Who I Am?

I sat by the fireplace and stretched my hands towards the flickering flames. The cold from outside had seeped into my skin, but the fire's warm touch slowly erased the traces left by the wind.

Yet, the cold within me was sharper, more stubborn than the cold outside.

My mind was filled with countless questions, all waiting for answers.

How was it that I, someone from another world, could speak and understand the language of these people?

Why had Whaley sent me here? What kind of fate awaited me in this world?

And most importantly…

What had happened to me that my forehead was wrapped in bandages?

The dancing light of the fire cast trembling shadows on the walls. Just as sparks floated momentarily in the air before vanishing, my thoughts appeared and disappeared just as swiftly.

But the weight of these questions was nothing like the lightness of the sparks.

If not for the soothing sound of the fireplace, I would have been crushed under the burden of these thoughts.

Lowering my head slightly, I reached up to touch the bandages wrapped around my forehead. The itching caused mild discomfort, but the real issue was not knowing the source of this wound, which still ached in places.

"I must have hit my head somewhere," I thought.

But that wasn't my biggest concern right now.

I needed information. I had to learn how I had arrived here, who I was, and whether this body truly belonged to me.

The more I thought about it, the more disturbing a truth surfaced.

When I came to this world, I wasn't in my own body. When I awoke, I felt as though I had been trapped inside a foreign vessel.

"So then… what about the real owner of this body?"

If it had a rightful owner, where was their consciousness?

And most importantly…

Were this body's past memories still hidden somewhere?

Because for me to understand the old couple's language, this body must have spoken it before.

That could only mean one thing:

The memories of this body's previous owner must be buried within me.

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes.

"Siri, can you access my memory? If you can, find out what kind of accident happened to this body's former owner. Also, prepare a summary and play it in my mind as a video."

The moment my thought was complete, a sudden pain shot through my head.

All at once, Siri's mechanical voice echoed in my mind:

"Former host's memories located. Scanning body's past memories... Missing memory fragments detected. Reconstructing missing memories... Preparing video... Video ready... Sharing with consciousness."

And then…

My mind was momentarily engulfed in pure white.

It felt as though dozens of blades had been driven into my brain all at once.

I shut my eyes and grasped my head with both hands. This pain was beyond words.

But after a while, an image formed.

And I was no longer myself—I was witnessing someone else's memories.

His name was Alek.

He was only fourteen years old.

Like me, he was a lonely soul.

Young Alek had worked as an apprentice to a farrier, under the care of someone believed to be a distant relative. His life was small but orderly…

Until rebellion broke out in his town.

Amid the chaos and flames, he lost his family, his job, and suddenly became an orphan.

He was desperate.

He had no choice but to search for a way out.

During that time, he began hearing stories from merchants.

Stories of a place known as Apsa.

A city where people never ran out, where food was plentiful, where towering stone buildings rivalled the mountains…

A land where even a mere slave could become king, as long as they met the conditions.

Alek placed all his hopes on Apsa.

He had nowhere to go, no home to return to, not even a single gold coin in his pocket.

But he started walking.

He set out on a journey that lasted for weeks.

From a place called Parha, he walked until his feet were raw and bleeding.

However… the journey did not go as he had hoped.

He found neither food nor water.

No bed, no warm blanket to wrap himself in…

He wandered abandoned streets, unable to find even a small corner to rest his head.

And then…

His body could no longer endure the hunger.

He collapsed.

As he fainted, his head struck a dull-edged stone.

And after that…

He opened his eyes in the very bed where I had awakened.

When the images faded, my head was still throbbing.

But now, I was certain of one thing:

This body did not belong to me.

And its past…

Had now become my past.

The flames in the fireplace roared.

I picked up a piece of wood and tossed it into the fire, watching as the sparks momentarily leapt into the air.

The memories of a boy who once shaped horseshoes with his hands, whose hopes had turned to ashes in a fire, who had walked endless roads alone—

All of them had now settled within me.

The weight of possessing this body pressed down on my shoulders.

It was impossible not to feel sorrow for Alek.

But sadly…

This world was just like my old one.

The powerless were always left at the mercy of the strong.

The oppressors always won.

A mix of sorrow and burning rage surged within me.

And just at that moment…

The door of the adobe house creaked open.