eyes stared back at him. His skin was pale, yet clean and healthy.
"This face is pretty handsome too."
He then untied the strings at the collar of his shirt, and the wounds he had suffered in that dimension vanished completely, leaving his body spotless, without even the smallest scratch.
"So my wounds heal if I manage to get out of there."
As he was checking his body, he heard footsteps approaching from outside the room, followed by a knock on the door.
"Brotherrr, it's morning, wake up!"
The young man quickly put his shirt back on and neatly retied the strings at the collar.
The door opened, revealing a woman. She had long black hair reaching her back, a pair of round black eyes, and a face that looked warmer than the male body the young man had possessed. She was wearing casual clothes—a dress with an apron tied around her waist. Placing both hands on her hips, she showed an annoyed expression.
"You're awake, Raksha."
"Raksha? That must be the name of the owner of this body."
The young man immediately sat down on the chair near the study desk.
"Sorry, I was just focusing on looking in the mirror."
The woman looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"What were you doing? Ah, never mind. I know you're handsome, but now it's time for breakfast. Our younger siblings are already waiting downstairs," she said as she left the room.
After she left, the young man let out a long sigh and stood up, stepping out of the room. He walked toward the dining room near the kitchen. At the dining table, he saw two small children who appeared to be twins—one boy and one girl—waiting there.
The boy looked similar to the body the young man was inhabiting, except his hair was a bit neater and his eyes were rounder. The girl had shorter hair than the woman from earlier, stopping just above her shoulders, and she also had round eyes. Naturally, both of them shared the same hair and eye color.
The girl glanced at the young man and puffed her cheeks in annoyance, like a child would.
"Brother Raksha, you're soooo slow! I'm already hungry!"
Quickly, the young man replied, "Sorry, I was admiring how handsome I am," he said while walking over and sitting at the table.
A pleasant aroma drifted from the kitchen. The woman from earlier came out carrying plates for four people and placed them on the table. On the plates was food that looked like well-grilled beef, releasing a delicious scent.
Once everyone was seated and the table was filled with food, the young man and the three of them ate together quietly until all the food was gone.
After the meal, the young man gathered some information while eating with the three of them. The body he was inhabiting belonged to someone named Mraksha Rajani, the eldest child of the family. The woman, who seemed not much younger than Mraksha, was named Afriani Rajani. Despite being his younger sister, she had a mature personality.
The twin children were also Mraksha's younger siblings. The boy was named Arsa Rajani—he was shy and soft-spoken. The girl was named Ilya Rajani—she was cheerful, active, unable to sit still, and always full of energy.
The order of siblings from oldest to youngest was:
Mraksha → Afriani → Ilya → Arsa.
From their stories, Mraksha learned that their parents were blacksmiths. Although their current whereabouts were unknown, the family's blacksmith business was still running under the care of one of their father's acquaintances.
Even though their parents were not at home, Afriani managed to keep the house warm, taking care of her younger siblings—and even her older brother.
"What a guy this Mraksha is, leaving all the household responsibilities to his little sister alone."
Now bearing the name Mraksha, the young man spent his time at the dining table with his siblings until the sky grew dark.
After cleaning himself and changing his clothes, Mraksha returned to his room, threw himself onto the bed, pulled up the blanket, and tried to sleep.
Although he was still confused about what had truly happened to him, Mraksha closed his eyes and tried to rest. Before he could fall asleep, however, there was a soft knock on his door.
"Raksha…" Afriani entered while carrying Arsa and Ilya, who were already sleepy. "They won't sleep unless they hear a story from you."
Mraksha smiled and invited the three of them to gather on the bed. He began telling exaggerated stories about how cool and handsome he was while fighting monsters. His siblings laughed as they listened.
In the middle of the story, a strange animal-like groan echoed through the room. Everyone suddenly fell silent. Arsa and Ilya clutched Mraksha's sleeves, and even Afriani looked anxious. Mraksha slowly stood up and followed the sound, which led him to the wardrobe. He opened it—and—
A small creature jumped straight at his head, knocking him down. When he looked at what had leaped at him, he saw a small, glossy black dragon, about the size of a cat, curled up on his stomach. Its eyes glowed golden yellow.
"A dragon?"
In the silence, Ilya suddenly shouted excitedly, "WOOAH! There's a weird black cat!"
"Whoa, a black-colored chicken!" Arsa followed.
Mraksha stood up, holding the dragon and showing it to Ilya and Arsa.
"It's not a cat and it's not a chicken. It's called a dragon."
Ilya replied enthusiastically, "WOOAH, A DRAGON!!! I don't know what a dragon is, but Kak Raksha is awesome!"
Arsa timidly tugged at Mraksha's pants. "What's its name, Kak?"
"Hmmm… a name, huh? Ah, I know."
Just as Mraksha was about to answer, Afriani rushed over, took the dragon, lifted the small creature up, and exclaimed,
"CHAYA! Its name is Chaya! Why are you so cute?!"
She jumped around in excitement like a child who had just gotten a new pet. The three of them stared at Afriani until she realized it, froze, and blushed.
"S-sorry… I got carried away," she said while hugging Chaya.
Seeing that, Mraksha, Ilya, and Arsa burst into laughter, teasing Afriani.
"H-Hey! Why are you laughing?!"
After everyone calmed down, they lay down together. Mraksha lay in the middle, his siblings beside him, and Chaya slept comfortably on his stomach. He continued his story until Arsa and Ilya fell asleep and were carried to their room by Afriani.
With everyone back in their rooms, Mraksha closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
As if he had already grown accustomed to this life.