Wind brushed softly against my face as I walked through the bustling morning streets of Lumeris, the capital of the Veridale Kingdom. Horse-drawn carriages rolled across stone roads, chimneys spat grey smoke into the sky, and vendors shouted over one another for the attention of passersby.
It felt like a dream.
Or rather—
it felt like someone else's dream that I had been forced into.
My name… is supposed to be Han Jaemin.
That's the name I remember from my world.
The one with neon lights, subways, deadlines, smartphones, and the constant pressure of a life moving too fast.
But five days ago… all of that disappeared.
I still remember the last thing I saw—
The night sky above Seoul, headlights passing through the rain, the cold air biting against my skin as I walked home from work.
Then darkness.
A cold, swallowing darkness.
And when I opened my eyes—
I was here.
In a body that wasn't mine.
In a world that shouldn't exist.
---
This world is called Astreon, a land watched over by a crimson moon and divided into five continents. Humans dominate the Northern and Southern continents, but I landed in the northernmost kingdom—Veridale, one of the seven nations.
A peaceful place… on the surface.
But beneath the bright streets and polished stone buildings, I could feel it.
Secrets.
Claws beneath soft fur.
Something was wrong here—something this world wasn't telling me.
And the body I now inhabit… belonged to a boy named Michael.
That much, I know—not because I remember anything, but because bits and pieces of the boy's memories still float around inside my head like broken glass.
Michael had no family.
No support.
No wealth.
Just a life made of part-time jobs and cheap meals.
He was a university student—someone who studied by day and worked by night just to pay rent.
And now, all of that burden sits on my shoulders.
The memories helped me survive these past five days, but…
"Some of them are missing," I murmured to myself. "It's like someone cut out pieces with scissors."
Faces blurred.
Names smudged.
Moments erased.
And then there was one memory—
One person—
that was painfully clear, as if carved into the deepest part of this body.
"Michael…"
A gentle voice called my name—no, his name—from behind.
I turned.
She stood there with a small basket in her hands, breathing a little heavily as if she had run to catch up to me. Sunlight caught the edges of her brown hair, making her look softer, warmer, almost unreal.
"Why did you leave without me?" she asked, her lips curving into a soft pout.
Serina.
Michael's childhood friend.
The girl who grew up beside him.
The person whose presence warms this cold new life I've been forced into.
And the girl whose face is the clearest, strongest memory in Michael's entire mind.
She smiled at me—bright, gentle, unharmed by the harshness of the world.
For a moment, I forgot the confusion, the terror, the loneliness.
For a moment, I simply stood there holding the weight of another boy's feelings in my chest.
I forced a small smile.
"Sorry… I was lost in thought."
Serina stepped closer and gently tugged my sleeve.
"Come on. Let's go home together."
Home.
A small rented room in the poorest section of Lumeris.
A place that wasn't really mine, but also… the only place I had.
As we walked side by side through the lively capital, I glanced at her once more.
I didn't know this world.
I didn't know this body.
I didn't know my future, or why I was brought here.
But Serina…
She was the one thread keeping me grounded.
And in that moment—
I didn't realize something important.
Something that would change everything.
That the brightest parts of a story…
often exist right before the darkness begins.
---