Light rapidly faded away as the darkness of my thoughts began to swallow me. My face twisted in terror as I stared at the vanishing light above me. I desperately shout out my hand, grasping the light that he could never truly grab hold of. It was the effect of Alistair's hypnotic spell.
I was truly wondering what happened to my body after I got hypnotized. Would I be dead? Or my body is healed? Worse, I will be hypnotized by the mindless creature who only knows about sex. Now that would be worse.
As my consciousness still remained, I opened both of my eyes, and saw I was at the place I knew from the start. The Albatross household.
I was in my old room on Earth. I turned to look around my bedroom. A good seventy percent of it was occupied with bookshelves filled with novels, comics, artbooks, visual novels of all kinds and videogames. There was one window that faced south, and a bit of sunlight filtering through the lavender curtains indicated that the weather was clear.
Next to the window was a desk with an expensive gaming PC. There was a gaming chair by the desk as well. Finally, every inch of my room was covered with posters with hot anime boys and a display rack for all figures, many of which were in suggestive poses.
This was, without a doubt, the same room I lived in before I reincarnated in Andromeda, it was left untouched, I sensed the presence that this is one of the side-effects of the hypnotic magic, even when Plasma is not around.
I looked at the human-sized mirror attached through my doorstep, soon enough, I saw my old self. The same girl Roxanne Albatross before she reincarnated. I still have my black and silky hair and my old beautiful face still remains. I was wearing pajamas, awoken from my slumber.
I checked the current calendar beside the mirror, it was a standard lunar calendar with no exceptions. It was both nostalgic and confusing at the same time. Ever since my eighteen years in Andromeda, I completely forgot what date it really is, but it is shown clearly.
"February 13."
Then, a pleasant aroma of grilled meat and soy sauce wafted through the air. It was both nostalgic and tasty at the same time. I can already tell who's behind all of this.
"Roxy, Dear, it's feeding time!"
She raised her head up to the ceiling and yelled. After a brief silence, a pair of footsteps could be heard heading down stairs.
"Mom?"
It was pure English, I displayed a nostalgic face as I entered the kitchen… there were dark bags under his gentle eyes. I took a peek at what my mom had made while helping her set the table, and my eyes began to sparkle.
There was a forty-odd year old lady standing in the kitchen, an apron wrapped around her waist and her hair tied back in a ponytail. That woman, Celine Albatross, was busy skillfully preparing a meal.
"Awesome, you made skewers today. No wonder the house smelled so good."
My father, Albert Albatross, popped in with his two cents. He was a slender man with short, silky black hair like his daughter, he too had bags under his eyes.
Then, there's my younger sister, Rayne Albatross, who was running in the hallway of the Albatross household. She is very similar to my fathers and a striking resemblance from my younger self. She, too, wears the same matching pajamas.
"Roxy, Good Morning!" Rayne said happily
"Roxy" was the nickname that both gave my parents, short for "Roxanne" it was a common nickname that called me on a daily basis, even reincarnated in another world. I suggest my past nickname for better understanding.
The pair finished setting the table and eagerly did into the meal Celine had prepared for them. They stuffed their mouths with skewers and white rice as if they were starving men. Celine giggled as she watched them eat and muttered words of disagreement.
"No, I think dinner time suits you two just perfectly." I asked
"Yes, me two, Roxy!" Rayne added
As the two sisters were eating, the couples raised their voices while their mouths were stuffed with food.
"Well, did you two manage to meet your deadline with that new software update of yours?" Celine asked
"Mmmgh… Mmnch… Yeah, somehow. That game's really cool."
"Well, that makes it good."
"It better be. The future of my company is riding on that game. Do you have any idea how much we poured into development? I'd be out of a job if the game wasn't cool. Though I guess if I lost my job I could spend all my time playing games trying to figure out where I went wrong."
"Well, it's important to have backup plans to secure financial stability, so school's super important."
My father was a game developer from a small indie game known as Kitty Starrage Online, it is a MMORPG game that is similar to any role playing games. It is a high end fantasy game that requires deep strategy and teamwork that's similar to any other MMO games. Even though it is an indie game, several people loved it.
"Indeed" Celine replied
This was the result of having a father who ran a game company and a mother who was a pro at gaming. Their mindsets weren't exactly normal.
Then, both of my parents locked eyes upon me, I was embarrassed at first, bit seeing their kid expression. I can tell that they are about to say something.
"Roxy?"
While I gulped all the skewers in one go, I replied calmly.
"What is it, Mom?"
"Well, your boyfriend Marcel, did you prepare from his gift? Tomorrow is his birthday plus it's Valentine's day."
"Yes Mom, thanks for the money you lent me yesterday. Otherwise, I never bought that legendary collection."
"No worries, Roxy. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, right? So show him all your love."
Indeed, my parents were very supportive around my life. It was the best life I've been through, it was no different from that same life I'd endure during my time in Andromeda. This sensation, it's different, despite being a core memory of mine. All of them looked real.
But we'll, I'm glad Mom and Dad are like that, because it would have been awkward if they made a huge deal out of the whole thing.
I was of a more practical bent, though.
Meanwhile, my parents were having a truly absurd conversation.
"I'm starting to think our daughter has some emo boy tendencies in her."
"Yeah, she certainly does like emo boys."
Albert quickly brought his thoughts back to the present and gave my parents a glowering glare.
"Hey, hey, no need to glare at us like that. You're the one who added hot vampires to the game, not me." Albert said
"So, that doesn't make me interested in emo boys. You're a grown man, you should be able to tell the difference between games and reality." I replied
"True, you're into werewolves also. Especially demi-humans. I'm glad my daughter grew up to be a patrician of such fine taste." Celine also chimed in.
Rayne didn't bother listening to our conversation, she was busy eating her skewers. Despite being a kindergardener, possible at an age of six, she was immature on the inside.
I sulkily returned to my dinner while my parents grinned at me. They ganged up on their oldest daughter like that pretty often.
"I guarantee you'd party up with a vampire if you ever get reincarnated to another world. Just remember, attacking underage boys is still a crime. I'm sure even other countries have laws against sex with children. They've been cracking down on it in games here recently, even." Albert asks
"Don't just go around making your own assumptions. It's their genre, and isekai novels are around worldwide." I replied
Fed up with my parents teasing, I got a little testy. Realizing he went a little too far with his teasing, my father apologized while laughing.
"But you're a healthy young girl, so I'm sure you're interested in all of those fantasy worlds with swords and magic. Isn't going on adventurers with a cute heroine, falling in love, and finally defeating the gods that something you dreamed of, Roxy?" Albert asked
"That does sound like the kind of things a lot of girls would like. And those reincarnated into another world novels are getting pretty popular recently. Despite being in the Philippines, I can still buy light novels in bookstores." I replied
"Although that trope is popular. I wouldn't want our daughter to get reincarnated, though. What would we do if she couldn't ever come back." Celine added
Celine sunk deep in thought, taking the idea of me being reincarnated rather seriously. Both of them had an overactive imagination, which I supposed were just occupational hazards. I smiled awkwardly while watching them seriously worry about my potential disappearance into another world.
"I don't think I have what it takes to save the world anyway."
Albert wasn't happy with his daughter's gloomy attitude.
"You could at least pretend to be the strongest in your head, you know?"
My smile grew even more troubled, but I responded with confidence.
"I'm sure all I'd be capable of is making it back home. And if I found someone important to me, I'd probably just bring them back too. I might not be able to save the world, but I'd definitely come back." I said calmly
My parents suddenly brought their heads together. I shrugged my shoulders to hide my embarrassment before continuing.
"Besides, I only like other worlds when they stay inside books and games."
For once, my parents didn't bully me, and simply smiled kindly.
"That's right. Staying safe is more important than saving the world. But if you were strong enough to save it on your way back, you might as well, right? Hmm, maybe I should make a game that has a protagonist like that…" Albert said kindly
"Oh, that does sound like a good idea. Make it a speedrun option instead of an MMO game, I want to face some challenges."
Their creative urges got the better of them, and their conversation turned towards how they could use their ideas in their works. White I might sometimes lament that my parents only ever thought about their hobbies, I too was their eldest daughter, and started contributing ideas of his own to their discussion.
That was just another day at the Albatross household.
For just a moment, an image of my parents taking each other flashed through my mind. They were talking with each other easily, both of them thinner than I remember.
The image of my parents smiled a little, and it seemed like they'd back a little to their old selves… Or so I thought, anyway.
I opened my eyes once again, seeing the image of my real world.