After what felt like five days—maybe even less—I finally stood.
Wobbly. Weak. Shaking like hell.
But upright.
Turns out, it was closer to eight months. Eight months of being stuck in a body that wouldn't move the way I wanted. Eight months of silence, crawling skin, and feeling trapped behind my own eyes.
Time doesn't move the same when your body doesn't cooperate. When your fingers won't close right. When your head works, but nothing else does. It's like being buried alive in soft blankets.
I used to dream about freedom.
Now I could finally walk. Even if it was more of a stumble-waddle. Even if I tripped over a rug and almost cracked my tiny skull on polished stone.
Didn't matter.
It was movement. My movement.
And yeah, as wild as it sounds… this really is real.
I got reborn.
A part of me still doesn't buy it. Still thinks I'm in some coma somewhere. But the chill on my skin, the way the wood creaks beneath my toddler-sized feet, the way every damn thing smells like herbs and polish and firelight?
It's too real to be a dream.
I think back sometimes—when it's quiet.
Back to the nurse's office. Back to those days hiding behind books, trying to lose myself between words before Tobashi found me again.
I used to read to escape. Now I've escaped right into the kind of world I used to read about.
Magic. Nobility. Castles. Shit that sounds like someone's fantasy web serial.
And I'm living in it.
Sounds like a blessing, doesn't it?
I guess for most people, it would be.
But for me?
It feels like a setup. Like I've been dropped into the calm before the next beating.
Because that's how it always was.
Things got quiet before they got worse.
Time passed. I grew—barely. Still stuck in this toddler frame, roaming a mansion way too big for my tiny legs.
Yeah. Mansion.
Turns out my new family's noble. Real noble. Everything smells expensive and sounds louder than it should. The floors echo when I cough, and the windows are tall enough to swallow the sky.
Too clean. Too quiet.
I keep waiting for the cracks to show.
Then came the voice—soft, melodic, drifting through the corridor like music in a haunted house.
"Kaelen?"
That's my name now. Has been for a while.
Still doesn't feel like mine.
Kaelen. Sounds elegant. Strong. Noble.
Not like "Takuya Sugino." Not like the kid with bruises under his sleeves and teeth marks on his tongue from biting back screams.
But that's the point, right?
Takuya died.
So I wear the name like a borrowed coat and pretend it fits.
"Én, navari?"
"Yes, Mom?"
Weird calling someone else that. But she… she's different. Thalira. Kind eyes. A smile that doesn't feel fake. The way she looks at me makes my chest hurt.
Not out of fear.
Something else.
Something I don't trust yet.
"Ese velira navalir?"
"Have you seen your father?"
Right. Him.
I have a father now.
That's still hard to say without choking on it. Not because it's bad—but because it feels too good. Like I'll blink and he'll be gone.
His name's Dravon. Big, quiet man with tired eyes and a presence that fills a room. When he looks at me, I feel seen—and not in that twisted, mocking way I'm used to.
It's… nice.
Too nice.
"Nai, nava, ara velira, suran taren in sorol."
"No, Mother. I haven't. Maybe he's in his study."
She smiled, kissed my forehead, and walked off like it was the most normal thing in the world.
I stood there for a moment after she left.
Just… breathing.
Waiting for the floor to drop.
Later, I went back to my room. Not to nap—not to play.
To read.
Yeah. That part hasn't changed.
Books are still my safe place. Even now. Even here.
The stuff they stock in this place isn't thrilling—mostly dry geography and old scrolls about plants that glow or scream or bleed when you cut them.
Still, I soak it all in.
Because I need to understand this world. I need to know the rules before they turn on me.
So here's what I've figured out:
There are six continents.
I'm on Velmire—the Human continent. Main political and economic center for humans, or so the books say. It's where nobles live, where cities grow, and where the Grand Churchholds a scary amount of influence.
Then there's Beastspine Continent. Beastkin and elves mostly live there—kind of a magical wilderness. Think enchanted forests, spirit rivers, and animal-eared warriors. Sounds cool, honestly.
The Crimson Expanseis rougher. Dwarves and orcs claim that land, and the books describe it like a battlefield made of mountains and molten rock. I don't think I'd survive five minutes there.
And then comes the Demon Maw. The name alone sets off alarms.
It's not full of horned monsters like you'd think. Demons here are just humans cursed with forbidden powers. Magic outlawed by the Grand Church. It's… political, really. The church calls them heretics. The king plays along. Meanwhile, people die because of it.
Next is the Shattered Vale. My personal favorite, just because of how bizarre it is.
Back in the so-called "Times Before Fall" it was a normal continent. But after the "Fall" it got ripped off the surface and now floats in midair above the ocean. Nobody knows why it's still floating. Nobody knows what's even up there. The books hint at secrets, ancient ruins, maybe even the key to the world's magic system. I want to go there someday.
Lastly, there's the Dusk Dominion. Sounds poetic. It's not.
It's a scar on the map. The "Fall" happened there, and now it's crawling with high-intellect monsters. Tactical, aggressive, coordinated. Monsters with brains. It's used as a war zone now. Armies are sent in. Few come out.
And the world itself? Insane.
Mushrooms the size of carriages that glow like city lights. Mountains that move when no one's looking. Trees that talk—and not kindly. Some whisper. Some scream. Some lie.
Everything's alive here.
And me?
I'm still figuring that out.
Sometimes, I stare out the window at the gate. Just a gate. But to me? It's a symbol.
Someday I'll walk through it.
Someday I'll leave this place—not because it's bad, but because I need to know if I'm actually free.
If I can really live in this world.
Not just survive.
Because that's all I ever did before.