The last thing Rohan remembered was falling.
Not gracefully. Not peacefully. Just the sudden, sickening lurch of a wooden staircase giving way beneath his feet, the rush of air, and then nothing. Darkness. Silence.
So when awareness returned, slow and painful, his first thought was confusion.
I should be dead.
His second thought was pain. A throbbing headache that made him want to curl into a ball. His third thought, when he finally forced his eyes open, was pure panic.
This was not a hospital.
The ceiling above him was made of dark wooden beams. The walls were stone, covered in places by faded tapestries. The bed beneath him was narrow but comfortable. A single window let in pale golden light, and through it, he could see a sky of impossible blue and the distant gleam of towers that twisted toward the heavens like glass fingers.
Rohan sat up too quickly. The world spun. He gripped the edge of the bed and fought the urge to vomit.
Where am I?
He looked down at his hands.
They were not his hands.
These hands were younger. The skin was smoother, the fingers slightly longer. There was a small scar on his right thumb that he had never possessed.
He stumbled to his feet and crossed to a small, tarnished mirror hanging on the wall.
The face that stared back was his... but not.
The bone structure was the same. The dark brown eyes, the shape of his jaw—it was him. But this face was younger. Twenty-two, maybe twenty-three. The skin was unmarked by the stress lines he had earned over years of thankless work.
"What the hell..." he whispered.
And then the air in front of him exploded with light.
---
[SYSTEM BOOT SEQUENCE INITIATED...]
[GUARDIAN'S COMPASS ONLINE]
[HOST SCAN COMPLETE]
[IDENTITY CONFIRMED: ROHAN]
[CURRENT PHYSICAL HOST: ELIAS, AGE 22, OCCUPATION: CARETAKER]
[LOCATION: SILVER OAK MANOR, SILVERPORT, KINGDOM OF ELDORIA]
[REALITY STATUS: TRANSMIGRATION EVENT SUCCESSFUL]
---
Rohan stumbled backward, his heart slamming against his ribs. Floating before him was a series of interlocking geometric rings, glowing with soft blue light. They rotated slowly, casting no shadows.
"A system?" he breathed.
He had read enough web novels to recognize the trope. The protagonist dies and wakes up in another world with a magical interface. It was fiction. It wasn't supposed to be real.
The rings spun, and new text appeared.
---
[THIS UNIT IS DESIGNATED GUARDIAN'S COMPASS.]
[FUNCTION: TO GUIDE HOST IN EXECUTION OF PRIMARY MISSION.]
[PRIMARY MISSION: THE REDEMPTION AND PROTECTION OF DESIGNATED WARD.]
[WARNING: WARD STATUS IS CRITICAL. IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED.]
---
"Ward?" Rohan's voice cracked. "What ward? How did I get here?"
---
[INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR COMPLETE EXPLANATION.]
[HOST'S PREVIOUS LIFE ENDED IN STRUCTURAL COLLAPSE. HOST'S CONSCIOUSNESS WAS SELECTED FOR TRANSMIGRATION.]
[SELECTION CRITERIA: HOST'S EXPERIENCE IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT. HOST'S PATIENCE, EMPATHY, AND RESILIENCE.]
[PREVIOUS OCCUPANT OF THIS BODY, ELIAS, WAS TERMINATED DUE TO INADEQUACY FOR ASSIGNED TASK.]
[HOST IS REPLACEMENT. HOST IS UPGRADE.]
---
Terminated. The previous owner of this body had been terminated. Killed. Because he wasn't good enough.
"What am I supposed to do?" Rohan asked.
The rings rotated, and the display expanded.
---
[PRIMARY MISSION DETAILS]
[WARD: ANANYA HAWTHORN]
[AGE: 6 YEARS]
[CURRENT STATUS: DESIGNATED CARETAKER]
[FUTURE STATUS (ORIGINAL TIMELINE): PRIMARY ANTAGONIST]
---
[WARD'S RESONANCE METER]
[HARMONIZED ] ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░ [FRACTURED]
[CURRENT LEVEL: FRACTURED (CRITICAL RED)]
---
[ANALYSIS: SUBJECT IS ON DEVELOPMENT PATH TO BECOME EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.]
[PROJECTED TRAITS WITHOUT INTERVENTION: OBSESSIVE, MANIPULATIVE, EMOTIONALLY SUPPRESSED, CAPABLE OF EXTREME CRUELTY.]
[PROBABILITY OF NEGATIVE OUTCOME: 97.8%]
[PREVIOUS CARETAKER ATTEMPTS: 7]
[PREVIOUS CARETAKER OUTCOMES: ALL TERMINATED (6 DISMISSED, 1 DECEASED)]
---
Rohan stared at the words, a chill running down his spine. Seven previous caretakers. All failed. One dead. And a six-year-old girl destined to become something terrible.
"She's six," he said quietly. "She's just a child."
---
[CORRECT. HOST IS NOT HER PUNISHMENT. HOST IS HER SECOND CHANCE.]
---
Something in those words resonated. In his old life, Rohan had worked with dozens of troubled children. He had never believed any child was beyond saving.
"Okay," he said, taking a deep breath. "Show me what I can do."
---
[PROGRESSION SYSTEMS UNLOCKED]
[NURTURER'S PATH (HEART POINTS)]
[LOCKED: EMPATHIC INSIGHT, SOOTHING PRESENCE, WHOLESOME CRAFT, INSIGHTFUL LISTENER]
[GUARDIAN'S PATH (VIGILANCE POINTS)]
[LOCKED: HEIGHTENED PERCEPTION, TACTICAL AWARENESS, BASIC COMBAT PROFICIENCY, AETHER SENSITIVITY]
---
[ALERT SYSTEM: ACTIVE]
[NO IMMEDIATE THREATS DETECTED]
---
A sharp knock on the door made him jump.
The door swung open. A woman stood there, tall and imposing, dressed in a severe gray dress. Her hair was pulled back so tightly it seemed to stretch her features, and her eyes were cold.
"Elias." Her voice was a blade. "You're awake. The mistress has been waiting. I am Mrs. Whitmore, head of staff. You will answer to me. You will follow my instructions without question. You will not form attachments. The previous caretakers failed. I expect you will do the same. Follow me."
She turned and walked away.
Rohan glanced at the system.
---
[NEW OBJECTIVE ADDED]
[MEET THE HAWTHORN FAMILY]
[FIRST IMPRESSION: CRITICAL]
[WARNING: PREVIOUS CARETAKERS FAILED AT THIS STAGE]
---
He followed Mrs. Whitmore into the unknown.
---
The manor was enormous. Ancient stone walls gave way to corridors lined with portraits. Massive windows looked out over gardens that stretched for acres. Servants moved silently through the halls, eyes downcast.
Mrs. Whitmore led him to a pair of tall oak doors and pushed them open.
The drawing room beyond was elegant but cold. A fire crackled in a marble fireplace, but it didn't seem to warm the space. Seated on a velvet settee was a woman—Lady Hawthorn. She was beautiful in a faded way, with dark circles under her eyes.
Lord Hawthorn stood by the window, his back to the room.
"So you're the new one," Lady Hawthorn said, her voice soft. "You're very young."
"Yes, my lady."
"We've had difficulties with previous caretakers. Our daughter is... particular. She doesn't warm to people easily."
"I understand, my lady."
"Do you?" Lord Hawthorn turned. His eyes were tired, but they studied Rohan with intensity. "Our daughter is not an easy child. She doesn't play. She doesn't laugh. She watches. She waits. And she remembers everything. Every person who left."
He stepped closer.
"The last caretaker lasted three days. The one before that, a week. The one before that... she said our daughter looked at her sometimes like she was imagining all the ways to make her suffer."
A chill ran down Rohan's spine.
"I'm not easily frightened, my lord," he said quietly.
Lord Hawthorn studied him, then nodded once. "We'll see. Margaret, fetch Ananya."
Mrs. Whitmore left. Silence fell. Lady Hawthorn stared at the fire. Lord Hawthorn returned to the window. Rohan waited.
The doors opened.
And Rohan saw her for the first time.
Ananya Hawthorn was small for six, with dark hair pulled back in a perfect braid and a face that would have been beautiful if it had shown any warmth. It didn't. Her eyes were dark, almost black, and they fixed on Rohan with an intensity that made his skin prickle.
She walked into the room with the measured grace of someone much older. She stopped a few feet away and simply... looked.
The system pulsed.
---
[WARD: ANANYA HAWTHORN]
[RESONANCE METER: FRACTURED (CRITICAL RED)]
[LIVE ANALYSIS: SUBJECT IS ANALYZING HOST FOR WEAKNESSES]
[PREVIOUS CARETAKERS WERE REJECTED WITHIN 60 SECONDS]
[COUNTDOWN: 45 SECONDS REMAINING]
---
Forty-five seconds. He had forty-five seconds.
Ananya's dark eyes continued their slow assessment. Most adults would have looked away. Most would have felt uncomfortable.
Rohan simply looked back. Calm. Steady. Unafraid.
Twenty seconds.
"You're different," Ananya said.
Her voice was soft, precise, and utterly devoid of childlike innocence.
"Am I?" Rohan asked.
Ten seconds.
"The others always smiled too much. They tried too hard. They wanted me to like them."
Five seconds.
"I didn't."
Zero seconds.
Rohan didn't smile. He didn't kneel. He simply said, "I'm not here to make you like me. I'm here to do my job. Whether you like me or not is your choice."
Something flickered in those dark eyes. Surprise.
The system pulsed.
---
[COUNTDOWN HALTED AT 2 SECONDS]
[FIRST POSITIVE RESPONSE EVER RECORDED FROM THIS WARD]
[REWARD: 20 HEART POINTS]
---
Ananya stared at him for a long moment. Then she turned and walked to the window, her back to him.
Lady Hawthorn sighed. "You see? She's difficult."
"She's a child," Rohan said quietly. "Children are supposed to be difficult."
Lord Hawthorn glanced at him sharply but said nothing.
Mrs. Whitmore reappeared. "Shall I show him to the nursery?"
"Yes, yes." Lady Hawthorn waved a dismissive hand.
Rohan looked at Ananya's small, rigid back.
"Ananya," he said gently. "Would you like to show me the garden?"
For a long moment, she didn't respond. Then, slowly, she turned.
"Why?"
"Because I've never seen it. And you're the expert. I'd be lost without you."
Another flicker. So brief he almost missed it.
She walked toward the garden doors without a word, but paused at the threshold, glancing back. Waiting.
Rohan followed.
---
The garden was beautiful—manicured lawns, rose bushes, a fountain. Ananya sat on a stone bench, her back straight, her hands folded. She looked like a tiny queen.
Rohan sat on the grass a few feet away. He didn't try to make conversation. He just sat there, feeling the afternoon sun.
Minutes passed.
Finally, without turning, Ananya spoke.
"Do you know what happened to the last one?"
Rohan kept his voice calm. "The last caretaker?"
"He lasted three days. He said I was creepy. He said I looked at him like I wanted to hurt him." A pause. "I didn't. Not then. But I thought about it. After he said that. I thought about all the ways I could make him sorry."
Rohan said nothing.
"He left before I could try." There was something in her voice now—curiosity. "I wonder what would have happened if he'd stayed."
"The others always told me I was wrong to think like that. They said I was bad. They said I needed to be fixed." She tilted her head. "You're not saying that."
"Would it help if I did?"
A long pause. "No."
"Then why would I waste my breath?"
Something shifted in her expression. The corner of her mouth twitched, just slightly, before she caught herself.
But Rohan saw it.
The system pulsed.
---
[SIGNIFICANT FLUCTUATION: -2% TOWARD DISSONANT]
[FIRST POSITIVE EMOTIONAL RESPONSE ON RECORD]
[REWARD: 30 HEART POINTS]
---
"You're strange," Ananya said.
"Probably," Rohan agreed.
"Tell me about the stars."
Rohan looked at her. "The stars?"
"Elias used to look at them from his window. I watched him."
Rohan's blood ran cold. She watched him. She watched the previous occupant of this body.
"The stars are beautiful," he said carefully. "Do you like them?"
A long silence.
"I don't know," she finally admitted. "I've never really looked."
Rohan sat up, looking at her. Beneath that cold exterior, he saw something else. Something lonely.
"Tonight," he said, "if you want, I could show you. There's a spot in the garden with a clear view. We could look together."
Ananya stared at him for a long moment.
"Why would you do that?"
"Because you asked."
She considered this. Then, slowly, she nodded. Just once.
---
The sun was beginning to set. Mrs. Whitmore appeared at the garden doors.
"Time for the young miss to prepare for dinner. Elias, you'll be shown to the servants' dining hall. Tomorrow, your duties begin properly."
Ananya rose. She walked past Rohan without looking at him, but at the last moment, she paused.
"Tonight," she whispered. So softly he almost missed it.
Then she was gone.
Rohan sat alone in the gathering dusk, the system hovering.
---
[DAILY SUMMARY]
[FIRST ENCOUNTER: SUCCESS]
[HEART POINTS: 50]
[WARD TRUST LEVEL: 2.5%]
[NEW OBJECTIVE: NIGHT OBSERVATION WITH WARD]
[POTENTIAL RISK: UNAUTHORIZED ACTIVITY MAY RESULT IN DISCIPLINARY ACTION]
[POTENTIAL REWARD: SIGNIFICANT TRUST INCREASE IF SUCCESSFUL]
[THIS IS A CRITICAL JUNCTURE. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.]
---
That night, long after the manor had fallen silent, Rohan slipped through the darkened corridors to the hidden clearing in the garden.
Ananya was already there.
She stood in the center, wrapped in a small blanket, her face tilted upward. In the starlight, she looked even smaller. Even younger.
"You came," she said without looking at him.
"You asked."
He sat on the grass, leaving space beside her. After a long moment, she sat too.
Above them, the sky blazed with stars. Two moons hung overhead—one large and silver, one small and pale.
"It's beautiful," Ananya whispered. For the first time, her voice sounded like a child's.
"Yes," Rohan agreed. "It is."
They sat in silence, watching the stars.
And then Ananya spoke again, her voice so soft he almost missed it.
"Elias is dead, isn't he?"
Rohan's heart stopped.
"You're not him," she continued, still staring at the sky. "You move differently. You speak differently. You look at me differently." She turned to look at him, and in the starlight, her dark eyes gleamed. "Who are you?"
The system blazed to life.
---
[CRITICAL ALERT]
[WARD HAS DETECTED A DISCREPANCY IN HOST'S BEHAVIOR]
[THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED WITH PREVIOUS CARETAKERS]
[RESPONSE REQUIRED]
[OPTION 1: DENY - CLAIM ILLNESS OR CONFUSION]
[OPTION 2: DEFLECT - CHANGE SUBJECT]
[OPTION 3: PARTIAL TRUTH - ADMIT TO BEING DIFFERENT WITHOUT EXPLANATION]
[WARNING: UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES REVEAL TRUE ORIGINS OR SYSTEM EXISTENCE]
[CHOOSE WISELY. THIS IS A CRITICAL JUNCTURE.]
---
Rohan stared at the options, his mind racing. A six-year-old girl had seen through him in less than twelve hours. A six-year-old girl destined to become a villainess. A six-year-old girl who was looking at him now with those dark, knowing eyes, waiting for his answer.
The night air was cold. The stars wheeled silently overhead.
His entire mission hung on his next words.
He took a deep breath.
---
[CHAPTER 1 END]
[WHAT WILL ROHAN SAY?]
[WILL ANANYA ACCEPT HIS ANSWER?]
[OR WILL THIS BE THE END OF HIS SECOND CHANCE?]
[FIND OUT IN CHAPTER 2: THE WEIGHT OF SECRETS]