White light enveloped my vision.
A moment later, it dimmed, and I could slowly see again.
Children ran about. Adults walked hurriedly. The faint smell of metal mixed with the blaring noise that pierced my ears.
My senses returned one by one.
A station?
How could she have moved me into the middle of this crowd?
I tried to recall what happened before this—the woman… our meeting in the darkness.
Wait.
I remembered our conversation. I remembered her voice. I remembered every single word.
But… how could I have forgotten her face?
I forced myself to remember. Once. Twice. Over and over.
Failed.
Instead, my head felt like it was being stabbed from the inside. My vision wobbled. My stomach turned violently.
Bathroom. I needed to get to a bathroom.
I walked quickly, almost tripping, pushing through an unfamiliar environment that I shouldn't have seen in my old world.
Buk.
"Ouch—"
"Sorry… I'm in a hurry… I can't hold it anymore."
I only caught a glimpse. I had bumped into a woman with dark red hair.
Damn.
I immediately walked away, leaving behind a protest.
Once I reached the bathroom, I entered a stall and emptied my stomach.
The sound of liquid hitting porcelain was mortifying.
"Ughh…"
Heavy breaths escaped my throat.
"Damn… that was too sudden… and it hurts. What the hell just happened?"
With trembling hands, I wiped my mouth, flushed, and then collapsed onto the toilet seat
Why couldn't I remember her face?
Why did that part feel like it had been deliberately erased?
It made me uneasy. And somehow… afraid.
A woman's voice suddenly sounded.
Soft. Gentle. Soothing.
Are you alright?
I blinked wide.
"Who?!"
I opened the stall door and looked left and right.
"Who? Where are you?" I asked, louder this time, making sure no one else was in the bathroom.
Silence.
No one.
The voice sounded again.
You don't need to speak out loud. You can communicate with me through your mind.
I froze for a moment, then slowly sat back down.
'Who are you? How can we communicate like this?'
I am the gift given to you. Do you remember?
Ah.
A gift.
'So you're the gift… I didn't know we could communicate like this. What's your name?'
I am just a gift. I don't have a name. You can name me whatever you like.
'Hmm… whatever I want, huh…'
Strange.
Amid this chaos, I was thinking about a name.
After a few seconds of serious thought, a name just popped into my head.
'How about Krystal? I think it suits you.'
I liked it. Then I am Krystal. I will guide and assist you on your journey.
Journey.
The word felt heavy.
Thinking of my current state at the station, I asked,
'Krystal… why am I here at the station? What am I doing here?'
You are at the station to go to Osteria Academy City.
Academy?
I furrowed my brows.
'Academy? Am I going to an academy?'
Yes. You, Alex Sander, are enrolled as a new student there.
Alex Sander.
That is my name now.
I stood and walked to the sink with a large mirror above it.
"Damn… at this age, I have to go to an academy again? What a hassle…"
I turned on the faucet and splashed water on my face.
Cold water touched my skin.
Skin that… was smooth.
I froze.
In my previous life, the skin on my face was rough, filled with tiny scratches, and scars that never truly faded. The skin of a man who grew up in the middle of civil war.
But now…
A black-haired teenage boy stared back at me from the mirror. Just like what I saw in the darkness—his black hair, his black eyes—still the same.
No scars.
No sign of war.
I touched my face again, confirming it was real.
Too smooth.
Too foreign.
'Krystal… how old am I now?'
You are sixteen.
Sixteen.
An age that in my old world was even hard to reach after a war broke out.
So this is truly a new beginning.
Or perhaps… a different battlefield.
"THE TRAIN TO OSTERIA ACADEMY CITY WILL DEPART SHORTLY. ALL PASSENGERS ARE REQUESTED TO BOARD THE TRAIN."
The announcement forced me to move.
'Krystal, where is my ticket? I didn't bring anything.'
Your belongings are in the white bracelet on your left wrist. The ticket is stored there as well. You just need to tap it on the train door.
I looked at the simple white bracelet on my wrist.
'This bracelet? It can store my stuff and act as a ticket? This world really is…'
Advanced.
For a moment, awe overtook my anxiety.
As I approached the train, my steps slowed.
The train was massive. Far larger than any train I had seen in my old world.
'Krystal… is this really a train?'
Yes, it's a mana-powered train. Its fuel is mana stones, mined and controlled by AI.
I tapped my bracelet on the door.
Click.
The door opened.
The interior was clean and bright. Two rows of seats with two seats each in sky blue lined neatly. White walls, each side with a large window.
I found my seat.
The seat was comfortable. Too comfortable for someone used to sleeping on hard floors or in emergency shelters.
The hum of the engine sounded, and the train started moving. Almost without shaking.
I looked out the window.
Skyscrapers stretched across the horizon, then slowly disappeared as the train entered a tunnel.
After a while, the scenery changed.
Mountains. Vast green forests. Open sky.
My eyes unconsciously sparkled.
'In my old world… views like this had long vanished.'
For a moment, I almost forgot that I had just lost everything.
'Do I have another gift? Or just you?'
You have two other gifts. The first is an artifact called Athika's Tears.
'Athika's Tears? What is—'
Before I could finish asking, a loud sound erupted.
BOOOM!!!
A deafening explosion shook the front of the train.
My body was thrown forward as the speeding train braked abruptly.
My face slammed into the back of the seat in front of me.
Pain spread across my forehead.
My old reflexes kicked in instantly.
My heart raced.
Explosion. Sudden braking. Screams.
Just like before.
I lifted my head, resisting the dizziness.
Groans echoed throughout the carriage.
The train stopped.
In the middle of the forest.
My hand clenched instinctively.
This body may be younger… but the world is never truly safe.
"Damn…"
I exhaled slowly, trying to calm my racing heartbeat.
"This is going to be troublesome."