Faint voices reach her first.
Not words.
Just worry.
Just presence.
Her eyes flutter open.
Two old faces lean over her, carved with concern and relief. A man and a woman. Their clothes are simple. Their hands tremble, as if they are afraid she might vanish again.
She inhales sharply and pushes herself up.
"Who… who are you?" her voice is hoarse.
"Where am I?"
She looks down at herself.
And freezes.
Her body is whole.
No blood.
No broken bones.
No pain screaming through her veins.
Shock rushes through her before she can speak.
Before she can ask anything else, the old man gently interrupts, his voice soft but urgent.
"Child… are you feeling well?"
"We found you unconscious by the riverbank. You didn't wake up for two days. You were breathing, so we stayed. We couldn't leave you there."
Her lips part.
Words tumble out without permission.
"Where am I?"
"I… I was dead."
The sentence breaks in the air.
She stops mid-breath and looks at her hands.
Turns them over.
Touches her arms. Her chest. Her heartbeat.
Alive.
Her eyes widen. Panic creeps in like cold water.
Seeing her distress, the old woman places a warm hand on her shoulder.
"Beta," she says gently,
"Don't think about everything right now. First, eat something. You're safe here."
Time passes quietly.
She eats slowly, mechanically, as if her body remembers hunger even if her mind doesn't remember life. When she finishes, she looks at them with gratitude that feels heavier than words.
"Thank you," she says.
As she stands, something catches her eye.
Crystals.
Small, embedded into the fabric of her dress. Blue. Perfectly square. Glowing faintly, as if breathing.
Without hesitation, she removes them all and places them into the old couple's hands.
"Please," she says, bowing her head slightly.
"Take these. As thanks."
The moment they see the crystals, both of them freeze.
Their faces drain of color.
The old woman gasps.
"These…" she whispers.
"These are Blue Square Crystals."
Her husband stares at them in disbelief.
"Only high nobles… palace families… only they possess such crystals."
Hearing this, the girl feels her stomach drop.
"What…?" she breathes.
Her mouth stays open. No words follow.
Slowly, she shakes her head.
"I don't remember anything about my past," she says quietly.
"So please… keep them. And don't tell anyone I gave them to you."
She pauses, then adds, almost to herself,
"Someone may have tried to kill me."
She touches faint marks on her skin. Injuries that could not have happened by accident.
Her eyes fill with tears.
Even in my new life…
if I can save someone… even one person…
The thought steadies her.
The old couple exchange a look, then nod. They understand more than they ask.
Soon after, she leaves.
A new journey begins.
She sits alone in a small wooden boat, drifting across calm water.
The world around her feels unreal.
If she had to describe it in words:
A serene night.
A lone girl with long brown hair sitting in a narrow rowboat.
The lake is filled with glowing blue water lilies, each one casting a soft, living light.
She wears a pale blue dress, her gaze lifted toward a dramatic twilight sky, where deep blue and pink clouds swirl together.
A bright moon hangs above, and a galaxy like spilled stardust stretches across the heavens.
Distant mountains and faint shore lights frame the horizon.
This world is… different.
Beautiful.
And watching her back.
As she drifts, lost in thought, a strange sensation crawls across her skin.
She feels it.
Someone.
Something.
She looks up.
On the misty shoreline ahead, a lone figure stands atop jagged rock. Still. Silent.
Before them rises a towering, glowing blue portal, splitting two dark, broken structures like shattered towers. Ethereal blue energy streams upward from the portal, climbing into the night sky and dissolving into a crescent moon wrapped in swirling clouds.
The last light of a pink sunset fades into deep blue night.
Her breath catches.
The world has been waiting.
And so has her fate.