Arix never felt this happy in her life before. The moment she passed her Ph.D. defense, she didn't even care about all the professors watching. She just flopped down into a chair nearby, out of breath, and cursed, "Damn."
When she stepped out of the research institute, it felt like the sunlight in the whole world got a bit brighter. Even though it was still early, she decided to hit up a bar for a drink.
"Cheers to graduation, Dr. Arix Vetti. Starting today, you're a Chemist," Arix mumbled to herself as she walked.
She didn't realize at that moment that, her happiness today was not only unprecedented but also would never come back.
As she turned into the alley leading to the bar—
"Bang!"
A gunshot came from behind Arix. She felt a chill in her heart and before she could do anything, a sensation like an electric shock spread from her chest throughout her body. Then everything went dark, and she lost consciousness.
When she woke up again, she was greeted by an old, yellowed ceiling. Confused, she tried to sit up in bed, but her back ached from the hard mattress beneath her.
Arix believed in God. During her most helpless times in her Ph.D. studies, it was God who gave her the strength to carry on. She also believed in the afterlife and souls. Her favorite movie was "Coco."
But she was also a very practical person. She never believed that magical things could happen to her, like what was happening right now...
She lay in a strange room, and in the mirror across from her, she saw a girl she didn't recognize at all.
At that moment, a loud engine roar came from outside the window. Instinctively, Arix peered out and saw a giant mecha—yes, the kind she had only seen in comics as a kid.
The mecha was far away from the window but so huge that Arix could see every part of it clearly. They were large and intricate, reflecting a cold and dazzling shine under the sunlight.
The mecha hovered in mid-air for a moment before shooting off like a meteor in one direction, chasing after a strangely shaped thing that was fleeing.
Arix thought she was hallucinating. She shook her head vigorously, recalling how she had just fainted not long ago. And before fainting... Graduation, bar street, gunshot... Yes! She heard a gunshot!
Arix's eyes suddenly widened, and she frantically touched her chest where she remembered being shot. She was sure she must have died then.
"Am I resurrected? Where is this? In a comic?" Arix kept talking to herself. Fear and unease piled up inside her.
Just then, the door to the room creaked open, and a little boy walked in. Spotting her awake, he paused in surprise before dashing out quickly.
In no time, the previously empty small room was packed with people.
A nun, probably in her seventies, slowly made her way to Arix's bedside and sat down. Behind her stood seven scruffily dressed kids, all with excited sparkles in their eyes, seeming really happy.
One of the kids tugged at Arix's sleeve and whispered, "Arix, you finally woke up. Sister Gwen and all of us were so worried about you."
Seeing the group, clearly harmless elderly and children, Arix felt a bit relieved since it seemed she was safe for now.
Unfamiliar with her current situation, Arix mostly just smiled in response to the warmth and questions from the elderly nun and the kids. She was careful to answer only those questions that wouldn't reveal she was no longer the girl they knew.
"I was woken up by some noise outside just now. What happened out there?" Arix asked carefully.
A kid honestly replied, "You mean just before? Airee and I were building our castle outside when suddenly an Insectoid flew over us. We quickly hid inside the orphanage. Then it seemed like the insectoid was chased away by an unfamiliar mecha."
Arix was shocked inside but managed to keep a smile, though it looked a bit forced.
Sister Gwen, seeing Arix's gentle but strained smile, felt even more pity and became more determined about something.
So, Sister Gwen told the kids, who were still happily circling around Arix, "Go outside for a bit, I need to talk to her alone."
"Okay, Sister Gwen." The kids, respecting Sister Gwen a lot, glanced at Arix with care before obediently leaving the room.
Arix didn't understand what Sister Gwen intended to do but felt the nun meant no harm. She now knew she wasn't on Earth anymore; Dr. Arix Vetti had barely enjoyed an hour of academic glory before dying in a gang shootout.
She realized she had been reborn, in the body of a girl she didn't know, who also was also named Arix.
Arix smiled bitterly, grateful that at least she had gained another life. The orphanage had a nun, so it was probably a house of God, and she felt she should still be thankful to God.
Sister Gwen didn't know what Arix was thinking, but she could feel that Arix had become gentler; the girl was not like before when she seemed like a hedgehog in defense mode, all spikes, not letting anyone get close.
"I'm so sorry for what happened. It's been tough for me too, but let's forget about the admission letter from Koros Military Academy. The Koros is gone, but we still have the Hecaris Military Academy. I reached out to an old friend overnight, and here's a recommendation letter for the Hecaris. He's a highly honored veteran, so his recommendation carries a lot of weight. As long as you pass the entrance exam of the Hecaris, you can enroll. After you graduate, you'll still be an outstanding student of the Alliance military."
After saying all this in one breath, Sister Gwen seemed relieved. She took a yellow envelope from her bosom and handed it to Arix.
Arix was somewhat confused. She took the envelope without fully understanding what the two academies were.
Just then, a wave of desperate cries and unfamiliar images flooded into her mind like a tide. Arix knew these were the memories of the body's original owner, the Old Arix, merging with her own.
After Sister Gwen saw Arix take the letter, she smiled. She reminded her to rest well, and left the room alone.
After Arix went through the girl's memories, she held the envelope and couldn't help but clench her fist, her eyes filled with anger.
The initial images from those memories seemed to be of a landfill.
Amidst swarms of flies, the Old Arix was struggling through stinking piles of garbage. Many filthy vagrants were around her, moving sluggishly, sifting through different mounds of trash.
The Old Arix was young then and didn't understand why she was there; she didn't even know what she was doing at first. But soon, her stomach began to ache with hunger, so she learned from the people around her to scavenge for food in the garbage hills.
After a long search, the Old Arix finally found a dirty, wrinkled apple that almost looked like a piece of tree bark. Just as she was about to take a bite, a filthy person snatched it away from her.
Having her hard-found food taken away, Arix naturally didn't want to give up. She tried to snatch it back but was thrown harshly to the ground and knocked unconscious.
At that time, Sister Gwen arrived at the landfill. She had set up a temporary soup kitchen there to offer porridge to the homeless. Seeing the weak Arix, she took pity and brought her back to the orphanage.
The Old Arix, however, was a loner and very wary of others. She had run away from the orphanage several times.
Eventually, Sister Gwen had no choice but to build a small room next to the orphanage for her. Only then did the Old Arix somewhat lower her guard and move in. So, the Old Arix survived in that small room beside the orphanage.
After turning six, she joined the other children from Planet Waste in attending the Alliance's compulsory schooling and, she was even fortunate enough to test out as having Moon-Class potential mentally and physically.
While Moon Class might not be considered outstanding in the Alliance, it was quite a promising potential on the remote Planet Waste.
With her own hard work, the Old Arix excelled academically, securing the top position year after year and eventually earning admission to the Koros Military Academy on Planet Koros.
But just when things seemed to be looking up, the daughter of the ruler of Planet Waste appeared, taking away the admission letter to the Koros Military Academy that the Old Arix had worked ten years for, much like a step-sister stealing Cinderella's glass slipper.
Princess Waste even found Arix's small room, looked at Arix with disdain as if she were garbage, then tossed a card worth a million astracredits at her. Before leaving, she threatened to kill everyone in the orphanage if Arix revealed anything.
For the sake of Sister Gwen and the seven kids, the Old Arix had no choice but to accept the card. She knew that accepting this million would mean that, if the substitution was ever discovered, the person who took her place could claim she had traded for the spot.
In the end, the Old Arix compromised for the sake of the orphanage, but the imposter wasn't reassured and hired someone to sneak into the small room at night and poison the Old Arix. And so, the young Arix silently lost her life in despair.