"Kyler. I see you're awake. I know you probably won't remember me, but I brought a book to read to you. It might help you relearn some things."
He talked to me like I was a child, softly and warmly. I felt I should stay silent until I understood something. The symbol on his uniform caught my eye as he walked through the door. For some reason, I knew it meant honor and dignity. Why did he wear a badge on his uniform that said that was beyond me? It was like saying,[ I attend school I'm a big boy.]
He looked behind him with a book in hand and beckoned someone into the room. As I heard rustling from behind the door, I saw three pairs of eyes at different heights, like in a cartoon, peeking around the door. They were what I assumed to be kids in elementary school, judging by their ages. One of them, probably the youngest boy, who was wearing what looked like a stereotypical sailor's suit, rushed toward the bed and leaped to hug me, knocking the wind out of me.
The youngest boy shouted, "Kyler! You're awake!" The boy exclaimed with a happy expression, a tear running down his cheek. It might have been heartwarming if I knew who these kids were. But after the boy saw my expression of confusion and indifference, he said my name again, "Kyler," this time with a tone as if he were looking at a stranger. I felt the urge to respond, but I held it in, knowing that could make my situation a lot more complicated.
The other two—another slightly taller young boy, also dressed in a sailor outfit, and an older girl wearing a sailor outfit with a blue skirt instead of white shorts—stood back with sad expressions. It felt like I'd been thrust into a TV drama. Blondie, who had sat down in an armchair, softly told the child, "He doesn't remember you, but maybe with time, he will remember everything."
I felt an involuntary shiver run down my back. I was scared, though I didn't know why. As the children moved to sit on my bed, Blondie held out a book toward us like a preschool teacher. I felt a bit embarrassed as someone his age, but I refrained from showing any emotion. I could see it was a picture book and thought it might be useful to understand the world-building of this fantasy-like place I had been taken to as he began reading.
"Long ago, the continents started to fuse together, forming one supercontinent called Pangaea 2. Humans were very smart and built many machines to perform tasks they would normally have to do themselves. But after becoming too reliant on these machines, they stopped working after a large accident. So, humans had to figure out how to survive without any help. After many wars over territory, a crack appeared in the sky and then vanished, dropping things known as the 'ADV Machines.' But that's probably too hard for you to understand." He suddenly paused for dramatic effect. "Suddenly, humans discovered that if they wrote a specific symbol on their bodies, they could gain a supernatural ability. However, as their children were born with the same symbol on their bodies, they couldn't choose the power, and their children were forced to inherit the specific ability their parents had. From there, factions and sub-factions were created based on their ability. The most common ability is element manipulation—they are called elementalists—which led to prejudice, with people looking down on those who had weaker elements. But you probably don't want to hear that. The four main elements became the four head families, while my family became the ruling family. The few rare people who didn't yet have a symbol either chose to join one of the four main families' symbols or made their own unique one."
The two young boys looked confused. Seeing this, Blondie tried to engage them by asking a question. "Do you know the four elements that the main families use?"
The youngest boy eagerly replied, "Fire! That's the coolest."
Blondie nodded and said, "Yes, fire is very flashy. But what about the other three?"
The other boy thought for a moment and then said, "Water, earth, and the clear one."
"Yes," Blondie confirmed, "the clear one is called wind."
As he mentioned the elements of the four main families, I couldn't help but think that this world was similar to Avatar: The Last Airbender. Then, the youngest boy turned to me and asked, "What element do you and Kyler have?"
Blondie answered before I could. "Well … Kyler has an authority, which is hard to explain but unique. As for me, I'm the crown prince of the Cromwell family, so I use the lightning element," he said with a pride that annoyed me.
I suddenly felt a weight in my mind, realizing that the situation was becoming more confusing and complicated. If this guy was a prince, why was he acting as my nurse? And I had a symbol on me? Where was it? Lifting the collar of my shirt, I couldn't see anything, but when I touched the skin above my heart, a cold shiver ran through my hand, making me jerk it away as if it were burning. Even putting my hand near it gave me the feeling of placing my hand near the barrel of a loaded gun.
The kids, ignoring my reaction, asked in unison, "Which element is the strongest?"
"That depends on multiple factors," the prince replied. "An element's usability and adaptability are important, but it all depends on the user's creativity, speed of manifestation, as well as the force and speed of their telekinesis over their element. Someone with a so-called 'weaker' element can easily defeat a novice with a more powerful ability if they are a master."
"How strong is your family?" the oldest girl asked, most of what he said clearly going over her head.
"Well, while the four families are considered the rank of dukes, my mother is the Empress, so we're obviously the strongest," he said with pride.
"But if you're the strongest, why doesn't everyone use lightning?" the younger boy inquired.
"That's because the four main families and our family hide their symbols with a skin adhesive," the prince explained sheepishly. A thought of understanding came to me as to why I couldn't see the symbol.
"I thought Kyler's ability would be the strongest," the oldest girl said.
The prince stopped and looked at me, then quietly said, "He's different." Quickly changing the topic, the prince continued, "Anyway, I've ordered our national treasure, the ADV Machine, to be brought for you, so you should be able to walk again soon. It should also help restore some of your memories." He focused his warm gaze on me, offering a sideways smile.
At that moment, I felt a whirlwind of emotions—unease, relief, fear, surprise, and happiness. The most important thing was that my legs were going to be fixed. But why did everyone talk about me in the past tense? It definitely felt like I was in someone else's body. I didn't know what was going on, but the more I thought about it, the more I remembered that this was an unknown fantasy world with what he said were elemental superpowers and authorities. I wanted to ask him about that, but I had to maintain the facade…
As the prince whose name was Caesar, yes like the Roman emperor, Narcissistic right, continued babbling with the kids. It was hard for me to focus since I couldn't Interact with them. Eventually, the children and prince left, and the room fell silent, leaving me alone with my thoughts. The reality of the situation began to sink in. I was in a different world, in a different body, with powers I didn't understand. But one thing was clear: I needed answers, and fast. I stared at the ornate ceiling, trying to piece together everything I had learned so far. My supposed past feats intrigued me, but they also filled me with dread. I had the same name, but who was this Kyler whose body I now inhabited? And what had he done to earn the admiration of these people?
As I lay there, a subtle knock echoed through the room. The door creaked open, revealing an elderly man with a long white beard and a wart on the tip of his nose, wearing robes that dragged on the floor, collecting dirt. He walked slowly toward the bed. With a slight feeling of disgust, I forced myself to look at the old man.
"I am Magister Doran. I've come to assess your condition." As he spoke, a smell of fish wafted from his breath. I felt a strange sense of rage that didn't feel like mine. Ignoring it, I thought to myself, You can't even assess your robes, you disgusting pig. Just looking at him made me feel nauseated.
Doran, narrowing his eyes, asked, "Do you remember anything?" Taking my silence as confirmation, he relaxed slightly and asked one last question: "Can you speak?"
I tried to keep my expression blank as I ignored him and stared over his head. I could feel his disgusting, narrow eyes relax as the silence continued. He took a quick glance behind him and looked back at me, grabbing my hair with one hand and pulling my face close to his.
"Your authority will be ours soon. If it wasn't for your insane personality, you would have already been ours. You should have taken our offer from the beginning." As if making a jest to himself He said "Now that you are just a shell of your former self the title of Hollow King really fits you."
With a jerk of his hand, he yanked my head to one side. Without the ability to tense my legs for balance, I pathetically flopped off the bed and onto the floor with a thud. I groaned in pain, and he smiled as he walked out of the room.
"Now you seem so much more human."
While pathetically forcing my upper half up with my arms, I told myself in my mind that I would get revenge. After a few hours of trying and failing to get back on the bed, I fell asleep on the floor.