—Before—
"Astra descendo, tenebrae aperio! Veni, spiritus, ex mundis ignotis! Per ignem et tenebras, te voco! Aperi portas, et veni ad me!"
A small witch girl, her oversized hat and robe almost swallowing her tiny frame, chanted an incantation from the ancient book she clutched tightly.
Before her lay an intricately drawn magic circle, adorned with various odd items: stacked stones, strange liquids, powders, herbs—and even something resembling a lump of raw flesh.
As the girl completed her chant, the circle began to glow faintly. The items within it stirred, quivering as if responding to her words, then slowly merged together.
Bit by bit, the materials fused into a small, radiant orb no larger than a marble.
"Did it work?" she whispered, peeking out from behind the book.
The marble began to float, rising a few feet into the air. Suddenly, it trembled violently. The girl shrieked in fear, backing away. Though the tremor lasted only a second, the marble dropped like a stone.
"That's it? Nothing else?"
"Guuuung... BOOM!"
A sharp hum burst from the orb before it exploded in a wave of raw magical energy, flinging the girl backward. Dust and smoke engulfed the room.
"Ow! ... Ugh... hic... hoee... that hurt! ... Master..." she whimpered, her voice echoing through the ruined chamber.
"Crack! Crack!"
The sound of stone fracturing made her pause. Curious, she asked aloud, "Eh? What was that?"
She searched the room and saw that the marble had vanished—replaced by light seeping through deepening cracks in the floor.
"Crack! Crack!"
The cracks widened, like the shell of an egg about to hatch.
Sigh. "I can't see anything like this… Wind gust, come!"
The girl waved her hand, conjuring a magic circle inscribed with glowing runes and a turquoise symbol at its center. A breeze surged forth, sweeping away the smoke and dust.
Just then, the cracking resumed—louder this time—and from the light emerged a half-formed, humanoid mass of stone. It was only the lower half of a body, crudely pieced together. But embedded in its chest, Lylah saw a familiar white marble.
"Did I do it...? Hello? What are you? A golem? Well... I guess that was what I meant to create… maybe?" she mumbled.
In front of her lay a strange, incomplete being—no upper body, only the bottom half—and entirely made of stone.
"Crack... Grrrkkk..."
A harsh grinding noise escaped the creature's mouth.
"YAY!! MASTER, LOOK—MASTER!! IT WORKED! MY CREATION WORKED!!"
The girl darted excitedly toward the corridor on the other side of the chamber.
The tunnel was long, illuminated by glowing stones embedded in the ceiling and scattered along the floor. It was carved through earth, with parts shored up by uneven stone bricks.
She ran through the tunnel until she reached a vast room filled with old bookcases. Without hesitation, she dashed past them toward a man engrossed in a massive tome—so large it required a ladder and a magnifying glass just to read its minuscule text.
"Master! I did it!" she shouted, hugging the old man's leg. He was Sage, her master—a white-haired elder who radiated wisdom.
"Hmm? My dear pupil Lylah, what is it now?" he asked, pushing aside his bushy mustache and beard.
Grinning with pride, Lylah said, "Master Sage, come see! My alchemy experiment finally succeeded!"
She grabbed Sage's hand and tugged at it eagerly. "Come on, Master… please come look at it!"
Master Sage sighed, yielding to her enthusiasm. "Alright, alright. You're acting as if your creation is going to vanish if I don't hurry."
"Umu! If we wait too long, it might break! That's why we must be quick!" Lylah insisted.
He sighed again, but gave in.
Soon, the two of them arrived at the messy chamber from before.
"Tadaaa~! Master, look! It was a huge success this time!" Lylah beamed, bouncing in place.
"Ahem. That successful? Don't exaggerate. You may be good at magic, but alchemy? I've had my doubts," Sage said teasingly.
Lylah pouted, flustered by his skepticism. "Iiiih! Just look! I used my own magic in the process this time, and it totally worked!"
"Oh really? And what exactly did you do?"
"Hehe! I used magic directly to measure and control the entire alchemical reaction! It worked perfectly!"
"Wait, you cast magic into the ritual? Without using your hands or standard tools!?" Sage gasped.
"Hm? Why not? What matters is that it worked! Look—over there!"
But there was nothing where she pointed. The chamber was still dark, the glowing stones dimmed by dust. The summoning circle was barely visible.
Lylah suddenly panicked, rushing to the circle and frantically searching.
"CRACK—BRAK!!"
"AAAH! A rat!!" she yelped, hurling random objects in a frenzy.
"Hold on!" Sage called out, halting her. "Look closely… is that your creation?"
She stopped and peered toward the sound. "Oh... hehe, sorry! But yes! That's him! Look, Master—it's my golem! Isn't he cool!?"
—Now—
Rocky was terrified.
He couldn't move properly, couldn't understand the strange voices echoing around him. Worst of all, he was no longer human.
Lylah crept toward him slowly. "Hehehe... Come on now... Don't be scared, come here..."
Her gentle tone did little to calm him. In a panic, Rocky grabbed nearby items and threw them at her.
"Hey! What was that for? Stop it!" Lylah shouted, raising both palms.
"Hmph! Stupid alchemy failure!... Take this!"
A glowing orb of light—roughly the size of a soccer ball—began forming between her hands.
Before she could hurl it, Master Sage gently caught her wrist.
"That's enough. Instead of blaming your creation, why not look for the flaw in your process?"
Lylah scowled. "Hmph! My creation is broken! What's the point of checking it? Let's just toss it out!"
Sage softly patted her head. "Nothing in this world is perfect, my dear student. Look closely. Have you ever seen a golem shaped like that?"
Lylah stared at Rocky. She noticed the absence of legs. He was curled up in a corner, trembling.
A pang of guilt struck her. "You... you're scared, aren't you? I'm sorry. I got too excited about my first success and didn't think about you."
She knelt down, offering a smile. "But don't worry. I'll fix it—promise! Let's start over. My name's Lylah. What's yours?"
Rocky was silent for a while. He wanted to ask many questions, but in this state he could not say anything.
He knew he was dead. From the conversation he heard, it was clear that he was already in another world.
Finally, Rocky decided to believe and accept his situation, even though he was no longer human. He raised his hand and tried to write something down, hoping that the letters in this world would still have the same meaning as in the previous world.
"Rocky, so that's your name? Hehehe, hello, Rocky!"
Lylah greeted excitedly and hugged Rocky, hoping for a new beginning.