The warmth drained from Lucian’s body as the pool of blood on the concrete spread out. His thoughts slowed, and he struggled to keep his eyes open. When did it get dark? Hadn't it been broad daylight just now? What amount of misfortune led him to be stabbed in the middle of the day?

  It didn’t matter. He lacked the energy to struggle; he only craved some warmth and rest. His eyes fell shut, and when he opened them, he lay in a bed.

  What in the?! Someone stabbed me?! His mind sped up again, and the justified frenzy along with it. He tried to grasp his body where the knife had been, but his hands didn’t move. Was he paralyzed?

  The ceiling also seemed unfamiliar. A wooden ceiling? What kind of hospital would have a wooden ceiling? He tried to turn his head to look around, but nothing moved. Could he not even move his head? He couldn’t even speak!

  His body sat up. What?!

  Why am I so tired? And so tense? Who said that? Why did his hand move in front of his mouth while he yawned? He didn’t do any of this!

  Ugh, I hate mornings like these. Lucian watched in horror as his body got up from bed and walked towards a closet. He felt shorter than he was supposed to be. And as his head tilted down, he also noticed breasts he didn’t remember having. He kept observing the body for a while, random words popping into his mind even with no one around.

  His mind cycled through every reasonable explanation. He had to be dreaming. Why did everything feel so real then? Why did he feel the touch of the clothes on his body? Maybe some drugs were messing with his mind, but why did his thoughts seem so clear?

  Only one ridiculous explanation made sense. He had died and reincarnated into another body. Only the original owner lived; a woman at that. This was insane. Perhaps he had gone mad?

  But why did he feel so calm? This shouldn’t be the case either. He died! And he might be forced to observe someone else’s life in solitude! His mom, his sister, his best friend; he wouldn’t be able to meet any of them again, ever! He should be way more freaked out. Could this be a side effect of reincarnation? A willingness to accept all that? What sort of nonsense was that?! He refused to accept his acceptance.

  The body got undressed. Lucian felt awkward, like some weird stalker. Looking at this seemed unacceptable, so he closed his eyes.

  The world turned black, except for one dazzling orange orb floating and burning right in front of him, providing comfort and warmth. What could this be? An urge to reach out swept over him, and his hand moved forward before he realized he had moved. His hand? It felt like his hand, but he only saw white strings resembling the form of a hand, like veins missing other parts of the body, glowing. He looked down at himself, and his entire body appeared the same.

  He snapped his head back as he sensed something drawing close. A tiny white orb floated through the darkness a couple of meters ahead, lower than the orange one. He heard knocking and opened his eyes.

  “Are you awake yet?! Breakfast is ready!” a little girl yelled through the door.

  “I’ll be downstairs in a minute!” his body replied.

  Hopefully she prepared something good for today; I’ll need to be in top shape. There was the voice again. Did the owner of this body think those words? He felt terrible for intruding on her privacy like this.

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  No! What went through his head? An overwhelming number of problems to be worried about existed right now, and this concerned him? Why did he not panic despite literally dying?! Why did he inhabit the body of a different person? How would he get out of this? Could he get out of this? Had this been one of the anime he watched, he might have been able to take over the body, but what had that innocent woman done to him to deserve that?

  He took a deep breath to calm himself. How did that even work? It’s not like he had control of his body. Even his emotions seemed off. They belonged to him, to some extent, at least.

  But if he could close his eyes and breathe without controlling the body, could he… speak?

  [Hello?]

  His body spun around and placed one foot behind her while raising her fists. The stance was firm and energy coursed through his veins… or hers… in a way he had never experienced before.

  “Who said that?!”

  [Wait, you can hear me?]

  “Show yourself!”

  [I’m afraid that won’t be possible.]

  Where is he? I can’t sense anything. He must be dangerous. “I can sense you; you better show yourself before I start attacking you.”

  Her poker face impressed Lucian. Her voice sounded so confident, he would have believed if he didn’t hear her thoughts.

  [It’s literally not possible to show myself. I’m inside you.]

  “Making vulgar jokes now, are we?” she said. He could have phrased that better.

  [Not physically. At least, I think so. It’s my mind, or perhaps my soul, that is inside your body.] Panic spiked in his body. Did her emotions transfer to his? [Believe me, I’m just as freaked out as you are. I have no idea how this happened.]

  If you’re really inside my body, you should be able to respond to this.

  [I can.] His heart pumped even harder, adrenaline shooting through his body. Why did he need to share her emotions?

  So, you can read all my thoughts, huh? Can you also see what I’m imagining doing to you right now?!

  [No, I can’t. Fortunately, I would assume. Also, no, I can’t read all your thoughts. I’m about ninety percent sure I can’t. No offense, but if I can, I’m afraid your mind is pretty empty.]

  Isn’t invading my body enough for you? You want to insult me, too?!

  [I don’t want trouble with you; I just need your help to-]

  Oh, so you want me to give up my body peacefully?

  Panic replaced fury inside his body. [No! Relax! I don’t want your body! I have no idea what’s going on!]

  And I’m supposed to believe that? You just happened to enter my body with your soul, with no ill intent whatsoever. A skill that even the highest archmages struggle to achieve?

  Mages? What mages? Why did she accept this idea in the first place?

  Soul magic is a forbidden art, and this is the highest form of it. You can’t fool me. You’re either some greedy and monstrous archmage looking for a new body, or a demonic being. I’m aware of the talent that my soul holds. Unfortunately for you, you made a terrible choice in picking my body.

  What the hell was she talking about? The body walked out of her room and rushed down the stairs.

  [Terrible choice? Why?]

  Oh, you’re about to find out. That you’re just talking to me shows you have no power over my body. Thankfully, I know a lot of highly skilled mages and mage hunters who are guaranteed to fuck your soul up in this state you’re in.

  [Can you please calm down for a moment! Harming my soul is a bit much!]

  Maybe you should have considered that before trying to take over my goddamn body!

  Why? Some random stranger stabbed him out of nowhere, died, his soul transferred into another body in a world with magic, and now they were going to destroy his soul? What had he done to deserve any of this?

  “Valeria, where are you rushing off to?” a woman asked as they entered a living room, but his body moved outside without looking back.

  [Stop! Just a moment!]

  I can sense your desperation, you know? I might have no clue what’s going on, but your emotions are influencing mine. Maybe you messed up your spell or ritual or whatever, or just underestimated me, but I can sense how little energy your soul has right now. I won’t give you time to recover.

  He spotted countless unfamiliar plants and animals, but had no time to take them in. Those did not live on Earth. He had been reincarnated into a fantasy world.

  His body strode forward with confident steps, and a sense of twisted happiness rose inside of him, clashing with his awe and disbelief. His body looked at a wooden hut, and he knew she intended to head there.

  This situation left no time for indecision. She planned to kill his soul, and she could most definitely not be reasoned with. He had to act. But how?