Huff... Huff... Huff...
A middle-aged man was lying on the snowy ground, his body utterly broken as blood poured from him, covering the white snow in crimson red.
The middle-aged man was barely breathing. He was forcefully exhaling the air in his lungs; his breath was ragged and harsh.
His dark eyes, that seemed devoid of emotion, were now bloodshot red, their brightness slowly fading.
Is this… dying? The thought stirred something strange in him. He had always believed that he would gladly accept death. And yet, now, at the very edge of it, he struggled for every second, with desperate breath.
Cough...
Blood spurted from his mouth, trailing down across his lips and chin in thick streaks.
The middle-aged man's breaths slowly grew shallower, his limbs had already given out, as the silent snowflakes slowly drifted down onto his dying face.
"Ah… so this is how it ends. Is this what they call punishment... for being the villain? I thought it would be worse. But it's just… quiet. I don't feel regret. I don't feel fear. I don't feel anything. I guess it doesn't matter after all. In the end, the result is the same. Whether it's good or evil, everyone dies..."
He slowly closed his eyes as his vision faded to darkness. His mind continued to race, recalling every second of his life, until the images stopped at the silhouette of a smiling old woman.
"Who are you...?"
The light in his eyes dimmed completely, fading into absolute blackness. The middle-aged man stopped moving.
***
The next thing before him was nothingness, not a single thing — absolute darkness was everywhere.
No feeling. No sound or light. There was nothing at all. Just an infinite, silent darkness that stretched on forever, a loneliness so complete it consumed even the memory of what it meant to not be alone.
Is this death? Is this all there is? No punishment from god, no heaven or hell?
The thought barely formed before—
A strange, white-colored aura emerged out of nothing from the darkness.
In an instant—
It was dark again, but this time, it felt very different from before. He suddenly felt something, a numb, cold, and heavy sensation, especially around his neck.
He quickly took a deep breath, as if it were his first breath ever. The feeling was strange. He realized he could move his limbs, but they were numb and weak. He barely managed to move the tip of his finger.
_Am I still alive?_ he thought to himself. This time, his thoughts were much clearer, and his head didn't hurt as much as it had before.
He slowly moved his eyelid, opening his eyes as an unfamiliar glimmering light made them sensitive, as if it were his first time seeing. His vision was hazy, and it took him a couple of moments to focus and figure out where he was.
The lights were dim, the floor was cold, and a strangely shaped collar was tightly locked around his neck.
He was very puzzled until he looked at his hands. They weren't his muscular adult hands; instead, they were small, malnourished, and looked very weak.
_Huh? Where am I?_
Questions flooded his mind, one after another, each more urgent than the last. What happened? Didn't I die? Why am I a child? Where is this place? Who put this collar on me? Is this real, or am I dreaming?
Before he could make sense of anything, he heard something — footsteps. Soft at first, then growing louder, closer.
He froze.
The footsteps stopped just outside his line of sight. A figure appeared behind his head, it was a young girl, no older than ten or eleven, with long black hair that fell past her shoulders. Her clothes were ragged, torn at the edges and dirty, and her face was gaunt, smudged with dirt.
As soon as her eyes met his, they widened.
"Lainus!" she screamed softly, her voice weak and tired.
She rushed toward him, dropping to her knees and throwing her arms around him. Her grip was tight, desperate, as if she'd been waiting forever for this moment.
Then she cried.
"Lainus... you're finally awake!" Her voice cracked, muffled against his shoulder. Tears soaked through the thin fabric of whatever he was wearing. "I thought... I thought you were going to die..."
He was still laying on the cold ground, stunned, unable to move or respond.
_Lainus? What does Lainus mean?_
He tried to speak, to ask her who she was, where he was, but his mouth was too dry. His tongue felt thick and useless. No sound came out, only a faint rasp.
She realized that. Without hesitation, she reached into her ragged clothes and pulled out a small, dented water canteen that had been hidden against her belly. She uncorked it quickly and brought it to his lips.
"Drink." she whispered.
He drank greedily, the water was cold and sharp against his parched throat. It hurt going down, but he didn't care. He gulped it desperately with young girl's help, holding the canteen until it was empty, then gasped for air, his chest heaving.
The girl pulled back the canteen, giving him space to catch his breath as she wiped her face with the back of her hand, trying to clear away the tears.
"Are you okay?" She sniffled, her eyes red and swollen. "You've been unconscious since Master Vek hit you with his cane. You weren't breathing earlier... I thought you were dead."
Master Vek? Cane?
He tried to process her words, but nothing made sense. Who was Master Vek? Why would someone hit a child with a cane?
Then, without warning, something stirred in his mind.
Memories.
Not his memories. Someone else's.
A young boy with black-hair and hazel eyes. A peaceful village. Then fire. Screaming. Houses burning. Men in armor dragging children away. A collar snapping shut around a small neck. Pain. Hunger. Fear.
The memories came fast, too fast, crashing into his mind like a flood he couldn't control.
He felt like his head would explode from the pain.
"Ah—!" He clutched his head with both hands, his small fingers digging into his scalp as the memories surged through him, relentless and overwhelming.
"Lainus!" The petite girl's voice was panicked. She grabbed his shoulders, shaking him gently. "What's wrong? Are you hurt? Talk to me!"
The pain lasted only moments, but it felt like hours. Then, slowly, it began to fade, as if it had never happened. The memories settled, becoming clearer, more organized. He could recall them now — he was inside the body of an eleven-year-old boy. He saw all of the boy's life, his experiences, his language, and in those passing moments, everything was fully integrated into his own memories.
_Lainus. That was his name. This body's original owner died from that cane hit on his head._
_And it seems I'm in a world different from Earth. It appears to have special species that I've never seen before, with some people possessing superhuman abilities, like being able to cut trees with their fingertips alone..._
He took a shaky breath and lowered his hands. The petite girl was staring at him, wide-eyed and terrified.
'So, this is Lainus' twin sister, Tia. The slavers took her with them when they destroyed their village. Ugh... There are still many things that are unclear—it's all so blurry. What is this Spiritual Core that keeps appearing in Lainus memories?'
"Lainus?" Tia looked on in confusion as she noticed her brother's strange behavior.
The boy blinked a few times at her, slipping back into deep thought. 'I might as well act as her brother to gather more information about this world. Maybe it will help me recall more of his memories...'
He opened his mouth and tried to form words in this new, unfamiliar language. His tongue stumbled over the sounds, awkward and clumsy.
"I-I'm... f-fine..."
"Really? I'm really concerned about you..." Tia's voice was hesitant, uncertain. She looked at his face carefully, her brow furrowed. "Your eyes... they seem very gloomy today. Are you sick or something?"
She had noticed it the moment he woke up. Her brother's bright and warm hazel eyes weren't the same anymore. They had darkened, almost black now, and their brightness was completely gone. What remained were terrifying, emotionless eyes that made her shiver every time she looked at them.
The boy forced a smile, trying to make it look convincing, as if he were genuinely happy.
"Tia, I'm really fine. It's just... I have a small headache. Maybe I slept too much."
His tone was gentle, reassuring. She seemed convinced by his acting, but the worry in her eyes didn't fade. She opened her mouth slightly, about to press him further, when—
_Clang! Clang! Clang!_
A loud bell rang through the silent room, echoing off the stone walls.
"Oh, look, it's food time!" The boy said quickly, relief flickering across his face. "Let's go grab our food. I'm very hungry."
At the mention of food, Tia's stomach let out a loud, embarrassing growl. Her face flushed red, and she looked down, mortified.
But the hunger was real. She had forgotten about questioning him. All she could think about now was food.
"Um... let's go, Lainus. I'm very hungry too." She tried to brighten up, forcing a small smile as she reached for his hands, helping him stand. His legs were still numb and unsteady, and he leaned on her for support.
As they moved toward the iron bars in front of them, the boy's mind was already calculating and preparing for this strange world.
_So I'm not dead anymore? Huh.. Strangely, I don't feel anything, even though I just died and was suddenly transported to this new world. Maybe it's because of the surge of Lainus's memories flooding my mind, making me numb to everything here. Or maybe it's just my own indifference toward everything that isn't me. Well, it doesn't matter anyway. I'm fine with whatever happens, as long as I'm alive. I guess from now on, I'm Lainus.'_