[Soul Transfer Successful! ]
The message echoed in my head.
"Soul transportation- What—?"
My head hurts.
I felt dizzy. I just had a wierd dream in my power nap. I was burning and people were cheering. However, my body did feel burnt now. I looked around.
"Wait, where am I?" My voice was different.
"Wasn't I in my bed?" My bed was diffe- No, my bed was gone.
I was leaning to a pole that was as hot as fire. Hot as fire, cold as- No. Concentrate Lucy.
My body was different. That's when I realised the voice in my head from earlier. Soul transportation... I was in another body.
[It's called Soul Transfer! ]
I covered my ears as the sound ringed in my head.
"Ouch! What are you?"
[System Alert! : System Alert that only alerts at the most alerting time.
Activating Soul Transfer with another world is—]
"Please don't say alerting".
[—threatening to the plot.]
I nodded and looked around. What plot? Where was I? Was the body owner burnt? Why was I standing in the middle of ashes? I jumped off the pyre, the logs were now black and puffing out hot smokey air. It felt hot but tolerable. When my feet were about to jump down to the ground covered with ashes, a message interrupted me mid-air.
[System Alert! : Plot Armour deactivating! ]
"NO NO NOO!!!"
My feet landed over the soft carpet of ash. At once, the grey soot flew off and reaveled the glowing embers underneath.
I shrieked in pain as my feet burnt.
Run, Lucy, Run!
Each time my feet landed forward, the pain increased.
My eyes we're fixed on the morning wet grass that waited ahead.
I hopped my way forward, out of the torturing grey ground. The grey hot flakes of burnt remains spiraling into the air from every strike of my feet and the crunch of embers of wood followed me from behind.
When the burning ground ended, I dropped to my knees.
I crawled my way to the grassy ground, laid down in exhaustion and slowly, cautiously pressed my feet against the cool grass.
It hurts. It hurts a lot.
"System?"
It did not answer. Of course it won't answer. Nothing was alerting for it now. But for me, many things were alerting. Firstly, my only company for the last few minutes was gone and secondly, my poor feet screamed for a medic.
Laying down, I looked at the sky above me. The clouds looked so calming, fluffy like cottoncandy.
Tsk. The pain distracted me again.
I looked at my feet, which were now swelling and throbbing in sync with my heartbeat.
Hah. My heart is beating pretty fast.
I looked above again. This time the
smoke drifting slowly caught my eyes.
I turned my head to follow it and saw the chimneys of settlements far away. Ah, a town!
I can't stay here. I need to move eventually. However, my feet...
I could crawl. I would look like a beggar.
...
I could beg.
My eyes scanned the whole view, the yellow mountains and the town built within its range.
Something struck me.
The yellow hills in the autumn that protected the Minestown, surrounding the small town like a golden crown.
I knew this place. It was what I had written. My novel.
That's when it all made sense. I was inside my novel as a character! How thrilling! Was I the main character? No definitely not. Why would I be burnt then? But then, I must be a side character...
Minestown. The town was separated from the evil as well as the virtuous by the hill range. The people there had never gone through any harm. So, they were superstitious. They were scared. They knew they weren't ready for a sudden disaster and so, they were protective. Trapped people are the most dangerous kind.
I had made this world magical so that Newton's Laws wouldn't be an obstacle. But this body, what could it do? What powers could I wield now? Maybe the previous owner had done something wrong with her magic in Minestown. No wonder they tried to kill her- no, me. I am this character now. I have to adopt and adapt to this world. Shouldn't be hard for the author, right?
But how did the previous owner change souls with me? She definitely activated system alerts. What marvellous powers did she have?
I shook my head. I needed to concentrate.
Concentrate, Lucy!
Right now, I am aimless, homeless, helpless.
What should I do? Locate yourself. Find yourself help. Yeah...that's right.
I looked at the place I was now.
It was...depressing.
There was nothing other than the pyre in the centre. They probably burn people here. Sick people. Made a whole separate area to burn others.
There was a dirt road to the side with trees hiding what was beyond. I crawled towards the road, my feet hovering above the ground.
Oh.
Just crop fields. I could see people, away from each other, busy working on their own fields. It was calming. The golden crops were dancing gracefully side to side with the morning breeze. I could write a story about it- no. This is a story.
Concentrate Lucy.
The people haven't noticed me. They shouldn't see me too. They can't know I'm alive.
I crawled back to the burning ground and rested on the grass.
What shall I do now?
I stared faraway absentmindedly, my brain immersed in thoughts for survival. I kept staring. Staring. Staring.
...
Starin-
DING!
A blue screen popped up.
[Skill: Staring beyond the present.
Do you wish to see the past or the future? ]
Huh? Skill? The owne—No. My skill.
Hmmm. I need to know what happened here.
"Past."