I remained frozen in place, staring at the mystical figure floating above the bowl.
Her body was made from a white, fog-like essence, which seemed to glow faintly. Her face was beautiful, and her hair was long enough to wear like a towel around her body.
From the waist downwards, the woman's body seemed to fade away, until it reached down to the bowl of my blood.
Despite witnessing the supernatural for the first time, it was impossible for me to feel fearful at the sight.
It was the most glorious thing I had ever seen.
The woman continued to look down at me, with a smile on her face, waiting for me to speak.
"W-who are you?" I managed to stutter.
The radiant glow of her body filled the dark room with light like a miniature sun. Her form continued to dance as if being swayed by the wind. And as she spoke, her voice came like a song. Melodic, graceful, and soothing to the ear.
"I am Rubiana. Author of this novel. Well... Of course, this is only my Ghost."
The words confirmed my circumstances, but I had no time to dwell on them. My interest lay elsewhere.
"Authors Ghost... My Unique Blessing."
The information that had flowed into me did not tell me about what a Unique Blessing was, but from my time spent reading on Earth, I could make a guess at what it was.
Some sort of passive skill or ability, accessible only to it's owner.
Rubiana's ghost nodded its head.
"Yes, it took a lot of energy to grant that blessing to this character, and even more to direct your spirit into his body."
My spirit? So she was responsible for me ending up in this world?
It made me wonder just how powerful she was.
"But how?" I started. "How were you able to-"
"Our time is limited, Zaven. Let us not focus on the how, but rather the why."
I stared at the woman, dumbfounded after being cut off, as she continued to speak.
"Like yourself, I have become trapped inside of my own novel. The Blessed World. Held captive by the only man capable of doing so. My only hope at escaping was to bring another transmigrator into this novel and with my guidance, free us from its chains."
Her voice was so beautiful, that you would have never guessed she was telling such a sorrowful tale.
The situation was grave, and I had begun to understand why I was brought into a novel I knew nothing about, but that still left many questions.
Who could possible be powerful enough to capture the author inside of her own novel?
But before I could ask anything, Rubiana's ghost continued.
"The Author's Ghost is a ritual, and perhaps one of the most powerful blessings in our world. On the seventh night of every week, perform this ritual, and I will be able to appear in the form of a ghost, but only for three minutes. With this, I can guide you."
I now understood why the woman was speaking so much.
Our time truly was limited!
My heart began to beat faster, fearful that our time would run out, and that I'd be left in a world with no guidance.
"So what am I supposed to do?" I spoke frantically. "I've never read your novel, I know nothing about it!"
Rubiana nodded her head again and gestured with her mythical hands for me to calm down.
"Do not worry, Zaven." Her voice soothed me. "As the author, I know many secrets of this world that will help you. Calm down, and listen carefully."
Following her words, I made my way back to my desk and sat on the chair facing towards her.
The Author's Ghost continued.
"The Blessed World is sectioned into five kingdoms. The Holy Empire at the centre, which is where you currently are, The Pagans to the north, The Ancients to the east, The Faithless to the west... And finally, The Demons to the south."
I tried my best to focus on the information and prayed that Zaven had a good memory.
"As time goes on, the knowledge that your character has about the kingdoms of the world will continue to flow into you. That saves me the time of having to... ex..plain."
Towards the end of her sentence, Rubiana's voice began to become distorted. Her ghost lost its smile, and she cursed to herself.
"Da...mn it! Alrea...dy?"
"Is our time running out?" I asked worriedly. I still knew hardly anything. She couldn't go yet!
Noticing my worry, Rubiana managed her last words.
"It...s ok...ay. Re...gather your memori...es and we will t..alk ne.. next we...ek."
Now, not only were her words fading away, but her form was doing the same too. Slowly, her body lost its brightness, before eventually returning from wherever it came.
Once again, I was left alone in the dark room with the bowl on the floor. However, at some point, it must have been drained of its blood, as it was now empty.
I let out a deep sigh, wondering whether I was perhaps going crazy. The events were all surreal, and it was hard to process everything that was going on.
"The Blessed World," I muttered quietly. "Why did I have to end up here? And just who is holding the author captive?"
I sat down on the bed, and rested my face in my palms, trying my best to make sense of what I could.
I don't know how long I lay there, but after a while, I made my way over to the desk and sat at it once again.
In front of me was the Book of Orthodox Creadism, which I turned the first page of.
For the time being, I did not feel safe travelling outside, especially at night time. My memories told me that there was a chance that dangers lurked there.
It could have been a superstitious belief, but there was no way to confirm it.
So instead, I did as Rubiana said, and decided to try and regather my memories.
And what better place to start, than with the religion that I was set to follow.