The sky was clear and the blinding sun was rising slowly. High towering buildings that looked like mirrors from afar adorned the modern cityscape.
Despite it being early morning, the streets were still agglomerated by workers hurrying towards their offices.
Walking slowly among the passerby, the still groggy Amanises held her bag even tighter than before. Her watch shows that it's 7:24 am so it's still not too late.
I still have time to make some coffee, I hope Hela refilled the milk like I asked her to.
Her vision, however, blurs more and more, and Amanises finds her foot stepping into a hole of the abyss.
Gasp!
Panic. Intense panic fills her mind.
The dreamworld shattered right before her eyes and that falling sensation was instead replaced with a desperate need for breath.
But no matter how much she wanted to inhale, her chest couldn't risk it.
It was cold and hot at the same time, her throat burning and darkness filled her vision.
She was drowning. She was really drowning.
Am I gonna die? Seriously, right before my promotion?!
When her strength finally returned a bit, Amanises forced her hands to swim upwards. She couldn't die here, this is not the end.
Splash! Splash!
Once her head was above the water level, the panic subsided a bit but Amanises' heart was still beating like it was gonna rip out of her chest.
Breathing had never been so nice.
What the fuck?! Am I still dreaming? It's so cold there's no way!
Fighting against the rising nervousness, Amanises swam to the shore. Her wet clothes clinging to her skin.
Where am I?
Question after unanswered question, filling her mind and slowing her panting.
She looked around in the darkness and then down at her hands, finding them unexpectedly delicate, which is uncharacteristic to her below average skincare routine.
And they're smaller too... Is this even my body?
Given that this appears to be the middle of a forest there was no mirror around and the red moonlight was so faint that there was barely any reflection on the water.
Wait, huh? Red moonlight?
She looked up and the scene looked like the start of an apocalypse. A red dot on the sky, no stars, and on one side the clouds were so thick it was impossible to guess whether they were clouds or cotton draped in ash.
Is this the peak of pollution? Huh, maybe I should've recycled that water bottle.
Trembling, Amanises walks through the forest, not minding the dirt clinging to her feet.
Suddenly, a light flashed in her eyes and a handful of officers, dressed in dark uniforms, holding a weird shaped lamp shouted.
"What are you doing over there!! Stop right where you are and identify yourself!"
They were speaking a weird language but Amanises, even weirder, recognized it. It sounded close to classical English.
"My name? I am..."
Who am I? I am Amanises but also I am—
"E-Evelyn... Evelyn Dusk." The name sounded weird on her lips, but it belonged there, speaking it was muscle memory.
"Dusk?" One of the officers questioned, taken aback. "You're a Dusk?"
What's so weird about that? Is my family some sort of criminals?
She swallowed her thoughts and responded, voice firm, despite her nervousness.
"Yes, officer."
"What are you doing all the way here near the Tussock river? Where is your residence?"
"Unit 21 Hope Street, Cheerwood Borough."
"That's quite far, what were you doing in this place at this hour soaking wet?"
There's no way I'm telling them that I tried to kill myself, that's way too embarrassing!
"I was... possessed. That's right, I was possessed!"
Back home, this would've sounded like complete lunacy, but here...
The blue coats exchanged looks with one another, then a younger looking one stepped forward and assured the frightened woman.
"I see, we shall accompany you to the office where you will be handed a change of clothes, after that we will contact your family."
"Thank you so much, officer!" Amanises displayed genuine appreciation for the officers, being in the company of an official calmed her heart, even if just a tiny bit.
"We're just doing our work, my lady. Now let's hurry, you might get sick if we stick around here." The man who was speaking, turned around and signaled for her to follow after them.
She pursed her lips and stepped ahead.
***
The walk to the station was unbearable. Even with the thick coat of one of the constables, it was still too cold and her trembling couldn't stop.
Why is it so cold in the middle of summer?
Once they arrived, one of the officers who later introduced himself as Cale Winston, handed her a loose fitting shirt and a pair of tight classic pants.
After nearly 30 minutes of awkward eye contact and a few failed attempts at small talk, the door to the office burst open where a somewhat busty woman shouted with a worried look on her face. "Evelyn!! My dearest, what happened? Where have you been?"
She hugged her daughter tightly to the point of near suffocation.
"I don't know, mother. I may have been possessed by something!"
The lie continued.
"Possesed? My dear daughter has been possessed? I cannot have that happen! Tomorrow morning the both of us will go in search for a remedy to this possession no matter the cost!"
Ahem! Mr. Cale interrupted.
"I suggest you pray at the nearest church, and speak with the bishop there."
"Ah! Very well we shall do that right now! Mr. Winston, please accompany us if it's not a problem for you."
The policeman looked quite tired, eyebags decorating his face, but his eyes traveled down the woman's body to her chest, so he cleared his throat and spoke again.
"No problem, may I ask, what's your faith?"
"The God of Steam and Machinery!" She exclaimed while drawing a triangular shape on her chest.
While all of this was happening, Amanises watched from the sidelines, re-evaluating her current situation.
I am currently in the body of a woman named Evelyn who tried to drown herself in a river. I live in the city capital, Backlund, of the Loen Kingdom. And here is my worried mother Veronica Dusk.
A sudden sense of derealization hit her like a wave.
Am I even myself anymore? This isn't a dream, the pain is far too real... Have I transmigrated? The setting is quite like the Victorian Era and from my memories Evelyn's family had an important role in politics... Maybe I'm one of those reincarnated villainesses or main characters of a novel?
She read many stories of this kind throughout her life, even her friend, Hela, had told her about some. But never had she imagined she would play a role herself.
No, this is far too impossible! I must've done something! Hmmm...
That's right! The weird incantation from that fortune teller!
Her memories of the day before came back.
Amanises and Hela had a day off and spent it together, at some point they came across a strange fortune teller which cited a strange incantation.
That's the only weird thing I can recognize that happened lately.
Of course, there could be another reason but it's not bad to try.
"Evelyn, let's go!" Her mother broke her out of her stupor.
Ah!
"To... where, mother?" She wasn't paying attention.
"What do you mea- ugh. We're going to the church and speak with the bishop, maybe that way your possession case will be solved."
Eh, that lie will do me no good. What if the bishop can tell that I'm lying? I can try the incantation when I get home then.
"Alright.. let's go."
***
Stepping into the cathedral Amanises was taken aback. The supposed solemn air and serenity displayed by regular Cristian churches was nowhere to be found. Instead, in front of her stood a grand building decorated with weird machinery and spinning cogwheels, which didn't serve any purpose whatsoever.
The bishop looked even stranger, wore a headband loupe and a tool kit belt.
This entire building looked more like a grand workshop than a dignified cathedral. Well, it was only fitting for worshiping a god called The God of Steam and Machinery.
There are more deities in this world than I thought, and They are far more different than the ones worshiped on Earth.
"By Steam, what brings you here at this late hour?" The crafty-looking bishop emerged from a room left of the altar.
"By Steam." Victoria drew a triangle on her chest with her middle and pointer fingers.
"Bishop, we're here because my daughter found herself near the Tussock river in the middle of the night. She claims that she was possessed by something."
Although her voice was clear and not stuttering was made, one single glance could tell how nervous and scared the mother was. Her concern for her only daughter could not be more visible with the naked eye.
Victoria was a caring and loving mother who couldn't be more proud of her doting daughter. She didn't force her to marry even though Evelyn was in her early thirties, and instead showered her with attention, especially after the passing of her older brother. When she heard that the young lady was found soaking wet and freezing near the Tussock river, Victoria's heart nearly stopped. She hadn't even realized Evelyn left her room, which instilled a feeling of being a bad mother.
Mother... Victoria, from the original body's memories, is so kind-hearted and gentle, that I'm starting to feel jealous. My mother wasn't bad at all, she was my mother after all. But she often yelled at me for not finding a husband or the smallest things that shouldn't even be acknowledged.
Still...
I miss my mother. I want to go back and tell her that I'm doing well and that I will try harder to find someone to love.
Amanises was not the warmest person but her heart was always in the right place, she couldn't bear Victoria's trembling so she took her hand and started caressing it slowly.
"Don't panic mom, I'm still alive and well. Everything is alright." A lie so sweet even Amanises almost believed it, however a lie is still a lie.
I have to go back.
Perhaps the real Evelyn's soul is still there, sleeping, and when Amanises goes back to Earth she will be saved and live happily ever after.
Another lie, one she chose to believe.