Where am I? What happened? My thoughts echoed in the void.
Right… I died. So this is what death feels like. Empty.
I drifted for what felt like eternity, weightless in a sea of nothingness. The silence pressed against me, heavy and suffocating, until even my own mind began to unravel.
How long have I been here? Who am I? What am I now?
Then the space collapsed inward, folding like paper. A force — invisible yet overwhelming — pulled at me, dragging me deeper. My body twisted as though caught in a storm without wind. Panic surged.
"What… what's going on? Help!" I screamed, but my voice was swallowed by the void.
Suddenly, everything went quiet. My breath caught. Then a voice — feminine, sorrowful — drifted through the emptiness.
"My poor child…"
The tone carried such sadness it pierced me more deeply than any blade. I turned my head, desperate to see, but there was nothing. Only endless black stretching in every direction.
"Who is that? Where are you?" I cried out, my voice trembling.
"You have suffered," the voice continued, soft yet commanding. "But you cannot stay here. Your time is not over yet."
Tears welled in my eyes. I didn't understand why, but hearing her filled me with aching grief, as though she carried all the sorrow I had ever known.
"Goodbye, my child," she whispered, fading into the void. "I hope you find happiness this time."
Light burst across the darkness. My vision blurred, the emptiness dissolving into brightness.
---
"Thalia… Thalia, get up."
A voice pulled me back. I blinked, my eyelids heavy, my vision hazy. An old woman stood before me, her black gown flowing to the floor, her hair neatly packed.
"You're going to be late," she said firmly.
I rubbed my eyes, confusion clouding my thoughts. "Madam Mary?" My voice cracked. "Are you… dead too? Are we both in heaven right now?"
Flick.
"Ow!" I winced as Madam Mary flicked my forehead.
"Are you awake now?" she scolded, turning her head sharply. "Get up and stop saying nonsense."
The sting on my skin felt too real to be a dream. But I hadn't seen Madam Mary since the orphanage. My heart raced.
What's going on? Why does my head hurt so badly? I was floating somewhere just now… wasn't I?
I stretched my eyes wide, scanning the room. The more I looked, the more reality twisted. The smell of dampness, the cracked walls, the faint mold clinging to the air — it was the orphanage.
My gaze dropped to my hands. They were small. Trembling, I touched my face. Smooth skin. No scars. Everything felt real.
I rushed to the corner, grabbing a mirror. My breath caught.
I was young again. My face — the face I thought I had lost forever — stared back at me.
"Was everything a dream?" I whispered, my hand rushing to my abdomen. Nothing. Not a single scratch.
"Thalia!" Madam Mary's voice echoed again, sharp and impatient.
I swallowed hard, folding the blanket on my bed with trembling fingers.
I don't know what's happening… but I need to move. I need to get away for now.
I stood, my legs shaky beneath me.
---
"Thalia."
The voice came from behind me. I turned my head.
It was Grace — the eldest in the orphanage, the one who had always hated me. She never missed a chance to remind me how small, how unwanted I was.
Even if nothing made sense right now, I forced myself to stay calm.
"What do you want, Grace?" I asked, meeting her eyes.
"Oh, the scared little cat finally has a voice," she sneered, her tone rising. "Just because you got admission into Sliversaint, you think you can talk back to me now?"
Sliversaint. Admission. The words hit me like lightning. I remembered — this was the very morning I was meant to leave for the academy. Grace had cornered me then too, trying to break me one last time.
But this time, I wasn't the same girl.
I stepped closer, my voice steady. "Oh, Grace… I almost feel sorry for you. You're as dumb as they come, fat, ugly. I think I finally understand why you can't leave me alone. I am everything you are not."
Her face froze, anger boiling in her eyes. "You—" she spat, raising her hand to slap me.
I moved aside, quick and sharp, pulling out my leg. She stumbled, tripped, and fell hard on her face.
A laugh burst from my chest, wild and liberating. "Trash should stay down. Goodbye, Grace. I hope I never see you again."
I walked out, my heart racing. My hands trembled, but inside I felt a surge of power. Did I just do that?
In the bathroom, I leaned against the wall, breath uneven. I understand now. I died — I know I did. But somehow, I'm back in my younger self. That voice in the void… was it God? Whoever it was, they gave me a second chance. I've regressed, back to the moment before everything began to unravel.
Then his name tore through me.
Ryan.
A sharp pain stabbed my chest. Tears filled my eyes, spilling hot down my cheeks.
That bastard. My child…
I clenched my fists. "I will never forget what you did to me. I will have my revenge. Everything you hold dear, I will destroy. Death is mercy compared to what I will bring. I will erase your existence."