I opened my eyes and froze. The sky stretched above me in endless shades of blue, streaked with faint golden clouds that shimmered like scattered ink. The wind brushed against my face, carrying something faint in the air, filling me with energy I couldn't name. My heart fluttered with a mix of panic and excitement.
"Okay… this is new," I muttered.
I never imagined it would happen, but somehow… I ended up somewhere entirely impossible. One second, I was walking down the street, thinking about my research, my lab, my quiet life, and the next, I was standing in a courtyard surrounded by students performing incredible feats of magic.
I blinked, trying to make sense of it all.
"Did I reincarnate? Transmigrate..?
Well… this seems not normal… I think i died?
Oh my God, oh my God… Am I dreaming?"
I pinched myself hard. Pain shot through my arm. Not dreaming.I looked around, stunned, turning in slow circles, trying to take everything in. My last memory… walking down a road. And then… a sudden, sharp impact. "Haha…No way… Truck-kun?", i wishpered. A faint memory screeching tires. Somehow… now I was here.
The courtyard was vast, filled with students in flowing robes. Some were flying on swords, others conjured sparks of fire, while tiny magical creatures walked at their sides. My eyes widened. Magic… really exists. And I'm… here?
So, whats the first thing you do when seeing someone doing magic? Right: Trying it myself!
I tried the simplest thing I could think of: fire. A spark, maybe… a flicker.
Nothing. I tried again, concentrating harder. Still nothing.
My gaze fell on a small stone at my feet. Okay, let's try this. This could be easier. I focused, pointing at it, trying the simplest spell I could imagine. Move, move. I willed it to move. The rock wobbled, just slightly. My eyes went wide. Oh, oh, wait, wait… that's something. That's actually… Oh my God, no way! I was out of breath from exhilaration. Puh… I'm out of breath, but I definitely need to try this again. This… this is incredible. I'll try again!!
Move…move. Beads of sweat start to form on my face. "Why is this so hard?" Puhh..move…"MOVE!" the little stone started to shake and flipped itself.
I glanced around again. The students were dazzling: flying around and casting fancy looking spells. My gaze landed again on the now flipped pebble. "Ehm… well, practice makes perfect i guess", I muttered to myself.
My gaze strayed to a mirror-like pool, reflecting my now younger face. "Hm i look younger, should be about 5 years?" My hair was slightly different, my robes elegant and flowing, unlike anything I'd worn before.
While looking around, I had to think about my life. Could I ever go back? A wave of nostalgia hit me. I missed the quiet of my old lab, the smell of chemicals and the herbs, the gentle hum of equipment running late into the night. I missed reading textbooks, memorizing every reaction, every compound, the way I could see the world in formulas. My professors… they had been kind, strict but fair. I know none of them would even notice I was gone. They were the closest thing I had to family, though not close enough to be one. I had learned to survive on my own, to be careful, to be clever. No one waited for me at home. No one asked how I was or how i felt. Just an orphan, navigating life one step at a time.
But this… this is something else. This is magic. Something I had only dreamed of, only imagined while reading books late at night. This was my chance to do more… to do the things i could only dream about. This… this could be awesome. Excitement and fear churned together in my chest. Could I really handle this? Could I make it? My heart raced at the thought, but for the first time in a long while, I felt a spark of hope.
A clear, commanding voice rang out across the courtyard. "All students, please gather for the assessment. The trials will begin shortly." The words snapped me out of my thoughts, letting my gaze follow the students now walking toward the halls. Shoving the nostalgia aside, I followed the crowd toward the grand gates, My eyes landed on the large, ornate gates at the edge of the courtyard. Draped across them was a flowing banner of soft fabric, its golden characters dancing in the wind, the Academy's name displayed in elegant, ancient script. I stared for a moment, trying to memorize the strokes: "Luminous Phoenix Academy".
This was it. My life in this new world had started, and whether I was ready or not, I knew one thing for sure: I was going to love every second of it.