I placed my hand on my chest. I felt my breath trembling slightly beneath my fingers… as if the heart inside me wasn't mine, as if it were beating to a rhythm I didn't recognize.
— Only here… I don't know who I am anymore.
The maid was still close, watching me as if she feared I might suddenly hurt myself. I looked at the floor for a moment, then she spoke in a low, slow voice:
— Sir… maybe if… you tried to remember…
I took a small step back, feeling the cold floor beneath my feet, even though the room itself wasn't cold.
Remember what? The life of someone I don't know? Someone who didn't even exist in the game?
I lifted my head toward the broken mirror… my face reflected in the tiny shards, as if each piece showed a different face of someone I didn't know.
I whispered softly: — What… is my name?
The maid bit her lip nervously. Then she spoke slowly:
— Your name… is Rion Taylor.
Rion?
Taylor?
I closed my eyes slowly… as if my mind was trying to match the name with what I knew.
… Rion
… Taylor
The Taylor family.
One of the three families that rule the Athinia Empire in the Interwoven Worlds game.
Their symbol is black.
Famous for magic… strictness… and arrogance.
But…
There was no character named Rion.
I lifted my head slowly, my gaze still lost, but inside me, a fire was starting to boil.
— Rion… Taylor?
I repeated the name as if it were foreign to me.
The maid swallowed hard, then nodded fearfully.
But I knew very well… I know all the characters.
I know their locations, their endings, their abilities, their weaknesses… even secrets that only appear after hundreds of hours of playing.
Rion Taylor does not exist.
This body…
This face reflected in the mirror shards…
Doesn't belong to anyone who ever appeared in the game.
Yet…
This room…
This palace…
These colors…
The clothes…
The family emblem embroidered on the curtain…
Everything matched the Taylor family perfectly.
I placed my hand on my forehead and closed my eyes tightly.
Could this be… the game world?
But why am I here in the first place?
Didn't I die?
My thoughts suddenly stopped at that moment when I lost consciousness. I was certain I had died.
So how am I waking up here?
In the game world I loved more than any other.
I slowly opened my eyes, my gaze trembling slightly.
The beats of my heart mingled with the echo of death in my mind.
I whispered to myself unconsciously:
— I… was dead.
I felt it… clearly… I was dead.
The maid trembled,
stepped a small step toward me, then stopped in fear.
— Sir… you… didn't die, but you were missing for a month.
— Missing for a month?
I repeated the word slowly…
A month?
I felt a sharp sting in my chest.
I raised my gaze to the maid.
Her eyes avoided mine.
— Yes… Sir, she said softly,
— For a whole month… you were missing. We didn't know where you were or what you were doing, but yesterday we found you in front of the palace.
— You found me… in front of the palace?
The words left my mouth as if they weren't mine.
The maid nodded cautiously, as if afraid of my reaction.
— Yes… Sir.
We found you lying on the ground… unharmed, no trace of blood… as if you… appeared suddenly.
I swallowed, but my throat remained dry.
I stepped toward the window, looking at the vast garden bathed in the faint light of dawn… everything was calm, harmonious, beautiful… yet it felt strange to me, distant, as if this world didn't belong to me, or maybe I was the stranger in it.
I placed my hand on my chest again.
The heartbeat is not mine.
Its rhythm is unfamiliar…
— Is that all that happened?
I asked, watching my reflection in the window glass.
The maid hesitated for a few seconds, her eyes unsettled.
Then she finally said:
— Sir… there's something else…
The night we found you… the moon was completely dark… and the sky… was charged with a strange energy.
Some of the guards said they saw a black spark around your body… then it disappeared.
A cold shiver ran down my spine.
A black spark…
In the Interwoven Worlds game… there was nothing like it.
I felt my heart stop for a moment.
— Sir… are you okay?
I let out a short laugh, then wiped my trembling face with my hand.
— Okay?
How can I be okay… when
I don't know what happened to me or why I'm here.
I raised my hands in front of me… my fingers trembling.
Then I whispered in a voice barely audible:
— What happened… before I disappeared?
The maid froze.
Shadows of fear reflected clearly in her eyes…
As if she remembered something that shouldn't be spoken.
She stepped back and lowered her voice to a whisper:
— Sir… on the last day… before you disappeared…
You…
Her voice broke off.
— You… bled… black blood.
I thought about it for a moment before stopping my thoughts, turned to the maid, and ordered her to leave. Before she left, I said calmly:
— Where is my evaluation device?
She hesitated for a moment before answering, then finally said:
— It's in the drawer…
The maid left, worried, as if she feared something might happen.
I would need the device to assess my power, so I headed straight to the drawer. I saw a small white orb. I took a little of my blood and placed it on it. Some might wonder: how do I know how to use it?… because I had seen it countless times in the game.
Then my status appeared:
Name: Rion Taylor
Rank: F–
Strength: F–
Talent: ?
Speed: G
Agility: G–
Endurance: F
Intelligence: F
Magic: –F
Lania: F
Skills:
Calm Analysis — allows the user to remain calm in tense situations.
Abilities: None
…
I couldn't say anything. My stats were catastrophic compared to my standing as a Taylor family member.
I took a deep breath before looking again.
So far, I still hadn't gained any abilities.
I stood up and headed toward the door. When I opened it, I saw the maid who had been here earlier talking with her friend. I approached her and asked:
— Do you know where the storage room is?
She hesitated:
— Yes.
I said:
— Take me there.
She hesitated for a moment before nodding.
As we walked toward the basement, I heard the servants whisper:
— Didn't they say he died?
— No… they said he's cursed.
I heard them murmuring, but I didn't think much of what they said, because my focus was on a completely different place.
As I approached, I saw a huge door, and in the middle of it, a large carved eye, as if it were staring straight into my soul. In front of the door stood an elderly man.
When our eyes met, I froze for a second, then he said in a heavy tone:
— What is a young master doing here? Aren't you supposed to be resting?
I answered after a moment of silence:
— I came… to obtain blood.
Some might wonder what I mean, so I'll explain: some creatures, upon death, leave behind special blood, and the stronger the creature… the stronger the ability gained from its blood. But one cannot absorb the blood power of a creature far stronger than oneself…
The man stared at me as if reading my thoughts, then turned his gaze away and said:
— Very well. You will only receive one ability of D rank.
I nodded to him, then the door opened…
I entered alone, and it closed behind me.
I found myself inside a place resembling a laboratory.
I was only allowed to enter the first floor, where the weakest abilities were stored. I walked slowly, inspecting the glass vials containing blood. I had several thoughts in my mind… I needed an ability suitable for my current state.
After a few minutes of wandering, I found what I wanted. A vial labeled:
(Altaria Threads) — allows the user to control invisible threads resembling spiritual strands, which can be used to influence objects or people around them.
These threads act like precise connections between the user and their environment, allowing control of movement, manipulation of objects from a distance, or directing attacks with accuracy.
— Alright… I think this is suitable for now.
I headed toward the door, which opened automatically this time, and I stepped out.
I saw the old man still standing motionless. When he heard the door, he looked at me, then at the vial in my hand, and merely nodded.
I raised my eyes and saw the maid still waiting for me. I approached her and said:
— Take me to the Lania room.
— Yes, Sir…
We walked together. I couldn't help but pause for a moment to admire the beauty of the corridors.
The Taylor family palace was like a massive maze; moving between its wings took a long time.
Finally, we stopped in front of a huge room. It was the Lania room, and a powerful aura radiated from it even from the outside.
We had to wait a moment until the person inside emerged.
After a few moments… the door opened.
When I saw the person who came out… I froze. It was a girl who resembled me greatly—same hair color, same eye shape—but the biggest shock was that I knew her…
Rina Taylor
Her face was calm, her features beautiful and sharply defined. Her black hair fell over her shoulders in a neatly casual way, and her cold black eyes gave the feeling that she could see beyond you.
Her skin was slightly pale but luminous, giving her a noble, frozen appearance.
She looked at me for a brief moment… then shook her head and stepped aside.
I looked at her back for a moment before stopping my thoughts and turning my gaze elsewhere.
When I entered, everything inside was completely white, filled with a suffocating Lania aura.
I took out the vial… hesitated for a moment…
Then drank it.
---