Dark.
Everything was.
The whole world.
Just Dark.
And Empty.
-Huh?
-Wha...?
-What is this?
Looking around, everything was the same, just dark.
-Wait, was I even looking around?
-I.... don't know...?
It was weird, I felt nothing, not even myself.
There was no up, no down, no sensation, no feeling, nothing to see, nothing to hear, only darkness, empty darkness.
This empty world.
-Where is this?
-Where am I?
Wait, I remember leaving for the award function early.
Then, what?
What happened?
-Was I kidnapped?
Is this some kind of joke?
But, isn't it too...weird, too...mystical...? to be one?
A prank by my haters?
No, it can't be, this was just too unreal.
And, I also had this feeling, this nagging feeling, that something happened.
No, something really happened, something definitely did...
But, what??
It was... something sad..., yet something happy...?
-JUST WHAT WAS ITTT!!??
Uhhh, so annoying.
This annoying feeling of forgetting something.
This unbearable feeling.
Just, what, did I get happy about?
Did miss Miller...?
No, not that, no way I wouldn't know, if that happened.
"...master...up...."
-What was that!!??
That voice.
-Who is it??
I shouted.
But there was no sound.
Can I even, talk here??
Can someone hear me??
Is there even a someone here??
Maybe, that voice...?
That voice, maybe it, would hear me...?
"…...master.....wake....up..."
That voice, again!!!
-Just who is it??
Who? who? who?
".... young...master...."
Wait, what did it call me...?
Yo-young...master..., that., that, that…who called me that?
Uhmmmm, it was someone familiar, someone close, someone cute…. wait, cute? I know someone cute? except miss Miller...?
Uhhh, how can I forget her then?
Wait, I remember, she was cute....and exotic..., I think...?
Hahaha, exotic my ass, maybe, I am drugged?
Yep, must be, that's why I am feeling like this!
Oh well, better than being fed potions by Amy?
Wait, Amy?
Then it clicked, like a clogged pipe being unclogged, they poured in, memories, a huge pile of them, not mine, but, Rayne's, but unlike the last time, they were organised, skipping the ones I didn't acquire, all of them fit in their places.
From the day, he was born to the day he slept forever, all the memories, just as monotonous as before, but arranged in a chronological order, unlike the short movies like before, they finally felt like a story, a story of his life.
They flashed for a long time, as if urging me to remember them, before ending.
And then, something else started, something warm, something colourful, something full of emotions, they too were memories, but much more precious. For, they were memories of the life I lived.
They were not long, rather they were short, too short, just half a day worth's, but I knew, that this was just the start, for I am going to make a pile of them too, a pile much bigger than this one.
Soon the memories stopped, and I was back in the dark world, no, it wasn't dark anymore, rather a huge bright crack emerged in it, a glowing white crack, which I instinctively knew was my answer.
I couldn't move, but there was no need to, as the crack widened, and widened, and kept widening until it engulfed me and this world, the whole.
It was bright, so bright that it hurt, even with my closed eyes.
And, when the brightness lessened, I opened them, only to find my maid, Amy.
With evening sunlight shining behind, kissing her fur and beautiful skin, making my already beautiful maid, look so enchanting, that all my thoughts were blown away, as I unconsciously muttered, "Beautiful…"
Obviously, with my super maid's senses, there was no way she didn't catch that, and from the snide smile forming on her lips, which completely broke the previous atmosphere, I knew, a quirky remark is gonna follow, and it did,
"Ohya, is Young Master considering a liaison with this 'beautiful' maid~??
I wonder~~
Sorry, to disappoint you Young Master, but for now, this maid only sees you as a young boy, who won't wake up, even if it's already evening.
But, don't worry Young Master, not all hope is lost, if you say this even after coming back from the academy, then this maid, will consider having a tryst with you~"
And yeah, just hearing how she called herself 'beautiful' made me exhausted, not that it wasn't true, as for the rest, it was just mental damage.
How I hated myself for not hating the idea of having a tryst with her.
Ignoring the quirky comment, or making it seem like I did, I asked something which surprised me, "It's evening already?"
"Yes, Young Master, you slept through the whole morning, and would have kept sleeping if I hadn't woken you up.
But I couldn't let you do that as Master told me to wake you up around this time.
He also said that the supplements he gave you yesterday would mostly be used up till now. So from now on you will have to eat properly."
Hearing her explain herself, I really wanted to tell her that it wasn't necessary, but I refrained. Though a bit quirky, my maid did her job properly and professionally. Just that, she didn't suppress her desire to express herself and that was okay for me, I wasn't fond of the idea of having a stern or cold maid following around me.
Though now I was a bit concerned about the professional part. Maybe, unintentionally, but she was being too enticing for me.
Answering with a short, "I see.", my thoughts shifted from her.
And my mind, which was about to be drifted to the incongruous thing happening to me, was interrupted by my maid as I heard her continue,
"Also, you should be able to move your body somewhat normally now, Young Master. So, why don't you wash up, while I serve the luncheon? You must be eager to eat something after sleeping for a year, right?"
And I got exasperated.
Really, this maid...
Why can't she tell important things first?
I wanted to rebuke her at first, but recalling that she just answered my question first and then followed with her words, made me not to.
It was also that her response made me happy and saved me my brain juice.
Why?
Well, it was just the key to the puzzle. My body, apparently, I could move it now. Which meant I was finally fully functional and this explained it all.
The things I was seeing, the things I was hearing, the things I was feeling and everything else.
The thing was, my senses, which were closer to how they were before I transmigrated had changed from yesterday, that too greatly.
My eyes could see a lot more than they could yesterday. Rather than just the small hand of the clock on the wall, I could even see the small hand of the clock, of the clock tower in the estate.
Admittedly, the clock was huge.
But still, being able to see so far in so much detail, when I didn't even notice the clock tower yesterday was such a huge leap.
And that was for all my senses. If I wanted to, I could hear the chatter around the mansion, smell the faint smell of shampoo from Amy's hair, even feel the heat from the food she brought with her. All that, while just being seated on the bed.
But that was not all, I could sense, something different, something intangible yet something important, something which didn't exist in my previous world, [Mana].
And being able to sense that, was amazing; thrilling even. It was like seeing, no, not seeing, but, feeling, the world from a whole different angle, in a different way.
This sense, [Mental Perception] as it was called, had the potential to replace all other senses, other than pure instincts, and was the prerequisite of being a magic user, and one of the major factors considered when evaluating an individual's 'talent'.
Just thinking about its applications was enough to make me excited, unable to restrain myself, I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the strange sensation I was feeling.
And my first thought was, foggy and weird.
Everything was like that, I could vaguely feel some things around me. I could also feel all sorts of properties they had. And honestly, feeling all that with a single sense felt weird.
It was like another me was living in that foggy world and he sent all the things he felt to me. And I, sort of, stored that image of another me in my mind. For, I knew this is gonna be useful.
But still, it was too foggy, maybe due to my low [Mental Power]?
Well, I set [Mental Perception] up to become stronger with the user's [Mental Power], which normally grows with age until you reach the [limit]. So, I think it will slowly get less foggy as I grow older.
Anyways, I found out that I could feel certain things if I focus on them. But I wanted to do something else, something like, for a lack of better word, a scan. I wanted to see if I can passively feel the things in a certain area.
In Rowen's terms, I wanted to create a [Mental Avatar].
So, I called the other me of foggy world to my own position, and then, changed the way I saw him, imaged him, or, at least tried to do so.
Rather than another me, I imaged him a to become a slime. Yes, a slime, which should cover my whole body, with several small tentacles extending no more than a meter from it, and a single long tentacle about 5 meters long, my current limit, which will be used to sweep my surroundings.
And yes, I stole it from a certain someone. But, come on! I was the one who wrote that someone, so the idea was mine, m-i-n-e!
It was not the best [Mental Avatar], but with amount of Mental Power I had for now, it was the most suitable.
After all, I couldn't be like Eva who had monstrous mental power and could image and control her [Mental Avatar] as sakura petals, man that is damn cool.
Okay, so I tried to do that, fully establish my [Mental Avatar].
And failed, why?
The reason was walking towards me, or should I say, the reason's walking dulled my concentration, attracted my focus?
Well, due to that, I also realized another thing. I was still unfamiliar with [Mental Perception], since such a small thing as someone walking interrupted me.
And actually, it was pretty normal that I failed. In fact, it would be pretty absurd, monstrous even, to complete it in first try.
And I, was in no way a monster.
So, labelling this as a task to do later, I opened my eyes, thinking, 'Welp, I closed my eyes for so long, did she think I fell asleep-'
Such thoughts running around my mind were blown away as soon as I saw my maid's face.
And then, I realized, I fucked up.
My maid very much looked the same as before, that is, if you ignored her overly smiling smile which didn't quite reach her eyes, or her pupils who looked at me with hidden fury which was not so hidden to me.
I tried to say something, to apologize, I feel like I am doing that a lot these days...
But before I could utter a single word, she was on me, quite literally.
With her elbow resting on my pillow, her palm holding her chin, her chest crushing on my side, her lips which were just an inch away from my ear and especially her leg which went over my thighs... Anyone who saw this scene 'would have thought', that the maid and the master were having a liaison.
Mind the words, they 'would have thought' but, unfortunately, they won't.
Why?
Well, the reason was also the center of my attention, a finger pointed straight at my forehead, surrounded by threateningly glowing orangish magical symbols, revolving around it.
It was just like last time, a movement without any time lag and just like the last time, my eyes couldn't follow her, even with my now heightened senses.
My body, which I hadn't moved yet, dodged to side instinctively.
Oh well, at least it tried to, but she wasn't a [Priestess] for nothing. Without moving her finger a single inch, her hand which was supporting her chin clamped on my shoulder.
And that was it.
Yes, I am ashamed, but with just a single hand on my shoulder, she restrained my whole body. I don't know what magic she used but whatever it was, I couldn't move my body, again.
My body which hadn't even started dodging was paralyzed and the maid once again held her chin with her palm, as she leaned in and whispered, "Even trying to dodge me, looks like Young Master has grown rebellious~", her chest crushing on my side even more as she did.
Soft.
Wait, no- I was saying... um, yeah- Rebellious my ass! I got scared, okay?
And anybody would get scared if you suddenly appear in front of them, especially, if they know that you are an expert grade [Assassin].
But, even if I fucked up, even if I used a lot of [Mental Power], this is too much, right? Especially the soft torture.
Scared and knowing that she won't hesitate, as this time I probably conflicted her Master's order, I tried my best to explain her, "Amy! That was just my instincts, Amy. And you know that, right? Please let me explain, I won't break my promise and I am not dumb enough to do that in front of you, so please let me explain, please."
Thankfully, the maid listened to what I had to say.
Well, I knew she would, but having a glowing finger stuffed in your face, which could probably throw whatever magic it had for a single slip up, really doesn't make it easy to calm down.
With her finger still in front of my face and her lips almost touching my ear, the maid said her piece with a serious expression, "Listen here Young Master, Master has ordered me strictly to forbid you from any kind of training, or exertion, be it mental, physical, or magical.
If you break your word and try to exert yourself, I have been ordered to put you under a sleep spell which will make you sleep for 5 days straight, and that is at your first try.
So, whatever you say, I hope it makes sense, or I will be forced to carry out my orders and personally, I will be very disappointed in a Young Master who breaks his words."
Okay, there goes my plan to simply apologize in gutter. Now, time for plan B, speak only truth!
"I have completed, the theorization of a new [Mental Avatar]."
"What!?" Hearing my response my maid was a bit surprised, as her eyebrows arched, but quickly composed herself, as she continued, "Are you speaking the truth Young Master??", as soon as she completed her sentence, her eyes blazed, as if they were on fire, carefully observing my face.
I would have enjoyed being in close proximity with my maid, only if she had removed that damn finger!
With my grievances staying deep in my heart, I quickly answered with a "Yes", not daring to waste my maid's time and expecting a lot other questions. After all creating a [Mental Avatar], even if just in theory, is a big deal.
But, those questions, never came.
Maybe, hearing my quick answer and noticing no lies, did the trick? Well, even if it didn't, it was worth revealing it, as she finally removed that damned finger from my face.
"So, he says, Master.", my maid said as she stood up, the soft feeling leaving me, but in the next moment I faced a different peril. As she got up, naturally she straddled my leg. Her toned yet soft thighs, rubbing against mine, which would have caused a lot of different feelings if not for her previous words.
Huh?
Master?
So, it's Master, huh?
I see...
So, it was that silent-revenge-Earl, pulling the strings?
I watched as my maid talked with the Earl. And yes, I decided I wasn't going to let him off so easy, before I moved my attention to my body.
And I must say, I am surprised.
This body, though a bit out of shape due to sleeping, was excellent! All I needed to do was to put a bit of muscle on it, and it was as good as new, wait, that didn't come out right, this body is new!
Also, that wasn't the only surprising thing, its condition was also surprising.
This body, which I couldn't even move last night, in under 24 hours, was working just fine. And It wasn't just working, 'just fine', it was even able to do super human things! Just how amazing is that?
As for how I know, that it can do superhuman things?
Well, those senses were definitely superhuman. Also, even though it was an instinctive movement, me even being able to react to Amy's speed, was a bigger than necessary proof that this was definitely a body capable of doing superhuman feats.
A body of a magic user, who trained to the limit, no, who went beyond the limits.
Soon, I was done with my observation, as I didn't need to do something silly like trying to move my arms or legs as I had already checked them with [Mental Perception] before. So, for the first time in this world, I sat up without any help and watched my maid.
It looked like their talk was over as she nodded and replied with a, "I will do so, Master.", and then placed her finger on her temple, before making a pulling motion. And to my surprise, an orangish colored string made out of Mana was pulled out, dragging with it several silvery symbols attached to it, and then, with a simple flick of her finger, those symbols vanished.
Now that was surprising for me, as this method of dispelling communication was not something, that I wrote.
But I took it quite well, after all a lot of things have changed, this family, their characters, their behavior and so on.
So, there was no need to make a fuss over a single [Magic Method].
Plus, it felt like my maid wanted to talk about something, just like I did.
And I was proven right, as she opened her mouth and said, "Young Master, Master has asked you to see him tomorrow morning."
"I see, I will do so. But before that, tell me, since when was your link activated? And everything you did, was it under Earl's orders?" I continued with a serious expression, "Also, don't lie, tell the truth, this is an order."
Why did I ask this?
The answer was simple, no matter how much the circumstances changed, no matter what conditions she went through, as long as she was Amy, she would be intelligent. Intelligent enough to know what she was doing to me, what effect it had on me, and even if subtle, just what she was hinting to.
That, and I didn't want to harbor such feelings, at least not towards her.
Clearly, not expecting such a question, Amy's expression changed a few times. As I said she was intelligent, intelligent enough to connect the dots, and know, why I was asking this.
In the end, she sighed, and sat down beside me, and asked, her tone quite different from usual, a serious yet nonchalant tone, "Hoooh, since when has sleeping started to make someone smarter, Young Master??"
Just that sentence alone, was enough confirmation.
If someone asked me how I was feeling I would probably punch his nose and a say 'Just like that, you asshole!'. Yes, it hurt a little, I was a bit disappointed, but that was it.
And, I was glad that, that was it.
My maid clearly saw my gloomy expression, but didn't say anything, just waited for my answer.
So, answering was what I did.
I answered, "Since, never Amy. But you can't imagine just how much time it gives a person to think about their life. But that isn't the answer to my question, is it, Amy?"
My tone obviously got a bit rougher towards the end.
Knowing she can't dodge the question, Amy didn't try to beat around the bush anymore, and said monotonously, "Since the beginning, Young Master, from the moment you tapped into your [Mental Avatar], I initiated the link. For, Master doesn't think that you would take your promises lightly, and all the things I did after that, including those hints, I did following his orders. Does that answer satisfy you, Young Master?"
"I see." I paused, not liking the answer one bit, "Still, the cat is out of the bag, I, know, now!"
"So, why are you still trying to make the Earl look good, even now?" I said almost irritated, borderline jealous of the Earl, who had this unwavering loyalty.
As if deliberately and thoroughly trying to annoy me, my maid turned to look at me, her hands drifting to my head as she lightly ruffled my hair a few times until I finally got annoyed and slapped her hand off.
"Ouch!" my maid grimaced in a way that fooled no one, but instead of answering my question, she asked me, another one of her own, "Why are you asking something whose answer you know already?"
And that was it.
I couldn't stand it anymore.
I got off the bed, stood up, grabbed my clothes and a towel, which were already placed on the trolley by Amy and went towards the bathroom.
Just during the short walk, my initial anger had faded away, so, before entering, I said in a light voice, "I will think about it in the shower?", as if whispering to myself.
And, for the second time in a short day, I felt that my maid was deliberately annoying me, as she said in a cheerful voice, a voice that had all its vigor restored, "Okay, but don't take too long though, as magically heated food doesn't taste as good as original, Young Master."
Seriously...., why did you answer it, I said it lightly like that, cause I didn't want an answer?
And you know that!
But you still did it!
Can't you read the mood, no wait, you are deliberately ignoring that, aren't you?
With an annoyed mood, I entered the bathroom.
Slightly surprised about my body, which I knew would work well, but didn't expect it to work that well. Apart from a slight sense of discrepancy, it felt like it was always my body.
Looks like, he isn't a [Potion Master] in name only....
With such thoughts, I opened the door.
***
A simple patient's gown, that was what I was wearing. It was supposed to be a simple thing to take off and yet here I was, fiddling with it for about a minute, yet to find a way to take it off.
I don't why this was happening, no, actually I knew, better than anyone else about what was happening, but I didn't want to acknowledge it.
Half a minute passed and here I was still, fiddling with it. I felt it was not my fault, it was a type of gown I had never seen on Earth, but still, with previous me's memories, I should be able to manage it, and yet-
-Teaaarrrrr...!
That sound and the sight of my torn gown brought me back to reality, making me question myself.
Was I really that annoyed? Annoyed to the point, that I couldn't even take off a simple gown?
Just how old am I? 3 years, 4 years, seriously..., I am a guy in his thirties and here I am, having anger management issues, laughable and pathetic.
Placing the half-torn gown into what looked like a laundry bucket, I stripped my underwear and placed it in there too and looked around.
There were two doors in here, apart from the one I came from, one led to the bath and another one to the toilet. Having not eaten anything so far, I had no need, nor the urge, to take a dump. So, I obviously got into the bath and yes, it too was luxurious.
It was half the size of my room, covered in full white tiles and was equipped with a big hot bath which could change the temperature at my will, a magical shower and simple washing space, nothing special but still looked a bit grand.
I dragged my feet to the shower, and as I said, it was a magical shower, it had a control panel filled with buttons, I fiddled with it a bit, and then, turned it on with its maximum setting.
Immediately, I felt myself being showered with pleasantly hot water from all five directions.
The jets of water, were hitting my body quite heavily. If I did this with a normal human body, then my whole skin would have turned red, but for this body it was nothing but a tickle.
Thankfully, this magic shower was intelligent enough to not hit my eyes and dick with those pressurized jets.
Or, I would have cursed.
Feeling this, as a good enough atmosphere, I closed my eyes to do the thing I wanted to, to think.
I had to sort out my thoughts, which had been flying around. So, without procrastinating any further, I started with a basic problem which has been bugging me from yesterday.
Rayne Von Ellsworth, just who was this guy?
I tried, and tried, and tried to remember, to recall, to recollect, but I failed.
I had written about the Earl, I had written about Countess Latina, I had written about Reonald, I even remember mentioning Rayne's mother the dead Countess in passing, to make the backstory and all, but I don't recall writing a single word about anyone named Rayne.
So, rather than wasting my brain power, by thinking about where the hell this guy came from, I drew conclusions from it, very disturbing conclusions.
My existence, changed the world.
Though, it was a bit outlandish and exaggerated, it was true.
This world, which had a single start and a single end, had changed just by my existence. The Earl-, no let's not think about the Earl here, I'll just get annoyed again.
The crux of the matter was that, just my existence created a butterfly effect which, no matter how small, will take this world away from its predetermined course.
Normally, like any other guy, I would have liked the ending which I set to occur, but that was the problem.
The problem that this was Rowen.
If I had to give my novel a genre, I would say without a delay, tragic fantasy.
No matter how beautiful this world looked, no matter how marvelous it was. All of it, literally, all of it, would end in tragedy.
A fate that even the Ellsworth County couldn't escape.
A fate I couldn't escape.
That is, if I did nothing.
My existence now, was literally a variable which could change the world.
In fact, not just me even the previous me was one too was a variable, and he had already changed the world.
Even if all he did was to mostly train, he had already changed the behavior of the members of his family members to a small extent, just by existing.
Thinking about the past me, I had a thought, a guess, a speculation, a simple but a very possible speculation.
What if, that was it!?
What if, whoever it was who brought us here wanted to change this world's fate somehow and Rayne Von Ellsworth is simply an identity he created for him to transmigrate people into, and when that person failed, which I think the old Rayne did, he simply brought a new one in?
My speculation though terrifying, wasn't baseless.
I mean, why the hell would, a kid, a small kid, would start to train at the age of 6, that too as if his life depended on it. It doesn't made sense, right?
So, that was it?
I was a disposable good?
-Shawwww...!
The sound of shower hitting me echoed in the bathroom, as I stopped thinking for a bit and opened my eyes.
I needed to stop thinking that way.
My eyes looked around, sweeping the bathroom, looking for something to distract my thoughts, before finding it as the very own shower I was using.
As I said before, this was a magical shower, and it was beautiful.
With water coming out from the ceiling, mechanically this time, it passed through a layer of magical symbols, which split it into a large number of tiny water streams. These tiny streams, then defied the gravity as they flowed into an equally large number of small magic circles, which formed something that looked like a half elliptical cocoon made up of small magic circles around me. These small magic circles pressurized the tiny streams, and showered them on me.
And taking this scene as the best water show, I had ever seen in my life. I closed my eyes once again, cursing myself for making this world so alluring....
As my mind cleared its thoughts, I made my decision.
It doesn't matter who called me, it doesn't matter if I was a disposable good, it doesn't matter if I am walking straight into the path that 'someone' wanted me to-
-I will do it.
I will get involved.
Involved in this world.
So involved, in fact, that I will turn it upside down, the tragic fate and the impending doom, all of it.
But that was not all, I won't just do that.
I will also enjoy it.
Thoroughly.
To my fullest, just like that woman in the memory told me-
-I will make this whole Rowen my stage!
Okay, that was a bit, no, too cringe.
But that was my decision.
And hey! Fantasies are cringe!