Having resigned herself to her inevitable fate, Aileen allowed darkness to slowly enclose her. She silently waited for the gods to claim back her soul and for her existence to be erased. Yet, for some reason, nothing happened.
She had died; she was sure about that fact. Looking around her, she saw nothing else but an empty void. She no longer had a body; only her soul remained.
"Is this the afterlife?" she wondered.
It was completely different from what she was expecting. Aileen was not a believer. Even though she liked everything about fantasy and magic, she did not believe in it. In fact, she was quite the scientist type. She only believed in logic. Aileen was the kind of person that needed rational explanations for everything, and if there were none, then she simply didn't believe in it.
After her death, she had expected to simply vanish. Yet, here she was, whole except for her body. Even if there was indeed an afterlife, it surely was different from the general idea humanity had about what comes after death. No angels to greet her in a land of peace and happiness, no demons to torture her soul for eternity. Just nothingness. In a way, it was maybe worse than any kind of hell: eternal boredom. Or so she thought. Strangely enough, she didn't dislike it. There was nothing to do, but it also meant there was nothing for her to worry about. There was a weird feeling of warmth in this gentle darkness. For the first time in a long time, Aileen felt at ease, so she simply let herself float in the void, slowly falling into a deep sleep.
As time went by, Aileen was drawn from the unconscious state she had fallen into as the darkness started to reject her. She suddenly felt pressure all around her, as if the world itself was pushing her away. Disoriented, she started to resist when she noticed that she had unexpectedly regained some control of her body. Huh? Wait, a body? She had a body again? Aileen didn't have time to think. She kept struggling as the darkness was rejecting her, but the pressure was too much. Resigning herself to whatever would happen next, she stopped resisting, allowing the pressure to overpower her.
A few moments later, Aileen felt an acute pain as air suddenly penetrated her lungs. She felt her whole body renewed with an unknown strength. Out of reflex, she started to scream, only to surprise herself by hearing a soft cry coming out of her mouth. The warmth of the darkness she once knew was now completely gone. Instead, she was assaulted with a bright light and she felt freezing. It only lasted a few seconds though, as she felt herself being embraced by something.
Confused, Aileen tried to inspect her surroundings. The blurry world around her became clearer and started to take shape. She was in a small room with white walls and a ceiling that immediately reminded her of her hospital room. Aileen first thought that she might have come back to life and suddenly regained consciousness in the hospital, but upon closer inspection, she noticed that the room was quite different from her hospital room. The flooring was old, the walls were stained, and the pieces of furniture were worn. On the corners of the ceiling, there were even some cobwebs. Yup, definitely not the hospital.
Aileen then noticed a woman above her, looking at her with tender eyes.
"She is so big!" she thought.
The woman looked to be around her early twenties. She had black raven hair and blue eyes. She looked exhausted, but she was still a beautiful woman. A little detail caught Aileen's attention: the woman had long and pointy ears. No matter how she looked at them, those were definitely elven ears.
"Huh? Cosplay? Miss, aren't you a little bit old for that?" Aileen questioned.
The ears were very realistic. Unable to resist the temptation, Aileen raised her arm trying to reach them, only to surprise herself by seeing a tiny little hand.
"This is a baby's hand, isn't it? A big woman, a baby's hand... No way, it can't be."
Aileen then realized. It wasn't just the woman who was so big; even the ceiling appeared to be so high. Actually, the whole world seemed abnormally big. Or... Was it just her who was tiny? Aileen suddenly understood. She had been reborn.
On the spur of the moment, thousands of thoughts assaulted her mind. She couldn't believe it. She wanted to, but what if it was just another trick by the gods? However, even if it was, shouldn't she take the bait? Life had always been unfair to her, and now she had been given a second chance. Trick or not, Aileen wanted to live this second life to the fullest. Then she suddenly remembered her parents. Was it really alright for her to forget everything and move on? Not like she had the choice, but it felt unfair to her parents who had given up everything for her, all for nothing in the end. And to begin with, why did she remember them? Weren't you supposed to forget everything about your past life once you're reborn? Did something go wrong with the reincarnation process?
A soft voice suddenly called her. "Hello, my little angel."
Aileen froze, staring at the young elven woman, probably her new mother. She looked down on her with such loving eyes that all her worries vanished in a second. There was no point in thinking anymore; she would live. She wanted to live. For herself, for her past parents, and for this new mother of hers from whom she already felt an endless love.
Aileen was then startled as a little face suddenly appeared out of nowhere, staring at her. It was a young boy with messy brown hair and beady black eyes.
"What's her name?" he asked.
"Aoban! Don't sneak behind me like that! You scared her!" exclaimed her mother.
"Sorry mommy," the boy apologized, lowering his head.
"Her name? Let's see..." Her mother stayed silent, thinking for a while. Then she smiled at the little boy. "How about Lynett?"
"Lynett? Lynett... I like it!"
A gentle smile spread across the face of Aoban, as he kept repeating his sister's name.
"Hello Lynett! My name is Aoban, I'm your big brother!" the boy said proudly.
For the first time in a long time, Aileen felt lucky. She finally had the normal life she had ever wanted. Judging by the room she was born in, they didn't seem to be a wealthy family, but it didn't matter. After all, she was now a healthy child, blessed with a loving family.
"Mommy, look! Lynett has golden eyes! How strange!" Aoban exclaimed.
Filled with curiosity, the boy's small eyes were looking at his baby sister in awe. He could feel himself become hypnotized by her beautiful, deep eyes. They were shining, framed by thick and long lashes. They reminded him of the sun. Beautiful, warm, blinding.
"That's so cool," he murmured.
His mother sighed. "Yeah..." She did not share his opinion. While it was true that her daughter's eyes were captivating and beautiful, such an unnatural color would only bring troubles. She knew it and couldn't help but worry about the future. Noticing his mother's reaction, Aoban tilted his head to the side.
"Mommy, is something wrong?" he asked.
"No, everything is fine." Her worried expression quickly subsided as she gently smiled at the boy, stroking his hair. "Aoban, you'll protect your sister, right?"
"Of course, I'm her big brother!" he answered as if it was obvious. His mother chuckled.
Meanwhile, Aileen just looked at her new family. She was grateful to have been born to such kind people. She could tell their love was genuine, and even though it had only been a few minutes since she met them, she already cared deeply for them. Looking one more time at her surroundings, Aileen started wondering where she had been reborn.
As if to answer her unspoken thought, her mother approached her face to kiss her forehead, before whispering something in her ear. "Welcome to Agraal, my child. May the Goddess Naia protect you."
Aileen grimaced at the revelation, staring blankly at her mother.
"W-What did she just say? Agraal? The Goddess Naia? It... It sounds awfully familiar..."
Back when she was still stuck in the hospital, she had invented something similar. Strongly inspired by Medieval Europe, Agraal was the name she gave to the first kingdom she drew. It was inhabited by humans who worshiped the Goddess of Light, Naia.
"Surely it can't be a coincidence... Right?"
The fact that she kept her memories, an elven woman, Agraal, and the Goddess Naia... Cold sweats started to form on her forehead when Aileen suddenly realized her situation: she had been reborn in Erthia, the very own world that she had created.