Welcome to Your New Self

My vision was incredibly sharp, almost unreal. Colors were more vivid, every detail seemed to leap out at me. I could see the runes on the wall with astonishing clarity, their intricate forms glowing as if they were being drawn in that very moment. Distant objects, once blurred, were now perfectly visible, as though my sight had been adjusted to capture every nuance.

"This isn't normal…" I murmured, my voice sounding strange and unrecognizable. It was childlike, hoarse, as if I'd spent hours screaming. The words echoed through the cold chamber, amplifying my confusion. My heart was still racing as I tried to process what was happening, each beat pounding like a drum in my ears.

Once again, an unnatural calm overtook me. Strange, I thought, as a growing sense of unease took hold.

Slowly, I placed my feet on the stone floor. The icy surface against my skin sent an immediate shiver through my entire body, jolting me back to reality. I took a deep breath, trying to steady my heart, but as I stood up fully, I almost toppled forward. My legs wobbled, and I had to steady myself against the open coffin to avoid a disastrous fall.

'What's happening to me?' I thought, my gaze settling on the bottom of the coffin. The sense of strangeness only intensified. Something was terribly off.

It's too close, I reflected. Even though I was kneeling, the distance between me and the coffin's bottom shouldn't have felt so unnaturally small.

With a sudden push, I turned to look at my legs. My feet… they were small, absurdly small. A cold shock ran down my spine. I raised my hands in front of me, staring at my palms. They were so delicate, so tiny, that even compared to those of a ten-year-old child, they would still seem minuscule—almost unreal.

"This can't be…" I whispered, the hoarse voice echoing again. The shock began to give way to a dawning realization. 

'They said we'd be about ten years old… But I didn't think they meant it this literally.'

My heart raced as a nervous curiosity took over. I scanned the room until my eyes landed on a mirror affixed to one of the chamber's walls. It was large, its ornate frame softly gleaming under the blue light of the runes. I knew I needed to see my reflection, to confirm what I was feeling.

Moving with difficulty, I took my first steps. My balance felt off, as if this body wasn't mine. Every movement required effort, and the sensation of being out of control was frustrating. Even so, I forced myself to continue, leaning on objects when necessary. With great effort, I finally reached the mirror.

When I stood before it, the sight left me speechless. My face... it wasn't mine. It was the face of a child. Small, with large, golden eyes that glowed intensely under the chamber's dim light. My hair was dark and messy, slightly wavy, with subtle purple hues that reflected the light around me. My skin was tanned, lighter than before, with a smooth, almost flawless appearance.

"Impossible..." I murmured, touching my reflection. The childish voice sounded again, confirming that this was, indeed, me. My old self—both as an adult and as a child—looked nothing like this new identity. 'They... changed everything.'

As I studied every detail, a strange sense of admiration began to creep in. 'I'm... cuter than before. If I were on Earth, I could easily become a model or something.'

The fleeting thought brought a small smile to my lips, but before I could explore the idea further, a violent pain erupted in my head.

It was as if a flood of information was being poured into my mind without warning. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, but the images continued to invade my consciousness. Voices, faces, landscapes, places I had never seen before... they all blended together in an overwhelming cacophony. It was too much. Too fast, too intense, too painful.

"STOP! STOP! STOP!" I screamed, my voice echoing in the chamber, but there was no way to halt the process. My hands instinctively clutched at my head, trying to alleviate the pressure, but the pain was relentless—worse than anything I had ever experienced. It was unnatural, as though this headache surpassed even the agony of my entire body being reconstructed.

...................

"..."

When it finally ended, I was on my knees, my head pressed against the ground, gasping for air. My breathing was heavy, my body trembling. I felt sweat trickling down my forehead as I struggled to organize my thoughts. The memories, once a chaotic whirlwind, were now settling, like dust after a storm. They weren't mine... but now they felt as though they were.

It was then that the chamber responded. A low, resonant sound echoed through the walls, as if the room itself were alive. The runes began to glow more brightly, casting dancing reflections across the black stone. The floor trembled slightly, and a sensation of pulsing energy filled the air.

"Welcome to your new beginning," Leopold's animated voice resonated, pausing as if to allow the words to seep deeply into my mind.

Still kneeling on the ground, the cold of the stone seeped through my hands—a disturbing contrast to the growing warmth in my chest. Gasping for air, I tried to organize the chaos of thoughts and memories swirling in my mind, like random fragments of information that now seemed to intertwine with my being. My eyes slowly drifted upward, settling once more on the mirror before me. The figure reflected there was me, yet something about it felt strange. A blend of fascination and unease stirred within me, as if something deep inside was shifting, transforming.

My gaze turned toward the man beside me. This time, I noticed something I hadn't seen before—a pinkish, radiant, almost ethereal aura surrounding him. It was beautiful but intimidating, like a silent and powerful presence enveloping his being. The captivating glow contrasted sharply with the commanding aura he exuded, creating a palpable tension in the air.

Leopold noticed my distraction, and his voice carried a tone of pride as he murmured, "Ah, I see the Dracknum blood is indeed potent. To think it has already produced such effects, even now..." His eyes studied me intently, as if something new and remarkable had just been revealed.

"I would expect nothing less from the lineage of someone called Dragonsbane," Leopold continued, and I noticed the aura surrounding him slowly fading.

His words pulled me back into reality. "President of the Aetheryon Magic Tower, the one who answers only to the king—the Archmage of Twilight—Leopold Stargazer..." The words spilled from my lips effortlessly, a stream of knowledge etched into my mind. They weren't deliberate thoughts. They were just there, waiting to be spoken.

It felt as though I was speaking without truly being in control, as if another entity were guiding my words. What is this? Even my own voice sounded mechanical, like the echo of something distant and disconnected.

"What... What was that? Where are we? What happened to me?" The questions tumbled from my lips, desperate for answers. Yet the sensation of losing control, of my very identity being reshaped, only grew stronger.

There was a brief pause, and then Leopold's voice returned, a smile evident in his tone. "Ah, so it worked. Excellent. I see you're already accessing your new memories and knowledge. As expected."

His words brought no comfort. Instead, a cold shiver ran down my spine, making me even more aware of the chilling atmosphere of this place and the oppressive solitude clinging to me like a shadow.

"Answering your question," he continued, ignoring any hesitation he might have detected in me, "you are in your new body, in your new life. What you're feeling now is only the beginning. Your vision, strength, even your perception of the world have been altered. And they will change even more over time. After all, you are still young."

I rose slowly, still using the walls for support. The movement required more effort than I'd anticipated. My body felt lighter, more agile, yet awkward, as if it hadn't fully learned how to exist. 'It'll take some time to get used to this.'

My gaze wandered across the room as I tried to find any point of reference, something to anchor myself.

The chamber was larger than I had initially realized. The walls were made of black stone, etched with runes that pulsed softly, hypnotically, alternating between hues of blue and gold. The ceiling loomed high above, hidden by shadows that the faint light couldn't fully dispel. Around me, apart from the coffin I had awakened in, there was nothing else. No furniture, no objects, no signs of life.

"And the others?" I asked, my voice echoing in the vastness. I turned to Leopold. "Are they okay? Where are they? Why am I the only one here?" My mind latched onto the thoughts of the others. I needed to know.

"Each of you is undergoing your own transition, in your own time," Leopold explained. "But you... were the first to awaken. Consider it an honor."