The faint sound of the wind blowing through the window managed to bring her back to consciousness.
"Hmmmmmp."
Although every muscle in her body seemed to protest after what she had gone through with Mordred and Cecilia, a strange and new sensation lingered inside her.
It wasn't unpleasant—rather, it was a vibrant tingling that ran through her veins, as if her very blood had been infused with a different kind of energy.
She chalked it up to the last echo of euphoria still resonating in her nerves and allowed herself to sink into the modest satisfaction flooding her thoughts.
"This new life is definitely the best… I really wish I had died sooner," she reflected inwardly, letting out a soft sigh of relief.
The initial terror toward her new female body had faded, replaced by a cautious curiosity. After all, maybe it wasn't so bad.
Her attention was drawn to the mirror placed in the corner of the room. She approached it with movements still somewhat clumsy, driven by the desire to face, for the first time, the complete image of her reincarnation.
"Wow, Mordred and the receptionist weren't exaggerating."
The reflection staring back at her bore no resemblance to the gaunt, depressed twenty-four-year-old young man she remembered.
Now, from the glass, a young woman of almost painful beauty looked back at her, appearing to be in the prime of her twenties. Her hair, the color of a sunset orange, fell in messy strands framing a pale face dusted with freckles.
But the most striking feature was her eyes: the same intense orange as her hair, sharp as the edge of a dagger.
As she contemplated her naked figure, absorbing every detail of her new reality, the door opened.
Mordred entered with her characteristic feline grace, balancing a steaming plate in one hand and a small bundle of neatly folded clothes in the other.
"Hey, cutie. Look what I brought you," she announced with a smile, using her tail to gently close the door. "I know it might be a bit late to ask, buuut… what's your name?" she added, her tone tinged with genuine embarrassment.
"My name…" she murmured, her voice barely a whisper to herself, as if testing the sound of an identity she didn't yet feel was truly hers.
"If you can't tell me right now, don't worry… I know things out there aren't easy," Mordred said, her voice dropping into a more somber register.
"To be honest, I feel a bit bad. I feel like I took advantage of you. After all, I found you naked and completely disoriented in the street…" she confessed, rubbing the back of her neck in discomfort.
"Don't worry about that." The reply was firm and clear. "To be honest, this was the best afternoon of my life." And she meant it with the conviction of someone comparing two entire lifetimes.
Mordred blinked, her tail swaying softly, before her usual liveliness returned. "A-anyway! I brought you food and some nice clothes I found for you."
Mordred placed the clothes on the bed and extended the plate, from which a comforting aroma rose.
"Thank you very much." She offered her a genuine smile, once again struck by the kindness of this stranger who, without knowing her, had taken her in in such a… intimate way.
As she got dressed, the rough but clean fabric brushing against her skin, she felt a strange sense of belonging.
The clothes were humble, and yet, on her new body—with her orange hair like a beacon and her posture now more confident—they seemed less like an imposition of poverty and more like a chosen costume.
"Mara", she said, adjusting the vest, the word leaving her lips with surprising naturalness.
She was no longer Logan.
Now she was Mara.
"Excuse me?" Mordred replied, her feline ears perking up in curiosity, confused by the sudden declaration.
"My name is Mara," she repeated, more firmly this time. She turned to face the cat-girl fully and extended her hand in a formal greeting—a deliberate contrast to the intimacy they had shared hours earlier.
Mordred looked at the outstretched hand for a second, then a warm, purring laugh escaped her throat.
"Hahahaha, introductions might be a bit late, but my name's Mordred. Though I guess you already knew that," she said, taking Mara's hand and shaking it firmly.
"Nice to meet you, Mara."
"The pleasure is mine," Mara replied, and this time, the smile that bloomed on her face was not only genuine—it also carried the shine of a new beginning.
"She was definitely going to make the most of this life."