The transition was brutal. One moment, Aiden was contemplating his small personal studio in his pocket dimension, satisfied with his improvements and planning his next missions. The next moment, an invisible force seized him and expelled him unceremoniously from his sanctuary.
The sensation was unpleasant, like being sucked into a giant whirlpool and then spat out into a world that was too bright, too noisy, too... real.
Aiden opened his eyes and immediately grimaced. The white ceiling above him was dotted with aggressive neon lights that pierced his skull like blades. The characteristic smell of disinfectant and reheated coffee confirmed that he was indeed back at the hospital.
He tried to sit up and was surprised to find that his body responded better than before. His muscles, though still those of a sixteen-year-old teenager, seemed firmer, more... present. The improvements purchased from the Librarian's shop had indeed had an effect in the real world.
But as he congratulated himself on this discovery, a throbbing pain exploded in his skull. It wasn't like the headaches he had known in his previous life. No, this was something much deeper, more intimate. As if someone was forcing entry into his mind with a crowbar.
And suddenly, the memories came flooding back.
Aiden Norask, sixteen years old. Orphan.
The images succeeded one another with painful clarity. Loving parents who came home late from work, always tired but always there for him. An evening like any other that had turned to horror when the Cracked - those addicts who had become completely mad and violent because of illegal substances, had forced their way into their apartment.
The blood on the walls. The mutilated bodies. Little Aiden hidden in the closet, trembling, trying not to cry so as not to be discovered.
The social services that had followed. The apartment that was too big and too silent that the authorities had let him keep. The monthly allowances that barely allowed him to survive. The high school where he went unnoticed, a ghost among ghosts.
And Ed. Edmund Torres, his only friend, his only link to something that resembled a normal life.
The memories continued to flow, painting the portrait of a dull and hopeless existence. A teenager who survived more than he lived, marked by a trauma he had never really overcome.
When the flood finally calmed down, Aiden - the thirty-five-year-old soul in this sixteen-year-old body - couldn't help but murmur:
- "Fuck... this kid really had a pathetic life."
He felt almost guilty for this thought, but it was the truth. The original Aiden had suffered more trauma in sixteen years than many adults in their entire existence. And unlike the former Aiden Norask - the one from his previous life who had at least had a stable career and relationships, even superficial ones - this young man had really had nothing.
Suddenly feeling oppressed by the sterile atmosphere of the hospital, Aiden got up and headed toward the small bathroom adjoining his room. He needed to see his reflection, to take stock of his situation.
The mirror reflected the image of a teenager with tousled chestnut hair and particular blue-gray eyes. But what interested him most was his body. Curious to see the effect of his improvements, he slightly lifted his hospital gown.
- "DAMN!" he exclaimed despite himself.
His abdominal muscles, which had barely existed before his first mission, were now slightly defined. Not to the point of having a chocolate bar, but enough that you could see there was something there. His arms also seemed more toned, his shoulders slightly broader.
- "Increasing statistics is no joke," he muttered, impressed by the transformation.
He was so absorbed in his inspection that he didn't hear the door open behind him.
- "Oh! I... excuse me!"
Aiden turned around quickly, letting his gown fall back down. A young nurse stood in the doorway, cheeks slightly pink and eyes averted with embarrassment. She must have been around twenty-two, twenty-three years old, with blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail and green eyes that carefully avoided looking at him.
The situation was mortifying. Aiden tried to ease the atmosphere with a nervous laugh.
- "Sorry, I... I was just checking that everything was... in place?" he said, shrugging with an embarrassed smile. "You know, after a coma, you never know what might have moved."
The nurse, whose badge read "Sarah M.," sketched a smile despite her embarrassment.
- "It... it's not serious. I came to do some tests before your discharge. Doctor Reeves wants to make sure everything's okay before letting you go."
Aiden nodded and went back to sit on his bed, trying to ignore the tension still floating in the air.
The tests that followed were a revelation. His hand-eye coordination had noticeably improved - the nurse even complimented him on his dexterity. His reflexes were sharper, his vision clearer. Even his ability to solve the small cognitive problems she submitted to him seemed to have progressed.
- "It's remarkable," Sarah murmured while noting his results. "Usually, after a prolonged coma, we observe a certain regression of physical and mental abilities. But you... it's as if you've become stronger."
If you only knew, Aiden thought, smiling inwardly.
The discharge formalities took another two hours. Signing releases, recovering his personal belongings - a wallet containing his ID card and fifteen dollars, an old-model cell phone, and the keys to the family apartment.
When he finally crossed the automatic doors of the hospital, Aiden stopped dead on the steps and took a deep breath.
The outside air filled his lungs with an intensity he had never felt before. In his previous life, illness had gradually deprived him of this simple pleasure. Each breath had become an effort, each outing an ordeal. But now...
Now, he could feel life pulsing in his veins. His legs, which in his previous life had ended up betraying him, were firm beneath him. His heart beat regularly, without the palpitations and shortness of breath that had accompanied him in his last months.
He took a few steps on the sidewalk, then a few more. Walking! What an extraordinary sensation! In young Aiden's memories, it was something acquired, mundane. But for him, it was a renewed miracle.
Excitement rose in him like a sparkling drink. He wanted to run, to jump, to shout his joy to the whole world. Instead, he contented himself with walking at an increasingly rapid pace along the main avenue.
The contrast with his previous life was striking. Where he had spent his last months bedridden in a hospital, dependent on others for the simplest gestures, he was now free in his movements. Free to go wherever he pleased.
Young Aiden's memories indicated the way to the family apartment. It was about a twenty-minute walk from the hospital, in a residential neighborhood that was neither chic nor disadvantaged. Just... ordinary.
But for Aiden, this walk was anything but ordinary. Each step was a victory over the disease that had taken him in his previous life. Each breath was a challenge thrown at the fate that had caught up with him at thirty-five.
He observed the passersby with new fascination. In his first life, toward the end, he had no longer really paid attention to the people around him. Suffering had reduced his world to his hospital room and the worried faces of medical staff.
Now, he could see the diversity of humanity surrounding him. Families strolling with their children, elderly couples walking hand in hand, teenagers laughing loudly as they left a café. Life in all its complexity and beauty.
This world seemed so... normal to him. So different from Terra-Prime with its Plagues and living stories. Here, the greatest threats were dealers and violent addicts like those who had killed young Aiden's parents. Human, earthly problems, almost simple in comparison.
But I have access to both worlds now, he thought with growing excitement. My real life is just beginning.
His steps had led him without realizing it to a small municipal park. He stopped in front of a bench and sat down, simply savoring the fact that he could choose to sit when he wanted, without pain, without help.
The sun was gently declining on the horizon, painting the sky with orange and pink hues. In his first life, he had rarely taken the time to admire a sunset. Always in a hurry, always absorbed by work or daily concerns.
Never again, he promised himself silently. In this new life, I'm going to take the time to live. Really live.
He thought back to young Aiden's memories, to that dull and joyless existence. This boy had survived a terrible trauma, but he had never really lived after. He had contented himself with existing, letting the days pass without really inhabiting them.
But now, with the soul and experience of a thirty-five-year-old man in this young and healthy body, Aiden intended to change all that. He was going to give this life the richness and intensity it deserved.
And Ed! He was eager to meet Edmund Torres, young Aiden's only friend. According to the memories, he was someone loyal and generous, who had always been there despite young Aiden's tendency to isolate himself.
He'll probably notice changes, Aiden thought. How do you explain that you suddenly become more confident, more... alive?
He would find an explanation. Maybe the coma had made him reflect on his life, had given him a new perspective. That wouldn't be completely false, after all.
The sun had almost disappeared on the horizon when Aiden finally got up from the bench. It was time to go home - to the apartment that was now his. To discover the material and emotional legacy that his adoptive parents had left him.
But above all, it was time to really begin this new life. A life where he would be both a normal teenager who goes to high school and worries about his grades, and an extraordinary Librarian who travels between dimensions to save forgotten worlds.
The excitement of this duality literally carried him. His steps were light and quick, his heart beat with anticipation. For the first time since his reincarnation, Aiden felt truly, fully alive.
And it was an absolutely wonderful feeling.