chapter 1:the first mystery

---

"Shit!"

"Why is my side hurting like this?"

"I don't remember hitting anything, so why does it hurt so much? Maybe it has something to do with my kidney?"

"Maybe it was because of the amount of beer I drank today."

Grabbing his side, Leon walked to his front door. He reached into his bag, pulling out his keys. After rifling through the bunch, he found the right one. Unlocking the door, he went straight to his room.

After taking a bath, he collapsed onto his bed, still feeling the sharp pain in his side.

"Why is my side hurting so much? It's not like I'm getting old. I'm only twenty-three."

He thought about it as he drifted into a deep sleep, but for some reason, the pain didn't stop—it only got worse. Leon couldn't handle it any longer and jumped awake.

The sight before him was like a nightmare. He was lying in a pool of blood, with a stab wound in his left side.

"Ahh! F**k!!"

"Shit!!!"

Leon began inspecting the wound. "Huh, it's not bleeding? And it looks like it's already healed—like it's been there for a long time."

"So, where did all this blood come from?" Leon asked as he touched the blood on the floor.

"It's already dried up. It seems like I've been out for about a week."

He flipped the carpet over to look underneath it and found that the blood had stained the wood beneath.

After getting up from the blood-soaked floor, he glanced around the room.

"What? Where am I? This isn't my room."

The place looked like a room from a medieval European home, with swords hanging on the wall, a canopy bed, and an old, beaten-up table with a book on it. Beside the table was a mirror.

"Huh, is that a book?"

Walking toward the table, he wiped his bloodstained hands and picked up the book. As he flipped through it, strange writing was etched on the pages. It seemed like a language he couldn't understand, yet somehow, he could read it.

"I HAVE FOUND THE TRUTH. THEY WILL FIND ME," the words said in big, bold letters.

"Huh, the truth? What does that mean?"

He rubbed his head and glanced over at the mirror on the table.

"Huh, looks like I really am in another world."

His body still resembled how he looked in his old world, but he appeared younger—like he did when he was 18.

Trying to make sense of it all, Leon took a seat in the chair beside the table, flipping through the book again. "Seems like I killed myself... This is confusing. If I killed myself in this world, did the me from the other world enter this body? Ugh! I don't get it, wha—"

Knock, knock!

"Alaric Thornwood, are you in there, sir? We've come to talk to you."

Knock, knock!

"Huh? Are these the people after this body?" Leon thought, gripping the book as he moved toward the door.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"As I said before, Mister Alaric, we came to talk to you. Can you please open the door?"

Leon hesitated, unsure whether to open the door, but something told him it would cause more trouble if he didn't.

When he finally opened it, he saw a group of men wearing badges on their shirts, similar to police badges.

"Hello, Mister Alaric Thornwood. As you can see, we're from the Imperial Investigation Unit. We've come here to ask about your involvement in the break-in at the divine library and murder of the court guards "

"Break in a murder, why do you think I have any involvement with that incident"

"From our Investigation, we found out that a tress of your magic was found on the dead bodies of the guards "

"Shit was going on, hear what the hell did this body did? " Leon thought.

"Oh, Mister Alaric, I wanted to ask you why you have blood on your clothes, were you doing something before this?"

"Oh, this is just red ink, I was writing in my journal right before you came, and it fell on me "

"Oh, I see, may we come in to investigate "

'Damm it, if they come in and see the blood on the floor, they won't believe it's ink '. Leon thought "OK, come In, as you can see the ink fell on the floor right there while I was moving it "

"Hmm, I see "

'Did they buy it, but look at their face they look suspicious ' Leon thought.

Leon took a deep breath, trying to maintain his composure as the investigators stepped inside. The air felt heavy with suspicion, and he could see their eyes darting around the room, taking in the details.

"Please, have a look around," Leon said, gesturing toward the chaos of his room. "I was just writing in my journal—"

One of the men, a tall figure with sharp features, raised an eyebrow. "Interesting that your 'ink' appears to be red and not black, Mister Thornwood. You wouldn't happen to be using a different medium, would you?"

Leon's heart raced. "It's just a little red ink. You know how it is when inspiration strikes—sometimes it gets messy."

The investigator nodded slowly, clearly unconvinced. "We will need to verify your story. The stains on the floor are quite… conspicuous."

"Yes, well, like I said, I—"

The man cut him off. "We received reports that a significant disturbance occurred at the divine library last week. Eyewitnesses claim to have seen you fleeing the scene."

Leon swallowed hard. "I assure you, I was nowhere near that place. I've been here—uh, well, busy with personal matters."

The other investigators continued to scan the room, their expressions revealing a mix of skepticism and curiosity. Finally, the tall investigator turned back to Leon.

"We appreciate your cooperation, Mister Thornwood. But know that we will be keeping a close eye on you. Should we uncover any more evidence tying you to this incident, we will not hesitate to take action."

Leon nodded, forcing a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Of course. I wouldn't expect anything less."

As the men began to file out, the tall investigator paused, turning slightly to look at Leon with a strange, piercing gaze. "By the way, how did you survive that attack? Most people wouldn't have made it out alive."

Leon felt his blood run cold. "What attack?"

The investigator's eyes narrowed, but he simply replied, "You know what I mean. Just… keep your head down, Alaric." He turned and walked away, leaving Leon alone in the eerie silence of the room.

Confusion swirled in Leon's mind as he processed the investigator's words. "What attack? Did I really die in this world? And if I didn't, then what the hell is going on?"

He glanced back at the blood-stained floor, the book still clutched tightly in his hands. 

Sitting back down at the table, he opened the book once more.

To be continued.....