Ring!
Cassio was awoken by the shrill sound which pierced into his ears, arousing him from his sweet dreams. He cracked his eyes open, meeting the rays of sunlight which blinded him temporally. His eyelids quivered as his eyes adjusted to the light. He looked beside him and saw Chase wild awake, staring at him with a sad expression.
"It's a new day, Chase," Cassio said. "Don't allow yesterday's problems to enshroud you."
He sighed as he made to stand up from the bed when he remained frozen where he was, a reality dawning on him. He was not in his room anymore!
What the f*ck, he cussed inwardly as he quickly sprang out of bed. He stood in the middle of the bedroom in a daze, still confused how he got to a room totally different from his.
This room was painted white and had beautiful furnitures unlike the ones which had been at his former room. The bedposts were made of smooth wood which glittered under the sunlight. There was a large metallic wardrobe standing near his bed and a large wooden table standing at a corner. On this table were components of machines and devices which Cassio hadn't seen before. The walls which were beautiful themselves carried the several paintings on wooden frames. The floor was overlaid with white rug with no speck of dirt or whatsoever. The ceiling was white and beautifully inlaid with strange designs that Cassio couldn't help but gawk at them. Hanging down the ceiling was a white fan which was turned on, its blade swivelling swifty like oiled ball bearings. The array of white walls, ceiling, floor and other objects dispelled a feeling of serenity and purity.
Cassio didn't bother to carefully observe the paintings as he was very shocked about how he got into the strange room. Was I kidnapped and brought here?
He walked to the table and began fondling with the components. After touching them he couldn't help but say with alarm, "This isn't my room!"
Chase whimpered and leaped out of the bed to his feet, obviously scared as well. Who wouldn't be scared after discovering that they woke up in another room when actually they had slept on their own bed?!
"This is strange," Cassio said to Chase. "How was I kidnapped without me knowing? Was I even kidnapped to begin with?"
Chase continued whimpering, still at Cassio's feet. Even it shared the puzzlement of its master. It stared up at him, observing his reaction.
Cassio racked his brain, trying to recall where he was but to no avail. Then he made up his mind to escape as quick as possible from the strange room. He walked towards the door and was about turning it when he realized another strange thing. He was in some white pyjamas!
"What is actually going on?" he asked in shock. He had actually slept with his white hoodies and blue jeans, how come he was now in white pyjamas? Then, his shock developed into fear. He was now very afraid now and almost screamed out of fear. It took him some time to control himself as he walked backwards, leaving the door. He walked back to the table on which several components were sprawled upon and found a silvery framed mirror. He didn't know what prompted him to take that decision but he made up his mind to look into the mirror.
"What if I see another face?" he tried to make a joke out of the situation, turning his head to stare down at the golden retriever standing at his feet. His hands reached the mirror, picking it up.
"Holy sh*t!" He screamed his head out immediately he saw his reflection in the mirror. Staring at him was a young boy about 15 years with white curly and long hair, sea blue eyes and beautiful lips which gave him a hazy shade of feminity. This boy was very gorgeous unlike the naturally handsome him, striking into the hearts of whoever beheld him. Also, this boy had a white curly and long hair which reached his shoulders when he knew he had an auburn and short hair! This was an entirely different appearance!
Cassio staggered back in horror, his hands losing their grips over the mirror. He couldn't help but watch helplessly as the mirror fell off his hands.
Crash!
The mirror crashed to the ground, letting out a loud noise which alarmed Cassio. With this noise, he knew whoever had brought him into the unknown place would no doubt hurry here to ascertain the cause. But then, he doubt he would survive if the person actually rushed over. Someone who was capable of beaming him away from his room in the night and transporting him to another room without his knowledge was highly capable!
"What the f*ck is going on?!" he couldn't help but lose hold over his emotions, screaming in frenzy. His voice travelled around the room and possibly beyond its walls, dispelling the silent environment. He quickly rushed to the two windows which were closed, opened the white curtains and slid them open.
Oh my God! What he saw made him fall into a more frenzied state than before. This wasn't Azure Alley but an entirely different place! Outside the window was a very beautiful garden with birds flying here and there, chirping as they went about their daily lives—an entirely different place!
Cassio's head became heavy as a strong feeling of dizziness overwhelmed him. He couldn't help but stagger backwards continuously till he collapsed into his bed. He racked his brain, trying to remember what had happened the day earlier—to find anything strange and mysterious which could have resulted in the strange unfolding of events. Then a name popped into his mind: Book of Mysteries!
His eyes widened in shock as he remembered the very book Old Thompson had asked him to read. This Book of Mysteries was the cause of this!
Click!
At that moment the door clicked open, a beautiful woman poking her head into the room. She had a white curly and long hair reaching her waist, grey eyes and beautiful lips which made her a perfect description of gorgeousness. This woman had a striking resemblance to the current Cassio, making the latter look as if he was her son. But of course, this wasn't possible—not when Cassio was told his mum had abandoned him!
"Cassio, I heard a crashing sound," the woman said with affectionate eyes, her voice as melodious as the sonorous voices of birds. "And then I heard you scream. Are you okay?"
Cassio? Hearing the strange woman call him by his name, Cassio couldn't help but become more afraid. How did the woman know his name? He was about to ask her who she was and beg her to return him to his former appearance and room but then strange memories began flooding into his head. This memories were memories he hadn't lived through but were surprisingly familiar!
The woman who called his name was none other than his mother and went by the name Mrs. Damien. She was a nurse who worked in a hospital Cassio couldn't remember. Then there was Damien Hastle who was the Head of Arcane Safety Department but had died that same day in his battle against evil spirits which was as a result of Walter stealing the Book of Mysteries.
Walter? Book of Mysteries? Arcane Safety Department? Damien Hastle? Mrs. Damien Hastle? Evil spirits?
All these memories were unfamiliar to Cassio but yet they seemed very familiar after some time! It was as if he had lived through them all his life! Several memories kept on flooding into his head that he couldn't help but grab it with both hands, pressing his temples with his thumbs.
"Uh, Cassio?" Mrs. Damien called. "Are you alright?"
Then her eyes trailed to the golden retriever beside Cassio and smiled, "What an adorable thing! Where did you get it, dear?"
She wanted to enter the room when Cassio blurted out, "I'm fine, I'm fine!"
Mrs. Damien sighed and then said, "Don't let your father's death get into your head. You know, tomorrow you'd be leaving for the School of Alchemy."
School of Alchemy? Cassio was puzzled but then he knew what School of Alchemy was instantly. It was one of the two Schools of Science Form Magic which dealt with the study of matter and particles. He remembered vividly that he was at Grade 10 of the school and was ranked among the top ten most intelligent kids in that grade.
"Okay," Cassio muttered. He had to get rid of the socalled woman who he felt was his mother so he could find some time to think about where he was.
"Good night son," Mrs. Damien said. "Sleep tight and don't have nightmares."
Cassio didn't say anything, making her surprised. She didn't think too much about the matter and closed the door gently.
"Pheeew," Cassio heaved a sigh of relief. Now she was gone, giving him a chance to think clearly. But of course, he couldn't think clearly as several memories were still flooding into his mind, almost making him to run mad. It continued for minutes and then stopped, Cassio regaining his sanity.
"I want to study in the School of Alchemy so that I'd graduate to become an Array one, Novice?" Cassio asked himself, recalling strange memories. "Then I advance to become Array two, Experimental Mage?"
Chase leaped into his hands, burying its face in them. It let out soft whimpers, obviously scared about the sudden change of its master's appearance and the environment. If it did not have a keen sense of smell, it wouldn't have been able to recognize Cassio!
"Everything puzzles me too, Chase," Cassio said, looking around the room. "I'm even remembering things I never did before. Things I never saw or heard are flooding into my head as if I actually saw or heard them. It makes me go crazy!"
Chase sat in his hands and then licked his face, letting out a soft bark in delight. Apparently, it was fascinated by its master's new appearance. It jumped and lunged for Cassio's long hair but the latter caught it halfway, stopping its fun. It wriggled playfully, trying to break free from Cassio's grips but he wouldn't let go. He was was deep in thoughts and didn't want to be distracted.
"I want to start up something like the Arcane Safety Department or Hands Of Arcane when I graduate from the School of Alchemy and become a powerful sorcerer," Cassio said, reviewing the memories he was remembering. Then a reality dawned on him.
"Oh no!" he said with panic as he let go of Chase, the latter dropping into his laps with delight. "I've been transmigrated into another world and reincarnated in another body!"
Cassio stood up immediately, gasping. He had read transmigration stories and knew what they were but he didn't realize he would be involved in one—a real life transmigration! He couldn't help but become more agitated but then he calmed himself down. He wanted to find a way out rather than panic as it would not help him in anyway.
Which world is this? Where am I? Who is this boy I reincarnated into? Why is his name Cassio, the same name as mine? What happened to him? Did he die because of grief over his father's death, resulting in my reincarnation in him? What led to my transmigration? Book of Mysteries? Why is Chase transmigrated as well and not reincarnated in a new body?
Several questions ran wide in his mind as he tried to find a possible answer to each of them but couldn't as everything ended up in futility. It was as if all of them were mysteries he couldn't comprehend! He had just tried to ease his emotional stress by borrowing the Book of Mysteries and instead had been transmigrated into an unknown world. Strange.
"They keep saying Walter Anderson stole the Book of Mysteries," Cassio said to himself. "But if he actually stole this mystical book, how was it in Old Thompson's custody? Is Old Thompson from this world as well and if he is from this world, how fast can he travel between worlds? I mean he has been a Canadian since I was a kid. How could he possibly exist in two worlds at the same time to steal the Book of Mysteries?"
Chase barked as if telling Cassio to cast his worries aside for the mean time. Cassio who seemed to understand the dog stopped worrying and said in a voice different from the one he had in his former world, "I'm going to unravel the mysteries and leave this unknown world."
Saying that, he made a resolve to focus on studying magic so that he could ascend the Magic Arrays and become powerful enough to leave the mysterious world.
"But now that I'm still here and I've not found the way to leave," Cassio said to himself. "I am Cassio, son of the Arcane Safety Head."
Then with a wry smile, he said, "I am Cassio Damien Hastle."