Nolan woke up with a splitting headache and a dry mouth, the familiar punishment of drinking too much.
He squinted at the ceiling, waiting for his vision to settle, then frowned.
The bed beside him was empty.
That alone wouldn't normally surprise him, but something about it felt wrong. Usually, there would at least be signs someone had been there. Clothes on the floor. A lingering scent. Something.
He searched his memory and found only scattered flashes. A university party. Loud music. Alcohol. Laughter. And a beautiful redhead who had leaned close enough that he could feel her breath against his ear.
Nolan remembered taking her to his bed, but for some reason he couldn't remember her name.
"Already gone…?" he muttered, rubbing his temple.
He pushed himself out of bed and headed to the bathroom, the ache in his head throbbing with every step. As he splashed water on his face, he paused.
The man staring back at him was… familiar, yet unsettling.
Same sharp features. Same blue eyes. Same blond hair. Handsome, undeniably so, but Nolan felt a strange sense of distance, as if he were looking at someone he knew only superficially.
He brushed it off, shaved, and got dressed. His room caught his attention next. It was clean. Spotless, even.
That wasn't right.
Nolan frowned, glancing around. No discarded clothes. No clutter. No signs of the usual chaos he lived in.
Odd.
He shrugged it off and rummaged through his closet, growing irritated when he couldn't find his usual tank tops. Everything was loose. Plain. Almost… modest.
Eventually, he settled for a tight black T-shirt that clung to his muscular chest and arms. He worked hard in the gym every day without using steroids, and his large muscles were for showing, not hiding.
With nothing better to do, and classes nearly over for the semester, he decided to head to college.
Maybe talking to friends would help him remember what happened.
The city felt off the moment he stepped outside.
It was subtle at first. The streets looked familiar, yet cleaner. The buildings more modern.
At the subway station, Nolan leaned against the wall and waited.
When the train arrived and the doors slid open, he hesitated.
The car was full of women.
Every seat. Every standing space. Female voices, laughter, casual conversation. Not a single man in sight.
For a brief moment, Nolan wondered if he'd boarded the wrong car. Some kind of women-only section, maybe. He turned to the nearest girl and asked if he could ride here.
She glanced at him, surprised, but nodded.
"It's fine."
More women entered at the next stop. This time, one man followed them, dressed in a suit, walking slightly behind. No one seemed to find it strange.
Nolan frowned.
Coincidence, he told himself, though the unease didn't fade.
When he finally exited the station, the feeling intensified.
The streets were crowded, but mostly with women.
IT was clear something was wrong, but the idea of him transmigrating sounded to absurd to be true.
Anyway, Nolan started paying more attention to his surroundings, trying to understand what was happening. And the more strange things he noticed, the more his head hurt, as if something was really wrong.
Then he saw it.
Two little girls playing near the station entrance.
One laughed and raised her hand, and water formed in the air, swirling playfully before splashing onto the other.
No tricks. No devices.
Just… magic.
Nolan stopped dead.
"What the hell…?"
The boy took the phone out of his pocket, wanting to see if he could find anything out by looking online, but he had no internet. Maybe his 4G plan for the month had run out.
At this point, denial felt pointless.
He started walking toward his college, his steps heavy, his thoughts racing. A ridiculous idea crept into his mind, one he didn't want to accept.
Another world.
The moment he stepped onto campus, his body reacted before his mind could.
Fear.
Pure, instinctive fear surged through him, making his muscles tense. For some reason, Nolan felt fear, as he saw an effeminate man with long black hair and a thin frame stopped in front of him, smiling arrogantly.
This was profoundly strange, as he'd always been fearless, certainly not intimidated by a simple skinny kid.
Somehow, Nolan knew his name.
Josh.
"Finally decided to show up, trash," Josh said, his voice dripping with disdain. "You kept me waiting."
Nolan's fingers twitched.
Normally, someone speaking to him like that would be eating the floor. But his body refused to move. His chest felt tight, his instincts screaming danger, not from Josh, but from what Josh represented.
"Follow me," Josh ordered. "Now."
Against his better judgment, Nolan did.
They walked to the abandoned construction area behind Sector E. Half-finished buildings. Empty rooms. A place where no one would interfere.
"You're late." A sharp female voice cut through the air as soon as they arrived.
Josh flinched instantly, his arrogance vanishing.
A woman stood there, long black hair cascading down her back, eyes cold and disdainful. She looked at him the way one might look at dirt clinging to a shoe.
And then…
Pain exploded inside Nolan's skull.
He dropped to his knees as memories flooded his mind. Not his memories.
The memories Nolan received were from a man with the same face and body as him, but with a completely different personality.
He remembered the bullying, the submission and the constant fear. He remembered about a world where magic ruled, and women stood at the top of it.
That's how he understood he was in a world similar, yet completely different from his own.
A reality where men like him existed to be trampled.
His breathing grew ragged as the last memory surfaced. And finally, he clearly remembered the last day of this world's Nolan.
And the least thing he heard was:
'The system has begun its initialization. Please, wait 10 minutes before the function becomes fully usable.'