“ The world is so vast and the universe so unknown, that we could be living six lives simultaneously without ever realizing.”

 

Parallel lives is a concept widely discussed no matter the version of Earth which you live in, be it in an era of science, one of magic or one of none. The possibility of past lives or even lives that you live in different universes is something most consider it to be mere speculation or even a superstition. Religions are even based in the concept of heaven, hell and reincarnation. The chance to live again is something a lot of humans dream of, but may never be sure if it is even possible.

Having faith that your soul will be reincarnated in a new life doesn't guarantee that it'll happen for sure.

The universe itself works in ways that even the gods that care for each of those different worlds, don't understand its reasons.

But something is certain, the universe sure acts in mysterious ways.

❥

A man slowly opens his eyes, two gorgeous golden irises stare at the ceiling, the man is one with a gorgeous appearance. His golden eyes are complemented by long silver eyelashes and a short hair that reaches his well trimmed eyebrows. A symmetrical face that could be the envy of many regardless of the world he was born into. A groan leaves his small pink plump lips as the man turns and lays on his side, he slowly stares at the room, processing the information around the place before jumping with a scream.

The silver head man stares around with wide eyes, confusion clear in his golden eyes. The door of his room opens and four male servants enter, two of them are wearing simple black clothes with a white waist apron, the other two are wearing more fancy white clothes with a black waist apron. The ones in white also have a golden pin on their shirts, the pin is a beautiful coat of arms with a phoenix at its center.

“How can we help you, your highness?” One of the servants in white speaks, he has dull black eyes and light brown hair, his tone is monotone and his expression is calm, almost as if he's used to the man's screams. 

“Your highness?” The man finally speaks, his voice is low and hoarse, he pushes his hair back with his hands in confusion. “Who are you and where the heck am I?” For a second the servants are taken aback, not only by the man's words but also by his beauty. Of course, his slightly parted lips, his fierce eyes and his hair aback showing his forehead complimented by his white shirt that barely covers his well defined chest, is a beauty that none can resist. 

“Pardon, I'm the son of Baron Gasser, Andreas Gasser”, the man that spoke previously speaks as he slightly bows, his eyes are still dull but they seem more annoyed than calm now. “And this is your room, your highness”. The other servants only observe the conversation without speaking a word, almost as if they're walking in eggshells around the silver haired man.

“My room?” The man scoffs, almost as if he just heard a joke. “I don't remember my room being the size of a house”, he speaks with his hands, pointing at the ginormous luxurious room around them. The whole room is covered in gold and precious stones, almost as if the person sleeping there is scared of the dark, everything is white and clear with gold and precious stone adjournments, even the curtains are white. 

What bad taste, the silver haired man thinks, as he looks around the room he notices a mirror at the corner, in front of a desk filled with jewels. He gets up from the comfortable bed he was in, the sheets made of silk are certainly smooth on his skin, as the man walks towards the mirror he can feel the eyes of the servants accompanying him. I feel like a zoo animal. 

While the man walks across the room, his servants can't help but think that he has lost his mind again. What a pain, Andreas thinks, staring at the man with a sour expression. When the silver haired man finally reaches the mirror, he feels like the world stops for a moment. Who is this man? He thinks, staring deeply into his own eyes.

More rare than reincarnating in a different world, it's the so-called exchange of souls. Where a soul that shouldn't have died enters the body of another dead soul. That process rarely happens, as the universe doesn't like to admit its mistakes. The problem with a soul exchange is, not only the paperwork the gods receive, but also the changes that will proceed in the world where a foreign soul enters.

Even though remembering past lives isn't rare, the exchange of souls is something that can't be considered such, as the soul that entered the body can't recall the life that body had, and only has the memories of their previous body. They don't go through the memory erasure process as well. That's why it's such a rare thing to happen, it messes with the perfect balance of the world in question. 

The gods hate it when this happens, as they need to change the ways of the world and be ready for changes. But it's not like they can question the decisions of the universe.

Golden eyes, silver hair… Where did I see this before? The man turns to his servants. “What's my name?” One of the servants in black suffocates a laugh, white the others seem taken aback by the question. Could this be a test?

Andreas is the one that answers the question “You're the second star of the Empire, Prince Nikias Gregor Chrysl”, all four servants bow to him, this time they don't look up immediately after, they wait a couple seconds, as if they're paying their respects. 

The man known as Nikias starts laughing, appearing almost maniacal. Nikias? You must be joking? To understand the thoughts of the man, a few pieces of information need to be relayed first.

In the life he lived before the soul exchange, Nikias was known as Vahe, in a world dominated by science he was an unemployed lad with a terrible personality and no family, as science was so advanced, he lived inside a pod made for homeless people and tried finding cash in hand jobs around the city. He was crafty with his hands and mostly did machine repairs around the town he used to live in. 

By natural rule of the universe he was supposed to die in a landslide in the homeless shelter at age 36, but he died because of a machine explosion at age 17. Therefore his soul was transferred to Nikias body, as a reparation for ending his life previously than planned. The explosion was supposed to occur six minutes after Vahe went through that path. It's easier to kill those that had to die at that moment, but harder to bring life back to those that weren't supposed to die.

Fortunately, Vahe was the only one there that wasn't supposed to die at that moment.

So, Vahe was transferred to the body of Nikias, in a different dimension of the world he called home. But what shocked him the most isn't his handsome appearance or the soul exchange, what shocked him the most was that he recognizes the name of the body he's now in. He recognizes who he is now.

Second Prince Nikias is a character from the popular historical fantasy romance novel ‘Odd Eyes’, and he's the villain of the story that dies at 17 years old after barely escaping the consequences of his actions.

‘Odd Eyes’ is the story of a couple that needs to stop the rise of the ancient god Vremes, the god of time that resents humanity for banishing him from the heavens. The story actually starts with the fourth rebirth of the protagonist Evangelia, who always dies when Vremes succeeds in raising and destroying humanity, almost as if the other gods are turning back time to give her one more opportunity to kill the ancient god forever. 

The fact that Nikias had died shows that this is the timeline of the book. There are four volumes, each with more than 400 pages, and Vahe read them back to back more times than he can count. He even listened to the audiobook while working! 

Nikias is the brother of the Crown Prince Alkaios, the male lead of the novel, and for the previous three timelines, he's the reason for the Crown Prince's weak body and bad health, as he's been feeding his older brother poison for years. Evangelia only finds out about the poison when she reborns for the fourth and last time, and as the result of such, she gives Nikias the same poison that he was giving Alkaios.

As a result, Nikias dies at age 17, before being able to cause more harm to his brother and torment them. You see, besides the poison, Nikias also tormented the protagonists with false rumors, traps and even kidnaping the protagonist to try selling her as a slave. Yeah, he was trash.

His personality is a result of a doting father and mother, who couldn't resist their son's beauty and therefore allowed him to roam free and terrorize those who opposed him. After his death during the novel’s timeline, his father goes crazy and speeds the rise of Vremes, causing the death of the Empress, his wife.

It's better to continue pretending amnesia, I don't have Nikias previous memories as well. What the man seems to fail to understand, though, is that he is Nikias now. The original soul is gone and his original body is also gone. Either he accepts his life as Nikias, or he does for good. Not that he's aware of this right now.

“I don't have any recollection of being a Prince” he says after minutes of silence. The servants seem to not believe the man, but Andreas tells one of the black clothed servants to go fetch a doctor.

The doctor arrives ten minutes later, Nikias is back on bed and his expression is calm, well he is relatively calm on the outside, but inside the man couldn't be more desperate. If Nikias is dead, then that means that my presence here changes the original flow of the story. I wonder if the changes my survival makes will still make killing the ancient god possible. The silver haired is engulfed in his own thoughts, so much so that he doesn't realize the doctor has been talking to him.

Maybe I should go to the countryside and lay low, since I was supposed to be dead anyway. Nikias' train of thought does have some logic to it, but what he forgot to remember is that he's a Prince, not any noble, he doesn't have the luxury to run away from his position. 

His thoughts are interrupted only when a woman bursts into his room. “Nikias!” The woman, clearly in her 40s, has beautiful skin and she looks like an older female version of Nikias but with pink irises. She looks like a model, the man thinks. All the servants bow when the woman enters the room, but she doesn't pay attention to them, it's almost as if she doesn't see their existence. “My sweet son”, the woman exclaims with tears in her eyes. She seems to truly love the man, but how can he say that he's not the son she loves so much.

That's so cruel to think, that her son is forever gone, and now an impostor became him. I'm sorry, the man thinks, truly sorry for the woman weeping for someone who isn't there anymore. But what Vahe, now Nikias, still fails to understand is that he is Nikias now and he isn't an impostor.

“I was so worried that you would…” a sob leaves the small lips of the Empress, even though she's weeping, her dress still shines more than the sun and her pose is as elegant as possible.

Nikias stares at the woman. I should keep the amnesia act, that's the only way to explain my personality change and the fact that I don't feel any affection towards this woman. The books that he read in his life, he always detested when characters sent to another world tried to act as if they're said characters. The moment you are living in another skin, this isn't a book anymore, it's not a play, it's not a book, this is real life with real people. It's easier to just live as yourself. Vahe was never someone to live for someone else.

“I'm sorry, who are you?” He can't avoid but be polite, he's not supposed to know that she's the Empress, but her presence by itself was intimidating enough to earn such politeness.

The doctor takes his words to finally speak again. “Your majesty, I am here to examine Prince Nikias, but it seems that he suffered some sort of mental injury due the ingestion of the unknown poison”, his words seem to aggravate the woman even more. Now thinking back, how could she not know that her older son is being poisoned?

In the book the male lead had a bad relationship with his parents, I wonder if they truly didn't care for him. Nikias sympathizes with the Crown Prince, as someone who was hated by his parents as well, he knows how it feels to be alone inside your own home. That's why he chose to leave home at age 15 and live on the streets instead.

Cold hands touch the man's face, the woman's hands are shaking, it doesn't seem like an act. The novel did mention that Nikias was loved a lot by his doting parents, but it seems that it wasn't an exaggeration. “Do everything so that my precious son is healed…” she says towards the doctor, then she turns back to her son. “Nikki, don't force yourself to remember, if needed, you can learn everything from scratch”, her smile is sad. “My name is Else Elizabeth Chrysl, I'm the Empress of the Exos Empire and your mother”. She emphasizes the your mother part of the phrase, almost as if that's the most important part.

Nikias isn't used to motherly love, he's actually not used to any type of love. Just like the novel Nikias, he's just 17, he never had the opportunity to grow amongst those that care for him. But that's different for the Nikias that woman loves, he grew with care, love, money and power.

No wonder he was such a villain, Nikias thinks as he extends his hands to touch his now mother's. “I'm sorry I don't remember you, mother”, his words are kind and sincere, by the gazes of the doctor and servants he can see the distrust. They must think he's faking it to not be condemned by his murder attempt on his brother. And sure, maybe the old Nikias would do that, but that's not the case anymore.

“I love you my precious son”, she says as sobs leave her lips and tears flow from her eyes. 

“Don't cry mother”, Nikias cleans the woman's ters with his thumb and smiles dazzlingly. For a second everyone in the room holds their breath, that's the power of Prince Nikias beauty. 

“Oh my son, you're so handsome”, she smiles, cleaning her tears with a handkerchief. 

“Mother, you have a meeting right now”, a sweet voice comes from the door, Nikias directs his gaze towards the voice to find the source. Suddenly words from the novel popped inside his head.

Pink eyes like a faded rose, pallid face as if the man hadn't eaten in months, silver hair that shines like snow in the sun, lips almost purple from the constant cold of the kingdom and a body so skinny that most people would wonder where the food the man eats goes. Crown Prince Alkaios Theodore Chrysl, a man so frail, yet his eyes still shine with so much determination. That's the kind of man worth falling in love again and again ‘till the end of the world.

That was the description that the author chose for the Crown Prince's appearance, and now that Nikias is seeing him with his own two eyes, he knows that the author sure caught the man's appearance perfectly. Alkaios is three years older than Nikias, yet he seems younger because of his weak constitution. He'll probably get better soon now that he won't be consuming poison anymore. In the novel, Alkaios started a growth spurt and became a handsome and well-built man worthy of the title of male lead.

A lot of readers felt sorry for the male lead as he suffered since his younger brother's birth, his father treated him like shit, and because of that everyone deemed the royals as the true villains of ‘Odd Eyes’. But right now, doubt grows inside Nikias as he sees the way his mother's gaze softens towards Alkaios with love and affection.

Maybe the female lead's point of view was rooted in prejudice against the family that hurt her man due to Nikias actions. But how could she assume that Alkaios was abused based only on his brother's actions?

“Alkaios, come greet your brother”, the woman waves towards her older son, who coldly looks at the golden-eyed man on the bed. He seems tempted to avoid interacting with his murderer. 

So Nikias decides to establish the foundation for his new beginning in life. “He 's my brother?” He asks with an innocent expression. One of the servants rolls their eyes, but he pretends not to notice it. Seems like Nikias was a bit of an actor. Alkaios also seems a bit hesitant, but he approaches the younger anyway.

“Hello”, he says, different from the hoarse and low voice of Nikias, Alkaios had a much smoother and silkier voice, his voice was one of those you would love to fall asleep listening to.

Nikias smiles as brightly as he can. One thing he's learned reading a lot of novels is that older brothers are weak towards their younger brothers, even if they hate them to the core. Something along the lines of ‘only I can hate you, anyone else might suffer my fury’. Alkaios is taken aback, but he doesn't seem disgusted.

“I'm your brother, Alkaios…” his voice trails off as he still seems hesitant to be too trusting. Considering what Nikias did, it's fair. “We can talk more later, mother and I have a meeting with the nobles”. Commendable, Alkaios even with poor health, always was a great Prince, fulfilling his duties to perfection.

“Nice to meet you brother”, Nikias smiles again. “I hope I can count on you to help me in the future”. The Empress seems delighted to finally see her sons getting along, but the older Prince seems wary of the younger one, his eyes full of distrust.

“Sure” the Crown Prince answers calmly, he's good at hiding his feelings from mother, Nikias thinks, but the younger Prince isn't as gullible, he can see right through the older one’s words. In the novel Alkaios is known as a healing character, always calm and decisive, he was essential in so many decisions that Evangelia took, since she was more on the emotional side, having Alkaios by her side was a game changer.

At this point they're still strangers in Alkaios eyes, but to Evangelia, he's her world. That's why she got rid of the younger Prince early on, so that Nikias' damage towards his brother was minimal.

Contrary to what Evangelia thought, Alkaios weeped during his brother's funeral, she thought he would spit on the man's grave or even keep a straight face. But the Crown Prince held his mother's hands and weeped with her, almost as if he was truly sad to see the death of someone who hurt him so much.

That was the book's passage about Nikias funeral, and those words bring confidence to the man right now. Even with the distrust, maybe, just maybe, Alkaios was just as sad to see him hurt. Maybe Evangelia got it wrong and Alkaios pain wasn't solely because of his younger brother. But again, Nikias wasn't innocent and he was involved in a lot of the plots to take down the main couple in her past lives, and he was poisoning the older Prince too.

But what was the evidence the heroine had? She was so sure that Nikias was poisoning his brother, but what if he was framed? Nikias thinks deeply, again, ignoring words coming to him by his mother. 

“Since when you're able to think deeply?” Alkaios chuckles, his eyes and voice is soft, he isn't scolding Nikias, he's just bantering him, just like an older brother would. Alkaios slowly pats Nikias head, concern can be found deep inside his eyes, but the younger man doesn't notice it. “Get well soon, brother. You'll have lots to do if you truly lost your memory”.

“Kai, don't bother Nikki too much!” The words of their mother makes the young men laugh, the atmosphere was never so light in the palace. But the servants weren't happy about it, since the storm always comes after the calm.

After exchanging a few more words, his mother and brother leave his room to go to the so-said meeting. A sigh leaves Nikias lips, he stares at the servants that still hadn't left. He remembers that Nikias in the novel had four servants that did his dirty work for him, they're probably them. However the situation isn't like that anymore, he doesn't need to torment the main couple and neither does he harbor the animosity the old Nikias had towards his brother.

“What are your names?” He asks, his eyes are fierce, the light reflecting onto his golder irises makes him look like a statue. There isn't a moment that Nikias doesn't look like the most beautiful person in the world. No, in all of the worlds. Such a beautiful person with a rotten personality, anyone who crosses paths with him couldn't avoid but think that it was such a waste of good looks.

Andreas opens his mouth to speak, but it's interrupted by the silver haired man.

“You already spoke your name Andreas of house Gasser”, he's harsh but his low tone drags on to the man's name causing him to blush. Is Nikias' appearance that powerful? No… are my looks that powerful? The young man thinks as he notices the blush in all of the men present.

“I'm sorry, your highness”, Andreas says, taking a step back. The other servant in white steps forward. He's ugly, that's the first thought that crosses Nikias mind as he sees the young man. He's tall, but extremely skinny, his skin is covered in scars and his eyes are dark and just as dull as Andreas’. 

“I’m the youngest brother of Duke Burton, Conrad Burton”, son of a Duke, huh? He's probably here to get the favor of the royal family and outshine his brother. Nikias stares at the ugly man for a couple minutes without a word, all four men stare back, slowly sweating out of worry. The silver-haired man is trying to remember where he heard that name before… oh shit, his brother, the Duke, is the one that helps the heroine with his guards to spy on the Emperor during the fourth timeline…

“You're fired”, Nikias words are so calm and cold that the servant has a bit of trouble understanding.

“Ex-excuse me?” Conrad seems shaken, Nikias eyes are similar to those of a snake, as if he's going to swallow the man whole. 

“You heard me”, Nikias eyes twitch, even when he was Vahe, he hates repeating himself. If he acts weak, people would probably think that Nikias went insane, as a previous asshole, reforming himself only by losing his memory is unlikely. Good for him that Vahe was also a bit of an ass. 

“Your highness, it's unwise to fire him without reason” Andreas steps up again, he's getting on Nikias nerves, he seems like a good servant, but he's serving the wrong master.

“I have a reason, he's ugly”, it's not like Nikias can say that Conrad is probably a spy, or could possibly become one.

Andreas sighs. “Firing a servant based on their looks isn't wise”.

Nikias chuckles “I thought I was a Prince, don't I have the authority to fire a staff I dislike?” Andreas seems to think that amnesia makes you stupid, or maybe Nikias used to be this stupid. But the current Nikias isn't weak or stupid, he's definitely not a pushover, despite his young age, Vahe used to be the terror of his employers - that's why he was unemployed.

“Yes, your highness, you do, I just would advise against”, the man is unshaken by Nikias words, he seems set in going against him for some reason.

The silver-haired thinks for a couple seconds before replying to his servant again. “You dress like a servant, yet want to act as an advisor?” Finally, words that seem to shock the servant. At first he seems at a loss for words, but he's quick to gather himself.

“My apologies, your highness, you are correct, I stepped out of place”, he's smart, Nikias observes, Andreas probably was the one behind a lot of Nikias actions as he seems too used to giving advice.

“Enough, you both leave, I'll talk with my mother about your compensation later” Nikias says coldly.

“Your highness, what do you mean?” Andreas' words are shaken, but he seems to keep his posture. Ha, Nikias thinks with a smirk.

“I meant leave”, he emphasizes the last word strongly, his eyes shining with a hint of danger, both men flinch, but this time they obey the man and leave the room without another word.

Then the youngest Prince turns to the two servants in black. Their eyes are less dull but they're filled with fear and disgust towards the man in front of them. 

“What about you guys? Who are you?” His words are less cold, but still calm, almost as if he's trying to make the men comfortable, but that only makes them shake more.

“I'm Lowe, a commoner”. So the black clothes mean they're commoners, that's why the other ones were wearing white and that obnoxious pin with the royal family coat of arms. Nikias thinks with disapproval, why they need to be dressed differently if they both are still the same: servants.

“And I'm Raphael, also a commoner” the other one replies. Both men look exactly the same, dark brown hair, black eyes and well built bodies.

“Are you guys twins or something?” 

“Yes, your highness, we're twins”, they bow slightly to show appreciation towards the royal comment. Nikias isn't sure who's the one that replied.

“From now on, Raphael please use a flower pin on your clothes so I can differentiate you.” Both men nod. “If you're my personal servant, that means you guys are probably quite knowledgeable, tell me what you can do”. Commoners are more desperate for the approval of the royal family, they're still dangerous but they least know their place. 

“Yes, your highness, I, Lowe, was hired because I'm well versed with poison, so I analyze your meals, drinks and medicine before you consume them.” The man on the right says, his voice is soft and he seems to know well how much to say and how to say it. He's smart.

“And I, Raphael, am knowledgeable in curses and other offensive magics”, the one on the left says, Nikias stares at them with a smirk, so they were the ones doing the dirty work while the nobles just told them around. Good.

“You both may leave now, I would like my meal two hours from now, I'll rest”, Nikias says after thinking a bit more, the men are dangerous, but they won't go against him, at least not without someone else backing them. Maybe Evangelia could use them to target the Prince, but that's a possibility, while the noble servants were already for sure trying to manipulate him.

I just woke up and already had to throw the trash out. I'll be living an exhausting life from now on, Nikias thinks with a chuckle, at least he won't be unemployed anymore. That's the last thought that crosses his mind before the silver-haired man falls asleep again.