I saw countless dreams, not mine—they were of others, as I floated endlessly in a place where everything felt like a dream.
I wanted to touch the bubbles of dreams that surrounded me; I wanted to feel, to live the dreams, but I couldn't do so.
I had arms but could not touch, I had legs but I could not walk. I had a mouth, yet I could not speak; my words never made it out, and dissolved inside my throat.
I had no memories, no name—nothing. I only remembered glimpses of a distant past about a world that felt eerily familiar.
Did I even exist? Thoughts like these gnawed at my mind, which was on the verge of falling apart.
I felt as though my mind was impaled by a million needles, each made up of termites that ate away at what remained, even the glimpses.
What was my purpose? How did I end up here? Who was I? I had questions, but no answers to them.
Then my already failing senses dulled, my body became light as a feather, and a darkness enveloped me.
…
…
…
…
Tap. Tap. Tap.
I woke up and gasped for air; my head throbbed with a searing pain.
But that was the least of my concerns. I felt alien—as though my body weren't mine.
I now had arms which I could move , I had legs with which I could walk, and I had a mouth with which I blurted out indescribable curses.
But this was not my voice—it felt foreign, soft and young. So did the arms and legs, which were all bone and no muscle. As I looked down at myself, a shocked gasp escaped my lips, I didn't remember correctly, but deep down I was sure...that I didn't have such a slender and malnourished body
As unease swept inside of me, I jumped out of bed and ran towards the mirror on my right.
"Fuck!" I gasped loudly as I saw my appearance not being what I vaguely remembered.
I now had long red hair, which fell over my shoulders, orange-red eyes, a sharp jaw, and a handsome face. One I couldn't have had before.
Then I noticed it—a hole in my chest, where my heart should have been. Half of it remained and pulsed weakly like a creature that refused to die.
Within the hole, faint motes of pale light drifted; they were tiny, threadlike things that moved. They weren't worms, though they carried the shape of them.
One by one, they curved inward, aligned in patterns too deliberate to be random. My flesh stirred in response and did not obey my will.
The wound sealed itself, and when it was done, a twisted scar remained which was faintly luminous…
Did I get transmigrated? I questioned myself and looked around the room.
The sheer size of it made me stagger as I walked towards the table opposite the bed. On it were scattered letters, a quill, some paper, and a notebook.
My hands trembled as I opened the notebook; the language written was unfamiliar but then whispers in my ears suddenly allowed me to understand it.
It was a diary, specifically the diary of the person whose body I had inhabited. As I flicked through the pages and came to the latest entry, my eyes widened at the date.
February 17th, year 1778 of the Solcarian Calendar. I read and thought, Solcarian?
At first, it didn't click, but then it came like a hammer that someone rammed into my skull. The Solcarian Empire was the main Empire of the webnovel I authored.
I rubbed my temples with one hand as I took in deep breaths. This was a disaster…this novel…my novel, how? As far as I remember, the chances of someone like me surviving in a world like this were abysmally low. I analyzed the situation and looked around the room.
It was big, but it wasn't the room one would expect in a noble's estate.
"Fuck! Did I get transmigrated as Baron's son or something? Lowest of the low among nobles?" I spat out loudly.
BANG!
My leg hit the table as I tried to kick it with my thin leg, a sharp pain went up to my thigh. I grimaced in pain as a knock came.
"Orpheus, get your ass to the training ground. Lord Commander is asking for you." A voice called out to me, full of annoyance.
I didn't respond and flicked the page of the diary once again; then, my eyes lay upon some strange letters carved on the next page.
They felt as alien as I felt in this body, but my vision blurred and the letters glitched to form a sentence which was readable.
"F̶̢͓̜̝̖̪͋ō̷̢͓̣̾̿̀͜r̸̜͈̩͋̆ ̵̡̪͖̓̈́͂̿̚Y̵͙̙͐͑͘̚o̶̯͊̋̿́u̷̝͔̮̪̎͜͝,̸̨̤̼͕͖̮͒͑ ̸͝ͅI̴͍̪͍͚̽̄͘͜͝͝n̴̞̹̠̝̉ ̵̨̭͊͜͝5̴̧̟̫͕̳͕͂̇̽̎͠0̵̢̗̭̈0̸̯̑̃̓͠0̴̧͓̪̭̯͜͝ ̷̡̬͙̰̗̔͜Ỵ̵̛͓̈́ë̷̯͖͔͙́̐͘͝͝á̷̤̞̲̰̐r̵̨̞͔̘̭̯̃s̸̡̬̱̫͔̃͠.̵̡̼̭̲͖̞̀͝"
It was a simple sentence, but it was one which I wasn't able to understand currently. 'This kind of development was quite common when someone got transmigrated.
I glanced back. At the foot of the bed lay black leather armor, a white tunic, black trousers, a sword propped against the bed, and a pair of high ankle boots.
I lunged towards them and grabbed the shirt to inspect it. The person who knocked said, "Lord Commander." This was either the northern wall or the western wall.
Here, men from every part of the kingdom came, even nobles, and to distinguish between them, they had their family sigils on the leather armor they wore.
I quickly turned the leather armor to face me; this sigil, I knew exactly what family it was
I changed into the armor and clothes and looked at myself in the mirror. Although I was malnourished, there was something different; maybe it was the allure of being a noble.
Well, whatever it was, it could wait. I opened the door and stepped out of the room, and walked out of the building.
Cold air blew and slapped my face, I shivered, and snow fell in front of me as dozens of boys my age and older than me stood in front of a tall, intimidating man.
I froze as his gaze shifted towards me. Never had I seen a man this huge in my life on Earth. But I gulped and walked down the stairs and blended in with the crowd.