In his luxurious room, Graham felt a wave of anxiety wash over him.
Time was running out.
Because of his talent and potential, slowly working hard to surpass Roswaal in strength might have been possible, all he needed was time which he sadly did not have much of...
Roswaal's words were clear, her current body would not last much longer, and soon she would come to seize Graham's body.
Escape! He had to escape!
Having just arrived in this strange world, he had not even had the chance to appreciate its beauty and wonders—how could he just die like this?
Absolutely not!
Through observation, Graham realized that this was not the Roswaal mansion he remembered from the Anime, but a secret estate far from the border.
Perhaps Roswaal had chosen this location to avoid being disturbed whilst performing the possession ritual.
With his mind set on escape, Graham began his preparations.
To 'stay alive', he had to escape!
However, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment...
At only 10 years old, Graham's thin arms and legs could not carry him far. Besides, he knew very little magic—mostly just meditation to gradually increase his 'mana' capacity.
Moreover, it seemed Roswaal deliberately prevented him from learning magic! Every time Graham asked, the old monster would say, "The time is not yet right~"
He had tried various methods, but to his dismay, all failed, so Graham ultimately concluded that escape was impossible.
The estate was surrounded by magical barriers set by Roswaal. Approaching them would immediately alert Roswaal, who would then have the butler Lyle bring him back.
He even wondered if, as a transmigrator, he had some kind of special ability, but he found nothing.
In the end, Roswaal still took him to the altar for the possession ritual, thus the preparations for the ritual had begun.
...
*Tap...* *Tap...* * Tap...*
A faint sound of footsteps approached, and Graham opened his eyes to find Roswaal, the old monster in a woman's body standing before him.
Gazing at Graham within the crystal, Roswaal's face bore a cold smile as she mocked, "Hehe, you no longer seem afraid~. What happened to your earlier attempts of escape~?"
She had long discovered Graham's attempt to flee. Although she did not know how the boy found out about her ill intentions, it didn't matter.
Graham could not and must never escape her grasp!
"And where exactly did that get me? I'm just a child, how could I possibly be a match for the powerful court magician, the Earl of the Border, Roswaal J. Mathers?" replied Graham with some bite to his tone as he looked at the monster with disdain, then he closed his eyes again.
Though Graham's heart was beating furiously in fear, he was unwilling to show it in his face, that would only serve to excite the undying monster even more.
Roswaal laughed strangely as he fondly caressed the crystal imprisoning Graham, "Hehe~ Graham, no, from today onwards, you are Roswaal M. Mathers~! Feel honored, for you will become the lord of the Mathers territory~!"
Graham stared blankly at the monster, rage bubbling up inside replacing his fear... then finally, he snapped, no longer holding back, "Honor my foot! You old androgynous freak!"
Hearing this, Roswaal's expression turned peculiar, a creepy smile forming on her face, and she mockingly said in a strange tone, "Oh my~! Seeing you so spirited, I'm relieved~ The more spirited you are, the more intense the pain you'll taste later~"
Graham: "..."
"Why so silent, dear Graham~? You should know, all direct blood relatives of the Mathers domain are merely spare bodies I've created for myself, and you are the most suitable~!"
"Not only do you have the 'Divine Protection of Sorcery' and thus the affinity for all six magic attributes, but your 'Od' seems quite powerful too.
But no matter, from now on, you are me, the glorious Roswaal M. Mathers~
Besides, I feel that our compatibility is the highest, perhaps in the future, I won't need any other bodies~!"
"Hmph, one day you'll regret this!" Graham snorted coldly and fell silent.
"Hehe~" Roswaal looked at him dismissively and began to focus on arranging the altar. She could not wait any longer; such perfect talent would surely be hers!
'Od' is the life energy that dwells inside of a living being from birth which is synonymous with the soul.
For Roswaal to possess Graham, she must either dissipate Graham's soul or consume it using a special method.
However, Roswaal does not have such advanced techniques yet, so she would use dark magic to erase all of Graham's memories, then infuse her memories, including 'Od', into Graham's body to merge with it...
And Graham's 'Od', stripped of memories, would slowly merge with Roswaal, or rather, coexist.
But losing one's own awareness, completely dominated by Roswaal, was really no different from being dead.
Thus, a new Roswaal would be born!
To achieve her goals, Roswaal would stop at nothing to survive.
No one could stand in her way!
Soon, Roswaal was ready to transfer her 'Od', but first, she would erase Graham's memories...
Originally, it wasn't necessary to erase them, because with proper grooming, direct blood relatives/descendants could be willing to sacrifice themselves to her, just like the current vessel, Julia who gladly offered herself.
But Graham seemed too exceptional. At only 10 years old, he already had his own views firmly established, was very smart, and even discovered her secret on his own...
If he resisted, the possession ritual might lead to unpredictable outcomes, so Roswaal decided to erase Graham's memories.
Raising her hand, black mist flickered between Roswaal's fingers, a dark magic specifically targeting the soul.
Roswaal chuckled softly, "Rest assured, I'll let you savor it~"
With that, she abruptly placed her hand on Graham's head, and the dark mana began to pour in relentlessly.
"Ah... Ahhhhh!" Graham felt as if his head was a mess, being constantly stirred, his consciousness gradually fading.
However, fortunately enough, his soul seemed to be not affected by Roswaal's dark magic, and his memories were still intact...
Scenes from his past life—playing with mud, watching anime, chasing butterflies, playing games, and more were vivid in his mind.
As a transmigrator, how could he not have a special ability!
Roswaal released her grip on Graham, unaware that a deep, dark light was flickering deep within Graham's soul.
It was this light that firmly protected Graham's memories, sparing him from the crisis of memory cleansing.
Having successfully preserved his memories, Graham didn't have time to rejoice before a pain struck his head, and with a tilt, he lost consciousness completely...
....
[T/N: it seems the author of this fanfic read the WN along with the LN of Re:Zero, I say this because the 'Divine Protection of Sorcery' is mostly used in the WN and not the LN... Any ways, that's just my observation and I could be wrong, what are your thoughts? Also please remember, don't wait for me!!!]