What... what's going... why are my parents screaming?

They weren't on the train...

No... that's my phone...?

Why are they...

Everything's too dark, it smells bad... oil?

Why can I... smell oil?

It hurts... can't think... my head hurts... chest hurts... can't breathe.

Thirsty... need water... too sleepy... can't move...

Wasn't there something...?

...Who's screaming?

Someone else?

No, they're sleeping...

It's fine to sleep then, isn't it...

So... tired... I'll drink in the... morning...

...

Darkness enveloped him.

-

His eyes cracked open once again to the darkness, no longer cloying and suffocating but still and watching. His throat screamed for water and his stomach cried for food. But he was... alive. He was actually alive!

Under some rubble, it seemed, but there was light peaking in through the bottom of some cloth. It was enough of a gap that he could probably creep out. But how much room did he have? He pushed himself up.

"Ouch!" He whimpered in pain as he hit something hard and crashed back onto the ground.

It was then he noticed something was off.

The train crash. The oil fire. They'd been passing through a tunnel but he was on polished wood. And... he was certain that it was all over. Yet, he'd survived somehow, in better shape than possible. Despite the crash and the running and hitting the ground, his body didn't hurt at all - barring his head and hunger. Was it the shock? No that'd affect his thinking as well, wouldn't it? And why was there cloth?

Oh.

Oh no.

He was below a corpse, wasn't he? He'd seen bodies be covered by a tarp in the media. He didn't want to see another corpse. Not again.

Okay, he didn't want to pull off the tarp so he had to move out carefully. Then he'd call for help. After that, he'd go home and apologize to his parents and beg them to listen to him. If they didn't... he wouldn't think about that. Best-case scenarios only, he had to have hope.

With great effort, he hauled himself out of the darkness.

The light blinded him, he screwed his eyes shut to hide from it but it pierced through anyway. It was too much, his head felt like it was splitting. He couldn't even think as broken pieces of memories flashed across his eyes.

"...the young... end..." Just a peak of a black tailcoat. '...here... hide...' Eyes shut to the world. "...was moved... someone... in here..." Heels clicking against the floor. "...tighten security... I will... young..." Cruel grey eyes searching.

And then it was gone. All that was left was the unfamiliar-familiar room he'd seen a hundred times and never.

It was his. It had been his entire world for as long as he could remember and yet not even a piece of it felt familiar. This was where he was supposed to be, where he had to escape from.

Seeing his hands in the light, he could only think that they were way too small. The horrid scent he thought to be burnt corpses and oil had no other possible origin but himself. And his clothes... they were too small and so dirty he wondered if they'd been changed or washed in years. He distantly thought that needed a bath.

He stumbled to his feet, heading to the closet. The clothes were torn at every point, he needed something different.

Distantly, he felt a pull, like he could feel his blood flowing to his hand. Without a thought, he brought something to his mouth and bit into it. It wasn't a good taste but, in his hunger, he swallowed the bite anyway.

Looking to his hand, he found what appeared to be a raw potato. He stared at it for a good moment, blinking dumbly. He had no idea where it came from but at the same time, he did. It came from him.

The thought was both insane and felt truer than anything he'd thought in a while. The smoke must have gotten to him.

He tried the closet but it was locked. He needed a key.

It wasn't in the room, he knew that much. Something told him he wouldn't be able to find it.

Someone, then, he needed to find someone to help him. His appearance must be miserable, surely they'd take pity.

The door was also locked. He was trapped inside. He'd always been trapped.

But he'd gone outside just yesterday.

Next, he looked to the desk. There was a package with a note.

He wasn't supposed to take those, they'd know he was here. But he was meant to be here...

He was...

Ah, so that was the story.

That person wanted him dead. That person had locked him in his room, leaving him to die.

Occasionally, people came and they cleaned. They were sent by that person so he hid from them. He made his food appear from the air and avoided touching anything. As long as that person thought he was dead, it was fine.

Maybe he should have run away, but he didn't know what was outside. He could die there.

So he ate and he slept and he hid.

It was a life that ate away at his very soul.

No. He wouldn't live like that.

He rushed to the desk and tore open the package.

Clothes! Well-made clothes, at that! And a small bag filled with coins of various types.

Money and clothes. He could live with that.

He tore through the drawers to find whatever he could use - or sell if he needed to.

A pair of scissors to cut his matted hair, an ornamental hairbrush, some jewelry, some jewel-encrusted golden combs, and other random expensive-looking items. Most importantly, he found a needle and thread, he could make a makeshift bag with that. He just needed to find the sturdiest cloth he could.

The package. It was sent so it had to be durable enough to last until he found a way to sell it.

He stood once again and laid the cloth out. As he moved the note out of the way, its message caught his eye, "To Noe."

Noe, huh? Was that the name of his body's original owner. Ah, what a poor kid, he was just like a fan favorite from Aethertale, a game he'd played a lot before...

Noe Cassidirus was a tragic character. Growing up, he'd been trapped in his room by a spy employed by Marquis Desponaire, left to die a slow and painful death at the mere age of three. Somehow, Noe survived the two years it took before he was found. However, his soul had shattered by that point.

Thankfully, the Cassidirus family was more than important enough to be offered the country's greatest doctors and healers. Thanks to their powerful magic, the remaining pieces of Noe's soul lined up once again. But it would be forever fractured.

Actually, later in the game, it's found out that the protagonist, had been the recipient of some of the fragments of Noe's soul, which allowed them to become more powerful than the average person.

In the end, Noe wasn't a full person. He would switch between aggressive and cold, his mind frantically trying to keep him safe from the cruel world that broke him. Because of this, his family kept him hidden and his relationship with them was awful - the Cassidirus family weren't a kind bunch, still, they protected their own. So, forever trapped within the walls of the manor, Noe had no way to develop or recover and ended up being rather cruel to the player during interactions. The Marquis used this to pin all of his crimes on Noe and he was executed.

The truth came to light during the finale, but it was still a tragic story. Especially since the player could find diaries written by Noe writing about how he never hated anyone and much he wanted a friend, but everything that came out of him was cruel. And on top of that, Noe was a special person in the Cassidirus line. Should legends be believed, he could have been a great boon to his family and country.

Surprising no one, Noe ended up being a fan favorite. The development company was a rare breed that listened to their players and a DLC about him was soon to be released. It was going to be released in about two weeks.

Ah... he just wished he got to play as Noe... that would have been so fun! His doll-like appearance was something the character creator had limited options to copy.

Idly, the kid reached to his hair to see if it was too ruined to braid. The locks were stained by dirt and dust, but it was clearly a beautiful silver, perhaps even white. Just like...

Wait.

Waitwaitwaitwaitwait.

He tripped over to the mirror, abandoning his half-finished bag, and fell to his knees in front of it, staring at his reflection.

In the mirror, a doll-like face, long, matted, platinum hair, and golden eyes stared back.

There was no way.

"I'm... Noe?"