The darkness slowly fades away as I open my eyes, and the bright light from the morning sun seeps through the window, highlighting the room.
I stare at the milk colored ceiling. My eyes are wide open, and my breathing is stable.
"A new day," I whisper.
Immediately, I take off the bed sheet from my body and sit up on the bed.
Yesterday, after that meeting with the Patriarch that lasted an hour, I immediately came back to my quarters.
And as I arrived, I cleaned this room thoroughly. Removing all the rubbish, all the sheets of paper, and arranging the messy clothes. It was a lot of work, because I never even bothered to do that in my own apartment back on Earth.
But, well, some things have to change. I can't live the same way I did back then forever.
Now the room looks properly arranged, like a place where a real human being is living. And the jasmine scent that I've come to like suits the look of the room.
A warm smile plays on my lips, my eyes softening.
"He should be grateful I made his room look less like a den of raccoons."
I look around the room for a moment, and my eyes pick up the sight of the diary lying on the desk next to the mirror.
I spent a few hours reading Ralyn's diary as I got home yesterday. I studied it over and over again. And in the middle of doing that, I fell asleep.
I look up at the ceiling once more. And as I do so, a soft sigh escapes my lips.
Now it's morning. The supposed first day of my training with Dinan.
"198 days until the tournament." As I speak, I rub my face a little with my palms, letting out a dry yawn.
I stand up from my bed, heading to the bathroom. I need to prepare.
***
I'm standing in front of my mirror, staring at the crystal blue eyes in my reflection.
I'm now Ralyn.
I touch my cheek. It feels warm, a bit oily. Then my fingers slide down to my chin, and I pinch it.
No goatee. Truly a kid.
With my hand still on my chin, my gaze descends, lingering on my dress.
It hugs my skin tight; the informal black, buttoned short-sleeve shirt. It's sure to cause a lot of sweat.
The shirt is tucked into my brown pants.
Then I raise my head, staring at my eyes in my reflection again.
I scoff. "Reincarnation?" I ask myself. I still don't know what the hell it actually is, or why I'm here. But I'm here now, and that's all that matters.
I nod, stretching my neck and arms, making cracking sounds.
Then I breathe in and out.
"Let's go," I say as I immediately head to the door.
***
The breeze that blows in the fields is really soothing. The way it caresses my skin, blowing against my neck and cooling off the sweat forming on my forehead — I adore it.
I look around the field, staring at the area in the distance where no stone wall is raised, that open place beyond the field.
I wonder where it leads to.
I'm all alone, sitting on the grass-filled ground.
I left my quarters and the entire main residence of our family. Now, I'm in the field. The same field that I opened my eyes to yesterday.
Now that I think about it, it's really funny. I mean, I found myself in this new world by this time yesterday morning. And in just twenty-four hours, a lot of things have occurred.
Well, not really a lot, but it just feels that way to me. Like I experienced a whole week in one day. Maybe it's because I died one moment, and in the next moment, I opened my eyes to this world. Or maybe I'm still a bit overwhelmed by all these foreign emotions surging through me.
But as I sit on this grass, staring at the grass on the horizon, I know one thing for sure, and that's the fact that I'm going to leave this house, but before I leave, to all the people that caused Ralyn pa–
Hm?
The warm, fragrant scent of dry grass around me changes, mixing with a more.. bolder scent.
What's this smell? It smells like wet wood.
I turn my head left, trying to trace the source of that weird scent as I look toward the direction of the massive stone wall with a door-like opening.
My eyes widen subtly, then relax as I shake my head slowly.
"Took you long enough, Dinan," I mutter, standing up from the grass.
There's a small smile on his dry lips. And those rhythmic steps of his never cease to amaze me.
I stand, crossing my arms as I watch him walk calmly, holding two wooden swords in each hand.
He finally reaches me. And he stands, just looking straight at me with those black eyes of his.
What is he doing? Say something.
He shifts his gaze away from me and looks down at the spot where I sat. And he sits in that same spot.
My lips curl upward into a grimace.
He then lets out a sigh, dropping the two wooden swords on the ground beside him.
"What are you doing?" I ask, my tone light but curious. My eyes narrowed.
From what I read in his diary, Ralyn seemed to like this guy. But I don't. He's too suspicious, his mannerisms, the weird way he smiles at me sometimes for no reason, the way he looks at me with an unreadable expression, then the next moment looks at me with eyes swimming with pity. I don't trust him.
With my left thumb, I scratch an annoying itch just below my throat.
He doesn't reply to me, he just calmly taps the ground beside him with his left palm.
I squint my eyes.
Huh?
"How did you do it?" He finally speaks, still tapping the ground, urging me to sit.
I walk toward the spot he's tapping, and I sit there, looking him straight in the eyes.
"How did I do what?" I ask, my voice high, tinged with simmering annoyance.
"Convince the Patriarch. How did you do it?"
Oh, that's what he meant.
I scoff, facing forward. "To let you train me?"
"Yes. That's supposed to be impossible for you."
Really? I don't even know how I did it. At that moment, I lost it. The residue of those strong emotions I felt while reading Ralyn's diary was still boiling within my heart. And I guess my unusual assertiveness stunned the Patriarch, even if he didn't show it.
"I just told him that it's the only way I can at least put up a fight during the tournament," I reply, resting my hands on the ground and clenching the grass with my fingers.
Dinan's gaze turns away from me, his eyes facing the ground as he nods. "I see." He says in a voice slightly higher than a whisper. Then he looks up to me again, this time his lips are widened. "Then your memories? Have you regained them?" He asks.
"Pretty much," I reply as I throw the grass on my right hand. It lands just a few inches away from me.
"You never lost them, did you?"
I almost burst out a laughter, but I quickly hold myself back, releasing a soft chuckle. "Let's just say I lost them and got them back in the same day," I reply, tapping his shoulder with my left hand.
Dinan shakes his head, his wide smile never faltering. "I don't understand how someone can change this much in only a day. Just yesterday morning, you couldn't even speak properly to me; you only ever stuttered. And now.." He pauses, his forehead wrinkling and his facial expression changing as if he just got an idea.
"Were you hiding your true capabilities all this time?" He asks in a voice that's almost too loud.
I tap his shoulder again. "You told me to get rid of my fear, saying that it's the only thing limiting me, right? So I did just that." I speak, my knees sending prickling pain around my legs as I stand. "Let's not sweat the small stuff."
I stand, holding my waist with my left hand as I look down at him.
He stares up at me, his mouth slightly open and his black eyes widened. I just smile, noting the way he's looking at me.
I don't know how he sees me now, but I know that the pitiful way he once looked at me is gone.
I turn my gaze away from him, and I stare at the wooden swords by his side.
"I heard the Patriarch use some strange terms yesterday. He said that my opponents in the tournament use 'Chi' and 'Tein'. Can you tell me what those mean? And, if you know about it, can you tell me about the tournament itself?" I ask with a soft voice, my gaze still calmly lingering on the wooden swords.
He places his hands on his knees and lets out a low grunt as he tries to stand up.
I offer a hand. He pauses, looking at my face, then my hand. He smiles and takes my hand, and I pull him up.
"Chi and Tein, huh." He mutters, "Yeah, you're right. I have to start from the basics. The very beginning. Theory before practicals."