Chương 2: [LD-1] 1. New Game+

I New Game+ A stab in my abdomen drug me from the realms of sleep, and I cupped my forehead.

"Ugh." My brain was pounding as if it wanted to escape my head. My stomach was swirling to boot.

"Did I drink too much?" I groaned and rolled over onto my side. No, that didn't make any sense—I didn't drink. It was a silent vow I'd made after witnessing my father drunk for too many nights as a child. I was massaging my forehead when the soft sensation under my arm finally made me look down.

'These pillows are softer than I remember.' I slept on hard ones. I peered through the morning glare at my headrest. Interwoven golden threads shaped into a plethora of flowers lined the side of the pillow. My brow raised. Head swivelling, I regarded the rest of the room. A two-person bed too big for me. A high ceiling. Wallpapers a shade of black, and two picture windows, their views blocked by thick, draping curtains. I blinked. This was my old bedroom. The one I'd had as a child. But it was off.

A study desk opposite my bed stored volumes, not on chemistry or elementary physics, but theories on the origin of The System and The Magic Schools of the Explorer. … What? Memories shot through my mind at my question. Magic. Explorers. The Shadow Realm. Monsters. Father. Mother. My little brother, Levi. All these thoughts and names rushed through in no particular order. I was unaware of how much time had passed before I finally regained control of my faculties.

Unbidden, my head went to a clock and calendar hanging over my desk. A red cross marked September 1st, today's date. There was an important event at school today… the Initiation Ceremony?

"What the fuck is that?" Every child goes through it at the start of the fourth grade, memories supplied. It's where children are tested for their aptitude for magic. I'd also unlock my status screen… I frowned.

"I must be dreaming." But pinching my cheeks didn't destroy the faux reality. Not even slapping myself did. Cheeks burning, I fell back onto my pillow. Did I… did I transmigrate? I'd heard of stories before where the main character went through such a thing. But that was in stories. How could I go through such a thing? It was as I was lying on my back, staring at the ceiling, that the events before waking up here returned to me. Deep shadows in my office.

The warning of a corrupt politician, and then the visit of a woman. My last ever 'client'.

"I died…" I mumbled in disbelief. No, I was murdered. Murdered in cold blood, only to wake up in a different world. A bubbling, hot feeling in my gut rose into my throat.

"That goddamned lunatic!" I punched my bed. Witch?! Cursed?! How the fuck was your husband dying because he didn't listen to my warnings my fault!

"I hate humans!" I screamed. Selfish… Moronic imbeciles! And they wondered why I preferred spending my time alone in my home with my dog! I grabbed my pillow and flung it at random. It arced through my bedroom and slammed into a figure standing some ways away with a thud. The cushion sliding to the floor revealed the deadpan face of my little brother. Slender but not wiry, pale skin offset by deep dark eyes, a hallmark of our family.

His lashes curved as if he'd done them but minutes ago, though I knew it to be a natural part of his face. He glanced at the fallen pillow.

"Can you stop dirtying your things? I'm the one who needs to wash them." I blinked.

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Since you said, and I quote: 'I hate humans.'" He knelt, picked up the pillow, and threw it on my bed.

"Breakfast's ready." His chin turned over his shoulder to my clock.

"You should hurry if you don't want to be late." Then he turned around and exited the room. I didn't hear the door close despite looking at it, neither did any of his steps creak on the old, wooden floor. Creepy asshole. Who entered their sister's bedroom unannounced like that? I never understood how Father abandoned me but not you. The thought sobered me up. I was sixteen when Father and Mother officially divorced. Levi had been ten. And while Mother had tried to facilitate meetings, Father blocked all of them.

The result was that I hadn't seen my little brother in over eight years. I'd reached out to him after he turned eighteen. We were supposed to meet somewhere next week. My hand went to my skull again. The pounding had lessened, but was still there. What would happen in the other world? I may have transmigrated, but I should still have died, right? Would my death come as a shock to him? Who would handle my burial? Mother was gone, and I wasn't in contact with any other close family members.

Father would dig his own grave before he spent a cent on mine. And Levi, well, he just turned eighteen. Could he really be expected to handle his sister's burial? Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. I sighed. And what about Bentley?

"Please, don't let her starve in my apartment." Hopefully, she'd bark incessantly and annoy the neighbours enough to check on her— A vague silhouette in the corner of my sight made me turn. My heart leapt out of my chest and I launched. Levi was standing at the end of my bed, hands covering his face in case I threw a pillow at him again.

"Do I need to drag you out of bed?" he said.

"Learn to knock!" I yelled. He sighed.

"Just hurry up, will you? Father's going to get mad if you're late." My lips pressed together. He probably would. So I dragged myself out of bed and sauntered towards my closet. I think I need to wear a uniform. There was a grey school blouse and skirt inside, folded neatly with a note on top that said: Good luck, sis.

'That's cute,' I thought. Levi and I had not been close as kids, but that was more a product of dad's efforts than anything else. Shutting the door to my wardrobe put me face-to-face with a tall mirror. The girl staring back at me was of average height. Skin pale and physique slender like that of her brother, though with wide hips. Her pupils were a shade of even deeper black. The dark between the stars. Shadows in the void where nothing lived.

I combed the hair falling past my shoulder to the side and found Levi's face in the mirror's reflection. His eyelids were narrowed. Gears whirred between his brows as he tried to solve a conundrum that plagued him alone.

"Is my butt that interesting to you?" I said. That wiped the frown off his face. Turning red, he coughed and fled the room. I strode into the living room after freshening up, hair wrapped in a cotton tee. Levi was sitting at the kitchen table, a bowl of cut-up and cooked wieners and scrambled eggs in front of him.

"It's a big day, isn't it, Robert?" A female reporter went.

"Indeed, Stacy! Children all over the country will be finding out how special they are today.

"Or not," a grumpy, older man went. Robert chuckled.

"Sad but true. We cannot all be superstars."

"But just because you don't awaken anything useful doesn't mean you're not wanted!" Stacy jumped in.

"For those of you not handed the blessings of your peers, don't hesitate to contact Progress! Their team of professionals will gladly advice you on what path is best for your future…" Levi skipped to another channel. This one showed a cartoon of three ninjas dashing through the forest as they were being chased by some kind of snake-person.

"You nervous?" Levi said without looking.

"Not at all." There was a second plate on the table.

"Didn't Father forbid us from eating together?" My aura of 'bad luck' was something that affected everyone around me, according to Father, so he didn't want Levi and me near each other more than necessary. If it were up to him, I wouldn't have been living in the same house at all. But he couldn't exactly make a minor to live by herself. Mother was hospitalised, so I couldn't stay with her either.

"That's true." Levi turned away from the television.

"But this might be the last meal we share together for a while, right?" I paused in the middle of sitting down.

'He's right,' my memories confirmed. Father couldn't cast out a minor. But that was only if that minor hadn't awakened. Awakened individuals could be the owners of dangerous abilities. Abilities that endangered those around them. Should anyone awaken to such skills, parents could turn over the responsibility of raising the child to the government, who were better equipped to instruct neophytes in the art of magic. Doing so would alienate the child from their family for years.

Moreover, they'd have mandatory service in the military as a way to repay the nurturing of their talents. That made it a last resort for many parents. But it'd be the first refuge for my Father. And while Mother had a say in the matter, she wasn't in a position to say anything. Face sour, I took my seat and dressed my toast. Our last breakfast should've been merry, I supposed. We barely spoke. Levi wasn't a talker, and neither was I.

Even as siblings in my previous life, we were perfectly fine enjoying each other's silent company. After we finished, Levi put away the dishes.

"Thanks for breakfast," I said.

"Anytime," he answered. I stared at his back as the echo of his voice faded. Levi wasn't yet tall enough to reach the sink without a footstool, making his appearance comical. There was no mirth to be found anywhere within me. Here I was, magically transmigrated to another world after dying, just to find myself in the same shit scenario. A father who hated me. A mother who was comatose. A soon-to-be estranged little brother.

And now, to top it all off, I was potentially on my way to becoming a government-raised baby. … Wasn't this worse than what I started with? Was there an option to get a refund on reincarnation? I sighed as I rose from the table.

'Nothing to it but to face it.' I'd get out of this, as I got out of my previous shitty life. Beneath the sixtieth floor of the high-rise known as 'Little Tower', the city of Guardia sprawled. Kaiser chuckled. Niva looked up from behind the massive sheets of paperwork on her desk.

"Anything the matter, Master Kaiser?" Kaiser, hands linked in his lap, kept staring out the window. The blurry reflection of a man with hair was partially tied up in a man bun and the rest draping down his back stared back.

"Nothing. Just laughing at an inside joke." he turned over his shoulder.

"Are the portals all setup?" Niva tipped her glasses.

"They'll activate at half past two." That was half an hour before the ceremonies started city-wide. Since the schools wouldn't notice the gates right away, most students would be caught up in the warp. The timing was perfect.

"Any of the Darksiders complain?" he asked. Her hand flourished. Glancing to the side, she flipped through a stack of documents only she could see.

"A few milked us for coin, but nothing more than that."

"They must want the experience," Kaiser snorted. While it was true their magnanimous faction was creating a perfect opportunity for the precious younger generation, it'd only benefit those with talent. The weaklings would die and become fodder for their enemies. But such was the way of the world. Part of education was making people confront hard truths. He blinked and brought his focus back on Niva, who fiddled with her pen.

"Ask," he said. Niva tipped her glasses again—an annoying habit he'd told her to shake many times before; it gave away information. Maybe he should redo her training.

"Should we really not have made any plans for the Sky-splitter, Master?" The ends of his hair tumbled as he shook his head.

"Julius won't be able to do anything. He's powerful, but he's no spatial mage. Also, making specific plans against him could come back to bite us later." There weren't many who could make preparations to stop a Destroyer from doing as they pleased. Suspicion would only fall on them quicker. Silhouettes moving in the corner of his view drew his gaze. People roamed the streets. Flying vehicles toured.

Massive screens showed repeated videos of presenters speaking about the Initiation as they showed a list of 'noteworthy' individuals—members of noble clans—who might awaken to awe-inspiring powers. The city was eager… but relaxed. The minds of the populace engaged but unworried. How long had it been since Guardia had faced a serious threat? Even if the peace broke, the Magistrate was the strongest it'd ever been. They were safe. … He'd not let such an egregious misconception stand.