"Where... am I?"
His voice came out hoarse and faint, like the distant echo of a lost soul. The air around him trembled with the shiver of his quickened breaths, and his words reverberated between the silent walls of the room.
His cracked lips barely moved, and his wide eyes wandered the space with obvious anxiety, searching for an explanation, for something familiar… but found nothing.
His chest rose and fell wildly, his heart beating like a war drum, while his hands trembled like leaves in a storm. He looked around as if he had suddenly fallen into a dream with no beginning.
The thin curtains fluttered slowly, stirred by a cool breeze slipping through the half-open window, carrying with it the scent of damp earth and old wood, as if the place had been abandoned for a long time.
There was nothing comforting. The furniture was strange, the walls bore unfamiliar designs, and the air was thick with something unnamed. A sense of foreignness pierced him like a cold needle.
He shut his eyes tightly and raised his right hand to cover his face, trying to block out the sharp pain in his head, as if a bolt of lightning had split his skull.
With a heavy sigh, his head drooped forward, damp strands of black hair falling over his exhausted face. Then, another sound slipped from his cracked lips, more a whisper than a voice:
"Who am I?... Where am I?"
Two questions only asked by those who have lost everything—even themselves.
In the depths of silence, fragmented memories began to rise like bubbles from the darkness. Overlapping images… Jack, a 24-year-old man from the modern era, a graduate of a prestigious law school, walking among glass towers and crowded cities… and other images, of Kyle Liuthan, a 15-year-old boy, the youngest son of the noble Liuthan family whose legacy stretched back a thousand years—yet he was their disgrace. Not for lack of talent, but because of his laziness.
The pasts clashed in his mind like colliding waves. The memories began to melt, merge, and intertwine… two souls, one body.
But who was in control? Jack? Or Kyle? A troubling question… A soul from a fragile world of laws and routine confronted a soul from a world ruled by sword and sorcery.
But the truth? Kyle's soul had already faded recently, before Jack arrived—but fragments of it remained, refusing to leave, resisting, trying to consume the new occupant.
But this wasn't an ordinary soul… Jack's soul was different, infused with the energy of the void—an energy beyond explanation. It had grown and evolved within a dimensional rift, a place no one entered without being erased.
A place untouched even by the bodies of realm rulers—let alone their souls. His soul, once human and mortal, was no longer either.
It had become a "Void Soul"—solid, serene, limitless. The struggle between him and the remnants of Kyle raged invisibly within.
And in the end… Jack won.
He devoured the remains, extinguishing the last spark of Kyle's soul. Then, a flood of memories exploded in his mind—images, emotions, experiences, secrets… everything Kyle once had became his. And in that moment, a faint aura began to form around his body.
It wasn't visible to the naked eye, but it stirred the air slightly, as if the world itself had taken a deep breath.
And Jack sat… or Kyle? No… he was someone new, a fusion of both, carrying two pasts—and more than just a name.
Jack lowered his trembling hand from his face, his body still shaking like a drenched cat in the rain. He opened his crimson eyes slowly, as though opening the gates of hell with fire raging behind them.
Despite the tremble, his eyes were calm and steady, as if that trembling body no longer belonged to those quiet eyes.
Jack scanned the room again. It was a simple bedroom: a small bed, a clothes rack, a door leading to the bathroom, a mirror hung beside the bed, a wooden dining table with a chair, and two magic lamps on the walls.
The scent of old wood and lingering moisture confirmed the age of the room. Simple, organized… like a rural inn.
He whispered again, more clearly this time:
"I really… transferred."
He closed his eyes once more, then dropped his body onto the bed, lost in thought.
First, he had died… though he wasn't sure exactly how. Perhaps high blood pressure.
Second, he reincarnated in a new world. A world reminiscent of the medieval era from his old world, yet vastly different: in this world, Mana—the energy of heaven and earth—drifts slowly through the air. Many can absorb it through specific training, most commonly becoming warriors.
Becoming a warrior doesn't require much—just some talent and persistence. But walking the path of knights or mages is something else entirely… it demands great talent, massive resources, and incomparable strength.
Third, this world… was much larger than he had imagined. Perhaps three times the size of Earth. That was information from Kyle's memories—maybe true, maybe not.
Fourth, there were many races and kingdoms. Five great empires, and the most diverse race was the humans, who once sat at the bottom of the food chain, but possessed terrifying learning capabilities and immense potential, especially when it came to knightly auras.
Unlike magic, which is either born within you or inherited from the bloodlines of powerful races.
Fifth, there were beings… rulers, who had surpassed everything, ignited the fires of dominion, and sat upon thrones in the heavens. Jack exhaled deeply and opened his eyes again.
"I never expected this… the idea of reincarnation, which I always thought was silly, is now a reality. And I'm part of it."
He lifted his weak body from the bed, dizzy from hunger.
"Damn it… why did I reincarnate into such a weak body?"
The weakness wasn't just from hunger—but from Kyle Liuthan's laziness. He had always avoided training, despite his noble bloodline.
"And on top of it… he was expelled from the Liuthan family."
It wasn't a formal expulsion, but rather a suspension from using the family name. It wasn't made public, but kept within the household. To reclaim his right to the name, he had to enter Dawn Academy and undergo harsh training to prove himself a talented knight.
If he failed… he would have to forget about returning forever.
And since Kyle was mentally broken, he hadn't eaten in a week. Honestly, a week of fasting means little to the strong, but Kyle? Even the family's dog was stronger than him.
And so… he died, and Jack took his body. Jack's expression darkened.
"If only I had arrived before the suspension, I could've begged Mother to talk to Father and increase my allowance… give me better resources."
He didn't even realize he had started thinking of Kyle's family as his own.
As for his allowance, it was 1,000 gold coins per month, plus some training resources. That amount could support a normal family for three years—but it barely sufficed for a fledgling knight, especially one aiming to enter the academy.
You might ask: why not run away? But to where? A thousand-year-old family isn't a joke… and if enemies of the family discovered him, his death would be guaranteed.
While Jack was lost in thought, a sharp gleam lit his crimson eyes.
"Since I'm here… I'll live. I'll enjoy it. I'll write my own fate… and crush anyone who stands in my way."
Jack stood from the bed and walked toward the mirror.
His steps were heavy, but steadier. His face reflected in the glass: sharp and calm, pale as a patient, wavy black hair, and crimson eyes burning like embers in a dark night.
"From today on… there is no Jack. From now on, I am Kyle Liuthan. That's my name… and I'll make sure everyone knows it."
In those moments where Kyle chose to abandon his past as Jack and become Kyle Liuthan, he began to reshape the course of events in this world.
What was meant to be tangled like a spider's web became smooth, and what was smooth became tangled like a web.
The gears of fate began to turn, and the future started to shift slowly and steadily. The stage was being set, ready for its actors to take the spotlight.
But who is the director of this play? A ruler? Fate? Or the hidden hand behind the scenes? Or perhaps Kyle himself is both director and lead actor?
Only time will tell, and the hidden cards will reveal themselves—one by one.