[MISS AMARA, PLEASE WAKE UP!!]
A rather robotic voice shrieked in worry, shaking Amara's unconscious body. Amara slowly gained consciousness, groaning due to how numb her body was. She rubbed her eyes, trying to regain her vision. "Fuck... Did I sleep on the wrong side of the bed?"
Huh?
Something was different. Something unfamiliar. Her voice sounded a little too high for her liking. Flashing her eyes open, Amara saw herself in an unknown bedroom—a very, very luxurious one. Amara couldn't possibly gather any words to say as she looked around in confusion. Whipping her head rapidly, everywhere looked DAMN expensive. It was like a dream, but it felt real.
A surprised chuckle escaped her lips, her eyes wandering everywhere within the room. A sudden reminder made her jolt as she quickly grasped her forehead and shoulder. "My... my wound! Where is it?!" she exclaimed in confusion. A gasp left her lips when Amara noticed her skin color.
She was awfully pale.
Forgetting about her missing wounds, she looked at her skin in shock. "What type of snow-white bullshit is this?!"
[Miss Amara seems to have very vulgar language.]
A holographic screen popped up right in front of Amara, the brightness blinding her vision. "Who...?" Adjusting her eyes to the sudden light, she saw a screen with a silly emoticon face. "What are you? Where am I?" Looking around to make sure she isn't going crazy, she looked back at the screen in concern.
[Do not worry, Miss Amara! For I am here for you! I'm your trusty system. ^^]
"My system? I don't understand; where am I?"
[You're in your bedroom, silly!]
"You think you can gaslight me? I've been living in a shabby apartment for years!"
[That's a rough life you've got there, Miss.]
"Did I fucking ask? Answer my question first: where the hell am I!?"
[Seems like I need to rephrase my words, hehe. You're in your new bedroom!]
"Listen here, you weird entity—"
[WEIRD? ENTITY?]
"Yes? I can come up with more names if you'd like, but if you keep me waiting like this..."
[EEK! Miss Amara is so scary; why did my master have to assign me to you!]
"That's kind of a you problem, alright? And master? Just answer my damn question!"
[Alright, fine! Since you're so impatient.]
"You expect me to be patient when I literally just died a moment ago, suddenly woke up in this... really expensive 'bedroom,' and you claim it's mine?"
[Well... you have a point.]
"Damn right I do. So?"
[Let us start with this tragic story of—]
"Spare me the sob stories and get to the damn point."
[B-but!]
"I'm going to throw myself out of the window if you don't hurry up."
[JUST WHAT KIND OF HOST DID YOU ASSIGN ME, MASTER!?]
The silly screen shrieked in anger, stomping its small feet in the air. Amara only gave the screen a judging gaze, not trusting it one bit.
[My master, an unknown god, assigns where lost souls go. And in this tragic world is where he used to live; the time repeats itself in this world when the main character dies. He has been living in this cycle for centuries, but he managed to escape from it. He made a name for himself in the Celestial Realm of Gods and was given the power to allocate lost souls to save this world.]
"I clearly just said no sob stories, but I suppose that was interesting. So what does that have to do with me?"
[You were one of the lost souls.]
Amara looked at the screen, her face giving a blank look. "You're giving a huge responsibility to someone who just died?"
[Well, that's —]
"Tell me, just how many hosts did you have in the past?"
[...]
Amara sighed, "Just how many souls has your master sacrificed just to save this meaningless world? He's clearly contributing to the cycle itself."
Amara gave the screen a cold look. "I'm not cooperating. I'm no charity worker."
[You can't! Each failure and refusal of a soul takes a toll on the master!]
"Not my problem. You can't just whisk me here against my will!"
[But your soul—]
"What happens to my soul if I refuse?"
[It could lead your soul to the unknown that even the master doesn't know!]
Reflecting on the entity's words, Amara clicked her tongue. "I'm tired of living anyway. I'm leaving." Amara stood up from the bed, walking toward the door. It doesn't matter if she doesn't know where she is. She needs to get out of here this instant.
[Y-you can't! You're my master's last chance to save Aetheria!]
Aetheria...?
The name sounds awfully familiar. So familiar that it brought immediate dread to Amara's memory core. "What did you just say?"
—
Aetheria, in its ancient days, was a realm of unparalleled majesty, where the kingdoms are flourished in an era reminiscent of medieval times, but touched by the ethereal magic of the heavenly gods. Gods were very fond of the world Aetheria that they decided to bless the world a gift. A holy gift from their very hands and bestowed a luminous power to a human that went on generations.
Christine Hawthorne, a descendant of the power was considered the Saintess. And this is her story, her path as one of the progent of the holy gift— surviving in a world where the strong prey on the weak, and survival often demands the sacrifice of kindness.
—
[Seems that Miss Amara is aware what this world is.]
"You're kidding..."
[I am not. Miss Amara, please reconsider!]
"Who's body am I possessing right now?"
[Eleanor Hawthorne, Christine's refined older sister!]
Despite the screen's excitement, Amara's body froze in fear. Her breathing went ragged, stumbling on her own feet. Trembling all over, she noticed a huge mirror within the room. There she noticed how different she looked. She was in fact, another person. Scrambling to her feet, she ran to the mirror and gave it a hardening grip.
'And on that day, Eleanor was executed for her sins.'
[M-miss...?]
The system nervously asked, slowly hovering next to Amara's side. Amara slowly turned around, giving the system a menacing glare. The system screeched when Amara shouted angrily, "GET ME OUT OF THIS BODY RIGHT NOW!"
[I- I can't!]
Due to anger, Amara reached out for the nearest item next to her and threw it to the floating screen. The system hastily dodge, "SO YOU'RE TELLING ME— OUT OF ALL THE CHARACTERS IN THIS STUPID NOVEL, I POSSESSED THE BODY OF ELEANOR HAWTHORNE?"
[ Please calm down, Miss Amara!]
As the the moon shone brightly, its light pouring through the big window and filling the room with a soft, silvery glow, casting gentle shadows and creating a serene, otherworldly atmosphere. In desperation, Amara continued to throw things to the system. Vases, cosmetics, mirrors. They all shattered on the floor in delicacy. The system tried to communicate, but Amara was blinded in rage.
Due to the racket Amara caused, loud knocking and shouts from outside could be heard. "Dear! Is everything okay?" A soothing, warm voice asked from outside as the person called out in worry. Amara and the system stopped in their tracks, looking at the door in horror.
"Eleanor, I'm coming in!" The doorknob snapped open as the door creaked open. The system gasped in panic, disappearing in a blink like it shut itself off... Amara was left panting; her body weakly fell onto the messy floor, her back sliding down the wall. The person came into the tarnished room and was taken by surprise, breathing sharply. "E-Eleanor?"
Amara lazily glanced at the stranger, squinting her eyes at the unfamiliar figure. "It's like a carbon copy of Eleanor..." Amara thought tiredly as she took in the woman's appearance in front of her. True to her words, the person literally looked like Eleanor. The difference was their eye color; while Eleanor had fierce purple eyes, the other had striking benevolent blue eyes that mesmerized Amara. Her face suggested she was in her late 40s, while Eleanor had a more youthful look.
Amara couldn't do anything but cry; tears clouded her vision, making her sight blurry. What could she possibly do? She's just an overworked minimum-wage worker who doesn't even get paid properly. What could she do in this situation? The heaviness in her heart fueled her sobbing as she covered her distressed face.
Fast footsteps carried their way to Amara, and engulfing Amara in a hug. Despite the woman being a stranger to Amara, she greedily accepted the comfort. 'At least this time, let me have this.'
—
Having a parent taking care of her is weird for someone who's an orphan like Amara, especially when it's technically not hers, rather Eleanor's. Not hers, she's just some stranger who was unwillingly brought into this world. She was currently staying in the garden, dead of night. The system hasn't shown itself yet, which irked Amara. A huge coat wrapped around her, given by Eleanor's personal maid.
Amara was reluctant, but Eleanor's mother made her wait in the garden. 'Probably to ask what this is all about... Fuck, what should I tell her? I can't just tell her I'm not her daughter but someone else. I would have been labeled a lunatic here.' Glancing at the nervous maid beside her, she could feel the worry in her gaze. Amara lightly frowned at this. 'I hate it when they look at me with pity.' But Amara thought she looked pitiful at the moment. Eleanor's face looked extremely exhausted after all of Amara's crying for an hour straight. The train of Amara's thoughts was interrupted when she heard footsteps trudging closer to her.
She tiredly glanced, but soon her eyes went wide as saucers. 'Don't tell me...?' Trying not to gape like a fish in front of the married couple, Amara became slightly nervous. It seemed that Eleanor's mother brought her husband into this matter, which jumbled Amara's nerves. Now, she truly hated herself for not controlling her emotions.
Amara glanced down at the floor, avoiding eye contact with both of them. The couple frowned at this; it was rare for their child to be acting like this. Carina, Eleanor's mother, took hold of her husband's hand, trying to conquer her nervousness. She was truly worried about what had happened to her child. Eleanor was a kind soul; her doing anything like this was a first for her. 'Was she bottling this all up? For how long? She hasn't told me her worries for long... have I been neglectful of her?' Carina's mind raced with thoughts but was abruptly stopped when she felt a soft tightening grip on her hand. She glanced at her husband, seeing his thumb rubbing her hand to wash away her racing worries. He had a gentle smile on his lips and kissed her knuckles.
This made Carina calm down, and she let out a small smile. She glanced at her daughter and walked closer to her. "Let's walk around the garden." Carina sneaked her arm around Amara's left arm, intertwining them both. Amara didn't know what to do, yet she complied with the elder. She tensed up when she felt a hand engulfing her left shoulder, making her turn to see Eleanor's father. The father nodded in approval as the couple started walking, dragging Amara with their grip on her.
Amara stayed silent until one of the couple spoke, but it seemed that none of Eleanor's parents were willing to ask her anything yet. Amara awkwardly walked with the two, overthinking her next actions in case she was ever asked. It was obvious that she was tense throughout the whole walk, her mind occupied. The couple gave her glances yet continued to walk silently, enjoying the cold temperature outside.
'Okay, Amara, let's calm down...' Amara sneakily glanced at the two people beside her; she could clearly see they were enjoying the walk. 'I shouldn't really be scared of these two... They're good people, right? Based on volume one of the novel, they're a healthy family. They just want answers about my stupid tantrum earlier, but what do I tell them?'
Fidgeting with the hem of her clothes, she decided on something that might lead to a better outcome for Eleanor's future, and better yet, hers. She took a deep breath, her shoulders visibly relaxing. The parents had noticed this and changed the route of their path around the garden. They arrived at the majestic fountain in the middle of the garden, with Carina encouraging her daughter to take a rest.
Amara reluctantly agreed to rest as the couple guided her to sit down at the edge of the fountain. She gulped at the heavy lump in her throat, recalling certain events in the novel.
—
Pain couldn't even describe what Christine was feeling. It was definitely more than that, so much more that she felt it clawing at her stomach wide open. Trying not to shed more tears than she had last time, she calmly walked forward to the altar. Her smile was strained, her hands trembling while holding the white fragrant flowers. She glanced at the front, seeing her soon-to-be husband giving her a small, sad smile. She couldn't afford to return that hopeful smile of his—not after losing her sister over her selfish feelings for a man her sister loved the most. This was all her fault. She couldn't blame the actions of Eleanor, poisoning her.
After her death, her wedding to Heisenberg was quickly arranged, as if Eleanor's death was nothing but entertainment for everyone. What made her heart bleed even more was that her parents weren't present at her very own wedding. Having her supposedly blessed day felt like a curse, a worse feeling than getting disowned.
—
A soft mother like Carina couldn't afford to handle everything that happened to her children. Just what went wrong? Her heart shattered by the events: Christine's affair with the Prince, which led her older daughter to madness and caused her to try to poison her own sister. She was executed for her wrongdoings. Losing a child altogether left Carina unstable; not even her own husband's comfort was enough to console her pain, and she knew the same went for him. It hurt so much that they couldn't afford to attend the wedding of their younger daughter.
It was simply the consequence of Christine and Heisenberg's actions.
'I'm not letting any of that happen, at least not now that I'm Eleanor. I'll survive in this wretched world, even if my name is not Amara anymore.'
Amara finally looked at Carina; exhaustion in her eyes was evident, but the hidden determination within fired her soul. "Mother, I would like to break off the engagement with the Crown Prince."
Her following words alarmed the couple. Carina immediately snatched Amara's hand and clasped it tightly. "Why so sudden, Eleanor? Your wedding is in a few months! Everything is already prepared." Carina's worried words did not waver the determination in Amara; she continued to give Carina a hardening look, making Carina widen her eyes. Her daughter had never looked at her like that before.
A sudden grip on Amara's shoulder made her glance to the other side. Eleanor's father, Harley, finally wore a worried look on his aloof face. "May you tell us the reason why you want to break the engagement?" Amara felt Carina's hand tighten its hold around her hands.
She took a deep breath. "Prince Heisenberg is having an affair with Christine."
End of Chapter One.