"....Huh?"
I was woken up by the sound of birds chirping, only to be greeted by an unfamiliar ceiling. I was lying in a comfortable bed, and though it was dark, I could tell that this certainly wasn't the meager apartment I had gotten used to living in.
'Where am I?'
Was my first thought, but before I could even get to that... How was I still alive?
I could clearly remember my final moments, collapsed on the floor, surrounded by a pool of my own blood. No human being could have survived after losing that much blood. It was physically impossible.
Then what is this? I don't understand. How am I still alive?
I racked my brain for answers but to no avail. I couldn't make heads or tails of this situation. So, giving up on finding answers temporarily, I propped myself awake, sitting on the edge of an ever so comfortable bed. I needed more information.
Getting up I was pleasantly surprised; my body felt better than I remembered; the injuries I had left over from my brothers 'playful' antics could no longer be felt. I couldn't even feel any of the scars that had been leftover from the various surgeries I had undergone thanks to the same.
This caused even more questions to pop up in my head, but I once again put them aside. I really still needed more information on my current situation. Only then could I articulate any answers.
I looked around in the dark room. I could barely see anything except for a sliver of light that was passing through a crack in the large curtains.
Cautiously getting up, I slowly walked over to the window and pulled the curtains open.
-Pssshhh
I didn't know what to expect, but it certainly wasn't this. I genuinely couldn't believe my eyes.
A large island sat along the not-so-distant coastline, taking up the entire harbor, tethered to it by some form of luminous rope. This in itself would be an unbelievable sight, that is, if I had not seen it before.
But still, I was shocked, given that the sight was not one I had seen in reality but rather, it was one I had seen on a computer screen.
I looked through each portion of the island one at a time; it was all the same as I recalled, from the unique skyline consisting of modern-baroque architecture to the Hi-Lo French gothic picket fence surrounding the whole island, an unforgettable emblem plastered on it.
But I had to make sure; I had to confirm my suspicions; my eyes scoured the gigantic island, frantically searching for a certain structure. Then I finally saw it—the large, almost overbearing structure that stood tall right in the middle of the island.
There it was, standing tall and true— The Fyrthorn Academy building.
I was now sure this scene was without a doubt the same as one I had seen many a time—the same scene I had seen every time I booted up the game. It was a scene from the opening cinematic of ⸢Heroes of Fyrthorn Academy⸥.
'H-How?'
I couldn't believe it. How can something from a video game be real? I had read novels like this, but I didn't think it was actually possible! Unable to cope with what I was seeing, I just stood in front of the French window, motionless, staring at the unbelievable but undeniably real sight.
'Wait.. Then, am I character?'
The thought crossed my mind: even though I was rather disoriented at the moment, I still had to find out who, what, and where I was. Especially, if I was actually in the world of this game. It was a matter of utmost importance.
So, snapping out of my daze, I looked around the now well-illuminated room. Luxurious ceilings and walls graced my view; even the furniture looked grand with its positioning well thought out. This was clearly an expensive room.
I walked around the large room with a mixture of curiosity and caution, until I came across the adjoining bathroom, entering which I was forced to stop and stare at the large mirror within. I couldn't see my usual self anymore; no longer did I see my tall and sculpted stature, nor did I see my black hair and eyes.
Now what stood in place of my reflection was a young boy, though due to his short stature and elegant features anyone could have mistaken him for a girl.
He seemed to be about fourteen and had short silver hair. He even had beauty marks on his face, just diagonally below his eyes, near his left ear.
But the most mysterious part was his eyes. His eyes were unlike any I'd ever seen before, with pitch black sclera and marvelous ruby-red eyes; they truly looked if they were out of an exquisite painting. But for some reason the same eyes irked me; they felt familiar, but I just couldn't seem to recall why.
Regardless, I moved my body, observing myself in the mirror in disbelief; the reflection obviously moved, mirroring my actions. Though I knew in the back of my mind, that I had likely become the person who's appearance was currently being reflected by the mirror, I was still in disbelief.
Unable to completely comprehend this phenomenon, I looked down at myself once more, just to double check. I couldn't deny it; I was in the same form of nightwear as the reflection, and hence was undoubtedly the boy in the reflection.
'I... I've really become this young child?'
...This was one too many world-altering surprises for me.
Now that I had gauged that I was not in any immediate danger, I needed to sit down and attempt to make sense of what was going on.
***
I had been sitting at a coffee table in front of the large French window for the past few minutes, pinching myself profusely to check if I wasn't dreaming. But it had done nothing but confirm this as reality— that I was actually in the world of ⸢Heroes of Fyrthorn Academy⸥. I had no choice now but to acknowledge this as fact.
'...'
I sighed internally as I looked around the room my now physically young self was present in. I had somehow ended up in this world...
'Fine.'
Though I could not yet completely comprehend this truth, I had no choice accepted it. Though I wondered how this was possible, I couldn't get answers about it at the moment. Despite this astronomical matter, now that I calmed down, a new problem, more immediate matter conquered my thoughts.
'Who am I?'
I had played this game an umpteen amount of times but, still couldn't recall a singular character that ever looked like this. He was certainly not the MC, nor was he any of the supporting characters; then who was he? Hell, I could recall all the background characters, the NPCs, and even most of the mobs! But this face... he wasn't even among them. What the hell? Who was this child?
Looking around, he was definitely part of the noble class, given the luxurious room I was currently occupying, but I couldn't recall any young silver-haired characters with noble origins in the game.
"Hmm..."
I sat there and pondered the question, racking my brain until a well-worn book on the very same table caught my eye. It was likely a diary given the adjoined pen slot on it.
Hoping for some clues or just some useful information, I immediately flipped it open causing a photo to fall out. Picking it up revealed a warm and loving family photo.
The parents sat around a small coffee table, enjoying an uneventful cup of tea as they watched their two young sons play on the picnic blanket that had been spread out.
The father had silver hair like this new body but earl-marble eyes, whereas the mother sported light blonde hair and ruby eyes. The older of the two children, the one with golden hair and ruby eyes, was happily running around with what was obviously a younger version of me.
Underneath was a small writing in cursive, 'The proud house of Eliziere—2951 AGW'.
'...'
Though something about the photograph bugged me as well, I set aside the photograph for now and flipped to the end of the diary, expecting some context to my current situation.
Contrary to my expectations and what would be expected of a young child, the last few entries within this diary were horrifying.
'Why am I still alive?'
'I don't want to hurt anyone else!'
'Please stop me..'
Such words repeated continually within this diary, every day for the past few weeks. There weren't any other entries other than such self-deprecating ones. Though, I personally, could understand such a sentiment for myself given my past deeds but... this made absolutely no sense from the perspective of a young child.
After all, why would a young child, especially one from nobility in this world, have such concerns? Though you could argue that his situation might be similar to my previous life, given the well-cherished photograph, it was hard to imagine such a scenario being true. And then again, the people in this picture—why do they seem so familiar-
-Knock
-Knock
The sudden noise broke me out of my thoughts as a calm voice spoke from behind the door.
"May I enter, young master?"
"Enter."
-Click-
I spoke instinctively, with a formal tone, as I placed the diary back onto the table.
'Tch...'
Though I hated to admit it, my prior upbringing had forced my speech to develop in such a manner. A formal, but overbearing manner of speaking. I cursed my upbringing once more, as I spotted an old man with slick white hair entering the room; he had an exemplary butler's suit on and sported elegant white gloves.
"Y-Young master! You finally spoke to me! I-I can't believe it! This is the first time you've spoken to someone after the incident!"
The man had a bittersweet smile on his face and was currently showing a lot of emotion, contrary to his stoic appearance.
"Ah! I-I shouldn't get so emotional so early in the morning.."
He spoke wiping his tearful eyes. Immediately afterwards, he had returned to his initial dignified expression, but this time with a Duchenne smile and headed to the closet within this deluxe suite of a room, of course, without letting me get a word in edge wise.
Opening the closet, he looked inside for a short while before pulling out a wrinkled but familiar-looking uniform. Unfortunately, looking at the state of the uniform, his smile had all but turned upside down.
"Although this Greeves is very proud of you right now, young master, you still shouldn't resort to such childish tricks to avoid your first day at Fyrthorn Academy."
Without missing a beat, he pulled out a fresh uniform out of seemingly nowhere and ever so gently grabbed me and dragged me to the dressing room, where he began dressing me in the all-too-familiar uniform.
The uniform was typical; a blazer, shirt, and tie were mandatory for all, with the boys wearing pants while the girls were given the choice of pants or skirts.
I personally was also accessorized, thanks to this man, with gloves, pure black in color—a stark contrast to the lighter colors of the uniform. But what signified the importance and pride of the academy was the emblem embossed on the chest pocket.
In gold embroidery was embossed a dragon stuck in prickly vines, red flames covering it's body embroidered in a different material. This was undeniably the symbol and crest of the Fyrthorn Academy.
"The madam would definitely cry if she saw you right now, young master!"
The old butler spoke through genuine tears of his own, discretely pulling out a white-colored device that resembled a modern-day camera and began snapping pictures of me, now fully dressed.
Though it felt awkward, I was unable to say anything looking at the unbridled amount of joy on his face.
Calming down, he put away the camera and wiped his face once again before quickly glancing at his wristwatch.
"Tch."
With a click of his tongue, he began to whirlwind around within the luxurious room, packing up clothes and personal items, including the photo and the diary, somehow storing them all into a small suitcase that was way too small to fit everything.
"I apologize young master, but we'll have to skip breakfast if we are to arrive on time."
He spoke with dignity once more, as if he wasn't in tears mere seconds ago as he urged me out of the dressing room and towards the exit of the main room.
"Ah! I nearly forgot the most important thing."
He pulled an exquisitely beautiful, white-laced cloth from seemingly nowhere once more and effortlessly used it to cover my eyes like a blindfold. Confused as to why I was wearing this, I had closed my eyes instinctively when he had done so, only opening them now expecting to obviously see nothing but darkness.
To my surprise, I could still see; rather, my vision was even better than without the cloth.
"Madam Cynthia- Your mother personally put each enchantment on this cloth, seeing that you will have to wear it for your entire time at the academy."
He quickly clicked another picture to my surprise, and then, grasping the suitcase firmly, guided me out as we left the room and headed down the hallway of the luxurious hotel.
"Now then, please wait for me at the hotel exit; I have already called a mana-mechanical horse carriage and will join you once I have finished checking out."
With those words he left, I was now standing just outside the humongous hotel in another daze.
"..."
I sighed unconsciously once more. What an exhausting person. I don't think I have ever met such a chaotic human in the entirety of my previous life. I couldn't even get a word in edgewise with him.
But thanks to his personality, I didn't even have time to think about my situation and had returned to my usual demeanor.
But all in all, it seemed to me that he was a genuine person and good of heart. This furthered my confusion as to what I had seen within the diary. What could possibly be the reason for what I had seen?
***
This child also seemed to have a harmonious and luxurious life, with happy parents and what I could only presume to be a beloved brother from the photograph I had just seen. But then what reason could he possibly have had to write such malevolent words towards himself?
I sighed again, annoyed that I couldn't solve this sudden mystery. I had so many questions, including the fact that my sclera was pitch black compared to the pure white ones I had seen within the photograph. But the fact that this phenomenon seemed familiar to me irked me even more. It seemed to me that my memory was failing me.
'How frustrating.'
Annoyed, I took a deep breath, calming don as I stared at my surroundings.
It was unlike anything I had seen before. Unlike the architecture of the school, the city had tall modern buildings, but with an essence of steampunk among them.
It was a rather intriguing and awe-inciting sight, seeing that it had distracted me, however briefly, from the many questions I still had unanswered locked up in my brain.
-Clip-Clop-
-Psssh-
I heard a sound similar to that of a steam engine to my right as a pair of mechanical horses laced with transparent tubing full of what I looked to be water-like energy appeared. They were harnessed and tethered to a luxurious carriage, pulling it steadily without the need of a driver before coming to stop right in front of my eyes.
How ridiculous this sight was was wasted on me, as all I could was stare at the crest on the side of the carriage. Two crossed swords, the blades coated in a shiny blood red liquid with golden coloured hilts, all together sat in front of an olive wreath that made up the vulgar but still elegant-looking crest.
I knew this...
I knew this crest. I finally remembered. It was initially one of the most famous houses within the game, but had been written off by the players as the game progressed into the later stages due to it's unavoidable fate and the scores of problems your relationship with it brought and was thus eventually forgotten by the playerbase.
Though it seemed like a small consolation now, at least one of the mysteries that was plaguing my mind had been solved—specifically, the one of my identity.
"Shall we depart, young master?"
The old butler seemed to have suddenly reappeared and was now holding the doors of the carriage open, waiting for me to get on. Attempting to shake off my new revelation, I quietly got on and sat on the comfortable cushioned seats of the carriage.
Following me, he got in and closed the doors, quickly finding his seat opposite to me. Entering our destination on a small tablet, he re-attached the tablet to its dock within the walls of the carriage, causing the carriage to begin to move once more. This was a marvel to anyone who had not seen it before, but currently, at least, I couldn't afford to marvel at its splendor.
I had finally figured out my identity, and as luck would have it, it wasn't a good one.