In the midst of the darkness, a girl floated, adrift.
Like a block of stone.
Like a speck of dust.
Like a scrap of dirt.
The girl was simply there.
The darkness was suffocating, a thick, inescapable blackness that seemed to press down on her from all sides. There was no light, no sound—just an endless, empty void. She felt as though she were drifting in a weightless expanse, the pressure around her both constant and unrelenting.
Her breaths came in shallow, uneven gasps, though she wasn't even sure if she was truly breathing.
She reached out into the void, but there was nothing to grasp. Her fingers searched for something—anything—but found only emptiness.
Finally, she surrendered to the sensation and decided to open her eyes.
What greeted her was not the suffocating blackness she had expected, but an endless blue expanse, stretching out in all directions. A single, solitary column of light pierced through the vast blue from above, shimmering down toward her.
"Fish?"
It was the first thing that caught her attention—a fish, moving effortlessly through the space around her, its body gliding gracefully as if unaffected by the strange environment.
Confusion stirred within her. She had no idea what was happening. For reasons beyond her understanding, she was submerged deep underwater, perhaps somewhere in the ocean.
The fish swam closer, its scales shimmering in the soft, ethereal light from above. It moved through the water with effortless grace, its calm presence almost hypnotic. She stared at it for a moment, captivated by its fluid motions, before the unsettling reality hit her—she was underwater too.
A flicker of panic crept into her mind. Why wasn't she gasping for air? She should've been thrashing, fighting for breath, yet her body remained unnaturally still. It felt as though some invisible force was holding her in place, keeping the panic from fully taking over.
Her gaze drifted upward, drawn to the column of light piercing through the blue. Was it leading to the surface? To air? To safety?
With a sudden, instinctive motion, she propelled herself upward, reaching for the light. The surface broke around her, and she inhaled sharply, her lungs filling with air for the first time since finding herself in the suffocating depths. Water poured off her face as she blinked rapidly, struggling to clear her vision.
Her heart raced as she looked around, trying to make sense of the scene before her.
"W-Where am I?"
Endless blue water stretched out in every direction, merging seamlessly with the horizon. There was no land, no other living beings, nothing but the vast ocean and the pale sky above. The only thing that disrupted the emptiness was the shimmering column of light she had followed to the surface, now faint and distant in the sky.
She felt small, lost, adrift in an endless sea with no answers.
"What is—wait... what's wrong with my voice?"
A sense of unease settled over her as she finally noticed something else out of the ordinary.
"This... isn't my voice. It's so much higher and... different."
She reached up, her hands trembling as they touched her throat, trying to grasp the reality of her situation.
"No... better than that..."
Her mind drifted back to the first question that had plagued her.
"...How did I end up at the bottom of the ocean? Is this even the ocean I know? Did I..."
Her thoughts were abruptly cut off as painful memories began to surface, one by one. Fragmented images flashed through her mind—she died... or rather, he died. The last thing he saw, the last thing he heard, the last thing he realized before everything went dark...
"Everything was a lie..."
He floated there, suspended between the past and the present. His eyes closed for a moment, then slowly opened. His tightly clenched fists finally relaxed, the tension in his body melting away. He let it go.
Taking another glance around, he searched desperately for any sign of land in the vast expanse of ocean. But instead, his eyes caught something else.
He suddenly remembered—problems never come alone.
At the far edge of the blue sky, dark clouds loomed, and he felt a sinking realization as the wind began to pick up.
"That's bad...".
The sound of his voice still felt strange, unfamiliar, but it wasn't his main concern now. He needed to focus.
He had to move fast, searching for land before the storm clouds reached him. They would likely bring a storm with them.
But what good would it do? Even if he spotted land, could he make it? He was too old to swim properly, too weak even to move. The fact that he had managed to swim to the surface from such depths...
"W-Wait, my body... I don't feel any pain anymore..." A wave of confusion and disbelief washed over him.
He looked down at his hands, expecting to see the frail, trembling limbs he had grown used to. But instead, they were...
"W-Why is my hands so... soft and smooth—!"
There was no time for confusion; the waves were already churning violently. The storm clouds were closing in fast, and the wind had begun whipping the water into a frenzy.
The storm was approaching quicker than he expected, but whatever had happened to his body, he knew he had strength. Enough to swim. He had to take a gamble—pick a direction and hope to spot land within his field of vision.
He took a deep breath, chose a direction, and began to swim. His movements were clumsy at first, as if his body wasn't fully responding.
"!"
He was fast—so fast that the water churned violently around him. It felt like he was running on land, no... perhaps even faster.
The waves rose higher, but they still couldn't catch up to him.
He felt a surge of power, a strange exhilaration, as if his body was no longer bound by its usual limits.
But...
"..."
Even though the waves couldn't reach him, the water was already churning, whipped into chaos by the winds of the approaching storm.
He had to adapt. With a sudden shift, he dove deep beneath the surface, moving his body like a fish—no, more like one of those mythical mermaids.
It felt like he didn't even need to breathe.
The strength, the agility, the flexibility, and the speed—it was unlike anything he'd experienced, even in his youth.
"That?"
After what felt like ten minutes, he spotted something beneath the water.
He squinted, trying to make out the shape through the shifting currents. It was faint, but there was definitely something ahead—something different from the endless expanse of ocean.
"Land."
It was still far away, but the fact that he could spot it even underwater made one thing clear—his vision was enhanced too.
He surged forward, faster, until the silhouette grew unmistakable. It was land, a small island rising from the depths. Relief washed over him, mixed with disbelief. He had actually found it.
Without hesitation, he propelled himself upward, breaking through the surface. The storm still raged above, but the sight of the island gave him strength. The waves fought to pull him back, but he resisted, pushing with every ounce of power in his newfound body.
Finally, his feet touched the sandy shore. He stumbled out of the water, collapsing onto the wet sand.
But it wasn't from exhaustion—strangely, he didn't even feel tired.
He just... wanted to.
What now? The question formed in his mind.
The sound of thunder snapped him back to reality, and he turned to gaze out at the vast blue ocean before him.
The darkness had already begun to close in, as storm clouds swallowed the sky.
He paused for a moment, answering one of the many questions swirling in his mind: What had happened to my body?
"What in the..."
He stood up, taking a long look at himself.
He had suspected, perhaps, that some mysterious power had returned him to his youth. But that didn't explain the superhuman strength and speed he now possessed.
It hadn't occurred to him that the unfamiliarity he felt in this body might be because it wasn't his body at all.
After all, in his 81 years of life, he had always been a man. But the body he now stood in was...
"A woman?"
She rubbed her hand under her eyes in confusion, trying to make sense of what she was seeing.
The softness of her skin, the unfamiliar curves—then, her eyes caught something else. Wet strands of deep brown hair, were whipped forward by the strong wind.
With trembling fingers, she reached up and touched the unfamiliar hair. It felt smooth and silky, nothing like the thinning, graying hair she had once known.
As her gaze traveled down her body, it landed on her chest—two distinct shapes, soft curves that confirmed what she already knew but could hardly believe.
Her eyes continued downward, but they stopped at a familiar spot.
With a sense of resignation, she reached down. It was confirmed—it was gone.
"..."
She closed her eyes, unsure of what to curse, what to blame, or even what to feel.
"I died... is this hell? Is this my punishment?"
She shifted her gaze toward the churning waves of the ocean, then lifted it to the dark, cloud-filled sky. The rain had already begun to fall.
"I have to move..."
It wasn't safe to stay on the shore any longer.
Turning away from the ocean, she was met with the sight of a dense jungle. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward, searching for shelter.
The moment she entered the jungle, her feet sank into the wet, muddy ground. The air was thick and humid, almost suffocating. Each step felt heavier than the last.
The jungle was alive with noise—birds called out, leaves rustled, and the roar of the ocean slowly faded behind her. Only small patches of light broke through the thick canopy, casting everything in shifting shadows.
She pushed ahead, forcing her way through vines and branches that scratched at her arms but left no marks. The uneven ground made her steps unsteady, and she stumbled often, tripping over roots and rocks hidden beneath the mud.
At last, she lost her footing and fell, hitting the ground hard in a puddle of cold, thick mud. The mud clung to her skin, coating most of her body.
With a groan, she pushed herself up, supporting her weight with one hand. Mud dripped from her fingers as she wiped her face, the taste of dirt lingering on her lips. Glancing around, she tried to get her bearings, but the jungle seemed identical in every direction.
"That way..."
For reasons she couldn't explain, she felt an undeniable pull, as if something—or someone—was guiding her.
The rain intensified, drenching her to the bone, but she hardly noticed, her eyes fixed on an imagined path ahead.
Then, in a sudden flash of lightning, a small rocky outcrop briefly appeared in the distance, illuminated against the stormy sky.
She paused, her breath catching as she stared at it. After a moment, she pressed on, descending the hill with renewed determination.
Within minutes, she reached the entrance of a small cave nestled in the outcrop.
Taking a cautious step inside, her feet met solid ground—finally, a surface that didn't sink or give way beneath her weight.
As she moved deeper into the cave, the darkness wrapped around her, but it was a welcome retreat from the fury of the storm outside.
At last, she reached a small chamber at the end of the tunnel. The air was still, and the roar of the storm had faded into a distant, muffled hum.
She slid down the cave wall, her back pressed against the cool stone. Drawing her legs to her chest, she rested her head on her knees and closed her eyes.
"Everything will be fine," she whispered to herself, her voice barely audible against the quiet.
And then, everything went dark.
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(A/N): YAY! A New Story Has Begun!
First of all, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the beginning of the story so far. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!
Now, for the good news!
For those who enjoyed the story, there's an extra treat for you: Chapter 3 is already available on my website, mznovels. com
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Here's even more exciting news: the story is already pre-written, with over 23 chapters ready to go
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