Melisa walked around her home, her parents by her side, trying to take in this new world she found herself in.
The Blackflames' house was nice, with high ceilings and some ornate furnishings. Paintings adorned the walls, too. They seemed pretty well-off.
Her mother, noticing her wide-eyed stare, smiled gently.
"Does any of this look familiar to you, sweetie?" she asked, hope lacing her voice.
Melisa shook her head.
"Not even a little."
Her parents exchanged a glance, their faces falling.
"We... we don't even know where to begin," her father said, his voice heavy with worry. "How do we help you remember a life you've completely forgotten?"
Melisa thought for a moment, an idea forming in her mind.
"Maybe... maybe we should get a tutor for me," she suggested, choosing her words carefully. "Someone who can fill me in on the details, help me catch up on everything I've missed."
Her parents, surprised, nodded, relief washing over their features.
"That's a wonderful idea, Melisa," her mother said, squeezing her hand. "We'll find the best person for the job, we promise!"
"But..." her father said.
"Not right now," her mother cut him off. "But... Once our affairs are in order, alright?"
He sighed.
"Right. Once... Yes."
As they continued their tour of the house, Melisa's mind raced with questions.
She wanted to ask about so much. The land, magic, who they were.
But she had to be careful. She couldn't let on that she was an outsider, that she had no real connection to this place or these people.
So she chose her words carefully, picking one question out of the many floating in her skull.
"Uhm, I-I noticed," she began, her tone casual, "that we look different from that other guy. The one with the pale skin. Why is that?"
Her mother nodded, a look of understanding crossing her face.
"Ah, you mean the human," she said, her voice taking on a slightly didactic tone. "We are not human, Melisa. We are nims."
Melisa's eyebrows shot up.
[So... we're not succubi? Or, at least, there's a different name for us here?]
"Nims?" she repeated, the word feeling strange and exotic on her tongue. "What does that mean, exactly? How are we different from humans?"
For some reason, this question made her parents grimace.
It was then that Melisa was hit with one particular bombshell. One that made her want to fall to her knees and cry.
Her father's face turned somber as he began to explain:
"Well, for one," he said, his voice heavy with regret, "you saw what the human's hand did as it hovered over you? How it glowed?"
"Mhm."
"Well, we can't do that," he stated. "That's called magic and... we can't use that. It is a limitation of our kind, unfortunately."
Aaaaand Melisa's world shattered.
Magic had been one of the things she was most excited about in this new world, a chance to wield power beyond her wildest dreams.
[I... can't use magic?] she thought, her mind reeling. [WHAT KIND OF FANTASY ISEKAI IS THIS!?]
But she tried to keep her face neutral, not wanting to let on how much this news had affected her.
"I see," she said, her voice carefully controlled. "That's... that's good to know."
Her father nodded, a look of sympathy crossing his face.
"There is one other thing you should know about our kind," he said, his tone growing slightly awkward. "Nim require... physical affection to maintain their health. H-Hugs, I mean, hehe." He clarified as Melisa watched her mother glare at her father. "Without them, we can grow weak and sickly. Humans aren't like that."
Melisa's eyes widened, her mind immediately jumping to the succubi of her old world.
[So we do need to drain others' life force,] she thought, a strange mix of excitement and trepidation filling her. [Or, something like that. It might not be the same as the stories I'd read on Earth, but... yeah, we're basically succubi. We're succubi in all but name.]
She nodded, trying to look as if this information was new to her.
"I understand," she said, her voice carefully neutral. "I'll... I'll keep that in mind." Melisa then asked, "what other races are there in this world?" she asked, genuine curiosity in her voice. "Besides nim and humans, I mean."
Her mother replied this time.
"Two others," she said, like she was very relieved to get out of that last topic. "The darians, for one. They're half-dragons. Do you... remember what a dragon is?"
Melisa's eyebrows shot up, her interest piqued.
"Dragon people?" she repeated, a note of wonder in her voice. "That's... that's incredible."
"I'll take that as a yes," her mom giggled. "Then there are the kitsune. An all-female race of... well, appearance-wise, they're basically just humans with fox ears and fox tails."
[NOW, THAT'S MORE LIKE IT!] She thought with a little smirk. [Fox girls... Holy crap, I want to see one so badly!]
But even as she reveled in the possibilities, more questions tugged at the back of her mind.
She kept going.
"Uhm, what are your names?"
Her parents blinked.
Then, laughing, her father knelt down first and said:
"My name's Melistair."
"And I'm Margaret."
[And I'm Melisa. Okay.]
"Now, come on," Margaret said, "you haven't eaten in forever. Let's get some food in that belly!"
---
Melisa sat in her room, a book on magic open in her lap. Her brow was furrowed in concentration as she poured herself into these pages.
[I can't believe this,] she thought. [What kind of isekai protagonist am I if I can't even use magic?]
Her parents had been confused when she asked for books on the subject, given her inability to wield it. But Melisa was determined. This was supposed to be her story, her chance to live out all those fantasies she'd read about back on Earth.
She had to find a way.
The book began to delve into the intricacies of magic, explaining how one could draw upon their inner Essence and weave it into tangible spells. Mages, it seemed, were called "weavers" for this very reason.
There were 4 schools of magic: Elemental, Life, Arcane, and Mind. According to the book, the easiest to learn was the Water class of magic, within the Elemental school.
[Okay, let's give this a shot,] Melisa thought, closing her eyes and trying to focus on the well of power within her.
She reached deep, searching for that spark of Essence the book described.
"HOOOMPH!" She clenched, as if that would allow her magic to come out.
But no matter how hard she tried, she felt nothing.
No warmth, no tingling sensation, no rush of energy coursing through her veins, nothing the book described would happen.
"Agh," she deflated. "Dammit!" She snapped the book shut. "I... I seriously can't use magic?"
[What a terrible reincarnation.]
As she sat there, stewing in her disappointment, a sound caught her attention.
It was her mother's voice, raised in what sounded like anger or distress.
"Huh?"
Curious, Melisa crept out of her room, moving silently through the halls of the grand house. As she drew closer to the main room, the voices became clearer.
"We're going to go bankrupt, Melistair!" her mother was saying, her tone sharp with worry. "If we don't find a way to turn things around, we'll lose everything!"
Melisa's heart sank.
[Bankrupt? What???]
Her father's voice was strained as he replied:
"I know, Margaret. I'm trying to resolve the issue, but Striker is being... difficult."
[Striker?] Melisa thought, her mind racing. [Who's that?]
Her father sighed, his voice heavy.
"I-I asked for a bit more time, but he... rejected the idea."
Melisa's mother let out a bitter laugh.
"Of course he did," she said, her tone sharp with resentment. "Did you really expect him to just forget the loan?"
Her father was silent for a moment. Then, he said:
"I'll make it back up," he said, his tone fierce all of a sudden. "I'll work twice as hard. More hours. I'll do whatever it takes. I promise."
There was a beat of silence.
"I know you will," her mother said. "I just wonder if it'll be enough."
Melisa's heart raced, her mind reeling with this new information.
[What the hell happened to this family?]
But she couldn't afford to be caught eavesdropping. Quietly, she slipped back to her room, her thoughts whirling like a maelstrom.
She paced the floor, her brow furrowed in concentration.
[Why? Why would I be sent to a family that's on the verge of collapse? And I can't use magic!? What kind of cruel joke is this?]
But even as the questions and doubts assailed her, Melisa shook her head.
She just got here. She needed to keep her chin up.
[No,] she thought, her fists clenching at her sides. [I won't let this beat me. I won't let this second life fall apart. Not so soon.]
She didn't know how, but somehow, some way, she was going to make things better.
But first, she needed to learn more.
She needed to understand what had happened to the Blackflame family, and why they were in such dire straits. She needed to know who this Striker person was, and why he was making things so difficult for her father.
[Knowledge is power,] she thought. [And I need to arm myself to the teeth.]