Something hot stung my face. Squinting, I opened my eyes. It turned out the sting came from the morning sun in the east.
Is it morning already?
Then, the memories of last night came in a rush. The headache, the paralyzed body, and the beautiful woman who kissed me.
I only just realized that I was automatically raising my hand to block the sunlight.
I can move?
Not wanting to miss the chance, I jolted my body as hard as I could. I sat up. Then, I checked every part of my body.
All my limbs were there. So, I was just paralyzed last night?
Even though I had just woken up, I was panting as if I had just run a race. Being able to move after the paralysis last night was a great achievement. Coupled with my headache decreasing by about [90%], it was the most relieving feeling I had ever felt in my life.
Eh, what's this? I touched something blocking one of my eyes. It was a bandage. The bandage covered almost the entire top of my head.
Had I been in an accident?
And at that moment, I felt like my hands didn't belong to me. They had very pale skin and looked skeletal. These didn't look like the hands of a kid who received a monthly allowance from his parents.
I looked around.
The room sheltering me was massive. The walls were made of stacked blackish-gray stones, and the decor was medieval. Landscape paintings. A desk full of stacked books and quills still made of feathers.
Why am I here?
It didn't take long for me to link this to the system notification I had received earlier: [Welcome to Chronicle Of The Cursed Blood!]
To confirm that, I was about to get off the white bed. However, I stopped when I saw the indent on the mattress that was still warm and had a few strands of silver hair on it.
These were the hairs of the woman who kissed me last night.
The memory of last night's kiss was seared clearly into my mind. To be honest, even though the kiss came from a very beautiful woman, I couldn't enjoy it because the situation wasn't right; I was having a splitting headache. Besides, that kiss wasn't one of affection, but rather just an outlet. Although I had never kissed anyone before, I could tell the difference, especially since that woman looked like she was having a bad day. A forced engagement, perhaps?
I set those thoughts aside for now and went straight to the mirror not far from my position.
My thin legs moved weakly and shakily, like a baby just learning to walk. For support, I grabbed onto any furniture available.
Upon reaching the mirror, what I saw wasn't me, but a pale boy with a skeletal body, clearly visible beneath his shirt. The boy's head was wrapped in bandages filled with bloodstains, but there was jet-black hair peeking out slightly. His eyes were a strange color—a glowing silver.
Who?
I briefly thought it was someone else and looked around to find them. But as it turned out, the reflection followed my every move perfectly. That person was me.
"I really transmigrated...?"
Leaning in, I touched the cold glass.
Then, something foreign entered my brain. It was a memory of this body—
A youth living in a slum district called Rusty with his mother and father. Julian Arclaine. 16 years old.
Barren and dry land. Black clouds. Homeless people lying by the side of the road. That was the view of the Rusty district.
Sold by his father, Enzo, into human slavery to be sent to the empire as a sacrifice. Before that, Enzo claimed to have killed his mother by poisoning her because she was considered a burden. Julian tried to kill him, but as he was about to stab him, something solid hit the back of his head. After that, his body was dragged by someone and thrown into a dungeon-like place.
The memory most etched in his mind was when Enzo received the money from his sale...
"Enzo..."
Suddenly, that name just escaped my mouth with a trembling voice. I only just realized that tears were pooling in my eyes.
"Huahhhh!!"
I reflexively backed away from the mirror.
"No, no, I am Kim Dae-ho. Those memories belong to Julian Arclaine. Not mine, no."
I slapped my face.
Even though I said that, it couldn't be denied that his traumatic experiences, his mother's love, and his grudge against his father were now mine.
This is terrifying. I could lose who I am before I can go home.
I need a distraction. A distraction that can show who 'I' really am, and the only thing referring to that was the fact that I had the knowledge that this was a novel world. So, I clung tightly to that.
A few moments later, my mood began to calm down. With that mindset, I managed to win this identity struggle—or at least that's what it felt like. Moreover, it seemed Julian's brain had suffered severe damage—it made his memories feel like fragments, so they didn't have too big of an effect on me.
"Julian Arclaine." I repeated the name while stroking my chin.
I think I know who he is. No, I only recognize the surname. As I recall, 'Arclaine' is the surname of one of the seven Demon Hunter clans in this novel. And they...
My eyes widened and my heart raced.
"I'm in danger..."
The seven Demon Hunter clans are currently being hunted by the Veridia Empire, and even other empires. They want to genocide the clans even though they were once very loyal to the empire. The reason is because 'they' who now occupy the imperial throne are demons in beautiful human forms. The demons, harboring a grudge against the Demon Hunter clans, used that power to frame them.
The genocide, even as I had only read the first page, was said to have been going on for thirty years.
That explains why Enzo sold me... I mean Julian, to the empire with a human slavery agency as the intermediary. He needed money to survive.
So now...
I looked around again.
...Why am I in this luxury room? Wasn't I sold by Enzo? Or maybe I've reached one of the noble houses and am about to be killed?
That silver-haired woman... from her appearance, she must be a noble.
I have to get out of here right now!
I went to the door, but when I was about to pull it, I imagined the demon nobles behind it. They must be outside.
I can't leave through here.
Then I went to the window, looking for an opening. However, my courage shriveled when I saw what was behind the window.
As far as I could see, I didn't see a single sign of human civilization. I only saw trees until the edge of the horizon.
Looking down, I was apparently on the highest level of this building. If I forced my way out, I would fall and die.
Basically, there was no way out. I was isolated here.
Suddenly, the door creaked softly.
Someone was about to enter.
In that short amount of time, I straightened the curtains and the books that were scattered because of me. At the very least, I shouldn't mess up this room. As a final step, I positioned the mirror to face the door.
"What are you doing?"
I froze.