'It can't be… is… is this another world?'
He was visibly confused, but he kept following Claus down a path. After a few turns, he was in a completely different scene, something he had never encountered before.
A market.
The stalls were filled with fresh produce, lined up on display, no building rose higher than three stories, and each was built closely, it was strange to him, the opposite of his world.
Wagons filled with goods were being pushed or pulled by hand down the street.
'Where are their vehicles?'
He expected to see drones in the sky and vehicles that he was familiar with. But this surprised him.
People traded with coins and notes instead of modern technology, and now that he paid attention to it.
Their language was really different from what he remembered but somehow he understood it fine and had spoken it with Claus.
'Could I really be in another world, or is this one of those village islands that chose isolation?' Siyash wondered.
'But even if it were to be a village at least there would be a form of magic.'
The next instant he caught sight of a man trying to light a bronze pot, with a flaming stick in hand.
Siyash stopped in his tracks. He felt a pang in his chest, things were starting to dawn on him.
'My research!' He cried internally, '
'If I'm in another world that means my whole life's work is gone, the crystals I sacrificed lives to get, I even sacrificed my little soldier for them.'
More painful memories crossed his mind. The trials he had to endure to establish his hideout. All left to waste.
His face dimmed, full of sorrow. Claus noticed this could only feel bad for him.
'Poor guy, just lost his family and now reality must be sinking in.,' Claus wondered.
Siyash fought the tears from within, forcing himself to move forward.
Then another thought hit him.
'Wait the grand mages, they don't exist here, that means my purpose of revenge is meaningless.'
Being reborn isn't it supposed to be a golden finger? But his world had crumbled.
"Thief, get back here you brat!" A round man yelled as he chased a little kid, who looked about five.
The child, wearing tattered clothes covered in dirt, ran past Siyash with a loaf of bread in his hand, and then the large man followed.
'A well fed man isn't planning on letting the starving kid have a little snack, why?' Siyash wondered.
He channeled a small quantity of his magic, then boom it struck the man's leg, causing him to tumble.
Passersby laughed at the man, while some offered assistance. But the kid had gotten away and no one noticed Siyash's intervention.
Finally, they stopped in front of a grand building with an enormous red double door.
The building looked majestic, with its roof designed with tiles and dragon designs on the pillars.
At the entrance were two stone lions on each side, placed as if guarding the doors. And besides them were two guards wielding swords in the same uniform as Claus.
Siyash observed the odd environment carefully and concluded that this wasn't his world.
'If magic doesn't exist here, does that mean I would be feared as a god?'
He was escorted into a guest room of the Flaming Dragon complex, yeah, it wasn't just a single building, there were multiple of them spread around the yard.
Dawn had come and many of the residents had retired for the day. Siyash was in the corner room of a building, far away from the largest one he had come through.
The room had a single bed, a table, and an oil lamp.
'I could use my magic to brighten up this room, but that will just squander my mana. It would be best for me to strengthen my mana since increasing my dark attribute would be impossible without mana for spell casting.'
At this stage of being Siyash calculated that, he could only cast five rank one spells.
However, there was a lingering problem, the recent deaths of his newfound family, with no knowledge of any sort, anyone could be after him.
The flaming dragon clan seemed to be renowned from their vast infrastructure, possessing an amount of influence.
Siyash located the toilet and was startled by the discovery. It had no door indicating that it was part of the single room, and what distressed him the most was that the toilet was just a hole in the ground.
'No don't tell me that's where I'll have to ease myself.' Siyash sighed in defeat. He had gotten his own share of misery back at Dotham, his world, and now this?
This revelation shocked him more than anything in this world. And it hardened his resolve, if he had been transported to this world, there must be a way back.
Lifting the oil lamp, Siyash examined his reflection in the mirror, his first glimpse of his new form.
As expected, he was youthful and radiant, blending his age with late adolescence, however, his physique was concerningly skinny.
His former body was also lean but this compared to the people he saw earlier, he looked abnormal.
His fingers ruffled his hair, which was silky and straight, stopping at his ear, it was white and quite disorganized.
'My hair is also white in this body. Then I couldn't reach their requirements to become a rank five mage, so I proceeded with forbidden magic. I succeeded, but at the cost of my health declining and the bleaching of my hair.'
He recalled the question from Claus earlier about his hair when he saw him.
'I wonder if the original owner of this body didn't have white hair. Was it because of my arrival?'
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, followed by Claus's entrance.
"Siyash, sorry for the delay." Claus said.
"I understand how worried you are about the current circumstances, and we are willing to listen to any information you can provide concerning this situation."
He wasn't being seen as a suspect despite being the only survivor. Siyash used this opportunity to reveal his dismay.
He recalled his awakening in this life with a threatening confrontation, ultimately leading to the fatal act of self defense.
Then he confessed his amnesia, including not only the world and his location but also himself. His reasoning was simple, this would serve as an explanation for any future unusual behavior.
"I don't understand this, you lost your mind?" Claus explained, "So that means you don't remember me?"
Sadly, Siyash nodded yes. Although the original owner had a few memories of Claus, more like recollections, there was a lot more that Siyash didn't know.
"Hmm, hold on." Claus left the room, closing the door gently. In a short while, he was back, this time with a teenage girl.
She had shiny black hair that cascaded down her shoulders.
Her outfit was similar to Siyash's, a plain grey shirt and trousers, but her eyes were tired.
As soon as Siyash saw her, he felt a cooling sensation run through him, and a smile formed on his lips unconsciously.
"Haa… what a relief." Claus sighed. "It seems you remember your sister, Pippin."
'Wait what? My sister?'
Suddenly the memories pieced together, just like when he had seen the lifeless bodies of his parents.
"She hid in the cupboard during the attack, we found her trembling inside when we searched the house. You guys making it alive is nothing but a miracle." Claus smiled.
"You two have some time together, I'll be leaving."
Claus left the room. Pippin smiled timidly, looking at her brother. She looked the same age as Siyash but was actually a few years younger.
She instantly ran up to him and gripped his arm, leaning on him. Siyash's heart raced, and certain images flashed in his mind.
"STOP!" He yelled, shaking her off violently.
Pippin was caught by surprise, her eyes locked with his for a few seconds before tears rolled from them.
She quickly ran and hid under the table in the room. Siyash was still breathing heavily, witnessing her reaction, he felt guilty.
'This body… still has emotions for her.'
He approached Pippin who was still terrified, finding the right words to calm her.
"I… apologize, my head is messed up and I didn't like the way you grabbed me. I hope you understand."
Although she was still nervous, Pippin nodded in agreement.
'Nice, very nice, the poor girl lost her family and her brother is the only one she has left, and I yelled at her like a lunatic. This must be painful for her.'
In a matter of time, she gained her composure and got up, awkwardly staring at her brother.
"You were safe in the wardrobe right?" Siyash inquired.
Pippin nodded silently. Siyash, observing her actions, he concluded that she was mute. However, as he looked through certain memories, his suspicion was confirmed.
'That means she didn't witness what I did or she would have come out when I killed that guy. If she told people about it, that would mean trouble, luckily, she can't.'
Claus entered the room, grinning cheerfully.
"I bring good news, there's a place for you both to stay, follow me I'll explain everything."
They left the building and strolled out of the faction's large courtyard.
"I won't be with you both, but you will be well taken care of, you can reach out to me, if you want to talk or anything else. And I will be coming to check on..."
Suddenly, something strange happened, Claus stopped mid sentence and turned his head swiftly to the side.
A man was charging towards them in a similar attire to the one Siyash encountered earlier.
He seemed to appear out of the darkness.
And in a swift step, he covered the gap between them.
'Amplifying magic!' Siyash mused. 'So there's magic in this world?'
The unknown man swung his dagger, aiming at Siyash.
He had started casting a spell the second he recognized the figure.
'This wasn't the plan, if I use it in public I would only raise questions, but my life is at…'
His thoughts were interrupted by Claus's voice.
"Angry dragon fist!" Claus pierced through the air with his fist, hitting the man's chest and sending him flying through the air till he crashed int
o one of the buildings.
Siyash's jaw was left hanging open after witnessing such power.
"What… type of magic was that?" He inquired.
"Magic?" Claus responded. "That's no magic, it's…."