At first, it felt so dark and empty, as if he was stranded inside nothingness. All he could remember was the misfortunes that had kept happening in his life. He was robbed of his happiness, freedom, even the love he had been longing for. He despised his fate, even more than himself. His inability to protect those dear to him pushed him to the limit. Whether it was a wheel of fate of even Gods' doings, he desired them to crumble into pieces. And the hatred inside him grew much darker and thicker than even the deepest trench's muddy seabed.

Slowly, the darkness around him grew dim. He started to be able to perceive things around him and he knew he should be long dead. He should be no longer alive. But even so, he felt more alive than ever. Unable to comprehend his own predicament, he tried to open his eyes. What he found was… nothing. It was so dark, as if he was inside a womb. He couldn’t breathe properly.

Gradually, he began to understand that he was inside something. He even could hear voices outside the thing he was in. He realized he wasn’t alone and that made him feel a little relieved.

I am alive.

That was his first thought. He still wasn’t able to move his body. The only thing he knew was that he was being carried by something, assumedly, a human. He then heard a loud voice from outside, a man’s voice. But he knew that it wasn’t from the one carrying him inside that something. He decided to keep listening, and soon, he realized he was able to understand what the men were saying.

The more he waited, the more anxious he became. He was on the verge of screaming, but somehow he couldn’t make a noise at all. It was as if something was blocking his vocal cord, deeply inside the blood veins. Then, something happened.

[Congratulations. You have successfully integrated into your new body.]

He heard an androgyneous voice he had never heard before. The voice just appeared inside his head, just like that. He wasn’t even sure whether it belonged to a man or a woman. A moment later, he felt an electric shock sting his chest and jolted in surprise as a result.

[Congratulations. You have successfully adapted the skill: Philargyria. The guide on how to use the skill shall be planted right after.]

Again, he felt another electric shock. But this time, he was aware and ready so he only squirmed in pain. But still, he wasn’t able to produce any sound from his vocal cord.

Seriously? Am I…  mute?

A strand of fear started to well up in his heart as the voice came back with another announcement, along with lots of information that seemingly was forcefully shoved into his brain.

[Congratulations. You have successfully adapted the guide. Begin rebooting in 3… 2… 1…]

Just right after the voice stopped counting, he could hear a splashing sound and all of sudden, the thing he was in was almost instantly soaked and filled with cold water. Instinctively, he held his breath and opened his eyes. He then spotted a tiny hole where a minuscule ray of light penetrated through in front of him and shoved his hand into it, tearing apart the thing he was in. He kicked as hard as he could, and amazingly, he was instantly out of the water and floated in the wind for a moment, before he landed in a dark and cold alley.

[Rebooting complete. Warning! Due to the harsh environment, the host will be likely to catch hypothermia. Please seek a heating source immediately!]

Ignoring the warning, he looked around and spotted an old man panicking. It seemed the old man wasn’t aware that he was also there. He smiled a little and approached the old man, silently.

♦ ♦ ♦

The sun had already risen in the east, but the coldness didn’t seem to fade. The chirps of the seagulls that flew around the docks acted as alarms for those who earned their living from the sea. Inside an abandoned hangar, a small figure of a young female could be seen. She was sleeping soundly on a piece of dirty cloth and another cloth as her blanket. Beside her, a small bonfire was swaying gently. Not long after she opened her eyes and yawned.

She raised her body and got up.

Ah, it’s morning already.

She stretched a little and took the cloth she had used as a blanket, wrapped it around her body, and tied it with a small rope she found lying around. Indeed, she looked like a homeless person, and she was one. But it was the best she could afford at the moment. She looked around and found herself surrounded by boxes made of wood, the same wood she made a bonfire with.

She then sat down cross-legged, ignoring the manner for a girl around her age. She looked to be 14 years old, or a little bit older. However, her inside wasn’t that young. Believe it or not, the soul inside her body was of a grown-up man.

I’m really back alive, huh? But why…

Her mind was seemingly jumbled due to all of the unexpected events she had been going through. She scratched her head profusely, letting some strands of her hair fall out. A lot of information was already inside her head, but she couldn’t process everything in the blink of an eye. She needed time to even comprehend what kind of world she was in, or why she was reincarnated, or rather, why his soul was integrated into a young girl’s body. The knowledge that had been shoved to her head forcefully before didn’t seem to contain that information, and she realized she really needed to look for that information herself, without depending on anything but her own self.

She was taught to use her skill, Philargyria, and it resulted in her swallowing the old man whole the night before. All of sudden, she recalled the androgyneous voice she had heard before and decided to ask.

“Hey… I know you’re somewhere inside my body. Who are you?”

She casually asked that question. If someone were to see that, they would probably think that she was mentally sick since she was talking to no one.

“...”

She waited for almost a minute and ‘that thing’ didn’t reply, and it caused her to almost lose her patience.

“Hey, I’m asking you, the voice from before. I know you’re listening to me so open your goddamn mouth and answer my question.”

The reason why she was being like that was quite simple. That thing, or the source of the mysterious voice was there all the time. Albeit she couldn’t see or hear it at the moment, she could feel its presence inside her body.

[I am, indeed, listening.]

Bingo!

She almost jumped to know her deduction was correct, but she remembered that it wasn’t the time for that, or rather, she should never do that kind of thing. Once again, she might look like a scrawny, frail young girl outside, but inside, a grown-up man resided. And of course, her questions took priority, since she had no clue if the mysterious voice would answer again or not.

“Who are you?”

Again, she asked the same question. Without much time to wait, this time, the mysterious voice replied almost instantly.

[You do not qualify to ask for confidential information at the moment.]

The reply was so abrupt and somewhat forced, but she had no leeway to be mad. She knew getting mad would only result in more demerit for her.

“... Okay. Who am I?”

[Which one do you ask? The body? Or the soul?]

“The whole thing!”

She lost her temper and raised her voice.

[Please calm down. I will answer your question, as long as it is not beyond your qualification.]

The voice paused for a brief moment, before continuing to explain.

[For now, you are Morgan, albeit the body you are residing now was of a young girl named Philia. To be exact, a young female slave. For the proof, look at yout left arm and you shall find a slavery seal. As for your name, you are free to choose one you like. Or you can use different names as well. Everything is up to you.]

The girl then looked at her left upper arm and she spotted a bracelet-like tattoo. She then touched it as gently as she could. The image of a woman smiling brightly suddenly flashed in her mind, and she recognized that woman was the one she had never been able to save in her past life as a man.

“Slave? You mean a girl this young was enslaved and dumped into a cold river in winter!? What kind of world is this!?”

[I know you are shaken, since this is a different world from yours. Did you not realize it last night?]

The girl pondered for a little while and recalled she had seen two moons up in the sky the night before.

Not only that… The old man’s attire wasn’t of the Earth I used to know… It was more like… from the Medieval era?

[I see you begin to understand your circumstances. This world, indeed, is not the Earth. This world is Solaria. And its development is not as advanced as Earth. Actually, aside from basic knowledge, I assume that you must at least learn about your own existence. It is far more important to know about yourself than other things, is it not?]

I hate to admit it, but it’s right. All I know is how to use Philargyria, and nothing beyond that. Why I was given that skill, why I was integrated into this girl’s body, I know almost nothing… Except who I am and my past self…

The girl covered her mouth with her hand, as tears started to well up in her golden eyes. It seemed like being inside a young girl's body weakened her mental stability.

[You shall not forget who you were, as it shall become one of the reasons why you are here.]

The voice became stern and cold, indicating that it was the correct way of thinking she must adapt and accept. The girl was just about to open her mouth when the voice told her another fact.

[And another one. You are no longer a human. As I said before, you are free to use whichever name you feel suitable, but do not forget this one. Once again, you are no longer a human being.]

"... Seriously, just one thing after another… Who are you, really?"

She realized she had veered into the depth of the abyss, but with no guiding light whatsoever. In the end, all she could do was smirk and muster her resolve.

"Heh…"

[The day when you become one of us is near, yet it shall be felt so far. I have great expectations of you, Morgan.]

The girl, Morgan, clenched her fists tightly and wiped away her tears.

"Just tell me what to do. But don't expect me to believe all your words."

She couldn't see it, but she knew the source of the mysterious voice giggled at her in response, but not in a bad way.

[Firstly…]