The Ritual of the Sapphire Swordmaster is a supposedly famous web novel written by an anonymous author. From my understanding, it had the good mix of fantasy, action and friendship; what typical novel readers would look for in an isekai. However, it was unfortunate that the author themselves disappeared a while ago, seemingly with no intentions to finish the novel. Despite that, a couple of readers remained, hopeful that they would return some day. 

I didn’t know anything about the book, nor did I wish to know. But hearing Jian talk about it so often made me want to listen to her rants, and I even read the first chapter at some point. After all, there must’ve been some reason she was so passionate about it, right?

There were three things that I could vividly recall about the novel:

1. The cold protagonist, Idris, was a fan favourite for his story and personality. Despite his initial impression, many liked him for his determination and cheered him along on his journey.
2. The annoying antagonist, Raphael, was hated by a lot of people in the fandom because he did everything he could do to make the main character’s life absolute hell. He was described as a horrid, jealous noble who had a bleak future awaiting him.
3. Alchemy was a dominant theme. Even though the author tried to break down the magical system into simpler terms, many readers struggled to fully understand it. Maybe it was something that wasn’t supposed to be understood from the beginning.

It was no surprise that a non-reader such as myself had a hard time understanding how the mana shenanigans worked. But because Jian talked about the book so much, even I began to learn the basics.

And for that, I was glad. Because what awaited me there was a place not kind to beginners.   

***

Again, I was back at the empty dark space with nothing. Except this time, I didn’t know whether I was physically dead or alive. I could no longer feel any of my senses.

So instead, I laid perfectly still on the ‘floor’, waiting for someone to wake me up. I don’t remember how long I stayed there for, just that I started becoming restless.

I had accepted my fate a while ago; I would never be able to wake up because I was alone and helpless. However, it was then that I heard a soft sound from behind me, as if someone had thrown something at me.

I turn around, and I could faintly see a thin golden string beckoning for me. It was in a bundle, with the other end connected to an unknown pathway. I was certainly running out of options so I did what many would’ve also done in my place.

I followed the gold string.

***

The ground felt cold, but I was relieved that I was suddenly feeling something, despite how uncomfortable it was—but was I lying on stone tiles?

The same uneasiness hit me once again and my eyes shot open. I didn’t know whether to be glad that I wasn’t suddenly hit with brightness, or confused by the irregular dim lighting of the room.

My eyes adjusted to the ‘room’ in question, my frown deepening.

‘Now wait a minute… this is no room.’

I’m in a fucking dungeon.

If I was presumably still alive, then this new detail just took 5 years off my lifespan.

My heart rate began to quicken as I looked around, eyes falling on the wooden ‘shelf’ holding a variety of dangerous torture tools I would only see in horror movies. I suppressed a shiver upon glancing for a second at the rusty chains and… the antique chair that was noticeably wet.

I didn’t need a flashlight to know what it was; the smell was enough to confirm my suspicions. That was blood.

Yup, there was no doubt about it. I was definitely in a dungeon—and the most rancid one at that. Could it be possible that I was still dreaming?

I tried moving my hands, that were luckily, unshackled despite the obviously very bad circumstances; they also looked fine… oddly too nice. Were my fingernails always this neat? (To answer that question, no).

I took a deep breath and pushed myself up. Getting up was easy as well, but I really wished it was the opposite because there was no rational explanation for the overwhelming feeling I got when I realized that something was terribly wrong with my body.

My weight felt a bit heavier than usual—I couldn’t have gained weight while I was almost dead! And… taller too? Upon further inspection, I was also wearing different clothes; if I had to guess, I was wearing a dirty white poet’s shirt along with long black pants and light boots. I also seemed to have a few bracelets hanging around my wrist even though I never really wore jewelry.

To be exact, I didn’t have any of these clothes in my closet.

A sudden thought crossed my mind, but either it was too absurd to consider at first, or I was trying really hard to deny the truth.

It seemed like it was the latter because no sooner did I hear loud footsteps approaching from the dark hallway. Desperate to get help, I practically lunged myself at the cell bars, forgetting all about my previous worries because experiencing bodily changes was one thing, and being kept as a prisoner in such a crude place was another thing entirely.

‘I must have committed the biggest sin one could ever think.’ I thought, and if I were just insane enough, I would’ve passed this off as one big joke.

Finally the footsteps stopped right in front of me and I immediately backed away. Those weren’t cops—they weren’t ordinary soldiers either, because no sane soldier would be wielding such a threatening and ominous-looking sword.

I had to be in a museum, right? Maybe this was one sick prank after all…

My possibilities were thinning out, and so was my remaining sanity as one of the soldiers dropped a pile of… rocks?

‘That can’t be food.’ I thought.

“Your dinner.” They curtly announced. Whatever that was, it surely didn’t look edible.  

The two armoured soldiers looked back on me, one of them shooting me a disgusted look as they scoffed. “If it were up to me, I wouldn’t have fed scum like you. The viscountess is far too naive.”

“Don’t waste your time on him,” the other nudged their coworker, glaring at me for a second before turning around. “Let’s leave.”

No sooner had they arrived than they left, and I was standing dumbfounded in the gloomy cell again; and with more questions than answers.

I wanted to talk to whoever was in charge of my situation but in my current state, I wasn’t prepared to even face my family, let alone talking to one of those intimidating guards again!

My legs began to shake and I had to lean on the gravel wall for support. My legs gave up on me before I could reach the corner and I slumped against the wall with a harsh thump.

‘This is definitely not looking good for me.’ I let out a whimper. Seriously, what did I do in my past life but skip class? Did I switch places with someone during the reincarnation process or something?

Wait… reincarnation.

I gripped the collar of my shirt, hands also shaking as the reality hit me.

I was dead.

There was no other explanation. I had probably died while— pain struck my head as I recalled memories before the incident. I bit my tongue, trying to distract myself from the bile that gathered in my mouth.

The damn truck. I really did throw myself out there without thinking twice… not like I was regretting it or anything.

At least it wasn’t Jian.

I began to wonder how I looked like during my final moment; Jian must’ve seen it all. God, thinking about it only made me feel worse so I rubbed my forehead and tried to think of other things.

Like how I’d probably never see Jian, my mom or my little sister again.

My brain was not working with me. I couldn’t help it. Before I knew it, hot tears began to pour out of my eyes like a broken faucet. I felt my cheeks sting in response— did I have a cut?—as more and more tears fell until I ran out of water to spare.

I wondered if Jian also cried when she saw my dead body.

‘Ah, maybe it would’ve been better if my soul died along with it.’

I tried to push away whatever dark thoughts accumulated in my head at that moment; it wouldn’t do to think of uncertain possibilities. There was no guarantee I would return home if I…

I shook my head again. I’ll have to think of something else… when I’m feeling mentally better.

I don’t remember how I fell asleep in such a dire situation, but I eventually grew tired of crying and my exhaustion overpowered my fear as I slipped into unconsciousness once again.

***

The second time I woke up, I didn’t have time (or even the energy) to move so I vomited whatever remains I—or more precisely, this body—had consumed days before.

Luckily, one of the guards was nice enough to place a bowl of water beside my ‘dinner’. I drank it without hesitation, ignoring my inner thoughts screaming at me of the possibility that the innocent drink could’ve been poisoned.

After all, if even the guards despised my very existence, then I must’ve done something really wrong. More precisely, the person’s body I was occupying.

I— they—couldn’t be a murderer, right…?

I shivered at the thought of it. ‘No way is that possible.’

“You don’t seem to be doing so well.”

I jumped out of my seat in a panic, startled by the eerily quiet voice that came out of nowhere.

“I’m not hearing voices now, am I?” I whispered; my eyes widened in realization that this was the first time I spoke after reincarnating in this body. It was a little raspy from not talking for so long, but I knew it was definitely not my original voice.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to marvel at how oddly nice my new (male?) voice sounded because the creepy thing spoke again.

“I can confirm that you’re not hearing voices,” they replied to my earlier comment.

‘Wow, I’m not insane yet. How convenient!’

“… Who are you?” No matter how hard I tried to put up a brave front, my trembling lips betrayed the fear that I had equipped the second I was thrust in this place; I can’t count on anyone here.

“A… friend,” they responded again with a pause this time. Before I could comment on how obviously unconvincing that sounded, a gigantic flying eyeball materialized right in front of me.

“Aghh!!” I crawled backwards until my back hit the cold wall, my heart pounding against my chest. “Wh--What the f-fuck?!”

I really didn’t know if I was hallucinating or I was indeed in an entirely different world than my own. Neither scenario sounded good.

That thing—eyeball, whatever it was—blinked at me before turning around, its yellow bat wings facing me now instead of its face. “Pardon me; I forgot how weird I may look like to someone like you.”

Someone like me? “… Why are you turning around now?”

“Do you want to see teeth on an eyeball?”

I held back a gulp, realizing their point.

No. No I didn’t.

I didn’t answer but I assumed my silence meant something to them because they didn’t respond.

An uncomfortable silence ensued. I awkwardly scratched my arm. ‘Let’s just…get answers.’ “Um… you said you’re a friend, right?”

“Yes…!” they almost turned back around in excitement to face me but quickly stopped themselves. I felt oddly touched by the gesture for some reason. “I understand that this situation may seem bizarre to you but—“

“—Stupid Be! Why didn’t you wait for me?! I was forced to talk to the…” I almost had another heart attack when a second flying eyeball with blue wings this time travelled from the wall like a ghost, freezing as soon as they met my eye. “Oh… I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?”

I gaped at the weird mouth on the bottom eyelid that looked like it had been copy and pasted, now understanding what the eyeball—Be, apparently—was talking about. That must’ve been the most terrifying thing I’ve seen yet.

I could only hope I did not have to interact with similar things in the near future. If I stayed alive the next few days, that is (the rotten food wasn’t doing me any favours). 

If Be had hands, I was certain that they would be face palming themselves right now. They turned to face their teammate, clearly unhappy with the interruption. “Ce! I told you, I was going to speak to the human first so that they don’t feel nervous!”

“Too late for that,” I mumbled, as the two eyeballs now faced me, seemingly as if they were studying me. I shifted uncomfortably by their stares and tried to find something else to talk about. “There won’t be… another one of you guys coming here, right?” I think a third heart attack would really kill me.

“We have another friend,” Ce responded, their tone suddenly turned gloomy. “Ai is a little… stern. Luckily, you won’t see them often.”

“But they mean well!” Be shot a glare at the other eyeball before they returned their attention to me. “I’ll be accompanying you for most of the time, so you don’t need to worry about getting us confused, alright?”

“Now hold up just a minute,” I pinched my forehead, frowning. “Accompanying me? You guys make it sound like I’m going on a trip!” I laughed weakly, and my unstable grin soon left my face when the two locked eyes with each other like they were mentally exchanging words.

I did not have a good feeling about this.

“Should we begin with an explanation?”

***