The last thing I remembered was the glare of headlights.
One moment I was crossing the street at 3:17 AM, the next—impact. No dramatic slow-motion, no time for final thoughts. Just the sickening crunch of metal meeting flesh before everything went black.
When consciousness returned, I existed in a void beyond darkness. No body. No senses. Just... awareness.
"How careless of you."
The voice vibrated through the nothingness. Not a sound—more like the universe itself speaking.
"You weren't scheduled to die for decades yet," it continued. "But I suppose accidents happen. And today... I'm feeling generous."
I tried to speak, but without lungs or lips, the attempt was meaningless.
"Three wishes. Choose carefully."
The offer hung in the void. If this was real—if I wasn't just hallucinating in some dying brain's final moments—then every word mattered.
"I want the Evernight Goddess to love me. Truly. Not some divine whim or cosmic joke—real, lasting love."
A pulse of... something rippled through the void. Amusement? Surprise?
"Bold. Done."
The confirmation sent an unexpected chill through my nonexistent form. I pressed on.
"I want to wake up two years before Klein does. In Tingen."
"Playing the long game. Interesting." That ripple again. "Though you should know—she doesn't appreciate meddling in her plans."
For my final wish, I didn't hesitate.
"I want complete control over my new body. Every muscle, every scar, every strand of hair—exactly as I choose."
Silence. Then—
"No power? No knowledge?"
"I know how these stories go," I said. "I'll take control over this one thing."
"As you wish."
The snap echoed through eternity.
Pain.
White-hot agony seared through me as matter reassembled. Bones formed from nothing, muscles knitting together, skin stretching over new contours. I gasped—a first breath that burned like fire—as sensation flooded my nervous system.
The stench hit first. Mildew. Cheap gin. The metallic tang of old blood. My eyes flew open to a low ceiling stained with water damage.
I was alive.
And everything was wrong.
My hands—new hands—clawed at the wooden floorboards. The fingers were longer than I remembered, the knuckles more pronounced. I brought them to my face, tracing unfamiliar contours: a strong jaw covered in coarse beard, high cheekbones, a nose slightly more prominent than before.
The room spun as I struggled upright. My center of gravity was different—higher, more balanced. I was taller now, my shoulders broader. When I moved, muscles I'd never had before shifted beneath my skin.
A cracked mirror hung crookedly above a washbasin. The face staring back was mine, but not mine.
I'd chosen well.
Sharp gray eyes beneath thick brows. A strong nose above full lips. Dark hair, slightly wavy, fell just past my collar. The body of a scholar who could handle himself in a back alley brawl—lean but powerful, with the bearing of someone used to command.
My clothes—a tailored frock coat, cravat, and trousers—hung neatly on a nearby hook, perfectly fitted to my new form. A top hat and cane rested on the room's single chair. The boots by the door gleamed with fresh polish.
Every detail exactly as I'd imagined.
I flexed my fingers, watching tendons move beneath skin. Ran a hand through hair that wasn't mine but was. The sensations were overwhelming—every touch, every movement simultaneously familiar and alien.
Then—
"Husband."
The voice wasn't sound. It was presence, vibrating through my bones like a struck bell. Midnight given form. The weight of it pressed against my skull, my chest, my very soul.
The Evernight Goddess knew I was here.
And worse—she was amused.
Outside the grimy window, dawn light crept over Tingen's rooftops. Somewhere in this city, Klein's original body still slept, blissfully unaware of the storm to come.
I had two years to learn how to be someone new.