I'm so screwed!
Throughout my entire life, I have always been the peak definition of forgettable. My looks, average.
My body, average. My love life, nonexistent. I mean, hell, even my name was forgettable.
Abel Klae. It was given to me by my mother, who passed away while I was seven, killed by my father, who swiftly followed her demise.
I was left to fend for myself, although it wasn't so bad since I lived in a remote village away from the capital.
The people were kind to me, and eventually I became a scholar's assistant.
Cant say I felt much then since I was so young, but the emotions I was currently feeling were strong and real.
Fear.
There I stood, looming over a fancy carriage now destroyed by God knows what.
Even worse, the youngest prince, Caelum Von Lyrien, was dead.
His body was splattered amongst the wreckage, along with other people, most likely his guards.
He was in multiple pieces, and his head was almost completely detached from his body. The sight was gruesome to say the least.
My legs dragged me back and forth, as I instinctively bit the tip of my thumb.
What the hell should I do in this situation?
I mean it's not like anybody's going to ignore this huge wreckage- or the fact that the prince is missing!
Snap! Pop! Crushhh!
I mean hey, maybe he has something super valuable on him.
Perhaps ancient family jewels or a keepsake I can pawn off for so much gold my brain can't even process.
Using my sleeve, I rubbed the drool from my face, as my heart sank so deep into my chest it caused my entire body to follow to the grassy floor.
There, the youngest prince of the empire stood, snapping his head back into place and reattaching his limbs to his body which was doused in his own blood.
His eyes, filled with unmistakable life, looked towards me as he flashed me his teeth in a smile.
Veins sprouted from the stump of flesh on his arm and wiggled their way into his severed arm he held near the stub.
They dug their way deep, as the flesh made sounds I never knew existed. Finally, the fear began to set into me as Caelum began to walk towards me.
Each step he took felt heavier than the last, and the look he had on his face made my legs try their hardest to rise from the ground.
My take off was swift as I ran for dear life.
A monster.
That was the only way I could describe what I had just seen.
Something had taken over his body and was now hunting me!
My feet flew off the ground as I was hoisted into the air.
My screams of dread filled the secluded area as my body was presented in front of the bloodied prince.
"P-Please don't kill me! I'm sorry! I wasn't planning anything and just got there! I promise! Please don't kill m-" My voice was cut off. Although nothing was placed over my mouth, it felt as if I was just gagged.
"Please calm down. I don't have any intentions of hurting you."
My eyes began to tear up as he once again showed his teeth.
Last time some were definitely missing, but now he had a perfect set.
Trying my hardest, I began to wiggle as much as I could, yet with each movement I made it felt as if the invisible bondages I was in squeezed me tighter to the point where breathing was growing more difficult by the second.
"Don't move too much, or else you'll hurt yourself." He added, "The magic placed on you is a simple bondage spell. The more you move, the more it'll squeeze you."
The lack of oxygen was finally getting to me as my body finally ceased its panicked jerks.
Caelum looked at me with his emerald eyes, almost pleased with himself as he waved his finger around my body, causing the skin sunken bondages to loosen up.
"Look, I know this may all seem strange, but…Well I guess it is."
He laughed to himself which was so disturbing I thought I pissed myself of a moment.
"This may seem sudden, but I'm honestly glad I finally met someone like you. The type who seem like they value their life, yet jump at the chance to better their life with any chance they're presented with." Caelum said.
His words only confused me more, as the reminiscent sight of him reattaching his nearly severed head back on mixed in with my rationality to think.
"You were going to rob my corpse weren't you."
His face was now inches away from mine, and we wore the same smile as before, yet it seemed more terrifying.
His eyes seemed to have lost all life to them, like an empty void that peers into ones soul.
He hopped backwards and began to wipe the blood off of his face, giggling to himself.
"Well I guess that's just what any commoner would do, although you do seem a bit different. You look around my age too. Well nevertheless, its your lucky day."
After wiping the blood, I lost my breath.
My eyes shook along with my body, slightly tightening the bondages.
Blood seeped from the sides of his face, as he dug his fingers inside.
His own screams overpowered my frantic thoughts as his skin sagged the more he dug in. My gut revolted against the sight as vomit spewed from the sides of my mouth through the magical bondages, leaving the rest behind as it reentered my stomach.
Slowly moving closer to me, with his own face in hand.
My body shot backwards into the bondages like a dart following my voice as I tried my best to scream.
The blood soaked skin made its way closer to my own, as Caelum's emerald green eyes looked at mine.
"Take my Life, my dreams, my hobbies, my habits, everything. What was once mine, now belongs to you. Make me happy."
My vision began to fade, along with the cold-yet-warm sensation of flesh being placed on my own.
A groan escaped my mouth as my eyes slowly opened to notice a different roof than what I was used to.
It reminded me of the scholar's roof I worked under, but fancier—like the ones you'd see in an old castle or manor.
I used all of my strength to rise from the softness of the mattress I was lying on, when a hand gently pushed me back down.
"Young master, please keep lying down. Your wounds have not fully closed yet," a soft-spoken woman said.
The blinding light that entered the room, most likely from a window, hid most of her face. Watching me stir around, she gently grabbed a lock of my hair and began to brush it, as the light from the window had finally broken revealing a soft and caring face filled with genuine worry.
After a moment, she rose from a chair next to the bed I had been sleeping in and exited the room, leaving me alone in this strange place.
The pain lingering throughout my body increased as I managed to sit up.
On the counter by my bed lay a metal tray holding a large bowl of soup.
I placed the bowl onto the counter and raised the tray toward my head, which was one of the areas causing me the most pain.
Trying my best to scan for injuries, the air in my lungs stopped as I used my free hand to touch my face. It wasn't mine—it was Caelum's.
My eyes, which had once been light brown, were now those horrifying emerald green he possessed, and my hair was now bright blonde.
It wasn't just my face; my entire body had changed.
Although I couldn't stand due to the pain, my height had clearly shrunk, and my body was slimmer than before.
The words Caelum had said to me before I passed out flooded my mind as I continued to stare at my face.
"Take my life, my dreams, my hobbies, my habits—everything. What was once mine now belongs to you. Make me happy."
Is this what he meant? Was I just the unlucky one who stumbled upon him first and got roped into this, or…
My head throbbed with the pain I had been feeling since I woke up, causing me to wince. The door swung open as a man in a robe sat down by my side with a clipboard in hand.
"It's great to see you awake, Prince Caelum. How are you feeling?" the doctor asked.
Right… I had become Prince Caelum against my will.
"My body feels heavy, and I'm hurting almost everywhere," I said, holding my forehead.
"Well, that's no surprise. With the state we found you in, it's a miracle you came back in one piece," he added. "I'll increase the dosage of your painkillers and try to get another holy cleric back here to seal your wounds more effectively."
The door opened once more, revealing a large man clad in armor.
He wore the family crest on his left shoulder guard, while a long cape draped over his other arm, hiding a long sword that poked out as he entered the room.
"Grand healer, is he awake enough to have a coherent conversation?" the man asked.
"Yes, he is. Do please give me a moment to speak with him first. I still have not delivered the news to him," the doctor replied.
The man's eyes widened before he closed them and turned away, leaning near the exit as if in pain.
"What's this news?" I asked.
The doctor's eyes narrowed, and his warm, calming smile faded as he flipped through a few pages on his clipboard.
"I won't sugarcoat this, Prince Caelum. You don't deserve it. When we located you, your condition was beyond dire. The fact that you're alive is once again a miracle; however, your life came at a cost. The cleric we brought from the Church of the Divine to heal you said that your mana core had nearly drained completely to maintain your remaining life force. Your body fought with all its might to keep you alive, but unfortunately, you won't be able to use magic as you were able to before."
I clenched the bedsheets slightly.
"…I see. Thank you so much for your hard work, doctor, along with everyone else who saved my life. I owe you all more than I can ever repay," I said, bowing my head.
"Y-young master! Please raise your hea—" the doctor paused.
Tears began to drip from my face onto my hands as I gripped the sheets even tighter, trying my best to keep my voice from breaking.
"I see you have a lot to process. I'll come back tomorrow to conduct a proper check-up. Until then, please do your best to recover."
As the doctor walked to the door, he whispered to the man waiting there as well. His eyes grew even gloomier as he gave a bow and walked out with the doctor.
I had come to realize that day not only had I traded places with the real Prince Caelum, but my mana core was also essentially useless. It truly was a lot to process.